Charlie had a wonderful view of the carnage that ensued below that exceeded all expectations. He knew that the mushroom cove would do something, the intoxicating scent couldn't have been the reason for the mountain of bones.

The change was drastic, a gaping maw with red-petaled leaves for teeth was slowly feeding on the mindless creatures - the enchanted Sklite marched to their deaths in silence. The scent was truly powerful, it's temptation could be felt from even from Charlies distant perch.

White fleshy roots that had once littered the floor of the mushroom cove had turned into an uncountable number of appendages. Some acted like legs that stabilized its movements and others were akin to arms that blindly shot out in search of food - grabbing the corpses, and the still living Sklite, shoving them into it's gluttonous maw where they would certainly perish.

The whole body looked like stone-flower that was about to bloom, but its maw was more ferocious than any creature he had dared to lay his eyes on. It ground the corpses to mush, the red petals were like the blade of a butcher, easily slicing through both flesh and bone like they were the supple fat of a pig.

Charlie thought that there couldn't be any more surprises waiting for him, and yet, he kept getting proven wrong in this horrifying cave. The mushroom cove was more than just a rancid hovel in the ground, but Charlie didn't expect to have slept in the literal jaws of a terrifying creature.

Whether it was luck or otherwise, Charlie was immune to the creatures slime - it was the only reason he had been able to flip the fatal encounter into his favour. Charlie still made a mental note to at least try and avoid sleeping in the literal jaws of his enemy in the future, if he could help it.

The grisly scene didn't last long, the transformed mushroom cove had stopped using its roots to shovel bodies into its gaping mouth. The strength of the enchanting scent had begun fading away, but still lingered. There was no doubt that the stone creature still had an iron grip on the Sklite, even if the edges of its control were fraying.

In the aftermath of the coves feeding spree, there was still a large portion of the Sklite swarm that remained - the cove only having taken out a fifth of their numbers. It was far more than Charlie could hope to achieve by his own efforts, but even this wouldn't be enough to rid the cave of the feral rats. The Sklite needed to fall here or his progress would be slowed tremendously, or halted entirely if too many survive.

The stone creature closed its horrific jaws, furling up like a beautiful stone flower, and began retracting its many white tendrils. The stone shifted beneath the cove-creatures movements, almost like it was welcoming it back home. It's movement were slow and relaxed, and the Sklite were still standing like statues, a better chance wouldn't appear.

Charlie needed to do something and he needed to do it now.

Charlie shot down the steep descent, leaping large distances and shrugging off the impacts of colliding with distant stone plateaus. It was painful, but Charlie couldn't allow the cove to stop its slaughter now, and with a final impact, hurried right into the stone flowers territory.

The scent here was strong, the Sklite were still sanding there like enchanted statues and completely ignored Charlies passing, robbed of their feeble minds. The wilting scent assaulted Charlies mind too, muddying his thoughts and interfering with his own desires. Yet, Charlie had to hold on, he couldn't allow himself to fall under the stone flowers curse.

The stone flower had yet to fully retreat into safety of the ground, assuming its old position as a simple mushroom cove. The myriad of white appendages that acted as it's legs were the last to sink into the ground, they were still exposed.

Charlie had not missed the fact that the white roots of the stone flower were blind, aimlessly grabbing for anything nearby, shoveling even rock and dirt into the hungry mouth. Charlie hoped that it had yet to sense his presence, and took his momentary chance.

Striking out and quickly unlatching, Charlies [Hollow Fang] sang through the air and pierced the soft, white flesh of the stone flowers roots. Without wasting his forward momentum, Charlie continued on past the stone flower with great haste.

It stilled.

The brilliantly white flesh turned a pallid grey and slowly crawled up the numerous roots, infecting everything on its chilling path. Before it had a chance to reach the stone flowers rocky exterior and penetrate somewhere unseen, it violently ripped itself out of the ground. The stone flower shot its white appendages towards the infected area and ripped out the greying flesh with ease.

The pallid grey roots never reached the floor, withering away to nothing in the gentle breeze.

On some subconscious level, Charlie felt safe in the embrace of the shadows that clung to his scales. Having escaped the stone flowers ire, Charlie sought out their safety, and continued to somewhere far away from its rampage. There would be no stopping for a while, as Charlie couldn't be certain that the stone flower didn't have a way to sense him, and no desire to find out.

Charlie couldn't see what was going on anymore, but he could feel it - the ground shook with the stone flowers every strike. Even through Charlies impeded hearing, the creatures unnatural screech pierced through his body. It was as if titanic plates of stone and metal grated against each other in utter violence. Even for this horrific place, the sound felt wrong.

No matter how much Charlies curiosity burned, he couldn't return and ascertain the breadth of destruction the stone flower had caused. Right now, that would have been suicide. Instead, Charlie would spend the night somewhere else, far away from the rampaging beast, and return in the morning to find out the grisly results. There were still a few places he could rest without being overly disturbed throughout the night, especially now that the Sklite were... preoccupied.

Exhausted after a stressful day, Charlie continued in his search for an appropriate spot to rest. High above the caves floor and atop the myriad of coves, Charlie had found a winding crevice with deep shadows. It didn't quite pierce through the coves roof into the interior, but Charlie wasn't interested in exploring too deeply to confirm. Ever since Charlie leveled up, his body had once again grown and made a lot of the previously scouted out hiding spots too tight to fit in, and this one proved to be much the same.

This one was almost too small, but Charlie was able to wedge himself deep into the crevice without getting himself stuck. For once, the limbless body of the serpent had come in handy. The lack of shoulders allowed him to wedge himself too deep for any wandering creature to accidentally waltz in on a sleeping Charlie, yet his flexible body allowed him to escape if the need arose without much trouble.

The morning quickly came and upon waking up, Charlie was pleasantly surprised by how he had felt. Whether it was due to him finally breathing fresh air and not the slimy vapours of the mushroom cove, or how snug he had been the whole night, Charlie wasn't certain. What Charlie knew was that it had been the best sleep since he had arrived to this world.

Even though Charlie believed that his plan would work, he still had left the following day empty of all plans - uncertain that he would even survive the night. Since the day was free, Charlie decided to check in on the damage the stone flower had done to the cave, and then he'd check out the swarms den for himself.

The journey back was quick, the tops of the coves were pleasantly empty from the Sklite that normally roamed their hidden expanse. It was a good sign, but Charlie wouldn't be satisfied until he saw the result with his own eyes.

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The scent of decay had made itself known once more, long before Charlie could even see the cove. The putrid smell had grown incredibly toxic since the days he had spent sleeping in the creatures maw, almost incomparable to before. In comparison, he had slept in a field of flowers and perfume. Charlie had gotten into the habit of flicking his tongue out to increase his awareness and heighten his senses, but for now, he opted to stop his unconscious habit. Charlie hoped it would be enough to stomach the final leg of the journey.

The source of the stench was truly vile at this distance, Charlies stomach attempted to desperately empty its contents, but he held firm and forcefully swallowed whatever tried to come up. Charlie fully expected to come to a gruesome scene of violent power, but instead, he had arrived to what felt like the wrong place. There was no damage to the walls, no blood nor bone that clung to the walls, it was spotless.

Even if the Cleaners had arrived while Charlie slept, the scene before him still failed to completely add up. Yesterday, Charlie was certain he could feel the powerful impacts of the stone flower enacting its rage on the mindless Sklite, surely that would have left some mark on the floor, some hint of a battle taking place.

Yet there was nothing.

The fetid stench was becoming increasingly unbearable, even for Charlie, but he was determined to see the coves entrance for himself.

When Charlie finally approached, his jaw dropped - only to then be quickly shut as the vile scent left its tainted flavours wash over his senses.

The coves entrance looked more like a wall of mutilated flesh. Brown ooze poured over the jelly-like meat and dripped out onto the caves floor. There was a small puddle of the brown liquid that had collected at the front but it was quickly being absorbed into the floor.

No mushroom in sight, though.

After having a good long look at the fruits of his labour, Charlie left the scene in the direction of the swarms nest for some fresh air. It was starting to feel suffocating, almost like the slime was collecting in his lungs.

Not that Charlie wanted to return, but it looked to be another few days before the stone flower had finished digesting its well deserved meal. Instead he would inspect the remains of the Sklites den, and if it were empty, then Charlie would know for certain that he had succeeded.

While easy prey, and an easy source of food, the Sklite had turned out to be Charlies greatest enemies, for more than one reason. With their disappearance, Charlie would no longer be limited by the skittering Sklites, expanding his area of mobility. Not only that, but his options would truly open up on where Charlie could spend the night in relative safety, no longer bound to the mushroom cove.

On the other hand, if the Sklites were truly vanquished, Charlie would be forced to fight creatures that are leagues above a single Sklite, putting his life back on the line to simply feed himself. It originally had been a simple dark craving, to eradicate the Sklite, but the more Charlie thought about it, the easier the decision to continue became.

If the Sklite were allowed to continue living in the cave, their numbers would surely swell to a point where there would be no more hiding, no matter how much Charlie would try. Even if Charlie were to take out several dozen of the Sklite, their speed of their reproduction was dizzying. So much so, that even their suicidal tendencies had become a valid strategy.

Charlie needed to find another suitable source of food, and in turn a source for translucent gems. The creatures that lived this high up were the weakest that the cave had to offer, that much was clear, but they still proved a serious challenge for Charlie.

One thing had become clearer since the events of yesterday - Charlies venom had become much deadlier.

The stone flower was definitely a powerful creature, and who knows how long it had already taken its residence here, but when Charlie struck it with [Hollow Fang] he could see its potency for himself. The roots of the flower might have been one of its weaknesses, but that didn't take away from the potency of Charlies venom.

Ever since it had hit level two, [Hollow Fang]'s venom had underwent a qualitative change. The Sklite succumbed to its cold grasp in a matter of moments when it was still at level one. Yet now, Charlie didn't need to resort to crushing their skulls, they would be silenced before they even registered their own deaths.

It might be the right time to bring his attention elsewhere, reach for greater creatures to slay and ascertain the true extent of his venom. To begin reaching for the power necessary to conquer his foes.

Upon reaching the swarms nest, Charlie was overwhelmed with a sinister glee by its pitiful sight. It felt revitalising to know that ones mortal enemies were vanquished, utterly destroyed by his very will and cunning. The stone flower revealing its monstrous nature was definitely a great help, but it was Charlie that laboriously organised their demise.

Now that Charlie had a better look at the nest, with the mass of squirming bodies no longer obstructing his view, it looked utterly disgusting. The Cleaners either have yet to arrive here, or even they refuse to touch this putrid mess.

Stale blood, rotten bone, piss and shit as far as the eye could see. Their den was not a cove, but a giant rock that the Sklite had chewed their way through. It looked solid from the outside, but Charlie could only assume it had been hollowed out by the Sklite.

Charlie flicked a nearby stone with his tail at the giant hollowed out rock, yet there was no discernible reply. No rabid screech, no wriggling and writhing wall of flesh descending atop him in rabid fervor - just silence.

Charlies mortal enemies, as stated by the System, were truly no more. Though his true enemy still prowled the caverns floor without equal. The Razorclaws were still far beyond his capability to handle - Charlie was simply their prey.

Not for much longer. They too would succumb to Charlies insidious venom.

Making his way through the cave, Charlie decided to return to the river and explore its sandy bank to call home. It's air of peace might still become useful in deterring unwanted attention, not as well as the slime, but hopefully it would be enough. If not, then at least he'd have easy access to a drink when needed. Charlie might have turned into a serpent, but he still lived and had basic needs.

The Croakers, unfortunately, were as loud as ever. Charlie had gotten sick of mentally referencing them as the green blobs that wouldn't ever shut up, so he came up with a fitting name. Annoying as they may be, they could prove useful if Charlie didn't manage to find more suitable prey soon. They were quick on their hind legs, but Charlie couldn't bring himself to think they were anything but vapid creatures - tricking them would surely prove easy.

It was fun to think about squishing the fat green Croakers, but Charlie had more important things to mull over than dream of their satisfying deaths. Though many creatures gathered here for water, the fresh scent of the river overpowered their rank musk and left nothing but clean air. It would be one way to stay hidden, but Charlie still required a place to sleep and keep out of sight.

Charlie couldn't tell if the ground had been softer here due to the river, or if the river had been here due to the soft ground. Either way, Charlie found it difficult to find any suitable crevices - nearly all of them had been filled to the brim with sand and gravel.

The river had been situated near one of the distant walls of the cave, so it provided ample cover from behind and would force any particularly persistent pursuers to approach from the front. The cave had extended in all directions in a logic-defying manner, the simple sight of the wall behind the river grounded Charlie, reminding him that he was still underground, and not in a separate world entirely.

The caves wall were almost perfectly smooth, nary a crack in sight, but Charlie had still spotted a shadow in the distance. His eyesight was too poor to make out what it was, but it was worth checking out nonetheless since it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Upon reaching the shadow, Charlie could see that it turned out to be a small stone sticking out from the wall and floor, and had not cast a light of its own. It still puzzled Charlie as to why some stone didn't emit light, but he was glad that it did. Without the aid of the shadows, Charlie wasn't sure he would have been able to survive this long in this unforgiving world.

The closer Charlie inspected the shadow, the more obvious the small hole became. It was covered in sand and gravel, but there was dfefinitely something hidden in the shadows and beneath the soft stone. Using his stub, Charlie wiped away some of the debris and uncovered a circular hole reaching down and to somewhere unseen.

It was a bit bigger than Charlie had been wide, so there would be no issues fitting in, but the question remained, should he even enter? Charlies enhanced senses as per his tongue granted him a unique ability to almost see in the dark, so the lack of visibility wouldn't pose much of a problem.

Yet, it could still prove to be his grave. There could exist something within the hidden dark hole that could evade his heightened senses, the stone flower had escaped his notice already. Charlie wasn't entirely willing to descend directly into another creatures hungry maw.

Charlie decided against exploring the mysterious and dark hole, instead, he continued in his search for a suitable hideout.

But, his curiosity still burned. What mysteries could the dark hole hold, what dangers could it possibly have when the entrance was so small?

Unlike the many mind-bending and alien mysteries the System provided, the dark hole was temptingly simple to solve. Charlie tried to get the image of the dark holes entrance out of his mind, but it just kept prodding his consciousness, like an itch that demanded your attention.

Charlie stopped slithering forward and turned back to look at the dark hole.

I'll return to the hole tonight if I can't find a place to sleep - a quick look wont hurt.