Two weeks passed by at a relatively decent pace. While I was very much focused on leveling up and eating as much as I could, I was also trying to enjoy the little things in this new life.

Sure, I didn't have a lot of 'fun' things to do, but nonetheless, the few that I did have were enough for me. Sunbathing, eating, and exploring were more or less the only forms of entertainment available to me.

I will admit that it was a little boring. After digesting the turtle and lobster, I'd shot up to around 11 meters long, and by the end of the second week, I was at 12 meters, which was apparently my maximum.

I wasn't quite strong enough to match the real powers in the Killzone in a one versus one, but I was still strong enough to be able to ignore most dangers of the Killzone. Not that I wasn't careful every time I ventured into the area.

Still, I made slow progress. I didn't get more chances at snatching up more of such large prizes like the lobster and turtle, which was unfortunate.

By the end of the first week, I'd reached level 19. However, no matter how much I hunted, level 20 never seemed to come around, and it was starting to annoy me quite a bit.

I wanted to evolve, god damn it. I was confident that once I'd evolve, even the most dangerous areas of the Killzone would be nothing but a joke to me.

And so, as each day passed by with painfully little progress, I was starting to get really, really irritated. Well, that's a lie. I couldn't really get irritated since my emotions were more or less nonexistent, but I could still tell that I wasn't making that much progress.

Most of my skills were capped out, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get more skills. My size was also maxed out, so I wouldn't grow no matter how much I ate.

Eventually, I decided that I would need to risk it or biscuit. Hence, that is the reason why I am currently making yet another very stupid hunting decision.

I was going to hunt down a full-health, four-clawed titan lobster. I'd found this one a while ago, and I'd left it alone then. Now, however, I was desperate enough to risk it.

The reason for my choice was that I had a theory. I'd gotten more than enough overall exp the past week, and I should have already gone up to 20. However, I haven't. Hence, my theory is that certain requirements need to be met for reaching the maximum level, like, say, for example, fighting a far stronger opponent.

Still, this was a very bad matchup for me. If the lobster got me between its claws, I could very well be cut in half, and that would be... not very ideal.

Furthermore, it's exoskeleton made it almost impossible for me to get a good grab with my fangs on it. My only reliable weapon would be my constriction, but that would leave me vulnerable to its claws.

It was an agonizing decision, but I eventually got my act together. I hovered up near the surface of the water, looking at my stationary prey. The damned lobster was busy enjoying a meal of its own, but even as it ate, three of its claws always looked ready to defend it.

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Well, here goes nothing...

I charged downwards, swimming as fast and silently as I could. Nonetheless, the lobster seemed to sense me coming judging by how it stopped eating when its antennae twitched.

Still, it was far too slow to turn and I was able to land a devastating headbutt into it's back. I'm lucky my headbutt skill seems to protect me from recoil damage, because god damn that exoskeleton is hard.

Not hard enough, though. The shell cracked quite violently, but other than that, it was unharmed. However, I didn't relent my advantage as I constantly hovered above it, always staying behind it enough so that its claws couldn't reach me.

I bit into it once, twice, thrice... It was a deadly dance between us, where one mistake on my part could mean decapitation. I was very lucky that the thing was slow and clumsy, and didn't seem as though it could swim.

Still... it actually went better than I thought. It still took hours to weaken the lobster enough between my venom and bites for it to slow down enough that I was confident enough to wrap myself around it's back and crush it.

I overextended a bit though there, and one of the claws came only a couple centimeters from snapping around my neck. Still, it missed, and I took the opportunity to crush everything I could.

It took three hours to kill, which was a bit insane considering I could easily kill most creatures in less than a minute. Still, it actually went a lot better than how I originally thought it would go. Yeah, I was at constant risk of instant-death through decapitation, but hey, the thing was slower than New York's traffic during rush hour.

And finally, the long-awaited pop-up came.

[Nameless] Has reached Lv. 20. 10 Status Points granted. 2 Veteran points granted.

You have reached the level cap for your race. Evolve before continuing your rise.

If I could feel happiness, I'd probably bursting with it by now. Still, now was not the time to celebrate. I swiftly devoured the lobster, which was a lot easier than last time since I was quite a bit bigger, and then fled back into my lovely and safe reef.

Once there, I quickly invested my status points into constitution, but had to then pause to consider where exactly I wanted my veteran points to go into.

The first obvious choice was the Bite skill, which was more or less a staple of my hunting strategy. Hence, a point was invested there.

Crunch - Gives user the ability to deal x5 damage than a regular bite with each attack.

Devour - (combine with inhale) Allows for user to suck away the flesh and blood of the bitten. Rate depends on toughness of enemy and level of skill.

I was a bit surprised at the devour skill, but still, crunch did sound pretty good. However, I already had extreme constriction for massive damage, and a skill that seemed to almost bypass armor would be good.

Hence, I selected devour. It was annoying that I would lose one of my skills, but eh. I didn't really use it all that much other than quickly picking up snacks.

My second veteran point was promptly dumped into my swim skill since I was quite eager to receive some kind of movement skill.

Due to being having a serpentine body, most options have been locked.

Serpent's Dance - allows for user to have greater awareness of his/her body and how to best utilize it to efficiently travel in water. Will also help user during battle.

Alright, I'll admit. I was disappointed there was only one option, but I still took it. It did sound good, I guess.

And as the information of the new skill rushed into my mind, that feeling only amplified. Before, I'd still moved and fought like I was on land and humanoid, but with this skill, that inhibition would hopefully disappear.

Now, it was time for my much-awaited evolution.

I settled into a large but safe area on one of my thrones. Then, I went to the evolution menu.

Are you sure you wish to evolve into [Colossal Serpent]? You will not be able to revert back. Y / N

I clicked yes, and the world shut down.