Save Me, Holmes! Evolution

My heart pounded at those words. Evolution. Save me, Holmes. Whether I could evolve or not was a huge deal for me. It meant the difference between spending my life as this tiny white snake forever or not.

Of course, I had zero interest in turning into an ugly, giant woman-faced snake like Medusa Mom. If possible, I'd love to evolve into something humanoid. Or at the very least, a big, beautiful snake.

Yeah, so what could I evolve into? There had to be options, right? It had to be that way.

But I couldn't check the choices right away.

What the hell? It didn't show what I could evolve into. Instead, there was some additional explanation.

Ah, so there were conditions. What did I need? Pikachu needed a Thunder Stone to evolve into Raichu. Did I need something like that too?

And yeah, it turned out I did.

Uh. It said I had to consume a Grade 1 Magic Stone to evolve. If what I ate was a Magic Stone, then I could judge from this that higher numbers meant rarer stones. Otherwise, Grade 1 would be the top grade, and there was no way a real snake like me needed something that precious to evolve.

The Mixed Jaguar's Magic Stone was Grade 3. That thing was a monster I could never beat head-on. Kinda wasteful. So the one I ate must've been valuable too. I only needed a Grade 1, but I went and scarfed down a Grade 3.

It reminded me of elementary school, when I dumped the beef from our fridge into some ramen. Mom kicked me in the gut, yelling if I really put precious hanwoo beef in ramen. Exactly like that. Hmm.

But that ramen was delicious, and now I could evolve. Good enough. Time to start the evolution. Once I did it, I'd figure out what I turned into.

But I hesitated again. I remembered the Mixed Jaguar's corpse and its fate. If I'd chosen to sleep inside it, I'd have been dragged underground with it. And met an unavoidable death.

Yeah, better to find a safe hideout first before evolving. And thinking that way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made my body tingle all over. Was this survival instinct kicking in? No, it actually stung. Ah, fuck!

I opened my eyes and cursed immediately. Something was stuck to my body. It was a gray-furred animal the size of an acorn, with a bare red tail. Definitely a rat. This crazy rat pup had no fear of snakes and was rubbing against my flesh?

I was about to check its brazen face when I froze in horror. I thought it was a rat, but what the hell was this thing? Its eyes bulged out like insect eyes. Its snout was a long protrusion. And that snout's tip was stabbed into my body.

Slurp, slurp. Sucking my blood.

I instinctively checked its name.

Gahhhh! How could such a hellish creature exist? It was literally a mosquito-rat hybrid monster. And it had jammed its poison needle into my side. Rage boiled up. Taste my fangs too.

I bit it in an instant. Gulp, gulp—no chewing needed, straight down the hatch. I recovered the blood it stole. Thinking about it, I swallowed it too fast to really let it taste my venom.

Anyway, I could handle pests like this now. Felt damn proud. Even my late Medusa Mom would be proud.

There was another one nearby. It scurried off when I glared. What annoying creatures. Good thing I didn't evolve right away. Time to find a hideout safe from these bloodsuckers.

The Mosquito Rat made a nice snack, but the wound it left itched. It had Poison Needle lv3, but less painful than my brother's bite last time. With poison resistance, no worries. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A bit of blood trickled, but I endured and crawled out from the rock crevice.

Dawn had broken. Now, Project Find a Home began. In this vast basin, there had to be a spot for me.

I slithered along, seeking shelter from the wind and a place to hide.

* * *

Long ago, scholars sang of contentment with one's lot. They said you could be happy sleeping under clouds for blankets and moonlight. I read those sijo poems in textbooks. I could never reach that level.

...Wait, thinking about it, those poets were all high officials. So that "happy in a thatched hut" crap was all bullshit. No wonder I wanted a nice house too.

I hustled hard for my dream home.

Viiiing— Thought I'd found a decent rock crevice, but bees poured out. Should've picked a shittier one. My greed's fault.

I hid in a bush hole to escape the bees—and met eight red eyes inside. Spiders live underground too? Today I learned snakes can backpedal.

I hummed "Für Elise" in my head and slowly retreated. The bee sting swelled and throbbed. Why so many venomous monsters? My poison resistance leveled up. Without it, I'd be a bloated corpse.

...This was a problem. A "safe and nice" hideout was ridiculously hard to find. Good spots were all occupied. Like how hot people always have partners.

Best of the best: caves. But those housed the strongest monsters. The terror when a giant owlbear burst from one...

Most common and easy: rock crevices. But unsafe.

Agh, shit—here too! I opened my mouth and hissed ssssaaak! The peeking Mosquito Rat fled. Those fuckers were my biggest issue.

Rats are gross, mosquitoes the worst bug—and this was their unholy combo. Try sleeping in semi-exposed spots, and they'd suck my blood. Their fuzzy paw pads let them sneak up silently. And that snout venom numbed my skin and stopped clotting.

Once, three bit me in a day—I nearly bled out. My goal: a mosquito-rat-free zone.

Three full days later, I found the perfect spot.

Nice. No, the best I'd seen. Looked like lightning-struck area. A cluster of dead trees, leafless and skeletal, with hollow knots.

Dead trees often have empty insides. Just humid and warm enough, safe from tree-climbers. I.e., mosquito-rat-proof. They couldn't climb bark.

Bye, you fucking mosquito-rats! Phew, calm down. Lessons learned: scout thoroughly first.

I checked the dead trees' surroundings. No bird monster nests? No wasp hives? Claw marks from climbers? Checklist clear. Top-tier spot. Hannam-dong luxury villa level.

Approached the biggest dead tree cautiously. Even prime real estate's worthless with bad roommates. Please be empty or beatable.

A big hole midway up. Peered in. Whoa! Empty.

Spacious and comfy inside. Better than my old studio. Issue: one dead Mosquito Rat instead of tenants.

If it couldn't fly, something dragged it in.

Kiririk, kirik. Weird noise from above.

Ah, house-hunting and the owner's home. Landlord was a massive centipede. My body was chubby sausage-thick; this thing was baby-arm girth.

Reflexively focused my eyes.

Visible! If I could see the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠status window, it meant I could take it. Looks scary, but weaker than expected? "Gentle" trait maybe. Artisan? Skills include scary Rip, though.

Wait... Gentle? First trait like that on a monster.

It approached slowly. Stopped at a distance, twitching antennae. Like scanning me.

Hello. I wagged my tail slowly in greeting.

It matched, twitching antennae.

I stopped. It stopped.

Hmm, not undeservedly gentle. At least not trying to eat me like others.

Friends then? It lost interest as I stayed still and retreated inside.

I debated preemptive strike—bite its side. No poison resistance shown, might work. House too nice. Maybe I had a "Coward" hidden trait.

But I held back. Because of "Newlywed" in status. I got it.

A bigger centipede emerged from higher up.

Nice couple. Right, centipedes pair up male-female.

I backed off the tree. Sudden realization...

...Ah, no wonder. No Mosquito Rats around. Thanks to the centipede couple?

Dilemma: search elsewhere or stay nearby? Tough choice.

Rumble— Ominous thunder urged me. Sky was dark with storm clouds.

Bad. Can't get wet. Cold-blooded; might freeze.

No leaving now. Plenty other dead trees besides theirs. Found a good hole in one.

Tiny knot hole—just my size. Inside space to coil, entrance too small for centipedes.

This works. But moving in next door without greeting? Rude.

Instead of rice cakes, I caught a Mosquito Rat nearby and left it under their tree.

Housewarming gift. Climbed to my new home, peeked down: husband centipede hauling it eagerly.

Warms the heart. Neighborly spirit. Not that I hoped they'd starve—nope.

Rumble-crack! Thunder, lightning, downpour. I closed my eyes and slept. Rain sounds knocked me out fast.

Now... evolution time!

* * *

The moment I'd waited for. Prompt: Evolve? Hell yes.

What options? Hope for choices.

...What the fuck. No choices. And the evolution sucked.

As "Little" White Snake, figured it'd be plain White Snake. Size matters. Weight class is fight basics. I was too damn small. Needed to swallow Mosquito Rats whole at least.

But "Little Green Snake"? That's my siblings' species. So I was the underdeveloped breed?

Lies. All lies! I believed my white was special.

Expectations crushed—then a voice gave hope.

Yes! Special condition! What'd I do?

Something awesome.

Jaguar bro, I see your great favor now. Condition was Magic Stone consumption. Needed Grade 1, but I ate Grade 3!

New options appeared.

Whoa! Horns! Horn Jaguar had horns, so White Horn Snake meant horned snake.

...What do snake horns even do? But Little Green Snake was trash anyway. No hesitation.

Special evolution!