I allow some time for Joule to sulk before asking a question.

  [What's this?]

  I indicate the blue sheet with my antennae.

  [That's your stat board. I finished quantifying you a moment ago.]

  I look at it carefully, but I still don't understand any of the symbols.

  [And what do these mean?]

  A sound followed my question which I can only describe as an exhausted groan.

  [You can't read, can you.]

  Helpfully, I respond, [What does read mean?]

  She's silent for a blissfully long time. Maybe that broke her.

  [Okay. If you can't read, I'll just do... this...]

  The sheet fades briefly, then comes back into focus.

  It's a picture of me from the side, with arrows pointing at different parts of me. Each one has a bar next to it, only partially filled.

  [Please. Please tell me you understand this.]

  I briefly contemplate saying no and seeing if she goes away.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  [...Yes.]

  [Oh, thank heavens. I thought I was going to lose it.]

  A spider appears. It seems to be the one I fought. Another set of bars appears next to mine. Most of them are lower than mine, except for one.

  [What's all this?]

  [These are your abilities when compared to the spider you fought earlier.]

  My mandibles clack in appreciation when I notice one of the bars. Mine is incomparably higher than the spider's.

  [What does that mean?]

  [You ask a lot of questions, don't you? Anyway, that is your intelligence quantification. As I'm sure you've noticed, you are significantly more intelligent than most of the insects (or arachnids) around.]

  I indicate the bar that I'm lower on.

  [And what about this?]

  [That would be your size.]

  That makes sense. The spider was bigger than me by quite a bit.

  I return to her earlier words.

  [What does...] I struggle to remember the word. [...allocate mean?]

  [Ah.]

  She seems to be getting excited.

  [Whenever you eat something, such as that spider or the blade of grass, it is stored in your Void. Provided it has the required amount of potential energy, I can change it into Void energy and increase your abilities.]

  I still didn't understand most of what she was saying, but I got the gist of it.

  [Like size?]

  Her attitude immediately sidelines into a more serious tone.

  [The spider you ate had a decent amount of potential energy, but your conversion rate is awf- low.]

  I feel like she was about to say something different there, but I don't really care.

  [Is that a yes or a no?]

  She processes it for a moment.

  [Yes. But you may want to eat some more first. I'll be substantially altering your molecular structure, and that won't feel comfortable for anyone. In other words, it's not a process you're going to be wanting to do frequently.]

  I consider her words. She talks a lot and seems to know what she's doing, but I still don't fully trust her.

  [Turn all of it into size.]

  She seems reluctant.

  [With increased size, you're going to need increased muscle. I'd recommend splitting it if you're going to do it at all.]

  My mandibles clack. Just get on with it!

  [Fine. Do that.]

  She responds tersely.

  [Allocating energy.]

  And the world turns red with pain.