Chapter 4: It’s a Thief

I did it. 

I evolved again.

From a ragged patchwork bear to a regular teddy bear.

And now—from a regular teddy bear to a Brown Bear Plushie.

【Brown Bear Plushie Lv.1】

┗ Power: 1 (+1)

┗ Rank: Normal

【Skills】

[Helper Lv.1], [Evolution Lv.1], [Action Lv.2]

No additional power boost this time.

No new skills either.

Instead, my Action skill leveled up by one stage.

Thanks to that, I use less mana when I move now. 

I also felt a bit more nimble—though that might just be in my head.

Hmm… hard to say whether this was a win or a loss.

Is it better to gain one point of Power, or to level up a skill?

I really have no idea.

More importantly—what exactly changed about my appearance?

I activated the Helper skill and took a good look at myself again.

The last time I evolved, the difference was dramatic.

From a decaying rag-doll to a fluffy, freshly-washed plushie. 

I’d looked like I’d just gone through five intense laundry cycles.

This time, the change was there—but far subtler.

My fur’s brown tone was a bit richer, a bit deeper.

Would “fur” even be the right word here? 

Is it technically skin? 

Who knows.

Anyway, the change was so minor you’d miss it if you weren’t looking closely.

That’s enough for the beauty check.

Next up: let’s see if I can finally break through my limit.

When I evolved into a teddy bear last time, I was still not eligible for a limit break. 

Maybe things have changed now that I’m a Brown Bear Plushie?

┗ Rank: Normal (Limit Break Not Available)

Nope. 

Still the same.

Is it just not possible for me to ever reach the next stage?

…No. It’s too early to make that call.

I’ve only evolved twice so far.

I’ll need to try evolving dozens more times before jumping to conclusions.

The word “quit” doesn’t exist in my dictionary.

I’ll level up again. 

I’ll evolve again.

I’ll keep going.

Oh, right—how could I forget the most important change?

Up until just a few moments ago, I was a one-armed bear.

That bastard Woorami bit off one of my arms during our last encounter.

But now? 

I had both arms again.

They’d regrown through the evolution process.

It seems like injuries from my old form don’t carry over when I evolve into a new species.

That gives me an idea.

If I ever suffer a serious injury in the future, I might be able to recover simply by evolving.

The more I learn about this skill, the more broken it seems.

But first things first: I had a job to do.

I needed to absorb more mana.

A living creature needs a steady supply of mana to survive.

And I had no intention of going back to being just a limp, lifeless plushie.

So then—how do I absorb mana?

Simple.

I just need to eat mana stones.

Mana stones increase both my mana and my level—two birds with one stone.

Where do I find them? 

No clue.

There might be other ways, though.

Thinking back to what Tiger said, I might also gain mana by consuming other living creatures that contain mana.

No guarantees, but it’s worth a try.

Let’s test it out.

I can’t go chasing after mana stones I don’t even know how to find.

Of course, I’m not planning on doing any hunting myself.

Even after two evolutions, I’m still weak.

But I don’t need to hunt.

Why fight when I can just steal someone else’s kill?

Call it what you want—cowardly, sneaky… I call it strategic survival for the weak like me.

Alright, I’ve got a plan.

Now it’s time to move.

Splat.

I dropped flat onto the ground.

Then, like a worm, I started inching forward on my belly.

A stealthy crawl to avoid drawing attention from predators.

Slow, yes. 

But that’s fine.

I didn’t plan to go far anyway. 

I was just going to scout the area nearby.

Ah—this path leads toward where I met Tiger before.

Better change course.

Wriggle, twist—I turned in a new direction and pressed on.

After a while…

“Kiik.”

“Kiiiii!”

“Kii, kiiii.”

Oh. Bugs.

Big ones, too.

They looked like ants, but they were about the same size as me.

Just from appearance, I could tell—these weren’t ordinary insects.

They were monsters.

【Thunder Ant Lv.15】

┗ Power: 30

┗ Rank: Uncommon

【Thunder Ant Lv.11】

┗ Power: 22

┗ Rank: Uncommon

【Thunder Ant Lv.12】

┗ Power: 24

┗ Rank: Uncommon

Thunder Ants?

Do they… shoot lightning or something?

Magic ants? 

Really?

Their rank was Uncommon.

I really am worse than a bug, huh?

Still—do they have mana in their bodies?

How can I even detect mana, anyway?

I tilted my head.

Was it just… intuition?

Tiger made it sound like everyone could sense mana if they just tried.

Hmm…

Well, I can feel the mana flowing inside me.

Maybe I just need to tune into that same kind of energy from others?

Just as I thought that, a familiar energy radiated from the ants’ bodies.

There it was—that subtle hum of mana.

Ahhh. 

So this is what Tiger meant.

Once you know what to look for, you can sense it easily.

Perfect.

That settles it.

You ants will be my first prey.

You had mana—and now you’ll pay for it!

…Is what I would say if I were actually strong.

Unfortunately, I’m a weakling.

I can’t take on even one of them, let alone three.

I was sulking, watching them from the bushes, when I noticed something odd.

Wait—what’s that between them?

I craned my neck farther from my hiding spot.

A corpse.

There was a corpse between the ants—and it was emanating mana as well.

I tried scanning it, but perhaps due to my low Helper skill level (or maybe that’s just how it is with dead things), I couldn’t get any info.

“Kiik.”

“Kiiiii.”

“Kii, kiiii.”

The ants were chittering to each other, then they began tearing into the corpse.

So that’s their catch, huh?

Couldn’t they share a little?

Sadly, my silent wish went unanswered.

The ants dug in, enjoying a lovely meal all to themselves.

I didn’t move a muscle—just stayed hidden in the underbrush, watching.

Waiting.

Waiting for the perfect chance to steal that corpse and make a run for it.

Time ticked by slowly as I lay in wait…

The three ant brothers were still eating.

Geez, how long are they going to keep munching?

I stared at them, a knot of worry forming in my chest. 

Don’t tell me they’re going to finish everything? 

I was getting anxious—what if they didn’t leave anything for me?

“Kiii?”

“Kii!”

Two of the ants suddenly stopped eating. 

Then, without a word, they scurried off somewhere in a hurry.

What’s up with them? 

Bathroom emergency?

Whatever the reason, it was the perfect opportunity.

Now there was only one left.

If I could just distract that one, I could make off with the corpse. 

But the problem was… how?

“Kii.”

Wait… is this divine intervention?

Maybe I wouldn’t need to distract it at all.

The last ant stopped eating as well. 

Instead of guarding the corpse, it moved a short distance away, curled up, and buried its head in its body.

It looked like it was trying to take a nap.

What luck!

Maybe it was planning to wait until its friends came back so they could continue eating together. 

For an ant, it seemed surprisingly loyal—passing up a chance to hog the meal all for itself.

Still, I didn’t move right away.

I needed to be sure it was really asleep. 

That would take time. I waited, and waited some more, with the patience of a saint.

I waited until I could hear it snoring.

For the record, Thunder Ants had big hooked noses—kind of like a hawk’s beak—and long, wiry nostril hairs that stretched out like antennas. 

They were probably the actual feelers of their species.

And no, I’m not making fun of how it looked.

I had my own ugly days, back when I was a raggedy, stitched-up teddy bear. 

These days, I’m soft and fluffy, thank you very much.

Anyway, when’s this guy going to start snoring?

What if it wasn’t the snoring type?

That’d be a problem. 

I wouldn’t know when it had actually fallen asleep.

Please… just give me something. 

A snore. 

A breath. 

Anything.

“Kiieeeeee…”

YES! That’s it!

There it was—a definite snore!

Now’s my chance!

Wriggling low to the ground, I crept forward as fast as I could.

Wriggle wriggle wriggle wriggle—

I reached the corpse faster than expected.

On my left, the mysterious body.

On my right, the peacefully snoring Thunder Ant.

I stood up carefully and gave a polite nod toward the sleeping ant.

Pleasure to meet you. 

I’m your friendly neighborhood thief.

Then I turned away and approached the corpse.

It had been split into two parts—one large chunk that the ants hadn’t touched yet, and a smaller one they’d already gnawed on.

Maybe I should be greedy… just a little.

I spread my arms wide and tried to hug the larger chunk.

“Hnnngh! Nghhh—!”

…

“Ngggghhhh!”

…

Ugh… I can’t lift it.

Way too heavy.

I could probably drag it, but that’d risk making noise. 

The last thing I needed was to get caught mid-theft.

No choice, then.

With a sigh of regret, I picked up the smaller chunk. 

Light as a feather. 

Easy to carry.

Alright. 

Now…

RUN AWAAAAAAY!!

My stubby legs pumped at full speed as I dashed away like my life depended on it.

***

There was a single boxwood tree standing tall.

I made it back to my safe place beneath it, without incident. 

The mysterious corpse was still with me, intact.

Mission complete!

Huff, huff… guh-yehhhk!

I wasn’t really out of breath—stuffed animals don’t breathe—but I still faked a dramatic wheeze to express just how hard I’d worked escaping with my prize.

Honestly, I was amazed at myself.

Fearless. 

Bold. 

Daring.

I’d just pulled off a heist worthy of legend. 

If there were awards for this kind of thing, I deserved a trophy, or at least some praise.

…Nothing?

Tch. 

Whatever.

Shaking off the disappointment, I looked down at the corpse I’d risked my life to steal.

It had to be some kind of monster. I could still sense traces of mana clinging to it.

Now I could finally test it—

Whether I could absorb mana by eating a mana-infused creature.

Let’s try a bite, shall we?

Aaaah—chomp.

munch munch

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[Mana absorption in progress.]

[Achievement unlocked: ‘The Slumbering Hunger Awakens by Free Will’.]

[Skill acquired: 「Consume Lv.1」]