I'm Only Half a Butterfly

Why is this locked?

It shouldn't be locked.

Do you have any idea how hard I fought just to evolve?

If you knew, you wouldn't do this to me!

"Gweeeek!"

My mournful cry echoed across the clearing where I had just fought a life-or-death battle with the rat.

I never imagined the evolution would be locked.

What kind of sick joke is it to show me I can evolve, only to lock it away?

If it was going to be locked, they shouldn't have shown it to me in the first place.

This just means I have no choice but to meet the conditions somehow.

The two options presented made it even more imperative that I meet those conditions.

I couldn't possibly evolve into a worm, and the locked option was the butterfly path.

There was no way I was going to choose a worm when the butterfly path I wanted so badly was right there.

What if I chose the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worm and ended up unable to evolve into a fairy?

I absolutely had to evolve into the Wing-Bud Blood Butterfly.

Let's see what the conditions are.

It wouldn't just hide the conditions from me.

The status window attached to me was actually quite kind.

It would tell me how to evolve properly.

Well, it really is kind enough to explain.

The status window had explained both the meaning of the "wing-bud" prefix and the evolution requirements.

I couldn't believe I hadn't met the minimum level requirement yet.

It made sense that it appeared as an option, since it was clearly the next stage after the Blood Caterpillar.

The problem was likely that a normal Blood Caterpillar wasn't supposed to be at such a low level.

If my guess was correct, a Blood Caterpillar was a rare evolution that only occurred under specific conditions before a normal caterpillar evolved into various insectoid monsters.

Therefore, it meant I had to meet a minimum level requirement to proceed.

Sigh.

I let out a deep sigh and wiggled my way up the tree.

Time to sleep. I'll hunt again tomorrow.

I had already spent all my energy fighting the rat.

Even though my physical fatigue had been completely restored thanks to the level-up, my mental exhaustion was a different story.

What a waste... Maybe I should have held back a little.

On my way up, I looked back at the rat, which lay collapsed with its insides completely melted.

First the baby crow, and now this—why did I keep melting the meat so badly that I couldn't even eat it?

Then again, if I had actually held back, I might have died.

How could a wild forest rat be that strong?

I was terrified that we'd end up taking each other down. If the rat had even a little bit of energy left, I would have been in deep trouble.

It's in the past. I'll do better next time.

Once my Spit level and proficiency went up, hunting would become much easier and safer.

If I could afford to be precise, I could melt its legs first, then bite it to finish it off.

If I could manage that, I'd finally get to eat some meat.

Let's get some sleep and hunt hard tomorrow.

Settling into a cozy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hollow in the tree trunk, I closed my eyes for the night.

I prayed that I could reach the next evolution within three days.

Finally, I'm here.

On ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the fifth day after defeating the rat, I finally met the evolution requirement.

I had wanted to finish in three days, but it had stretched to five.

Still, completing it safely was what mattered.

Time to evolve.

I chose to evolve without a moment's hesitation.

I had already waited long enough. I didn't want to wait a second longer.

Oh. I feel something growing.

Unlike when I became a Blood Caterpillar, I could clearly feel my body changing.

During my first evolution, I had just gotten a bit plumper, but this time, my body grew sleeker, and I felt a strange sensation on my back.

It felt like something had sprouted—something I couldn't quite move yet.

They felt like butterfly wings, which meant I probably needed to practice moving them.

But wait, didn't it say I couldn't fly anyway?

According to the description, I couldn't do anything other than glide for brief moments.

So I was still a pedestrian until my next evolution?

I thought I was finally going to stop crawling, but I guess I still had a long way to go.

Still, I should practice moving them...

Even if I couldn't use them properly yet, I decided to practice.

I had no idea how long it would take to reach the next evolution, and if I didn't practice now, I might end up wasting time learning how to flap them only after I fully evolved.

I strained to move the strange new appendages on my back.

I tried imagining flexing my shoulder blades, and I tried wiggling my back side to side.

How on earth do I move these things?

Despite my arduous efforts, the wings didn't budge at all.

I had absolutely no idea how to control them.

Even human babies instinctively know how to use their limbs. Since I was a butterfly, shouldn't I instinctively know how to use my wings?

Is it because I used to be human? Maybe my human brain just can't comprehend how to operate an organ like wings.

This time, instead of blindly trying to move them, I focused on feeling whether my senses were properly connected to the wings.

As I concentrated all my nerves on my back, I felt the wings sway slightly in the gentle breeze.

The connection was there.

I just had to control this sensation.

When humans use their arms, they don't just tense their shoulders or elbows to move. They control the entire arm as one.

I needed to control the wings as a whole, moving them simultaneously.

Flutter.

Oh!

"Gwek!"

When I tried again with deep focus, the wings twitched ever so slightly.

Compared to the beginning, when I couldn't even grasp the concept, this was a massive leap forward.

Regardless of how small it was, I had moved my wings.

I had to keep practicing until I could move them without thinking.

That way, when I finally unfurled my wings completely, I could fly safely.

I couldn't bear the thought of becoming a butterfly only to crash-land embarrassingly.

That would be like a grown adult falling off a kid's bicycle because they didn't know how to use the brakes.

Wait, but what happens to my next evolution now?

While practicing my wing movements, a sudden question popped into my head.

I had gained enough levels for the next evolution without actually evolving yet.

In a case like this, does the next evolution disappear, or do I get to evolve twice in a row?

The answer was always in the status window.

What is this? It's useless.

"Gweeeek."

This time, three evolutions appeared.

Granted, one was a duplicate and the other two were locked.

Still, I should be grateful that I had three choices.

It meant I wouldn't be forced to choose the worm due to a lack of options.

But why does it keep offering me the worm? I'm not going to be a worm.

Since becoming a worm was out of the question, my path naturally split between the Weak Blood Moth and the Weak Blood Butterfly.

However, I couldn't evolve into either of them right now.

What are their requirements this time?

As I thought, my level is too low.

I had suspected as much ever since I saw they were locked.

I was still too weak to become a Blood Butterfly.

Seeing that the minimum level requirement was 20, a normal caterpillar probably wouldn't evolve into a Blood Caterpillar until it was well past level 15.

I had achieved it before even reaching level 5, which was why my evolution path was getting bottlenecked like this.

Let's look on the bright side. It's like getting a sneak peek at my next evolution.

Since I couldn't evolve right now anyway, I decided to spin it positively.

I was just getting a preview of my next stage.

In a way, that was exactly what it was.

Thinking 'Oh, I get to see my next evolution ahead of time and look forward to it!' was much better for my mental health than whining 'Ugh, I can't evolve.'

I'd just pretend those five days of leveling up never happened.

As if I could do that! My precious levels! But it's not like I can choose the worm, either.

The worm option constantly staring back at me from the list was driving me crazy.

It felt like it was tempting me, whispering that my life would be so much easier if I just chose it once.

But I would never become a worm.

I was going to be a fairy.

Since I had made up my mind, I was absolutely going to become a fairy.

To do that, I had to level up again.

What a pain.

"Move it, quickly."

"Hey. Are you sure we're allowed to be in here?"

"There's nothing here anyway. It's just crawling with bugs. What are you so scared of?"

"Ah, damn it. Whatever. Let's just get it done."

"Yeah. It's simple. We just drop it in front of that bastard's territory and get out."

Two men wearing masks ran through the quiet forest, carrying a heavy sack.

They moved with urgency, as if trying to complete their task as quickly as possible without being seen.

"Over there."

"Drop it and let's go. It won't wake up for at least a week anyway."

"We just need to get our money and flee the country."

Arriving in front of a certain tree, the man dumped the sack on the ground as if throwing it, and then they both sprinted back the way they came.

The forest regained its silence after the men departed.

Except for the sack, which twitched as if containing a living soul.