A dark shadow loomed over me as i looked towards the big dark snake...
Before I could even react, my True Appraisal skill activated.
[True Appraisal: The Snake of Hell: S-A+ rank]
I gulped.
“…This one’s bad news,” I muttered.
In an instant, the enormous snake lunged at me with terrifying speed. I barely managed to dodge, my body sliding across the dirt.
"Death Vines!" I shouted.
Multiple vines shot out from my body, rushing toward the snake.
But—
The snake opened its mouth and spewed out a purple liquid.
The moment it touched my vines—
Ssshhhhhh!
They melted into nothing.
“What the hell?!” I gasped.
[It used max-level Acid.] Aries informed me.
As if things weren’t bad enough, the snake opened its mouth again, but this time—
A ball of energy began forming inside.
A second later—
KABOOOM!
A massive wave of fire surged toward me.
“Shadow Barrier!!”
A dark barrier surrounded me just in time, but the moment the flames touched it—
[Fire has an advantage against Shadow.]
"Wha—?!" I barely had time to react before cracks spread across my barrier.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
A second later, it shattered.
I tried to dodge, but the flames hit my flowers and stem.
“It burnssssss!!!” I screamed.
[Stop acting, You can't feel pain.] Aries said
“…Oh yeah, right.”
[Auto-Healing activated.]
A green glow surrounded me, and my burned parts were instantly restored.
(This thing has fire magic… and I don’t have anything to counter it… No, wait—)
"Skill Combiner!" I shouted.
[Skill Combiner activated.]
"Combine Death Vines and Shadow Magic!"
[Combining Death Vines with Shadow Magic…]
[Combination successful.]
[New Skill Acquired: Dark Death Vines]
From my body, long, dark, spiky vines emerged.
The snake launched another fire attack, but—
The vines slithered into the ground, merging with the shadows.
The fire attack missed.
"Now eat this!" I roared.
The vines suddenly shot up from beneath the snake, impaling its chest and head
It writhed, thrashing violently, trying to escape.
But my vines held tight, draining its life energy.
After a few moments—
It stopped moving.
Dead.
I immediately used Vitality Absorption, turning the massive corpse into dust.
Then Aries spoke.
[New skills acquired:]
Toxic Acid
Fire Magic
Fire Immunity
Poison Enhancement
I collapsed onto the ground, panting.
"Phew… I did it!" I cheered.
[Auto Skill Combiner activated.]
[Combining Fire Magic and Shadow Magic…]
[New Skill Acquired: Dark Flame]
[New Title Acquired: Queen of Hell]
"…Eh? Queen of Hell?" I blinked.
Then I grinned.
"Sounds kinda badass. Like a final boss from a video game!"
Still, I knew I couldn’t stay here for long.
I resumed walking through the forest. Soon, I stumbled upon a strange tree with yellow, oddly shaped fruits.
"Huh? What’s this?"
[True Appraisal: Loros Fruit. Component: Can be used to create medicine for poison.]
“Ohhh! That sounds useful!"
[Notice: You can use Vitality Absorption on fruits as well.]
"Wait—seriously?! Let me try!"
I focused on the fruit.
"Vitality Absorption!"
A green light shot out from me, touching the fruit.
A moment later—
It turned to dust.
[New skills acquired:]
Poison Immunity
Poison Enhancement
"Woooah, I can get skills from fruits too?!" I gasped.
[Positive.] Aries replied
"Alright then… I’ll devour every single fruit I find!"
And so—
I scoured the area, absorbing every fruit, plant, and weak (S-rank) monster I came across.
By the end of it—
[New skills acquired:]
Sleep Smoke
Potion Creation
Sleep Magic Immunity
Regeneration
Wind Magic
Wind Resistance
Flight
Earth Magic
Enhanced Earth Magic Resistance
Explosion Creation
Explosion Immunity
[Auto Skill Combiner activated.]
[Combining Wind Magic with Shadow Magic…]
[New Skill Acquired: Dark Gust]
[Combining Earth Magic with Fire Magic…]
[New Skill Acquired: Magma]
[Combining Magma with Death Vines…]
[New Skill Acquired: Hell Vines]
I clenched my steam.
"Whoaaaaa, I got so many new skills!" I laughed. "Alright, do I have enough for my next evolution?"
[Negative. You are still far from evolution.]
"Ehhhh?! Even after all that?!"
[Yes. Veromu Flower evolution is extremely difficult compared to other plants.]
"Ughhh… So, how far am I from evolving?" I groaned.
[You are 78.34% away from your next evolution.]
"WHAAAAT?! THAT’S TOO MUCH!"
[Indeed. However, if you kill an SSA-rank monster and absorb its life energy, you can evolve instantly.]
“…SSA? Why do I feel like that’s something super dangerous?"
[Correct. SSA-rank monsters are among the deadliest beings on this island.]
I gulped.
“…Uhh, well… I don’t know about this…”
[Are you scared?]
"…Shut the hell up. I’m not scared of anything!" I snapped.
"Let's go and kill this SSA rank thing"
[Head straight west. There are fewer monsters there because something powerful eliminates anything that enters its territory.]
I listened to her and said
"It… sounds kinda creepy," I muttered.
But then—
I have decided that-
I took a deep breath.
I won’t live like I did in my past life.
I won’t be scared.
I won’t run away.
I swear on my name—
"Sumi Hana"
In this life—
I will live as I will
With a determined look—
I stepped forward, heading west