There were exactly three things Ethan Ward regretted in life.
First, he never confessed to the girl he'd liked in college.
Second, he kept telling himself he'd start exercising "next Monday."
Third...
"...I should've called in sick today."
The thought drifted lazily through his mind as his body sailed through the air.
Then—
BOOM!
The truck didn't stop.
Neither did Ethan.
Everything went black.
"..."
"..."
"...Am I dead?"
No answer.
No tunnel of light.
No angels.
No dramatic choir.
Instead...
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Water echoed somewhere nearby.
"Well," Ethan muttered, "this isn't very heavenly."
He tried to open his eyes.
Nothing happened.
Actually...
He wasn't sure he even had eyes.
"...That's concerning."
He tried moving his fingers.
No fingers.
His legs?
Too many.
"..."
"...Excuse me?"
He attempted to scratch what should've been his head.
Six limbs moved at once.
Six.
Not two.
Not four.
Six.
"...No."
He froze.
"No, no, no."
Another twitch.
Another six-legged flail.
"...Absolutely not."
A strange pressure squeezed around him.
Hard.
Cramped.
Like he was trapped inside a very small room.
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Or...
"...An egg?"
Something cracked.
A tiny beam of light pierced the darkness.
"...Wait."
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The shell split open.
Fresh air rushed in.
Ethan tumbled onto damp soil.
Everything looked...
Massive.
A pebble the size of a house.
A blade of grass like a towering tree.
Every grain of dirt looked like a boulder.
"..."
"...Either I'm very small..."
"...or nature has finally had enough of me."
A translucent blue screen appeared before him.
《Initializing Reincarnation Protocol...》
Welcome, Ethan Ward.
Calculating compatible lifeform...
Compatible host found.
Species: Young Carpenter Ant
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...You're joking."
No.
Ethan stared.
"The floating blue box answered me."
Correction.
The floating blue box answered your objectively incorrect assumption.
"..."
"...The floating blue box is sarcastic."
Thank you.
He blinked.
"I've died."
Correct.
"I've been reincarnated."
Correct.
"I'm..."
He looked down.
Tiny black body.
Six legs.
Two antennae.
Large mandibles.
"..."
"...I'm an ant."
Correct.
"...Can I file a complaint?"
Complaints may be submitted after surviving for thirty consecutive days.
"..."
"...You're kidding."
No.
"...Figures."
He sighed.
Or at least, he thought he sighed.
It came out sounding more like a tiny clicking noise.
"...Even my sigh is budget-sized."
Achievement Unlocked!
『Tiny Existential Crisis』
Reward:
+1 Mental Resistance
"...Did..."
"...Did I just level up from having a panic attack?"
Technically, yes.
"I hate this place already."
A soft chime echoed.
Name: Ethan Ward
Species: Young Carpenter Ant
Level: 1
HP: 15/15
Stamina: 20/20
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 3
Agility: 7
Defense: 2
Mind: 12
Instinct: 5
Skills
• Appraisal Lv.1
• Devour Lv.1
• Iron Mandibles Lv.1
• Survival Instinct Lv.1
Evolution Points: 0
"..."
"I have mana."
Correct.
"I'm magical."
Technically.
"I'm a magical ant."
That is also correct.
"...I'm going to choose to focus on the magical part."
He took his first step.
Then immediately tripped over his own leg.
Actually...
One of his six legs.
"I have too many knees."
Skill Gained
『Basic Walking Lv.1』
"..."
"...You're telling me..."
"...I had to unlock walking?"
Every master begins somewhere.
"...Did you rehearse these lines?"
Before Iris could answer—
A deep vibration rolled through the earth.
THOOM.
THOOM.
THOOM.
Ethan froze.
"What..."
Another vibration.
Closer.
His instincts screamed.
Every hair on his tiny body stood upright.
Survival Instinct Activated.
Recommendation: RUN.
"I was planning on it!"
The ground exploded beside him.
A monstrous black leg slammed into the soil.
Then another.
Then six more.
A creature climbed over the nearby rock.
Its body was covered in dark armor.
Its mandibles looked like giant curved swords.
Its countless crimson eyes reflected Ethan's tiny body.
It was enormous.
No...
Enormous wasn't enough.
To Ethan...
It looked the size of a castle.
Appraisal Successful.
Black Forest Hunting Spider
Level: 18
Threat Assessment:
☠ CERTAIN DEATH ☠
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Iris?"
Yes?
"...How fast can I become stronger?"
Assuming average growth...
"..."
"...Approximately thirty-seven years."
"..."
"I don't have thirty-seven seconds!"
The spider moved.
Ethan ran.
He had no idea where he was going.
His six tiny legs blurred beneath him as he darted between towering roots and pebbles the size of hills.
Behind him came the crunch of dirt, each step of the spider sending tremors through the ground.
Its shadow swallowed him.
"Nope! Nope! Nope! This is not how Chapter One ends!"
He leapt over a crack in the earth.
The spider's leg stabbed down where he'd been a heartbeat earlier.
"So this is why ants never stop moving!"
His lungs—or whatever passed for lungs now—burned.
His vision blurred.
He couldn't keep this pace forever.
A fallen acorn loomed ahead like a giant wooden dome.
Without thinking, Ethan dove beneath it.
The spider's leg scraped across the shell, missing him by mere millimeters.
Silence.
"...Did..."
"...Did it lose me?"
For three long seconds, nothing happened.
Ethan let out a tiny breath.
"I think I'm actua—"
CRACK!
A massive fang punched straight through the acorn, stopping inches from his face.
"..."
"...I spoke too soon."
The spider wasn't leaving.
It was tearing his shelter apart.
Splinters rained around him.
His heart hammered.
He looked left.
Solid wood.
Right.
Another fang.
Behind him.
A narrow tunnel formed by tangled roots, barely large enough for something his size.
A desperate gamble.
Ethan tightened his mandibles.
"Well..."
He grinned despite himself.
"I did always want a fresh start."
Then he sprinted into the darkness, the enraged spider ripping the world apart behind him.
To Be Continued...