Second Evolution
Ugh! It wasn't some childish whimper. It was the satisfying crunch of my fangs sinking into the chimera's torso.
My poison glands clenched tight, squeezing out every last drop of neurotoxin. They were bone-dry now.
"Quek!"
The chimera spewed blood everywhere. And yet, it still thrashed around with alarming speed. Tough bastard. No surprise there—it was bigger than an elephant. Weigh it, and it'd easily tip the scales at a couple tons.
Plus, I'd realized something recently. If a rabbit with Poison Resistance lv3 faced off against my Medusa mom with Poison Resistance lv2, who wins? Gut instinct says mom, hands down. She'd shrug off most deadly venoms.
Skills matter, sure, but they're not everything. Physical size plays a role. A zealot's Slash lv1 beats a mantis's Slash lv10 any day. And then there's constitution—or monster class, if you will. Even as a puny venomous snake, I've been poison-resistant since birth.
Point is, you can't underestimate this chimera. Dragon bloodline, right? Pellelian wouldn't have mixed in dragon blood just to show off. It had to have some effect.
Wham! Wham! One of its intact legs stomped down like it was performing a deadly dance. A human body would've been minced like butcher shop scraps. But I'm small. Still just forearm-thick. No way that massive leg could tag me.
Oof! My tail got clipped. Blood welled up. I focused harder, using Acceleration to dodge into its underbelly.
And...
Thud!
Predictable. With three legs already severed, it tripped over itself. Perfect—now to pour on the fire.
Whoa! It didn't go as planned. This thing had evolved Frenzy lv20 into Berserker lv1. Berserkers don't stop fighting even with arrows in them or guts spilling out.
Instead of collapsing, it went nuts. It propped itself up on its two sturdy front legs like they were stilts.
In other words...
'It's... standing?! This freak is standing!'
The absurdity hit me mid-fight—I actually yelped in awe. Not super threatening, though. Upright, all it could do was flail its remaining legs like a flying squirrel begging for a hug.
"Guweeeek!"
It vomited up a bloody mess. Whoa, sketchy— I dodged. Sure enough, it hurled its body at me right after, jaws gaping wide to swallow me whole.
Beginner Elemental Magic: Earth lv4
I cast the same spell I'd used on the golem—turning the ground beneath it slippery. In that stance, it was bound to slip.
It face-planted into its own vomit instead of me. Splat! Gross.
"Kweek! Kweek!"
Couldn't even walk properly now. It crawled toward me. Talk about grit. Fine—time to end this.
No more poison bites; it'd just escape if I gave it space. Had to finish it here. I'd ended up near the Elven Broadsword I'd flung earlier.
This light blade was easier to wield in my jaws than my tail anyway. I'd used my tail to inject venom up till now, but no need anymore.
Chomp. I grabbed it. Ahh, that cool, hefty feel. Time to play swordsman again.
I unleashed Hyunmun Jeongjong's Dao Swordsmanship—which meant running full tilt with the sword in my mouth. Not nonsense; I'd seen swordsmen do it in comics.
Hah! Poured all my mana into Slash.
It swung a leg to crush me. Swoosh! It grazed me, but I slipped between its legs, twisting to carve its torso.
Snake style: Chimera slicer.
Slash lv1
Shlick— Deep cut. Guts spilled from the gash.
This was the moment. I leaped straight into the bloody wound, burrowing inside.
Familiar territory—I'd done it to the jaguar mix. Even as a tiny thread snake, it'd worked wonders. Let's see you handle this, chimera.
I thrashed like a fish in water, shredding everything. My size and bite force were leagues beyond before.
It screamed and convulsed. Not safe for me either—breathing inside was hell. Good thing I had Breath-Holding. Kill it before I suffocated, or find the lungs first.
I rampaged through its innards. Blech. Liver? My stomach was tougher now.
Then—whoosh—I felt us sinking. Not jumping off a cliff like the jaguar; instinct driving it underground.
Time to wrap this up. And there it was: the pulsing heart.
Crunch.
No berserker fights with a burst heart. Even monsters have limits.
It stilled. Thud.
A flood of 'experience' poured in—or demonic essence, really.
Massive demonic essence absorbed.
Level at maximum.
Excess demonic essence stored.
Shame—I'd have power-leveled like with the jaguar. Chimera was way stronger. Stored essence could evolve skills, but still a waste.
Stored demonic essence nears threshold.
Threshold? I checked my status again.
Three pluses now by the level. Hmm. Magic stone first.
Like always, the chimera's heart held one. Level 20. Jaguar mix was over 30, but this felt stronger. The stone was huge and gorgeous.
【Papnapcha's Magic Stone: Grade 4】
Bon appétit. Wait—whoa! This tasted different. Cockatrice was warm and crisp. This? Way sweeter. Dragon blood maybe? Like caramelized sugar. Delicious.
Demonic essence infuses body.
Class slightly elevated.
Stored demonic essence nears threshold.
Threshold again. What happens at threshold? No way to check. I couldn't delay evolution anymore.
Couldn't hold back! I burst from the corpse and scanned the dark tunnel. Stinky, with Papnapcha's body nearby, but safest spot around. Perfect for evolving.
Alright, let's do it. Evolution needs sleep. I coiled beside the corpse.
Past life, falling asleep took forever—phone habit, maybe. Eyes shut, thoughts raced: anxiety, FOMO. Insomnia sucked. Now? Instant. Mental strength fix? Snake life wasn't half bad.
Sleep hit fast. I'd wake evolved. Farewell, world...
Wait. Eyes snapped open. Papnapcha's status.
【Two Hearts lv1】
Two Hearts lv1. What, was it a sitcom character? Stamina skill? Or...
Mana Sense. Vision shifted—blood glowed with mana, brightest at the magic stone spot.
I burrowed in. There it was: a second heart. Literal Two Hearts.
Shouldn't it survive one burst? Nah, comics aside, probably not.
【Papnapcha's Magic Stone: Grade 4】
Two stones. Crunch. Sweet again—sweeter voice followed.
Stored demonic essence reaches threshold.
Infused essence accelerates evolution.
Evolve now.
Evolving, yeah. Something changed? Drank tons of its blood too. Wonder if evolution tree updated.
Sleep—heart pounding, hard to...
Level 10 reached. Eligible for evolution.
Proceed with evolution?
Haha, out like a light the second my head hit the ground. Status popped up—with new text.
Demonic essence accumulation accelerates evolution.
Accelerated, huh. Options:
1. 【Green Horn Snake】(+)
2. 【Poison White Horn Snake】(+)
3. 【Marsh White Horn Snake】(+)
4. 【Trap Horn Snake】(+)
5. 【Double Horn Snake】(+)
6. 【White Horn Python】(+)
Every option had a '+'. That's the acceleration. And a new #6. Chills.
First non-snake: Python. Korean for ball python-ish. Like the boa from The Little Prince. Known for patterns and size—can eat people, rivals anaconda sometimes.
Like mom's Serpent, clear upgrade. Dragon blood for the win!
【White Horn Python】
Rare white python. Mana-granted beautiful patterns. White body hinders survival, but patterns hold unique mana.
Even the description's gorgeous. Green who? White era incoming.
Pretended to mull it over. No brainer.
White Horn Python selected.
Beginning evolution.
Special evolution! And 'acceleration' revealed:
Stored essence accelerates evolution.
Process hastened based on achieved conditions.
Finally, my efforts pay off? Yes!
Horns utilized most.
Right, horns.
Ooh. Head itched—a second horn sprouted. Body grew, sleek white scales blooming with apricot patterns.
Thus, I evolved.