Leo looked back, only to see his tail. Leo didn't want a tail so he tried to bite it off. He started knowing at it when he felt a sharp pain. He stopped biting his tail.

He had to accept his fate. He was a crocodile. Leo burst into crocodile tears. Wait, wasn't there a weird screen thing he had to look at. As suddenly as they started the crocodile tears stopped. Leo tried to bring up that screen. It popped up again.

Name Leo 1/10 Species Saltwater Crocodile Traits: 5 Tier 1 Mutations: 0

It appeared that he was in a game like world. He wondered what the 1/10 meant. As though it read his thoughts, a screen popped up.

Levels

At max level, evolution occurs. Indicates level of growth. Ten as a max level indicates a Tier 1 creature. Leveling occurs through combat.

Huh. Apparently, he was able to enhance his growth and strength through murder. Well, assuming he was a wild animal then he would need this enhanced growth in order to survive. The average crocodile started small, only about 11 inches. They typically ate invertebrates at this stage of growth. Leo wasn't sure he was prepared to become a predator yet. He still had a very human mentality. He wasn't ready to eat frogs or whatever was available.

Leo laid down and rolled on his back. He looked around and noticed that he was by a river system. From here it looked like a delta. Behind him was open dunes of sand, while in front of him was the delta and presumably an ocean. Leo looked around and spotted a large toad. He knew that the sooner he got over it then the sooner he would live properly as a crocodile.

It had actually once been his dream to live as a crocodile. Only because of how cool they were. They were basically dragons in his eyes. He walked over to the toad. It tried to hop away from him but he ate it quickly as it went to his stomach he got a notification.

[ You have killed an Adult Bullfrog(T1)! 256 experience rewarded!]

[You have leveled up! + 1 Mutation point]

Leo felt immense pain as his crocodile body expanded. He felt it as his scales hardened and he grew at least triple his previous size.

He settled down as the pain came to an end. He looked back at himself and he noticed that he seemed to be 3 feet long now. He rolled around in joy. He no longer had to be at the very bottom of the food chain. He could eat something more solid. Leo realized that the sun on his back felt very nice. He remembered his cold blooded body loved heat. The status window beckoned him.

Name Leo 2/10 Species Saltwater Crocodile Traits: 5 Tier 1 Mutations: 0

It appeared that he had only leveled once and had grown to a third of a mature Saltwater Crocodile's size. He checked to see one thing he had been curious about, his traits.

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Traits

Endling- The last of your kind. Unlocks unique evolution paths.

Aquatic Adaptation- Can survive in both salt and fresh water.

Scaled- Has hard keratin scales with small bone plates underneath.

Crocodilian- Environment regulates body temperature, enhanced immune system

Acidic Stomach- Highly acidic stomach allows for enhanced digestion

Leo looked at his traits and nodded. Everything seemed right. The most important trait to him however was Endling. It told him that he must be in someplace where there were no crocodiles. At least he was able to unlock a unique path. Now onto the most interesting feature of his status, Mutations.

Mutations

Enhancements to the body that help you to qualify for certain evolutionary paths.

Available Mutations

2 points (1/1000lbs)

Titanic- Double size per level [5]

Devour- Allows for digestion of inorganic mass as mutation points [10]

Jagged - Sharpens scales, claws, and teeth [1]

Armored- Adds mass and density to scales and tissue [3]

Leo nodded his triangular head. The mutations seemed to be based off of a point system. He received 1 point per level and 1 point per 1000 lbs eaten. Some of the mutations looked great, but were far too expensive. For instance, titanic would be amazing. It would double his size. Devour would enhance his ability to earn points as well. It was a long term investment. He only had enough points to buy one mutation anyway. He didn't want to become a spiky crocodile just yet so he didn't bother to buy it and closed the screen.

Leo considered his next move. According to traditional crocodile behavior, he should be doing his best to eat and hunt as much as possible. Leo checked his level and noticed something new.

Level 2/10

156/200 experience

According to this he only needed a few more experience before he had another growth spurt. Leo made sure he was ready to go and went for the next biggest prey he had seen. A crane looking thing that was in the water a good distance away. He slipped into the water the way he'd seen crocodiles do for years. It felt very nice to swim in the water. It felt very natural, instinctual. He swam through the water towards the crane. He was very silent. He felt like his body was falling into familiar patterns that he'd known all his life. He felt as his body slowed down in order to increase his stealth. He slowly approached the crane. The only thing poking out of the water was his nose.

Leo suddenly exploded out of the water. He grasped the bird in his jaws and dragged it into the water. It tried to get away, but he brought it below the surface and drowned it until he received the notification.

[You have killed an Elder Desert Crane(T1)! 345 experience rewarded!]

[You have leveled up! + 1 Mutation point]

He ate it by ripping pieces off of the bird until he could eat the remains whole. The blood surprisingly didn't bother him as he felt himself grow in size to what looked like 6 feet. He looked through his clear third eyelid as he moved through the water to search for his next prey.