Noah stood rooted to his spot for a good minute. Pondering in his small ant head.
Family. This word was foreign to him, after all, given his past experiences and the environment he grew up in. It was inevitable for him to be distant from this whole concept of family. His father's constant abuse and his mother's neglect, he never truly understood how family works.
So it was a strange feeling. 'Why did the queen pat my head? Is she showing her newly born child affection? Or I am just reading into it too much.' Noah clacked his mandibles, letting out a hollow chuckle inside his head.
He might really be overthinking it. No way an ant, a monstrous ant at that is capable of feeling something like a motherly affection. After all, if his own parents couldn't, it would really be shocking for a monstrous ant to have something like that.
He shook his small ant head, clearing his head of any meaningless thoughts and finally focused his attention on the more important stuff.
'System.' Noah thought in his mind. And then, in a flash. A blue screen hovered above his compound eyes.
- Name: Noah.
- - Level: [ 1 ]
- - Rank: [ -> D-rank.
•HP: 20/20
•MP: No mana. (Requires: the mana sensory gland and mana core to unlock mana use.)
•Stamina: 100/100
•Strength: 10
•Agility: 13
•durability: 10
•Perception: 15
•Intelligence: 11
•Bio points: 0
•Skill points: 0 ]
- - Ant Class: [Hatchling ant. ]
- - Species: [ Adaptive Mana Ant (Formica Variant) ]
- - Titles: [None.]
'Okay…. that's a lot to take in.' Noah, seeing the system finally showing his stats, he felt overwhelmed.
'First of all. It seems I am different from other ants in this colony. If I remember clearly from the canon, the red ants were supposed to be as strong as an A-rank. It was also mentioned that the white ants were even stronger, perhaps as strong as S-ranks'. Noah clicked his mandibles, his small ant brain working at full capacity.
'So, that means I am an anomaly in this colony, only being at D-rank. Maybe it has to do with my species–Adaptive Mana ant, Formica variant? What does Formica means?' Noah questioned in his mind. But since he had no knowledge about it. So for now, he put the question aside.
'I also can't control any mana yet… But not all hope is lost. At least it's telling me which direction to go in. Mana sensory gland and mana core. I don't know how to get those… ' Noah sighed, realizing that he didn't have any special abilities aside from these stats.
But the system interface still had some things left to see. So he turned his attention to the system again, his eyes narrowing at the skill's option.
- - Skills: [
Basic skills:
• Identify(lv1): Scan the target to gain its basic information.
• Mandible bite(lv1): Use your strong mandibles to hold the enemies in your powerful jaw. Rip or cut through them.
•Dig(lv1): Allows you to dig through the loosen ground or soft stone.
•Pheromones signals(lv1): Releases basic scent trails.
•Antenna sense(lv1): Detect even the faintest of changes in the air.
•Acid shot(lv1): Shoot acid from your rear. ]
'Ahhh, these must be the starter pack for any ant monster.' Noah nodded in understanding. 'Not all, I would say; the Identify skill must be exclusive to me.' Noah thought, his eyes staring at the identify skill.
Noah turned his small head around, searching for a red ant to test the skill on. He instantly found one scurrying into one of the tunnels.
'Identify. ' Noah triggered the identify skill on the red ant. And in instantly, the system interface lit up.
- -> Monster Identified <- -
- Monster: Ant type.
- Monster Race: Adaptive Mana Ant (Myrmica Variant)
- Rank: low A-Rank Threat
•HP: 800/800
•MP: 0/0
• high durability.
• high Agility.
• Sharp mandibles.
• Has a year lifespan.
- -> Achievement unlock <- -
New title gained: Monster scholar(beginner)
Condition: use the skill Identify on any monster to unlock. Conditions has been met.
Reward: Basic Ant encyclopedia unlock.
'Uh… Nice! ' Noah clacked his mandibles happily at this unexpected surprise. 'This is good. Ant encyclopedia huh? Good, it might the thing I needed the most right now. With this I might be understand my current ant body and the difference between the Formica and Myrmica variants. ' Noah thought.
He was able to understand that he was clearly different from the other ants in this colony. Perhaps, the most different in this whole universe, after all, he was a human incarnate in an ant body, with a system nonetheless.
His potential was endless.
'But still, the difference between a D-rank and A-rank huge. I wonder how much time it will take me to reach there. ' Noah thought, before turning his attention at the system again.
There was still a section left for him to see. As he scrolled to his last panel, what he saw delighted him in surprise.
[ Hidden skills:
•Soul shaping: unlock after reaching level 20. (Can be used only 3 times.)
•Gate: Tap to see the information about this skill. (Can only be use 1 time.) ]
'My cheats!'