After a day of resting, I was beginning to get extremely bored. So far, I had only farmed small mobs that I found near my living area, but I hadn't managed to truly test out my new skills. This lavish life of being at the top of my weak food chain was nice, but I needed a change of scenery.

  Something different.

  Which meant that, inevitably, I would have to go out into the wild in search of a stronger opponent.

  So that is exactly what I did.

  The forest that morning was deceptively peaceful. A cool breeze slipped between the trees, brushing against my scales. It was the perfect day to go out on a hunt. The canopy filtered sunlight into fractured beams.

  I slipped from my shelter and moved low across bark and leaf litter, claws gripping instinctively. Cling had become second nature now. Vertical surfaces were no longer obstacles but highways.

  I searched carefully for opponents around my level, not wanting something wildly beyond my current capabilities. I still had sense and was not suicidal. I just needed something stronger than average, yet worth the risk.

  As if God heard my prayers, I saw my targets in a shallow clearing. Two familiar shapes. Hulk Caterpillars. One slightly bigger than the other. One of my natural menaces had appeared again. However, I felt that with my newly equipped arsenal, I was quite ready to confront them.

  They seemed not to notice my presence, grazing lazily on the forest undergrowth.

  How complacent.

  I almost moved immediately, gradually crawling closer using my Stealth skill to integrate with the surroundings. The moment felt like something you would see in a wildlife documentary of a predator stalking its prey—except my prey was somehow larger than I was.

  Then the ground shifted.

  Just as I was about to go in for the attack, the vegetation parted, and something larger pressed through. Calling it large felt insufficient. Half a metre long. Thick as a fallen branch. Its segmented body flexed with slow, contained strength. Its hide carried the same green tone as the smaller ones, but darker. Denser. Glossy, like armour polished through use.

  "You've got to be joking."

  I did ask for a challenge, but actually getting what I wanted didn't feel as good.

  The caterpillar moved towards the two smaller ones, making aggressive tweet-like sounds at them as if telling them off.

  Perhaps it was the creature's father. I couldn't make out what it was saying anyway, so I guess I would never know.

  The smaller caterpillars stayed close to it now, heeding the bigger one's advice.

  I inhaled slowly. "This just got interesting."

  The System chimed softly in my mind.

  [Named Opponent detected.]

  Named opponent. Didn't named opponents in games and anime usually mean that the opponent had at least some level of strength? Background mobs being the weakest, followed by minor named characters, then the main characters.

  So far, I hadn't faced any named opponents yet. This was going to be the first. A reference point to what I would face in the potential future.

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  "Hey, System, what's the caterpillar's name?"

  [Information cannot be disclosed to the Host without the skill Advanced Insight. Therefore, the name has to be told by the individual, relating party or by defeating the opponent.]

  Just great. I didn't understand bug.

  Well, it didn't matter that much? Name or not, it wouldn't matter once I defeated it.

  Yet, for some reason a subtle anxiety brushed along my spine. An alert inside my head was telling me that the creature was not to be underestimated.

  To calm my growing nerves, I listed the advantages I had gained. I was not the same silly little gecko. Now I had increased speed. Fire. And another tail I was not afraid to sacrifice if necessary.

  I waited patiently until the bigger caterpillar moved several metres away from the smaller ones, Stealth active in the background. It would be best to whittle them down first. The smaller ones would grant me experience points.

  Okay. Three… two… one… Now.

  I launched forward, Flame Body ignited. Heat quickly wrapped around my scales in a controlled sheath, contained but fierce. As fast as my legs could move, I rushed toward the two smaller hulks.

  My attack was brutal and effective. I struck the first caterpillar across its midsection. Fire transferred instantly, clinging and spreading along its softer segments. It writhed, screeching. Before it could recover, I pivoted and rammed into the second. Flames consumed both rapidly. Their bodies were built for strength, not elemental resistance.

  They didn't have time to activate any skills. The process was quick. In and out, like an assassin. The giant caterpillar had turned to witness this brutal attack on what I could only assume were its children lunging in to try and intercept.

  To make sure the damage was done, I struck each once more to ensure the burn took properly, before quickly retreating backwards. T

  [You've gained 145 EXP.]

  [You've gained 164 EXP.]

  Nice.

  In front of me, the air grew heavy.

  I felt a little bad, honestly, looking at its distraught insect-like face. But there was nothing I could do about it now. You couldn't revive the dead. Well, at least I didn't think so.

  The angry caterpillar let out a resounding shriek. It vibrated—a low, resonant tremor that travelled through soil more than air.

  "Budu du du BURURU!"

  F*ck.

  It seemed that I got it mad.

  The creature's anger focused on me, its body darkening. The green sheen hardened into something almost black, like compressed resin. A defensive enhancement, as well as an offensive press.

  Something told me that getting hit by that would hurt.

  It moved fast. Far faster than its size suggested, charging at me like a locomotive.

  I darted sideways to avoid its dash. Its bulk tore through the space where I had been standing, uprooting grass and shredding brush as it curved mid-charge with disturbing control and came again.

  I sprinted vertically up the nearest thicket, Cling activating automatically. My claws bit deep into bark as I scaled upward. The caterpillar slammed into the trunk below me, the crack echoing through the clearing.

  The entire thicket shuddered. It struck again and again until the thicket snapped.

  "What! This thing is way too strong."

  I leapt sideways to a neighbouring branch just as the small thicket began to tilt. Yet the caterpillar did not hesitate, as if its tank would never empty. It charged again, ramming the new trunk that I had leapt upon, causing the branches to break.

  "This thing is quite annoying."

  I dropped from above and activated Bull Strength mid-fall. Power surged through my limbs. I landed near its flank and slammed into the seam between two of its segments with Flame Body active. This time, I stayed close. Heat flared brighter.

  The caterpillar reacted instantly, rolling violently. I disengaged just in time to avoid being crushed under its mass. The ground split where it landed. It quickly put out the fire before charging at me again.

  I needed terrain.

  I sprinted toward the outcroppings nearby. Thick weeds that granted obscurity jutted from the earth like jagged teeth. The caterpillar slowed, its underside pressing against the weeds.

  It slowed just slightly, trying to find sight of my smaller body. Having activated Stealth made it additionally hard to find me. Yet thanks to its bullish temper and bigger-than-normal frame, I knew exactly where it was.

  That was enough.

  I launched downward and struck again at a thinner section of its hide, Flame Body roaring around me and transferring concentrated heat. Yet again, the caterpillar thrashed. Its body smashed against rock repeatedly, trying to dislodge me. Stone fractured beneath the impact.

  My claws tore free at the last second before a crushing twist could have flattened me. I landed hard. Its movements were less controlled now. Heavier and more laboured. The burn damage seemed to be taking effect.

  [Host mana running low.]

  I needed to end this quickly.

  The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for me.