With swift precision, the eagle swooped down and captured me in the middle of its beak. I had expected that, unfortunately, I hadn’t accounted for the crushing force the beak inflicted on my poor spine. I was literally on the verge of being torn apart.

A jolt of agony surged through my spine, battering me from within. The crushing force was intense, but I refused to be consumed by fear. The primal essence surged through my body, giving me the little edge I needed. Straining my neck upwards, I locked eyes with the eagle and unleashed the poison-infused [Arcane Shot] directly at its eye.

There was no way for the bird to evade the attack, although it desperately tried to avoid the imminent danger it had brought upon itself. Despite all of its efforts, the eagle failed. I was just too close.

The projectile struck its eye, causing a burst of blinding pain. My gamble bore fruit, but I wasn’t out of danger yet.

The bird screeched in agony, releasing me from its beak as it collided with a tree. I crashed down and bounced a little on the rough earth, but I had no time to linger and assess my condition. Agony overwhelmed me, but I swiftly turned and crawled toward the cavern, gaining a sense of my direction while preparing smaller, concentrated spirit Arcane Shots in my mouth that I could unleash simultaneously.

Although I had successfully blinded one of its eyes, the poison alone was insufficient to kill the eagle immediately, if ever. The best I could hope for was to slow down its pursuit.

In any case, I only managed to get the shot as a result of the bird’s profound lack of intelligence. There’s a reason people insult others by calling them “bird brains.”

Though a bird as magnificent as the golden-tailed eagle should possess greater intelligence than a mere reptile, I’m no ordinary reptile.

I had once been a high-functioning mortal, who didn’t need primal essence at all. Just a couple of cups of coffee were enough. Now, I didn’t have caffeine to keep myself astute, but I had my moments with the primal essence even amidst all the paranoia and recklessness.

My time in the darkness deranged me, and the snake form did help my mental stability, but it didn’t diminish my intelligence to the point where I would succumb to a bird. The deep surge of coldness in my blood wouldn’t let me. It rumbled in disgust, almost compelling me to see the bird to its end.

I wasn’t the food; it was the other way around.

I had to grit my teeth to keep my predatory instinct in check, knowing all that was doing was filling me with a false sense of superiority and power. My mind was torn between my primal desire for dominance over the stupid bird and my rational self.

The wounded eagle screeched as the tree it clashed against shook, and out came an enraged predator of two metres long, wide wings flapping behind, its shadow large enough to shelter two men. From the size of half a metre, it turned into something that could crush a human head easily with its beak. With one flap of its wing, its shadow appeared on me, and I barely managed to stay level-headed.

The bird’s aura underwent a startling transformation, growing a deeper orange, comparable to all those mercenaries, only losing out to the leader of the group. It’s easily the strongest predator I’ve faced so far. But I stayed calm and collected, refusing to be intimidated.

The irrational part of my mind was telling me to see through this dumb bird and teach it who the real predator was. I ignored that part, recognising the futility of engaging in such a primal power struggle.

My body lurched toward the direction of the cavern while I twisted my head to meet the bird. I unleashed a barrage of [Arcane Shots], my movements precise and calculated. The eagle, caught off guard by the attack, attempted to evade, but in doing so, it missed an opportunity to capture the small white snake that had blinded its eye.

The dozens of [Arcane Shots] seared through its wings, inflicting fresh wounds upon the magnificent bird.

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I bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? I hissed with satisfaction, revelling in my momentary triumph. My confidence bolstered, I swiftly manoeuvred my narrow body through the tiny gaps of the boulders and escaped, leaving the disoriented eagle behind.

In most normal cases, the battle would’ve ended here. But I’m paranoid to a fault.

I didn’t stop after slipping through the gaps of the boulders. Instead, I moved as fast as I could, driven by gripping dread and weakness. A seething agony coursed through my body, too painful to ignore, but I had no other choice but to rush away. My life was on the line.

The cavern ahead was shrouded in impenetrable darkness, but my serpent eyes possessed an uncanny ability to sense faint outlines of my surroundings. Though the sight was far from normal, I managed to navigate through the looming darkness with surprising efficiency.

The sound of loud thumping echoed behind me. Evidently, the golden-tailed eagle wasn’t ready to let me go so easily. Not after I burst open one of its eyes.

Thankfully, smashing the boulders aside would take over a good minute, even if it was lucky, then the bird would face more trouble flying inside the short tunnel-like cavern that seemed to be reaching deeper into the abyss itself.

All of that would provide me with enough advantage to flee far from the reach of the aerial predator.

I delved into even narrower subterranean tunnels, reaching deeper into the cavern, where the eagle’s huge body wouldn’t be able to pursue me. If the sky is its realm of advantage, then this is exactly where I’ll thrive, even though I felt eerie inside, snaking through the narrow tunnels.

With each turn, I felt as if the cavern had no end. When I scouted it yesterday, I never thought it would have such depth. Perhaps there’s another escape route within, considering the eagle will likely wait instead of recklessly charging inside. Then again, considering its intelligence, I’m not so sure about that.

[Would you like to learn the skill, Pain Resistance (E)?]

[Pain Resistance (E) will consume 1 Insight Point.]

Huh? I barely thought for a second about the notification before accepting it. There was no rush of knowledge this time, only a numbing sensation which finally brought a semblance of sanity to my mind.

Perhaps if I had been thinking straight I would have questioned the need for such a skill, considering the skill slots were limited. But it’s not just a little bit of pain that I’m enduring. No, it’s an ungodly amount of agony, and the more I move, the worse it feels.

The tiny bones of my spine had fractured, perhaps even shattered completely... I can’t tell. Hell, I can’t even feel much of my lower body. It feels like I’m dragging it along.

After crawling swiftly for about ten minutes, I found no signs of any other creatures in the cavern. I thought I might encounter giant insects or reptiles along the way, but none whatsoever so far. Well, I wasn’t complaining since my battered body was barely capable of another fight.

I went on for a few more minutes, twisting and turning into the paths. Just as I was about to hiss in relief that I was safe, I fell from the end of the tunnel.

Thankfully, the pit wasn’t too deep. I escaped the fall with minor injuries, though it did a number on me with all the wounds I already bore.

A bird tells me I’ll master the [Pain Resistance] skill pretty quickly, I groaned at the thought.

My day couldn’t have gone any worse when another notification expanded before my eyes, along with Grandpa’s imperative voice. I let out a low hiss of misery.

[You have entered the dungeon, Twisted Web.]

[Dungeon: Twisted Web

Grade: Unknown.

Information: Unavailable.

P.S.: For reasons unknown, the System cannot determine the grade or the primal essence currents inside Twisted Web.]

What does that mean, Grandpa? I let out an indignant sigh, rereading the text to understand better. Whatever it meant, it didn’t sound like good news for me.

Regardless, it changed nothing. I’m out of options.

I limped on the stony ground, my narrow body undulating uncomfortably. My eyes drifted around the cavern, desperately searching for any areas to take refuge. Finding no other creatures in my detection, I let out a sigh of relief. The encounter with the eagle had drained me more than I had anticipated. Even the act of fleeing had depleted a significant amount of my energy.

I was exhausted, weak, severely wounded, and, most of all, hungry. My bottomless stomach growled as a reminder of that.

Fortunately, I won’t have to resort to hunting anytime soon in my weakened state, as the food I had saved up would suffice... at least for a few more days until I would have to eat the python. The constant hunger gnawing at me... I’m not so sure I care about cannibalism anymore.

Retrieving some mushrooms from my inventory, I devoured them without chewing. My metabolism worked in mysterious ways. My digestion ability humbles the frail mortal girl I used to be in my previous life.

Satiating my hunger, I moved into a large crack in the stones and coiled my narrow body to rest.

I need to reach level 25 as soon as possible, I decided.

More than 25 days remained for me to complete the quest, but I didn’t know if I would survive that long with everything the world kept throwing at me. No, 25 days won’t cut it.

I’ll have to get stronger no matter what!