The whole power system in Solo Leveling was something that had always made Noah seriously pissed off. And honestly? He had a damn good reason for it too.
The whole "stay stuck at the same level of rank no matter how much you train" had always sounded like bullshit to Noah. And it probably was. Like seriously, that was the dumbest shit ever, it made no sense.
The whole cast of cool and interesting side-characters like Choi Jong-in, the S-rank Fire mage. Or that Beast transformation guy, Baek Yoonho. They were introduced as such interesting characters, the pinnacle of strength. The S-rank hunters.
But what did they do? They all got washed bruh.
Maybe the author just got lazy halfway through and thought, "Yeah, fuck it. Jin-woo can aura farm the whole show, while the rest of the cast can sit around and glaze him off at each hype moment. Peak fiction."
That's why, seeing the system's window screen in front of Noah's eyes. Showing him things like mutations and the skill shop. It almost got him to tears, of course he might have even shed tears.
But unfortunately, ants are incapable of crying. Anyway, that's beside the point.
As Noah happily jumped up and down from his place, his antenna swinging in the air from excitement, acting like a little kid finding his favorite toy. But unknown to Noah, a certain monster was watching Noah with amused eyes.
The sight of Noah awkwardly jumping around on his six legs made an amusing sight, watched by the Queen from the corner of her compound eyes. She clacked her large mandibles softly, almost as if she was laughing quietly at the strange sight, like a mother chuckling to herself while watching her dumb kid doing dumb shit.
'This is great.' Noah clacked his mandibles, grinning stupidly in his mind. 'Maybe that ugly-ass goblin wasn't so bad after all.' Noah chirped, his excitement slowly dying down as he sat on the ground again, relaxing his thin legs.
'Well, enough about this for now. I should focus on what I should buy from the system shop.' Noah tilted his head, his antenna lightly tapping on his forehead as he pondered.
[Skills available to purchase:
Dash (Active)
A short burst of explosive speed in a single direction. Increases the drain on stamina. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Cost: 1 Skill Point:
Stealth (Passive)
Improves your ability to stay hidden and be unnoticed by low-rank monsters.
Cost: 1 Skill Point:
Double Chomp: (Active)
Mandibles strike twice in rapid succession, with the second hit dealing 10% more damage if the first connects. Increase drain on your stamina. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Cost: 2 Skill Points: ]
Noah stared at the skill shop, his mind churning.
'Skills like dash and stealth should be my priority, since I am still weak compared to other strong monsters in the demon realm. That pack of demon hounds was probably the lowest of the food chain. They got hunted by a solo D-rank ant monster like me because of their low intelligence. But that might not be the case with actual strong and highly intelligent monsters whom I can't win against in a 1v1 fight.' Noah mused, cleaning his antenna with his front legs. Gotta keep them shiny.
'Yep, I am not going to waste my two skill points buying the double chomp skill then.' Noah concluded, then focused his attention on the Body Mutation shop.
[Body mutation available to purchase:
Carapace Reinforcement (+1 Carapace) – Slightly increase defense.
Mandible Sharpness (+1 Mandibles) – Increase bite damage.
Leg Muscle Density (+1 Legs) – Boost mobility and sprinting.
Antenna Sensitivity (+1 Antennae) – Boost perception range.
Gland Efficiency (+1 Acid Gland) – Acid deals more damage and more fluid in the tank, lower cooldown.
Stomach Efficiency (+1 Stomach) – Increases digestion speed, granting slightly more Bio-Points per consumed monster. ]
'Now this one is hard to decide.' Noah grumbled, rubbing his front leg over his head, cleaning his mandibles. A small behavioral pattern that he was starting to notice whenever he was thinking. Probably just his ant instincts. Believe it or not, ants really have the habit to clean themselves frequently.
'I want to upgrade all of this, bruh. I need more bio-points.' Noah let out a long-suffering sigh, then shook his head, focusing his attention again.
'Carapace to have stronger defenses, mandibles to increase my attack power. Leg density to move around quickly and seriously, these damn legs really need some muscles. It is the only serious problem I have right now.' Noah groaned, gazing at his thin ant legs with embarrassment.
They were seriously like noodles compared to his large ant body.
Noah grunted, rubbing his antenna with frustration.
'Antenna Sensitivity huh?' Noah narrowed his eyes, already packing this one in the list. 'My antennas are really the most efficient organ I have. Since it always lets me be aware of any dangers of monsters, and it's also very good for scouting. So, yup, you're definitely getting on the list.'
'Everythings clear, I made up my choices.' Noah stared at the system harder, already deciding what he was going to choose. 'Muscle density for my damn legs and antenna upgrades for survival. Lock it in baby.'
[You have chosen two skills, Dash and Stealth. 2 skill points will be deducted, would you like to purchase?]
[You have chosen +1 Antenna and +1 Leg muscle density. 2 bio points will be deducted, would you like to purchase?]
'Yes, do it. I am ready.' Noah nodded seriously, confirming his purchase.
Immediately after confirming the purchase, Noah felt a weird sensation spread through his body—like someone had cranked his leg muscles tighter and scrubbed his antenna with sandpaper.
'Holy shit, this stings!' Noah twitched, rolling about on the ground again.
A group of red ants passed by Noah's rolling body, not even glancing at him, already accustomed to the weird behavior of their strange brethren. But one red ant stopped in its tracks, its head tilting, staring at the twitching Noah with sympathy.
'Gah! It's so embarrassing! Don't look at me like that, my fellow ant! That look of condolence—it's not helping at all!' Noah screamed inside, his ant pride feeling like it was getting stripped away, like a man standing naked in public. only worse—because for Noah, it felt like standing without his precious carapace.
The maddening pain of mutation didn't last long, but for Noah, he felt like he lost everything. 'One day, I shall reclaim my dignity as an ant.' Noah vowed, twitching on the ground like a dying shrimp.
'Sigh...' Noah let out a long sigh, relaxing as the pain of mutation faded away. Then, he shifted his eyes, looking at his ant legs. 'They don't look like they have changed.' Noah frowned.
His legs still looked like noodles in size, but not everything was the same. Noah felt his legs slightly stronger and more agile, not very much, just slightly.
'Probably I have to use more bio points to see a drastic increase.' Noah thought, then focused his attention on the antennas.
Noah's small, but shiny antennas still felt the same. But there were some changes, his range of chemical detection had increased. Noah was now easily able to detect around 30 meters in range.
Feeling satisfied, Noah nodded. 'All good, I should go to sleep now. I need some rest after the whole day's excitement.' Noah felt his eyes heavy.
But before Noah could shut his mind and have the much-deserved rest, a red ant scuttled close to him, it was the same red ant that was watching Noah with condolence.
Noah turned his head to the larger red ant, his own black carapace and body feeling smaller compared to the human-sized ant. "Uh... Do you want something?" Noah flicked his antenna in the air, releasing pheromone signals.
Of course, he couldn't truly communicate with the other ants. The pheromone trails helped them signal one another, but it wasn't anything like human conversation. It only relays fragments of Noah's intentions.
So, even though futile, Noah still tried to communicate with the larger red ant.
The red ant stared down at Noah's glittering eyes, then gently leaned down, putting something in front of Noah. Noah's eyes flickered as he stared at the piece of 'food' the red ant had placed in front of him.
It was a severed leg of a demon hound. The one Noah had dropped inside the food chamber before.
Noah tilted his head in confusion, feeling dazed. Then hurriedly looked up to the red ant, waving his antenna in the air. "Uh... I have already eaten! I am full actually... So, you should give it to another fellow ant." Noah spoke hurriedly, his front ant legs gesturing in the air.
Even though he did want to have more bio points, Noah didn't want to waste the limited food resources in the colony.
The red ant cocked its head, staring at Noah's eyes. Not saying anything, the red ant turned around and left the dumbfounded Noah.
Noah looked down at the severed hound leg, cleanly cut from the torso by sharp mandibles. The blood had already dried up, leaving a disgusting clog on the heavy orange fur.
Staring at the leg, then at the retreating red ant, Noah felt strange emotions bubbling inside him. Without saying anything, Noah leaned down, chomping on the leg. "...Thanks." Noah muttered, chewing on the vile meat.
The retreating red ant stopped for a moment, its long red antenna slightly waving in the air, before going back to its business.
.....
[ Status ]
- Name: Noah.
- - Level: 3
- The next Evolution requirement: Reach level 5.
- - Rank: D-rank.
•HP: 20/20
•MP: 0/0 (Requirement: mana sensory gland and mana core.)
•Stamina: 5
•Strength: 10
•Agility: 13
•durability: 10
•Perception: 18
•Intelligence: 11
•Bio points: 1 (received after consuming the hound leg)
•Skill points: 0
Skills: Identify(lv1), Mandibles bites(lv2), dig(lv2), pheromone signal(lv2), antenna sense(lv2), Dash(lv1), stealth(lv1).
Hidden skills: Soul shaping (unlock at level 20.)