Bloodwalk Forest, Black Night Spider Queen's Nest.

Sol was currently sitting in front of the jar for quite some time now and had noticed a few things. There was a runic ring on the skeleton's finger, a mask was on the skeleton's lap and that the fumes no longer disturbed him and wasn't in danger by it.

Still he waited for a while to make sure his body had adjusted itself correctly, and that there would be no side effects. Sol stepped forward, a piece of leather skin wrapped around his hand and took the runic ring from the mans fingers making sure not to touch his fingers and then he took the mask from the man's lap.

He still did not approach the jar, as he knew it was incredibly abnormal. After washing the ring of with water, and setting it ablaze with fire for a while; he was certain it was clean and wore it on his finger.

Inside he found a piece of leather parchment, a few unique poisons, a decent fortune of gold numbering at least a million and surprisingly a few empty bottles of different sizes that seemed to be made for keeping insects as they were labeled with such names. Inside a few of the bottles were dead insects that were further testament to this.

Sol pulled out the parchment and surprisingly he could not read it at all. It seemed to made from a particular type of language from Magnolia, but slowly it started changing. Little by little the words started making sense and this astonished Sol.

What Sol didn't realize was this was a side-effect from Black Technology. When his parents had uploaded every type of language known to Earth to Sol, and unknowingly he gained a high perception of understanding languages. He started recognizing the patterns, seeing the differences and understanding the similarities.

Sol was elated after about 2 hours he was roughly able to understand what sort of technique this senior of his was practicing. It seemed to be a rough translation into "Heretic Beast Poison" and it required one to perform a type of ceremony that required the Dark Affinity. Sol was a bit disappointed after reading this.

Continuing to read further he understood one could use it even without the Dark Affinity but they would be restricted to only the lower levels of Poison. This made him feel a bit better, as he threw a glance at the jar he understood that it was probably something the man-made at the peak of his life and ability.

He found a few of the man's personal identification and he seemed to be called "Senior Villius" a true master of the medicine and poison arts and he was someone who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.

'Wait...could this old guy be a Primal Human?..No wonder his bones are still preserved in such a manner. No wonder the language is odd, and his aura still so powerful even after being bones for so long. There's also the term "True Master"...most likely the terms used by humans of today such as "Grandmaster" and the like are just shallow terms'

Sol thought to himself as he came to a shocking realization.

This old man wasn't someone ordinary at all and it would seem the thing in the jar was made for a specific purpose; he instantly abandoned all thoughts about opening it.

'Most likely that thing in there is an insect with a one hit wonder venom' Sol shivered as he thought about what he had read.

Sol put the parchment, the sizable bottles and the rest of gold coins into his own runic ring; and after taking the necessary measures he placed the jar in the old man's runic ring separately from everything else. Sol didn't just top there, after giving a bow; he broke off the fingers of the skeleton and stored them in the same ring.

After that, he wore the runic ring on his left hand and let out a tired sigh.

He felt mentally drained after these ordeals, and decided to take a few hours nap to clear his mind. Since this territory was the Black Night Spider Queen's, he was quite sure no other beasts would come wandering around and decided to take a nap for about two hours.

**

Sol awoke with a yawn, and noticed right beside him a little blue-scaled ball coiled up beside him. He jokingly poked it, making it quiver and look at him angrily; it was quite proud for a little bugger. Sol laughed and poked it once more making it playfully clamp down on his hand in anger.

"Alright, show me where you live little one" Sol smiled, got up and motioned it to follow him.

A look of excitement flashed through the little blue-scaled serpent's before it quickly followed Sol outside of the nest.

Sol noticed Hydreas obediently perched around a branch as her eyes scanned the ground constantly taking notice of everything. She seemed to be vigorously searching for something so much she had not noticed Sol's arrival.

He walked over and placed his hands on her body that was as thick as a water tank and rubbed it lovingly. Hydreas, using her compression ability instantly became a flash of light that reduced her size to a palm sized serpent.

Hydreas looked at Sol lovingly as she nestled in his palm, but vigilantly stared at the surroundings in a weird manner. It seemed she noticed something but wasn't quite sure what it was, Sol picked up on these changes and took a quick glance below but saw nothing.

"Hehe, get some rest now. Thanks for looking out" Sol rubbed the little head affectionately, Hydreas' tongue flickered before disappearing into a ball of light and entering his arm.

"Now little one, show me where you live" Sol looked over to the little blue-scaled serpent who perched up on a branch and flickered her tongue in the north direction.

Sol's eyes narrowed as he noticed a mountain toward the direction, his head tilted in a confused manner and look at the little guy.

"There's a lake there..?" Sol asked once more to be sure.

The little guy nodded up and down excitedly, seeing it's reaction Sol's eyes flashed as he stared at the mountain.

"I see...."

Sol's intuition told him, that mountain was not ordinary since it was too quiet. There were no beastly screams, no creatures flying above it and seemed almost desolate despite the lush greenry. After adding all these details together he came to an understanding it was probably a type of beast with wings.

"Is there a Lord of that area?" Sol asked once more.

The little guy suddenly fearfully scrunched his face before slowly nodding.

"Is it a flying type beast?" Sol wanted to know what he would have to face upon arriving there, even a few details would be helpful.

The little blue scaled guy nodded vigorously as it thought of the terrifying being at the top of the mountain.

"Ok, let' go" Sol decided they would set out immediately, chances are he may not encounter such a beast and didn't worry anymore.

Sol slid down the tree with the little guy on his shoulder who fearfully looked around, it knew this forest's danger all too well and couldn't help but glance around. Seeing it's reaction Sol laughed.

Suddenly his laugh froze, as the scent of rotting corpses filled the air. Sol knew exactly what this scent was.

"Hydreas! Take this guy and go up the tree! Do not come down!" Sol ordered as his eyes glanced around alertly. He couldn't let this Saint-Rank out of his eyes since it would instantly become something else's meal.

The previous playful demeanour had all but disappeared as his eyes became unfeeling and his aura abruptly changed.

Both Fanged Blades appeared in his hands, a look of caution in his eyes as he glanced around. Sol's eyes suddenly turned to ground below him as he flew up into the air, a ball of emerald fire charging in his mouth!

*Boom*

"Infernal Acidic Beam!"

The Earth beneath Sol had exploded as a vicious dual-bladed stinger broke outward! It didn't remain there as it was directly hit by Sol's light energy attack!

*Boom*

"Screeech"

An ear piercing howl echoed from inside the earth, before a rainbow-colored silhouette as big as Hydrian appeared from beneath the ground. A sinister looking centipede appeared, it' breathe smelled of death and decaying flesh as it venomously glared at Sol. The aura of a Peak-God discharged in the surroundings, within it's dark black eyes, no one could tell what it was thinking.

"Figured it was you..."

It directly rushed toward the falling Sol who was still in mid-air!

"Decaying Ghost Phantom!"

Sol's body became an emerald fog human silhouette as it shot forward at a dreadful speed, passing straight through the body of the Centipede and appearing behind it. Sol joined both the Dual Fanged Blades together and wielded his Heavy Fang Sword on his shoulder.

"I think it's time we settled this! Here is as perfect a location as any other!" Sol smiled in a similarly dreadful fashion for a bit before his face abruptly changed.

"Predatory State"  immediately kicked in

He immediately adjusted his mind, sinking into a battle-like persona. There was no longer a smiling expression on his face, neither was there any caution. It was as if his face became frozen, his serpent-like features emerged as his eyes showed undisturbed violence. One could even see a malevolent smile in his eyes.

Sol stomped on the ground as his body shot forward both hands tightly clenching his Heavy Fang Sword. The eye on the hilt flashed as a thick poison coated the blade's edge. The earth beneath Sol was shattered by his charge as he swiftly enclosed on the Centipede!

The Rainbow-Colored Centipede charged forward and crushed the earth beneath it as it violently charged forward.

Sol violently swung down his Heavy Fang Sword in a downward manner! The Centipede swung it's tail over it's head as a serpent would, revealing it's fearsome dual-bladed stinger which shined like two small stars!

*Bang*

A loud bang echoed out as Sol took a few steps back, the centipede unwillingly grated against the floor as it's stinger violently vibrated, a look of shock on it's face. It clearly did not remember Sol being this strong, when it took a look at it's stinger suddenly an ugly expression covered it's face.

The stinger had a hole as thick as an bucket bore through it's tail. It knew this was not from the sword but from it's surprise attack, where it was hit by a Light-Poison-Fire Affinity fusion attack. The light beam had caused it considerable damage, on closer inspection it noticed the Poison Sol was producing had gone up a few ranks in toxicity.

It didn't rashly attack a second time, and just perched it's head as it stared at Sol.

Surprisingly, the centipede seemed to have calmed down. In a flash of light it changed into a woman dressed in a rainbow-colored robe. She wore a veil that covered her lower face, her cold dark eyes stared at Sol; a bit of curiosity hidden within her eyes.

Sol knew that beasts at the God-Rank had human forms yet they could not completely take full human forms. There would always be a slight difference, Old Black and Glowy had told him that they themselves had a few scales on their stomachs and that only a more powerful being had a complete human form.

Naturally, Glowy had once offered to show Sol these scales before being pummeled by Old Black.

He figured this centipede's difference would probably be on her face, hence the veil that covered her lower jaw.

Sol noticed she was extremely beautiful, different from Zee whose body was extremely seductive and curvy. This centipede woman had a slender waist, long legs and an attractive body.

However, Sol wasn't attracted to her to say the least. Instead he was quite ready to attack at a moment's notice. Noticing Sol's bloodlust which continued rising, although her lower face was covered; one could the centipede woman was currently frowning.

"Can...we talk for a bit?" The centipede woman asked as she gazed at Sol, her voice ice-cold and no one knew what was thinking as her dark eyes gazed at Sol.

"Talk...? Hahaha" Sol laughed as if he found something funny, one hand covering his mouth as he threw back his head and trembled.

"Sure, we can talk" Sol's eyes flashed as he dropped the Heavy Fang Sword on his shoulder. A playful look in his eyes.

"...You gained something that made your poison even more pure, didn't you?" The centipede woman looked at Sol as she tried to find any shift in his eyes or body language.

However, she could not read him at all and this made her a bit shocked.

"...More or less, why would you want to know something like that at a time like this though?" Sol laughed as if he found it funny, despite the serpent type beasts he had encountered; this was the first one to speak to him in this forest.

"...I'll be straight-forward with you. I'm about to give birth, I need to acquire something to help me break into the Avatar-Rank. If I successfully enter into the Avatar Rank, my children will instead be born closer to the Saint-Rank and my bloodline will be even more pure...Can you tell me what you gained or how you advanced?" The centipede woman asked as she looked at Sol, she knew fighting him would definitely not be beneficial any longer.

If they fought now, she would most likely be killed although she was sure she could leave him with a great deal of damage. The reason she wasn't afraid was because she could escape below the earth if push came to shove, no matter at what angle she thought about; this fight was absolutely not beneficial to her any longer.

Sol however, only laughed and laughed.

"First you hunt me down for a month, now you're asking me for help AFTER attacking me again?" Sol's bloodlust once more rose, the centipede woman noticed although he laughed; his eyes betrayed his bloodlust.

The centipede woman ground her teeth, before she took a breath.

"...Don't misunderstand, I am not afraid of you. I can escape here very easily and continue searching for something else. That is not what I am proposing, I have something to trade I think you might be interested in. Otherwise I would have already submerged in the earth and disappear" The centipede woman spoke with confidence as she glanced at Sol.

Sol had already considered this possibility as she possessed Earth Affinity and was quite adept at moving through the Earth. He sunk into thought for a bit, it would be a lie to say he wasn't curious about what she was going to offer.

He was aware she lived here for quite a long time as the beasts in the area steered clear away from her. It was possible she did indeed have something that could be beneficial to him.

"What do you have that I would possibly want?" Sol asked with a bit of suspicion, in a tone that seemed to say it would have to be something of value.

"..You have an Affinity for Serpents, I can tell. I'm not sure where you acquired such a trait human, but that is not my concern. There's a particular plant called the "Blood Orchid" that is extremely beneficial to Serpent-Type beasts.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The Blood Orchid is actually quite poisonous to any other creature except serpent type beasts; by poisonous I mean their blood would literally explode upon contact. I'm not sure if it will work on you but that is your concern. Well?" The centipede woman asked as she probed Sol's facial expression.

The latter placed a finger on his chin as his eyes moved toward the sky in a seemingly thoughtful manner. His eyes flickered but she could not read his thoughts like other humans, this made her frown yet again. Suddenly his lips curved in a slight smile before he focused on the centipede woman.

"Take me to this Blood Orchid and you will have what you desire...but if you try to trick me, hahaha" Sol stated calmly as he laughed, however he could not control the bloodlust in his heart; he truly wanted to kill this centipede.

He remembered his Earth-Seeping poison he once created; he was sure he could create an advanced version.

The latter seemed to understand his thoughts and frowned. Normally she would never trust a human, but this one was different to any other she had seen. He possessed a natural pride in his bones that couldn't be hidden and decided to trust that, after all it was a deal beneficial to them both.

It wasn't strange for two beings to make an alliance in pursuit of power. Especially if they both benefitted.

"Relax, If I can get what I want without danger then there will not be a need for a fight. Besides, the orchid isn't valuable to me in any way and instead gives me a free bargaining chip to use" The masked woman said in a bit of irritation.

Suddenly, Sol seemed to have thought of something.

"Is there anything about this Orchid I should know...like say, something guarding it?" As he asked this question, his face became serious.

Caught off guard, the masked woman trembled a bit before she caught herself; a reaction Sol did not miss.

"....Well there is a slight problem, I did indeed sense a peak God-Ranked Beast yet i could not tell it's nature" After a delay she answered in a forced manner.

Sol figured there would be some sort of beast guarding this treasure, nothing was free in Magnolia; that much he knew. He also knew, that the centipede woman was lying and did indeed know what was guarding the Orchid.

"Fine...take me there. Hydreas, bring Little Blue" Sol's mind seemed to be drifting onto a few thoughts as he shot a glance at the tree.

Hydreas slithered down tree with little blue in her mouth, who was covered in slobber. Sol laughed at his angered face and picked him up in his arms. Hydreas became a golden tattoo on Sol's arm not before shooting a cold glance at the centipede woman

"Then let us not waste time" The centipede woman begun leading the way.

Sol followed the woman, a little shock surfaced in his eyes as he noticed the direction they were walking towards; right before him was indeed the mountain.

Sol and the masked woman released a dreadful poisonous aura that conflicted with one another as if fighting for supremacy, the other beasts in the area were instantly warded off and dared not approach them. If it was one, maybe they would have taken a chance but two was too much.

Even Little Blue, trembled being in the proximity of them both; luckily Little Bllue had already attained some of Sol's blood and was more than protected. Sol and the masked woman continued in this manner without being interrupted as they nimbly made their way through the forest.

Sol hummed and rubbed Little Blue's head like he would a dog, in a seemingly happy manner much to the masked woman's displeasure.

**

It did not take long for the two to reach at the foot of the mountain, Little Blue wriggled in Sol's arm in excitement upon noticing a lake right before it.

"Huh? Little one you know your way home from here? Will you be safe?" Sol asked Little Blue who nodded it's head excitedly. Sol noticed a few eyes peaking at him from within the lake, they seemed to be and focused at Little Blue more than they did at Sol.

"Are those your guardians?" Sol made sure as he pointed at the lake, seeing it's excited expression he didn't bother asking anymore questions and released the little one in the water who began swimming crazily towards the peaking eyes.

The lake was a bit special, it wasn't made of ordinary water as it seemed to be able to hide the aura of the beasts within it. Sol didn't know how many beasts were inside or how powerful they were; however he could sense a bit of familiarity and as such he wasn't worried.

Little Blue turned around and looked at Sol with a bit of a weird expression, a bit of longing in it's eyes as if it would miss his company before glaring at the tattoo on his arm. Sol had mastered the use of his blood, and he could lessen the sire bond to a degree like what he had done with Little Blue; however it could not absolutely be broken.

"Come, we don't have much time!" The masked woman urged as if she seemingly didn't want to linger around the lake. Surprisingly, traces of fear could be seen in her pretty eyes as she glanced at the lake.

Sol took note of this as he followed her, Little Blue hurriedly swam down to the bottom of the lake; and there was shockingly an enormous hole at the bottom of it which was quite similar to the  waterway in the Bloodmana Wasp Hive.

Shortly afterward, two massive silhouettes followed Little Blue under water that were much bigger than Hydreas and Hydrian combined.

**

The centipede woman had long suppressed her poisonous aura upon entering the mountain-like area, Sol also followed her and did the same as the two begun moving up the mountain.

Sol noticed on the ground there seemed to be strange markings, he threw a glance at the centipede woman and smiled.

"Are you sure you don't know what's guarding that Blood Orchid?" Sol suddenly asked.

"Are you really such a coward? Nothing comes free you know, especially power"

The masked woman shook once more before she angrily retorted. It seemed although one couldn't read her eyes which was probably a species trait; her exaggerated body language tended to sell her out.

Sol found this hilarious as he would ask similar questions just to see it happen, which made her increasingly angry. Suddenly the weather seemed to have changed, the blue skies were speedily covered in dark grey clouds. Sol took a note of the changes and seemed to be thinking, he shot a glance at the masked woman before coughing.

The youth couldn't help himself as he asked a few questions about Bloodwalk forest, forcing her to answer as to not make it seem as though she was hiding anything.

"Ugh! You humans! Do you ever shut up!" The masked woman's anger had soared.

Humans were different to beasts, the latter could go forever without talking as opposed to the former. Sol hadn't spoken to anyone in a while and very much enjoyed talking to his hearts content this time around.

Sol laughed heartily and found this woman wasn't so bad, a bit mean-spirited, bitter and scheming but not that bad at all. The masked woman seemed to realize Sol's provocative intentions and took a deep breath before her anger subsided.

"...It's called a Stormscaled Dragon. It's a Serpent-Dragon Type Hybrid...but it's blood is much purer towards the Dragon species" the masked woman suddenly said as she turned to see Sol's expression, shockingly he wasn't surprised and continued smiling.

"Oh...and why are you telling me that now?" Sol asked as he placed both hands together in a thoughtful manner. A dumb-founded expression on his face; how could he not have sensed the brutal aura emitting from that creature?

"It probably saw us..." The masked woman constantly glanced at the top of the mountain as they climbed higher.

"Not probably...It did sense us" Sol added, he was completely sure.

Suddenly the masked woman quivered at Sol's words.

"This is as far as I go...Over there" The masked woman pointed at a waterfall.

Sol's eyes focused at the top of the waterfall and noticed a rock directly in the middle of the huge waterfall. On that rock, a red flower gleamed and seemed to emitted a bloody aura.

Sol's eyes contracted as he suddenly felt an urge to consume the flower, his lips quivered and his pupils lit up in a bright light as he suddenly felt a powerful hunger.

"..It seems you really are like them.." noted the reaction and was sure he possessed a serpent heritage and that he was able to consume the flower.

"However, a piece of advice if you cannot acquire it, then do not push your luck. That thing will kill you, it isn't like other Serpent Type Beasts. The Blood Orchid isn't that important to it since it's a hybrid but if you offend it; it will chase you till you die" The masked woman added.

Sol finally came to his senses as the masked woman spoke to him and he also noticed the woman was completely normal and unaffected by the flower. However, he wasn't in the mood to talk; the hunger had begun affecting his mind in a rather weird manner. His earlier playful demeanor came to a halt as his mind adjusted to the situation.

Sol's runic ring lit up and 5 of the skeleton finger bones which he "acquired" from the old senior fell out from it and landed on the floor before the masked woman. A deathly poisonous aura leaked to the sky, the woman was first shocked and then a bit scared as she noticed the deadly aura leaking from the fingers.

The masked woman did not approach it carelessly and instead, gazed at it for a while as if judging the toxicity level and her eyes eventually lit up bright as stars. The excitement couldn't be hidden.

Like Sol she took her own necessary precautions before picking them up and taking them away. She threw a mysterious glance at Sol before turning into her original form and burrowing beneath the earth leaving a last message.

"Remember, do not offend it otherwise you'll die a miserable death. If you want my advice, it's best to forget about that thing and come back when you are stronger. Dragons like hoarding wealth even if they can't use it, it's a species thing.

It should be advancing to another rank soon. Once it advances it will definitely leave this territory in search of one with a higher mana density. It may or may not consume the Orchid since it won't have much of an effect. Sometimes it's better to ignore what's in front of your eyes and settle for something less"

Sol heard these words, but it was as if they went in one ear and exited the other.

**

He sneakily moved toward the waterfall, using the forest and trees as cover; his aura suppressed to the maximum . If one looked closely, they would noticed Sol's eyes looked completely unfocused as if he would pass out at any second. They were incredibly dim and reflected the surroundings around him.

This was "Spectral Phantom" a move he had constantly used in Bloodwalk Forest to hide his presence. His breathing was suppressed, his blood-flow slowed and this effect hid his life-force completely. The absorption effect emitted by his body hid any mana fluctuations and his intent was completely hidden.

Sol moved through the forest like a spirit as he did not make a single sound, no leave was turned over, no branch broken, no rocks were moved and wherever he passed seemed completely undisturbed.

He did not like using this move once he was already detected as it was a bit risky, if he was indeed found and surprise attacked by some type of unknown danger; he may suffer serious damage.

Ultimately it was indeed a survival move that should be used before detection but Sol decided to take the risk as it was better than just waltzing in the territory of this Stormscaled Dragon. As he moved swiftly, he had already neared the waterfall and his eyes rested on the Blood Orchid, the "Spectral Phantom" effect was broken as an uncontrollable desire ignited.

"Roaaaaaar! What Serpent dares intrude in my territory! Useless worm!" A menacing voice filled with anger echoed throughout the mountain that shook it's entire foundation.

*Boom*

A powerful explosion echoed out, as Sol could feel something charging towards the waterfall from the top of the mountain.a

Sol was shocked beyond all belief, he had sorely underestimated this thing. This was the first time he knew that his Emperor's mark had no effect on this particular strain of beast which seemed to be more Dragon than Serpent.

Thinking up to here, Sol decided not to draw his weapon and see just how this thing would react to him. He didn't have to wait long before a shadow filled the skies, Sol was shocked because it possessed wings!

It had the body of a serpent, yet it possessed claws and dragon like features. It's eyes were different to a serpent and were more dragon-like as a fearsome cold glint reflected in it's azure colored eyes. The scales seemed to be as blue as the seas and carried a feeling of ancient providence that could not be ignore.

It did not have fangs, and instead had rows of serrated teeth like a shark would. This time, there was no aura of familiarity, there was barely any sense of relation at all. Sol was fearless, but he wasn't a fool; he knew when something was out of his capabilities. His body trembled under the charge as the aura of something that surpassed the God-Rank descended on him.

'It already advanced....' Sol was shocked and this thought made his body tremble. It's aura was unstable, so he was sure it had only just advanced.

However, he suddenly remembered something as his fingers touched the ring on his left hand. His composure didn't just return, he became calm, very very calm. So serene the Stormscaled Dragon couldn't help but feel shocked, instinctively it curled upon the waterfall and surrounded the Blood Orchid with it's body just to see what this human was thinking.

Dragons were highly intelligent, they were different from other species entirely. Some possessed unrivaled intellect and others boundless strength. This type seemed to be the former and this reaction had made it a bit curious; although it was certain it would kill the human after finding out what gave this human it's confidence to stand before it and not quiver like it did just a second ago.

"The price for trespassing is death! You wanted my treasure?!" The Stormscaled Dragon already knew what Sol came here for as it sensed the Serpent Blood in his body.

However, when it laid it's eyes on Sol it was completely shocked.

"Huh? A human?"

The more and more it looked at Sol, the weirder it's expression became.

"What exactly are you..? I can sense the strong Serpent Blood within you human if that wasn't weird enough as it is..... Why is there also Dragon Blood inside you? It's a very tiny amount...but it's definitely there. How absurd..." The Stormscaled Dragon was dumb-founded.

"Are you even a human..?" It once more asked as it seemed to be racking it's brain.

Once more Sol's composure broke out in bewilderment.

"Dragon Blood...? Inside me?" He asked as he subconsciously glanced at his right arm, where Hydrian's tattoo constantly blinked in a dim manner.