I fought ferociously to keep my consciousness. I knew that falling asleep would mean the end of me, and after all of this, I refused to die. Not after such a victory. Not when I was so close.
Having gotten the bonus points, I ignored the crippling pain of having chunks of my body missing and instead focused on pulling up my status screen.
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[Nameless] Adult Snakeling]
Age - 0 years
Level - 13
Constitution - 13
Strength - 12
Dexterity - 7
Intelligence - 5 (?)
Wisdom - 1
[Special] Poison - 8
Remaining Points - 30
Remaining Veteran Points - 0
Skills - (Bite Lv. 20), (Swim Lv. 12), (Extreme Constriction Lv. 4), (Headbutt lv. 9), (Inhale Lv. 7), (Venom Injection Lv. 20), (Poison Resistance Lv. 10)
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Immediately upon doing so, I focused every last shred of my fading mental faculties that were quickly succumbing to the moray's poison on distributing my points.
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[Nameless] Adult Snakeling]
Age - 0 years
Level - 13
Constitution - 30
Strength - 15
Dexterity - 10
Intelligence - 10 (?)
Wisdom - 1
[Special] Poison - 10
Remaining Points - 0
Remaining Veteran Points - 0
Skills - (Bite Lv. 20), (Swim Lv. 12), (Extreme Constriction Lv. 4), (Headbutt lv. 9), (Inhale Lv. 7), (Venom Injection Lv. 20), (Poison Resistance Lv. 10)
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Almost immediately upon going well over double my previous constitution, I felt the usual tingles of my stats being upgraded running through my body, providing a relief to mind-numbing pain that I otherwise felt.
When the tingles ended, I could feel a vast difference in my previous power compared to my current one. My constitution was directly linked to my regeneration, and with it having doubled, so did my regeneration. Hence, I was now recovering faster than I was dying.
Having escaped from the claws of death, I still refused to give in to my body's demand to sleep. Instead, I forced every last ounce of energy in my body on swallowing the moray, which took well over 15 minutes to do, and although I could barely tell the taste through the fog had by now clouded my mind, I could still tell it was the single most delicious thing I ever ate.
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When I finally finished swallowing the Murray, I couldn't hold on anymore. I fell to the jaws of sleep.
This sleep was strange. I had strange, nonsensical dreams through it all, but I couldn't decipher them, and after each one, I would forget the previous one. The only indicator I even dreamed at all was the nagging feeling in my mind telling me that something happened.
Nonetheless, when I eventually woke up, I felt as though I had been transformed yet again.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I'd yet again shot up in size, now being around 8 meters long and much wider than before. Furthermore, having basically doubled my total amount of status points, I was a lot, and by a lot, I mean a lot stronger, tougher, and faster than before.
So, as I slithered out of the area where I and the previous king had battled... It felt almost surreal.
Every marine lifeform that belonged to the reef fled at the mere feel of me coming, and those that didn't give me an extremely wide berth. To be honest, I was still half-convinced I'd died and I was now just a delusional soul, but my monster mind forbid me from going forward with those thoughts, instead of dragging me into the reality of the situation.
I'd given up the chance to settle down and live a relatively safe life. Instead, I'd chosen to further strengthen myself for the trials ahead.
I didn't know if I made the right choice. And yet... I didn't care. I did what I had to in order to survive, and I would now stick with it.
I looked at the reef that could have truly become my kingdom. I had little attachment to the place, and now that I'd reached a level of strength not too far away from those monsters of the open ocean... I felt even less attached.
In fact, while my instincts were silent, they were quite clear on the fact that I needed to leave. It didn't demand me to do so immediately, but I knew that I would not be able to disobey these instincts.
Not that I wanted to. I'd fought, schemed, and murdered my way up to my current strength, but I hadn't even been on this world for a year.
I couldn't even imagine what I might achieve in a year, or ten, or a hundred, or a thousand. After all, if this world is like those fictions in my homeworld, it wouldn't be impossible for me to become ageless. To live forever, unbound by the shackles of time.
It was a distant dream, but as I returned to my first little throne, one that now looked so pathetically small and insignificant, I wondered about it. Not even a week ago, I felt as though claiming this throne had been the greatest thing I'd ever done. And yet, I'd now trumped that achievement by far, and I knew that I would claim even greater triumphs if my luck held up.
It was a strange thought. I slithered away from that throne, instead choosing to wander the reefs aimlessly for a little bit.
When I was born, I felt as though everything could and would kill me. Now, I was confident in my strength. I'd lived through a true life or death battle, and I'd won, and gained immeasurable gains from it.
And yet, this was but the beginning. I flicked my tongue out, trying to lick my lips in anticipation.
I headed away from the reef, heading out to the Killzone. The time for soulsearching was over. I still had more fishies to slaughter.