‘…What on earth is happening.’
In an instant, the surroundings were blanketed in a pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.
It really felt like I had entered the belly of a snake.
‘Why on earth did it eat a stone?’
I’ve heard that crocodiles or certain other animals eat stones to aid digestion.
But snakes swallow their prey whole and dissolve it, so they don’t need stones.
Unless stones are its staple food….
‘Wait. If that’s actually true, am I totally screwed?’
A chill ran down my spine. At this rate, instead of dirt, I might turn into poop.
This was no time to be taking things so casually!
I can’t be certain that the ecology of monsters here is exactly the same as what I know.
‘I only just managed to be able to move!!’
I felt wronged and angry. But in times like these, I have to think rationally.
‘Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like anything is wrong with my body yet.’
Even so, I couldn’t just sit back and relax.
My N-type imagination was warning me that it might secrete strong stomach acid beyond my current durability, or twist its body and grind me into powder.
I have to find a way to escape before it’s too late.
‘Think. Think! You blockhead!’
What do people usually do when they get eaten?
The first things that come to mind are tearing the body open or stimulating it to induce vomiting.
‘How am I supposed to do that with a round body that can only roll….’
Wait.
If all I can do is roll, then I just have to roll, right?
‘I didn’t even need to worry in the first place.’
Because I had no other options.
If rolling doesn’t work, then there really is no other way.
‘Let’s just try it.’
Roll, roll—
‘Now! There! Is! Nowhere! Left! To! Retreat!!’
* * *
An Egg-eater out for a hunt today discovered a pure white egg sitting all alone by the path.
It looked as though it had fallen from a nest.
Hiss—
As a skilled hunter, it wasn’t about to let an easy meal slip away, so it quickly snatched and swallowed it.
As soon as the hunt was over, the Egg-eater returned straight to its territory.
Swish—!
Returning to a safe place, it contracted and twisted its body to digest the egg it had just eaten.
However, something was strange.
No matter how much it twisted and squeezed its body, the eggshell showed no sign of breaking.
Meanwhile, its insides suddenly began to grow hotter and hotter.
Ssshk!
Sensing something was wrong, it tried to vomit it back up, but for some reason, the object seemed to push even deeper inside.
Its movements to digest prey gradually turned into desperate writhing from pain.
Ssshhhh….
The movements of the Egg-eater, which had been suffering all night, slowly subsided and finally stopped completely as the sun began to rise.
After a while, the body that seemed dead squirmed once more.
But it wasn’t the Egg-eater moving.
Plop—!
Eventually, a white pebble rolled out from somewhere near the tail.
‘Whew, I really thought I was going to turn into poop.’
From the moment I realized I could roll inside the stomach, I rolled like a madman.
I was basically rolling in place as if I were on a treadmill, but I somehow succeeded in escaping—
‘…You’ve got to be kidding me. I rolled the wrong way.’
I saw that the place I came out of was not the mouth.
‘…The one shitting bricks wasn’t me, but this guy.’
I feel like a crack just formed in my human dignity. Haha.
Ding—
[Would you like to activate Blessing of Predation (lv. 1)?]
‘Huh?’
No wonder the snake wasn’t moving at all; it must be dead.
Is it because its organs were damaged by friction while I was rolling inside? Or maybe…….
‘Mm. Let’s not think about this.’
Anyway, the important thing is that I succeeded in a hunt just by rolling, right?
It was a total blessing in disguise.
[You have predated the magic stone of a Poison Egg-eater (lv. 5). Absorbing magic power.]
[There are skills available for acquisition.]
‘I didn’t level up this time.’
The amount of absorbed magic power was similar.
When I absorbed the magic power, I could feel it being sucked in like taking a deep breath.
It seemed the required amount had increased since my level went up.
‘And I worked so much harder to catch this one. Tsk.’
It’s a shame, but I should be satisfied with a successful hunt.
And there is still one important thing left.
‘Please, let there be a skill useful for attacking…!’
——————
[Acquirable Skills]
- Stealth – 1P
- Nocturnal – 1P
- Full Body Contortion – 2P
- Poison Mucus – 3P
——————
Stealth and Nocturnal aren’t bad, but they don’t seem very useful right now.
Full Body Contortion… I really could have been turned into powder. Haha.
‘Poison Mucus is amazing, isn’t it?’
——————
[Poison Mucus (lv. 1)]
Consumes mana to secrete neurotoxin from the surface.
——————
Although effects vary greatly, poison is fundamentally a skill that can deal damage to the opponent.
On top of that, it’s a neurotoxin. I feel like I could really use this for attacking.
‘I have to get this!’
[Insufficient skill points.]
‘Can’t I get a point loan? I’ll level up soon and pay it back somehow….’
[Insufficient skill points.]
‘Damn stone….’
Of course. There’s no way things would go that smoothly.
At least I saved that 1 point earlier, so I can get it if I level up just once more.
‘The problem is how to raise my level.’
I looked at the corpse of the dead snake.
It looked fine on the outside, but it was definitely dead.
It was proof that I could hunt just by rolling.
‘It said its name was an Egg-eater.’
Judging by the name, it obviously didn’t originally eat stones, but mistook me for an egg.
In that case, if I find a monster with the same habits, I might be able to hunt in the same way.
‘There are plenty of eggshells around that look like they were eaten and spat out. It doesn’t seem like there’s just one.’
And monsters of the same species are highly likely to have the same skills.
Swish—
At an incredible timing, a welcome sound reached me.
‘This fast?’
Suppressing my excitement, I slowly turned my body, fearing the opponent might get startled and run away.
‘Were you looking for me?’
The snake was opening its massive mouth in a familiar pose and angle.
Showing me your throat upon our first meeting. Now that’s an original way to flirt.
Can’t you even see the corpse of your fellow kind sprawling right beside you?
‘Well, fine by me.’
I let out a stony smirk and willingly welcomed the giant mouth.
100 years into my stone-life.
I’ve found a treadmill that makes me stronger the more I roll!
* * *
‘Step right up, here’s a delicious egg (pebble) so good you won’t notice even if you die while eating it~!’
Wiggle, wiggle—
I diligently wiggled my butt.
The effort of 36,517 days was finally having its moment to shine.
‘Dear customer, please say “Ah”~’
The Poison Egg-eater flicked its tongue and, unable to withstand the temptation of the pure white egg(?), finally opened its mouth.
‘It’s me, the pebble.’
But the Egg-eater didn’t know.
That what it had swallowed was death itself.
‘To have a pebble as your last supper. It’s a bit pitiful.’
To say that, though, I’m enjoying this way too much?
[You have predated the magic stone of a Poison Egg-eater (lv. 6). Absorbing magic power.]
[Level Up! You have obtained 2 Skill Points.]
[There are skills available for acquisition.]
‘Finally!’
Fortunately, this area seemed to be their territory, as I could find Egg-eaters just by wandering a little.
However, since I was catching them only by rolling, it took quite a while.
‘It feels like about five days have passed catching ten of them.’
Maybe because it’s a low level, but looking at the actual number of kills, leveling up doesn’t seem that hard.
And now, it’s going to get even faster.
‘Pebble evolution, Poison Pebble!’
[Acquiring the skill ‘Poison Mucus’.]
Ah. Maybe because I got a skill that lets me take the easy way out, my body feels lighter for some reason.
‘Hunting will be easier from now on, right?’
As it happens, it has great synergy with the hunting method I’m currently using.
If it’s ‘poison sweat,’ it’ll be even more effective once I’m inside the stomach.
‘I should test it out right away.’
This time too, I was able to find an Egg-eater nearby without much trouble.
With my skilled food-begging dance, I easily succeeded in getting inside its stomach.
‘Don’t they give out titles for this kind of thing?’
Hmm. I waited just in case, but it seems there’s nothing like that.
I got my hopes up for nothing.
‘Phew…. I’m actually kind of nervous.’
This was essentially my first time using a skill.
Because Roll was something that should have been there naturally rather than a skill.
‘Poison Mucus!’
I shouted the skill name internally.
Considering when I used Roll, I probably didn’t need to shout it.
It might be cringey, but if you were in my shoes, you’d want to do it at least once, right?
‘…By the way, the feeling is strange.’
I felt the sensation of sweat flowing and the feeling of something leaving my body at the same time.
It was like that feeling when you were a kid and someone gripped your wrist to stop the blood flow to show you what electricity feels like, and then they let go slightly.
‘Is this what it feels like when mana is consumed?’
Seeing as I felt nothing when using Roll, it must only happen when the skill specifically mentions consuming mana.
Like the difference between a passive skill and an active skill.
I’ll have to use it while keeping a close eye on my mana levels.
Squish, squelch—
‘Oh! I’m getting a reaction immediately.’
Since it was a skill obtained from an Egg-eater, I wondered what I’d do if it were immune, but it seems to have worked perfectly.
Feeling it bumping around and writhing in every direction made me feel like I was riding a Disco Pang Pang ride.
‘Is it dead?’
As time passed, its movements slowly subsided and then stopped completely.
[Would you like to activate Blessing of Predation (lv. 1)?]
‘Confirming the kill too? Nice.’
Thanks to the system’s kind service, I rolled my body and came out after predation.
‘This is insane.’
I think it took less than 5 minutes from entering the stomach to its death.
When I was catching them by rolling, I’d enter almost at sunrise and come out when it started to set.
‘Hunting efficiency is going to become really good.’
Though it seems I won’t be able to use it many times because my magic power is low.
‘I should also check how many times I can use it.’
I feel like I could use it about three or four more times.
Since it’ll recover as much as it’s consumed.
‘Where is the next prey…….’
Hiss—
And I’m like, “Hehe—”
‘Fast delivery and great service at this place!’
* * *
[Level Up! You have obtained 2 Skill Points.]
‘Reached Level 5!’
The required amount definitely seems to increase as the level goes up.
Considering how one Armadear leveled me up at first, but now it’s grown to ten Egg-eaters, that says it all.
‘It would be great if I could raise my magic power.’
Thanks to Poison Mucus, hunting efficiency went up, but I couldn’t catch as many as I thought because I couldn’t use it many times.
Recovery was slow too, so it seemed to take about a full day to recharge completely.
‘I’ll have to move more diligently.’
I need to catch as many as possible to level up.
Since I don’t know how to increase magic power right now, I should at least get skills that don’t require mana.
Grinding. I can smell the scent of Maple Story.
‘Then, the next prey right away…….’
Ding—
‘Huh?’
[You have achieved an accomplishment and acquired the title ‘Ecosystem Disturber’.]
Ecosystem Disruptor? Is it because I caught so many Egg-eaters?
——————
[Ecosystem Disruptor]
One who has hunted a specific species of monster in large quantities.
The *Apex Predator effect is applied to the target species.
——————
‘What’s Apex Predator now.’
=
*Apex Predator Allows you to identify prey, and skill effects are increased by 50% for prey only.
However, the probability of the prey avoiding the predator increases.
=
‘What’s this? This vague feeling of it being good but also bad.’
The increase in skill effect is more than welcome, but the problem is the latter sentence.
‘Surely not.’
To confirm my ominous hunch, I approached an Egg-eater that was nearby.
‘You’re hungry, right? Hurry up and try a bite. I go down very smoothly, you know?’
Hisss…….
I performed my food-begging dance with all my might, but as soon as it spotted me, it shot me a wary look, slowly backed away, and then bolted.
‘Where are you going! Hey!’
I knew it. It really was good and bad at the same time.
It must be a sort of instinct at work, like how dogs recognize a dog catcher.
I’m the one who needs to be eaten, but if they no longer recognize me as prey, I can’t hunt.
‘And I thought I was finally going to have some easy hunting. Isn’t this too much!’
Are they trying to keep me in check in case I drive them to extinction?
No, wait, aren’t they monsters? Isn’t it a good thing if they go extinct?
Anyway, useless. It’s useless.
‘Tsk. It can’t be helped. I guess I have to find other prey.’
At least I obtained a skill useful for attacking.
Good grief, what a life.
‘I wish there was a monster that was moderately small and seemed to have useful skills.’
Based on my observations of the forest over the past 100 years, I didn’t think it would be easy to find.
But since all I have is time and stamina, something is bound to turn up if I keep rolling.
I’m no longer the Faithful Stone pebble that couldn’t do a single thing!
‘Attack of the Pebble, let’s go!’
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