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 The world before the System Descent is mystery to us now, any records of that time disappeared during the Rending or were lost in the centuries since. How did those people judge each other, unable to view themselves with perfect numerical accuracy as we so easily can today?
 Was that society a more equitable place? When the worth of a human being can be weighed with such precision, strict roles and structures are easy to maintain, perhaps back then, when the qualities of each individual were more nebulous, it allowed greater freedom, greater choice in a persons' life? Many believe the System elevated us, empowered us to fight back against the great cataclysm, but many of the wise question this narrative, we know what we gained in the Descent, but we can no longer recall what we lost.
 Exert from page 15 of "Ruminations on the pre-Descent society" by Illarion the heretic.
 Okay. So I have a skill point and a body point to spend? If this is a game-like situation then I would be able to open some sort of menu in order to spend my points and improve myself. How do I access this menu here in my tunnel though?
 Erm. Level up!
 No, that didn't work.
 Escape! Escape key!
 … Nothing.
 I mean, worth a shot right?
 Sigh.
 Status!
 Whoa!
 Name: Anthony
 Level: 1
 Might:15
 Toughness:12
 Cunning: 25
 Will: 18
 HP: 30
 MP: 0
 Skills: Digging level 1; Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 3; Bite Level 2
 Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)
 Biomass: 1
 Skill Points: 1
 Wow, this is really interesting! My status huh?
 The first time I saw these numbers I thought they looked high but perhaps they are actually really low? I can't imagine a hatchling ant worker has an impressive status in any way. And what are these skills?
 Grip? Does this mean I can hold onto things well?
 [Grip: Ability to hold onto surfaces and objects without letting go, for example, walking on walls]
 The triumphant return of Lord Gandalf! My lord! My savior! Truly your beard is the most luxurious, your eyebrows the most bristly!
 So I have some sort of help system built into the status to explain the skills when I think of them? This is amazing!
 So my grip skill improves my ability to hold onto stuff with my six legs, including walking on walls and the ceiling? I totally forgot ants could do that. I'll have to try it as soon as I get out of here, why would you walk on the floor if you had the option to use the wall or roof?
 What do my other skills do I wonder?
 [Bite: Improves the ability to accurately and forcefully apply a bite using fangs, mandibles or teeth].
 [Digging: Provides sub-conscious guidance when digging to increase efficiency and effectiveness].
 [Acid shot: assists accuracy when attempting to attack from a distance using a natural acid from the body].
 Okaaaaay.
 There are many species of ant on earth that were able to shoot formic acid from their rear zone. I must belong to a monstrous species of formic acid spraying ant then. This could be very helpful, it gives me an option to attack without getting too close to my opponent, a course of action that I think would, at the moment, lead to my instantaneous destruction.
 So I can bite, crawl on the roof, dig and shoot acid? That doesn't seem like a lot of tools to survive in an environment like this.
 What I'm missing most is information. I have no real idea where I am, I have no idea what kind of creatures live in this place other than ants like me and Croca-beasts, I've no idea where the surface is or if the surface even exists in this world. I can't communicate with anything since I'm fairly sure I don't even have vocal chords, so even if I found someone prepared to talk to a monstrous ant, dialogue would be impossible.
 This means if I want any information I'll have to get it myself. Out, in the tunnels.
 Hmmm.
 Scary! That's so scary, Gandalf!
 You want me to go out there with who knows how many unknown horrors as a lone little ant monster?! Madness, madness I say!
 Phew. Came down Anthony, stay cool. Panic will not help this situation in any way. Stay rational, stay cool, stay alive.
 So, the final question is, what can I spend my points on and how?
 [Would you like to spend your skill points?]
 I would! I absolutely would oh wise and magnificent Gandalf, bringer of hope, bringer of light, may your beard be ever fluffy!
 Just like with my status, a window opens within my mind.
 Skill points: 1
 Biomass: 1
 [you can use skill points to purchase new skills or upgrade existing ones]
 [Biomass can be spent to improve or modify aspects of your physical, monstrous form]
 [Skills available to purchase:
 Stealth: cost 1sp, improves your ability to hide and move unseen
 Dash: cost 1sp, Increases speed over short distances but increases stamina drain
 Slashing attack: cost 1 sp, more accurate and powerful slashing attacks
 Chomp: cost 1sp, bites pierce more and are more difficult to shake off
 Tunnel sense: cost 1 sp, improves sense of direction when underground]
 [Body improvements available to purchase:
 
 Exoskeleton +1: harden your exoskeleton to improve resistance to mundane damage
 Mandibles +1: toughen mandibles and improve their ability to pierce
 Legs +1: improve agility
 Eyes +1: improve eyesight
 Antennae +1: increase sensitivity to air current and scent
 Acid gland +1: thicken the concentration of internal acid]
 This is a lot of options! It's very difficult to choose! I have to think logically here.
 Being able to run faster would help be escape my enemies, tunnel sense would make it harder for me to get lost whilst underground, chomp and acid would help me fight more effectively…
 I must prioritise my survival. I can only improve and grow here if I can survive. Taking abilities to help me fight would only be suicide, if I attack a monster I can't defeat then it'll be game over straight away, improving my speed will be a dead end if I run into something that is faster than I am. Without information, how am I supposed to know what creatures I can fight and how fast any of them are?
 As a newly hatched ant worker, I have to assume I am close to the weakest creature here!
 Ok I have made my decision.
 Select, Eyes +1 and Stealth!
 [Would you like to purchase Eyes +1 and the skill: Stealth?]
 Yes, please.
 Immediately I can feel a maddening itch burst over my eyes, like a thousand mosquito bites erupting at once.
 Gaaah!
 Don't do this to me Gandalf! I can't even scratch this itch, I might poke my own eyes out!
 Fortunately it doesn't last for long. After a minute I can feel the itch recede. It's hard to tell if my sight has improved here in my dark hiding place but I definitely feel that my eyes are a bit bigger than they were before.
 So this is body modification? One minute and bam, you have improved from before? This almost seems like cheating. How many hours of effort would a human on Earth have to put in to improve themselves even a little bit? Even then, it isn't like they could do something like improve their eyesight.
 I have to get more of these points! With enough body improvement points I may be able to overcome my natural weakness as a relatively harmless species and live with more security here in these tunnels!
 Why would I select stealth and eyesight improvement you may ask?
 Excellent question!
 If we say that it's too dangerous to assume I can fight anything whilst we also assume it's too dangerous to assume I can run from everything then the only path through which survival can be assured is to not be seen in the first place. If you are seen, you are dead! I have placed my hope in stealth in order to live long enough to learn more about how to survive in this environment!
 As for eyesight… You know, having really terrible eyesight sucks! Being used to human vision, it's super disorienting to switch these pathetic ant eyes! If something isn't moving I can barely see it at all! Remember that ants are a communal species, thousands, tens of thousands of weak individuals combine to create something strong. Each individual ant has terrible senses but when acting together they are difficult to hide from.
 I am alone, however! How am I supposed to survive when I could trip over a dragon which was having a nap?!
 Ridiculous!
 I will make improving my eyesight a priority and I won't stop until I can spot a cockroach twitch through five metres of solid stone.
 Okay.
 I've been hiding here for about half an hour now, with my points spent there is no longer any reason to delay.
 Take courage Anthony, advance forth and explore!
 Very carefully I scrape away at the dirt that I collapsed to enclose myself. Eventually I clear a narrow opening to the tunnel I was born in and poke my antennae through very slightly.
 It feels clear, I can't smell anything and I don't detect any vibrations. Here goes nothing then. Moving quickly now I widen the opening and squeeze myself through. Turning on the spot I can't see anything in either direction, the tunnel stretches into darkness, curving slightly at the edge of my vision.
 The path to my right is where I saw the beast eating my brethren, I'd rather not go that way since I know for certain there are threats in that direction, which leaves me with only one choice: go left.
 Now to initiate the next phase of my plan!
 Very slowly, since I still can't coordinate my six legs very well, I begin to walk towards the wall, then I begin to walk up the wall, then I step onto the roof until finally I am hanging upside down, gripping the roof fiercely with my tiny claws.
 Success! By hugging the roof and moving upside down, combined with my new stealth skill I may have a greater chance of remaining undetected and passing unseen!
 Muahahaha!
 It could just be the blood rushing to my head but suddenly I feel more confident that I did before. Onward Anthony!
 
 Despite my now burning spirit I continue to move cautiously down the tunnel. Using my antennae and front legs to look for solid footholds before gripping hard with my feet and moving forward. This takes a fair bit of concentration so progress is relatively slow but I'm okay with that, every moment that passes without being attacked feels like a small victory to me!
 Now that I can see slightly better I can make a little more sense of some of the details I noticed before. All around the tunnel, twisting and branching like vines are glowing blue lines, like veins running through the rock. Some thicker, some thinner, some so thin they can almost not be seen, splitting and reforming endlessly in a random pattern.
 Every few minutes a pulse flows through the lines, brightening the entire tunnel momentarily as it flashes through. It feels eerily as if the tunnel were alive, but for some reason, the light feels comforting to me, almost energizing.
 Just another thing for me to learn in order to understand in this place.
 Illuminated by the glow of the tunnel I can see my carapace has begun to harden and turn black. I recall from my ant keeping hobby that newborn ants have a soft white exoskeleton which gradually hardens and gains colour. Seems like I was huddling in the wall longer that I thought.
 After an hour of cautious movement, I follow the tunnel around a curve and before me the tunnel walls fall away into a tremendous cavern.
 This is huge! You could fit a few sports fields in here surely?
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 Anthony has been reborn! Placed into the remarkable game-like world of Pangera.
 However, something seems a little off. What’s with these skills? Bite? Dig?
 Wait….
 I’ve been reborn as a WHAT?!
 Follow Anthony as he attempts to adjust to his new life, to survive and grow in his new Dungeon home!
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 Gao Qi, the hunter, ended the hunter’s dream and left the town of Yanan where the blood moon shone.
 But after waking up, what he saw was a white-haired girl carrying a giant sword.
 “A hunter who hunts wild beasts? Outlanders, there are only evils that breed in the bottom sea, and I have to leave here.”
 Starting from Agor, Skadi, a deep-sea hunter who left the nest, and Gaoqi, a hunter from a foreign land, set foot on the land of Terra together.
 Is there a ghost shark imprisoned in Yanfeng City? This is a small fishing village, can you believe the big octopus in the sea?
 Foehn monsters invade the rainforest? Gavier, you are more reckless than Nan’s quack doctor!
 Columbia’s Rhine creatures made Balrogs with little fire dragons? Can you give me a break?
 In the north of Ursus, the newly emerging integration movement encountered the monsters of the snow field.
 In the depths of the Great Flame, the fragments of the gods are quietly waiting for the arrival of outsiders.
 Beneath the earth of Terra, the reverberations of the ancient gods still lurked, and the work of the old hunter could not be stopped.
 Tonight, hunters join a new hunt.
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 twelve years ago. 
 The queen gave birth to a princess, who claimed to be the prince, named Xia Shimin. 
 three years ago. 
 Xia Shimin was established as the prince, and made a marriage contract with the current Taifu’s daughter to stabilize the imperial power. 
 … 
 Zhang Ronghua had traveled through time when she was born, hereditary and hereditary, her roots were straight and her roots were straight, and she was an upright Forbidden Army. He had been in the palace for fifteen years, and his talent would increase a little with each passing day. 
 Seeing that the prince’s wedding was getting closer, he accidentally broke the body of the prince’s daughter. 
 The night of the wedding. 
 Prince: “You can replace the lonely bridal chamber!”
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 Long ago, there were people who stood upon the earth with their heads held high. They never bowed to anyone because of their indomitable spirit. They were capable of controlling wind and lightning, and conquering dragons and serpents. They seemed strong enough to split the earth and shatter the stars with their fists. They traveled throughout the land and called themselves Magi. Eventually, one of them would become a Supreme Magus! These men are the ancestors of human beings. Their blood is what we all share today.
 Qing Long is the former strongest man in the world. He traveled through space and time and was reborn as Ji Hao in the Fire Crow Clan of the Southern Wasteland. It’s a complicated world. Forces from both inside and outside of the clan want this young and talented boy to die. Under great pressure, Ji Hao makes a deal with a mysterious man, who resides in his spiritual space, never showing his real face. He gains two drops of blood from a dragon and phoenix. Afterwards, Ji Hao becomes increasingly more powerful.
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 Seth Evergreen was the greatest scientist of his time. With his insatiable hunger for knowledge and groundbreaking discoveries, he had made Earth reach new heights of prosperity and scientific advancements.
 But everything changed when he stumbled upon the life equation, cracking it and discovering the fabled 'healing factor.'
 Seth believed he had found the key to eternal youth and announced his discovery to the world in the form of a new drug. But then the mutations began. The human body, it seemed, was not meant to be perfect.
 The drug's effects began to spiral out of control, creating monsters out of those who had taken it. After spending 7 years trying to remedy his mistake, he finally gave up and pulled the trigger.
 But when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a world unlike anything he had ever seen before. The world of Gilea, where magic and mana exist, and the strong prey on the weak.
 Determined to complete what he had failed to do in his last life, Seth, now known as Silas Skylark, sets out to become the strongest mage, to take Gilea out of the dark ages and into an age of prosperity and change.
 Unbeknownst to him, the life equation branded itself into his soul, morphing his body and mind into a being with only one goal...
 To evolve!
 But as the shadow of his past looms over him and powerful forces seek to control him, Silas must overcome weaknesses and reach new heights.
 Will he succeed in his quest to bring prosperity and change to this world, or will his past sins come back to haunt him once again?
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 Traveling through the world of elves, Aoyagi's original Pokémon turned out to be an Agumon that could evolve into a Battle Greymon in the future? 
 【Race】Battle Greymon 
 【Classification】Dragonman Pokémon 
 【Attribute】Dragon, Steel 
 [Characteristic] Dragon Beast Buster 
 【Level】70 
 [Exclusive Moves] Gaia Energy Cannon, Battle Tornado, Shield of Courage 
 【Mastered moves】Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, Dragon Dance, Dragon Fury, Dragon Wave, Dragon Meteor, Steel Wing, Iron Wall, Cannon Cannon 
 ... 
 Dragon+steel, exclusive move, the characteristic is still dragon beast nemesis... 
 Qingliu: "If I remember correctly, most of the beasts are dragons, right?" 
 True God-Slaying Warriors——Battle Tyrannosaurus is here! 
 ... 
 ps: The follow-up will not be all Digimon, nor will it be all Pokémon. 
 Tags: Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokémon, Pokémon, Digimon, Digimon
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 The top of the fairy, proud of the world, if there is me Xuanqing, there will be a sky!
 Chu Xuanqing traveled to a world where demons were rampant, joined the Qingtian Sword Gate and bound the treasure box system at the same time, and since then there are treasures everywhere in the world.
 Unlimited treasure chest draws: Ten Thousand Year Cultivation Base, Supreme Sword Body, Peerless Cultivation Technique, Ancient God Tool, Ultimate Elixir.....
 At the time of the great catastrophe in the wasteland, the ancient demons broke the seal and launched the Heavenly Devil Devouring Formation. The entire wasteland was invincible, and at this moment a voice came out that shocked the sky.
 "Back to the clear dream of this Heavenly Emperor, you and other evil heretics will die...!"
 On that day, Chu Xuanqing was furious that the ancient demons buried millions of corpses.
 Since then, the legend of Xuan Heavenly Emperor Chu Xuanqing has been circulating in the heavens and the world!
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 Alan, who had traveled to the Eastern Continent, originally only wanted to be a young master without any worries in his life, but because of family struggles, he was assigned to a remote territory to be the lord. 
 Fortunately, I have the most lord system! 
 What? The auxiliary element selected for the first time turned out to be League of Legends! 
 So first of all, let the heroes of the League of Legends shine in this land!
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 When the Global Intellectual Brain was studying the concept of space, it accidentally opened a channel to many strange worlds, these strange worlds, there are immortals, magic, ninjutsu, black technology…
 
 The world is boiling over, and all major countries want to enter the alien space to collect resources.
 
 In order to be fair, Zhi Brain randomly selects an explorer from each country to enter the strange world, and broadcasts the adventures of each explorer globally.
 
 As an explorer of the Dragon Kingdom, Luo Hang looked at each place called the strange world with a dazed expression.
 
 These so-called strange worlds, aren’t they just the many films and TV dramas that I have watched in my previous life?
 
 While other explorers were still groping to search for cheats and treasures.
 
 Luo Hang has gotten soft…
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 A person cut down the road of life in troubled times.
 Zombie: Roar.
 Lin Fan: “Everyone is a neighbor, so why are you so irritable?”
 Lin Fan: “I still have to go grocery shopping.”
 Lin Fan looked at Xiaoqing who had turned into a zombie: “Xiaoqing, I bought a few bottles of water and have already scanned the code.”
 Lin Fan: “Boss, I want to settle the salary.”
 Sunshine Community, where Lin Fan lives, countless refugees flocked to seek shelter.
 We have to learn from Lin Fan, abide by the law, work part-time to earn money, strive to buy a house and a car, and be an excellent citizen in a city where zombies are rampant.
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 Su Han, who traveled through, awakened the power of the magic net, and could deduce everything based on calculation power.
 But how can only one person's computing power quickly become a god in this era of mysterious recovery?
 He immediately decided to link all human beings, become the master of the magic net, and accept all human beings for his own use.
 But just the day after he ordered the first batch of magic net members, a woman who claimed to be a reborn came to him.
 Ye Mengyao: "Su Han, the world needs you!"
 Su Han:? ? ?
 &nbsp;…
 My name is Ye Mengyao, the daughter of the richest man in Jiangnan Province of Great Xia Kingdom. I have another identity, from the person in charge of Jiang City ten years later.
 I was born again and went back to the past.
 At this time, it has only been half a month since countless cracks in the world appeared, and the spiritual energy has recovered, and countless people have awakened their abilities. Everyone thinks that this is an era of the rise of human beings.
 But I know that in the future, human beings will be in jeopardy under the threat of monsters and monsters.
 So, I want to find Su Han, that man who is like a god!
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 Alien civilization invaded, global psionics recovered, and a game against alien civilization was born…
 What? All transactions in the game can only use psionic coins?
 Can’t you quickly increase your strength without burning a lot of money?
 Su Yu smiled while standing beside the world’s largest psionic spring.
 I have tens of billions of psionic coins! Are you scared?
 …
 Ps: There are already 1.6 million words of the old book, and the credibility is guaranteed.
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 Lin Xinghe, who used to be the villain of a Mary Sue novel, received an acceptance letter from the Modern Era Department of the Villain School.
 On the first day of school, her deskmate told her-
 “Every new villain that comes here thinks that they’re f*cking amazing. At best, Modern villains like us know how to earn money through murder and cause trouble for the male and female leads.”
 “Whatever you do, don’t provoke the Western Fantasy Department. Before coming here to reform, those big brothers would wipe out half the world with a snap of their fingers.”
 “Also, don’t hang out with students from the Ancient Era Department. Those villains are always conspiring to overthrow the throne and become principal.”
 “And you absolutely cannot have any fantasies about the Xian Xia Department’s grass, Xie Wuan! That! Guy! Is! A! Big! Pervert!” (1)
 Soon after.
 Lin Xinghe’s deskmate saw the big brother from the Fantasy Department using his fire magic to dry clothes for Lin Xinghe. The big brother from the Ancient Era Department had Lin Xinghe’s cat lying on his shoulder and the grass of the Xian Xia Department was placing vegetables into Lin Xinghe’s bowl.
 Lin Xinghe’s deskmate: …
 Footnotes: 
 (1) Grass: recognized as the most handsome and attractive boy
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Chrysalis

Chapter 2: Coming to grips

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Chrysalis

Chapter 2: Coming to grips

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