Because System had already completed his third metamorphosis, which was equivalent to a second pupation, even if he completed the first two pupations, his body wouldn't change much.

  Fortunately, he only had to go through this process once. His first and second pupations would be combined into one. Once he completed this process, he could truly be considered an insect with the [Pupation] talent.

  ...

  The itching sensation all over his body quickly turned into a slight pain. System's thirty tentacles began to fil uncontrolbly as if they were in a state of confusion. Some tentacles even got tangled up with each other and ended up getting tied into a knot that System couldn't untie.

  This process didn't st very long, as System's tentacles gradually softened, then slowly retracted back inside into his body.

  The gnds in his throat that should have secreted [Corrosive Mucus] instead secreted a strange liquid. This liquid was as active as [Corrosive Mucus], and it flowed out of his mouth, then crawled all over his body.

  This strange liquid caused an unusual reaction when it touched his epidermis and exoskeleton. It seemed capable of melting every part of his body.

  System's vision soon grew dark as his eyes melted. At the same time, his antennae also melted, and he could no longer detect any sound from the outside world.

  His body seemed to have turned into a pile of soft and sticky slime that was wrapped in a hard shell composed of some unknown material, and he was oozing back and forth inside like glue.

  'Is this the pupal state? It really doesn't feel very good...'

  Just as he'd seen happen to other ants and butterflies such as Shava, after System turned into a pupa, his mind became dizzy. It seemed to have turned into a ball of glue just like his body.

  System felt like he was drunk. His body was mixing around inside the pupa, making his mind grow more and more confused.

  He felt like he'd turned into a vortex of slime, and he controlled the slime that his body had turned into, making himself spin around and around inside the pupa.

  The more System exerted his strength, the more dizzy he became, and the more dizzy he became, the more his confused mind wanted to make his body spin...

  ...

  It only took a few minutes for System to transform into a giant pupa thirty-five centimeters long.

  Unlike ordinary insect pupae, this one didn't stay still. It first started rocking back and forth on the ground irregurly, then suddenly started spinning like a gyroscope.

  The huge gray pupa spun in pce for nearly an hour before it finally calmed down and seemed to fall asleep.

  Meanwhile, in another chamber not far from the one that contained System's pupa, a small and lumpy piece of flesh started twitching slightly.

  Over the course of roughly ten minutes, the flesh slowly transformed into a small meatball with a smooth and even surface.

  The ball of flesh trembled slightly, and a small flesh bud gradually sprouted from it, which looked somewhat simir to System's tentacles. This flesh bud grew to a length of about three centimeters and started filing around, as if it was exploring the meatball's surroundings.

  The bud eventually retracted back into the small meatball's body, but another tiny bud soon popped out and also began flopping around.

  The first time the meatball had grown a flesh bud, there hadn't been anybody around to witness it. However, the second time, Bck happened to witness its actions.

  System had told Bck not to steal the core flesh and blood from the meatball.

  Bck was naturally absolutely obedient to the king. She'd decided to take a look at the meatball's core purely out of curiosity. She wanted to see what was so unusual about the piece of meat that the king had recently been studying.

  Bck watched the flesh bud waving around, then moved forward and poked it with one of her forelegs.

  As her leg touched the bud, the bud quickly retracted back into the little meatball's body as if it had been frightened. Bck waited for a long time, but the bud didn't grow back out again.

  However, not long after Bck left, a little flesh bud popped out of the meatball again.

  ...

  After waking up, System felt like he was locked in an extremely dark and narrow room. He couldn't stretch his body at all, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

  After a long time, he remembered that he'd suddenly and unexpectedly turned into a pupa, after which he'd fallen asleep.

  System felt like he'd been sleeping for a long time, and the feeling was so strong that he even suspected that his pupation had sted for over four months like Shava's.

  However, after opening the [Tools Menu], he saw that only a bit less than three days had passed.

  'How could it be so fast? Is it already time to break out of the pupa?'

  System felt extremely stuffy and wanted to break free from the narrow space.

  Just as he had that idea, his body suddenly burst out with a powerful strength, and he easily tore through the pupa's shell.

  After analyzing the situation, System concluded that his unusual pupation speed was due to him having already molted three times. His three metamorphoses were equivalent to two pupations, which greatly reduced the number of changes his body needed to go through.

  For that reason, it was very easy for him to complete his pupation this time. The moment System cracked open his pupa, he regained control of his body.

  System could see the empty chamber outside through the cracks in the pupa's shell. He quickly controlled his many tentacles to continue tearing the damaged pupa apart.

  It didn't take long for System to break out.

  Like a butterfly or ant that had broken out of its pupa, System's body had become wrinkled, with the exception of his still-smooth tentacles. Fortunately, it didn't take long for his exoskeleton, eyes, and antennae to grow firm and smooth again, appearing as if they were being infted.

  He quickly began inspecting his body.

  There were still thirty tentacles, but each of them had grown longer, and he saw that small, retractable cws had formed at the tip of each tentacle. With these cws, System could climb easily like a grasshopper again.

  In addition, he noticed that his body's appearance had changed a little. Although this change wasn't as dramatic as the change that his third pupation would bring, his body had become much more pleasing to the eye.

  His thirty tentacles no longer grew in clusters from the locations of his original limbs. They now grew evenly all over of his body.

  His body now looked somewhat stubby compared to a grasshopper's. His length had shrunk by about one-third, and on top of that, he was also a bit thicker.

  ...

  Race: Unknown InsectTitle: [Winter Legion], [Exotic Insect]Name: System

  Rank: MetamorphosisLevel: 14/15Lifespan: 2113 daysHealth: 88%EXP: 7%Special Energy: 90%

  ...

  After his pupation, System discovered that his original green-tailed grasshopper race had disappeared, and he'd now become an unknown insect race. His lifespan had also increased again to 2,113 days.

  He looked around and suddenly noticed that the caterpilr had disappeared. It was very likely that he'd absorbed the caterpilr unconsciously during the pupation process.

  System continued browsing through his information, and he noticed that he'd somehow acquired a new title—[Exotic Insect].

  ...

  [Exotic Insect]: A title given to System by an unknown existence. [Insect Ability Activation] and [Ability Enhancement] are now more effective, and your lifespan has increased.

  As an exotic insect, you have lost the ability to reproduce with grasshoppers, but you are now able to live longer.

  ...

  'Exotic insect? It seems like I'm no longer a grasshopper now.'

  System didn't think too much about it. It didn't really make a difference to him what kind of insect he became.