《Reincarnated As A Snake?》 Chapter -1 - DISCORD This is the link to my discord server. It¡äs nothing grand, but it does its job. Hope you will join it and discuss, with me and fellow members about this book and help me improve it. Anyway, here you go... discord.gg/eVRhSSAX5T Chapter 2 - First Encounter! Following the smell, while flickering my tongue every now and then. I turn my head from side to side, hoping to smell something different, but everywhere around me is nothing but the earthly smell. I still ask myself where I am. Am I still on earth or did I got reincarnated into a fantasy world? Well, let''s take it slow and find out one thing after the other. I just realized it now, but the floor is surprisingly warm, keeping my body temperature right on the sweet spot. But there is something that is still bothering me. Well, to be correct many things are bothering me like I have no arms or legs, but the most annoying thing is, I can''t see anything! As a former human that relied heavily on eyesight to perceive their environment, and then suddenly being bling is surely annoying. I know they have bad eyesight, and some are even blind, but I really miss my eyes, and where is my super cool thermovision that snakes have? But at least I can smell with my tongue. After two minutes of following the scent and sorting out my still confused and somewhat scared mind, I find myself slithering downwards, towards a small hole that leads me in a small tunnel that someone dug.. I stop for a second to think about what may be inside. That could be another animal inside or maybe even monsters. But feeling the hunger again I hardened my resolve and slithered straight in. I am moving on pure animal instinct that I just now realized. I guess that is one of the reasons why I am so calm now. *flick* Hmm, the sweet scent is very near it almost smells like honey or nectar. I grinned and began to slither faster as my stomach is killing me. *flick* Ahh, it is just in front of me now. As I near the source of the scent I sensed vibrations coming in front of me. Slowing down a little I flicked my tongue a little more. Now I "smell" another thing that wasn¡ät there before. It was the smell of what I can only define as purple. I know it¡äs crazy to say I can smell with my tongue the color purple, but I am a former human who got reincarnated as a snake... I am getting sidetracked way too often... The snake slithered towards the movement and got towards an open chamber, with 3 different paths. The room is big enough for the snake to freely move around. The floor is still just a layer of dirt, but there is some vegetation. Small blue dim glowing grass is growing around a pond. Right above the water source is a glowing stone that occasionally dripped water down, making calming dripping sounds in the silent place. The little snake was stunned at the fresh smell of grass, instead of constantly having the earthy smell around him. But what most wondered him, was the sweet smell that came from the water source. It was sweeter than anything he smelled before. As if someone mixed every sweet stuff together times two. Stunned at the different smells he totally forgot the incoming vibrations. "Scree!" Breaking the calming atmosphere created by the dripping sound, was a high-pitched squeal coming from the tunnel right in front of the snake. Hearing the sound he panicked and quickly slithered towards the grass to hide in. He was really flat and the grass was tall enough to hide him, so he could easily go unnoticed unless you really carefully look out for a tiny snake. As the creature comes closer toward the pond, he gets more and more anxious. What if he gets discovered? Will he die again? As all those questions plague his mind, the creature stopped moving towards the pond and turned its head from side to side. It stood up from its front legs and stood on only his hind legs. The creature turned its head again and looked around while sniffing the air. The snake got a bad feeling about that and wanted to slither away, but before he could, the creature spotted him and looked in his direction while releasing another ear-piercing screech. (Snake Perspective) I froze up in fright. Damn it, my second life just started, and I have to encounter an unknown creature that I can¡ät even see? How the hell should I kill it, and where is my damn tutorial? I am a snake after all! I raise up my body as high as I can to look intimidating and let out a hissing noise. "hisss~" ... But it didn¡ät sound intimidating at all, and I think the creature thinks so too, as he got down on all four again. Flickering my tongue around a few times I can roughly estimate his size and shape. It had the shape of a rat, a giant rat, as it is way bigger than me. Not having another choice I decided to attack first as I coil myself up to prepare for a jump attack. As the mouse charges me, I jumped at him, but as it was my first time doing that, I missed it and landed embarrassingly next to it... The giant rat creature turned to the side and tried to bite me, but I only slithered around it and bit into his hind leg. "Screed!" Letting another scream out, it stood up again and slapped me away with its hand, sending me flying towards the wall. Hitting hard against the stone wall and limping down I let out a growl or more like a pained hiss, after feeling the sharp pain at my side. I smelled an iron smell coming from me and realized that the damn beast has clawed me in the side. The creature has claws! Three pretty sharp ones at that! Not going to just lie there and being killed, again! I ignored the pain as best as I could and coiled up again to prepare for my second launch attack. Sensing him getting in my striking distance I immediately jumped, and this time I perfectly hit his throat like an arrow and buried my two sharp fangs right into his neck. *putchi* Not letting go I just tightened my grip and hoped he would die first. As I almost fainted due to exhaustion and blood loss, I realized his scratching became weaker and weaker. Not long after, the monster finally collapsed on the ground letting out a final screech. Making sure it really is dead I continued holding him in my death grip for another minute, before unwrapping my bloody body from the now-dead rat''s neck. I never thought my second life would be this terrifying. But at least it is not boring, right? Ha haha ha... *sigh* Finally over, I feel extremely tired and moved on top of the dead creature and curled up into a ball. But before succumbing to the tiredness I heard a string of familiar sounds inside my head. *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Chapter 3 - Unlocked "Hisssss" Waking up with a yawn I could feel my body being energized again and my injuries didn''t hurt anymore, even my hunger has receded a little bit. I don¡ät know how long I have been sleeping, but not caring I stretched my long snake body and let out a satisfying hiss. I couldn¡ät help but rub my face, where my eyes should be, with my tail after seeing blue transparent screens in front of me. Wait, how do I see that? Never mind that for now, reading the screens my jaw just dropped! [You killed a Nagirus!] [43 Exp gained!] [First kill bonus!] [22 Exp gained!] [You leveled up!] .... I read enough novels and manga to know that I just gained a system! I hope my system is the OP one with dimensional storage, a store, a map, quests, and so on. I could maybe even gain a human form and build my own kingdom and whatnot. Hmmm, let''s test the system a little bit first. First, let''s find out if I have a status or not. ''Status'' thought I inside my mind and as soon as I thought that a blue transparent screen popped in existence. Looking at the information it read. [Status] Name: ??? Species: Hatchling grey snake (???) Level: 1 Strength: 9 Agility: 15 Intelligence: 20 Mentality: 17 Hp: 42/50 MP: 0 [Skills: Venom Fang lv1, Launch Attack lv 1, Slither lv 1] [Evolution: none] Oh, it worked! But I am baby? And what''s up with the question marks in my name? Hmmm, I can¡ät remember my own name anymore. Even things I did in my last life are becoming hazy. This is ge- *Ding* [Monsters don¡ät have names!] Oh, that answered my question. Hmmm, thanks system! Guess I have to name myself or find someone to name me. But there is still the question about my race. *Ding* [Your race isn¡ät named yet as you are a new species in the dungeon!] ... A new species it said. Am I the only one of my kind? And are there more reincarnated people like me or am I a special case? I don¡ät think I am so special that I am the only one who got a second chance at life. Maybe I could find a friend or something. I am only here for a few hours in this dark place and I am already getting a little lonely. But I can¡ät communicate with others they would kill me or run away when they see a random monster approach them. So, that idea is out of the question for now. ... *sigh* I am not going to split my head over it anymore, I just have to accept that I am a snake now, I guess. I don¡ät have another choice anyway. So better accept it and adapt to it. Let''s continue. Hmmm, I also don¡ät have a storage, map and so on, just got the basics of basics. So no kingdom-building, conquering the whole world, and getting op in a few days... Meh, it¡äs enough for me. At least I¡äm not a slave to my own system and have to follow quests with ridiculous penalties. Now to the important part, my stats. My stats are pretty low I think, but what did I expect from a level 1 snake and I have nothing to compare it to. Intelligence is my highest stat, so average humans have an intelligence of 20, or did I get dumber? I have a pretty low-strength stat, but that is normal for a venomous snake. But what is Mentality? it¡äs my second highest stat. Is this why I am so calm? Looking at my skills I am happy to see that I have venomous fangs. If I didn¡ät have that skill I am sure I would have lost against that rat, I am laying on right now. The skill slither is a little confusing to me. Does it mean I would be faster when the skill levels up but isn¡ät that agility? Meh, I will find out soon enough, I hope. Hmm, my Hp isn¡ät full yet, so I am still injured from the fight and Mp is at 0. Does that mean I will never be able to use magic or do I have to unlock it first? Wait the system said something about choosing an evolution didn''t it? So where is it? *Ding* [Choose Evolution:] [1. Grey Scales --> Random] [2. Venomous Fangs --> Random] [3. Eyes --> Random] [4. Danger smelling Tongue --> Random] [5. Vibration Sensing ears --> Random] [6. (Locked)] Ohhh, there it is. So I have 5 options and all are random and one is locked... Oh, 3 of them are different. Guess they are my race advantage or something like that. That''s why I could sense vibrations and smell with my tongue, but danger smelling tongue? I didn¡ät remember smelling danger... I will find that out after I evolve. Scales sound pretty useful for gaining extra defense, fangs for more damage, eyes for sight, and tongue for better smelling. I don¡ät have to think much about it, I have long decided what I will choose. Eyes, I choose eyes! I want to see again. I can¡ät stand it to slither without seeing the world without any eyes. I even touched my face with my tail and there weren¡ät any eyes. Even if I get random eyes, anything is better than not having any at all. Thinking about evolving my eyes, I got another notification. *Ding* [You must be full Hp to evolve!] Damn it! *sigh* Well, better eat something first I guess. That is the whole reason I got into this mess anyway. I slither towards the sweet pond and took a small gulp out of it. *gulp* ! As the clear blue liquid goes down my throat I immediately feel myself warm up, as if I drank sweet liquor in winter. My whole body feels energized as never before. I squirmed in euphoria and immediately plunged my whole head inside, drinking as much as possible. *gasp* "Ssssss~" I let out a satisfied hiss. Damn, this is some crispy water. After filling my body with the sweet liquid, I became lightheaded and just laid in the grass curling myself up and rested for a few minutes. Waiting for my Hp to fill up and to finally evolve my eyes to get some sight. While laying there I constantly checked my Hp, and I discovered that it rose 1 Hp after, I think an hour or so. Not having anything better to do I just slithered around for the remaining time, while occasionally drinking out of the pond. When my Hp reached 47 I got another notification. *Ding* [Slither leveled up!] Nice! Seeing that, I got more motivated and slithered through the grass more smoothly than before, trying to level it up once more. After what felt like days I finally got the notification I have been waiting for. *Ding* [Beginning evolution!] Not expecting it to automatically evolve I quickly slithered towards the rat and curled up between the corps to get more cover if other monsters are coming while I am in the middle of my first evolution. Curling up, I prepared myself and calmed my breathing. My whole skin started cribble like ants walking on my whole body. And where my eyes should be I suddenly felt pain, as if someone stings the place with needles. Gritting my mouth, I felt my skin slowly peel off. Wait, I am shedding my skin! I squirmed around, while the dead skin just suddenly fell off. ¡­ Hmm, that isn''t how normal snakes shed their skin, but I am not a normal snake. I feel refreshed, like after having a long hot bath. *Ding* [Evolution complete!] [Eyes --> movement sensing eyes] Looked around I could only vaguely see black and white outlines of a rat-like creature. It was four times as big as me and was slimmer than I thought. I would have blinked at the sight if I could, but I don¡ät have any eyelids. Well, I guess my luck is pretty bad this time, but it could be worse. At least I can see something. But ending my happy thought was the rhythmic vibrations that are getting louder and louder from one of the tunnels. Shit, shit, shit. Chapter 4 - Scholar Hearing the nearing steps coming from the tunnel, a million scenarios went through my head and I started to panic. *flick* *flick* The smell is different from the rat''s smell, it smells of leather, metal, and blood and a tinge of green! Like the green, I smelled before, but my fear overwhelmed my curiosity. Not wanting to find out who or what was coming my way and having to fight another death battle. There is only one thing to do in such a situation. Clench your bu?? checks and run like a bitch. Well in my case slither away.... I quickly turned towards the tunnel where I came from and slithered towards it as fast as I could. Feeling regret to have to leave the pond, I swear to myself I would come back and claim the region as my home. With one last look, I turned around, shed a silent tear, and got the fu?k out of there. In a dark tunnel were 4 people, all walking sluggishly without in silence, but their eyes still vigilant. The tunnel was so narrow that they had to walk in a straight line. The tunnel was only dimly lighted by dim glowing moos that are growing on the tunnel walls. Only the steps and clanking armor could be heard. *sigh* "When are we finally there?" said the man leading the whole party. He was wearing heavy metal armor that is splattered with blood, dirt, and scratch marks. On his back a big backpack, in his hand a normal one-handed sword and an oval shield. "Stop wh?n? so much, we have been only walking for 2 hours" complained a woman in her twenties clad in light leather armor holding a map while carrying a bow on her back with a quiver on her hip. Her black hair was shoulder long and wavy but looked uncombed and messy. Her tired face was illuminated by a floating ball of light and a visible frown was set on her face. "Ack, but we have been in the dungeon for the last 3 days and I need to pee." refuted the swordsman. "Hey scholar, where is the drip hall?" asked the woman ignoring the annoying voice. A young man in a rope calmly answered, "It''s just up ahead. We can see the dim light already." and pointed in front of him at the end of the tunnel, where there is indeed a dim light showing the end of the tunnel." "Ugh, I can¡ät wait to get out of this dungeon and take a nice hot bath in the hot spring." said another female voice, while dragging her long wooden staff behind her. The scholar looked back at the tired mage and said "Better fasten our pace then, we can get out of her and enjoy a feast at the tavern. But first I have to send my research data to the principal and get my well-earned vacation." Walking into the dripping hall the bulky man leading the party saw something that he didn¡ät expect. "I thought this is a safe place for adventurers?" asked the bulky man a little worried. A safe place should be a place where monsters shouldn¡ät be able to come or appear. And yet her in the safe place lies a dead monster. The young man moved forward and spotted the dead monster. "Normally yes, but the dungeons have been behaving strangely. That is why the guilds send scholars to find out what''s up with it." answered the young man holding his chin while thinking about possible reasons and scenarios. He then walked towards the dead rat monster to maybe find out a clue on how this monster ended up dead inside a safe place. The others follow behind him and looked around to check if other monsters are lurking in the tunnels. The female archer spotted a small grey snake moving towards a hole in the wall and disappear. She only got a glimpse of what happened and rubbed her eyes. She then asked the mage if she saw that too. "Did you see that just now?" She only looked at her with a questioning gaze and asked "Hmm? What do you mean? I didn¡ät sense anything. I guess you need a good rest too after this quest." "Ehhh, I guess I just imagined it... yes, we all need a rest." said the woman with a tired sigh lumping towards the pond. Meanwhile, the bulky man sat near the pond and took out a small flask, and filled it. While he was refilling their water supply, the scholar was inspecting the corpse while mumbling to himself, "This monster is a Nagirus, a pretty young one at that. Should be around 3 months old. They shouldn¡ät be able to come here at all. They are normally only in dark humid places and would avoid any kind of light at all cost, but I guess the mana-rich pond attracted it here or it mutated. And who or what killed it? It can¡ät be an adventurer as it wasn¡ät killed by magic or swords and arrows. From the injuries, it looks like it was choked to death, but there are small bite marks on its neck and leg. Looking at the stiff back leg it looks like the Nagirus was paralyzed or poisoned. But poisonous or venomous monsters aren¡ät usually on the second floor of this dungeon... I have to bring back and examine the Nagirus more." He then turned towards the resting man who was now lying near the pond on the grass. "Hey Erik, can you carry the monster back for me. It¡äs important" "Ha? Why should I carry this fat rat? I am already carrying our whole equipment! Ask someone else." said the bulky man while casually waving his hand. ... "I will increase your pay." Hearing that he will get more money, he jumped up and pumped his fist. "Got it, boss! But why do you want to bring it back?" *sigh* The young man just shook his head. "I want to extract the poison or whatever was injected into the monster, and study it, maybe I can find out what monster killed the Nagirus. It died just a few hours ago so it should be fine when we set out in an hour or so." The two girls hearing that walked up to him, looking at the dead monster. "I didn''t feel any other monster''s presence when I walked into the room. Hmm, kinda weird." said the mage. The archer chimed in, "What¡äs weirder is that the body isn¡ät eaten or munched on. Even the monster core is still there." "I agree. That¡äs why I want to bring the Nagirus back to the institute." said the young man. He then smiled at them and continued "No need to think about that for now as that is my job. Rest up, we are all tired and still have a long way in front of us. We need all the rest we can get." "Kay!" said the mage with more enthusiasm hearing that they can finally rest. The black-haired woman just nodded and sat down counting her arrows. Chapter 5 - Oh... (Snake Perspective) Slithering out of the small tunnel I looked around and could vaguely see the landscape. Everywhere I see was a flat dirt floor and stones littering the way. No plants or vegetation. But a small breeze was blowing that wasn¡ät there before, it feels nice and smelled like fresh mint air, so I¡äm not complaining about it. But I don¡ät have a destination and not knowing where to go next I just picked a random direction and slithered while making a to-do list. I can¡ät continue to explore this unknown world with monsters like a headless chicken. I have to make plans! So, first I have to find a food source, find out what is edible and what¡äs not. Just drinking the sweet water isn¡ät cutting it out for me. I need sustenance. How else am I going to grow into a big and strong snake? Second, I need to find shelter for myself. A safe place to call home. I need a place to eat, sleep and rest. Being under constant stress that some monster could attack me isn¡ät good for my mentality. Third, I need to learn about the world and go exploring. Find out if there are humans, how to do magic, and learn about the geography of this world. Jup, I think that¡äs all for now. After choosing a random direction while flicking my tongue every few seconds I smelled the same green scent again. It was different from the first green color; it is lighter and more yellowish in color. Maybe lime green? But it gave me the feeling of mellow and calm. A strange experience. Can¡ät really get used to it so fast. All in all, I have smelled two colors up till now, namely purple and green. Those are the colors I have tasted up till now. And my evolution said I have a danger-sensing tongue. So purple means life-threatening or just dangerous I ?ssume. I have to investigate that more thoroughly next time. Green means friendly and nondangerous right? Everyone knows green stands for good and red stands for bad right? I hope I am not wrong with this. Whatever, even if it gets dangerous, I can always turn back and run. I can¡ät just roam aimlessly around anyway. So that¡äs what I did. I followed the green scent. While traveling the landscape didn¡ät change much. Just a few bolder here and there. But the floor is getting softer, and it¡äs feeling pleasant not like the hard dirt floor scraping at my scales. Oh did I mention some of those boulders are moving around? Jup, I saw moving boulders. The first time I saw a moving beginning to start moving it scared the shit out of me. I don¡ät know if they are monsters or not, but I¡äm sure to keep my distance from those things. I am not going to risk it. Maybe if I am stronger, I will come back and find out why those boulders are moving. The strange thing is they are all moving in the same direction. Guess they have a family meeting or something like that. *sigh* It is so boring just to follow the scent like a dog, not knowing what awaits you at the end of it. As time goes on, I feel myself slow down ever so slightly, but because I am too concentrated on the moving stones, I didn''t realize it. But after it was too late, I realized that my body is shivering, the temperature is dropping rapidly. I find it odd and remembered that I didn¡ät see a sun or any light at all. In the beginning, I couldn''t see anything at all, but now I can only see movements. Feeling sluggish and seeing my own breath coming out of my mouth when I am flicking my tongue, I hectically searched for a cover where I can shelter myself during the night, I presume. Guess, I can see as clearly in the night as in the day as I didn''t see any changes in the brightness. Looking around I didn''t find any cover just those boulders that are here and there. Not finding anything and too far away to go back and reach the tunnel I don¡ät have another choice. Either I freeze to death or I cover myself under one of those moving boulders. My body temperature is dropping quickly, getting dangerously low. I can feel my brain slowly shutting down and my body getting heavier. With my last remaining energy that I can muster up, I slithered towards a bolder that wasn¡ät moving and went in a crevice. I curled myself into a small pile of snake to preserve as much heat as possible. Immediately after curling up, I fell into a deep slumber. In pure darkness, I feel a warm wave surrounding me and I let out a satisfying hiss and a smile covering my mouth. I went back to sleep and let my mind wander in my dreamland. Dreaming about me laying on a hot stone on the beach while drinking a fruit smoothy and listening to snake jazz, or should I now call it normal jazz? Just chilling about it I am feeling sati- *poke* Hmm, stop it. Just a few more minutes. I waved my tail in annoyance. I buried my head into my body. Continuing to relax on the beach, while the sea breeze is blo- *poke* WHILE THE SEA BREZZE IS BLO- *poke* ''AHH, who is disturbing my sweet, sweet dream god damn it'' though I to myself cursing whoever dared to disrupt my sleep, while looking up at what poked me. ... Maybe I will just let it go and forgive it for disturbing my sleep. Jup, I forgive you. Ha haha ha... Please don¡ät kill me! Chapter 6 - Drop the beat! Looking up I saw the outline of something massive. It held me on its stone palm and looked at me with its two black dots. The creature had a vaguely humanoid shape with two arms, two legs, and two black dots where his eyes should be. No mouth, no nose, no ears. Just 2 dots on his face. Even without any other features, I could tell it looked at me with curiosity. How do I know the stone face was looking at me curiously? Well, intuition, I guess. We starred each other in the eyes as both of us wait for the other to do something, but due to its eyes being so wide from each other I just starred at one of his eyes. I call them eyes, but it just looked like black dots that somebody painted on them. Still scared for my life I froze up like a popsicle. Never before did I feel so weak and hopeless.. No, that''s not correct I have felt like this once before, but that¡äs a story for another day. I felt a cool breeze blowing that made me shiver. Suddenly the living bolder raised its other hand and slowly pointed at me with its finger and gave it a slow wiggle. Not knowing what it wants or means with the gesture I just curled myself up and prepared to jump off his hand. I then realized I am being suspended into the air a good few meters above the ground. Also, it¡äs still cold outside, the only reason I am awake right now is due to the warmth I¡äm getting from the boulder¡äs hand that emits just the right temperature. So, jumping off its hand isn¡ät an option anymore as I would just freeze to death after a few minutes. I think the temperature dropped even further when I was asleep. Snapping out of my thoughts I could see the rocky finger creeping towards me ever so slightly. I flinched and closed my ey- Oh, right I can¡ät close them, I don¡ät have eyelids! I did the next best thing I could. Preparing for the worst and pray that it won¡ät be painful. I had to watch it touch me without my consent. The one-finger alone was twice the thickness of my body. "Hissss~" while in my head screaming ''Nooo~''. Wait, it touched me gently and its finger is unexpectantly smooth and warm. After a while, it stopped feeling me up, gave me some head pats, and retreated its hand again. I peeked up at its featureless face and saw a question mark written on it while the monster was tilting its head to the side. It looked like a confused kid. Looking at the face I relaxed a little, seeing he isn¡ät going to harm me, for now at least. *flick* *flick* I flicked my tongue and just smelled nothing but dirt and a tinge of minerals. While flickering some more I realized that some other smells were approaching me. Like the smell of sand, salt, and iron. I turned my head and saw that I am now surrounded by 3 more boulders. All starring at me with their featureless faces. They literally have stone faces and I couldn''t find out what they are thinking about. Despite being the same race, I think, they all looked different and unique. They all had different shapes and sizes, even their number of eyes are different. The one to my right had only one arm, 4 eyes, and has spiky skin, he smelled like salt, sea salt to be exact. He was the smallest of them, and his head was on my height. Looking at his body I saw that he has a small and bulky ?h?st, with short legs and a long arm that reached the floor. The one to my left had 6 black dots on its face, this one was the tallest of them, towering the others by two heads. He looked smooth and robust, with four arms, whereas two of them were over his shoulder hanging in the air. He was the one smelling like iron. This one looked like someone made him. Like he was wearing armor or something. The last one who was standing behind me smelled like sand and was slim instead of "muscular" like the other three. This one looked different from the others. It has two slim legs and arms. I don¡ät think they have a gender, but I will still call her she, as the creature just looked feminine to me. She has a very gentle aura surrounding her and is the most human-like in appearance, with human proportions, wide h?ps, a slim waist, two small mounds on her ?h?st, and a small oval face with 2 dots as eyes. Ignoring the sandy body and featureless face it could be a cute girl. She even stands like a human. Having her hand clasped behind her and leaning forward looking at me with a glint in her black dots. Her face was only inches away from mine and she starred into my eyes deeply, while I glimpsed into her pitch-black eyes. Getting lost in the darkness. Do they even see with them or are those cosmetic purposes, and why are they all staring at me? *flick* I flickered my tongue again, being nervous and shy again. "Sssss~" I started to let out a satisfying hiss. I don¡ät have hands anymore so scratching my back feels kind of nice. "Sssss~" We continued to stare at each other, unblinking, as we both aren¡ät able to blink. I think this is the longest time I have been starring at a female creature in the eyes. Kind of sad when I think about it. My past life wasn''t exactly enjoyable. I wonder where I did go wrong in my life. *sigh* As if feeling my sadness they suddenly looked at each other for a while and then. "Dumm dum dumm dumm dum dumm~" I heard a deep rhythmic bass sound coming from the dirt creature. I don¡ät know how he does that or where the sound came from. His body just vibrates. The sound sounded like a music beat. "Tss ts tss ts tss ts tss~" Then the other 2 added their own beat harmonizing together and creating a piece of unique music that I never heard before. It was so catchy and good that I forgot all my worries. I couldn¡ät help but sing along or better said, hiss along while wobbling my head from side to side. I have never been this relaxed and happy before in all my life. "Sss~" "Ss~" "Ss~" "Sss~" I didn¡ät know when but even my tail began to tap the hand I was sitting on, in a rhythmic fashion. They all looked at me while also tilting their heads from side to side, but instead of the black dots on their faces, they were replaced by symmetrical shapes and forms. Every time they tilted their heads to one side all of the shapes changed to a different one and then back. It is a truly mesmerizing sight. An experience I will never forget. So there are nice and carrying monsters with intelligence. I think I will follow them for a while, seeing where they are traveling to. I am glad I meet them. My first friends in this lonely world, I guess. Well, maybe not friends but at least travel companions. But then the beat was dropped. "DMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!" Replacing the soothing melody was a deep, very deep ton. I felt my whole body vibrate. It sounded like a deep bass, making me a little dizzy. I looked around and saw everyone looking in the direction he was pointing at. Turning my head to see what everyone was looking at. There were small figures in the distance moving towards us. *flick* *flick* They had many different scents, but the most dominant one was a green smell. The same green smell I was following. Chapter 7 - Riders Their calm and relaxed attitude turned a full 180, the hand I was still sitting on was now rigid and hotter as if he couldn¡ät control himself. Seeing the creatures that surrounded me getting tens is not a good sign, I dare to say. The symmetric shapes on their faces instantly changed to pitch black downwards triangles. Not knowing what to do I just stayed on his palm as I can¡ät move around due to the cold. Continue to look at the incoming I don¡ät know what, I didn''t realize that the female creature picked me up and set me on her shoulder. I realized that I am being moved when I felt her sandy shoulder brush against me. I looked at her face from the side, she just patted my tiny head with one finger without looking at me. I have a bad feeling about that, I tell you. They all just stood there emotionlessly. No, there was a single emotion in their eyes.. It was hate. Pure hatred shined from their featureless faces. Power radiated from them. So strong that I could almost taste it. Seconds pass and I can now finally see the approach. What wondered me was that they looked clear as day, as if a camera focused on them. There were 9 giant lizards running at us. But there was something on their backs. Something familiar. Hmm, I can¡ät really see them clearly with my movement-sensing eyes. Trying to squint my eyes, I could finally see the riders after a few seconds. Wait a minute, those shapes look like... No, it can¡ät be! Why are humans here!!! As a former human, I can say, humans, are trash beings. With exceptions, of course. Suddenly the salty bolder lowered his head while stretching out his legs and leaning on his elbow. His back pointed at the incoming enemies. A moment later, a great number of spikes protruded out of his back and shoot into the air in rapid succession. Large, small, thick, and thin spikes of all different sizes shoot out, coloring the sky in white. The barrage took 5 whole seconds before he stood up again. I was in awe. Was that magic or just his ability? This is so going to decimate them. Gaining newfound hope, my motivation rose and my will hardened. He then stood up and continued to glare at them. They were unmoving, unafraid, just like real boulders. --- (Normal Perspective) "Boss spotted a group of monsters. From the look of it, there are 4 Cantus Lapides, also known as singing stones, of the type sand, earth, metal, and salt." said a man who was clothed like a scout. Hearing those words the boss of the group had a mad grin on his face. "It¡äs finally time boys. We are going to make big money today! Let¡äs make this our last hunt for this season. Afterward, we can finally go out of this shit hole of a dungeon!" roared the man while kicking the mount with his heel to be faster. He was at the front leading the group of 9. "YAHHHH!!" roared the rest, holding their weapons into the sky. Getting excited about all the money they could earn butchering the monsters into pieces and selling them to spend it at the next best brothel. They were riding in a triangle formation fearlessly on their mounts who were puffing from tiredness. They had lifeless eyes with many bruises on their bodies. Clearly, the poachers weren''t caring toward their mounts. A man in his late 30s looked at the sky, squinting his eyes and then back to the leader informing, "Boss, incoming projectiles!" He looked up and saw so many falling spikes that it looked like a white carped was descending from the skies. "Hmm, a tier 2 monster at this floor? Is that why they closed all the dungeons around the continent? Pah, what a bunch of pussies. Less competition and more loot for us." mumbled the man with a crazy grin. "Mages, intercept!" commanded him in a loud husky voice. Hearing the command two robbed men lifted their wooden staffs, pointed them diagonally towards the falling projectiles. They closed their eyes, chanted something, and in just a few seconds two large blue magic circles appeared. Each shot out a single blue orb, flying towards the sky without a sign of stopping. The blue orbs clashed with the dozens of spikes. On contact, a dome of ice is formed. The spikes collided with the shield making loud clank noises as if a loud downpour hit an umbrella. "This is so going to be fun butchering those monsters!" said the leader with a mad laugh. He then reached towards his hip and pulled out a long sword pointing at the monsters yelling, "Charge!" Another cry sounded out. --- Meanwhile, the snake''s jaw dropped at how easily the humans stopped the attack with only two spells. He wondered if they could win this fight or not. Scratch that, he didn¡ät even know if he could survive another day. Even the boulders flinched at the grand spells of the mages. How couldn¡ät they be after seeing the spell literally freeze the sky? But even that isn¡ät going to discourage them to run away. The salty boulder then prepared another barrage, that was shortly countered again. Despite getting countered every single time by the same spell he didn¡ät give up. He even increased the spike output. Shooting out double the amount in half the time. --- The ridders got ever so closer, but due to the constant spike rain, the mage''s mana depleted at a rapid pace as the spell they were using isn¡ät a low one. Now only a few meters apart, two of the ridders took out short bows and started shooting yellow glowing arrows. The monsters not letting them just kill them without resisting got into a battle-ready stance. It¡äs going to be a fight to the death from here on out. Seeing the fight begin the two-eyed female boulder quickly covered the little snake''s body with a layer of warm sand, giving him extra protection and making him blend in with her skin. "Kii kiii kiii kiii~" He then let out a shrill sound that was similar to metal scraping each other. It oddly sounded like laughter, as if he were mocking the archers. While laughing the metal tips began to morph with the monster, restoring the shields as the rest of the arrow fall to the ground. Not wanting to only defend he turned his other 2 hands into long rigid swords, while also making his skin spikier, looking like a pincushion, and rushed them without looking back. Seeing the metal guy running at the humans the others quickly followed suit. Only the dirt boulder stayed behind while throwing small dirt balls at them. Jup, just ''normal'' brown lumps of dirt. And so the fight begins... Chapter 8 - Oh no (Snake Perspective) My first human encounter and they are already attacking my companions in this world. We clearly couldn¡ät run away or hide, as they already spotted us and had mounts that are faster than us. I saw how the two groups engaged each other and couldn¡ät do anything but hide on the shoulder of the monster. The monsters clearly had enough intelligence to use tactics and were experienced fighting against humans, and everything looked alright. Only I couldn¡ät do anything. Just sitting and hoping I am not getting killed by a stray arrow. What can a little snake even do against an armored human who was clearly an experienced monster hunter? Everything went downhill for us when they were beginning to coordinate and split us apart. I saw how the two mages concentrated their firepower on the metal one while splitting the rest apart with explosives stones. They exploded like fu?k?n? hand grenades. WTF! There is a reason why humans are the dominant species on the planet, and I just realized how cunning humans can be. They countered every attack every slash even if they are weaker in strength, they made it up by using tactics, natural counters, equipment, and their numerical advantage.. The mages bombarded the metal golem with flames and beams of energy, making his metal armor soft and bendable then they freeze him. His armor was brittle and cracked. The poachers clearly knew how to deal with him, it looked so smooth as if they were doing it their whole life. Subduing him fairly easy by focusing on his joints with cold and heat and hitting the brittle place with an arrow. Breaking off three arms and one leg making him unable to move, he could only cry out in agony. I could only watch. Watch as my companions, I even dare to say friends, were subdued one by one. Despite being unable to move he still didn¡ät give up. The metal one in the last effort retracted his metal cover, revealing a fleshy inside vaguely in human form. Even The metal helmet is now gone, showing a featureless face with only a toothy smile. Where his stomach should be was a pulsing orb. He compacted all of the metal into one small spike which he then pierced the orb. I looked at him in shock as he slumped to the ground and let out a burst of laughter while coughing up blood. His body quickly turned to metal turning the monster into a statue. Two men who were going to attack him with a sword and an ax, looked at the boulder in horror knowing perfectly well what just happened. As the two men tried to desperately run away the statue exploded, sending many metal pellets flying in every direction. The two men who were the closest fell down to the ground with a thump. Their body looked like swizz cheese. I and a few poachers almost vomited at the sight. Meanwhile, the dirt golem who picked me up used the chance and managed to grab an archer who was distracted by the sight and pulled him towards the golem''s ?h?st where the dirt shifted, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth. Which was clearly nightmare fuel for me. He straight up bit the man''s head off with a crunch that could be heard by everyone. Before he could even finish chewing, he was immobilized by an electric net that two others threw on him. The two mages tried to get closer towards me and Sahra, that¡äs how I named her, and stepped on one of those dirt lumps. They immediately got ensnared by thorned vines that rapidly sprouted. I could hear muffled screams as they tried to wiggle free. The vines dug tighter into their flesh as they struggled to get free. But with both their throat and mouth covered and punctured, they eventually choke to death and are squashed to pieces. Spilling blood everywhere. During the fight, I could hear a middle-aged man with rough shoulder-length black hair shout commands and instructions. What made me wonder was, that he spoke in a language that I never heard before, but some words I could understand. Only a few. He called the boulders ''Golems'' or ''Singing Stones'' and shouted "Kill" and "Gold" towards his man which were clearly motivated by his words despite the brutal deaths of their companions. (Leaders Perspective) ''Damn, the metal golem shattered his own monster core to kill two of my men. What a waste, but at least we managed to capture one of the other tier two monsters. With that money, I can buy more subordinates. Accidents happen.'' Grinning I continued to focus on slashing the salt golem who was trying to block my attacks. I love the struggling noises those mute monsters produce when being slashed. I think I will enslave this one making him my personal pet. "Gahahaha!" I couldn¡ät help myself at the thought and speeded up my pace. slashing its armor away that it desperately tries to reform while being shot by 2 archers. (Snakes Perspective) While the salt golem is fighting against two archers and their group leader the remaining two were a rogue and a swordsman. As the swordsman got closer the rogue threw small knives at us. Sahra who already noticed it made a shield of sand blocking it and rushed at the rogue, ignored the swordsman. While she was rushing him, he took out an exploding stone and threw it at us. Sahra who was rushing him didn¡ät expect that and quickly made a shield that only covered her face. "BOOOM!" I was blasted away but luckily, I had the sand cover shielding me. "HISSS!" Out of anger I hissed at him trying to stop him somehow. Hearing my hiss he kicked Sahra one last time in the head and looked towards me. As he spotted me I could swear he was smiling under his covered face... That was the moment I realized I made a mistake by revealing my position, but I was so angry at him that it clouded my vision. The blast towards my head didn¡ät help either. I saw him slowly walk towards me, clearly not scared by my appearance. Well, who would be scared by a small little snake? Chapter 9 - Rewards So here I am the lowest low in my second life till now, and not even one week in. A piercing ring in my ear, a headache so strong that I want to split my head open, my companion''s dead or incapacitated, and humans laughing. Almost like school. Hah! Even the simple action of turning my head hurt like hell. And the worst part of all? I don¡ät know if I¡äm lying in my own blood or pee. And you know what, I don¡ät even want to know. I am scared shitless by the tall human in front of me holding a dagger. He was clearly happy seeing me scared, satisfying his disgusting superiority complex or whatever. Even now I still want to live or at least I want to bite the rogue in the throat and watch him slowly die from my poison. So I coiled myself together while pretending to shiver and be scared. Well, I don¡ät have to pretend to shiver as it is still cold, but the temperature is slowly rising again, filling me with energy.. He stopped one meter away from me and laughed at me pointing his finger at me while calling the others. Clearly dropping his guard as if he is new to hunting monsters. I used the change while his head was turned. I flexed my muscles and pushed as hard as I could launching myself like a spring at his throat. Flying straight toward him I opened my mouth and latched onto him. Piercing my two sharp fangs into his throat. *Bite* He got careless and clearly didn¡ät know I could jump that far. With a shocked face, he tried to grab me, but I pumped as much poison into his system as possible. He didn¡ät manage to grab me and began to stiffen. While shaking and foaming from his mouth, the rogue fell face first down onto the hard floor like a log. As the man fell down the rush of adrenalin faded, and I realized what I did. Yup, he is dead. Before I could overthink that I just killed a human, I heard something that I missed quite a lot. The sound of system notifications popped into my mind which helped me calm down. *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Quite a lot of notifications... *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Oh, there are more. *Ding* *Ding* ... Wow, I didn¡ät expect so many notifications. I couldn¡ät read or dwell on it as the others got out of their stupor and charged at me. I looked at Sahra and saw she was slowly getting back on her feet. But there wasn¡ät enough time to flee. I began to panic for the I don¡ät know how many times and frankly looked between the approaching humans and the struggling Sahra. ''I need more time. I need to do something but what!?'' Then as if the system heard my distress, my mind cleared. All the stress and pressure just disappeared. Even my vision improved. Full 4k vison, but everything was still grey. Nevertheless, I quite missed seeing in high quality instead of blurry outlines. My mind was racing replaying everything that happened and thinking of many different scenarios. I could see everything in slow motion as if the whole world slowed down. When I looked around one thing shined in my eyes. It was the leather bag of the dead rogue. It had a shine to it as if it were holy. I focused my eyes on it and saw an exploding stone in it which I slithered towards in a slow crawl. I guess I too am in slow motion. Just as I reached it and turned around, I saw an arrow being shot. It was aimed right between my head. Luckily, I had enough time and leaned backward dogging the arrow by a hair. I used the motion and swung the stone at the approaching humans. As it flew through the air, I could see how the human''s eyes widened and tried to turn back or jump away. The faces of shock and panic were great. It took painstakingly long till it finally hit the leader of the group right at his foot and exploded. I enjoyed every second of it. Right afterward my vision turned normal and I could hear and feel the explosion and the cries of the monster hunters. I never thought that revenge would feel this good. I could get addicted to that feeling. No snake, get your shit together, some are still alive! Just as I expected them to rush and kill me, they stopped as the salt golem collected his salt skin and pierced one human through his stomach with a spiked hand. Killing him instantly. They now panicked as the dirt golem too freed from the trap and bit off another head. Leaving only the feetless leader and an archer who quickly pulled his leader towards the mount and rode away as fast as he could. We didn¡ät have the energy to chase or even stand anymore. I turned towards Sahra who is now standing up and looking at the fleeing duo. She staggered towards me with a lot of effort and picked me up before setting me on her shoulders and walked towards the corps of the fallen comrade. She looked at the remaining metal pieces and slumped own on her knees. The other sat down next to her. They then touched the corps and absorbed the metal leaving a shattered orb the size of a handball. They then started to make a slow melody, but now without the sound of metal clanking. It was a very sad melody. Finishing their ritual they touched the ground and made a small pillar of metal. I looked at her and saw that on her featureless face were now black dots that were falling down, as if she was crying. She turned her face towards me for a brief second and pat my head. Feeling her warm hand softly patting my head I felt the tiredness and exhaustion overwhelm me. I curled myself up and immediately blacked out. ... *flick* *flick* I don¡ät know how many hours passed, but I woke up more tired than before. My head still hurt like hell but instead of the dry smell, I could now smell something fresh and earthy even hear some vague movements. But before I could lift my head, I passed out again. ... *flick* *flick* "Hissssss~" After I woke up again, I could hear flowing water. But this time instead of being tired and exhausted, I feel refreshed and invigorated. Hmmm, it feels quite nice. My vision slowly returns, and I looked around and saw Sahra holding me in her hands while carefully holding my head above water. We are in steaming hot water, not too hot nor too cold. Her sandy body was now smooth and fleshy, but her face was still featureless. She looked like a fleshy mannequin... But she has a nice figure, not gonna lie. ... I have so many questions about the situation I am in right now, but for now, I am not even going to question it and just relax in the hot spring while I can. I then remembered the notifications I got and checked them now that I finally have some peace and quiet. [You killed your first Human congratulations!] [You killed a level 49 Scout!] [You gained 398 Exp!] [You Leveled up!] [You gained 100 bonus Exp for your first Human kill!] [You gained 50 bonus Exp for killing a dungeon enemy!] [You leveled up!] [You leveled up!] [Venom Fang leveled up!] [Launch Attack leveled up!] [Racial skill unlocked!] [You are ready for evolution!] OH, that is awsome, but it feels weird that the system is congratulating me for killing humans. Hell, it even rewarded me with extra exp. I am going to worry about that another time. But first, let''s check out my status. [Status] Name: ??? Species: Hatchling grey snake (???) Level: 5 [Stats:] Strength: 9 --> 13 Agility: 15 --> 21 Intelligence: 20 --> 23 Mentality: 17 --> 23 Hp: 44/55 MP: 0 [Skills: Venom Fang lv2, Launch Attack lv 2, Slither lv 2] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Movement Sensing Eyes.] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] ... After seeing my stats the only thing I could think was... Nice! *** [Author''s Note] Don¡ät know if you guys want a status chapter to look at his newest stats and skills easily whenever you want, instead of searching for the chapter where I have written it. Some might not want to have a Status auxiliary chapter for I don¡ät know what reasons. So please let me know if you want to have an auxiliary chapter with the status of our beloved little snake or not. Chapter 10 - Scholar 2 (A few hours before) "Enough resting. Pack your things together, it¡äs time to set out. I don¡ät want the monster to rot on me during the trip back." said the scholar standing up and putting away his notebook and feather. "Understood." Sayed the adventurers in unison with little motivation. They all put their stuff away and stretched their bodies. Erik walked towards the dead monster that was as big as a medium-sized dog and carried it on his shoulder while holding a sword in his other hand and a backpack on his back. .... While they were walking back towards the exit Mina the mage with pointy ears asked, "What exactly were we doing down there? I know the dungeons are going crazy at the moment, but it wasn¡ät so bizarre..." The scholar continued to walk behind the bulky man, looking at the corps. "Well, the normal volks only know that stronger monsters are seen on the first few floors. But what they didn¡ät tell the people is that the dungeons are releasing more mana, as usual, monsters are more aggressive and behave unnaturally, that is something that the dungeons do once every few years and is a medium kept secret. What is concerning is that new monsters have been spawning seemingly out of nowhere. No sign of tier 5 monsters that could have spawned them or natural spawning points. One even managed to escape the tundra dungeon in the north and killed two towns in the vicinity in only a few hours before finally killed by a nearby A-tier adventurer. No one ever saw a monster like that in this dungeon." "Have there ever been such a case were new kinds of monsters are spawning?" asked the bulky man in front of the scholar. Interested in the topic the young woman asked, "And how could a low tier monster even manage to destroy two towns?" Hearing the two questions the scholar had a grim look on his face. "There were sporadic monster spawning a few centuries ago when the third wave of dungeons were popping out, but since then no such case was seen or written in history. And for the second question, the monster was a giant dark ice mantis, that¡äs how we call the new species for now. The one that ravaged the towns was still a juvenile at tier 3." """What!""" exclaimed all 3 of the adventurers in disbelieve. "I thought it was a group of bandits that destroyed the towns." said the wavy black-haired woman. "This is getting kind of scary" whimpered the mage, gripping her staff tighter. "Damn, so how strong are the fu?k?n? ?du?ts of this kind?" grumbled the bulky man leading the group through the tunnels. *sigh* "That¡äs exactly why most of the dungeons have been closed and investigations teams are sent out everywhere. To avoid panic the guild and the royals have decided to mask the incident." For the rest of the way, they walked in silence, only hearing their own rhythmic footsteps. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel the bulky man broke the silence with a burst of laughter. "Grahahaha, we are almost out of the dungeon. I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel! Can¡ät wait to finally drink till I blackout again!" Everyone would be happy to get out of a dungeon after a week of delving into a place packed with monsters, deadly landscapes, flesh-eating vegetation, and no bed. "Not so fast meathead. We first have to submit the quest completion." nagged the young woman. "Haaa?! What did you say shorty?!" grunted the man. The other two just walked past them letting the two bicker on their own. The elf and scholar were already out with their hands covering their eyes from the bright daylight. Being out of the dungeon the elf took a few deep breaths, smiled, and said, "Ah, I missed the fresh air!" "I missed the sunlight more." said the scholar and continued to enjoy the warm beams from the sun. "Welcome back scholar. How was the exploration?" Hearing the new voice he turned towards the person and saw a man clad in shining armor and a long halberd in his hand. Recognizing the guard he smiled and greeted, "Good to see you too, James. Sadly the exploration wasn¡ät as fruitful as I expected, but nevertheless, we discovered quite a few changes and new monsters." "Good or bad?" asked the guard with a wry smile. "Don¡ät know yet. Could be both." said the scholar with a sigh. The armored man sighed too and patted his shoulder. "A bummer, I could only pray for good news then." "Me too..." "So, let me see your quest parchment to let me stamp it and you are good to go. A carriage is already here for your team. It will carry you straight to the city." said the armored guard pointing towards a wooden carriage with two monsters attached and a man leaning at it while smoking a pipe. "Thanks again bud. Will see you around." said the man with a grin and walked towards a carriage. He then turned towards his group and shouted, "Come on, let''s get this finally over with and relax!" Hearing those words the ears of the adventurers perked up and walked towards the carriage quicker than normal. "Hey lads, you the adventurers I have to carry towards the city?" asked the old man while puffing purple smoke into their faces. "Jup that¡äs us alright." answered the bulky man. The old man just nodded and signed them to get on. The ride was slow and calm and it only took 10 minutes to reach their destination. The scenery was beautiful as the dungeon opening was in the middle of a flower field. During the whole time, they talked and relaxed their tired body and mind a little, before reaching the city gate. After a few minutes, they could already spot the city with its giant stone wall that is surrounding it. Many guards could be seen around and on the tall wall. The group thanked the old man for the ride and headed straight for the big building with a sign on it. Entering the guildhall they saw chattering people that are drinking and eating. More people were here than normal due to the closed dungeons. Most lost their income or had to travel to a dungeon that is still open and deemed to be safe. So they all are now drowning their problems with alcohol and complained about the current situation. Walking towards the receptionist the group heard a lot of complaints about why the dungeons were shut. They were ignorant about the dangers of the dungeons. Only a few adventurers, scholars, and the royals know why the dungeons are really shut down. Walking towards the reception he was greeted by a friendly voice, "Welcome back, Simon." He looked at the pretty receptionist in wonder and said, "Oh, nice to see you too, Meliza. I thought you got fired for being too lazy." "Hahaha, yup I got fired alright, but many adventurers complained about it and got rehired." snickered the receptionist. She then changed into her professional demeanor and said, "Anyway what can I do for you today?" with a gentle smile. "I am here to claim my rewards and report about the dungeons." said the scholar handing her the stamped parchment. She took it and nodded after confirming the completion of the quest. She then walked to the backroom to get their payment. After a few seconds, she came back with the payment and a sealed letter for the scholar. "Here you go," said Meliza while handing the sack of gold and letter to him. The rest of the adventurer group who was silent the entire time got excited seeing the big sack of gold. "Ohhh, we are going to party tonight!" shouted Erick who is still carrying the dead monster on his shoulder while gathering quite a lot of attention. "Shut up, you are too loud!" complained the black-haired archer. They started to bicker again as the elf mage tried to calm them down, but without success. Meanwhile, the scholar looked at the sealed letter and saw the wax stamp. His eyes widened and shock could be seen on his face when he recognized the symbol on the wax stamp. The letter is from the royal family of this country. Wondering what they could possibly want from a normal scholar like him, he took the letter and put it into his pocket. He thanked the green-haired receptionist again and walked towards an empty table. Following him was the group of three who were still bickering with each other. As everyone was seated the scholar coughed to get the attention of the group. After seeing he got their attention, he started to hand out their share of the payment. "So, as we agreed you will all get 30% of the share plus the repair cost. And Erik for carrying the monster you will get an extra 5 gold coins. I will give it to you when we reach the institute." "Sweet!" said Erik with a grin. "Guess here is where our way parts, scholar." said the young woman while taking her share and putting the gold coins into her pouch. "We will stay in the Golden Bell inn so met us there when you finished delivering the monster." said the elf looking at Erik. "Got it. When are we going?" Asked Erik the scholar. "In about an hour. I have to get some things first and ask the guild for a time delay spell scroll to halt the decomposition of the monster. Tell them it is for the royal institution Ferum." "Will do, boss." While Erik was talking to the guild the girls went to the inn to finally relax. The scholar meanwhile went around the city and purchased a few ingredients and rented a carriage for their trip. Chapter 11 - Talk The scholar is now walking towards an alley where he is safe by the eyes of commoners and opened the letter. The letter is written in beautiful handwriting: "You are hereby summoned to the royal palace by the second princess of the Vextia Kingdom, due to the delving into the woodland dungeon. The princess stated that you should bring your research information with you and prepare for another expedition. Further information will be sent by a shadow guard." On the bottom of the letter is the Signature of the King of Vextia and a red magic circle. After reading the letter he let out another tired sigh and pricked his finger with a needle to let one drop of blood fall onto the red magic circle to confirm that the letter has safely arrived and read. As the blood landed the letter coughed flames and disappeared with a puff. Leaving nothing behind. Walking out of the alleyway he continued to buy some herbs and life mice for research purposes.. ... Meanwhile, Erik is waiting in the guildhall for Simon to finish his shopping trip. He got the spell scroll without much trouble when he mentioned the royal institute Ferum and quickly used it on the corps. While caring the monster body around he got a lot of attention, but most adventurers are used to the sight of someone carrying a monster to deliver it somewhere, so there wasn¡ät more than some glances. After finishing his task he walked up to the bar and sat down. Finishing his task he asked the bartender for a cold mug of ale and paid for it. *gulp* *gulp* *gulp* After emptying the mug he slammed it on the table while releasing a satisfied sigh. "Ah~, that is some good ale here in the guild!" muttered the adventurer to himself. While enjoying his drink Erik overheard someone talking behind him. Out of curiosity he glanced behind him and saw a young adventurer talking to someone sitting opposite of him. "Hey Denik, did you hear about the deaths of the crying lizard group? " said a young man to his friend. Denik put his mug down and looked at his friend with raised brows. "No, what happened to them? I only know that they are the infamous group of criminals that hunt and kill every monster that is walking breathing or money-worthy, right?" A woman with a bob cut who was walking past them and hearing their conversation turned towards them and said, "I heard that they even enslave humans and sell them on the black market." The young man turned towards her and signaled her to sit down before saying, "That¡äs true and just a few hours ago two of them got captured after a failed delve into the dungeon. Only their boss and an archer survived the dive in the dungeon. The authorities still don¡ät know how they got past the guards. But what wondered me the most is that their boss got hurt really badly by a grey snake slinging a blast stone." Bewildered about the rumors he curiously asked his friend Denik with disbelieve. "A grey snake in the Woodland dungeon? Where did you hear that all from?" The young man turned toward his friend and spoke with a little bit of excitement "Crazy right! A friend of mine works as a guard there and he captured them when they came out of the dungeon totally exhausted and injured. He even said that a group of Nagirus rats were chasing them till the very end." Hearing that Erik stood up abruptly making a lot of noise, as some adventurers turned their heads. He then walked towards the table behind him and placed a hand on the young man''s shoulder. Erik stared at him with a serious look and asked, "When did that happen?" "Eh- Emm, I think a few hours ago or so." stammered the young adventurer looking at the adventurer who is towering him in his heavy metal armor and a Nagirus corps in his arm. Erik just nodded and sat down on a free chair, joining the little group. ... "A grey snake you said killed them?" asked the bob-cut girl after an awkward pause. The young man turned his head to her and answered, "Well that is what I heard at least. The surviving member said that they encountered singing stones on the first floor and decided to hunt them. But before capturing the last one a grey snake popped up and killed their level 49 scout and threw a blast stone at them and critically injuring the leader of their group." "That is quite a lucky snake for getting all that experience..." said the petite woman. They all glanced at her for a moment before hearing Erik ask, "Do you know anything else about the snake or what happened to the group?". Erik is a veteran adventurer who knows the woodland dungeon like the backside of his hand and never in his life did he encounter or even hear about a grey snake that is able to kill a level 49 human. He didn¡ät even know that there are snakes in the upper levels of the woodland dungeon. It is so bizarre for him to hear a snake that managed to survive in the woodland dungeon, as the dominant species there are treants. That¡äs also where the name woodland dungeon came from. "Hmm... Ah! There is one thing my friend said that quite disturbed me. He said that the snake dodged an arrow and killed a level 49 scout with only one bite." "That is quite a crucial information you¡äve got there. Thanks, lad," said Erik to him. "One mug of ale on me as thanks for the information," said Erik as he got up, spotting the scholar walking towards him. The rest of the group was a little bit surprised by the man but thanked him nonetheless for the free drink and continued to discuss the dungeon. Seeing the scholar walking up to him, the armored man greeted him "Hey boss, ready to end this mission?" Simon grinned and nodded "Jup everything is prepared and ready." "Good, good. I also heard something that might interest you while I was waiting for you." "Let me hear about it during our ride to the institution." ... After loading their things on their carriage they got on and began to head towards their final destination. The institution was quite a bit away from the city and has its own territory that is deemed neutral even if it is under the royal''s name. Their ride would take a few hours till they reach it. "So Erik what did you hear while I was busy buying ingredients?" asked the scholar looking at the scenery. Erik who was cleaning his sword looked at the young man for a while before continuing cleaning. "Ah right! The crying lizard group got caught by a guard after sneaking into the woodland dungeon. Well, at least what is left from them." Hearing the name crying lizard group the scholar furrowed his brows and looked towards the adventurer. "What do you mean what is left of them?" "The group were hunting singing stones and got attacked by a grey snake with abnormal intelligence and reflexes. Killing one level 49 scout with only one bite, dodging an arrow from a level 34 archer, and throwing a blast stone at their boss, sending him in critical condition... or so I heard." *sigh* "That is indeed quite interesting and troublesome." "I agree..." Chapter 12 - Playing with water (Back to snakes Perspective) [Status] Name: ??? Species: Hatchling grey snake (???) Level: 5 [Stats:] Strength: 13 Agility: 21 Mentality: 23 Hp: 44/55 MP: 0 [Skills: Venom Fang lv2, Launch Attack lv 2, Slither lv 2] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Evolution Path:]. [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Movement Sensing Eyes.] [Vibration Sensing Ears] Nice! Let''s check out my evolution. *flick* *flick* I then felt a hand holding me and began to rub my scales as if cleaning them but to my dismay a little bit too hard. Turning towards Sahra I saw her holding me with one hand and rubbing my scales with her other. "Hissss!" ''Oh, easy girl not so hard on the scales!'' I hissed at her. As I hissed at her, she immediately stopped and looked at me with her two black dots... a little bit of worry could be seen on her face. Hmm maybe being a monster allows me to understand monsters better... Not wanting her to feel bad I nudged my head at her hand a little, signaling her that I am alright. As if understanding me she carefully started to wash my scales again, but now with more care. It feels really nice that someone is washing my scales. The worst part is when you get an itch on your nose and can¡ät stretch it, but at least I have a tail to scratch it a little. Sometimes I wish I have hands again to grab stuff, but I wouldn¡ät be a snake if I had any more limbs than now. Limps are overrated anyway, hmpf! Anyway time to get stronger! ''Evolution please'' I thought. Right after got a system notification. *Ding* The transparent blue display read. [Choose Evolution:] [Grey Scales --> Compacted Grey Scales or ???] [Venomous Fangs --> Random or ???] [Motion Sensing Eyes --> Random or ???] [Venom gland --> Fast Producing Venom Gland or Random] Gah, why have the eyes to be random again, and what¡äs up with all those question marks? But at least I know that it can¡ät evolve to something worse and only adds to the present evolution. Or so I think at least. And the biggest change is that there are now two options for each evolution! Hmm, this time it is really hard to choose. There is even a new thing to choose from. I can evolve my venom gland that is kind of interesting, but faster venom production is not the thing I need right now. So that option is gone. Compacted Grey Scales sound really alluring. It probably boosts my defense and I need at much of it as I can get to survive in this crazy world of monsters and magic. But not get hasty now. My bad eyesight is the number one problem for me right now. Having bad eyesight is just too much stress for me. I can¡ät survive in this world seeing everything in a grey blurry outline and only seeing clear when they are moving. Furthermore, I was always a person that liked to gamble so let¡äs gamble a little. It can only get better from here on out. My luck has been quite good in this life, despite the many near-death experiences in my short time here. ''I choose to evolve my eyes again system! I will choose the question marks choice!'' *Ding* ... Oh, I totally forgot about that. *sigh* What a mood breaker. Hmm, my health is at 44/55, so I guess it¡äs time to find out if my health regeneration improved or not. The last time I checked it was more or less 1 Hp per hour. So I have to wait 11 hours till I evolve... Guess it¡äs time to grind some levels for my skills again! I don¡ät have many options on what to level up, but I want to level up my launch attack as I have to improve my offensive abilities and I don¡ät have something to bite and level up my venom fang skill. That¡äs why I curled myself up again and launched straight ahead. *Splash!* I jumped off of Sahra''s hand and did a splendid belly flop into the water, slowly sinking to the bottom. Wait a minute... *blub* *blub* *blub* Oh no... this isn¡ät good, I can¡ät hold my breath for long and Sahra is still searching for me in the steaming water. While panicking I wiggled my body upwards trying to swim back towards Sahra. It worked a little bit but if this goes on I will surely drown and end my second life, but at least it was more fun than my first one even if it was short. *blub* *blub* *blub* NO, I can¡ät give up just like that I have to survive, but my vision is already slowly turning black and hazy. ... *cough* *cough* I coughed up the water out of my lungs and looked at Sahra who was holding me close to her face while clasping my back. Ah, you saved me again! I will repay this debt someday, I promise that. I slowly neared my head towards her fleshy cheek and wanted to bop her head to show her my gratitude, but unconsciously flicked my tongue. *flick* *flick* Ups I accidentally licked her... she tastes a little bit sweet... is that good? I saw that her eyes widen into circles and turned her head to look away, but I could still see that her face had a tinge of red. Did she just blush!? I clearly didn¡ät expect that and how can this monster show so many emotions without having facial features and two black dots... Truly a bizarre creature. *Ding* ''Not now system!'' I ignored the blue display for now and saw Sahra turn her head towards me, giving me a little head pat with her trembling hand. "Hisss~" When I happily hissed at her. I could see her mouth curl up in a slight smile while tilting her head from side to side. Her eyes even turned into small crescent moons. Guess I have to protect her from now on after seeing the smile... After she calmed down, she continued to clean my scales from the dirt that got stuck on them. Meanwhile, I got back to look at the notification. [Skill: Swimming unlocked!] Ohhh, my near-death experience unlocked a skill, sweet! But I should really be more careful from now on... but no risk no gain! I have to enjoy my new life to the fullest! Can¡ät waste it by cowering inside a hole and be scared the whole day. I have to get strong first to be able to adventure into the new world. Now that I have the swim skill, I curled myself up again to jump into the water, but before I could launch myself a hand stopped me. I looked back at Sahra and saw her shaking her face with a black X on her face. I reassured her by lightly bopping her face with my nose. She reluctantly retracted her hand to let me jump into the water. while the X changed back to the two black dots. *Splash* With another belly flop, I landed into the water and immediately started to wiggle my body in an S motion. Slowly but surely, I reached the service and took a deep breath, while continuing to swim towards her. Swimming is quite fun and way easier than I thought. Don¡ät know if it¡äs the systems or my genius doing, but one thing is for sure I am not complaining. But despite having the swimming level 1 skill I still struggle to reach dry land. Meanwhile, Sahra is just looking at me struggling as I try to swim back to her, while she has her arms half outstretched. Making sure to be able to pull me out as soon as I begin to drown. After reaching her hands she scooped me up and rubbed my head before I jumped into the water again to try to level up my skills. During my fourth jump, I heard the system pinging me again. *Ding* [Beginning Evolution!] That was quicker than I thought. Normally it should have taken 11 hours till I¡äm full life. Maybe the water boosted my Hp regeneration... Right after reading the notification I curled myself up again and prepared for the pain to hit me. ... Not long after I felt the sting in my eyes again, but this time it hurt a lot more than before. ACKKKK!!! It hurts more than last time. I hope it is worth the pain. I rolled around in agony. Sahra seeing me squirm in pain panicked a little and pulled me out of the water and laid me on a flat stone near the hot spring. Chapter 13 - Color AKKKGHH I HURTSSSS!!! THIS IS MORE PAINFUL THAN BEING STABBED AND RUN OVER A TRAIN DAMNN IT!!! Not managing the pain anymore I blacked out. ... Ugh and now it¡äs getting tight as if the pain wasn¡ät enough. I¡äm feeling like I am nearly bursting out of myself. Waking up to a similar familiar tight feeling I had a d¨¦j¨¤ vu. *Crack* I think something broke.... *Crack* *Crack* Hope my next evolution won¡ät be as painful as this. My body still hurts, and I feel like an old man, well old snake that had a few too many tequila shots. *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Right afterward a chain of notifications ?ssaulted me, giving me a throbbing headache. Despite the pain and all, I ignored it for the moment as my itchy skin and eyes are worse than the pain. I wiggled my body a little to scratch it on the stone floor and rubbed my new eyes with my tail. ... While wiggling I looked up. My mind instantly stopped working as the sight overwhelmed me. There was only one thought that I had right now, ''It¡äs not grey anymore''. Ever since that incident, I stopped seeing colors and from then on everything was grey to me, figuratively and literally. I even went to a couple of doctors but they couldn¡ät find anything wrong with my eyes or brain. Tears clouded my vision as I looked at my surroundings. Looking around I could see that I was still on the rock where Sahra was. Next to me is the steaming hot spring filled with light blue water. Surrounding the hot spring are pink rocks looking as if this is artificially made. In the surrounding, I could see many different tall trees. Never in my life could I have imagined waking up and see something like this. The sight was very mystical and soothing, as a light wind brushed my scales. Why mystical? Well, because the trees are unnaturally tall and there were constantly dropping small leaves. As the leaves are being carried by a gentle breeze and touch the ground they turn into green low glowing orbs that floats back to the tree and forming into a leaf again, in an endless circle. While marveling at the sight for a few minutes I sensed something moves behind me and quickly turned around. Standing a few meters away from me near one of the tall trees I could see a familiar humanoid creature in the form of a young girl. Her whole body was covered by a layer of white sand making her look incredibly pure. On her face were only two black dots and a small slit where her mouth should be, if not looking carefully one would have overseen it. Her right hand is covered in dripping blood that held a small green crystal that is also smeared with blood. In her other hand, she held a blood-smeared transparent dagger that had a slight curve to it. Seeing me stare at her she immediately dropped her things and rushed to at me and hugged me to her ?h?st, smearing a little bit of the blood on me witch I ignored. ''I missed you too Sahra.'' Seeing her smile I tried to smile as best as I could and realized that Sahra got a little bit smaller. No, that isn¡ät right. I just grew. Inspecting my body again I realized that I am now more or less half a meter long doubling my size and thickness. Sahra meanwhile walked back towards her dagger and crystal. Finished with my inspection I wondered where the other two went, but quickly focused my mind on the notifications that I received. [Congratulations, due to immense experience overloud your evolution was improved!] [You leveled up!] [You leveled up!] [You leveled up!] Now that I think about it, it now made sense why I only got 5 levels. Guess it capped at level 5 and only got the experience after my evolution. Puh, nice that it didn¡ät disappear, but instead got the remaining exp afterward. [Title unlocked: Limit breaker!] Ah, there it is. Oh, that¡äs nice, but what does it mean or do? Meh, will investigate that later but for now¡­ ''System, show me my status please.'' *Ding* [Status] Name: ??? Species: Hatchling grey snake (???) Level: 8 [Stats:] Strength: 13 --> 20 Agility: 21 --> 26 Intelligence: 23 --> 30 Mentality: 23 --> 30 Hp: 80/80 MP: 0 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (increases stat gain from evolutions) [Skills: Venom Fang lv2, Launch Attack lv 2, Slither lv 2, Swimming lv 1] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] Holy smokes, I gained more stats from leveling up from level 5 to 8 than level 1 to 5. Guess that is also due to the evolution overload or something. And that title ''Limit Breaker'' is a huge boon for me. Well, I still don¡ät know if my stat gain is much or not, as I don¡ät have anything to reference with, but I¡äm staying positive for now. *grumble* *grumble* Oh! After all, that stress I guess I haven¡ät had a single meal since being reborn in this life. Only had the tasty glowing spring water. Hearing my grumbling Sahra approached me and handed me the bloodied green crystal indicating that I should eat it. I looked at the crystal in front of me and flicked my tongue. *flick* *flick* So that was the green smell, so that means green really means save or food¡­ Still hesitating to eat the crystal Sahra went towards a stone where a dirty backpack was and rummaged it for a second before pulling out another green crystal before biting it with her sharp teeth like an apple. As the crystal shards touched her mouth it immediately dissolved and turned into a green fluid. Seeing her eat it without any care I gulped and opened my mouth as wide as I could and swallowed it whole. Not long after it began to melt, and I could feel a slight tingling feeling inside me as my body heated up. To my surprise, it did taste quite tasty, too tasty to be exact. It tasted like candy with nature flavor and filled slightly my stomach. But it wasn¡ät nearly enough to satisfy my hunger, and I looked towards her with pleading eyes as if asking for more. Seeing me look at her she put her hand inside the backpack again and pulled out another crystal, but this one was deep purple and threw it in a long arc at me. I opened my mouth as wide as I could and caught the crystal midair and swallowed it with a blissful smile on my face. This time it tasted like what I could only describe as ''sweet release''. Ah, this feeling is so intoxicating I could get addicted to this taste. Right when I saw Sahra threw another green crystal at me, I heard the system notification again. *Dinge* Chapter 14 - Hunting goblins AN: Hello there! Chapters will be released slower so maybe 2-chapter pro week or so, don¡ät know and don¡ät take my word for it. School is a real pain right now. And please leave a few reviews to give me some feedback... Anyway, enjoy the chapter! \[T]/ ______________ I opened my mouth as wide as I could and caught the crystal midair and swallowed it with a blissful smile on my face. This time it tasted like what I could only describe as ''sweet release''. Ah this feeling is so intoxicating I could get addicted to this taste. Right when Sahra threw another green crystal at me, I heard the system notification again. *Ding* [Small poison affinity detected!]. [You will now be slightly immune to poison!] [Your poison is now more lethal!] [Due to lack of a monster core you won''t get any other bonuses!] *ponk* ''Auch!'' I rubbed my head as the magic crystal falls onto my head. He? This is unexpected... As I read the notifications Sahra looked at me and tilted her head in confusion. Slithering towards the crystal on the floor that dropped next to a tree I opened my jaw and wanted to swallow it, as I felt a slight breeze past my head. *Swoosh* (Rewind time!) (Sahra''s perspective!) After the human''s cruel attack and managing to kill singing stone of metal, our leader and my big brother, we properly made his body into a tombstone, as we do it with all fallen for our species. We looted the bodies and su?k?d the blood of their dead bodies to replenish ourselves. I carried the cute little snake who saved our lives. Never would I thought that he could manage to do something like that. Despite being so small and young he was so brave and didn¡ät escape when he could. Cleaning my little hero I could feel him steering awake as he wiggled a little bit in my hands and let out a cute little hissing yawn. While looking at his cute antics a small smile formed on my face. Continuing to rub his soft scale I got a little bit excited as he hissed at me for handling him to roughly. I immediately lessened my strength hearing his hiss and continued to gently clean him. After a while, the little snake just jumped into the water and almost drowned himself. Panicking I quickly searched around the steaming water and fished the coughing snake out of the hot spring. After coughing up all the water he had swallowed he looked at me gracefully and slowly neared my face. Seeing him nearing me I froze up and waited to see what he is going to do. *flick* *flick* !!!! Wha- wha- what! Did he just lick my cheek! Uggg, I hope I didn¡ät taste bad... Blushing a little bit I turned my head away to hide my embarrassment. Not long after he curled up and prepared to jump again, but I quickly stopped him. He looked at me with pleading eyes and let him do as he wished but watched him closely. After a few times, he suddenly convulsed in pain and cried out. Seeing the little grey snake wiggling in pain I franticly put him on a flat stone surface and ran to my other two companions. Walking up to them I saw them having their things packed and signaled to me to get ready. We couldn¡ät verbally speak so communication was hard for us. We only do it with the color pigments on our faces. Not caring what they want to say to me I just pulled at the arm of singing stone of earth. We don¡ät have names as it is irrelevant to have inside the dungeon and no one bothered to give each other names. And as spawned monsters, some of us don¡ät have parents that could give us one. Or so I have been told. I dragged him all the way towards the snake, but where the little snake should be is now a black egg or cocoon in its place. Not knowing what happened to the cute little snake, I looked at the singing stone of earth, who literally made a ''!'' face. He was surprised to see a black egg slightly pulsating. He then put his hand on my shoulder. I looked at his face and he signed me that little snake was just under evolution. Walking towards the egg I wanted to poke it a little bit but was immediately stopped as it was dangerous to disturb a monster during an evolution. I released a small sigh and crouched next to the egg to wait for the little snake to wake up, but I felt a tug on my shoulder. Singing stone of earth signaled me to go as we have to keep moving to avoid the treants from overwhelming us. Normally we live on the 5th to the 8th floor but more and more treants have been invading our floors none stop. As the second strongest of our group, he was naturally the leader as singing stone of metal died. Refusing to let the little grey snake alone I pushed him away. Stumbling back a little he raised his hand. But before he went back to singing stone of salt, he threw his backpack towards me and vanished behind the trees. Leaving me completely alone with my little hero, who was undergoing his evolution I continued to observe him till nightfall. Seeing the illuminated ''sky'' dim I began to dig a hole right next to the stone slape where the egg is and laid in there. The next morning I woke up feeling quite hungry and had to leave the little snake for a few hours to hunt food. But before I went, I gathered some dried-up leaves and covered the egg with it. Walking around the forest for 10 minutes I finally felt a vibration and pressed my hand on the ground to feel where it was coming from. Feeling the vibration going up my sandy second skin I determent the location of 5 small monsters more or less 100 meters right from me. Sneakily walking up to them I could spot 5 woodland goblins equipped with weapons walking around searching for food. Two of them were carrying bows and arrows and the other three were wielding one-meter-long wooden spears. Having already dealt with woodland goblins many times I quickly changed into combat mode and manifested my glass dagger preparing to ambush one of the goblins who has a bow hand and quiver. *Putchi* Ramming the dagger into his neck and ripping it sideways I felt the hot metal smelling blood gushing onto my face witch my sand skin rapidly absorbed. Not wanting to waste the opportunity I dashed towards the other goblin wielding a bow and slashed across his face blind him instantly before even the dead archer''s body hit the ground. Letting a blood curling screech out and covering his face in pain I immediately stabbed the goblin in his throat. ''Two down, three to go.'' thought I to myself as a slight smile creeped up to my face. The others seeing me kill two of their kind so quickly, were shaking in fear as they readied their weapons. Seeing that they were scared shitless, my smile grew bigger revealing my sharp needle-like teeth, and quickly dashed towards them. Letting out a war cry the three goblins raised their wooden swords and swung them at me. Dogging the first one while slashing his stomach I blocked the second swing with a sand shield which I conjured on my left hand. The last one didn¡ät manage to slash me as I already drove my dagger into his under jaw piercing his brain. The one I slashed in the stomach is now on the ground holding the wound in pain while the other one is running away. Not wanting to let my prey escape I threw my dagger at him and pierced his neck killing him before he even knew. Turning around I grabbed the groaning goblin by the neck and lifted him up. I looked at him struggling, grasping desperately for air whilst clawing at my hand dealing no damage thanks to my sand skin. After a few seconds, I got bored and crushed his throat while my other hand pierced inside his stomach to claw out his monster core and absorbing his blood. *Ding* Chapter 15 - Hunting goblins 2 *Ding* [Status] Name: ??? Species: Singing Stone (Sand) Level: 23 [Stats:] Strength: 83 -->85 Agility: 111 --> 119 Intelligence: 66 --> 68 Mentality: 71 -->77 Hp: 219/220 -->219/240 Title: 1. Goblin Hunter (increases damage dealt to goblins). [Skills: Sand Armor lv 7, Sand Cloud lv 5, Conceal lv 8, Bite lv 3, Dagger Mastery lv 7, Scan lv 6, Combat Mode lv 4] [Racial Skill: Earth Affinity lv 4, Charming Singing lv 2] [Evolution Path:] [Flexible Hardened Sand Armor] [Better Vibration Sensing Sensor] [Sharp Piercing Regenerating Teeth] [Flexible Burst Muscles] *Sigh* The next evolution is so far away... Anyway time to bring back the crystals and check on the little snake. Walking back towards the hot spring I saw a lone goblin wandering towards the backpack where some of the monster crystals from the humans were. Seeing that he hasn¡ät spotted the little snake and is alone I sighed in relief and threw my dagger at him and piercing the back of his head. Walking up to him I wanted to clean the blood as to not attract any more monsters when I suddenly felt a small sting on my left shoulder. Looking in front of me I spotted a wooden tube poking out of a bush. Realizing what just happened I immediately took out the small needle that managed to pierce through my sand armor. But the poison on it already did its job and my left arm was paralyzed. I ignored my limp arm for now and changed into combat mode and rushed towards the bastard that shot me to deliver my revenge. Cursing that I let my guard down I dashed towards the bushes where the dart was fired from, only to see 3 more tubs sticking out. Not waiting for them to shoot I clapped my hands together as a cloud of sand envelops my vicinity. Sensing that they shot blindly I could easily evade them, before hearing them coughing. As they were inside my sand cloud, I could clearly see that there are at least 7 goblins around. 4 pipe blowers and 3 sword wielders. But those goblins weren¡ät like the last group of goblin scouts that I encountered in the woods. In contrast to the mere scouts, this group consisted of trained hunters, wearing wooden armor, have battle experience, and are higher leveled. But even with all that, it¡äs still not enough to kill a tier 2 monster like me with only 7 tier 1 goblins. It will only make my blood boil in excitement. The remaining 3 pipe blowers jumped back as the sword wielders got in front and raised their wooden swords to engage with a cry. """Khhyyyy!""" Seeing them doing basic battle tactics I couldn¡ät help but laugh a little. Catching the two swords with my b?r? hands I lunged at the third goblin who was about to hit me. Biting into the side of his throat I ripped a big chunk out and swallowed it. Enjoying the taste as I see him gurgle in his own blood. *pfit* *pfit* *pfit* Breaking my fun time I heard the sound of darts that are being shot at me, I slammed the two sword-wielding goblins into each other to shield me from the projectiles. The darts hit the two goblins'' wooden armor and fell to the ground. Yanking the wooden swords plus their wielders into the sky I leaped at the nearest goblin. Doing a little front flip I smashed the head of the goblin as I landed with grace. Realizing that the goblins had no hope of killing me the remaining 2 goblins ran away. Of course, they didn¡ät manage that as I snatched two poisoned darts out of the pouch of the crushed goblin and threw them at the escapers. Hitting them right in their neck and slowly dying as their lungs stopped working. ""Kahhhhhhh!"" *Thump* *Thump* The two goblins which I threw into the air crashed down and instantly died. Seeing what a mess I just made I sighed and walked towards my dagger which is still stuck between the goblin''s eyes. Collecting all the stuff and burying the dead goblins I walked beside the black egg and rested, as I enjoy the sweet goblin cores. ... And so the days go by as I kill the waves of goblins nearing the hot spring. The woodland goblin increases in number due to the ever-rising mana in the dungeon. Even some hobgoblins showed up which are harder to deal with but nevertheless easy to kill. But because of the constant killing, I managed to gain another title. I even got so many experiences that I am now level 25 and some of my skills rose in ranks. On the fourth day, little snake finally began to show signs of waking up as the egg moved slightly and woke up on the fifth day. (Back to present time) (Little snakes'' perspective) *drip* *drip* *drip* Feeling a slight sting I touched my cheek with my tail and felt something wet. Looking at my tail I could see it was red. I don¡ät remember it being red... *Ding* [Poison resistance level 1 gained!] ... Just as I look up, I saw a small leave-covered creature with a blowpipe in his hand. Ignoring the message for now I recognized the ugly face of a goblin and immediately put my head down and turned to run towards Sahra who was cleaning her hands and knife in the hot spring from the blood. Looking back for a moment I could see another 5 green goblins pop out of the bushes and rushed me with raised swords whilst shirking. "Tss!" Sahra who heard the goblins made an annoyed tongue clicking sound and threw her small dagger towards the nearest goblin before rushing in and massacring the goblins in the most gruesome way I have ever seen. Seeing the aftermath of the one-sided butchering, I realized once again that it is a kill or be killed world that I am living in now. But what disturbed me the most is that looking at the dismembered goblin parts made me hungry. Seeing that Sahra ripping off an arm and eating it, I tried to fight back my monster instincts, as my human side refused to eat a goblin... but I am fighting a losing battle as I unconsciously slithered towards a dismembered finger, made a small hissing sound, and swallowed it. ! At least it is delicious... kinda taste like grilled chicken. Looking around I spotted another lone finger and greedily devoured it, before going for another one, and another one, and another one... *Ding* [Congratulations on eating your first monster!] ... Wow, system... just wow. Why did you even send me this message! *sigh* Thanks, I guess... Enjoying my first feast with Sahra I made a to-do list. So first I need to get stronger and survive. Second, I need to find a way to communicate with Sahra and third I need to- "DUUUUDUUUUU!!" "Dumm!" "Dum!" "Dum!" "Dumm!" "Dumm!" "Dum!" "Dum!" "Dumm!" "Dumm!" "Dum!" "Dum!" "Dumm!" "DUUUUDUUUUU!!" ''Agkkkkk!!!!! For god''s sake why can¡ät I just have a normal day without something happening?!!'' cried I inside my head as I heard war drums and a horn sounding through the whole forest. Chapter 16 - Overconfidence Cursing at my misfortune I looked at Sahra who was already grabbing the backpack. She ran towards me, swooped me up, and set me on her shoulder, while also covering me with a layer of sand. Running in the opposite direction of the war drums, we ignored every monster on our way. Not having enough time to deal with them we just killed those who are blocking our patch. Well, it was mostly Sahra who stabbed them. So for the next 30 minutes, we were just running through the mysterious woods. We long stopped hearing the drums and horns. The forest is filled with many different monsters that I kind of have seen in manga and novels and we killed every one of them coming in our path. There were goblins, moving trees, brown wolves, bees that were made out of leaves, and many more unique monsters that I have never seen before. Seeing all those different monsters I couldn¡ät help but be a little bit excited to explore this new fantasy world I have been reborn into. As time goes on, I noticed that the vegetation is getting thicker and the forest denser the further we ran, even a slight fog can be seen.. Covering the ground like a carped, making moving at a fast pace dangerous as the floor is covered with roots. But while we were running, I was feeling slightly jealous of her gaining all the exp from the kills. After a while, she even stopped killing them altogether. She just runs past them, leaving them injured and easy prey for other monsters. Seeing all the waisted experience, a sudden ingenious idea ran through my brain. What if I coat her dagger with my venom so that I gain all that exp that will be wasted anyway? Grinning like a mad snake I slithered from her shoulder down onto her right arm, where she was holding her weapon. Sahra who noticed me moving towards her hand stopped running and watched me opening my mouth and softly bit on her knife a couple of times, leaving enough droplets of venom on it that the blade is fully covered with my yellow-colored venom. After finishing nibbling on her weapon I slithered back on her shoulder and flashed her a satisfied smile. Seeing me happy she just shrugged her shoulder and continued to jog. I still don¡ät know if my venom is potent enough to kill the monsters, but it is worth a shot. Oh, by the way, I still don¡ät know where we are running to, but she clearly has an idea... Well, I hope she has a plan, if not also okay as I don¡ät have a clue where I am right now. At least I have someone accompanying me and am not alone anymore. Sahra already spotted the approaching monsters stopped in her tracks and simply stood still, as she was in constant combat mode. The wolves who are now walking in a circle around us growled to intimidate us. Counting 8 brown wolves that are as big as a husky encircling us, I prepared myself to finally gain some exp. Till now this is the biggest group of monsters we encountered. Not even 3 seconds pass, as one of the brown wolves pounces at us from behind. Sahra who was staying still as a statue sidestepped at the last moment and lunged her dagger into its head, pinning it into the ground. *Ding* [You helped kill an ?du?t Ground Wolf!] [38 Exp gained!] It was less than killing that fat rat, but I don¡ät have to fight to the death or even move a muscle for the juice-free experience. Breaking my happy thought was a combined howl from the wolves. It sounded like a sad grieving cry, mourning their fallen comrade. Hearing the sound, I got dizzy and my vision blurred a little. Even Sahra was now swaying a little bit... Oh wait, it is only me who is being affected by the howl. Finishing their howling two of them rapidly charged us from the left and right, as the remaining 5 began to run in circles around us again. Tackling us at the same time Sahra made an uppercut move and killed one of the wolves. The other one was deflected by a sand shield between his mouth. Not letting go of Sahras arm, I used the chance and bit it right in the neck pouring one-fourth of my poison into him. Felling the sharp pain on the wolf''s neck it immediately let go and backed off, just to stumble and fall to the side. *Ding* [You killed a youngling Ground Wolf!] Sweet! Heh, they are weaker than I expected. While we were killing the two wolves, the rest of them rushed us one after the other, doing a chain attack. Sahra who dealt with ground wolves before could easily kill them, but due to their speed, a few attacks landed on her. Injuring her lightly, as more and more scratch marks appeared. *Ding* [You helped kill an ?du?t Ground Wolf!] [31 Exp gained!] *Ding* [You helped kill a youngling Ground Wolf!] [27 Exp gained!] [You helped kill an ?du?t Ground Wolf!] [42 Exp gained!] I saw how easily Sahra cut them with her dagger and thought I could do the same... Oh boy have I been wrong about that. Overconfident about the first wolf kill I leaped at one of the remaining ground wolves with an open mouth, just to be slapped away with a paw swipe. Leaving 4 slash wounds near my head. ''Agg, I made a mistake!'' thought I as I looked into the jaws of the wolf, ready to bite my head off. Preparing to jump away I realized that there wasn¡ät enough time and prepared for the worst, just to see him suddenly stopped only millimeters away from me and fell to the side. *Ding* [You helped kill a youngling Ground Wolf!] [24 Exp gained!] With a small thump, the dog-sized wolf fell to the ground with a dagger in his throat. Sahra quickly clapped her hands, producing a sand cloud blinding the wolves she ran towards me picked me and the dagger up, and ran away. Wondering why she ran away instead of killing the remaining two ground wolves, I saw that her body was ridden with small injuries. The whole time we were running a tense atmosphere was between us. I know I made a big mistake by engaging a wolf by myself. 5 minutes passed as we finally made a stop to rest. The adrenalin in my body long faded as I felt the sharp pain of the wound the wolf gave me. Sahra put down her backpack and took out bandages and some herb cream or something, before smearing my wound with the green past, that numbed the pain a little, before wrapping me into it. While doing that she was constantly glaring at me with her two black dots. Tightening the bandages on my body I hissed in pain, despite the numbing cream, and looked down in shame. I not only risked my but also her life by jumping off her shoulder and making her throw her weapon to save me. *Sigh* Hearing a small sigh I slowly raised my head to see Sahra smile at me and patting my head. Seeing her forgive me I bobbed her cheek with my head. After finishing putting on the bandages we sat down for a while to rest our tired bodies. I thought it would be easy for Sahra to kill the whole pack but guess the exhaustion of running the whole time while killing everything in our way and carrying me and the huge backpack got to her. ''Hey, system please show me my status!'' *Ding* [Status] Name: ??? Species: Hatchling grey snake (???) Level: 8 --> 9 [Stats:] Strength: 20 --> 25 Agility: 26 --> 32 Intelligence: 30 --> 43 Mentality: 30 --> 38 Hp: 37/88 MP: 0 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases stat gain from evolutions) 2. Teasing death (What will not kill you will make you smarter) [Skills: Venom Fang lv3, Launch Attack lv 2, Slither lv 2, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv1] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] Oh damn, I lost more than half my health with a single attack from the wolf! And it was still a youngling... shit I nearly died again and lost my chance to explore this fantasy world. Hmmm, oh! I gained the skill pain resistance, leveled up and Venom Fang leveled up to lv 3! Ah, pain resistance will be so super-duper helpful during my future evolutions! Hehehe, now I kind of get excited about my next evoluti- ¡­ Wait a minute, what¡äs up with the new title I gained? Teasing death!? Isn¡ät it ''What will not kill you makes you stronger.'' Guess I got something out of it for constantly living on the edge. That explains the enormous growth in my intelligence stat. *Sigh* I wonder how long I will stay a hatchling. Closing my status window again I felt my mind darken and slowly fell asleep. Chapter 17 - Going deeper Waking up to the sound of... hmmm it is silent. Feeling something on top of me I wiggled my body a little bit to get free and saw leaves falling off of me. Smiling at the cover Sahra made for me I tiredly rubbed my eyes with my tail and yawned. *Yawn* "Hisssss!" Stretching my tired body I felt a sting near my neck. Guess the wound isn¡ät fully healed even after a good night''s sleep. Curiously looking around I could see that there was a floating orb in the sky, that imitates the day and night cycle.. Seeing the orb just shining dimly, I estimated that it is still early in the morning. Turning my head to see where Sahra is, I could see a boulder next to me that radiated just the right amount of heat. Interesting, so Sahra turns to a boulder when sleeping. Kinda cool. Feeling the cold breeze of the morning wind on my grey scales I shivered and shamelessly slithered towards Sahra and snuggled close, to get some of that heat. "Hissss" sighing in delight I enjoyed the warmth. Ahhh so that is how Grian, my pet snake, felt like when laying on his heated stone plate all day. What an enjoyable life he has¡­ While enjoying the heat I didn¡ät notice Sahra already turned into her humanoid form lying on her side facing me. Feeling something clutching onto her ?h?st, Sahra woke up and activated her sensors. Seeing a little snake desperately trying to get warmth, she covered me with her hands and moved me over her heart. The warmth of her body surrounded me, making me feel safe and sheltered. I haven¡ät felt so safe once in my two lives. *dun-dun* *dun-dun* *dun-dun* *dun-dun* Hear the strong rhythmic heartbeat of Sahra pounding in excitement, a small smile formed on my face. The sound is soothing my tired mind and drifted into nothingness once again. Staying there for a couple of minutes I finally wiggled out of my safe haven and looked into Sahras two black dots on her face with a smile. Smiling back with flushed cheeks, she stood up and sat me on her shoulder and slumped the heavy backpack on her shoulders again. I feel a little bit guilty about letting her carry all that stuff, but as a half a-meter-long snake I can¡ät really do anything to lessen her burden. ... So here we are running through the forest till she stopped in front of a man-made building. It looked like an ancient Greek temple with 2 stone statues of busty women in rope clothing holding a bowel in front of the entranceway. It was made out of white marble and looked imposing in the clearing while surrounded by giant trees. Walking towards the entrance I could smell a strong pungent stench of blood and rotting flesh. Looking at Sahra fearlessly walking inside my stomach turned at the site. Surprisingly the Nagirus didn¡ät even look at us as they were too busy eating the remains of the humans. Halfway through the dark hallway, I spotted a purple crystal in the clutches of a dead human near our path. Seeing if anyone is around it, I silently slithered from Sahras shoulder and snatched the blood-covered purple gem, but it was more difficult than expected, as postmortem rigidity already set in. So with all my might, I pulled the crystal out of it and it flew out of my mouth landing near a rat who was minding its own business. Hearing the clanking sound of the crystal it turned around and sniffed the purple crystal, before screeching in delict and stretching its furry hands out to grab it. Not wanting to let this fat rat steal my crystal I immediately lunched at him with an opened jaw and bit him mercilessly into his right eye while pouring as much poison as possible into it. "SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" With a loud screech, it tried to push me away but got paralyzed by my poison and died shortly after. *Ding* [You killed a Nagirus!] [You gained 56 Exp!] Revenge felt so good... Clutching the big crystal in my mouth I grinned in delight, just to instantly fade away as the red glowing eyes of tens of Nagirus stared at me. Even Sahra was looking at me with one palm on her face shook her head. Oh no... now I am in deep shit... Silence... """"SCREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"""" Hundreds of screeches sounded at the same time as I too screamed inside my head in panic. Slithering as fast as I could towards Sahra she quickly scoped me up and set me on her shoulder before clapping her hands together, producing a sand cloud covering us. This allowed us to gain more distance from the wave of ugly oversized rodents. Running through the hallway we reached some stone stairs leading downwards in a giant spiral that was more than 100 meters deep and dimly lit with blue torches. Still chasing us we ran downwards the monsters eagerly chaste us. They were so many of them that they pushed each other off the stairs, dropping down into the depths and splattered on the ground. Seeing the many green gems they stopped in their tracks and fought each other over it. Luckily, it distracted them long enough for Sahra to sprint through the doorway. ... Immediately going through it a bright light ?ssaulted my eyes. Covering my eyes with my tail I slowly adjusted my eyes to the bright light. Next to the sound of Sahra gasping for air, I could hear the gentle sound of the wind. The air here was 10 times fresher and tastier as in the jungle. Looking at the new environment my jaw dropped. It was like stepping into a completely new world. I didn¡ät expect to see a giant plain of grass stretching out endlessly with clouds in the air and mountains in the distance. "SCREE!" The distance screech of the rodents pushed me out of my trance as Sahra already caught her breath and began to run again. After 10 minutes of running, we stopped hearing the Nagirus, and Sahra dropped flat down on the grassy floor and breathed heavily as a slight warm breeze brushed past my grey scales. Thinking back on what just happened I couldn¡ät help but laugh at what just happened. "Sss sss sss sss!" Sahra who was out of breath just looked at me confused but let out a similar laughing noise as we stare at the clouds above. What an adventure... Chapter 18 - Gluttony Now laying on the ground breathlessly we stared at the blue sky and white clouds. Still not believing that we are underground I began to just accept it as it is. Common sense won¡ät work in a fantasy world anyway. Guess it is time to improvise adapt and overcome. I could even feel the rays of the ''sun'' that was shining on us. Feeling the rays of the ''sun'' I couldn¡ät help but think, that at times like this I am glad to be alive and reborn. No stress. No work. No screaming bosses. And the best of all, no monotone life. Now my life is full of tasty things, battles to the death, pain, and slithering for my life.... Jup, all in all, it can be said that my life improved! I had to die first but worth it. Oh, how I wish that Grian is here with me. *Sigh* ... After a few more minutes of resting, we finally decided to continue our journey. Our destination isn¡ät important, as we don¡ät have a place we want to reach. Sahar looked at the torn backpack and saw that only 4 more monster cores were in there. The rest were all lost and now nutrients for the Nagirus. I still haven¡ät eaten the purple monster core as I remembered the notification I got when I ate the purple crystal Sahra threw at me. I wanted to wait till I have a monster core on my own before eating it, to gain the bonus stats or whatever I will gain additionally. As Sahra put her torn backpack on her shoulders, she bends down and stretched her hand out for me to climb up. Seeing her stretching out a hand, I shook my head while staring into her pitch-black ''eyes''. While we were resting, I decided to walk, no, slither on my own to level up my skill and increase my mobility. I can¡ät always depend on Sahra to carry me when we are running away. Tilting her head a little bit, she shrugged her shoulder and pointed in a direction, and signaled me to follow her. For the next few hours, we didn¡ät encounter anything. Not even insects or birds, as if we were the only ones on this plain. But we spotted one lone tree during our walk. It was around 30 meters high with large green leaves and a thick white tree trunk. Seeing the tree Sahra eagerly fastened her pace and ran up to it., while I didn¡ät understand why she was so excited about a tree. Looking closer while sprinting after Sahra I could see that there were something growing on them. After catching up to Sahra I looked up and could see that the things that were growing on it were glistening blue fruits. Their shape was oddly similar to apples, but their smell was much sweeter than apples. Sahra who reached the white trunk of the tree quickly put the backpack down and began to climb up the tree while I just watched the surroundings, just to make sure that no one is sneaking up on us, even if we never encountered a monster till now. You can never be too cautious. After so many near-death experiences, even I learned my lesson... Of course, while being on the lookout I trained my slither skill, by just pacing around the tree in circles, but I didn¡ät manage to raise it by even one level or feel any improvement. Now waiting for Sahra to come down I just continued to try and raise my level, at least I hope I can raise my skill level that way. *Thud* ''Gahh!'' Screaming like a little girl I raised my head and leaped back. Looking at the object I heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing a blue apple suddenly fall in front of me nearly gave me a heart attack. Puh~ that was close. *Thud* *Thud* Looking up I could see another few apples fall down and quickly slithered in away from the tree while continuously dodge the falling projectiles. *Thud* *Thud* Seeing a fruit just b?r?ly grace my nose I couldn''t help but shrike inside my head. ''HIII! That one was too close for comfort. Better get away quickly!'' *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Ding* [Slither leveled up!] Oh nic- *Thud* "Hisss!" Do I have to discover gravity now? Snickering a little bit another apple landed on my head as if punishing me for the bad joke. ''SAHRA STOP WITH THOSE APPLES, WE HAVE ENOUGH ALREADY!!'' "Hssssssss~!" As if Sahra had read my mind the falling stopped, and I looked around me to see dozens of blue apples lying on the grassy floor. *Thud* ''HIII~!'' Hearing another ''Thud'' sound I flinched a little, but it was only Sahra who jumped down the tree and landed beside me. *Sigh* Not minding me, Sahra already picked up the blue apples and pilled them next to me, before sitting down. She then picked up one of them from the pile and opened her mouth, showing dozens of sharp needle-like teeth, and began to take a big bite. *Crunch* *munch* *munch* *munch* *gulp* A juicy crunching sound could be heard as she bit into it with great fervor, devouring half of the fruit in just one bite, before swallowing it and putting on hand on her cheeks and squirming in delight. Her black dots turned into an upside-down ''U'' and let out a cute high-pitched noise. Expressions like this really let me think if Sahra is reincarnated too. But it could be that monsters also have emotions and feelings. Don¡ät get me wrong, I don¡ät care if she is a reincarnated or an actual monster. She is more human than most humans I have met in my two lives. Guess the bizarre apple is really tasty. She even ate the stem and the seeds inside it. After eating the other half, she looked at me who was staring at her the whole time with a smile on my face. Her face turned a little bit red as her gaze landed on me. She shyly grabbing another fruit from the pile and handing it to me. Well, more like holding it in front of me, as I don¡ät have hands! Opening my mouth a little bit I notice that it was slightly too big to swallow for my comfort. While trying a few times to get the right angles to swallow it whole, Sahra noticed my distress and stood up to pick up her glass dagger, before slicing the blue glistening apple into 8 pieces and laying it in front of me. Seeing the bizarre fruit slices in front of me I gave it a quick lick. My eyes widen as I discovered that it tasted oddly similar to the glowing pond I drank out of all the way back in the beginning. *Gulp* "Hisss~" Hissing in delight I unconsciously wagged my tail back and forth. It is even tastier than the pond''s water and the monster candies. It was truly addicting. Licking my lips in satisfaction and grinning like a fool I realized what I have just done and got embarrassed. Peeking at Sahra from the corner of my eye, she just gave me a knowing smile while nodding. She took another fruit and continued to devour them at a rapid speed. Not minding me anymore, she just took another one and leisurely ate it. I too continued to eat to my heart''s content as there were more than enough fruits to satisfy our hunger. ... ''Puh, I am so full... I don''t think I have ever eaten so much in at once.'' For the last 3 hours, only the sound of munching and crunching could be heard beside the gentle blowing wind. Without mercy, we unendingly disintegrated the tasty fruits one after another. None were spared! *Burp* ''Ahhh~ My stomach hurt; I think I ate too many of them...'' *Burp* But it was definitely worth it. To my left, I could see Sahra lying on her back, hand-stretched out, showing a small, bloated stomach. Even though she ate nearly 5 times the amount as I did her stomach b?r?ly changed in contrast to me who is now 3 times as thicc as before. Turning her head towards me she had a satisfied grin plastered on her face and fell asleep without even turning into a bolder. Wow, she really just ate herself into a coma and here I thought we couldn¡ät eat all of them. Chuckling a little bit I turned my swollen body and dragged it next to Sahra. Lying next to her. She grabbed me in her sleep and hold me close to her ?h?st, snuggling into my soft scales. Not minding a little skinship I curled myself around her hand before falling asleep in her embrace. ... ... *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Chapter 19 - The royal institute Ferum (A few days back.) "We are here scholar Simon!" Hearing their coachman, Simon closed his book and put it in his leather pouch. "Hey Erik, wake up we are already here." Shacking Erik by the shoulder, he let out a grunt before letting a giant yawn out. "AHH~~ damn that was a long ride." Rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes he grabbed his stuff and got off the coach followed by Simon who just shook his head. ''He slept for most of the ride and he still complained about it?'' Walking up to the young coachman he handed him a few silver coins from his coin pouch. "Thanks, again for the ride Jimmy, her is a little extra." Seeing the silver coins his eyes shined and quickly put them in his pocket. "Thank you very much, scholar Simon, if you need another ride just send me a Peri bird.. Have a good day." Snapping the reins, the two brown lizards that are pulling it let out a grunt. ""Kruu..."" Erik who was standing in front of the pathway that leads to a giant gate stretched his body before picking up the preserved dead body. *Crack* *crack* *crack* "Ahhh~ finally off and I can get paid..." Simon ignored his commend as he walked towards the person standing by the white stone gateway that is already expecting their arrival. The bulky adventurer seeing the scholar walking ahead, fastened his pace to catch up to him. Getting closer towards the gate Simon could see a beautiful woman in a lime green robe with white lining, which covers her slender body. She has emerald green eyes that could pierce right through a person, light green hair that matched with her attire, and two pointy ears poked out behind her silky hair. She was quite tall and her smooth stainless face, and with just one smile she could charm every male looking at her, but instead of a smile she had a frown on her face. Seeing the frown on her face Simon began to sweat nervously and had a pained smile on his face. Erik on the other hand who saw the beauty couldn''t help but be dazed. Being a few meters apart now, Simon approached her and bowed. "Good to see you teacher." Pointing her wand at the bowing scholar a small light blue magic circle appeared. Simon who didn¡ät hear a response from his teacher looked up while still at a 90-degree angle and turned pale. "Wait wait wai- GAHHH!" The wand was pointed right between his eyes as blue lightning shoot at him. Feeling the lightning strike cursing through his body his muscles tensed up and he fell to the ground. Finishing her spell she put her wand back and looked at the scholar that is occasionally twitching on the ground. "Good to see you my ?ss! You are 3 days late, tss. And who are you?" Seeing the beautiful mage looking at Erik he got out of his daze and straightened his back. "I- I am Erik. My party and I took the job of protecting him during the dungeon dive." *Sigh* Letting out a tired sigh her frown turned into a light smile. "Sorry for the poor display of me. I am Luthana Meliamne. It was a quite stressful week, and the headmaster has been bugging me the whole time about Simon''s arrival." Seeing her smile he froze up before stammering, "D- Don¡ät worry you are beautiful- Ah eh- I mean you are fine. Ah eh I mean it¡äs fine." Realizing his blunder he turned bright red. Chuckling cutely at the bulky man''s antics she turned back towards her disciple who was slowly standing up. "Ugh, teacher it isn¡ät my fault that it took longer than expected, the dungeon''s activities are going up." Now back on his two legs he dusted his white robe and looked at his teacher with teary eyes. The shook really hurt but didn¡ät leave any injuries. "I don¡ät want to hear any excuses. Because of you, the headmaster has been breathing down my neck the whole time." Not sparing another glance she turned back and walked towards the giant building behind her. *sigh* "Yes, teacher..." Looking towards the blushing Erik, his mood got a little better, and chuckled a little. ''So this brazen and boisterous meathead could make such a face too.'' "Come on Erik, let''s get this over with." Taking a deep breath he cleared his head and nodded. Walking on the Stone pathway towards the institute, Erik was amazed at the many students and extravagant buildings. He already saw his fair share of noble buildings and stuff during his adventure years, but this is on a completely different level. Luthana who was walking in front lead them inside the giant institute until reaching a 2-meters double white wooden door and knocked lightly on it. From the other side of the room, a deep manly voice could be heard. "Come in." Opening the door she stepped to the side and looked towards the man seated behind a large brown desk with so many pieces of papers on it that it already tilted. He had long grey hair with few strands of white in it. His head was buried in the mountains of papers writing at lightning speed with a feathered pen. To his right was a young woman that was soring the papers. She wears a blue formal attire and has short black hair that reaches her shoulders. She was more cute than beautiful. "Headmaster Ferum, scholar Simon has finally arrived." Saying those words the sound of scribbling suddenly stopped and looked up showing his tired face that had big dark circles under the eyes. He showed a smile before turning towards the young woman. "Hela, be a dear and get us some tea please." Shoveling the papers a little bit she, nodded curtly. "I will be back shortly." Leaving the room she closed the door leaving only 4 people in the room. "Simon, good that you are finally back. Now tell me what you found." Taking a step forward he bowed lightly. "Yes, the reason I took so long coming back is that I underestimated the activities of the woodland dungeon. The tier 2 monsters already reached the 1 floor, and the tier 3 monsters have been spotted on the fifth floor and are moving up in mass. The mana that the dungeon is releasing has been increasing exponentially and countless new species of monsters have been spawning everywhere. Even the save zones aren¡ät spared as the Blessing was overwhelmed. On my way back I have found a dead Nagirus inside a safe place on the first floor." Hearing all that the headmaster frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It is worse than I have imagined. At this rate, a monster stamped will form." Glancing at the bulky adventurer who listened attentively to the conversation, he saw that he was carrying the dead Nagirus body. "But why did you take the body back?" "Ah, right. Because I found out that it died due to a relative potent poison." Stroking his beard the headmaster mumbled, "Hmm, a poisonous or venomous monster inside the woodlands dungeon. How unlucky. It won¡ät survive for long anyway, but a concerning find indeed." "Emmm, I don¡ät think it will die so soon." Hearing the tall adventurer talk everyone in the room turned towards him. The headmaster tilted his head a little and asked, "What do you mean by that?" Scratching the back of his head with his free hand he said, "Well, I heard that a grey snake managed to kill a level 49 scout, showing high intelligence and reflexes, of course, I didn¡ät take it by the word, but some truth is surely there. Putting one and one together I think it was the same monster or same species that killed the Nagirus." Stroking his grey beard the headmaster closed his eyes, thinking about what the adventurer just told him. "Hmmm... it could be a unique monster that spawned there." *sigh* "What a troublesome matter..." Opening his eyes again, he placed his hand on a white crystal ball that was on his desk. The crystal ball immediately began to emit a bright white light, before projecting a holographic panel. He spoke in a gentle voice that could soothe one''s heart. "Why have you called me again Ignus Ferum? I thought, as the headmaster of the prestigious Ferum institute, you also have a ton of paperwork to do." "I wouldn¡ät call you if it wasn¡ät important Clint." Hearing the headmaster''s words his smile disappeared as he turned serious, making his sharp golden eyes even sharper. Folding his hands in front of him he signaled his old friend to continue. "I have called you as another unique monster has appeared. This time it is in the woodland''s dungeon on the first floor. I will send you some scholars to help you investigate this matter. Station there at least 5 imperial guards and 2 imperial mages. I want you to handpick 6 soldiers that are going to escort him." Hearing that more work is piling up for him his eyes slightly twitched. " *sigh* You don¡ät have to worry about that. The royal family already send me a message that they want to make a dungeon dive. Apparently, the second princess is also joining the dive. So I already made the preparations." Mentioning the second princess Simon couldn¡ät help but sweat profusely. "What, the second princes want to enter the dungeons at a time like this!? Well, whatever then. That¡äs all from me. Notify me when something happens." "Will do." Taking his hand off the crystal ball, he looked towards Simon. "You can take a rest now. Just give the monster corps to Hela. Your break is well deserved, but I want to have a report about the dungeon tomorrow." Coming in was Hela, but now with a trail of tea. Handing each on a cup of tea she silently stood beside the table. Everyone took a sip of the tea and let out a satisfied sigh. """"Haaa~"""" "Thanks, Hela. The tea is great as al-" Stopping mid-sentence the headmaster put down his cup and mumbled. "Looks like we are getting a visitor." Finishing his words a person in black clothes appeared in the room. Despite wearing a cape and face mask hiding the person''s identity, the tight clothes wrapped around her skin highlighted her curvy body and plump ?ss. Walking up to Simon she handed him a letter with the royal family''s emblem on it. "The king wants you to meet him in the royal palace in a week, Simon Ferum." Chapter 20 - Teaching Seeing the person suddenly appear they made a shocked face. Just the headmaster and Luthana who already sensed them stayed calm. "The king summons you to the royal palace in a week, Simon Ferum." Having finished her job she immediately disappeared in a small poof of cloud. The first one to break the silence was Erik. "Damn, I didn''t think that the day would come that I would see a shadow guard." *Clap* "Hela, please take the Nagirus corpse to the research facility and give it to Mavis." "Understood headmaster.". Walking towards Erik he handed her the large in clothing wrapped monster corps. Holding it effortlessly on her shoulder, she excused herself and left the room. "You all can leave too now. I still have a lot of papers to sign." Luthana nodded at him before going out first leaving Simon and Erik behind. The two of them said their farewell and left the room. ... Now in the hallway, Erik walked beside Simon. "Puh, finally finished this mission." Nodding at him he gave the adventurer the 3 gold coins as promised and told him that a ride is already waiting for him to take him back to the city. Grinning at the gold coins he just received, he waved Simon goodbye and walked back to the big gate where his driver is waiting. Simon who was now standing in the hallway alone got back to the dorms. Opening the door to his room he put the letter on the desk and unclothed his attire. Laying down on his bed he thought about the thinks he discovered inside the dungeon and the meeting he has to attend with the king. ... Hearing the sound of a bell, he grunted and placed his pillow on his face and tried to fall back asleep. But before he could a sudden knocking sound could be heard. *knock* *knock* Grunting once again at the sound of someone knocking at his door, he rubbed his tired eyes and got up. Looking at his clock he could see that it was only 7 o''clock in the morning. "Who in the hell is knocking at my door so early in the morning..." mumbled Simon under his breath before opening the door. In front of the door stood a tall young man with brown hair and an average build. He wore glasses and had a white and blue school uniform. Grinning at the tired Simon he raised his hand. "Yo, heard that you are back Simon. Get ready professor Meliamne told me that you have to teach the 1 grader about the woodland dungeon, as punishment for being late." Seeing his energetic best friend telling him to get ready he slammed the door shut. ... *Knock!* *Knock!* "Hey don¡ät be like that Simon. Aren¡ät you happy to see me too?" "..." "Professor Meliamne said, that if you don¡ät do that, she will send you into the forest for survival training." ... After hearing some frantic footsteps and rummaging, the door opened again, showing a smiling Simon in a similar school uniform while carrying a thick book. "Which class should I teach again, Rudos." Blinking a few times at the sight Rudos broke out in a laughing fit and laughed at Simon while holding his stomach. "Pff, hahahaahaha!" Gritting his teeth he growled, "Not funny Rudos." and stomped past him. "Ah come on don¡ät be so grumpy. I will buy you a meal. Now tell me how the dive went. I heard that a lot of crazy shit is happening down there." *Sigh* "Yeah, that sums it up pretty well. So what exactly do I have to teach them?" Walking next to him, Rudos took out a piece of paper and handed it to Simon. "Here. This is a note from professor Meliamne. She said that you have to teach them about the Woodland Dungeon as you recently just went in there." Taking the piece of paper he read: "Simon as you just have finished your dive inside the woodland dungeon and professor Mahum who is currently inside the Glacial Dungeon you will teach class 2B about the woodland dungeon and dungeon diving. Ps: Don¡ät forget to write the report." Taking a deep breath he crumpled the letter and threw it to the ground before casting a small fire spell, turning the paper into ash. ... Doing a little bit of catching up, they parted ways as Rudos has to go to his magic education class and Simon has to teach the second graders. As a 2nd year scholar, he had to sometimes teach the second graders about magic, dungeons, and history. To become a scholar you have to attend a mage institute for at least five years before doing an apprenticeship with a mage for one year and then being accepted as their scholar for another 2 years before you are a full fletched mage. So being a scholar alone was a big deal as the graduate rate for mages is pretty low. No, scholars and mages were not common in this country and have been respected. Now standing in front of the room he took a deep breath before opening the door. The moment the door opened low mumbles could be heard. Noticing that someone just opened the door they all quieted down. Walking up to the teacher''s table he looked around the room. The seats were raised and in a semi-circle. The young students were still whispering to each other, so he made a light cough. "Ahem!" ... "So now that I have your attention, my name is Simon Ferum a second-year scholar." Immediately after finishing his introduction, a few gasps and whispers could be heard. Letting out another sigh, he clapped his hand to silence the class once again. ''That is why I hate teaching those brats!'' *Clap!* "Silence... so since professor Mahus is currently leading the dive in the Glacial Dungeon. I will be teaching you about the woodland dungeon and dungeon dives in general." Looking around the classroom he spotted a familiar face and grinned. "You there with the red hair. Tell me what you know about the first 2 floors of the woodland dungeon!" Getting caught off guard he shuttered "Eh- mm the woodland dungeon is... ehhh... on the first floor there are... ehhh..." "Scholar Ferum can I answer the question instead!" shouted a young girl with long blue hair. Turning towards the girl who had her hand raised up his brow slightly raised. "Oh, and who might you be young miss?" "I am Emilia Dregonus von Untrus, scholar Ferum." ''Oh, a descendant of the Dregonus family. Didn¡ät know that a royalty from Untrus is here in Centus.'' "Go on, as Sumir Ferum here clearly didn¡ät know the answer, you can answer it instead of him." Standing up and doing a small bow she began to talk. "The woodland dungeon is located north of the city of Centus in the flower fields and is under protection by the queen bee Nira. The first floor is split into 2 parts, the mountain range, and the mystical forest. There are 4 save zones, namely, the mana pond, the green room, and the two gateway rooms that are leading to the second floor. The second room consists of the giant grass plain and is surrounded by the foggy forest. Not many adventurers are staying there as it is an anomalous floor." "Very good Miss Dregonus. So who does know what an anomalous floor is?" ... "Ehem, then let me tell you. An anomalous floor is like the name states a completely different than what you would normally find in a dungeon floor but is very rare. It could only be found in one in five dungeons and is categorized like the adventurer ranks. The second floor of the woodland dungeon has a difficulty level of E that means that it will only take five E-rank adventurers to survive it. The anomaly in this floor is, that no monsters are in the plain field and only Malim trees could be found scattered around it, but the forest surrounding it is filled with monsters specialized in stealth." Taking a deep breath he paused for a second to let the information sink in and waited for questions. Seeing that nobody raised their hand he continued. "The only reason why the floor is ranked E is, that you can effortlessly go through the plains and only have to run through a small part of the forest. But don¡ät be fooled, because if you even touch one of the fruits from the Malim tree a monster horde will attack you during the night, and if you eat over a certain amount the floor guardian will hunt you down and the difficulty will jump up to a C rank floor. So, as long as you don¡ät touch the fruits everything is fine." "So, can anyone list all the dungeons here in Vextia?" Seeing the blue-headed royal raise her hand again he just smiled and looked around. Spotting a young boy with round glasses and short brown hair raises his hand Simon pointed his finger at him. "In Vexia there are the woodland dungeon, the glacial dungeon, the deep cave dungeon, the Murk dungeon, and the Crus dungeon." "That is correct. So as you now know, there are-" *Ring~!* "Well, I guess that is for today." Hearing the bell ring he picked up the book and walked towards the door, but before he could leave the room, he heard someone shout. "Scholar Simon, will you teach us again tomorrow?" Turning around he saw a brown-haired girl with pigtails and small a statue standing up. Stroking his nonexistent beard he thought. "Well, that is up to teacher Meliamne. If she is shameless enough to shove her work onto me, I will teach you tomorrow too. Hahahaha-" "Ohh~ then I guess I am so shameless and let you teach the whole week till you have to leave for the meeting. I will count on you, my disciple~" Hearing a m?tur? feminine voice interrupting his laughter a sudden shiver run down his back as he broke out in a cold sweat. Slowly turning around he saw a beautiful elven woman with bright green hair that could make every man fantasize about her. Even Simon is staring at her, but for a completely different reason. The woman is obviously his mage teacher, Luthana Meliamne. She was only here to check on her student as she felt a teeny tiny bit bad for shoving her work onto him but hearing him talking about her, she shoved more work onto him without remorse and left. Slumping defeated to the ground Luthana walked back to her room again. Hearing the snickers and laughter''s of the students he stood up and fake coughed to hide the embarrassment. "Ehem-, as you heard I will be teaching you the whole week. Oh, and Sumir I come to my room after school." Hearing him wanting to talk to him, he could only think about the worst and replied in a low voice. "Understood brother." Walking out of the classroom he headed towards his room to write the report that the headmaster requested. Remembering he also has to examine the dead Nagirus he sighed and cursed under his breath. "Haaa... What a drag..." Chapter 21 - Research Back in his room Simon sat down on his chair and began to write his report, which the headmaster requested. *scribble* *scribble* After 3 hours of intense writing, he finally finished his 4-page long report about the woodland dungeon and what he discovered there. Putting down the feather he leaned back into his comfy chair and let out a sigh. "Haa~ time for a well-deserved break." *Knock* *knock* *knock* ... "Nope didn¡ät hear that.". *Knock* *knock* *knock* ... *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* "I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE SIMON! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Groaning he sluggishly stood up and walked to the door before opening it. In front of him stood a tall man in a white rope and googly protection glasses, protecting his bright blue eyes. His hair is grey wavy and by the look at it he didn¡ät have a shower for a few days, and by the bags under his eyes, he didn¡ät sleep eighter. It could be said that he is handsome or above average if he took better care of his appearance and got a good rest. Seeing the person in front of him he blankly stared at him, and spoke in a monotone tone, "Ah, it is just you Uncle Mavis. Why are you knocking on my door like a mad man?" "GRRrr, it is because of your ridiculous find that you brought back." "He? You mean the dead Nagirus?" "Yes, and judging from your reaction you don¡ät know what grave changes the dungeons really are going through. I have been awake for 2 days now to study the dead giant dark ice mantis from a few weeks ago and you bringing the Nagirus back will be the death of me." *Sigh* "Just come to the research room and I will show you how ridiculous the thing you brought back is." The middle-aged man who was ranting and complaining is the head researcher of the Ferum institute. Since small, Simon liked to research and experiment, and Mavis who saw his thirst for knowledge took him under his wings. Over the years they bonded, and Simon now calls him Uncle Mavis, even if they aren¡ät real uncle and nephew. He usually is a calm and well-mannered person, but when it comes to his research and experiments, he would become eccentric and more often than not forget to sleep and eat. So understanding the importance of his uncle''s finding he nodded and grabbed his leather pouch that he always carries with him. ... While silently walking through the giant school hallways, many people looked at them with admiration. Uncle Mavis broke the silence between them, as he was curious about the rumors he heard. "So, you were summoned by the king haven¡ät you." Flinching a little he turned his head towards his uncle and but on a forced smile, "Oh my how did you know dear uncle?" "Ha, brat you are 100 years too young to ask me that. I will take your answer as a yes. Have you done something to the princes, or why is the king just randomly summoning you during this crisis?" "N- No, how did you come to the conclusion that I have done something to the second princes of Vextia?" Smirking at his response he turned towards his nephew and looked at him with his tired eyes "Hoho, when did I talk about the second princess hmmm? I could have meant the first or the third..." "I- no- It." Just managing to let out incoherent stammering he gave up and sighed in defeat. *sigh* Looking at the smug face of his uncle he silently swears to pay him back some time for all those teasings he received. "The king sent me a letter a few days back and told me that I should prepare for another dive on behalf of the second princess. And just yesterday after reporting to father I was told that the princes also want to do a dive and I should come to the royal palace in a week. She probably just wanted to see me because we were both busy all the time and couldn¡ät visit me." Not managing to hold back his laughter Mavis laughed at his nephew and clapped on his back. "Pff- Hahaha~ So she gave you extra work just so she could see you? Hahahaha~ oh how nice it is to be young." Laughing out loud was a rare case for Mavis, so Simon seeing his uncle laugh so joyfully couldn¡ät help but smile. Even his pale face gained a little bit of color back. Despite all his teasing, he could trust Uncle Mavis more than his own father. After some more small talk and talking about research they finally reached a big metal door. Mavis took out a black keycard and held it to the device next to the metal door, producing a beep sound while the door opens. *Beep* Immediately after walking in a strong smell of chemicals and nostalgia waved over him. Simon saw the familiar research facility room and with many vials, flask, utensils, and other stuff you need to research. The room was gigantic and with the help of space magic, it was possible to fit it inside the Ferum Institute¡äs ground. There were already many researchers inside talking and scribbling about their finding while examining various different monster corpses. Spotting a familiar young man no older than 17 approaching him, he smiled and raised his hand. Doing a low bow he greeted them. "Professor Mavis, you should really get some rest. Oh, and you Mr. Ferum good to see you in one piece back again." Seeing his fellow researcher he walked next to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don¡ät be so stiff Jud, and good to see you too." Ignoring the two Mavis just walked past them. "Pah, I don¡ät need a break, come on Simon research is waiting for no one." Simon could just bow lightly and apologize for his uncle''s behavior, before following him into Mavis''s private research room. The other researchers just chuckled or smiled wryly at them, as they are already used to their little skit. Entering his uncle''s private laboratory he couldn¡ät help but be amazed. It wasn¡ät his first time entering it, but the sight of all those documents, flasks, potions, graphs, and notes amazed him. It wasn¡ät a very big room compared to the main research ??p, but it was big enough to comfortably walk around. It even had a side room with a bed for breaks. Sometimes his uncle would spend days researching new potions or tinkering on new gadgets. While standing in the doorway and looking around, the amount of paper increased and in the middle of the room was a metal table with a dead Nagirus laying on it. "This Simon is why your find is so unique!" Having suddenly a paper shoved at his face he stepped back and took it, before glaring at his uncle who already is walking back to study the corps. Letting out a tired sigh for the thousand time. he briefly read through the papers. ''Hmm, the poison isn¡ät that potent for the dose in the blood, but... no no no did I just miss read this part?'' ... "WAIT A MINUTE! UNCLE! Are you sure you didn¡ät make a mistake with your research?! How is it possible that a tier 1 monster has this already!!!!" Hearing Simon screams in his lab a tic mark appeared as he grabbed the nearest clipboard and threw it at him. "STOP SCREAMING!" Waving his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath he continued, "Hmpf, you know I don¡ät make mistakes with my analysis, and yes, it is clearly an anomaly. This information just got out a few minutes ago, you are the first one to see those documents." "We have to inform the headmaster and the king about that. If this species manages to evolve to a tier 5 monster it could be devastating. At this point, even a tier 3 would be able to kill a B rank adventurer in one bite." "Calm down, it isn¡ät that bad. Possessing this kind of poison has its weakness, and after the mana sinks again every adventurer in the Vextia empire, heck, every adventurer on this Kastansia will try and capture it only if they find out its potential, that¡äs why we have to keep this information a secret. And don¡ät forget it is currently in the woodland dungeon, the second-worst possible dungeon for a cold-blooded monster after the glacial dungeon. It would probably take years for it to reach level 40 and be dangerous for us. So don¡ät worry and help me with the gene picture." "Oh, you are right. Sorry for overreacting." It took them 3 hours to make the gene picture of the monster that killed the Nagirus. "Phew~ finally finished. Now let''s see what we have here~" Flashing a maniacal smile Mavis put his hand on a cubical black crystal. Simon who was exhausted stood beside him and waited in anticipation. [Status] Name: ??? Species: Hatchling grey snake (???) Level: 0 [Stats:] Strength: 7 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 20 Mentality: 17 MP: 0 [Skills: Venom Fang lv1, Launch Attack lv 1, Slither lv 1] [Evolution: none] ... "WHAT THE FUCK!?" "HEEEH???" Chapter 22 - Consequences (Back to our little snake!) *Ding* ''5 more minutes, please...'' *Ding* ''All right, all right I will get up now... time to survive another day.'' "Hissss~" Waking up in the warm embrace of Sahra I let out a giant yawn.. Focusing my eyes again I saw a few blue screens floating in front of me. Why is it that every time I wake up a system notification is in front of me...? [Hidden condition met!] [Congratulations you unlocked a special monster core!] [Bonus will be added after reaching level 20!] *flick* *flick* Okay sooo, what exactly did I do to unlock this? Was eating till you are unconscious it? Oh well, not going to complain about it, but when am I going to gain a monster core? Even goblins have one and they are weaker than me... I haven¡ät really thought about it, but what level is Sahra to be able to easily kill so many monsters without getting tired, and does she have a system too, or am I the only one? Looking at Sarah''s sleeping face I just did the closest thing to a shrug and dropped the topic for now. Hmm, will have to investigate that further at a later time, for now, let''s wake up Sahra it is almost- It is nighttime. Starring into the sky a few small dots of lights could be seen, imitating a starry night. But to my surprise, there was another light source right behind me. The white tree that we were greedily looting from is now shining in bright white light. Even the few fruits that are still on the tree are illuminating the dark plain. Turning from the tree and staring into the pitch-black abyss in front of me a sudden sense of fear crept up to me as if my instincts are warning me that something is coming. Looking down at my body I saw that my whole body was shivering. My instincts told me that something was there, watching us. Flicking my tongue a few times, I couldn¡ät sense anything besides the sweet fragrance of the remaining fruits and Sahra. *flick* *flick* My brain was numbed by the overwhelming emotion. Never in my two lifetimes have I felt this kind of emotion and I have even once been on gunpoint. Rooted in fear, I continued to stare. *flick* *flick* *flick* *flick* *swoosh* *flick* *flick* Only the sounds of moving leaves and a howling wind could be heard. *flick* *flick* This silence is not good for my nerves. *flick* *flick* *flick* *flick* ... *flick* *fli-* *Ding* ''!!!!!'' *BADUM!* *BADUM!* *BADUM!* *BADUM!* A loud and clear bell-like sound could be heard as if drowning all the other noises. After calming down I realized that it was only the system notification, my muscles gave up and I slumped to the ground. Having nearly died from a heart attack I covered my eyes and took some deep breaths. ''Deep breathes, deep breaths. It was only the system notification. Deep breathes.'' Taking a few seconds to calm me down, I read the notification that nearly killed me. ''No way... this is punishment I guess...'' ''What? Why did I get a system notification for that?'' *Ding* [Prepare for the first wave!] ''What does it mean by the first wa-'' *Ding* [Warning! Due to consuming over 30% of the Malim tree fruits this floor''s monsters will hurt you.!] ''This is not go-'' *Ding* [Warning Due to consuming over 50% of the Malim tree fruits this floors keeper will hunt you!] ''What why is there mo-'' *Ding* [Warning due to consuming over 90% of the Malim tree fruits the dungeon will actively punish you!] ''...'' *Ding* [You have committed the sin gluttony! The dungeon will try to starve you for the next 4 days!] Gluttony is really a sin and we just let it take over us. My heart sunk every time when a new message popped up. *Ding* [Good luck surviving reincarnator!] ''Ha, haha, ha... SAHRAAAAAA WE ARE IN DEEEEEEEEP SHIIIITTTTT RIGHT NOW!!! WAKE UP!!!'' Taping her cheeks with my tail furiously she growled in annoyance and swatted me away with the back of her hand before turning around continuing to blissfully sleep. Falling to the ground a tick mark appeared on my head as I opened my mouth and bit her in the shoulder. Of course without any venom. Jumping up from the pain in her shoulder, she packed me by the neck before realizing that I am the one who bit her. Looking at me who was dangling from her shoulder, still biting her I let go and landed on the ground. Staring at me angrily she raised a finger just to suddenly freeze up. Making a few rigid movements she clutched her head and slumped down. Not knowing what just happened to her I slithered up to her and tried to calm her down. Lifting her head and looking into my eyes she gave my head a short rub. Kneeing down and clasping her b?r? hands on the ground a sudden pulse ran through the plains, making small ripples into the grassy earth. Disappearing into the darkness she waited. I who was just next to her looked into the darkness, waiting for something to happen. ... 1 second passed. ... Nothing ... 5 seconds passed. ... Nothing ... 10 seconds passed. .... But there was still nothing. Wondering when the wave will arrive, I heard all to well-known howl, but this one was deeper, louder, scarier than the ones in from the earth wolfs. "AWOOOOOOOOOO!" A loud wolf howl echoed throughout the plain. ... ""Awoooooooooo~!"" "Hooooooo!" ""Awouuuuu!"" "Huoooooooo~!" Shortly after continuous howling could be heard as if the void itself was crying in pain. In the distance, a small fog appeared. Slowly creeping in. "Kraa" """Kraakraakraa"""" ""Kraakraa""" "Kraaakra" ""Kraaaa"" Looking up to the sky, dozens of ravens could be seen flying above our head, circling around us waiting for our death. Their pitch-black feathers blend in perfectly into the dark sky while letting out shouts as if berating us and mocking us for the sin that we committed. Turning my head back down towards the nearing fog a few silhouettes could be seen inside it. Instead of the brown dog-sized earth wolfs, they were slightly larger. Their piercing yellow eyes could be glowing inside the fog as they slowly walked up to us, gnashing their teeth, and growling deeply. Now only 50 meters away one of them stepped out of the mist, showing its pure white fur. As its fierce eyes made contact with my green snake eyes a sudden shiver ran down my spine. Seeing the pack leader stop, the others halted. Even the ravens stopped their mocking cries. Letting out another howl towards the skies, the wolves charged out of the fog dragging a string of mist with them. The quickly nearing monsters opened gnashed their teeth and tried to encircle us. Before I could even do anything Sahra was already sprinting past me, towards them with her dagger in hand. Getting close enough five of the wolves surrounded her while the other 4 ignored her and charged straight at me with a mad glint in their eyes. Taking another glimpse at Sahra who was already engaging the attackers I focused on mine. So two on the left and two on the right. ''Heh, I guess I have to use my secret technique!'' Turning around I slithered away as fast as I could and left Sahra behind, having full trust in her that she would survive. Well, she massacred whole packs of wolves before, so five grey wolves shouldn¡ät be that hard for her. While having the wolves on my tail a sudden idea sprung into my mind as I made a B-line towards the tree. Chapter 23 - First Wave Reaching the tree I slithered behind it so that I am out of their sight. Making myself as flat as I could I waited for them to peek forth. Not even five seconds later a wolf head peeked past the thick glowing stem of the tree. Popping up so suddenly I panicked, and my fight or flight extinct kicked in. But for just a second our gazes crossed as we stared into each other''s eyes, I could see its hatred towards me and the panic and fear in mine. The wolf''s eyes widened as it realized that it made a huge mistake. Before it could even react, I lunged at the grey wolf and sunk my two deadly fangs deep inside its throat before pumping its body full with my toxin, paralyzing and killing it in seconds. Letting out a low whimper it slumped down and died. Letting go of the dead body it slumped to the ground. *Ding* [You killed an ?du?t Nebula Wolf!]. *Ding* [136 Exp gained!] *Ding* *Ding* [Level 10 reached!] Hearing a deep growl I turned my head for only a ton of blue screens to flood my sight and blocking my view from the enraged wolf. Being distracted and disturbed by the system notifications, a sharp pain ran across my body. The wolf managed to pierce my grey scales and ripped through my back like a hot knife through bu??er. ''AGH, AGAIN!!'' Experiencing excruciating pain again and again and again and again, I just couldn¡ät handle it anymore as something inside me flipped. For so long I endured all those unimaginable pain... and so I finally snapped for the first time in my new life. All the fear and anxiety disappeared and are now replaced with rage and hatred. The same hatred as the wolves has shown me. ''YOU F*CKING MUTTS! I WILL SO SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!!!'' Facing the overgrown dog I let out a deep hiss. Just as I faced him the third wolf appeared and clawed my face with its razor-sharp claws wounding my emerald green eye and nearly completely blinding me. Half of my vision turned blood red and I couldn''t even close the wounded eye. My eyes burned in hatred as I had to endure another soul-wrenching pain from another paw swipe. I viciously hissed at him before rushing jumping him. As I hung onto its eye it furiously shocks its head and slammed me against the tree, as I took its eye with me. Breathlessly landing to the ground I saw how it exploded a thick mist out of its body while slowly backing off. the dense fog blocked my vision, but thanks to my motion-sensing eyes I could still see him backing off, the venom clearly already taking effect on him. I knew for a fact that it could still see as clear as day in the fog. I looked at his retreating figure and slowly gulped down the wolf''s eye while ???k?n? my lips afterward. To my delight, the eye tasted strangely similar to strawberry jelly. Savoring the aftertaste I could see the angry and pained face of the one-eyed wolf. A crazy glint flashed through my eyes. Finishing eating its eye I leaned against the tree to get some rest. I heard the system notifying me about the wolf''s death, but I couldn¡ät enjoy the moment for long, as the remaining wolf and a new one appeared, growling at me with pure hatred they prepared to shred me into pieces. With my back against the tree, the two cut off my escape route. Well, I couldn¡ät escape anyway with a gaping wound on my back. Would have long bled to death before reaching a safe place. Seeing no other options left I did the only thing I could; Fight them to the death. ''Heh, I guess that¡äs it, but I will at least take one of them down with me if I die!'' "HISSSS!" Raising my bleeding body I let out another deep hiss. Still dazed and hurt from the hard slam against the tree I could only look at the sharp fangs closing in on me. Just as the wolf lunged at me a familiar feeling washed over me, the world slowed down, and my vision turned grey again. The pain, hatred, anger, gone. My turmoil of emotions was replaced with a calm and tranquil mind. I could feel my eyes contract into even sharper slits and my already good vision getting even sharper. But there was something new this time. Something that wasn''t there, something bizarre. A dozen of red lines are now suspended mid-air right in front of me. Recognizing the feeling and changes an evil grin appeared on my face. ''My racial skill activated... Time to kill some mutts.'' ''You damn dogs! Better start praying that I will die because I will make you go instinct if I survive this madness!'' After another round of struggling with the remaining wolf, I finally came out on top as I stand on its eyeless corps with my bloodied body raised high. Letting out a victorious hiss, all the energy left my body as my body had long been functioning solely on my willpower alone. Slumping down my tired mind began to shut down, I couldn¡ät even finish reading the last notification as I blacked out. [System will choose for you as you are unable to choose from the following...] ...hope I won''t wake up as a worm. (Sahra''s side) Running ahead I sliced the wolves while dogging their long claws and jagged jaws. It was a lot harder fighting Nebula wolfs than the Ground Wolfs, but this was still only the second floor, where only peak tier 1 monsters reside. Nonetheless, I can¡ät get overconfident, as they have the number advantage, plus their teamwork is top-notch. Four of them surrounded me and constantly tried to bite or claw me in succession, but due to my sand armor and nimble movements, they only managed to get a few light scratches. While I''m busy with them I could spot three of them running past me directly towards the little snake. Seeing him being chased by a pack of wolves distracted me, and one of them managed to bite me in the arm leaving a shallow flesh wound. Throwing my dagger at one of the approaching wolves right between its eyes, I had now a free hand and packed the one biting me by its head and ripped it off of its head with my tier 2 strength, painting me and my surrounding in crimson red color. Using the head to block another wolf I ran towards my dagger and pulled it out of the Nebula wolf, before continuing slicing. This continued for 10 minutes as I am now surrounded by a pile of corpses and tens of enraged Nebula wolves. Even the second group that was charging towards my little hero turned around and surrounded me. Surviving the first onslaught some of them dragged their dead brethren away, clearing the battlefield. Tired and full of small injuries all over my body I used the chance to catch my breath before they started their second charge. Seeing that they were ready to engage again I took a last deep breath and signaled them to come at me. Showing my sharp teeth I grinned at them. ''I can do this all day.'' To be honest, I was a little excited, it has been so long since I had a decent fight... Chapter 24 - 1 vs 10 Seeing that they were ready to engage me again I took a last deep breath and signaled them to come at me. Showing my sharp teeth I grinned at them. ''I can do this all day.'' To be honest, I was a little excited, it has been so long since I had a decent fight... All the killing was a good way for me to level up, I reached level 29 and even got a title called ''Monster Slicer'', giving me 10% more damage with slice attacks and a plus 5 % chance to inflict a bleeding effect when inflicting damage. The only reason why I¡äm doing so good is, that my mentality stat is too high for them to inflict me with their fear skill. Seeing that I decimated them, the younger one backed off. Well, at least what is left of them.... Now that their numbers are drastically reduced the more experienced one finally stepped forth. They were bulkier and gave off an aura of someone that had already experienced many life and death fights, like the royal guard where I used to live but much weaker... The 10 of them began to circle around me, but this time they all charged me at the same time, instead of chain attacking me. Seeing them closing on to me I clapped my hands and produced a sand cloud before running towards the one right in front of me. Being blinded by the cloud of sand, they all backed off, giving me enough time to use the skill conceal. ''Ts, now I just have enough mana for 2 more skills.'' The wolves quickly recovered from it and looked around. Upon noticing that I was nowhere to be seen, they started to sniff around. One of them gnashed its teeth and lunged in front of him to bite seemingly air, just to get decapitated. ''One down nine to go.'' Some of the blood splattered on me, canceling my concealment. The others didn¡ät even flinch or hesitate to rush towards me. Conjuring a sand shield blocking three of them, two were coming from behind with opened jaws ready to shred me into pieces. One of them left a nasty scratch across my back but paid it with its life as I rammed my dagger into its throat. The other one was blocked with the dead body of its comrade. ''Two down eight to go.'' Pushing the three in front of me back, that are still trying to break through my sand shield, I turned around and bit the one in its neck, ripping a big chunk out of him. It gurgled in its own blood and managed to bite into my shoulder but was too weak to pierce through my sand armor. With my combat mode skill, I have a nearly 360-degree view, I saw that one was leaping through the air towards me. Doing a forward role I picked up my dagger and cut through the jaws of the wolf that was already awaiting me. ''Four down six to go.'' The three I pushed away quickly charged at me once again. Picking up the corps of one of the dead wolves. I threw it at them, hitting two of them, whereas one managed to leap out of the way. Letting out a short whimper the two being hit flew 5 meters back and crashed to the ground unmoving, but they definitely survived this. So now there are two being stuck under the wolf corps, one charging me from the front, one charging me from the right, and two from behind. Quickly catching my breath I waited for the one in front of me to get closer, before throwing my dagger. Hitting the bull''s eye... eh, well, the wolf''s eye. The wolf survived as it tilted its head and avoiding the dagger to reach its brain. Whimpering the wolf backed away and tried to desperately pull out the dagger with its fluffy paws but failing miserably. The two behind me were the next closest to me, so I once again waited for them to get closer. Getting into arms reach I turned around and stepped in between them. Grabbing their heads, I slammed them into the ground with all my might, cracking their heads and the ground. Killing them instantly. ''Six down four to go.'' ''Puh, that was close, thank the gods that they weren¡ät any quicker.'' Ending my short thought I saw the one to my right jumping at me with a camouflage skill, but with my honed instincts, I easily sense its concealed bloodlust. I made a sand shield, blocking him midair, and hurled him away. Quickly run towards the wolf that was still trying to get the dagger out I slipped and stumbled, falling face first down into the ground smearing my face with more blood. The one I shoved back used this change and rushed me. ''Seven down three to go.'' Pushing the body away I could see that the two I threw the corps at are now up shacking the dizziness out of their heads. One saw the wolf with my dagger stuck in his eye and decided to help it pulling the dagger out, whereas the other one was already in my personal space. Rolling out of the way I dodged a paw slam by a hair¡äs breadth and stood up but stumbled a little due to the constant running and slicing. Standing on my wobbling feet I faced him. We starred at each other for a moment before starting to run towards each other at full speed. Just as it was about to jump, I used the last of my mana to make a small sand shield and back slapped him away and continued to run towards the one with my dagger. Seeing me running at them they turned towards me, gnashing their teeth''s and showed me their canines. Coming in sticking distance I jumped and dropkicked him in the face, shoving the dagger deeper into its eye and stabbing its brain. Landing to the ground with a thud I quickly jumped up to my feet while grabbed my dagger but was interrupted by the wolf biting me into my right side. "KREEE!" Screaming in pain I turned towards the wolf, ripping out its eyes with my b?r? hand it cried in pain but persisted through the pain, continuing clinging to me with dear life. Showing no signs of letting go, I pulled my hand back and making my hand flat I rammed it into its right eyehole reaching its brain. Feeling the teeth in my side weaken I pulled out my hand out of its warm head. ''Nine down one to go.'' Clutching the wound with my hand I pulled out my dagger and turned around to see the last one running at me. With one quick motion, it was sent flying through the air. "Aww-" Letting out a little yelp, the last wolf stumbled and rolled right before my feet. Staring down at it I grabbed my dagger, pulling it out. ''Ten down none to go.'' But before I could enjoy this moment any longer, the sound of dozens of growling wolves could be heard around me. Looking around everyone was growling or fletching their teeth like crazed beasts. Just as quickly as they began, they stop, replacing it with the sound of a loud rhythmic thumping. *thump* *thump* *thump* *thump* *thump* Turning around the last of my hope vanished completely. Seeing the towering monster standing behind me induced me with fear. Standing at three-meter high it looked down at me with emotionless eyes, no it looked like it was boring and uninterested. Letting out a short huff the others backed off and began to pull the fallen comrades away, creating a big circle. Lowering its head to face me, I froze up, this wolf was a low tier 3 monster. ''Why is a tier 3 monster here? He shouldn¡ät even be here, to begin with! The alpha could kill me anytime now and he knows that. I would have a 10% chance to beat him if I were at full health, but now? With so many injuries? No chance in hell!'' So not daring to even move a muscle I stood still wondering if my time ends now. But to my surprise, it only took a few sniffs and growled, before huffing and turning around. The other wolves were as confused as me. ''Why did he spare me?'' "Craah!" Brought back out of my stupor, a big black crow landed in front of me and spoke in a hoarse voice "Craah, you have 10 hours to prepare yourself, craah!" As quick as it landed it flew away again. Covering my open wounds with my sand armor I limped towards the tree, where I saw him running towards, with heavy steps. Every step I took tightened my heart, thinking about the worst. ''What if he died? No no no no, that can¡ät be! He is my little hero. He has to survive! He must be alive!'' Quickening my steps, I stumbled and fell but caught myself on the tree, using it as a support. Looking behind me a big wave of relief washed over me, I couldn¡ät help but smile at the sight. In front of me was a large snake resting on top of an eyeless wolf. His once beautiful grey scales are now covered with the blood of his enemies, making him look fear-inducing or terrifying. Maybe due to the glowing tree, but to me he shined in a majestic light. ''Ah~ He has grown so much.'' With a big smile on my face, I leaned against the tree and fell asleep as the tiredness finally caught up to me. Chapter 25 - The gains after the fight (Snake¡äs Perspective) Slowly gaining my consciousness back, I felt my aching body and hissed in pain. When flicking my tongue the pungent smell of blood waved over me. But the pain across my body overrode the smell. The pain was bearable and not nearly as bad as before, probably due to my pain resistance, but still enough to hurt like hell. ''Hehehe, I¡äm still alive. I thought I wouldn¡ät wake up after falling unconscious.'' So with tired eyes and an aching body, I raised my body to scan my surrounding, but as always when I wake up a chain of notifications blocked my vision. Putting them away for now I raised my head. The first thing I saw was a blinding light that ?ssaulted my eyes. Wincing back I covered my eyes with my tail and let my eyes slowly adjust to the bright light. Only after a few seconds was I able to see, that the wolves I killed are still there untouched. Slowly remembering what happened I looked below me and grinned slightly. ''You damn mutt should have stayed where you came from..'' Coming out victorious and surviving another day felt unexpectedly... good. It may have been a close victory, but a win is still a win. This day a small fire lit up as my d?s?r? to live a free life burned stronger than ever. And to achieve that goal, I have to give 110%, because just to survive in this underground hellhole needed 100%. And with the small determination, I gained a little bit of energy back. Sweeping my sight across I spotted someone leaning against the glowing Malim tree, painting a beautiful picture of a peacefully sleeping monster with a beautiful smile on her face. Sleeping against the glowing tree made her look like she had a holy shine to her. My eyes widen as I saw the scenery, but my heart ached when I noticed her wound-ridden body. Seeing Sahra so hurt and weak made me feel uncomfortable. Moving my hurting body I slowly slithered towards her, but something was different this time because when I raised my body up, I could reach her head even if she was sitting... Normally I would only b?r?ly reach her upper belly when she was sitting. Leaning closer I put my forehead on her nape checking her pulse. Feeling the warm body''s beat I let out a sigh of relief. Now knowing that she is save and only sleeping I checked my own body. Comparing myself to Sahra I could see that I was about 2 meters long, quadrupling my length, from my former half a meter. But despite my length, I stayed relatively slim. Seeing that there were no further changes other than my size I curled around Sahra in a protective manner and laid my head on her ??p but still stayed on guard all time. *Sigh* I just wanted a free and slow life¡­ but now an entire floor is literally trying to kill me including the dungeon itself... Looking at the dozens of system notifications that I received I couldn¡ät help but grin. [You killed an ?du?t Nebula Wolf!] [133 Exp gained!] [You killed an ?du?t Nebula Wolf!] [156 Exp gained!] [You teased death gaining 3 intelligence!] [You teased death gaining 5 intelligence!] [130 Exp gained!] [You killed an ?du?t Nebula Wolf!] [167 Exp gained!] [You teased death gaining 5 intelligence!] [You reached Level 10!] [Good job on reaching Level 10!] [Info: Reaching Level 10 is a big deal for monsters as not only do they unlock their monster core, they also can decide which path they want to evolve and specialize in. It could be compared to human¡äs job class, but monsters can¡ät change their specialization once chosen. It will also unlock additional mutations that will be available every 10 levels from now on. So choose wisely between the following: Guardian Serpent: perks; hardened scales, increased muscle, taunt skill. Spitter Snake: perks; faster movement, able to spray venom, enlarged venom gland. Shadow Snake, perks; conceal skill, unlock dark attribute, decreased detection rate. Death Serpent, perks; weakened body, mutated eye, death glare skill, unlock death attribute. Berserker Snake, perks; pain immunity, fire resistance, enhanced strength, lowered intelligence, emotionally unstable, increased in size. Next specialization selection will be available once reaching level 40!] ... Seeing the notification I remembered the big blue screen blocking my vision during my fight, leading to the damn wolf injuring me. Cursing the system a dozen times, I took a few deep breathes and calmed myself. Reading through the notification I was shocked and impressed at the same time but reading further my jaw dropped. [System will choose for you as you are unable to choose from the following specializations and choose for the optional path: Menacing Serpent!] ''That son of a system choose for me! It is not bad, but now my change of starring monsters to death vanished! It would have been so cool damn it.'' Letting out another string of curses I grumbled and continued to read the long line of notifications. [Due to overloading your body with mana you unlocked the siphon core, increasing your mana regeneration by 50%!] [You are now able to receive and give one name!] Ahhh, so that is what I gained after stuffing my stomach full of the sweet fruits, but was it worth being hunted down by the whole floor? Only if I am able to survive this mini-event... at least I am getting much-needed exp. Oh and I can finally have a name... but I can¡ät name myself as it seems. Wait I can give names now? Is it something special? Guess I will try it out on Sahra... Finally, through all the notifications, I looked at my status. ''System show me my status please!'' [Status] Species: Menacing grey youngling serpent (???) Level: 9 --> 10 [Stats:] Strength: 25 --> 43 Agility: 32 --> 40 Intelligence: 43 --> 62 Mentality: 38 --> 46 Hp: 80/120 MP: 50/50 1. Limit Breaker (Increases stat gain from evolutions) 2. Teasing death (What will not kill you will make you smarter) Curse: 1. Gluttony (You will stay hungry and thirsty even if you eat and drink.) [Time: 3d 18h 23min 11sec] [Skills: Venom Fang lv4, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 3, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv3, Crush lv1, Intimidation lv1] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] Holy shit, my stats went through the roof! It nearly doubled, even my skills leveled up. Oh, Pain Resistance leveled up two times! Yes! And thanks to teasing death so often my intelligence stats are now my highest stat, making remembering and learning things easier. *sniff* *sniff* I came a long way since I¡äve been born, I am so proud of myself. Shedding a silent tear I smiled at my stats. Noticing that my species change I couldn¡ät help but smile a little as I am no longer a hatchling. I didn¡ät get the difference between snake and serpent but there probably isn¡ät one so I just shrugged it off. But then I saw the curse that I received for being a glutton. Seeing the timer I noticed that I was unconscious for around 5 hours. ''Well, I deserved that one I guess¡­the next 4 days will be a pain in my tail.'' Having finally a little bit of time to sort my thoughts again, I noticed that my way of thinking changed. Meaning that I¡äm faster frightened and even my behavior is now more childish than normal... well, I¡äm literally a few days-old snake with an undeveloped brain, despite having high intelligence stats. ''Wait do I have to go through puberty again!? Oh no, please don¡ät!'' Just thinking about going through puberty with a hormone-controlled body pained me. Letting out another tired sigh, I accepted my fate and used the change to rest my tired mind. *flick* *flick* ''Wait a minute¡­'' *flick* *flick* Smelling the familiar green smell next to me I looked at the source and saw the big, well now medium, purple crystal. Remembering the taste of ''sweet release'' from the first time I ate one of the purple crystals, my mouth began to water. Thinking back, I recalled a system notification saying that I won''t get the bonus due to my lack of a monster core, but now that I have one... Turning towards Sahra who was in a deep sleep, I slithered towards it with opened jaws. Dripping with saliva I greedily swallowed it in one fell swoop. The familiar taste of ''sweet release'' once again overloaded my senses as I wiggled in ecstasy. And as I have predicted, I got a system notification. *Ding!* [You have eaten a monster crystal with a suitable affinity!] [Poison whip lv1, poison resistance lv1, poison affinity lv1 unlocked!] [Max mana capacity increased by 2!] Grinning like a foul, I couldn¡ät help but thank the gods for this luck. I just wanted to secure a tasty meal from the Nagirus rats, but instead, I unlocked my poison affinity, got three skills, and a slight increase in mana capacity. Using the time, I tested my new skill. At first, I wanted to cast the spell by saying it in my mind, but nothing happened. Out of anger I waged my tail and slapped it to the ground just to create leave an imprint on the floor. Looking closer I could see that the spot was now slightly purple with purple fumes coming out. Taking a quick peek at my stats I could see that this skill costs 10 mana! Meaning I could only cast it 5 times before running out of mana. I slapped my tail on my face as I realized my own dumbness, ''How could I have overseen this with my high intelligence stat? ...Wait did I just slammed my poison-coated tail in my face...'' Panicking I quickly put my tail down and waited for a reaction. ... Feeling no pain or discomfort I sighed ''Phew, I am immune to my own poison...'' Now trying to figure out how my intimidation skill works; I did numerous things. Finally managing to do it after a few minutes of trying, by imbuing my hiss with mana, sending out a cone-shaped transparent red wave. Estimating the range, I would say that it has a range of more or less 5 meters and costing 30 mana peruse. That is more than double of my whole mana! The last thing I did was to use my new Crush skill on one of the dead corps, which I regretted shortly after. I had to roll around the grass for 5 minutes to finally remove all the blood and gore from me, and to my surprise, this used mana... well it was a lot cheaper, only costing 5 mana. Using up all my mana I felt sluggish and tired and concluded my test. Slithering back towards Sahra I laid my head back on her th??hs. After an hour or so I could feel Sahra move weakly while letting out pained m??ns. Slowly regaining her senses she felt something on her ??p and looked down. I could see that the black dots on her face widen in shock before cupping my head in her hands and bopping my head with hers. Pulling me into a hug, I could feel her soft hands running through my scales in a gentle manner. I let out a small, satisfied hiss. Moments like this reminded me of how good simple body contact could feel. After a few seconds what felt like minutes, she let me go. Looking in her pitch-black eyes with a smile I thanked her, ''Thank you for everything Sahra.'' Sahra suddenly froze up before a beautiful smile blossomed on her face, showing a blissful and delighted face despite the pain on her body. Not knowing why her mood just improved I tilted my head. Ignoring my questioning look she pulled me closer and began to rub her cheeks on mine. I was shocked, no, not because of what she is doing, but because of the notification, I received. [Singing Stone (sand) accepted the name ''Sahra'' giving her the title, ''Thy who was named''] ''So you will get a title after being named... I wonder what effect it gave Sahra.'' Finishing showering me with affection she looked at me once again, inspecting my new appearance carefully, she gave me an approving nod. But then she did something that almost made my eyes pop out of my sockets. ''How the...'' Chapter 26 - My name is... [Singing Stone (sand) accepted the name ''Sahra'' giving her the title, ''Thy who was named''] ''So you will get a title after being named... I wonder what effect it gives Sahra.'' Finishing showering me with affection she looked at me once again, inspecting my new appearance carefully, she gave me an approving nod. But then she did something that almost made my eyes pop out of my sockets. ''How the...'' I could see a blue panel floating in front of her. It was the same blue screen that followed me ever since I was born in this world.. Reaching her hand out she taped it once, suddenly her body began to emit steam from her body. She didn¡ät look hurt or anything, and only watched it happen with a happy smile plastered on her face. Slowly her featureless face grew two little sharp fangs that poked out of her mouth, her body turned, what I could only describe as, more humanoid than before with more features and details, for the lack of better words. It wasn¡ät a major change as she already has the form of a human girl, but you could still notice the changes. But the most noticeable change is the small grey symbol on her ?h?st. It looked like a snake that coiled around an apple in an octagon. Standing there frozen like a statue I fell into deep thoughts, while she was just inspecting her changes, but without a mirror, she couldn¡ät see the fangs and traced them with her tongue, which looked oddly cute. Letting out a laugh we were both shocked by the change. Before it sounded rougher, but now it was clear and more pleasant to hear. She still couldn¡ät speak but at least the noises she produced are now even pleasanter than before. After a few rounds of examination and testing her new voice a familiar blue screen popped up in front of her that was just too familiar to me. Immediately a million thoughts rushed through my mind. ''Is she a reincarnated person too? Does everyone have a system? What¡äs going on? Why can I see her status window? Did she always have one? Was naming someone so important? What are her stats?'' A sudden jolt put me out of my thoughts and my eyes refocused themselves. Kneeling in front of me Sahra pulled me in a tight hug again. I didn¡ät know why she was in such a good mood despite the predicament we are in right now, but I welcomed the hug with open "arms"... despite lacking a pair. [Status] Name: Sahra Species: Singing Stone (Sand) Level: 25 --> 29 [Stats:] Strength: 92 -->118 Agility: 135 --> 171 Intelligence: 70 --> 82 Mentality: 85 --> 97 MP: 98/180 Title: 1. Goblin Hunter (increases damage dealt to goblins) 2. Monster Slicer (10% slice damage, plus 5% bleed effect when dealing damage) 3. Thy who was named (Gives 5% increase in all stats when near the person that named you) Curse: 1. Gluttony (You will stay hungry and thirsty even if you eat and drink.) [Time: 3d 15h 13min 49sec] [Skills: Sand Armor lv 8, Sand Cloud lv 6, Conceal lv 8, Poison Bite lv 5, Dagger Mastery lv 8, Scan lv 6, Combat Mode lv 6, Pain Resistance lv 2] [Racial Skill: Earth Affinity lv 5, Charming Singing lv 2] [Flexible Hardened Sand Armor] [Better Vibration Sensing Sensor] [Sharp Piercing Regenerating Teeth] [Flexible Burst Muscles] [Poison Fang] (An: He can¡ät see the progress from level 25 to level 29. It is only for you readers to have a better grasp of leveling.) Seeing another person''s stats for the first time, I could finally compare myself and guess just how strong or weak I am right now. Her stats were more than double that of mine... well what did I expect from a level 29 monster. She is so close to reaching level 30 and probably evolving again. Knowing how hard it is to level up skills, I couldn¡ät help but be astonished by the high level. The new title that she gained is op I hope I will get a name soon. All of her titles are useful, especially the Monster Slicer. But what shocked me the most is her high intelligence stat. I knew she was a clever monster and could be compared to human levels of intelligence, but hers was even higher than mine. ''I know that intelligence made you better at remembering and understanding things and piecing things together, but does it mean she was smarter than a human? Probably I guess...'' Finished looking at her stats I looked up to see her starring intensely at my face. ... Not knowing her behavior I just tilted my head. ''Why is she staring at me so hard? Did I do something wrong?'' Seeing no signs of breaking the eye contact we stared at each other for a few minutes before my stomach growled in protest. Hearing my grumbling stomach my grey face turned slightly pink, I even heard a slight chuckling noise. Turning away out of embarrassment, I wanted to feast on the dead wolves only to see them being dragged into the earth by big roots. ''No no no no!'' "Raaaahh~!" Seeing the food being cocooned and dragged down I couldn¡ät help but cry out. Falling to the side and laying on the ground I silently wept. ''So that is what it meant by the dungeon will starve us...'' *Ding* [Sahra want to name you ''Raas'', do you accept?] [Yes!] [No!] My slit-like pupils widened so much that it turned round at the sight. ''Did she want to name me Raas by my outcry just now?!'' Pushing my body up I turned towards Sahra who was fidgeting and twirling her hands in anticipation and nervousness. Each second that passed she became more and more anxious while her mood dropped at a rapid speed. *Sigh* Letting out a defeated sigh I clicked on yes while thinking, ''Guess I will become a damn Pok¨¦mon then...'' Immediately after pressing on ''Yes'' another screen popped up. [Choose one of the following skills:] [Dagger Mastery] [Conceal] [Combat Mode] ''Hmm interesting, so Sahra chose the skill "Venom Fang" from me... I wonder what her other choices were... but never mind that for now. First things first, Dagger Mastery is out of the picture, I don¡ät even have hands to hold them... BUT WAIT! Sahra did grow some fangs by choosing the skill Venom Fang, maybe I would gain hands too!'' While I was mentally fighting myself Sahra is just joyfully squirming and squealing around like a schoolgirl that was meeting their idol. After a long debate between my d?s?r? of having hands again and my logical thinking, I decided to not choose Dagger Mastery as the possibility of not growing hands was too big... So that only leaves us with Conceal and Combat Mode. Tapping my chin with my tail I thought hard on what skill to choose, ''So Conceal reduces one''s presence and is good for hiding and avoiding battles. Combat Mode, hmm I didn¡ät even know Sahra had that skill. But I remember her face turning into an upside-down triangle when going into fights. Well, but what does it do? She did use Conceal more often than Combat Mode when looking at the levels of the two skills. Hmmm, I already have enough offensive capabilities, time for some escape skills.'' Making up my mind I pressed on Conceal. Just like what happened to Sahra my body began to release steam, but an itchy feeling creeped up. The feeling got stronger and stronger till I felt my scales slip off. ''Agh, I think I am shedding again!'' After only a few minutes the skin slowly peeled off of me leaving only the husk of me behind. What should have been an act over several days for normal snakes took me only a few short minutes, for what I¡äm extremely thankful for, as the process was extremely itchy and uncomfortable. But afterward, you will feel refreshed and clean, as if you were detoxified and rejuvenated. What was revealed under the formally grey scales are now shiny whitish-grey scales that had a tiny tinge of yellow in them, but it couldn¡ät be noticed at first glance. I am already liking what I am seeing as I despise the color grey. Additionally, a yellow mark appeared over where my heart should be. The symbol was a yellow hourglass with a crown on top and a mountain range in the background. The symbol looked cool and aesthetic for me and I always wanted to have a tattoo so I didn¡ät mind it. Satisfied I slithered towards Sahra who was still fussing around. I bobbed her leg a few times to get her attention, before being suddenly ?ssaulted by her. ''Gah~ Sahra what are you doing!?'' With sparkly eyes, she touched my whole body and was overjoyed by my new appearance. Trying to slither away only made my situation worse as she sat on me and pinned me down. With glazed eyes I turned on my back and looked at her face pleading for mercy, but she was just smiling down on me. I could swear she had a devilish grin on her face. So for the next few minutes, I was being molested by a human-looking monster girl while being next to a glowing tree inside what I presume to be a dungeon... Never in my life would I thought that I would end up in a situation like this. Finally finished being touched all over she got off me and let out a satisfied sigh before wiping away the non-existing sweat on her forehead. Covering my eyes with my tail I sniffed ''Now I can¡ät get married anymore...'' Slowly getting up I grumpily slithered towards Sahra who was leaning on the tree in a meditating position and laid my head back on her th??hs. ''You better take responsibility you molester¡­'' mumbled I in my head jokingly with a fake pout as we tried to recover as much health and mana as we can before the next wave hit us. Seemingly knowing what I just thought about she gently stroked my back while letting out a chuckle. Shuddering a little bit I thought ''A woman''s intuition is scary!'' Chapter 27 - Scarecrow (An: I corrected a mistake by the mana cost of the skills, it should be now edited! This chapter will be somewhat sad in the beginning, but I hope you don¡ät mind.) Not long after laying my head on Sahras ??p, the calm darkness consumed me and I fell asleep. But this time it was different... As I drifted in pure darkness the appearance of two red glowing eyes appeared in front of me before my vision changed. Opening my eyes I could see the brown wooden floor. I blinked a few times before noticing that I have my hands back. Before I could collect my thoughts a sudden deep voice reached my ears. "What are you daydreaming about?". ''No, it can¡ät be!'' Remembering the voice a sudden sense of dread came over me. "Papa, please save me! I am scared!" Looking up I could see a scared child that was tied up and blindfolded. *Slap* "Shut the fu?k up and be a good girl if you want to live!" Seeing the familiar scene that I so desperately tried to forget my mind panicked. ''No no no, what is happening? This can¡ät be!? Make it stop!'' but I couldn¡ät move my body as if I¡äm being controlled. "Agh, it hurts papa! Save me!" Grasping my heart and trying to stop hyperventilating I looked towards the masked man that was next to the crying girl and pointing a gun at her head. "N- No please stop I will do it, I promise. So just let her go." ''No no no make it stop... I don¡ät want to do it again!'' but my body didn¡ät listen as I grabbed a kitchen knife that was to me, turning around I saw the sight of a tied and blindfolded young woman. She was desperately crying and squirming to get free. The ropes dug into her arms from all the moving, but it only damaged her skin. Holding the knife in my two hands my eyes watered before plunging the knife into her ?h?st. "HMMMM!" Letting out a muffled scream that gradually died down her movements stopped as she laid there lifelessly on the ground. Falling backward I looked at my trembling hands while continuously saying sorry over and over again. "I- I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry." *Bang* "AGHHHH IT HURST PAPA! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!" Hearing the scream and sobs my head turned and saw the masked man shooting the girl in her leg. Deep red blood dripped to the ground, while she was desperately trying to hold back her sobs, scared to be hurt again. "I did what you wanted to, so let her go now! What do you even want?" Pleaded I but was only answered by maniacal laughter. "Ahahahahahaha, ha~. Shut up!" *Bang* *Bang* "UGHH..." Gritting my teeth from being shot in my legs I fell on my knees clutching the wounds. "Ahh~ this felt so good. Sadly, I wound be seeing you again..." The masked man then lowered his gun before saying, "You know what. I have enough. I will let you live." Hearing his words a wave of relief washed over me just to be crushed. "But not her~" My eyes widen as I reached my hand out trying to stop him. "NO STO-" *Bang* *Thud* Seeing the girl''s body falling down feelings of despair, sadness, hatred, disbelieve, unfairness flooded my mind. "Ahahahaha your face right now is priceless. Let me take a picture." *Click* Looking at the smug face that is hidden behind his mask he held his phone in his hand and showed me the picture. My body burned in rage, but I couldn¡ät move due to the bullet wounds. "YOU WILL REGRET THIS! I WILL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!" Hearing me scream at him he let out a weak chuckle before smiling "It was nice seeing you again b-r-o-t-h-e-r~" Finishing his words he aimed his gun at his temple and pulled the trigger. "Wha-" *Bang!* Once again, my vision turned dark, and I woke up with a jolt. Jumping up I launched myself in front and bit at the first thing that was in front of me. My mind was clouded by anger and sadness, but luckily before I could pour my venom, I realized that I bit into Sahra''s leg who was standing in front of me with her back turned. Removing myself from her leg I slithered backward. Her leg has now two small puncture wounds that dripped crimson blood. ''I I- am sorry Sahra. I didn¡ät mean to hurt you.'' She didn¡ät even move or react and only stood in place. But then I noticed someone or something standing in front of her. Focusing my eyes I couldn¡ät believe what I saw. It was a scarecrow. It has long lanky wooden arms and legs that were bound together with loose robes and rusty nails. It wore tattered clothes, a straw hat, and a wooden mask that covered its whole face where two red eyes shined through. Sensing that I looked at it, the scarecrow turned its head towards me and laughed "Shishishishishi~ had a good dream little snake" It spoke with a scruffy mocking tone and wielded a two-meter-long rusty scythe that was currently embedded in Sahra''s shoulder while she was trying to prevent it from going any deeper with her b?r? hands. "Raaaa!" Hearing his mockery and injuring Sahra I unconsciously cast intimidation, but he didn¡ät even flinch. I was so angry that I didn¡ät even question why I could understand it. Jumping at him he quickly backed off. I placed myself in front of Sahra in a protective manner as she lumped down on her knees before regaining her senses. Taking a quick glance at me she activated combat mode and got into a defensive stance. The scarecrow laughed at us while spinning the giant scythe as if it were weightless. "Shishishishi never have I thought to see a singing stone with another monster. Shishishishi how amusing~" He then let a horrifying scream out that drenched my back in a cold sweat. Using this chance he rushed at us ready to cleave us like wheat during harvest season. Having Sahra behind me I decided to attack him first. Sensing that I was about to attack the scarecrow Sahra touched my back before a layer of yellow sand covered my skin. Going low I dodged the swing that nearly cut me in half. Turning sideways I cast poison whip and slammed my tail in his ?h?st sending him flying away, before crushing in another scarecrow that caught him. I was astonished by the strength behind my attack just now but just shrugged it off for now. ''Ts only 12 mana le-'' And at this moment I realized that we were surrounded by scarecrows that had their arms stretched out sideways and stood in a perfect circle around us. The good thing was they were quite a bit shorter than the one we are fighting. Meaning the one we are facing right now is their boss or something like that. The one wielding the scythe stood at two and a half meters, but despite his fragile look it was oddly robust and tanked my slam that could even crack the ground, like nothing. And as it was made out of hay wood some nails and rope my poison did nothing to him. The others all had small sickles or lanterns as their weapons. Standing up it dusted himself off and spoke with an amused tone, "Ho, you pack quite a punch, or should I say tail? Shishishishi. It has been a long time since a tier 1 monster managed to push me back. You have potential little one, so struggle and give it your all if you want to survive, shishishishi." Raising his scythe up high he slashed down sending a dark crescent blade at me. ''Shit it is too fast to dodge!'' Taking the attack head-on, it pushed me back a few meters before dissipating, leaving a shallow cut on my stomach. ''Phew, luckily Sahra gave me a sand coat.'' I couldn¡ät dwell long as he swung his scythe a dozen times, bragging us with dark slashes. Sahra with her high agility stats could dodge most of them and block the rest with a sand shield. On the other hand, I had to give it my all to not being cut into pieces but was to slow and took many shallow cuts. "Ohh~ good, good. You both survived it. Then how about that!" Hearing the deep playful voice we looked at him pointing his palm at us before a flock of black crows appeared and flew at us. Sahra rushed towards me with her dagger in her hand. Slashing 3 pitch-black crows in half they turned into a puff of black smock. I myself fended them off by biting and smashing them with my tail. But that turned out to be a mistake because as soon as I bit them flashes of the horrible scene resurfaced making them an opening to ram their sharp beaks into me. So I avoided biting them and continued to slam my tail into them. Naturally, the scarecrow did not stay idle and continued to cast or summon waves after waves of pitch-black crows that have red glowing eyes. Chapter 28 - Scarecrow 2 I don¡ät know when but after we killed the last crow, we realized that the scarecrow stopped sending his nightmare crows at us. Finishing fighting the flock off I was mentally and physically exhausted. They were nimble creatures with great teamwork and packed a heck of a peck, but the worst thing is they didn¡ät have any exp. While we were being pecked, the scarecrow just watched us while commentating on our mistakes and on what we should improve on. During all this fighting my control over my own body improved drastically. Before I was awkward at using my tail in battle and having no limps, but now I could utilize my tail for various things like grabbing, slamming, and even thrusting. Sahra too got nimbler, and her attacks became smoother with less wasted movements. I really don¡ät know if I should thank him for "training" us or rip his core out and devoured it. Probably the latter for letting me relive my horrible past. Now covered in scratches and injuries he slapped his wooden hands together. "Now that you have shown me that you are somewhat strong, it¡äs time to begin the real." Dashing towards us he threw his scythe between us. Jumping to the side we avoided it, but he suddenly pulled his hand backward and the weapon flew towards Sahra.. She immediately dropped down on her knees while her head touched the ground. The attack just b?r?ly passed by her. The scythe then made a sharp turn and returned to his hand just in time to slash vertically at me. Tilting away from the blade it still managed to grace my cheek but got stuck in the ground. I used the chance by slithering up the hilt and on his arm before crushing it with my new learned skill crush. Breaking his right hand and the hilt of his weapon in pieces he grabbed me by my neck and threw me at Sahra where she caught me with some difficulty. Looking at his destroyed arm that hung loosely on a few strings he grabbed it and ripped it off. Pulling a small seed out of his trouser he held it on his right shoulder before a new wooden arm sprouted from the seed that attached to his shoulder. His new arm looks a thousand times better than the few poorly held together sticks that was his right arm. Taking another seed out he did the same thing with the scythe repairing it to its former rusty "glory". "Ha~ I don¡ät remember the last time I had to repair myself," said he while reminiscing the past. Getting his new fingers accustomed by clenching and unclenching his hand a few times he stabbed his weapon into the ground. He was grinning the entire time behind the wooden mask as he walked towards us b?r?handed. Stopping a few meters in front of us he signaled us to come at him. To which we did. Sahra was the first to reach him and did many fast slashes with her dagger, but none of them connected. He deflected or dodged them all while still counterattacking with a few fast jabs and kicks. Sahra managed to block them by casting a sand shield on her left hand but the brute force alone numbed her hands. Meanwhile, I cast conceal and slithered behind the scarecrow and tried to grab his leg to bring him out of balance, but he saw through my concealment and evaded my tail. However, this led to giving Sahra an opening where she managed to cut off his left arm but was sent flying by a roundhouse kick to the stomach. He didn¡ät bother with remaking his left arm and just took the cut-off arm and stuck it back on. Grabbing me by the face I bit him into his wooden hand and released some of the poison in hope of doing some kind of damage even if it was highly unlikely. To my surprise, his eyes widened, and the red burning eyes turned blue then green, and back to red again. Flinging me towards the downed Sahra he let out a loud laugh, "Shishishishishi, this confirms it. I am leaving now, but don¡ät worry my children will entertain you in my place. Stay alive young snake and little princess~" Walking back towards his weapon he picked it up and slumped it on his shoulder before disappearing into the darkness. ''Heh? Did he just call Sahra little princess and what did he confirm just now? And why is he sparing us? Didn¡ät he come here to kill us even though he was toying with us the entire time?'' As those thoughts rushed through my head the emotionless scarecrows started to move. A few bright orbs flew towards us. Sahra cast another sand shield, but it was too small to cover every side. I used my body and covered her body. During the battle, the scarecrow did use much more force when attacking Sahra than me and currently I have much more health remaining than her. Sahra who was quiet the entire time let out a high-pitched scream that stunned everyone, even me. Sprinting at the group in front she shredded them into pieces and let out her whole frustration from being toyed with on the poor scarecrows. This scene once again made me promise myself to never anger her. Even if they don¡ät have a nervous system I was almost sorry for them getting shredded into confetti and their cores ripped out... almost. But luckily for me, they didn¡ät have blood and intestines that could be sprayed everywhere. It would have been a pain to clean ourselves without water and let alone the stench. The lantern carrying one that cast the fire spells readied for another barrage, but I slithered towards them to take them out. A few of the remaining melee attackers blocked my patch but I just grabbed the closest one with my tail and bashed him into the rest, using him like a hammer. They were pretty light as they were just out of sticks, hay, and a few strings. I did gain exp from them, but it was on the lower end, but they dropped brownish-yellow monster cores. After killing all the 40 scarecrows I realized that I was standing on a pile of hay and sticks., and what felt like an eternity the "sun" finally began to rise up again, clearing the darkness and revealing once again the calm grassy plain. Not long after starring into the distance, the long-awaited system notification popped up. *Ding* [Congratulations on clearing the second wave!] [The third wave will start in 10 hours!] *Sigh* ''So we have to survive another wave heh? I hope this will be the last one...'' Looking towards Sahra, I could see that she was collecting the hay and clothes they were wearing before putting them under the tree. Smiling wryly at the sight I scratched my head. Not wanting to just idly sitting around and letting Sahra do all the work I grabbed the brownish-yellow cores one by one and piled them next to where Sahra was making a bed/nest. Finished making the stack I laid next to her on the makeshift bed enjoying the light morning breeze. Sinking into the soft hay I let out a sigh. But now that I¡äm not under attack and have some silence the memories that I suppressed once again haunted me. Sahra who was always keen on reading emotions noticed my distress even though she was dead tired and pulled me into a hug. I can never thank her enough for just being there for me in this unknown world I have been thrown into. Without her, I would have been long dead. So lying next to each other she began to produce a rhythmic beat. Calming down and sorting my thoughts out I let my past rest and concentrated on the presence. ''It is finally time to move forward I guess...'' Now opening my status to see just how much exp I gained during the 40 vs 2 battle. Seeing my stats, I remembered the last words of the scythe-wielding scarecrow. ''Hah, so that explains everything¡­'' Chapter 29 - Meeting (I have corrected the big mistakes in all the already published chapters. Only grammar and spelling mistakes were corrected, but feel free to reread it if you want. And sorry for the deleted chapter comments due to the editing I did. m(_ _)m. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!) [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing grey youngling serpent (???) Level: 10 --> 11 [Stats:] Strength: 43 --> 47 Agility: 40 --> 43 Intelligence: 62 --> 65 Mentality: 46 --> 49 Hp: 43/125. MP: 5/60 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases stat gain from evolutions) 2. Teasing death (What will not kill you will make you smarter) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage or damage resistance when protecting or fighting for someone, but betrayals will give you the curse ''Betrayer'' leading to a permanent 10% decrease of your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) Curse: 1. Gluttony (You will stay hungry and thirsty even if you eat and drink.) [Time: 3d 15h 12min 49sec] [Skills: Venom Fang lv 4, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 3, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 3, Poison Resistance lv 1, Poison Affinity lv 1, Crush lv 1, Intimidation lv 1, Poison Whip lv 1, Conceal lv 1] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv 1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] ''Hah, so that explains everything¡­ but it is interesting. I didn¡ät get the same title as Sahra did... so that is why I did take almost nothing on damage when fighting with Sahra. But is she really royalty? I guess I will ask her once I learn how to communicate. If even a scarecrow managed to speak why can¡ät a snake, right!? Even if she is royalty so what, that is even better as I gained an op title.'' So going back to sleep I could feel a slight trembling next to me. Turning my hand I could see Sahra shivering. Opting to calm her down as she did with me, I flicked my tongue and hissed a calming beat while slowly taping my tail. Feeling the trembling stopping, and her rhythmic breathing I too went to sleep. (Sahra¡äs perspective) The voice of the old scarecrow still lingered in my mind. ''How did he know of my origin? Father told me about the second floor a few times, but could it be that they know each other or why did he spare us? From what I know the floor guardians are supposed to eliminate troublemakers. Agh, I was so dumb to just eat the fruits and fall asleep... dragging little sna- I mean Raas into this mess.'' *sigh* ''I will just take it as another challenge to improve myself, as father would have said...'' Thinking back towards the past and my father I couldn¡ät help but get a little sad. I have lost everything in just a few days as the rising mana enabled ''them'' to find and attack our little settlement. The worst part is that the humans that were sent to help us betrayed us because of their own greed and hunted us down for our cores and bodies. Remembering the poachers that killed my brother I trembled in anger but feeling the flicking tongue of Raas and the soothing hiss I calmed down and looked at him. ''I am so glad that you are here, and I can¡ät believe you accepted my name, Raas~ I am so happy to have you! And to think that you were the one to take the first step and going to name as soon as you were able to. Oh, how bold of you~'' Losing myself in my thoughts I finally managed to fall asleep. (Normal perspective) In a dimly lighted room sat the scarecrow with 7 other creatures in a circle around a stone marble table. The room was lit with floating orbs of light that didn¡ät emit any kind of heat and glowing vines. Other than the roundtable there are various flowers and plants a single stone door and 8 pillars that supported the giant room. Everyone in the room had an intimidating aura around them and just sat in silence. Breaking the silence a tall humanoid creature in shining armor sighed, *Sigh* "So why didn¡ät you kill them? I thought you were excited to finally get to fight again after the war." "Shishishishi, yup but those two are a very interesting duo with a lot of potential. Especially the little grey snake." Being intrigued by his answer the woman sitting next to the scarecrow spoke, "Hmmmm, what is so special about the snake? Almost every time a reptile monster spawn in this dungeon they never managed to go past tier 3 and were either killed, stagnated, or went to a different dungeon." The scarecrow looked at her with a large grin under his mask and pulled out a small glass vial that contained a yellowish golden substance. The woman just tilted her head not knowing what it was. "What is tha-" *Slam* But was quickly interrupted by a black creature covered in small spikes and two pairs of insect wings on his back. He has a long scepter that has a small, curved blade on top with yellowish-green glowing sacks under the blade. "Thi- this can¡ät be!? How is that possible!" Leaning back into his chair, he put the vial away. "Shishishi, calm down Flegon, it¡äs not good for your heart to get this excited at your age." "Damn you Scorge, I am still younger than you!" "Hey hey, why are you so excited about that pee-looking fluid?" asked an innocent voice interrupting the two monsters insulting each other. Everyone in the room looked at him, some out of amusement and some with pity for not knowing what the vial contains. The small black fluffy ball looked around to see everyone looking at him and tilted his head. Ghasto the monster who was sitting next to him just plopped his hand on the little guy''s head and patted him and poke in a hushed ghostly voice "It is an extremely rare poison that is highly sought over." "Heee~ I am also extremely rare and highly sought over." Jumped the ball of black fluff in excitement having gained a new potential friend. "Hehehe, I hope we could be friends!" "Ahem, so Scorge what should we do with them then?" A shiny armored bug joined them. The scarecrow just shrugged his shoulder "Just let them be I guess, and if he dies collect his body. I believe they will someday join our ranks or achieve something great in the future." Hearing the none caring voice of Scorge, Flegon was enraged. How could they let such an opportunity slip away? "What!? Unacceptable! This is the first time since the existence of the dungeon that one of that kind spawned in this dungeon. I suggest milking him dry of his poison and let him produce as many offspring as he can!" "GRRRRR" The small black ball of fluff growled and slowly expanded. "You will not take away my new friend!" His two white dot eyes turned fiercely crimson red. A giant mouth opened between the fur. Flegon hearing the ever-expanding black ball saying what he should and shouldn¡ät do stood up and pointed his staff at him. "What you saying brat!? You are 1000 years too early to command me and just so you know I still don¡ät approve of you as a guardian." *Swoosh* A big sharp vine flashed between them and a m?tur? woman''s voice could be heard "Stop that Gepo, and Flegon we will not drop so low like the humans and do something like that to our fellow intelligent monsters¡­ Well, as long they stay innocent fufufufu~" Both looked at the woman as a shudder ran down their back, before turning their head away and sitting down. The big fluff turned back to a small ball again and sulked. "Can I go now? I have things to do..." spoke an ancient forest wendigo. The bulky golem sitting next to Wendy the ancient forest wendigo crossed his thick wooden arms and asked and spoke in a deep clear voice, "Aren¡ät you just going to hunt more "lost" humans?" "Hmph, as I said I have things to do and to be honest, I don¡ät really care about the snake and singing stone duo. Maybe when they are stronger, but now? Now they are only tier 1 and 2, not even worthy of being cannon fodder." "Shishishishi, I agree, but only time will tell what will happen to them." *Clap* "I think that is all for now unless someone wants to add something..." ... "Good, that concludes our gathering then. Dismissed." Dismissing them all the shiny insect took his longsword and left the room first. Wendy seeing the shiny insect leave stood up while mumbling "What a waste of time..." before leaving the room. Ghasto picked up Gepo and left the room soon after, followed by the alluring woman. The golem pated Scorge¡äs shoulder in a knowing manner before leaving too. Flegon stood up and approached the scarecrow. "Scorge, next time the dungeon asks us to eliminate the snake I will personally go there. I¡äm only leaving them be out of respect for you, but next time they will get punished. You are still a guardian so do your job, and I hope you are prepared for the punishment." Walking towards the door he opened it but paused. "Oh and if you want to trade the poison for something just let me know." Chuckling a little bit he pulled out the vial. "Shishishishi, just let them be and save them when you see them in danger. And don¡ät worry so much about me~" Tossing the vial towards Flegon he leaned his head back and starred towards the ceiling. Catching the bottle he clicked his tongue before exiting the room, "Ts, who is worried about you..." "Shishishishi, you still can¡ät be honest with yourself..." Now only Scorge is alone in the giant room and speaking to himself. "I have paid you back and even left them a small gift. We are even now old friend." Turning into a flock of ravens he disappeared. Leaving the giant room empty once again... Chapter 30 - Sahra vs Goblins (3rd POV) Waking up well-rested and full of energy again Raas stretched his body while shaking his head and let out a big yawn. ''Ahh~, that was a good night''s rest.'' Trying to move he realized that Sahra was still in a deep sleep while clutching his body in a vice-like grip. After naming her she was much more affectionate and clingy than before. Normally she would have a little bit of self restrain but now she is literally clinging to him. Raas didn¡ät mind that as he too longed for the warmth of a person. He couldn¡ät remember the last time he even hugged someone. So he just buried his face in her arms and laid there for a while longer. "GrrRrrRr~" The sound of a rumbling monster that demands food could be heard, but instead of panicking Raas blushed and glanced at Sahra whose two black eyes were still closed. Heaving a sigh of relief he laid his head back down and wiggled his tail carefully out from between her legs before grabbing one of the 40 monster cores they previously piled up. *flick* *flick*. Taking a quick lick a new unique taste of fresh summer day tingled his tongue. gulping the monster core whole. But due to the curse, it didn¡ät lessen his hunger, but Raas still enjoyed the taste. Sadly he wasn¡ät compatible with this core and only ate four others before thinking about the future. ''Ok, so I really have to get some common knowledge about this world, but first, we have to survive dungeon and get the heck out. I don¡ät know why but we are currently walking deeper into the dungeon and from the strength of the monster we are currently on the second or maybe third floor... Oh well, I will just grind some exp to get strong enough to survive outside of the dungeon.'' Thinking for half an hour Sahra began to wake up. The two black crescent dots slowly turned to circles and starred into the calm sky. *Grumble* *grumble* Her stomach then grumbled too after awakening. She turned towards Raas just to find him grinning at her to which she blushed out of embarrassment, but Raas just gave her a monster core. Taking the core she consumed it hastily. *Ding* [You have eaten a monster crystal with a suitable affinity!] As both of them could read each other''s status Raas let Sahra eat the remaining 35 scarecrow cores. She wanted to let Raas eat a few but he refused out of consideration. Due to a suitable affinity, Sahra gained 2 to 5 exp for every 7 consumed scarecrow cores pushing her max mana capacity to 198. Even though she killed so many monsters she didn¡ät manage to even level up one level. Sitting crossed-legged and leaning against the tree she hummed a calming melody. Hearing it calmed Raas heart but it had a slightly sad and melancholic undertone to it. He ignored it and just enjoyed the calm before the storm. So for the remaining time they sat and stared at the calming grass plain while recuperating the missing Hp. ... In the distance, a group of monsters is approaching at a marching pace. Raas with the help of Sahra managed to climb up the tree and hid inside the tree. No, not to let Sahra fight alone, but to have the high ground and a surprise attack. "Hisss~" ''Times up, the third wave is approaching... At least I am well rested and am full health again.'' In the distance, a platoon of ugly green-skinned creatures could be seen approaching them. They march in a tight formation. One squad of archers, two squads of broad shield and spear wielders, and one squad of lightly armored swordsman made up the 41 men big monster platoon. They were all equipped with wooden armor and steal weapons. Leading all of them was a bulking figure covered in blood-smeared armor and dual-wielded two large axes. The mass of metal towered the small goblins around him, as their leader stood at 3 meters while the goblins are only around 1,30 meters tall, which is still higher than Raas when he is raising his body up. Raas who was high up the tree spotting the well-organized wave that was coming to them. His eyes sharpened as he recognized the approaching monsters. Well, even non-fantasy-loving people could recognize an ugly green goblin. ''Oh shit, and now a whole platoon of goblins are attacking us!? They look nothing like the weak goblins we encountered on the first floor. They look much uglier and more vicious than the woodland goblins. But I am not the small grey snake anymore!'' Hyping himself up, Sahra was thinking about how to deal with them. With her title ''Goblin Hunter'' she had a major advantage. Calling Raas down he popped his head through the green leaves. Sahra then began to draw in the ground with her fingers. Raas seeing her drawing smiled. ''Simple but effective, I like it!'' he nodded and disappeared into the tree again. After ten minutes they finally came into range. The armored mas of iron stopped quickly followed by the rest. The monster raised his hand as the archers aimed their bows. Dropping the hand the first barrage of arrows flew through the sky in a big arc. They were only ten green arrows in the air, but as soon as the arrows reached the peak of their flight they split into four arrows each, letting the arrows rain upon Sahra and Raas. Raas who was hiding in the trees panicked ''Holy Jesus, this isn¡ät going to be as easy as I thought!'' Slithering behind branches he hoped for the best. Sahra too searched for cover under the tree while making a sand shield. Soon after the sound of arrows hitting wood and ground sounded through the plain. The two managed to come out unscathed so Raas began to inspect the arrows. Seeing the green vine-like arrow amazed him, but what happened next blew him away. The stuck arrows sprouted a small red flower before exploding. *Boom!* "Heee!" hissing in pain he was flung back and hit the trunk of the tree. A chain of explosions rang around the tree covering the surroundings in black smoke. After the smoke cleared not even a leaf was damaged. Sahra on the other hand who already knew what kind of arrows they were could get away in time. ''Ts, they even have flarevine arrows. Those ugly goblins have clearly already reached the fifth floor and looted the village.'' The goblin archers prepared to fire another barrage while the other goblins marched forward with their leader following close behind them. Seeing only a lone female singing stone the goblins had a mad grin while some even liked their lips. The unsightly behavior disgusted Sahra, as she switched into combat mode and began to rush them while they were fantasizing about what to do with Sahra. (Sahra¡äs perspective) ''T- That was a close one. It almost killed me instantly if I haven¡ät reacted in time. This one is a really tough one... but this doesn¡ät mean I can¡ät beat him!'' Continuing to fight them head-on, I stuck to the plan. *Clap* Covering the area in a sand cloud I first targeted the light armored goblins, but after slicing three of them they managed to cover behind the broad shield goblins who formed a circle around their leader. I could only ?ssume that it is either a high ogre. a mini troll, or a goblin commander which is most likely the case. The sand soon cleared and the goblins changed their formation. Trying to encircle me and pin me against the tree I scoffed. They may be able to do battle tactics, but they are still low-level goblins. So, spotting a gap in their formation dashed between two goblins who trusted their spears at me. *Swoosh* *swoosh* Dogging the two spears by sliding on the ground I sliced one of its legs off while grabbing the other one''s ankle and swinging him at the goblin in front of me. It soon turned chaotic as their whole formation broke apart and just randomly tried to kill me. After killing five of the scrubs I sensed a looming presence behind me. I instinctively jumped to the side avoiding being cleaved into half once again. Looking to where I just was a giant ax was embedded in the ground leaving a shallow crater behind while blowing up dirt and soil. The battle turned silent as the goblins just watched their boss heave the ax on his shoulder while moving backward, creating an arena for us. Stomping his feet a few times he let out a burst of disgusting laughter, "Kuhkuhkuhkuhkuh~" Shuddering a little, I could swear the monster in front of me was imagining something truly disgusting and hope to never find it out. Getting a grip of myself I cracked my neck before going into a battle stance while holding my precious dagger in a reverse grip. ''I will so punish Raas for letting me deal with all of them on my own!'' Chapter 31 - Raas vs Goblins (Meanwhile on Raas side) Seeing Sahra engage them I cast conceal while silently jumping off the tree. Landing on the ground with a big thud I looked around to see if someone noticed me, but due to the ruckus Sahra made, it went unnoticed. ''Pew, save~'' Letting out a sigh of relief I looked towards my targets, ''I have to finish this fast. I know she is a lot stronger than me but I still can¡ät let Sahra fight them all on her own. So, FULL SPEED AHEAD!'' and slithering in a big arc towards the backline as fast as I could. When I finally reached the backline they were almost ready to fire another round of salvo. *Chomp* Bitting into the leg of the nearest goblin I swung him into the neatly arranged goblins before he could even let out a cry. Not wasting even a second and ignoring all the notifications I received I began to kill them one after the other.... or so I thought. After killing and flinging the goblin into his comrades, I tail smashed one of the three downed goblins into his ribcage. The sound of bones breaking could be heard as blood splattered all over my tail, painting my lite grey scales red. ''Yikes, I hope Sahra won¡ät get angry at me for being covered in goblin blood.'' Shacking the blood off, I was just in time to see the rest jump backward and threw their hidden throwing knives at me. Not being fast enough to dodge the incoming projectiles I shielded myself with my tail as the knives managed to pierce through my scales and stuck got. Even with my pain resistance, I could feel the sharp pain and hissed but managed to back off and remove the knives with my mouth while constantly holding eye contact with them.''Shit, it hurts even with my pain resistance. Well, that is what I get for neglecting my defense all the time and looking away.'' Five of them put their bows away and took a small oval-shaped seed out of their trouser before crushing it between their hands. With a small crack, the seed grew into a short dagger that was made out of wood and a leaf blade. "Kihhh!" Letting a warcry out the bravest one of them charged at me quickly followed by four others. While this was happening two of the goblins helped the knocked-out goblins back on their feet. During the 10 hours save period and fighting the endless waves of black crows I now could control my mana output pretty well. Embedding my tail in mana I did a weaker version of poison whip and flung the fuming goblin away. Seeing me easily slap him away they hesitated and stopped their charge. *Thump* Landing a few meters away I could see the goblin laying lifelessly on the ground with his head at an unnatural angle. Realizing how easily I killed the goblin they got horrified but realized they didn¡ät have another choice but to kill me and slowly approached me. Seeing the perfect opportunity I couldn¡ät hold myself back anymore. Raising myself from the ground I slightly tilted my head backward in a haughty manner. ''Oh? You¡äre approaching me? Instead of-'' *Swoosh* *swoosh* Being suddenly shot at I narrowly avoided getting hit. One of the arrows managed to grace my left cheek where slowly blood seeped out. Licking the wound I could taste the metal taste of blood. A thick tickmark appeared on my head as a vane nearly popped. "RAAAAA!!!" ''YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT ME!!!'' Screaming at them a wave of pressure washed over them, they immediately froze up and two even dropped to the ground. Looking at the two interrupting me I decided to kill them as painful as possible. So I dashed past the four frozen goblins that were approaching me and injected them with just enough venom to paralyze and slowly kill them. ""kihh..."" The two fell to the ground and only managed to let out a silent cry while gasping for air. Their suffering made me calm down, turning around the goblins were already back on their feet with trembling. One of them didn¡ät was so scared that he ran away. I was wondering why no one was running away, but now I got my answer as I could see the ground beneath the goblin sprouting roots and encase him before being dragged down. ''Holy shit, did he just got killed by the dungeon?'' This raised a whole lot of questions about the dungeon itself. The remaining goblins were in the blink of despair. They knew they couldn¡ät kill me and if they run away the dungeon would kill them. Seeing the ugly despaired faces made an evil smile appear on my face while my tongue flickered. Finishing my mission I whipped the blood off my face and ate their green monster cores when suddenly- *boom* A faint explosion sound could be heard in the distance. Turning my head in the direction, I saw Sahra surrounded by goblins while fighting the walking tank. Getting lost in killing the goblins I totally forgot to help Sahra. ''Fuck, I have to hurry up!'' So slithering back towards Sahra I did the second part of my mission. Getting close to the goblin circle I made myself as flat as I could while casting another conceal, but Sahra with her high senses spotted me and gave me an angry look, before going avoiding being cleaved in half. I winced back at the gaze and sneaked close to one of the goblins encircling the two fighting monsters. Opening my mouth I lightly sunk my fangs inside the leg of the goblins and pumped a low dose of venom into them. The dose was low enough for it to get noticed but high enough to be lethal. After turning into a menacing grey youngling serpent I noticed that my control over my venom glance improved dramatically. The goblin didn¡ät notice as he was attentively watching the two fight while cheering their leader on. Repeating the process with all of them I could now watch them fight and pray for Sahra¡äs safety. While doing that I had a ton of luck for not being noticed and a lot of close calls where Sahra had to distract them for me. The fight looked worse and worse by the second for Sahra as her stamina slowly ran out for all the dogging and slashing that only leaves small scratches on the leader''s armor. She didn¡ät manage to penetrate his defense and had to dodge the whole time. *Thump* ... *Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump* ... Slowly one by one the goblins around the two in the middle dropped like flies while gasping and whimpering for air. The leader was distracted by the sight as Sahra used the chance to slice his shoulder where it was lightly armored, but due to the chainmail he wore underneath and his thick skin it only left a shallow wound. "GRAA!" Getting cut he lifts his ax and slashed it down. Sahra jumped back and landed next to me. I could see the monster staring bewildered at his falling subordinates. *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* ... Shortly after the sound of getting notifications filled my head. Opening my notification I could see the numbers rising and see my level steadily climbing rise. ''Ah, a nice power up before the boss... just how I like it.'' Canceling my concealment I revealed myself while standing tall and puffing my ?h?st out, a taunting smile on my face. Seeing a grey snake suddenly appear with a shit-eating grin the goblin leader trembled. No not because he was scared. How could he be? It was out of anger. The leader immediately came to the conclusion that I was the reason why his men, I mean monsters died one after the other. "GRAAAAAAAAA!!!" Getting blinded by rage he screamed out of anger while I thought ''A two vs one... This is going to be fun~'' Taking a deep breath I filled my lungs to the brink with air before letting out a warcry or the closest to it. "RAAAAAAAA!!!" Chapter 32 - Duo vs Goodfire? Peeking at my new status after killing the remaining goblins, I grinned. [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing grey youngling serpent (???) Level: 10 --> 13 [Stats:] Strength: 43 --> 64 Agility: 40 --> 66 Intelligence: 62 --> 65 Mentality: 46 --> 49 Hp: 109/140 MP: 32/70 Title: 1.. Limit Breaker (Increases stat gain from evolutions) 2. Teasing death (What will not kill you will make you smarter) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage and damage resistance when protecting someone, but betrayals will give you the curse Betrayer leading to a permanent decrease of 10% from your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) Curse: 1. Gluttony (You will stay hungry and thirsty even if you eat and drink.) [Time: 3d 6h 33min 41sec] [Skills: Venom Fang lv 4 -->6, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 3 --> 4, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 3 --> 4, Poison Resistance lv1, Poison Affinity lv 1 --> 2, Crush lv 1, Intimidation lv 1, Poison Whip lv 1 --> 2, Conceal lv 1 --> 2] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] ''Four levels for killing the remaining goblins, nice. So I¡äm roughly getting five to ten stats per level, but I didn¡ät get as many points in Intelligence and Mentality. Hmmm, maybe it is due to the specialization. Well, to be menacing you didn¡ät have to be smart, I guess... But at least I did get some. So, I will be a physical powerhouse? No, I have to find a way to increase my magic powers next to my defense. My mana capacity is really lacking, I can only cast poison whip three times now before running out ... have to find more purple monster cores to increase my mana or find another way to increase it.'' Thanks to the high intelligence stats all that happened in the span of a second. *Puff* Covering the area in fine sand it blocked my and the monster''s vision, but thanks to my tongue I could still smell him. He on the other hand had it less optimal as he swung the ax around trying to hit and clear the sand. He swung his ax madly around leaving deep lines in the ground. Dodging the swings I slithered near him and pulled his leg, tripping him right when he was in an overhead swing. Falling like a log he planted face first in the dirt. Sahra as quickwitted as she is kicked the fallen ax away while I tailed slammed his helm. But before I could slam his head again he burst into flames while laughing like a creep. "Kih kih kih kih kih kih~ KAH KAH KAH KAH KAH!" Backing off we watched him slowly standing up while holding his now dented helmet. Taking it off we could see his disgusting face for the first time. Instead of the brownish-green skin like the others, he had brown-reddish skin with two small black horns. "Sorry for showing my unsightly behavior, I have been on edge lately. It has been quite a while since the dungeon summoned me to do its task, but it turned out quite interesting. Not only have you killed my underlings but you also managed to damage me. Kih kih kih kih." Pointing his hand out it the two axes that were lying nearby magically burst into flames, before two imps formed and waddled towards the red horned goblin. We could only stare at him and thought ''Shit, another nutjob''. When the two fire imps reached the side of the red goblin he put a hand on his heart and bowed. "Let me introduce myself. I am general marshal Goodfire of the first legion¡äs intercepting infantry division." Standing proud and with a puffed-out ?h?st, he looked at our reaction. Sahra who seemed kind of worried clenched her fists while I was amazed and confused by his long title and name. ''Who the hell named him Goodfire?!'' screamed I in my mind. Seeing our reaction he was kind of happy. Never would I have guessed that that ugly goblin could be some high-ranked in a military organization. "I would have asked for your names, but sadly you two are just first and second-tier and unable to speak the command tongue. So without further ado, let our blazing hearts shine~" Grabbing the two imps by their heads they turned into axes again, but instead of the plain-looking ax, they are now fine, state-of-the-art battle axes that shined red. "Come at me!" Looking towards Sahra we glanced at each other before nodding. Sahra turned and ran away while I slithered around him dodging his heavy ax strikes. But due to the head, his weapons emitted he still managed to damage me without landing a clear hit. I didn¡ät know if he was just toying with us like the scarecrow or just didn''t want to end the fight yet, but I know for a fact that he was holding back. No way in hell could he lead a platoon being unable to kill a small snake. "You are a slippery one. As expected from a snake," said he while casually swatting me away with the broad end of the ax. Hitting the ground hard I glared at him while he is slowly walking towards me. "Ah, don¡ät take it personally I am only following the dungeon''s command for letting me stay and I am not mad for killing my underlings anymore as they were given to me by the dungeon. My real unite would have long made you into their meal. So, just give up and accept your punishment." Slithering backward my back hit the trunk of the tree, the tree that started all this madness for us. He stopped in front of me and scratched his head a little, "Emmm could you get away from the tree for a second?" Looking at him then back towards the tree I grinned. Seeing my grin he sweated a little bit. Curling myself into a ball I jumped up the tree landing on a branch. Looking down I could see the fuming monster screaming profanities at me and I must say he has quite a broad range of vocabulary. Stretching out my tongue I laughed at him, but he then turned and wanted to go for Sahra, but he took his eyes away from me. Leaping down the tree I poured all of my remaining mana into my tail. With the help of gravity, I swung my tail with all my might and hit him right between his two black horns. *Crack* My eyes widened as his head dented in and exploded into tiny bids that sprayed everywhere. ... Landing on his dead body in a daze, I still had to comprehend what just happened. ''Heh? It died just like that?!'' Looking up I saw Sahra running towards me with many daggers and other sharp pointy weapons in her hand that she collected. Seeing me on top of the dead red goblin she dropped the daggers and made a shocked face. *Ding* [You killed a bluffing red hobgoblin!] [You gained 226 exp!] ... Locking at the notification I was kind of disappointed and relieved. That then turned into anger as I realized that we were just tricked. I could even see his cool battle axes turn into cheap rusty weapons. ''WHAT THE HELL!!!! WAS I JUST TRICKED BY THIS FUCKING GOBLIN???!!!'' Sahra who quickly caught up on what happened stood there silently before trembling. She gently picked me up from the dead hobgoblin and put me down next to her, before hitting and kicking the body. I was shocked to see her so enraged, I can understand that she is angry about being tricked but mutilating the corpse in such a way she did was kind of overkill. After five minutes of dismembering the corps, she finally calmed down and sat beside me on the makeshift hay bed we made. She glanced at me with some concern as if she was scared that I would see her in a different light now. Letting out a tired sigh I wiped the blood off her cheek with my tail and smiled. *Ding* [Congratulations on surviving the final wave!] At long last, we finally got the notification. We survived the final wave and are now finally able to move away from this hellish plain. We celebrated by consuming the goblin cores that we collected, sadly we couldn¡ät eat the goblins as they were already claimed by the dungeon and for some reason, only the cores remained. So singing and eating the cores we celebrated our victory and survival, letting us forget about the everlasting hunger and thirst that we feel. Chapter 33 - Acutra Consuming the majority of the goblin cores we finally began to continue our journey through the dungeon. Sahra somehow managed to repair the tourn backpack with the hay and clothes that she gathered from the scarecrows. After filling the backpack with the remaining monster core, that we have saved for the journey to distract us from the hunger. We also kept the monster core from the ''bluffing red hobgoblin'' which to our surprise has a flowing white color and is visually bigger than the rest. It is close to the size of the purple monster core that I found in the rat-infested temple, but still a little bit smaller, making me wonder just what monster¡äs core I consumed. So, well-rested and very hungry and thirsty Sahra took the lead and we moved east, or where at least the artificial sun rose. *** (A day or two back) Inside a laboratory in the prestigious Ferum Institute, one handsome middle-aged man and a young scholar are constantly going through papers and frantically comparing the results. "S-Simon d-do you have the same results?" "E-Eh, if my eyes aren¡ät deceiving me then yes...." The head researcher in Ferum Institute, Mavis, slumped down his chair. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he calmed his mind. *Sigh* "... You know Simon, when I was young and still traveling the world I have seen many things, from towering behemoths that could flatten mountains to tiny spirits which loves to play around, but never in my life have I personally seen on of her descendant being an acutra." Simon who was still holding a pile of papers listened attentively. Hearing his uncle say acutra his body began to shiver. "Y- You mean, this monster is really an acutra... like the one that brought the calamity a thousand years back and sunk an entire continent!?" Leaning back the researcher nodded his head, "But don¡ät worry too much, not every acutra are evil or as strong as the blemished one. One of them even managed to establish a good relationship with elves, you may have heard of his title, the wandering tree of Enos. Another one is even being worshiped as a messenger of god Lumes and has healed countless people so far." "What!? That is the first time I heard of that! I thought all of them already died out." "Pah, they are extremely rare but still appear from time to time. People still hold a deep grudge against them, especially the Seekers. So only a few people know the truth and they are mainly higher-ups, royals, or important people. They try to keep it under the wraps so to avoid mass panic, rioting, or for the Seekers to hunt them down. Their existence is agreed to be kept a secret by almost every big kingdom on this continent. The knowledge and about them varies greatly around the world, but their reputation is the same amongst the common people, namely hated and scared upon hearing about them." Hearing such a big secret he unconsciously gulped, but as a researcher and he had to ask, "So how many of the acutras are among us?" "We know of at least 11 of them that are alive, to which most of them are being held or chased, but there could be many more that are still unknown or died before we could discover them. We are really lucky to find one so early. If we treat and nurture the acutra right we might gain a national guardian for our kingdom like the Rokya queendom did. But this is highly unlikely." "Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop... You mean the national guardian of Rokya, the tier 8 monster Sisil the dreaming bu??erfly is actually an acutra!" Mavis stood up and patted his shoulder trying to comfort him, "I know how you feel, I was the same after I found out that Miki Sisi is an acutra... BUT nevertheless, I am still a fan of her and you should too! Just because she is an acutra doesn¡ät make her any less cute!" Mavis''s eyes shined brightly as he clutched his hand and looked into the air. Simon''s lifeless eyes looked at his uncle. He made a complicated face. His ingenious handsome uncle that invented countless revolutionary equipment and concoctions, is a die-hard Sisil or also known as Miki Sisi fan. The same uncle that is almost always calm and collective that rejected many nobles and even princesses that wanted to court him, is obsessed with another country¡äs national guardian/idol. He even took a month''s break just to travel there and meet her. So when he isn¡ät inventing or researching something he will be fawning over her. Shacking his head Mavis came out of his thoughts, "Ehem, enough with that, we are getting out of track. We have to report to the king as soon as possible. Go to your father and inform him of this news. I will come with you on the expedition so I have to prepare something you go first." Pushing his nephew out of the room he slammed the door shut as rustling and crashing could be heard. Jules Maces or Jud, as Simon likes to call him, sees Simon walking past him with wide strides. He wanted to stop him and ask him what they just found, but was quickly stopped. "Sorry Jud, have to go. Bye!" He stood there for a second bewildered, but then just shrugged his shoulder and shook his head with a smile and thought out loud "Those two are really alike when it comes to research." Simon rushed to the principal''s office and opened the door with great force. *Boom* "Father, I mean principal, I bring important news!" Ignis Ferum, who was quietly working through the pile of paper got startled and slipped his pen. Laying down the pen he looked up and stared at him with a stern gaze. Simon shrugged back a little and calmed down and waited for the principal to speak. "So, what important news do you have to just storm into my office and disturb me?" Taking a deep breath Simon looked into the principal''s eyes. "We managed to extract the venom and scanned the venom. The data has shown that it is solstice venom that killed the monster. To make sure we have triple-checked the results." Ignis who was attentively hearing his son leaned forward and intertwined his hands trying not to show any emotion. Simon stopped for a moment to let the information sink in. After a while, the principal let out a tired sigh before nodding. "Hmmm, Is that all?" To his surprise, Simon dropped another bomb, "No, we also managed to project the status of the monster that killed the Nagirus." Scratching his head he continued, "Well, it turned out that it is an acutra..." Upon hearing his son say acutra, he was stupified the principal''s eyes widened. He as well as Mavis and some teachers from the royal Institute Ferum knew of acutras, but it was still too soon for Simon to know about them, as he was still a scholar. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself and his golden eyes glimmered as he stared fiercely at Simon. "So Mavis already told you about acutras..." Simon just nodded. "And I presume you know the importance of knowing the importance of this secret." Simon nodded again. Rubbing his temples Ignis closed his eyes before waving his son out. "That is indeed important news... I will inform the king about it and will send you there as soon as possible. And I presume Mavis also wants to on the dive." Seeing Simon nod again he just shook his head. You can go to your room and prepare to go to the royal palace now. Come to the gate room in an hour." Simon bowed slightly and turned around. Walking out of the room he heard his father say, "Good job, son." Freezing up for a moment he turned around to see his father continuing writing before the door closed. Smiling a little he went back to his room. After packing his things he rested for a moment. While laying on his bed he remembered that he got a letter from the king he walked towards his nightstand and opened the letter. "To Simon Ferum, This letter is not from the king but from me, the second princess, Katarina Vextia~ Jup, you read it right, I have submitted this letter under my father¡äs name. Hehehe, I know you are happy to get another letter from me~ Just wanted to let you know that I will take you with me to another dive as punishment for not replying to the last letter that I send you. Anyway, I will see you soon~ From yours truly, Kathy~" ... Putting the letter down he dropped his blood on the sigil before the letter vanished into flames. Falling backward he laid on his bed while thinking about her. *Sigh* "I still don¡ät know why she is so infatuated with me..." *** Meanwhile, in the royal palace, a beautiful young woman is reading a book while her long white hair waved in the evening breeze, she suddenly sneezed cutely. "Hatchi~" "Princess, should I close the windows? Are you feeling unwell?" a woman in a maid outfit asked in a worried tone. Waving her hand she replied with a slight chuckle, "Don¡ät worry about me. It¡äs just Simon thinking about me." The maid tilted her head a little and placed a finger on her cheek. "You mean Simon Ferum, your childhood friend? How do you know?" "Yes, that Simon and I just know~ Now prepare a bath for me please." With a low bow, she replied before exiting the room, "as you wish princess. It will be prepared shortly." Now alone in the room, she slumped on her desk and closed her eyes. "Ah, Simon it has been so long since I last saw you. I hope you will come soon. I even had to persuade my father to let me on a dungeon dive just to see you... and you didn¡ät even reply to my letters.... he hehe he, I guess I have to teach you again to not ignore me~" While the sun was setting distant laughter could be heard in the royal palace. Everyone who would see the scene of the gentle and calm princess behavior would truly question their eyes, except for her close relatives who are already used to her antics. Chapter 34 - Contract *Knock* *knock* *knock* "Wake up Simon it¡äs time to go!" Simon who accidentally fell asleep opened his tired eyes as he scratched his head. His mind has still hazy as he just woke up and didn¡ät realize that he has to meet the kind in a few minutes. Sitting up he realized that he just fell asleep and quickly sprang up from his bed before draping over an elegant white robe with golden embroidery over his shoulder. Picking up his bag he opened the door to see an angry Mavis in a similar fancy robe, that made him look like a royal. Even his tired eyes are now glimmering with anticipation and excitement. Not wanting to waste any more time Mavis marched ahead with big strides. "Come on Simon we have to hurry." Trying to catch up Simon ran after his uncle, "Wait up, why the rush? We still have a few minutes." Now walking next to each other Mavis glanced at Simon, "There has been another spike in the dungeon.. So, everyone is on edge right now and we have to find and bring back the acutra as fast as possible. The king has already set up an expedition team for us, but first, we have to report to the king personally." "Is the situation that bad? The last time I dived into the dungeon it was not as bad as I thought it would. Sure, there were much more monster spawns and many tier 2 or even tier 3 monsters in the upper floors, but that was expected." "The situation has changed. The monsters are now beginning to pour out of the dungeons all across the continent. We don¡ät know about the other continents, but we ?ssume that they are dealing with a similar if not even a worse situation, as they didn¡ät really make any efforts to negotiate with the dungeon lords as we did. So, it is almost certain that the lords are now trying to expand their territories. But enough of that we are here." Standing in front of a big sturdy wooden door, Mavis signaled the guards in front to let them in. With a nod they opened the double door in perfect sync, revealing a white marble room with many different arrays hidden everywhere. The headmaster, Luthana Meliamne, and Hela the secretaire are already in the room waiting for them. "Ah, you two are finally here." "Huh? Why are you here teacher?" asked Simon bewildered, not expecting his teacher to be in the portal room. "I am just here to give you this.", pulling a long staff out of her ring on her finger she handed it to him. Dumfounded by the present he mindlessly took the staff and inspected it. The staff was made of a pale white wood that was arched at the top surrounding a cubic crystal that is slowly rotating in between. The floating light blue gem emits a faint green hue that swirls around the staff with a few small light green orbs floating around. Overall the staff is only a little shorter than Simon with 1.70m long. "It is a little bit early for me to give you a staff, but due to the circumstances, the headmaster allowed me to give it to you early. So, here is your staff spirit mage Simon Ferum." *blink* *blink* Blinking a few times he opened and closed his mouth a few times. It was his last year under his teacher Luthana, but he already received a staff from her, meaning he officially became a full-fledged mage. Feeling something inside the staff calling him he channeled a little bit of mana into the staff as his vision turned white. Looking around he saw nothing but pure whiteness. He couldn¡ät see his own hands or body, making him unable to know where up and down is. But slowly the surrounding changed as white trees sprouted out of nowhere. One after the other they came into existence till he was surrounded by them creating a wondrous forest. More and more things popped out into existence over time. Now with a few reference points, he reorientated himself and noticed that he was standing in the middle of the clearing. There are even white stones and rivers in the distance. He could hear the sounds of singing birds, the moving leaves, and the sound of a streaming river. Starring into the distance he noticed a patch of red grass that sprouted out of the ground. Well, it was hard to miss a blood-red patch of grass in a pure white surrounding. But then another patch of grass grew from the ground followed by another patch, and another and another, getting ever so slightly closer with every patch that grew. And with the grass, the sound of footsteps could be heard. Realizing that something was slowly creeping towards him, he tried to walk back just to feel his body being restricted. He couldn¡ät see his body but could still feel his limbs being bound by something. So being restricted and unable to do anything he continued to stare at the invisible thing approaching him and hoped for the best. Continuously getting nervous his breath became rigid. Shortly after the patches of red grass grew a meter in front of him forming a perfectly round circle, he felt a slight breeze on his face. He tried to wiggle free from his restrictions but stiffened when a being suddenly appeared with its masked face very closely in front of his face. Stretching its long furred neck back, Simon could see the being in its full glory. The humanoid being is covered in purplish brown fur sitting cross-legged on the ground. Even sitting it is still towering Simon in height, but it has lean and thin appendages. On its head are two majestic antlers curving upward, with long thin deer ears right under the antlers. The being''s face is covered by a pure white mask with a red leave symbol in the middle. Snaping its finger Simon''s body manifested, as he could see his hands again. Getting out of his stupor, his eyes widened at the majestic being in front of him. ''Th- This is... wow. I have never seen an upper forest spirit before. Well, except my father¡äs.'' Bowing low he stretched out his right hand with his palm facing downwards, "I beseech you to lend me aid in my future endeavors, as I will return something in equal value." Not daring to look up he waited for its response. The being looked at the hand and stroked the fur on its chin. As the seconds past Simon became increasingly nervous. Seconds felt like hours as he continued to wait. Taping Simon¡äs head, a string of information flooded his mind. Sorting the things he just saw he looked up. Seeing the being silently starring at him he lowered his head again before saying, "I agree." The sound of gentle wind chimes clinging sounded as Simon felt a hot sensation on the back of his outstretched hand. Looking at his hand he could now see three symbols in different colors on his hand and a fourth one slowly manifesting. The symbol was a blood-red tree with antlers on its side and a leaf in the middle. Smiling he stretched out his hand again, "Thanks for accepting me as your contractor, Harth the red fall." With a nod, the upper spirit shook his hand, before his vision turned white again. His eyes slowly refocused as everyone in the room stared at him. The first one to speak was his teacher. "It looks like you successfully gained another spirit." Mavis whistled and remarked, "From the looks of it, it was at least the rank of a higher medium spirit, and to think you contracted it on the first try so quickly. You truly are a descendent of a Ferum." Ignis Ferum just nodded and looked proudly at his son, but turned seriously soon after. "You have to go now, the king is already awaiting you two. We have wasted enough time here." Clasping Simon¡äs back Mavis walk past him and stood on the complex magic circle that is engraved in the ground. Standing next to Mavis they said their goodbyes as runes around the magic circle glowed in golden light before they vanished. *Sigh* "To think that the spirit inside of the staff really made a contract with him..." Pulling back a strand of hair behind her pointy ears she closed her eyes, "Well I never thought that the spirit would appear on its own, after everything that happened to it." "Hmmm, yeah it was a true tragedy what happened there... but the child had always immense luck and charisma apart from his kind and hard-working nature." Chapter 35 - Royal Palace Encased in a bright light Simon¡äs and Mavis'' surroundings changed as they were now inside a similar white marbled room, but much bigger and secure. As it wasn¡ät their first time inside the royal palace or using a warp circle they stayed calm and waited for a guard nearby to approach them to confirm that they are the right person. The five guards that are clad in heavy prestige armor gleamed in the crystal light that illuminated the room. Their faces fully veiled as they held long spears with golden blades mounted on top. The stoic knights moved effortlessly as they encircled them. One of them stepped forward and spoke in a deep manner, "Name and state of your reason." Mavis was the first one to speak and bowed slightly, "Mavis Mevulus, and here on behalf of the king." "Simon Ferum, also here on behalf of the king." With a nod the knight pulled out a small black rectangle stone slab and an elegant dagger out, that has the royal family''s sigil on its hilt, "one drop of your blood if you may." said the knight in a polite way.. Mavis took the beautiful but plain knife and pricked his finger lightly. Letting a drop of his blood splat on the stone slap a blue screen appeared. [Status] Name: Mavis Mevulus Race: Monary Main Job: Star Mage Sub Job: Inventor, Researcher, Alchemist, Explorer Nodding to himself Mavis gave the now clean knife to Simon as it absorbed the remaining blood on the blade. Doing the same thing he let his blood drop on the stone slab. [Status] Name: Simon Ferum Race: Human Main Job: Spirit Mage Sub Job: Researcher, Explorer Level: 77 Seeing his level compared to his uncles he let out a sigh ''He is still getting stronger... how did he even get the time to level up staying the majority of his time researching and tinkling!?..." Finishing checking their identities, two of the guards opened the giant double door leading to a long corridor with many flouting spirits that are used as light sources and as an extra defense mechanism in the case someone unwanted intruded. The hallway was laid out with a beautiful red carpet and many paintings of the royal families and slain monsters. Reaching another double door that looked much sturdier, the two guards in similar white and gold armor as the previous one opened the door, revealing a marvelous room that could house thousands of people inside. Strong white support pillars hold the high ceiling, a red carpet leads to the end of the room. On top of a small podium, two golden-white thrones sit in the middle towering over anyone stepping inside the room. Rows of guards flanked the red carpet as Simon and Mavis walked through the room. Once reaching the steps at the end of the room they kneeled down. "You may raise your heads." spoke an amicable voice. Doing as they were told they looked up seeing an elegantly dressed man in his early 40s with long flowing white hair. His broad shoulder making him look reliable and strong with a very muscular build that could be seen underneath his royal garments. But the most striking features are his eyes. The two golden slit eyes that are shining with life and power starred at them, as he wore a stern demeanor. On his right sat a beautiful woman with amber hair. She gave off a calm and motherly aura, that contradicted that of her husband¡äs. The woman who wore a small smile didn¡ät look older than she was in her 30s and is currently in her prime. Both of them wore golden crowns that were heavily decorated. Looking slightly to the side Simon could see a young woman with snow-white hair similar to the king standing on the right of the queen. Seeing him glance at her she smiled and slightly waved at him. "You will be setting out tomorrow at sunrise. I have prepared a team that will be accompanying you two as well as my daughter, Katharina. I have high expectations from you two, so don¡ät disappoint me." hearing the strong voice, Simon¡äs head turned towards him as he and Mavis said in unison "You won¡ät be disappointed, my king." Satisfied at their response the king continued, "I have prepared rooms for you to get some rest before the expedition and just ask one of the maids or butlers if you two need something. Alfred here will show you the meeting room where the group is currently planning. You can now go and meet the team that will be accompanying you two. May Suha guide you on your dive." Standing up the two bowed before following an elderly man dressed in elegant butler''s attire out of the room. "Just call me if you need something. I will be waiting outside", said Alfred calmly and closed the door behind them. Mavis walked up to the table quickly followed by Simon and sat on a free chair before looking in the round. The group that sat around the table are consisting of a short young-looking boy, a fierce-looking man with bulging muscles, a veiled woman with long silky black hair, an outgoing sunny girl, and lastly a shy elven girl who had short blond hair and a bird on her shoulder. Suddenly the fierce-looking man¡äs eyes widened as a massive grin spread on his face. "Bahahahaha, to think that we will be guarding Mavis Mevulus of all people. Bahahahaha" laughing boisterous he slapped his knees trying to hold back his laughter but failing miserably. Simon who was confused by his sudden outburst looked at Mavis, his eyes asking for answers. Mavis just smiled and chuckled, "Indeed this is quite a funny situation we have here. It is good to see you well, Patrus, or should I say, Sun Lion?" Scratching the back of his face Patrus said somewhat embarrassed, "No no just call me Patrus. It would feel awkward to call me by that nickname..." The rest of the group is as bewildered by the two interactions as Simon. "Hey hey from where do you know THE Mavis Mevulus~?" asked an overly excited girl with shining eyes while poking Patrus muscular arm. But before he could say a word Mavis chimed in and smiled at her, "It is a long story, but the short version is, I helped him when he was in a tough situation." "Heee~ can I shake your hand!?" Giving the hunk of a man a sidelong stare she stood up and bowed before Mavis with an outstretched hand. Not expecting her to ask for a handshake he stammered, "Ah eh, sure..." Grabbing her hand and shaking it she looked up with gleaming eyes while squealing in delight, before sitting back in her seat while muttering to herself how she won¡ät clean her hands ever again. Simon who saw that hit him in the side with his elbow while commenting, "Aren¡ät you so ever popular with the ladies~?" Seeing the shit-eating grin on his nephew''s face he grimaced before firing back, "Hmmm, and what about you and the second princess?" "Wha- I told you it¡äs nothing between me and Katharina." The rest of the group glanced curiously at Simon as they were interested in his relationship with the second princess who is as cold as snow towards men. She is even known for destroying a nobleman¡äs and his father¡äs family jewels for trying to court her. Right at that moment, the doors opened as a beautiful young woman entered the room. Looking around she inspected everyone inside. As she looked around she spotted the young spirit mage before her blue eyes focused on him. """Princess!!!""" said everyone out loud with different emotions. Chapter 36 - Royal Palace 2 """Princess!!!""" said everyone out loud with different emotions. Upon noticing her they all stood up and bowed respectfully. With an elegant smile, the princess entered the room. Instead of a dress, she wore a loose white blouse and fit sitting pants that outlined her curvy but modest body. Waving her hand nonchalantly she told them, "You all raise your heads, we will be companions for the next few days so just call me Katharina. I don¡ät like being called princess the whole time so be at ease." The room relaxed noticeably, and they all sat down. again, waiting for the princess to join them. Taking the seat next to Simon, he took a glance just to see her looking at him, before quickly facing forward and coughing lightly getting everyone''s attention. "How about we all introduce ourselves to get to know our strengths and weaknesses?" "A good idea prince-" but before Simon could finish his sentence he flinched from a stinging pain from his hand.. "That¡äs Kathy for you S-i-m-o-n~," said Katharina in a sweet voice. The ever-so-curious girl looked alternating between the two before raising her hand "Hey hey, are you two a thing?" The room silenced as everyone is shocked by casual asking a royal about her relationship. Mavis who heard her covered his mouth with his sleeve and tried to suppress his laugh, the shy elven girl''s ears turned bright red and covered her face while the bird on her shoulder covered her face with her wings, imitating her master. Meanwhile, the short young boy just smiled with a noticeable twitch in his finger, and the veiled woman just sat there with no reaction whatsoever. *Bonk* "Ugg!" "It is rude to ask a royalty about her personal life like that." said the Patrus aka Sun Lion. Rubbing her head with tears in her eyes Milly the cheerful girl rubbed her head, while slightly glaring at Patrus for hitting her. "Mohh, don¡ät be such a killjoy!" Simon wanted to retort but got quickly shut down by a calm voice, "No it¡äs fine Sun Lion." "Hah, take that. blehhh~" said Milly cutely while stretching out her tongue. "Simon and I are childhood friends. We know each other since we were 5 and there is nothing between us... for now" saying the last part she stared at Simon and winked, while his face flushed a little from her teasing. He knows that she liked him a lot, but he wasn¡ät sure if he truly loved her back, so their relationship is now somewhere between very good friends and lovers. The ?h?stnut brown-haired girl squealed in excitement as she heard the bold princess respond. "Ehem, enough jocking for now," coughing lightly Mavis stood up and looked around "I will start first then to introduce ourselves. I am Mavis Mevulus, and I am a Star Mage, Inventor, and other things, but that is not important right now. I am a former adventurer and am currently working for the Ferum institute as the head researcher." "I will go next then," said the young-looking boy, "I am Fitz Dorer, but despite my looks, I am already 37 years old due to being a half fehm. My main weapons are two short swords enchanted with wind affinity. I am looking forward to a clean dungeon dive." "Oh my, Fitz Dorer? The Guild Master of Featherwind? I didn¡ät know that someone as busy as you would have the time to go on a dungeon dive with us." said princess Katharina with a slightly shooked face. Putting on a business smile Fitz turned towards her. "I am indeed busy, but the king called a favor in, and as I still owed him something I couldn¡ät refuse him when he asked me to accompany his daughter in a dungeon dive." With a nod, she looked at the person to Fitz¡äs right who is the veiled beauty. Standing up she looked in the round before saying emotionlessly, "Eliza Shades, scout, shadow affinity," and sat back down. Recognizing the name Mavis''s eyes widen a little bit as he stared at her. "I guess it¡äs my turn now. I am Patrus Glorios, the S rank adventurer Sun Lion, and I will be our vanguard and tank." Before Parus could even sit down the cheerful ?h?stnut-haired girl stood up and maid a cute pose. "Hai hai, I am Milly Inos, also an S rank adventurer known as sweet pain. I like cute and fluffy things and squashing monsters. My favorite color is red, but I also like white and pink, not black though. It doesn¡ät look good at me... Oh, and I will be our damage dealer as well as support. I¡äm looking forward to getting to know you all! Oh, and my age is a secreate~" Ending her speech with a bright smile she sat back down. Parus just sighed at her antics as he already knows her since they already went on a few missions together. Finishing her introduction everyone looked at the shy blond elven girl who quivered in her seat. Taking a deep breath she stood up and spook in a meek voice, "Eh... I am Fines Aries, a high elf and an adventurer... My adventurer name is... emm... it¡äs eagle eye... as I am good with the bow... and I will be our sharpshooter." sitting down she stared nervously on the ground, before feeling a hand holding hers. Looking up she could see the cheerful bundle of energy smiling at her. "Don¡ät worry so much. We will be partners for the next few days so you don¡ät have to be so nervous. We won¡ät be eating you up... Well, maybe the young man there." pointing at Simon. "Wha- no I wouldn¡ät... but she is quite cute..." said Simon while whispering the last part to himself. Feeling a sudden chill running down his spine, he turned towards Kathy who was smiling at him with closed eyes, before standing up as it was now her turn, "you probably already know who I am, but I am going to introduce myself again. I am the second princess Katharina Vexia, the second princess of the Vexia kingdom, and a sword mage and am wielding a rapier." "Guess I am the last one... Ehem, I am Simon Ferum, a became a Spirit Mage of the Ferum institute, but I am also a researcher under Mavis. My role will be to document everything that happens in the dungeon with Mavis. As I¡äm only level 77 I will be relying on you all, so I am apologizing in advance for the inconvenience." *Whistle* "don¡ät sell yourself short, young Simon. Level 77 for your age is already impressive and you aren¡ät even a full-time adventurer to raise your levels. Not to mention that spirit mages are quite rare nowadays." said the muscular Patrus. "Have more confidence in yourself Simon." whispered Kathy so that only Simon could hear, "after all I was the one that trained you." ''Hmm, the group that the king put together is truly wonderful. We have one of the most robust adventurers in Vextia, the guild master of Featherwind, the battle maniac sweet pain, the high elven adventurer eagle eye, the genius sword princess, and a spirit mage.'' "Now that we are finished introducing ourselves I will be briefly talking about our dive. As I have already mentioned we will be diving into the Woodland dungeon tomorrow at sunrise. We will be in the dungeon for at least 3 days and up to a week if everything goes smoothly, but with the unpredictable behaviors inside the dungeon prepare to stay longer. Our main goal is to locate and capture a new spawned monster and bring it back alive in one piece. We think it is still on the upper floor. Our secondary goal is to help the queen bee Nira, who is the guardian of the surrounding flower field where the dungeon is located, to reduce the monster numbers in the upper floors so that we reduce the chance of a stampede breaking out. Any questions?" "Why is capturing this monster such a big deal? Isn¡ät it a bit overkill to dive into the dungeon just to search for one monster?" "I will be answering your questions miss Inos," said Mavis. "Just call me Milly~" "Very well, Milly. So in the recent dungeon dive where Simon Ferum was in brought back a Nagirus corpse and the autopsy showed that it was killed by solstice venom." "Hmm, this is indeed quite a big deal," said the half fehm Fitz. "It has been quite a while since I heard of someone discovering a monster having solstice venom." Continuing talking about the mission and swapping ideas about battle formation and planes time flew quickly till Katharina saw Milly almost falling asleep. "Well, it is already late. We should end this today and get a good rest." Everyone agreed as they were too a little bit tired of traveling all the way here. "... and then she just walked away but tripped in front of all the guests," said Kathy while chuckling remembering what happened at one of the noble''s party. Both of them enjoyed the little walk inside the royal palace as they talked about all kinds of things. Now standing in front of the room Katharina suddenly glared at Simon. "Why have you been ignoring my last few letters!?" *Sigh* "Kathy, you are writing under your father''s name so I couldn¡ät really reply and I was really busy with the rising mana levels in the dungeons. I am sorry..." said Simon apologetically. In truth, he also missed his childhood friend, as he didn¡ät have many friends in the institute. Seeing Simon looking at the ground she looked around to see if someone was there before giving him a tight hug "I missed you, Simon." Feeling her soft body pressing on him he wrapped his arms around her waist "I missed you too, Kathy." Melting in his embrace she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment to the fullest. She always felt secure in his arms, since she was always saved by him when they were little. Breaking the embrace her sapphire eyes starred into his ruby red ones while getting slightly lost in his eyes. "But I will still punish you once we return from the dive." said the white-haired princess with a beautiful smile after getting out of the trance. Before he could retort she poked his nose and went towards her room while chuckling at Simons''s reaction. He could only sigh tiredly seeing her playful nature. Scratching his slightly wavy short black hair, he entered his room mumbling, "I will never understand women..." (An: Sorry about the info dump, but needed to introduce some new characters. Don¡ät worry as our little snake Raas will be returning soon. Just one or two more chapters before we see his side again. I just realized that I never mentioned how Simon looked like till now...tehee~ my bad. Oh and sorry in advance if chapter releases reduce as a lot of exams are coming up. And if I made some mistakes please point them out. Well, that¡äs all. See you soon and stay healthy~) Chapter 37 - Departure Waking up from the sound of ringing noises, Simon turned to the side while slapping the magic-powered alarm clock that his uncle Mavis invented. Snaping his finger a small golden glowing orb appeared out of a small magic circle. The small Orb with one pair of big wings and one pair of smaller pairs beneath fluttered happily around Simon¡äs head. Illuminating the giant room in soft golden light, making the room look slightly magical. Yawning he got out of the king-sized bed. Looking at the clock he saw that it was just 3 in the morning. Opening the window he let the chilly morning air in. The moon was nearly gone as the sun began to rise in a few hours. Taking a deep breath his mind cleared. After refreshing himself up in the bathroom he went towards his bag and took out a dim glowing stone. Upon seeing the glowing stone a few glittering sparks appeared in the room. "Phiii~". "Good morning Phii, as happy as ever aren¡ät you?" "Phiii~ Phiii~" Chuckling a little he stretching out his hand. "Here is a little reward for you." After dancing happily in the air Phii landed near Simon¡äs hand and consumed the stone. Finishing eating the stone Phii floated gently beside Simon. Draping over his robe, and picking up his staff and bag he went towards the meeting room with a glowing orb with wings next to him. Opening the door he was greeted by Mavis, Fitz, Fines and the and the silent beauty Eliza chatting with each other. Well, they were chatting and Eliza just sat there emotionlessly. Upon seeing Simon they greeted him while Eliza gave Simon a nod. Greeting them back Simon sat down on a vacant chair. "Is this one of your spirits Simon?" asked Fines the shy elven adventurer. "Yes, that is right. This one is called Phii a minor spirit and my weakest spirit." "Phii.." said Phii with sadness. "But also one of the most useful and cutest spirits I have." continued Simon, earning him a happy Phii dancing around as the room glittered in golden dust. "Phiiii~" While they waited for the others to arrive they swapped some stories about the adventures they went on and Simon was fascinated by all the places Fitz and Mavis went. It didn¡ät take long for everyone to arrive as they were all professionals and veterans in their job. After a short briefing and going over the plan they walked towards the throne room. Kneeling over the king spoke, "I will be awaiting good results Katharina, and remember your life is more precious than the mission." Even with the stern look, Katharina knows that her father is a doting parent and loves to spoil his daughters like every father. "Take care my child." said the queen before walking down the few steps and giving her child a big hug. "And take here are all the necessary things you will need for the mission. Inside are camping gear, food and water for two weeks, and many other useful things that you might need." Opening a small box she showed us 8 small black rings with a purple gem on top. Taking the rings Katharina gave everyone one ring, before giving her another tight hug. "Now go my child." Leaving the throne room everyone marveled over the storage ring, as it was extremely pricy and only a few nobles and S rank adventurers have them. "Wow, I have never seen a storage ring before" marveled Milly in excitement. "Even as a guild master of Featherwind we only have one that possesses one," said Fitz the half fahm. Mavis who already possessed a storage ring just transferred all the items into his own before storing the empty storage ring. Leading the group towards the portal room the knights in front saluted respectfully after seeing the princess. Going inside they quickly teleported to the nearest gate. "It never gets boring using a teleportation gate," commented Patrus now in his heavy red and gold armor. Only his weapons did he put inside the ring as he couldn¡ät carry his giant ax and shield everywhere. Arriving in the trade city Centus, they took two large carriages that transported them to the woodland dungeon. The ride was mostly silent with only a few discussions here and there. It didn¡ät take long for them to reach the dungeon. Stepping out of the carriages they made a last equipment check, before going in. The guards in front let them pass effortlessly. Feeling excited Katharina who was in light leader armor slowed down and walked beside Simon, "It has been quite some time since we last adventure together, right Simon?" Glancing at her he replied while reminiscing about the past, "Ture, the last time we went was when we were on the extermination quest in the south. Hmm, it has been a few years it seems." "Hihihi, I miss the old days." giggled Kathy remembering all the quests they were on when they just got old enough to register inside the adventurers guild. Arriving in the first save zone, the mana pond. They sat down for a few minutes. "So here is where you found the dead Nagirus?" asked Mavis Simon. "Yes, just there right in front of you in the tall grass," said Simon pointing at the tall glowing grass near the pond. Mavis nodded and cast a quick spell scanning the surrounding for monsters. Narrowing his eyes he walked towards it and kneeled down. Spotting a slightly glimmering thing he inspected it. Using magic he let the thing levitating in the air right in front of him. Simon who walked next to Mavis asked, "Have you found something?" Turning around Mavis showed him the thing, "It seems like our little target left behind his skin..." Simon¡äs eyes widen as he saw the grey outline of a snake. "Damn it, it seems like I overlooked it last time." *sigh* "Don¡ät worry about that, and thanks for the Nagirus we managed to find out the venom of the monster. So, the skin wouldn¡ät have been really useful for us anyway. Well, maybe if it evolves a few times." explained to his uncle while thinking about the things he could do with the skin. Simon visibly relaxed and stored the skin for research purposes in his storage ring. "Break is over," exclaimed Mavis. He took over the role of the leader as he regularly dives into the dungeon to search for new ingredients or monster parts so he is the most experienced amongst them. While casually going deeper, they slaughtered hundreds if not thousands of monster groups. "The dungeon is even more aggressive than a day before," mumbled Simon as he scribbling inside his notebook. All around him were the sounds of explosions, monsters dying, and sound barrier-breaking. "Those are some nasty monsters," complained Milly, but had a battle-crazed grin on her face while smashing monsters left and right with her two gauntlets, but as she was an S rank adventurer every strike killed dozens of them without any effort. The rest of the group just walked in formation while killing the stray monsters that got from behind. They left all the killing to Milly as the small fries didn¡ät really do anything towards them even if they just let them attack them. "So what are you gonna name the new species Simon," asked Mavis while casually killing a goblin with a grain of sand that he flicked. "Heh?" "You haven¡ät thought about that?" "Emm, I didn¡ät really think that I could name it." "Well, you are the one that discovered it." chimed in Katharina. Getting a little excited about naming a newfound species, he thought for a while. "I will think about a name once we see it" commented Simon. The others just nodded. Finishing killing all the monsters Milly strode back towards the group covered in blood. "Mohh~ they are too weak! Can¡ät we go quicker? It is boring to kill all the small fry!" complained Milly. "Pah, stop yapping all the time. You were killing them like you had the time of your life," said Patrus while heaving his heavy battle-ax over his shoulder. "Hah, what did you say puss? cat?!" Grinding his teeth he glared at her, "You want to fight small fry?!" Fines tried to calm them down, but due to her shy nature, she failed miserably. "Stop it." Turning their faces away they harumphed and went back in formation. Fighting through the forest they reached the sanctuary that is being infested by a swarm of Nagirus. "My goodness, the flames are completely extinguished," stated Katharina standing in front of the two statues of goddesses holding two bowls. "Just a day before the fire was still burning, albeit small but it burned." "Hmm, the high mana in the air must have put out the flames," said Mavis as he examined the bowl in the statue''s hands. "Can you rekindle it, uncle?" asked Simon. "Maybe, let me try." Closing his eyes he silently mumbled under his breath as a pearl white magic circle appeared under the status. Opening his eyes he pointed his staff at the statues, as white light engulfed them. Turning away from the light everyone got blinded by the bright light. As the light died down, a small blue flame burned. The group was amazed by what Mavis just did. Even the silent Eliza raised her brows, but it soon died down as the flames burned out. "No, can¡ät do it even if I rekindle it, it will just go out again." "Nevertheless, it was still a marvelous feat star mage Mavis." complemented Fitz. Meanwhile, Fines'' eyes gleamed like stars. As a high elf, she is highly s?ns?t?v? to magic and mana and could feel the sheer amount of power the spell had behind the spell. With a nod, he continued, "Let us continue then. First, we have to cleanse this place. Simon, you will do it alone. The rest will just watch." Following his commands, he raised his staff before slamming it into the ground. "Hear my call and eliminate everyone in our path, summon Harth the red fall." As he said those words the trees in the vicinity rattled and slowly dried out and lost all of their leaves. The fallen leaves gathered in front of Simon in a big pile. The leaves slowly turned red as they morph together into the masked spirit, with antlers. *Whistle* "what a strong spirit you got there, young Simon." "Hmm, I think I will recruit you if you ever want to be an adventurer." "Oh, so that is how your new spirit looks like. Not bad, not bad." "Wow, Simon got a new spirit." "Is that a forest guardian spirit?" exclaimed the shy elf Fines silently. Chapter 38 - Clearing the second floor Appearing before Simon is the recently contracted upper forest spirit, Harth the red fall. Staring down at me he kneeled down so that he is the same height as me. Pointing my finger behind him Simon said, "Can you clear the place for me please." Turning his head 180 degrees he stared at it before his antlers slightly glowed. Without a word he turned around and walked towards the Nagirus infested temple. The Nagirus inside saw him coming towards their territory and rushed towards him while squealing in anger. Harth Saw them coming and took a big breath and filled his lungs to brim with air. A small hole appeared on his mask as he let blew out small a red cloud. The cloud completely engulfed the whole building before disappearing again. As the cloud cleared every single Nagirus lied on the ground emotionlessly. Clapping his hands with outstretched arms before pulling his hands back towards his ?h?st and tilting them up. Making a hand sign a lot of red magic circles appeared beneath the downed monsters and one big one under his feet.. *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* ... Dozens of thicc wooden spikes pierced them as they shriveled up and only leaving a monster core behind. While the Nagirus died Harth¡äs antlers glowed blood red. Seeing everyone dead he just disappeared in a puff leaving red leaves behind. The group that saw the scene was slightly stunned. "Damn, that was so cool..." mumbled Simon and Patrus. Even Mavis nodded at their statement. Well, he could do something similar but seeing a forest spirit do it was 100 times cooler. Fitz even began to lightly clap. Fines walked up to Simon and looked at him with stars in her eyes. "W- was that an upper forest spirit!" said she slightly stammering. Seeing her attentively waiting for an answer, he responded "Ah, yes I just made a contract with him last night." Hearing that her eyes shined even more as she cupped his hands with hers. "Wow, you must really be loved by nature to contract a forest spirit!" Feeling her soft hands he looked into her golden eyes that matched her short yellow hair. As he was a head taller than her he looked slightly down on her. Getting slightly lost in her glimmering eyes he squeezed her hand unconsciously. Kathy seeing them flirt so openly while holding hands got jealous as a tick mark appeared on her head. Storming between them, breaking the two joined hands she turned towards Fines. Kathy faced her with a forced smile while her eye twitched, "I think we should keep going right, Mavis." Mavis who had a hard time suppressing his laughter seeing his nephew getting into trouble, said "Ah, yes. Let''s keep going." Glaring towards Simon, Kathy walked past him while pouting. Fine''s ears turned red and her head began to stem as she remembered what she just did, she got a little bit too excited seeing a forest spirit. So tilting her head down she walked back to the backline while covering her face. "What an interesting pair," commented Fitz and followed Katharina. Simon let out a tired sigh, quickly collecting all the monster cores with a wave of his hand he caught up to the group who were already going down the stairs. Arriving on the 2nd floor everyone took a second to breathe in the fresh air. "Haaaa~ what clean air," said Patrus. "This will be a pain to find a little snake... the second floor is 10 times bigger than the first floor." *Sigh* "But we have to start somewhere..." "We will be splitting up now to clear this floor a little bit quicker," commanded Mavis. "Patrus, and Milly will be going north. Fines, Fitz, and Eliza will be going south and Simon and Kathy will be going east. Oh and don¡ät forget to reduce the number of monsters while you are on it." Smashing her gauntlets together Milly showed a feral grin. Agreeing to the plan everyone prepared to split up. "And what about you Mavis?" asked Simon with slightly squinted eyes. "I will be searching on my own," stated Mavis as a matter of fact. As they walked in different directions, Mavis sat down on the grass and took out some vials from his storage ring. "Let¡äs see what we have here..." mumbled the star mage to himself. Plopping the lid off he took the vials and poured the black powder in symmetrical patterns, creating one giant complicated magic circle. Swiping away a sweat drop, Mavis marveled at his own work, "Puh, finally finished." Standing in the middle of the 30 meters wide circle, he sat down cross-legged before putting his palms on the ground. Soon after, an enormous amount of mana poured into the ground lighting the whole place up. A pulse of mana pushed out passing through everything. Simon and Katharina were currently slaughtering some tier 1 and 2 monsters when something passed through them. "Did you feel that?" asked Simon as he cast another spell. Kathy turned towards him before tilting her head, "What do you mean?" and bisected a wolf without looking. "Hmm, I guess I just imagined it. Let us finish this fast. I don¡ät want to be stuck here for a few weeks again..." Complained Simon as he fastened his pace on casting spells. Meanwhile with Milly and Patrus. *BOOM!* *BOOM!* "Stop destroying all the terrain Milly, you are going to summon a floor guardian if this continues!" screamed Patrus angrily as he chaste after Milly who was madly throwing punches that deforested the whole area. "Relax Patrus I know how much damage I can do before a floor guardian emerges~" retorted Milly back and threw another punch that created a large hole in the ground. And with Eliza and Fitz, they were currently running through a monster nest and slashing everything that comes near while Fines snipped everything that tried to run away. Feeling a puls of energy going through them they stopped their slaughtering and looked at each other. Shaking his head Fitz looked towards Fines asking for answers. "Tha- That was definitely Mavis¡ä spell. It had traces of Star magic in it." spoke Fines while shooting a big flying bird out of the sky. Nodding to each other they continued. Mavis silently waited, and checked his pocket watch. "Any second now" ... "Oh, there it is." As the puls came back to Mavis a blue transparent square opened in front of Mavis''s feet. The square was 10 by 10 meters large and had many different colored dots on it. Looking at the projection of the whole 2nd floor and the inhabitance he could see many red dots disappear near the blue ones. Seeing the dots moving he scanned for any irregularities he could find, but due to the vast sea of dots, it was hard to find any. The mini-map that Mavis cast was a high-tier spell that revealed every monster in a 50-kilometer radius and tracing their real-time movement without any delay and bypassing any stealth skills. It even projected the terrain. "Oh~, what do we have here..." said Mavis with a slight grin. Chapter 39 - Egg and Hunger Cross the large grass plane in a quick paste, we endured the ever-growing hunger and thirst that worsened by the second. Opening my stats panel I could see that we were already traveling for 3 hours straight. Deciding to take a quick break, we sat down and tried to lessen our hunger by eating and savoring the taste of the monster cores we saved up. As always the monster cores tasted unique and indescribable. Letting out a tired sigh I looked towards Sahra to see how she is doing. She was just silently looking at the clouds above while drooling slightly. Probably thinking about eating the clouds.... yes, the curse is really getting to us. Nudging her arm she gave me a dazed glance. Signaling her that we should keep moving she sluggishly stood up and we continued walking through the endless flat plain.. After what felt like days we finally spotted trees in the distance. With renewed vigor, we soon reached a similar-looking sanctuary like the one on the first floor deep inside the forest. But for some reason, there weren¡ät any monsters around. Maybe due to the curse or something... but in contrast to the temple on the first floor, this one was almost completely destroyed. Walking through the rubbles I searched for monster cores that could have been left behind, but my luck seemed to have run out. Slithering back to Sahra I saw her rummaging in the rubbles. Getting closer I could see her digging out a small egg. Holding the egg she inspected it. It was just as big as my head and is transparent and apparently filled with some kind of orange fluid. The shell was not hard, but rather tough and firm. Seeing something inside move, I and Sahra got our heads closer and stared at it. It seems like Sahra didn¡ät know what kind of egg she just dugout. We could see something inside turn ever so slightly. But with the murky orange liquid inside, we could only see a small black dot inside. But the next thing Sahra did shock me. She smashed the egg on the ground with all her might, but it just bounced a few times before lying still on the ground. I didn¡ät know why she did that but something inside me told me I have to protect the egg. Glaring at Sahra, I slithered towards the egg and saw that it was unharmed. Sahra who followed me wanted to take away the egg from me, but I just hissed at her and curled around the egg. My gleaming green eyes stared into her blank face. Not backing down from her gaze she grumbled, before letting out a defeated sigh. She kneeled down and slowly stretched her hand out. Seeing the hand nearing me and the egg I hissed at her, but she just continued to approach me. Just as I was ready to bite her hand she patted my head. Seeing the kind smile on her face I calmed down, before realizing what I just did. Looking at the egg again, my instincts screamed at me again to protect it. Slithering away from the egg, my pupils sharpened. Looking at Sahra I could see her gesturing to me. She first pointed towards the egg then towards me and Sahra before tapping her forehead. My eyes widen as I realized, ''that egg just hypnotized or somehow manipulated us so that we protect it...'' Getting angry at it messing with our heads I channeled mana into my tail and slammed down on the egg with full force. The ground cracked as a layer of poison coated the ground. Removing my tail I saw the egg embedded into the ground without a single crack or leak. Hissing at the egg, we didn¡ät bother with it anymore and wanted to go away, when I suddenly felt like someone wanting to enter my mind. Not being able to fight it off I felt a slight connection with the egg. I instantly got causes and tried to push it out of my head, but it was like a heavy stone inside a room. Too large to be pushed through the door. But to my luck, it didn¡ät mess with my head and only felt it wanting me to come back. Turning around I looked at the egg again, but now I didn¡ät feel the same compulsion to take care of it anymore. Sahra and I glanced at each other as we both felt it. It wasn¡ät someone speaking to us, but rather someone sending their intent directly into our mind. It is hard to describe it as it was my first time feeling something like that. Starring at the egg I could feel the egg''s despair and begging us to take it with us. It even promising us that it will never manipulate us again. It sounded so desperate and lost. Truly a mysterious egg. ''What an interesting dangerous egg. What is this bizarre feeling that I am getting from the egg... Wait a minute didn¡ät I wish for an exciting and adventurous life? Hmmm, it was strong enough to penetrate my mind even with my high mentality stats and it¡äs only an egg. How scary would it be once it hatched... Maybe I can tame it. Heh, funny! A monster trying to tame another monster.'' As if knowing what I was thinking about Sahra let out another sigh and waved towards me to get the egg already. Standing in front of it I opened my jaw wide and grabbed it with my mouth. Feeling the egg crying and giving up on living I put it back down before flicking my tongue at it. Noticing that I wasn¡ät going to eat it a wave of happiness and relief flooded my mind, pushing away the feeling of extreme hunger and thirst. Grinning at the egg I just picked it back up and slithered towards Sahra who was searching around the rubbles. Seeing me carry the egg she sighed again and patted my head. Meanwhile, the egg was sending us happy feelings making our hunger lessen just a tiny bit. ''Wow, it is like it is giving me shots of dopamine! While sad it makes me only slightly depressed... I will so keep this egg... for now anyway.'' Happily carrying the happy egg and putting it into the bag, Sahra and I continued to search for a way down inside the rubbles. But even after hours of searching, we couldn¡ät find a way down so we decided to sleep here as the sun was beginning to set. Searching for a place that sheltered us from the cold wind we found a small corner with a little bit of cover. Deming it to be a good place to rest we laid down. Slithering towards Sahra I curled up into a ball as we enjoyed each other''s warmth. Feeling the layer of smooth sand on her body I smiled and snuggled closer. Thanks to the egg that constantly sends us happy feelings we were able to fall asleep rather quickly even with hunger and thirst. As the sun rises again my body began to heat up and my mind stirred. *Yawn* Letting out a giant yawn I looked around me. Waking up in the same position as I fell asleep I saw her dotless face. Still in Sahra¡äs arms hugged towards her ?h?st I accidentally flickered my tongue on Sahras cheek, but even if she is almost always covered in a light layer of sand I caught myself thinking ''... why did she taste so delicious?'' Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I carefully slithering out of her arms. Searching for a flat stone in the sun, I soon found one not far from where we stayed and lied on top of it. Well, it wasn¡ät hard to find one with all those rubbles around us. Feeling the warm stone plate on my bottom scales as the warmth seeped through my body I let out a delighted hiss. "Hiss~" ''So that must be how Grian felt like when he was laying on a heated stone~'' ... ''...wait... who is taking care of Grian when I am gone... fu?k... I hope you will forgive me Grian when I join you in snake heaven... or hell...'' prayed I towards Grian remembering the cute little pet snake that I left all alone in his giant terrarium. Shedding a small tear I slithered back towards Sahra and got on top of her using her like a heated stone. Looking at my stats I could see that I still had more than 2 days left. [Time: 2d 9h 35min 01sec] ''But on the bright side, we are almost halfway through... who am I kidding I am soooooooo HUNGRY!!!'' *flick* *flick* Flicking my tongue out of stress and hunger I tried to calm down but without success. ''I could suppress the feeling, but all the walking and searching made it unbearable. It is getting worse even with the egg giving me bursts of happiness ...'' *flick* *flick* Flicking my tongue it accidentally touched Sahra¡äs shoulder. As the sand slightly pealed of I could taste her b?r? skin. Tasting fresh meat I fell into a trance as I continued to lick her smooth shoulder. ''Just a little bit more, she wouldn¡ät mind it right?'' Continuing to lick her shoulder I opened my mouth with my fangs b?r?d. But before I could bite down a wave of happiness rushed through my head. Snapping out of it I shook my head before realization dawned on me. ''Oh my god! I almost bit Sahra! This is already the second time that I almost bit her... Thankfully I kept the egg or I would have gone crazy from the hunger.'' Looking towards the brown worn-down backpack where I put the egg in I let out a sigh of relief. ''Thanks, little egg, I will give you a name when I can name someone again. I wondered when I could name again...'' Sahra who was just sleeping a moment ago felt the movement and weight on top of her and woke up. Seeing me on top of her while thinking about something she wanted to hug me, but felt a slight wet feeling on her b?r? shoulder and looked at me with a questioning gaze. Thinking that she was about to take a bite out of me I hissed at her and tried to push her away from me with my tail. Waiting for the pain to come I looked away, but the pain never came and I only got licked and nibbled on. Widening my eyes I felt a slimy feeling brush my scales, sending shivers down my spine. Trying to squirm free I hissed at her, but with her, on top of me pinning me down, I helplessly waited. After a few seconds, she let me go and sat up, a string of saliva snapped apart as she licked her lips. My mind slightly haltered ''Maybe the curse isn¡ät that bad after all...'' Chapter 40 - Crash ''...'' Gazing at me with her two round dots I didn¡ät know what to do. Thankfully, Sahra turned around and began to walk away while stretching her body. ''I wonder what she is thinking about right now...'' Going back to what I wanted to do, I opened the leather top of the backpack. Instead of a small mountain of cores, I could see an egg that was happily absorbing one of the remaining eight monster cores. *Slurp* *slurp* *slurp* .... I mean seven. Seeing the egg consuming another monster core my eyes widen, as I readied to pull it away and keeping it from eating all our ration. ''How does it even do it?! It is an egg for god''s sake... All our hard-earned monster cores just gone like that?!'', seethed I in anger. But remembering the burst of happiness I just received I clenched my mouth shut and let it go. ''Tss, I will let you go this time. Those monster cores are useless to us anyway...'' Finishing checking on the egg I slithered past the rubbles and helped Sahra search for an away when I heard a sudden explosion. *Boom* *Crash* Crashing next to us a cloud of dust and debris flew through the air. Being engulfed by the dust I went into a coughing fit and waved my tail in front of me, trying to clear the air. ''Damn it, what now!'' Getting annoyed at everything about this world, except Sahra, I cursed whoever or whatever just crashed only three meters away from me. *Ding* [You teased death gaining 3 intelligence!] Well, at least I got some intelligence... Looking in the distance I could see nothing but trees. Seeing the dying monster¡äs eyes begging me to kill it my eyes turned sharp, ''I won¡ät say no to free exp.'' Slithering down the crater I looked at the mutilated bear that was three times the size of a normal grizzly bear. Sahra just silently stood on the edge of the pit and watched me with a worried gaze. Bearing my fangs I bit into the bear''s neck before pouring my venom in it, killing it in seconds. The bear¡äs eyes slowly closed as it took its last breath. *Ding* [You have slain a young inferno bear!] [241 Exp gained!] [You leveled up!] ''It wasn¡ät even fully grown! And how strong must it have been to give me so much exp just for last hitting it?!'' Imagining a giant 10-meter long bear swinging its paws a shiver ran down my back. Now that the bear was dead Sahra walked towards the bear and plunged her dagger into its side. Seeing Sahra digging into the flesh I slightly grimaced at. Carving out a good chunk of meat out she pushed both of her arms inside the bear before pulling out a massive red monster core. It was 4 times the size of the purple one that I found inside the Nagirus infested temple on the first floor. Putting the core to the side, she began to skin the giant bear while occasionally cutting small pieces of meat off and eating it. Seeing her munch on the bloody meat I slightly drooled. As if feeling my gaze she sliced a few pieces of meat into bite-size and laid it in front of me. ''Damn that looks like a fine uncooked steak. If only we had a fire to cook it... Never mind that beggars can¡ät be choosers and I am too hungry to somehow cook it anyway.'' and swallowed the small cut pieces one after the other. The disappointment I felt after realizing that I couldn''t state my hunger was enormous, but I continued to eat as the meat tasted delicious... even if it was bloody and raw. A few minutes passed when Sahra began to dismantle the inferno bear. She laid the fur on a flat stone in the sun and cleaned it from any flesh stuck on it. ''I wonder what she is doing with the bear fur.'' The bear now looked even worse than before, with now a skinned body and big chunks of flesh missing. I grimaced but didn¡ät feel any disgust at the sight. ''Maybe I am already getting used to the sight of gore and mutilated monsters... is that a good thing?'' Making myself useful I slithered back towards the backpack, but on the way back I notice a hole that was uncovered due to the bear crashing down. Not taking any risk of getting jumped by a random monster I tossed a stone down the hole. After a few seconds of silence, I slithered down the hole. To my surprise, it was quite wide and was 50 meters long. The whole tunnel looked man-made and was out of stone. Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel I unconsciously speed up. I soon reached the opening but had to shield my eyes from the bright light. Peeking my head through I saw another forest, but this one had more fauna and the air was ever so slightly moister than the first and second floor. I could even hear birds chirping and some monsters in the distance roaring. Not wanting to stay here too long and get ambushed by a monster, or worse a human I slithered back up so I could inform Sahra about my finding. Once outside the hole, I could see Sahra searching for me with a panicked face. Spotting me peaking out of a hole in the ground she rushed towards me. Grinning at her I signed at her to follow me. Pushing a few rubbles away she made the hole big enough for her to go through. Stepping on the grass she looked at the forest in front of us and smiled. I didn¡ät know why she was so happy about reaching the third floor, but I am just glad that she is happy. Getting back we packed our things, but while Sahra was carrying the backpack noticed it getting lighter and almost ate the egg after noticing that it consumed all the cores that we gathered. Now, all we have left is a big monster core from the bear and its fur. Luckily I could calm her down, but she still shook and threw the egg out of anger and now I had to carry it with my mouth. Reaching the third floor, stepped inside the forest and were immediately being attacked by a tree. It opened its bark as dozens of sharp branches shooted towards us. Dogging them effortlessly Sahra cut the tree monster down with a swift strike. The monster was pathetically weak, ''wow that was easy...'' Noticing that the monster didn¡ät have a monster core we continued our walk, but not even going hundreds of meters another appeared. After crushing this one, I noticed something strange. It didn¡ät give any exp... ''Hmmm strange, but at least they are easy to deal with.'' Getting slightly suspicious about those monsters we continued, just to see two of them appear Killing them as fast as we could we began to fasten our pace. A vain nearly popped as now three of those walking trees appeared. ''It surely is just a coincidence, right?'' Chapter 41 - Separation It has already been three hours of constant slaughtering. We began to killed and killed, but the monsters just kept coming and the curse only worsened our mood and concentration. It was annoying killing all those pestering trees trying to attack us. Each time we killed a group of those another one appeared with ever-growing size. I lost count on how many we already killed, and I was angry that it didn¡ät even give us any experience. The further we went into the forest the more of those expless monsters appeared. The only good thing was that we found out that the egg was more useful than we thought it to be. It could periodically confused the walking trees to make them run in each other or just stand still emotionlessly and kept our minds sharp. The egg is a perfect support for our team, and yes we put him inside the leather bag, but just before it promised us not to eat the other monster cores without our permission. ''My mana is low and I am beat'' though I as another group of those damned creatures appeared around us. We tried to run away, dodge them and even bury them, but they keep on coming. ''I think we are in some kind of infinite loop.... Think Raas think, how can you escape this madness!'' Glancing at Sahra I could see her slashing and kicking monsters left and right. Her speed drastically reduced over time, but as she was stronger than me she flared far better. Each time we clear a horde of them we start to sprint as fast as we could. So killing them we started to sprint and just as I thought that another group spawned we reached a clearing with a massive raging river. Looking back we saw the trees encircle us and slowly creeping closer, but what surprised me was that they did not step into the clearing and stopped at the edge of the forest. ''Are they bound to the forest?'' Having no other route except crossing the river, Sahra put me inside the backpack and covered me with the inferno bear fur to keep my body temperature from dropping too quickly. Luckily I was still thin enough to fit inside the backpack. Walking inside the stream Sahra began to slowly walk across. I peeked out of the bag as we slowly crossed the 20-meter wide river, but just as we reached the halfway point a dark silhouette swam at us. It was way too fast for Sahra to doge it and due to the water, she couldn¡ät make a sand shield. The shadow closed in and out of the water sprung a large bone-covered fish. Being startled Sahra slipped on the smooth stone and accidentally dodged the bone plates that nearly crushed her. With a loud gun-like sound, the jaw snapped shut just in front of Sahra. But because she lost her footing we got carried away by the river. The bonefish chased us as we got swept away further but for some reason, it stopped and swam away. To busy from avoiding to drown we couldn¡ät care less why it stopped. Gasping for air I breathed in a mouth full of air and tried to desperately stay over water, but the raging currents pulled us down. Looking behind us I spotted a large stone in the middle of the river, unable to do anything my we crashed into it at full force. As unlucky as I was I hit my head and felt my mind slipping. The last thing I saw was the blurry sight of Sahra trying to get a few breaths of air. Blacking out I prayed that I would wake up again. (Normal perspective) As little Raas blacked out, the currents swept him out of the bag. Sahra who had her own problems didn¡ät realize that her partner was gone. Getting a grip on a stone she managed to push herself up. The stone was fairly large and somewhat close to the shore. Coughing up the water she breathed in she prepared to jump the distance. Being a tier two monster she reached the shore without much effort. Landing on the gravel bank she fell flat down and put the backpack to the side. Looking towards the back she thought that Raas was still inside, and didn¡ät know that he was swept away. Catching her breath she opened the bag just to see a red drenched bear fur, some monster cores, and an orange squishy egg, but the most important thing missed. ''No no no he must be around here somewhere.'' Even though she knew that he wasn¡ät inside the leather bag she still emptied the backpack to see if he was somehow in there. Searching surrounding without luck. Her most important person was gone. Looking back towards the river she jumped back to the stone to see if she could spot him in the water. but couldn¡ät find him there either. ''No no no, he can¡ät be still in the river. He will die of hyperthermia if he stays in the cold water too long.'' Hyperventilating she clenched her hand over her ?h?st as her heart tightened. Falling to her knees she closed her senses. . ''Calm down Sahra, Raas must be somewhere, I can still feel the link between us. At least he is alive, and my little hero wouldn¡ät die so quickly, but must find him fast!'' Never in her life was she so worried about a single person, but Raas wasn¡ät just any person to her. At first, she just found him cute, but when the poachers attacked he was the one that saved her, he was the one that comforted her when she was alone, the person that never left her side, the person that always smiled at her and didn¡ät behave any differently around her like all the others. And most importantly, he was the one that gave her the name Sahra. Getting a grip of herself she slapped her cheeks with her hands leaving red prints. ''Don¡ät die on me Raas or I am going to personally kill you when I find you.'' Putting everything inside the bag she rushed downstream. Meanwhile, Raas got carried further downstream till he eventually got washed ashore like an old boot. ... "Ho, what do we have here? Quite a rare find." spoke a calm elderly voice, "I guess it is your lucky day today..." Raas was lying on the riverbank half-unconscious. ''Hmm, it must be freezing from the cold water.'' The person reached down and picked up the two meters long light grey snake and wrapped him with some leaves that he was carrying inside a bag. Raas felt him being carried but couldn¡ät do anything and blanked out. Being carried deep inside the forest they reached a clearing. Taking a step forward a wooden house in the middle of the clearing appeared, surrounded by all kinds of herbs and fruit trees with humming-bird-sized bees buzzing around. The house looked cozy and well kept. Noticing that the person returned the bees swarmed around him and buzzed happily about his return. "Shhh, don¡ät be so noisy you all. We have a guest." whispered the person carrying the unconscious snake in his arms. The bees quieted down and looked at the snake with curious gazes. Their many eyes starred at Raas and some even tried to poke him but got swatted away by the person that carried him. "Tell Nira that we have a guest." said the person. Getting buzzes from the bees he asked them "What, she isn¡ät here?" Giving him a nod he hummed. "Hmmm, well whatever then. You all can get some rest now." before walking inside the house. Opening the wooden door he laid Raas on a table before rummaging through his things, "Where the hell did I put this thing... No, not here... Nope not here either... How I have been searching for that for weeks now, meh not important now... Ah, there it is." Pulling a square stone plate out of a cabin he laid it net to the unconscious snake. Snaping his finger a lot of small white fluffy balls appeared. Laying Raas on the stone slab the small fluffy creatures walked towards Raas and snuggled with him. Snapping his finger again a small plant sprouted over Raas. The plant grew a small dim glowing ball that emitted heat like a lamp. "That should be enough." Walking to another room he sat down on a chair and began to grind some plants into a paste. Getting thirsty he took a glass of water from the kitchen, but before going back to grinding plants he checks on the snake. His eyes glowed in blue light as he looked at Raas beneath the fluffy creatures, who were happily sleeping with Raas. Looking at Raas he furrowed his brows but relaxed soon after. "What a lucky little snake." said the person before leaving the room again. Chapter 42 - Hospitality (1) As the day passes the person that rescued Raas went back to his room and continued making potions and tended to the herbs outside the house. The oversized bees buzzed around the garden and killed every monster that went too close to the field. All the monster cores and valuable parts are being neatly pilled up in the storage room. But with the barrier around the house, not many monsters wander around the place, and the bees quickly got bored. They already produce enough honey for three times the size of the population, so most of the time they just messed around the garden or played little games like hide and seek or tag. They even rearranged a flower field so that it looked like a picture of their queen. And why they didn¡ät just increase the population? Well, the place is limited so they didn¡ät have a need for offspring and as monsters, they have a long life span and could be potentially live forever if they continued to level up and evolve. So basically they didn¡ät see a need to bolster up their numbers and inside the barrier, they are well protected from all potential predators. But enough with that. During the day the person checked on Raas every few hours to see if something has changed. When the sun started to set, Raas finally began to show signs of waking up. Feeling a small stir the fluffy balls woke up and happily nuzzled with him.. Raas who was feeling all the soft fur wanted to continue sleeping, but remembering what happened, his eyes constricted as he sprung up. Confused and disoriented he checked his surrounding, but what he saw made him only more confused. """"Ni ni ni ni ni~"""" Chirped the bundle of small fluffy monsters. Hearing all the noise hurt his ears as his mind was still hazy. ''Ugh, what the hell, why do I feel like I have a hangover?'' Seeing the bunch he looked at them confusedly, ''What are these creatures?'' """Ni ni ni ni~""" ''They look kind of delicious...'' though Raas as he licked his lips with his split tongue. A slight hiss escaped his lips as he opened his mouth. The cloudiness of his mind plus the hunger made him unable to think correctly. Just as he was about to swallow the monster the door opened. Raas immediately turned his head towards the noise. He could see an old man holding a staff and a wooden bowl standing in the doorway. The old man had long flowing hair and a majestic beard, his calm blue eyes shone in wisdom and intelligence as he stared at Raas that seemed like a little child who was caught stealing candies by his parents. As the two stared at each other the room turned almost completely silent. Only a muffled chirping could be heard coming out from Raas''s mouth. Despite its dangerous position it continued to chirp happily. Raas slowly lowered his head and spat out the white ball that was now covered in saliva. ... Breaking the awkward silence the elderly man coughed. "Ahem, you must be hungry after waking up." spoked the old man in a calm manner and laid the wooden bowl in front of Raas. Stomping the staff on the floor the white fluffy monsters dissipated into flakes of light that got su?k?d into the staff. Smelling the fragrant soup in front of him he unconsciously gulped as his mouth began to water. He was still suspicious about the whole situation, but the hunger overwhelmed his sense of danger as he plunged his head inside the soup. Luckily for him, the soup already cooled down. Inhaling the soup in a matter of seconds his hunger slowly reduced. .... Raas eyes widened as he finished slurped the last bit of the creamy soup and didn¡ät felt hungry anymore. Not feeling hungry anymore his mind instantly began to race again, but first, he had to check his status. ''System, open my status!'' screamed Raas inside his mind. It has been quite some time since he last checked his status. [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing grey youngling serpent (???) Level: 13 --> 14 [Stats:] Strength: 64 --> 67 Agility: 66 --> 68 Intelligence: 65 --> 70 Mentality: 49 --> 52 Hp: 140/140 MP: 70/70 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases your stats gained from evolutions) 2. Teasing death (What didn¡ät kill you will make you smarter) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage and damage resistance when protecting someone, but betrayals will give you the curse Betrayer leading to a permanent decrease of 10% from your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) [Skills: Venom Fang lv 6, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 4 --> 6, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 4, Poison Resistance lv1, Poison Affinity lv 2, Crush lv 1 --> 3, Intimidation lv 1, Poison Whip lv 2 --> 3, Conceal lv 2 --> 3] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] ''The curse is gone! Just how long was I unconscious for!? Shit, Sahra must be thinking I died or is searching for me! No scrap that, I don¡ät even know if she is okay or even alive!'' as Raas panicked and thought about all kinds of scenarios the old man just looked at him curiously. "If you are so curious about the monster that named you just concentrate on the mark on your ?h?st." said the old man and sat down in front of him. ''What the... can he read my mind and how can I understand him?! I couldn¡ät understand this world''s language when the humans attacked us, but now I can understand him fluently? What wizardry is that? Screw it, for now.'' thought Raas as he focused on the hourglass symbol above his heart. He felt a slight ping in his mind as if he connected to something. He sighed in relief as his body slumped down. ''Puh, at least Sahra is alive. I have to get out as soon as I can and search for her.'' "Seems like the one that named you is still alive, but I would wait till the next day if I were you. It is getting dark and many dangerous monsters will be out hunting for food and a tier 1 monster will not survive the stay outside, especially with all that is happening inside the dungeon right now." said the old man. Raas looked at the old man again with a shooked expression, ''Hmm makes sense old man... wait he can read my mind!!!'' "No, I can¡ät read your mind, little one," said the old man with an amused grin. ''You are clearly lying!'' "I¡äm not lying. If you get as old as me, you would learn to read a person''s thoughts by his facial expression and body language alone. Well reading a monster is a little bit harder, but I have been living with monsters for a long time now and you have quite the range of expressions," grinned the old man. Raas let out an annoyed hiss, ''I guess I have to be careful what I¡äm thinking about.'', but when he looked around he finally realized that he was inside a house. ''Where the heck am I? Why am I inside a house? Am I still inside a dungeon? What is going on here?'' "Don¡ät worry so much little one. I removed the curse for you. You are inside my home and we are still inside the third floor of the woodland dungeon. You were only out for half a day and the reason why you could understand me is that I have learned the monster tongue or the universal monster language. Now follow me, I will show you my humble abode. It has been quite some time since I got such a unique guest, so excuse me if I didn¡ät show proper hospitality." Standing up he gestured towards Raas to follow him. Thinking about what he should do, he decided that it would be a good opportunity to learn more about this world''s standard. As for why Raas was not guarded at the old man, well he has his guard up since he woke up and was prepared to attack any moment, but he knew that the old man could have killed him any time he wanted and there is no reason why he should pep him up just to kill him so he followed his savior out of the room. To Raas¡äs surprise, the house was way bigger than he expected, "don¡ät be so shooked yet, I still have quite some things to show you." After showing Raas every room and every device that was inside and outside the house the old man sat down on a comfy leather chair in the living room. Raas also sat on a comfy chair but was being swarmed by the hummingbird-sized bees. They are really curious creatures and as they never saw a snake on the third floor they inspected and pocked every inch of his body. Raas who was annoyed by them tried to push them away and to get them off of him, but they stuck to him like honey. Well, Raas loved bees but getting surrounded by them and seeing their long stinger on their bu??, he got a little bit uncomfortable. One even almost pocked his eye out as it flew around him. "I am sorry about that, little one, but as I already mentioned we don¡ät get many guests and they are just happy to finally have someone they could play with. Other than working they don¡ät do much, so seeing them like that really lightens this old man''s heart." said the old man while sipping a cup of tea. ''Where the heck did he get the cup of tea just now?'' was the only question inside Raas''s mind. "Oh, where are my manners? Do you also like something to drink?" asked the old man as he put down his cup on the wooden table. Giving him a nod the elder stomped his staff as vines sprouted out the table and a wooden cup formed. Another plant grew out the ceiling and dropped some leaves inside the cup before pouring steamy hot water down. "Be careful it is still hot." said the elder while continuing drinking. Raas who was awed by the whole thing just looked at the steaming cup of herbal tea in front of him. The fresh fragrance of the tea valved over him and immediately energized him. He flicked his tongue and it smelled blue, just like the fruit he and Sahra ate. ''Hmm, this drink is quite mana rich...'' Grabbing the cup with his tail he blew some air on it to cool it down. "I guess you really are an Acutra..." mumbled the wise old man while stroking his majestic beard. Raas took a sip and felt his body burning up slightly. It wasn¡ät painful but instead, it was pleasant as if drank pure caffeine. He could feel every cell in his body being filled with mana. *Ding* [You gained a 10% mana regeneration boost for the next 10 minutes!] ''Oh, this is a surprise...'' Chapter 43 - Hospitality (2) "Hisss~" hissed Raas in delight, but got guilty after thinking about Sahra. How could he be merrily drinking some delicious herbal tea inside a cozy home with a wrinkly old man and a dozen of fluffy hummingbird-sized bees when Sahra is still out there searching for him or worse. Feeling the mood drop the old man gave Raas a reassuring smile "worrying now will not change anything, little one. Have more faith in the person that named you and reserve as much energy as you can. If the one that named you is at least a tier 2 or 3 monsters then it should be fine, even with the rising mana." Raas nodded, but what the old man just told him up till now only gave him more questions than answers, and he couldn¡ät even communicate with him. Trying to piece all the information together he thought, ''First thing first, I am indeed inside a dungeon and currently on the third floor and somehow the mana inside the dungeon is rising, causing all kinds of problems... and I am currently a tier-one monster whereas Sahra is already at peak tier two or so I think at least.'' Glancing at his stats he frowned, ''I still need 6 levels till I can evolve again.. I have to step up my game... It has already been 6 days since I reincarnated and I am only level 14! What a joke! I am far too weak, and I wouldn¡ät have survived this long without Sahra¡äs help. Okay, new objectives. First, find Sahra, and second grind as much exp as possible, third find out about this dungeon and what is outside it. I have to convince Sahra to stay here for a while till we are strong enough to go deeper. Shouldn¡ät be too hard to achieve all that right?'' ... ''Wait, did I just jinx myself?! Pah, as if I believe in superstition!'' The old man saw the determination in Raas''s eyes and smiled with clear amusement, ''It is always nice to see the youth burn so brightly. I hope he wound turn into a troublemaker like the last one... Hmm, his temper is already better than his.'' Raas continued to think about his next steps as he looked out the window. It is already pitch black out there and almost all the bees already went back into their nest. Only one of them stayed with Raas as it fell asleep on his head. Raas didn¡ät mind this little critter, as the bee is light and soft. The old man giggled at the sight of the grey snake with a yellow bee on his head. He signed Raas to follow him as Raas carefully slithered after. The man leads him back into the room where he woke up. "You can sleep there if you want or use the bed in the room, anyway make yourself at home. You can leave and search for the person as soon as the sun is out and you are always welcome to come back. The corebees already love you and are happy to have someone to play with." said the man and closed the door, but before he fully closed the door he stopped and turned back, "A small tip, watch out for twinkling stars." ''What does he mean by that?'' thought Raas as he watched the old man close the door. ''Why do old people always speak in riddles?'' *sigh* ''Whatever, I guess I have to look out for "twinkling stars" now...'' Curling into a ball I tried to get a few hours of sleep in before searching for Sahra. ... Some time in the middle of the night the old man sat on his comfy chair while reading a book in front of the fireplace. *Sigh* "The future will be exciting again, don¡ät you think so too Nira?" said the old man while closing his book. "Yes, he will bring a lot of changes... Well only if he survives long enough, but I have high hopes for him. Even my daughters took a liking to him in such a short time..." The old man just nodded. "Have you already checked his status?" "No, it will be more fun this way, but I can feel ''Her'' blood circling inside him. I don¡ät want to interfere with his life too much as it could damage his potential, but a few pushes and tips here and there should be fine." said the old man with a wink. "You are the same as always, old fart." The old man just grinned at her remark, "You should enjoy the world more often little Nir, or you will turn old and wrinkly like me." "Stop calling me like that, old fart, and I will never become like you," said Nira and disappeared out of the room. "You have grown so much Nira..." smiled the old man with a grandfatherly smile. ... Inside Raas room, a figure appeared and looked down on the sleeping snake with the fluffy bee on top. "What a troublemaker you are. Come, I will take you back to the nest." said the figure and picked up the hummingbird-sized bee. The bee woke up from the movements and looked at the figure with its black compound eyes. It buzzed slightly and tried to escape from her grasp. "Oh, feisty aren¡ät we~" "Bzzzz!" "No, you have to come back." "Bzzzzzz!" "No." "Bzz." *sigh* "Just for tonight." "Bzzz~" "Yes, yes I love you too, sweety." and let go of the little bee. She then turned towards Raas and spoke menacingly, "If you do anything to her I will kill you!" The ''sleeping'' snake twitched at the threatening voice, ''How did she know that I am awake!'' thought Raas as he panicked inside his mind. The figure just gave him a long look before seemingly disappearing into thin air, while the little bee flew back on Raas head. ''What a weird day...'' thought the light grey snake while trying to fall back asleep. ... The morning soon came as Raas was being woken up by the rays of the "sun". "Hissss~" letting out a giant yawn he stretched his body. The little bee on top of his head fell to the side and buzzed in annoyance, but continued to sleep. Raas saw the cute little creature and patted its head with his tail and got a small buzz in return. ''Never thought that a bee would be this cute'' thought Raas as he exited the room. He managed to open the door and slithered straight towards the door. Before he could leave a voice spoke behind him, "You want to leave without breakfast and saying goodbye?" Raas stopped and looked back to see the old man in his brown robe and a staff in his hand. "Eat this before you leave, I hope we will meet again, little one." said the old man as he threw a purple marble towards him and left the entrance hall. Raas looked at the small purple marble and swallowed it whole in one quick motion. His eyes widened at the strong taste. All the other purple crystals were a mild ''sweet release'', but this one gave you the feeling of having all the pain, all the baggage lifted from your heart. ''... wow, I really needed that.'' thought Raas as he smiled. *Ding* [Venom Fang leveled up!] *Ding* [Poison affinity leveled up!] *Ding* [Poison affinity leveled up!] [Poison whip leveled up!] *Ding* [Poison resistance leveled up!] *Ding* [Max mana capacity increased by 30!] *Ding* [Poison glance is able to evolve once you reach level 20!] *Ding* [You received 500 Exp for eating something that is at least one tier higher than you!] [You leveled up!] *Ding* [You gained an exp boost for the next 24 hours!] *Ding* Stop stop stop stop, not everything at once system!'' cried Raas as he was being flooded by all the notifications that popped up in front of him. It took him a few seconds to read through all the notifications, but as soon he finished reading a red panel popped up in front of him and he felt a sharp pain in his ?h?st. ''Agh, am I getting a heart attack?!'' thought Raas while clenching his ?h?st with his tail. [Danger!] [Your core can¡ät handle all that mana!] *Ding* [Your core is damaged!] *Ding* [You will receive a 20% decrease in all stats for the next 24 hours!] *Ding* [You will lose 10 mana per hour till you reach your next evolution!] ''What, in the name of whoever isekaed me here, did the old man just gave me!'' yelled Raas as he felt pain where his core is. "Heeee!" ''Ugh, I think my core is cracked or something...'' Clenching his mouth, he slithered out of the house. Chapter 44 - The Exterminator As Raas slithered into the woods to search for Sahra the little bee looked out of the window while the figure patted its head. "Don¡ät be sad, sweety. You will see him again, that I can promise you, so don¡ät make such a sad face." "bzz.." "No, you are still too weak. You can¡ät even survive outside the zone, so how do you think will you do when you go deeper with him. You will only be a burden to him." "Bzz bzz bzz!" "Don¡ät talk to your mother like that.". "bzzz..." *Sigh* "Come here..." said the figure and hugged the little bee in her arms. "He has to leave the dungeon eventually, and when that time comes, I will let you travel with him." "Bzzz!" "But only if you behave and get stronger, understand?" "Bzz bzz!" "Good girl, now go and wake up your siblings." "Bzzz!" with a small salute she flew away. Seeing her daughter flying away she just shook her head, "Just what should I do with you?" ... Raas silently slithered through the forest while pushing his senses to the limits. Now that he was alone, he had no one that covered his back. *flick* *flick* ''What is this smell?'' thought Raas as he smelled something unfamiliar. Pondering if he should follow the scent or just ignore it, he decides that it was safer to just avoid it and continued his path. While he was slithering through the woods, he heard some monsters fighting and could even see movements in the distance. Focusing his eyes, he saw a group of hornet-like monsters fighting against a giant metallic scorpion who was being swarmed by them. The monster was easily 10 meters long and 4 meters high with 6 giant long metallic legs and two red glowing eyes on top of its head and three smaller eyes on the side. With its two huge pincers that constantly morphed and changed shape, it just crushed and bisected the hornets left and right while using its 15-meter-long metallic blade on its tail to slice everything that came close to its back and side. The tail plus blade of the monster could enlarge and shrink in size and even shot out small metal spikes that killed dozens of the hornets at once. The hornets on the other hand did manage to get a few stings here and there, but their stinger just couldn¡ät penetrate the hard metal and some even broke off. Even if they targeted the eyes and weak spots, they couldn¡ät leave a single injury on the walking metal tank. There are many different types of them with different appearances and skills, some hornets could shot their stingers, or have huge stingers as legs, some could turn invisible for a few seconds, some are bulky and had a tough carapace, some could spit out a greyish liquid that hardens, there are even some that exploded when they stung and many more, but all was useless against the metal hunk. However, no matter how many the metal scorpion killed they just didn¡ät stop attacking, throwing everything they got at it and even trying to push it back. One after the other they rushed the scorpion without any fear or hesitation. Raas looked at the killing machine with amazement and fright, ''Holy Jesus, that monster looks badass, it¡äs just mowing them down like weed. But why are they fighting against that thing? They are just throwing their lives away...'' Slithering a little bit closer Raas could see why the monster wasps so desperately trying to kill the giant approaching monster. Behind the trees, there is a giant hornet nest made out of greyish paper with dozens of swirling hornets around it. Well, the hornet nest looked more like a giant fortress with many towers and spikes protruding outward. ''I can¡ät let this chance slip away like this,'' thought Raas as he tried to sneakily slither towards a dead hornet but getting near the corpse, he suddenly felt a wave of pressure wash over him. It was so intense that he couldn¡ät breathe anymore and froze up. With pure willpower and determination, Raas somehow managed to turn his head ever so slightly towards the scorpion who seemingly ignored him. ''Is this monster emitting such pressure just with his presence alone?'' thought Raas as he now looked at the hornets in a new light as they could move effortlessly in its presence. ''Shit shit shit, I fu?k?d up big time now!'', thought Raas in a panic as he struggled to breathe. While starring at the metal killing machine, he could see its red eyes glow slightly as its metal tail whipped towards Raas. ''Oh, mother fu-'' *Crash* Raas couldn¡ät finish his thought as the tail extended and swiped Raas away. The tail slammed into Raas''s small body like a sledgehammer and flung him against a tree. Crashing into the tree pain spread through his body, as he fell to the ground. He was almost knocked out, while his whole body hurt. Looking at his stats he could see that he just had 20 Hp remaining. ''This monster almost one-shot me...'' lamented Raas in pain, but he was sure that it could easily kill him if it wanted to. ''Guess I am not worthy of being killed or something...'' *Ding* [You teased death gaining 2 intelligence!] ''I don¡ät know if I should laugh or cry right now...'' Laying on the ground he continued to watch the fight as he couldn¡ät move a single muscle and he was sure that no monster would approach him when there is this behemoth of a scorpion there making havoc. As the monster got close enough towards the hornet nest it opened its mouth as a metal ball appeared between its mouthparts. The ball of metal slowly increased in size before shrinking, then expanded and shrunk again. This cycle repeated over and over again, all the while it continued to cut down the pesky hornets buzzing around it. After a minute, the ball finally stopped and got propelled forward. It slowly floated towards the paper structure as if it defied gravity. The hornets panicked and desperately tried to push the ball away, but it continued forward without any change. As it reached the paper fortress it slowly pushed against it, bending the walls till the wall snaped and disappeared inside the structure. At this point, Raas could see a stream of hornets rushing out of the nest with the brood between their legs and mouths. Even the queen fleed with her 20 royal guards that buzzed around her. She was much bigger than the rest with a large abdomen while the royal guards are slightly smaller with two menacing knives as hands and looked highly evolved. The whole colony panicked and tried to flee when suddenly a loud explosion sounded inside the nest sending chunks of the nest and metal scraps everywhere. Everything in a 30-meter radius died instantly and those who survived got hit by the shower of debris. The unlucky monsters that got hit died instantly. As the dust settled, there are only a handful of hornets that survived, including one guard and the queen, but she was in a horrible state with its wings torn and two missing legs. The scorpion silently watched everything happen before just turning around and walking away as if nothing happened. Raas who saw the destruction was gobsmacked as it was his first time witnessing such a big attack. ''Damnnnnnnnn! It completely annihilated that hornet nest with only one attack! That skill of his is so broken... I wonder which level the monster is to achieve such a feat and how long it took to reach it.'' Dragging his injured body close to one of the torn hornets, he could see that it was still twitching. The blueish-green-colored insect blood dripped down his mouth as he swallowed a piece of the abdomen that got cut off. Licking his lips he could feel his body slowly healing. ''Wow, I didn¡ät know that hornet meat was that delicious.'' thought Raas as he swallowed another piece. After eating his fill he sighed in delight. *Sigh* ''Now for the desert'' thought Raas as he raised his body up. Ramming his head into the corpse he fished out the small monster core and devoured it. Gulping down the small crystal he tasted something new. This time it was the taste of ''morning sunlight''. Tasting something new and unique, he took a closer look at the monster. Seeing the hornet being thinner than the others, but with no other visible changes, he tilted his head. ''Hmm, I wonder what affinity this hornet had. Well, I didn¡ät get any buffs or something like that, so it is useless for me other than the taste. I have to get going now...'' thought Raas as he continued to search for Sahra. _______ An: Hello, my dear reader! And I know that it can be infuriating to read Patre0n advertisements after every chapter, so I won¡ät ask that every time I post something. Rest ?ssure :) Here is the link: Patre0n.com/Man_of_culture (change 0 to an o) That¡äs all from me, and if you have any questions just leave them here and I will be responding as soon as possible. Chapter 45 - Stuck on a tree Slithering away injured and hurt I lamented about my life. Since I have been reincarnated into this new world I have experienced so much pain and suffered through so much and it is just the beginning and I haven¡ät even exited this god-forsaken place. Who knows how dangerous the outside world is compared to this dungeon, and not even speaking from humans that hunt me down or even make me into their pet. Maybe it is wiser to stay in the dungeon, like the old man I just met. No, it would be too boring to stay in one place, especially when you are in a magical world. *sigh* ''Well, no pain no gain, I guess. At least I am not de-'' realized that I almost jinxed myself I stopped. ''Puh, I almost set a death flag on myself,'' though I as I slithered over a rock. While moving through the forest I avoided all the fighting and killing around me but as there are monsters all around me it was guaranteed to run into one or two of them. Luckily the two worm-type monsters were weak and easy to kill but they gave me b?r?ly any exp. On the bright side, however, their flesh tasted delicious.. It had a soft springy texture to it and tasted very similar to a very tender steak, but more on that another time. The two didn¡ät have a core as they were just juveniles, but they were already 10 meters long and 4 meters thick, making me wonder what kind of monster their mother is if they are just juveniles. While searching the forest I constantly flicked my tongue around and kept all of my senses sharp. *flick* *flick* ''Wait, there is this smell again...'' *flick* *flick* ''Is it getting closer?'' Turning my head towards the scent my eyes constricted. In the distance, I could see some leaves moving. Not wanting to get myself involved in this, I waited out on top of the tree. I am too injured to kill this monkey and help the insect, and even being in my top condition, how can I outrun a monkey? Also, why should I help in the first place? I am no hero, I am a snake! The insect limped towards me while the ape was getting closer with each step. Seeing the doing a front flip while swinging its tail it crushed the insect''s carapace and spattered its blood everywhere. Being covered by the blood the monkey got angry and pummeled the ant''s body. Seeing the force behind its tail I couldn''t help but flinch, ''Yikes, that is one mean ape...'' Just as I was about to turn away I saw a little twitch in the crushed monster''s antenna and could smell this weird scent again, before it got its head stomped. The ape did a little cheer and danced around the corpse. Finishing his celebration it dismantled the insect and ate its core, but suddenly got agitated as it looked around. ''Why does the monkey look so scared? There is nothing around... right?'' but just I finished my thoughts a barrage of purple liquid flew through the air and covered the primate in it. A light hissing sound could be heard as the ape cried in pain and rolled on the ground before it suddenly let out an ear-piercing shriek and a layer of earth began to cover his body up, leaving only his head uncovered, making the ape look even buffer and sturdier than before. My mind blanked as a small magic circle appeared next to the ape and raised a pillar of earth, broke it off, and threw it in the direction where the purple liquid came from. ''How the hell can this ape cast spells?!'' cried I in envy. It was always a dream of mine to be able to cast magic and seeing an ape do it in front of me blew my mind. I couldn¡ät complain for long as a furry of scuttling and clanking could be heard. The ape cried out once again as it punched the ground with its fist. A dozen of magic circles appeared around it and the mokey chugged the earth spears with an enormous amount of force through the air. *swoosh* *swoosh* *swoosh* *swoosh* *swoosh* ''Wtf is going on!?'' shouted in my mind as I finally spotted the things that the ape was aiming at. Behind the trees, a large group of red table-sized ants scurried through the forest with their long thin legs while clanging their mandibles in an intimidating manner. Another volley of venom flew at the ape as it made a dirt shield in front. Looking around to see if there is a way to escape I realized that I am completely surrounded by monsters, and the worst part is, that behind the ape loud monkey noises sounded. Turning his head he saw an army of apes running and swinging through the forest with various wooden weapons and armor. And before I realized a war broke out between monkeys and giant ants... Hundreds of ants and primates poured in on both sides fighting and tearing each other apart like the monsters they were. No one got spared as everyone just blindly killed the others without any command or leader. It looked more like a giant gang war between two rivaling gangs than a war but on a much larger scale. Spells and venom flew through the sky killing dozens. ... So, here I am stuck on a tree while dozens of things fly through the air and monkeys riping ants apart while ants poured venom all over their wound-covered body. Minutes passed, and both sides lost countless soldiers, and each minute that passed the number just increased. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, the dead bodies were being pulled away and injured monsters were being dragged away. The apes began to use earth magic to gain the high ground, but the ants just bombarded them with fire and acid witch produced toxic gas that weakened the apes including me, but luckily I had poison resistance and didn¡ät take any damage and just another 5% decrease in my stats. In the middle of all that am I, a lonely light grey snake, wanted nothing more than to search for his partner, but now has to witness a war between monsters, and it wasn¡ät as if I just stayed there and watched, no, I had to dodge countless projectiles and torn off limps. It would have been an epic battle if not for the fact that I am low on Hp and had to search for Sahra. I am still wondering why no one noticed me or just completely ignored me, I even had some eye contact with some apes that got close to the tree and some ants too, I think. Well, it¡äs hard to tell where they are looking with their compound eyes. Sitting in the treetops I dodged another projectile while crying in my mind, ''I just wanted to search for Sahra and NOT WITNESS A FULL BLOWN WAR BETWEEN APES AND ANTS!!!!'' ... Three hours past since the fight between those two parties, and I am still stuck on this tree trying to not get hit by any stray attacks. The fighting died down a little bit over the last hour and I could see the end of it already. Many already retreated but the apes continued to fight what I didn¡ät expect. I thought the ants were the ones to fight to the end, but I guess they are smarter than the apes and retreated. The monkeys too soon withdraw from the battlefield leaving all the dead bodies there. *sigh* ''Finally, they stopped this useless fighting. Oh, and look at that, all those monster cores just laying around? Don¡ät mind if I eat them then...'' Chapter 46 - A "helping" sting ''Wha- How- Why!?'' My mind couldn¡ät form any words as it short-circuited upon seeing the enormous monster appeared in front of me, seemingly out of thin air. My instincts flared up, telling me to run away as fast as I could, but my body just froze from the pressure the monster emitted. The scorpion just stared at me with its eight red glowing eyes, unmoving, unblinking. I didn¡ät dare to move even an inch as I didn¡ät want to find out what would happen. Inspecting me for a couple of seconds it turned its eyes around and looked at the battlefield, all the while he was facing me. With a light stomp, dozens of brown, purple, and even a few white monster cores flew out of the corpses and got absorbed into the metal arachnid. The creature shuddered a little bit and stomped his metal leg again, but this time only one purple crystal flew out, and instead of getting absorbed it flew right in front of me. ''Heh?'' didn¡ät understand what it wanted me to do, I just tilted my head in confusion. The monster in front of me raised its giant metal claw and pointed at me. I flinched back at the gesture and wanted to run away, but somehow managed to stay still. It then pointed at the crystal and then back at its mouth, where many small mandibles clacked and clung together.. Understanding what it wanted me to do, but not why, I just went for it. Slowly opening my mouth I neared the purple monster core, all the while I stared at the giant ?ss monster in front of me, to see that I didn¡ät make any mistake or something. Swallowing the crystal I too shuddered slightly in p???sur?. The eyes gleamed slightly and the huge pincers clanged together, making loud metallic noises and sparks between the claws. Confused and frightened by the sudden outburst, I prepared for the worst, but only got a system notification. *Ding* [The skill "Inspect" was used on you!] *Ding* [Your level is too low to resist the skill "Inspect"!] *Ding* [The monster "Metalkill" has a full view of your status!] ''The shit is that! Why does this monster have a name, and who named it in the first place!'' just as I finished my thoughts my status board opened for Metalkill to view. Level: 14 --> 15 [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing grey youngling serpent (???) Strength: 67 --> (70) 52.5 (decreased by 25%) Agility: 66 --> (66) 49,5 (decreased by 25%) Intelligence: 70 --> (75) 56,25 (decreased by 25%) Mentality: 52 --> (55) 39 (decreased by 25%) Hp: 60/140 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases your stats gained from evolutions) 2. Teasing death (What didn¡ät kill you will make you smarter) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage and damage resistance when protecting someone, but betrayals will give you the curse Betrayer leading to a permanent decrease of 10% from your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) [Skills: Venom Fang lv 6 --> 7, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 6, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 4, Poison Resistance lv 2, Poison Affinity lv 2 --> 3, Crush lv 3, Intimidation lv 1, Poison Whip lv 3 -->4, Conceal lv 3] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] [!You are able to evolve again!] ''I kinda feel exposed right now...'' ''Wait a minute, did I reached level 15 and oversaw that could evolve one of my body parts?!!! And why didn¡ät I get an analyze or inspect skill, like every other reincarnated/transmigrated person in isekais?!'' thought I as I looked at the metal behemoth. While glancing at it I saw that it was happy(?) when it looked at my stats. Out of nowhere the scorpion raised its giant stinger and dropped it on me. It was so fast that I just saw the stinger when my racial skill activated on its own. The world turned grey and slowed down, but the stinger in front of me was still moving as if time ran normally. Well, it was more like my perception increased, but anyway, I couldn¡ät do anything but watch the stinger descend on me, slowly piercing through my scales, into my flesh right above my core. Unimaginable pain slowly spreads through my body as the singer pierced my core. I cursed my racial skill as I had to feel all that in slow motion, I looked into the monster in front of me with a pained and angry face. It retracted its tail as the world turned colorful again. "HISSSSSS!!!!", I cried out and jerked around in pain as I saw my health slowly decreasing and with each passing second, I lost more Hp. Hp: 30/140 ''NO, THIS CAN`T BE HAPPENING!'' Hp: 26/140 ''GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! WHY WOULD IT DO THIS, THIS BASTARD!!!'' cried I in anger, in pain, in confusion. Hp: 20/140 ''NO NOT LIKE THIS! I CAN`T DIE NOW! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE I WILL DO ANYTHING, PLEASE!!!'' but it just ignored my pleading cries and continued to watch. Hp: 12/140 ''NO!!! NO No no... I... I just started out new, why! WHY ME! I wanted to do so much more... and all the suffering I went through, for that... what a pathetic death...'' Hp: 1/140 ''I guess I will see Grian sooner than I thought... Bye-bye cruel world...'' Accepting my fate I lied down and waited for the inevitable. ... *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* ''What now! Can¡ät I just die in peace!'' complained I, as the ringing sound of the system, didn¡ät stop. ''Wait...'' Looking at my stat I could see that my Hp was still at 1/140 and didn¡ät decrease anymore. ''What...?'' Turning my head up, I saw the monster with an amused gleam in its eyes, while clacking its mandibles as if it was laughing at me. Still in pain, and seeing its amusement anger flared up inside me, but soon disappeared as a wave of energy spread through my body. Looking back at the wound my eyes widened and my mouth opened as I saw the big gaping wound healing at a rapid speed. In a matter of seconds, the injury closed and my Hp topped off again. As my core reshaped itself I could feel that it is more powerful, larger, and full of energy again. Even my body felt tougher and more compact than before. In full health again I finally looked at the notifications that I got and once again I was slack-jawed. [Poison affinity leveled up!] [Poison resistance leveled up!] [Pain resistance leveled up!] [Pain resistance leveled up!] [A resonating venom detected!] [You teased death gaining 3 intelligence!] [You teased death gaining 5 intelligence!] [You teased death gaining 4 intelligence!] [You have teased death too many times!] [Title "teasing death" will be changed to "The Survivor"!] [The Survivor: 25% increased resistance to all kinds of debuffs!] [Solstice Venom awakened!] [Healing affinity unlocked!] [Healing Fang unlocked!] [Healing glance will be generated!] ''Bruh...'' Reading through the long list, I felt slightly dizzy. I was overly happy about all the powerups I gained, but I felt complicated about the solstice venom, as I have never heard of something like that before, and don¡ät even know what it did. All the time I just poured my venom into an enemy and it died, the end. Now, I wonder what kinds of effects it will have on monsters, and according to the name something will change or happen on the longest and shortest day of the year, maybe something will even happen on equinox. I was most shocked about the new affinity and new skill that I unlocked. Healing affinity will increase my survival rate and is a huge boon, It is especially useful as I have such a low defense, but I am sad about the fact that my title "teasing death" changed. Now I couldn¡ät increase my intelligence endlessly anymore, but I am happy that I got something else as a replacement and the new title is nothing to scoff at either. Getting lost in my thoughts, the metal scorpion clanged his pincers together. Looking up I saw it signing me mutate right now, by pointing at the mutate notification, and as I didn¡ät want to anger it I just followed its command, well I saw it as a win for me anyway and the monster had no reason to spare me the whole time just to kill me after the evolution.... or so I think at least. So clicking at the blue panel a new window popped up. [Choose Evolution:] [1. Grey Scales --> Menacing Scales, Sand Scales,] [2. Venomous Fangs --> Improved Venomous Fangs, Random] [3. [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes --> Far Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes, Soul Eyes] [4. Danger Smelling Tongue --> Detailed Danger Smelling Tongue, Random] [5. Vibration Sensing Ears --> Random, Deep Vibration Sensing Ears] [6. Get ??? or ???] [Note: More specific Evolution paths will be unlocked in the future!] ''Wow, so many good options, but only one I can take, and this time there are much fewer Random choices than last time, and what is up with number 6?'' Chapter 47 - Harder Better Faster Stronger [Choose Evolution:] [1. Grey Scales --> Menacing Scales, Sand Scales,] [2. Venomous Fangs --> Improved Venomous Fangs, Random] [3. Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes --> Far Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes, Soul Eyes] [4. Danger Smelling Tongue --> Detailed Danger Smelling Tongue, Random] [5. Vibration Sensing Ears --> Random, Deep Vibration Sensing Ears] [6. Get ??? or ???] [Note: More specific evolution paths will be unlocked in the future!] ''Wow, so many good options, but only one I can take, and this time there are much fewer Random choices than last time, and what is up with number 6?''. Weighting the options carefully I decided to go with the number 6. Why? Well, first thing, I will get something added to me. It could be something good or something bad, but I feel lucky today, so why not, and second, the other options don¡ät sound too appealing to me. I better wait till there is something that is op and unique. I don¡ät want to become some random ?ss snake if I want to have a long life. But there is still the question, do I get the first ??? or the second ???... I know it is random or something, and I will never know what the option was, but still, it is important. One of the two could be something really epic, like wings or a laser-shooting eye, and the other something useless like an additional tail, or even disadvantageous like a leg. Taking a few seconds to think about I finally decided on the second option. So, pressing it the all so familiar blue panel appeared in front of me. *Ding* [Beginning evolution!] (Normal perspective) Slumping down on the ground a black liquid seeped out of the Rass¡ä body as the sound of bones cracking echoed through the forest. All the time, while Raas oozed a black liquid out of every inch of his body, the giant scorpion just stared at the grey snake while also keeping one or two eyes on the surrounding. Slowly but surely his body expanded ever so slightly while his soft scales hardened while still staying flexible and a diamond pattern appeared throughout his whole body. Even his head changed, as it became less round and rougher. His length grew and grew and finally stopped at 4 meters, while he also got visibly thicker and didn¡ät look skinny anymore as his muscles expanded. His body now shimmered slightly in the light and gave off a sturdy and pricy aura. One of the most noticeable changes are his eyes, his emerald green reptile eyes are now being covered in a transparent crystal layer, while his pupils became even more eye-catching than before. They now look like two big emeralds that are behind a showcase. The whole evolution only lasted for half an hour, much shorter than his previous. The behemoth clacked its mandibles in excitement and joy as it saw the changes Raas was going through. The black ooze that was secreted gave off a very nasty smell that kept almost all the monsters in the area away, but there are always exceptions, like the steal platted dung beetles, the toxic slugs, and the stinking flys. But thanks to the metal scorpion they were easily disposed of and killed. (Raas¡ä perspective) My vision slowly returned to me as the soreness of my body ?ssaulted me. It wasn¡ät uncommon for me now to wake up with pain in every part of my body, but this time I felt like an old man that did a marathon without rest... my whole back, especially my spine hurt like hell, well it isn¡ät very helpful if your spine is almost all of your bones in your body, and my muscles feel sore as if I had an intense workout non-stop for a day. Checking my new body out I realized that I looked more menacing, as I should have, ''Oh damn, that is a pretty cool pattern on my scales, and I did get longer again and wider again! Hell yes, I don¡ät look like a boring everyday snake anymore! I am not all about my looks, especially when I am a snake, but who doesn''t want to look cool or epic, and now with this diamond pattern that has a slightly yellow tinge to it, I look fabulous.'' thought I as I admired the changes all over my body, but then a sudden thought hit me, ''I couldn¡ät have possibly got so many different changes, so the question is what did I get that changed my whole body to such a degree? Gaining length and width is normal after an evolution, but the changes in my scales were odd, as I gained something and not evolved my scales...'' My answer soon got answered as the system jumped me with a row of notifications. *Ding* [Evolution complete!] [You gained a ''Crystal Core Shield''!] [Due to the nature of the option you chose a full body purification was needed!] [Your body is now sturdier and has adapted to integrate the crystal core shield!] [93 stat points that have been accumulated by the title "Limit breaker" were used to change the scales, bones muscles, teeth, and eyes in your body!] [Due to the changes you unlocked the skill "Harden"!] ''93 points for all this?'' ... ''Worth it! I mean 93 points are a LOT, but for the increase in defense, what I desperately needed, and a skill that boosts my defense, what I didn¡ät have till now, was really worth it.'' Glancing over my status once again, I couldn¡ät help but feel happy. Two new skills in only one day and a massive power-up. *Sizzle* "TSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" A loud hissing loud sounded as a large amount of liquid poured down on me. Feeling a slight tingling on my skin from the liquid I inspected my body, and luckily no damage was done to me. Shacking my head to get the liquid off of me as I looked up. My good mood was washed away like the black goo on me when I spotted the familiar killer machine looming over me, ''Why are you still here!?'' screamed I in shock. ''Maybe it got interested in my status and protected me during my evolution? But why?'' Not finding any answers to my questions I just gave the metal tower a small nod. I didn¡ät expect a reply, but it snapped its mandible together and wiggled its tail slightly up and down. I smiled at the cute gesture and dipped my head once again before turning around and slithering away. I couldn¡ät stay any longer, after all, I had a person to find, but before I could even slither 10 meters I was scooped up and placed on its metal back. I was slightly taken aback by its move but didn¡ät dare to struggle. The scorpion then began to walk through the forest while knocking down every tree in its path. I tried to slither down its back and escape, but it only sprouted some metal claws on its back and picked me back up again. I was confused and scared by its behavior and where it was bringing me. It could have only let me live to let me evolve and feed me to its kids or something. As more and more dark thoughts sprung into my mind, we entered a giant underground cave. ''Shit, my suspicions were correct!'' My heart rate increased as we went deeper and deeper into the cave. The walls were covered in roots and moos and the air is moist but surprisingly fresh. I tried to bite and slam my tail with all my might against the scorpions back, but it did more damage to me than it. No, I didn¡ät do any damage, not even a scratch or a dent, but that didn¡ät stop me. Continuing trying to escape from its grasps I was being pinned down by two mechanical arms that grew out off its back. Trying to convince myself, that it wouldn¡ät kidnap me just to kill or feed me to its children I stayed calm... or as calm as you could be when you are being strapped on a giant metallic scorpion monster that could crush you anytime it wanted to. It took another 15 minutes till I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Walking into the light a new environment greeted my eyes, which is completely different from the first two floors. Instead of a dense forest or a vast grass plain, abnormally large dead trees and grey stone structures held the ceiling up, while the sound of the milky white rivers echoed through the silence. As far as the eye could see, dead plants, dead trees, and even the soil looked dead with no signs of any kind of life. ''Where the hell did it bring me to...'' was my only thought as it continued marching through the wasteland. Chapter 48 - Bush and Cabbage Taking a closer look at the environment as we walked through the wasteland, I could see some floating boulders that seemingly defied gravity and are only held in place by vine structures as well as some kind of ruins and dead vegetation. The air was still and deathly, nothing like the fresh forest air I was used to. The walk was a silent one, nothing much happened, just the occasional monster sound in the distance or some fleeing away. They were too fast for me to see them clearly, but thanks to my colorful movement sensing eyes I could see their silhouettes, and boy are they grotesque. The scenery slightly changed as we went deeper, going downhill a steep cliff. At one point I even saw one side of the ravine being covered in black and white spider web with dozens, no hundreds of red glowing eyes looking at us. I never had a fear of spiders, but this... this made me truly scared of spiders. A shiver ran down my spine when I heard screeching noises coming from the side, probably the sound of their victims.... After what felt like hours we finally stopped in front of a huge, no ginormous stone pillar towering even out of the cliff. I wondered why we were here. There is nothing but that lone monolith standing there... or so I thought. Small runes and symbols of unknown origins glowed up while a giant eye-shaped orb appeared in the center of the pillar. Then the monolith shined a red light on us as if it was scanning us, well it probably was. I couldn¡ät believe my eyes as the system gave me a notification. *Ding* [The skills "Body Scan" and "Soul Scan" were used on you!] *Ding* [Your level is too low to resist the skill "Body Scan"!] *Ding* [Your level is too low to resist the skill "Soul Scan"!] *Ding* [The monster "Monolithitus the wise" has a full view of your body and soul!] Inspecting the monster in front of me I could only see a giant black stone pillar with runes all over its body. Monolithitus the wise then glowed in blue light, as many smaller pillars emerged out of the ground in a circle around us, before a magic circle appeared beneath our feet... the scorpion''s feet. I was panicking about what will happen next but absolutely didn¡ät let it show on my face. My vision turned white as a bright white light enveloped us. A few short seconds later the light died down and the surrounding changed once again, instead of being in front of a massive stone monster in a desecrated land I am now in a flower field inside a huge cave. Right after we appeared to wherever I am, the scorpion released its grasps and let me free. Never in my life did I slither quicker than now, as I went as far away as I could from the metal scorpion. Touching the familiar dim glowing grass I remembered my first kill right after being hatched, I felt nostalgic thinking back but didn¡ät dare to stop slithering even for a second. I don¡ät know why, but the metal scorpion just stood there while clacking its mandibles in joy and happiness. Creepy, not gonna lie. Why I would know that it was out of happiness and joy? Well, it is a monster thing, I guess... ever since I reborn as a snake, I got proficiently better at reading monsters'' emotions and expressions. The deeper I went the more the vegetation there is, like funny-looking mushrooms, tall leaves, glowing fruit trees, and even an abnormally large smiling venus flytrap, which waved at me. Quite a trippy experience, and makes me wonder if I am high or something. But my thoughts got crushed as I nearly died AGAIN by a random red stone falling in front of me. I couldn¡ät think about it for long as roots and vines sprouted all around it, and formed a long thick stem with a large jaw out of leaves and branches with many smaller mouths sprouting just next to the red stone. It looked deformed and abnormal, like most monsters I have encountered. I was already prepared to flee as this thing in front of me was now more than 5 meters high and I am pretty sure my venom wasn¡ät effective against it, but four vines with small mouthes quickly ensnared me and made me completely immobile in the blink of an eye. No matter how much I struggled and wiggled I couldn¡ät get free. Even using my "Intimidation" skill didn¡ät work on it. The four small mouths opened wide and bite down at me, using my newly gained skill "Harden" a white shine surrounded me as I could feel my scales, well harden... *ting* *ting* *ting* *ting* The four mouthes tried to take a bite out of me, but only got their mouthes? beaks? whatever they had chipped, but it didn¡ät stop there, instead they used me like a chewing bone for dogs. Seeing my mana going dangerously low, as I had to constantly fuel the skill with mana I panicked and tried to think about other solutions, but without hope. *Boom!* The dust slowly cleared, revealing a cluster of thorny green vines and leaves that walked on 4 large roots on top of the other plant monster that ensnared me. The new monster was even larger and had blade-like leaves all over its body and had one largemouth with 10 centimeters long black needles layering the mouth and another smaller one on the back, protecting its "blind spot", I didn¡ät even know if it could see or not, as it didn¡ät have any kind of eyes or other visible sensory organs. "Stop toying with the newcomer!" said the two-faced monster, which had a m?tur? female voice. My head turned so fast that my neck almost snapped when I heard the monster speak in a language that I could understand. ''The fu?k is going on!'' "Pff, sa sa sa sa sa sa! I couldn¡ät help myself seeing this scared worm aimlessly slithering around! Sa sa sa sa! It was too funny to see it being so scared!" his laugh was a mixture between leaves rustling and humans laughing and had the voice of a young man which was bizarre to look at as the mouth didn¡ät move when they spoke. *Slap* With a bundle of vines, it slapped the red core monster in its head, leaving a big dent that reformed in a matter of seconds. "Stop laughing already you dumb bush!" said the female monster harshly. "Haaa? What did you call me, you cabbage!?" retorted the male monster back while flaring its smaller mouths at the 4 legged monsters. All the while the two plant monsters bickered I stealthily wiggled out of the "cabbage" monster''s grasp and tried to run away but got spotted pretty quickly. "Hey, the newcomer is fleeing again..." said the "bush" monster while pointing one of its small mouths towards my direction. I glanced back to see the two staring at me with their non-existing eyes. Slithering at full speed away from them I felt slight vibration beneath me. My instincts flared up as I did a sharp left turn dodging a root sprouting out of the ground. Feeling many other roots coming my way I did what I can do best, snaking like a snake. "Oh, a slippery one!" commented the female. "Heh, I like the feisty one more." spoke the male. I ignored the two and concentrated on escaping and getting as far away as I could. "Sa sa sa sa, let¡äs up the difficulty!" laughed the male as more roots dug into the ground and almost caging me in. "Sa sa sa sa, good good, dance for me!" *Slap* "Stop being such a creep!" "Tss..." A tick mark appeared on my head as I heard them casually talking while I ran for my life. *Bonk!* At the moment where I got distracted, I rammed into something hard that appeared wasn¡ät there a few moments. "I think that is enough you two," spoke a calm voice in front of me. ___ patre0n.com/Man_of_culture Chapter 49 - The Sanctuary (1) *Bonk!* At the moment where I got distracted, I rammed into something hard that appeared wasn¡ät there a few moments. "I think that is enough you two," spoke a calm voice in front of me. Still a little dazed from the collision I looked up to see a humanoid being with leaves and branches all over his body. He even have leaves and vines wrapped around his body, forming a long robe, leaving his long wooden face and fingers b?r?, and making his glowing green eyes shine. I didn¡ät know if this one was another monster or some kind of demi-human. *Sigh* "I think a round of disciplinary, is necessary again, for the both of you," spoke the humanoid being. "What no no no no! Why should I be punished for this idiot''s doing?" complained the cabbage monster while the leaves on her body franticly swayed.. "Ha, you call me an idiot? If you have just let me do my thing we wouldn¡ät be in such a position!" hissed the bush monster at her. "ENOUGH! Both of you, go back for now. I will deal with you two later," spoke the man before turning back towards me. "You surely must be confused," he paused for a second as his eyes glowed up before finishing his sentence, "Raas." My eyes widen in shock, ''How does he know my name?!'' Seeing my shook expression covering his mouth with his sleeve while chuckling. "This trick works every time." I look at him in wariness and retreated a little bit. "Ehem, I will answer all your questions in a short while, but first let us get you cleaned up and introduced to the others." said the man while walking deeper into the cave. The deeper we went the more vegetation I saw, till it eventually became a dense forest. Walking through the undergrowth was a pain, especially when he is turning every few seconds and jumping across ravines where a ragging current is waiting. I don¡ät know how the plant dude manages to navigate through the dense trees and bushes, but I am pretty sure he isn¡ät aimlessly leading me around... right? Just as I was about to complain to him, or hiss at him, he stopped. "And here we are!" said the leaf man in a proud manner. Slithering beside him my jaw fell open. Standing on the edge of a cliff I looked down to see a massive clearing with a river running through it. But what stood out the most are the many small huts, nests, and even houses that littered around. Dozens of different types of monsters interact and live together, making it look like a small buzzing town. The space was so large that it could easily be a small town. On the edges of the giant cave that we are in are giant tunnels where a constant stream of monsters go in and out. ''Is- is this a monster city?'' Turning around the leaf man smiled while opening his arms wide "Welcome to The Sanctuary!" I knew that monsters could be very intelligent, even reaching a human level of intelligence or surpassing them even, but I never knew they were social enough to build a whole town inside a cave that is inside a dungeon with so many diverse monsters. Well, it can also be somewhere completely different, as I have no idea where I am thanks to this monolith guy that teleported me. "Enough with the starring, let us go now," said the leaf being, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Oh, I nearly forgot." Putting two fingers inside his mouth and whistled. Hearing a high-pitched sound that was b?r?ly hearable coming from the distance I looked up to see a giant black bat flying at us at an incredible speed. Landing in front of us it slightly tilted its head before a young child''s voice sounded, "You called?" Jup, my brain long stoped working after seeing the two plant monsters speaking. So I just took everything in as it was. "Yes, we have another newcomer that Metalkill brought back. Carry him to the queen, she will surely like to talk to this one here." "Ohhh, is he something special?" asked the giant bat with curiosity. "You will know that soon enough, now go," said the leaf being and hushed the bad before turning back towards me, "I will see you later." ''What queen? Meeting her? Why would she want me to me- AHHHHHHHHHHHH!'' In the middle of my thoughts, the giant black bat grabbed me and lifted me off the ground. Wrapping my tail tighter around the bat¡äs legs I looked down, seeing a few monsters curiously looking up at me I felt like prey being transported back to the hunter''s nest before being eaten. Flying towards a big stone castle that is situated in the middle of the town I gulped. ''This looks like an evil villain''s lair....'' But as we got closer another problem arose, the bat wasn¡ät slowing down... ''Emm, aren¡ät you going to slow down...?'' thought I as I looked at the bat. ... ''Nope doesn''t look like it...'' ... ''Okay, now it¡äs really time to slow down dude...'' but as I couldn¡ät speak I just tightened my grip and hissed at him. "Stop complaining we are almost there!" ''THIS IDIOT!'' thought I as I bit him. "Ouch, stop bitting me!" said the bat while looking down at me and not in front as he should while flying. ''Lookout! Lookout!'' cried I. "Heh? Oh, this is going to hurt he he he..." said the bat with a dry laugh. *CRASH* *BOOM!* Crashing through the stone walls of the castle and being buried in debris I quickly wiggled out. ''Argh, this fu?k?n? idiot! Luckily I used harden just in time.'' thought I while rubbing my head. "Haaa~ not again. this is the third time this week..." spoke an elegant female voice in annoyance. Turning my head to the voice, I was entranced by the view. A beautiful woman sitting on a black and white throne. She had pitch-black irises with an enchanting purple gem-like eye and smooth black flowing hair that almost reached the ground. Her ashen white skin coupled with her slender, but plump figure made me gulp unconsciously. On her head were two long draconic horns that curled back while black and purple scales ran across her body, that b?r?ly hid her private parts, and a long scaled tail swaying next to her. But despite her otherworldly good looks, she emitted an aura of royalty and pure might. "Ugh, my head hurts..." grumbled the bat, not knowing in what situation he is in currently. Shaking his head he looked up to see the woman on the throne before pailing. "Oh shit, I did it again!" gasped the bat in panic. "Time to flee!" Flapping its wings it tried to fly out of the throne room but got covered in a black mist before disappearing. "Hopefully this will teach him a lesson... So what do we have here?" said the elegant woman. ''Holy smokes, did she just killed him like that?'' thought Raas as he flinched back when the horned woman looked at him with her purple eyes. "Oh my, what a rare and cute monster you are and you are still so young, but already went through so much!" said the woman with a gasp at the last part. ''What does she mean by rare and cute monster and how does she know what I went through?'' "Hmm, you still haven¡ät gained the "Monster Communication" skill..." She stood up from her seat and elegantly went towards Raas and tapped his forehead. *Ding* [You received the skill "Monster Communication"!] "You should be able to speak now with your thoughts alone." said the horned woman standing in front of me. "Thank you, your highness..." my eyes widen as I for the first time heard my own voice. Well, it was a much younger childish voice, but nonetheless, I am very happy to finally being able to speak again. "Wow, it worked! Hahaha, I can finally speak now." "Oh my, aren¡ät you a polite one, and what a cute voice, fufufufu~" laughed the queen in amusement. "But now that you can finally speak tell me your name and race." "Ehem, yes, I am called Raas and I am a Menacing grey youngling serpent." Hearing my answer the queen fell into silence, while mumbling, "Hmm, that can¡ät be right, but he is telling the truth... Well, anyway, I am Shandra the leader and queen of this small Sanctuary. I am sorry if my subordinates have kidnaped you out of nowhere, so let me give you something to compensate for the troubles I have caused. This may sting a little bit~" warned the gorgeous horned woman. Taping my forehead again a blue hue surrounded me. *Ding* [You received shadow dragons'' blessing!] Feeling a slight sting on my right eye I winced a little. "Wait she is a shadow dragon!?" said I out loud in shock as I looked at the notification. "Fufufufu, yes I am, this is merely a form I took as it is more practical to interact with others in this form." "Ah I see... so what does this blessing do?" "That is a secret~" ... "Ah! Can I leave now, I am in a hurry! I have to find someone!" said I a little bit louder than necessary. "Hmmm? Who are you searching for? Maybe I can help you with that." said the shadow dragon while tilting her head cutely. Seeing her wanting to help me a light shined in my eyes, "A Singing Stone type Sand, her name is Sahra!" "Oh my, so you are the one that named her." wondered the dragon to herself, before showing a beautiful smile, "You are in luck Raas. She was just brought in yesterday and is in the Sanctuary." My mood sored through the roof when I heard that, it was as if a stone was lifted from my shoulders. Closing her eyes for a second she explained, "But it seems like she is currently outside searching for you. I will let send someone to call her back and let her know that you are here, in the meantime enjoy your stay here~" "Yes, and thanks to you very much your highness!" said I with a beaming smile. Smiling back she snapped her finger before two black mist-like creatures appeared next to her. "Go and search for Sahra the Singing Stone type sand and tell her Raas is in the Sanctuary." "Yes, my queen." said one of the black smoke monster with a distorted voice "And you, lead Raas out of the castle," said the queen, before the other one bowed, "Yes, my queen." I thanked her again and followed the mist monster outside the castle. The castle was well decorated, not overly fancy, and with gold everywhere, but still more than what I expected from a dragon''s castle. To my surprise, the monster that is leading me out of the castle is named Seba, and is very talkative. It told me how he was brought in the Sanctuary and his adventures or more like his struggles in the deeper floors of the dungeon. I said goodbye and promised him to go visit him someday. In front of the gate of the castle, the leaf man was waiting for me and waved at me. "It looks like your talk with the queen went smoothly." "Yes, it went very well!" said I with a smile. "Hoh, you sound younger than I thought... Anyway, let me show you around the place." said the leaf man as he smiled back. ___________ An: As promised, here is your Chapter, and it¡äs ~2000 words long, as an apology. Chapter 50 - The Sanctuary (2) Walking side by side through the buzzing town I felt kinda happy, I am not in constant danger anymore and can sleep without being scared that random monsters could just take a bit out of me while I am in the dreamland. So, happy to be back in civilization, or the closet thing, I looked around with glittering eyes as Loft the leaf guy showed me around. I noticed that the majority of the monsters around are some kind of plant or forest animal type. They came in many different shapes and sizes, one was even as large as the houses around here, but by far the biggest one was still the lone monolith. As we walked through the small town, I realized that monsters are quite friendly, well with exceptions of course, but there is one big difference here. Killing someone is normal here, and differences are often settled via strength, so I was extra careful to avoid provoking anyone around here. Don¡ät know how it is in a human settlement, but I guess they are much more civil when solving their problems... Nah, they are humans and are just another type of monster if you open your eyes a little bit. The reason why killing is allowed is that, it helps weeding out the weak and useless and strengthens the strong, or so Loft said, but there are still some rules to prevent rogue killings and protect the ones with high potential. I couldn¡ät expect more from a community full of mixed races of monsters.. And to my surprise there is even a currency around here, namely monster cores, the bigger the core the better, but some prefer different affinities and trading cores is normal here. It is a very nice place here, despite the lack of technology, but I don¡ät think I will stay here for too long, as once I get tier 4 I wound be able to find stronger beings here as this is a C rank dungeon. "And how many floors does this dungeon have?" asked I another question, while slithering close to Loft to avoiding a wolf monster stepping on me. "This dungeon has 40 floors, divided into 4 parts. The first 10 floors are covered in dense vegetation, but due to something happening a few years ago the floors 5 to 20 are completely destroyed, as you could see when Metalkill brought you here." Curious about what happened I intervened, "What happened that could devastate 15 floors to such an extent?" "Long story short, the queen fought against the current dungeon lord. They were fighting for 32 days, but the humans intervened and injured the queen badly. That is also why you are being rewarded for bringing a human head to the queen." said Loft with a creepy smile. I smiled wryly at that and continued asking him, I couldn¡ät let this opportunity ran away, "And where are we now?" "We are currently on the 21st floor, after the queen lost she fleed and needed a place to recuperate her strength and found this place here. After seeing the bad rulership of the current lord she decided to build this town for every monster that wanted out of the dungeon lord''s grasp." "Wait, but why did Metalkill kidnap me then!" said I with an angry face. "Oh, her? Well, ha ha ha... she has a soft spot for young and cute monsters, and seeing you, a little snake alone in this dangerous place she probably couldn¡ät leave you alone. Well, there is more backstory behind this, but you have to ask her yourself about that." said Loft ever so patiently. This brought my mind to wander, but in the end, I just accepted it as it is and decided to talk to her later when I see her, "Wait, but she didn¡ät even say a single word to me the whole time?" "Ha hahahaha, typical Metalkill, that¡äs because she is very shy and bad with strangers." "With that appearance?" asked I doubtfully. "Don¡ät let one''s appearance fool you. You are the perfect example for that." Hearing his answer I was kind of stunned, "Hmm why?" "Well, you are not even tier 2, and have a very childish voice, but your mind is that of an ?du?t already. You might not be the most cunning one, but the maturity definitely doesn¡ät match your level or your appearance," said he with a knowing grin. I looked at him shocked, ''Shit I forgot about that. Does he know I am a reincarnater? Well, no need to complain over spilled milk.'' "Tehee, you got me there~," said I with a "cute" pose, which he only ignored. "Anyway, do you know why the dungeon is behaving strangely?" "Hmm, so you also know about that, how interesting. I have zero clues, but maybe the queen knows more about that. Oh, we are here." said Loft with a big grin. Looking in front of me I saw a big pit that is drenched with blood and few bits of monsters, while two monsters are currently tearing each other apart. A bunch of smaller and weaker locking ones gathered around the pit and cheered in excitement. "I didn¡ät know monsters would do gladiator fights..." mumbled I to myself. I long stopped being shooked of the monster''s culture and antics. "This is the fighting pit, where young monsters fight 1 on 1 to the death. It is the safest method here to quickly evolve and it¡äs quite popular as you can see. But it is only allowed for monsters that are tier 2 or lower. Do you want to give it a try?" asked Loft with a maniacal grin. It was the first time seeing such an expression on his usual calm and sagely face. "Maybe later..." He gave me a slightly disappointed look, that quickly turned normal, "As you wish, anyway your temporary stay will be just a few meters away from here." Arriving in front of a small clay hut Loft spoke, "You will be staying here, this is also where your companion is staying. So just wait here till she arrives. I will have to say goodbye now, duties are calling." "Thanks for leading me around the town and answering all my questions!" said I with a small bow. "Don¡ät mention it. Anyway, I will see you around, Raas." I nod at him and pushed open the door and went inside. The hut was mostly empty with only a makeshift bed and a few monster cores in the corner. Slithering towards the bed I lay on the bed and took a deep breath. Smelling the scent of Sahra calm and happy, "I can¡ät wait to see you again Sahra..." After 15 minutes of rolling around the bed and doing nothing, I decided to check my status once again. [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing grey youngling serpent (???) Level: 15 Strength: 89 Intelligence: 86 Mentality: 60 Hp: 250/250 MP: 130/130 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases your stats gained from evolutions) 2. The Survivor (25% increased resistance to all kinds of debuffs!) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage and damage resistance when protecting someone, but betrayals will give you the curse Betrayer leading to a permanent decrease of 10% from your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) [Skills: Venom Fang lv 7, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 6, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 5, Poison Resistance lv 4, Poison Affinity lv 4, Healing Affinity lv 1, Healing Fang lv 1, Crush lv 3, Intimidation lv 1, Poison Whip lv 3 -->4, Conceal lv 3, Harden lv 1] [Evolution Path:] [Grey Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] [Healing Glance] [Crystal Core Shield] "Wow, haven¡ät looked at my status since the sting Metalkill gave me... My stats haven¡ät really changed much, except for strength and intelligence. Hmmm, I have to find a way to increase my agility, or I won¡ät be able to outrun enemies anymore, but I am finally bigger and not a small danger noodle anymore! Hah, if I grow further at such a rate I am sure going to be able to devour everything in my path! Meh, even if staying at this length I am at least bigger than an average anaconda. Hmm, my next step is to finally get some magic! If even those ants and wasp could cast magic then surely I am able to do that too right? RIGHT?" "I think I should stop talking to myself..." "No, no go on~" "!" Hearing a young girl¡äs voice my head snapped towards that direction. In the doorway stands a small humanoid girl that was leaning against the door frame. She wore a fancy robe and a veil, covering her face and body. "Wh- How long have you been here!?" cried I out and wondered why I didn¡ät sense her. "Since, "Wow, haven¡ät looked at my status since the sting Metalkill gave me..."." said she while imitating my voice. "Ghu, so from the very beginning huh..." "Jup~," said she cheerfully. "Wait, who are you and why are you here!" "Hmm took you long enough to ask that," said she in a jocking mocking tone while walking towards me. Sitting beside me she fell backward onto the bed and let out a relieved sigh, not even caring that she laid there with her vitals unprotected. "I am Sahra¡äs roommate and friend, furthermore I also live here. Well, for now at least." I scanned her body to see if she was lying or not, but only got a "Kyaaa~, stop starring at me like that, pervert~" A vein nearly popped after hearing that and I could only trust her words. After an awkward silence, she began to talk, "So you are Raas, Sahra¡äs partner, and mate? You sound quite young and to be able to get a mate so early, kinda impressive." "What, mate? What do you mean?" "Hahhh~, are you dumb? You are the one that named her and she named you, meaning you are her mate. It is like a marriage for some monsters, " said the girl in a mocking tone. I kind of blushed out of embarrassment hearing her reply."I- I didn¡ät know that naming someone is that important." "Pfff, hahahaah, what¡äs done is done.... Anyway, be lucky that someone like Sahra even accepted you as her mate." My head turned towards her, "Heh?" "You know, Sahra has talked a lot about you, and I mean A LOT. She never stopped rumbling about how cute you are, and how heroic and brave you are and how much she misses you." *Sigh* "But she is a good girl, and cares for you very much, so if you mistreat her I am personally going to rip out your core." said the girl in full seriousness. "Tss, who are you anyway to say something like that? You only know her for one day max and are already so overprotective about her?" said I with a snarl. "Hmpf, you will know that soon enough, idiot!" said the girl with a pout, "Now let me rest, I had a stressful day." Laying back down she soon fell asleep. *Sigh* "This is going to be a pain..." said I with a tired sigh before throwing a blanket over the sleeping girl. ____ AN: After such a long time we finally reached the 50 chapters mark! I am kinda proud of myself to be able to write on a story for so long, well it might be nothing compared to the other authors on this site, but idc. I am just happy to reach a goal that I set for myself. Okay okay, I am stopping already... Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and the new characters! Chapter 51 - The Sanctuary (3) ''What now...'' thought I as I sat beside the sleeping girl. I poked her cheek slightly to see if she was really sleeping or not. She let a slight groan out and turned away. I let out a small chuckle at the cute behavior and let her sleep. The hours slowly pass as the crystal lighting in the ceiling of the cave slowly dimmed down. I looked out of the window that was next to the bed and saw the neon glowing shrooms and plants illuminate the cave ever so slightly while motes of light floated around, creating a breathtaking scenery. "I wish I have a camera, to capture this view." After a few hours, I got bored and looked around the room, but as there was nothing there I just laid down trying to get some shut-eye.. It was a very stressful day after all. As I began to fall asleep I felt something grabbing my body. I opened my eyes and turned around to see the veiled girl hugging me like a bodypillow while mumbling something in her sleep. "Even in her sleep, she is causing me trouble..." muttered I as I slowly slithered out of her grasp. After minutes of trying to slither away, I finally got free, only to be grabbed again into an even tighter hug. "Ugh, why is she so strong!" whispered I as she nearly crushed me with her bear-like hug. The more I struggled the tighter her grip became. "Her grip is even stronger than Sahra¡äs!" Accepting my fate as her bodypillow I grimaced at the sleeping girl and tried to finally get some rest. Meanwhile, a small smile could be seen on the girl¡äs face. ... "Hey, wake up!" "five more minutes..." grumbled I from the loud sound and turned away. A girlish grumble could be heard as she shook me with her small hands, but as I still haven¡ät warmed up enough I felt lethargic and tired. "let me rest some more my body hasn¡ät heated up enough..." mumbled I b?r?ly audible. "Fine, you leave me no other solution." said the girl. "Heatwave~," said the girl as an orange light shot out from her palm and hitting me. "Haah~, how comfortable." Getting warm enough I raised my body and looked at the girl and asked, "Why did you wake me up?" "I want you to accompany me for a while." "But I am supposed to wait here for Sahra..." "She wouldn''t be back till tomorrow evening," said she while walking towards the door. "Are you coming or not?" "Yes yes," said I reluctantly after some thoughts. ''Well, I don¡ät have anything to do anyway, and exploring this town is much better than lazing around.'' ... "So where are we going?" asked I slithering next to her. "Hmm, we need some herbs and potions, then we are getting you to tier 2. I can¡ät accept a weak monster like you to be Sahra¡äs spouse." "Again, who are you to Sahra?" "I will let Sahra tell you that," "Why?" "Stop asking so much. You are getting annoying," said she with an annoyed tone. "All right then. keep your secrets," said I while rolling my eyes. So strolling around the monster town I saw many different stalls. We finally stopped in front of a wide tree that has a wooden door and a sign hanging above with a leaf on it. Opening the door, the scent of herbs and medicine ?ssaulted my tongue. "Welcome customers, what can I do for you?" asked a beautiful dryad behind the counter. "Four small health potions and two antidotes please." said the girl. "Coming right up~," said the dryad cheerfully hearing the girl¡äs order, and went to the backroom to get our items. I was intrigued by all the different kinds of potions. One, in particular, caught my eye, it was a deep purple one, that had small swirling particles inside. The veiled girl caught me staring at the potion and asked me, "Something caught your eye?" "Yes... I don¡ät know why, but this potion looks... delicious" said I after a pause. "Hmmm~," said the girl with a hum, "it¡äs a poison affinity elixir, quite an expensive one at that." But before I could ask her more questions the beautiful dryad came back from the backroom with our items. "Here are your items, that will be 28 tier 1 crystal~" said the dryad with a smile. The girl reached her hand into her rope and pulled out a small leatherback and laid it on the wooden table, before taking the items. "Have a good day~" said the dryad while waving as we stepped out. ... "So, where to now?" asked I while we walked through the town. "To the pit," said she a little bit too happy. I could swear that she was grinning under her veil right now. I stopped as she said that, "wait wait wait, the pit, the place where you fight to the death?" "Jup exactly that one, don¡ät worry you are much stronger than most tier 1 monsters here," said she while pushing me along. "But there are also tier 2 monsters, right? How am I supposed to deal with them? I know how strong a tier 2 monster is and I am pretty sure I will be squashed in no time," complained I and tried to stop, but her monstrous strength just kept me pushing forward. "You probably only saw Sahra¡äs stats, but she is kind of a special case. So don¡ät be a worm and snake up." said the girl with a slight snicker. After a long struggle with myself, I agreed, "Fine I will do it..." "Excellent!" shouted the girl "I will be making so much money out of it~" mumbled the girl. "What did you say?" asked I with a blank stare. "Eh, I said... emmm... you will be earning so much.... ehh... exp... Yes, exp! Heh heheh heh," said the girl with an awkward laugh while walking faster. Even far away from the pit, I could still smell the lingering scent of blood. Reaching the fighting pit I could already hear the sound of cheering monsters. "I will register you right now, so prepare yourself," said the veiled girl while practically sprinting away. ''I have fought many monsters already, a one-on-one shouldn¡ät be that difficult, right?'' thought I as I tried to cheer myself up. Looking down I could see an armored spider fighting against a red hobgoblin that was similar to the bluffing one I fought on the 2nd floor. The spider was clawing and scuttling around the hobgoblin with extreme speed while slicing with surgical precision, leaving deep gashed all over the red hobgoblin, who could do nothing but swing his spear in desperation, only to miss every single time. The spider retreated and watched the monster drop to the ground while panting and slowly succumbing to his injuries, while the spider came out unscathed. The spectators cheered loudly. "Hah, another win for the metal spider!" "Shit, that damn hobgoblin lost!" "Nice, 4 wins in a row!" "Not bad, I think I will take this one under my wing..." "Oh, what an incredible speed for a tier 1 monster!" Hearing all the praises and shouts I could tell that the pit had many other uses than leveling up tier 1 and 2 monsters, it was also here for the others to earn some cores, learn from the fights and also find a suitable successor or companion they could groom and give a name. The metal spider raises two of its long metal legs while clacking his mandibles, approaching his dead opponent he riped out his core and held it up high. The crowd broke out in shouts and cheers while the spider began to devour the dead hobgoblin. "How brutal..." mumbled I as I watched the scene with a small grin, but quickly shook my head. Looking back down I saw the spider waking out of the pit, leaving the half-eaten hobgoblin behind. Soon after the next two contestants entered the ring. The crowd immediately began to mumble as the two monsters walked in, but all the attention was on the smaller one. "What is a treeling doing here?" "I thought they aren¡ät ?ssociating with everyone else." "Quite rare to see a treeling here" "Oooh, this will be an interesting fight." "Ah, his opponent is so dead..." _____ An: Should I start releasing advanced chapters on my P_atreon? I would release here as always but publish some advanced chapters there. I know I said, that I wouldn¡ät do it, but to earn some extra bugs, why not? It will be no different for the readers, the only thing new is that you will have the option to have some extra chapters... Chapter 52 - The Pit (1) Hearing all the talk around me I looked at the two monsters and wondered why everyone was so hyped about this battle. From the right came a tall plant monster that has the upper body of a woman but the complete abdomen was a giant maw, dripping with whatever plant juice that was. Probably acid from the looks of it. She stood on 6 thick dark green vines that caries her slightly above ground. Her whole face was covered in leaves, like a helmet. On the other side came a small cute mushroom creature that walks on 2 short legs. He had long white mushrooms on his head, mimicking hair, and a few cloth pieces that covers all of his important parts while leaving his ?h?st b?r?, showing his white skin. His face was concealed with a wooden tribal mask that left his two big golden eyes for display. His only weapon was a crocked wooden staff that looked like it would break at any moment. But despite his poor equipment and small stature, he showed no fear. The mushroom guy looked towards the crowd and waited for the signal, while the plant woman was already drooling over her opponent''s core and flesh.. As soon as the sound of a bang sounded, the woman opened her giant maw spraying a wide carped of green acid, leaving no room to dodge. What happened next blew my mind. The small guy taped his staff, turning the acid into harmless water that splashed on him. The crowd cheered and yelled like no tomorrow, but the small shroom guy wasn¡ät finished. Before the woman could make another attack, it was already over for her. A second shroom guy appeared behind the woman and tapped her with his finger. His opponent stood there rooted, unmoving, like a statue, before she slowly fell into dust. Leaving only a lone light green magic crystal that dropped towards the floor. There were no flashing lights, no magic circle, no chants... just a touch was enough for the little guy to erase the plant woman. The crowd turned silent at the display of such an amazing... touch. I was lucky that my hearing wasn¡ät that good because I am sure that I would have gone deaf by the noise they made. The shroom guy ignored all the cheering and picked up the core before disappearing again, but before he left the pit, he glanced toward me. As our eyes met, I could feel a slight connection between us. I don¡ät know what it was, but it was like my soul was telling me that we would meet again. Quite a bizarre feeling. I couldn¡ät dwell on it for long as the veiled girl ran up to me while shouting "You are up next Raas, I registered you, and with a bit of convincing you will be fighting for 3 times in a row!" "Oh nice wor-... WAIT DID YOU SAY 3 TIMES IN A ROW! ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU WANT ME DEAD THAT DESPERATELY?!" shouted I at her, who was still dragging me towards a side door of the pit. The spectators around us cast a few curious glances, while some already began making bets about me. "Ah, don¡ät worry so much Raas. You will do just fine!" said the girl in a dismissing manner. "Nooooo~" screamed I as I was dragged away by my tail. ... Inside the preparation room, I could see many different kinds of monsters sitting there, tending to their wounds, sleeping, eating the remains, or cleaning their weapons. They are much more intimidating up close than from up there, but I am still bigger than most monsters here. As I was slithering around, searching for a place till someone announces me, I saw the tiny shroom guy in a corner with his eyes closed and in the lotus position with his staff across his ??p. When I slithered past him, a sudden voice was in my head. ''Dodge to the right, before attacking.'' The voice was slightly distorted and in another language, but I could still understand it. I stopped and looked back towards, the shroom guy, but he was still there, meditating. I turned away and continued to search for a place while thinking about my mental health, ''am I getting crazy?'' After a minute I finally found a place to rest and get a last look at my status. Not long after a small bunch of vines in the form of a small girl approached me and asked, "Raas?" "Yes?" asked I bewildered. "You may go into the ring now." said the bundle of vines respectfully. I looked down on her and smiled, "thanks for letting me know." said I while patting her head with my tail. "Hope you will come back alive, Mr. Raas," sounded the soft voice of the girl behind me as I walked towards the entrance. I took a deep breath and calmed my mind, before entering the ring. The bright light of the floating orbs made my eyes constrict, while I saw my opponent walking in. "Oh shit..." mumbled I as I saw the monster coming out of the other side of the arena. A 3 meter tall bulky, insect monster. He was fully covered in shiny black carapace leaving only his joints unprotected. His face too was covered, while one pair of thick mandibles clacked intimidating. From the distance, I could see another pair of mandibles right under the thick one, but these were raiser thin and raiser sharp, as I would soon discover. But that was not all with his 4 arms he wielded a heavy two, well four-handed hammer, that already had some dried blood on it. While waiting for the signal, I could already hear the crowd cheering for my opponent, while laughing at me, but out of them all the shouting I could hear the shouts of the veiled girl, "Goooo RAAS! KICK HIS ASS! YOU CAN DO IT!!!" I couldn¡ät help but smile hearing her shouts, even if I am still mad at her for making me fight to the death against 3 monsters in a row. *BANG* The signal sounded and my heart raced, but my opponent wasn¡ät letting me calm down as he already swung his hammer at me. The attack was far quicker than I anticipated and in the split second, I remembered the words back in my head. "Dodge to the right, before attacking," said I under my breath while rolling towards the left. The hammer descended into the ground through huge dust could, covering our vision, but with the help of my Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes, I could still see his antennas moving around trying to find me but failed as I activated [Conceal] as soon as I dodged his attack. As my bite attacks wouldn¡ät work I decided to use blunt attacks and put as much momentum into my tail as possible, before slamming my poison-covered tail into his right kneecap, blowing his leg off. He fell towards the side but could catch himself with his hammer, but I used this chance to take another swing. *Ting* "W- What!?" said I bewildered, as he caught my [Poison Whip] with two of his hands. I could feel his grip on my tail tighten as he flung me towards the wall. I was just in time to activate my skill [Harden] before being thrown into the wall, but even with the skill it hurt like hell and did 30 damage. With a dizzy head, I raised my body and activated [Intimidation] while also doing a [Launch Attack]. My intimidation works as he was far slower swinging his hammer than before, and with only one leg it was hard for him to do anything. So I just charged right in and did a spin mid-flight slamming my poison coated tail right into his head denting his carapace in, but I didn¡ät get out unscathed as he opened his mandibles and took a bite out of me. Thanks to [Pain Resistance] being level 5 it only hurt like a small cut. I decided to end this quickly and sprung towards his uncovered throat as soon as I hit the ground. With a quick bite, my fangs sank into his flesh and I poured a lethal dose of my venom into him. While backing off the insect monster back slapped me and stumbled backward before falling on his back foaming from his mouth. [You killed a lesser Herculesbeetle!] [You gained 213 exp!] I rubbed my bruised cheek with my tail and looked at the dead opponent, "Wow that is the most exp I gained from a single kill so far, and it was a lesser variant... I wonder how strong the normal ones are...", but stopped and looked around remembering that I am still in the pit. Only now did the sound of the cheering crowd reach my ears. They were all cheering at me, and I could see the veiled girl jumping in joy. I felt happy and slightly prideful as I slithered towards the dead monster. I slammed my tail hard against his ?h?st a few times to crack his armor-like carapace and dug his monster core out. I held the core high up with my blood-covered tail and let out a loud hiss, which was far more intimidating than before my evolution. "My first win in the pit was... exciting," said I as I saw them looking at me with disbelief and amazement. Chapter 53 - The pit (2) As the adrenalin settled, I realized just how much damage I took from the insect knight. I had a few broken bones, a missing piece of flesh, and many shallow cut wounds. It was bearable thanks to my [pain resitance] skill. The cheers also slowly died down and a voice in my head said that I should get back to the waiting area. Doing what the voice said I quickly slithered back to get some rest before the next round started. Lucky for me, my old space was still free, however, the treeling wasn¡ät here anymore. Meh, having more important things to care about I slumped down and dropped the core on the ground. ''Hmm, this one is slightly bigger than the purple core I found on the first floor. Meaning, the core belonged to a peak tier-one monster and this one is only slightly weaker... Damn, at least it wasn¡ät tier 2, or I would have been so dead.'' I licked the blood of the core and saw that it was a brown core, meaning earth affinity.. Taking a look at my health I could see that I was slightly over 50% left and my mana was on 40%, but as I glanced at my status, I remembered that I had the [Healing Fang] skill. ''I guess, it is finally time to test it out,'' thought I with a grin. So I opened my mouth and channeled mana into it, as my 2 pointy teeth began to shine in a smooth white light. Taking a last deep breath I sunk my teeth into the wounded area. The pain from the bite was minimal, as it felt like two needles poking me. I looked at the wound and could see it slowly closing in on itself and my health slowly rising, but the skill was still on level one and my control on this new affinity was quite spars, so it didn¡ät do much except su?k?n? my mana, for a few health points. Just as I was finished testing this skill, the familiar vine girl appeared with a smile. "I see you survived, your next fight will be in 30 seconds, hope you will come back again!" said the small green girl and left, but before she disappeared around a corner I could see her stop and lay a small vial on the ground while saying shyly "it¡äs from the treeling." I tilted my head and thought about it, I didn¡ät understand why he helped me in the first place, but I appreciated it, but I am still a little bit sus of him. So slithering towards the bottle filled with a red substance I opened it and flicked my tongue. It smelled like some herbs, blood, and other things I couldn¡ät detect, but it didn¡ät smell like poison or anything. To stay on the safe side I only, dipped the tip of my long split tongue in it, you never know what might be in there. The potion tasted weird. *Ding* [You consumed 0.1% of a bloodline!] ''The fu?k... what in the hell did he gave me?'' But feeling no other negative side-effects I thought, ''fuck it!'' and took the bottle between my mouth before tilting my head back. As the liquid entered my throat I could feel my body heat up. *Ding* [You reached 100% on a bloodline. It will now be ?ssimilated into your body.] My body burned up and my head felt fuzzy. I lied down, but a tap on my head woke me up. "Mister Raas, you have to go into the ring now..." said the vine girl while poking me. I guess she came back just to remind me. I smiled and stood up, but my vision blurred for a moment and I slipped. The girl caught me and looked at me worried, "Are you fine? should I cancel your next fight?" Hearing the worry and concern in her meek voice I patted her head. "No, don¡ät worry I am perfectly fine" lied I without betting my eyes. What an angel... how can she be so nice in a place like this...'' thought I. The girl let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "What¡äs your name?" asked I. "The girl looked down, somewhat sad, and said "I don¡ät have a name yet, I am only a tier 1 Vineral after all..." Before I could say something she ran away. "Ugh, guess I stepped on a land mine here... I will make it up to her later... but first, time to kill a monster." So slithering into the pit I could already see my opponent standing near the middle and waiting for me. A weird amalgamation of many different creatures awaited me in the ring. He looked so bizarre that I thought I was tripping or something. The monster was a mixture of an owl, a reindeer, a scorpion, a goat, and a cat. Well, it is mainly owl, but had deer antlers with cat-ears and a stinger, and stood on 2 goat legs. Unlike normal owls, this one was longer and had brown fur instead of feathers on his body, and had his wings on the side, which was way too short for flight, while it also had four bird legs as hands with 5 digits each. As I said a really bizarre creature... "You are a bizarre-looking snake..." commented the owl in a surprised manner, but my only thought was ''have you looked into a mirror yet?'' I was surprised that he talked to me, as the other one was rather silent, but monsters here could usually speak to each other, so I just shrugged it off. The bang sounded and the monster ran at me on all 6 while his two small wings are flapping and his stinger high in the sky, ready to sting me. I was still foggy in my head and my reaction time was clearly stunned by the potion, but I was still fast enough to avoid the incoming scorpion tail. But I couldn¡ät avoid the sharp claws and grazed my belly. Leaving 3 long cuts, I jumped back to get some air, but the owl thing just followed me. Seeing no way to defeat him but to face this thing head-on, I activated [Harden] and used [Intimidation]. The owl upon getting hit by my [Intimidation] skill completely froze up and looked at me extremely frightened. I didn¡ät expect such a strong reaction but used the chance to attack and jumped at him. Just as I was about to sing my fangs into the owl and fill it up with my venom, a smile bloomed on his face... ''This motherfucker tricked me!'' thought I as his four clawed hands sunk into my body. My health dropped dangerously low, but could b?r?ly avoid getting my vitals struck and use [Harden], however it was still not enough to block his razor-sharp claws from piercing through my scales. "Hoo hoo hoo hoo, dumb snake getting tricked so easily! You thought you could kill me the most cunning of all Owlcoras? Hoo hoo hoo hoo!" said he arrogantly while trying to put more strength into his arms "Stop struggling you worm!." My anger flared up as I heard his words and wrapped my tail around his ?h?st and used [Crush] with full force. *Crack* *Crack* I looked into his eyes and said menacingly, "Shut up you bird brain!" and poured all my remaining mana into it, crushing his ribcage. He threw me away and fell towards his knees as I landed on the ground. My vision blurred again, but this time, not due to the potion, but to the blood loss. In the distance, I could hear the faint voice of the owl monster cursing and whining, but I was too tired to hear him. I felt cold... so extremely cold... but I didn¡ät dare to shut my eyes as I lay on the ground and curled up to get some warmth. *Ding* [You killed an Owlcora!] [You gained 301 exp!] *Ding* [You leveled up!] I was too tired to read the notifications, but I knew the damn monster died before me. A bright light engulfed me and I could hear the faint voice of the veiled girl. "You did well Raas..." I smiled at the words. Chapter 54 - Potential and Bloodline (General POV) (A few moments before) Upon seeing Raas getting injured and laying on the ground unmoving, the veiled girl gritted her teeth and clenched her staff tight but restrained herself from doing something she might regret later. All around her are different kinds of monsters shouting, cursing, praising, and cheering. There are many mixed emotions between the viewers, some want Raas to win, and wanted him dead. The older and wiser monsters, all had grins on their faces upon seeing the fight between Raas and the Owlcora. They knew how strong an Owlcora could be and are sad that Raas has already a name, but nonetheless, they are happy to see such an interesting fight, and even thought about, helping the young snake. Well they aren¡ät so kind to just do it out of their heart, no no no, they wanted to gain some favor, as they couldn¡ät take Raas under their wings, they might as well try gaining his trust. Younger monsters would never consider giving resources to others, but the old knew how to invest their resources well, and how important it is to gain favors from future overlords and powerhouses. They gleamed at the two monsters in the pit, struggling for survival. Both already on their knees and belly, trying their hardest to avoid death, but only one will come out alive.. The veiled girl was on edge, she was the one that suggested, no forced Raas into the pit, and she knew how dangerous it would be, but her greed and confidence in Raas made her think that he would easily win three fights in a row. Sahra told her many stories, well all the stories about him, and from what she heard, Raas is a very unique and strong monster, that could easily rival monsters that are one whole tier higher than himself. But she thought wrong, and now Raas was dying and she could do nothing but pray that he would out sustain his opponent. "Raas, please. You can¡ät die here... Sahra is still searching for you. You must survive this..." mumbled the girl while looking at the injured Raas, that was lying in his own blood. When the announcer finally announced Raas as the winner dozens of healing spells, health potions and more, flew at Raas engulfing him in white light that prevented him from dying. It was the norm that the crowd would heal monsters in the pit that showed potential and are fatally injured. It was all for their own sake, and as monsters, they are being hunted and killed by all the other "intelligent" races, like humans, elves, fehms, and many more. So they needed all the strength they got to survive. The veiled girl immediately jumped down into the pit and cast her own healing spell while holding Raas head ever so gently. "You did well Raas..." Seeing a smile on Raas''s tired face she couldn¡ät help but hug him. "I am sorry..." "That was one heck of a fight!" "That Raas boy did quite well against a low tier 2 monster." "Heh, one more fight to go... but will he be conscious in that short time?" "I hope he will be or I will personally rip his head off!" "Ts, that damn snake just b?r?ly won and you all are already thinking he is hot stuff!" The small girl ignored all the comments and brought Raas into the waiting area, where other monsters watched her carrying the much bigger Raas into the room. She placed him into a free corner while sitting beside him. A small green girl shyly approached the two. "I- Is Raas okay? A- And he has to be in the ring in 5 minutes or he will be disqualified..." The veiled girl looked at the girl in front of her and said, "don¡ät worry, he will be back in no time... I hope," while whispering the last part. The girl nodded but fidgeted a little. After a few seconds, the veiled girl finally asked, "what do you want? Say it already!" The green girl got spooked and slightly backed off, but replied in a meek voice, "ehhh sorry, but... can I... maybe sit next to Raas?" The veiled girl tilted her head in confusion, "Why?" "Raas was friendly towards me... he doesn''t look at me like the others do... he was kind towards me..." said the girl tilting her head down, covering her face with her green hair. The veiled girl thought how desperately she for affection soughed. An uncommon occurrence in monsters that are left all alone with nothing to do but to weasel through life, most will get desperate, aggressive, or just lose their sanity and the small bit of intelligence they had. After a long stare, she finally sighed and nodded, while thinking to herself, ''I somehow pity her... There is really no difference between monsters and humans...'' But just as she sat down next to Raas and wanted to pet him a loud burly voice sounded, "YOU! Are you slacking off again! I told you to inform the contestant and you are here just to get some rest!?" The vine monster got startled and jumped up at the angry shout while clutching her trembling hands. "I- I- I am s- sorry..." The veiled girl seeing the 2 meters big muscular kobold monster, just furrowed her brows, "Hey, you there. Why are you shouting like that, we aren¡ät deaf." "Hah, not your problem midget!" snarled the buff red Kobold back. "Hmmm, is that so," said the girl irritated while cracking her fingers. "No stop, please it was my fault!" said the vine monster while pulling on the robe. The girl looked into her pleading eyes and looked back at the kobold, "She already told us, so cut her some slack. You can go back to wherever you crawled out of!" "YOU!!!" shouted the kobold angrily, but looking at the commotion he caused he gritted his teeth and spat, "you aren¡ät off the hook you low life, Vineral!" To which the small monster trembled. Feeling a hand on her shoulder she turned around. "Why are you even working here? Can¡ät you work somewhere else?" The Vineral looked down and spoke, "No... here I get at least a safe place, while also getting paid in some cores... I am too weak to fend for myself and others don¡ät want a lowly Vineral to work for them..." *sigh* "You know what, let me look at your status... and if there is even the slightest of potential... then... maybe... and only maybe... will I be training you till you are strong enough to fend for yourself." The Vinerals¡äs eyes widened as she looked shocked at her, "What, really? You will train me?!" "ONLY if you show potential. If not, you will have to find your own way to get out of this hole or rot here in this place..." The small monster eagerly nodded her head and gave her permission. With a silent chant, her status screen popped up. Name: ??? Species: Evergreen Vineral Level: 3 Strength: 7 Agility: 5 Intelligence: 6 Mentality: 9 Hp: 26/30 MP: 0/0 [Skills: Vine Slap lv 1, Light Regeneration lv 4, Needle shot lv 1] [Racial Skill: Evergreen lv 1] [Evolution Path:] [Small Vine Strucktur] [Fast Roots] [Blunt Needles] [Green Leaves] [Sensing sprout] "Oh, you are a variant. Quite a rare one, even having a skill at level 4 already and a racial skill... but your stats seem even lower than others on your level... and your base evolutions seem basic or bad. Hmm, no one noticed you being a variant, because your needles are too small..." "Hahhh, at least you show some if little... in fact, very little potential, but potential is potential... so I will train you for a little while... but for now, sit down and hope that Raas will wake up on time." The girl nodded and sat down next to Raas with a massive smile on her face, that she tried to suppress. Meanwhile, constant changes and notifications rang in Raas''s head and body. *Ding* [New bloodline is conflicting with exciting bloodline!] *Ding* [Undergoing physical changes!] *Ding* [New bloodline is conflicting with exciting bloodline!] *Ding* [Undergoing physical changes!] *Ding* [New bloodline integrated!] *Ding* [New Racial Skill unlocked!] *Ding* [Bloodline unsuccessfully awakened! More Strength, Intelligence, and Mentality needed!] The two girls stared at Raas with wide eyes as his body slowly changed. His scales grew out turning slightly spiky, while his greyish-yellow scales got a slight gleam to them and turning slightly reddish, making him prettier and more intimidating at the same time. But the most noticeable change is the small crystal that appeared between Raas''s eyes on his forehead. It had a pretty midnight black and color to it with a tinge of orange. Seeing the gem appear on Raas¡äs forehead the veiled girl gasped, "No way, what in the seven heavens did he do to get that!" To witch the vine monster tilted her head, not understanding why she was freaking out over a gem on Raas forehead. All of that only lasted for 4 minutes, and Raas finally began to wake up. With a giant yawn, he heaved his body up while looking around in a daze. "Heh, what¡äs wrong?" said a confused Raas as he looked at the veiled girl and the Vineral staring at him. Reading through all the notifications floating in front of him his eyes widened. "Wtf did that twig guy give me!" Meanwhile, the so-named, twig guy was facepalming while muttering, "This idiot just drank that without thinking! Haaa~ never mind that, it¡äs not my problem anymore. My mission is finished, time to get some rest!" Chapter 55 - Full counter? Looking down I could see, that my scales have yet again changed, which made me happy, as I am no longer boring locking and unintimidating. But it was cut short as I heard a countdown from the announcer. "10!" "9!" "Raas, your next battle is up... but you can forfeit if you want... no one would blame you." said the veiled girl while sounding slightly sad and apologetic. I stared at the blank sheet covering her face, but after a short pause I replied, "Nah, in the end, it was my choice to enter this competition.... and besides, I got a ton of exp from the two fights alone, and not even speaking from the potion that I got. Besides, I have a new racial skill that I want to try out." "6!" "Oh shit the time, is almost up! Gotta go and test my new abilities!" said I with a grin as I slithered towards the entrance. *sigh* "another battle maniac..." heard I from behind me. I would have tripped, but luckily for me, I don''t have legs anymore. So entering the pit for the third time, I was once again greeted by the loud cheers of the spectating monsters, but additionally, there are many whispers and gasps, while looking shooked my changes. "And finally entering the ring is the menacing serpent RAAAAAASSSSS!!! And his great opponent, the one that traveled all the way from another dungeon! The one that has a kill count of 15! The one that comes unscathed every time! The ice elemental CRYOSIP" ... "Oh, mannnnn... this one is a fu?k?n? big fish..." cried I as I stood in front of the floating misty white orb that had huge shards of ice orbiting around it. "Heh, as expected from a dumb reptile, always late and already shiting himself." Oh man, I already hate him. *Bang!* The starting signal sounded and I fully prepared to dodge or block his attacks, but nothing... He only stood there with a smirk and hands crossed. I know that he knows, that cold is my natural enemy, but wasn¡ät he a little too confident? I mean he can¡ät be higher than a peak tire 2 monster, and even with his track record, you will never know when someone appears that is stronger than you... "Hmm, I have nothing to do after this, so I will play with you a little bit. Show me what you¡äve got!" ''Fuck it, I will use every chance I¡äve got to kill this bastard!'' using this chance I sneakily opened my status while circling around him like he is my prey. [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing bright youngling Serpent (Sun-Eater/???) Level: 15 --> 16 Strength: 89 --> 98 Agility: 67 --> 75 Intelligence: 86 Mentality: 60 --> 72 Hp: 250/250 --> 300/300 MP: 130/130 --> 180/180 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases your stats gained from evolutions) 2. The Survivor (25% increased resistance to all kinds of debuffs!) [Skills: Venom Fang lv 7, Launch Attack lv 3, Slither lv 6, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 5, Poison Resistance lv 4, Poison Affinity lv 4, Healing Affinity lv 1, Healing Fang lv 1, Crush lv 3, Intimidation lv 1, Poison Whip lv 4, Conceal lv 3, Harden lv 1, Sun Breath lv 1 (new!), Fire Resistance lv 5 (new!)] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1, Solistic Venom, Ash Field lv 1 (new!)] [Evolution Path:] [Solar Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] [Healing Glance] [Sol¡äs gem] ''Mama mia did I change! Even my race got a slight change! But are you kidding me? I gained fire abilities and am fighting against an ice monster... bruh! That is so unlucky!!!... No! This ain¡ät some video game where ice is beating fire, this is real-life now! First, let¡äs test out this [Sun Breath] that I got and see from there on.'' So trying to weaken him first, I stopped and heaved my body up and made myself as big as possible and let out a loud hiss... that more and more sounded like a roar. "RAAAAASSSSS!!!!" A small wave hit the floating orb, and I could see a small flinch, but otherwise not effective. "Tss, did you really think you scare me? Even my master''s little toe is more intimidating than your pathetic appearance!" spat Cryosip, while looking disgusted at me. I kept silent and opened my mouth while channeling my mana there. Slowly I could feel a small ball form in my throat that constantly got bigger, but it sapped my mana away at a rapid paste. My opponent just watched me while mumbling something to himself, as my throat slowly enlarged. As the lump in my throat got so big that it became uncomfortably painful I released it. An immense heatwave blasted out of my mouth followed by a glowing hot orange orb that flew directly towards Cryosip. "AGHHHHHH!!!" Hearing the pained cry of my opponent I was kinda speechless and happy. I didn¡ät think that it would deal so much damage to him, but I immediately prepared another one. *Puchi* ... *Puchi* *Puchi* *Puchi* But before I could even charge it halfway through an ice lance hit me square where my core is, followed by 3 others that struck my body. *cough* Spiting up blood I shot the small flamming ball towards where the lance came from. *BOOM!* Another wave of heat and steam hit me, but I could see that he dodged my attack this time. "I have to give it to you. That attack was impressive, but it isn¡ät enough to kill me! I think it¡äs time to get serious!" Fastly weaving a plan together to take this popsicle down I dodged an incoming barrage of dozens of ice swords. Thanks to the constant use of [Harden] it finally leveled up, making it easier to tank his attacks, but they were strong enough to leave dozens of bruises on my body. I kept dodging and tanking his attacks while creeping towards him, making him back off towards the edge of the pit. I didn¡ät understand why he kept his distance, but I smirked at the fact that he got more and more nervous the closer I slithered. "Ugh, this popsicle is a pain in my ?ss!" whispered I towards myself, as I painstakingly gained ground on him. I was preparing to jump at him when the ground around him began to freeze. "Stop coming closer you disgusting creature!" I ignored him once again and did a big leap towards him while shouting in my head, ''Come on [Grey Out] activate!'' And to my surprise, it worked... for the first time in this life I managed to use this skill when I wanted. All the other times it just activated on itself or when I was in great danger, but now, now I could use it when I wanted, but activating it myself took a toll on me, as it sapped on my mind. I wasn¡ät expecting it to activate, but it definitely was a nice surprise. The world around me slowed down and greyed out, and I continued to fly towards him in slow motion, while dodged a flying blade midair. I soon canceled the skill, as the toll on my mind was too great, and landed right in front of him. The icicles that are now far smaller than before shifted and pointed at me. "Now you are done, you disgusting reptile!" shouted the ice elemental while motioning his hand. The ice blades around him rushed at me. "Shit! I hope this works! [Ash Field]!" As soon as I used my new gained Racial Skill the area of half a meter around me hissed and the ground got freed from the ice layer, while my forehead burned up. The huge ice blades flew towards me but evaporated instantly as they got close. Cryosips face scrunched up in anger while shouting and pointing at me, "H- HOW!!! YOUUUUU!! A MERE SNAKE! HOW CAN YOU HAVE SOL`S GEM!!!!" I shrugged my shoulders while doing a [Launch Attack] towards him. "NO NO NO STAY AWAY!!!" was the last thing I heard besides the hissing of evaporating water. His big blue core dropped towards the ground as the blue transparent screens notified me of my win. *DIng* [You killed an ice elemental!] [You gained 411 exp!] "Holy Riarus! Did he just mutated a Sol¡äs gem!" "How did he get that!" "So another Sun-Eater has emerged..." "Mother nature was that an epic fight!" "SOL`S GEM??? THAT MONSTER HAS A SOL`S GEM????" "T- This one is truly something!" "This Nagirus kisser lost! How in the name of the 8 overlords did he lose!?" "I have to report this to the queen..." As the commotion continued, I grabbed the monster core with my tail and slithered towards the resting area, where I need a much-deserved rest. Chapter 56 - Obsession with luck and commotion "This is so tiring, we still aren¡ät even halfway through, and there are still 22 floors ahead of us..." wh?n?d the usually go happy Milly, while walking through the destroyed plains of the 18th floor. "I agree, this is indeed tiring, but we are making great strides. The enemies are getting fewer and fewer, so be careful," spoke Fitz. "Well, Mavis did most of the work anyway, and the 5 to 20 floor is mostly b?r?n, but I still don¡ät understand why he is so upset..." spoke Patrus while taking a swig out of his water bottle. "He is still whining because he didn¡ät manage to capture the one we are searching for, but Isn''t it good that there are fewer monsters here?" asked the princess confused.. "Usually yes, but not during a huge wave like this. The low monster rate only means that there is a strong, and probably intelligent monster grinding exp on this floor. The fewer monsters there are during a wave the stronger and intelligent it is, and most likely it will turn into a champion when left alone for long enough" replied Simon who was walking beside her. Meanwhile, Mavis was still begrudged about the fact that he let the snake escape. He already sensed it with his magic on the third floor and even got a glimpse of it, but when he was about to capture Raas, a sudden stampede of monster army ants attacked them, making him unable to cast his none lethal spell at the snake. Stargazers have a wide arrange of spells and are overly powerful compared to other classes, but even then they couldn''t do anything, and they surely aren¡ät experts on capturing enemies. They are more like control towers, support, long-range damage dealers, close-range damage dealers, area of effect specialists, semi tanks, boss killers, tracers, scouts, and many more, but sadly no spells for capturing enemies unharmed, especially someone of his caliber, where a low tier 1 spell could be enough to kill whole hoards of monsters. And one of its huge drawbacks was that any other spells except cosmic, lunar, solar, or stella nature have a 200% increased spell casting duration, making him too slow to finish his spell in time. Well, it also didn¡ät help that Raas was already on the other side of the floor while they just arrived on this floor. That only shows how large Mavis''s range of sense is. He couldn''t even place a star point on Raas as he vanished in thin air when he reached the 4th floor. Well, Mavis did saw that the snake and the metal scorpion got teleported away, but where to, he didn¡ät know, but thanks to his enhanced senses he knew that the snake must still be somewhere deep in the lower floors. His obsession for the snake exploded as he made a stealthy deep scan on the snake monster and saw the enormous growth in strength it made during such a short period, as well as its luck. As a stargazer, he could see people''s luck, fate, and vague possible futures, and what he saw was abnormally intriguing for him. It was like the world itself was protecting him and trying to make him stronger, and even stealing small amounts of luck from those who are his enemies and even enhancing allies'' luck. Mavis categorized peoples luck in: Ones that are being hated by the world. Ones that are being ridiculed by the world. Ones that are being pitied by the world. Ones that are being loved by the world. Ones that are being hailed by the world. That is also the official grading for one''s luck, as Mavis was the first one to do it. And Raas was one of the few that is being loved by the world. In his long life, he saw many creatures, beings, monsters, and other intelligent and none intelligent humanoids/monsters, but only 100 others can be counted in this category of his. Of those 100, 43 already died, one of which was a close friend of his. The last group was even fewer, it was so rare that only a handful of them was counted and almost all of them were heroes. 3 known living beings in this luck group are known to Mavis. So begrudged and angry at himself he plowed through the dungeon pouring enormous amounts of mana into his spells and nearly destroying whole floors with his ridiculous magic. It was even so bad that a floor guardian appeared. And after a long talk and nearly a fight it left. Well, they could kill the floor guardians easily, but it would still cause them more trouble than it''s worth. Killing floor guardians is seen as a major taboo and the dungeon would often sacrifice large portions of the dungeon to kill the ones that killed a floor guardian. "Oh, I forgot to ask, but what did the snake look like? You did manage to take a peek before the enormously large horde attacked us, right?" asked Simon while leisurely walking through the charred floor. "Yes, I did manage to take a glimpse at him. His stats shot through the roof, and he even managed to gain a name, Raas, and his size increased tremendously in that short amount of time. Agg, I let this unique monster slip away!" after a deep breath, and calming himself he continued, "Raas, the Menacing grey youngling serpent, already reached level 15 and all his stats are around 50, expect mentality. Who knows how strong he is now... you will have to look for yourself when we find it." "That is quite amazing, it would be a huge boon to our kingdom if we manage to nurture him into the national guardian Vextia," spoke Katharina, the second princess. "Hmm, a giant snake as the national guardian of Vextia, wouldn¡ät say that it would be fitting, but better than nothing," said Patrus, the S rank adventurer Sun Lion. It took them a few days to travel so far, and even with their enormous strength, speed and stamina, the dungeon is still soo large that it would take them few weeks to reach where Raas is, not even speaking of finding him, but they didn¡ät know that... ... On the other hand, Raas was still resting, better said, sleeping tight and curled up with his hard-earned monster core in the middle, being oblivious about the tumult outside. The veiled girl cast many protective spells on Raas so that no one could view his stats. There was an unspoken rule that monsters wouldn¡ät look at each other''s stats unauthorized, but their curiosity overwhelmed them. It even caused such a large commotion that the queen got wind of this situation. Well, Metallkill did scan Raas, but no one find that out so it''s okay... ... Outside the resting area, the crowd was pushing against the guards of the pit, wanting to enter the resting area and talking to the one that has Sol¡äs gem, like a swarm of paparazzi finding a big scope. "My~ my~ my~ what is all the commotion about." spoke a clear elegant voice that could be heard throughout the place, despite all the noise. The crowd froze as a wave of pressure washed over them. Shivering and stiffly they turned back towards the source of the pressure and saw a very familiar black-haired woman, that was crossing her arms and looking kind of annoyed. Many thoughts ran through their heads, but mostly asking themselves why the queen was personally here. She almost never leaves her castle, so seeing her here was very shocking for most of the monsters. After a long silence, one brave soul, spoke up, "We wanted to see the monster that managed to gain Sol¡äs gem in such a short time." Her purple eyes stared emotionlessly at the monster while letting out a hum, before slightly turning her head towards the resting area. After another long pause, the queen finally spoke, "Hmmmmm~ is that right... You know the rules, so don¡ät pry so much. All of you leave now, the pit is closed for the rest of the day, so scram before I make you." said the queen with a not so soft smile. The group immediately scrambled away, not wanting to taste the queen''s wrath. "Puh, it is tough to be a queen." said the pale beauty while walking towards the sleeping snake. Entering the resting area the veiled girl bowed towards her already sensing her since she appeared, "Your highness, what brings you here?" "You know exactly why I am here, Beatrice. Don¡ät ask such a silly question." said the shadow dragon with a smile. *Sigh* "I never would have thought that this little one would make so much trouble in such a short time." Taking a closer look her smile widened. "But he surely got more handsome during this time..." "... Your highness..." "I know I know, you don¡ät have to say it... I will stop... for now..." "Your highness!" "Ts, can¡ät even take a joke." spoke the queen annoyed. "Was it really a joke?" asked the veiled girl unconvinced. "No comment..." replied the queen, gaining a blanc stare. "Ahem, back to the topic... so did you find out anything about this... event. It certainly isn¡ät something that naturally occurred, especially not in that short of time. Normally a huge amount of effort would be necessary to give someone Sol¡äs gem." "I certainly did not notice anything, but we could ask Raas, what happened when he wakes up..." A few minutes pass, till Raas finally awakens from his slumber. His eyes adjusted again and he let out a huge yawn, that was much scarier than when he was still small. His first view was of the elegant queen¡äs voluptuous bosoms right in front of him. Her "beauty" stunned him for a moment but he soon regained himself and looked up while quickly asking, "Your highness, what are you doing here." Noticing his clear reaction she chuckled, also hearing the same thing twice was kind of amusing to her. "You caused quite the commotion with your appearance, little Raas. So, I wanted to see for myself, and low and behold I saw you, but now with one of the primordial gem. You surely must have an idea of how you obtained it right?" asked the queen sweetly. "Hmm? Oh, yes that one twig dude, gave me a potion and after drinking it this suddenly appeared on my forehead, with the other changes. Even my race changed slightly..." The queen and the veiled girl froze up. "No... it can¡ät be... right?" asked the veiled girl while clutching her head. "It most certainly is..." said the queen while biting her nail. Raas got extremely confused by their reactions as he didn¡ät understand how great this gift was and what it meant. "Emmm, I don¡ät know why you are freaking out like this, but can you please explain it to me?" asked the oblivious Raas. The two turned towards him and sighed. "We will talk in a more private place. To many prying eyes and ears around here." said the queen, before engulfing the three in a place mist. ... AN: No comment ... ... ... ... Except, how did you find this chapter? I kind of wanted to make Raas OP, but not too fast, and showing that there are many more talented, and lucky creatures/beings out there. The world is bigger than it might seem. And Mavis is there to show, how strong humans could be, but is he already the strongest human? No one knows... except me. Don¡ät know if the story is too slow-pace or not, but I want to write a slow-paced story as it would be more fleshed out and more interesting, just my opinion. And making the story progress too fast will make plot holes even more prominent and noticeable. So I will stick with it for a while. Maybe later I will fasten the pace. I am still thinking about the world-building stuff as Raas still hasn¡ät left the dungeon. Oh boy will it be complicated when Raas finally leaves the dungeon and explores the other regions... but let''s not get too far ahead of ourselves and stick to the dungeon world for a bit longer... Oh, and sorry for the long wait... but at least I am here and didn¡ät drop it, right? RIGHT!? Chapter 57 - A long night with the queen and getting exposed Appearing in the queen''s private chambers she cast numerous anti-spy, protection, barrier, shield, concealment, silence, and other arrays on top of the already existing ones... you can never be too careful, especially in a monster society where backstabbing and betrayals are daily occurrences. The room illuminated in all colors of the rainbow, blinding the poor Raas for a second, while many runes, sigils, and magic circles painted the floors, ceiling, walls, and even the furniture. "And with that out of the way, let¡äs take a seat." spoke the queen after casting a dozen spells in an instant. Raas was gobsmacked and only nodded his head after witnessing her overwhelming skills. The queen smiled pleased at his reaction and sat down on her chair while signaling Raas to sit down in front of her. The veiled girl clearly seeing her expression just shook her head and sat down on the right of the 4-meter-long snake. "Well, where should we start?" asked the queen while magically manifesting 3 cups of tea.. "Maybe, the obvious, with Sol¡äs gem?" answered the veiled girl. "Hmm indeed." spoke the queen while glaring at the veiled girl, before turning back to Raas. "So listen here, little snake. What you have on your forehead is one of the few primordial gems out in the world, and you having one is truly... worrying." Raas just tilted his head, "What gem on my forehead?" ... A moment of silence prevailed through the room before the veiled girl pulled a hand mirror out of her coat and held it in front of Raas. Looking at his reflection, he saw his face clearly for the first time, till now he only saw his face in water reflections, and seeing his body in a polished mirror with clear eyesight he gasped and inspected himself. The one thing that stood out the most was the black and orange oval gem on his forehead. His face has changed a lot since the beginning. It wasn¡ät smooth anymore, instead, the scales protruded slightly and were not gray anymore, instead, his scales had a beautiful red-orange tinge to them, with a diamond pattern running through his body. He was mildly surprised to see the crest on his ?h?st, that he got after being named. The symbol was a yellow hourglass with a crown on top and a mountain range in the background, but now it was a crowned hourglass with a sun behind it. While marveling over his appearance the women glanced at each other. "Ahem, Raas, back to the topic." "Eh? Ah! Yes!" responded Raas. "So, primordial gems are few and extremely rare in the world. Normally you can only get one by being blessed by one of the major gods, finding a natural primordial gem, or drinking the essence of a demigod of one of the major gods... and by the looks of it, your case is the latter." "I- I drank the b- blood of a DEMIGOD!" "In short, yes, but this has only a 5% success rate or less depending on your affinity with it, and the gem is just newly formed, meaning the strength will gradually increase over time under the sun." spoke the veiled girl. "... but my affinities are poison and healing, and we are inside a dungeon, without a sun..." *sigh* "Well, soon you will gain a fire affinity too, and you have to leave this dungeon eventually. You can¡ät be stuck here forever, especially when there is so much to discover out there. But I recommend venturing into the vast world when you reach tier 3 at least or peak tier 2. So do you know anything about the person that gave you this "gift"...?" asked the veiled girl. "Hmmm, no, today was the first time we met... Oh, I remember that he is a treeling." "Haaaah..." letting out an exasperated sigh the queen muttered, "to think that a treeling slipped through my grasp without my notice..." "What is so special about treelings?" asked Raas. "Well, nothing... despite being overly tuned to nature, to the point of being nearly unkillable so long that plant life is in the surrounding. Oh and inside the woodland dungeon treelings are per se "immortal" and buffed a hundredfold," said the veiled girl sarcastically. Letting this information sink in for a few seconds Raas continued to ask, "... why did he help me... I mean, it had no reason... right?" "Well, yes and no." said the m?tur? queen. "?" "First answer this, how old are you," said the queen. "Hmmm, about a month? I don¡ät really know the lost count," answered Raas not knowing where this is going. "Yes, that may be the case, but there is a spell known as [Soul age scan] a high tier spell only a few can cast, which shows the age of your soul." said the queen while taking a sip of her tea. Raas hearing that began to feel dread. "Calm down Raas, I have known about your true age since you first arrived on this floor. We won¡ät do anything to you. No, it is even a huge boon." Raas still being uncomfortable being revealed, spoke meekly, "why is that a huge boon?" "Let me explain!" said the veiled girl cheerfully. "You are what we call reincarnators or world travelers, but on this continent, we call them mostly Acutras. Meaning, "the one that got a second chance". Quite fitting don¡ät you agree?" Raas nodded but stayed silent. "You are not the first and will not be the last one. There are 12 of them known Acutras. People that got a second chance in life, and 5 of them are on this continent. Most of them are monsters, and only a few are demi-humans and humans. And now to why they are so soughed over. They have huge potentials, more unique evolutions, and skill gain chances, and most important of all, they gain experience at a much faster rate than others, making them major powerhouses in only a few years. Humans seek to capture them and make them pets or familiars so be careful when encountering them and never tell a soul about you being an Acutra." Looking at the unblinking Raas who was in deep thoughts the queen whispered to the veiled girl. "Should we really have told him all that?" "Better than, now than finding it out the hard way." "But others could just cast the [Soul age scan] on me and find out immediately..." "Fufufu~ remember the shadow dragon¡äs blessing that I gave you?" "Hmmm.... oh the one I received the first time we met?" "Yes, it will prevent any scans, inspect, appraisal, spells that are below high tier. So your secret is safe as long as you don¡ät encounter someone absurd." "Okey, but what has this do with me gaining Sol¡äs gem?" asked Raas. "Do you know who the Seekers are?" asked the shadow dragon. "No..." replied Raas. "Well, you better make yourself comfortable than... because this is going to be a long long talk..." And a long talk it was... After hours of talk about the world, politics, history, magic, and gods they finally finished their conversation. They still are inside the queen''s chambers sitting around the table with their tea long empty and the "outside" dark. Only a few torches and fireflies brightened the place up. "Okey, so to sum it up, Seekers are a group/race of super ?ssassins and magicians that are pissed because their whole country and continent were destroyed by an Acutra that had a few loose screws and now are now out for blood. Furthermore, they are being backed by 2 major and 9 middle gods... and the treeling is from an organization that wants to rule the shadows so they want to power up Acutras to kill the Seekers and push away the competition... and as a result, I gained Sol¡äs gem witch is one of the most precious gems in the world and will be hunted down the instant someone sees me with it. And to top it off, because I have Sol¡äs gem the others with primordial gems can sense my presence, when I am near them. AND You too want to support me and make an alliance of sorts so that you can someday reclaim that dungeon for yours. BUT I still don¡ät know who this veiled girl is... she doesn''t want to tell me...and you clearly know her already!" said Raas in one breath while starring at the elegant queen tiredly. "Yes, that is basically it if you dumb it down. And for the girl... well, let¡äs say she is someone you can trust and an old friend of mine. The rest will be revealed when she is ready," said the queen while looking to the sleeping girl. Somewhere between the talk, the girl fell asleep. Raas too wasn¡ät flaring any better and is almost nodding away. "One last thing before I send the two of you back. Remember Raas, Sol¡äs gem isn¡ät really yours right now, so don¡ät depend on it too much, before you find out all the mechanics and gimmicks it has, but after you make it yours, you will truly be a powerhouse on the continent. Oh, and a surprise is awaiting you when you go back." Raas nodded sleepily and yawned. Leaning forwards she gave Raas a small kiss on his forehead, where his gem is. "Fufufuf~ we will surely see each other again Raas~ So you better survive and grow up a bit more okey~?" said the queen unhinged, since the veiled girl is asleep and can¡ät berate her of her behavior. "I- I will do my best..." said Raas a little flustered. "With that said good night little Raas," winking at him a magic circle appeared under Raas and the veiled girl before vanishing from the room. Now alone in the room, the queen''s demeanor changed from elegant to serious. "It is finally time! All forces are on the move already so I better prepare too... I can¡ät stay on my toes anymore. Fufufufu, I will show you all that you aren¡ät the only ones that are in the ring!" Chapter 58 - Familiar "faces" Being teleported back the sleeping girl and Raas softly plopped on the bed. The girl stirred slightly upon sinking into the soft matrice. Raas smiled slightly. He grabbed the blanket with his tail and pulled it over them. Curling into a ball and softly saying good night, he too succumbed to the tiredness. ''What a day...'' ... The next morning the veiled girl woke up with a big jawn and stretched her limbs.. But then she noticed that her veil came undone while sleeping and she panicked. ''Wha- Heh?'' She quickly looked around and soon spotted the bundled up snake just a few centimeters away from her sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Her veil was just right under Raas, so with a quick motion, she snatched the veil and draped it over her face again. *Sigh* "Puh, luckily he¡äs such a deep sleeper," whispered the veiled girl while whipping the imaginary sweat away. She then stared at the sleeping Raas in silence and thought back on last night''s conversation. She was kind of embarrassed that she fell asleep in the middle of their talk, but turned serious upon seeing the beautiful gem on Raas¡ä forehead. It was a lie if she said that she was not jealous of Raas¡ä luck... in fact, she was quite envious, well most people would get envious upon getting a primordial gem delivered to you on a silver plate, but she was still happy for the "little one" to get such a... gem. Heh, gem... Anyway... her hand slowly reached towards Raas, gently touching the gem. Sol¡äs gem shone dimly upon the touch but soonly dimed again. The veiled girl carest the gem softly. It was slightly weird for her to stare at Raas as his eyes were constantly open, even when he was sleeping. She inspected Raas closely and gently touched his orange-tinted scales. *Crack* *crack* *Break* The sound of breaking glass could be heard as she ran her finger across his scales. *Shook!* "What!" She hastily retracted her hand from Raas and distanced herself a little from the sleeping snake. "Ho- how is that possible? What?" completely confused and not understanding the situation she looked at her hand that touched Raas scales. Instead of a blueish color, her hand was now covered in beautiful green scales with sharp claws. Calming down she looked at Raas to see if he was surely asleep, but seeing the rhythmic breathing and the calm beating heart she sighed in relief once again. The veiled girl took a deep breath and touched Raas'' body once again, and like the first time, her other hand too was covered in green reptilian scales. She turned silent and thought for a while before casting a silent spell, making her hands turn back to blue skin. "I forgot that it had that passive ability, but to think that it would work on that... Guess I have to wear gloves now..." said the girl while pulling white gloves out of her pockets. Putting them on she continued to gently touch Raas scales. She enjoyed the feeling of his scales and found them beautiful, not at all menacing as they should be, but she didn¡ät do it because she liked it. No, that was merely a byproduct, the real reason was that she sent slight mana pulses into Raas'' body, to see how his body flared and responses to that. After a few minutes, she stopped and stood up. Casting a quick clean spell, she made herself fresh and clean again. Pulling a book out of her rope she sat down on a seat and read in silence as the crystals on the cave ceiling slowly brightened up, making the illusion of a day and night cycle. *Raas pov* *Yaaaawwnnnn* With a giant yawn, I woke up from my slumbers and rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. After last night''s talk, I was completely spent, mostly mentally though. Not seeing the sleeping girl beside me I looked around the room and spotted her reading a large book in silence while sipping some fragrant tea. Noticing my gaze she turned towards me, and I somehow knew that she was staring at me with a slight smile... so I just smiled back. "Good morning," said I to which I got a "good morning" in return. "Are you now willing to tell me your name?" asked I again, not wanting to call her "you" the whole time. "Nope~ not yet!" said the girl with a mischievous grin that I couldn¡ät see. To which I sighed. "Sooooo, I guess you don¡ät want to the arena again right?" asked the girl. I pondered for a while but ultimately decided with, "no I have enough near-death experiences for this week. Today I just want to explore this place for a bit. As an otherworlder or Acutra I am quite interested in other cuisines and culture, especially something so interesting as a monster¡äs one!" exclaimed I with excitement. "Hmmm, I¡äm good with that. Guess, Acutras really does love traveling and exploring. I will give you a little tour then, but first, we need to get some breakfast! I am dying from hunger!" said the veiled girl while holding her stomach. I chuckled a little at her cute behavior and agreed with a nod, and walked out. "Oh! I almost forgot! We have to conceal that gem on your forehead... well the news is probably already spreading like wildfire, but it doesn''t hurt to do it anyway." So after a quick spell, we finally departed. The small town was already buzzing with monsters. While we were walking through the busy town I could feel a lot of monsters probing, glancing, staring, or straight up walking up to us and asking me about having Sol¡äs gem. Thanks to the queen''s blessing all 209 attempts were blocked. But regardless, we still had an amazing time just walking around the place and tasting all kinds of food. We basically went on a food trip all around the town, and that is where I realized that she had an endless amount of monster cores, or so it seemed as she bought meat after meat after meat. I also learned many things about monster behaviors, social manners, and culture thanks to the many conversations and food trips. She leads me towards a small stand that sold seasoned and cooked monster meat. It was kind of odd but whatever. The veiled girl bought 2 meat skewers from the venus flytrap monster. No, it wasn¡ät the one that I encountered at the entrance, this one was dark green and black. "Mmmmm~, this is even more delicious than the Kraberus meat! From what monster is that?" asked I while taking another piece of meat. The veiled girl had to hold my skewer too, as... well... no hand. "Don¡ät know, it is always random here, we got very lucky here! Oh and don¡ät worry they don¡ät sell poisonous food... well at least not here." said the veiled girl who was blissfully eating piece after piece. "Meh, I have poison resistance, I think I will be fine anyway." We continued to walk around the town as she showed me the many different buildings and shops here that I haven¡ät got the chance to see. After a few hours, we took a break as the girl''s mana was running low from concealing the gem, so we sat on a small hill near the village and starred at the ceiling. "Raas, what do you think about this world?" asked the girl out of nowhere. "Hmmm, deadly, dangerous, violent, painful, and exhausting..." "Heh heh thought so..." said the girl with a dry laugh. "... but it¡äs also vast, never boring and exciting. I have so much to discover and explore here, and here I meet so many nice people... especially Sahra..." said I a little shy. "Hmmm, good to know~," said the veiled girl while turning towards me. "What about you?" asked I wanting to change the subject. "Well, I just live, don¡ät really have an opinion... but I wish this world would be more peaceful." said the girl a little bit melancholic. ... An awkward silence fell between us, (un)luckily a familiar voice called out. "Sa sa sa sa sa! Ah, if it isn¡ät the small snake!" I turned my head and saw two familiar plant monsters. Not liking his teasing tone I called back, "Heeeh~ if it isn¡ät Mr. Bush, long time no see." The monster fumed and shouted, "you cooky little shit, what did you call me!" "Hahahahaha, calm down Mr. Bush~" Hearing the female monster tease the monster that was toying with me. "What did you call me you dried up cabbage!?" shouted the venus flytrap monster back. I felt a kind of a deja vu hearing those two bickering. The "Cabbage" monster flared her vines and leaves in anger, but calmed down, "do you want to be punished again?" said she in an oh-so-sweet tone. The other one shuddered and backed off from her, "no-no, please don¡ät, Cadina!" "Hmpf, that¡äs what I thought!" "Ts, I will get you back..." grumbled the monster in anger while clicking his tongue(?). Cadina only ignored him. Meanwhile, the veiled girl and I just starred at the weird plant duo doing their skit as if they forgot that we existed. Seemingly noticing us again she commented with a tinge of surprise in her voice, "oh, you changed quite a bit in such a short time, little snake. You have become, quite... how do I say it, imposing?" "Ehh, thanks..." said I while scratching my head. The grumpy "Mr. Bush" was clearly still angry and remarked, "Ts, whatever he only got a color change and a gem on his forehead. Heh, it looks kind of stupid this with this... black... and... orange gem... ... ... wait... WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" In the end, his whole body shook in disbelief. "NO No no, how can this be! No, I don¡ät accept this! No! You can¡ät possibly have this! Fucking damn it! NO!" The three of us glanced at each other and Cadina sighed while I and the veiled girl tilted our heads in confusion over his sudden outburst. Chapter 59 - A rainy day It took quite a while and a lot of cursing and crying for "Mr. Bush" to finally calm down. *sniff* *sniff* "... this isn¡ät fair..." mumbled he while sulking a few meters away from us. "Ah, please don¡ät mind his, ehh, crying.... he¡äs just a little bit sad that a snake got something that he dreamed of getting," said Cadina, slightly embarrassed. "Heh? Why would he want that?" asked I. "Hmmm, it¡äs a long story, but to sum it up, a childhood friend that he liked for years, turned him down and got together with someone that has a primordial gem and poor Burash here is obsessed with getting his own primordial gem ever since," said she with a mocking sad tone. "Heh, this idiot even challenged a demigod and got his leaves whooped. Fun times." "..." "Do you the name of the person that has the primordial gem?" asked the veiled girl, ignoring her last comment. "Hmmm, I can¡ät really remember, but I think it was something like, Treamon? ... no no no, Tragi?" "NO! HIS NAME WAS TRAK THAT BASTARD!" screamed Burash from afar in anger. "What! Trak, the TRAK that is the current overlord of the eastern continent Hamja?!" "Ah, yes Trak that was his name! Never knew that he would become such a big shot, time sure has flown" said Cardina nonchalant. The veiled was gobsmacked that they knew the current overlord of an entire CONTINENT! "So, what are the two of you doing here?" asked Cardina ignoring the veiled girl''s inner turmoil. "Eh, just touring the town..." responded I while glancing at the veiled girl. "Hmm what a carefree monster you two are... ah I wish I had that much time to just relax, but our master is kind of strict and can be very scary... anyway we have to go! See you around little snake!" "Yes, see you around," said I while waving my tail. I could see Cardina walking towards Burash and pulling him along. ''What a weird duo'' thought I. It took a few minutes for the veiled girl to calm down and we continued to tour around the place till sundown, or the equivalent of that, as the light dimmed inside the cave. Back inside our room, I slumped down on the bed. "I have to finish some business, Raas. You stay here for now." said the veiled girl, before I could even respond. Smacking the door shut I was once again alone. Having nothing better to do than to fiddle with my thum- ... with my tail, I decided to rest a little. Closing my eyes, my other senses sharpened. Hearing the slight breeze that waved over the town, and the noises of the lively town I slowly drifted to sleep. *3rd POV* During the night the veiled girl finally came back. *sigh* "This was so tiring. Finally, I can get some sleep." mumbled the girl while yawning. Swapping her rope to a clean one she got into bed, not knowing that a giant storm is brewing. Meanwhile, in the deadly thick jungle of the 22nd floor, where a constant deafening downpour and lighting hit the floor, a hodded blur could be seen rushing through the jungle while cutting everything in its path. No matter of monsters, trees, bushes, or rivers, nothing could stop it. Panting and struggling the figure tirelessly rushed through the floor. Seeing the entrance of the 21st floor the figure stopped for a moment while pulling the hood down, revealing a smooth face with two black dots gleaming through the rain. The drenched coat hugging her body revealing a perfect hourglass figure. Clenching her hand over her ?h?st a small female voice spoke in a longing whisper, "Raas..." Not wanting to spend any second longer here she draped her hood over again and vanished in a blur. Darting through the entrance she expelled all the water on her making her as dry as sand, without stopping for a moment. Navigating through the town she soon reached a small run-down hut and slammed the door open with enough strength that it blew the door into thousand pieces. Ignoring the mess she made her eyes darted around the room searching for her beloved, but what she saw made her freeze up like a statue. ... In the comfy bed, Raas and the veiled yelped in surprise as the door exploded out of nowhere. Being woken up by the loud explosion the veiled girl sprung up, but because she used him as a body pillow he got dragged with her. The veiled girl was the first one to spot the figure standing in the doorway. Raas who thought that the veiled girl made the noise wanted to complain to her but stopped when he saw the figure standing between the rubbles of the door. A tall woman with golden flowing sand as hair and 2 doted eyes gleamed at the two with sadness and anger, in her hand a glass dagger that was still dripping in monster blood was shacking. Raas'' eyes widened as he saw the two black dots that always gleamed at Raas with love and happiness. But he was shocked as he saw her sad and angry face, but soon understood as he heard stammering beside him, "N- No- this isn¡ät what it looks like! W- We didn¡ät do anything! I swear! So please calm down! I can explain!" said the veiled girl while pushing Raas away and standing up. Raas'' orange-tinted scales turned pale white as he noticed his situation. He was currently sleeping in a bed with a girl while she was clinging to him. Raas got out of bed and stammered, "S- Sahra, th- this is not what it looks like." Sahra who was completely silent pushed the veiled girl aside and continued striding towards Raas with her dagger in hand. Raas seeing this slowly backed off but soon hit the wall behind him. Sahra who was standing and looking down on Raas lifted her dagger and stabbed it into the wall right next to Raas'' head. "HIIII!!!" A thrill shriek escaped out of Raas mouth as he looked at the bloodied dagger and then towards Sahra¡äs angry face. Raas wanted to explain the situation to her, but upon seeing her angry face slowly turning into a crying one he shut up and whispered, "Sahra..." "Shut up!" cried Sahra as she leaned her face next to Raas. Emotion overwhelmed her as she didn¡ät want to hear what Raas wanted to say. She felt angry, disappointed, and betrayed upon seeing him with the veiled girl together in one bed. "How could you" *sniff* *sniff* "I... I was so scared of losing you... I was worried the whole time, thinking about what happened if the mark suddenly disappeared... when I couldn¡ät find you and was separated from you I was completely lost... but I knew you would survive... I knew we would someday reunite... I knew you would come back... I was challenging monsters day and night to gain levels to be able to search for you... and when I heard that you are in the town my heart was beating so fast, I was so happy to finally see you again... so I rushed back. Running through the rain without stop and pushing myself to the limits, just to see you again... and when I finally reached you... what do I see?!" said Sahra while raising her head and staring at Raas. Tears began to swell and fall down her eyes. "I see my beloved Raas sleeping with my childhood friend! How could you Raas! I- I was so desperate to finally see you, but when I came home I saw you with another woman?! How could you do that to me?!" cried Sahra pitifully while leaning her head on the wall. Raas was speechless and his heart hurt seeing her so sad. Thinking back, he was just playing around while Sahra was desperately searching for him. He felt really bad about it and ashamed of himself. Raas couldn¡ät do anything but apologize, "I am sorry." He gently put his tail on Sahra¡äs back while she was crying and mumbling "how could you" between sniffs and sobs. After a few minutes, lite breathing could be heard as Sahra fell asleep from exhaustion and tiredness that accumulated. Raas sighed and spoke, "Let¡äs get her on the bed and clear up the misunderstanding when she wakes up." The veiled girl nodded and sat on the ground, her heart still beating a mile per hour from the shock and surprise. Chapter 60 - Beatrice is a Ch奴niby艒? After a good night''s rest, Sahra woke up sluggishly and looked around the room. Remembering what happened the night before she got angry and sad. She never thought that their reunion would be like this, she thought it would be a happy one where she would surprise him, hug him for the entire day, and tell each other what happened. Of course, she knew that she overreacted and felt bad for being so rash about it. And just as she was pounding about last night a small gasp reached her ear. "Oh!" Hearing a voice on her right she turned and saw Raas sitting on a wooden chair while gently smiling at her. "You are finally awake, Sahra," said he softly with his childish voice. She got slight goosebumps hearing his voice for the first time. Well, yesterday she heard him speak but was too upset to hear him. "I am sorry for yesterday, I am sure you are angry, and rightly so. But I can full-heartedly say that nothing happened between us two.... I don¡ät even know her name. So please don¡ät be angry anymore." continued Raas while bowing his head. "..." Sahra gazed at the bowing snake and stayed silent. In her heart, she knew that Raas wouldn¡ät betray her and just search for another mate, but she wasn¡ät thinking right after seeing him with her together. She knows that her childhood friend was a messy sleeper and hugged things at night. After a good night''s sleep, she admits that she overreacted a bit and didn¡ät let Raas explain. The longer she stayed silent the more Raas began to quiver. Seeing Raas like this made her heart tighten a bit. "No..." Raas hearing her looked up worryingly. "No..?" "I am sorry too... I shouldn¡ät have overreacted like that and should have listened before yelling at you..." Raas hearing her apologizing was baffled and stunned... The two of them continued to clear up the situation all the while the one that caused this situation was sitting in the corner and looking at them. It took them a little over 10 minutes to finally clear up the misunderstanding, and they all sat around a wooden table. Sahra who was feeling clingy after them making up was hugging Raas while he was on her ??p. Well, it looked quite funny as Raas was now 4 meters long and part of his body hung to the ground. Raas didn¡ät mind as he too missed her warmth. "Why didn¡ät you tell him your name, Beatrice?" asked Sahra while touching his slightly spiky scales. "No comment..." said Beatrice while turning her head away. "Agh, shut up! That is not the only reason and I can¡ät help it okay!?" cried Beatrice the veiled girl in embarrassment, before quickly clapping her hand before her mouth. The smile grew bigger as she heard Beatrice slip up, "Hmmmm~" Raas looked questioningly at the two. Letting her go from the teasing she sighed. *Sigh* "Beatrice always had a thing for staying mysterious and flashy entrances. It is quite fun to see, especially when she is casting one of her bigger spells." "Oh, she is a Ch¨±niby¨­!" said Raas as if a light bulb light up. ""A Chuniboo?"" asked both of them in sync. "Ah, nothing nothing," said Raas as he didn¡ät want to go down in that rabbit hole. "So do you want to reveal yourself now?" asked Raas trying to move on the conversation. "Hmpf, fine," said Beatrice as she took down her veil, showing a pouting blue-skinned girl with short silver hair and light blue eyes. Meanwhile, Beatrice thought long and hard but ultimately gave up, "Fine fine!" complained Beatrice as her face slowly turned into a light brown tone while emerald green scales crept up from her neck till her cheeks, while her hands turned into sharp scaled reptilian claws. Two brown horns emerged from between her hair, as they changed into a dark green color that almost looked black, while her back bulged up till 2 enormous green wings sprouted out, covering half the room with her large green and brown wings. Raas''s mouth was agape as he stared at the draconic girl who was looking smugly at Raas with her hands crossed above her ?h?st. "My name is Beatrice Paraton, a proud forest draconian, the decimater of souls and bringer of life!" said Beatrice proudly while puffing her small ?h?st out. She then began to stretch her arms and legs, "Hah~ it feels so good to finally be able to stretch my wings out~" said Beatrice while m??ning in p???sur?. While she was stretching Sahra leaned closer to Raas and whispered, "See, quite funny right~?" He chuckled and gave her a nod, before asking her a question, "What is a forest draconian?" "A draconian is a hybrid of a pure-blooded dragon and a humanoid creature. My mother is an elder dryad and my father is a pure-blooded earth dragon" exclaimed Beatrice with her head held high. Sadly, for him, Raas doesn¡ät know just how incredibly rare such a reunion between a pure-blooded dragon and an elder dryad truly is, as very few pureblooded dragons mate with elder dryads, not even speaking from elder dryads taking pureblooded dragons as mates, but that is a story for later. "And how did you two know each other?" "Oh, I found her during one of my trips with my father. She was lost in the woodlands of the 10th floor. We took her in and searched for her parents. Hihihi, her father made such a big mess while searching for her and her mother then scolded him as she had to repair all the damage he made." told Sahra with a chuckle thinking back. "Ah, Raas I was wondering, why you have a gem on your forehead. Don''t get me wrong it looks beautiful. It kind of reminds me of my father¡äs. He had a similar one." "WHAAAAAAT!" exclaimed Sahra while clasping Raas'' face with her hands and staring at the black-orange gem. "Long story short, other hidden parties took notice of Raas being an Acutra and decided to support him to get rid of the nasty Seekers." Raas glared at her as she just casually told Sahra that is a reincarnator. He was a little scared of her reaction, but her reaction was quite mild and dismissive. "Oh my, an Acutra. Hm, Raas is still Raas," said Sahra before grinning at him. They all chated and told their childhood stories and what happened while they were separated. Sahra, like Raas, got kidnaped and brought back to the town a few days before him and as the singing stones have a good relationship with the queen, she got power leveled by one of her subordinates and endlessly fought monster in the Pit, where she gained the nickname "Impaler" for... well, impaling her opponents with her dagger. She managed to level up from 29 to level 41, b?r?ly managing to reach tier 3, but that is still quite a feat. As they were talking the conversation leaned more and more towards their stats and so they decided to show each other their stats. Sahra was quite eager to show her beloved Raas her stats and waited for praises as he opened her status screen. Raas seeing her stats almost dropped his jaws through the floor. [Status] Name: Sahra Level: 29 --> 41 [Stats:] Strength: 118 --> 184 Agility: 171 --> 260 Intelligence: 82 --> 130 Mentality: 97 --> 111 Hp: 400/400 --> 1600/1600 MP: 198/198 --> 500/500 Title: 2. Monster Slicer (10% slice damage, plus 5% bleed effect when dealing damage) 3. Thy who was named (Gives 5% increase in all stats when near the person that named you) 4. Impaler (Stabbing attacks increase bleeding damage by 10%.) Curse: [Skills: Sand Armor lv 8 --> 12, Sand Cloud lv 6 --> 8, Conceal lv 8 --> 11, Poison Bite lv 5 --> 6, Dagger Mastery lv 8 --> 11, Scan lv 6 --> 7, Combat Mode lv 6 --> 8, Pain Resistance lv 2 --> 5 (new) Drain lv 2, Mumifi lv 1, Sand bind lv 1, Sand Slice lv 1, Dust bomb lv 1] [Racial Skill: Earth Affinity lv 5, Charming Singing lv 2, (new) Dismembering Puls lv 1] [Evolution Path:] [Flexible Hardened Sand Armor] --> [Living Absorband Sand Armor] [Better Vibration Sensing Sensor] [Flexible Burst Muscles] --> [Plated Flexible Burst Muscles] [Poison Fang] --> [Draining Poison Fang] (new) [Floawing sandhair] [Compact Sand Productionorgan] ... Compared to Raas¡ä stats... let¡äs just say he has to increase his leveling dramatically in order to catch up to her. "I definitely didn¡ät expect that..." "Hehe, I leveled quite a lot during the time, so you better catch up to me darling~" Raas only nodded at her comment. The young draconian had a look of surprise on her face and commented, "you have become quite strong Sahra. Impressive, but still not enough to reach me, kiahiahiahiahiahiahia!" Not wanting to be left behind Beatrice summoned her own status board, but decided to conceal most of her stats, as to not wanting to spoil everything. Raas¡ä mind completely shut down when Beatrice decided to show him her stats, well only the basics. Status] Name: Beatrice Paraton Species: Young Forest Draconian Level: 56 [Stats:] Strength: /// Agility: /// Intelligence: /// Mentality: /// Hp: /// MP: /// Title: 1. Motherearths blessing (Increases nature affinity by 150%) 2. Catastrophy (increases strength by 50% and health by 30%) 3. /// 4. /// 5. /// 6. /// Curse: [Skills: ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///, ///] [Racial Skill: Forrest Armageddon, Mountain Smasher, Create Heart Tree, ///] [Evolution Path:///] Even if the majority of the stats are hidden Raas underestimated the little girl by miles. He knew that she was quite a bit stronger than him, but he didn¡ät expect those outrageous titles or Racial skills. ''What the heck are those Racial Skills!!!???'' Just when Raas was about to faint he spotted in the corner of his eye a bluish wisp flying around. Turning his head he gasped and froze in shock. ______ AN: If there are mistakes or plot holes please point them out as I will correct them! Don¡ät worry he wound stay so a week for a long. A long-awaited training and power up await him. And Raas will finally see some action again. Ideas for opponents will be appreciated! Ah, poor Raas is so far behind, and completely shocked about Sahra¡äs and Beatrice¡äs status. How would he react when he sees Mavis¡ä stats? Well, even I would be shocked and buffed by his stats. Oh and speaking of Mavis, their meeting will be quite ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€. Oh, and Sahra¡äs stats aren¡ät final yet, and her stats could possibly change in the future to balance it. Don¡ät want people to be too op. Well, Mavis is a different topic, as he even can ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€. At least he can¡ät ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€. Well, that¡äs all, and hope you liked that chapter! Chapter 61 - Power leveling! Raas froze up as he starred into an endless pit of blue luminescence glowing maw. "Stop that!" said Sahra sternly behind me, as the maw closed. With a small pout, the giant maw slowly shrunk till it was only 30cm big. Seeing the full form of the creature, I was stunned. ''Since when could fish fly'' In front of me was now a black and blue glowing fish with a lantern attached to its forehead while it slowly flapped its fins. It looked like a poorly constructed anglerfish that had some holes where blue eerie light shone through with a small old lantern where few glowing orbs flew around. Though its two big hollow eyes resided two small azure flames that shone with hunger. It giggled a little bit before swimming in the air around me like it was in water, while the two flames gazed at me like I was a tasty meal. "W- What is that?" said I while my eyes followed the weird fish thing swimming around me.. "Oh, I nearly forgot about him. He is the egg that we picked up together. I unofficially named him, Derat. He only manifested recently. He is harmless for the most part." "Heyo, I¡äm sorry bout what I did to you two, but sheesh, you didn''t have to hit me that hard when we first met, I still can feel the pain. I nearly thought my core would crack. Anyway, the names Derat! The one and only Soul collecting apparition, type anglerfish! Don¡ät worry I don¡ät bite, only ripping souls! Well, to be ownest, that was a lie, I do bite! But don¡ät worry, I won¡ät bite you, I made a pact with this scary woman here. So welcome back big bro Raas!" ... "...ah...yes...hello..." said I bewildered by his manner of speech. The Soul collecting apparition slowly neared me and starred me into the eyes. The two flames in his eyes burst for a moment before he said, "Ah, what a beautiful soul you have there... You wouldn''t mind if I have a nibble right, big bro? Just a small piece will be enough. It is bigger than the other plebs, especially those mindless hooligans roaming the floors. Beh, just thinking of those lowlife souls makes me want to puke. But you know, beggars can¡ät be choosers. Ah, you can¡ät imagine the bliss when I had my first good soul. Damn was that nice. I can still remember the taste. When you look close enough you might even spot the soul inside my lantern! He is my prized possession. Well, for now anyway. Hmmm, where was I? Ah, yes, your soul. Even with all those spells, I can clearly smell your delicious soul. I promise it wouldn¡ät hurt... much." Overloading my head with his rapid speech I couldn¡ät reply as he inched ever so subtly closer towards me as I backed away from his small maw that dripped some kind of blue mist. "Ehh...ah.." Coming to my rescue Sahra took out a fist-sized yellow blue and yellow fluorescent core out of her backpack. "Stop begging my mate for his soul you gluttonous fish before I crush your core!" hissed Sahra in anger and staring daggers at the tiny fish in front of me who was just inches away from me. "Ah, of course, of course! Sorry, got a bit carried away. You know, delicious soul, soul collecter. But damn, your woman needs to relax and loosen up a little bit, if you know what I mean." Seeing the death glare he received from Sahra he promptly continued, "Hehehe, anyway what now boss!" said Derat sheepishly. While continuing to circle around me like a shark stalking his prey. "Hmm, what now indeed..." asked I myself not letting my guard down and ignoring his comment. Well, to say the least, he has quite the personality... Not expecting such an answer my jaw dropped as my head flung towards her. ''What? Dear? How did you come to that?! Even so, it¡äs too soon! Too soon! And we are from two completely different species! Even if you now look humanlike... I am a snake... It would be weird...'' "You have gotten quite bolt, Sahra. Where is the timid little Singing Stone that clung to me like Mammoth spite?" said Beatrice. "Hmpf, a lot has changed! I had to adapt, ever since my home was... raided." "Oh, umm, I¡äm sorry..." Feeling the mood going down I pushed my thoughts to the back of my head and chimed in, "Hmm, getting stronger in this crazy world is a good idea. So what do you suggest Sahra." A blinding smile bloomed on her face as she hugged me. "I am strong enough to power level you till you are at least tier 2! Then you can get some combat experience in the pit!" "Oh that sounds, nice when do we start!" said I with enthusiasm. I am done with staying so weak and being almost killed on a daily basis. "No better time than now I would say, little Raas," said Beatrice standing up and draping her cloak and veil over her. "Never," said Beatrice with a cheeky smile under her veil and opening the front door. I could only sigh, as I followed her out with Sahra close behind me and Derat circling around me like a holy ring, instead, it is glowing blue and drooling mist down my head... *** (3rd POV) Reaching the 22nd floor of the Woodland dungeon, the group of 4 were being drenched in the never-ending storm of the floor. "Ts, the weather is bad as always" complained Sahra as she put the hood over her head. "You aren¡ät feeling cold are you Raas?" asked Sahra who looked towards Raas who was wearing nothing. Not that she would complain or see anything inappropriate. "No, I don¡ät mind a little bit of rain, but it is a little bit breezy." "Oh, can fix that!" said Beatrice as she cast a small spell that surrounds Raas in an orange glow. "Thanks, Beatrice. Now finally to some leveling!" Seeing the monsters Beatrice immediately took position and commanded her group, "Oh, lucky, those are the weakest monsters around here. Low tier 2 monsters and easy to kill. I will hold the two in the right-back, Sahra take the left, and Raas you kill the one in the front. Shouldn¡ät be too hard with Sol¡äs gem and all." They all nodded and rushed the 4 slugs, only Derat grimaced, remembering the taste of the slug''s soul. "Yikes, slugs again..." Beatrice was the first one to subdue her target as she bound the slugs with thorny vines that sprouted beneath them. Sahra kited them back and forth and stalled them till Rass was finished with his. Meanwhile, Raas was having troubles doing damage, as the soft and slime flesh of the monsters made his attacks null, even his venom didn¡ät work at them. Seeing that his usual attacks didn¡ät work he opted to try his new skill out. Casting [Sun Breath] felt easier and easier after every cast for Raas. So, gathering mana into his throat he condensed the small fireball as dense as possible, all the while he was agilely dancing around the slow and lethargic slug. It took him 3 seconds to finally finish gathering mana and condensing it, till it was uncomfortable to hold. Raas stopped slithering around the slug and faced it face first, before unleashing the miniature "sun" flew towards the monster, evaporating the water in the area and finally vaporizing the slug''s head. Raas flinched at the destructive ability and the disgusting smell of molten slug as it slumped down to the ground. *Ding* [You have slain a green Everslug] [You gained 379 exp!] ''Oh damn, that is almost as much as the owl amalgamation gave me!'' While he was lamenting over his exp gain, Derat swooped in and flung his lantern into the monster''s body, sinking in like it was intangible. He swirled his lantern a few times around before it out while cringing in disgust. Raas now approached Sahra and the two slugs which were riddled in small cuts. Sahra spotted Raas and kitted the Slugs so he could easily take them down in one shoot. Preparing another [Sun Breath] he got into position and gathered his mana, but this time he took a lot longer before firing another orange glowing orb towards the two monsters. The orb flue straight into the side of the first one, melting through it before exploding the second one''s head. *DIng* *Ding* *DIng* *Ding* *Ding* [You gained 311 exp!] [You have slain a green Everslug] [You gained 286 exp!] [You leveled up!] ''Hmm a little bit lower, must be because Sahra damaged them quite a bit,'' thought Raas before being tackled by Sahra. "Kyyyy~ Raas, that was soooo cool~!" squealed Sahra like a fangirl. Raas only sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, before realizing that Beatrice was still holding the last two slugs down. It took Raas the last of his mana to end the two, as the ability cost quite a lot of mana. The group gathered up and Derat was the first one to speak up, "Bah, those souls tasted like mud, can¡ät we kill more intelligent creatures. Even a Nagirus taste better than those brainless slugs." Ignoring him Sahra hugged Raas while still amazed at her mate¡äs ability. Beatrice too ignored the small anglerfish¡äs comment and spoke towards Raas, "quite the skill, amazes me every time when you cast it. But at this rate, it would take quite a while for you to reach tier 2..." "Hmm how about we raid a shadow cat¡äs nest? Raas can just blast the whole thing to smithereens." "Ohhh, yes those have quite a delicious soul! I am in!" "I agree, sounds like easy exp," said Raas. "Yosh, it is decided then, Derat, got and scout for a shadow cat nest," commanded Sahra. *sigh* "Yes, yes..." said Derat while flying away. *** (AN) A chapter to make my dear reader stay. What do you think about this new character? I will maybe change Derats name and race if there are good suggestions. Anyway, Raas will finally start to level up and gain more muscles on his bones. Evolution to tier 2 will be quite a big power spike, as all tier evolutions will be. If you have some good ideas, don¡ät hesitate and leave some. Anyway, that¡äs all from me! Chapter 62 - A bad feeling *Booom!* *Booom!* *Boom!* The sound of deafening explosions resounded through the never-ending rainforest. The hot heat evaporating the rain only to be showered again. Trees, corpses, and stones flew everywhere and hitting the poor monsters who were too slow to dodge the barrage of debris. *Ding!* *Ding!* *Ding!* "Haaaah, how long are we here now?" asked Derat while fishing for the lost souls in the corpses that are littered around them. On the other side, Raas was busy charging his next [Sun breath] before shooting it at another pair of Crazy Bombardier Beetle. *BOOOM!* Derat immediately shut up, as he knew Sahra was meaning it. Beatrice who was in her real form was helping Raas, but she wasn¡ät as nearly as stressed as Sahra, who had to fight all on her own because Derat decided to take a few quick bites. "Ah, shit. My mana is running low," said Raas as he jumped away only to see his previous position being blown up into smithereens. "Hmm, why not just use your racial skill [Ash field]?" asked Beatrice, sidestepping a Bloodened Spider¡äs webshot. Gathering his last bits of mana he blew up the spider and a few slugs that got caught in the explosion. Having killed the last few on their side Raas could finally take a breather. Catching his breath for a second Raas slithered next to Beatrice and said, "You know it doesn¡ät work like this right? I already used up all my charges two hours ago, also it would be a total overkill to use it on these few monsters. And here under the constant rain, I can¡ät possibly recharge..." "Oh, right. Forgot about that. It¡äs still a powerful skill, despite its shortcomings. I can still remember you standing in the middle of the chared monsters. That looked really epic. It even made my scales tingle feeling the heat of the attack" said Beatrice with excitement. "Heh, what are you talking about? Your skills are far more destructive than mine. I still can¡ät believe you just casually destroying and making a forest like that!?" said Raas with twinkling eyes, as he could still remember the utter destruction that Beatrice created a few hours back. "Ahaha, yes I am quite impressive!" boasted Beatrice while flexing her sharp claws and grinning brightly, showing her sharp teeth. "Yes, yes... Stop being jealous. I am on my way..." said Beatrice dismissively. Stretching her wings she jumped towards the hoard and took a deep breath, filling her lungs to the absolute limit. Holding her breath till she was closer she unleashed a sea of fire, engulfing the hoard and killing the weaker ones instantly, while the stronger ones writhed in pain. "Pah~" letting out a small cloud of smoke, Beatrice stood with her head held high and a proud expression plastered on her face, and her hand on her h?ps. "Puhhh~, that was the last one for today. I think we should head back and rest for the night," Sahra sighed in relief as she slumped towards Raas and hugged him, pushing his head between her soft bosoms. "Raas, are you alright?" "Yes, but what about you? You had to practically deal with them all on your own..." asked Raas looking up at her face that had a few cuts and bruises. Looking at her tattered robe that was now b?r?ly hiding her body she hugged him tighter, "it¡äs just a scratch." Smiling mischievously she leaned closer towards Raas'' ear while whispering, "if you are so worried, why don¡ät you heal me with your [Healing fang]?" Raas blushed slightly at her sudden attack and tried to back off, but failed and gave up. Taking a deep breath, he looked into Sahra¡äs two pitch-black dots, "That sounds like a good idea. We don¡ät want to leave scars on your beautiful face, right?" Not expecting a counterattack her cheeks flushed and turned her head away, while b?r?ly stammering out a "R- r- right..." Beatrice who was feeling like the third wheel coughed, breaking the pink atmosphere between the two. "Now you two should stop flirting and get going. I don¡ät want to stay in this rain for any second longer than necessary!" All the while Derat was enjoying a scrumptious meal, he was fairly useless against the monsters on this floor, so he mostly just scouted ahead or was consuming souls. And as a "fish" the rain didn¡ät bother him. If he wanted to he could make himself intangible and let all the rain pass through him. But more on him later... Sahra released Raas and nodded before they finally searched for a dry place to rest their exhausted bodies. Raas was eager to finally look at his stats, during all the fighting he ignored the constants stream of notifications as he didn¡ät want to be distracted. Derat flew ahead to scout and after 20 minutes, the three of them saw a blue anglerfish swimming for his life towards them while screaming. "Bad news! Another stampede!" "Ah shit, how many are there?" cursed Beatrice. "A few hundreds at least..." "Should we head back?" asked Raas, looking concerned at his group. The last stampede nearly killed him if he hadn¡ät used his [Ash Field] ability. Even Sahra was lost on what to do. "No, those crawling shits are charging right towards the town, and we can¡ät outrun them, especially when we are this exhausted," responded Derat while nervously swimming around. ... Breaking the silence Sahra stretched her limbs and faced the others, "Guess there is no other way than to fight our way through." "You became quite reckless Sahra, I quite like that new attitude of yours," said Beatrice flexing her claws. Raas sighed but nodded. That was the only option left. "Hmmm, about 10 minutes away, give or take. The faster ones should be here in about five minutes or so." "Meh, just enough time to restore my mana. A few more levels are always welcomed," said Raas jokingly trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere. They all drank up their potions and sat down for a few seconds to at least get some kind of rest. Raas sat next to Sahra and curled up on her th??hs. The minutes passed as they anxiously waited for the Stampede to come but after 5 minutes there was still nothing. "Where are the monsters?" asked Raas who was ready to shoot some miniature suns. All eyes and dots turned towards Derat who was swimming around. He looked at the front in confusion, "they should have been here already. Or at least the fast ones... but I don¡ät sense them anymore. It is like they were never here..." "Should we investigate it?" asked Sahra. But Raas only shook his head and replied, "No, definitely not. Whatever happened there, is probably more dangerous than the stampede. I have a bad feeling about that... I think we should head back." Raas'' words made them look at him confused, but they too didn¡ät want to risk it. A monster could never be too careful out there. "Haaaa~, well that was a waste of money..." said Beatrice looking at the three empty mana potions, but remembering the huge amount of monster cores a wide greedy smile sprouted on her face, revealing her sharp teeth, "but we are going to be rich! So let¡äs hurry back and spend some time relaxing! I need a deep scrub to get all the mud off of me." With those words, they began to march back while talking about what they will do with their share of the money. They were joyous and happy to finally be out of the rain, but just before Raas entered the town he felt his heartbeat spike up, drenching him in a cold sweat. His instincts flared up and he jumped away from the forest with his pupils constricted into daggers. All the other monsters around him stared at him in confusion as they didn¡ät know what happened. He even got into [Grey out] making everything slow down while depriving his sight of any color. The whole time he only stared at the forest without even blinking. As the colors slowly returned, his bad feeling only intensified. Sahra seeing him panic placed a hand on Raas¡ä back but nearly got bitten by him. Trying to calm him down she looked into Raas'' scared and alarmed eyes and smiled. Seeing her smile made him come to his senses again, and showed her a brief appreciative mile. Turning his head around he continued to stare at the endless rainy forest and wondered what the hell was the feeling he got. Chapter 63 - An approaching force (Raas POV) Feeling the intense dread and fright was coming from the forest I edged the others to quicken their pace. I tried not to worry Sahara by smiling, but I''m pretty sure she saw right through me as she took me into a tight hug. Taking a few deep breathes to calm down, we finally went back into the city and towards our temporary home. Back in the wooden house, Sahra finally spoke, "Raas are you alright? What happened?" Still feeling the aftermath of the intense dread, it took me a second to register her question. "Heh? Ah, yes I am okay now." Looking around I could see everyone''s eyes on me. Well, I can¡ät blame them as I¡äm still as tense as a board. "I felt something coming from the forest. It was probably the same thing that killed the stampede. It was as if someone was starring at my soul, trying to kill me with its eyes.. I could practically feel its rath towards me. I still feel a faint dread over me..." said I trying to express what I felt a few moments ago. Beatrice was shocked, Sahra looked worried and Derat was intrigued. "We have to inform the queen about this. To think that the Seeker act so openly... They must be desperate to kill you or see you as an extreme threat. Ts, guess the appearance of a primordial gem really spread fast, even with the queen trying to suppress it." "Guess we have to leave this place and stay put for a wh-" I couldn¡ät finish my sentence as I heard a large crack sound followed by a huge amount of blood spilling out of my mouth. I looked in shock at the pile of blood on the ground and looked up to see Sahra and Beatrice rushing towards me. I couldn¡ät even utter another word as an unbearable pain hit me right where my core is. My head hit the ground and my vision began to blur. (The Queen¡äs POV) Sitting in on my comfy chair I wondered how the cute little snake was doing. He was still so young, but already so close to death and brimming with potential. I couldn¡ät wait to nurture him into a worthy spouse. It has been centuries when I last saw such a prominent being, but he sadly died before I could court him. I always wanted children, but all the other dragons aren¡ät to my liking. Ts, they''re all just power-hungry ?ssholes, and the good ones are either dead, not interested in mating, or already have a partner. *sigh* Just thinking about them made me mad and depressed, and it¡äs not helping that I have to deal with all the paperwork that this little town brings me because of the wave. The surges of mana really messed up everything. I planned to take over this dungeon in a few years, but this set me back another few years. Rubbing my temples I slumped back into my chair. "Sebastion, bring me a calming tea, please. The strongest we¡äve got." A few seconds past and Sebastion, my most royal subordinate broad me a steamy tea. The fragrance alone calmed my mind and heart. Taking a few quick sips I sighed in delight. Letting my mind drift a bit around I nearly fell asleep, but a strong presence made me stand on edge. In this dungeon, there are only so few people that could do something like that and it definitely wasn¡ät Segmund the tyrant bastard, and the floor guardian, Scarge the demon eating Scarecrow, wouldn¡ät appear here just unannounced. In the woods, a few kilometers away was a single humanoid monster shrouded in black mist. Looking closer I could see a large grin looking directly at me like it was mocking me, before disappearing in into thin air. Taking a moment to think about who the monster was I gasped, "Raas!" It was the only logical option for a Seeker to appear here. Even with all my protections and work to try to keep silent about Raas, the Seekers found him in only 2 days. Slamming my desk with such a furry that it exploded, I stood up. "Sebastion, full alert! Call Metallkill back and tell Loft he should protect Raas with his two students. I will go out for a minute," said I trying to suppress my anger. Loft the dryad was the same one that lead Raas towards me and showed him the town. Sebastion took a knee and said sharply "Will be done, my queen!" before disappearing in his own shadow. Alone in my room again, I walked towards my balcony and jumped. Midfall I turned back into my dragon form again and soared through the sky, leaving the town, but not before activating every defensive array that I planted around the town. Soaring out, and into the raining 22nd floor, I scoured the entire forest but found nothing but a single sealed letter. Spotting the letter on the floor I changed back mid-flight and landed right in front of it. Picking it up I inspected it and saw a familiar seal on it. It was the seal that the Seeker used, only a few recognize it. Opening the letter it read, Written in the old dragon tongue. Crushing the letter in rage I burned along with a part of the forest. "Grrrrrrrr.... not you again!" came from the burned forest behind me. "I came all the way here to see what was up only to see you burning down another floor!? Wasn¡ät the 15 floors that you destroyed enough!? We were gracious enough to let you continue to live in this dungeon, but now you almost burned down another floor!!? GAHHHHH, and most importantly, I was just hunting worthy prey, but thanks to you the dungeon sent me here!? What in the flying Gufug should I even do!?" Hearing all the nagging and complaining I turned around and spotted a familiar face... or skull and sighed. "Haaah~ I am sorry Wendy. I will make it up to you, but first I have important things to do." "And what would that be!?" snarled Wendy the ancient Wendigo back. As one of the Floor Guardians, she had to listen to the dungeon''s command, but are otherwise free to do what they wanted, except damaging the dungeon of course. "One of the Seekers was here." "Not my fu?k?n? problem Elisabeth! You know the rules, as long as the dungeon isn¡ät permanently damaged it is free to everyone!" Trying to stay calm I gritted my teeth, "I know, but you don¡ät understand the situation. The Seeker is after the Acutra, the holder of the primordial Gem, Sol¡äs Gem! Even the treelings are supporting him!" "Yes, how do you know that?" asked I bewildered. "Because he is the one that Scorge is interested in... fu?k?n? shit... if he dies... all hell will happen... Ughhhh I don¡ät want to live through that nightmare again!!!" wh?n?d the Wendigo while rolling around the ground, and throwing a tantrum, showing just how much she hates this situation. Seeing her panic like that I sighed again. "Haaah, can you please call him so that we can talk? It would be an enormous help with him on our side." "I will try... but no promises. You know how he can be... always hiding or playing around with the lower ones.." "Yes, I remember that. Haaah~ anyway I will be back and restore this floor later. I will see you around, Wendy." with those words I turned myself back into a dragon and flew away, letting a furious Wendigo behind. (3rd POV) Loft the dryad was tasked by the queen to protect Raas with his 2 disciples. He immediately rushed towards Raas'' position upon hearing the command from Sebastion, the queen''s trusty subordinate. Calling his two students to come to where Raas is he rushed there first and opened the wooden door. His eyes widened upon seeing what was in front of him. A pale Raas was lying on the floor in his own pool of blood while a draconian was healing him with all she got and a crying Singing Stone next to her, while a Soul collecting apparition, type Anglerfish was swimming above their heads. They were so in panic and shook that they didn''t even register that Loft was there. It was a bizarre and confusing sight, but he ignored it and hastened towards the dying snake. Kneeling next to Beatrice, they finally noticed him. Sahra immediately tried to kill him while Beatrice was shocked and Derat ignored him. Sahra whipped her tears away and asked, "What should we do. None of our healing works and he keeps going weeker and weeker." "There is one solution... but I don¡ät know if it will work..." said Loft while starring at the flying fish. ... (AN) A chapter a day keeps the haters away! Well, that is a lie... Anyway, the pace is slowly increasing as well as the threats that Raas has to face. Action is finally coming back soon! Prepare for some fight scenes, power-ups, and new encounters. You can leave your suggestions here or on my discord server! Chapter 64 - Nox Mortem The two of them followed Loft¡äs gaze and stared at the floating anglerfish, who was circling Raas like a vulture, waiting for their prey to succumb to their injuries. Derat who felt their gazes looked down and shrank back. He felt that their stare was somehow dangerous... "We could prolong his life by taking the souls that the Soul collecting apparition collected and use them to fix the gaps. It will only be a temporary solution till we find someone who is an expert on souls. In the meantime, we could only heal his internal damages and give him a constant supply of mana so that his core doesn¡ät dry out.." Derat looked absolutely horrified hearing Loft¡äs words and tried to swim away, but forgot that Sahra was holding onto his core the entire time. It was usually a good thing that Sahra was holding it as to have someone protect it when he was scouting, but now... now he couldn¡ät even run away... Derat begged and cried, as the sole reason of his existence was collecting them, and to give them away? Unexpectable, it was like taking away a demon''s darkness, an angel''s holiness, an orc¡äs toughness, a dragon¡äs might, and so on. Without them, he was nothing but a shell... He liked Raas... somewhat... or not... but the point is, he liked his souls far more than Raas. Even when his core was almost cracked he didn¡ät give up. He would rather die than give his souls up willingly. "We don''t have much time left! Derat was your name right?" said Loft looking at the Soul Collecting Apparition. He just nodded, and Loft continued, "I will personally give you a tier 4 soul if you help us out now!" Derat froze up, and weight the pros and cons. On one side, he had to give up the many souls he collected in his short life, and on another hand, he gains a soul far superior to his prized possession, which is a mid-tier 3 soul. The difference, especially the taste would be on a completely other level, "Peak tier 4" "Low tier 4" "Deal! Now push your souls into Raas, you will get your reward after he is in a stable condition," said Loft quickly, not wanting to waste any more time with this greedy anglerfish. As Derat slowly pushed one soul after another out of his lantern, Loft purified them, before pushing them into Raas, trying to stabilize his unstable soul, while also infusing his core with mana. The others stood there helplessly and only could only watch their friend/mate clinging to the last thread of life. The time passed and after 1 hour of constant infusing souls and mana, the shadow dragon queen Elizabeth, arrived with Cadina the Cabbage and Burash the Bush monster in tow. Out of my way said the queen pushing away Loft and placing both of her hands on top of Raas'' core. A large black magic circle appeared, plunging the whole city in complete darkness for a few seconds before the light returned. Everyone looked at the spot where Raas was supported to be, but he wasn¡ät there anymore. Sahra was filled with rage, anger, and sorrow, but before she could move the queen spoke up, "I transported him to Nox Mortem, another dimension where he can live without being always in a near-death state, as it is a place where death roams. I have a few people there that I know, so he shouldn¡ät be completely on his own." "Elizabeth! How could you send Raas to such a godless place! He wouldn''t survive more than 10 minutes there in his state!" cried Beatrice knowing full well about this other dimension. The queen pushed Beatrice''s hands away and replied, "He should be able to operate full well there, as you know. And I have a few... let''s say friends, there that will help him out. It will also make the Seekers think that he already died as Sol¡äs Gem¡äs presence will be completely erased. I didn¡ät plan it to be this soon, but I was initially planning to send him there when he was stronger, but this should be a nice chance for him to reach tear 2 or even 3 with a few unique evolutions. The time there is diluted, so a few days there are only a few hours here." Derat asked, "What is that place?" "Nox Mortem This place is worse than hell... literal, as it is a place for the damned, for the people and monsters that are too good for hell, a place where not even the demon lords and gods want to be. It is truly a fate worse than hell. But even there, countries and empires exist... but only in the most wicked and disturbing ways." Everyone looked at her in worry, even Derat was kinda disturbed... "It wasn¡ät always like that..." continued Elizabeth, "as a powerful god once roamed the realm, a benevolent and kind god. He created the first beings there, let them live a happy life. But where the light shone, there is a shadow. His creations are powerful, absurdly so, even the weakest ones could trample mountains. A life in constant bliss and happiness gets quickly boring... so they rebelled, fought, and killed each other... slowly turning darker. The god was saddened seeing his creations fight each other and tried to stop them, descending into the realm. His appearance alone made them stop fighting, begging him for forgiveness, and so he did. However, that was his biggest mistake. Upon seeing their creator¡äs might they got jealous, envious, and bitter. Their long life made them reach their bottleneck very early. But how could they possibly defeat and kill such a being? Finding no solution in the light, they turned to the dark side. While their god was distracted on creating more beings, his old ones dappled in the dark, cursing them, making their flesh rotten, the land corrupt, but they achieved what they planed. They attained power far beyond what they should have. But nothing is free in life, especially power. They lost their sanity, their empathy, their kindness... their purpose. But not everyone strived for power, some liked the never-ending paradise, living in constant bliss. So the corrupted ones prepared for a fight, gathering almost all of their kind they slaughtered everyone that got in their way. Corrupted the land, poisoned the sea, and even darkened the sun. The god hearing all the cries and wails of his creations was furious for the first time in his life, seeing his paradise turn into hell broke his heart. So descending for the second time, he decided to punish his foolish children, not knowing that it was a trap. Touching the land, and breathing the air, he sickened and stumbled, but it wasn¡ät nearly enough to topple this god. He Cleansed the air, the sea, and the land. The fight was long bloody and cruel. He killed the corrupted and helped the pure ones, but walking around the damned lands made him slowly go mad and sick. His blood that was shed flowed, creating oceans. The body parts that he lost were consumed and used to gain power, making the fight against his creations harder and harder as time went on. So he decided to end it all in one move. While he was preparing his spell that would destroy half of the land, he was backstabbed by one of his pure children. At that moment of betrayal, he broke... the all-loving god shattered, as wrath and sorrow corrupted him... with his last bit of strength he cursed them all... everyone and everything that is in that realm. They could never rest, will always suffer, and repent for all eternity. And that is how the dimension turned like it is now... it is also the reason why it is called a godless place and despite the harsh conditions many brave and strong beings venture there to obtain a piece of the god or just to test themselves. Some nutjobs even willingly live there for an internal life." ended the queen while sighing. "That is of course the short and dumbed-down version... as I don¡ät have enough time to chit chat all day." said the queen while walking away, but not before saying "and don¡ät be too shocked of what returns from there. Raas could be there for weeks, and such an environment could change him tremendously. Not only physically and mentally, but his soul too. So be prepared when he returns, and level up so you wouldn¡ät be left behind." Leafing the room, everyone starred at the closing door. Sahra squeezed her hands in from of her ?h?st while looking at the crest that she got from Raas after naming her. She just got together after being separated, and now she had to wait for him again... but she didn¡ät let her sadness get to her and stood up. "Where are you going?" asked Beatrice. Derat followed her, but Beatrice only stood there, watching them leave. ... (AN) Sorry about the info dump and forgive me for my poor storytelling... I didn¡ät want to make the background of the dimension too long but meh. It is more or less a generic history... I hope it wasn¡ät too cringe to read... but a new arc is starting now, with new characters, new environments, and new enemies! Nox Mortem is only a more or less temporary name, so if you have better ideas leave them here or on the discord server! Anyway, wish me luck on my upcoming test! Chapter 65 - Pain (Raas POV) Being pinned down by a giant tarantula that could even top one of Lovecraft''s monsters in ugliness isn¡ät really a good experience... A thick pungent droll dropped on me as its sharp leg pinned me down. Looking into its many glowing eyes I internally cried to myself, wondering why I deserved such a fate. The mandibles clicked in delight seeing me struggle and in pain, and slowly closed in with its 2 venomous fangs ready to liquify my internals. I hissed back in last resort, but the spider was 10 times bigger, and definitely not intimidated by a small snake. Just when the fangs were about to touch me I heard an unfamiliar voice. "Ahhh, finally a worthy prey! Stop playing around and fight me!" Also noticing the voice, the spider flung me aside and crashing into a dead tree. Lying on the ground I wondered how I got into such a situation.... (A few hours before) Waking up in a dark and gloomy place, made me anxious... but that was only the first problem. As I breathed in the stale and polluted air, I felt my senses distort and my life shorten. But that wasn¡ät all, the crimson, brown, and black ground burned my scales and every fiber that touched the ground, while it got worse by the second. I was worried that I reincarnated again, but seeing my scales melt made me realize that I was still a snake. Wait... my scales melt... `Shit shit shit shit shit!!!!` Having no time to think other than how to get off the hellish ground I looked far and wide, only to see a wasteland that was far worse than anything that I could imagine. Half rotten corpses, creepy monsters gushing around, dead trees, puddles of blood, and cries of pain and misery everywhere. Spotting one rock not far away I slithered as far as I could. Dragging my body through the ground made my scales melt quicker, and slowly eating through it. In a last sprint, I got into range for my [Launch attack] and jumped on the rock. Felling my underside bleeding I quickly bit myself with [Healing Fang] and tried to patch myself up, only to find out that it didn¡ät work. Luckily my natural regeneration still worked so I had to wait till I fully recovered to find a way to escape this place. Opening my status screen I was shocked that I was ready to evolve already. I was kinda not watching my notification when we fought, so I completely missed it... Name: Raas Species: Menacing bright youngling Serpent (Sun-Eater/???) Level: 16 --> 20 Strength: 98 --> 120 Agility: 75 ---> 103 Intelligence: 86 --> 90 Mentality: 72 ---> 111 Hp: 300/300 ---> 84/410 MP: 180/180 --> 0!/220 1. Limit Breaker (Increases your stats gained from evolutions) 2. The Survivor (25% increased resistance to all kinds of debuffs!) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage and damage resistance when protecting someone, but betrayals will give you the curse Betrayer leading to a permanent decrease of 10% from your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) [Skills: Venom Fang lv 7 --> 8, Launch Attack lv 3 -->4, Slither lv 6 --> 7, Swimming lv 1, Pain Resistance lv 5 --> 6, Poison Resistance lv 4, Poison Affinity lv 4, Healing Affinity lv 1 --> 2, Healing Fang lv 1 --> 3, Crush lv 3, Intimidation lv 1 --> 2, Poison Whip lv 4, Conceal lv 3 --> 4, Harden lv 1 --> 2, Sun Breath lv 1 --> 3, Fire Resistance lv 5] [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1, Solistic Venom, Ash Field lv 1 (new!)] [Evolution Path:] [Solar Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes] [Vibration Sensing Ears] [Healing Glance] [Crystal Core Shield] [Sol¡äs gem] The first thing I noticed was that I didn¡ät have any mana, probably due to having a cracked core... but why wasn¡ät I able to use [Healing Fang] on me? It didn¡ät even use mana... pushing the thought aside I saw that quite a lot of skills leveled up... but I couldn¡ät even use my main attack, [Sun Breath]... I am in some serious shit right now... the only good thing is that I can choose an evolution, hoping to get something that helps me survive this place. Sadly reaching tier 3 doesn¡ät allow me to change my species again... but I take what I get. So opening my notifications I read, [Choose Evolution:] [1. Solar Scales --> Mana gathering Solar Scales, Bruning Solar Scales, Random, Regenerating Solar Scales] [3. Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes --> Far Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes, Random] [4. Danger Smelling Tongue --> Detailed Danger Smelling Tongue, Danger gawking Tongue, Random] [5. Vibration Sensing Ears -->Sensitive Vibration Sensing Ears, Random] [6. Healing Glance --> Fast Healing Glance, Strong Healing Glance, Random] [7. Crystal Core Shield --> Sturdy Crystal Core Shield, Mana Storing Crystal Core Shield] The choices increased gain... but I rooted out all things with mana and the Crystl Core Shield as my mana core is shattered and I am still somehow alive, so gathering mana isn¡ät a problem for now. My main problem is resisting the ground, so I had to evolve my scales again... but which to choose? Before choosing, I quickly looked around to see if any kind of monsters are around, but I only heard pained cries and wails in the distance. Now for real, the choice is between, Bruning Solar Scales, Random and Regenerating Solar Scales... Don¡ät know how burning scales should help me traverse this plain and Random seemed too risky. So it wasn¡ät very difficult on what I should decide. After an unknown amount of time, I got up and inspected my new fresh scales. I thought they would look the same, but the new ones are bigger, more spiked and the colors more striking. I liked them quite a lot and seeing my Hp being topped off my mood sored again. Mentally reading myself I took a random direction and leaped through the air, wanting to avoid touching the ground as much as I could. I slithered around aimlessly, while my scales constantly melted and regenerated. It felt like my skin was being ripped off constantly, but at least my scales kept up so that I could find a stone in time where I could regenerate. I found out not every stone was safe, which I found odd. "Tik tik tik tik tik tik tik tik..." Hearing a weird clicking sound I stopped and looked around, but couldn¡ät spot anything. Having a bad feeling about this situation I speeded up. "Tik tik tik tik tik tik tik tik..." No matter how fast I ran, the sound followed me, like it was right next to me. My danger-smelling tongue was telling me that danger was around, but it was always telling me that since coming here. My eyes didn¡ät pick up anything either, and my only choice was to continue slaughtering. Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen... pinning me to the corrupted ground. I turned my head and saw a thin barbed spider leg in my back. Looking up I saw the ugliest monster I have seen in my two lives. The spider monster had many humanoid faces plastered around its head with random arms and legs from all kinds of creatures randomly moving around. The main face was of a gorgeous woman, but without teeth and eyes and half of its face rotten away. The two giant pincers dripped venom right next to me, avoiding me only by a hair length. ... (Back to the present) So that is how I got myself in this kind of situation. I quickly tried to raise myself up, but the damage was too much, and I think that monster broke my spine. I was truly helpless right now. My face faced the other way so I couldn¡ät even see who was fighting the spider right now, but from the sounds alone I could tell that it was a one-sided beatdown from the newcomer. I wasn¡ät really happy about it, I hoped they would kill each other and I would survive long enough to be able to move again, but I heart a growl. "Grrrrr, it is you! How the flying Nagirus did you end up here! Hahahaha, you look so pathetic right now! I don¡ät understand why Scorge is so fixated on you, but meh, don¡ät want to anger that old fart. Heh, always making me do the dirty job while he plays with the lesser monsters! But hahahahaa, I have to thank you. Thanks to you he was allowed to get here." I was confused, but I had bigger problems, "emm, can you maybe help me up... I am slowly dying here." "Ah right, right." said a female voice. I could feel a hand grip around me while filling me with energy. "Hmm seems like your core is broken, so that is why she send you here. Tough luck there little one." turning me around I came face to face with a giant deer skull, with ominous glowing red eyes behind. I looked at her(?) and noticed that it was a monster that I knew of... a giant Wendigo was holding me up in her palm like I was a little earthworm in the palms of a human. The wendigo looked like she was out of rotten wood and flesh. "You scared little one!" said the giant wendigo with a grin. "Don¡ät worry I won''t eat you. You aren¡ät worthy enough, and Scorge would make my life worse than living here." I nodded and looked around spotting a squashed spider with green liquid oozing out while the ground around it sizzled. I could piece the information together and ask. "Is there a way out of here?" "Yes, but in your condition, you would die the moment you stepped out. You first need to fix your core. Scorge will tell you more when he arrives." I nodded again. We sit down in silence and my back slowly healed, also thanks to the wendigo. After 10 minutes of silence, she finally said. "Argh, he is taking too long! This is so boring!!" cried the wendigo, but then turned towards me with her skull face only inches away from me. Huffing a breath at me she asked, "Want to go hunting while we wait for Scorge?" Free exp? Count me in! "Yes, why not!" responded I to her delight. She let out a maniac laugh and put me on her head, saying I should hold tight. Wrapping my tail around her antlers she crouched down on all four and sprinted away. Feeling the toxic air swish in my face was not a nice experience, and the view of the creepy monsters tearing each other to pieces was insane. Not to mention a 300 meter big skinny humanoid monster walking in the vast distance. Chapter 66 - More Pain Being on the head of a Wendigo made me rethink my life choices to get to this point, but a part of me was excited. The sight of poorly mushed monsters getting torn apart was not a view for everyone. Seeing her shred through "low-level scrubs", as she calls them, was eye-opening. It showed me just how weak I am. Her strength and agility were off the roof, but the most shocking was her skills. One skill, in particular, made him wonder, just how strong monsters in this world could get. The skill was called [Perfect Adaptation] making her able to adapt to every enemy and environment in a matter of seconds. Her form was ever-changing, and the only thing that stayed unchanged was the skull on her face. Finishing off the last Corrupted Child Eater she stopped and sniffed the air, searching for more "worthy prey". "Ts!" Clicking her tongue she ripped off an arm and began to gnar on it while looking around for an uncorrupted stone to rest on. Even with her [Perfect Adaptation] it still was uncomfortable for her to walk on this cursed earth.. "Well, that was disappointing..." said the wendigo dejected. "What is taking Scorge so long! Grrr, he said only he will be here a few hours ago!" Growling in anger the blood-red leaves on her back stood on end, rustling slightly. Letting her cool off for a moment I just silently sat on top of her head while thinking about what to do. During the hunt, I asked her a lot of questions and found out that I will be stuck here for quite a while. This place is at least as big as the central continent and 4 cities if you could even call it like that. I also found out that hell actually exists... a little concerning. She wasn¡ät very talkative, or she just got annoyed by my barrage of questioning once she allowed me to ask her. Oh, and another thing that I found out was that the monsters here tasted worse than horse shit, not that I have tasted it. Eating the corrupted meat was disgusting, but after my evolution, hunger set in, like nothing before, and to my surprise, I was slowly growing again. In only a few hours I grew 1 meter, now 5 meters long, but still looking slim. I didn¡ät get any levels, as I was too weak to even damage them with my attacks. I had to find out the hard way that poison didn¡ät work on them as it should. They only got high of that stuff... It was nightmare-inducing seeing a Flesh Tree waiving its limbs like there was a breeze. I could never forget this image out of my head anymore... just thinking about it made me shudder. "So, what now little one?" asked the wendigo throwing me out of my thoughts. "Don¡ät know. I hoped I could gain some levels since we were hunting, but even those corrupted Nagirus are stronger than me. How did they even get here?" Ignoring my question she picked me up and placed me on her palm right in front of her. "Hmmm, you grew again. Good good. What level are you now?" "Hmm that should be enough to kill it... wait here." With those words, she placed me on the stone and sprinted away before I could even voice my concern. ... Seeing her image vanish in the distance I felt uneasy. Not wanting to stay idle I looked at my skills and decided to try to level up the few I can use. Slithering in circles and crushing rocks that were in my grasp, I continued to do it till there were no more objects there to crush and my underside sore. There wasn¡ät much I could do with a cracked core, not even [Ash Field] worked, as I couldn¡ät gather energy from the sun and [Grey Out] was more like joker, or get out of jail free card as he still couldn¡ät control it. I slumped down exhausted trying to ignore the burning pain in my lungs from the sick air. 3 hours already passed, but she still wasn¡ät back, but at least I leveled up [Slither] from 7 --> 8 and [Crush] from 3 --> 5. At one point a rhino-sized ???kroach with a cat head and crab claws got awfully close to me but scurried away when a loud explosion echoed through the wasteland... just another sight to fuel my nightmares. Just when I was about to think I was left for dead, the large wendigo came running towards me. "Catch!" shouted the wendigo and threw something at me. Not being able to dodge braced for impact. The long object that was thrown at me hit me dead center and threw me on the corrupted soil, shaving of 10 Hp. I slithered away and looked at the thing, only to see it untangle itself. A blood-red serpentine face looked back at me, seeing the rooting flesh and pale white eyes made me shudder. I couldn¡ät inspect it for long as the snake launched at me. Dodging its two sharp fangs I backed of onto the stone. Seeing the amused look of the wendigo irritated me. Focusing back on the fight, I saw the serpent open its maw wide before spraying a red liquid on me. I jumped back as far as I could, but couldn¡ät avoid everything. Some droplets landed on my belly, eating right through my scales and inflicting massive amounts of pain. "Damn cracked core" cursed I "ts, I could have easily killed it, if only I could use mana..." The serpent paused hearing me speak and a grin formed on its face, "Ahhh, a ssssentient one. Ssstop ssstruggeling and join me. There issss~ no reason to spill more blood here." I shuddered at his voice, as the sound he made came out rasp and crooked. But I wondered why his mouth moved when speaking. Normally it was just like telepathy... no, don''t get distracted! Shacking my head lightly I didn¡ät answer him, instead, I launched at him. He seemed angry at my action and hissed. He opened his jaw, trying to bite me, but I headbutted him and wrapped my tail around his body. He tried to wiggle free but, my strength was far greater than his half-rotten body. "Guesssss~ there is no other way! Then to forcefully turn you!", Sinking his fangs into my neck, he effortlessly pierced through my scales and bit shut. Releasing some kind of toxin into me, I felt the venom spread through my veins burning me from the inside. I grit my teeth and flexed my muscles, absolutely crushing his fragile rotting body. Releasing a bloodcurdling hiss the serpent slumped down while mumbling something incoherent. Slowly unwrapping myself from the mass of rotting flesh and bones I struggled to stay focused as whatever was coursing through me was slowly eating away at my sanity. I couldn''t even register the notifications that I got. "Ah, shit. Better fix you up! But a win is a win. Not bad little one!" came a voice that now sounded distant. I felt two small objects enter me where I was bitten and slowly felt my consciousness being restored. Glancing at my health I saw I was down to 116/410. I still had plenty of Hp left, but I felt like shit, and probably smelt like that too... I never thought that my first encounter with another snake would be like that... "Oh, that was a Rotting Corruption Viper, one of the weakest monsters here." I only nodded and looked at my notifications. [You have slain a Rotting Corruption Viper!] [You gained 652 exp!] [You gained [Coruption Ressistance]!] [You gained [Mental Fortitude]!] ... My jaw dropped seeing the two skills I just gained. One gained skills usually when certain conditions are met or through training, but it was still rare to see someone gain two skills at once. I turned towards the wendigo who was starring at me with a tint of amusement. "What does the skill [Mental Fortitude] do?" "Oh, how handy!" "Yes, it is a useful skill, but be careful, as you still need to sleep, rest, eat and drink, even if you feel less compelled to do so," said she warning me. I gave her an appreciative look and laid down to get some well-deserved rest. My mind was drained, my scales burned and I was covered in bits and pieces of rotting snake flesh. Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard an eager voice, "Ready for another one?" Chapter 67 - Nuclear Forrest Hearing her dreadful words I slumped down and rested my head. "No. No, I don¡ät think I am." I could practically feel the disappointment oozing out of her, but my body still hurt, and my muscles feel like they are being melted away. It''s probably because they were melted away just a few moments ago... "5 minutes!" Raising my head slightly, I saw the giant Wendigo turning into a 5-meter high wolf with a reindeer skull. Pacing around the bolder I was sitting at she impatiently glared at me. I don¡ät understand how someone could be that battle-hungry, but at least she has some restrains. Not taking a no for an answer she just turned away ignoring me.. Too tired to argue with her I just laid back down. My health may be full but my mind was exhausted and my body still send phantom pain all over my body. "Hmm, you two seemed to enjoy yourself quite well~" ! "KYAAAA!" My eyes widened into sausages hearing the high-pitched girly cry from the wendigo. She even jumped back like a frightened cat seeing a cucumber. The person that frightened her to such an extend was the scarecrow that Sahra and I faced. It hasn¡ät been that long since I last saw him, but it felt like a lifetime. He still was the scrawny-looking scarecrow with on op arm, his scythe dragging behind him leaving deep gashes in the soil. "I told you to watch over him and you take him to go hunting? I think I need to reteach you to listen to orders again!" The scarecrow smiled grimly while black crows circled around us. ''I am not even gonna ask where they came from.'' His crimson red eyes glowed menacingly at her. I had menacing in my name, but that was on a completely different level. "I- I am sorry... I just showed him a little bit around. You were taking too long and I got bored..." said the wendigo in a whimper. With every step, her form shrunk, till he was looming over her and starring down on her with his soul-piercing gaze. He slowly reached out and grabbed the antlers and lifted her up. He turned towards me and stared at me for a second before sighing, "You are lucky that, he is at least at full health. If you pull another stunt like this I will personally "teach" you some manners." "Y- Yes.." stammered the now small wendigo. He dropped her down and walked towards me. She coward away and hid behind a stone. It was strange for me to see the haughty battle maniac behave like a scared cat. "You look well, Raas. Already tier 2, I am quite impressed, but sadly that made you the target of the Seekers. You are lucky that the old hag was near when they broke your soul and core." ''Did he just call the shadow dragon an old hag?!'' "How do know my name and who are you!?" said I suspiciously. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Scorge Wrath Demoneater, the first floor guardian of the woodland dungeon and co-creator of the fifth layer of hell. Don¡ät worry I will personally take you in if your soul lands in hell. Shishishishishi~" "Ah, yes I feel quite lucky..." said I monotonously, too overwhelmed to even show emotions. Internally I was crying ''What the HELL is even a demon lord doing inside a dungeon playing floor guardian!?!?!?! Why is such an endgame boss here?!'' He let out a boisterous laugh, but quickly composed himself "Anyway, let''s stop joking around and fix your core and soul." "You interest me. It has been centuries since I last saw something as unique as you. But that is not all, I found out that a certain star-shitting mage took interest in you and I want to rub it in his face since he has caused me so much trouble over the years." Seemingly sensing my worries and doubt he added, "Don¡ät be on guard so much. If I wanted to I could have killed you without lifting a finger, and I am not going through the trouble of fighting the old hag and a whole platoon of murder plants. You have made quite some allies in that short time." I was confused by his answer but relaxed a little bit and nodded. "Now let¡äs go. We have a long journey in front of us. We have to visit a certain someone, but you are too weak to stand in his presence so we will level you a little bit up along the way." "Where are we going, and how long will it take?" asked I. "We will go to the soul prison in the east. It would probably take a few weeks at least." "Wendy stop cowering and make yourself useful!" shouted Scorge. The small frightened "kitten" whimpered and slowly turned back into her wolf form. "Get on her back, we don¡ät want to stay in one place for too long. The monsters here are absurdly strong, even I have troubles with some of them. Shishishishi~" said Scorge lightheartedly. ''Bruh...'' Quickly nodding my head I sprang on her back and wrapped myself around her antler to avoid being tossed down. Wendy quickly followed suit. The landscape slowly turned from a dead wasteland into a burning forest with thick green smoke polluting the air. The heat was unbearable and breathing the toxic gases made him lightheaded. Wendy thanks to her [Perfect Adaptation] slowly released a frosty aura, shielding us from the harmful environment, but also making me sleepy. All in all, I was in a bad spot and the worse of all a horde of suicidal inflated sprinting infernal zombies were chasing us. They periodically collide with some burning trees and exploding into a giant mushroom cloud. The first time I saw one of them blew up I thought they were carrying nukes. Turned out they ate so many damned souls that they turned really unstable and with the dens corrupted fire mana in the area they practically became giant bombs that made the soil corrupted... so yes they were walking, no... sprinting nuclear warheads. *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!* Another one just exploded, sending a wave of hot air pressure at us. Even with Wendy¡äs deep-frozen wh?n? wall, we could feel the power behind the explosion. But it didn¡ät even end with that, of course, there were after-effects. Some of the burning trees mutated or corrupted, turning semi-sentient with ugly paint faces crying in agony while flinging purple flame around. I wondered if I will ever be able to sleep again if I escaped this place... This zone was even for the battle-hungry wendigo too much, "Shit shit shit shit, what in gods name are we doing here? This doesn''t even make fun anymore!" *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!* Another deafening explosion sounded behind us as Wendy sprinted as fast as she could. I don¡ät even know how I could understand them as I am pretty sure I was deaf already. "This is pure madness! Can¡ät we take another way- Watch out!" seeing a "nuclear bomb" leaping at us from the side I palled. "I am not dying today!!!" cried the wendigo jumping over the "bomb". "Hold tight, we are going to fly!" "WHAT?!" Not responding, her form adapted, changing her underside into sturdy armor while carapace-like wings covered me. Her body bulked up with a ton of metal platings covering both of us. *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* Feeling the extreme force on our bodies I nearly blacked out. The explosion caused her armor to overhead and even melt on some parts, I felt like being in an oven while being launched into orbit. (3rd POV) ""AHHHHHHHHHhhhh...."" Meanwhile, the two were flying through the air like a rocket and screaming. "WTF WERE YOU THINKING!!!???!?!" "I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD PLAN!!!" "CLEARLY NOT!!!" "DON`T CRAP YOURSELF! I¡äVE GOT THIS!" When their speed slowly decreased, she slowly sprouted wings from her back, sailing through the air and stabilizing their flight. Her body quickly regenerated and soon adapted. With a lean bird-like form they calmy flew high above the ground, only a few dark clouds were in their path. The protective shield around Raas retracted, at least what was left from it, revealing a nauseous snake that was pale as snow. "look down little one." said the wendigo. Raas looked over her shoulder, seeing the sea of fire, explosions, and carnage down there. He was wondering how they survived this madness and was really impressed by her [Perfect Adaptation] skill. It was truly a cheat-like skill. Looking up Raas saw a giant eyeball staring at him from behind some black clouds. ""Ah shit..."" said both of them at the same time. Chapter 68 - Scary Eyes A giant purple pupil peered through the black clouds starring right at the two. The giant eye constricted at them as they turned towards it. It just starred at them, nothing else, following them with its gaze. The eye was bigger than 20 meters in diameter. They couldn¡ät see the rest of it, but it still terrified them to no end. It stood still mid-air and slowly crept closer, showing the full body of the monster, but it was only a floating eye. A giant purple eye. Starring into the for too long, Raas thought that he would be pulled into it and disappear. The eye was clearly not normal as physics-defying cubes swirled around it in bizarre patterns, dematerializing and rebuilding at random. Wendy was a really strong monster and a floor guardian, but even she wasn¡ät confident in tacking on the being, and especially not in the air with Raas on her back. She went to Nox Mortem a few times already and hunted many corrupted monsters, but she never encountered one of those. Her [Perfect Adaption] activated, but nothing changed, meaning that no matter what form she took on she couldn¡ät beat it.. Seeing no other way out she at least wanted to find out what monstrosity it was that will kill them and used [Deep Scan] on it. A blue pannel appeared in front of her saying, [Lesser world scout Oculus] "We are in deep shit..." whispered Wendy as she saw the information that her skill gave her about the eye. "What the hell is that Wendy!" cried Raas in a hushed voice. "I don¡ät know, but I can only see its name with my [Deep Scan] skill, meaning it is at least a tier 5 monster, possibly even stronger..." said Wendy. A burst of blue light washed over them as the eye of the monster widened. It shook violently and the pupil dilated slightly like it was in a daze. Then a powerful deep cryptic voice sounded in their heads. "Rmh njhgnvpnjv bnwl zegai l rmwl rlgl. Jlwlg epbd n rmwl hrepvrh he ill hrl iej ez rlg nhr rni fbeed anqld nj hrni wbmsl. Njhgnvpnjv. Wlgo njhgnvpnjv!" The sound was nothing like Raas ever heard. It sounded like static cosmic sounds mixed with some demonic language. "A void spawn..." whispered Wendy. "Ah what?" whispered Raas back. "A void spawn, beings that traverse through planes and live between worlds. They are one of the first beings that appeared. Not much is known about them..." Raas did a double-take at her words and scooped back as far away as he could. "So... what should we do?" said Raas after a few seconds as her words set in. "Nothing. You could pray, but your prayers wouldn¡ät even be heard in such a godless place. All we can¡ät do is hope that it doesn''t disintegrate us and lose interest " Raas crumbled on top of Wendy when the tension finally disappeared and shouted, "Why am I encountering all those absured OP people!" Not hearing a reply he looked at Wendy and could see her holding back tears. Never in her life was she that scared, and the oppressing feeling from when the Lesser world scout Oculus scanned them was soul-crushing. She wondered how Raas could still talk after it as she was even struggling to hold her mind together. ... The rest of the flight was in silence as the two slowly descended. Raas was still thinking about the monster, he underestimated the world that he was reincarnated into. He thought that it was a basic fantasy world set on Hardcore difficulty, but it was far more chaotic and dangerous than he could ever think of. Wendy still struggled to gather her thoughts even after they landed on dry soil. Raas starred at the vast ocean of blood in front of him as a disgusting breeze of death waft over him. They reached a coastal area and decided to wait for Scorge. Truthfully they didn¡ät know where they are, and Wendy was in no condition to think as her mind was scrambled. So left with his thoughts alone Raas, glanced at his stats, only to find out that a dozen notifications floating in front of him. [Shadow dragon Elizabeth Northrom¡äs blessing destroyed!] [Shadow dragon Elizabeth Northrom¡äs soul shield breached!] [Shadow dragon Elizabeth Northrom¡äs veil broken!] [Mental Fortitude is too low!] [Mental Fortitude is too low!] [Mental Fortitude is too low!] [Mental Fortitude is too low!] [Mental Fortitude is too low!] ... Raas was saddened to see the things that the queen gave him being destroyed, and bewildered seeing the dozen repeating notifications. He opened his status and saw that his mental fortitude jumped from lv 1 to lv 9, making it the highest skill that he has. While Raas was in deep thoughts a maniac laughter came from Wendy. "heh.. heheh... ha hahahaha HA AHAHAHA HAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHA HA!" Raas jumped slightly from the sudden laughter and looked at her as if she lost her mind. "My skill [Predator] finally reached lv 30 and turned into [Beast of Prey]! Even [Perfect Adaptation] level up the first time in years!" squealed Wendy as she pounced on Raas not able to contain her happiness. Raas fell on his back as the wendigo grinned down on him. "Now you are ready for another round! At least I am!" said Wendi excited. She struggled for years to get stronger, but her skills never leveled up as the stimulation was missing. That was also one of the reasons how she turned into a complete battle maniac. Having a power up after years she just wanted to go hunting, but she couldn¡ät let Raas alone as any stray monster would kill him. She totally forgot Scorge as she was ready to take Raas hunting. "Wait wait wait! what are you doing?" asked Raas who was being placed on her head with some vines. "Hmm? Going hunting obviously, I can¡ät just let you here alone. Even a random breeze of corrosive gas could kill you here." said Wendy with a tilted head as if it was obvious. "Aren¡ät we waiting for Scorge?" "Pah, that old fart can suck it! It is his fault if he is too late, at least we could have some fun hunting worthy prey when waiting for him!" speaking of the devil a voice appeared behind Wendy. "Shi shi shi shi... hmmm an old fart you said... that is a new one. Well, they all died before they could end their words. Quite bold the young ones these days. To think that I am being called an old fart... quite... a-m-u-s-i-n-g~" said Scorge not so amused, while plucking Raas off of Wendy¡äs head and gently setting on the ground. "Ah, Raas, can you look away for a moment? I have someone to... punish." Sounding more like a command than a request Raas complied and turned around, staring at the endless red ocean where he could see occasional monsters fighting in the distance. The thing Scorge hated the most was making fun of him for his age and his crow pets. Wendy completely froze up, not even daring to turn around. "Hmmm? What is wrong? not gonna turn back and say it to my face?" said Scorge with clear anger in his voice. She was too scared to reply but shakily turned her head back. The sight that meet her was too much for her. Scorge face twisted in pure wrath as his true form unveiled. Raas who was a good few meters away got a cold shiver down his back as he felt the demonic energy exploding out of Scorge. "You want to go hunting right?" asked Scorge in a fake sweet voice. Wendy cowered back but nodded. "...what?" "You have 5 seconds." Wendy was confused and scared. She didn¡ät understand what he meant. "5." "4." Wendy¡äs eyes went wide as he counted down, she now realized and immediately ran away as fast as she could. Her speed was abnormal as she ran through the corrupted terrain. She has even forgone a protective layer on her feet so she could run quicker. Her life was clearly on the line. "3." "2." "1." "Not to worry Raas, I will be right back," said Scorge while plucking one of his glossy black feathers from his wings and throwing it towards Raas. "That will protect you while I am away, it shouldn¡ät take long, but safe is safe." Raas only nodded, still staring at the ocean, not wanting to anger Scorge further. "It has been long since I last tortu- ehem, punished a soul," said Scorge to himself while unfolding his wings. Spreading his wings wide he took of in a massive burst. Raas was only thinking ''What the fu?k is happening?!'' while silently watching two sea creatures fight to the death. Chapter 69 - Feather (1) Wendy sprinted through the wasteland trying to get as far away as she could. Scorge was normally a very polite and nice demon, but he still posses a demon¡äs heart that is filled with wrath. She desperately ran with everything she got, but she couldn¡ät outrun him as she saw a looming shadow above her. "You¡äve got quicker Wendy, but you have neglected your training for quite a while now. Only thinking about hunting and trill made you weak. Yes, you got strong by killing strong monsters, but discipline and training are also parts to become stronger." *grin* "But I am not here to teach you a lesson... oh wait, I am here to teach you a lesson, but a different one. Shishishsishi~" laughing the devil flapped his wings shooting razor-sharp feathers at the wendigo. The eyes on her back widened as platings grew all over her back, but it was too late as the black feathers sliced right through her body, slicing large chunks of vines of her body. The dropped parts shoot out in the air trying to slow down Scorge, but he effortlessly dodged them.. Wendy suddenly stumbled as another four feathers struck her back. Her vision blurred and her head hurt. The demon landed in front of her with his wings folded around him like a coat. He cracked his neck and punched the wendigo right in the face, sending her flying backward. "Your resistance to mental poisoning is still as weak as ever, Wendy." Said Scorge, walking closer towards the downed wendigo. Leaning over her body he placed a hand on her skull. Wendy stared at Scorge terrified while begging for mercy, "I am sorry, I am sorry! Please don¡ät do that! I will do anything, but please don¡ät let me live through that again!" Scorge grinned at her terrified expression, and without mercy he wispered, "Sweet dreams, little girl~" ... Raas who was still sitting at the bay was wondering how that feather should protect him. His curiosity won over his caucuses as he looked around to see if there was a monster somewhere. Not seeing anything around him he inspected the feather. He picked up the feather with his tail and held it in front of his face. It looked like an ordinary raven feather, but slightly bigger and pitch black. It was pleasant to touch and quite soft. Raas even licked it, and to his surprise, it tasted quite good. Looking around to see if someone saw him he sighed in relief. He starred at the feather intently and decided to take a small nibble. Not having any teeth except for his two fangs, it was hard to rip a piece off. ''Why is damn feather so hard to eat!'' thought Raas as he struggled, but then accidentally swallowed the feather whole. ''Oops... what now...'' his mind slowly realized what he did and he panicked. Trying to gag the feather back up, he put his tail in his mouth, but it didn¡ät work. *Ding* [Host has consumed a compatible energy source! Compatibility 82%, Integration chance 78%, skill gain 61%, mutation chance 53%, species change 32%, death 13%] [Integration will happen in 10 seconds if not expelling the energy source!] Reading the message he panicked even more and shoved his tail even deeper into his mouth. The possibility of death was at 13% and he didn¡ät want to risk it, and he didn¡ät want to face the consequence of eating the feather. Wendy was terrified out of her mind and he wasn¡ät excited about the idea of him getting the same treatment. "Why are you trying to make the Ouroboros circle? I didn¡ät know you are a believer..." said Scorge who was back in his scarecrow form and dragging a sobbing wendigo behind him. "I don¡ät think you have to shove your tail that deep into your mouth. Just the tip is enough if you want to worship Ouroboros..." ''They have Ouroboros here too?'' thought Raas before realizing in what predicament he got himself into. He froze up and stuttered, "Eh no, I am not a believer. I- I was just trying to, eh... trying to take out the fea-" *Ding* [Counting energy source...] [Counting energy source...] [Counting energy source...] [Energy level exceeds hosts tier level by more than 3 tiers...!] [Inegration time: 15 minutes 11 seconds!] Pulling his tail out of his mouth he starred at the notification in horror. "Oh, where is the feather that I gave you?" "Eh, do you need it back? It didn¡ät look important..." "Hmmm, well, it wasn¡ät mine, I just borrowed it. I can give you one of mine if you want to have one, but I am not sure why you want one..." "Shishishis, ah, I fused it with my wings so it took the color, it was originally golden. The feather gave me some nice bonuses, but nothing too powerful, but it should scare of weak corrupted monsters and shield you from attacks. So, where is it?" "Ahahaha, funny story... I kind of ate it...hahahaha...and now I am kind of integrating it into me or something..." said Raas while laughing nervously. "..." "..." "You ate it...?" "Yes..." "and now you are integrating it...?" "yes..." "Hmmm, interesting! Tell me how long it takes and the chances!" "Come on tell me! To think that you who has two bloodlines and a primordial gem integrating demon lord Zular¡äs energy!!! AHHH that never happened before, you are going to be a true monster when you reach tier 6! No, even tier 5 you will be devastating! SHISHISHISHISHIS! The chaos you will cause will be so entertaining to watch! I can¡ät wait! So, tell me! How are the chances?!" "... 82% compatibility, 78% Integration. 61% for skill gain, 53% for mutation chance, 32% for a species change, and 13% for death." "MAGNIFICENT! I would never have thought that a demonic phoenix''s feather has such high compatibility with your bloodlines!" "I know that I got two bloodlines, one being sol¡äs, but I never found out what my initial one is?" "Ah, your other bloodline is one is-" before Scorge could finish the sentence he stumbled and clutched his head in pain. It took him a few seconds to compose himself again, "Ahem, it is still too early for you to find out. Let¡äs just say you are being VERY loved." Raas looked at Scorge doubting, but let it go, he can¡ät force Scorge and it was clear that even then Scorge couldn¡ät tell Raas. "Nevermind that, how long till you finish integration?" asked Scorge trying to change the topic. "13 minutes and 58 seconds." "OHHHH! quicker than I thought, let¡äs wait till you finish and hope you don¡ät die! We will continue our journey afterward." "..." An awkward silence loomed over them, well not silence since Wendy was still weeping. Raas glanced at her and he felt quite bad for her, but he couldn¡ät say anything. He wasn¡ät her friend, no, he even despite her a bit for forcing him in a life and death battle and experience being liquified from the inside. She did it for a good cause, namely making him stronger, but still, it was just a too barbaric way. Maybe a small part of humanity still remained in him, and he want to keep it like that. He doesn''t want to turn into an emotionless genocidal monster, but he still needs the strength to live a peaceful adventurous life. The strong ruled over the weak and no one is going to stop that, except even stronger beings. Scorge just stood perfectly still like a scarecrow that he is, while Raas had his inner turmoil sorted out. "Scorge, why did you decided to be a floor guardian in a dungeon?" asked Raas. The scarecrow, as if coming to life, spun his head towards Raas and replied happily "Shishishishi, it¡äs because the dungeon was, no, still is my friend. She once was an Acutra, like you." Ending with a cheeky grin, he quite enjoyed the surprised expression of the young snake. Raas with both of his lifetimes combined didn¡ät even come near of that of Scorge¡äs. Raas looked at Scorge surprised but realized that he must have long found it out since they first met. Scorge held his hand out and said, "I gave you a similar soul shield, like Elizabeth¡äs. But mine has a little bonus to it, so don¡ät be too surprised!" He giggled like a mischievous child and said, "Back to how I ended in the Woodland dungeon. The Acutra was called, Julia Horn, and she was a lesser Sprout. A truly sad second chance, but her mind was that of a genius. She overcame her difficulties with tricks and traps, but she made too much trouble and was discovered by a human mage. It was when Acutras were still very unknown and VERY rare beings. The mage basically studied her like a lab rat, but Julia that son- daughter of a sprout managed to kill him and then continued to massacre two whole towns. She used the knowledge she had gathered from the mage to use the bodies to summon a demon. Drenched in revenge and wrath she was just too appealing, and I was bored out of my mind to not finally go out of hell to visit the mortal realm once again." Turning silent Raas tilted his head, "Anyway, she wished for me to kill humans, very "original", I did my "job", but I found out how amusing and interesting humans are and decided to roam the realm with Julia. During the long trip, we became friends. To be honest it is more like a love-hate relationship... haaah~ it could be a love-love relationship, but she is just too stubborn to accept her feelings..." Noticing him sighing he fake coughed and continued, "Ahem, she reached tier 5 after many years, but coming near the end of her life she wanted to have eternal life, so I proposed her a deal. "Kill every being in the forest and I shall grant you an immortal body, unaging and eternally youthful.". Of course, she agreed, so I turned her into a dungeon core. Shishishishishi~ I decided to observe her and found it quite interesting. She build up quite a dungeon and it lured in interesting humans and monsters. So I decided to stay out of fun. The end. Wait... when I think about it, it could it be that I turned her into a dungeon core is the reason why she shows me the cold shoulder?" "Ehhh, probably... At least I would be angry when someone turned me into a crystal ball that is stuck underground for eternity or till someone destroyed me..." "..." "Soooo... You can turn people into dungeon cores?" asked Raas not wanting to end the awkward conversation at that. "Yes, an easy task if you provide enough souls, that is! Humans still request demons to turn them into them. Most new ones just get destroyed the second they are found out, at least on this continent. The five dungeons that exist on this continent are heavily regulated, that is also why they are only 30 to 50 floors deep. I meet some that are over 100 floors large. It isn¡ät really a great life, but at least it is a life. " "Hoh, interesting... I can¡ät wait to finally go out of this dungeon and explore this world!" "But you are already out of the dungeon," said Scorge with a smile. "You know that isn¡ät what I meant..." said Raas plainly. "Shishishishi! Yes yes, I know. And I can¡ät wait to see what chaos you will bring!" Raas rolled his eyes and looked at the timer. [Inegration time: 10 minutes 33 seconds!] Chapter 70 - Feather (2) "And that is how I turned everybody into a chicken!" "Hahahahaha, I never knew that a demon lord could be this chatty. I always thought that they were the evil beings that deceived and killed where they could." "Well, some still are like that, but not everyone stayed that barbaric, or should I say demonic? Shishishishsi~" Raas only chuckled but noticed the notification that popped up. *Ding* [Integrating 1 [Demon lord Zular¡äs feather] successful!] "Oh." "And?" "It was a success." "Good good!". *Ding* [Checking compatible skills...] [Checking compatible skills...] [Cheeking compatible skills...] [Compatible skills found!] [DANGER!] [Host is too weak to gain all skills!] [Calculating...] [Calculating...] [Calculating...] [The host can choose up to two of the following skills: Self-destruction Dust bomb Overheat Ray of Heat Sacrifice Heat Scan Summon: Ember Bird] "Wow... what should I choose?" said Raas out loud. "Hmmm, what abilities are you able to choose?" "[Self-destruction], [Ash Bomb], [Overheat], [Ray of heat], [Sacrifice], [Heat Scan], and [Summon: Fire Bird]" "Hmmmmmmmm, a little bit disappointing, you should have eaten the feather when you are stronger to choose stronger and more skill, but no use of crying over spilled essence. You can rule out [Self-dedstruchtion] and [Sacrifice]... hmm [Heat Scan] shouldn¡ät be too useful for you either," said Scorge. "I understand [Self-destruction] and [Heat Scan] but why [Sacrifice]" "The skill allows you to sacrifice your own life to bring others back, a very powerful skill for a phoenix that can revive over and over again, but useless for anyone else that only has one life." "True, I have no plan to sacrifice my life... what do the other three skills do?" "[Overheat] makes your body, well, overheat causing you to be engulfed in flames. A good defensive skill, but without a high enough heat or fire resistance you will just be killing yourself, and after the skill ends you will feel cold, sluggish, tired, hungry, and thirsty, not really ideal when you are in the middle of a fight. ''A more or less defensive skill, I can use it with [Crush], or escape when someone is holding me down.'' thought Raas. "[Ray of Heat] allows you to shoot, well, heat rays. It is able to penetrate most armors if they aren¡ät magical enchanted for heat resistance. It is a strong spell against armored enemies. The downside is that it uses a lot of mana and has a long channeling time. The longer you channel the stronger the attack." ''I already have a channeling skill, but armor penetration seemed nice...'' "Next, [Dust Bomb], is quite a versatile skill, you can spew fine dust to irritate and cloud enemies'' vision and then ignite it to make it explode. Not many know about dust explosions so it is a perfect skill for a trap or distraction. The downside is that wind can easily blow away the dust and if you are too close you will be caught in your own explosion. The amount of dust you spew out is depended on your mana." ''Oh, dust bombs, it can also be used as a smokescreen... But the potential of getting myself and allies caught in the explosion is quite offputting.'' And lastly, [Summon: Ember Bird] is a basic summoner''s ability, as the name implies, you can summon up to 5 ember birds. They are mostly used for scouting, distraction, or setting things on fire. The skill consumes large amounts of mana per summoning and they are very weak, but they can sustain themselves up to 3 hours. A good skill, but don¡ät know how much it will be of use to you. Your fighting style seems more like a battlemage or a fortress destroyer." ''Ohhh something new! Summoning little bird scout sounds nice, and they last for quite a while. But what is a fortress destroyer build?'' "A fortress destroyer?" "Yes, your skill is powerful with a long cast time, and you have decent resistances to tank a few hits. They usually specialize in doing large amounts of damage in a short time. You can think of them as mobile siege towers. So which direction do you want to go? Of course, there are also many other paths you can go. Just make sure you have a rough build you want to go with." "I never have thought about which direction I want to go... I always just fought to survive." "Then now it¡äs the time. Choose wisely as there aren¡ät many opportunities like that. Heck, only a few have ever had such an opportunity as you have now. So think hard, you don¡ät want to later regret your decisions, just because you took a skill on the whim." lectured Scorge with crossed arms. Contemplating his choices. Raas thought ''Ahhh, they all seemed good, but [Ray of Heat] is just a laser version of my [Sun Breath] so don¡ät really need it... [Overheat] looks quite useful, but I am not really happy about the drawback after the skill ends. Hmmm, but I have [Mental Foritute] to resist it... Nah, I don¡ät want to set myself ablaze, if I can just use [Ash Field] to turn enemies into ash when they are too close. So, [Dust Bomb] and [Summon: Ember bird]... A distraction and a scouting ability... hmm, I can also use the birds to ignite the dust... heh it will also look quite funny for a snake to have birds flying around it... No, stop jocking Raas this is important!'' So wanting to be more versatile, he chooses [Dust Bomb] and [Summon: Ember bird]. *Ding* [Host has chosen [Dust Bomb] and [Summon: Ember bird]!] [Skill successfully integrated!] [The injected energy is changing your body, mutations are occurring!] [Procesing mutations...] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes --> Colorful Infrared Eyes] [Regenerating Solar Scales --> Regenerating Flexible Solar Scales] ... *Ding* [Due to the strong bloodlines, the host¡äs species stays unchanged!] [Host¡äs body is processing the changes...] [Host¡äs body is processing the changes...] [Host¡äs body is processing the changes...] [Host¡äs body is processing the changes...] Scorge watched as Raas¡ä scales bend and break while taking a more fiery color, and his iris got a slight golden hue to it. Even his body is slowly growing an additional meter, making him now a 5-meter long snake with beautiful white scales with red and orange tips in a diamond shape. He looked more intimidating than before and his now emerald green and golden eyes shined with life. "I am not dead..." was the first thing Raas mumbled when his mutations finished, but he felt like he got weaker. Could also be the exhaustion that he felt after having his scales remade and his eyes changed. Now even Wendy got curious and stride next to him, and stared down at Rass'' "new form", sniffing him a bit she let out a small growl. "Hmm, you aren¡ät as little as you are before. But still too small to be a worthy prey." "And you aren¡ät as intimidating as before..." shooted Raas back with a smirk. His emerald eyes stared into the glowing red eyes of the wendigo. She let out a small smile and mumbled under her breath "Hmpf, he grew some balls too." Raas now able to see infrared could see Wendy¡äs body temperature but she was not emitting any kind of heat and blended in with the environment perfectly, almost invisible to his eyes. ''So this is infrared vision. Wait, some snakes should normally already be able to see infrared, why am I just gaining it now? And rather than seeing it with their eyes, they have an extra organ between their noseholes and lower jaw to see with... Whatever, now that I have it I can see in total darkness!'' Raas'' delight didn¡ät last long as he was still recovering from his body being reshaped. Scorge then walked behind Raas and asked, "So what skills did you choose?" Raas glanced at Scorge seeing his whole ?h?st swirling with some kind of energy that is pulsing like a heart. Too tired to question him he laid down before replying, "[Dust Bomb] and [Summon: Ember Bird]. Quite useful and are good in many situations if [Sun Breath] doesn''t work." "Wished you would have committed to being a full fortress destroyer, but this is not bad either. Did anything else happen? Like mutations, race changes, or stat increases?" Forgetting to check his status he eagerly opened his status, "I got a mutation in my eyes and scales, but let me check my status real quick." [Status] Name: Raas Species: Menacing bright youngling Serpent (Sun-Eater/???) Level: 20 Strength: 120 --> 110 Agility: 103 --> 118 Intelligence: 90 Mentality: 111 Hp: 410/410 --> 420/420 MP: 0!/220 --> 0!/250 Title: 1. Limit Breaker (Increases your stats gained from evolutions) 2. The Survivor (25% increased resistance to all kinds of debuffs!) 3. Royal guard (Gain 30% damage and damage resistance when protecting someone, but betrayals will give you the curse Betrayer leading to a permanent decrease of 10% from your max stats for each betrayal and death after 3 betrayals.) [Skills:] [Physical Skills:] Venom Fang lv 8, Launch Attack lv 4, Slither lv 7, Swimming lv 1, Poison Affinity lv 4, Healing Fang lv 3, Crush lv 3, Intimidation lv 2 --> 3, [Magical Skills:] Poison Whip lv 4, Conceal lv 4, Sun Breath lv 3, [Deffensive Skills:] Pain Resistance lv 5 --> 6, Poison Resistance lv 4 --> 5, Healing Affinity lv 2 --> 4, Harden lv 2, Fire Resistance lv 5 --> 8, Corruption Ressistance lv 1 --> 3, Mental Fortitude lv 9, [Racial Skill: Grey Out lv1, Solistic Venom, Ash Field lv 1] [Evolution Path:] [Regenerating Solar Scales --> Regenerating Flexible Solar Scales] [Venomous Fangs] [Colorful Movement Sensing Eyes --> Colorful Infrared Eyes] [Danger Smelling Tongue] [Vibration Sensing Ears] [Healing Glance] [Crystal Core Shield] [Sol¡äs gem] ''Oh, that is a pleasant surprise...'' thought Raas seeing that his skills are now categorized. Reading quickly through it he said, "I lost 10 strength but gained 15 agility, my health increased by 20 and my mana by 30. Also, all of my resistance skills leveled up." Wendy¡äs eyes widened hearing Raas going on and on about his improvements. Growling in jealousy she barked, "That is not fair! I had to fight numerous battles and collect rare plants all over the continent to even achieve a fraction of what you have just gained." "Life isn¡ät fair Wendy. But I agree, I am a little bit jealous too to see what a single feather did to you. Maybe I can ask Zular to give me another one." Scorge held his hand on his chin and continued, "It has been a while since I helped to create such a monster. Hope the angels won¡ät start a war because of me again..." Raas was not sure if he got used to hearing absurd things, but he could only sigh at Scorge¡äs remark. "I wish I could finally get my core repaired and get out of here..." lamented Raas. "Then no time to waste, Wendy, carry Raas we are going west. There should be a river that will take us directly to our destination." Seeing the piercing eyes of Scorge she obeyed and transformed back into her wolf form. Raas jumped up to her back and slithered towards her head. Waiting for Raas to wrap his tail around her antlers, she raised herself and started with a slow jog while gradually speeding up. Scorge turned himself into a crow again but now sat on Wendy¡äs other antler. The toxic wind brushed Raas¡ä face, but this time it was far less irritating, and with great strides, the group of three abnormal monsters headed east. Chapter 71 - Bounty Running along the coast Rass spotted numerous movements in the water, but strangely there aren¡ät any monsters on the shore, or anywhere near it. Raas wanted to ask why, but before he could he saw the reason why. Giant skeletal tentacles shot out of the sea and slammed down on Wendy. Scorge''s eyes glowed and the tentacles grumbled to dust. A low bubbling growl could be heard from deep below the water, as bubbles surfaced. The few tentacles that were spared retreated quickly. "What was that?" asked Raas flabbergasted at the show of power and the sight of 30 meter long skeletal tentacles rising out of the water. "That was a meatgraber. They are jealous of others for having flesh, so they grab them and pull anything that has flesh down into the deep, where they try to attach the meat to them. I heard they were once friendly and helpful creatures that guided and helped lost travelers, but that was before they got corrupted." Raas was crept out by the sound of it and quite sad about the fact that this place was once not a place worse than hell. He didn¡ät really like the deep ocean on earth, but his dislike for large opens of water only grew.. "Why are we near the sea then? Shouldn¡ät we stay away from it?" asked Raas trying to get as far away from it as possible. Scorge chuckled at the frightened snake, "No, with them here there aren¡ät any other bothersome monsters swarming us. This route is quite a bit safer than the alternative, which is to cross the bloody swamp to the north that is swarming with the bloodsuckers that come in any shape and form." Raas begrudgingly agreed, but still wasn¡ät happy about the fact that giant meatgrabers were just lurking near the coast waiting to get a chance to grab them and turn them into their flesh. Constantly on edge, Raas looked around restlessly. In the distance, he suddenly saw a giant fire tornado appear form, making his vision go white from the heat. ''damn, this infrared vision is more troublesome than it¡äs worth'' thought Raas covering his eyes with his tail. Scorge looked nervous as he saw the firestorm in the distance. Wendy halted her steps and as Scorge taped his wing on her head twice. Her eyes changed to that of an eagle¡äs that is able to see a few kilometers far, and seeing a lone human standing among piles of ashes, she wondered what he was doing in Nox Mortem and so far away from any cities. The lone figure turned towards them and waved his hands, this notion made Wendy raise her brows as she didn''t expect him to see them, but she knows that every person that is willingly in Nox Mortem isn¡ät a normal being. Scorge¡äs nervousness turned into caution. He silently prepared shield spells as the person ran towards them with waving hands. Raas now able to see again, was too, wondering why such a person is here and what he was doing. As the person got closer Raas could see that the person was a copper-skinned horned adventurer, or so he thought from the person''s eastern-looking armor. He had a light red and white armor and three giant odachis that is being held by a thick white rope wrapped around his waist. A giant grin on his face showed his large canine fangs and a scaled tail swaying slightly above the ground. "Ah, a nice, none corrupted! It has been a while since I¡äve seen another none corrupted being outside of the cities walls! Got slightly lonely only seeing those creepy monsters. I will never get used to their appearance!" said the man upon being in hearing distance. Everyone on Raas¡ä group has their guard up, it was just too weird. Noticing them being all tense he took a step back and sighed before grinning again, "Relax a little, I am not some genociding bastard that kills every none humanoid being. My wife is an Arachne. She is just the sweetest girl and makes such smooth silk. My clothes are all made by her, I am quite proud of them. It was hard to find clothes that doesn''t get destroyed as soon as I use my skills. It was truly a blessing that I have met her." Continuing on worshiping his wife, Raas turned to wendy and Scorge and asked, "Is it normal for monster and demi-humans to get together?" Scorge shook his head, "No, not really, but every now and then it happens. Humans and demis are quite strange when it comes to love. They will just follow what their hearts d?s?r?. And there is even a tribe of fairies that are known for liking humanoid monsters. But since most humans and demi-humans think that humanoid monsters or intelligent monsters are lesser than them relationships are quite rare." "And that is how we meet!" Right on time, the stranger finished telling his story. "So, why are you here?" "..." Not answering his question he spoke again, "Ah, sorry sorry. It was rude of me. Let me start, I am a dragonewt professional bounty hunter and some noble rich dude paid me some hefty stuff for me to hunt a guy called "Goodfire"." Scorge and Wendy got suprised by the name he mentioned but hid it well enought, on the other hand, Raas tried his best to hide his surprise, but the bounty hunter immediately picked it up. "You don¡ät happen to know where he is... do you?" asked the dragonewt, dropping his happy-go-lucky personality. Starring right into Raas'' eyes, the other two wondered too why Raas was surprised hearing the name. "I heard this name once, when I was inside a dungeon." "Hmmm, tell me more..." "A bluffing red hobgoblin said he was... wait... he said he was the general marshal Goodfire of the first legions something something..." "..." Scorge hearing that was thinking hard, ''it¡äs quite shocking that Julia produced a hobgoblin that knows about Goodfire... to think that his influence got this far already... I have to make some preparations, it is finally time to get back. I can¡ät delay my delegations any further.'' "Interesting... and where might this dungeon be?" "Not telling you, that is already enough information we gave you," said Scorge sternly, not wanting him to know the location of the dungeon. With his powers he could easily trample through the dungeon and force the dungeon core to spill everything out that she knows about Goodfire. "Ah, sorry sorry. I didn¡ät mean to be so forceful. It is just that whole mission is quite a headache for me. I have already searched two whole continents for him and my lead pointed me here to this god-forsaken dimension! I want to get this over with as soon as I can and see my wife again!" "We understand, but we can¡ät help you out on that. Good luck on your journey." Hearing Scorges voice he sighed "yes, thanks. I will continue my search then. Contact me when you have a clue or something, I will reward you accordingly," pulling a small red marble out of his pocket he gave it to Raas who took it with his mouth. "I will be on my way now, may Vulca guide you to battle..." Ending his sentence Wendy continued, "And may Octav sing you to slumber." Seeing someone that knows the farewell, his mood sored waved them goodbye as he walked past them Raas wondered, "What was the last sentence?" "Believers of the god of war and vulcanos Vulca and goddess of lullabies and oceans Octav say that as to fish them to find a glorious battle and a calm and fulfilling death." "Hmm, that is quite fitting for a battle maniac like you to believe in the god of war..." "Pah, unlike some other gods, Vulca and Octav are real! They were a fire fairy and a mermaid before ascending and leaving the mortal realm!" "..." Raas who didn¡ät know that gods once wandered the realm was gobsmacked. He thought that gods just someday appeared or something. To think that it was possible to become gods was a crazy realization... "...should I start to worship a god?" "There are plenty of reasons why you should worship gods and goddesses, but you have to choose wisely as worshiping a god without truly beliving and following its path you may even get cursed or receive divine punishments, but if the god takes a liking to you, the blessings you get will be very powerful. For you, who is already having the interest of Sol and his gem on your forehead, it is quite easy to gain some stronger blessings from him. You just have to start believing and follow his teachings." Raas wanted to ask many questions about that, but Scorge interrupted him before he could speak, "You two can have that talk later, first let''s get out of here. I have some important business to do after this so let us stop delaying any further." Chapter 72 - Sorry Sorry about the few chapter lately! Got sick and had to take a few days off of writing will be back in a few days or so. Also planned a little side novel that I am writing out of fun. Watched a short film a few days ago and got a good idea for another novel. But don''t worry will not drop this novel. The other will be much shorter and it''s only a side project. Anyway, sorry about the slow chapter releases. As I said, will be back in a few days. See you in a few days... Stay healthy and don''t forget to stay hydrated! Chapter 73 - Bones Reaching a mountain cliff near the shore Scorge changed back to his scarecrow form and looked out into the horizon. The strong sea currents created dozens of whirlpools, making the red sea even more intimidating than it already is. And to top it off, a 30-meter half-rotten shark sprang out of the water with, what could only be described with, a 10-meter large human jellyfish, between its mouth. "We finally arrived. This is our next stop. We will cross the sea of flesh and damnations." said Scorge with a nostalgic look on his face. "..." Raas blanked and pointed his tail at the sea. "And how should we do that." "With a boat of course," said Scorge as if Raas just asked him the most obvious question. Wendy was silently watching them bicker back and forth, "How is a boat going to survive that!" "Are you dumb, I know you reincarnated not even two months ago, but come on. We have magic!" "NO U! And you are just going to pull out a magical boat or what?" "In fact yes, I am just going to pull a magic boat out!" "..." "..." "Then do it." ... "I was lying. I don¡ät have a magical boat, but imagine, that would have been pretty awesome." "... yes, it would be pretty awesome..." "Ok all jokes aside, we are really going to cross it by boat. There is a city not too far from here. We are going in, buy a triple armored mana-powered air sailor. We can¡ät stay long in the city, the people here are more vicious and shrewd than those sewerage dwellers. They will take any chance to eat, kidnap, or just plain murder you. I am always amazed that "civilization", if we can even call it that, exists in this realm." "How far is this city?" "About an hour away, if we hurry." With a nod, they started their journey towards the city. Raas sat as usually on Wendy¡äs head, and Scorge was flying high above them scouting ahead and killing all the monsters that are in the way. "How is the citylike, or how can even something like that exists here?" asked Raas not wanting to sit in silence for an hour. "I don¡ät know. Never have been to one. Scorge never allowed me, said it would be too dangerous., even more dangerous than the plains. It is also my first time seeing a down in this dimension. I am not very excited about it, just thinking about all the twisted and half corrupted beings living in one place makes me ill." Raas'' excitement deflated quickly. "I hope it wouldn¡ät be too bad..." "You can pray, but there is no god in this dimension." "..." The rest of the ride was in silence, only the sound of Scorge killing deformed monsters held Raas awake. He was pretty tired and haven¡ät got any proper sleep since being ported here. He was only awake thanks to the energy that the feather gave him, but his body was exhausted and needed sleep. Fighting against the tiredness was more strenuous than fighting on the 42nd floor of the woodland dungeon. Noticing Raas slowly slipping into the dreamland, Wendy stopped and looked up to see Scorge slowly descending. "Huh, not bad. He held on quite a while before his body finally gave up." Praised Wendy seeing Raas passed out on her head. Scorge landed next to Raas and nodded, "We can only hope that the hardships he will face wound turn him into a spiteful person, but a little bit wickedness wouldn¡ät harm." Wendy only stared at Scorge, she knows him pretty well, having spent over half a century with him in the dungeon. She sighed and laid down, she wasn¡ät tired but it felt good to rest one''s legs after a good run. ... As Raas woke up the sound of cracking branches reached his ear. It was almost rhythmic. With a cloudy mind, he yawned and looked around only to see a sea of white all around him. Before he could further fully realize where he was Scorge spoke, "You are finally awake. We are almost near the border of Ossis." "How long have I been asleep for?" "Only 5 hours" responded Wendy who was slowly strolling at a gentle pace. "What is that sound?" asked Raas being intrigued by all that cracking sound, it reminded him of when he was little and stepping on crunchy leaves in fall. "The sound of breaking bones..." responded Wendy emotionlessly. While looking around with shock he asked absentmindedly, "Where are we?" Scorge sighed, "We are near the city, this is where all the useless and undigestible things are being thrown. Almost Every settlement has one bone plain surrounding it. The larger it is, the more gruesome and populated the place is. It may look like there is nothing but bones around us, but don¡ät let your guard down. Even undigestible bones are useful for someone, something. It is a paradise for necromancers, bone collectors, all kinds of skeletons, and others. Some demons even come here to search for bones of rare beasts that only live here. But it isn¡ät only a garbage dump, it also serves as a protective layer for the city." Just as he finishes telling Raas the sound of rattling bones clacked all around them. Hundreds, no thousands of bones began to shack and rattle as they slowly rearranged themselves. 10-meter tall buff sceletons of all kinds of monsters and beings were raised from the ground surrounding them in mere seconds. Raas and Wendy got agitated and were on high alert, ready to fight, but Scorge only raised his wings and stopped them. "No need to fight, just wait and watch." Raas and Wendy listened but were still on edge. It didn¡ät take long for a deep growl to sound as the sky slowly turned dark. Raas and Wendy looked up, just to see the skeleton of a centipede. Its large spiked body was so long that Raas couldn¡ät even see where it started and its head was so large that it shadowed the sky. It was definitely the largest monster he has ever seen. The hollow eyes of the behemoth gazed at them. Raas was scared and wondered just how it managed to appear above them without him seeing or hearing it. Not even his movement-sensing eyes had picked it up. The endless rows of bony legs raised and set in a rhythmic fashion, like a wave, almost hypnotizing Raas. The behemoth slowly dipped his head down till it was at the same level as the group. The mandibles and antennae flared and clacked like explosions. A hissing voice sounded, "Why are you back Scorge!? Tssssss~. You know the rules! Tssssssssss~." The hissing voice of the enormously large centipede was hushed. "Planes have changed, something came up. I will give you 30% more than usual." The antennas flared furiously and the legs waved excitedly, but not for long, "Tssssss~ No this is not enough. 70% more or I will just crush you and your little friends right here." "Do you really want to fight here, Garadon?" "Tssssss~ If you don¡ät pay up, yes. I may lose my current body, but I will at least be able to kill your companions and take one of your arms with me. Tssssssssss~. You are in my territory DEMON! Last warning 70% or die! Tssssss~" Scorge flared in anger and green eerie flames surrounded Scorge¡äs body. There was no heat to it, but Raas sensed the danger. Changing into his scarecrow form his body began to grow taller and taller, till he was the size of a skyscraper but he was still far smaller than the behemoth before him. They stared at each other silently till Scorge spoke with clear hatred in his voice "Fine, have it." "Tssssss~ hah you demons are always the same! Tssss~" Raas didn¡ät understand what that monster meant by that. Scorge ignored his commend and opened a large portal in the sky. Soon after piles of bones flooded out of it creating a large mountain. "Tssssss~ Good good! Now get out of here!" said the monster. The army of skeletons all broke down into piles again, making the way free, as if they were never there. Scorge changed back into a raven and landed next to Raas, clearly seething with anger. Holding it back they quickly left the place. The centipede watched them till they left his field of vision. When they were far enough it circled the pile of bones with its massively long body and absorbed them into itself, before vanishing into thin air. "What was that..." whispered Raas in a hushed tone, not being able to stay silent anymore. "That was Garadon the city''s "protector", or gatekeeper. If the concentration of corrupted bone mass reaches a certain level, it will begin to fuse and create this anomaly that will do everything to increase its size by absorbing more bones. It is also the reason why the bone piles exist and why settlements exist here." Taking a deep breath he continued, "enough with that for now, look. We can already see the walls of the city." Raas looked into the horizon and spotted the tall black wall like a sheet covering the horizon.. He was astonished by the sheer size of everything in this dimension.