Chapter 4:

Perhaps it was the eerie silence, the unfamiliar scent, or maybe even the dangling remnants of broken cobweb that rhythmically swayed in the gentle breeze, but something caused Alastair to stop; to feel a sense of imminent danger. The faded premonition began to resurface in a whole new, darker, shade of black.

The spider took a step back.

'Something's not right.' He immediately became cautious as his watchful gaze inspected the surroundings. It was dark. Faintly lit up by the dim moonlight, before him stood what has become of his home; warm wind played with the residues of hanging web which he had set up before his departure and which was no longer whole, a deep gash torn right through its centre, a vague, barely discernible aroma of death permeated the air and everywhere lay shambles.

As he neared the entrance to his little aperture, he began to notice more and more oddities: a grasshopper's twisted leg lying beneath, shreds of web stuck in places they should never have even come in contact with, blood; everything pointed at intrusion. The base was raided in his absence!

'Damn it!' Alastair's face twisted into a grimace of annoyance. He helplessly stepped away from the hole. 'Something's telling me I'm not alone…' Glancing into the darkness, he sighed bitterly, 'And sure do I hope it's wrong; whatever did this is not a creature I can handle… not yet…'

The spider was placed into a difficult position: he had to either abandon all his hard work and escape or try his luck and return in the hopes that the intruder has left, both choices didn't seem too appealing. After learning his lesson the hard way, Alastair despised the idea of risking and was more inclined to choose the first option and flee, yet he was not quite ready to leave this location - it was just too good. In the end, after some thought, he went for a compromise: the spider was going to take a calculated risk.

When his preparations were complete, Alastair began to slowly approach the cavity ahead, carefully probing the air in front of him with his little pedipalps. To enter the cave was to become engulfed in chilling blackness, even with his clear vision he could barely make out a few millimetres ahead of him. Akin to a blind man who was trying to navigate inside a familiar space, he slowly but steadily advanced. Somewhere in the distance, a sound of something that resembled munching began to appear, though barely audible, it grew louder with every step.

Abruptly, the spider froze, this sound was not something that he had ever heard before. He trembled a little, before shaking it off; as long as the sound continued, he presumed to be safe and unnoticed. As if to mock him, the next second, the sound disappeared. Sudden silence washed over him like a cold waterfall sending his mind into a frenzy. Was this some sort of a joke? The feeling of regret began to rise within him as fear tightly grasped his throat. Alastair swallowed. An oddly sweet stench of something rotten wafted in the air, he could clearly feel it. The spider took a deep breath, not knowing where his next step will take him. He didn't want to find out; too bad fate had a different opinion.

Crack! Just as he was about to begin his retreat, a sudden cracking noise sounded from behind. Something was clearly moving. Crack! The unnerving sound repeated, this time much closer; Alastair felt a chill run down his back, in his mind he had only one word: 'RUN!'

Activating dash, like lighting, the spider flew out of the hole as fast as his feet could carry him, never has he moved this quickly in his life before. Without looking back, he headed for the edge of the branch before jumping down into the darkness below, only a thin silver thread of web momentarily flashed under the white moonlight before everything was, once again, consumed by black. Just as the spider leapt into the air, another creature came violently crashing out of the aperture. Unlike the spider, it didn't seem panicked, on the contrary, clear signs of agitation were visible in its deep crimson eyes as the predator scavenged around.

The creature was large, much larger than anything he has ever seen before. Alastair shivered uncontrollably, even the guardian ant was nothing compared to this monster. Its long smooth body covered in protective plates extended into the hole, not letting the spider completely grasp its enormous size. Hundreds of sharp needle-like legs clattered along the bark as it swayed from side to side, its powerful fangs clicking angrily against each other. Its surprisingly terrifying disfigured body resembled that of a centipede he has seen back on Earth, but distinct differences such as weird patterns on its back and two blood-red horns that protruded out of its disproportionately large head made Alastair doubt this guess.

After what felt like an eternity, the centipede, apparently bored, finally began to retreat, its huge body slowly slithered back into the opening, and its head, after one last look, too, disappeared out of sight. Alastair sighed in relief, that was very close.

With no way home, the spider was now stranded alone in the midst of a dark dense forest. He didn't know where to go, nor where to hide from potential predators; all he was left to do was aimlessly wander about in the hopes of finding shelter.

As he quickly travelled across the forest, Alastair's thoughts wandered back to the time he had just entered this new foreign land. That day he found himself in a similar situation with no home, no knowledge, no help; yet he was able to survive. Though at that time he was full of useless optimism and hope, despite his obvious lack of skill and experience, he managed to live on, and now was no different; no matter how hard, no matter the sacrifices, he was going to rise to the top of the food chain or, at least, give it his all. Alastair was going to persevere.

After seemingly endless hours of running, after numerous encounters with danger and successful escapes, the spider was, at length, beginning to show signs of weariness. Its movements were no longer as quick and as natural as before, its breathing was getting heavier by the minute and the last sparks of remaining hope, like dying candlelight, were barely flickering; if he doesn't find shelter soon, there will be no choice but to burrow into the ground and put his life in the hands of fortune.

'Shit!' Alastair stopped to rest somewhere beneath a large tree, releasing a long deep breath, 'Nothing! Again!' He spat in frustration, violently hitting the sturdy trunk with his tiny feet, 'This can not go on; I feel that at this rate my legs are going to fall off within the next hour… I have to find something immediately or go straight for plan B, there is no other choice…'

Dejectedly, Alastair probed the ground with his legs, 'Too hard,' he carried out, 'I won't be able to dig a hole anywhere near…'

‘I have to go elsewhere.' The spider concluded.

With obvious unwillingness, he rose back to his feet and slowly began to move forward, sunrise was nearing, he had no time to waste. After another half hour of fruitless efforts, the spider was finally ready to give up. All of his former determination and hope seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving behind only melancholy and annoyance. 'Fuuuuuuuuuuuck…' The spider moaned despondently, 'Why? What did I do to deserve this shit? Is it that hard to give me a break?' He complained to himself as he dejectedly carried one leaf after the other, 'This hut isn't gonna do shit, but at least it's better than nothing…' he thought in evident depression, as he placed the final leaf on top of the others forming a neat little stack that resembled a pile of trash, 'Where are all the divine blessings that I'm supposed to get by the rule of this genre? It's already been a month and I'm still just a useless insect… Hmmm? What is this smell?' Just as he was about to enter his hideout and go to sleep, Alastair noticed a barely discernible aroma of blood. Like sweet nectar, it entered his insides sending a wave of pleasure throughout. Saliva began to trickle down from his mouth, desire brightly flashed in his dead eyes.

'Statistics!' He called.

[Beep!]

[Statistics:

The following statistics are based on the average human adult, this standard can be altered in system settings.

Species: Unidentified arachnid

Status: adulthood stage, low energy

Strength: 0.0018 (-0.0002)

Agility: 0.31 (-0.05)

Intellect: 0.02 (+1.6)

Vitality: 3/10 (-2 per day, increases when the host consumes food)

Mana: 0

Mass: 2.0 (-0.1) grams

Warning: Statistics have been negatively impacted due to the host's malnutrition, replenishing vitality is advised.

Skills: Mild poison, Cobweb, Regeneration, Hibernation, Dash.]

'As expected,' Alastair nodded to himself after reviewing the information, 'my vitality is critically low; it isn't as bad as before, but it needs to be replenished as soon as possible.' He looked warily in the direction from which the fragrance seemed to be coming, 'Well, isn't this situation familiar, damn, I'm starting to develop an allergy for risking!' Despite his negative thoughts, the spider still began to approach the source, in the end, his will was unable to overpower the infinite allure of food.

Soon, the source was finally within view. To his surprise, Alastair didn't feel any sense of danger, the surroundings seemed to be clear and only a corpse of a small bird lay motionless on the ground. Upon closer inspection, Alastair recognised this creature; it was one of the small blue birds that preyed on insects during the day and disappear at night, sighting it was not something uncommon. Its feathered body lay prostrated on the ground, its blue wings spread out and its unseeing eyes closed. Small, barely noticeable streams of blood flowed from the bird's stomach and later, near its side, joined together forming some sort of a waterfall that descended onto the earth.

Alastair licked his lips in anticipation. This was exactly the luck that he was waiting for; with the help of the bird, not only would he be able to fully restore his vitality and maintain it for at least a week, but he would also unlock new abilities which, he was sure, were nothing to scoff at. Immediately, the spider dug in.

Unexpectedly, getting to the bird's flesh proved to be quite difficult, its dense layers of feathers and thick skin constantly created setbacks for the spider, but something like that had no chance to deter Alastair, he was dead set on getting his meal. At last, Alastair's fangs pierced through the creature's hard flesh, the sweet flavour of blood entered his mouth, sending a wave of satisfaction down his whole body. After savouring the taste for a few seconds, he swallowed and proceeded to take another juicy bite, relish was visible on his inhuman face.

At length, Alastair's meal was finally over, he gulped down saliva as he licked his lips in satisfaction. It was time to review the rewards: 'System! Display all possible evolutions!'

[Beep!]

[The host has successfully consumed the flesh of an unidentified insectoid species.]

[A new DNA sequence has been successfully registered.]

[The host is now able to undergo new partial evolutions. Displaying the list of all possible evolutions:

Unidentified insectoid, labelled by the host as guardian ant:

— Protective shell: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess a protective layer above its skin. Upon evolution, the host will be able to develop a similar shell; the durability of the shell will depend on the host's strength and vitality. Requires 8 points of vitality, time of evolution: 10 hours.

— Chemosense: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess chemosense. Upon evolution, the host will be capable of sensing chemicals and pheromones within a specific range, the host's detection will drastically increase. Requires 7 points of vitality, time of evolution: 9 hours.

— Wallcrawling: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess the ability to crawl up vertical surfaces. Upon evolution, the host develops dedicated glands of his feet that will allow for wallcrawling. Requires 7 points of vitality, time of evolution: 9 hours.

Unidentified insectoid, labelled by the host as worker ant:

— Neurotoxic Venom: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess mild neurotoxic venom that is capable of incapacitating victims of mass under 1.8 grams and dealing noticeable damage to victims of mass under 3 grams, damage to heavier victims is negligible. Damage to victims with resistance to poisons is negligible. Upon evolution, the host's venom potency increases by a factor of 1.1. Requires 2 points of vitality, time of evolution: 2 hours.

— Second stomach: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess two distinct stomachs. Upon evolution, the host is able to grow a second stomach, the host's maximum vitality increases by a factor of 1.7, the host's agility decreases by a factor of 1.1. Requires 8 points of vitality, time of evolution: 10 hours.

Unidentified insectoid, labelled by the host as a fly:

— Cuticle wings: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess cuticle wings. Upon evolution, the host will be able to grow a pair of cuticle wings that will allow for flight and manoeuvring in the air. Host's agility increases by 0.1. Requires 7 points of vitality, time of evolution: 9 hours.

— Compound eyes: It was found that the consumed insectoid possesses compound eyes. Upon evolution, each of the host's modified eyes will gain near 360 degrees of vision, resulting in reduced concentration and vision distance of affected eyes. Increases situational awareness. Requires 2 points of vitality per eye, time of evolution: 2 hours.

— Additional taste buds: It was found that the consumed insectoid possess taste buds on its feet. Upon evolution, the host will be able to grow taste buds on any outside area of skin. Vitality requirements depend on location and amount of taste buds, time of evolution: directly proportional to location and amount.

Unidentified bird:

WARNING: The host has consumed and successfully analysed the DNA sequence of a complex organism, evolution based on the given creature may have prerequisite characteristics, expected vitality consumption is substantially increased.

— Complex nervous system: It was found that the consumed bird possesses a complex nervous system. Upon evolution, the host develops a more advanced system of neutrons; intelligence increases by 0.08, vitality increments by a factor of two, agility increments by a factor of 2, strength increments by 0.008, vitality consumption increases by a factor of 3. All host's senses are upgraded. Requirements: 15 points of vitality, skeletal system; time of evolution: 20 hours.

— Skeletal system: It was found that the consumed bird possesses a skeletal system. Upon evolution, the host develops sturdy bones; strength increases by a factor of 3, agility increases by a factor of 2, vitality increases by a factor of 3, vitality consumption increases by a factor of 3. Hosts defence is increased, hosts regeneration is slowed down. Requirements: 15 points of vitality; time of evolution: 25 hours.

— Fibril eyes: It was found that the consumed bird possesses fibril eyes. Upon evolution, the host's vision is increased by 2000%, the host will be able to see up to 500 meters away, the host loses 95% of his vision in dark locations. Can be combined with compound eyes. Requirements: Complex nervous system, 10 points of vitality per eye; time of evolution: 10 hours per eye, given sufficient vitality evolutions for multiple eyes may be undergone simultaneously.

— Feather wings: It was found that the consumed bird possesses feather wings. Upon evolution, the host gains feather wings which can be used for long-distance flights at high velocities and altitudes. Host gains superior manoeuvring ability while in air. Requirements: Body of flesh, complex nervous system, skeletal system, 30 points of vitality; time of evolution: 25 hours.

— Bird body: After successfully analysing the consumed organism, the host is able to create a similar body for himself, upgrades from the previous body may not be transferred to the new body depending on aptitude, additional transfer of previous upgrades requires more vitality and time. Transferable upgrades: increased muscle density, compound eyes, chemosense. Requirements: 75 points of vitality; time of evolution: 40 hours.]

'Heh, the new evolutions are indeed very potent,' Alastair nodded in satisfaction, 'with their help, I will be able to enter a whole new dimension of power… I can even turn into a bird, given enough vitality,' he pondered for a while before shaking his head, 'No, it would be a waste, even though I'll temporarily become stronger as a bird, I will lose 90% of all my previous powers, I will need to find a different solution. For now, most of these upgrades are unavailable anyway, I should undergo more minor evolutions to develop vitality… This is where my journey really begins!'