Chapter 5: The Build up

Emerging from the hole, Asumi was greeted by a vast landscape teeming with vegetation, the morning sun casting its warm glow across the horizon. Enchanted by the view, Asumi took in the sight of swaying grass and towering trees, accompanied by a gentle breeze that carried the refreshing scent of green vegetation through the air.

As he surveyed his surroundings, Asumi noticed the other survivors gathered before him, their gazes fixed upon him as the last to emerge victorious from the brutal food selection. Among them were the faces of the beetle larvae who had pushed him off the heap during his struggle for survival, glaring back at him with hostility.

"Hmm, there are quite a lot of odd faces. I'd better blend into the background," Asumi mused, determined to avoid unnecessary attention.

Moving to the side of the hole, Asumi was congratulated by the System. "[System: Congratulations, host, on surviving the insect natural selection. The daily quest will now be issued shortly]," it announced.

Spotting the beetle larvae who had boldly claimed the food for himself, Asumi felt compelled to speak with him. Approaching cautiously, he pondered how to communicate until he noticed some others snapping their mandibles. Intrigued, Asumi decided to try it himself.

Walking past a few individuals, Asumi encountered the beetle larva and snapped his mandibles once. The beetle larvae mimicked the action, turned and looked at him, snapping his mandibles in response.

"Wow, he actually understands me. Hmm, let me try this," Asumi thought, intrigued by the possibility of communication through this simple gesture.

Asumi snapped his mandibles three times, indicating, "How are you?" The beetle responded with a single snap, signaling that he was fine.

Curious, Asumi asked, "Can you tell me a bit about the important ones?" The beetle larva nodded in agreement, asking, "Sure, what would you like to know?"

Asumi snapped his mandibles four times, expressing, "Just a bit, really." In response, the beetle larvae began to share what he knew about each individual.

"You see ___ three over there, ___ leader is the one in __ center. ___ are the ones ___ came out ___ before you," the beetle larva explained. Asumi made eye contact with the trio, noting their continued hostility towards him.

As the beetle larva continued speaking, Asumi strained to hear every word, although some details eluded him. Nonetheless, he managed to catch most of the information being shared.

Next up __ that guy." Asumi turned to look at the beetle larvae with a tired expression. "They say he got __ desperate he went __ get __ food __ hanging near __ roof."

Asumi mused "Yeah, I saw him before. He's tough, that's for sure."

"___ there's __ chin group. Those guys __ amazing," the beetle larvae continued, nodding in agreement. "__ leader managed __ round up _ group and ___ a territory while everyone __ was looking __ food." Asumi gulped down saliva, impressed by their resourcefulness. "Talk about savage," he mused quietly.

"___ next __ is him. He __ the one __ came __ second. No __ knows how he did __," the beetle larvae explained. Asumi turned to look at the beetle larva's face, intrigued by the mystery. "Hmm, talk about a ghost" he remarked thoughtfully.

"__ the best __ them all __ me, Gooper. I __ first," the beetle larva boasted proudly. Curious, Asumi asked, "Is that your name?" snapping his mandibles. The beetle larva replied, "No, it's __ what everyone calls __."

Then Asumi asked him, snapping his mandibles, "So, by the way, what made you take the food when everyone was watching?" Gooper responded, snapping his mandibles, "_ don't know, _ guess ___ still hungry and _ don't care __ they think. Gooper is Guper."

Asumi felt respect from those words.

As they started going their separate ways, Asumi decided to follow Gooper.

While they were walking a few steps, the System showed Asumi the update.

[System: Host Daily Quest is now available]

Asumi looked at the System window displaying the Daily quest.

[Walk 10m. 0/10]

[Pebble push. 0/10]

[Take 100 Bites from a Food source. 0/100]

Asumi mused, "Hmm, this shouldn't be hard. Let's start with walking," as he continued on with Gooper, traversing the moist soil slightly away from the area of the hole, now in a lighter environment.

Next to Gooper, Asumi questioned him as they moved under the grass, "So, is there anything you like?"

Gooper ignored him, prompting Asumi to think, "Hmm I wonder where he is going." Asumi then focused on the System window as the Walk quest number went up.

[Walk 10m. 1.2/10]

Then suddenly, Gooper stooped, prompting Asumi to look back at him and question, snapping his mandibles, "Hey, why did you stop?" Gooper replied simply, "Food."

Asumi, inside the dense vegetation, spotted a grass that Gooper liked. It was tall with nice roots under the soil.

Gooper moved close to it and started digging a hole under it, while Asumi, on the outside, looked at the grass in front of him and mused, "How the hell am I supposed to complete this quest if we stop now?"

Looking around at the attractive green grass, Asumi was struck with an idea.

He got close to the stems of other grass plants near the one they were using, opened his mandibles, and started biting at the grass stems. Taking his first bite out of a grass stem, he pulled out his mandibles, chewed before he swallowed, and complained, "Yuck, the taste is so mild. I prefer whatever it was at the hole."

Asumi slowly used his legs to remove the sap on his mandibles, musing, "Ugh, that's not going to stop me." He then continued persevering through the unpleasant taste, with each bite making his taste buds scream in agony, cutting down all the grass stems and pushing them a way.

A couple of hours later, the sun now in the middle of the sky casting its warm glow, Asumi finally finished his project. He mused, "All done. Yuck, my poor taste buds, but it was worth it."

Stepping back, Asumi admired what he had just created: a racetrack encircling the grass they were in. Feeling tired from all his hard work, he mused, "It's perfect." Then, he turned and looked at the System window.

[Walk 10m. 1.3/10]

[Take 100 Bites from a Food source 100/100]

[Pebble push 10/10]

Surprised at his progress, Asumi mused, "Nice, almost done. Time for a short break."

He then went into the hole Gooper was making to take a nap.