ALL NOVEL Chapter 7: The Level Up
I… leveled up? A rush of excitement surged through him. Finally!
He hadn’t realized just how much he had been craving progress—any progress—until he saw that notification. His body had grown stronger, just a little. His stamina had increased, and he could feel the subtle difference in his health.
He quickly activated Appraisal to check his stats.
[Appraisal Activated]
Name: Unknown
Species: Common Tiny Caterpillar
Level: 4/5
Rank: F
HP: 2/10
MP: 6/6
Stamina: 2/16
Echo Skills: [Bite Lv: 6] [Movement Lv: 3] [Camouflage Lv: 3]
Resonance Skills: [Appraisal Lv: 8] [Wisdom Lv: 1]
Resistance Skills: [Poison Resistance Lv: 5] [Hardened Carapace Resistance Lv: 3]
Titles: [Earth-003 Reincarnator]
Status Effects:
Hunger: Constant
Fatigue: Mild
His tiny body trembled with a mixture of exhaustion and triumph. Level 4, he thought, the number seeming impossibly large compared to where he had started. He was nearly at the top of this stage of his existence, but that realization brought more questions than answers.
The victory, though real, weighed on him in ways he hadn’t expected. The battle against the spider had been a blur of survival instincts and desperate moves. But now that the adrenaline had faded, the memory of what had happened—what he had done—clung to him like a dark shadow.
He stared at the ground where the spider’s twisted remains lay. His body had acted on instinct, driven by the need to survive. But his mind, his human mind, couldn’t fully accept what had transpired. He had fought a creature to the death, torn into its flesh, and bit multiple times into its remains like an animal. The revulsion swelled in his chest, knotting his insides.
This isn’t me. I wasn’t like this before. The words repeated in his head, but they didn’t bring comfort. Instead, they only deepened the pit growing in his stomach.
He had won, hadn’t he? He had survived. But the cost—the sheer brutality of what he’d done—hung over him like a weight he couldn’t shake off. It hadn’t felt like a victory. It had felt like desperation. The kind of desperation that strips away everything you think you know about yourself. His hands—no, mandibles—had torn into the spider’s soft flesh, and even though it had been life or death, the horror of that act gnawed at him.
I’ve killed, he realized with a shudder. He had never killed anything before in his old life. Not like this. Not like some predator stalking its prey, even if he was the prey. He couldn’t reconcile the cold, mechanical nature of survival with the human thoughts that screamed this wasn’t normal, this wasn’t okay.
His breathing—or whatever passed for breathing in this tiny form—quickened. His segmented body ached, the wounds from the battle still throbbing faintly, but those pains were nothing compared to the mental scars forming. I’m a caterpillar, a tiny, weak thing, but I fought like a monster.
A part of him had been waiting for it to feel… rewarding. For the level-ups and newfound strength to make everything worth it. But as he stared at his molting skin, the fragments of his old self peeling away, he didn’t feel stronger. He felt lost. Trapped between what he was becoming and what he used to be.
The trauma of the battle wasn’t just in the pain or fear—it was in the realization that this was his new reality. I’m not human anymore. That thought, more than anything else, made him shiver. He wasn’t the person he remembered from Earth. He was a creature now, fighting for survival in a world that cared nothing for his past.
How am I supposed to accept this? The question echoed in his mind, but there was no answer. He wanted to fight it, to reject this monstrous new existence. But every bite of the spider, every inch of ground he crawled, reminded him that he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t go back. This was his life now.
His health had dropped dangerously low—only 2 out of 10 HP, the price of that grueling battle with the spider. The hunger gnawed at him, more relentless than ever, but something else gnawed at him too: the feeling of his body changing. It wasn't just the stats. It was physical.
As he stared down at the ground beneath him, he noticed something strange. Bits of his skin lay there—pale, translucent fragments scattered across the earth. At first, he recoiled. What the…?
He wriggled instinctively, and another piece of skin peeled off his segmented body, falling to the ground with a soft whisper. His body was shedding.
Am I molting? The realization hit him like a slap. His tiny caterpillar form was shedding its old, deformed skin, leaving behind something stronger, more resilient. It wasn’t just the stats—the leveling up was physically transforming him, preparing him for something new.
His gaze fell to the discarded pieces of skin on the ground, the remnants of his old form. It was a cruel metaphor for what was happening to him. He was shedding his past, bit by bit, becoming something new. But unlike the caterpillar, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to embrace the change.
But what choice did he have? His eyes flicked to his level—4/5. He was almost at the cap for this stage of his life. What would happen when he reached Level 5?
Evolving… The thought entered his mind, unbidden. Could he evolve? If the stories from his past life were any indication, creatures like him—tiny, weak, but persistent—eventually evolved into something else. Something stronger. More dangerous.
Butterflies, moths… that’s what caterpillars become, right? But as he pondered, his instincts told him that the evolution wouldn’t just be natural. There was something about this world—this body—that felt more deliberate. It wasn’t just a transformation; it would be a choice.
What will I evolve into? His mind buzzed with the possibilities. The thought of growing wings, becoming something more than a tiny, crawling insect, filled him with hope. But it also made him wary. Evolution was a leap into the unknown. Could he really control what he became?
He glanced again at the Appraisal screen. His Bite skill had reached Level 6, and his Camouflage was improving steadily too. He was learning how to survive, bit by bit. But the Poison Resistance—that was a game changer. It had shot up to Level 5 during the battle with the spider, a sign that his body was adapting quickly to the dangers of this world. The Hardened Carapace Resistance at Level 3 was another sign that his body was toughening up.
I’m becoming harder to kill. That was something to be proud of, but it wasn’t enough. Not yet.
He flexed his tiny mandibles, thinking about the fight. His bite had become much stronger, almost instinctively. He had felt it during the battle, how it had sunk deeper into the spider’s soft underbelly. His Camouflage skill, while still basic, had saved him by blending him into his surroundings just long enough to escape certain death. All these abilities were growing, but none of them made him feel invincible. Not yet.
But there was one thing he knew for certain: he needed to get stronger. This world, this Verdant Expanse, was full of dangers he hadn’t even begun to understand. The spider was just one of countless predators lurking in the shadows, waiting for a moment of weakness.
I have to become stronger.
His resolve hardened. No matter what evolution brought, no matter how painful or strange the changes might be, he needed to keep pushing forward. He couldn’t stay weak, couldn’t stay small. He had to become something more.
I will evolve. I will survive.
He felt the hunger gnaw at him again, the constant companion he could never escape. He glanced at the remnants of the spider’s body, his stomach growling with renewed ferocity. He still had a ways to go before reaching that elusive Level 5, and his body demanded fuel for the journey.
With a sigh, he turned back from the remains of the spider. While his animal instincts screamed at him to eat whatever was in front of him, his human instincts backed away in revulsion.
Did I really bite that?
What the hell was he becoming?
One more level. Just one more. Then, maybe, he would finally start to understand what this new life was really all about.