Waking up the next morning, the very first thing I did was check the [system log] to see my progress. Obviously, I hadn’t expected a level-up notification.

[You have achieved a small breakthrough. Your path has grown to Favoured Hatchling Lvl 6. +1 to all Primary Attributes, +1 Unallocated Point.]

Well, a couple of days had passed, and I did slay a few insignificant creatures—hamsters, rabbits, and a couple of grey wolves. The kills hadn’t allowed me to gain a level, but looking at the notification, I could only imagine it to be delayed.

Perhaps I received some help from the fruits and underdeveloped mushrooms I devoured. They were synthesised complex essences, after all.

Moreover, I gained a few more inches as my attributes grew. Perhaps the day isn’t far away when I could compete with the Black-scaled Python in shape and size.

With still 27 days to go and already at Lvl 6, I felt mildly confident in completing the quest. Of course, the Predator mark, which increased all my attributes by 5 points, played a great role in amplifying my confidence.

With the increase, my power was far above my actual level. Still, I wasn’t confident against the Black-scaled Python in a fair fight. With that in mind, I got back to my training.

My [Basic Meditation (F)] was only 4% away from completion. I didn’t know if I would get to evolve the skill on complete mastery, but whatever it was, I was eager to find out. Through some experiments, I found that overloading my channels with primal energy greatly increased the improvement in [Basic Meditation (F)].

The theory revolved around keeping calm even in a terrible situation. It’s easier to be calm when the terrible situation is of my own making.

Still, the skill would take a few more days to complete. In the meantime, I put my focus on the other thing I was working on.

In the fight against the python, I had channelled my energy in such a way that my resilience, toughness, and defence all increased. After two days of incessant training, I had become more proficient in it. Unfortunately, my understanding was so rudimentary that even Grandpa hadn’t presented me with a skill prompt.

Come on, Grandpa, can’t you just give me a hint at what I’m missing?

Although I hadn’t received the skill, my understanding increased more and more with experience. This skill is bigger than I imagined, and perhaps that’s why I’m missing so much.

However, I wouldn’t stop until I made it. It was only a matter of time.

Forcing myself to eat a couple of peaches, I got out of my hole as the bright light of the rising sun assaulted my eyes. It was the beginning of a new day, the fourth day of my life as a snake. With enough food to go by for over a week, I put most of my time into training.

I channelled the primal energy all over my form, imbuing myself with it completely. It would burn away my energy reserves in a matter of minutes, but it was the only way to train the skill. My body became resilient and tough in seconds as I put myself through various training drills, forcing myself into stressful situations.

The primal energy stirred within me, always on the verge of escaping my grasp... I was enthralled by the feeling.

Unfortunately, in less than ten minutes, I ran out of energy. I brought out a couple more peaches and a mushroom from the inventory and devoured them. Feeling the rush of power within me, I coiled to begin meditating.

I was back at full power a quarter of an hour later and returned to practice again. The same exhaustion repeated itself a few minutes later, so I devoured more peaches and mushrooms to proceed with the unrelenting training.

The sun moved up in the sky as the training continued. Only when it reached the horizon did I receive the good news I had been training so damn hard for.

[Your knowledge of the fundamental skill Essence Weaving (E) is incomplete.]

[Would you like to learn the fundamental skill, Essence Weaving (E)?]

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

About fucking time, Grandpa! I wheezed, rolling over to straighten up a little.

[Essence Weaving (E) will cost 1 Insight Point. Please confirm your investment.]

[Accept | Decline]

What’s a fundamental skill? I questioned. But knowing I wouldn’t receive an answer, I mulled over what this skill could entail. Possibly the way to imbue energy better and empower myself, like I’ve been training for. If so…

I accepted the prompt as deep knowledge of [Essence Weaving (E)] seized my mind. A hiss escaped my mouth. Although it was merely an E-rank skill, the sheer amount of knowledge overloaded my tiny brain. The feeling was greater than even Arcane Shot, which was a rank above.

[Congratulations! You have learned the skill, Essence Weaving (E).]

[Essence Weaving (E):

Mastery: 2%

Essence is the primal power of life. Essence Weaving is the fundamental art of all essence-based skills; it lets you employ the primal force most effectively.]

Got it, I winced, still a little dazed from the implanted insight. Sadly, it isn’t the skill I desire, but the cost and training were worth it. This skill actually gave me ideas about other minor essence-weaving skills I might want to explore.

It’s like asking for a car but only getting the spare parts and an assembling guide instead.

Settling down to rest for a while, I checked the resources left in my Inventory. More than half of the mushrooms were available, but I had already finished most of the peaches. Other than those, I only had the corpses of the python and beetle available. After a second thought, I ejected the beetle out of the inventory.

It didn’t look like much of a sumptuous meal, but it was what it was. For survival.

I began devouring. It was really nasty to eat, but as I continued, I actually found a small red marble-like thing in the back of the head of the dead creature. It was radiating a reddish-hot aura as well.

It’s not going to burst into flames, is it? I mumbled inwardly and stowed it back in the inventory, even if it looked like a volatile blob of fire magic.

Finished filling my stomach, it was time for a little stroll, and I had the exact place in mind. On my way to the river yesterday, I had stumbled upon a cavern, which seemed to harbour plenty of creatures for me to gain levels from.

It feels wrong—killing beasts for the sake of growing stronger so I can live a better life—but that’s how the world operates. The system simply elevates it to another level. I hissed in resignation as I snaked my way down the rugged terrain.

To even reach the copper rank, I probably need to slay hundreds of creatures. Jesus, I’ve already slain dozens of them.

Well, most of it came from self-defence, as most of the creatures that discovered me seemed to be hell-bent on eating me, as if I were some rare delicacy.

I lifted my head and saw a bird in the sky. Like if that foolish birb sees me, it’ll want to eat me…

My slitted eyes narrowed as I recognised the bird in flight. Wasn’t that the golden-tailed eagle of the mercenary boss?

I grunted, or at least mentally expressed my frustration. Crap! I don’t have time for this.

Though I wasn’t exceptionally knowledgeable, I possessed enough common sense to understand that in a confrontation between a snake and an aerial predator, the aerial predator held the advantage.

Sure, I might be a special snake with memories of a past life, but this eagle seems like bad news. Even my inner predator gave signals to withdraw immediately.

The mercenary boss was a powerful man, which meant his bird companion should have some capabilities as well. What troubled me the most was the bird’s size. It was small, even compared with a common eagle, which only served to unsettle me further.

Thankfully, the eagle hadn’t noticed my presence yet. I let out a breath as I slithered toward the entrance of a cavern. If my memory serves me correctly, this eagle was originally after an elf and a witch. Why is it here, then? I had intentionally chosen a different direction from where the mercenaries had exited. However, it seemed their scout was still searching the area.

Moving swiftly, I made my way toward the specific hole I had found, obstructed by multiple boulders. I was still a few dozen paces away from the hole when I felt the evil eye of the eagle looming over me.

Goddamn it!

As I had feared, these flying predators had excellent eyesight—one of the reasons why they were used in scouting, spying, and surveillance.

It didn’t take long for the golden-tailed eagle to spot the white snake stealthily creeping toward the ridge. Without hesitation, it lunged toward me, forgetting its original task completely. Clearly, I appeared to be nothing more than a delicious meal, adorned with rare white scales.

I cursed under my breath, abandoned my sneaky approach, and raced at my top speed. An Arcane Shot was prepared in my mouth, but I refrained from attacking or even glancing back. The bird was fast, terrifyingly so. The cavern was within reach, yet evading such an airborne predator proved to be a daunting task.

With a single powerful flap of its wings, the eagle closed the gap by fifty yards, tailing me closely. It aimed to swoop down and grab me up as effortlessly as a kingfisher catching fish out of the water.

Thankfully, there was no instinctual fear plaguing my mind as a snake should have against its natural predator. Well, perhaps it would’ve been present if I were just an ordinary snake with a dull mind. Then again, I’d recently acquired the Predator mark, which should assist me in resisting such primal urges.

My mind remained cold and calculating, even in the face of danger. I can’t devise a better plan to defeat the eagle. Unlike the injured python I’d slain before, I have no hopes of overpowering it. The deep orange aura around the bird evidenced that. My only goal now was to create an opportunity to escape. Surely, that can’t be too difficult, right?

I braced myself as the bird’s shadow loomed over me.