《Reborn as A Snake!》


 Chapter 1 - ‘So.. I was reborn as a Snake?’

    I remember that moment vividly.


    The moment of my own death.


    I was walking back home from work, completely exhausted. It was late at night as well, so I really, really wanted to rest. I also remember being in quite a bad mood, although that was mainly because of my boss at work. Not because he was being an asshole or something. If anything, I was being the asshole in the interaction and got into a bit of an argument with my boss at work.


    Anyway - during my way back home, I had to pass through a street that had a bank on it. The bank was the central for this area - even I used it.


    Now, why is this important?


    Well, because just as I was passing by it, the bank just so happened to be getting robbed right at that moment. I remember hearing an alarm go off with the sound of windows breaking. When I looked at the source, I saw around 5 men jumping out the window of the bank, carrying what looked to be bags of money.


    I''ll be honest - I had absolutely no business in what was happening before my eyes.


    After all, dealing with criminals was the job of the police, not a worker at a huge company that focused on producing documents and handling peoples insurance. So, I wanted to ignore the commotion and just use another path to get home.


    Unfortunately for me, things are never that simple.


    The police arrived almost immediately and before I knew what was happening - a shootout between the criminals and the police had broken out. I was trying to walk past the whole thing on the other side of the street, however one of the criminals just so happened to suck at aiming and fired a bullet towards me.


    And of course, the bullet hit me.


    I remember falling to the ground, as blood began to flow out of the bullet wound. I couldn''t exactly tell where it had hit at the time, but looking back on it - I believe it had managed to pierce my heart. Shocked that I didn''t die instantly.


    It was rather painful. After rolling onto my back, I just laid there on the street, as blood slowly flooded out, soaking the sidewalk I was on. I was breathing heavily, my vision not being able to focus on the fading world around me. In that moment, I remember recalling all I could about my life.


    One could say my life was rather sad and I''d even say, very miserable. But that was mainly because of my own decisions and how I went about living my life. I was to blame for feeling lonely and miserable at times as I shut out everyone else and forced myself to work obscene hours, even when everyone around me told me that I should focus on myself more and go out with people more.


    I''m honestly surprised I didn''t die earlier, with the way I was living my life.


    I was expecting to work myself to death, not die because of bad luck.


    But oh well, what can you do?


    No really, what could I do?


    Sure, I could have just turned around and walked the other way, but I was very tired and wanted to get home as fast as possible.


    While thinking, I sort of laughed to myself at the presence of a single thought. My family... My few friends that knew me... My co-workers and everyone I ever got acquainted with... I will never see them all again. All of them - I will never get to meet them again.


    ...I don''t know why, but even with this fact being as depressing as it gets, I couldn''t bring myself to cry or even shed a tear. I couldn''t bring myself to be sad about it.


    After rethinking how all my relatives and acquaintances would feel once they found out about my death, I thought of the next thing - another chance. I didn''t deserve one - to be clear, but if I could have just one more go at life to see what could have happened if I made better decisions... It would be nice.


    However, right after thinking about it, I exhaled and shook my head weakly, smiling lightly.


    ''Maybe not. I''ll just settle with my death.'' I thought before closing my eyes with a wide smile plastered over my face. As nice as the idea of a second shot at life sounded, I would prefer to just rest now for the rest of eternity. I wasn''t all that special - if anything, I was the most ordinary and average person out there. I wasn''t owed anything.


    A second chance at life should be given to someone who deserves it - not me, someone who dug himself into a grave with his terrible decisions.


    Then, for a few last moments, right before my life ended, I heard a voice speak. Now what it said - I''ve got no clue, as I had already tuned it out. It was very faint and it sounded a bit echoey - but I do remember seeing the silhouette of a person over my body, so I guess the voice was panicking over me dying.


    Whatever it was that it said though, it probably wasn''t all that important.


    And so, I died. After 28 Years, I had met my end in quite a boring way. I was hoping for a cooler death to be honest - not one where I got caught in the crossfire between some criminals and the police force.


    .....


    ...And then..


    Something strange happened.


    I opened my eyes. It was dark all around me. I was rather confused at first on what was going on, but I tried to convince myself that this wasn''t real. It was strange though - I couldn''t feel my legs and arms... and it felt like I had a.. long body?


    Alright, what''s going on? Am I dreaming? Did I somehow miraculously survive or something?


    I tried to move, however the space around me seemed quite small and... a bit slimy. Combine this with the fact that it was pitch black and you get one confusing situation.


    ''Where the hell am I?''


    I thought before attempting to move upwards, only to hit my head against something.


    ''Ouch! That hurt..''


    I thought. I tried to reach out and touch whatever was around me, only to realise the reason for not feeling my arms and legs... It''s because I didn''t even have those. If I was dreaming and somehow did survive, then perhaps I got my arms amputated.


    But then... that would mean my legs were also.... No, maybe not after all.


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    I attempted to break through the thing around me. It felt hard... smooth - almost like the interior of an egg or something. However, at the same time, it didn''t seem to be very durable, since after a couple of rather painful headbutts, the ''wall'' I was hitting cracked.


    I smirked to myself widely, before finally breaking a hole in the wall. Looking out through the hole, I saw what looked to me like a nest made out of dead grass.


    ''Now this is definitely the strangest thing..''


    I thought before exiting through the hole, into the supposed nest. Once outside, I observed my surroundings.


    I seemed to be inside of a nest, that was located somewhere in the middle of.. a forest? Jungle? It was kind of hard to tell which of the two it was. I then looked back at the object I had just exited, only to see that I was indeed inside an egg.


    ''Well that explains the slimy liquid inside..''


    I thought before noticing what seemed to be my lower body.


    Green, scaley, long, slender... wait.. Was I reincarnated? Seriously?... I asked to not be reborn, come on - do my dying wishes not matter!?


    I exhaled a bit heavily before looking around for anything I could potentially use as a makeshift mirror. There wasn''t really anything around that could serve such a purpose... or at least - I thought so, before something shiny in the nest caught my eye.


    Slithering over, it felt strange to move. I had no legs, yet I could move forward. How? It felt so weird to move... After reaching the shiny object, I looked at what it was. A shard of.. glass? I think? Could have also been a shard or a piece of metal that somehow got into this nest.


    Well whatever, it could serve as a quick makeshift mirror.


    Using the tail I now had, I moved the shard up, before turning it to an angle in which I could clearly see myself. Now then - I was reincarnated as a... Snake..?


    I was lost for words for a few moments, before exhaling and then chuckling.


    ''Yeah that was rather expected...''


    I thought before examining my reflection a bit closer. I really was a snake. I had a long, slender body, scaly skin that was coloured in a green tone and a pair of rather large, golden eyes. Interesting... I''m not exactly like any kind of snake that I knew off... I mean, what snakes have golden eyes? I don''t know of any - maybe there was one.


    I got a miraculous second shot at life - but I''m not even a human. I mean, I guess I kind of expected to not have it exactly easy if I somehow got a second chance at life, but come on, this is somewhat of a mockery, no?


    ...Actually, maybe I shouldn''t complain too much... Not everyone gets a chance like this.


    I shook my head lightly - I was wasting time. Sitting here and questioning everything happening around me all day wasn''t going to help me or my current situation. Although I was a bit disappointed that I got reincarnated, I will not lie. Like I said, I did not deserve such a chance. I made mistakes and I live up to them - but I guess this world has other plans.


    Looking around, I observed my surroundings a bit more. Although, there wasn''t much else to see that hasn''t been mentioned before - I was inside a nest, which was seemingly in the dead middle of a forest or jungle.. or whatever was this area. Maybe the Amazon rainforest?


    ''I guess I''ll try and explore around..''


    I thought, before slithering up to a ''wall'' of the nest, but stopping right in front of it. I had just realised something.


    ''...How the hell am I supposed to get up on the nest''s edge?''


    I thought, before sighing in annoyance. With this new body of mine, ''climbing'' up places was out of the picture... I guess. Although - can''t snakes climb? I know I''ve seen images of them going up a tree trunk or something, but does that count as climbing?... Maybe, maybe not...


    I could probably slither up on top of the nests ''wall''... but how? The ring around that acted as a wall, was more in a cylinder that was extended and then connected to form a ring. As I sighed again, I retracted into my body, before coiling my body up into a coil, mostly for comfort reasons.


    I began to brainstorm ideas of things I could do.


    How could I get on top of the nests ''walls''? Should I just slither right up to one and start slithering it up or something? Or maybe I could try using my body as a spring to propel myself up onto a wall and go from there?


    ....Maybe not - that doesn''t sound realistic.


    As I brainstormed ideas, I examined the materials from which the walls of the nest were built. It seemed to be mostly made from dead grass, sticks and some... mud? dirt? One of those. While it seemed like something you could probably brute force through, that would only be easy if you were a human.


    But I''m a snake - I am nowhere near as physically strong as a human, especially since I''m supposed to be a ''newborn'' snake.


    I continued to brainstorm ideas for a small bit - although, eventually I sort of transitioned into thinking about what my life is going to be like now, after I''ve been reincarnated as a snake.


    ''Maybe I''ll just live like a normal snake - Eat mice all day, sleep and slither all over the place until some random human comes by and steps on me and kills me again. Yeah - that plan doesn''t sound so bad. Saves me a headache.''


    I thought, before shaking my head.


    ''I shouldn''t worry myself about things like that right now. I should focus on getting out of this damned nest.''


    After this thought, I uncoiled myself, before slithering around the nest. Perhaps if I found a flatter side of the nest, I''d be able to climb on out of here. Or is it, slither on out of here?


    After a bit of slithering in non-stop circles, I did find a slightly flatter side of the nests ''walls''. However, it wasn''t as flat as I would have liked. It was like a very, very small slope.


    ''I''ll take what I get.''


    I thought before attempting to slither onto the small slope. It was more difficult than it honestly looked. Unlike a human body, with which you primarily used your legs and arms to climb places, with a body like a snake, I was forced to pretty much ''push'' my whole upper half of the body to attempt slithering up it. It was so strange and yet, felt so natural to do at the same time.


    After a few unsuccessful attempts, I finally managed to get onto the slope.


    ''I am going to need to get used to moving like this..''


    I thought, before sighing and slithering all the way to the top of the nest ''wall''. After getting on top, I looked around. The area around was more clear now - it was obvious now that the area where the nest was located was in the middle of a dense forest. Maybe I was inside the Amazon Rainforest after all - if so, then cool! I always wished I could visit it.


    ''Well.. At least I know where I am, but..''


    I looked back inside the nest. There wasn''t much inside it - just my broken egg, other shell pieces scattered all around from what I guess were other snakes that hatched before me and the glass shard... That''s it. To be honest, not much of a reason to even look back, let alone stay there.


    I turned my head back to the dense forest, before exhaling.


    ''Well.. here I go I guess.''


    I thought to myself, before slithering down the nest''s outer ''wall'' and reaching the grassy ground below. After my whole body reached the ground, I lifted my upper half up, looking around to try and decide where I should go.


    There were... pretty much unlimited ways to go - it was a forest with no obvious paths, but then again, I doubt that a snake needs a path to navigate through a forest escape.


    ''I suppose this is a case of - do I want to go through the trees or stay on the ground.''


    I thought before thinking about it for a moment.


    I decided to go with the ground as I don''t exactly feel like learning to fly as a snake just yet.. Doesn''t sound fun. After the decision was made, I began to slither across the grassy ground, away from the nest I had awoken... or hatched inside of.


    So to reiterate.. I lived a pretty mundane life for 28 years due to my own terrible decisions and mistakes, before dying one night after being caught in the crossfire of a shootout between the police and a couple of criminals and then I was reborn as a snake in what appears to be the amazon rainforest.


    Now what will come next - I don''t know. What will I do next? I also don''t know. However I suppose there really is only one way to know any of this - it is to begin my life as a snake and start exploring. After all, what else can I realistically do?


    I slowly slithered off into the forest, disappearing inside of the bushes with a small rustle.

 Chapter 2 - ‘Exploring the Forest.’

    Around an hour went by since I began exploring. It felt like the forest was infinite and also that it was just becoming denser and denser. It was actually becoming rather difficult to navigate through it. Also, as I wandered deeper and deeper into it, less and less did I start believing that I actually was reborn inside of the Amazon Rainforest.


    ''I suppose one bonus to being a snake right now, is that even with the density of the trees around me, I can still navigate somewhat easily...''


    I thought before slithering over a rock. Another thing that was becoming rather obviously annoying, was the fact that everything looked the same. There was such an abundance of the same tone colours, to the point where I wasn''t even able to tell where I came from. So many green tones, brown tones, grey tones - it was seriously like an artist had just vomited colour all over a canvas.


    But then again... It''s not like I was really going anywhere with a goal in the first place. I was kind of just going and seeing where I ended up, so I guess getting ''''lost'''' was kind of expected and dare I say, even predictable.


    Sighing, I turned back around before slithering on top of the rock I had slithered over moments earlier. Looking around more carefully, I tried to spot any signs of something that stood out in-between all the dense trees, bushes, vines and all other greenery and whatnot that was all around me. However, even with a small vantage point - I could not see a thing through the thick tree line all around me. Only really a couple of boulders popped their way out and above some bushes nearby.


    ''Wait... Big boulders?''


    I looked back to where I had spotted them. There were what looked to be around 3 - 4 large boulders, all in one spot, each one a bit bigger than the bushes.


    ''Perhaps I could go over and climb on top to get a better view?''


    I thought. Even with this rock I was on top of right now, those boulders could serve as a much better vantage point, not only because they were higher up, but also because it appeared that the trees around them were a little bit less thick. Sliding off the rock I was on top of right now, I steadily slithered towards the large boulder group, navigating my way through the tall grass rather quickly and easily.


    One good thing about a slippery snake body such as the one I have right now was that navigation through areas like this was so easy, it felt criminal. And of course, moving around overall was a bit easier now, as I had pretty much gotten used to moving around without legs. If anything, I''d actually say that I was moving a bit faster as a snake than I was while a human.


    It only took a couple of moments before I reached the 4 massive boulders. They were even bigger up close, towering over me kind of like skyscrapers would in a massively populated and modern city such as New York or Tokyo.


    ''Welp, here goes nothing.''


    I thought before slithering onto the largest of the boulders and making my way to the top. Once on top, I looked around. I now had a much, much better view of the area - as well as I could see much further now, since the boulder was taller than most of the bushes around, which meant that the only real thing that was blocking my view were the three branches and vines that hung off of them.


    However, even with the higher ground and further seeable distance, I still didn''t manage to spot anything that stood out as ''different'' in the mass of trees and bushes. It all still looked very samey to me and the treeline just got thicker and thicker the further I tried to look.


    ''Well.. this is rather disappointing.''


    I sighed. Then, I suddenly felt the bolder I was on tremble a bit. I was a bit perplexed, however I ignored it - writing it off as perhaps just a small rubble of the ground or something. But then, the boulder trembled again, causing me to look down at it in confusion. The other boulders were also trembling and shaking...


    Is there an earthquake?


    No... the trees don''t appear to be shaking... Strange. The boulders trembled for a bit longer, before suddenly stopping and not doing so again. I exhaled before coiling up in a gloomy way, sinking into my snake body a bit.


    ''Great, I''m beginning to lose my mind..''


    I thought, before the boulders shook again, only this time a bit more violently. I uncoiled my body quite fast - there was absolutely no way, this was just my imagination anymore. The boulder was 100% moving right now.


    Then, like clockwork, the boulders began to move - lifting up from the ground and shaking me on top of it. I quickly leapt off of the ''boulder'' - using my own body as a way to propel myself. After landing, I quickly turned to look at the 4 boulders, only to see all 4 of them rise up, revealing what looked to be crabs or something underneath them.


    Whatever they were, they looked like bigger versions of hermit crabs. Almost like a hermit crab and a king crab combined and then increased in size... and also replacing the shell with a boulder. They honestly looked really majestic and pretty in the way that they moved and looked. They looked like the kind of animal you would keep as a pet.


    The ''crabs'' didn''t appear to be very hostile, as they just looked at me, before turning around and waddling away, disappearing in the nearby bushes, with only the tops of their boulder-like shells peaking above the bushes that they had entered just moments ago.


    ''I am going to guess that they were sleeping here and I disturbed them..''


    I thought before laughing a bit awkwardly. I did feel a bit bad for disturbing the crab boulder creatures while they were resting, however I did not linger on these feelings for too long, as after a few moments I sighed, before looking around.


    ''Now what? I couldn''t spot anywhere I could head to..''


    I thought, exhaling slightly in disappointment, before coiling my body back up and sinking into it in a gloomy manner. I had decided to rest for a bit - since I had been just wandering around for quite a while now. Or is it slithering again? Doesn''t really matter. Terminology is useless when you''re a snake in a wide world.


    While I rested, I began to rethink my initial assumption on me being reincarnated in the same world. I know I''ve been jokingly saying that I was reborn as a snake inside the amazon rainforest or something - but those crabs just now... They did not look like any kind of crabs that I personally knew off. If anything - they looked a lot like a species that you would find in a fantasy story or a fairytale.


    With this in mind, could there be a possibility that I was reborn in a fantasy world and not the same one that I had been living in my whole life? Or was it a dumb thing to assume that? Well... who knows - Unless you count those crabs, nothing else screams ''fantasy'' in this world that much.


    Eventually, I sighed before uncoiling my body and taking a look around.


    ''I suppose I can just continue going the same way as I have so far..''


    I thought.


    ''Which is nowhere specific..''


    I exhaled, before beginning to slither away again, resuming my exploration. The bright side was that with this whole dense forest all around me, it was very unlikely that any snake predators would spot me - especially since my green colour made me blend in so well. That meant that any hawks, eagles or vultures - if those were around - would be able to grab a hold of me and make me their dinner.


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    As I continued to slither through the forest, I kept looking around, trying to see anything that potentially stood out. The thing I needed most right now, was a way to go - while I could continue to wander the forest aimlessly forever, part of me was sort of dying for an actual location I could head to and see or uncover some interesting things. Literally anything that wasn''t the freaking green trees around me.


    Then, suddenly the bushes to my left rustled, as something inside of them seemingly was moving all over the place, making noise. Slowly turning my head to the left side, I spotted the bushes that the rustling was coming from. Oh great - right as I was talking about not encountering any predators from the sky, here comes one from the ground predators.


    Shedding a sweat, I slowly began to approach the rustling bushes - even with how much of a bad idea it probably was. I was probably slithering towards my own death - but hey, what can I say? My curiosity was getting the better of me in this situation.


    However, I didn''t manage to get all that close to the bushes, as a small round blob jumped out of the bushes, startling me a bit as I slithered back in fear and stared at it. After a moment or two of examining the blob, I couldn''t help but scratch my head with my tail.


    ''The hell is that...?''


    I thought.


    A small, round and blue blob with no face, seemingly no organs and absolutely no structure... Wait - weren''t these some kind of creatures from almost every fantasy game and story?


    What were they called again...? Slimes? - I believe that small blob creatures were called slimes in most games and stories that fell in the fantasy genre. Although... if it was one of those creatures, then I have to say, this one seemed quite different from the ones I knew. The slimes I had learned about were small creatures, usually built up from liquid while also switching between having a face and not having one - really depended on what the artist of said story wished for the design to be.


    This one? While it was small, round and looked like a blob - it didn''t seem to be made up from any type of liquid. If anything, it seemed almost... solid. Like something made of mucus or even some very.... nasty stuff that would surely get anyone to vomit.


    The blob looked at me - or atleast, I think it looked at me. It turned towards me before beginning to slowly push itself towards me.


    ''Should I be scared and run away..?''


    I thought. I wasn''t quite sure what to do in this situation - it seemed quite harmless, so I wasn''t very scared of it, but I also felt a bit nervous, seeing it slowly approach me. What if it was made of acid? What if it was very dangerous? Dammit - I don''t exactly have the best memory when it comes to how creatures from fantasy work!


    As the blob moved towards me, a sudden thought came to my mind - could I try maybe biting it? Would that even work? I was really tempted to try and eat it for some reason... Maybe because I haven''t eaten shit since I broke out of that egg. Who would have thought that being reborn as an animal that has to worry about survival from birth would be so challenging.


    After contemplating for a few moments, I sighed.


    ''Sorry little guy, but I am curious.''


    I thought, before coiling up and using my body to propel myself at the ''slime''. I wasn''t exactly sure what the hell I was doing, but I just thought to wing it and see what happens. While mid-air, I opened my mouth wide open, before sinking my snake fangs into the blobs body as I reached it. Strangely - it was solid looking, but on the inside it was completely filled with liquid.


    The liquid didn''t do anything at first, but then I felt a burning sensation, as the liquid suddenly began to burn me. It was acid after all-


    I tried to push myself off of the blob creature, however my fangs got stuck in its body. After a few moments of struggling, the blob suddenly exploded - sending me flying into some nearby bushes as the liquid inside its body splattered all around the forest, burning through it. Yup, definitely made of acid...


    Poking my head out of the bushes, I looked at where the blob had been located just moments earlier, however it was completely gone and the grass, tree trunks, bushes and leaves all around that area that were touched by the liquid in its body were all melted. There were also chunks of the creature''s body laying here and there, looking a lot like chunks of mud or something.


    Well, I don''t know what just happened, but those creatures don''t seem to be much of a threat... Unless you count the acid for a body they have. I quickly leapt out of the bushes before moving closer to where the creature had ''died'' and examined the area around. With a creature like that now encountered, there was 0 chance that I was in the same world anymore.


    No... this most definitely was not my world that I knew...


    That meant that not only had I been reincarnated as a snake - but I also have been reborn in a completely different world - a fantasy one at that. With this ''revelation'' in mind, I sighed heavily. Great - just freaking great. I thought this whole situation couldn''t get any worse and it did. Being reincarnated is one thing - but being reincarnated in a DIFFERENT WORLD is something else. That meant anything I knew about the world already was thrown out the window now.


    I clicked my snake tongue for a bit, before suddenly coming to a realisation. That blob creature leapt out of these bushes.... could it be that it...


    Perhaps it came from somewhere more interesting?


    The thought of this intrigued me, as I immediately slithered into the bushes - moving through them in a straight line. Eventually I made it out of the thicket of bushes and ended up in a more open area of the forest, with less bushes, trees and other greenery blocking my way. I mean... it wasn''t anything more interesting, but it certainly was somewhere easier to navigate.


    As I hung around in the open area, another blob began to approach me - only this one was different. Unlike the previous blob or ''slime'' this one was more... muddy looking. It had a rocky like texture to it, with pebbles sticking out of its muddy brown body. Was this a different ''slime'' variant or something, kinda like different wolf breeds?


    The rocky blob immediately began to move towards me, showing clear signs of hostility. I panicked and propelled myself towards it in desperation and slight panic, before sinking my fangs into its body just like I had done to the previous one. This time it took a little more biting power to get the fangs fully into the blob as its body was way more sturdy, but I managed to pierce through it and sink my fangs deep into its body.


    Its body wasn''t full of acid or something like the last one and unlike the last one that exploded on me, this one shook a bit, before suddenly turning into yellow sparkles, causing me to fall down onto the ground. Picking up my head, I shook it before looking all around in confusion. The hell just happened?


    Where did that blob go? Why did it turn into yellow sparkles? What the hell-


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 2.


    .....Oookay - Now I am losing my mind.


    That was a voice... in my head. Yup - I am going insane - and it has only been around an hour or so since I started wandering around. I shook my head lightly, before looking around, for anyone that perhaps could have said that - but alas, it was just something in my head.


    Choosing to ignore this for now, I shook my head - writing the voice off as just the by-product of me slowly losing my mind from wandering around alone all this time.


    Afterwards, I managed to spot an opening in the treeline, which seemingly led to what seemed to be the edge of a cliff. Did I finally find something different? I quickly slithered up to the treeline, before slithering closer to the alleged edge, before looking down at it. It was indeed an edge of a small cliff, which, like a slope, led down to some kind of ruins or stone structure, dead in the centre of what looked like a giant crater. It looked like a meteor impact site - it was ridiculous.


    Yeah, no way this isn''t some fantasy world.


    ''Well... I wanted to find something more interesting..''


    I thought to myself. I did wish for something more interesting to appear in front of me all this time and now, something different and more interesting than a dense forest has suddenly popped up in front of me. May as well explore it.


    After a moment of hesitation, I leapt off of the edge of the cliff, and began to slide down the slope into the crater. Once in it, I quickly began to slither towards the ruins in the centre. Once I made it to the ruin-like structure, I peeked inside its entrance. There was a large staircase, which led down deep, deep underground.


    Before heading inside, I examined the outside of the ruins. They were made of stone which was covered in vines and had two statues out front, on both sides of the entrance. The statues looked like... a dragon? I suppose? It had a strange catlike figure with wings and a snake-like face, so I couldn''t exactly tell what they were meant to be.


    The ruins also looked quite old - which I assumed to be a sign that they had been sitting here, untouched by humans for quite a long time. Perhaps decades, centuries - maybe even a millenia. I slithered up to the ruins entrance and once again peaked down the staircase of the ruins, looking down at the deep abyss at the bottom. It was PITCH black all the way down there.... I was already beginning to rethink the idea of exploring these ruins.


    ''This is definitely a bad idea...''


    I thought before sighing. My curiosity will one day be the death of me, I swear...


    After a bit of hesitation, I exhaled and began to slither down the staircase, disappearing into the darkness that accompanied the staircase all the way down in a spiral manner. What was at the bottom of this staircase was anyones best guess - I just hope that it wasn''t anything that would end me on sight or even worse, some ancient curse or something...


    Anything can happen! Especially in a world you don''t know¡­

 Chapter 3 - ‘The Abyssal Being inside the Ruins.’

    The staircase felt like it went on forever. It just kept on going deeper and deeper down into the depths of the earth. It genuinely felt like the whole staircase was infinitely long and had no actual end to it. Thankfully, despite the pitch darkness that the stairs appeared to be covered by from the top, they were not actually completely in the dark, instead, they were lit up by multiple dim torches, which burnt with a rather mesmerising black flame.


    I just kept on carefully slithering down the stairs, making sure to keep aware of where I was slithering. These stairs, just like the ruins on the surface, looked quite old and definitely untouched by anyone in years - perhaps even longer. They weren''t covered in vines or moss, but they were cracked and appeared to have been through some years of disasters.


    While making my way down, a thought came to my mind.


    ''What even is at the bottom of this?''


    I thought. While I could take a few guesses onto what could be at the bottom, solely based on the look of the ruins on top, mainly the two dragon statues beside the entrance, I also contemplated the possibility that those statues didn''t actually possess any meaning and were just decoration.


    ''Perhaps these ruins were some kind of tomb?''


    I thought.


    Eventually I reached the end of the staircase. The stairs had led me down to a cylinder shaped ''room'' which only had two things in it - the staircase I had just gotten off of and a tunnel entrance, which led inside somewhere deep.


    ''More and more, I''m starting to believe that this actually is some kind of ancient tomb.''


    I thought before beginning to move to the tunnel entrance. The entrance to the tunnel seemed to have a frame - a frame that one may compare to a door frame in my old life. This frame was from what looked like bricks or stone with fancy patterns covering the entire thing.


    At the top of the frame, seemingly, was a precious gem, embedded in the stone frame. The gem was a deep violet colour ¡ª with a very insanely beautiful swirl like pattern inside of it.


    After examining the gem in the frame for a bit more, I slithered on further into the hall, entering the pitch black darkness that was inside it, which was a major 180 when comparing to it to the way that the staircase, while still kind of dark for the most part, had some dim lighting from black flames upon torch pedestals.


    The tunnel was completely straight and seemed to show signs of time getting to it - cracks in the walls and ground, broken pieces of stone and rubble everywhere, making the whole place look a lot more like actual ruins.


    I navigated the tunnel for a small while, encountering no other life form during my path. While that was rather expected, at the same time, part of me sort of expected this tomb to be overrun by things such as rats, insects and other small crawlies that were usually present in these kinds of areas. There weren''t even any spiders inside here.


    Then, as I moved through the hall at my own pace, I eventually bumped my head into an obstacle that was dead in my path.


    ''Huh?''


    Looking up at what I had bumped into, I saw a massive gate, which laid before me. The gates were different to the walls of the tunnel as they were made from what looked like pure metal or something, with swirling patterns and carvings of what appeared to be a dragon with six wings all over them.


    Another thing to note, was that there was a pair of what appeared to be rubies, being used as eyes for the dragon carving in the doors, making for a rather eerie sight ¡ª as the eyes appeared to be staring straight down at me, even if they were just part of a carving on some gates.


    The gates were closed and most definitely far too heavy for me to push open. However, the curiosity of what could be potentially on the other side of them was greatly present within me, so I was looking around for any potential cracks or something, through which I could slither to the other side.


    At first, I didn''t find anything of that sort, however eventually I spotted what seemed to be a small ''tunnel'' in the shadows, on the left side of the gates.


    Quickly moving over to it, I looked inside it, to see where it led to. To my luck, the small tunnel in the wall curved around the gates and led to the other side of them.


    I shed a slight sweat, a bit hesitant to actually go through with my idea of getting to the other side of the gates. While yes, I was curious on what the hell was on the other side of them, at the same time, I was rather terrified of it potentially being something morbid or very disturbing ¡ª such as a bunch of corpses or something. Eventually, after letting a small exhale and shaking my head, I slid inside the small tunnel.


    Once on the other side of the gates, I was met with quite a different scenery. Instead of a tunnel with stone brick walls, it was a cave-like landscape, with beautiful crystals of all sorts of colours plastered all across the cave walls and ceiling.


    It was also quite spacious - having so much room inside of it that you could probably fit quite a lot of people inside of here if you ever needed a place to use as a bunker.


    ''Well...I am here. Now I guess it''s time to see what''s inside here.''


    I thought before gulping - still being very nervous and hesitant about actually going on and exploring this whole place.


    I began to move deeper into the cave landscape, slightly marvelling at the absolutely beautiful scenery around me. The crystals were in all sorts of different colours ¡ª red, blue, orange, green - honestly I could keep going. However, they all also had a strange black glow or aura around them, making their colour a bit washed out and dim.


    I continued to move forward for a while longer, before coming across a bending and winding path, which led up to a ''platform'' in the room. Looking a bit more closely, I could see that there was something on said platform - something massive. And it seemingly was expressing some kind of aura or something from it... Almost like flames or something surrounded it. This was definitely a very eerie and I would say even frightening sight, making me a bit hesitant about actually going towards it.


    However, since I was so deep inside here now and my curiosity was rising, I decided to move up only the bending path.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The path was a lot more narrow than the one I had been on so far - I''d say that on a rough guess, it seemed to be around half of the width. It also was rather thin and completely unsupported by pillars of any kind, making it look like it was straight up floating.


    Once on the path, I began to slither up it, my curiosity rising, while also my fear beginning to show itself. I don''t know why, but the closer I got to the platform where it looked like something was on it, the more the feeling of fear inside of me grew, making me more and more hesitant of actually moving to the very top and more considerate of the idea of just turning around and going back.


    However, my body just kept moving forward up the bending and winding path ¡ª and before I knew it, I was at the top of it, reaching the platform.


    Instantly as soon as I reached the platform, I felt a slight rumble, followed by what sounded like a rather distorted and deep groan. I almost immediately looked up in front of me, before slithering back a bit. On top of the platform, right in front of me was a giant creature, which towered over me with deep red eyes staring down at me, as a pitch black aura covered its appearance, making it a lot more like a silhouette.


    The creature seemingly noticed me a moment later, looking more down at me, before tilting its head to the side.


    "A Serpent? Down here?"


    The beast suddenly spoke, his voice deep, distorted and shaking the whole entire room from its ripple.


    The creature''s voice echoed through the cave, as it seemingly crossed a pair of arms it had, however due to the aura surrounding it, it was a bit hard to tell if that is really what had happened.


    "Interesting..."


    The Creature stated again, narrowing its gaze onto me before the aura around it faded, revealing more of its actual body. The creature was very obviously a dragon ¡ª its body resembling a lot of the western type dragons that I knew of. It had pitch black scales, with a purple tint to them, which sort of like a gradient faded from the black colour into the purple one, while also having this lighter purple glow from underneath them.


    The scales also had a striking resemblance to samurai armour, being very similar to it. The dragon had a rather short neck, with a rather large head which had long white crystals going out of it, going upwards and forming a sort of V shape on its head, but upside down ¡ª as the crystal horns went over its eyes as eyebrows.


    The dragon also had a pair of six large wings, as well as rather short arms and large legs, which were curved in a way that made it look like the dragon was sitting down on the ground. Lastly, were the dragons eyes ¡ª which yes, were deep red, however also had a dark purple pupil, that has a pair of small pitch black dots in the dead centre of them.


    Overall, the dragon''s appearance was very different from what I was familiar with ¡ª so much so that I began to wonder whether I was just dreaming or not, since I don''t think that a real living dragon would look the way it did.


    The Dragon looked at me with seemingly confusion in its eyes, before leaning down towards me, its head reaching down to my level ¡ª with our nuzzles basically touching.


    "Hm..... You''re quite an interesting fellow. You look like a Serpent, but you aren''t entirely one."


    The Dragon stated, before leaning back up. I looked at it a bit confused, shedding a slight sweat again. Was the dragon able to tell that I was a human - or at least, was once a human? Is that it? If so, then perhaps...


    Before I could finish my way of thought, the dragon suddenly let out a loud groan before exhaling - the whole cave shaking violently from its voice alone. Afterwards, it looked down at me again.


    "You probably don''t know or actually, cannot speak considering who you are. So, before we move on, allow me to grant you the ability of speech."


    The Dragon stated, its voice rippling. I wasn''t quite sure what it meant by its statement just now, however before I knew what was happening, the dragon suddenly touched my head with its right claws finger, before closing his eyes. After a moment or two, he exhaled ¡ª an aura engulfing him, before flowing over his body and onto me, sinking into my body, causing a warm and rather fuzzy feeling inside of me.


    Skill granted.


    Active Skill [Speech] acquired.


    ..Skill? What was a ''skill''...?


    It''s that voice again as well.... Did this Dragon just give me power or something?


    The Dragon removed its claw from my head, before leaning back again and looking down at me with its eyes again.


    "There ¡ª now you should be able to converse with me in spoken words, more specifically, the Primal Language."


    "Primal language...?"


    I let loose on accident, speaking out before flipping my tail in front of my mouth. The dragon seemingly smirked to himself, before crossing its arms and clicking its tongue lightly.


    I just managed to speak ¡ª something I couldn''t do this whole time up until now.... This Dragon, did it just give me the ability to speak? Okay.... Now I know that there was a high chance of me dreaming right now and none of this being real ¡ª No, it was too confusing to be real.


    "Now that you can speak, allow me to ask ¡ª You aren''t a normal serpent, correct?"


    The Dragon asked, tilting his head slightly to the right. I remained silent for a bit, before moving my tail off of my mouth and coiling up my body, before looking up at the dragon, with a rather nervous yet also calm expression.


    "Yeah... I am not."


    "I had a feeling."


    The Dragon stated, before looking up a bit, groaning loudly once more and then looking back down at me, sighing heavily, before looking dead straight at me with its deep red eyes.


    "Allow me to guess ¡ª a reincarnated individual from a different world?"


    I was a bit taken back by this sudden statement, however it did not make that fact obvious. Instead, I gulped lightly and nodded a bit hesitantly.


    "Indeed... But ¡ª how did you know?"


    I asked, before shaking my head and looking down.


    "Or rather... How did you figure out so quickly?"


    I corrected my question, turning my gaze up at the dragon afterwards. The Dragon remained silent for a bit, before letting out a heavy exhale and leaning back again ¡ª crossing its arms again.


    "The shape of your soul ¡ª It''s not that of a serpent, but a human instead."


    The Dragon pointed out, before letting out a small amount of pitch black smoke from its nostrils before gargling its throat and coughing afterwards.


    "Apologies - I''ve been in here for so long that I have begun to lose my connection to the abyss."


    The Dragon apologised. I still wasn''t very sure on what to say to the dragon nor on what to really do in this situation. I wasn''t even sure whether this was real or not at this point and could feel my head lightly spinning.


    Too much information was being presented to me too fast. This dragon has been here for a long time, so long, that it had begun losing its connection to something? I am a bit confused and lost here right now. The Dragon remained silent for another bit longer before exhaling and looking down at me again.


    "Alright ¡ª Moving along, I suppose I should ask for your name, reincarnated one. What is it?"


    The Dragon asked, sharpening its gaze.


    "Or rather ¡ª what was it?"


    It asked. I once again felt hesitant to say anything, and even went over the idea of saying that I had no name for some reason, however after a moment or two, I exhaled.


    "Komeno Riyo. My name is... Was Komeno Riyo."


    I replied, closing my eyes lightly, before looking down at the ground with a slightly saddened expression. The Dragon looked at me with a more curious gaze, before looking to the side for a second and then back at me.


    "Alright ¡ª it is my pleasure to meet you Komeno Riyo."


    The Dragon stated, before lifting his right arm up to his chest and placing his left one down by his side.


    "I am known as Arabor the Abyss, and the location you have found yourself inside of, is my tomb."

 Chapter 4 - ‘A Promise to the Abyss.’

    When the Dragon introduced itself, I couldn''t help but notice it called itself ''Arabor THE Abyss'' which made me wonder what the second part of its name could mean. It did mention some kind of ''connection'' to some abyss earlier, so perhaps this name or title I suppose was a reflection of that connection?


    Honestly, who can say. After the dragon and I had introduced ourselves to one another, silence took place again ¡ª stretching on as neither of us said anything or really moved, with only really the dragon breaking the dead silence with occasional coughs and groans.


    Eventually, Arabor exhaled before looking down at me with a curious gaze, crossing his arms.


    "I''m curious about your story Riyo. Could you perhaps tell me how you ended up in this world and more importantly, how you ended up in the body of a snake?"


    Arabor asked, tilting his head to the side, before groaning loudly again ¡ª shaking the whole cave again. I shed a light sweat again, before thinking over his request. Should I tell him my life story or should I keep quiet? Should I tell him how I died or should I keep quiet? It was a rather tough decision.


    However, it felt like an overwhelming weight was being put on top of me as I considered the idea of remaining silent and not telling the dragon about myself, so in the end I exhaled before looking down, with a slightly mixed expression.


    "I suppose we can begin with the day I died..."


    I stated, before exhaling again and sinking slightly into my body. Arabor leaned forward a bit, showing actual interest and curiosity in what I was about to tell him.


    The day started off like any other. I woke up early in the morning and immediately got to doing chores around my apartment. I cleaned it up, washed the unwashed dishes, as well as took out any trash that had been left over from the weekend.


    Once it all was done, I had a single mug of morning coffee, before getting dressed and immediately heading off to work.


    At work, I did the usual things I needed to do, mainly, the tasks and work that my boss had given me. I was always happy to do anything he asked me to as well as always took on what everyone else considered to be too much for one person.


    However, despite everyone''s concerns, I insisted that I would be fine and get everything done that day. This kind of mentality had driven me down mentally, making me overthink my decisions, but never express them to anyone.


    They were my choices that I made, to do all that stuff, even when I knew that I wouldn''t be able to handle it all easily. I decided to still take them on.


    While working, my mood fell down and I became a bit rude to others. However, no one seemed to mind and instead expressed concern for my health, saying that I should head home and rest or look after myself more and take some days off.


    However, I just shot them all down, not open to the idea of doing nothing the whole day. Eventually, my boss came to speak to me ¡ª or well, try to convince me to take a few days off and rest. However, I was being stubborn and frankly speaking, even stupid ¡ª telling my boss that I didn''t need to rest and that I would handle everything as promised.


    This led to a small argument, as my boss tried to talk me into going home and taking a few days off to rest and just tune out work.


    But I didn''t listen and told him to leave me alone, which he did after a heavy exhale.


    For the rest of the day, my mood was bad and I was clearly tired the whole day, moving slowly and sluggishly ¡ª my co-workers just throwing converters stares at me. Eventually, evening came by and everyone began to leave, but I was still doing the last remaining things I said I would do.


    My boss came by one last time that day to tell me to pack up and leave soon and to not push myself too hard. I didn''t reply to him and simply continued my work, with him leaving shortly after.


    I continued to work away in the building until even the janitors left, before eventually managing to finish all the work I had taken on that day. After I finished, I immediately headed off home, leaving the company building ¡ª feeling exhausted and even slightly nauseous.


    And then...


    Glass shatters


    Bank alarms go off


    Police sirens roar


    Gunfire ensues


    A bullet hits me.


    "And then afterwards... I just remember bleeding out there on the sidewalk, before my conscience faded as I died. But... I then suddenly awoke inside of an egg in the forest that surrounded this ''tomb''."


    I finished off my story, before looking up towards the Dragon and slightly leaning out of my coiled up body.


    "And...That''s pretty much it."


    The Dragon looked down at me with a serious expression, simply groaning lightly before exhaling and leaning back up and then against the cavern wall behind it.


    "I see... Quite a sad tale I have to say."


    Arabor stated before looking down at me.


    "And do you miss your family now that you''re here? After all, you won''t be able to see them anymore."


    The Dragon asked. I couldn''t muster up an answer at first and remained silent, before sinking into my body again and then closing my eyes and nodding lightly in response.


    "I do.... I very much do. I guess that''s why it is better to be reborn without any memories."


    I replied, before looking down. Another suffocating silence took place between us both as neither me or Arabor said anything to each other. After a small while of silence, Arabor exhaled before leaning down towards me, and touching my head lightly with his nuzzle.


    I looked up at him with slight confusion, before the Dragon once again leaned back up a moment or two later.


    "While I cannot resonate with you or how you feel, I can try my best to comfort you."


    He stated.


    I don''t know why, but his statement just now made me feel a bit happy ¡ª with a warm feeling inside of my body. It was very nice to hear someone say something like that to me again... I had forgotten how it is when others express care towards me and I don''t shut them out.


    Before the silence could take place again, I shook my head lightly before uncoiling my body and looking up towards the Dragon with my golden eyes.


    "That''s enough about me. I want to know... What are you doing here Arabor? Why is this a tomb?"


    I asked.


    At first, it looked like Arabor was hesitant to tell me anything in response to my questions, which almost caused me to apologise for asking him what I had, however, the Dragon then exhaled before looking up towards the crystals that covered the cave''s ceiling.


    "Listen well little one."


    Long, long ago ¡ª this world was just an empty blank canvas, which did not have a world or any life in it. Then, me and my eight siblings came into existence, becoming the first beings in the world.


    We had been birthed by the world ¡ª with nine powerful elements being used as our birthplace and source of power and life.


    Together, we shaped the world into what we wanted, creating life to inhabit and exist in this world. One day, a crack from a different world opened in the sky, with beings from beyond this world coming to ours.


    When we confronted them, we were offered an alliance ¡ª a pact in which we would allow them to add their own form of life into this world, to co-exist with the life we had created. However, the pact ended up being our greatest mistake.


    These beings, who called themselves ''Deities'', unleashed an ancient concept that we had imprisoned from its seal and released it into the world ¡ª more specifically, the Abyss ¡ª from which I was born.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    This concept was known as ''The Evil'' ¡ª a shapeless and powerful creature that had an unsatisfiable hunger for destruction and chaos.


    As soon as it was released into the abyss from which I was born from, it infested it with its roots - gaining power while also poisoning anyone with a deep connection to the Abyss. And I ¡ª was the greatest victim.


    I lost my sense of self - I lost all sense of reason and began to blindly rampage, destroying the world that me and my siblings had once shaped.


    They did not have the courage to take me out, as their care for me was far too deep ¡ª but the Deities did not waste time. They descended upon a group of adventurers and granted them access to a powerful sealing spell, instructing them to go and fight me and then seal me away to quote ''Save the World''.


    And so they did.


    They came to me, fought against me diligently and eventually ¡ª cast the sealing spell onto me, exiling me into a sub dimension which was then placed inside of a tomb, located at the location where our clash happened.


    The tomb became known as my tomb, with the Adventurers being renowned as heroes, while I ¡ª was forced into an eternal prison, from which I could not break out.


    "And ever since then ¡ª for over three and a half thousand years, I have been sitting inside of this tomb, under this seal''s control - unable to do anything to escape."


    Arabor finished off, before looking down from the crystal and closing his eyes for a second. After taking in a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and looked down at me.


    With his story having been told, I couldn''t help but feel bad for the Dragon. He was unable to fight against the corrupting power that took over him and was deemed a dangerous being, before being sealed away from accessing the world he helped shape in the first place.


    Something about that.... It just stung, even if I wasn''t the one who experienced it.


    Silence took place between us again, as I simply was gathering my thoughts, while the Dragon remained silent and watched me with its deep red eyes locked onto me. After a little while, I exhaled.


    "It''s a sad tale that the both of us have."


    I stated, breaking the silence.


    Arabor looked down at me, before nodding lightly in agreement.


    "Indeed. It is a sad one."


    The Dragon stated in response. After another brief bit of silence, I exhaled again and looked up towards the dragon.


    "Is there really nothing you can do to escape?"


    I asked. I know that it was a strange question to ask out of the blue, however hearing his tale and linking it to mine, I felt like the Dragon did not deserve any of this. It wasn''t his choice to rampage around the world ¡ª it was those so-called ''Deities'' that caused him to rampage in the first place.


    Why would they free an ancient concept that it literally called ''The Evil'' and let it loose into the world around? Who do they think they are?


    Arabor looked down at me a bit confused before thinking for a bit ¡ª scratching his head.


    "Well... Technically speaking, there is one thing that I can think of that could allow me to be free again. However, it is highly risky."


    "I don''t care how risky it is! Tell me, is there any way I can help?"


    I cut him off at the end, shouting in desperation. I realise I sounded like a kid right now, despite being technically a 28 year old, however I had come here and met this Dragon, heard his story, shared my own story with him and created what I would say is a baseline for a good friendship.


    I can''t just leave him here to rot forever inside of a seal! That makes me look like a jerk and even an asshole, as I have heard that he was technically wrongfully imprisoned here.


    Arabor looked a bit surprised by my slightly demanding nature, before exhaling and looking away, seemingly thinking for a moment. After a bit, he exhaled and looked back at me.


    "Very well. Then listen up ¡ª There is one thing I could try. It is a spell, or more specifically, a ritual. It would allow me to transfer my entire being and power into your power, destroying the current physical form I possess."


    Arabor began, describing the one thing we could try doing. Immediately as soon as he said that the ritual would destroy his physical body, I shed a sweat, not really sure whether I wanted to go through with this anymore.


    Surely that kind of process would be incredibly painful ¡ª right? Destroying your own body... That doesn''t sound like something that would be like a mosquito bite.


    "Alright... And what is the risk?"


    "The risk is that I am unsure whether your body and soul can handle my power and be transferred into you. After all, you''re only level two and not even an evolved creature."


    Arabor explained, sending slight shivers down my spine. I see... So due to my own body and nature of being clearly weaker than this dragon, this so-called ''ritual'' was potentially dangerous and risked my entire being...


    Well, that is worrying news for sure.


    Arabor and I went silent for a bit again, before I exhaled and looked up at him with a determined look. Screw it ¡ª I didn''t deserve a second chance at life anyway, so if this kills me, then it will be for the better in my opinion.


    "I don''t mind the risk. We can do it."


    I started with full confidence. Arabor looked a bit concerned still, however seeing my fully confident aura, he exhaled and leaned back a bit before clicking his tongue and leaning back down, looking at me.


    "Very well. We''ll do it. But first ¡ª to ensure that there is a higher chance of success, I suggest we perform what is known as an ''Essence Vow''."


    Arabor suggested, making me tilt my head to the left side in slight confusion and curiosity.


    "Essence Vow..?"


    "Think of it as an unbreakable promise between two individuals. It will strengthen our connection and bond, allowing the ritual to have a higher chance of success and you to potentially have higher odds of surviving."


    He explained a bit. Once I heard the explanation, I almost immediately nodded in agreement to doing one. If this could ensure that there was a higher chance of success and us both making out of here with our lives ¡ª then why the hell would I ever back out?


    Seeing my clear answer without even me saying it, Arabor exhaled and chuckled before leaning down to me and touching my nuzzle with his before leaning back up.


    "So... What do we need to do for the Essence Vow?"


    "Well, for starters, since you technically do not possess a name in this world as a nameless intelligent monster, I should start by granting you one."


    He stated before crossing his arms.


    Name... I suppose using the name from my old life would only keep bringing me memories from it, which could result in some painful memories also being dug up back from my past.


    So I suppose having a new name won''t hurt.


    "Alright, then I guess you can do as you wish."


    Arabor nodded, before thinking for a bit. After a little bit, he looked down at me.


    "I know ¡ª You shall be named Faofa Shin, my trusted companion and friend, who I shall entrust my entire being and power to."


    As soon as Arabor announced the name and all the rest in his statement, I felt a warm fuzzy feeling inside my body, before a white glimmering light covered my body as an aura for a moment, before disappearing.


    Name received.


    ''Faofa Shin'' has evolved into Inferior Serpentine.


    That voice again.... I guess it was some sort of announcer or something. I looked up to Arabor with a small smile, causing him to sort of smile back at me. After I was given a name by Arabor, he moved onto the next part of the thing.


    "Now, allow us to begin..."


    Arabor stated, closing his eyes and lowering his head down slightly. I looked around a bit before doing the same. Then, black flames appeared around us, surrounding us before turning a deep violet colour. Then, a deep purple and black aura appeared around Arabor as he opened his eyes and looked down at me.


    "I, Arabor the Abyss, entrust my entire being and all my power to you ¡ª do you vow to guard my soul and power within your power and find a way to set me free once more?"


    Arabor asked. I shed a slight sweat, before opening my eyes and looking up at Arabor ¡ª looking straight into his eyes.


    "...I do. I, Riyo... No ¡ª Faofa Shin, vow to protect your power and soul within me, until the very day in which I can set you free once more!"


    I announced, using my tail as a sort of hand by placing it on my ''chest''. Arabor exhaled and closed his eyes again, his body suddenly igniting in flames, before being engulfed by them.


    Only his crimson red eyes pierced through the black flames as he looked back at me through them.


    "Then... I shall put my faith in you to fulfil your part. I also wish you good luck on your journey across this world."


    Arabor stated, before the flames spun around him, with the violet ones also engulfing him. Then, the aura that had surrounded him shot up from the top of the flames before sinking down towards me, engulfing my body and sinking into it.


    It felt very strange ¡ª almost like a constant warmth was being pushed into my body from every single side. I also could feel immense power rush through my body, almost like a surge of energy had struck me.


    Then, the flames also absorbed into me, before erupting and disappearing into thin air, with the crystals around losing their colour and light, dimming down before going completely grey.


    Individual ''Arabor the Abyss'' has been absorbed.


    Mass Magical Energy has been absorbed, an excess amount will be converted into skills.


    Common Skill [Inspector] acquired.


    Individual Skill [Devourer] acquired.


    The strange voice announced again, before going silent. I looked around in slight uncertainty and disbelief of what had just happened here. Where once Arabor stood now was nothing left - not even a pile of ashes.


    Guess it succeeded... I am still alive and Arabor is nowhere to be seen. Seems like the ritual was a success.


    Exhaling, I looked down.


    Something about this whole thing felt a bit... Strange. I still couldn''t shake off the instinct to call this whole thing a dream and nothing more, even with the countless evidence proving otherwise. After a bit of standing around silently, I shook my head and turned around, slithered back to the bending and winding path.


    I stopped just before moving onto it, looking back at where Arabor had once stood.


    ''...Don''t worry Arabor. I will make sure you can walk the land again ¡ª you can count on me.''


    I thought, before looking down a bit. After living in my thoughts for a moment longer, I turned away and continued to slither onto the path and down it, moving back through the hole that I had initially entered the cave through and moving towards the staircase that was on the other side of the ruins.

 Chapter 5 - ‘Beginning of Exploration.’

    A small while passed before I eventually made it out of the ruins. I breathed heavily, before sighing in exhaustion. Going down the staircase was hell of a lot easier than going up them ¡ª though that may have been because they were never intended to be climbed the way I did, which is by basically using my body as a spring.


    No idea how it worked so well, but here I am.


    Now at the top of the staircase, I threw one more look back and down the stairs, as they led back down into a black abyss. I still was sort of processing what had happened in these ruins just now...


    I entered expecting to find a tomb - which I suppose I did - but I also found an apparently ancient god that was trapped inside of there? Plus the whole thing with that supposed ''spell'' where he transferred his entire being and power into my body...


    All of it pretty much confirmed that I wasn''t in my original ''world'' anymore. No.. I was somewhere different. Somewhere, where I can never see my family ever again ¡ª no matter how much I would like to, even as a snake now. This thought... It is sort of painful to think about.


    I would even say that it is like a sharpened sword was stabbed straight through my heart before being twisted, just to add some more pain to the already painful truth that I was forced to now accept.


    I shook my head lightly, trying to clear it as much as I could. Sitting around and loathing about it all day was not going to help me in any way.


    No, I have been given another chance despite not earning or deserving such a chance - I shouldn''t waste it.


    Looking around, I began to slither back towards the forest in order to begin my exploration. After all, that will be the only way I can find out more about this place... This world that I have been born into. And it will be the only way for me to find a way to find a host body for Arabor to inhabit, so he can walk this world once again.


    It was a bit difficult to slither back up the rather steep slope that made up the ''walls'' of this crater - which had the ruins in the middle of it - however, I eventually managed to do it and get back onto the grass at the top, before exhaling and slithered forward a bit.


    Before I re-entered the forest, I threw a gaze back at the ruins for one last time ¡ª kind of unsure whether I had made the right decision with what I had just done. Was it the right decision to help Arabor get back out into the world free? I can''t say I quite understand this world or how it works due to it most definitely not being the same one as the one I was originally born in, however....


    Surely the decision I made in the ruins will have major consequences for this world?


    ''...Well, nothing I can realistically do about it anymore... After all, what is done, is done.''


    I thought before turning around and looking away from the ruins, gazing back into the thicket of trees that made up the forest I had awoken inside of and then been exploring for a bit.


    Time to continue exploring this place now. Hopefully I am able to find something that can help me in some way in this world.


    Taking in a deep breath, I was a bit nervous about entering the forest once more ¡ª since I had no idea what could be lurking inside of it. Those hermit crab creatures from earlier gave me quite the spook when I encountered them, even if they weren''t hostile towards me in any way.


    After a moment or two of more hesitation, I exhaled before finally moving forward ¡ª slithering into the trees and entering the forest once again, disappearing among the bushes and vines that dropped from the treeline.


    Back inside the forest now, I was slowly slithering through it, my eyes darting all over the place as I looked all around me. The forest somehow... felt more ominous now. There was this strange pressure almost being pressed down on top of me.


    It''s a bit hard to explain, but I would describe it as feeling like something heavy was on top of me, with me having no way to ''remove'' the heavy thing. Unless I simply entered a different part of this forest that was like this, I did not remember it being like this when I first moved through it.


    I continued to move forward through the forest, keeping my eyes wide open for any potential threats that may loom for me.


    If this was the world I was used to, my biggest threats would probably be owls, eagles or even humans ¡ª but in this world... Who knows what could be walking around and potentially looking for something to turn into a quick meal for itself? Nothing in this place is as predictable as it would be in my ''old'' life.


    .....That is so strange to say.


    It''s even stranger to think about it ¡ª calling my life that I had been living before death as ''my old life''... Something about it just... Didn''t feel right to me.


    Then, while I was continuing to slither forward, a sudden shadow leapt through the treeline before leaping down towards me and landing in front of me, knocking me back ¡ª sending me flying against a tree, which I hit pretty hard.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Thankfully, I didn''t feel like it had broken anything or harmed me too badly, but it still hurt as I lifted my head up and looked towards the shadow that had just ''attacked'' me.


    With the dirt cloud that was kicked up slowly fading, I was able to make out a wolf-like figure standing and growling towards me, its eyes crimson red and fur made up of what looked like multiple segments, each one alternating between the colours black and grey. The wolf also had two tails, which was the thing that stood out to me the most.


    ''Just what the hell is that..?''


    As soon as I questioned it, a sudden rectangle appeared right in front of me, which startled me and caused me to slither back a bit ¡ª backing up against the tree.


    The rectangle was kind of see-through, while also coloured a very light blue colour. It also had texts and lines ''written'' on it in white lines, with what looked like information?


    I really wasn''t sure.


    However, as I took a bit of a closer look at it, I managed to recognise it as similar to menus you would see in RPG games. Perhaps it was some kind of window that was giving me information about the creature...?


    Before I could finish that thought however, the strange wolf leapt towards me, dashing to attack with howls and growls coming from it, as it leapt at me and slashed at the tree where I had been sitting.


    Thankfully I managed to quickly slither out of the way ¡ª shedding a slight sweat as I watched the thing mercilessly slash at the tree trunk and even rip apart the ground I was just on top of. This thing was not here to make friends or anything ¡ª it most definitely was here to kill me.


    Though, that was obvious from its first leap down towards me, where it knocked me back with its weight alone.


    Once out of the way of danger, I threw a look back at the rectangle, reading the information it had. It was just basic information, telling me what I guess was the species name of the wolf as ''Inferior Direwolf'' ¡ª so it was sort of similar to me, as that voice I heard inside of the ruins said that I had also apparently ''evolved'' into an Inferior Serpentine.


    The other bit of information the rectangle presented was the creatures... Level? And it was level 3.. I am a bit ¡ª lost. Even though I recognised the similarities between this rectangle and an RPG game menu, I never have actually played much RPGs or really much games at all.


    The only things I ever played were some random football games I found, since I found those to be kind of interesting.


    The ''Direwolf'' stopped attacking the tree trunk and the ground below it, before looking towards me and growling ¡ª before howling loudly. So loud, that I actually felt a bit of pain from just listening to it. However, after a couple of seconds... I couldn''t hear the howl anymore as it just sort of disappeared. It was silent but the wolf definitely didn''t act like it had gone quiet.


    I was a bit confused at first, however then I remembered one fact that I had learned a couple of years ago in my ''old'' life ¡ª snakes can only hear low frequency sounds, not high ones.


    Which meant... That the wolfs¡¯ howl had simply gone out of my hearing range, thus why it appeared like it had gone completely quiet but did not act like it. Well ¡ª I am not complaining.


    The Direwolf eventually stopped its howling, before looking at me and dashing towards me, its mouth wide open as saliva fell all over the place.


    I quickly slithered away, before dodging the Direwolfs attempts at grabbing me and tearing me apart, before eventually slithering onto a tree bark, with the Direwolf leaping onto it, standing on its back legs as it shook the tree lightly, while attempting to reach me with its mouth.


    Looking down, it was a scary sight ¡ª with the Direwolf going absolutely nuts all over the place as it raged on and attempted to even climb the tree. I was so scared, I simply froze in place ¡ª quickly wrapping around a thin branch, before closing my eyes. This is what I was talking about when I said I had no idea what could be lurking in this forest.


    The Direwolf eventually began shaking the tree so violently, the branch I was wrapped around simply could not hold on and snapped, falling down and sending me falling down towards the Direwolf as well. Terrified, I wiggled all over the place midair, before closing my eyes tightly and opening my mouth wide open, with my snake fangs aimed straight down at the wolf.


    The Direwolf managed to bite onto my tail a bit, sending me swinging towards its neck. As soon as I felt it in my mouth, I immediately bit down upon it, getting a tight grip onto it and sending the Direwolf into a frenzy, while it thrashed around, letting go of my tail.


    After a couple of moments of just raging all over the place and thrashing, the wolf suddenly stopped, before letting out what sounded like a low groan, which I did manage to sort of hear, before it suddenly swayed and fell down to the ground.


    I still kept a tight grip onto its neck, however feeling the movement subside, I opened my left eye before looking around confused. The Direwolf was suddenly unmoving and almost lifeless....


    Letting go of it, I slithered away from it, before examining its body a bit. Is it... Dead?


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 4.


    Common Skill [Hunter] acquired.


    It''s that voice again... I have risen to level 4? I am not an expert in RPGs or anything like that, but I''m pretty sure this was just like one...


    Right?


    And a skill acquired... This is too much confusing information for me to understand and absorb so quickly man. I shook my head lightly, before exhaling a bit heavily and looking back at the dead Direwolf. Its lifeless body creeped me out a bit, so I simply turned around and slithered away from it.


    I had just taken the life of another living thing... Mind you, it wasn''t a human ¡ª but that Direwolf was still a living creature just like me, even if it did try to kill me.


    ...But then again, if I want to not waste this second chance that I have been given ¡ª Then I shouldn''t feel bad about taking a life when I was just defending myself. No... As far as I was concerned, within the kingdom of animals ¡ª it was survival of the fittest.


    This Direwolf was not the last creature I was going to be forced to kill, there''s no doubt about that. But still... Even with that in mind ¡ª I feel just a tiny bit bad about killing it.


    I disappeared into the treeline and bushes after a bit of slithering, leaving the lifeless wolfs¡¯ body laying on the ground, its blood seeping down into the grass around it.

 Chapter 6 - ‘Life as A Snake.’

    One Week Later. . .


    It was a rainy morning. I was sleeping soundly inside of a fallen tree trunk, coiled up in a spring and having my head sunk inside of my own body. It was such a peaceful and nice silence all around me, with only the subtle sound of rain drops falling breaking it every moment here and there. I snored lightly as I slept, before a small raindrop fell from a leaf above the trunk, falling through a small, small gap in the trunk above me and hitting my head, startling me and waking me up in an instant.


    I shook my head as soon as I woke up, looking around in pure confusion before looking above me. Through a small gap in the trunk I could see the rainy weather that was present right at this moment.


    ¡®Guess I was woken up by the rain..¡¯


    I thought, before looking back down and yawning lightly. Uncoiling my body, I quickly stretched it out in a straight line, before slithering over to the trunk entrance I was the most close to and looking outside. Even though it was practically pouring from the sky, the sheer density of the trees around me managed to block pretty much all of the rain, with only a couple of raindrops making through to the ground itself.


    The sky was basically all in all invisible and out of my sight, with only snippets of it managing to break through the thick layer of tree branches and leaves. Through these snippets, I managed to deduce that the sky was basically all grey, with the sun nowhere to be seen - shocker.


    Who would have thought that when there is rain pouring, the sun is nowhere to be seen huh¡­


    Exhaling, I slithered out of the trunk and off into the forest once more, ready to start off my day. It has been basically a week since I first awoke in this world - and I will not lie, I had actually managed to slowly get used to and adapt to the way this world functions and how my new life will be like.


    First, I figured out the core ¡®mechanic¡¯ behind this world - or atleast, what seems to be the thing that this whole world is based on. It was ¡®Magical Energy¡¯ - something that can only be described as this world''s version of atoms and molecules. How did I figure this out? Trial and error. I have been wandering this forest for a while now, avoiding any signs of danger as much as I could, just to stay out of trouble. During that time, I have been using that one skill I got after making the whole ¡®Essence Vow¡¯ with Arabor in order to learn about this world.


    At first, the skill gave me very little and very basic information about this world, but with time - as I used it more and more, it began giving me a little more detailed information about this world. I¡¯ve reached the point where it gives me a full description about the different things I look at using the skill. That is how I figured out the stuff with Magical Energy - by using ¡®Inspector¡¯.


    Learning about the world has been a fun experience I¡¯ve got to say. I have been finding out what I can and can¡¯t eat, things that are safe and things that I should avoid like the black plague and even have slowly begun to ¡®memorise¡¯ the forests layout¡­ or atleast, as much as you can memorise the layout of a forest as dense and thick as this one.


    I moved through the forest with the rain continuing on for a while, before it eventually subsided and I reached a small open area where I decided to take a rest. I had been travelling through this place for a while now and still hadn¡¯t found anything I could kill and eat. Yeah, on the whole food thing, even though I had figured out what I can and can¡¯t eat, there was a small problem tucked onto it - Since I am a snake and technically a ¡®carnivore¡¯, the only thing that can realistically ¡®feed¡¯ me enough to not feel hunger or that my stomach can actually digest was¡­ meat. More specifically, meat from small rodents or insects.


    There is no way in hell I would be able to take down and eat a wolf - especially the kind that I was forced to face after I left Arabors grave and started my ¡®journey¡¯. Actually¡­ speaking of that wolf, I have managed to run into more of its kind in this past week - and while every time I was scared out of my mind and was looking for ways to avoid fighting those things, there were times when I was simply forced to fight for my own survival.


    And well, doing so I managed to ¡®level up¡¯ more as indicated by that strange voice I heard every time I killed one of them. The last time I heard it, I believe that it said that I had risen to level 9 or so, which means that since I left the ruins and began my exploration, which, keep in mind, was a week ago, I had only managed to level up from level 4 to level 9.


    I am no expert in RPG games at all, so I didn¡¯t know whether this growth was bad or good, but I imagine that for a week worth of wandering and killing, it wasn¡¯t all that great. But then again - can you blame me? I am a small snake or rather, a human who was reincarnated as a snake, and I had no idea what the hell to do. Plus, seeing wolves that only vaguely resemble wolves and have two tails would send anyone into an immediate state of fright¡­ right?


    Whatever¡­


    I was laying down in the open field, more specifically, off to the side, underneath a large plant which gave me some nice cover as I laid there in with my coiled up body. I know that I wasn¡¯t the sharpest when it came to this stuff, but even I wasn¡¯t foolish enough to put myself in the middle of an open field where I was a massive and very obvious target for any other creature that felt like they wanted some snake meat as their next lunch.


    Laying down underneath this leaf like this, I was simply sunken inside of my thoughts. I was thinking about the whole thing with my ¡®Inspector¡¯ skill, basically creating a game-like menu in my head to display information and that mysterious and strange voice that announced me gaining levels and skills. I know I sound like a broken record, but as someone who isn¡¯t an expert in RPG style games, I was wondering¡­If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Since all of this seems so similar to those games, then perhaps there was some way for me to view ¡®stats¡¯ of some sorts? All the footage I have seen of RPG style games have some sort of ¡®stat¡¯ system in them where it displays how powerful an individual is and how high their level is, and whatever else it displays. So, surely, since this world seems to have a system similar to those¡­ there had to be some sort of hidden ¡®stat¡¯ menu or something somewhere, right?


    It may sound obvious to those that know how this stuff works, but to me, this was like learning a new language. I just laid there in a coil and brainstormed how I could possibly access a ¡®stat¡¯ menu, IF there even was such a thing in this world. I was unsure how you would usually access this type of menu in any RPG, so I had no idea what to even try. It wasn¡¯t like I was next to a keyboard or a controller that had buttons I could press.


    As I was thinking about it, I suddenly felt a light tremble through the ground. At first, I didn¡¯t think much of it and simply ignored it. But then - the ground trembled again, only more violently. That startled me a bit, causing me to uncoil myself and look at the ground in deadpan confusion and dumbfoundedness. There wasn¡¯t an earthquake about to happen¡­ right?


    I hope not - I have had enough experience with earthquakes by living in Japan, the place where in my old life, the most amount of earthquakes would happen every year. For a bit, no other trembles happened and I was almost tempted to write off the previous trembles I felt as nothing more but pigments of my own imagination. However, the ground then suddenly began to shake more and more, which was followed by the horrific sound of trees snapping in the distance and birds flailing away as if running from something.


    The ground was shaking more and more with every snapping tree I heard, which indicated to me that whatever was causing the ground to shake, it was¡­ getting closer to my location. In a slight panic, I quickly slithered off into some nearby bushes, before spotting a hollow dobe within a tree, which I entered quickly, hiding myself inside of the shadows of the hollow tree and only poking my head out slightly to see what was causing the violent, aggressive shaking of the ground. As the ground shaking became more violent and the snapping of trees grew louder, I suddenly saw a very large foot stomp into the small open field that I was just resting in moments earlier.


    The foot was in a very washed out, dark grey colour and almost took up the whole space of the slightly open field - which nearly gave me a heart attack. Going up from the foot to the rest of the creatures body, this thing had a thick leather skin wrapped around its waist to seemingly mimic pants or something that humans would wear. It was rather pudgy and fat looking and also had thick, heavy looking lower arms, which didn¡¯t seem to even have any joints in them, with only three fingers being visible on each arm.


    Lastly, I managed to catch a view of the things head, which appeared to be somewhat human, but with an abnormally large nose and large tusk-like teeth coming from its lower jaw. It had no hair and pointed, long ears which complemented the small, pitch black eyes.


    Overall, this thing looked¡­ horrendous - I suppose is the word I would use to describe it. In my shock, I almost slid out of the hollow tree I was using as a hiding spot, before quickly flailing back inside and poking my head up again to look at it. At that moment I narrowed my eyes and sharpened my gaze on the creature, using my ¡®Inspector¡¯ skill on it.


    It didn¡¯t even take a moment for the description box to appear after I ¡®activated¡¯ it.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - Inferior Troll -


    Level; 21


    A juvenile version of the common ¡®Troll¡¯ species. This creature possesses great physical prowess, however lacks intelligence and speed.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    See? I told you I had become a lot better and more skilled at using this skill to gain information and an actual rundown of what a creature is about. Anyway¡­ Looking past the description alone, what popped out the most for me was the things level.


    21¡­


    That is way out of my league. I had only faced around level 8 as my highest level enemy up until now, and that enemy was a Direwolf - but this creature¡­ it not only towered me in size, but it also was a whopping 12 levels higher. Surely taking it on at my current level and state would more or less be like sentencing myself to death, right?


    The Troll stopped in this field, looking around before letting out a horrifically loud roar and continuing to move forward, its rather large feet leaving indents in the ground and shaking it violently with every step it took forward. I slid slightly more out of my hiding spot, watching as the Troll moved away and disappeared amongst the tree lines, still snapping them as it moved away. Once it was completely out of sight, I exhaled in relief and slithered out of my hiding spot and back into the slight open area, which now had a giant indent of a foot in the middle of it as well as all the bushes and other greenery around it being stomped.


    That thing is like a tank¡­ destroying everything that comes in its way. Plus, being at level 21, it must have a very easy time killing other monsters and creatures that it may come across in its path. A couple more moments passed, until eventually the ground completely ceased to shake and I felt at ease again - feeling as though I had managed to escape alive from a potentially death sentence of a scenario.


    However, with the feeling of relief, another feeling also hit me. The feeling of¡­ well.. Slight fear. It was level 21 - I was only level 9. I made a promise to Arabor that I would set him free and help him walk this land again, but how am I supposed to do that when a single Troll that is 12 levels higher than me, is enough to send me into a state of fear and running for my life? Seeing it had sort of opened my eyes.


    There was only one way I would manage to progress in this world and make it farther - and that was by levelling up. And to level up¡­ I needed to stop avoiding things and start fighting more.


    I now had a goal in mind - I had basically gotten used to how things work in this world and now was the time I put that knowledge to use. I needed to grow stronger. Strong enough to perhaps kill that Troll sometime. I exhaled lightly, turning in the direction that the Troll had come from and slithering off into it, hiding myself among the bushes and plants that surrounded me, a much more serious expression plastered across my face.


    It was time to hunt down some other creatures.

 Chapter 7 - ‘Snake Out on a Hunt.’

    I slithered around for a little while, kind of aimlessly at some points, as I searched for anything I could face and kill to potentially gain exp and level up as quickly as I could. While I was still slightly terrified of facing other monsters in combat, especially on purpose and not for the reasons of simply defending myself anymore, I didn¡¯t allow that fear to discourage me from the bigger picture. Seeing that troll I knew that I wasn¡¯t going to be freeing anyone from anywhere at my current level. Seriously - who was I expecting to set free into the world if a troll, that was smaller and less intimidating than Arabor, was strong enough to make me look like a beginner enemy?


    At least, I believe he made me look like that anyway¡­ I am not a very knowledgeable person when it comes to RPG or MMO style games. As I wandered through the woods, I kept my guard up at all times. Death and danger could be lurking around every corner and I had to be careful to not let myself fall victim to some enemy who may be waiting for a chance to launch a sneak attack against me.


    Eventually, I was startled by a small group of slimes hopping out of some bushes in front of me, causing me to back up a bit. Immediately, I narrowed my eyes on the other creatures, using ¡®Inspector¡¯ on them to see what their levels were.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - Inferior Water Slime -


    Level; 5


    A Weak version of the common ¡®Water Slime¡¯. This creature possesses almost no intellect and is always relying on instinct. Not very durable nor very powerful.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - Inferior Water Slime -


    Level; 3


    A Weak version of the common ¡®Water Slime¡¯. This creature possesses almost no intellect and is always relying on instinct. Not very durable nor very powerful.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - Inferior Water Slime -


    Level; 5


    A Weak version of the common ¡®Water Slime¡¯. This creature possesses almost no intellect and is always relying on instinct. Not very durable nor very powerful.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Well, that should be easy enough for me to handle. The highest level is 4 levels lower than me and the descriptions said that they aren¡¯t super powerful. This should be good enough for me for the time being. Pestering up the courage to face the creatures, I slithered towards them with a determined expression and a serious glare directly aimed at them.


    The low level creatures seemingly noticed me, before suddenly starting to charge at me - showing off their low intellect right off the bat, as they just charged at me with no regard for their own lives or if they could even beat me at all. Guess that is what ¡®always relying on instinct¡¯ means. As the slimes charged at me, I took in a bit of a deep breath, before coiling up my body and launching myself at the first slime like a spring. This was a neat trick I had learned to do while facing off against Direwolves for the past week.


    As soon as I got on top of the first slime, I opened my mouth wide open, before sinking my fangs into the slimes soft and squishy body. The creature stopped, before shaking and then exploding into a small puddle of water - as well as launching me back against a tree. I hit the tree pretty hard, but got back up almost immediately. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t hurt all that much, despite the tree barks rough and hard texture.


    The other two slimes then changed their path and leapt at me one after the other. I swiftly dodged the first slime - the other Level 5 one - before retaliating and sinking my fangs into its body as well. Once again, the slime stopped moving before shaking and exploding into a puddle of water - however this time, it didn¡¯t send me flying back. Then, the last slime came flying at me, however I simply coiled my body up and once again, like a spring, launched myself at the slime, opening my mouth wide open and sinking them into its body midair. As soon as I did that, the slime stopped moving and began shaking, and right as we hit the ground, it exploded into a water puddle as well - causing me to hit my head against the ground a bit hard.


    I picked myself up, slightly dizzy from the impact, however shook my head, as well as the dizziness off almost instantly. That was all three of them defeated - I¡¯d say that went pretty well. Then, I heard the same voice that I have heard up until now, announcing my level up.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 10.


    Common Skill [Hunter] has evolved into the Rare Skill [Huntsman].


    A skill evolved? And the same skill I gained after I killed that first Direwolf that I encountered after leaving the ruins that Arabor had been located inside of. I wonder what the whole evolution was about¡­


    I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure it out later - the more important part of this announcement was my level up to level 10. I feel a lot better about myself now. Yes it was only 1 level, which I imagine wasn¡¯t anything impressive by RPG standards, but to me this one level showed my slow progress. It took me around 2 days previously to raise my level by a single digit due to my hesitance to fight other monsters, but this time, not only did I take out 3 of them, I managed to push out a level in less than 2 minutes.


    I am quite proud of myself.


    However, I mustn¡¯t let this single level distract me. I had to find and fight more monsters as fast as possible - the grind cannot stop yet for today. And so, without much more hesitation or fear, I immediately moved out again, continuing to slither farther into the forest.


    As I dove deeper and deeper, I encountered more and more monsters. I encountered some familiar ones such as Direwolves and different types of Slimes, but also new ones, such as ¡®Unintelligent Goblins¡¯ or ¡®Poison Lizards¡¯. Fighting against these creatures I managed to quickly raise my level from 10 all the way up to level 15 - with not too much effort. However, at the same time, I did grow a bit tired from all the searching and fighting, and so decided to take a rest for now.


    I was underneath a tree, coiled up with my head slightly sunken into my body. I¡¯d say my progress so far was decent. I mean, compared to the last week where I only managed to grow by 9 levels over the course of 7 days, I had now grown by a whole 6 levels in less than an hour - which I¡¯d consider to be quite an achievement and accomplishment for myself. As I laid there with my head in my body, I continued my thought process that I had before I had encountered the level 21 Troll - the possibility of some kind of ¡®stat¡¯ menu existing and a way for me to access it. Growing in levels was my main priority right now, however at the same time, I desperately wanted to know if there was some kind of menu that told all the information about my level, skills and perhaps even some kind of stats - as that would, I imagine, make my time levelling up even easier, as I would be able to keep track of my progress more easily.


    As I silently pondered, I suddenly picked up on the sound of voices in the distance - although, I was unable to make out what the voices were saying due to how faint and quiet they were, as well as them sounding like they were in a language that was foreign to me. I opened my eyes and lifted my head up, listening for the faint voices a bit more carefully, before figuring out the direction they were coming from.


    This was the first time since I met Arabor that I had heard other individuals talking¡­ Could there be humans or other creatures capable of speech in the direction of the faint voices? Well¡­ only one way to find out.


    I uncoiled my body, before beginning to quickly slither in the direction that the voices were coming from. As they got louder and louder, I also began to hear a lot more individuals speaking - all of them doing so in a language I definitely did not understand. Eventually, after moving through some bushes, I came across a slightly large open field that had a lot of the trees of the dense forest sort of missing. Looking around, I spotted what looked like multiple white tents in the field as well as individuals wearing cloaks and strange uniform type outfits walking around the camp, talking to one another and laughing.


    They sort of looked like¡­ students. Could this be a class of students out in the forest? I mean, they were humans - or at least, looked like humans - and they wore actual clothing compared to the tattered and clearly used leather and pelts that Goblins and that Troll tied around their waist. Did I stumble upon a possible class?


    As I pondered, I heard an older sounding voice call together all the other individuals. Looking over to him, I could definitely tell that this older individual was their supervisor in some way. He wore a similar cloak to them, however his outfit underneath was in a deep red colour and looked a lot more distinguished compared to the younger people. Perhaps he was their teacher. The older man began to explain something to the large group, however due to my inability to understand their language, everything they said sounded like inaudible gobble to me. However, one thing did catch my eye as I observed them from a distance.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    One of the supposed students, who was sitting farther away than everyone else and clearly only paying half of the attention he should be, muttered words that I did somewhat understand; ¡®Sthrasus Ohpein¡¯.


    It is a bit of a stretch, however it sounded a bit similar to the word combination of ¡®Status Open¡¯ in the language I spoke. Another thing that stood out to me is that after he said that, I could see a small window of information appear in front of him, which caused me to gasp slightly. Was that potentially the status menu I was thinking about and searching for a way to access? If so, then I might have just witnessed a way to access it. Immediately, I slithered behind some cover - being a tree next to me - before pressing my body up against it. Afterwards, I shed a small sweat and exhaled.


    I felt excitement and nervousness run through my body in the shape of shivers. I don¡¯t know why, but the idea of seeing a stat menu with information about me made me so unbelievably excited that I was barely able to remain still. I had never played any RPGs in my past life and so had no idea how they worked, but at the same time, loved the idea of actually exploring them and seeing how they could have potentially worked in this world, as so far, this world is seemingly very similar to them - or at least, similar to the limited information I had about them, from hearing about them from my co-workers, the news or reading about them in some articles.


    I gulped, before opening my mouth - about to say the words, only to freeze up and not say a thing. I was so nervous that it felt like I wasn¡¯t able to speak. After shaking my head, I gathered up the courage and looked down before saying the following sentence out loud.


    ¡°Status Open.¡± {Primal Language Translation; ¡®Graifrius Hasil.¡¯}


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Inferior Serpentine


    Level: 15


    Rank: F


    Stats:


    Health; 4000


    Strength; 500


    Defence; 400


    Magical Energy; 1200


    Stamina; 500


    Intelligence; 190


    - Overall Power; 1450


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Inspector; Common Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Huntsman; Rare Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Like magic, in front of me, a small, light blue coloured menu with white text on it appeared, showing information that I had longed to see. As soon as I saw it, my face lit up with excitement and joy - so much so, that I began to just up and down with my small snake body out of excitement and joy. This was the coolest thing! I had stats just like those RPGs I had heard so much about in my previous life!


    And they were pretty detailed. It showed my name, my species, my level¡­ My rank? What does ¡®Rank¡¯ mean? I don¡¯t know, but it shows an ¡®F¡¯ which I imagine wasn¡¯t very high, so I will guess that rank is to show how powerful I am. Looking at my stats, they looked decent. 4000 health, which I imagine refers to how much damage I can take before I die, 500 strength and stamina which I imagine refers to my physical power and maybe for how long I can do intense acts for before needing a rest, 400 defence, which I didn¡¯t quite understand, but I will guess refers to my durability or ability to withstand and resist attacks? I¡¯m not sure. Intelligence was pretty self explanatory and then lastly¡­


    Magical Energy¡­ Huh, so I did have something like that. I had been wondering about whether I had that or not - although, I suppose it isn¡¯t super surprising that I did, considering that the strange voice did say that I absorbed ¡®large amounts of Magical Energy¡¯ after Arabors soul and power entered my body.


    After I was done admiring my stats, I looked a bit lower, seeing a list of ¡®skills¡¯. The voice had mentioned these things earlier at multiple points - with the ¡®Speech¡¯, ¡®Inspector¡¯ and ¡®Devourer¡¯ all being acquired in the ruins where I met Arabor. But there also was the ¡®Huntsman¡¯ skill that had evolved from ¡®Hunter¡¯ earlier as well, which made me wonder what it did. In fact, I was curious about what ¡®Devourer¡¯ also did, as I had not tried using it so far. How do I even use it in the first place? Well, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure it out with time.


    After seeing everything I wanted, I happily slid back into a coil and let my head sink into my body - with the menu closing itself automatically. It felt so cool to know that I can access such a convenient tool at all times by simply saying a simple sentence. It also made my mind at ease, knowing that I now had an easy and effective way to keep track of my progress as I continued hunting monsters and other creatures.


    I was tempted to slide off into sleep after seeing my menu, however I was thrown out of my state of peace by a loud call from the camp I had observed earlier, which caused me to sneakily look around the tree towards the campers. The group had now split off into several ¡®teams¡¯ and seemed to be preparing for something. They were picking up weapons, staffs, bows¡­ wait, were they preparing to go out and hunt or kill stuff? If so, I probably shouldn¡¯t be so close to them. I turned around, about to slither past this open field and farther into the forest - only to be stopped by catching glimpses of something more interesting at the corner of my left eye.


    Looking back over at the field, I spotted a large rock formation, with a fancy entrance on the front - one that was a bit similar to the entrance at Arabors ruins. This piqued my interest, with the temptation to head over there and see what it was about rising, however I was thrown off by the fact that the camp for those humans wasn¡¯t all that far from this rock formation. Could it be that they were preparing to enter this strange structure? Could be¡­


    But if they were preparing for that, by arming themselves¡­ That meant that this structure could be home to some enemies for me to face.


    This thought immediately intrigued me, as it meant that I could potentially have an easier way to hunt down and kill other creatures if this structure indeed housed them. Even with how large the forest was, finding creatures to fight and kill was easier said than done - as they seemed to be few and far between. I debated for a bit about seeing what the rock structure was all about, before deciding to simply take the risk and slithered swiftly out of the safe cavity of the trees and quickly towards the structure. Up close, it looked a LOT bigger than from the side, which did intimidate me at first, however I kept a confident expression on face, as I narrowed my eyes and used ¡®Inspector¡¯ on the structure.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Structure; Dungeon


    Rank; E


    A Structure that may appear at random in areas with dense magic formation. These structures are filled with Monsters to fight and rewards for challengers to claim.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    A dungeon¡­ I have no idea what a ¡®dungeon¡¯ was, however I imagine it was another core thing of RPG games. The thing that caught my attention more was the mention of how it is filled with monsters to fight. This immediately tantalised me, as I grew even more tempted to enter it and see what it held inside. Call me crazy, but I wanted to level up as quickly as possible and raiding something that is said to be ¡®filled with monsters to fight¡¯ sounded too intriguing for me to pass up.


    I deactivated my skill, before throwing a look back at the camp behind me, seeing the students slowly finish their preparations. If they indeed intended on coming to this ¡®dungeon¡¯, then I had to ensure that I raided this place first and claimed its riches for myself. Failing that, I needed to make sure that I killed all of the monsters inside to maximise my exp gain. With little time to think any further, I slithered up to the entrance and gazed into it. There was a lone staircase leading down - lit up my torches.


    It kind of reminded me of Arabors ruins when I first came close to them¡­ However, the staircase seemed to not lead as deep as those ruins did. With one final quick breath, I leapt down onto the first step on the staircase, before quickly making my way down and reaching the inside of this ¡®dungeon¡¯. At the bottom of the staircase, I was met with a long hallway, at the end of which, I could spot what looked to be a room.


    ¡®My curiosity will one day be the death of me.¡¯


    I thought, before immediately beginning to swiftly slither down the hall and towards the room at its end. I was willing to take a guess that the aforementioned monsters were located in the room at the end of this hall - and if that indeed was the case, I most definitely wanted to go towards it.


    Now, was I potentially waltzing into someplace filled with strong monsters I couldn¡¯t handle? Possibly. However, at the same time, the ¡®dungeon¡¯ was said to be E rank. While I do not understand how the rankings work, E felt like a rank to be just above F and so not so much more dangerous. And besides - if this place was safe enough for them to have students raid it, it was safe enough for me to raid it.


    As I made my way down the hall, the sound of screeches, scratches and hisses echoed from the room up ahead. Various foul smells also began to hit my nostrils pretty badly - smelling a lot like rotting corpses and the stench of blood. There was no doubt about it, up ahead, it was filled with monsters for me to fight and kill for exp - which was all the more reason to keep moving.


    Eventually I reached the end of the hall and entered the room, coming to terms with its contents. Inside it, there were around 14 monsters - all of them being ones that I recognised. There were 7 Direwolves, 3 Poison Lizards, 1 Water Slime and 3 Poison Slimes. I quickly used my ¡®Inspector¡¯ skill on all of them to get some information. The highest level among them was the Poison Lizards at level 12 while the lowest was the Water Slime at 9. All of them were below my level and thus, weaker than me.


    I put on a mischievous and malicious grin, before hissing loudly myself, bringing all of their attentions to me as well as causing them to turn aggressive almost immediately, with the Direwolves charging at me, the Poison Lizards to begin preparing to shoot their darts at me and the 4 slimes¡­ honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure what they were doing.


    With the Direwolves approaching, I shed a slight sweat, before coiling my body up and propelling myself up into the air and towards the group of Direwolves, with my mouth wide open.


    All of you were about to become my exp.

 Chapter 8 - ‘My First Dungeon.’

    As the battle commenced, I sunk my fangs into the first direwolf''s body, causing it to vince and cry out in pain. Then, as I kept a tight hold on it with my mouth, I heard a voice suddenly speak in my head.


    Passive Skill [Venom] has activated.


    Passive Skill? Does it mean that my bite did more than just bite?


    The answer to my question came immediately afterwards, as the direwolf howled in pain before toppling around and then falling to the ground. Letting go of my grip on its neck, I quickly used ¡®Inspector¡¯ on the direwolf¡¯s body.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - Inferior Direwolf-


    Level; 10


    The weakest version of the Direwolf species. This creature has little intellect and mostly relies on instinct, however can be a bit cunning when hunting in packs.


    STATUS;


    -Poisoned


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I poisoned it with my bite¡­


    I suppose that does make sense as I am a snake - Most snakes I know are venomous and inject poison or venom with their bites. This will definitely be useful to know for later encounters as well. After I was done examining the dead corpse, I just barely managed to dodge an incoming attack from 3 other Direwolves and then another fury of attacks that had been fired at me by the Poison Lizards, who shot their darts.


    I had forgotten that this one direwolf wasn¡¯t the only enemy in this place for a second there. The other monsters kept their fierce gazes locked onto me, dashing towards me with high speed - with the direwolves even being smart enough to surround me first, before attacking all at once from all sides - which practically forced my survival instinct and dodge reflex to pop off, as I began to slip past the canines - dodging their attempts at biting me, clawing me or doing anything to me.


    In fact, while I was dodging their moves, I actually managed to leap up into the air and fall onto another direwolf, sinking my fangs into its neck and causing it to howl in pain, before tumbling around and falling to the ground - however this time, the passive venom skill did not activate like with the first direwolf. That made me guess that the passive skill most likely has a random chance of kicking in and poisoning my enemy after I sink my fangs into their body - however due to the level difference between me and these other monsters, I guess my bites were a bit too strong for the skill to activate in time and be useful.


    Once the second direwolf was dead, I leapt off of its body and began a dead slither towards the Poison Lizards that had been shooting their darts towards me all this time. The lizards, upon seeing me approach, immediately dispersed - attempting to run away and create distance between me and them, however I managed to propel my body onto one of them and sink my fangs deep into the lizard I landed on. The lizard let out shrieks and growls of pain, stumbling around for a bit, before smashing its back into a wall of the dungeon - as well as smashing my body into it, which I will admit - hurt quite a bit. I definitely felt a bone crack at the very least.


    After being rammed into the wall, the Poison Lizard shook its body very violently, flinging me off of it as my grip on it fell loose. I flew into the air, with the Poison Lizards immediately opening fire upon me - shooting their darts at a rapid rate while I was midair and unable to dodge much.


    Seeing the incoming darts, I panicked a little bit as quite a few of them managed to connect and damage me - sending me down to the ground as well.


    [Lizard Poison] has been nullified.


    [Lizard Poison] has been nullified.


    [Lizard Poison] has been nullified.


    Poisons nullified huh? I guess being a creature that creates venom himself, I can¡¯t be inflicted by other venoms or poisons¡­ I am not complaining about that. Whatever will save me the most amount of damage I will take, and I will one hundred percent take the fact that I am unaffected by their poison if that means all I have to do is tank their physical darts.


    After landing back down, a bit roughly may I add, I flipped around and dashed towards the Poison Lizards again - leaping up onto another one, before sinking my fangs deep into its flesh - I guess the first time I did so, I hadn¡¯t bitten hard enough, so perhaps by increasing my bite force and power, I will be able to kill these things with a single bite.


    And to my luck, it worked.


    As I increased the force and power of my bite, sinking my fangs deeper and deeper into the Poison Lizard''s flesh, I managed to even pierce through its neck bone, causing the monster to shriek in pain, before it collapsed to the ground in death.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 16.


    Common Skill [Hard Bite] acquired.


    A level up again¡­ and then a skill?


    Interesting - I had only killed two of these monsters. There are still 5 direwolves, 2 Poison Lizards and the slimes to take care of. I wonder¡­ What kind of level can I reach after killing all of these monsters?


    Once the Lizard was dead, the other remaining monsters continued their onslaught, with the Lizards running away and opening fire at me with their darts again, while the Direwolves charged at me all at once. I looked towards the direwolves first - in terms of numbers, these guys had the most remaining members, so taking care of them would decrease their manpower.


    Or would it be monsterpower in this case? Hm¡­ Who knows.


    As the direwolves approached, I leapt up into the air - using my body like a spring again to land onto the first direwolf, which I immediately bit as hard as I could into the flesh of - hearing the same voice as before.


    Common Skill [Hard Bite] has been activated.


    I fell a bit confused at first, but then my bite suddenly easily crunched through the direwolf¡¯s pelt, before even managing to crush the bones that my bite touched. The direwolf howled in a loud fit of pain, before falling to the ground, while I quickly let go of my grip on it and leapt into the air once more.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s how I can activate that skill¡­¡±


    I thought, before landing onto the next direwolf, repeating the same move and biting as hard as I could into the monster''s neck. Once again, I heard the voice announcement.


    Common Skill [Hard Bite] has been activated.


    And then, just like before, I felt my bite easily tear into the wolf¡¯s pelt before crushing its neck bone and causing the wolf to let out a small cry of pain, before falling on top of the previous Direwolf I had killed with this method. Letting go of it, I smirked to myself.


    Now that is what I am talking about - I finally can do a bit more than just bite. Well¡­ technically it is still biting, only harder, but I will still assume this is some sort of special ability someone would be able to gain in an MMO or some similar game. Reminder, I am new to this after all.


    As soon as I let my grip go off of the Direwolf, I was forced to dodge a flurry of incoming darts from the two remaining poison lizards, who had fired so many of their darts, that they even hit the remaining Direwolves, damaging them. I quickly slithered off of the two stacked direwolf corpses I was on, before dashing towards one of the lizards. I was planning on leaving these little shits for last, but I guess they want to be the next ones to die.


    As soon as the Poison Lizard noticed me approaching, it tried to run away, however I quickly leapt forward and sunk my fangs into its right back leg, tightening my grip and biting as much as I could, to activate that skill I had acquired.


    Common Skill [Hard Bite] has been activated.


    As soon as the voice announced that, I felt my fangs easily pierce the Poison Lizards skin and then bones crushing both of them and causing the lizard to shriek even more horridly in pain, as it collapsed, unable to continue its run. I then quickly let go of its leg and slithered up its body and up to its neck, where I immediately sunk my fangs into - as hard as I could.


    Common Skill [Hard Bite] has been activated.


    ¡°Yes! Get out of here you annoying as hell cold blooded ripoff of the Dinosaurs!¡±


    I thought, as I crushed its neck bone and even bit so hard, causing blood to spew out of its neck in such a large quantity, that it painted a large area around it in its green blood, before the monster fell to the ground and went lifeless.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 17.


    Level seventeen? I will take it.


    After I killed the poison lizard, I wasted no time and hopped off of it, dashing towards the last Poison Lizard, while dodging the darts it shot at me and the last three direwolves that leapt at me in an attempt to grab me and squish me under their claws.


    However, I was far too slippery for the reckless canines and eventually leapt towards the last Poison Lizard, flying straight into its neck with a wide open mouth. As soon as I bit into its neck, I immediately began to tighten my grip on it, successfully activating the ¡®Hard Bite¡¯ on it and biting through its neck, before biting off a part of it and falling to the ground, while the Lizard just spewed blood from its neck, unable to even shriek due to blood even filling its mouth.


    After tumbling back a bit for a small moment, the Lizard collapsed to the ground and turned lifeless. That''s all three of the most annoying enemies down, now it is time to take out the remaining ones. As I flipped around, the Direwolves immediately charged me, forcing me to leap out of the way and quickly slither across the area to dodge their attempts at grabbing me.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Despite not being as annoying as those Lizards, these wolves are proving to be a bit troublesome..¡±


    I thought, before sharpening my gaze as I dashed towards the piled up two Direwolf corpses that I had taken out earlier.


    I quickly slithered up to the two corpses, before leaping up and over them, immediately pressing my entire body against them, before the Direwolves leapt over them. After they landed, they threw their aggravated and aggressive expressions around, bearing their teeth wide open, before looking at me and growling loudly, as they slowly approached me.


    All three of them in one place, just like I wanted. I have noticed that despite moving quite a lot and doing a lot of maneuvers, I wasn''t getting super tired and exhausted. In fact, I barely even felt like I had done any sort of exercise. Perhaps this was a benefit of being a small snake instead of a large human¡­? ¡­I hope?


    After a quick exhale, I watched as the middle Direwolf of the three remaining ones leapt at me, trying to grab me with its teeth. However, I quickly slithered out of the way, causing the direwolf to sink its teeth into one of the corpses of the dead Direwolves, before I quickly coiled my body up and sprung onto its back, immediately sinking my fangs into its back, aiming to activate hard back and crush its spine.


    After a bit of trying to tighten my grip and increase the power of my bite, I eventually heard the announcement that was like music to my ears.


    Common Skill [Hard Bite] has been activated.


    Immediately, my bite easily tore through the pelt and then flesh of the monster, before reaching its spine and crushing a part of it, causing the direwolf to howl loudly in pain, as it lifted its head up and attempted to start running around, as if about to attempt and throw me off, but it collapsed upon taking just three steps forward, its body bleeding out as it breathed heavily.


    It wasn''t quite dead, but it wouldn''t be able to continue the fight. I let go of my grip on it, before turning to look at the other two remaining Direwolves, who both were already sprinting at me. I smirked lightly, before coiling up my body once more and springing towards the closest direwolf, just barely dodging its bite, before sinking my teeth into its neck and very quickly activating ¡®Hard Bite¡¯ to crush its neck. Once the Direwolf fell to the ground dead, I let go of it and quickly dodged the last Direwolf, before slithering rapidly after it and springing up onto its head, wrapping my tail around its neck for some ¡®grip¡¯ before sinking my teeth into its neck as well.


    This time, before my ¡®Hard Bite¡¯ had activated, the voice announced the fact that I had managed to poison the Direwolf using my passive ¡®Venom¡¯ skill, which was an amazing thing to hear. After a moment or two of the canine struggling, it stopped its movement, stopped its breathing and then collapsed to the ground, slightly ¡®crushing¡¯ a part of my body, which did hurt a bit.


    Pulling myself out from underneath the Direwolf, I looked at the massacre I had just caused before exhaling lightly.


    ¡°I had a lot more fun with this than I had expected¡­ And despite being a total newcomer to this whole concept of RPG, I still managed to kick some ass here.¡±


    I thought, reflecting a bit on my actions in this singular room.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 19.


    Rare Skill [Venom Pellet] acquired.


    Common Skill [Trickster] acquired.


    Two skills and two levels from one enemy? Or did it wait and accumulate experience from the enemies I just took out? No idea¡­ But with this, my ¡®stats¡¯ must be looking a lot better now, right?


    ¡°Status Open.¡± {Primal Language Translation; ¡®Graifrius Hasil.¡¯}


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Inferior Serpentine


    Level: 19


    Rank: F


    Stats:


    Health; 4700


    Strength; 700


    Defense; 600


    Magical Energy; 2500


    Stamina; 650


    Intelligence; 195


    - Overall Power; 1560


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Inspector; Common Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Huntsman; Rare Skill


    -Hard Bite; Common Skill


    -Venom Pellet; Rare Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Well, my stats did increase - I am not sure by how much, but they look a lot higher than before? I guess? Well, at least I know that they did increase. As for my skill list.. It is looking a lot more full now.


    Previously I only had three skills, before entering this dungeon, but now after hitting the nineteenth level, my amount of skills has hit a decent - or at least, I think decent - number of six - eight, if you count the active and passive skills as also part of the entire repertoire. Overall, I think my stats and skills are much better than before - I mean, I feel a lot stronger.


    After examining my stats a bit more, I exhaled lightly and closed the menu, before looking around. I spotted a large opening that led deeper into the dungeon, with dim lights down the corridor that it led into. I guess there was more to the whole place than I had figured. As soon as I was about to start moving towards the opening and the corridor, I heard heavy panting and almost crying behind me, which caused me to freeze up and turn my head slowly around in a little bit of fear. Had I forgotten to kill one of the Direwolves?


    As soon as I looked back, I noticed the direwolf I had not finished off earlier - the one I had crushed a part of the spine for. Exhaling in relief that it wasn¡¯t another enemy capable of fighting me, I slithered up to the monster that was crying in pain, blood pouring out from its back and soaking the ground around it in a decently large area. I moved up close to the direwolf, who was breathing heavily as it cried - almost like it was begging for me to put it out of its misery.


    ¡°I know this thing tried to kill me¡­ but¡­ I can¡¯t help but feel bad for it while it is in this state.¡±


    I thought, a slight expression of pity across my face. As I just watched the direwolf continue crying in pain, breathing heavily and its body twitching every moment here and there, I continued to just feel more and more bad for it.


    Maybe I should just end its suffering¡­


    I have given everything else in here a quick death, why should this guy be the only one who has to suffer?


    Right as I was about to bite down on the direwolf''s neck in order to kill it, a sudden menu appeared in front of me, scaring me lightly as I backed up from the suffering direwolf. The menu had scared the living daylights out of me, why and how did it appear in front of me at this time? I didn¡¯t accidentally activate my ¡®Inspector¡¯ skill now, did I? After catching my breath for a moment, I slithered up to the menu that had opened moments earlier - looking at what contents it had.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Individual Skill [Devourer] can be used.


    Would you like to use the skill?


    (Yes)                                                         (No)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡­¡¯Devourer¡¯? Isn¡¯t that one of the two skills that I had gained after I made that promise with Arabor and accepted his entire being and power into my body? It has been laying dormant for so long with me having no knowledge of how to use it or what it does this entire time that I had almost forgotten about it.


    But right now, the menu was saying that I can use the skill¡­


    But on what and why? Is it offering me to use it¡­ on the suffering Direwolf? Wait - If I say yes, will I straight up ¡®eat¡¯ the direwolf? I am unsure if I want that to happen¡­


    I hesitated to pick the ¡®Yes¡¯ option from the two it had given me, quite nervous about what it could possibly do if I picked it, however after a bit of overthinking it and debating it inside of my mind, I exhaled. Honestly, what is the worst that can happen if I say ¡®Yes¡¯? Even if I straight up eat the entire direwolf with no control over my body, that isn¡¯t exactly anything negative¡­ Well, at least it doesn¡¯t affect me negatively.


    And so, after a little bit of more hesitation, I selected ¡®Yes¡¯ as my option.


    Then, the menu closed, with a voice speaking in my head.


    Activating [Devourer]. . .


    Immediately afterwards, I felt this strong and warm feeling exit my body, as a dark red aura or mist came out of my snake body and engulfed the Direwolf¡¯s body, before also extending and engulfing every single other dead creature inside this room. I panicked a little for a bit, wondering what on earth was happening, however after a bit, the dark red aura returned to my body, followed by what looked like light blue and faint ¡®mist¡¯ that left all of the dead creature bodies, before being absorbed into my body.


    Once all of the light blue mist had entered my body, I felt this warm and fuzzy feeling that grew very strong, before fading - the same voice as earlier speaking up a moment later.


    A Massive amount of Magical Energy has been absorbed.


    You have risen to level 20.


    Excess Magical Energy will be converted into skills.


    Common Skill [Shadow Step] acquired.


    Individual Skill [Beasts Will] acquired.


    Woah¡­


    I absorbed¡­ their magical energy? That is¡­ really cool. That ¡®Devourer¡¯ skill is able to absorb the magical energy of other creatures - that is really, really cool. It allowed me to level up again to level twenty. Now that is quite helpful.


    I also gained some skills - it said the same thing as when I had ¡®absorbed¡¯ Arabor into my body. I guess with this ¡®Devourer¡¯ skill I am able to gain a little bonus from every enemy I kill? Well, if that is the case¡­ I will definitely be sure to use it more often.


    After I had gotten over the ¡®coolness¡¯ of the skills function, I shook my head lightly before beginning to slither towards the opening that I was going to enter earlier, before hearing that dying direwolf. Actually - throwing a look back at it, after using the ¡®Devourer¡¯ skill it stopped moving, as if its life had left it¡­ Arabor mentioned ¡®souls¡¯ being a thing, so perhaps ¡®Devourer¡¯ also took the creature''s soul..?


    Maybe..


    I shook my head lightly for a second time afterwards. Now wasn¡¯t the time to dwindle on something like that. I better get out of here and move onto the next level before those students arrive in the dungeon.


    As I was about to restart my movement towards the opening, I suddenly felt this strong force hit me - my heart rate increasing and my consciousness suddenly beginning to fade as I fell dizzy.


    ¡°What¡­ the¡­?¡±


    I thought, before a voice spoke an announcement.


    Requirements for Evolution have been met.


    Commencing evolution from ¡®Inferior Serpentine¡¯ to


    ¡®Lesser Serpentine¡¯.


    Evo¡­lution?


    That was my last thought before I succumbed to the sudden dizziness and passed out, my consciousness fully faded by then, causing me to fall into a deep, deep slumber.

 Chapter 9 - ‘Evolution & Dungeon Boss.’

    Darkness. No matter where I looked, all I saw was pure and utter darkness. Pitch black darkness that my gaze could not pierce through, no matter what I tried. I tried squinting, but strangely enough I couldn¡¯t feel my eyes¡­. Or even my own body. It felt like I had no shape and that I was sort of levitating - almost weightless. It was the strangest feeling in the world - I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around it.


    But¡­ How did I get into this darkness?


    I remember being inside that dungeon and then hearing a voice, before falling asleep¡­ Did I die again? Perhaps my dying wishes were heard finally?


    Right as I was getting my hopes up, that I perhaps was given the rest I wished for, I felt this strange warmth enter my body. Then, gradually, I began to feel all sorts of different sensations and feelings - eventually, feeling my own body again. Then, before I knew what else was happening, I felt alive again, as the pitch black darkness around me began to fade into a blinding white colour.


    Then, after a few seconds of silence, I opened my eyes slowly - my vision a bit blurry for a second or two.


    I was¡­ Still alive.


    And the environment around me - it was the dungeon again¡­ Guess I didn¡¯t die after all¡­ And it definitely wasn¡¯t all a dream like I had slightly hoped. I exhaled lightly - guess it all is still as real as it could get. After a moment or two, I heard a loud, loud announcement inside my own head.


    Evolution successful.


    You have evolved into


    ¡® Lesser Serpentine ¡¯


    Lesser Serpentine¡­?


    Evolution?


    What the¡­ Wait - I do remember some kind of announcement about evolution before I lost consciousness. Did I¡­ change forms or something?


    I looked at my body, examining my own snake body. I felt and looked a bit longer and my light green colour was now a much deeper dark green - with these strange, faint patterns covering it now. It was certainly clear that my body had changed. Before I got the chance to do anything further, another loud announcement spoke inside my mind, scaring me a little.


    Common Skill [Inspector] has become the Rare Skill [Erudition].


    Skills [Hard Bite] and [Huntsman] have been combined into the Rare Skill [Harvester].


    Skills..? Oh right - I had a couple of them, didn¡¯t I? But¡­ one of them seemingly also changed form and two others were combined into a different skill. Is this a result of my ¡®evolution¡¯? Perhaps¡­


    ¡­Maybe I should check out my stats - perhaps those also have changed as a result of this new form.


    ¡°Graifrius Hasil.¡± {Primal Language Translation; ¡®Status Open.¡¯}


    A second after I said the command out loud, the window that contained my stats opened up in front of me, blinding me just a little bit with its rather bright blue colour that it projected onto my face.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Lesser Serpentine


    Level: 20


    Rank: E


    Stats:


    Health; 6700


    Strength; 900


    Defense; 850


    Magical Energy; 4100


    Stamina; 800


    Intelligence; 198


    - Overall Power; 2258


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Erudition; Rare


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Harvester; Rare Skill


    -Venom Pellet; Rare Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Shadow Step; Common Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡®Hmm¡­ Well, they definitely increased. Once again, I am not an expert in this matter, but those stats have to be decent, right?¡¯


    I thought to myself, before exhaling. Who was I kidding, I was probably what most people would call the ¡®early game¡¯ or something - no way these stats were pushing even ¡®decent¡¯ territory. After a little bit of further examination of my stats and skills, I closed the window. Whether or not my stats were decent did not matter for now - I should continue moving farther into the dungeon.


    I looked around the room, falling a bit confused as I did.


    Weren¡¯t there a bunch of corpses laying around the place? I swear there were a shit ton of direwolf and poison lizard corpses that I had killed laying around the place¡­ Where did all of them go? Did someone take them? Or¡­


    Did the students that I had seen outside the dungeon before coming inside take them? I then slapped myself with my tail, before shaking my head. Get yourself together - no way in hell those humans - or at least, I think those were humans - took the corpses. What reason would they have to take a bunch of dead bodies of random monsters? Maybe there was a reason I wasn¡¯t aware of, but to me, as it stood, it made no sense.


    Whatever was the case, since the corpses are missing, I should be very, very careful treading farther - who knows what else was inside here. After a bit of hesitation, I turned to look towards the opening - which led, what I assume, deeper inside the dungeon itself. There was no time to waste - if those students indeed were already inside this dungeon, they most likely have gone farther in, so I shouldn¡¯t dwindle here too long, otherwise they may end up taking out all the monsters inside here.


    I quickly slithered towards the opening.


    Moving up to it, I examined the opening for a second, before looking down the tunnel that it led into - it was quite long and a bit narrow, while seemingly leading into a room farther down. Another thing I managed to spot was what seemed like fighting in the room on the other side of the tunnel - I also could hear shouts and sounds of metal clanging.


    It was clear, someone was inside the dungeon and in the next room - the only question was, was it the students that I was hearing or someone else? No way to know. After a moment or two of hesitation, I gulped before slithering into the tunnel and slowly approaching the next room - where the sound of fighting was coming from.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    As I got closer and closer, the sounds got more clear and I was able to slowly make out what seemed like humanoid figures - all rushing around. Once I reached the end of the tunnel, I was forced to quickly retreat back into the tunnel a bit, as a male in that student uniform was flung against the wall next to the tunnel. I heard shouts, pants and all sorts of other noises fly across the room. Looking at the chaos inside it, my suspicions were correct - the students I had seen outside the dungeon were now inside and currently in this second room, fighting against the monsters in here.


    Sticking close to the shadows, I decided to use ¡®Erudition¡¯ to take a look at the monster stats in order to get an idea of the power of these creatures. And what I saw, frankly, scared me a little. Unlike the first room, where there were a few Poison Lizards, Direwolves and slimes - none of which exceeded the level of twelve, in this room¡­ There were some kind of creatures called ¡®Armoured Tigers¡¯ all of which were at the level high level of eighteen. That was a mere TWO levels lower than me.


    To say they were stronger than the enemies in the first room, would be an understatement¡­ Or at least, I think that it would be an understatement. Again, I wasn¡¯t sure what counted as a ¡®high¡¯ or ¡®low¡¯ level - I was sort of winging and guessing everything.


    Anyways¡­


    As I watched from the shadows the students fight off the monsters, an idea popped into my mind. I didn¡¯t exactly want to be seen by these students - as it could end up with me being killed by them - so why don¡¯t I just move on through this room and leave the students to deal with the monsters in here? Surely there were more rooms to this dungeon than two? I can just ignore this entire room and move onto the next one and fight the monsters there - easy¡­ at least in theory.


    I had to get through this room without being spotted or crushed by the individuals fighting - which could be easier said than done.


    As the roars of battling between the students and monsters continued on, I took in a deep breath, before exhaling. Screw it - I will just take the risk and rush through. If I get killed, oh well, at least I won¡¯t be disappointed. After a brief movement of hesitation and my body freezing up, I launched myself out of the shadows of the tunnel I was hiding inside of, before quickly slithering through the entire room - dodging all the fighting happening around me. As I got to the halfway point of the room, I spotted the tunnel that led what I could only guess was deeper inside the dungeon - only the tunnel looked a lot more¡­ fancy? I suppose?


    It looked different than the first one.


    However, I didn¡¯t get much time to examine it from this distance, as I kept rapidly moving through the dungeon - avoiding all the different attacks being exchanged between the students and monsters in this room.


    And luckily for me, I managed to reach the next tunnel with little trouble - however, right as I was about to enter it, one of the Armoured Tigers leapt in front of me and growled as it moved towards me - forcing me to back up a bit.


    ¡°Oh come on, you¡¯re a piece of shit! Get out of my way!¡±


    I thought before looking around nervously. It seemed like all of the students were far too busy battling the other Armoured Tigers to notice me. It¡¯s risky, but I have no other choice - I had to take out this one armoured tiger in my way myself. As the feline monster got closer and closer, it leapt at me, its jaws and claws wide open. Before the monster managed to get me underneath itself and within its grip, I coiled up my body and propelled myself into the air, dodging the tiger as it landed. Then, I exhaled lightly, before flipping my body towards the tiger. About time I start learning how to use my skills - so how about I try out the ¡®Venom Pellet¡¯ skill?


    This will be my first time using a skill in combat, so I might not be the best at it, but hey - everyone is a beginner at some point.


    As I lingered in the air above the tiger, I closed my eyes before thinking about the ¡®Venom Pellet¡¯ skill. I didn¡¯t know how to use the skills I had, so I was sort of winging it at this time - just hoping that it was based on your thoughts or wishes - that if I thought about using a skill hard enough, I would end up using it. Lucky for me, the skill did in fact activate, creating small orbs of purple liquid in the air around me before firing off small darts like bullets down at the Armoured Tiger. The tiger looked up towards me and roared, before getting hit by my small pellets all across its body, causing the tiger to what I assume was take a lot of damage, as it let out a roar of what sounded like pain, before tumbling around a bit and then falling against the ground on its left side, its life clearly having left its body.


    ¡°Pretty powerful skill¡­¡±


    I commented to myself inside my thoughts before landing on top of the deceased monster and throwing a look back behind me. Thankfully, it seemed as though the students were too busy fighting the tigers to have noticed me - thank god.


    Before anything else, I hopped off of the tiger and quickly slithered into the next tunnel and made my way rapidly through it - wasting absolutely zero time getting to the next room - so as to not risk any of the humans seeing me.


    The tunnel was much, much longer than the last one - it also had this foul stench all across it. The smell was horrid and smelled a lot like a pile of rotting corpses was nearby - it almost smelt like I was walking into some kind of messed up meat grinder, that left all organs to rot while mincing up the rest of the body.


    ¡­.A bit of a gore-y example, but I think you get my point.


    After traveling through the tunnel for a bit, I eventually reached the other side of it and exited the tunnel into a wide, wide and open room. As soon as I slithered into the room, the tunnel from which I had entered it suddenly shot close, with two heavy stone doors closing it up, before I had the chance to react and leap on out. I exhaled lightly as the two stone doors closed with a heavy thud. It looked as though the only way out now was to finish the dungeon - in whatever way constituted finishing the dungeon.


    I looked around the vast and open room I was now inside of. It was much, much larger than the other two rooms in this entire place¡­ It was almost creepy how much bigger it was. It made me feel like I was going to encounter something ridiculously huge inside here - I mean, why else would the room be about five or something times larger than the other two rooms in this dungeon? Surely something absolutely massive had to be lurking inside of this room.


    As I carefully slithered deeper into the room, my gaze kept jumping around the place - looking at the ceiling, the floor, the walls and all else in the room - I was being cautious. Who knows what was inside here - the last thing I wanted to happen is to be ambushed by¡­ whatever the hell is inside here. As I moved deeper and deeper, I came to notice this strange large statue in the back of the room. The statue was seemingly made out of stone and had what appeared to be the image of¡­ a Scorpion? A large one at that.


    The creature''s body was segmented and seemed to be covered in something akin to armour - and its tail? It was¡­ well, it was very, very intimidating, to say the least. It was large, long and had a giant sharpened end on it - like any scorpion would¡­ just - this one was about five times larger than any other scorpion I knew of.


    ¡°Thank god it is only a statue..¡±


    I thought, before exhaling and turning around, looking around the room again, searching for anything else that may be inside it. However, apart from the massive scorpion statue, the room itself was rather empty - with not much of interest inside it. I mean, there was barely anything inside here - if we didn¡¯t count the very intimidating and scary stalactites that covered the ceiling. Perhaps I can¡¯t fight the monsters in the next room until the monsters in the previous room have been defeated? Could be¡­


    As I slightly lowered my guard, coiling up my body to rest a bit, since I could not access the previous room as the path to it was literally blocked off, I felt the ground tremble a little, as I heard small pebbles hit the ground behind me. A bit confused, I turned around to look at the pebbles, examining them a bit. Where did these even come from..? Did they fall from the stalactites on the ceiling? Surely not¡­


    Then, after a bit, right when I was about to write off the tremor and the pebbles as just a product of my imagination, the room shook again, only a bit more violently. Then, the giant scorpion statue suddenly cracked, sending small pebbles and fragments falling to the ground. My eyes widened as I quickly propelled myself backwards - as far away from the scorpion statue as I could, before it suddenly erupted - sending all the stone I thought was made off flying across the air. The room was shaking so much, causing a couple of stalactites to fall from the ceiling and onto the ground as a giant, and I mean, giant pitch black scorpion hopped off of the pedestal where the statue stood just moments prior.


    The scorpion looked at me with shining, deep red eyes, before letting out a loud, loud and horrible screech - hitting its pincers against the ground.


    I felt fear rush down my spine and then through my entire body.


    You had to be kidding me¡­ right?


    That statue was the monster of this room? This has got to be a sick joke¡­ As the scorpion glared at me, I took in a deep breath before gulping and activating ¡®Erudition¡¯ to see what I was dealing with. And when I saw the stats of the scorpion, I nearly fainted on the spot - unable to process what on earth I was seeing in front of me right now. I thought that troll I had seen in the forest was scary¡­ well, this scorpion¡­ it was.. Something else.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name; Daxina


    Species; Greater King Scorpion


    Level; 28


    A Powerful monster that can only be found as a boss in low ranked dungeons or as a rare monster in swamps and sandy areas. Its body is made of very tough to penetrate armour like plating, which makes it almost invincible to any normal attacks. When encountered, avoiding being hit with its tail is advised.


    STATUS;


    -Agitated (+15% to Strength)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 10 - Snake Against the Dungeon Boss.

    The Scorpions mere presence made me shiver and shake in fear - unsure on what to do next. Should I run? But - I have nowhere to run. The exit is literally sealed off. Should I confront it and fight it? But this thing is a whole eight levels higher than me - surely that is a big difference!... right?


    The monster shrieked again, before rushing at me and lifting its large pincers into the air, before smashing them against the ground where I stood - flinging me back against a wall, before suddenly rushing up to me and grabbing me in its right pincer, squeezing tightly - enough to cause me to bleed lightly - before smashing me into the wall and dragging me through it, before throwing me against a different wall, followed by firing off what I could only imagine were some kind of needles from a skill of sorts.


    I hit the wall pretty hard, before quickly slithering out of the way just in time to dodge the incoming projectiles - before fleeing in fear around the room, as the massive monstrous creature chased after me.


    I could feel fear just take over me at this point.


    There was no way - no way - I could fight this thing. I mean - for starters, it is like ten times larger than me! How am I supposed to take on a creature that is way larger than me?! Then there is also the case of that bit of information within its stat page.


    Agitated?


    Fifteen percent bonus to its strength stat?


    Is this some kind of a sick idea for a joke? If so, I am NOT laughing at all. No - one could say that I am PRAYING to some kind of god for someone to come and save me from this thing.


    As I rushed away from the scorpion, I spotted a small crack in a wall that was in a more shadowed area of the room. I quickly slithered towards it and scurried inside of the crack, letting out a small sigh of relief. Then, the monster shattered the wall above me with its large pincers, forcing me to flee through the small tunnel inside of the crack, as the scorpion continued to tear apart the wall while trying to catch me.


    It was a bloodpumping, terrifying experience - that made my entire body shudder with just pure fear and my blood to rush through my entire body like a jet engine. I felt like my blood was boiling underneath my skin - like it had become a fire that was burning inside of me that was just pushing me to keep going and not stop even for a moment if I valued my own life.


    After a bit of fleeing deeper and deeper into this narrow and small tunnel, I leapt into a completely pitch black spot inside here, before curling up into a tight, tight ball - pressing my entire body against the cold and rough stone wall behind me, as the creature''s destruction of the wall suddenly seized. It knocked away the dust cloud surrounding the now broken open wall, before peering inside it with its blood red eyes, looking around and searching, before it moved back and away towards the center of the room once more.


    I was breathing heavily while remaining deep in my hiding spot, my eyes wide in shock and fear.


    Common Skill [Presence Erase] has been learnt.


    I¡­


    I have no words to say. I managed to live¡­ but only because the creature for some reason stopped its pursuit of me¡­


    Why did it just walk away like that? Sure I was hiding in this pitch black spot in the strange small tunnel located just behind the wall of this dungeons room, but it wasn¡¯t like this small spot was the best hiding spot. If it looked just a little down, it would surely notice me¡­ So why did it just stop?


    Was it¡­ Was it because of the new skill I just acquired?


    Or learnt - Whatever the voice said.


    ¡°Well¡­ Either way - it isn¡¯t like I am complaining about it leaving me alone.¡±


    I thought, exhaling heavily. While I was thankful that it stopped trying to murder me, I was technically now a sitting duck. The entrance - through which I had entered the room originally - is sealed off and I do not think there is another way to get out of this place. I had to either kill that thing or¡­ Be killed by it.


    Because I also doubt anyone is able to force that entrance to open again and enter the room.


    I breathed heavily for a few moments, before coiling my body up and sinking my head into it. I had a bit to sit here and catch my breath for now¡­ I may as well also think of a way to get out of here - because I seriously don¡¯t think I can take that scorpion down yet. I mean, put aside my genuine terror from it, I don¡¯t think my skills or bites can do anything to this thing - especially since its body looks like it is covered by some kind of armour-like scales.


    No way my bites can pierce through that¡­


    Right?


    I slowly peaked my head outside of the pitch black spot, before slithering out of it and carefully making my way up onto the broken wall - using the debris from it as a staircase. Peeking over to the center of the room, I spotted the giant black scorpion there, standing menacingly - with its body in an almost resting position.


    Such a creepy creature¡­


    I looked away from it and began looking around for any potential alternative exit to this place, however was disappointed by not seeing anything at all that could even count as an exit or an escape to this place - not that I wasn¡¯t expecting that¡­


    It looks like my only escape from here really is by killing that scorpion - there is literally no other way out of here. However - I am still very, very sceptical on whether I can even damage that thing.


    Hm¡­


    What do I do - what do I do¡­


    I thought about my next course of action for a bit. I had to kill it somehow - but my hesitation and fear was holding me back from acting. Man, why didn¡¯t I play more RPG and MMO games back in my previous life¡­ Maybe then I would be able to come up with some kind of a plan to tackle this situation.


    After a little while of brainstorming, I eventually let out an exhale.


    I think I had come up with some kind of a plan. Currently, the only skill I believe could have an effect on this thing is the ¡®Devourer¡¯ skill I possess. If I understand it correctly, it drains magical energy and possibly the ¡®soul¡¯ of other creatures and doesn¡¯t do any physical damage. If I somehow figure out how to use it, I could maybe drain this thing of its magical energy and potentially even soul.


    The only flaw with this plan is that I have no idea on how to use ¡®Devourer¡¯ or if it can even be used against something that is still alive. The first time I used it, everything around me was already dead and there was only a single thing that was still technically alive, just suffering and on the verge of death.


    It could be that it just straight up does not work on things that are fully healthy and alive.


    I mean - who knows?


    It would be nice if I had some way to gain more information on my skills overall if I now think about it. I have almost zero knowledge on what any of my skills do or how to activate them. Maybe I can use ¡®Erudition¡¯ on them..? But - I don¡¯t know how likely that is. Plus - where would I start? With the normal usage of it, I just have to think about the thing I want to use it on, but how do I ¡®think¡¯ or ¡®imagine¡¯ using it on something that isn¡¯t¡­ well - physical.


    As I stood there thinking, the scorpion suddenly moved - twitching before standing up and shrieking loudly, causing the entire room to shake. I quickly used my ¡®Erudition¡¯ skill on it again, to get an appraisal of what exactly was happening with it.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name; Daxina


    Species; Greater King Scorpion


    Level; 28


    A Powerful monster that can only be found as a boss in low ranked dungeons or as a rare monster in swamps and sandy areas. Its body is made of very tough to penetrate armour like plating, which makes it almost invincible to any normal attacks. When encountered, avoiding being hit with its tail is advised.


    STATUS;


    -Greatly Agitated (+30% to Strength ; +5% to Stamina)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Oh come on - you have got to be actually making some sort of sick joke¡­


    Why did it grow even more agitated?! I have barely moved and it doesn¡¯t seem like the thing has noticed me yet¡­ Why is it growing angrier if there is nothing in this place that could be making it angrier?


    I exhaled heavily after a bit of complaining inside my mind, before the scorpion began to suddenly rage across the room - swinging and smashing its pincers into the ground and other walls of it - as if it was attacking something I wasn¡¯t able to see. Either there was something I couldn¡¯t see or this was the result of it simply being very pissed off for some unknown reason - who knows.


    However, if there was a time to fight it - I guess this was it.


    If it was going to randomly grow more and more angry, then I was better off taking it on now before it could gain any more boosts to its stats through that ¡®Agitated¡¯ status. So, after a quick breath that was followed by a nervous gulp - I leapt off of the wall and slithered towards the scorpion.


    Screw it.


    If I die, I die - doesn¡¯t matter either way, does it? I mean, it isn¡¯t like I wanted to be reincarnated anyway, so if I die, I just get to fulfill my previous life''s dying wishes.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    As I approached the giant scorpion, it immediately took notice of me, turning around sharply, before shrieking towards me and then rushing, hitting its pincers as it ran towards me. Shedding a slight sweat, I felt the temptation to turn around and flee once again, however this time - I ignored that feeling and kept moving forward, before using my ¡®Venom Pellet¡¯ skill just like against the Armoured Tiger.


    Small purple orbs formed around me and followed me, before firing off small pullets made of the same purple substance towards the scorpion - hitting it dead on. The scorpion blocked the initial strike of these bullets with its right pincer, before shrieking and spinning around, lifting its tail and sending it crashing down towards me. However, before it could crush me underneath it - I leapt up into the air and towards the scorpion, dodging the tail.


    Then I quickly activated ¡®Venom Pellet¡¯ again, firing off the small venom bullets in a flurry of attacks once again towards the scorpion, which luckily for me, this time managed to connect and seemingly even damage the scorpion, as it reacted to the impact of the bullets - however at the same time, it seemed like the bullets didn¡¯t do all that much damage to the beast, as it did not look like it was in any pain at all.


    I also imagine it has a resistance or an immunity to poison, so it most likely wasn¡¯t going to get poisoned by them - so the overall damage most likely wasn¡¯t too grand. After my attacks, the scorpion twirled around to look at me, before grabbing me into its left pincers and squeezing tightly again, crushing me slightly between them. I felt great pain rush through my body as blood spewed from my body, however I bore the pain and simply opened my mouth wide open, before clamping down on its pincers with it - biting as hard as I could onto it.


    [Harvester] has been activated.


    My bite managed to crush through the pincers, tearing them apart and causing the scorpion to drop me, shrieking in pain before backing up. As soon as I hit the ground, I felt this strange warmth inside me as a faint green light covered me.


    Wounds have been healed.


    Through [Harvester] you have been granted the status;


    -Blood Hungry (+50% to Strength ; +25% to Health)


    Woah¡­


    So that¡¯s what ¡®Harvester¡¯ does? I was wondering what kind of effects it would have since it was obtained through the combination of ¡®Huntsman¡¯ and ¡®Hard Bite¡¯. Sweet - looks like I could actually take it down with these boosts.


    I smirked to myself a bit, before looking at the scorpion that let out a clearly anger filled shriek, before rushing towards me and flinging its tail towards me - trying to pierce me with the end of its tail. Seeing as the status of it warned to stay away from the tail - and I imagine the tip being the reason for that - I immediately leapt to the side, dodging it before slithering past the scorpion and activating ¡®Venom Pellet¡¯ again, firing it at the scorpion from the side, before propelling myself up into the air and successfully onto the scorpion.


    As soon as the scorpion realised I was on top of its back, it began to thrash around, shaking its body and even trying to grab me with its pincers - well, the right pincers anyways, considering the left ones were kind of out of commission at this moment.


    Despite the thrashing and constant movement, I managed to hold on and stay on its back, before slithering closer to its head and lifting my own up high, opening my mouth wide open and biting down into its¡­ neck? Whatever connected its head to its body.


    [Harvester] has been activated.


    The Scorpion let out a loud, loud and horrifying shriek, which eventually I guess just went outside of my hearing range as it fell silent. Guess there are benefits to being a snake huh? I don''t have to listen to these dying shrieks as I kill the thing.


    After the shriek, the monster managed to fling me off of its back, before grabbing me with its right pincers and smashing me into the ground, before lifting me up and smashing me into the wall, dragging me through it again before throwing me away and towards the wall which the Scorpion had destroyed earlier.


    While midair, I recuperated a bit, before looking at it and activating ¡®Venom Pellet¡¯ one more time, with the purple orbs forming around me before firing off the venom bullets directly at the creature''s head, managing to hit it dead in its eyes, causing it to close them and shriek as it continued to rush after me.


    After I hit the rough stone behind the broken wall, I leapt out of the way as the scorpion crashed into there, kicking up such a large dust cloud, I couldn''t help but cough a little.


    ¡°Surely it''s not dead yet¡­¡±


    I thought.


    Immediately, my thoughts were proven right, as the creature pushed through the dust cloud with a very pissed off sounding shriek, before trying to smash me with its pincer - with me only managing to barely react in time and leap out of the way as the pincer hit the ground.


    The creature looked very mad. Its eyes were shining bright blood-red, as it glared across and around the room, very clearly searching for me. However, it also seemed quite damaged - not counting the left pincer that I had destroyed using my ¡®Harvester¡¯ skill, its body overall looked damaged, with the armour-like scales having fallen off, revealing the exposed ¡®meat¡¯ of the creature underneath, looking torn apart or just straight up broken and cracked. If I was to take a guess - based on its appearance and super mad look¡­


    This thing was nearing the end of its health.


    The scorpion locked onto me again, shrieking before being enveloped in a dark, dark aura - which basically hid its entire body under a pitch black colour, leaving only its shining blood-red eyes visible through the black aura.


    WARNING


    Daxina has activated the Individual Skill [Kings Wrath].


    All stats have been lowered by 15%.


    You little shit bug - how fucking dare you.


    I was very salty when I heard this warning play in my head. I mean, this thing already had a thirty percent and a fifteen percent boost to its Strength and Stamina stats and now it has lowered my stats by fifteen percent?!


    What an annoying parasite!


    After the warning, I landed onto the ground, with the scorpion just appearing at my left side in an instant, before smashing its tail down towards me, flinging me towards the center of the room, before shrieking - causing these pitch black circles with symbols on them to form in the air around it.


    ¡°What the hell are those..?!¡±


    I thought, as I landed onto the ground, slowing my momentum using my tail before rapidly slithering towards the creature. From the pitch black circles then came out small black needle like spikes - before firing towards me.


    My expression changed to a shocked one - projectiles?! This thing has more than one projectile attack?! Before the spikes managed to hit me, I leapt to the side, using the debris around the room as cover as the pitch black spikes continued to come my way - leaving these dark spots everywhere they hit. Eventually, after leaping out from behind my cover and quickly moving towards the Scorpion, I managed to remove the distance between us and leapt in to try and bite it on its ¡®neck¡¯ again - however, the scorpion suddenly slid backwards at a rapid pace - leaving behind these afterimages of it. I grew shocked as I looked at it, before more spikes were fired out from the black circles in the air around the monster.


    I unfortunately was unable to react in time and was hit dead on by this barrage of spikes, sending me flying back while also leaving behind the same dark spots on my body.


    Dark Poison resisted.


    Dark Poison resisted.


    Dark Poison resisted.


    Dark Poison resisted.


    Those spikes are poison? I should have expected that¡­ Of course this thing has a projectile similar to my ¡®Venom Pellets¡¯ - only this poison is called ¡®Dark Poison¡¯. I wonder what the difference between it and the one I shoot is¡­


    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter right now - I have to continue pushing. Even if I can¡¯t get poisoned by those dark spikes, they still do regular damage to me - they¡¯re spikes after all. I bore the pain again, before dashing towards the scorpion, dodging the next barrage of the black spikes, before leaping forward as a large spike was fired off towards me. The spike collided with the ground in front of me - however it did not hit me.


    I had vanished.


    The scorpion looked around confused, before the shadow underneath it bubbled up and almost ¡®lifted¡¯ up. Then, I leapt out of the shadow and towards the ¡®neck¡¯ of the monster, biting into it and squeezing as hard as I could.


    [Harvester] has been activated.


    As soon as that was announced, I felt my bite completely shatter through the bottom of the scorpions neck, causing blood to spew out like a fountain, before the scorpion shrieked, before its voice went to silence - probably due to its neck being filled with blood as it coughed it up.


    After I landed onto the ground, I immediately slithered around it before leaping back onto it and then leaping towards its head - opening my mouth wide open again.


    ¡°Die!¡± {Primal Language Translation; ¡®Horten!¡¯}


    I shouted basically, before biting down into its head, ¡®Harvester¡¯ activating instantly and allowing me to easily pierce through the top of its head, causing so much blood to spew out from the top of its head, as the creature lifted its head up - seemingly about to shriek, before its entire body froze and then a moment later, collapsed.


    The black aura around it and the black circles in the air then vanished, with the black circles shattering into what looked like dust as the creature fell against the ground lifeless - its tail hitting the ground the hardest, as it cracked it and shook the room.


    Once it all had settled, I lifted my body''s upper half up, looking down at the creature and breathing heavily.


    ¡°Is it¡­ dead..?¡±


    I thought.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 25.


    ¡°I¡­ I did it¡­¡± {Primal Language Translation; ¡®Ei¡­ Ei frian¡­¡¯}


    My expression turned into a wide, wide smile as I began to leap into the air over and over again, celebrating to myself my victory and triumph over the massive bug. I actually managed to defeat it! Despite all my hesitation to fight it and my doubt to even damage the thing with anything at my disposal, I managed to take it down! It¡¯s¡­ It''s a miracle! - At least, to me it is!


    After my little celebration was over, I noticed a menu popping up in front of me. Looking over to it, I tilted my head to the side as I read its contents.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    + Congratulations +


    You have cleared this dungeon and defeated its boss.


    Would you like to receive the rewards?


    (Yes) (No)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Reward? For clearing this place?


    Now that sounds interesting and enticing¡­ However, should I take it? I mean, I imagine the individuals who usually clear these types of places are humans, so the rewards for clearing them must be things like armour or money¡­ which would be pointless to have as a snake.


    But on the other hand - What if the reward was something like Magical Energy or even more exp to level up more? If I skip out on that, I could be losing out on some great levels¡­


    I thought about this decision for a bit, before exhaling and selecting the ¡®Yes¡¯ option.


    ¡°Screw it - if it''s money or armour, I¡¯ll just leave it behind for the students to take.¡±


    I thought as I selected the option. After making the choice, the menu closed, before opening another, much smaller menu which simply said;


    Reward Distributed.


    Immediately after that menu opened, I felt this warm and fuzzy feeling enter and rush through my body - almost like heating me up. It was a very nice feeling if I have to admit it - it felt nice and¡­ well - just nice. I don¡¯t really know how else to explain it.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 28.


    [Shadow Step] has evolved into the Rare Skill [Shadowman].


    Rare Skill [Shadow Call] has been acquired.

 Chapter 11 - ‘Troll Hunting.’

    Once the scorpion was dead and the reward for beating the dungeon was received, I left the dungeon as non conspicuously as possible - making sure to not get spotted by any of the students or even the teachers as I made my escape from there and into the nearby treeline. Once I was under the safety of the trees of the forest, I exhaled and coiled up into a small coil, sinking my head into my body.


    I did it¡­


    Barely - but did it.


    Not going to lie - while facing that massive scorpion monster, I felt fear just rush through my body and adrenaline flow in my blood with my heart just beating non stop. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from feeling so, so afraid. It felt like just one wrong move and I would have been killed by that monster in a single strike¡­


    It was unlike anything else I had faced up until then - none of the slimes or the direwolves, or even the Poison Lizards compared to that thing. It definitely was on a whole different level compared to everything else in that place. But even then - I managed to beat it¡­. Admittedly - not easily. Towards the end especially - I began to use every card I had up my sleeve, the greatest one being the accidental use of my skill ¡®Shadow Step¡¯... or I guess ¡®Shadowman¡¯ now as it ¡®evolved¡¯. As soon as that large spike had come close to colliding with me, I heard a voice in my head speak an announcement;


    [Shadow Step] activated.


    And then, before I knew what was happening, I just sunk into the shadows below me and entered this strange new ¡®world¡¯ which was just like the one I am in right now, everything simply was pitch black and the only splash of colour in it was a white ¡®sky¡¯ above me, that highlighted any silhouettes in the area around me.


    Basically, I managed to become invincible and invisible for a few seconds - allowing me to get close to the scorpion and launch my finishing blow onto it. It was a scary move to pull off, but I managed to gather up the courage to pull it off - and luckily, that scorpion didn¡¯t see it coming.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to ever fight in a battle that puts me that close to death ever again¡­¡±


    I thought, exhaling before opening my eyes and sliding my head out of my body. I may as well take a look at the stats window while I am just sitting here¡­ I mean, I have to figure out where to head to next anyway.


    ¡°Status Open.¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Lesser Serpentine


    Level: 28


    Rank: E


    Stats:


    Health; 9000


    Strength; 1200


    Defense; 1190


    Magical Energy; 7100


    Stamina; 1150


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 3400


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Erudition; Rare Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Harvester; Rare Skill


    -Venom Pellet; Rare Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowman; Rare Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Shadow Call; Rare Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Oh wow¡­


    My ¡®stats¡¯ - they definitely have gone up. And by¡­ a lot? I think? I am not quite sure if the amount of increase to my stats is classified as a lot or not - maybe it is, maybe it isn¡¯t. I am not very educated when it comes to this stuff.


    And my ¡®skill list¡¯ - or whatever else you could call it - looks much larger than before - I suppose gaining skills isn''t too difficult. Though I still don¡¯t know what some of them do, I am learning rather quickly on how to use them and their functions, so I will probably grasp all their functionality with time - for now, they can sit in my stats window. I am in no rush to learn to use them. Exhaling, I closed my stats window and my expression turned a bit more serious.


    I managed to beat the scorpion that was higher level than me and clearly more skilled than me when it came to fighting - however, was I strong enough yet to face off against that massive troll that I had seen hours ago? Sure, the troll at the time was lower level than the scorpion, but it has been a little while since I saw it. Even though it hasn¡¯t been anywhere near even a single day, who knows whether or not that troll had grown even more powerful since I saw it - I mean, with its size, growing more powerful probably wasn¡¯t that hard.


    But then again¡­


    If it was still at only level twenty one¡­


    Then I would surely be able to take it down with not much problem? I don¡¯t want to sound or be arrogant right now, but I was at a higher level than it and even though the levels may not mean ¡®everything¡¯ when it came to strength, to me, they seemed as a good way to tell if something was strong or weak.


    Hmm¡­.


    What should I do¡­


    I thought about my next course of action for a bit - debating with myself about going off and searching for the troll and killing it, however after careful consideration, I decided against it. Instead - I thought of getting stronger for now, until I was at a level at which I would feel comfortable throwing myself against that massive beast.


    So, I left my little rest spot and slithered off into the forest, beginning my search for monsters to hunt down and kill¡­. And maybe even eat - considering that I haven¡¯t eaten anything for a while and hey, since I am a snake now, even if I am not used to eating raw meat, being a non-human creature surely will make the raw meat of unknown and mysterious monsters taste¡­ not as awful.


    ¡­Right?


    One Week Later. . .


    I slithered quickly across the ground, dodging incoming darts that hit the trees behind me and the ground that I managed to move off of. Currently, I was locked in a fierce confrontation with a small, short human-like creature that had red skin and a strange mask as well as quills, similar to a hedgehog, which it kept firing off at me like arrows.


    Based on information given to me by ¡®Erudition¡¯ this creature was known as a Red Dart Badger and was a ¡®low¡¯ threat level monster, that possessed not very durable, but sharp and poisoned quills - the poison of which was able to affect even those with resistance to poison.


    As I moved, I quickly leapt towards a shadow, sinking into and disappearing from sight. The Red Dart Badger looked around in paranoia and confusion, searching for me, turning all around the place - eventually giving me the perfect chance to sneak attack it, as I leapt out of its shadow and opened my mouth wide open as the creature turned around to look at me. I quickly bit into its neck, biting through the mask it wore and then biting off a chunk of its neck - causing the badger to wail for a moment in pain, before it collapsed to the ground, its body lifeless as it bled out from its neck - life disappearing from its body within mere moments.


    Experience Threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 37.


    Another level secured.


    I exhaled as I grabbed a hold of the dead creature''s body and dragged it over to a spot underneath a tree. Once there, I coiled up a little bit, before taking a huge bite out of the dead monster''s body - swallowing the chunk whole. Just as I had hoped around a week ago I believe, as I am a snake now - or I am a monster, I suppose - raw meat from other monsters doesn¡¯t taste as bad as I had imagined. Well, it tastes almost like nothing to be fair¡­


    I was forced to remember that despite being a living creature, snakes actually can¡¯t exactly taste at all - they literally have no taste buds. So for all I know, these monsters I am devouring after killing them could taste god awful and like I am eating trash, but I just wouldn¡¯t know - because I am unable to taste them. Still, they soothe my hunger, so I won¡¯t complain or say much.


    As I growled away at the badgers body, I opened my stats window - something I had learned to do without needing to say the ¡®command¡¯ out loud.


    I have ¡®Erudition¡¯ to thank for that, as the mere presence of it makes learning things easier - I mean, I even learned how to use ¡®Shadowman¡¯ on command with a mere thought, to the point where it has basically become a sub conscious thing for me. If I just think of disappearing into a shadow, ¡®Shadowman¡¯ takes me into the shadow. It has made my hunts much, much easier as dodging enemy attacks and launching sneak attacks on them has become a thousand times easier than before.


    Anyways, back to my stats window.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.Species: Lesser Serpentine


    Level: 37


    Rank: E


    Stats:


    Health; 10200


    Strength; 1500


    Defense; 1490


    Magical Energy; 9000


    Stamina; 1500


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 4500


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Erudition; Rare Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Harvester; Rare Skill


    -Venom Bullet; Rare Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowman; Rare Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Shadow Call; Rare Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    My stats have grown by quite a decent chunk even if I have only managed to push out nine levels in the span of this week. It still was a much better look than like one or two levels in a week - nine in a week is a significant improvement in my books.


    I have also learned that ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ allows me to, as the skill says, ¡®erase¡¯ all traces of my presence for an indefinite amount of time - aka, as long as I stay still and do not move. As soon as I make a significant movement, it automatically deactivates the skill - which makes it a little less useful as I am unable to just keep it active and basically kill monsters without them ever even knowing I exist.


    But then again, I suppose that would be a little unfair¡­


    I had also managed to figure out what ¡®Beasts Will¡¯ does - albeit on accident. Around three days ago, I was in a tough spot where I got cornered by three Greater Direwolves that had been giving me a tough time over all. However, then in the moment that one of them sprung forward at me, I hissed loudly at it, which in return caused the skill to activate and sent out what I believe was a loud tremor that then caused all three monsters to fall to the ground - as if gravity had intensified on them, making them incapable of moving even the slightest inch.


    After I had killed the three monsters, I managed to piece it together that ¡®Beasts Will¡¯ was like a stunning move that allowed me to basically ¡®paralyse¡¯ my opponents with a loud hiss in my case - which would render them unable to move.


    It was a pretty useful skill all in all, however it had the drawback of only being able to use it once every few hours - as apparently the use of it rapidly could ¡®damage¡¯ my voice and potentially make it impossible for me to even let out a single sound from my mouth - which I definitely did not want to happen.


    Anyways¡­


    Right now, the only skills I had not figured out the function of yet were ¡®Shadow Call¡¯ and ¡®Trickster¡¯ - skills that I genuinely did not even have a single clue on the functions of whatsoever. I couldn¡¯t even get a rough idea based on their names, I mean, the names were ones that gave me literally limitless ideas of what they could possibly do.


    Closing my stats window, I finished off the last chunk of the Red Dart Badgers meat, before knocking the bones of it to the side with my tail and then exhaling a little. I had spent another week of just hunting down and killing monsters to increase my level, simply because of my paranoia that I may not be strong enough to face that troll yet. But now, I have hit the level of thirty seven - surely now I am ready, right? Even if that troll was higher level than twenty one, I was in a rather comfortable spot with my level - even that scorpion inside of that dungeon wouldn¡¯t seem as scary now, I¡¯m sure of it.


    Taking in a deep breath, I looked off into the deep forest with a serious expression. Enough time I have had to prepare I believe - time to go and meet that troll and see, whether or not I can actually face it in battle.


    If I remember correctly, I caught glimpses of it moving somewhere north - or what I at least assumed was north, based on some factors I was taught to look out for as a child in my previous life. After a moment of hesitation, I began to slither off into the forest, keeping my eyes wide open and my senses as keen as possible, to avoid getting ambushed by anything as I moved through the forest.


    I did not want to waste time any longer - I wanted to fight that troll.


    Moving through the woods, I eventually came upon a very good and bad sign - giant imprints in the ground, in the rough shape of a foot as well as trees that had been snapped and broken in half all around the place. However - these signs were also bad in a way - as it meant that it could be anywhere around here or even further down the path, if I followed the footprints and the snapped trees. That meant, getting ambushed was a possibility - as illogical as it sounds, considering the things massive size.


    After another brief moment of hesitation, I began to follow the path of ¡®destruction¡¯ and began to possibly ¡®tail¡¯ the troll that had clearly moved through this area. I was going to kill it no matter what - I have steered that resolve already, no backing out for me now. After following the path for a while, I eventually managed to find the beast in question, resting by a large cave that was obscured by the trees around it. Just to not alert the beast, I activated ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ from my hiding spot, before using ¡®Erudition¡¯ on the monster.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name; Erv


    Species; Greater Dark Troll


    Level; 42


    A Powerful version of the regular Dark Trolls, which specializes in the usage of dark and illusionary magic. It also possesses grand physical strength, however its endurance is mediocre at best - its spells can take a long time to cast with their incantations, however should the creature manage to pull them off, the spells could level down entire forest scapes. Proceed with caution.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It was just like I had feared¡­


    Guess my worries about it getting stronger were not misplaced - not only had this thing had gone from an ¡®Inferior Troll¡¯ to an ¡®Greater Dark Troll¡¯ - whatever that meant - it also had managed to gain a name and in terms of levels¡­ it outlevelled me.


    I smirked nervously, scuffing a bit.


    And here I thought I was being smart by going around and killing things around the forest for a week to increase my level just in case¡­ Looks like this thing will be harder to take down than the Scorpion that I faced in the dungeon after all. No big deal though - I knew it wouldn¡¯t be an easy step to take.


    After a little moment of fear and hesitation, I shook my head, my ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ skill deactivating as I then leapt out of my hiding spot and fired off ¡®Venom Bullet¡¯ at the Troll, creating large, dark purple orbs in air, before large, arrow life shots fired towards the beast and collided straight with its chest, casting a sort of ¡®smokescreen¡¯ over the Troll as I sunk into the shadows cast by the treeline above. The Troll awoke, standing up with a loud roar, before lifting up the large club it had in its right hand and crashing it into the ground, right onto the shadow where I was in.


    However, due to me being inside the ¡®Shadow¡¯ I managed to avoid all damage from the attack before I leapt out of the shadow and up towards the Trolls face, firing off another barrage of Venom Bullets at it. Once the bullets hit the monster''s face, it stumbled back a bit, its mouth wide open.


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    I thought, before opening my mouth wide open and bit down onto its tongue, activating ¡®Harvester¡¯ immediately, allowing me to rip the tongue straight out of its mouth - practically disabling its speech. In one fell swoop, I had removed any way for it to cast a single spell against me - I was in a golden position right now.


    Once I landed back onto the ground, I rapidly slithered away from the troll, creating distance between me and it, while the beast looked down at me with a furious gaze, before grabbing its club and lifting it into the air, sending it crashing down onto the ground again - with me barely managing to avoid being injured gravely and being only flung back against a tree, which did hurt a bit, but not enough to make me lose my game.


    Without its tongue, the thing couldn¡¯t cast spells, as it couldn¡¯t talk - which meant all I had to ensure was to dodge its physical attacks and just aim to take it out as fast as possible. Now, I saw that the previous two Venom Bullets that I had fired off against it, despite its reactions to them, seemed to do practically nothing to it, which meant its skin probably was too resilient for the Venom Bullet to pierce. I probably and possibly was going to be forced to use ¡®Harvester¡¯ and bite my way through its skin.


    After dodging a stomp that the beast attempted, I leapt onto its leg and quickly slithered up its body, as the Troll attempted to grab a hold of me with its large hands. Thank god for this slippery and slender body - if I didn¡¯t have it, I do not know what I would do right now.


    Quickly making my way up to the Trolls head, I leapt towards its left eye, biting into it and then ripping it out, causing the beast to grab a hold of its head with its left hand before successfully grabbing me and tossing me towards the ground while it stumbled back. As I approached the ground, I sunk into the shadows, leaping out of them immediately afterwards, before turning to look at the Troll.


    ¡°So far so good! I just need to keep this up and this thing will-¡±


    Before I could finish my thought process, a loud, loud howl echoed through the area, before the giant Troll was enclosed in a massive pillar of blue flames. My eyes widened in shock and surprise as I watched the Trolls'' faint silhouette through the flames, practically pleading and begging for its life as the flames consumed it. Then, after a couple of seconds, the pillar of flames disappeared, and all that was left of the troll and the forest area that was also caught within the pillar was just a patch of ashes and scorched land.


    My eyes were as wide as they could be, as a sense of fear and shock completely took over my body. That troll¡­ it was obliterated in mere seconds by that pillar of flames¡­ Just - what caused it?


    Then, I heard a heavy foot slam down onto the ground behind me, which forced me to scurry forward, before flipping around and looking at the thing that was behind me. Upon seeing the creature, my shock and fear grew even greater.


    There stood a large, large white fox-like creature, with blue eyes that had this ¡®mist¡¯ going from them. It was around the same size as the giant scorpion inside the dungeon on a rough estimate, but its presence was way, way more menacing and intimidating - almost like its mere existence was some kind of powerful pressure and force that was being exerted upon me. Most bizarrely of all, behind it, where six large and rather fluffy looking tails, all of which looked to have a speck of blue flames at the ends of their tips.


    ¡°Wh¡­What is that thing?¡±


    I thought, as I activated ¡®Erudition¡¯.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name; Nykee


    Species; Greater Six-Tails [Intelligent]


    Level; 50


    A Very powerful beast capable of taking on a human appearance and speaking normal language to communicate with members of other species. While it does not possess any magic whatsoever, the creature is a master at manipulating and using Spiritual Energy to its advantage - in this case, to create blue flames that burn much, much hotter than any other flames.


    [Proceed with EXTREME caution.]


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    You have to be kidding me¡­ right?


    I shed a cold, fearful sweat as the beast in front of me just stood there - gazing at me with a fierce glare, as if it was staring straight into my soul.

 Chapter 12 - Doing Everything to Survive!

    The fox looking beast glared at me with an intense gaze, before seemingly howling - its voice so loud that it eventually left my hearing range and went silent. Then, the creature leapt at me with its claws wrapped in the blue flames. I just barely managed to leap out of the way, before the beast landed in the spot I was standing just moments prior.


    I shed a sweat, before quickly slithering off and into the nearest shadow.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t no way, I can beat that thing!¡±


    I thought, before slithering away, remaining inside of the shadows. The beast looked around, before looking towards the way where Faofa leapt to and then leaping after the snake - pursuing it. I dashed as fast as I could away from that spot, before eventually leaping out of the shadow and pressing myself up against a tree trunk behind me.


    Jesus..


    I think I got away from it. Thank god - who knows what would have happened to me if it had landed an attack on me.


    Then, as soon as I relaxed my muscles for just a second, the tree behind me suddenly was sliced in half, before igniting an ablaze with the same blue flames. I looked up above me with a terrified expression, while the massive beast stared back down at me with an intense glare.


    After narrowing its eyes, it attempted to chomp down on me - though, I managed to barely slip into the shadows before leaping back out a bit away and then beginning to slither away as fast as possible once more. I needed to be careful with how much I used ¡®Shadowman¡¯ - If I remain inside the shadow world for too long, my magical energy will be drained fast. But - how do I lose this thing that is literally on my tail right now? If it keeps pursuing me, I do not think I will be able to survive.


    I threw a gaze behind me as I fled, seeing the beast still chasing after me - dodging trees and burning bushes that were in its path. This thing was like an unstoppable tank that was locked onto its target was going to get to it no matter what stood in its way.


    It was terrifying¡­


    How the hell do I shake it off and get out of this alive?!


    As I continued to flee, I spotted a group of direwolves led by a larger and darker wolf. Perfect! A pack led by a Greater Darkwolf - that can act as my distraction! These packs I have seen before and the Greater Darkwolf was a creature that I could not beat last time - being very powerful and its level showing up as just a ¡®?¡¯. I know that thing chasing me is level fifty, but not even it could beat something that has its level unknown - right?


    I dashed towards the pack, before leaping into the shadows right as I made it to them, before leaping back out of them behind the pack, underneath the tree line. Looking back, I watched as the fox beast ran up to the pack and the direwolves all immediately began growling and approaching the beast from all directions - surrounding it.


    Perfect!


    Please, take that thing out for me Mr. Wolves!


    As the direwolves surrounded the beast, it looked around at them, before putting one of its front paws down onto the ground and howling loudly again - once again, leaving my range of hearing. Then, the direwolves surrounding it all suddenly were sliced apart with one swing of its tails.


    My eyes widened. It was instant - the wolves had no time to react to or even process the attack that the fox had just thrown at them - they were just all annihilated in the blink of an eye. After the direwolves, or at least what remained of them, fell to the ground, the Greater Darkwolf stepped up against the beast and growled. It was almost the same size as the fox - surely this thing was a match for it!


    Then, after a moment of locking eyes, the Darkwolf leapt back before howling - the shadows around it rising up before shooting towards the fox. The fox seemingly exhaled, before leaping up high into the air, before charging up a large blue orb of flames and then throwing it down at the Darkwolf, who simply howled, causing several black circles to appear in the air around it - before sword like ¡®weapons¡¯ began to fly out of the circles and towards the orb of flames.


    However, the swords did nothing to the flame orb - as it approached the Darkwolf, which just stood there in one spot. The flames erupted once they hit the Darkwolf, creating a large area of blue flames - where everything was burnt to a crisp. Once the smoke and dust subsided - the Darkwolf was still standing, though it was very much visibly injured. Its fur was singed and the skin beneath the fur was burnt, really, really badly.


    The beast looked up at the air with a shaking body, however before it could do anything, the fox appeared behind it - then, the Darkwolfs head just fell off of its body, hitting the scorched ground before its body collapsed.


    My eyes were as wide as they could get, my pupils shaking and my entire body just frozen from fear. This thing, it just took down a Greater Darkwolf with a mere two strikes¡­ What on earth is this thing?


    After the Darkwolfs death, the fox looked at me once more. Immediately my body moved on its own - with me desperately beginning to flee once more.


    Forget fighting it completely - What the hell was that just now!?


    It two shot an enemy whose level was unknown and potentially ridiculously high! How the hell was I ever supposed to face something like this? I thought the troll was horrifying when I saw it for the first time¡­


    But this - monster.


    This thing was on a different level.


    I was fleeing as fast as I could, but even then, it felt like it wasn¡¯t fast enough. The fox was hot on my tail, chasing me like there was nothing else for it to do. There was nothing I could possibly do against this thing - it was so much bigger than me, its power was unlike anything else I¡¯ve seen up until now and it¡¯s bloodlust¡­ It was off the charts. If I stopped for even a second¡­ even for a moment - I was done for. I had a zero percent chance at victory against this thing.


    I slithered and slithered, and slithered¡­


    The forest around me began to feel like it was starting to get darker and darker. I did not see a single other living creature inside it as I fled and the beast chased me. The only thoughts coursing through my mind were that I needed to escape.


    Blood was rushing through my body - adrenaline levels were starting to reach what I bet were unhealthy levels. I know I said I didn¡¯t want to reincarnate in the first place, but I would also prefer to try and not waste this miracle! After all, if I die now, that would be disrespectful to all the unlucky individuals who didn¡¯t get a miracle chance like this.


    Eventually, after fleeing through the woods for what felt like forever, I entered into a large clearing, where there were a bunch of rocks in a strange formation that blocked my way.


    A deadend.


    ¡°Why now?!¡±


    I shouted in my mind as I heard a rustle behind me. I threw my head back and saw the fox slowly come out into the open field, it growling lightly as it glared at me with flaming eyes.


    This was it¡­ I''m going to die.


    This thing will end me here¡­


    As the creature slowly approached me, I slithered back, until my scaly back was pressed up against the rocks behind me. As soon as I hit the rocks, I panicked and closed my eyes ¡ª hearing and feeling my heart beat so unbelievably fast, it felt like it would blow out of my chest at any given moment.


    But then, I heard rustling to the side, followed by slow footsteps.


    I opened my eyes, before looking at the beast in front of me, before noticing another individual to the side ¡ª one who was hidden underneath a dark red and black cloak, not even his face visible, as it was obstructed by a mask.


    ¡°Sanguinis Puppet.¡±


    The individual stated, before lifting his head up slightly and looking at the fox with a shining eye. From behind the man, suddenly, three large, dark red circles appeared before firing off these rope-like things that seemed to be made of¡­ some liquid. Red liquid.


    The fox howled at the man, before leaping back and firing off some of its blue flames at the red ropes, seemingly trying to incinerate them ¡ª but the ropes easily tore through the flames before approaching the Fox and quickly catching it ¡ª wrapping all around it and binding it midair.


    I shed a sweat, throwing a look at the man, before slithering a bit closer to the wall.


    [Presence Erase] has been activated.


    Couldn''t have done that earlier, could you?!


    The cloaked man remained silent as he approached closer to the fox, keeping his head down, before stopping and looking up towards the beast. He then lifted up his right hand, before gripping his mask and taking it off, breathing out heavily as he looked up with bright red eyes. Then, the man smirked before exhaling and placing his arms behind his back.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Denique... unum genus tuum capere non facile est.¡±


    The words that the man spoke I did not understand at all, however, whatever he was saying, most likely was directed at the fox - which tried to struggle and wiggle its way out of the bindings wrapped around it.


    The fox looked at him with a wrathful glare, before suddenly being enclosed in a large orb of blue flames, which burnt through the red ropes before dissipating. In place of the fox now was a seemingly small girl with the same six tails behind her. The girl fell from the air and landed onto the ground with a small thud, before looking at the smirking man with a stressed and intense glare.


    ¡°Unus ex illis es, annon?¡±


    The girl asked, in the same language that the man had spoken before. I seriously wish I could understand what on earth they were saying - but alas, I suppose I will have to just interpret this encounter without being able to understand what they are saying and just go off of their body language.


    The man''s smirk grew larger as he lifted his arms up into the air and looked at her with his bright red eyes.


    ¡°Quis scit?¡±


    He replied.


    The girl scuffed before leaping towards him with immense speed - blue flames wrapping around her left hand, before forming into a sword. As she approached, she leapt into the air, before crashing down onto the man - kicking up a large cloud of dust and dirt that cloaked the two of them.


    As the cloud dissipated a little bit, I got a few glances at the stalemate the two of them had come to - with the man having blocked the young girl''s attack with his bare hand. The man laughed a little bit to himself, before picking up his other hand and taking off the hood that was on his head - pulling it off and revealing short white hair and his face with more detail. I could make out an elderly face with a small white beard on his chin from the distance I was watching them both at.


    The girl shed a cold sweat, as the man looked at her with his eyes shining.


    ¡°Quam rude puella es¡­ Te docere debet aliquis mores aliquos!¡±


    He replied, shouting at the end before knocking her back. Afterwards, large tentacle-like appendages shot from his back - all of them also in the darkish red colour and dripping - as if they were made of condensed liquid.


    Would you like to use [Erudition] to analyse the appendages?


    I can do that?!


    Then what are you waiting for? Yes! - I want to analyse them!


    I looked at the appendages, with a menu of information appearing in front of me as I looked at them more intensely.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - Blood Magic ( Appendage )


    A special weapon-like limb that is made using the blood of the user. The spell to create this kind of weapon consumes minimal magic, but requires the user to sacrifice their own blood to keep it active.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Jesus Christ¡­ This guy is using something like this? Just how much blood does he have in his body to be able to sustain such a thing¡­


    The girl scuffed again, before charging at the man, who simply used his appendages to start attacking her. The blood made appendages shot towards the girl, trying to pierce through her, however, the girl managed to dodge or slice through the incoming attacks using her sword - avoiding taking serious damage. The man looked at her with a more sharpened gaze, before leaping into the air right as the girl landed onto the spot he had stood on moments prior.


    The girl then quickly looked up towards the man, who simply snapped his fingers, with the appendages shooting down towards her - before splitting apart into even more appendages - with the only difference being that they were much thinner than before. The girl quickly leapt out of the way as the first wave of the appendages hit the ground, before her six tails ignited with blue flames, before increasing in size. Then, she extended her right arm out towards the man - with the flames shooting from her tails towards him as beams. As they approached the man closer and closer, they condensed more and more before eventually becoming thin, thin and extremely fast beams of what looked similar to lasers.


    The man didn¡¯t move at all and simply allowed the incoming attack to connect, piercing through his arms, shoulders, right leg and even the left side of his head - seemingly going through even his brain.


    Then, before the man could do anything, the girl suddenly began what I could guess was some kind of chant or something, mumbling to herself before looking at the man with her eyes igniting with white flames - before a large white circle appeared above the man in the air. He looked up at the circle, grinning even wider as he exhaled lightly.


    The girl then took in a light breath, before extending her arms out in front of her and then towards the man in the sky.


    ¡°Obliterate!¡±


    Wha-?


    That word just now - I¡­ I understood it!


    After she had announced the single word, the circle in the air above the man began to shine brightly, before shooting down a large pillar of white flames, which instantly engulfed the man, before hitting the ground and causing a large stream of wind to be blasted from it across the ground - sending dust, dirt, pebbles and rocks flying everywhere from it.


    The wind was so powerful, I was barely managing to stay in one place - having almost been blown away and my ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ skill deactivated by the intense wind. The pillar absolutely decimated the ground it touched and even scorched the trees that were the closest to it. It was an attack I had never seen before - this girl¡­ That thing could do something like this. I knew that I was no match for it, but my goodness - I could have never expected something like this!


    She¡¯s like an unreal monster!


    The scorpion I faced in the dungeon even seems like nothing big after seeing her in action¡­


    After the pillar of flames dissipated and the wind caused by it ceased, there was not a single trace of the man left over - most likely having been completely burnt to a crisp, before his ashes were incinerated. Such a devastating attack it was¡­ I most definitely had to find a way to get the hell away from her. My entire body was shaking from fear as I was paralysed in the spot I was in. Luckily, my ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ was still active, as I had managed to not move from my spot, but my god - I do not know what I would do without it.


    The girl breathed heavily, as she collapsed to her knees and exhaled. She looked relieved and glad that the man had been destroyed by the attack - but at the same time, I could tell she was completely exhausted and tired from that attack. I will guess that it must take a great toll on the one who uses it.


    I exhaled lightly, my body eventually ceasing the trembling and my heart slowly returning to a normal heart rate. It seemed like I was beginning to calm down from the shock I had after witnessing such an attack.


    ¡°I will just wait for her to leave¡­ then I will head back in the direction I had come from - I am not strong enough to be in this part of the forest yet, that¡¯s clear as day.¡±


    I thought, before looking at the tired girl, who was just standing there, breathing heavily as sweat drops fell from her face. The only thing I was now wondering was when she would leave - Hopefully soon, since the ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ skill does drain Magical Energy rather quickly.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Remaining Magical Energy:


    5455 / 9000


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t leave in the next few minutes, I¡¯ll run out of magical energy and the skill will deactivate - afterwards, she will most certainly end my life.¡±


    I shed a sweat.


    Then - a sudden shiver was sent down my spine.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    - W A R N I N G -


    High Density magical energy presence has been detected.


    It is advised you avoid encountering its source.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Wait what?


    A high density presence? - But I don¡¯t see anyone around-


    Then, an ominous laughter filled the air suddenly, as the girl''s eyes widened and looked at the spot that had been scorched by the pillar of the white flames. From the ground, blood began to slowly spew out, before forming into a body, with bones and organs also forming - it was an honestly disgusting sight.


    ¡°My¡­my - what a devastating attack¡­¡±


    A voice spoke - and once again, I could actually understand what it was saying. But, how? I didn¡¯t spend even a minute learning the language I was hearing - how come I was suddenly able to understand what someone was speaking?


    [Erudition] Has successfully analysed the language ¡® Common ¡¯.


    The language has been added to your language repertoire.


    I gained an understanding of a language just through my skill? I guess there are things about it I am yet to discover¡­


    The blood eventually formed back into the man who had been caught in the giant pillar of flames just moments prior, before he adjusted his lower jaw with a horrific sounding crack coming from it. The man grinned and looked at the girl, who was staring at him with a horrified expression.


    I was also absolutely shocked and horrified - the man, he managed to survive that attack?! How in the world?!


    ¡°Impossible¡­ How did you live that?!¡±


    The man snickered.


    ¡°Please - I am a Blood Mage¡­ I can revive myself without much trouble and from even the tiniest bit of my blood.¡±


    He stated with a deep, ominous voice as his bright red eyes shined. Immediately afterwards, he vanished from view before appearing in front of the girl, grabbing her by her neck and picking her up into the air, with her struggling to try and break free from his grip. The man laughed, his expression that of a maniacs - with his wide grin twisted into a psychotic appearance.


    ¡°I will admit, that attack and your power are promising - however, unfortunately for you, you¡¯re simply not strong enough to face me. That¡¯s all.¡±


    He stated, tightening his grip on the girl''s neck. She struggled more and more, swinging her legs and trying her hardest to break his grip around her neck - however the man simply smiled more and more widely, before eventually snapping her neck, causing the girls eyes to widen for a second, before all life faded from her eyes and her legs and arms stopped moving - her arms dropping to her sides and her tails sloping down.


    The man laughed before letting go of her, dropping her body to the ground before kneeling down and flipping her body onto its back.


    ¡°There it is - just the item that he wanted.¡±


    He stated, taking a hold of and ripping off a necklace that was around the girls neck. Afterwards, he stood back up and looked at her dead body on the ground, before laughing and turning around, walking away from it for a bit, before stopping and suddenly looking my way.


    My body froze as my heart rate increased once more and I began to breathe heavily. I was praying in my mind for him to not notice me. The man looked around the area that was around me for a bit, before looking away and walking off into the forest, throwing his hood back on, before placing his mask back on and then vanishing into a black mist - his presence completely disappearing.

 Chapter 13 - I Need to Get Stronger.

    My body was completely motionless and frozen. I was shaking from fear so much, it felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. I could hear my own breathing - so heavy and slow. The sight that had just now played out in front of me¡­ To call it frightening would be the understatement of the century.


    It was absolutely horrifying.


    I literally just witnessed a human take the life of¡­ another human? I am unsure whether the girl could be called a human, considering her tails and, of course, the fact that she had transformed into that human-like form from a much more beast-like, fox form.


    I slowly felt my heart rate return to normal, however I could not force myself to move even an inch forward.


    ¡°Maybe staying far away from this side of the woods is a good idea¡­¡±


    I thought, gulping before finally forcing my body to slither towards the girl''s lying body. Moving up to her, I was careful to keep an eye out on my surroundings as well as cautious when getting closer to her, in case she wasn¡¯t actually dead yet and was still somehow alive. Upon a closer look, the girl seemed to be wearing an outfit similar to a¡­ Kimono? Wait, no, it¡¯s not just similar - it is the exact same as the ones I am familiar with¡­


    The kimono was white with this flame-like blue pattern all across it - as well as some golden accents. It was definitely a bit fancy looking. The girls hair was also white, as well as tied back with a small blue bow - holding most of the front hair on the back. Overall, she looked quite a lot like a japanese woman, just, with some animal-like ears and six tails.


    I shed a cold sweat, as I picked up my tail and lightly poked the girl''s body - just to check if she really was dead.


    And - nothing.


    There was not a single response from her. Not that surprising, considering I literally watched her neck get snapped by someone just now, but hey - you never know with fantasy worlds, right? Who could have known, maybe she had a special skill or magic, or something else that allowed her to cheat death.


    Call me paranoid, but I like to be safe rather than sorry.


    I exhaled in slight relief at the fact that she wasn¡¯t going to jump back to life and end me. You could see this thought process as heartless, since it basically meant that I was relieved that she was dead, but hey - I am trying to survive in this world, so anything that poses danger to me I either avoid or is better off dead¡­ Right?


    ¡­.


    Perhaps my thought process has become a lot more like a monster ever since I awoke in this world¡­ I should be careful with how much I embrace a life as a snake - I don¡¯t want to become a full on monster.


    I remained beside the girl for a bit, just thinking over and processing what I had witnessed. I thought I had gotten strong enough to be able to survive for now¡­ But after witnessing how easily this girl killed that Troll, as well as the insane display of power between her and that mysterious, cloaked man¡­ I do not believe I am anywhere close to being strong enough yet.


    Sure - the Troll wasn¡¯t too much trouble for me to fight - but I could never have beaten this fox girl if I had stayed to fight her. I would have never beaten that mysterious man. The only way forward for me, the only way for me to survive and avoid a situation like this in the future, is to get even stronger.


    I¡­


    I need to get stronger.


    I shook my head lightly, before looking at the girl - with a slightly saddened look. Though she was chasing me and would have one hundred percent killed me had I stopped at any point, I still couldn¡¯t help but show even a little bit of grief and sadness upon seeing another human die like she did.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Individual Skill [Devourer] can be used.


    Would you like to use the skill?


    (Yes)                                                         (No)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡­.I had almost forgotten about the ¡®Devourer¡¯ skill.


    Do I¡­ Do I do it? Part of me is shouting to just do it and get out of here, while another part of me is saying that I shouldn¡¯t do it and instead, should allow for the girl''s soul to rest - instead of devouring it and adding it to my power.


    I thought about it carefully for a bit, before exhaling and closing my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ but I need your strength if I want to survive in this world.¡±


    I mumbled quietly to the girl''s dead body, hoping that perhaps her soul had heard my apology. Then, I selected the ¡®Yes¡¯ option on the window in front of me. A dark red aura exited my body, before engulfing the girl''s body. It remained around her body for a second or two, before returning to my body, followed by a bright blue aura, which was absorbed into my body - making me feel very warm and fuzzy inside for a bit, before eventually that feeling faded and I felt normal once again. I exhaled lightly, opening my eyes, as a voice spoke to me.


    A Massive amount of Spiritual Energy has been absorbed.


    Special Skill [Nykee] has been acquired.


    You have gained the ability to utilise Spiritual Energy to perform spirit arts.


    Well that¡¯s certainly¡­ different.


    I guess because it wasn¡¯t magical energy I absorbed, I couldn¡¯t gain any levels from it. But - I did manage to get a ¡®special skill¡¯ from it¡­ Whatever that means. I was still super unfamiliar with how this world worked - there are common, rare, individual and now special skills?


    This is getting a bit complicated¡­


    Though, I can figure it all out as I go. Right now, I should focus on¡­ well, first, getting the hell out of here and second - searching for monsters to fight to get stronger. Maybe even find a dungeon or two to enter¡­ Those seem to give a good amount of experience.


    I threw my gaze back down at the deceased girl''s body, bowing my head down lightly towards it as well as closing my eyes - showing my respect towards her. Though I had no idea who she was, I still felt like I should show my respect. After all, my parents always taught me that I should always treat the dead and the ones that have passed on with respect - after all, they don¡¯t have the luxury to keep living like I did.


    After paying my respects to the girl, I looked around before propelling myself over her body and quickly slithering off into the forest scape, disappearing amongst the trees.


    After Faofa left the scene, a tall humanoid figure came out of the forest, just beside the rock formation that Faofa was pressed up against - looking at the laying girl, sniffling and tears dropping from her eyes. The figure ran up to the girl and grabbed her into her arms - hugging her tightly, as her tears fell to the ground, more and more.


    ¡°Oh sister¡­ don¡¯t worry¡­¡±


    She stated, before picking up the girl''s body into her arms and standing up, looking towards the forest into which Faofa had disappeared into with a slightly more wrathful glare.


    ¡°I will make sure that monster doesn¡¯t go unpunished.¡±


    She finished before disappearing into a blue flame alongside with the girl''s body, leaving the field barren empty once more.


    One¡­


    Week¡­


    Later¡­


    A Loud, ear-piercing shriek filled the room, as a giant bat fired multiple black arrows down towards the ground. I rapidly dodged all of the incoming arrows, before leaping up into the air and firing off a barrage of Venom Bullets at the bat. The giant monster dodged the initial barrage, however I quickly looked at some shadows below it, my eyes slightly igniting as many dark appendages fired from the shadow and quickly wrapped around the bat, allowing me to fire off another barrage of Venom Bullets - only this time, one with a clear shot.


    The bullets connected to the beast, causing it to shriek out in pain, however not killing it. Instead, I propelled myself towards the giant bat - sinking my teeth into its neck and activating ¡®Harvester¡¯ immediately, easily piercing through and ripping out a part of its neck.


    The bat shrieked once more, before flailing for a bit, only to cease its movement a moment later and fall down to the ground - crashing into it as I removed the appendages that were wrapped around it.


    Experience threshold has been reached.


    You have risen to level 48.


    I breathed a bit heavily for a second, before exhaling and laughing lightly. That wasn¡¯t so bad - though the stupid boss kept himself in the air, so it was a bit annoying to fight it, but definitely wasn¡¯t the worst thing in the world.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    + Congratulations +


    You have cleared this dungeon and defeated its boss.


    Would you like to receive the rewards?


    (Yes)                                                         (No)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Of course I would like to receive the rewards. They¡¯re the only reason I am doing these places.¡±


    I almost instantly selected the ¡®Yes¡¯ option from the two.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Rewards distributed.


    You have risen to level 50.


    Nice! I reached level fifty!


    Not bad for only a week worth of grinding for levels¡­ At least, I think that¡¯s a decent amount I have gained in a week. Anyways - I managed to reach the same level that sixtails I saw last week was - so I will take it.


    = Attention =


    All requirements for Evolution have been met.


    Commencing evolution to ¡®Greater Serpentine¡¯ immediately.


    Ah¡­


    Well, that¡¯s annoying.


    I felt my head spin a bit, as I fell unconscious onto the floor, with a strong warm feeling inside of me being the last thing I could feel before I fully went unconscious.


    Thankfully, I wasn¡¯t unconscious for too long, as an hour or two - at least, I think it was less than two hours - later I woke up and the evolution was completed. My body had grown in size, with me becoming not only longer but also overall larger. My green scales also turned a much darker tone and I also gained these yellow patterns across my body - reminiscent of tiger stripes.


    Other than that, much didn¡¯t change due to evolution.


    I made my way out of the dungeon immediately after I woke up again, before slithering off into the forest - hunting down and killing a Horned Rabbit to eat. Now, I was under a tree''s shade, with a rather large Horned Rabbits corpse in front of me, as I slowly bit off chunks from it and ate them. I believe I have completely gotten used to eating the raw meat of other creatures by now - Partially because I doubt I could eat anything else as a snake, but also partially because I had no choice.


    I had tried eating some berries the other day - but they were inedible.


    No, seriously - I couldn¡¯t bite through them no matter what I tried.


    Anyways¡­ I think this could be a good time to check on my stats and skills. Last time I checked was around two days ago, so I think while I am chomping down on this horned rabbit, it was worth checking them.


    ¡°Status Open.¡±


    I said out loud after swallowing a large chunk I had bitten out of the Horned Rabbit.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Greater Serpentine


    Level: 50


    Rank: E


    Stats:


    Health; 12900


    Strength; 2200


    Defense; 2090


    Magical Energy; 11800


    Stamina; 2090


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 5800


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Nykee; Special Skill


    -Erudition; Rare Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Harvester; Rare Skill


    -Venom Bullet; Rare Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowlord; Individual Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Fractured; Rare Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Hey, not too shabby - I think. My stats are looking quite high and healthy and my skill list, while not really having grown in size, still looks decent¡­ I think. I should probably now mention the new skill I had gained while hunting down monsters and dungeons this past week - the Rare Skill known as ¡®Fractured¡¯.


    It is a very interesting and unique skill.


    I gained it after killing a Great Spirit Wolf inside of a dungeon around five days ago. It¡¯s a skill that allows me to fuse two skills into one more powerful one - like I had done with ¡®Shadow Call¡¯ and ¡®Shadowman¡¯ - which I combined into the Individual Skill ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ - which basically has the functions of both skills and even more. ¡®Fractured¡¯ is a bit difficult to use at first, but once you get the hang of it, it¡¯s actually pretty easy. All you have to do is imagine the two skills you want to merge¡­ merging together.


    Yeah - as simple as that.


    I have no idea why it took me an entire day to figure out how to do that.


    Anyways - the skill is very useful in my opinion, as it basically has given me limitless options to gaining skills¡­ as long as they are sort of similar. Yeah, it has a rule, where it can only be used to merge together ¡®compatible¡¯ skills, which in my experience, means every skill that is somewhat similar. If there is even one skill that doesn¡¯t share any similarities with the others, you can¡¯t merge them.


    A bit of an annoying rule, since it means I can¡¯t just combine two skills that could be extremely powerful together, but hey - I can¡¯t exactly complain about its rules and limits, considering that even with them, the skill is actually really good and strong.


    Another thing to mention is that Special Skill I gained after using ¡®Devourer¡¯ on the Sixtails a week ago. While I haven¡¯t been able to figure out how to use it or what its functions are, I have a suspicion the skill might have transferred the girl''s soul into me, as whenever I sleep, I keep seeing that girl in my dreams like she was physically there. And I don¡¯t know about you, but that was very ominous to me.


    But then again¡­


    It¡¯s a lot better than seeing the nightmares that I¡¯ve been having ever since I awoke in this world.


    Anyways - I think that¡¯s enough sitting around.


    I closed my status menu, before finishing up the Horned Rabbit, leaving behind only its bloodied bones and some organs, which I did not want to touch - I may have adjusted to eating raw meat, but adjusting to eating raw liver, heart or lungs¡­ Yeah, no thank you. I¡¯ll skip over that.


    Stretching out a bit, I quickly slithered off into the forest again - leaving behind the remains of the rabbit I had just devoured. Not going to lie, it feels a lot better to go out hunting for experience and monsters to fight after a good meal - I am feeling quite energised and ready to face anything I encounter.


    And almost like fate itself was listening in to me, not too long after resuming my movement, a pack of Greater Direwolves led by a much larger wolf like monster appeared in front of me. I quickly used ¡®Erudiotion¡¯ onto the larger monster, just to see if it was a monster I¡¯ve encountered before or something new.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name; {Unnamed}


    Species; Greater Shadow Wolf


    Level; 45


    An evolved form of a Direwolf. These species creatures are able to enter the shadows and launch sneak attacks from them, however they are quite frail.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    So basically a faster and more agile Direwolf with the same ability as my ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ skill. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard to beat. I dashed out of the cover of shadows and towards the group with high agility and speed, using ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ to summon large appendages from some nearby shadows to tear through the direwolves, before leaping towards the Shadow Wolf, my mouth wide open.


    While the Direwolves all looked confused and were powerless against the appendages, the Shadow Wolf turned its gaze towards me before sinking into its own shadow. I closed my mouth, before flipping around and quickly firing off a barrage of Venom Bullets as the Shadow Wolf leapt out of my shadow - aiming to get me with a sneak attack.


    Luckily, I managed to predict this and the Shadow Wolf was hit by my Venom Bullets at point blank range, sending it back. After landing I used ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ again and leapt into the shadows myself, approaching the Shadow Wolf rapidly as it slowly rose back to its feet.


    Before it managed to do anything, I leapt out of the shadow below it and sunk my teeth into its neck, activating ¡®Harvester¡¯ immediately and tearing apart its neck, sending blood pouring out from it as the Shadow Wolf flailed around for a bit, before falling to the ground. After a bit, all of the Direwolves were also torn apart and defeated, allowing me to make the appendages disappear.


    ¡°No level up? I guess I need more experience than a single high level creature and a group of low level direwolves¡­¡±


    I thought before exhaling in slight disappointment.


    Then, I managed to hear what sounded like the sound of footsteps off to the left - followed by voices. Humans? Perhaps¡­


    But¡­ surely not this deep inside the forest, right?


    I mean, I don¡¯t know how deep I am, but I assume I was pretty deep inside the forest.


    Should I go and check out whose footsteps and voices those are? It¡¯s not a super good idea or anything, but I am very curious as to who else was here. I thought about it for a bit, debating the choice before exhaling.


    ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s go and see what those footsteps and voices are all about.¡±


    I thought and after quickly absorbing the souls and magical energy of the deceased wolf pack with ¡®Devourer¡¯, I began to slither to the left - following the sound of footsteps and voices I could hear. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of humans I would encounter. Perhaps those students again? Maybe some other humans? Ooo, maybe some classic fantasy group such as knights or something?


    That would be pretty cool to see.


    But I suppose I¡¯ll see what they are all about after I find them.


    My curiosity grew by every second as I slithered towards the footsteps and voices I could hear - and eventually, I slithered out of the treeline and onto a small, very overgrown and faded pathway.


    It was clear as day that this pathway was old and that nature was beginning to take it back by now. The path was made from what looked like stone bricks pressed into the ground - with their surfaces being covered by vegetation and grass by now. I looked around on the path, but couldn¡¯t spot where the footsteps and voices could have been coming from.


    ¡°Did I imagine it?¡±


    I thought, before I heard a loud call, followed by rapid footsteps.


    ¡°Guys, I found it!¡±


    Shit - gotta hide.


    I quickly slithered off of the pathway and activated my ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ skill, while slightly peaking behind the tree. Out onto the path, stumbled a young looking lady, dressed in quite medieval looking clothing and with long blonde hair. There was a sheathed dagger on her right hip and I also managed to spot a very interesting detail - her ears. They were longer than any humans and a bit pointed.


    If I remember correctly¡­ Human-like beings with long, pointed ears were called Elves.


    ¡°Anna, don¡¯t run off like that.¡±


    Another individual stepped out of the forest scape - this one was a male, with light armour on and a large long sword on his back. After him, two more individuals stepped out of the trees - another man dressed in much heavier looking and darker armour, with a shield and a mace on his back and another female, who appeared to be dressed in a large, dark purple dress with a classic witch hat on her head.


    ¡°Come on Alex, don¡¯t be too strict on her.¡±


    The witch looking lady said with a very¡­ interesting tone. Alex looked back at her before rolling his eyes, while the blonde elf girl looked at the rest of them.


    ¡°My apologies - but this path is definitely it! If we follow it, we will one hundred percent reach the Abyssal Ruins.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure? You¡¯ve said that about the last four paths we¡¯ve found.¡±


    The heavily armoured man spoke.


    The blonde haired elf panicked a bit before clearing her throat.


    ¡°Well, this time I know that this is the correct path. Come on.¡±


    She stated, before moving down it and deeper into the forest. The other three individuals looked at each other for a second, before following after her - all of them slowly getting further and further away from where I was hidden.


    I slithered out of my hiding spot, my skill deactivating, as I looked at the group leave. Should I follow them? I was curious about these Abyssal Ruins they were headed to¡­ I mean, maybe they were some kind of new dungeon I could raid and gain some experience at. I debated this decision for a bit, before exhaling and leaping into some nearby shadows.


    I will follow them - but of course, not out in the open.


    Following them through the shadows, I have no reason to worry about being found out.


    I quickly dashed after the group, eventually reaching and hiding inside of the blonde haired elfs shadow. As long as I remained anchored to her shadow, I barely even needed to move. Now then - let¡¯s see what the ruins they¡¯re headed to are all about.

 Chapter 14. - Trouble Comes in Spirit.

    I continued to tail the group of individuals inside of their shadows till nightfall, which was when they all set up a campfire and rested for the night somewhere slightly off of the path - something about not wanting to encounter any tedious monsters. When they all set up camp, I decided to make some distance between me and them - slithering off a bit into the trees before exiting the shadow and climbing up the closest tree, before casting my gaze over at them, watching from above.


    I had used up quite a lot of Magical Energy just sitting inside of the shadows of these people, so I needed to exit the world and allow myself to regenerate the Magical Energy I had lost.


    Magical Energy;


    240/11800


    ¡°Yeah, I almost ran out¡­ Probably would have run out if I didn¡¯t fixate my position onto that girl''s shadow¡­¡±


    I thought to myself, exhaling lightly before closing the window and looking back over at the group. The two ladies were already asleep, sleeping next to one another while the two males were sitting by the campfire and just talking to one another. I guess they had decided to spend the night in shifts - first the two guys stayed up and watched then the women.


    Makes sense - in these woods, you never know what may pop out unexpectedly. That troll and sixtails from before immediately come to mind when it comes to potentially highly dangerous creatures that may appear out of nowhere.


    I watched the two men talk to each other for another half an hour or so, until eventually I rested my head down onto the large tree branch that I was laying on, before exhaling a bit heavily. I was quite curious about those Abyssal Ruins that the group was headed to - as they seemed to be unable to stop talking about them. Just what could they be?


    In my mind, they probably were a very dangerous yet filled to the brim with treasures dungeon, where I could potentially gain some really nice amounts of experience from the monsters and then potentially even the dungeon boss.


    Now of course, the ruins could also be anything else - perhaps something of no interest at all - however I was kind of holding onto a hope that they were a some kind of dungeon or a place with strong monsters where I could gain some levels - after all, I kind of am in need of experience and levels.


    Yawning a bit, I closed my eyes - drifting off into sleep not long after.


    ¡­¡­


    Everything was dark.


    I looked around in slight confusion, shaking my head a bit before looking down at my hands.


    Where am I?


    What is this place?


    How did I get here?


    Then I heard a gentle voice speak from the side. Looking over, I didn¡¯t see anyone there, which crept me out a bit. I got up from the cold feeling ground and looked around once more, shedding a slight sweat.


    ¡®Hello? Is anyone there?¡¯


    I spoke out, my voice slightly trembling.


    Despite feeling fine, when I spoke my throat felt sore and it felt like my voice was being crushed on the inside - as if something was hanging onto my vocal cords, not allowing me to speak normally.


    After recuperating a little bit, I spoke up again.


    ¡®Hellooo?¡¯


    I called out, a bit louder this time. Once again - it hurts to speak. Only this time, it felt even worse, as it felt like my vocal cords and neck were being sliced in half with a knife and then ripped out. Then, I heard a gentle voice once more.


    ¡®Why?¡¯


    I looked behind me, seeing a young man and a young girl standing far off into the darkness around me. I raised an eyebrow at first, but then my eyes widened as I realised and recognised the scene playing out in front of me.


    ¡®I hate you!¡¯


    The young girl shouted at the young man, before turning around and running off into the darkness - disappearing. I reached out towards the girl running, before pulling my hand back. I stared at my palm for a bit, before looking at the young man who was still standing in the darkness, tears dropping from his eyes as he turned around and walked off into the darkness - disappearing as well.


    I grabbed a hold of my head, a tear dropping from my right eye.


    My head hurts. My heart hurts. My body hurts. Everything hurts. I could almost feel myself being split into two by some unknown and invisible force - as if I was being pulled from the right and left side at the same time.


    After feeling the pain for a bit, I lifted my head up and in front of me, the same girl I had seen earlier was standing right there - with a shadow over her face and her expression gloomy and upset.


    I tried to speak out towards her, however not a single sound left my mouth - it was almost like my neck was suddenly blocked by something internally and my vocal cords had completely disappeared. The girl looked up towards me before turning around and walking away. I quickly reached out towards her - as I heard the same sentence over and over again.


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I hate you,


    I Hate You.


    I heard whispers fill my mind as rapidly flashing images began to rush through my mind. They were mostly nonsense, however some of them I could make out. Some scenes were of my mundane life and existence - others of some grim and dark scene.


    Then, after all these flashing images seized - a single image appeared in my mind, one that was slightly obstructed by static. It was a grim scene of a large open field in which dust and smoke covered the ground. Bodies and weapons laid everywhere - and the environment was stained with blood. In the middle of the entire field, there stood a single, tall figure - which wore a dark coat that gently moved in the wind.


    The figure turned its head around and looked at me - its eyes bright light blue and shining, with black void filled pupils inside of the bright light blue colour. Then, I saw a message flash across the entire thing.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Wake up.


    I woke up breathing heavily - scarred to death.


    I could feel my heart beat rapidly and my blood rush. It felt like I had just had a life threatening event occur to me - like I had just barely somehow escaped the clutches of death.


    ¡°Wh¡­ What was all that? Was that all just a dream..?¡±


    I thought exhaling lightly as I looked around.


    I could finally feel my heart rate return to normal as my breathing calmed down.


    ¡°Another nightmare¡­ I swear, these nightmares will make me terrified of going to sleep.¡±


    I shook my head lightly, choosing to forget all the things I had just seen inside of the nightmare. Afterwards, I looked over to where the group had set up their camp yesterday - luckily, they were all still there and in fact, only now had slowly begun to pack up their things.


    Exhaling again, I quickly took a look at my Magical Energy reserves.


    Magical Energy;


    11800/11800


    Sweet, it has fully recovered. That means I can continue following these guys for today as well. I stretched out my long slender body, before leaping off of the branch I was on and sunk into the shadows below, before quickly moving over to the group and locking myself to the same girl''s shadow as yesterday.


    This also allowed me to overhear their current conversation, while they all packed their things.


    ¡°I hope nothing jumps out on us today - after all, we¡¯ve finally reached the Abyssal Woods fourth sector. This place is full to the brim with dangerous monsters.¡±


    A deeper voice spoke - my guess being that the voice belonged to the man who was dressed in the heavy armour.


    ¡°You worry too much Earl - I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t encounter anything today. And besides¡­¡±


    A woman''s voice replied to him, most likely being the witch looking woman I saw yesterday as her tone and way of speech did match that which I heard yesterday. I heard footsteps as her shadow walked over to the girl whose shadow I was wrapped around.


    The woman then placed her arms over the other girl''s shoulders, hugging her.


    ¡°Anna will ensure that we won¡¯t encounter any highly dangerous monsters - right Anna?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh - yeah! No need to worry Earl, I know where I¡¯m going. You should place your trust in your ranger!¡±


    Anna replied, before looking at Earl with what I imagine was a confident expression? It was a bit hard to tell judging off of her shadows movement as none of their shadows had faces - so I was going solely based off of their body movements.


    Earl seemed to roll his eyes before looking over at the other male - Alex I believe his name was.


    ¡°Hey Alex! Are you done over there? We¡¯re kind of ready to bounce already.¡±


    He called out to Alex, asking him the question with a slightly annoyed sounding tone. The aforementioned other male seemed to be crouched over by some bushes a bit away from where the group had set up their camp, as if searching for something inside them.


    He rustled around in the bushes for a bit, before letting out a heavy exhale and looking over at the rest of the group, before standing back up and walking over at them, throwing on his bag.


    ¡°Sorry - I was just making sure we weren¡¯t visited by any creatures in secret during the night. Even if we were sleeping in shifts, you never know what could have happened around us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah - We get it, safety first. But I¡¯d like for us to move now so that we can get to the fifth sector of the forest before nightfall.¡±


    Earl responded by crossing his arms.


    The two women nodded in agreement which caused Alex to sigh before looking at Anna.


    ¡°Alright then let¡¯s move. Anna - lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Right on it!¡±


    The young girl replied with an enthusiastic voice before flipping around and beginning to move - the other three individuals following after her. Finally, back onto the road - now I suppose all there is to do is just chill here and listen to what these guys babble about.


    Hours went by.


    The sun was dead above us and shined down - indicating that it was the middle of the day. The group was slowly moving down the path, with Anna leading them all while the two males kept on the look out and the witch looking lady remained between the two males. I guess this was a sort of patrol group position that they were all in - in order to be able to react to whatever was happening around them.


    Magical Energy;


    8078/11800


    ¡°I am using up quite a bit of magical energy¡­ with these reserves, I have about enough for another eight hours before I run out.¡±


    I thought, before exhaling and closing the window. If we assume it¡¯s the middle of the day - so about twelve o¡¯ clock - that would mean I had enough magical energy to just barely make it to eight o¡¯ clock in the evening.


    It¡¯s a bit insane how sitting inside of the shadows consumes around one thousand of my maximum magical energy every hour¡­ I thought my current amount was great, but seeing how fast it can drain, I will most definitely need to find ways to increase it. Who knows - maybe things such as magic items exist in this world too.


    I mean - so far this whole world seemed to work quite a lot like those RPG games people loved in my previous life.


    The group kept moving forward for a while before suddenly the girl whose shadow I was wrapped around suddenly stopped and ordered the others to also stop. I looked around confused - it was hard to see what was going on inside of the shadow world, but judging off of the group''s body language, I¡¯m guessing a monster showed up?


    ¡°There¡¯s something approaching.¡±


    Anna stated, lowering her hand down to her sheathed dagger.


    The others nodded to one another as the heavily armoured man walked in front of the elven girl and took the shield and mace off his back while the other male took a stance next to Anna, unsheathing his blade.


    The other woman took a stance behind them all, manifesting a staff which seemed to be made of dead vines and tree branches.


    Was she perhaps a spell caster of sorts?


    I mean, that would explain the witch''s appearance and why she didn¡¯t have any regular weapons like the others.


    The group looked a bit tense as they all just stared down the path.


    I felt a bit confused for a bit - unsure what had made them all this alarmed, however then I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as an intense presence suddenly appeared. Usually, while inside of the shadows I could not feel a single thing that was going on in the physical world, but this time¡­ I felt a strong presence.


    It wasn¡¯t as strong as the one I had felt with Arabor when I first encountered him, but it most definitely was stronger than any other presence I had felt up until now - I¡¯d even say that it was stronger than that mysterious cloaked man who I saw kill the sixtails.


    Followed by the presence, I finally saw the shadow of the individual from whom this strong presence was coming from. Based on the shadow, it was a humanoid individual, however, definitely not human, as I spotted five tails behind it. The individual seemed to be dressed in clothing that I instantly recognised - a¡­ kimono? Wait, but that shouldn¡¯t be possible.


    How does something from my world transfer to this one?


    Especially something as insignificant and random as a kimono.


    ¡°Who is that? A person?¡±


    Earl asked. Anna shook her head.


    ¡°Definitely not. A person wouldn¡¯t have five tails behind them. Fea?¡±


    Anna looked back at the witch, who sharpened her gaze onto the individual. Afterwards, she shed a sweat and backed up a bit. Anna looked at her confused about moving towards her, before Fea shook her head and looked at Anna nervously.


    ¡°Be careful - That¡­ creature is one that doesn¡¯t possess any magical energy. I can¡¯t get a read on it.¡±


    She stated with the others nodding.


    The individual walked closer and closer, eventually coming out into the light and revealing her appearance. She had white, long hair which was caught in a ponytail behind her and five white tails also behind her, as well as a pair of fox-like ears - which were also in a white colour.


    She wore a dark blue kimono, which was decorated with lighter blue flame like patterns and white accents. The kimono covered her entire body and stretched down all the way to her feet, where she wore a pair of footwear that looked a lot like getas¡­


    She really was like a Japanese woman¡­ just minus the ears, tails and her canine like eyes.


    ¡°My, my - I was tailing a rogue monster but instead I seem to have found a group of foolish humans that have wandered a bit too deep into the woods.¡±


    She spoke, her tone cold and almost teasing. The group tensed up as the woman looked at them with a wide grin and at the same time, a stone cold serious expression.


    ¡°Would you all be so kind as to hand over the monster you¡¯re hiding? I have business with it.¡±

 Chapter 15 - ‘Snake battles A Kitsune.’

    The group fell into confusion. All of them exchanged gazes with one another, before looking back at the woman - all of them very much worried and nervous.


    ¡°Hiding a monster? Unsure what you mean by that, but we aren¡¯t hiding any monsters.¡±


    The woman chuckled before exhaling heavily and looking at them with deep blue, glowing eyes. Afterwards, she lifted her right arm in front of her mouth, as she closed her eyes.


    ¡°Very well - If you refuse to bring it out, I¡¯ll just force it out myself.¡±


    She stated, before suddenly vanishing from sight.


    The entire group tensed up, however before any of them could react, Earl was struck down - his armour shattered to bits, before he himself was launched straight into a tree - which snapped in half as soon as he crashed into it.


    ¡°Earl!¡±


    The others called out to him, before Alex and Fea began to rush over to him. However, as soon as Alex took just two steps, the woman appeared next to him, glaring at him with shining eyes before pummeling him into a tree as well. Fea quickly reacted, spinning her staff and forming several red circles around her.


    ¡°Fire-!¡±


    Before she got to finish her statement, her body was suddenly tied up with blue flames - which constricted her movement and caused the circles around her to shatter.


    ¡°Wha-?¡±


    ¡°Magic Casters are always so overconfident in their abilities.¡±


    The woman smirked before lifting Fea up high into the air and then creating a whip of blue flames, which she whipped up at the magic caster and tied it around her, before pulling her in a circle, eventually pulling her down and crashing her into the ground - knocking out the magic caster.


    Alex just managed to get up from tanking the earlier attack, looking over at Fea and the mysterious woman, his pupils dilating into shock.


    ¡°Fea!¡±


    He called out to her, before gritting his teeth. He grabbed a hold of his sword, before dashing at the woman - slashing it at her. The woman easily dodged the initial slash, before using her bare hands to block and reflect the next wave of incoming attacks.


    Alex lifted his sword up high, the blade suddenly sparkling with a bright golden light before he slashed it down towards the woman. However, before it could connect, the woman vanished once more - causing the blade to hit the ground and unleash a surge of energy, which caused a small explosion that knocked Alex back.


    The swordsman hit the ground pretty hard, however still managed to pick himself up to his knees, while the woman laughed.


    ¡°My, my - that¡¯s a rarity. Holy Magic?... No - it¡¯s a bit inferior, so it must be Light Magic.¡±


    The woman appeared just in front of the swordsman, crouching down before lifting his chin up with her right hand - a wide smile across her face as she looked into his shivering and shock filled eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re a special one - that¡¯s for sure. But - unfortunately - not strong enough to face me.¡±


    She finished, before pulling herself back and then kicking the man up into the air via his chin, before once again whipping around her whip made of blue flames, tying it around the swordsman, before pulling him down into the ground - kicking up a large cloud of dust and dirt as he crashed into the ground.


    With those three out of the picture, the woman calmly turned to look at the final individual standing - the Elf whose shadow I was currently clinging onto. The elf girl was physically shaking from fear, her eyes darting around as she looked at her friends who had been decommissioned so fast. Not going to lie - seeing how fast she took all of these guys out, made me afraid as well.


    It was clear that day that she was far, far, far stronger than anything I have faced up until now. Even that scorpion boss from my first dungeon seems like an ant when compared to her¡­


    ¡°Now then - would you kindly allow me to have a conversation with the monster you¡¯re hiding?¡±


    The woman looked to be smiling, however the smile across her face was not one of friendliness or empathy - but a sinister one. It was clear she was cold as stone and one could even say infuriated sort of. And despite not possessing a single drop of magical energy¡­ Her presence and leaking aura was so intimidating and strong, it made me feel like I was suffocating a little bit.


    Anna shed a sweat, before her eyes teared up - the elf dropping to her knees, as she began to cry.


    ¡°I-I swear there is not a single m-monster I¡¯m hiding! P-Please don¡¯t kill me¡­!¡±


    Anna cried out, her entire body shaking violently. The woman looked at Anna with a cold glare, before exhaling heavily and disappointingly.


    ¡°I was hoping that perhaps you would try to fight as well to keep it interesting, but it seems like you¡¯re just a pathetic, young and overconfident girl¡­¡±


    The woman stated, before lifting her right arm up in front of her mouth again, closing her eyes. A small orb of flames appeared next to her, before growing in size and then flying at the elf girl. It felt like time slowed down as the orb approached the elf girl. Despite being in the world of shadows, I felt afraid - like the orb was going to incinerate me alongside the girl.


    It felt like I could see my own life flash before my eyes for a second.


    I could hear my breath as well as the crying of the young girl. Seeing her in the state she was in as well as hearing her crying made my stomach turn and twist. As the fireball approached closer and closer, I sighed.


    ¡°Screw it.¡±


    Right before the orb could collide with the girl, I quickly leapt out of her shadow and immediately activated ¡®Devourer¡¯ - the dark red mist leaving my body and quickly engulfing the blue flame orb, before seizing it in its path - slowly making it decrease in size more and more. Then, it fully disappeared, before the dark red mist returned to my body, as I landed in front of the young elven girl.


    Strong { Spiritual Energy } has been absorbed.


    The Energy has been repurposed.


    Epic Skill [Spiritual Flame] acquired.


    The woman''s gaze sharpened as she looked at me with a cold glare. Anna looked up confused, looking at what was happening in front of her. Seeing the snake in front of her, the girl couldn¡¯t help but fall into deep, deep confusion.


    ¡°A serpent? Where did it¡­ come from?¡±


    The woman exhaled heavily, before lowering her arms back down to her sides.


    ¡°Finally you show yourself, monster. Now - Would you be so kind as to turn to ash?¡±


    Her eyes shined as she looked at me with a strong deathstare, before four blue orbs made of flames formed around her and then flew towards me - increasing in their size as they approached. I shed a sweat, before exhaling and looking at the woman with a serious gaze. I might not win this fight - but at the very least I can die protecting this elven girl.


    After all - she reminds me a lot of¡­.


    I quickly tapped the shadows below me, creating a large wall to form out of them in front of me and the girl - blocking the four fireballs that were flying towards us, but also shattering as soon as the orbs dissipated.


    The woman looked a bit surprised, before exhaling and smiling.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Impressive - I suppose I should expect no less from the monster who managed to kill my sister¡­¡±


    The woman mumbled to herself, before disappearing.


    I quickly looked at the elven girl, using the shadows below her to lift her up, before moving her over to where the magic caster had been knocked out, mere moments before the woman appeared in the same spot that the elven girl was on her knees just milliseconds prior.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what else you can do.¡±


    The woman stated - a bloodlustful aura around her as she kicked me into the air with her right foot. I felt the impact pretty badly, however I didn¡¯t have time to react to the pain that much, as the woman sent two pillars of blue flames towards me immediately after her kick - forcing me to quickly use ¡®Devourer¡¯. The dark red mist left my body, before forming an almost shield shape as the pillars of flames approached.


    The flames collided with the dark red mist, before being drained and decreased in size until both of them disappeared and the dark red mist returned to my body. The woman scuffed before leaping up towards me. I quickly created multiple small purple orbs around me, before firing off my other skill ¡®Venom Bullet¡¯ at the woman as she approached.


    She quickly used her blue flames to create a veil around herself, tanking the incoming barrage of bullets head on - before breaking through it and accelerating her speed.


    I shed a slight sweat, before looking down at the shadows on the ground.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be out of range!¡±


    I thought, before activating ¡®Shadowlord¡¯. Luckily for me, the shadows on the ground immediately reacted, before firing off appendages towards me, wrapping around me before pulling me down towards the ground, right as the woman was about to land a hit on me. She looked down at me, scuffing again, before flipping around and creating a small orb of flames in her left hand, spinning it around - before firing it off as a beam of fire, towards me.


    I quickly reached the ground with the help of the appendages I had summoned from the shadows, before once again using the shadows to my advantage - forcing multiple pillars to rise up high out of them, before forming into a large round shield above me and the knocked out group of humans. Anna watched in horror and shock as the flames shot by the woman collided with my shield made of shadows.


    The impact was strong and heavy - it felt like I was trying to push back a plane that was crashing into the ground.


    I could feel the shield I had made using the shadows slowly weaken and crack - any second now, it would shatter. I really didn¡¯t want to use ¡®Devourer¡¯ again to absorb the flames, as with every use of it, it drains my stamina - but if she keeps up these attacks I¡¯ll be forced to do so. The woman kept her flame crashing down onto me, before narrowing her gaze and seizing it, before dashing down towards the shield made of shadows, easily shattering it with a kick of her right leg.


    As bits and pieces of the shield flew down, she glared at me with a wrathful gaze, while I shed a sweat.


    ¡°Come on - surely you can do better than this!¡±


    She created her whip made of flames once more, before whipping it around herself and then sending it down towards me. I quickly leapt back, before quickly beginning to slither around and dodge her attacks - occasionally leaping into the shadows to avoid an attack.


    The woman landed a short moment later, before whipping her whip back and with a wrath filled gaze, whipping it in a circle above herself - creating a small tornado - before whipping it down and around - absolutely decimating the trees around. I quickly delved into the shadows, narrowly escaping just before the attack could slice me apart just as it had done to the nature around it, but when I came back out of the shadows, I looked around in pure shock.


    The forest around me, in an at least twenty meter radius, was completely levelled, with all the trees incinerated and blue flames just burning around it. I most certainly did NOT want to be hit by one of those attacks of hers.


    Looking at her with a nervous gaze, I barely managed to react and leap up into the air to dodge an incoming attack from her whip.


    ¡°Too close-!¡±


    I thought, as the woman whipped her flames up and to the side, before successfully tying them around me. Strangely enough - despite the whip being made of flames, I couldn¡¯t feel any heat coming from them. Not a single bit. However, while I couldn¡¯t feel the heat of the fire, I could most definitely feel the whip wrapped around my body - constricting it. It was like a strong rope had suddenly been tied around me.


    The woman had a sinister grin across her face.


    ¡°Now - Feel my wrath!¡±


    She shouted, before pulling the whip back, and me with it. She threw me into the ground, before whipping me back into the air and spinning me around, before sending me crashing down into the fiery, scorched forest - with the whip around my body disappearing as soon as I collided with the ground, as a cloud of dust and dirt was thrown up.


    I coughed a little, spitting out dirt from my mouth, as the woman''s silhouette began to push through the smoke that was covering the scorched forest - her bright blue glowing eyes, piercing through the smokescreen.


    ¡°You certainly aren¡¯t weak - but I cannot comprehend how you managed to defeat my sister¡­¡±


    She stated, before coming out of the smoke and staring me down with a cold death stare - her gaze almost felt like it was piercing my soul. I shed a sweat, before backing up a bit. What to do now? I was basically cornered. None of my attacks have managed to make her even break a sweat it seems, and yet here I was using everything I had at my disposal - or at least, everything I knew how to use.


    The woman let out a heavy exhale, looking down and closing her eyes for a second.


    ¡°But you¡¯re nowhere near strong enough for the task you somehow pulled off.¡±


    She opened her eyes again, glaring at me with a strong and heartpiercing gaze. Then, before I got the chance to react, my body was suddenly restricted in place by multiple strings that seemingly came out of thin air.


    ¡°The hell-?!¡±


    I thought, trying to free myself from the confines of the strings, but to no avail - I wasn¡¯t even able to move my body all that much. The strings slowly lifted me up into the air as the woman laughed to herself.


    ¡°Funny seeing you squirm like that would save you. Unfortunately for you monster those strings come from a very strong skill.¡±


    She stated, her eyes igniting with a sinister joy. I shed a sweat, before looking at the strings in an attempt to use ¡®Erudition¡¯. A moment later, a menu appeared above one of the strings.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Strings of Dominance


    [Part of; Legendary Skill {Beast Dominate}]


    These strings are part of the skill ¡®Beast Dominate¡¯. They allow their user to take control of monsters by making them into their servants or familiars - once tied around a monster, the monster is helpless and unable to break free.


    Additionally, the monsters skills and magic will be sealed.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Is this some kind of sick joke?!


    You¡¯re telling me I can¡¯t do absolutely anything to free myself!?


    The woman exhaled before closing her eyes and lifting her arms up in front of her mouth again.


    ¡°It is a shame - were you not a dirty monster that killed my sister, maybe I would have been able to keep you. But as it stands¡­ You gotta go. And it will be a lot easier to kill you when you¡¯re under my control.¡±


    She looked at me with narrow and sharp eyes, a red shine in them.


    ¡°Beast Dominate.¡±


    She stated, causing the strings to shake violently, before igniting into flames, which quickly approached my body. I shed a sweat as my eyes widened - is this really how I die? By being turned into a slave first and then killed off?!


    As the flames engulfed my body, I felt my mind suddenly start burning - it was like it had been set ablaze by the flames around my body. It was a painful feeling, like I was being incinerated from the inside. I hissed out in pain - as I slowly felt my consciousness fade.


    ¡°N-No¡­ this can¡¯t be¡­ h-how¡­¡±


    I struggled to keep my eyes open as my vision blurred.


    This was it I guess¡­ This is how I die.


    As the flames approached Faofas soul - a sudden burst of energy was released from the snake''s body, as a pair of abyss black eyes opened.


    YOU SHALL NOT TAKE CONTROL.


    A loud voice roared, before a massive burst of energy was blasted from Faofas body, shattering the strings tied around him as well as pushing the woman back stumbling, as her eyes widened in shock and her pupils shook.


    ¡°What was that-?!¡±


    She thought as Faofa landed back onto the ground, coughing a bit as he rose back up, shaking his head slightly.


    The woman stared at him with a shocked expression, unable to comprehend what had just happened. The snake that just seconds prior was unable to do anything, suddenly unleashed a monstrous aura from its body. It felt like a DemiGod had just appeared before her.


    I felt my mind suddenly clear up as I looked around in confusion. I was¡­ fine? But - how? Just moments earlier I felt my consciousness start to fade¡­


    I looked at the woman, who was breathing heavily, while grasping her chest. Though I did not understand what had just happened, I was not going to sit around and complain - for whatever reason, her skill had just failed and it looked like she was shaken up by something, as she was staring at me with a fright filled expression.


    The woman breathed heavily for a bit, before exhaling and gritting her teeth.


    She let go of her chest, before straightening back out and looking at me with a more furious expression.


    ¡°Beast Dominate¡­ Failed. Just - What the hell are you?!¡±

 Chapter 16 - Another Promise.

    ¡°Beast Dominate¡­ Failed. Just - What the hell are you?!¡±


    She shouted loudly - her voice slightly trembling and her body shaking. I was beyond confused on what was happening. Why did her skill fail and why does she look so frightened all of a sudden?


    I didn¡¯t get a lot of time to stand there and contemplate what had happened, as the woman let out a furious howl - her body enveloped by flames, which formed into a large dome. The flames spun around her for a few seconds before shattering, as a tall, slender and rather beautiful creature now stood in the place where the woman was standing moments earlier.


    The beast looked like a fox - a pure white one with this radiant, light blue glow all around its body. The fox had five large tails behind it, as well as these velvet like strands which wrapped around its front legs, before flowing back towards its tails - slightly waving, while having this hypnotising glow to them. The Fox looked at me with fully light blue eyes, glaring at me, before growling.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you managed to escape my skill or what in the name of the Primal Dragons you are, but I will not go down!¡±


    The fox announced with a loud, loud voice, before howling. Several spinning light blue circles appeared in the air above the fox, before the blue flames in the scorched forest around us began to flow into the circles - as if they were absorbing them. Afterwards, these spear-like things slowly came out of the circles, before flying at light speed towards me.


    The first one, I didn¡¯t manage to react in time and was hit with - knocking me back quite a bit, as well as making a small window pop up in front of me.


    Health;


    3952 / 12900


    Oh for the love of god - I am starting to get low on my health stat¡­


    I will guess that the second that number hits zero, I will die. Better start taking this even more seriously - I cannot afford to tank too many hits anymore.


    As the next spear flew towards me, I quickly sunk into some nearby shadows before making a mad dash towards the fox-like beast. I had to get in as close as possible, so that I could use ¡®Harvester¡¯. As of right now, that skill is probably my best bet to actually beat this fox and get away with my life still intact.


    As I rushed forward, I leapt out of the shadows and flew towards the fox, opening my jaw wide open - aiming to sink my teeth into its neck. However, the fox suddenly leapt up high into the air, before looking down at me with shining eyes. Then, it flipped the light blue circles around to face down towards me, before firing off many, many arrow-like projectiles from them. I quickly flipped around, landing back down onto the ground before using the shadows around me to create a shield above me, right as the barrage of projectiles rained down on me.


    After the barrage had ended, I made the shield disappear, right as the fox appeared right above me, creating blue circles all around me at point blank range. I quickly coiled up my body and sprung myself up into the air like a spring, just mere moments before the fox fired off its attack - powerful flame pillars shooting from the circles and completely incinerating the spot I was standing on just moments prior. I looked down, before quickly creating as many small purple orbs in the air around me and firing off ¡®Venom Bullet¡¯ down at the fox - who quickly retaliated and formed a large shield of blue flames, before forming a bunch of blue flames orbs, which all then flew towards me - increasing in size as they approached.


    I didn¡¯t get enough time to react and was hit head on, getting sent flying through the air, before hitting a snapped and scorched tree trunk.


    The fall most definitely was not a soft one¡­


    Health;


    1159 / 12900


    ¡°Shit¡­ I have to be more careful¡­ Come on Faofa - think, think - how do I win this?¡±


    I thought shedding a sweat as I rose back up and looked towards the fox with a weakened expression, shedding a sweat. The fox just slowly approached me, its footsteps heavy and imposing. It looked like a legendary beast¡­. Like I had come face to face with a creature that people would worship.


    All of my attacks are basically useless - I can¡¯t get in close enough to use ¡®Harvester¡¯ against it, as it reacts to my moves way too fast and I will guess that running away is useless as well, as the thing was able to detect me while inside of the shadows. Things are not looking good here¡­


    As I was stressing about what to do, a sudden menu popped up in front of me. I looked down at it confused, reading what was on it.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    [ Attention ]


    Large amount of Spiritual Energy has been detected.


    Use of [Devourer] has been permitted.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    My face changed from a nervous and unsure expression, to a grin of relief. It looks like I wasn¡¯t out of the windwork or options just yet. Thank you Arabor - for blessing me with such useful skills at the very beginning of my journey.


    The fox finally took an imposing and intimidating stand on a hill above me, looking down at me with a judgemental glare. Looking up back at it, I shed a sweat. I know I said I still had a chance, but I still have no solution to how I can get close enough for ¡®Devourer¡¯ to reach the beast¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s over. Begone already.¡±


    The fox stated, before howling loudly - the ground feeling like it was shaking from it. Then, a large blue circle appeared below me. Almost immediately, I recognised the incoming attack and dashed to get out of the circle. The fox scuffed before hitting its left front leg onto the ground, a large wall of flames forming around the blue circle - eliminating all shadows around me and completely trapping me.


    I looked around nervously, before the fox glared at me with a menacing gaze.


    ¡°Farewell - Monster.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the real monster here?¡±


    I thought before beginning to brainstorm. The light emitted by the large circle below me intensified and intensified more and more - causing me to become more and more nervous. Then, the fox let out one last howl, before the light became blinding. Then, from the circle blue flames erupted into a massive pillar - which stretched on high enough to pierce the clouds.


    The flames completely incinerated the forest nearby and vaporised all the trees around it, as well as sent ripples of energy through the sky.


    Then, after a few seconds it dissipated, the blue circle disappearing, not a trace of Faofa or anything else remaining. The fox scuffed before morphing back into the shape of the woman, who cracked her neck lightly before turning around.


    ¡°I avenged you sister - you can now rest easy.¡±


    She stated, beginning to slowly move away from the scene. It took only a couple of steps for her before she stopped, looking around confused. Something felt off - like there was this lingering presence around her, constantly shifting. The woman cautiously looked around, examining the area around her.


    ¡­Was it just her imagination?


    ¡°Peekaboo.¡±


    The woman''s eyes widened as she flipped around and I just looked at her with a wide grin and shining golden eyes. Then, before she could do anything, I quickly sunk my teeth into the right side of her neck, activating ¡®Harvester¡¯ immediately. The woman let out a bloodcurling scream, before grabbing me and pulling me off, before tossing me away, stumbling back afterwards as she grabbed her bloodied right side of the neck, looking over to me.


    I landed rather softly, before lightly licking my lips and looking at her with a fiery gaze.


    Wounds have been healed.


    Through [Harvester] you have been granted the status;


    -Blood Hungry (+50% to Strength ; +25% to Health)


    Just what I wanted to hear.


    The woman breathed heavily, before letting out a loud and infuriating sounding roar - before many, many blue circles appeared in the air, completely surrounding me and her. Guess she was becoming desperate.


    ¡°Just disappear already! How do you live through all of my attacks!?¡±


    She looked at me infuriated before firing off blazing spears from all the circles around us - all of the spears pointed at me and flying at me. I exhaled, before dashing forward as the flaming spears rained down on me. I dodged every single one of them, as well as occasionally used ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ to create a quick shield to block some of them, all the while making a mad dash towards the woman, who was still gripping her wound.


    The woman looked a lot more nervous now as she stumbled back a bit more, before extending her free arm towards me.


    ¡°St-Stay back!¡±


    She shouted, a circle appearing in her palm, before a large fireball was fired from it. I quickly leapt towards the fireball, before using ¡®Devourer¡¯ - the red mist leaving my body and quickly enveloping the fireball, stopping it before draining it and then returning to my body. Landing back down, I continued dashing towards her, while the woman backed up even more.


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    ¡°I said - stay back¡­!¡±


    She shouted, firing off more and more fireballs, all the while the flaming spears continued to rain down towards me from all the rest of the circles around me. I dodged the first fireball, before creating a quick shadow shield to block the second. Afterwards, I used ¡®Devourer¡¯ to absorb the third and fourth fireball, before finally spinning around with my tail and slicing apart the fifth one.


    My eyes shined bright gold, as I glared at the woman, who simply looked at me horrified. First, I used ¡®Venom Bullet¡¯ - firing off the purple projectiles at her at basically point blank range, which as anyone would expect, hit her head on. Then, I immediately followed that up with ¡®Devourer¡¯ - the red mist completely surrounding the woman, before engulfing her and draining the excess spiritual energy that was coming off of her body.


    The woman let out a scream of agony, while the blue circles around us cracked, before shattering. I landed onto the ground, continuing to keep ¡®Devourer¡¯ active as long as possible to absorb as much of her spiritual energy as possible. The woman collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and overall looking like an absolute mess. ¡®Devourer¡¯ then deactivated, the red mist returning to my body alongside with all the spiritual energy I managed to absorb from the woman''s body - filling me with this really, really strong sense of warmth.


    A Massive amount of Spiritual Energy has been absorbed.


    Epic Skill [Spiritual Flame] has evolved into the Arc Skill [Djinn].


    Oooo - that sounds cool.


    But I can check it out later - first, I gotta finish this whole thing. I looked at the weakened woman with a cold gaze, before exhaling and moving closer to her, before activating ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ - using the shadows below her to knock her up high into the air. The woman spat out the air inside her lungs, before looking down at Faofa with a blurry, fading vision.


    The snake looked like a monster through and through by this point - Its body was dark and almost made of flames, its golden eyes shined bright like a pair of stars and its presence¡­ It was so immense and intense that she felt like she would suffocate if she stayed near it too long.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡±


    I shouted, before creating as many small purple orbs around me as possible and firing off ¡®Venom Bullet¡¯ at the woman - all of my projectiles hitting her head on and sending her flying back far, far away. I breathed heavily, feeling my adrenaline rush slowly fade - as I exhaled in relief and closed my eyes.


    That was probably the closest and most terrifying experience of my life¡­


    I was so close to dying that it honestly felt like it was worthless to keep fighting. However, just a moment before the large circle below me erupted in flames, a sudden voice in my head spoke.


    [Trickster] has been activated.


    After that - the world around me almost¡­ changed. I was still in the same spot and the circle erupted, however I didn¡¯t feel any of it. It was like I had suddenly turned into a ghost. I moved outside the circle, but the woman didn¡¯t notice me. Her attack was fired off successfully, but I didn¡¯t feel a thing from it - not even the heat. It was so strange - but at the same time, I did not complain or question it much. It appeared that the skill ¡®Trickster¡¯ had allowed me to completely escape the circle with ease. And after the woman finished her attack, I was able to approach her without her noticing me.


    In a way, it felt like it was ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ but stronger and I could actually move while it was active.


    Shaking my head, I looked around before leaping into some nearby shadows. Looking around, I spotted the woman''s shadow a bit farther away from me, laying next to a tree, grasping her chest. Shedding a sweat, I nervously approached her, slithering towards her with caution.


    Once I was close enough, I came out of the shadows just in front of her - and the sight before me as soon as I came out, was not pretty at all. She was battered and beaten up heavily with blood soaking the ground around her and purple poison across her body. The woman was breathing heavily, all the while her presence was faint and barely noticeable.


    I looked at her sceptically, unsure whether or not I should get closer.


    ¡°Come on¡­ finish the job already monster¡­.¡±


    She suddenly murmured, catching me off guard.


    I looked around, before slithering up towards her upper body, with the woman turning to look at me, her eyes filled with exhaustion and even a glimmer of sadness. Seeing me, she grit her teeth.


    ¡°Why are you just standing there and looking at me¡­? Come on! Finish me off! Do it, let me¡­¡±


    The woman closed her eyes, tears forming lightly at her eyes as she rested her hair back against the tree trunk.


    ¡°...Let me be with my sister again at least¡­¡±


    The woman cried, with her expression that of utter defeat. I simply stared at her in silence, unable to move an inch of my body. The sight of the woman''s current state and her desperation in her voice to be finished off¡­ It scared me. I felt dread - like my stomach was turning and my heart was being ripped in two. I know that she literally just tried to kill me¡­


    But even then, I am not so heartless to not recognise the scene before me. It felt¡­ familiar.


    ¡°...Was your sister a creature with six tails?¡±


    I asked.


    The woman looked at me slightly confused as well as startled, as if she hadn¡¯t anticipated my ability to converse with her. After a moment or two, she nodded lightly.


    I had a feeling it was the case. The sister she just called out to - it was the same girl that I had seen and ran from a couple of days ago - it had to be. But¡­ Why did she come to find me and kill me over her? Did she assume that I killed her¡­?


    I thought about it for a bit, before exhaling.


    ¡°Why did you come to kill me?¡±


    The woman looked hesitant to answer, before coughing and slightly pushing herself back, leaning her back against the tree trunk behind her. Then, she exhaled heavily.


    ¡°You¡¯re a monster¡­ Why should I explain myself to you?¡±


    She spat at me with a sharp tone, looking at me furious.


    ¡°And besides¡­ You¡­ You should know what you did. You killed her¡­ I saw you¡­¡±


    As soon as she said that, only being cut off by her cough at the end, I immediately realised that my guess was right - she had assumed that it was me who killed that girl that I had run away from desperately a few days ago. She was out for revenge for her sister - that was the story.


    The woman cried lightly, her appearance even more depressing than it was already.


    I stood there silently, unsure what I should say or even do in this situation. I wasn¡¯t the type to be able to talk to people or comfort them - If I was that kind of person, perhaps my previous life wouldn¡¯t have been so¡­ miserable.


    I thought about it for a bit, before sighing and slithering closer to her and then leapt onto her lap, coiling up and looking up at the woman, who looked down at me with teary eyes. She sniffled, looking at her confused.


    ¡°...I didn¡¯t kill your sister - I was in no way strong enough to do so at the time. All I did was¡­. Basically reap the rewards from someone else''s kill.¡±


    I explained looking down a bit.


    I didn¡¯t exactly want to tell the woman about my special ¡®Devourer¡¯ skill, as I assume it wasn¡¯t something common or well known in the world, however at the same time, it was hard to explain what I was doing with the small girl''s corpse without telling her about it. The woman immediately fell dumbfounded and lost for words, before scuffing.


    ¡°And why should I believe you? When I arrived at the scene, you were over her dead body and¡­ And¡­¡±


    Her voice cut off as she looked to the side.


    I remained silent for a bit, before shaking my head.


    ¡°...You don¡¯t have to believe me¡­ But I really didn¡¯t do it. It was a strange man, who appeared out of nowhere and used these strange attacks made from his blood¡­¡±


    I spoke softly, thinking about my wording carefully to give as good of a descriptive scene as I could.


    ¡°He killed her - he grabbed her by her neck and snapped it! I¡­ I watched it happen.¡±


    I closed my eyes, sinking slightly into my body.


    The woman sat there in slight disbelief, before exhaling.


    ¡°...It makes sense now¡­ Of course - her pendant was missing when I found her body. And seeing as you are a monster who wouldn¡¯t have any use for it, it makes sense that a human killed her¡­¡±


    She stated softly, before shaking her head, gritting her teeth and squeezing her hands into tight, tight fists. I could basically feel her anger and annoyance in this situation. It seemed as though, despite her statements about ¡®a reason to believe¡¯, she did in fact believe me.


    I remained silent for a bit, while the woman took in a deep breath and looked at me with a forgiving expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, little serpent. I attacked you under my own false misinterpretation of the situation as well as tried to kill you¡­ I should have thought about it more rationally.¡±


    ¡°Hey - don¡¯t be apologetic¡­ you saw what you saw and assumed what you assumed. I would have done the same.¡±


    I spoke, trying to comfort her to the best of my abilities. The woman shook her head, before patting my head lightly, smiling.


    ¡°You¡¯re a terrifying monster¡­ You can talk, your energy is unlike anything I''ve seen before¡­ It makes me wonder what you are.¡±


    She stated while gently petting my head. It felt a bit strange to feel the warmth of her hands against my scales at first, however that warmth quickly began to disappear and fade away, before her hand suddenly turned slowly to dust. I looked at it confused before looking at the woman.


    ¡°It appears my spiritual energy has run out¡­ God damnit¡­ Right as I also discovered the true culprit behind my sister''s death¡­¡±


    The woman said with an annoyed tone, gritting her teeth before lowering her arm back to her side. Then, she looked at me with a hopeful gaze.


    ¡°...Monster? Can you do me¡­ a favour?¡±


    Hearing her voice asking for a favour, I immediately lifted my head up out of my body and looked at her with a rather excited gaze.


    ¡°O-Of course! What do you need?¡±


    After hearing her side and realising what all of this was about, as well as understanding that her life most certainly was coming to an end, judging off of her fading appearance and terrible condition, I felt like I had an obligation to help her in any way I still could - so if there was a favour I could do for her, I would.


    ¡°I want you to find that man¡­ and please - give him what he deserves. Can you promise me to do that?¡±


    !!! { Attention } !!!


    Kitsune ¡®Iyka¡¯ wishes to make a Soul Pact with you.


    [ Accept / Deny ]


    A soul pact? Is that something similar to the ¡®Essence Vow¡¯ that me and Arabor made when I first arrived to the world? I was a bit startled by the sudden window, as well as slightly confused about the contents of it. However, after a bit of thinking, I exhaled and selected the ¡®Accept¡¯ option.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry - I promise to find him.¡±


    I stated, smiling lightly. The woman smiled back at me slightly, before closing her eyes. I felt a strong, warm feeling appear in my body, before white chains appeared and wrapped around me and the woman. The chains tightened around us both as much as possible, before shattering into white dust.


    The dust then quickly absorbed into my body and then the woman.


    Soul Pact with the Individual ¡®Iyka¡¯ has been established.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ And once again, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She stated, before her body began to crack and break apart, slowly fading away. I looked at her slightly saddened, before smiling again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologise - It¡¯ll make me feel worse about myself.¡±


    The woman let out a small chuckle, before her entire body cracked and broke apart, fading into dust which slowly rose into the sky. I fell down onto the ground as her body disappeared and vanished - simply looking up to the sky above and remaining silent. There she went¡­ Moving onto the next world and hopefully reuniting with her sister.


    Though I barely knew her and she tried to kill me, I felt a bit¡­ Sad. A bit¡­ sorrowful.


    I watched the sky for a little bit longer, before looking around me. It was time to get out of here before those humans that she had beaten come investigating. I quickly sunk into the shadows and rushed away, within seconds leaving the destroyed and scorched part of the forest and returning back into the lush green and dense forest range once more.


    Once there, I hopped out of the shadows and looked back one last toward the area, just watching it silently. Then, exhaling lightly as I turned away, I slithered off into the forest, leaving behind the scene of battle.

 Intermission - ‘A Dragon & A Kitsune.’

    Darkness encased everything. Then, a faint light appeared in the middle of the darkness, shining brightly before groaning a little bit.


    ¡°What¡­ happened..?¡±


    A voice from the light stated.


    ¡°Where¡­. Where am I? Why - why can¡¯t I feel my body¡­¡±


    The voice exclaimed confused, while it drifted through the suffocating, pitch black darkness surrounding it. Then, a loud growl shook the entire darkness, causing the light to falter a bit and darken, letting out a small, light shriek.


    ¡°Wha-what was that¡­?!¡±


    ¡°Now this is a curious situation - I didn¡¯t expect a rogue soul to find themselves within a place like this.¡±


    A loud, roaring voice stated - continuing to shake the entire dark void. The light shrieked even more loudly, now trembling and flickering.


    ¡°Who..who said th..that?¡±


    ¡°My apologies - I suppose it is quite difficult to see anything going on while we¡¯re both in our current forms. Allow me to make our communication a bit easier¡­¡±


    The loud voice stated, before the entire dark void began to rush around the light - freaking it out for a second as it shrieked in fear again, flickering and trembling. The darkness enveloped the light fully and after a few seconds, began to slowly morph around it into a sort of temple like space.


    The light then morphed itself, reforming into the shape of Iyka - shaping fully into her appearance, down to the very last detail. Iyka opened her eyes as soon as she felt her feet touch the ground, before her eyes widened in surprise. The woman looked around flabbergasted, a bit lost for her words.


    ¡°What is¡­¡±


    ¡°Please, do try to not ignore other individuals within the room with you.¡±


    Iyka turned around immediately as soon as she heard the voice from behind her, her eyes widening as soon as she saw who the voice belonged to. In front of her stood a large, large dragon, with six wings on his back and imposing dark purple eyes. His arms were crossed, as well as his legs quite fat and large - bent over as if he was sitting down on the ground that she was herself standing upon. If that was all, she wouldn¡¯t be as shocked or intimidated as she currently was, however the aura and magic she felt leak off of the creature, was the real frightening thing.


    The creature was like a dark figure made up from pitch black flames, with shining bright purple eyes - it was as if she was looking directly into a void. Iyka wanted to run as fast as she could, however her body was paralysed from the immense energy she felt leaking off of the dragon - her body shivering heavily from her sheer fear.


    ¡°Wh¡­Who are y-you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Strange, do you not recognise me? I was under the impression that the mortals of the world hadn¡¯t forgotten me yet¡­¡±


    The dragon scratched his chin, before exhaling and shaking his head lightly, before looking back down at her.


    ¡°Well, I suppose it isn¡¯t too big of a surprise. I have been sealed away for a long, long time.¡±


    The dragon then lowered its arms to its sides, before expanding its wings out, standing up - the simple movement being enough to shake the entire area that Iyka was in. The woman was absolutely paralysed from fear as she watched the giant beast rise up to his feet, staring down at her with an intimidating stare.


    ¡°Allow me to introduce myself then, member of the Kitsune bloodline. I am Arabor the Abyss, one of the Primal Dragons.¡±


    As Arabors words left his mouth, the Kitsune just stared up at him, her eyes widening even more as soon as he introduced himself. Then, the woman simply fainted, falling down onto her back. Once she was on the ground, Arabor just stared down at her, before exhaling heavily and shaking his head, sitting back down and retracting his wings.


    ¡°It appears that meeting a Primal Dragon is still too shocking for the mortals¡­ Still, I would have expected a member of the noble kitsune bloodline to have a less intense reaction, considering who they live with.¡±


    Arabor sighed heavily, before looking down at the fainted kitsune with a slightly disappointed gaze. Afterwards, the dragon moved his tail over to her, picking her body up with it, before lifting it up to his eye level. Then, he shook the woman lightly, causing Iyka to wake up again, shaking her head, before looking immediately down at the ground.


    As soon as she saw how high she was, the woman let out a loud yell, squirming around in Arabors grip.


    ¡°Careful now little one, otherwise I will drop you.¡±


    Iyka looked at Arabor, shedding a slight sweat, before shakily putting her hands together into a praying position.


    ¡°Ex-excuse me Al-almighty Arabor¡­ would y-you kindly put me d-down..?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I just wanted to get you back up. I can¡¯t exactly have someone dying for a second time, especially right after making contact with them.¡±


    Arabor lowered Iyka down into his arms palms, allowing for a much more stable surface for Iyka to stand up. The kitsune brushed off her clothes, before examining it more closely - looking for any tears and wounds.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­ I could have sworn I was heavily damaged and my clothes were torn¡­¡±


    ¡°You were - However, considering that technically you are nothing more than a projection of your soul, your appearance has reverted back to what it should be.¡±


    Iykas ears perked up as the dragon spoke, before she looked at him a bit confused.


    ¡°A projection¡­? Wait - actually, now that I think about it¡­ How am I alive..¡±


    ¡°Technically, you aren¡¯t alive - not physically, at least.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what does that mean¡­?¡±


    The Dragon exhaled, before lowering the woman down to the ground, allowing her to step off of his giant claws palm, before he scratched his chin. He remained silent for a second, as if thinking of the best way to explain it to her, before exhaling.


    ¡°I suppose you could say that you aren¡¯t alive physically any more. You did die in the world outside.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ did? But then¡­¡±


    She looked around confused, examining the area around her. It was like she was at some temple ground, with large pillars surrounding her and the dragon - beyond them, a dark pitch black void.


    ¡°Where am I¡­?¡±


    ¡°It is kind of difficult to explain¡­ However, I suppose you could say that you are within a foreign soul.¡±


    Iyka raised an eyebrow towards the dragon, very much confused by his choice of words. Seeing her confusion, the Dragon exhaled, before gesturing to her to sit down. A moment later, Iyka looked down at the ¡®ground¡¯ below her, before sitting down onto it and looking back up to the dragon. Then, Arabor crossed his arms, exhaling heavily.


    ¡°Listen carefully now. This will be a long explanation.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Souls are a strange phenomenon in this world.


    While the majority of the world is based on the Magical Energy that flows through it, connecting back to the primordial elements which are the base of all life - ¡®Soul¡¯ and the primordial element linked to it is the strangest element of this world.


    In essential detail, ¡®Soul¡¯ represents all of life as well the individuals in this world, as well as serves as the proof of something having life.


    Without a soul, a creature cannot be considered ¡®alive¡¯.


    However, ¡®Souls¡¯ are strange in another way ¨C mainly, their connection to other souls. You may be aware of the fact that it is possible to create ¡®Soul Pacts¡¯ between two or more individuals, in which a promise is engraved into the very literal essence of the individuals making the pact - creating a connection as well as a bond which cannot be ignored or broken until it is completed, or the one who initiated the pact breaks it.


    There is also another part to the Soul Pacts, which is a little less known.


    The ability to retain souls inside of a body.


    Iyka looked at the dragon confused, tilting her head to the left side.


    ¡°Retain souls? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°In short, it is possible for two or more souls to exist within a single body through soul pacts. For example, if two individuals were to create a soul pact and one of them was to die, it is possible for the still alive individual who was also part of the pact to retain the soul of the deceased individual inside their body - Think of it as essentially accepting the soul of the deceased into your body for the purpose of protecting it.¡±


    Arabor looked down at the Kitsune, before placing his arms onto his thighs.


    ¡°Does it make more sense now?¡±


    Iyka remained silent for a bit, processing the information dump she just received, before shaking her head and nodding lightly in response to the dragon.


    ¡°A bit more, yeah¡­¡±


    Arabor stared down at the kitsune with a slightly disappointed expression, before exhaling and crossing his arms once more, closing his eyes afterwards as he lowered his head a bit down.


    ¡°I suppose as long as you understand even a little bit of it, then it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Iyka shed a sweat, before exhaling.


    ¡°Anyways¡­ I don¡¯t see how that explanation about souls and soul pacts was supposed to answer my question on what this place is¡­¡±


    ¡°My apologies - I will get to that. It was simply important you understood how souls and soul pacts worked first.¡±


    The dragon cleared his throat before looking up towards the ¡®ceiling¡¯ of the area they were inside of.


    ¡°See that above us?¡±


    Iyka raised an eyebrow, before looking directly above her.


    Directly above them, high, high up in the ¡®air¡¯ was a large, large glimmering light which illuminated the area they were in. Iyka once again shed a sweat, before looking at the Dragon again.


    ¡°What is..?¡±


    ¡°That is the soul of the individual we both are currently inside of right now.¡±


    The dragon explained before tilting his head to the right.


    ¡°Basically, you are currently inside of the soul and body of another being that you have made a soul pact with - simple as that.¡±


    Iykas expression remained that of surprise and she was in a state of speechlessness. Inside of the body and soul of an individual she had made a soul pact with¡­ Did she find herself inside of the small snake that she had fought before her death?


    But¡­ She didn¡¯t remember creating any soul pacts with the serpent, so how did she get here? Surely she didn¡¯t enter this ¡®place¡¯ - if you can call it that - by accident. The woman looked at the dragon in utter confusion, crossing her arms as well.


    ¡°But¡­ How? I didn¡¯t create any soul pacts with anyone¡­¡±


    The dragon let out a loud laugh, causing Iyka to throw her gaze around the place, confused about what the dragon found so amusing about what she had just said. Arabor laughed for a few moments, before shaking his head and looking at the kitsune with an amused expression.


    ¡°Do you think you need to be aware for a soul pact to be initiated? Because that is utter nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Utter¡­. Nonsense? What do you¡­¡±


    The dragon exhaled heavily.


    ¡°Think about it for a second Member of the Kitsune kind - what did you do before you died out in the physical world?¡±


    What did she do?


    Iyka dove into her thoughts, recalling the final moments she could remember before her passing. She was talking to the serpent that she had faced, before asking him to promise her to find and get revenge on the man who had killed her sister¡­


    Then, it clicked for the Kitsune in her mind.


    Promise¡­ She asked him to promise her. Was that¡­ the moment that the ¡®Soul Pact¡¯ was initiated without her realising? That is the only logical moment it could have happened in. Iyka looked up at the dragon with a thoughtful and nervous expression, while Arabor had a small smile across his face.


    ¡°...It was initiated when I asked him to make a promise to me, right?¡±


    ¡°There we go, you hit the topic right in its weak spot. That is exactly the moment when the soul pact between you and Faofa was initiated.¡±


    ¡®Faofa¡¯? Was that the name of the serpent she had fought?


    Iyka exhaled heavily, looking down at her hands, with a slightly sad expression. It seemed as though despite her hopes of reuniting with her sister on the other side, she has accidentally gotten herself in a situation which could very much count as her still being alive in some way.


    ¡°So much for my dramatic exit out of life¡­¡±


    ¡°Is everything alright Miss Iyka?¡±


    The kitsune was brought straight out her thoughts, as she looked up at the dragon with a surprised expression.


    ¡°How do you know my name-?¡±


    ¡°I can read your soul like a book. It¡¯s quite easy to learn the identities of other beings when you can easily look at their souls.¡±


    The dragon replied almost immediately.


    Iyka sighed heavily again - The dragon was so casual and friendly towards her, that she had almost forgotten that he was, in fact, one of the mighty Primal Dragons - the literal creators and gods of the world she lived in.


    Or at least - Had lived in.


    Silence between her and Arabor took place, before the dragon exhaled heavily.


    ¡°Anyways - everything aside, it is nice to see a new face to keep me company. Being all alone inside of Faofas soul has made me a bit¡­ lonely.¡±


    Iyka shed a slight sweat - not because of nervousness or fear, but simple¡­ Surprise. The Mythical God of the Abyss as well as one of the creators of the world¡­ Felt lonely inside of here?


    Iykas surprised nature then quickly turned into a thoughtful one, as she then thought back to her fight with the serpent. If the Mighty Arabor was inside of the serpent all this time - literally living inside his soul - then that would mean that when she felt that immense pressure after her skill failed¡­.


    Her eyes widened as she looked up at the Dragon, who was staring up towards the bright light above them, shedding a sweat. No wonder ¡®Beast Dominate¡¯ had failed - how could a mere mortal like her ever even hope to cast a mind control spell over a Primordial Being¡­


    She laughed lightly to herself.


    ¡°I should probably count myself lucky¡­¡±


    Afterwards, she shook her head lightly, her thoughts moving onto the next topic that came to her mind - that being, how Arabor was inside of a serpent''s soul to begin with. From what she understood, the Primal Dragon of Abyss had been sealed away by individuals blessed by the Deities over three and a half thousand years ago, after he had gone on a wild rampage across the world.


    How was it that he was here inside the soul of a serpent when he should be sealed away? Something was strange here ¡ª either this wasn¡¯t actually Arabor and instead just a dragon with immense power claiming to be him, or somehow, the Primal Dragon of Abyss had found a way to exit his seal¡­


    But the only question was - how?


    Iyka shed a cold sweat, before looking up at the dragon with a curious expression.


    ¡°Almighty Arabor? May I ask a question?¡±


    The dragon looked back down at Iyka, before nodding lightly.


    ¡°Of course ¨C I¡¯ll answer any questions you have to the best of my ability.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Iyka felt her heart beat fast as stress set in. She was so unbelievably nervous about asking this question - unsure what kind of reaction the dragon would give. After a moment of hesitation, she exhaled.


    ¡°Then could you tell me how you¡¯re here¡­? From what I understand, shouldn¡¯t you be sealed away?¡±


    Arabor went silent as soon as she asked the question - simply groaning a bit and looking around, tapping his left hand''s index finger against his right arm. After a long bit of silence - Iyka began to worry that her question may have potentially annoyed the dragon, and so thought about apologising.


    However, the dragon then exhaled.


    ¡°Listen carefully - it is a long story¡­¡±

 Chapter 17 - Continued Dungeon Raiding.

    A Week later. . .


    I was moving swiftly all around the place, dodging incoming attacks from the dungeon boss. The beast was a long, slender lizard and lion-like hybrid with no vision, but high concentration acidic breath - which was capable of burning through the hard stone floor like it was nothing.


    The beast leaped back, roaring loudly towards me, before shooting out several projectiles made from its acidic breath towards me. I quickly dodged them, leaping into the shadows to ensure no damage from the projectiles whatsoever, before leaping out of the shadow right under the beast - sinking my fangs into its stomach, before ¡®Harvester¡¯ activated - allowing me to rip off a portion of its resilient body and tear a hole in its stomach.


    The monster howled in pain, before stumbling back and flipping its head around to face me as blood poured out of its stomach followed by its organs hanging out - which, may I add, was an absolutely disgusting sight. This thing had three different stomachs¡­ and all of them were oddly an off-green colour.


    The monster roared before leaping at me, trying to catch me under its front claws. I quickly leapt out of the way, before the creature could land - however it immediately followed after me and tried to pounce onto me again - only for me to sink into the shadows in a split second.


    ¡°Screw it - I am removing that throat.¡±


    I thought, before coiling up my body and propelling myself up at the creature instantly biting into its neck, before wrapping my lower body around its neck and tearing out its neck - bit by bit, blood spilling everywhere. The monster shrieked and howled, stumbling across the place, before seizing movement and collapsing to the ground - its blood slowly drenching the stone floor underneath it.


    I exhaled, before spitting out the chunks I had bitten off and wiggling my way off of it, looking at it with a nervous gaze, before exhaling lightly.


    ¡°That thing does not taste good at all¡­ It¡¯s like I was biting at a rotten piece of meat that had poison poured all over it the entire time.¡±


    I commented to myself. A second after my victory over the beast, a window confirming my victory appeared in front of me.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    + Congratulations +


    You have cleared this dungeon and defeated its boss.


    Would you like to receive the rewards?


    (Yes)                                                         (No)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Without hesitation, I selected the yes option.


    Reward Distributed.


    Beside me appeared some fancy looking armour and weapons, before another window opened up in front me.


    Rare Skill [Venom Bullet] has evolved into the Epic Skill [Venom Mastery].


    Well that¡¯s certainly nice to see. A skill managed to evolve - however, other than that, I didn¡¯t get much useful rewards from this dungeon either. I exhaled heavily - it has been a week since my battle against that Kitsune woman, I have been busy raiding dungeon after dungeon, however, for some reason I haven¡¯t gained a single experience point.


    My growth has completely halted ever since I hit level fifty - as if I couldn¡¯t level up anymore. At first, I didn¡¯t think much of it and simply assumed that I hadn¡¯t levelled up simply because I hadn¡¯t gained enough experience, however, after an entire week of fighting Dungeons filled with monsters in level ranges of thirty five to forty five - with the bosses sometimes being over level fifty, with one even being level sixty - I am not so sure off that fact anymore.


    Surely all of these pretty powerful monsters would be enough to allow me to level up?


    I don¡¯t know.


    At this point, I¡¯ve sort of accepted the fact that I am not levelling up any further.


    After a quick exhale, I threw one last look at the equipment, wondering what to do with it. I could just leave it here in case any adventurer or something passes through here - however, at the same time, it just feels like a waste leaving behind equipment of this caliber.


    Helmet of Resilience [C Rank]


    Gown of Resilience [C Rank]


    Hard Iron Longsword [C Rank]


    Reinforced Shoulderpads [B Rank]


    Though I imagine that it''s not going to be as good the further I gain power, at this point in time, I imagine it was pretty strong - especially considering that from all these dungeons I¡¯ve raided, the monsters in them have been in the ranges of C Rank to B Rank. I thought about it for a bit longer, before exhaling and shaking my head lightly, turning around and beginning to slither towards the exit.


    There was no point in taking them. They¡¯re clearly made for humanoid creatures that could use them, but I¡¯m just a snake - I don¡¯t even have arms to hold a sword with. Besides - that Longsword is the same size as my body. Even if I somehow had arms as a snake, I would not be able to hold it.


    Plus, it¡¯s not like I am struggling right now - Fighting using my skills to my advantage is quite reliable and easy, as well as efficient.


    I slithered back through the dungeon, using ¡®Devourer¡¯ to absorb the magical energy still lingering within the bodies of the deceased creatures, before eventually making it out of the dungeon - being met with a bright sunny day blasting down at me. I breathed in a heavy dosage of the fresh air, before slithering towards the dense tree line and out of the clearing that the dungeon was in.


    I wanted to find a nice, cool and quiet spot to rest at for a bit - so I could first allow my Magical Energy to regenerate a bit, as well as so I can take a look at my stats. It¡¯s been a little while since I¡¯ve done so.


    After moving through the forest for a while, I eventually found a pretty cool spot under a large tree - with a large shadow falling over me. I coiled up below the tree, sinking slightly into my body as I exhaled heavily.


    ¡°This is nice¡­ Resting after spending about an hour or two fighting through a dungeon really relaxes the mind and body.¡±


    I thought, before closing my eyes for a bit.


    I simply rested there, slightly sunken in my rather soft body for a bit - just taking in the fresh air and listening to the peaceful and calm noises around me. Birds chirping, other small critters going on about their day¡­ It reminded me of when I was younger, just sitting underneath a tree and reading stories to her¡­


    Those were good memories.


    After resting for a little while longer, I eventually exhaled, before lifting my head up and shaking it lightly.


    ¡°Alright, time to take a look at the status window.¡±


    ¡°Status Open.¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Greater Serpentine


    Level: 50


    Rank: E


    Stats:


    Health; 10,112/12,900


    Strength; 2200


    Defense; 2090


    Magical Energy; 4896/18,900


    Stamina; 2090


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 6300


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Nykee; Special Skill


    -Erudition; Rare Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Harvester; Rare Skill


    -Venom Mastery; Epic Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowlord; Individual Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Fractured; Rare Skill


    -Djinn; Arc Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Yeah, as I had expected, my level was still just fifty¡­.


    I don¡¯t understand why I am not levelling up anymore - it feels like I am somehow locked out of gaining more power. The only thing that I have been able to increase is my maximum Magical Energy, since it increases with every usage of ¡®Devourer¡¯ as it assimilates the Magical Energy I absorb with my own.


    The rest of my stats were stuck at whatever they were at.


    Other than that, I suppose my skills have also been getting stronger - not necessarily because they¡¯ve been evolving or something, but more because I have been getting better and better at using them at their maximum potential. In fact, I¡¯ve learned quite a few handy tricks with some of my skills - such as ¡®Trickster¡¯ where I¡¯ve sort of learned how to activate it on command. It wasn¡¯t easy and I most definitely wasn¡¯t able to do it freely whenever, however at least I can try not knowing how to even try and activate it.


    I closed my Status window a moment after taking a look at all its contents. I needed to figure out why my levelling was suddenly halted and whether there were some conditions I needed to meet first - otherwise, I will never be able to fulfill my promise to Arabor. Strength was the key to my survival - and if opponents like the Kitsune woman keep appearing, then I will require more power than I have right now.


    I exhaled lightly.


    It felt like I was repeating myself to myself over and over again¡­


    After allowing my Magical Energy to recover for a bit longer, I set out again, slithering through the forest once more. Along the way, I encountered an occasional slime or direwolf, easily killing the monster and absorbing their Magical Energy for myself, and eventually, I slithered out into a rather strange clearing. It was quite open and empty - with nothing in sight at first. After looking around, I noticed a slate on the ground - seemingly in the middle of the clearing. Curious, I carefully approached the slate, keeping my guard up in case this slate turned out to be some resting spot for a strong monster.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    After slithering up to the slate, I took a close look at it - first, it luckily wasn¡¯t a boss¡¯ resting ground, so that was a relief. Second, I noticed these strange engravings on the stone slate. There seemed to be depictions of what looked like humans kneeling before a strange beast - one with a Lions head, a Goats head and a snake tail. The creature was surrounded by what appeared to be a sun like symbol as well, as if the creature was some kind of object of worship.


    The images looked like humans worshipping the strange creature.


    It was rather¡­ Ominous.


    I shed a slight sweat, before placing my tail onto the slate. I could feel this strange¡­ movement through the slate - as if the slate was actively alive.


    ¡°Could there be something beyond the slate..?¡±


    I thought, before looking slightly above the weird looking creature. There was some text that was written in the¡­ Primal Language? Wasn¡¯t that the same language that Arabor granted me the ability to comprehend? Why would it be written on this stone slate¡­? I was under the impression that this ¡®Primal Language¡¯ was one only Arabor and his siblings could use.


    I guess not¡­


    The text above the monster was a bit hard to read, however after looking at it for a little while, I believe I managed to comprehend what the text said.


    ¡®May our Creation bask, in the grace of the Gods¡¯.


    This text¡­ it was like a ritual chant. It felt like something crazy cultists would say after pulling some crazy ass ritual off. But¡­ What could it mean? Was the creature in the images below the text this ¡®creation¡¯? If so, then perhaps the sun-like pattern around it was this ¡®grace¡¯ that the text mentioned. And the Gods¡­ those had to be the Primal Dragons right? Arabor explained to me that the Primal Dragons were creators of this world¡­


    This stone slate was a real head scratcher for sure.


    I moved my tail off of the slate and lightly scratched the top of my head with my tail tip, before reading the text over and over again. After a few moments, I exhaled.


    ¡°May our creation bask, in the grace of the gods.¡±


    I said out loud.


    At first - nothing happened. I even felt a bit stupid for saying something so¡­ How do I put this¡­ strange out loud. Thankfully, no one was around to hear me say that. Exhaling, I turned around, about to leave when suddenly I heard a click sound come from the stone slate. I immediately turned back to face the stone slate - looking at it in confusion and curiosity.


    ¡°Did it just¡­ make a sound?¡±


    I thought, shedding a cold sweat. Nothing seemed to be happening while I watched the slate, which, for a second, made me feel like I was going insane. However, then the slate let out a loud hiss, before the text and all the other engravings on it lit up with a bright, bright glow. I immediately leapt back, before creating several small purple orbs of venom around me, in preparation for whatever may happen next.


    The slate shined brightly for a bit, before suddenly spinning around and rising slowly out of the ground - revealing a pillar that came out of the ground below the slate. The pillar was decorated in similar engravings to the slate itself - with the engravings depicting humans kneeling, humans offering and humans moving - like the ancient Egyptian drawings that existed in my previous world. The pillar rose and rose out of the ground for a while, eventually stopping, revealing an entry way inside it. I shed a slightly nervous sweat, before carefully approaching the pillar and looking inside the entryway. There was¡­ a very narrow staircase that led down inside of the pillar.


    ¡°Did I just open something I shouldn¡¯t have¡­?¡±


    I thought a bit nervously.


    For a bit, I remained in place, before throwing a look around and exhaling.


    ¡°May as well see what is inside¡­¡±


    I slithered slightly onto the staircase, about to descend down it, before a sudden roar came from the bottom of it, followed by a massive surge of magical energy. I felt my heart beat hard, as my body instinctively leapt away from the pillar, shivering in fear. It felt like I had just felt an immense heat rush over my body and the inside¡­


    What was that?!


    I couldn¡¯t stop my body from shivering in fear, while I stared at the pillar in confusion. After a bit, my eyes landed on the drawings of the strange creature. Then, it finally clicked - the text on the slate, the creature depicted, the humans depicted¡­ This slate must have been some kind of tomb, similar to Arabors.


    Inside it, at the bottom of that staircase, there must be the creature that is depicted in those images. Which would mean¡­ That surge of magical energy I had felt rushing up and enveloping me, was the creature''s magical energy¡­


    The thing felt like I was once again in the vicinity of that strange man I had seen kill the girl around two or so weeks back.


    Many, many thoughts rushed through my head. That creature at the bottom most definitely was strong, no doubt about it, however at the same time¡­ It could be a good way for me to grow stronger - IF I could figure out why I can¡¯t level up any further.


    Then, I was startled by a sudden window appearing in front of me.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    + Urgent Quest +


    Attention - an Urgent Quest has appeared


    You have uncovered the Tomb of the Chimera. Please descend down into it and slay the beast located at the bottom of it.


    - Slay the Chimera [  ]


    Reward; New Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡­An Urgent Quest..?


    And one that is requesting that I go down the stairs to fight - whatever the hell is down there? How convenient¡­


    I shed a nervous sweat. The quest didn¡¯t appear to be mandatory, and the reward wasn¡¯t super tantalising if I had to be brutally honest - so I didn¡¯t really feel any will to do as it said and go down to fight the beast at the bottom. I would do so if I was able to gain experience and level up from it, however with my mysterious level lock, going down there - especially after having a whiff of the magical energy possessed by the thing, was surely a horrible choice and would lead to inevitable demise?


    I thought about it carefully.


    While part of me was curious about what this promised skill as a reward was, a part of me also didn¡¯t want to risk potentially dying if all I was going to gain from it was a skill. It¡¯s not like I need any more skills - I feel like I have quite a lot and they all are doing a pretty good job so far¡­ So why - why despite all of this¡­


    I have this temptation - this unwavering feeling of the wish¡­ No, the need to go down and face whatever monstrosity laid at the bottom? Why did I feel like there was some kind of force pulling me towards the pillar? It was so confusing and strange.


    I remained in place for a little longer, brainstorming on what to do for a little bit longer, before shaking my head and closing the window with the urgent quest.


    ¡°Fine. I will go down.¡±


    I thought before turning around and slithering away from the pillar.


    ¡°...After I have done proper preparations.¡±


    There was no way in hell I was ready to take on whatever the hell was down there. My stats - apart from Magical Energy - were locked, my level - also locked. And while I do trust in the power of my skills, I did not trust in my ability to use them well. I needed to get a bit more skilled at using my skills and efficiently using my magical energy - as well as perhaps use ¡®Devourer¡¯ to increase it a bit further, just to give myself more breathing room.


    I was going to go down and challenge the beast inside, however not now. I first needed to do some proper preparations and ensure I was completely ready to face it. If that surge of magical energy was enough to send my body into an instinctive reaction, then there was no way in hell I would be able to fight it at this point in time. I needed more¡­ experience in battle. And of course - what better way to gain experience in battle¡­ Then challenging some more dungeons?


    I slithered off into the forest once more, throwing one last gaze back at the pillar, before disappearing into the trees.


    I will return here and take on the beast down at the bottom in due time.


    .


    ..


    ¡­


    ¡­.


    Over the next few days, I continuously raided dungeon after dungeon - killing everything I could find inside them. The monsters still ranged from the usual C Rank to B Rank, with the bosses of the dungeons primarily being in the B Rank, however I managed to prevail against all of them.


    Giant Spiders with Knight-like exterior, Large lizards with wings, Massive green goblins, Large white wolves with flames around their necks - to name a few monsters I faced during the raids. As for the bosses¡­


    Red Wyvern - Level 45 [B Rank]


    Swamp Great Ape - Level 45 [B Rank]


    Giant Arachnid Knight - Level 47 [B Rank]


    Gurt (Goblin King) - Level 46 [B Rank]


    White Moon Wolf - Level 50 [B Rank]


    They weren¡¯t easy opponents - each one with their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as each one managing to basically match me in power. However, with my increasing skills using my¡­ Skills - I managed to prevail against them, absorbing their magical energy into myself and assimilating it into me.


    And after raiding too many dungeons to count and killing enough monsters for it to count as a genocide over the course of around four days - I managed to reach a level of experience with my skills and an amount of Magical Energy I felt comfortable with.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Greater Serpentine


    Level: 50


    Rank: E


    Stats:


    Health; 12,900/12,900


    Strength; 2200


    Defense; 2090


    Magical Energy; 30,500/30,500


    Stamina; 2090


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 6300


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Nykee; Special Skill


    -Erudition; Rare Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Harvester; Rare Skill


    -Venom Mastery; Epic Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowlord; Individual Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Fractured; Rare Skill


    -Djinn; Arc Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I was ready to return to the pillar and take on the beast at the bottom.


    The moon was up high in the sky, shining down its white light at the forest. I rustled through some bushes, popping out of them and slithering out into the clearing. Looking towards the center, I shed a small sweat.


    ¡°I¡¯ve returned¡­¡±


    I felt shivers rush down my spine as I gazed at the ominous pillar located in the middle of the clearing. Somehow, seeing it at night was even more ominous than during the day¡­


    I felt this feeling of uncertainty and fear rush through my body - was it because I was afraid of the thought of actually doing this? Was I still very much frightened of the very idea of fighting whatever was at the bottom of the staircase within the pillar?


    Yes. I absolutely was frightened.


    Who wouldn¡¯t be in my place?


    I hesitated as I approached the pillar closer and closer - feeling my body almost want to turn around and run. However, I pushed on and slithered up to the pillar. I could feel the magical energy I had felt four days surging at the bottom¡­ The creature - it was awake and aware of my presence. It seems as though I am not the only one ready to battle¡­


    After taking in a deep breath and exhaling, I moved onto the staircase. Once more, a loud roar came echoing from the bottom, followed by the same surge of Magical Energy. However, this time, my body didn¡¯t instinctively run, instead, I just felt slight shivers run down my spine.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s see what we have down here.¡±


    I shook my head lightly before beginning my descent down the staircase - there was no turning back now. I had made up my mind - I was going to try¡­ No.


    I was going to take down whatever was in here.

 Chapter 18 - Holding onto Life.

    Scaling down the staircase, I felt my heart beat quite intensely. With every step I descended down, a strong feeling of uncertainty just grew and grew inside me - I could feel my body just have this ever so slight feeling of fear and wish to just turn around and run as far as I could - just to get away from this place. I guess the initial surge of Magical Energy that I had felt when I had first approached this place had a greater impact on me than I thought¡­


    My own body definitely hadn¡¯t forgotten the fear I had felt.


    However, despite these feelings, I pushed on and kept on descending down the staircase. As I got deeper and deeper, I began to feel more and more a strong presence down below me.


    ¡°Guess that¡¯s the beast down there¡­¡±


    I thought, shedding a slight sweat.


    I haven¡¯t even come face to face with the beast and yet, I could already tell that it was MILES stronger than anything I have faced up until now. Perhaps, even stronger than the Kitsune woman, who had wiped out half of the forest around us, when we fought.


    Eventually, after scaling down the staircase for what felt like an eternity, I had reached the bottom of the stairs - torches suddenly lighting up and illuminating the tunnel in front of me. The walls on which the torches were placed had these engravings on them, as well as this strange texture to them - as if the walls of the tunnel had been built quickly and without a care for the quality of them.


    They just looked like they were stitched together from whatever materials the people building this could get their hands on. I felt a shiver run down my spine for a second, before I began to slowly move down the tunnel. The pressure of the Magical Energy that was coming from down the tunnel was immense - it felt like there were massive heavy weights placed onto my back like a saddle.


    Like the gravity in the place was stronger.


    As I kept moving farther and farther into the tunnel, the engravings on the walls began to distort. The scenery in them began to change to a more grim one - one that felt like it had been ripped straight out of a horror movie.


    There were depictions of humans burning alive, humans being eaten, as well as an entire town being destroyed - with the same strange looking creature at the center of it all. I had no way of telling whether these images were reflections of past events that had transpired here or whether they were just nonsensical drawings made by the people who made this place, after they had lost their minds - but at the very least I could tell that these scenes¡­ Well, they weren¡¯t good.


    After slithering through the tunnel for a bit, I spotted an exit to the tunnel - with what looked like a room beyond it. At first, I stopped in my tracks and shed a sweat. There was this slight hesitance that I could feel rush through my body - as if I wasn¡¯t sure whether or not I actually wanted to go through with this whole idea after all. However, after a quick inhale and exhale, I rushed forward and out into the room that the tunnel had led into.


    The room I had entered was absolutely massive and in a mostly cylinder shape - with the ceiling stretching up quite high and having a dome like shape to it. The entire place was lit up by a giant chandelier at the top - hanging from the center of the dome like ceiling - which emitted such a strong light, that basically zero shadows were present in the room. Which meant that to use ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ down here, I was basically relying on my own shadow.


    However, something else caught my eye immediately as soon as I entered the room - something a bit more¡­ ominous. While the density of the Magical Energy in the room was abysmally high, so much so, that it felt suffocating just being here¡­


    There were no enemies in sight.


    Despite all those drawings of the strange creature as well as the roars I had heard while on the surface, the place itself seemed to be¡­ empty.


    ¡°Surely not¡­ No way this place is¡ª¡±


    Right before I could finish my thought, a loud roar echoed through the room, before the entire place shook violently. Then, the entrance to the tunnel I had gone through, suddenly closed off - before seemingly disappearing into the same texture as the rest of the walls in the room. I felt shivers run through my entire body, as it slowly curled up together.


    I was most definitely not alone¡­


    And I¡¯ve been to enough dungeons now to know that when the only exit door to the room closes, it usually means that you¡¯ve entered the so-called ¡®Boss room¡¯.


    The room shook for a bit longer, before a large silhouette suddenly leapt down from above, landing in the center of the room, crashing down and kicking up a large cloud of dust as well as sending pebbles and other small debris flying everywhere. I quickly leapt back, before creating several small orbs of venom and firing off projectiles to destroy the incoming smaller debris.


    The cloud of dust and dirt had mostly covered the thing that had just landed in the room, however I could ever so slightly make out a vague shadow inside the cloud - enough for me to activate ¡®Erudition¡¯ on it.


    ¡°Come on, give me some information about what I¡¯m working with here¡­¡±


    I slithered back, while sweating a bit nervously.


    Before I could get the information I wanted, two pairs of red eyes suddenly shined through the cloud, before the cloud was slashed apart and a great force of wind was sent towards me - pushing me back a bit. Then, the beast took a few steps forward, placing its paws down heavily as it glared down at me.


    In front of me stood a tall, large and imposing monster - a lion''s body and head, a goat''s head above the lions and to finish off the absolutely creepy and unsettling appearance, a snake for a tail. The beast glared down at me with all six eyes that were spread across the three different animal heads, each head letting out its own sound - the lion growling, the snake hissing and the goat¡­ Honestly, I¡¯m not sure.


    Then, finally a report window appeared in front of me about the monster.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name; Chimera


    Species; [Unknown]


    Level; 70


    A Monster created using the bodies and magical energy of other creatures in ancient times. It was revered as the gift of gods for its power and presence, however never received the blessing that its creators wished for it to gain.


    [Proceed with EXTREME caution.]


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡­This is a joke - right?


    Before I got a chance to question it for very long, the beast roared before launching itself at me with such speed, I couldn¡¯t keep up. My eyes widened, but before I could manage to do anything - like dodge - the monster grabbed me with its lion head and bit down on me hard. I felt pain rush through my body, as the beast shook me around before tossing me away into the wall.


    I hit the wall pretty hard - but not hard enough to even crack it. I struggled to rise up, feeling immense pain rush through my back.


    [ HP; 7,856/12,900 ]


    ¡°That much damage from a single attack? I have to avoid getting too close in that case¡­¡±


    I shed a sweat, before the beast looked at me with shining eyes and disappeared from sight, appearing once again right in front of me, leaping towards me. It appeared as if the thing was teleporting around the place with how fast it was moving. I immediately slid into my own shadow, before dashing away from that spot as the Chimera landed on the spot where just a few seconds prior I was. I slid out of the shadows a bit later, as far away from the Chimera as I physically could be, before throwing a look over to it - however, my eyes widened as I noticed that the Chimera had vanished once again.


    ¡°Impossible¨C!¡±


    Then, I felt something bite down into my body, as the snake tail of the beast had sunk its teeth into my body again. I coughed up a little bit of blood, before gritting my fangs and biting into the snake tail back ¨C biting down hard enough for ¡®Harvester¡¯ to activate and easily tear through the snake''s skin. Luckily, the snake let go of me as soon as this happened, hissing loudly, before the lion head tried to bite down on me again.


    I quickly flipped my body around and onto the back of the Chimera, before letting go of the snake tail and coiling up, propelling myself up into the air.


    Once in the air, I felt the warm feeling I had been hoping for, before the bite marks on my body closed up with a faint white light going across my body for a few seconds.


    Wounds have been healed.


    Through [Harvester] you have been granted the status;


    -Blood Hungry (+50% to Strength ; +25% to Health)


    ¡°Perfect. Now I can hopefully fight a bit easier.¡±


    I thought, before creating as many small orbs of venom as I could and rained down a whole storm of projectiles at the beast below. The Chimera looked up towards me with a furious expression, before my venom projectiles rained down upon it and kicked up a sand cloud around it. I landed a couple of seconds later, before quickly creating more venom orbs and firing off more projectiles to where the Chimera should be.


    However, before the projectiles connected, the sand cloud suddenly dissipated, before the Chimera appeared beside me. I quickly turned around to face it, luckily dodging the initial attack - being an attempt from it to grab me with its left paw, however immediately afterwards, the snake tail dashed at me, and bit into my body again. I squealed a little bit in pain, falling to the ground.


    Before I could get up, the rest of the beast turned to face me as well, before the goat''s head bit down on me as well, easily piercing through my skin before tossing me up into the air. Immediately afterwards, the Chimera knocked me away with the goat''s horns - my body flying straight into the wall literally across the room - this time, with enough force to absolutely smash it to bits.


    I coughed a little bit, spitting out a bit of blood, before looking over at the Chimera with a more nervous expression.


    [ HP; 9,053/16,125 ]


    ¡°God damnit¡­ so much for healing with Harvester..¡±


    I shed a sweat, as the Chimera dashed towards me - roaring as it did. I shook my head lightly, before leaping to the side and beginning to rapidly slither away, while the Chimera chased after me. It felt like I was going so unbelievably slow at this moment - like the Chimera was just a tail tip away from grabbing a hold of me. I guess that isn¡¯t very surprising considering its insane speed.


    I threw a single look back at the pursuing Chimera, before stopping quickly, the Chimera dashing past me, before slowing down and flipping around and dashing towards me again. I remained in place, just waiting for it to get closer and closer, before coiling up my body and propelling myself up high into the air, right as the Chimera dashed past under me. I gazed down at it, before quickly shifting my gaze to its shadow - narrowing my eyes on the shadow.


    In an instant, appendages shot up and out of the shadow of the beast, before quickly wrapping around the monster and pulling it down to the ground. The Chimera growled and roared as it struggled to move - the three animal heads looking up at me with bright red eyes.


    ¡°Alright - let¡¯s hope this works!¡±


    I fell back to the ground, before dashing at the bound beast. Dodging the snake head''s attempts at grasping me, I leapt onto the Chimeras back, before slithering up to its two frontal heads. The Goat head immediately looked at me with a furious glare, before attempting to bite down on me. I dodged out of the way, before gesturing with my tail - causing the shadow appendages binding the beast to quickly grab a hold of the Goat head and pull it back, leaving the two necks of the two heads wide open.


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    I leapt onto the goat''s head, before sinking my fangs into it. The Goat head let out a loud, loud scream of pain as I increased my biting force - enough for ¡®Harvester¡¯ to activate once more. I easily tore through the neck of the goat head, before quickly wrapping my body around it and squeezing the neck as tightly as I could. The chimera let out a loud screech of pure pain, before slowly ripping and tearing through the shadow appendages binding it.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    I shed a sweat, before quickly beginning to rapidly bite away at the Goats head, tearing through its flesh more and more with each bite, before eventually the beast managed to break through the binds and the lion head quickly attempted to bite down on me, wrapped around the Goats neck.


    I quickly unwrapped myself from around the neck, before sinking into the shadows below, as the lion sunk its teeth into the goat head and ripped it off, before tossing it away - roaring loudly afterwards.


    I leapt out of the shadow world a moment later, in the center of the room, looking at the beast with pure astonishment and confusion.


    ¡°Why did it just rip off one of its heads? Wait¡­ No way - did it do that to avoid my passive poison that I inject with my bites?!¡±


    I shed a sweat.


    I had underestimated just how smart this thing was. However, with one less head, surely it would be easier to defeat. I grinned at first, feeling quite good about the fact that this fight seemed to be going in my favour so far - however, my grin didn¡¯t last long as the Chimera was then suddenly surrounded by a deep red mist. I could feel its magical energy suddenly increasing in density, as the eyes of the lion and snake began to shine an even brighter red - before the two heads roared and hissed loud enough to shake the room once more.


    I heard the roar and hiss for a few moments, before the sounds blew out of my hearing range - then, a window popped up in front of me.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    [ Warning ]


    Chimera has activated the Individual Skill


    [Severance]


    Its Physical and Magical properties have increased by 50%


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I just had to jinx it didn¡¯t I¡­


    The Chimera looked at me with a furious deathglare, before roaring towards me, and then suddenly appearing in front of me. Then, in an instant - without giving any room to even react - the beast kicked me back and up into the air, before the lion head bit down onto my body and shook me around, tossing me into the air, before the snake head also bit down onto my body, causing me to cough up blood.


    After a couple of seconds of whipping me around, the snake head tossed me into another part of the cylinder wall - before dashing up to me, not giving me any time to react or even recover, and simply stomping onto me with its right paw.


    I felt heavy weight being pushed down onto me, as well as wounds just popping open one after the other, with blood just rushing out.


    [ HP; 4053/16,125 ]


    ¡°Oh this has got to be¡­ some sick¡­ joke..!¡±


    I struggled - however eventually managed to pop my head out from underneath its paw before sinking my teeth into the paw. The lion roared loudly, before kicking me to the side. I rolled across the ground quite heavily, before stopping and slowly picking myself back up.


    Had I not bitten down, that thing would¡¯ve crushed me under its paw. This is getting dangerous - I am definitely nowhere near strong enough to take this thing on up close. It will destroy me in an up close confrontation. Something that also had stood out to me is that despite it having an immense amount of Magical Energy, this thing hasn¡¯t used a single magic spell or anything against me - it has only attacked me physically by getting close and then attacking.


    Perhaps it can¡¯t use any magic or something and thus relies on close range combat? If so¡­


    My best bet at surviving this is to keep my freaking distance as much as possible and just use ¡®Venom Mastery¡¯ to fire off projectiles at it. The Chimera dashed at me once again, attempting to grab me again - however I just barely managed to slide into the shadow below me before leaping out of the shadow behind the Beast and leaping up into the air above it, before flipping around and creating as many venom orbs around me as possible - shooting down a barrage of venom bullets down at the monster.


    After the bullets rained down at the creature, I landed back down, before dashing away, creating as much distance between me and it as possible. The beast roared loudly, disrupting the cloud of dust around it in an instant, before locking its eyes onto me immediately.


    ¡°Not a scratch? Guess I have to amp up the power¡­¡±


    I exhaled lightly, before dashing as fast as I could - with the Chimera dashing after me a moment afterwards. I dashed forward for a bit, before quickly leaping back up into the air, right as the Chimera caught up and leapt up after me. I flipped myself around before forming one giant orb of venom in front of me.


    ¡°If a barrage of smaller venom bullets aren¡¯t enough to damage it¡­ Then perhaps one large shot will be enough!¡±


    Immediately I fired off a beam of the condensed venom down at the beast, the monster somehow stopping midair, before leaping back and smashing up a large chunk of the floor, throwing it up as a shield. The beam I had fired off easily tore through the chunk it had thrown up as a shield, before slicing off the snake tail off of its body - the snake falling to the ground, squirming around for a bit, before all life disappeared from it.


    Now just the lion part of the beast remained.


    The beast looked at the snake on the ground, before growling and roaring even louder than before - the entire room shaking enough for the light given off by the chandelier at the top to flicker. I landed back onto the ground a moment later, before feeling shivers run down my spine as an even more intense aura surrounded the lion.


    The deep red mist around it had turned even deeper and larger, while its Magical Energy was just spiraling up and out of control - increasing at such a rapid rate, it felt like an army of Red Wyverns had appeared before me just now.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    [ Warning ]


    Large amount of Magical Energy has been detected.


    If not subdued in a timely manner, the Magical Energy in the area will cause an Eruption to occur.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    An ¡®Eruption¡¯? What is that?


    Well, whatever it is - it definitely does not sound good¡­


    After the initial warning window, another one appeared in front of me.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    [ Warning ]


    Chimera has increased the potency of the Individual Skill


    [Severance]


    Its Physical and Magical properties have increased by 100%


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to¡ª!¡±


    The lion then roared loudly, its roar pushing me back a bit, before it vanished and reappeared in the air above me. Then, the beast sent down several thin blades of what appeared to be just air. I quickly leapt to the side, avoiding any fatal damage, however the tip of my tail just barely got clipped and sliced off by one of the blades. It appears that now the thing also has projectiles, so my short-lived advantage of being able to fight while keeping a distance has disappeared.


    I immediately dashed away - as the lion landed back down and dashed after me. It caught up to me almost immediately, grabbing me with its teeth before tossing me up into the air and sending even more thin blades of air at me. My eyes widened as I quickly used the shadow I could spot under the chimera to pull up large appendages, just fast enough for them to tank the air blades - shattering as soon as the blades hit them.


    ¡°This is not good¡­!¡±


    I shed a sweat, as the lion leapt up towards me - grabbing a hold of me with its mouth, before flying up and into the chandelier above, grabbing onto it and shaking me around, before tossing me into the ceiling. Then, it leapt off of the chandelier and grabbed me again, dragging me through the ceiling before tossing me back down into the ground.


    [ HP; 2,012/16,125 ]


    I coughed up more and more blood as my entire body felt like it was falling apart. It felt like my bones had been shattered and that I was leaking blood from every single spot in my body.


    The lion looked down at me with shining eyes, before leaping off of the ceiling and down onto me - smashing me underneath its feet. A dust cloud was kicked up as the lion stepped off and pushed through the dust cloud, searching for the snake. However, the snake that it had been fighting was nowhere to be found - despite it clearly smashing it underneath its feet.


    For a bit, it was confused, before I leapt out of the shadow below it and sunk my teeth into its front right paw.


    [Harvester] has been activated.


    The lion roared, before grabbing me with its teeth and tossing me into the farthest away wall. I crashed into the wall pretty heavily, however it was minor damage I sustained.


    Wounds have been healed.


    ¡°Thank goodness¡­¡±


    I felt a warm sensation rush through my body as the most fatal wounds around my body closed up and healed.


    [ HP; 7,922/16,125 ]


    It wasn¡¯t a perfect recovery, but it was just enough for me to not be on death''s doorstep. I looked at the lion with a mocking gaze, while the beast simply glared at me and roared loud enough to shake the room once more. The light from the chandelier above flickered even more. Then, the beast sent even more thin blades of air towards me.


    I exhaled before coiling up and propelling myself as high into the air as I could - luckily high enough to dodge the air blades. Then, I created as large of a venom orb as I could before firing it off at the chandelier above - snapping the chain holding it up and causing it to fall down. As the light from the chandelier disappeared and the room was enveloped in darkness and shadows, I quickly looked at the lion with a shining glare.


    A pair of large hands shot up from the shadows around before grabbing a hold of the lion and lifting it up, before tossing it to the center of the room. The lion landed with ease, shaking its body before looking at me and roaring again.


    However, before it could step forward, the chandelier fell onto it and crushed the beast''s body underneath it.


    The lion let out a loud screech, before it attempted to pull itself out from below the chandelier. I slowly slithered towards the lion, my eyes shining brightly. It worked. The chandelier worked. When I entered the room, I immediately took note of how the chandelier lit up the entire room - but I also had taken note of its weight. It was unusually heavy for a chandelier, being around the same weight as an entire airplane from my previous world.


    I had basically thrown an entire jumbo jet onto the thing, which - I think - this thing would not be able to lift off of it. And as I approached closer and closer, observing how the lion struggled to pull itself out from below the chandelier, it appeared that my theory had been correct.


    The beast looked at me furiously - opening its mouth to roar. However, I quickly tied large appendages around it from the shadows that were now all over the place. Unlike the weak ones I could create using its shadow, these appendages were larger and much, much stronger - which hopefully meant it wouldn¡¯t be able to break through them easily.


    I breathed heavily as I approached the lion closer and closer.


    ¡°You really gave me a lot of trouble¡­¡±


    I stated coldly, before staring down at the beast with a cold expression.


    ¡°But in the end, I guess you weren¡¯t all that special.¡±


    I then quickly sunk my teeth into its neck, before wrapping my entire body around it - squeezing as tightly as I could. The lion visibly tried to wiggle and struggle its way out. It tried to break the binds around its muzzle, for what I could only imagine was to let out growls and roars of pain. However, I kept a tight hold on it - increasing the strength of the shadow appendages around it before increasing the amount of squeezing force I was applying with my entire body around its neck.


    I bit even harder - my teeth clamping down and through the beast''s flesh.


    [Harvester] has activated.


    ¡°Just¡­¡±


    ¡°Die¡­.¡±


    ¡°Already!¡±


    I applied as much biting force as I could - tearing through the neck of the beast before beginning to rip out its neck and throat - blood from the lion going absolutely everywhere as it continued to wiggle and struggle. This scene kept on for a bit, before eventually the life from the beast had disappeared and the lion head fell to the ground, its body seizing its struggle and the large density of magical energy coming from it also beginning to slowly decrease.


    I unwrapped myself from its neck, before slithering back and falling to the ground, breathing heavily from exhaustion.


    ¡°I¡­ I did it¡­¡±


    I commented to myself in my mind, as my vision grew a bit blurry.


    [ Exhaustion has reached 100% ]


    You don¡¯t say¡­


    As my vision blurred more and more, a window appeared in front of me. I managed to pull together just enough strength to see what the window contained for me, lifting my head up slightly.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    + Urgent Quest +


    Attention - an Urgent Quest has appeared


    You have uncovered the Tomb of the Chimera. Please descend down into it and slay the beast located at the bottom of it.


    - Slay the Chimera [ COMPLETED ]


    Reward; New Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    + Congratulations +


    You have successfully completed the Urgent Quest.


    Reward Granted.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Rare Skill [Mimic] acquired.


    Ah, so that¡¯s the skill I was going to gain after getting through this¡­


    I won¡¯t lie - not as cool sounding as I would have hoped.


    As I felt my consciousness fade, a sudden warm feeling rushed through my body and a loud announcement played in my head.


    All requirements have been reached.


    You have risen to level 64.


    Rare Skill [Harvester] has evolved into the Epic Skill [Reaping].


    Rare Skill [Erudition] has evolved into the Individual Skill [Enlightened].


    You have reached all requirements for evolution.


    Commencing evolution from ¡®Greater Serpentine¡¯ to ¡®Dark Snake¡¯ immediately.

 Chapter 19 - Strange Occurence.

    I felt like I was floating¡­ once more. Only this time, like I was floating inside of some sort of space - unlike the previous times, where it was like I was within some type of nothingness. I opened my eyes, and looked around me - slightly confused. It was pitch black all around me, with these vein-like patterns all around the place, as if they were holding together this pitch black darkness.


    There seemed to be no sound inside this place - as it felt suffocating to be here, with my internal organs feeling like they were going to be crushed at any second.


    ¡°What is this place¡­¡±


    I threw my gaze around more, before eventually spotting a reddish vein like pattern which was mixed in with the black ones. Following it, I spotted more and more of the red coloured vein patterns, going deeper and deeper inside of the space - as if there was more to this location.


    At first - I hesitated to follow the patterns, however after looking around one more time, my curiosity got the better of me. So I tried to move forward to follow the pattern ¡ª and it was strange. Moving wasn¡¯t like I was used to, but at the same time, didn¡¯t feel that much different to me slithering normally. It was as if I was slithering mid air, with the feeling of my body floating still strongly present. As I followed the red coloured vein pattern, more and more of it started to appear around - slowly intertwining itself with the black ones.


    It honestly felt like I was moving towards some great trouble - and every fiber of my being did not like that feeling. I felt my body shiver in fear ¨C with the wish to just turn around and start running as fast as I could, just to ¡®get away¡¯ from here.


    But I ignored it. I ignored the feeling of uncertainty and fright I had, despite how intense it was becoming.


    I was more curious to see where these red veins led to and besides¡­ Even if I did let my body decide and start running away - where would I go? This place doesn¡¯t seem like it is part of the world I am used to.


    I continued to follow the red vein pattern for a bit longer - watching as it grew in density and size more and more around me, making me feel more and more frightened on the inside, making my body just have constant shivers as well as seemingly increasing the suffocating pressure I felt on myself and my insides.


    It was as if more and more weight was being applied to me from all sides - including my insides.


    But I just kept going forward and moving after the red veins - despite all the red flags that were appearing all around me.


    Eventually, I reached where the red veins seemingly connected all together - and once I saw it, my eyes widened in shock. In the ¡®heart¡¯ of this place, where all the strange red vein patterns met, was a giant black hole like orb ¡ª in a purely red colour. It had a darker red colour on the edge with a brighter red in the middle and finally a pitch black darkness with a small crimson red spot in the center - shining.


    The soundless nature of this place also suddenly disappeared as I came in contact with this thing as I began to hear what sounded like low, low pitched and deep groaning accompanied by a humble, yet still noticeable heartbeat - which ¡®echoed¡¯ in the darkness.


    I shed a sweat, debating on whether I should get closer to the large black hole-like object in front of me. On one hand, it was terrifying as hell and any rational and normal individual would flee as fast as they could the second they saw this, but on the other hand¡­ My curiosity was growing more and more. I wished to understand what this thing was and whether or not it actually was dangerous or just some fragment of my imagination ¨C which I wouldn¡¯t be surprised about if it was.


    After all, after reincarnating into this world - I have had some strange dreams and visions appear constantly. Who said that this couldn¡¯t be one of them?


    I remained in place, just wondering to myself what to do, before the crimson red spot within the darkness at the center of the red orb suddenly turned to ¡®look¡¯ at me. I felt instant shivers run down my spine as I flipped around and frantically began to slither away. I got away just a little bit, before my body suddenly stopped and a loud, echoing groan suddenly echoed through the darkness, followed by the entire space shaking and trembling violently.


    I felt my heart start pounding as I looked back at the orb, which now was slowly creating red vein patterns in my direction. I felt my body just twitch and twitch, wanting to flee ¡ª but I couldn¡¯t even move an inch. It felt like I was both, paralysed by fear and not at the same time. The vein patterns eventually reached me and enclosed around me, creating this red sphere-like shape all around me before beginning to shrink down and down. I panicked a little bit ¡ª looking all around as my heart beat faster and faster, and the sphere around me got smaller and smaller.


    It got so small eventually, that my body began to feel like it was being crushed by the sphere around me. I felt unexplainable pain all over me - pain so great, that I genuinely couldn¡¯t help but try and scream or shout - only for no sound to come out. The sphere got smaller and smaller, and smaller¡­


    Till eventually¡­


    Everything went dark once more and I lost all feeling of my body, heart and really¡­ myself.


    ¡­


    Then, I jumped up, coiling up as I breathed heavily. I looked around me, examining the area. I was¡­ back in the place I had fought the Chimera inside of. Looking to my right side, I saw the dead corpse of said Chimera, laying dead with its blood dried out by now and its corpse beginning to smell really bad.


    ¡°Was it¡­ a dream?¡±


    I looked down at the ground in confusion, before letting out a heavy sigh of relief. It seemed like that entire situation I had just experienced was just a fragment of my imagination after all¡­ It wasn¡¯t real at all. But even then¡­ it was just such a strange occurrence. The dreams and visions I have had up until now have had some kind of link to either my past life or what I¡¯ve experienced in this world so far ¡ª and yet, this dream not only didn¡¯t appear to be linked to either of those things, it also felt¡­ far, far more realistic than any other dreams I¡¯ve had so far.


    I breathed heavily for a few more moments, with my heart rate slowly going down until I fully calmed down. Shaking my head, I heard an announcement loudly speak in my head.


    Evolution Successful.


    You have evolved into ¡®Dark Snake¡¯.


    Individual Skill [Enlightened] has gained the SubSkill


    {Overworld Detection}.


    Special Skill [Nykee] has been combined with the Arc Skill [Djinn].


    You may now manifest a Spectre of the Sixtails ¡®Nykee¡¯ at will through the skill [Djinn].


    Your senses have been sharpened and body strength increased.


    This concludes the evolution report.


    That is¡­ a lot of things.


    I should probably take a look at my stats right now myself. I looked down, flipping my tail in front of me - about to speak out the command, before noticing something strange about my tail. It was¡­ Black now. It had gone from a darkish green to a black colour, with white grey patterns across my body. I quickly looked around for anything to use as a mirror, however there didn¡¯t seem to be anything that could serve such a purpose around me at this time.


    ¡°I suppose it will have to wait till I get out of here¡­¡±


    I exhaled, before shaking my head. I got distracted - I need to take a look at my stats now. Looking back down, I took in a quick breath ¨C before speaking the command.


    ¡°Status Open.¡±


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Dark Snake


    Level: 64


    Rank: C


    Stats:


    Health; 32,400/32,400


    Strength; 3600


    Defense; 3450


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Magical Energy; 49,600/49,600


    Stamina; 3490


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 8900


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Enlightened; Individual Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Reaping; Epic Skill


    -Venom Mastery; Epic Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowlord; Individual Skill


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Fractured; Rare Skill


    -Djinn; Arc Skill


    -Mimic; Rare Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Look at my stats¡­! They¡¯ve shot up since the last time I took a look at them! I guess it isn¡¯t really surprising, considering that I not only evolved but also levelled up finally - speaking of which, my level was now sixty four¡­ I gained an entire fourteen levels before evolving - IF I remember correctly.


    There also was a voice that said something about requirements before I passed out, so I guess there really were specific requirements I had to meet in order to be able to level up beyond level fifty. Looking at the other stuff in my stats window, it appeared as though my rank had also increased from E to C ¡ª Which I guess meant I was more powerful by the definition of these ¡®ranks¡¯?


    I am honestly unsure what kind of role the rank played and whether it was important or not, but I am guessing that the higher it was, the better. Looking at my skill list, it hadn¡¯t changed too heavily, with the main difference being some of the skills also having evolved and me having gained that brand new ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill from completing the quest that had appeared before me when I approached this tomb.


    It still doesn¡¯t sound as cool or impressive as I would have hoped, however, I suppose I should keep my judgement of how useful it was till I can figure out how to use it.


    Closing the window, I threw my gaze over at the corpse of the Chimera, slithering a bit closer to it. It seriously looked like a mess now, with small flies flying around it and the body of it clearly already having started to slowly rot. Its blood was also spilled absolutely everywhere - though it all seemed to have dried up during the time I was passed out.


    ¡°I still cannot believe how tough this thing was¡­ Its magical energy was absolutely through the freaking roof. I¡¯m a bit proud of myself for managing to take it down.¡±


    I smiled a bit, before chuckling to myself and then exhaling, looking at the corpse a bit more seriously. Before I left this place, I wished to grab the magical energy this thing had with ¡®Devourer¡¯ ¡ª just to see if it would bring interesting results.


    After a second, the red mist from ¡®Devourer¡¯ left my body, before encasing the Chimeras body. After a little bit, the mist suddenly let out a large surge of air, before returning to my body - absorbing back into my body. I looked around confused for a second, before a sudden window appeared in front of me.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Use of [Shadowlord]


    Has been permitted.


    Would you like to create the Shadow Beast ¡®Chimera¡¯?


    Yes - No


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Sh..Shadow Beast? The hell is that?¡±


    I shed a sweat. This hasn¡¯t happened before - usually ¡®Devourer¡¯ encases a valid target and absorbs its magical energy, giving it to me, but this time ¡ª it appeared to have¡­ failed? I think? Well, I didn¡¯t gain any magical energy from the creature''s corpse and now I have a window saying I can use ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ to ¡®create¡¯ something called a ¡®Shadow Beast¡¯ using the Chimera¡­


    I remained in place, staring at the window silently while occasionally throwing my gaze up at the Chimeras deceased body. Whatever this ¡®Shadow Beast¡¯ was, it certainly sounded impressive¡­ And it was like me gaining a servant or something, it could prove really useful¡­ But at the same time, I had this ever so slight hesitation within me ¨C that I just couldn¡¯t shake off.


    I thought about it carefully for a bit, before eventually exhaling and selecting the ¡®Yes¡¯ option on the window. In my mind - there wasn¡¯t really much that could go wrong. At most, I will be forced to fight something¡­ again.


    The window closed, before I felt this sudden pulsing of energy inside me, before I felt an enormous amount of Magical Energy leave my body, as my shadow extended and enclosed the Chimeras body. A second later - several appendages shot up from the shadow, quickly wrapping around the corpse, completely engulfing it, before spinning around it. For a few seconds, I stared in complete and utter shock and speechlessness, before eventually the shadows spinning in front of me took on a new shape - with it appearing a bit fiery.


    Six white eyes then shined through the fiery shape, before it let out a loud roar, revealing itself. It was a dark, shadowy version of the Chimera - with both of its heads and snake tail back and all of their eyes shining white as well as this powerful aura and presence leaking from it. The heads all looked at me, before leaping off of the dead Chimeras body and landing behind me. I quickly curled up in slight fear, before preparing for a fight - however, the shadowy Chimera then suddenly just bowed down before me, the heads closing their eyes.


    I felt baffled and confused - unable to even form together a coherent sentence to say. Then, another window appeared before me.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Creation Successful.


    Shadow Beast Chimera has been created.


    Please - Give the TAMED Shadow Beast a name.


    [                                            ]


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I remained silent for a bit, throwing my gaze back and forth between the Shadow Chimera in front of me and the window. I really did just create myself a servant of sorts¡­ And now I am required to name it? Who would have thought that my skill ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ was capable of something like this as well¡­ I guess it wasn¡¯t just a convenient mobility tool.


    I thought carefully about the name thing ¨C with many, many ideas rushing through my head. What would be a name that would best fit¡­ whatever the hell this thing in front of me right now was? Many ideas came to mind, however none of them sounded quite right. I even felt like giving up on the naming thing and just giving it the name ¡®Chimera¡¯ so that I could move on out of here.


    However, after a bit, I eventually came up with something that sounded like it would fit this creature.


    ¡°How about¡­ Arvalor?¡±


    I said, looking at the shadowy creature. The beast opened all six of its eyes, letting out a loud roar, before looking at me with joy. It seemed to like the name - so that was what I inputted in the window.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    [ Arvalor ]


    Shadow Beast - Chimera


    Level - 1


    Rank - E


    Resides within the Shadow World. As it is your creation and it has sworn loyalty to you, you may call upon it at any time and it will appear. Additionally, it will not drain any of your Magical Energy to call upon it - however, should it fall in battle, it will return to the Shadow World to regenerate its own Magical Energy.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I wasn¡¯t sure how to react to the brand new ¡®servant¡¯ I had just gained for myself. Looking up from the window, I looked at the beast, which simply stared back down at me with an excited expression plastered across all three of its heads.


    In a sense - this thing seemed like it would come in useful for me ¡ª Especially when tackling dungeons. Though it seemed to be a bit weaker than the Chimera I faced, since its magical energy wasn¡¯t exerting as much of a force on me as when it was a regular monster, the creature still seemed to have kept most of its strength - and considering it was such a pain to fight¡­


    It may just become an ally I can rely on.


    I closed the window in front of me, before shedding a sweat as I wondered how I could make the beast go into the shadows.


    ¡°Maybe just ask it¡­? That could work¡­¡±


    I looked at the beast nervously, before smiling lightly towards it.


    ¡°Okay¡­ I wish for you to¡­ uh ¨C go to.. The shadow world!¡±


    God, why was it so hard to get that simple sentence out? It felt like my voice and throat was hurting like hell the entire time. Perhaps I was still feeling a slight side effect from my sudden evolution. The Shadow Beast stared down at me for a bit, before nodding with all three of its heads and sinking into the shadows below it - disappearing from sight.


    Then, I felt its presence in my shadow below me - signifying that it was most likely ready to follow me through the shadow world. I took in a quick breath, before exhaling and shaking my head. Enough distractions - time to get on out of here.


    Without a single bit of hesitation, I slithered towards the tunnel - which now had opened once more, moving straight into it and through it, without throwing a single look back behind me. My ¡®business¡¯ here was finished.

 Chapter 20 - ‘I am Myself… Again.’

    It took a while, however I eventually made it out of the tomb and back to the surface world above. Luckily for me, it seemed as though it was the middle of the day and not approaching evening ¡ª which made my life much easier, that was for sure.


    I threw my gaze back onto the tall pillar from which I had just come out of. Though I had defeated the creature located below, a part of me couldn¡¯t help but wonder¡­ What on earth were the people who created this thing thinking? I mean, creating a creature like that seemed like a death sentence ¨C especially with the levels of magical energy that it had.


    What possible purpose could it have served?


    Who knows.


    Shaking my head, I looked around, before taking in the fresh air ¨C exhaling with a wide smile across my face. It felt good to be back on the surface again. The air was so fresh and it felt so liberating to be out in the open again. The soft grass below my serpentine body, the gentle wind that blew through the air and tickled my nostrils¡­ It all just brought such a nice feeling.


    It felt like I was rejuvenated and alive once more.


    ¡°I should probably go and find some water reserves. It definitely has been a while since I¡¯ve had any water ¨C I don¡¯t know how long snakes can go without water and frankly, I don¡¯t want to find out.¡±


    I thought, before beginning to slither through the grass and off into the forest once more, leaving behind the open field and the tomb that was in it ¨C Hopefully, never to return there ever again.


    A while passed and eventually, I stumbled upon a small flowing river, which was located somewhere within the forest. I wasted absolutely no time, slithering up to the rushing water and immediately drinking it up ¨C sating my slight thirst.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I feel so much better now.¡±


    I thought, before looking down at my reflection within the water. After my evolution, my body had changed to a much darker colour ¨C being black. The markings or I guess ¡®stripes¡¯ covering it were now a whitish grey colour instead of the yellowish that they were before. My body also looked to be longer and much larger ¨C with a lot more tough looking scales covering it.


    The only thing that hadn¡¯t changed, were my golden eyes ¨C they had remained the same ¨C wide, shining and beautiful.


    ¡°I wonder how this ¡®evolution¡¯ thing even works¡­ Is it usually in MMO games? Who knows¡­¡±


    I exhaled lightly, before picking my head up from just examining my reflection. I felt a lot stronger now as well, as well as my body felt a bit lighter and swifter. I moved around a bit, occasionally coiling my body up and propelling it into the air like a spring, just to test it a bit.


    It was way easier now to propel myself up into the ¨C And I also felt less affected by the gravitational pull on me, as my body managed to ¡®float¡¯ in the air a bit longer. This evolution really has brought some interesting benefits for me. Looking around, I threw my gaze onto a nearby, large boulder which was just on the coast of the river. Moving over to it, I quickly got on top of it, before moving my gaze over to a nearby tree.


    I wanted to test something I had apparently gained access to after evolving.


    That ¡®Special Skill¡¯ Nykee had been combined into ¡®Djinn¡¯ - and apparently, I was able to call upon a spectre. I very much would like to see this in action and see for myself how this worked ¨C how I could just casually call out a so-called ¡®spectre¡¯ of something.


    I inhaled and exhaled lightly before focusing onto the tree. I have never tried to use this skill before, however, if I assume that it works like the rest of the skills I possess, in the sense that I have to think about using it¡­


    Then maybe ¡ª just maybe¡­


    I kept my focus locked dead onto the tree while sitting on top of the boulder - for a few seconds, it was silent and I looked pretty awkward just standing there and intensely staring at a tree.


    However, then, I felt a slight sparkle of flame appear around me.


    ¡°Huh..¨C?¡±


    Then, blue flames began to form around me, spinning around my body before flying up into the air. At first, the flames appeared to be random and messy ¨C flying up in no specific order or without any sort of correlation, but then, as they got higher, the flames all combined into one point ¨C erupting slightly before causing a large orb of flames to ignite and spin midair for a few seconds.


    I watched in fascination as the orb of flames broke apart and from it, a figure that resembled the girl that was killed by that strange man in front of me formed from the flames, opening her eyes as they ignited white.


    Then, the figure let out a loud shriek, before dashing forward and crashing into the tree ¡ª with so much force, that the air that blew against me felt like it would shoot me away if I didn¡¯t hold onto something. The flames all flowed into the impact point at which the girl had crashed into ¡ª before forming into a drill-like motion for a few seconds.


    I shed a cold sweat ¨C What do you mean there was more?!


    The flame ¡®drill¡¯ quickly formed into a large implosion of blue flames, that decimated and completely scorched a large area of the forest, leaving behind incinerated and leveled trees as well as scorched grass.


    Finally, the flames had disappeared.


    I shed a cold, cold sweat. What¡­ Just what had I just witnessed happen in front of me? That was so unbelievably powerful¡­ It felt like I had just witnessed an attack from that woman I fought a little while back.


    ¡°Man¡­ if this is a showcase of what that little girl could do back then, am I glad I did not choose to try and take her on¡­¡±


    I shed a cold, cold and frightened sweat while just staring at the decimated scenery in front of me.


    Exhaling after a moment, I turned around and coiled up my body, before propelling myself over the river and landing onto the other coast, on the other side of the river. I did not want to stay here by the land I had destroyed in an instant. Who knows ¨C maybe that powerful attack drew the attention of whatever else could be lurking in this forest.


    Without looking back, I slithered away and off into the non decimated part of the forest ¨C leaving behind the scene of my crime.


    ¡°Note to self¡­ Only use Djinn in emergency scenarios.¡±


    1 Week


    Later¡­


    It was a rainy, gloomy day. I was resting underneath a tree, coiled up and my head slightly sunken in my body while shielding myself from the rain with a small roof created around me with my ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ skill.


    Though it drained my magical energy to do this, I figured that I had more than enough to be able to keep this up until the rain finished. While resting, I was flicking through my status window ¨C simply staring at my stats and skill list.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Name: Faofa Shin


    Species: Dark Snake


    Level: 68


    Rank: C


    Stats:


    Health; 34,700/34,470


    Strength; 3700


    Defense; 3750


    Magical Energy; 55,600/55,600


    Stamina; 3890


    Intelligence; 200


    - Overall Power; 9500


    Skills:


    -Speech; Active Skill


    -Venom; Passive Skill


    -Translator; Active Skill


    -Enlightened; Individual Skill


    -Devourer; Individual Skill


    -Reaping; Epic Skill


    -Venom Mastery; Epic Skill


    -Trickster; Common Skill


    -Presence Erase; Common Skill


    -Shadowlord; Individual Skill


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    -Beasts Will; Individual Skill


    -Fractured; Rare Skill


    -Djinn; Arc Skill


    -Mimic; Rare Skill


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Over the past week, though not much growth has been achieved, I feel like I have done so much. I have at least raided like five or six dungeons and taken them all down ¨C with their bosses being either B Ranked or A Ranked. I also managed to gain a new ¡®Active Skill¡¯, though I am unsure on what it does yet.¡±


    The skill I was referring to was ¡®Translator¡¯ ¨C which, on the first time hearing it, sounds super obvious on what it would do. However, for some reason, my brain simply kept thinking of any other things it could do.


    And can you blame me exactly? This world was a fantasy one and so far, it has proven to work differently from my previous world time and time again. I don¡¯t think it is too wild to assume that a skill could do anything, despite its name.


    Anyways¡­


    Over the week I have also been constantly thinking about the ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill I possessed.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Mimic - [ Rare Skill ]


    Magical Energy cost (Activation); ?


    Allows the user to mimic the appearance of any creature they wish by constructing a fake body inside of which, their consciousness is transferred into.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It was a skill I couldn¡¯t quite wrap my head around.


    It apparently allows me to mimic any other creatures appearance, and while testing it in the past by mimicking stuff like Wyverns and Giant Spiders, I was able to figure out that the mimics it creates for my consciousness to inhabit are made up from my magical energy - so its ¡®activation cost¡¯ as it is called, scales depending on what I am mimicking.


    The larger the creature I was trying to mimic, the more magical energy it took to mimic it. But ¨C why couldn''t I wrap my head around it? ¨C You may wonder.


    Well¡­ Because when I tried to mimic the appearance of a humanoid creature, such as a Kobold I had ran into while raiding one dungeon, the skill just wouldn¡¯t activate and I would constantly have a message window appear in front of me saying ¡®Mimicry Failed - Subject invalid¡¯ which just confused the hell out of me.


    It works as you¡¯d expect, but I am unable to wrap my head around what the hell it meant by ¡®Subject invalid¡¯. Was it because the Kobolds'' intelligence was low? But, if that were the case, then shouldn¡¯t it also prevent me from mimicking something like a Giant Armoured Arachnid? Those don¡¯t seem to have that high intelligence.


    It was just confusing me on what I could and couldn¡¯t mimic.


    Another thing to note is that I am unable to mimic something without seeing it first. So, for example, in order for me to mimic a Direwolf, I have to look at one and only then will I be able to mimic its appearance. And once I cancel out the mimic, I will have to look at the Direwolf again to mimic it again.


    It was a limitation I discovered while in a fight against a whole pack of direwolves just a few days prior.


    I am getting a bit side tracked with my thoughts again¡­


    Where was I?


    Right ¡ª I had been thinking the whole week about it. The skill seemed to allow me to perfectly blend in amongst species I would have otherwise had to fight. It allowed me to do something about my serpentine appearance. I was getting a little bit bored of just aimlessly wandering the forest, if I had to be honest.


    It was also slowly starting to become lonely to do so.


    I wanted to head to a town ¡ª A Human town. But¡­ obviously, I couldn¡¯t do so when I was very much a monster. That is a terrible idea - I¡¯d get killed instantly. That¡¯s why I have been thinking about the ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill.


    Part of me has simply been wondering;


    If it allows me to mimic anything I see¡­ Could I perhaps mimic a human?


    If I could ¨C Then I simply would need to find a human and look at them, before activating the skill and mimic their appearance, which then in theory should allow me to head to a human town and go unnoticed as a monster.


    The only problem with this and why I have been putting off doing it¡­


    Is because I am unsure whether the ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill would make me a unique human appearance and simply mimic the race, or if I would turn into a duplicate of the human I was mimicking.


    It would be obvious as hell if I turned into a copy of someone else and just headed into town ¨C Hell, I¡¯d land myself in a pickle by doing that, especially if the person I was mimicking found me. It would be an instant recognition of me being a monster and once again, I¡¯d be killed on the spot.


    So I have been nervously and carefully thinking about it all this time, simply wondering whether I should try testing it or not. I have encountered a lot more humans in the past week, though all of them seemed to be much weaker than me, most likely being rookie or inexperienced adventurers. Their appearance made me believe that I must have been reaching the end of the forest and that a town was not that far.


    Which is also part of the reason I have been wondering about the whole ¡®mimicking a human¡¯ thing in the first place. Even if I don¡¯t head to a town, being potentially close to one and having a bunch of inexperienced adventurers wandering the woods increased the chances of me potentially being found and hunted down ¨C And while I could easily head back deeper into the forest, which would solve my problem of potentially being found and killed¡­


    I didn¡¯t want to do that.


    As I said before, I wanted to head into town and start interacting with other people again ¨C but my hesitation to try using ¡®Mimic¡¯ on a human was holding me back.


    I exhaled lightly, closing my status window and information window, before sinking my head into my body. I have always had a problem with hesitating to do stuff ¨C I don¡¯t know why, but especially when it came to trying new things, I¡¯ve always had this hesitation plague me, as if I was afraid of what may happen if things went wrong.


    ¡°It¡¯s always bothered me how I can be so hesitant to do stuff, but I¡¯ve never been able to do anything about it¡­¡±


    I complained in my mind, sinking my head even more into my body. The rain continued to pour down onto me for a while longer, with me eventually just falling asleep after a bit more complaining about myself in my mind.


    Once I woke up again, the rain had stopped and I was on the road again. Slithering through the woods, a sudden sound of laughter and voices made my body tense up as I quickly activated ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ and just remained still in place. A small group of 4 individuals walked past me, all laughing and talking amongst themselves as they headed deeper into the forest. Once they were far enough, I exhaled and continued moving - ¡®Presence Erase¡¯ deactivating once I moved.


    I was now on the hunt for a suitable human to test my ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill on.


    I know, I know - contradicts what I was complaining about and saying earlier¡­


    However, after I woke up again, I just felt like I had to at the very least test what the skill would do if I tried it on a human. It simply felt like I would not be able to remain calm if I didn¡¯t figure it out. However, finding a person who was ¡®suitable¡¯ as a test subject¡­ was much easier said than done.


    I was quite picky about who to test it on.


    I didn¡¯t want to be any other race than human, I didn¡¯t want to mimic a female, simply because it didn¡¯t feel right to do so, and I didn¡¯t want to mimic someone who stood out too much in case I became a duplicate of them.


    I know ¨C Nitpicks.


    But these things mattered to me.


    As I kept wandering forward and forward, more and more different humans passed by me - none of them catching my eyes, until eventually I spotted a human who caught my interest. It was a single male, dressed in robes and with rather long darkish red hair, who seemed to be by himself, sitting under a tree and reading a book.


    The robes and his overall feel - as well as the magical energy I could feel coming off of him - led me to believe he was most likely someone who practiced magic. A Sorcerer, perhaps.


    ¡°He could be a viable candidate to try to mimic¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t appear to be the type to have friends or close relatives, so if I turned into a duplicate of him, I could most likely blend in more easily ¨C and his appearance very much appealed to me. I don¡¯t know why? But I think he looked similar to how I looked when I was around fourteen or fifteen.


    Hiding myself in some bushes, I stared intensely at the man, shedding a cold sweat. I was once again hesitant to go through with my idea to use the skill.


    I don¡¯t know why ¡ª But my heart was beating hard.


    Was it the anticipation to know what would happen that was ¡®killing¡¯ me? Maybe.


    After a bit of hesitating, I caved and finally activated the ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill, my eyes narrowing onto the man sitting by the tree. Black mist immediately enveloped my body, morphing and shaping itself into a rough human shape while remaining within the bushes. The man by the tree heard the strange noises and lifted his head up from his book, closing it up before getting up and carefully approaching ¨C his guard up.


    While the ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill continued to morph and adapt, I could hear the footsteps slowly approach me and get louder. I didn¡¯t have a lot of time.


    As the man got closer and closer, he ignited a flame onto his left hand, before carefully grabbing a hold of the bushes and then pulling them aside, about to cast a spell ¨C however stopping as he found nothing there. The noises had stopped and there was nothing in sight that could make any noise.


    The man sighed, extinguishing the flame on his hand, before exhaling lightly.


    ¡°I might need to stop sitting here and reading¡­ Starting to hear things.¡±


    He thought, turning around and leaving the spot - walking away.


    I was inside of the shadow world, breathing a little heavily, before exhaling in relief.


    ¡°That was close.¡±


    I thought, before looking down. I had hands once more - the ¡®Mimic¡¯ was successful, that''s for sure. Standing up, I examined my hands and lower body. First thing to note, was that I was very much not a copy of the man ¨C my body had clothing that was nothing like his and my arms were covered in the same markings I had across my body as a snake.


    So, so far it seemed as though I had simply mimicked the race of the man.


    However, the body was one thing¡­ What about my face? Luckily, I had figured out how conjure out mirrors using ¡®Shadowlord¡¯, so after a quick exhale, I tapped my right foot onto the ground, a quick mirror forming in front of me in seconds as I kept my eyes closed.


    ¡°Time for the big moment¡­ How do I look?¡±


    I thought, nervously sweating as I slowly opened my eyes and looked into my reflections. My eyes widened as I looked at my reflection, taken back by my face. It was¡­ how I looked in my past life, before death.


    The exact same face, just with my golden serpent eyes and markings on it as well. I smiled lightly, before sighing in relief.


    ¡°...I missed this look.¡±

 Chapter 21 - Becoming an Adventurer!

    After I was done examining my own appearances in the mirror within the Shadow World, I exited back into the regular world, before taking my first steps onto the regular path which ran through the forest, right as a group of other people passed by. At first, I shivered ¨C a bit scared that they¡¯d question me ¨C however the human look I had now was more convincing than I had imagined, as the group just walked past and didn¡¯t even bat an eye.


    ¡°Even if I am now with my previous life''s appearance, I can¡¯t help but feel stressed when other people walk by.¡±


    I exhaled lightly, before looking around a bit. The pathway to my right, seemed to lead deeper into the forest ¡ª which I most definitely did not want to do. To the left, was where the group that passed by me had gone - and I assume led out of the forest.


    ¡°I wish I had a way to confirm my assumptions, but hey, I guess I will just head down the path and hope I am right.¡±


    I sighed lightly, before beginning to march on after the group of people that had passed by me ¨C subtly using ¡®Enlightened¡¯ to keep track of them from afar. More specifically, using ¡®Enlighteneds¡¯ brand new subskill ¡®Overworld Detection¡¯. It appeared to allow me to keep track of magical energy activity in the area around me ¨C more specifically, disturbances in the magical energy.


    So basically, it had basically given me visibility that didn¡¯t require me to actually be able to see, as I could simply follow Magical Energy activity around me and be aware of things even with my eyes closed.


    Following the group, I made sure to keep some distance between me and then, all the while my gaze was shot up at the trees above. The forest around was a lot less dense now and the tree branches above let through a lot more rays of light, which made it all look really magical. It felt like I had entered a completely different place.


    The number of people around also increased ¨C with me passing by random groups, duos, trios and even solos of people who all were doing their own things in the forest territory. Some were relaxing, others were training with weapons and then there were some even training with what looked like magic ¡ª summoning those glowing circles and firing off fire, water, ice and so on.


    If I was still in my snake appearance, I would have most definitely been killed by now ¨C this many people around most definitely meant that no monster could realistically live in this part of the forest.


    Lucky me, that I didn¡¯t encounter all these people while journeying in the forest as a snake¡­


    I kept moving and eventually, the path led out of the forest and out into a large, large clearing. The forest had finally ended and instead was replaced by a clearing of grass and flowers. The gentle breeze that blew accompanied by the bright sun in the sky made the scene absolutely breathtaking.


    It felt like I was back in High School days on the first day of me starting my life at the school. It felt¡­ Nostalgic. I looked around, eventually spotting a large walled off town in the distance ¡ª the dirt path I was standing on seemingly leading to it.


    ¡°That must be a human town. Just what I wanted to visit.¡±


    I shed a slight sweat, before smiling.


    The thought of once again entering a place with people felt¡­ surreal. It was tantalising to think about ¨C that I could return to society I was used to. Without much more hesitation, I began my march towards the walled off town in the distance ¨C keeping a smile across my face as the rays of sunshine fell down onto me and the light, gentle breeze blew from behind me.


    .


    .


    .


    I walked for a while, but eventually reached the town. It was absolutely massive up close. The walls towered over me, casting a large shadow with what appeared to be guards moving about on top of them. The towers on the sides stood even taller than the wall, with deep red roofs that stretched on into the sky ¨C looking kind of mystical with the way they blocked the sunlight.


    In front of me were giant gates which were open, with two guards standing by them ¨C seemingly regulating who entered and exited the town. When I saw them, I felt a bit nervous.


    ¡°I hope there isn¡¯t an entrance fee or something¡­ I don¡¯t have any cash on me.¡±


    I shed a sweat at my own thought. If there was an entrance fee or something, I was screwed. I had been living for a couple of weeks ¨C no, for at least a month now as a snake and all the dungeons I had raided, didn¡¯t get me any money or treasures and instead just equipment that I left behind, since as a snake, I couldn¡¯t exactly use any of it.


    At first, I felt slightly hesitant, however after a moment or two of light breathing, I moved towards the gates ¨C praying in my mind that I would be let inside. Passing by the guards, I felt their gazes land onto me ¨C my anxiety hit an all time high. I felt stress and worry run over my entire body while shivers ran down my spine ¨C were they going to stop me?


    However not a single one of them spoke up. Instead, the guards after eyeing me for a bit, looked away and I was able to enter the town without any trouble. Exhaling in relief, I quickly made my way a bit farther away from the gates and the guards, in case they suddenly turned around to question me.


    Afterwards, I took a look around ¨C my jaw practically hitting the ground. The atmosphere and feel inside the town - was nothing like the forest I had been wandering for the past month or so. The buildings were tall and beautiful, appearing to be more fancy versions of middle age european buildings. The town''s streets were lively as hell ¨C with town residents walking around the entire place.


    And the variety of different humanoid races I saw was incredible as well ¨C There were humans, people with animal features, then just straight up humanoid reptiles, even some other fantasy races that I recognised, such as elves and even some dwarves.


    Everything around me just screamed ¡®fantasy world¡¯ ¡ª this was nothing like the world I had come from.


    ¡°This place is incredible..!¡±


    I thought.


    I couldn¡¯t wipe off a sort of childish smile from my face as I kept moving further into the town, just looking around me. There was this urge inside me to just explore and see everything there was to see in the town ¨C to just run around like a reckless child to see everything.


    I managed to resist the urge ¨C understanding that it wouldn¡¯t look very good if some adult man started acting like a child in the middle of the town, however, it wasn¡¯t an easy thing to resist.


    ¡°I should probably first figure out a way to earn money. I don¡¯t want to sleep out in the forest, but an inn in this town most definitely would cost some cash, so if I can find a way to earn myself some, I¡¯d be able to sort of settle in.¡±


    I immediately started brainstorming.


    If there was one thing that would be similar between this world and my previous one, it would most definitely be the power that money held on the humanoid races of the world. The only thing was, I wasn¡¯t sure how I could get some money as fast as possible.


    I recalled that in some fantasy stories that I read when I was younger, that sometimes you could earn money by selling stuff to merchants or something, however I quickly forgot that thought. I didn¡¯t have anything to sell ¨C every monster I have killed I either ate or just left behind, only taking their remaining magical energy with ¡®Devourer¡¯ ¨C and, of course, I also had left behind any gear I had gotten by beating dungeons since - as mentioned before - as a snake, I didn¡¯t exactly have any use for any of it.


    I wandered deeper into the town, still thinking about a way to possibly earn some money, before eventually exhaling.


    ¡°Maybe I can ask someone?¡±


    I looked around.


    No one around me seemed very appealing to speak to¡­ Some even looked a bit intimidating. However, I kept looking around and eventually, my eyes landed onto an older merchant lady, who seemed to be running a vegetable stall with what I assumed was her daughter.


    Maybe I could ask her¡­?


    Well ¨C I don¡¯t have much to lose I guess.


    Exhaling, I walked over to the lady, clearing my throat and approaching her with a friendly smile.


    ¡°Excuse me, may I ask a question?¡±


    I asked as I approached. The lady looked at me, before smiling and crossing her arms.


    ¡°Of course traveller, what can I help ya with?¡±


    She actually understood me ¨C I was slightly nervous that I¡¯d be unable to speak to her or that she wouldn¡¯t be able to understand me, since I had been living like a snake for so long, however I suppose the combination of ¡®Speech¡¯ and ¡®Translator¡¯ skills was more useful than I had initially assumed.


    ¡°I was wondering if you could tell me about any places where I could earn some money? I just arrived in the town you see.¡±


    I felt a bit awkward asking a complete stranger in this world for ways to earn cash, however, it wasn¡¯t as if I had any other real choice. The lady looked at me, before exhaling and busting out into a light hearted laughter. The laughter did make me shed a slight sweat, as I wondered if I had said something ridiculous, however then the lady walked closer to me and patted me lightly on my back.


    ¡°I see! So you¡¯re new around here huh? You must come from a village if you¡¯re asking questions like that. Nonetheless, I can point you to some place which offers reasonable pay.¡±


    She stated, before looking at the younger girl who I assumed was her girl.


    ¡°Deliah dear, could you fetch the map for me?¡±


    ¡°Okay mommy!¡±


    The child hopped off of the box she was sitting on, before rushing inside the building behind the stall. After a small bit, she ran back out and brought a rather large map to her mother. The lady patted her daughter''s head, telling her that she could go now, with the child enthusiastically nodding and running back to sit onto the box.


    ¡°Okay, you look like you¡¯re pretty capable in battle, so the best places I can offer you to earn some money at would be the Adventuring Guild,¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The lady began, showing me the map, before pointing to a large building with the same label as she had said,


    ¡°Or the Mercenary Guild - however, that one is a bit more tricky to get into and usually takes a lot of paperwork.¡±


    She continued, pointing to a different building on the map, one that was seemingly on the opposite side of the town. I scratched my chin lightly, thinking about the two options for a bit. Both of them were classic examples of a fantasy world setting, however with her added comment about the Mercenary Guild''s tricky nature, I leaned more towards heading to the Adventuring Guild.


    The Lady folded up her map and then looked at me with a smile.


    ¡°In my personal opinion, you¡¯re better off heading to the Adventuring Guild. It¡¯s easier to get into and while at early stages the pay isn¡¯t amazing, it is enough to get you at least on a sustainable lifestyle.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Thank you very much ma¡¯am. Can I repay you in any way?¡±


    It felt wrong to just leave after asking for help from her, without at least doing something for her. The lady laughed, before walking away from me and placing her map onto a box.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stress about repaying me. I helped out because you needed it.¡±


    She stated, before turning to face me.


    ¡°However, if you insist on repaying me, then how about when you earn some money, you stop by again and purchase some of our fresh vegetables? They¡¯re high quality, you know!¡±


    The lady looked at me with a cheerful gaze, which left me a bit speechless for a moment, before I exhaled and nodded in response to her.


    ¡°Thank you ¡ª I will make sure to do so when I can! Farewell now!¡±


    ¡°Farewell traveller!¡±


    ¡°Bye-bye!¡±


    The mother and the daughter waved me goodbye as I kept moving. I now had a destination in mind ¡ª The Adventuring Guild. If I remember correctly from the stories I had read when I was younger, at this guild people could become ¡®Adventurers¡¯ and take on quests or commissions to earn money.


    I wandered around for a bit, asking around for directions and eventually reached the building I was searching for. It was large, like a mansion, made of stone and its architecture was very much more exquisite and higher ¡®quality¡¯ than the other buildings I¡¯ve seen in the town so far. Above the two large entrance doors, there was a sign which read ¡®Ordinal Adventuring Guild¡¯. I shed a sweat, before walking up the small set of stairs and stepping up to the main doors, placing my right hand lightly onto one of the doors, before pushing it open and entering the building.


    The scene inside was just as incredible as the outside. It felt like I was inside a noble home ¨C there were so many people around, either sitting together and laughing or discussing what I assume were quests, or simply chatting. The scene was so unbelievably lively.


    I looked around, eventually spotting what appeared to be the reception desk, with a couple receptionists free. Walking towards the desk, I walked up to one of the free receptionists, who was leaning under the desk, rummaging through something.


    ¡°Um, excuse me?¡±


    I said lightly.


    The receptionist lifted up his right hand into the air.


    ¡°Give me a moment¡­¡±


    After a bit, he leaned up and stood up before shaking his head. Upon seeing the receptionist, I shed a slight sweat. It wasn¡¯t a human ¨C it appeared to be one of the humanoid reptilians I had seen wandering the town outside. As I slightly stared at him, a small information window appeared in front of me.


    Lizardman


    Rank: ?


    ¡°That is the least amount of information I¡¯ve had up until now¡­¡±


    The receptionist brushed off his clothes, before looking down at me with a smile.


    ¡°Welcome to the Ordial Adventuring Guild ¨C My name is Jarvis. What can I help you with today sir?¡±


    Shaking my head lightly, I snapped back to reality giving the receptionist a slight awkward smile, while rubbing the back of my neck.


    ¡°I was wondering if I could become an adventurer?¡±


    God, I was hoping that I was right about what this establishment was and the people it hired. The receptionist nodded lightly.


    ¡°Of course ¨C Allow me to go get you registration papers.¡±


    The receptionist stated, before turning around.


    ¡°Please, wait here.¡±


    Jarvis then left into a backroom, disappearing for a bit. I shed a light sweat, before exhaling in relief. Luckily, my assumption about what this place was and how it worked was right this time around. After a bit, Jarvis returned with a paper, before placing it on the desk in front of me, followed by an ink vial and an old style pen on the desk next to the vial ¡ª If I remember these were called ¡®Reed pens¡¯.


    ¡°Please fill out this form first. Afterwards, we¡¯ll examine your magical energy reserves as well as put you through a test.¡±


    That much to do before I can become an adventurer huh¡­


    Guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised ¨C if all I had to do is fill out a form, then they¡¯d have a problem of people who aren¡¯t fit out to be adventurers signing up and getting themselves killed.


    Picking up the pen, I dipped it lightly in the ink vial, before beginning to fill out the paper. While writing, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that my handwriting skills had not degraded even a bit in the last month. I expected to not be able to write even my own name, but I guess my worries were unfounded.


    I put down my name as Riyo Komeno ¨C wishing to keep my current identity given to me by Arabor as a secret, in case of anything that may happen in the future. I kept filling out the form at a rather rapid pace without much trouble, before eventually reaching a hurdle ¡ª class.


    I froze for a second.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what it meant by ¡®class¡¯ ¡ª I assumed it was something that most likely was part of RPG games, but again, I haven¡¯t ever played any of those games, so I had no clue what they were. Maybe it meant stuff like whether I was a swordsman? I wasn¡¯t sure¡­


    ¡°Excuse me, what does it mean by ¡®class¡¯?¡±


    I lifted my gaze up. Better to just ask. The receptionist looked at me with a slightly surprised expression, before exhaling and smiling again.


    ¡°Class refers to your specialty. If you fought with a sword, you¡¯d be a Swordsman, if you used magic, you¡¯d be a Mage, if you used tamed monsters to fight, you¡¯d be a Tamer - and so on, and so on.¡±


    I see ¨C so basically it was how I fought.


    Drat ¡ª That didn¡¯t make things easier. I wasn¡¯t sure how I was going to fight as a human¡­ Maybe I could input myself as a Mage? But if I do that, it will be very suspicious when I don¡¯t use any magic..


    I thought about it for a bit, before eventually exhaling.


    ¡°Having trouble?¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t know what class to put¡­¡±


    I chuckled lightly. The receptionist also laughed lightly, before shaking his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We can examine your abilities during the practical test and see what class best fits you.¡±


    I nodded in response. The receptionist picked up the so far filled out form - before inviting me to follow him to the practical test area. Following him, he led me out into a courtyard of the guild, where a couple of dummies were set up. Jarvis walked to the side, talking to another employee of the guild for a bit, before walking back over to me.


    ¡°Please, enter the test area and stand onto the red cross. From there, we¡¯ll need you to attack the dummies in the way you usually fight.¡±


    Sounds easy enough.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I walked into the area, before taking a stance onto the red cross at the center of the test area ¨C as instructed. Afterwards, I threw a glance over to the receptionist, who nodded towards me to begin the test. I exhaled lightly, before looking at the dummies and thinking about the method to approach this with.


    I could use ¡®Shadowlord¡¯ to attack, but I¡¯m scared that it might make them question whether it was actually magic or not. Another option was perhaps calling out Arvalor to have him attack¡­ But he was kind of big and most definitely would drag unnecessary attention to me. Maybe not then.


    After brainstorming for a bit ¨C I decided to use a combination of ¡®Venom Mastery¡¯ with ¡®Shadowlord¡¯. I raised my right hand in front of me and extended it towards the dummies. While I was most definitely not someone who knew how to use magic, I could at least create the illusion of it.


    I forced some of the shadow below me to quickly run up my body, before forming a sort of copy of the mystical circles I¡¯ve seen people who can use magic create. Afterwards, I eyed the shadows underneath the dummies, before forcing large spikes to shoot out from them and tear apart the dummies.


    Afterwards, I followed that up with creating smaller copies of the circles with ¡®Venom Mastery¡¯ around me, before launching the venom bullets at the remaining pieces of the dummies. Once the dummies were gone, I made the purple circles disappear, turning around to look over at the receptionist, who nodded lightly, taking some notes.


    ¡°Incredible showcase Mister Riyo.¡±


    Jarvis stated as I ran back over to him.


    ¡°Well? What class can I be assigned with?¡±


    ¡°Well, judging based off of your attacks right now ¨C You seem to me like a Mage. Or rather, more specifically, a Curse Mage. Not many are able to use the shadows like you. And those purple bullets were clearly poison! So there is no doubt that this class fits you best.¡±


    Well, that sounds good enough.


    ¡°May I write down ¡®Curse Mage¡¯ as your class then, Mister Riyo?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I replied with a smile. After writing it down the receptionist invited me back inside, while the other guild employee cleaned up the mess I had created. After returning inside, I was brought to a large sphere, which the guild receptionist explained would measure my magical energy.


    At first, I was afraid that my level of magical energy would be so high that it would drag unnecessary attention towards me, however after the measuring ¨C The receptionist didn¡¯t make a loud fuss about it at all.


    ¡°I will admit, your magical energy reserves are most definitely higher than average, being around the A-Rank level, which is a bit outstanding. However, your skill at using definitely isn¡¯t as impressive ¡ª But do not worry, with us you¡¯ll learn more.¡±


    Basically, I was told that I had great talent, but I was garbage at using it.


    So much for the amount of pain I have had to deal with for the past month, especially my miserable and near death experiences against the Chimera and that scorpion in my first ever dungeon.


    After the measurements were done, I waited in the main room for a little while, before eventually the Lizardman receptionist came out and called for me. I ran up to the desk, as he placed a card onto it.


    ¡°Here you go Mister Riyo ¨C as of today you are an official adventurer at the guild.¡±


    I picked up the card, looking at it with awe.


    This felt like an accomplishment.


    ¡°Now, allow me to explain a bit about how the Adventuring Guild works.¡±


    The receptionist stated before diving into a deep explanation.


    Adventurers are ranked on a scale from D to S.


    The Higher the Adventurers Rank, the stronger they were and the more dangerous jobs they could accept.


    At my current level of D-Rank I could accept quests that matched my rank or one above, so F-Rank quests were also available for me to accept.


    Adventurers are paid based on the difficulty of the mission, as well as their rank. The payment may come from the person who posted the job or the Adventuring Guild itself, depending on the situation.


    When an Adventure completes at least twenty jobs or commissions of their rank, they are eligible for a rank up at the guild ¨C once they rank up, the number of jobs required for the next rank up increases by ten.


    If an Adventurer is inactive as an Adventurer for more than two weeks, they¡¯ll be removed from the Adventuring Guilds list - unless a special condition is at play, such as the Adventurer is recovering in the medical clinic after some injury or has fallen sick.


    Lastly, Adventurers ¨C while not required to form parties with others, are encouraged to do so, as parties are able to take on quests together. In a party, there cannot be more than a single rank difference between the lowest ranked member and the highest.


    ¡°The Adventuring Guild also will pay for any medical emergencies that may happen while out on a quest - no matter how much is required. As long as the Adventurer works their hardest, they are important to us.¡±


    After the lengthy explanation, I will be honest I felt a bit overwhelmed, however couldn¡¯t help but also slightly admire it all ¨C especially the last benefit. Practically free healthcare as long as you work your absolute hardest was something that most companies in my previous life didn¡¯t even provide.


    ¡°Any questions, Mister Riyo?¡±


    The receptionist asked with a smile. I shook my head.


    ¡°Only one ¨C where may I accept jobs?¡±


    Jarvis then pointed towards a large board with a lot of papers pinned to it.


    ¡°At the commission board. Just browse through them and if you find a job that catches your eye, just take the paper and bring it to one of the receptionists with the wish to accept it. Afterwards, you¡¯ll be given some details about the job and what to bring back.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Thank you for everything.¡±


    I bowed slightly towards the receptionist, who laughed lightly.


    ¡°No need to thank me ¨C just doing my job. Good luck on your adventures, Mister Riyo.¡±


    Jarvis stated, before I nodded and turned away and marched towards the commission board. Now that I was an official adventurer, it was time for me to start my first job ¡ª let¡¯s hope the pay is good enough to get me a room to stay in at an inn in the town!

 Chapter 22 - ‘My First Commission.’

    Walking up to the commission board, I took a look through the posted commissions. There were a lot of them ¨C ranging from the bottom of D-Rank up until around C-Rank. It was a bit strange not seeing any higher ranked commissions posted, however I figured that the guild must have separate boards for B to S ranks, since they most definitely were jobs that only those people could handle.


    At my current level, I was allowed to accept D-Rank commissions and F-Rank ones. However, looking through them, I couldn¡¯t help but find the commissions at my rank¡­ pretty underwhelming sounding. While I wasn¡¯t expecting anything extravagant, most of the commissions at my ranking or F-Rank involved either herb and plant gathering or killing what I assumed weren¡¯t particularly dangerous monsters. It did make sense I suppose ¨C since you wouldn¡¯t want anyone at this rank to take on something they could not handle.


    With all that being said ¡ª while I was a bit disappointed in a way about the commissions posted. I also couldn¡¯t help but feel like I didn¡¯t want to take a commission that involved me fighting anything right now.


    I have personally had enough fighting for a while now - Especially after the fight with the Chimera. I think I deserve something easy and simple.


    Looking through the D-Rank commissions for a bit longer, I eventually picked out a job that looked easy enough to serve as my first commission. A D-Rank commission, posted by the medical center, requesting a plant called ¡®Crimson Moon Lillies¡¯. The pay they offered was listed as twelve silver coins¡­ While I am unsure whether that was a lot or a small amount, I figured I would find that out with time.


    Taking the commission paper to a nearby receptionist, I approached a female one ¨C who appeared to be an ordinary human, looking through some papers herself.


    ¡°Excuse me, I would like to take on this job.¡±


    The female receptionist lifted her gaze up at me, looking at me a bit taken back as soon as she did. I raised an eyebrow at her reaction, however seemingly after seeing my confusion, she quickly composed herself.


    ¡°My a-apologies sir. Please, let me take a look.¡±


    I handed her the commission paper, the receptionist looking through it. Watching her as she looked through the details, I wondered what was up with her reaction upon seeing me, crossing my arms lightly, before noticing my stripes across my body. Could she have been weirded out by them?


    I wouldn¡¯t be surprised about that. These stripes did make me stand out like a sore thumb¡­ I might need to find a way to cover them up. After a bit, the receptionist looked back up at me with a friendly and warm smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve looked through the commission and confirmed its details. You need to bring back around thirty Crimson Moon Lillies, which grow in the southern part of the Abyssal Woods. It shouldn¡¯t be hard to spot them, as they stand out particularly with their beautiful, deep red tone and grow in large quantities. When you¡¯ve gathered a;; thirty, just bring them back to the guild and after we confirm their count, we¡¯ll pay you the commission reward. Understood all that sir?¡±


    I gave a light nod back.


    ¡°Oh right, do you have anything to carry them in? We can give you a basket-¡±


    ¡°No need, I have a bag with me.¡±


    I replied, gesturing to the receptionist. The receptionist looked at me a bit confused, however after a quick exhale, she smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Then we will await your return ¨C I have written down the commission as accepted by you.¡±


    I nodded back before turning around and beginning to walk away towards the main entrance to leave the guild. The female receptionist''s smile disappeared as she watched Faofa leave with a slight sweat forming on her face.


    ¡°He definitely isn¡¯t normal¡­ those marks and those eyes ¨C Perhaps he is of dragon ancestry?¡±


    The receptionist thought while eyeing Faofa, who left the guild halls. Spending a bit of time lost in her thoughts, the receptionist was eventually dragged out of it by a loud call from behind her.


    ¡°Arianne! Stop day dreaming about the new adventurer and come help me move these boxes to the back!¡±


    The receptionist, flustered, looked back at Jarvis who was holding several boxes filled with papers.


    ¡°I-I wasn¡¯t daydreaming..!¡±


    She responded, before rushing over and taking a box from the Lizardman, before walking beside him into the back of the guild.


    ¡­


    Outside the Ordial borders, again, I moved into the southern part of the forest, beginning my search for the plants I needed to harvest and bring back. The receptionist had stated that they were easy to spot and kind of hard to miss, so I kept my eyes wide open, while treading deeper and deeper in.


    The number of other adventurers in this part of the forest was significantly smaller compared to the side I had come from originally, with there only having been two other groups of adventurers I had managed to spot before heading inside the forest. While I appreciated being in a normal society once again, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like being alone and by myself was still more comforting. Perhaps this was a side effect of being a snake now? Perhaps I was afraid of people finding out who I was and immediately hunting me down?


    Who knows.


    As I headed deeper inside, I eventually came across a small flowing river, which seemed to flow off towards what I assume was the western side of the woods aka the side I had mostly spent most of my time in. Now, in case you are wondering on how I knew where was which direction ¨C it was thanks to ¡®Enlightened¡¯.


    The brand new subskill it gained allowed not only for me to detect magical energy near me, but also find my surroundings ¡ª almost as if I had a built-in map inside my head. It was a pretty handy thing to have.


    Kneeling down in front of the river, I looked into its water.


    River Water


    Type; Clean


    Thank god.


    I lowered my hands into the water, taking some into my palms before drinking it. Surprisingly, I could taste the water now ¨C something I¡¯ve been unable to do up until now due to me not having any tastebuds as a snake. However, I assume, because of ¡®Mimic¡¯ and me now having a technical ¡®human body¡¯ I also had the senses of a human.


    I could feel like a human through touch, I could smell, I could hear, see¡­ and now I could taste. It seems like the ¡®Mimic¡¯ skill was more impressive than I had initially thought.


    After drinking some water, I looked around, spotting a slight fragment of a deep red petal. Rushing over, I looked around the tree where the fragment was. There, at the tree trunk''s base, covering its roots, was a rather large patch of flowers, with deep red petals. Kneeling down, I sharpened my gaze on them.


    Crimson Moon Lily


    Type; Medicinal Herb Rank; C


    ¡°Perfect! Just what I was looking for.¡±


    I reached to my right side, taking off my small bag and opening it, before carefully harvesting the flowers from the patch. The flowers had this interesting scent ¨C like roses and tulips mixed together with strawberries and rain. Their texture was rough, feeling like there was small hair on them and their petals glimmered beautifully, reflecting the sunshine like a mirror.


    If I didn¡¯t need to collect them for the commission, I would probably take them for myself as a souvenir to keep, simply because of how beautiful they were. After harvesting from the entire patch, I had gathered around twenty five of them. Looking around, I spotted another patch of them nearby ¨C only a smaller one.


    Quickly moving over, I decided to collect all of them as well. Though I only needed five more to complete the commission, I figured collecting more than thirty couldn¡¯t hurt. Besides, I did want to keep one or two. While collecting, I heard something rummaging from nearby bushes. Looking over, I sharpened my gaze, closing up my bag and placing it back over my head.


    Afterwards, I carefully approached the bushes, keeping on high guard. As I got closer, the rummaging sound increased, which definitely frightened me a little. I was about to pull back the bushes to see what was inside, before a dagger suddenly flew out of them, forcing me to leap back at the last second, barely dodging it as it lodged itself into the tree branch above.


    ¡°That ¨C was close.¡±


    I looked at the dagger in the branch, before looking back at the bushes. After a bit more rummaging, three green creatures leapt out of them. They were short, wore tattered clothing which looked like leather tied around their waists and had long ears and large noses. The creatures also wielded what looked like low quality and terrible weapons.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Wooden Club


    Grade; F


    Rough Stone Knife


    Grade; F


    Stone Dagger


    Grade; E


    ¡°And they also seem pretty weak¡­¡±


    Green Goblin (Unintelligent)


    Rank; D


    Goblins¡­ I believe I had faced some before, however the ones I had faced were far more impressive, being dressed in metal plated armour and wielded weapons and shields that far outclassed these pieces of junk that these three critters were holding in their small green hands.


    Another thing that caught my eye is the ¡®Unintelligent¡¯ tag next to their species name. It was something new, I hadn¡¯t seen before ¨C did it hint towards an intelligent form of these Green Goblins existing? Probably. Exhaling, I rose to my feet, the green goblins looking at me and laughing. They weren¡¯t exactly intimidating or worth my time¡­ However, I remember there being a commission from the guild that was requesting Goblin ears¡­ Even though I hadn¡¯t accepted the commission to gather them, I wonder if I bring back some, will they still pay me for them?


    Who knows. But, I suppose it¡¯s better to see what happens rather than sit here and just ask questions. The green monsters shouted at me, before rushing towards me, their weapons high in the air. Not moving from my place, I decided to give something a try, just to see how useful he would be.


    ¡°Arvalor, come to me.¡±


    The shadow below me increased in size, before shooting up and morphing. It bent and twisted for a bit, before forming into the large Chimera, who immediately let out a loud roar with all of its heads. After Arvalor had come out, I pointed at the goblins.


    ¡°Take them out will you?¡±


    This was a perfect opportunity to see how strong Arvalor was. His rank was ¡®E¡¯ which seemed to be higher than any of the goblins, so I assume it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to take down these beings.


    The shadowy Chimera roared at the goblins, causing them to freeze in place.


    Arvalor has activated Rare Skill [Intimidation].


    Impressive ¨C He never used that against me in battle¡­ I wonder how much it would have screwed me over if he had. After freezing the goblins in place, the Chimera leapt at them, tearing the green creatures apart with ease, before letting out a victorious roar.


    I shed a slight sweat, before laughing.


    I suppose I should have expected this outcome¡­ Arvalor was a creature I had trouble with when I fought him, and at the time he was at level seventy, and his rank was unknown, however basing it off of my rank at the time, I¡¯d say he was probably a top of the class B-Rank or even a high class A-Rank.


    Though he seemed to have gotten weaker after I turned him into a Shadow Beast, it still appears that some low level enemies are no match for it. Exhaling, I smiled towards the Chimera, who was now sitting down like a puppy and looking at me with all three of its heads, wide eyes ¨C like a dog pleading.


    ¡°Well done.¡±


    I pat the lion and goat head, with the snake head seemingly looking envious, before sliding in under my right hand to get some of the pats as well. I chuckled, before turning around.


    ¡°Now, return.¡±


    The Chimera broke apart, sinking back into my shadow. I then sighed, looking at the goblins. I know I had told Arvalor to take them out¡­ But he kind of completely mutilated them all, tearing apart basically everything. It looked rather disgusting how the goblin blood was smeared across the ground and trees.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope the ears are intact¡­¡±


    I thought, approaching the first goblin and kneeling down. Luckily for me, its ears were untouched by Arvalors relentless claws, which made me exhale in relief before grabbing onto them. I didn¡¯t have a knife or dagger with me, so I suppose ripping the ears off was the only way to do it.


    I was about to rip the ear off, before stopping and looking up at the trees again. The stone dagger that had flown at me was still stuck in the tree branch¡­


    ¡­


    The sun was beginning to slowly set as I approached the Adventuring Guilds doors. In the end, I had claimed the stone dagger that the goblin threw at me as my own, using it to carefully cut off the ears from the dead goblins before placing them into a small extra pouch I had created using ¡®Shadowlord¡¯.


    Entering the guild building, I walked over to the nearest free receptionist, which appeared to be a female dwarf, who cheerfully smiled at me as I approached, taking off my bag.


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought the Crimson Moon Lillies as requested in the commission.¡±


    ¡°Right. Sir Riyo?¡±


    I nodded. The receptionist took hold of my bag, before opening it and checking inside it. Afterwards, she looked back at me with another smile.


    ¡°I will take these to confirm the amount, please wait here.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, I actually was wondering whether I could hand in some other items I also brought.¡±


    I quickly spoke up before the dwarf left. She looked at me curiously, while I took out the small pouch with the goblin ears.


    ¡°I saw a commission which requested Goblin ears, so I took the measure to bring back some. I know I didn¡¯t accept the commission, but would I be able to hand them in?¡±


    The receptionist took the pouch from me, opening it up and examining its contents.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to take a look at them. Depending on their quality and quantity, we will pay you some extra money. Now, please wait here Sir Riyo.¡±


    I nodded lightly as the receptionist ran off into the back room with my bag and pouch. Luckily for me, it looked like I was able to sell those goblin ears for extra money to the guild, despite not having taken the job to bring them back. That was good.


    I waited for a while, with the receptionist eventually returning back and bringing over my back and pouch, as well as a second pouch.


    ¡°I have confirmed the amount of herbs. You¡¯ve actually brought more than required, so the guild took the liberty of adding some extra payment. As for the goblin ears, they were of excellent quality and very well extracted. We¡¯ve thrown in an extra six silver coins per ear you brought. In total, your reward is 34 silver coins.¡±


    The receptionist smiled, handing me the bag and two pouches. I immediately put my bag back on before placing the pouches inside it and then bowing towards the receptionist.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me Sir Riyo. The Adventuring Guild thanks you for your work. Have a nice evening.¡±


    I nodded, turning around before bidding the receptionist a farewell and leaving the guild, feeling a few stares fall onto me as I did from nearby adventurers. After leaving the guild, I began searching around for some place I could crash for the night. In old novels I used to read as a child, a good place for people like me to rest for the night were inns¡­


    Where do I find one though?


    Looking around the town, I eventually managed to find an inn, which was located not too far from the Adventuring Guild building. Above its entrance was a large sign with the inn''s name ¨C ¡®The Night Owl¡¯.


    Interesting name.


    I headed inside the building, closing the door behind me. Inside was a warm atmosphere and a welcoming air. There was light laughter of other people who were drinking together as well as the scent of something that smelled delicious filling the place. I walked over to what appeared to be the Inns reception, a young lass standing there, before looking at me and smiling.


    ¡°Evening mister, would you like a room?¡±


    ¡°I would indeed. How much?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one silver coin for a night.¡±


    One silver coin? With the amount I have, I can¡¯t tell whether that was cheap or not. However, it seemed reasonable, so I reached into the bag, taking out the pouch I had received with the money from the guild, opening it and taking out a single silver coin before handing it to the lass.


    The lady took the coin and threw it into a drawer, closing it afterwards before crouching down. After a moment, she stood back up and handed me a key.


    ¡°Your room is upstairs, number thirteen.¡±


    She stated with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I took the key from her, before moving away, the young lass waving me a goodbye as she watched me walking away with a smile. I moved up the stairs to the second floor, before beginning to search through the hall.


    ¡°Ten¡­ Eleven¡­ Twelve¡­ Number thirteen - here it is.¡±


    I thought, moving up to the door and placing the key into its lock and unlocking it, opening the door and entering the room afterwards. The room wasn¡¯t too big, however it wasn''t too cramped either. There was a single window - with a view out at the town, and a bed to the left of it.


    In the right farthest corner of the room, was a desk with a single chair and the right corner closest to the door was a coat rack. It seemed this room was quite simple in its interior, however at the same time, had pretty much everything you could need for a good night''s rest. Walking over to the desk, there was a small lantern on it with a candle inside it, and some matches next to it.


    Picking up the matches, I was a bit surprised that this world had something like this in it, however I did not complain about it. Taking one match out, I lit it, before lighting the candle and blowing out the match. Despite the lantern''s rather small size, it actually managed to give off a decent amount of light.


    I exhaled, before stretching out and walking over to the bed and sitting down into it. The bed was soft, but not too soft ¨C having this stiffness to it. The blanket and sheets on it weren¡¯t anything extraordinary, however felt good quality and the pillow was also passable for a good rest. Laying down in the bed, I stared up at the ceiling.


    It felt strange suddenly laying in a bed again, after a month or so of just sleeping outside in the grass and below trees in the forest. At the same time, it felt good again. No longer would I have to endure some unpleasantly cold temperatures or the constant risk of being ambushed during my sleep. I exhaled lightly, picking up my right arm and raising it above my head, simply staring at my hand.


    It was strange moving around with a human body again.


    I was so used to being forced to move and live like a snake, that moving like this¡­ it felt kind of clunky. Like I wasn¡¯t able to properly control my own body. I sighed lightly, placing my hand onto my chest and looking back up at the ceiling again.


    ¡°Despite over a month having passed since I reincarnated in this world, I still haven¡¯t managed to get used to this world or my situation completely. Every night I go to sleep with a slight tingle of fear in my heart and every morning I wake up, hoping that all of this was some dream. I wasn¡¯t meant for something like this ¨C I had a good life, stable income and while I was a bit of a workaholic who shut others out, I¡¯d like to believe that I was surrounded by good people who genuinely were interested in being my friends¡­ And yet, here I am.¡±


    I sighed, before closing my eyes.


    There was too much on my mind right now ¨C I needed to clear my head and get some proper rest. Tomorrow, I need to do some more commissions and start learning the way this world economy works.


    Perhaps I should also form a party with some other Adventurers¡­


    I thought about it, before chuckling and shaking my head. Better not ¨C with who I am now, if for any reason my ¡®Mimic¡¯ of a human suddenly broke apart or I used an ability which wasn¡¯t normal, I was at the risk of being busted and hunted down before being killed.


    Better go at it solo for now.


    After a bit, I rolled onto my side, slowly drifting off to sleep as the moon lightly shined into the room. Arvalor lightly rose from the shadows, watching Faofa sleep, before exhaling and pulling the blanket over him. Afterwards, the Shadow Beast looked towards the candle that was still lit, moving over to it and blowing it out before looking back at Faofa and laying down, resting on the floor like a dog, with all three of his heads closing their eyes.