The Guildmaster's hand moved closer.
The beetle did not move.
Not because he couldn't.
But because he was thinking.
Okay. Calm down. Think logically.
When you're a 50-centimeter stag-rhino beetle hybrid in a fantasy world being presented to a medieval guild authority, you do not panic.
You analyze.
He used to do that.
Back when he was human.
Back when the biggest danger in his life was being laughed at for knowing the lifting capacity of rhinoceros beetles.
Fun fact, he thought automatically, real rhinoceros beetles can lift up to 850 times their body weight. That's like a human lifting a blue whale's tongue.
He paused.
Why do I still remember that… but not my own name?
That thought hit harder than it should have.
The Guildmaster's fingers stopped just short of touching his horn.
"Interesting structure," the man murmured. "Triple horn configuration. I've never seen this species."
That's because I'm a limited-edition DLC character, the beetle thought dryly.
He resisted the urge to swat the hand away.
Instinct screamed at him.
Insects react. They don't hesitate. They don't reflect.
But he wasn't just an insect.
He was a human mind trapped in chitin and compound vision.
The world looked pixelated. The humans looked like shifting mosaics of color and heat. His antennae picked up scent trails, heartbeat rhythms, subtle air displacement.
It was overwhelming.
He focused.
Compound eyes. Thousands of ommatidia. Low resolution, high motion detection.
If he attacked now, he'd probably surprise them.
But then what?
He was inside a building. Surrounded. Unknown power levels.
He wasn't stupid.
He used to be the kid who researched everything before making a decision.
Strategy first.
The Guildmaster finally touched the edge of his horn.
Tap.
Solid.
"Hard chitin," the man muttered. "High density. Not a summoned creature."
The room murmured.
Lyria leaned closer again.
"See? He's not evil. He's just… shiny."
Shiny.
He had officially been reduced to decorative furniture.
He felt something strange in his chest.
Not anger.
Embarrassment.
He used to be someone.
Now he was being inspected like a rare specimen in a glass case.
Wait.
Appraised.
The system flickered faintly.
Should he?
He focused.
[Appraisal]
A green screen blinked into view.
Target: Guildmaster HarlanTier: CLevel: 42Skills: Heavy Blade Mastery, Aura PressureThreat Level: High
The beetle nearly short-circuited.
Level 42?!
He was level 5.
That wasn't a gap.
That was a canyon.
He resisted the urge to internally scream.
Good. Information acquired.
He shifted his head slightly.
Gasps filled the room again.
"Oh!" Lyria smiled. "He moved!"
Yes. I am capable of movement. Congratulations.
The Guildmaster's eyes sharpened.
"Does it understand us?"
Silence fell.
And there it was.
The dangerous question.
If he reacted too intelligently, they might treat him like a threat.
If he acted too dumb, they might cage him.
Think.
He slowly rotated his head.
Then stopped.
Neutral.
Not too smart.
Not too animal.
Balanced.
The Guildmaster hummed.
"Adaptive behavior."
Serin crossed her arms. "It dodged a web projectile mid-flight."
"Which implies predictive motion tracking," she added calmly.
The beetle wanted to raise a leg.
Excuse me, that's called compound eye motion sensitivity.
But he kept it to himself.
This wasn't a classroom.
This was survival.
He glanced at Lyria again.
Pink hair. Soft expression. Curiosity instead of fear.
She was dangerous in a different way.
People like her attached easily.
If she decided he was a pet—
No.
He was not becoming a mascot.
He refused.
His identity crisis was already bad enough.
He didn't even remember his human name.
That bothered him more than being captured.
His old life felt like fog.
He remembered insect species.
Scientific names.
Habitat behaviors.
But not his own face.
Not his family.
Not even his voice.
Was that intentional?
Did the system wipe it?
He checked.
No new notifications.
Just:
[Observation State Active]
Very helpful.
The Guildmaster withdrew his hand.
"It's not hostile," he said. "But it's not normal either."
No kidding.
Ren stepped forward. "Recommendation?"
The Guildmaster looked down at the beetle again.
And this time—
Their eyes met properly.
The beetle felt it.
Pressure.
Not physical.
Instinctual.
Predator hierarchy.
It wasn't killing intent.
It was dominance.
The insect part of him reacted violently.
Submit.
Lower body.
Freeze.
His legs twitched.
His body flattened slightly against the wooden counter before he could stop himself.
He hated that.
He HATED that.
He wasn't prey.
He was—
He didn't know what he was.
The Guildmaster noticed.
"…It responds to aura."
What in the hell is aura?
no forget that, I just cringed
Serin nodded. "Which means it recognizes strength."
The beetle clenched internally.
No. It means my insect nervous system overrides my pride.
Biology was unfair.
Even if his mind was human, his body followed instinct.
Fight.Flee.Submit.
He needed control.
He needed to get stronger.
That spider fight had been barely manageable.
These people?
Impossible.
The Guildmaster straightened.
"Temporary holding room," he decided. "No chains. No cages."
Lyria brightened. "Really?"
"Yes. If it shows aggression, we reassess."
The beetle blinked.
Holding room.
So not dungeon.
That was… slightly better.
Serin picked him up again.
He didn't struggle.
Not because he accepted it.
But because he was thinking.
If he stayed near them, he could learn.
Human speech. Power systems. Politics. World structure.
Information was evolution.
Insects adapted to survive.
So would he.
As Serin carried him down a quieter hallway, he stared at the wooden ceiling beams.
Reincarnated as a bug with a system, he thought.
Cool title.
Terrible situation.
But somewhere beneath the sarcasm—
There was excitement.
This world had levels.
Magic.
Guildmasters.
Unknown lords.
And he had a system.
If this was a game—
He wasn't staying level 5 forever.
The door to the holding room opened.
The system chimed softly.
[New Objective Triggered][Survive Within Human Territory]
Something stirred deep inside him.
Old.
Watching.
Waiting.
He didn't understand it yet.
But one thing was clear.
The original him—
The awkward, bug-obsessed, slightly dramatic nerd—
Was still there.
And he wasn't going extinct.
oh god i just cringed again.
Looking back on it, surviving might be harder than i thought