In a cave in the The Lost Land—Edge Forest Sea—battles of life and death were raging.
A white figure moved through clusters of Worm eggs. Every so often, she would stop, her six red eyes scanning left and right, wary of the Worms fighting each other.
Neva buried her head in the Worm eggs, casually biting into one and making a small hole with her teeth. She slurped it like bubble tea, all while watching the battles between the Worms.
Neva didn't know how long she had slept, but when she woke up, her wounds had already begun to scab, and her mind was functioning normally again.
Her body had almost been torn in two, yet now she only had a large scar. Although it still hurt, it no longer affected her movement.
She only now realized how powerful the Healing ability was, and this was only at Proficiency Level 1.
After waking up, Neva was hungry again.
Speaking of which, this near-painful hunger was incredibly vexing for a foodie like her.
But in the short term, she wouldn't lose her sanity due to hunger.
Firstly, reckless action without a plan was the most undesirable. Rather than being a crude warrior, she, being timid, would develop in the direction of an assassin.
Hidden among the still-tender Worm eggs, she carefully avoided the Worms wandering nearby.
She dodged and ate.
Although once, she was almost bitten on the head by a larva in a Worm egg that was less than a tenth of her size... Well, that was a bit embarrassing to admit.
In the time since she woke up, she had already eaten about a dozen Worm eggs, and her aversion to them had been completely thrown to the back of her mind.
After receiving a large amount of nutrition, her body also became much stronger, at least to the point where she could go toe-to-toe with the Grayish-white Worm from before.
The only thing Neva was worried about was: Is her unscientific appetite really okay?
It had probably been less than two days since she woke up. Of course, she didn't know the exact time, but she always feared that if she kept devouring Worm eggs so wildly, she would once again burst her already-torn stomach.
After finishing the Worm egg by her mouth, she checked the state of her stomach.
Not hungry, but not full either.
Quite unscientific... [Specified condition met, "Devour" Proficiency +1]
Neva could only attribute the reason for this to Devour.
Neva glanced at her panel; her Evolution value had already increased to 2.3.
The Evolution value provided by each Worm egg varied, some more, some less.
According to the system prompt's explanation, the stronger and more unusual a creature, the higher the Evolution value it contained. But even by eating grass, creatures themselves would continuously generate Evolution value, slowly accumulating it within their bodies.
Including Neva herself, simply eating plants or even dirt could generate Evolution value, though the process was very slow.
It might take years, even decades, for the Evolution value she produced herself to allow her to Evolve once. And as a low-level Worm, if she didn't Evolve, she wouldn't even live that long.
As time passed, more and more Worms were born in the cave, and they became increasingly dangerous.
Why, she wondered? Although these Worms often devoured each other, they showed little interest in the readily available Worm eggs nearby. Only Neva, an Anomaly among Worms, kept eating Worm eggs non-stop.
In fact, the fundamental reason influencing the Worms' feeding behavior was the Devour ability. They became extremely irritable and irrational due to hunger, but their discernment for food was exceptionally keen.
They wouldn't judge food by taste like Neva did. Those Worm eggs were merely snacks to them, while their already-born kin could satisfy their desire for slaughter and provide far more energy than Worm eggs.
Of course, when hungry, Worms wouldn't be picky, but during a period of mass Worm hatching, Worm eggs were actually relatively safe.
Coupled with the Worms' inherently tyrannical and ferocious nature, they clearly had a soft spot for fighting.
"I'm afraid this place will soon turn into a Worm slaughterhouse," Neva thought to herself.
The place she was born was at the bottom of the cave, and there was only one upward passage in the entire cave.
After quietly crawling past two Worms wrestling with each other, Neva's tense mood eased slightly.
Just as she was about to rest next to a cluster of Worm eggs, a Gluttonous Worm leaped out from that cluster, its sharp fangs aiming directly for Neva's face.
Neva reacted immediately and dodged, but it was still a bit late. Her face was grazed by the Worm's mandibles, and she lost an eye.
Ow, ow, ow... That's not fair, ambushing me!
Neva endured the pain. She looked at her attacker with her remaining five eyes.
This Worm must have just been born. It looked pretty much the same as she did when she first crawled out of a Worm egg, covered in sticky fluid. From how it had just been hiding behind the Worm eggs and the many broken Worm eggs around, it was clear that, like Neva, it was a "Worm's Shame" that avoided combat and only ate Worm eggs.
Species: Gluttonous Worm (Larva)
Tier: None (Data Rating: 0.2)
Magic Energy: 2
Soul Strength: 0.5
Ability: Devour (1/10)
Title: None
---
Through [Unknown Data], the crystal heart displayed some of the opponent's information.
However, compared to her own panel, it was much simpler.
So, panel information could also be cut corners!
Neva grumbled inwardly.
Seeing its attack dodged, the Worm didn't flee. It took advantage of Neva's distraction to launch a second attack.
Neva's heart pounded as she narrowly avoided the opponent's grotesque mouthparts.
If she had hands, she would surely wipe away the non-existent cold sweat from her forehead.
The situation just now was still very dangerous. Even if she was a bit stronger than the opponent, at the Worm larva stage, where both were weaklings, the difference between them wasn't very large, and there was still a risk of her being overturned.
Without giving the opponent a chance to launch a third attack, she pounced, biting into the Worm's back. She mimicked how the Grayish-white Worm had dealt with her, using her mandibles to cut open its body.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
The Worm let out a painful shriek, twisting its body constantly, trying to break free.
This scene was so familiar; she had struggled just like this when she was bitten by the Grayish-white Worm.
However, now everything was reversed.
But it had to be said, the opponent's performance when attacking was much stronger than her passive state when she was first born.
The pity was that this fellow didn't have a heart hard enough to chip her teeth.
Neva increased her bite force. As her teeth sank deeper, the Worm gradually stopped struggling.
[Killed Gluttonous Worm, Evolution value +0.2]
Only 0.2 Evolution value. This Worm was indeed much weaker than the Grayish-white Worm.
It was worth noting that the Grayish-white Worm had provided her with a full 1 point of Evolution value. However, it might also have been due to a first-kill bonus.
Neva stopped complaining and began her meal.
Enduring the disgusting, bitter taste, Neva quickly finished eating the Worm.
[Devoured Gluttonous Worm, Evolution value +0.1]
Although the sticky, foul-smelling sensation lingered in her mouth, the generous harvest still offered her some comfort.
Indeed, killing enemies was the correct way to gain Evolution value.
Looking at her panel again, after this period of growth, her data rating had also increased somewhat, from the previous 0.3 to 0.5.
And through Neva's observation, a rating of 0.4 was the average value for the Worms in the cave.
So, she could be considered a relatively powerful Worm?
But no sooner had she become complacent than a giant Worm, several times larger than an ordinary Worm, suddenly appeared.
It swallowed several Worms not far from Neva in one gulp, crushing the Worm eggs along the way into puddles of red, white, and yellow mixed pulp, and then swaggered away~
Neva watched this scene dumbfounded, her newly sprouted pride instantly vanishing.
What the heck? Was that still a Gluttonous Worm larva?!
But by now, the opponent's figure had disappeared from her sight. Regrettably, she hadn't been able to see its panel information.
"I guess I'll just keep eating Worm eggs..."