The Sweet Taste of Leveling Up

Aaah, so sweet. This is the taste of leveling up. I, at level 3, shot up seven levels in one go.

This was even better than last time when I gained two levels at once. Leveling up brings this strange pleasure. If I had to describe it, it's like sinking into a steaming hot bath. But seven levels all at once? It's more like being left naked in the dead of winter, on the brink of freezing to death, then stumbling into a hot spring, dunking your body in until it warms up, and chugging an ice-cold beer right at that moment.

Now I'm craving a cold beer. I wonder if the day will ever come when I can drink one. Not that it made me depressed or anything. I'm grateful for what I have. I wasn't like this before, but now I am.

I was lucky to survive. Getting a second life is something to be thankful for. Truth be told, the impact of the fall was bigger than I'd expected. A few bones must've cracked for sure. The good news is I can feel my body healing at a noticeable speed. Thanks to leveling up, maybe? Come to think of it, after those two levels last time, my body felt a bit bigger. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Same now.

The inside of this cougar's lungs is spacious enough for me to practice slithering around quickly. A slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.

Huh. Yeah, my growth definitely stalled. The leveling was too fast for my body to keep up. Does that mean my body grows along with the levels? Please let it be so. Right now, I'm just a bit too small. At this size, surviving in the wild won't be easy.

I wriggled my body experimentally. Moves fine. I've got hundreds of ribs, and at least dozens were broken, but the pain's gone. Even my mangled jaw's back in place. Truth is, getting sucked into its windpipe wasn't part of my plan. My jaw just happened to give out from overuse right then.

Setting my luck to average was a smart move too. So maybe I didn't screw up the stat allocation after all... Nah, if I hadn't been born a snake, I wouldn't have been in that danger to begin with.

Grrroooowl. My belly's rumbling. I swallowed that bat whole and felt full, but now I'm starving. Probably moved around too much. If only I'd exercised this hard in my past life. Whatever, no problem. I'm inside the cougar now. Ceiling, walls, floor—everything's edible.

I gulped like I'd stumbled into Hansel and Gretel's gingerbread house. Bon appétit!Chomp! Tastes great. A bit chewy, but flavorful. Maybe because it was clinging desperately to that branch by its neck.

Biting proficiency has risen sharply. Even for an unordinary snake like me, snakes normally swallow live prey whole and digest it. But my teeth are sharper, more like a dinosaur's fangs than a regular snake's. With skill assistance, tearing into meat's doable.

Skills are amazing, huh. If I could learn Flight, I'd soar through the sky. Not that I can picture it. Even straining with all my might, I doubt I'd get a flight skill.

Musing like that, I kept stuffing my belly. This cougar must've been tough—its meat's so chewy. But I didn't stop, chewing and swallowing relentlessly. Tedious and time-consuming, but never boring. Delicious, even.

When I was a kid, I was such a picky eater I got spanked daily. What would my parents think seeing me now? Our son's doing great! They'd be proud, right? Better than holing up in my room as a NEET, at least.

Yeah, it really does taste good—not my imagination. The meat chunks Medusa Mom regurgitated were decent too, so maybe my tastes changed after becoming a snake. Being a good eater's a talent. At this rate, I could do mukbangs.

I devoured the meat in a trance. Last time, one bat filled me up, but now I've eaten over three times that and there's still room. Then—crack! Ow! Bit into something hard. Three teeth snapped off at once. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Is this okay? I'm not even two weeks old, so these are baby teeth, right? Hope they're not permanent. No implants in this world, probably.

...What is this? Not a bone. I'd burrowed all the way to the cougar's heart area. There was a glowing stone there. Kidney stone? Nah, I'm in the heart, so not urinary. Biting a calculus stone? Even I'd lose my appetite.

An acorn-sized stone radiating light and a warm glow. If not some radioactive freak, it's gotta be fantasy stuff. Being in a monster, probably a magic stone. And a new hunger hit—different from meat. Eating this'll make me stronger. Gut feeling.

Here's hoping it's not a kidney stone. Gulp. Swallowed it whole instead of biting.

Grade 3 magic stone. Is that good? For meat or college entrance exams, grade 1's best, but psionic energy goes up to grade 12. No clue how impressive a cougar is here. Time to check my status window.

Ooh, the status window's filled out nicely. New Predation skill too. Hit lv10 at last, but there's a (-) next to it. Probably the delayed evolution thing. Positively, it's like a "pure" rank or something.

Anyway, it shows my struggles clearly. Breath Holding, Pain Resistance, and Bite leveled up big time. Tells you how painful the journey was. Love Survival Instinct lv3. I know zilch about this world. It'll help navigate with instincts, maybe? Not sure if I should follow it blindly—most animals fear heights, but sometimes you gotta climb trees to survive.

【Status】 is new. Does it update live? I'm growing, sleepy, and Mana Saturation? Magic stone, probably. Either way, the gnawing hunger vanished mystically right after eating it.

Ah, getting drowsy. My adaptability's top-notch—this cougar's innards aren't half bad. Sticky blood and fluids, funky smell, but pros: food everywhere, no threats while inside. Nap time. Like before, I'll wake refreshed.

Drift off into slumber... Nah, can't. Uneasy. Opened my eyes. Is this smart? This warm darkness feels instinctively safe, but maybe illusion. What's outside? If the drop site was dangerous? Dead animals ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attract scavengers. Bugs are fine, but another cougar-level monster? Disaster.

If something swallows the cougar whole, I'd be the hazelnut in Ferrero Rocher—or the pickled radish in kimbap. Just tasty filling. Maybe Survival Instinct lv3 at work. Better bail.

Wriggled around, found the exit. Stuck out my tongue, slipped out the dead cougar's mouth.

Whoa, what a mess. The cliff it fell from was huge. Looking around, it's a sunken basin. Cougar's exposed on flat ground. Hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to tell if safe. That big meat lump's too good to leave, so scout first.

Sssslither into nearby bushes.

Thump. Huh. Vibration from my belly against the ground. Snakes sense the world beyond sight—vibrations especially, way better than humans.

Thud-thud. Thump. Something moving underground, clear as day. Hurried onto a solid rock. Vibrations intensified. It's approaching.

Froze silent. Ah, passed right under me. Heading straight for the cougar corpse. Ground bulged. Four armored legs popped up, then—crunch. Hugged the corpse and sank back underground.

Rumble rumble rumble— Gone with its prize.

...Thanks, Survival Instinct. Didn't even see it, but bigger and badder than the cougar. Horrifying neighborhood with burrowers like that. Stayed put on the rock forever, only moved once sure it was gone.

Need a bed. Bare ground's off-limits now. Just before sunset, found a rock crevice to hide in. Covered myself in dirt for camo. It won't swallow the whole rock, right? Might have nightmares. Tense, I closed my eyes.

No nightmares. My mental fortitude's unbreakable. Good dream instead—status message popped up as I dozed off.

Hell yeah!