The System felt generous this time, granting more understanding with each whisper than before. Instead of simply providing some foundational context, it now felt like secrets were slowly coming undone and their meanings came clear. Many things were starting to come together and make sense.

Firstly there were levels and how they operated, which came as both a surprise to Charlie and also confirmed some of his hypotheses. When his level increased, so did his attributes, like strength and dexterity. This truth then led into another mystery that had been unraveled at the seams, the purpose of [Devour] and its link to {The Challenge}.

They had a symbiotic relationship where one could not fulfill its purpose without the other. Though being granted the understanding that [Devour] consumed the gems of slain creatures, thus granting him experience to level, it didn't explain what {The Challenge} was at its core. It's purpose was still shrouded in mystery, but Charlie had a suspicion that the System might reveal more of its secrets in time.

The previous time Charlie was here, he was still only half way through level one, but now he was about a third of the way through level two. This difference in levels was reflected in his attributes, and it looked to have added a point to three of them. The reason behind why only three attributes were affected still eluded Charlie, but it confirmed that he did in fact become more robust. It was most likely due to this that he survived the infection.

There was also the deeper and more connected understanding between each attribute that was granted for all, their fundamental reflection of his character was now clear to Charlie, all except for Eso. That attribute still escaped his understanding, but it was not without change since his last visit either. The feeling of almost understanding its purpose was still present, but more tangible than before.

Moving past Eso, Charlie noted some of the other changes that occurred, pleased with the widened scope of the overall situation. The experience required to level up [Devour] has increased, but Charlie couldn't remember what it was at the last time to compare its growth. That was its only change unfortunately, the new information provided by the System did not include much about this {Power}.

While [Devour] was mostly unchanged, there seemed to be a new description for his only obviously useful {Epitaph}. [Hollow Fang] was now described as a venomous bite, and the System spared no detail when granting meaning behind the word. It was foreign to Charlie in nearly every way, his previous life had never heard of such a description, nor had anything truly similar to compare it to.

Their world might have been incredibly toxic to life, and the air dangerous to breathe, but the word venom could never describe his experiences, even though it was similar. The word venom felt sinister, like a great beast that patiently lurked in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike its target down in one fell swoop, without anyone ever noticing.

It finally explained what happened to all of those creatures unfortunate enough to experience Charlies [Hollow Fang]. It explained why it didn't instantly kill and provided Charlie the much needed understanding in how to use this {Epitaph} more effectively. The venom would flow through his fangs and clot their blood, stopping their heart after enough time had passed, or enough had accumulated in their bloodstream.

It was slow, lacked explosive power to ward off vicious creatures and worst of all was less effective against large bodies with powerful hearts. Yet it was insidious, silent and completely unnoticeable, until it was far too late. Not a single creature had survived Charlies venom, and none had truly understood their peril after being bitten, for if they did, Charlie would have fallen to a maddened attempt at mutual destruction.

It became clearer than ever before, that the lack of knowledge was his, and the creatures, greatest weakness. All of the knowledge that Charlie held over the creatures would provide him with the tools required to conquer the cave, himself and hopefully allow him to live long enough to learn more.

With little left to do in this dream space, Charlie willed his body to go through the lightless door and woke up.

There was a clear lack of markings left behind by curious and desperate noses, none of the gravel had moved nor were any of the mushroom damaged. It was a good sign, but he'd have to spend more nights before he could have any confidence in its safety.

Though, on reflection, nights might be the wrong word, as it was impossible for Charlie to tell whether the sun had just risen, or was about to set. The lack of sunlight surprisingly didn't cause as much of a problem as it should have. The floors and even the walls themselves let off a faint glow, almost imperceptible, but definitely there. There was no clear source of light that Charlie could spot either, the large metal entrance gate hadn't opened to let any light through, which could only propose an unnatural origin.

Discarding that thought for now, Charlie set off to scout out his neighbours and begin formulating a what needed to be concrete plan. If he was going to put his life on the line, he needed to start integrating all of his lessons and give himself the highest chance of survival. Going in blind, as he was so forced to in every situation so far, was bound to get him killed sooner rather than later.

Charlie wanted to first address and assess his weaknesses, which included not knowing the area around him well enough to safely traverse the field of rock and stone. There were many places to hide in, to strike from and get lost in but it was going to take a lot of effort to get comfortable. Though daunting, Charlie didn't balk at the task at hand, always having been of the persistent kind when faced with a challenge.

After peeking his head out of the hidden mushroom cove, Charlie was immediately relieved of the overpowering scent the acrid mushroom gave off. It was refreshing to breathe clean air again and he silently hoped it didn't stick to his skin, exposing him from a mile away.

Charlie scanned the area and it seemed to be clear for the moment, there were no nearby scents when he flicked his tongue, nor could he hear any fights taking place in his immediate vicinity. Charlie slithered out of his cove with growing confidence and headed out to find a suitable vantage point. He still lacked understanding of the basic surroundings and there was no better way fix that than to see it for himself.

Charlie didn't have to look for long, spotting a rather large, but steep, rock outcropping in the near distance. This was no tree, ascending upwards was going to take patience and might even expose him to stray eyes, lacking the thick foliage to keep him hidden this time. There were other hills to climb of course, but they were far too flat and open, ascending them would be easier, but it would also put him in greater danger.

Unwilling to leave himself exposed on all sides, Charlie headed towards the steep rock formation and kept himself hugging the walls tightly as possible, further lowering his chances of being discovered. It was a short enough distance between Charlie and his goal, but the effort he had to exert to cross the distance unseen, made the journey exponentially longer.

The stoney surfaces proved pleasant to traverse at first, but the small pebbles and sharp rocks irritated Charlies white underbelly quickly enough. It was soft and covered in a more flexible scale than those on his back, which let the sharp rocks easily cut into his skin. The depth of their wounds were shallow at best, but they presented a different problem than just the minor scratch.

They were brittle and easy to break, and while some made little to no sound, there were others that flicked out and collided with harder stone, letting off a quiet but prominent sound. If Charlie wasn't careful and always kept track of where he slithered, he would give away his position to any nearby keen eared creature. An alert creature was not something Charlie planned on facing, not now.

Avoiding any suspicious stone that could jeopardise his location, Charlie continued forward, tactically hiding behind coves to allow packs of creatures pass by and keeping himself at a comfortable distance from anything too vicious. The last thing Charlie wanted was a repeat of his previous encounter with the creature that had knives for claws.

Slowly, but in one piece, Charlie finally approached the outcropping of the steep rock. They looked a bit easier to climb from up close, but he couldn't see many ways up from his current position. Charlie spent an additional while circling the rock spire, meticulously avoiding the creatures that loitered in the vicinity.

Comparatively to what he had seen, there weren't too many creatures out in the open right now, but even still, there were enough to tremendously slow him down in order to pass without conflict. He had seen creatures that were smaller than him, and it had a plethora of needles protruding from its back, clearly its only form of defense.

A predator had approached it while Charlie observed from the sidelines. The needled creature curled into a tight ball, covering its soft and vulnerable pink skin to defend itself from all sides with an impenetrable wall of thorns. They must have been fiercely sharp, as anything that even attempted a curious nibble scampered away with their tails between their legs.

On the opposite spectrum, Charlie had also seen large hulking beasts lazily stride wide out in the open, not a spec of fear visible in their gait. One such beast was covered in long and thick brown fur that resembled hair, three tusks jutted out of its face at a sharp angle. One tusk was situated in the middle of their forehead, and two in their mouth, that viciously grew towards each other, forming a menacing spear. They looked sharp enough to easily gore whatever was in front of it, and Charlie didn't stick around to see if anything was brave enough to meet their challenge.

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Thankfully for Charlie, every large creature he had laid eyes on had been en route to somewhere deeper down into the cave, likely following the incessant pull. Soon only the weak and meaningless, like himself, would stay behind. They would eventually become driven mad by their inability to descend lower, and Charlie would reap the rewards.

Finally having circled the stone spire, Charlie was certain there was a way up and had a general idea of how to approach it. It would be difficult to cross some gaps without limbs, but Charlie was certain it was possible. After making sure there was no unwanted attention on him, Charlie began his sharp ascent.

The rock here was different to the ground it sprouted from, the edges were far sharper and the flat surfaces felt almost polished in their smoothness. It was pleasant, the change in materials was pure relief, to no longer be assaulted and cut up by hundreds of pebbles felt almost freeing. The relief quickly turned to annoyance as Charlie came to realise that the polished rock provided less grip, thus making this climb farm more dangerous and longer than it had any right to be.

Yet Charlie had made his mind up to climb this spire and so he was going to climb the damned thing.

Progress was slow and worst of all, it was tedious, having to check his surroundings every few seconds added to the rapidly building stress, but, at least it was constant progress. With every minute that passed agonisingly slow, whether due to having his tail sliced open on a sharp rock or the need arose to stay hidden from a wandering stray creature, the higher Charlie ascended.

Atop the polished stone spire, Charlie was welcomed with a wonderful reward. The stone up here formed a small plateau, giving him the much needed break to catch his breath. His body ached and bled from a hundred smaller wounds, but it all felt like a badge of honour at this point. They were proof of his success, proof that no stupid rock could make Charlie give up.

The impossibly large field dotted with tightening coves all around him, filled with life and death in equal measure. Charlie could almost make out the true layout of the cave and could somewhat discern where he had come from, his blurry vision proving to be an issue once again.

It was easy to forget that Charlies eyesight was poor, rarely having to focus on something too far, as most creatures he needed to worry about usually had their teeth already in him.

Still, the setback was minor when all was said and done, he still had a far better idea of where he was, and which clusters of coves were packed so tightly that they seemed like dead ends. There was even a blurry winding shape that resembled a river from up here, though it could have been anything. Things that were too far would stay a mystery, but at least his immediate vicinity felt a bit more clear than before.

The descent down from the plateau proved far easier, knowing the path he had already taken up allowed Charlie to adjust quickly and spend less time making decisions. Halfway down the stone spire, Charlie spotted a worrying sight in the distance. There were dozens of blurry dots somewhere far away, ascending up the cave and towards Charlie.

Unwilling to make himself an easy target, Charlie hurried his descent and bade caution to the wind. A few extra shallow cuts wouldn't do him any real harm, but a confrontation with a flying enemy would be his end up on the spire.

The blurry birds were going to throw a wrench into Charlies plans, but he'd have to somehow find a way to take them into account, or find a way to deal with them. This wouldn't be easy as they had far greater reach than anything else Charlie had come across, and their speed was nothing short of lethal.

It made little sense for them to still be here, surely they would be able to descend deeper into the cave and with greater ease than just about anything else. They had a massive advantage over every creature and could truly call the sky their home, they were its ruler and everything below them knew their place.

Yet they returned, and that didn't bode well for Charlies future plans either. Whatever could force these creatures to ascend up the cave must be truly nasty, as Charlie personally knew how painful their talons were. Another entity, far more powerful than these leathery birds, would explain their presence quite concretely, but Charlie would have to descend to truly understand.

The boons that the System provided still seemed beyond Charlies imagination, but he would be lying if he said he didn't pale at the rapidly stacking list of horrific opponents he'd have to face at some point. Charlie already knew his future was going to be difficult, if not outright impossible, but somehow everyday it kept getting harder.

The unchangeable horrors of the future could wait, as Charlie needed to stay focused on what he could meaningfully change right now. He decided to increase his understanding of the surrounding terrain as his next order of operations, spending even more time scouting the coves and winding paths around his potential home would only prove to be beneficial in the long run.

Charlie spent a considerable amount of time on his recon mission, scouting out deep crevices, coves and creatures alike. Throughout Charlies recon, he had set time aside to shadow some of the creatures that made their home nearby. There were plenty of interesting sights and creatures of all sizes to follow, and Charlie would make sure to try and keep track of them later.

There were many close calls on this mission, but only one that bewildered Charlie, he had turned a corner and nearly came face to face with the strangest creature he had yet to see. It was a mysterious blob of some type of liquid, like a creature made entirely of fat, but the strangest thing about it, was that it was nearly completely translucent.

Charlie made a mental note to always check the corner before slithering past the blindspot. It didn't prove fatal this time, but instead safely taught him a valuable lesson. They moved slowly and in large packs while making no sound, the only indication that they were even nearby was the smooth and polished stone that followed wherever they passed. The slimy creatures shimmied past him but he had yet to spot a single discernible feature, no eyes, mouth or fur in sight.

Did they possess senses that were better, or worse than his own? Could they sense Charlie in completely different ways that he couldn't understand? These creatures looked entirely defenseless, so why has nothing come for an easy feast?

Taken aback by the strangeness of these creatures, Charlie decided to shadow them for a while and see if any of his burning questions could be answered. The pitiful pace these creatures move at was beyond pitiful, subduing some of the passion Charlie felt.

Doing a mental check on himself, Charlie assessed that he wasn't hungry yet, nor was he in any dire need of water and could shadow these strange creatures for a bit longer. He was in no rush to find something to eat, and this proved a most curious experience.

The pitiful creatures continued on their lazy way, and for a long time nothing happened. That was until the slimy creatures had come into contact with a particularly territorial pack of creatures.

Charlie had put himself atop a nearby cove, hidden among its many rocky outcroppings, and observed the situation from a safe, but a still clear distance. In truth it was still closer than he wished to be, but his poor vision didn't allow him that luxury.

The slimy blobs had come into contact with the pack of small creatures, though where they lacked in height, they boldly made up for it in aggression and exaggerated body proportions. From the moment one of them had spotted the walking blobs of fat, the entire pack went haywire, barking at the top of their lungs and lunging into action.

They reminded Charlie of a pack of stray dogs, but their proportions were all strange and somehow wrong. Their head were far too large for their bodies, though packing some mean looking teeth, while their hind legs and paws looked set too widely apart. They didn't look formidable either, with their movements being jerky and awkward.

Charlie couldn't be sure where the aggression came from, but it must be an attempt to intimidate those larger than them as a show of not being worth the effort. Though the blobs were larger than any one of the dogs, they didn't back down from the confrontation. They could still prove themselves, and maybe show that there was more to their aggression than what met the eye.

One lopsided dog lunged forward and seemed to almost trip due to the weight of their head, when it suddenly crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, completely betraying their previously slow and clumsy facade.

The engorged teeth of the dog sank into the slimy flesh and latched on with all it had. There was a ripple in the herd of the slimy creatures, briefly pausing before doubling their speed and converging on the attacker. From the expression of the rabid dog, Charlie could tell that it knew something was wrong but couldn't release itself.

Then a second featureless creature made contact with the dog and latched on to its hind legs, swallowing them into its translucent body. Then a third came along and the dogs torso was swallowed too. A fourth quickly filled the last spot and the pitiful dog was enveloped completely. Before Charlie even had a moment to question what was going on, the offending dog stopped struggling, turning still in a matter of moments. Then, right before his own eyes, the dogs flesh and bones melted down to nothing. Charlie could no longer see the pathetic blobs in the same light, there was something sinister to their way of fighting and machine-like nature.

It was gruesome to watch a living creature melt right before Charlies eyes, but there was no room for pity in his heart, it was just the nature of being this closely packed with something stronger than you. There were bound to be unwinnable fights, and their luck had simply run out.

Though it proved invaluable to have shadowed these creatures, they appeared to become vastly stronger when more of them latched on to the same target. Charlie was also able to glean the fact that when one was attacked or injured, somehow other slimy creatures would know where to converge.

They must have some sort of primitive communication, or a sense that allows them to form these packs and become greater than the sum of each part. As a single entity, they looked weak, even if the dog was unable to damage it with its initial strike. Yet Charlie couldn't bring himself to look down on them anymore, there was not a single one of these creatures that strayed away from the herd-like formation, naturally covering up for each others weakness.

The four slimy creatures unlatched from each other and continued moving forward in their typical lazy fashion, as if nothing at all had happened. The misshapen dogs had seen the grisly scene with their own eyes and had long stopped barking, instead the larger dogs took charge and stood at the front of the pack. It surprised Charlie that these dogs, while scared, still stood their ground.

Was it in their nature to keep fighting, or were they just driven mad by the situation? Whatever the answer was, it didn't matter if not a single one of them survived the encounter. The slimy creatures piled in greater and greater numbers, until Charlie could no longer see or sense the pitiful dogs.

Charlie had seen enough of the slimy things and made his way back to the temporary home. In retrospect, it was an overall good decision to scout out, but Charlie hoped there would be fewer dangers in the near future, than what he had seen today. There were enemies in the sky, the ground and in nearly every cove Charlie had the pleasure of peeking into. Even the most pitiful creature could become deadly if he charged ahead carelessly.

There were still plenty of lessons to learn, but to continue moving forward, Charlie could only arm himself with the knowledge of his enemies, himself and the breadth of the System.

It was time to stop being prey, and become a predator.