Epic of Caterpillar Chapter 1: Reborn

A whole week has passed since the onset of this fever, and frankly, it only continues to worsen. My life had been quite mundane until now; I spent my days employed at a local convenience store, living under my parents' roof while indulging in a quiet existence filled with video games and Japanese media.

"I simply cannot believe this fever has persisted for so long! I really do not want to visit a doctor and squander all my savings meant for video games. Ugh... Could I actually perish if I refuse to go? Hmph, how could that even happen? Who actually dies from a mere fever? I need to cease these ridiculous thoughts. Honestly, I cannot even play my games with this throbbing headache... I suppose a bit more rest is in order. I am feeling quite exhausted."

That night, a bizarre dream took hold of me. I found myself in an strange realm, filled with water like a vast ocean, yet the surface remained eerily still. Upon inspection, I realized I was nothing more than a glowing mass hovering above it. A soothing voice beckoned me, urging me to approach, to keep moving forward. As I ran—or perhaps floated—toward the source of that voice, it grew increasingly deafening, and an excruciating pain surged throughout my entire being.

When I finally awoke, everything was dark—an absolute, pitch-black nothingness. I could not perceive my limbs or my mouth; my body felt completely rigid.

"I cannot move? What is transpiring? My arms, my legs, even my head—I have no sensation at all. Only my mind remains... just my thoughts... Have I... have I actually died?"

I struggled with all my might to twitch even an inch of my body, until finally, I felt a limb behind me shift, accompanied by a chorus of cracking sounds echoing across my frame. "I can do it... Move! Aaahhh!"

Crack, crack.

Light—an immense surge of brilliance washed over my face, and at last, I managed to open my eyes. Subsequently, I felt the object holding my body slowly disintegrate, and I tumbled onto the ground.

Boomp!

"Aaah, so fatigued... Where am I? What is this?... A leaf... rocks... hmm? Why does everything in this forest appear so colossal?"

That was the exact moment I realized just how dire my situation was. My entire frame was segmented into various parts, long and rotund, with vibrant green skin marked by purple patterns and tiny, almost translucent hairs spanning my back. I possessed no arms, only numerous minuscule, stubby legs—at least a dozen of them.

I could not see my own face, but I could readily imagine it! I had become a caterpillar! "How could this possibly occur? Why? Is this truly a dream? But I experienced pain earlier, so this is genuine reality! This is my current existence! I am a motherfucking caterpillar!"

"Are you kidding me? So I really succumbed to a fever? Geeeeezzz.... Is this some bizarre instance of reincarnation into another world where they ran out of heroes and simply cast my soul into whatever vessel was available? My sincerest thanks to you, Mysterious Voice!"

Suddenly, an overwhelming hunger seized me, and I began devouring everything nearby—from leaves to the very stones on the ground!

Chomp chomp munch munch

"Gueeeehh, these stones are putrid! Yet, why can I consume them without issue? I can even pulverize them with my jaws! This caterpillar body is an absolute monster!"

After some time, feeling finally satiated, I began to inspect my surroundings. "Haha! It would be genuinely hilarious if a status screen appeared, just like in those novels and anime. People just shout 'STATUS!' in their minds and something typically pops..."

| NAME: NONE CLASS: NONE RACE: Common Forest Caterpillar. || LEVELS: 1/10 EXP 0/100 STATUS: FULL || HP: 6/6 MP: 0/0 STAMINA: 100/100 || STRENGTH: 1 || DEFENCE: 2 || MAGIC: 0 || RESISTANCE: 0 || SPEED: 0 || CHARISMA: -1 || LUCK: -2 || SKILLS || TRASH BELLY | | FOREST CATERPILLAR WEAK BODY || BLESSING OF ######### | | IRON TEETH | | WEAK BITE | | CATERPILLAR BASIC REGENERATION |

"UUUUUUUHHHHHHH?????????!!!!!!!!!!! I-I-IT IS TRUE! But what are these pathetic stats?! And these garbage skills! Wait, minus two luck?! And my charisma is minus one?! What does that imply? Are you calling me unsightly?!"

Once I recovered from the shock of my wretched status, I examined the forest in detail. It was vast and gloomy; the trees appeared almost pitch-black, their leaves immense and darkened, while colorful mushrooms clung to the roots. A bee hovered nearby, though it had yet to notice me.

"Is this because of my minus one charisma? Yohoo~~! Mister Bee~! Please, stop! You are the very first living creature I have encountered here!"

As if provoked by my erratic movements, the bee ceased its wandering and flew directly toward my head, brandishing its large stinger at my beautiful caterpillar face!

"Bbbbzzzz!"

Flash

"GUEEEEEEHHH! STOP! HEY!! Let us be friends!" My words seemingly acted as insults, for the bee only grew angrier, darting toward me with increased velocity. Then, out of nowhere, searing pain filled my face!

Baam!

"GUUUAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! GET AWAY! It hurts! It hurts so much!" The bee had buried its stinger deep within my face and struggled to withdraw it, causing the stinger to sink even deeper and amplifying my agony.

As the pain escalated, my face began to grow numb. "I want to live! I do not want to die! You bastard! Take this! RAAAAAAAAAA"

"Activate Skill! WEAK BITE!"

Chomp!

My WEAK BITE landed squarely on its idiotic bee face!

"HAHA! Take that, you punk!"

The bee struggled in vain, as its stinger remained firmly embedded in my face.

"Bbbbbzzz...!"

"Take this, and this, and this, and this!!!!!! WEAK BITE! WEAK BITE! WEAK BITE! WEAK BITE! RAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

"Bbbbbzzzzz....!!!"

After half its head was crushed, the bee finally went still. Immediately, a loud chime echoed through my mind.

| YOU GAINED 124 EXP POINTS | | YOU GAINED ONE LEVEL! || YOU OBTAINED TITLE: FIRST KILL IN THE NEW WORLD || YOUR STATUS HAS RECOVERED |

"Eeeh, so it works like that... Gueeeh... Whenever I level up, I heal? Hmm, ugh, this still hurts like hell! I must remove this stinger from my face, or this healing will be wasted the moment I start losing HP again!"

"One, two, three! Uuuuuuhmmmmmpppppppp!!!! Gueeeh!! Aah! It hurts so much! Again! Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhmmmpppp!!! Aaaaaaaa!!!! It is out, it is out!"

| HP 3/8 MP 0/0 |

"I nearly died! Oh my god! If I hadn't leveled up, even after winning, I would have been dead meat! Utterly finished before I could even discover what this world had to offer this innocent soul! Sigh."

After resting, I devoured what remained of the bee, including its stinger. It tasted like ash, yet for some reason, I could ingest it all without illness, and my stomach remained comfortable! "Is this thanks to the TRASH BELLY skill? So I can consume almost anything? That is oddly convenient for this abysmal existence!"

After a period of rest, I wandered about, lost in thought.

"To summarize: I perished from a fever on Earth, had that bizarre dream of floating over an ocean, and heard that voice... I bet that motherfucker is responsible for this reincarnation nonsense! It is all his fault! He is likely some bored old god, toying with my pathetic, innocent soul!"

BOOOM!

"GUEEEHHH!!! Wh-what was that??!! Uuuh! Is that a giant foot?"

I hid behind a tree to observe the source of the commotion, revealing a humanoid figure. It had grey skin, was completely bald, and featured fangs protruding from its lower jaw. It possessed a muscular build and wore only a loincloth, clutching some sort of wooden club.

"Is that... a troll? But do they not turn to stone in daylight? Oh, wait, this forest is so dark even during the day! So these creatures roam freely as if they own the place? What do they think they are? Uugh, I can’t believe it—a troll would have been a better reincarnation than a caterpillar! Unbelievable..."

The troll sniffed the air and slowly lumbered away.

"Someday, when I am strong enough, I will beat you properly for scaring me like this! Mark my words, Mister Troll!"

Thereafter, I slowly dragged my body along the ground, eating plants and rocks until satisfied, and sought refuge in a hole near a tree.

| DAY 2 |

Upon waking, I realized that yesterday’s events were no dream. I had hoped to wake up in my comfortable bed, but alas, I remain a pathetic caterpillar...

"Sigh, so it was never a dream, was it? I must simply accept this reality and survive by any means. Something within me demands that I grow stronger, no matter the cost."

In high spirits, I began exploring the forest.

After an hour of traveling, I felt no fatigue; strangely, my mind felt refreshed and calm.

"Hmmm, so there is a sort of path here, clear of heavy rocks and vegetation. Trolls must frequent this area. To the west, there is a large river—I shall call it... West River. Yes, that fits. To the east, there are towering rocky mountains, so I will name them the East Rocky Mountains. Very well, where to now? Hunger is setting in, and for some reason, plants and stones do not restore my stamina as effectively. Hunting would be better, but what could a pathetic caterpillar possibly catch? The bee incident was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! There is no way I could hunt bees... Ehh?"

Directly in front of me was a gargantuan bird! Black and blue feathers covered its frame, and it possessed a yellow, curved beak like an eagle. It stared at me with large, coal-black pupils! Fear nearly paralyzed me! I began scurrying—or dragging—as fast as I could, but the bird was far swifter.

"No way, no way, no way! How could I be so careless? This creature is going to gulp me down, and that will be the end of my journey! I have not even lasted two days! Are you fucking with me, Mysterious Voice?!"

"Squeeaack!!!" The bird shrieked, as if ordering me to wait and be eaten on the spot!

"Ooooh, there is a hole! Right there!"

I dove into a small hollow within an ancient tree as quickly as I could!

The bird’s beak narrowly missed me, and it prodded repeatedly into the hole, searching for me.

"Haaah... that was close... Haha! Keep struggling, you idiot! You cannot reach me in such a narrow crevice!"

"Squeeack! Squeek.."

Eventually, the bird lost interest and flew away.

"At least I am safe here in this little hole—"

Then, as if destiny conspired against me, a large, hideous spider crawled out from the shadows behind me! It possessed eight black-and-yellow hairy legs, eight ghastly eyes, and a pair of terrifying fangs!

"Haaaaaah... n-no way..."

When I attempted to flee, I realized my body was completely drained and I could not move at all! I glanced at my stamina stat!

| HP 7/8 MP 0/0 STAMINA 2/100 |

"Eeeehh??!! No way!! It must have been depleted during my desperate escape! This system is total bullshit! Now I am destined to die simply because the numbers prevent me from moving?"

"Screeettchhhh!!!"

The giant spider lunged for the kill! But just then!

BOOM!

"Squeeeeaaack!!"

"It is that damn bird! Are you kidding me? It never gave up? Should I feel flattered or horrified?!"

Just before the spider could land its bite, the bird shattered the ceiling above the old tree, snatching the spider instead of me! How fortunate!

"Goodbye, Mister Spider! Hahahahaha!"

"Screeeeeetchhhh...!!"

Once things settled, I dragged myself deeper into the spider's lair to find a clutch of eggs nestled in sticky silk. I managed to squeeze inside and discovered many other insect carcasses.

"Finders keepers!"

I immediately started devouring the dried carcasses. They tasted absolutely wretched and offered barely enough stamina to matter.

"Now for the main course!"

I dismantled the webs covering the eggs with my WEAK BITE skill and began gulping down the spider eggs. They tasted like trash juice! Do not ask me how I recognize that flavor!

Munch munch Crunch crunch Gulp

"Gueeehh, these are crunchy and juicy inside, but not in a pleasant way... I would kill for some fried meat now... ooh, and a beer, too. Sigh... Will I be able to recreate these things in the future? Perhaps if I become strong enough to command a legion of intelligent beings."

After my aimless rambling, I consumed the webbing as well; after all, I can eat anything.

Slurp slurp Gulp

"Gueeeh, these are so dry and sticky that they clog my throat, but they seem to provide quite a bit of stamina. Are they nutritious? Gulp."

"Why does eating in this world feel more like torture than relief?"

| YOU LEARNED 86 EXP | | YOU OBTAINED TITLE: TRASH EATER || NEW SKILL LEARNED: STEEL BELLY | | NEW SKILL LEARNED: WEAK THREAD CREATION || NEW SKILL LEARNED: SPIDER'S 8 EYES |

"Wh-wh-whaaaaat?! This! I learned skills by eating garbage? Are you serious? So it is that kind of power... I have read about similar things in novels, but to think I actually possess such a gift! Though it seems heavily nerfed, since I gained nothing from the bee! Perhaps it requires a large quantity of the same food to unlock the skills? Geeeezz... At least there is something bright in this twisted world. I also gained EXP for almost no reason! Wait, perhaps because the eggs are technically living beings? Aah, that is twisted."

"Oh right, I almost forgot my new title: TRASH EATER! What a title! And STEEL BELLY? Is it because of the carcasses, threads, and eggs I consumed? Perhaps my stomach will evolve, allowing me to digest even fire in the future! Haha!"

Tired of talking to myself, I experimented with my new thread creation skill, fashioning a messy bed to rest in. I also noted that creating thread consumes stamina. "What a robbery! That is about 5 stamina per 10 centimeters, so making a bed cost me 15? That is almost half of what I gained eating all that mess. Stamina management will be a constant headache from now on..."

Before sleeping, I attempted to trigger my SPIDER'S 8 EYES skill, but it demanded 10 stamina! It provided eight spider eyes on my vision for a limited duration, significantly enhancing my sight. "It could be useful later, but it is too costly to use repeatedly for now... Very well! It is time to sleep!"