-Kill a monster (1/1) [Completed]

The requirement to unlock the next part of the quest has been fulfilled. Here is your next quest:

-Evolve into a mythical creature (Lvl.35)

Time Limit: 24 Hours.

(After completing the second half of the main quest. You’ll be greatly rewarded. Information is hidden by ■■)>>

Theodore frowned at the boxes at the bottom of the screen, he guessed that it’s the name of the god who’d reincarnated him. He chose not to think about it too much and instead focused on the quest given to him.

He remembered that he still had some skill points to use and decided to invest 20 points into the magic stats and put the rest into speed.

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Species: Green Gaboon Viper (3 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

Lvl: 21

EXP: 420/100,000

Skill Points: 0

HP: 6100/6100

MP: 400/400

Attack: 14

Speed: 21

Defense: 8

Charm: 2

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 31

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.1). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.3). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl. 1). Will to Live (Lvl.1)

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3). Ambitious Snake: Devour (Lvl.1)>>

Theodore nodded with approval at the looks of his stats and began to think of his next plans. “…I’m strong enough to hunt monsters now…I’ll start with that.”

He was worried about the one day time limit, but after some careful calculations, he concluded that getting to level thirty five was just doable if he continuously hunted non-stop. The best course of action is to begin immediately.

With a flick of his tongue, he received the information on his surroundings, he recognized the ‘smell’ of great tits from somewhere to his left. Although a single bird doesn’t give that many experience points compared to before. Instead, he focused on finding more ant colonies to exterminate, since if he’s lucky, he could get up to a hundred thousand exp in one fell swoop.

However, since he was given a speed penalty, he couldn’t hunt with full efficiency, so it took him around thirty minutes of wandering around to finally find another ant colony.

After his Ice Magic had been upgraded, killing a bunch of ants took less than a minute. By that time, he was finished with pest control and a dozen notifications appeared next to his vision.

While the level up prompts were silent, the one that directly appeared in front of him was spoken to him in his own voice:

[The Lesser Hydra has been digested. Showing consumable skills.]

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-Mythic Roar:

The user lets out a nerve-shaking roar. Simply hearing it would render any creature of a lower level to be paralyzed with fear. The effects can be shaken off by higher intelligent beings.

-Corrupted Blood:

Upon making contact with the user’s blood, the victim will experience excruciating pain on that spot. The blood could also give an ‘Anti-Regeneration’ debuff to the enemies.

-Master of Poison:

The user can secrete powerful venom from any body parts. Mainly the teeth, claws and bodily fluid. The user will also gain a high resistance to any and all forms of poison, including the effects of Corrupted Blood.>>

“Oo, it’s done digesting?” He felt that his stomach felt less tight than before but he didn’t expect that such a large creature would corrode away in only half an hour. The System, while he sometimes hated it and the god’s attitude, was undoubtedly extremely useful. He stared at the three options in front of him and couldn’t help but feel pity at the fact that he could only choose one. All of these skills would be very beneficial for his growth.

“Hm, I’ll pass on the ‘Corrupted Blood’ skill…” He didn’t think it would combine well with his plan for investing in pure speed—If he’s fast then he can’t get hit, so there wouldn't be a need to have the skill at all.

“The roar can be useful, but how does a snake roar?” It’d been clear from the start that this system makes very little sense, since he managed to evolve from a regular common snake into a viper—and the option to turn from a viper into an unrelated species like the king cobra was certainly not how it works in the natural world.

But then again, game-like monsters can appear out of gates and humans could now suddenly shoot fireballs out of their palms, so there was no point in complaining about the unrealistic system.

Though, Theodore was more interested in the ‘Master of Poison’ skill. While ‘Mystic Roar’ can be a very useful option to have, he felt like it’s a bit useless just like how he didn’t need to have the ‘Corrupted Blood’ skill. He wouldn’t run away from a weak opponent and he certainly will have the speed to catch up to it. So in the end, his decision was finalized.

“I choose the ‘Master of Poison’ skill.”

His attribute window appeared in place of the skill selection screen and the letters began to manifest on the “Skill” section. Once it was done spelling out the name of his new skill, he could feel his fangs tingling as if reacting to the sudden change. “Great! I feel a lot safer with this.”

He didn’t forget to use the four skill points he’d gotten from killing the ants as well, distributing them all into speed.

<

Species: Green Gaboon Viper (3 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

Lvl: 23

EXP: 0/130,000

Skill Points: 0

HP: 6500/6500

MP: 420/420

Attack: 14

Speed: 25

Defense: 8

Charm: 2

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 31

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.1). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.3). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl. 1). Will to Live (Lvl.1)

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3). Ambitious Snake: Devour (Lvl.1). Master of Poison (Lvl.1)>>

After he was done viewing his attribute window, Theodore continued his search for another prey, flicking his forked tongue and receiving the chemicals in the air. Now without the restrictions placed on him, he could move around at a faster rate, fully utilizing his upgraded speed just as he intended to. Only ten minutes had passed and he’d already found his next victim:

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Lvl. 44

Mixture: Lion (Main). Goat (Back). Snake (Tail)

Yield: 100,000 Exp per head.

[Difference in level detected]

> 200,000 Exp per head.

Description: Multiple creatures mixed into one, the Chimera is extremely strong and versatile with the strength of a lion, the speed of a goat, and the dexterity of a snake. The goat head can also breathe fire, but that perk had been used against it once in its Greek Mythology—This majestic beast can fight in almost any conditions but will be bested in a contest of wisdom.>>

Theodore snorted at the slight joke at the end of the monster’s description. His body was hidden in between the bushes, so he couldn’t be seen clearly unless someone was actively looking for him. The Chimera didn’t even care enough to be wary of its surroundings, it was resting under the shade of a large tree, while the other two animals had their eyes closed, only the snake tail was vigilant, its red eyes were surveying the area while his friends peacefully slept.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“It doubled my level, but I’m sure I can kill it.” Though if he was being honest, he was slightly nervous about hunting the Chimera, while he has the necessary offensive skills to fight such a beast, he wasn’t so sure if he could survive an attack from it. “The ‘Will to Live’ attribute is still on cooldown…”

He contemplated whether he should try his luck with the Chimera or not. The experience points it could give him was quite tempting, if he managed to kill all three heads, he could probably reach level thirty and still have plenty of time to get the remaining five levels.

“But if I get to level twenty five first…I can further guarantee my victory.” He thought harder about what he should do, and in the end decided to postpone his Chimera hunt for now, not wanting to die a fool’s death after evading it for so many times already.

He chose to slither away from the beast and looked for another monster to kill. On his way, he killed some birds and lizards to satisfy his hunger while getting some extra experience points in the process.

As the sun was around a third of its way across the sky, Theodore had finally encountered a potential prey wandering around an opened area:

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Lvl. 34

Rarity: Rare

Yield: 120,000 Exp.

[Difference in level detected]

> 300,000 Exp.

Description: Drakes are basically wingless dragons. They’re often smaller and less powerful but have similar abilities as their winged counterparts. Most can breathe fire and have powerful limbs that could easily turn a human into a bloody paste. They come in different colors as well, the rarest among them being pure white scale drakes, followed by pitch black and blue.>>

“That’s more doable.” Theodore thought internally and began to slither into the drake’s view and its azure gaze immediately shifted towards him. It seemed confused as to why a snake that was ten times smaller than it would willingly approach a behemoth like it.

Unlike his previous encounter with a giant lizard, this time he wasn’t afraid. Once he was around two meters away from the drake he perked his head up like a cobra and hissed. “Today. You die!”

A magic circle appeared above the drake’s head and a heated battle ensued.

.

.

.

[You killed a Blue-Scaled Drake. Gained 300,000 Exp.]

[Level Up! You’re now Level 25!]

[Options for evolutions are now available. Would you like to view them?]

“Wait a minute, let me eat the drake first.” He said to the System while standing in the middle of an ice-covered field, the bloody body of the blue drake lay next to him while some areas of its body were entirely frozen in a block of ice. He’d once again used the ‘Devouring Frost’ skill but this time he didn’t suffer any damage apart from gaining the ‘Frost’ debuff again, even when his mana points went negative, all he felt was some discomfort and a little pain but they weren't anything serious.

[Ambitious Snake: Devour]

Theodore activated his skill and let the large light version of himself consume the drake. Once he felt that his stomach was full. He turned his attention to his attribute window. “Before anything else, distribute those four skill points I got into Speed.”

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Species: Green Gaboon Viper (3 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

~ Currently 3 Options for Evolution.

Lvl: 25

EXP: 20,000/200,000

Skill Points: 0

HP: 7700/7700

MP: 440/440

Attack: 14

Speed: 29

Defense: 8

Charm: 2

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 31

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.1). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.3). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl. 1). Will to Live (Lvl.1)

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3). Ambitious Snake: Devour (Lvl.1). Master of Poison (Lvl.1)>>

“Show me my evolution options.”

<<~ Currently 3 Options for Evolution.

-Anaconda (Adds 5 Points to Attack. 5 Points into Defense)

-King Cobra (Adds 5 Points into Attack. 1 Level increase to the ‘Venom’ Attribute)

-Diamondback Rattlesnake (Adds 5 Points into Attack. Unlocks the ‘Rattle’ Attribute)

After your evolution, you’re length will increase to 6 meters.>>

“…” Theodore stared at the choices given to him. “System…How do you guys choose these evolutions?”

[We compile a list of some of the most common and powerful snakes and randomize them depending on your level.]

“But then wouldn’t that mean none of them will be related?”

[Is the illogical evolution line going to affect your strength?”

“No. But it will surely make snake nerds very angry.”

The System does have a point though, nothing else matters as long as he can get stronger and take revenge on Rhys. Besides that, after his evolution, his appearance doesn’t really change to match the species that he’d metamorphosize into. Currently, he looked more like a common snake and a viper combined into one.

Theodore dismissed his thoughts and stared at the screen in front of him. He immediately ruled out the Anaconda line since he didn't think the Defense points would really help him. He was tempted to pick the King Cobra line just because he could further level up the ‘Venom’ attribute. While currently he’s still using his Ice Magic, he felt like he should start relying on physical strength too since the skill weakens him while he’s using it. If he wants to fight that Chimera, he would need more than some magic tricks to beat it.

“System, explain more on the ‘Rattle’ attribute.”

[It works just like a rattlesnake’s rattle. But you can also insert fear into anyone that’s of a lower level than you instead of it being just a warning signal.]

“Mm, I don’t care about that. I’ll go with the King Cobra line then.”

A sudden wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over his consciousness as soon as he finished his sentence. He slowly slithered over to the nearest bush before coiling into himself. It didn’t take very long until his vision went dark once again, signaling the beginning of his evolution.

.

.

.

[Your third evolution has been completed. The threshold has been reached: Your Personal Attributes ‘Tongue Receptor’ and ‘Gaze of Wisdom’ will be upgraded by 1 Level.]

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Species: King Cobra (6 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

Lvl: 25

EXP: 20,000/200,000

Skill Points: 0

HP: 7700/7700

MP: 440/440

Attack: 19

Speed: 29

Defense: 8

Charm: 5

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 31

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.2). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.4). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl.2). Will to Live (Lvl.1)

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3). Ambitious Snake: Devour (Lvl.1). Master of Poison (Lvl.1)>>

Theodore slithered to a nearby river he’d found through the use of his tongue. The attribute window was opened in the corner of his vision as he traveled, like looking at a phone while taking a walk on the street. He was thinking about some strategies he could use to defeat the Chimera—since it can breathe fire, he doesn’t plan on using Ice Magic much in the fight.

Once he’d reached his destination, he tilted his head towards it and stared at his reflection. A large dark green-scaled cobra was staring right back at him with shining emerald eyes, his hood brought out the patterns on his scales and the slight overlapping of the armor became more prominent, he would’ve looked like a dragon if he was bigger. “No wonder why my Charm increased. The scales looked great.” He continued to check himself out for a little longer before deciding that it was time to go fight the Chimera.

He flicked his tongue and immediately he could feel that his senses became a lot sharper than before. This time, he could roughly make out the outlines of the animals that were detected by him. He got excited at this new discovery and began to slither forward, using ‘Tongue Receptor’ continuously in an attempt to find his next opponent.

.

.

.

The sun was setting, covering the whole sky in a beautiful orange hue. Most animals had already returned to their homes, preparing to head to sleep. Only the nocturnal creatures were wide awake, getting ready to hunt when the moon rises.

Theodore was coiled around a tree branch while looking down on a lion-like beast. It seemed that the beast didn't move from its spot at all during the past few hours.

Its chest was rising up and down while all of the three animals that made up the entire monster were resting peacefully. Even the once wary snake seemed to be fast asleep despite having its eyes opened.

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Lvl. 44

Mixture: Lion (Main). Goat (Back). Snake (Tail)

Yield: 100,000 Exp per head.

[Difference in level detected]

>200,000 Exp per head.

Chance of Victory: 50%

Description: Multiple creatures mixed into one, the Chimera is extremely strong and versatile with the strength of a lion, the speed of a goat, and the dexterity of a snake. The goat head can also breathe fire, but that perk had been used against it once in its Greek Mythology—This majestic beast can fight in almost any conditions but will be bested in a contest of wisdom. [Expandable.] >>

Theodore didn’t care about the new status that he could see with ‘Gaze of Wisdom’, he’s fine with fighting the Chimera even with those odds. He slowly crawled down from the tree and approached the resting beast with caution.

However, as expected of a high-leveled monster, the lion immediately opened its eyes once he was two meters away from it. The main head’s movements had alerted its two friends and in mere seconds the Chimera stood up and stared at the snake that’d interrupted its peaceful rest.

The two creatures were locked in a stare-down, none of them moved from their spots for over a minute. But Theodore took the initiative and attacked, summoning a magic circle and tried hitting the Chimera with a spear of ice.

The goat head merely opened its mouth and a column of flame burst from within its throat, melting away the ice and evaporated it in only the blink of an eye.

During that time, however, the snake had moved at an alarming speed and was already next to the Chimera’s lion front leg by the time it closed its jaw. Theodore swiftly sunk his fangs into its skin and injected his venom into the beast, who roared in annoyance and swatted him away using its bitten paw.

Theodore retreated from the beast and stared at it, waiting for his venom to take effect. But the monster opposite of him only stood there with a hint of confusion in its gaze.

[Theodore Varon. Chimeras are immune to poison.]

“…”

All of his confidence went down the drain immediately after the System’s voice rang out. He screamed in anger. “Then why didn’t you tell me!?”

[…Because you did not ask.]

“F*ck!”

The Chimera roared before running towards Theodore, its mouth opened wide revealing its sharp canines that were ready to snap his body in half like a twig. He weaved to the side but he could only dodge the fangs but not the claws, sharp razors scratched the side of his body and blood dripped from the five marks on his scales. “Sh*t!” He cursed out loud as he used his momentum to retreat further back, he’s now about five meters away from the monster.

He didn't have many options to choose from, it's either try fighting it or run away. The choice was obvious as soon as he realized his whole plan was nothing more than a useless suicidal strategy. He turned around and slithered into the bushes, managing to cross more than ten meters in a single jump.

The roar of a lion was heard behind him and the sounds of heavy footsteps accompanied it. He didn't need to look back to know that the beast was following him. "System! Information on the 'Agility' attribute!"

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Lvl. 1

Requirement for Upgrade: Run at your best speed for 20 minutes straight.

Cooldown: Until your Stamina runs out.

Description: Once your adrenaline reaches a certain point. Your body will naturally respond and double your speed. [You're now moving at 90 kilometers per hour.]>>

"It's already activated!?" Theodore suppressed the urge to shout since it would only tire him out faster.

"Show me more information on the Chimera!"

He recalled seeing an 'Expandable' option at the very end of its description, at first he didn't bother looking at it but now it seems he would need all the information he could get.

<< Greek Chimera

Lvl. 44

Mixture: Lion (Main). Goat (Back). Snake (Tail)

Yield: 100,000 Exp per head.

[Difference in level detected]

>200,000 Exp per head.

Chance of Victory: 50%

Description: Multiple creatures mixed into one, the Chimera is extremely strong and versatile with the strength of a lion, the speed of a goat, and the dexterity of a snake. The goat head can also breathe fire, but that perk had been used against it once in its Greek Mythology—This majestic beast can fight in almost any conditions but will be bested in a contest of wisdom.

Expanded: The Chimera's versatility makes it a very difficult opponent to face. The only real way to beat it is to beat it in strength. In the myths, Bellerophon, while riding his trusty Pegasus, managed to weaken the beast by firing arrows at it before finally killing it using a lump of lead. The Chimera choked to death after melting the ball of metal that was thrusted down its throat.>>

"..." Theodore felt anger burning inside of his chest, or perhaps it was the pain from over exerting his lungs, he couldn't tell anymore. "So what if that Belle—whatever-his-name-is beat the Chimera! I have nothing to fight it with!"

Grroar!

The mighty beast's roar urged him to continue running, he could hear its steps getting closer and closer every passing second. He gritted his non-existent teeth and turned an abrupt left, slithering up a tall, lean tree before resting on one of its branches; he was now over twenty meters off the ground.

He panted with his mouth open, he would've been drenched in sweat if he was still human. His chest was aching and it felt like his heart was about to burst out of its cavity. "What the f*ck…This isn't funny, you know?!" He cursed internally and stared at the Chimera below. It was looking up at him but didn't make any moves indicating that it'd given up.

Just like most gate creatures, it seemed that it was going to wait for him to come down.

"Status."

He focused solely on the line showing his hit points. The claw marks at his side were still bleeding heavily, and since he'd been exerting strength, half of his body was coated in red from his blood.

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MP: 320/440

Status Condition: Bleed.>>

Because he was bleeding, he was also slowly losing his health in the process. Theodore tried to calm his nervous head, it wasn't the time to be panicking. "I need to think of something."

The only option he saw at that moment was to fight it with his ice magic. But he was worried about the fact that the goat head can breathe fire. He'd seen how his ice spear melted in the blink of an eye and it wasn't hard to imagine how the fight would play out. "Sh*t…"

Just as he continued to stare at the Chimera, a reckless, and possibly stupid idea flashed in his mind.