Learning Lots
'Evolution is now possible. Would you like to begin Evolutionary Metamorphosis?'
"Yes!" I thought, anticipation bubbling up in my stomach, "Begin Evolution!"
'Very well. I will now put you into a special cocoon to protect you as you go through the process of Evolutionary Metamorphosis.'
As she spoke, thin fibers appeared out of the air and wrapped around me, weaving together into a seamless mesh. Before I knew it, I was enclosed in a tiny cocoon, the walls mere millimeters from my skin.
'Would you like to see an Evolutionary Summary, detailing what Experience you have, and what effects it will have on your evolution?'
"Oh, yes please. Thanks Guide," I replied.
'You are very welcome. Here is the Summary.'
Right in my mind's eye, a glowing white rectangle appeared.
######
EVOLUTIONARY SUMMARY
Earth Experience: [C] 51 Points
Effects: 5.1% Increase in Physical Defense. 5.1% Increased Movement Speed Underground
Wood Experience: [UC] 24 Points
Effects: Increased Ease of Ingesting Fibrous Materials.
Consumption Experience: [UR] 25 Points
Effects: 25% Increase in Consumption Speed. Structural Changes to Aid in Consumption. Innate Sense of Edibility Gained.
######
"Hey Guide, what are these letters in brackets?" I asked.
'Those letters symbolize rarity of the Experience based on how easy it is to obtain and how common sources of it are, relative to your current form. There are 4 ranks: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Ultra Rare. They correspond to [C], [UC], [R], and [UR] respectively. As rarity increases, each point provides more benefit, and the point threshold for getting additional benefits decreases.'
"Man, this stuff is getting kinda complicated," I joked, "Anyway, am I evolving right now? I don't feel any different."
'No, the process as not started yet. Would you like to begin?'
"Yes, please!" I cheer. At last, I can rank up from being a worm!
'Processing... Constructing... Engaging.'
Once Guide finished speaking, a wave of warmth covered me. An odd prickly sensation then followed, and suddenly, my worm body melted into a puddle of liquid. I didn't have enough nerve endings to feel it, but the feeling of embodying a puddle was very weird.
Suddenly, there came a "Ding!" Another screen appeared in my mind's eye.
######
***Notice***
You have completed 2 Hidden Objectives:
1. Gain 3 different categories of experience for the first Evolution.
Reward: Minor "Synthesis" Type Magic Granted.
2. Gain an appreciable amount of [UR] rank Experience.
Reward: Increase all benefits gained by 50%
######
"Wha- Magic?" I gasped, "Hey Guide, where are we right now?"
'We are currently on the planet designated as World 10-SDM, colloquially known as Gravidous. I apologize, I assumed you realized that you are no longer on Earth. I will explain more once your evolution ends. The Reconstruction Phase is about to begin, so you're almost done.'
"Reconstruction? Does tha- AH! AHAHA!" I tried to say. However, my liquid body suddenly surged up and started to form into something solid, which, for some reason, felt like someone was tickling me and scratching me at the same time. It was uncomfortable to say the least.
Luckily, it didn't last long. With a loud crackle, I burst out of the cocoon, mentally heaving for breath.
"That felt terrible! Will it be like that every time?" I complained.
'The more changes that are made, the more... sensually overwhelming it becomes.'
"Aw come on!" I grumbled. Suddenly, I realized something and gasped, "Hey! I look really different."
Twisting and wriggling, I looked myself over. I was now twice as big as I was before, becoming a full foot in length, and almost half an inch in thickness. I had stripes of green and brown on my skin. My skin had turned a light beige-ish color that looked like tea or coffee with lots of milk in it. The most striking change was my mouth. I used to have a tiny little hole on my face through which I could pull bits of food. Now, though, I had something that almost resembled an ant's pincers.
"I look really different," I said to myself, snapping my mandibles at the air, "I'm not an earthworm anymore, am I?"
'Yes, you are no longer an earthworm. You are a species that has never existed in this world before.'
"Wait really? I'm totally unique? Nice! Can I name myself?" I gasped. I figured that I would be special, but anticipation didn't dull the excitement at all.
'Certainly. What would you like to call this form?'
"How about... a Mini Earth Wyrm, with a Y?" I suggested. I figured it would be funny to call myself a wyrm, even though I was just a big worm with a weird mouth.
'That sounds fine. Your form is now entitled the Mini Earth Wyrm.'
With a big mental smile, I snapped at the cocoon I had just left behind. To my surprise, the fairly thick material tore easily. I swallowed the piece and my mental smile grew bigger, thinking, "Must be that buff to eating fibrous material."
'You have gained 1 Magic Experience. 199 more points until Evolution is possible.'
"Oh, I need more points this time? Actually, that sounds about right. I can't get the really good rewards if it only takes 100 points to evolve every time," I muttered, my mandibles clacking, "Anyway, Guide, can you tell me more about this world?"
'Certainly. As I said before, this is Gravidous. It's roughly the same size as Earth, and its technology is roughly at the level of Earth's medieval time period, although due to the existence of magic, certain aspects of it are different. It's generally what you might think of when you say "high fantasy."
'There are three continents. The biggest is the one we are on right now, Sharae, and it is split into 3 countries, Aetho in the north, Henuti in the south, and Jerin in the east. The second continent, Nithil, is off to the east, across the Levatim Ocean. That one has 16 small countries at the moment, but due to the constant territory wars, the number of countries and the names of them change fairly often. The third and last one is southwest of us, in the middle of the Chaost Ocean. It's called Puchoe, and it has very few humans on it due to its harsh conditions and high density of monsters.
'At the moment, we are in the Dorma Forest, a well-forested area in the southern region of Aetho. The Tenti Mountains, which separate Aetho from Jerin and Henuti, are about 50 miles south of us, and the human town of Olov is a good 40 miles northeast. This forest has a decent amount of resources, but the mild monster presence means not many people come this deep in. However, you might encounter some hunters or adventurers every now and then since the monster presence I mentioned merely extends to some slimes and goblins spread throughout the forest.'
I listened carefully to everything Evolution Guide told me, quietly absorbing all of the information. It was a lot, so I decided to just try to remember the stuff that applied to me.
"So... I'm in Dorma Forest in Aetho, there are some monsters, and there are some humans. That works for me!" I decided. I glanced down at the cocoon and started munching on it, gathering some more mysterious Magic Experience.
"Hey Guide? What does this Magic Experience get me?" I asked, looking speculatively at my broken cocoon.
'You currently have 11 Magic Experience. In your next form, you will gain the ability to sense the magic, or Mana, in the air. You will also gain basic skills in controlling it to cast spells.'
"Seriously?! All that from eating a cocoon? What rank rarity is Magic Experience? Ultra Rare?" I asked, hurriedly taking another bite of the cocoon.
'Magic Experience is indeed Ultra Rare at the moment. It is very difficult for you to obtain in this form, and besides this cocoon, the likelihood of you obtaining more is less than .1%.'
"Wait a sec," I said, eating the last scrap of my cocoon and reaching 21 points of Magic Experience, "If Magic Experience is so difficult to get and is thus Ultra Rare, why was Consumption Experience so easy to get, and was still called Ultra Rare?"
'For that, it was not based on abundance of sources. It was due to to the theoretical difficulty in unlocking it. It requires unusual behavior and extra effort, two things that make it unlikely for you to just stumble upon it while doing normal things. If you had just decided to be patient and slowly grind up your Earth Experience one point at a time, you would never have obtained any Consumption Experience.'
"I see. Actions really do have consequences now, don't they?" I thought to myself. Suddenly, I heard a quiet rustle off to the side, and the grass parted...