Evening arrived, and we came to the area near Brownie's old tree hollow.
The Vine Serpent was coiled around the trunk, camouflaged as vines.
If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't spot it at all.
But my system panel clearly marked its location.
"Squeak squeak." I lowered my voice. (That's it. Ready?)
"Squeak!" Brownie nodded. Though somewhat nervous, its eyes were determined.
"Buzz!" Waspy also nodded, wings gently vibrating.
"Squeak squeak squeak." (Stick to the plan. Brownie, you lure it first.)
Brownie took a deep breath, then deliberately hopped around on the ground near the Vine Serpent, making "squeak squeak" sounds.
The Vine Serpent immediately noticed.
Its head lifted slightly, tongue flicking in and out.
"Hsss—"
The next second, it shot forward, lunging at Brownie!
"Squeak!" Brownie was prepared and dodged with a jump.
The Vine Serpent missed and immediately changed direction to continue pursuit.
Brownie ran agilely on the ground, sometimes jumping onto the trunk, sometimes leaping between branches.
The Vine Serpent pursued relentlessly but could never bite it.
Now!
I looked at Waspy and nodded.
Waspy took flight, quietly approaching the Vine Serpent from the side.
The serpent was completely focused on chasing Brownie and didn't notice the aerial threat.
"Buzz—!"
Waspy dove down, its tail stinger precisely piercing the snake's body!
"Hsss—!" The Vine Serpent let out a pained hiss, whipping around to attack Waspy.
But Waspy had already flown to a safe distance.
A few seconds later, the Vine Serpent's movements began turning strange.
It suddenly attacked the empty air beside it, as if invisible enemies were there.
Then it turned its head and bit its own tail, tearing viciously.
"Hsss hsss hsss—!"
It crashed wildly against the trunk, bashing itself bloody.
The hallucinogenic toxin was taking effect!
"Squeak squeak!" I shouted and used Leap, my whole body shooting toward the Vine Serpent like a spring.
Mid-air, I opened my mouth and activated Bite.
"CRUNCH—!"
My teeth precisely bit the snake's head, tearing with all my strength.
Warm liquid flowed into my mouth—the taste of snake blood.
"Hsss—!" The Vine Serpent struggled madly, but it could no longer distinguish reality from hallucination, its attacks completely chaotic.
"Squeak squeak!" Brownie also seized the chance to rush forward, attacking the snake's body with its sharp claws.
Waspy circled in the air, occasionally diving down to add another sting.
The Vine Serpent's HP was dropping rapidly.
[HP: 90/90]
[HP: 75/90]
[HP: 60/90]
[HP: 45/90]
It grew weaker and weaker in its confusion, movements slowing.
Finally, I bit hard onto its neck with Bite and yanked with all my strength—
The Vine Serpent's body jerked, then crashed heavily to the ground, moving no more.
[HP: 0/90]
We'd succeeded!
Just then, a system notification popped up.
[Defeated Vine Serpent]
[Multiple participants detected, experience distributed evenly]
[Gained 100 Experience]
I froze.
100 experience points!
Remember, defeating a Stone Beetle only gave 3 points, and eating it afterward added just 2 more!
And—
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 9/10]
[Experience: 63/100]
I'd leveled up!
"Squeak squeak!" Brownie called excitedly. (We did it!)
"Buzz buzz!" Waspy was also circling in the air, its voice full of joy.
I looked at them and couldn't help smiling too.
We'd really done it.
Three weak magic beasts, working together to kill a predator!
"Squeak squeak squeak." I said. (Quick, let's eat it.)
We began dividing the Vine Serpent's corpse.
The snake meat tasted better than I'd imagined, and the warm current flowing into my body was particularly intense.
Just as I'd eaten a few bites, Waspy suddenly pushed a piece of meat from its portion toward me.
"Buzz buzz..." (You saved me. This is for you.)
Its eyes held gratitude.
I paused, and before I could speak, Brownie also pushed a piece of meat over.
"Squeak squeak squeak." (We wouldn't have succeeded without you. You should eat more.)
I looked at them, warmth welling up inside me.
"Squeak..." (Thank you.)
I didn't refuse, accepting their kindness.
I continued eating as system notifications kept appearing.
[Gained 12 Experience]
[Gained 10 Experience]
[Gained 14 Experience]
Experience was rising rapidly.
75/100...
85/100...
99/100...
Then—
[Gained 5 Experience]
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 10/10]
[Experience: ——]
Max level!
I looked at the "10/10" on the panel, and the experience displayed as "——."
Just then, the system panel suddenly flashed.
A new notification appeared at the bottom of the panel.
[Evolution Options]
My heart pounded.
"Squeak squeak?" Brownie's voice pulled me back to reality. (What's wrong?)
"Buzz buzz?" Waspy also looked at me with concern.
I snapped back, looking at them.
"Squeak squeak." (Nothing, just thinking.)
Brownie and Waspy had clearly also felt changes in their bodies, discussing excitedly.
"Squeak squeak squeak!" (I feel so much stronger!)
"Buzz buzz!" (Me too!)
I smiled and didn't say much.
The sky had completely darkened, and the forest began filling with the calls of nocturnal magic beasts.
"Squeak squeak squeak." I said. (Let's head back first. It's not safe here.)
The Vine Serpent's bloody smell might attract other predators.
We packed up the remaining snake meat—Brownie and Waspy's portions went into my Cheek Pouch Space for now.
After returning to the tree hollow, Brownie and Waspy quickly fell asleep. Today's battle had truly exhausted them.
But I couldn't sleep.
I sat at the hollow's entrance, looking at the dark forest outside, then pulled up the system panel again.
[Evolution Options]
I took a deep breath and opened the option.
The panel instantly expanded, displaying a large amount of information.
First was an explanatory text:
[Detected current level cap reached]
[First evolution available]
[Evolution path will affect future growth]
[Please choose carefully]
Then four options appeared below.
Each option had detailed descriptions and evolution requirements.
I carefully examined these options.
[Evolution Path 1: Hoarder Squirrel]
[Level Cap: 25]
[A rodent-type magic beast with a pocket dimension, loves hoarding various items, possesses brief spatial evasion ability]
[Traits: Dimensional Cheek Pouch, High Sensitivity, Spatial Affinity]
[Skills: Leap, Bite, Spatial Dodge]
[Evolution Requirements:]
[1. Have at least 8 different types of items in Cheek Pouch Space simultaneously (Not Met)]
[2. Successfully store a living creature and maintain its survival for 1 hour (Not Met)]
[Status: Requirements Not Met]
I froze.
Requirements needed?
I'd thought reaching max level meant I could evolve directly—I didn't expect specific conditions had to be met!
I continued reading.
[Evolution Path 2: Fang Rat]
[Level Cap: 25]
[A rodent-type predator magic beast with sharp fangs and claws, fierce temperament, actively hunts prey obviously stronger than itself]
[Traits: Sharp Fangs and Claws, Predatory Instinct]
[Skills: Mauling Bite, Claw Attack, Pounce]
[Evolution Requirements:]
[1. Actively prey on 8 magic beasts of equal or higher level (Not Met)]
[2. Defeat 1 magic beast with superior abilities alone (Not Met)]
[Status: Requirements Not Met]
I looked at the third option.
[Evolution Path 3: Nimble Leaper]
[Level Cap: 25]
[An agile rodent-type magic beast, movements quick and nimble, excels at leaping and evasion, difficult to capture]
[Traits: Enhanced Agility, Graceful Form]
[Skills: Continuous Leap, Evasion, Bite]
[Evolution Requirements:]
[1. Use Leap skill 800 times cumulatively (Not Met)]
[2. Complete direction changes 5+ times while airborne (Not Met)]
[Status: Requirements Not Met]
Finally, the fourth.
[Evolution Path 4: Sensing Scout]
[Level Cap: 15]
[A rodent-type magic beast with keen perception, can detect danger in advance, sense items and magic fluctuations, enjoys stealing others' belongings]
[Traits: Danger Premonition, Item Sensing]
[Skills: Magic Detection, Stealth]
[Evolution Requirements:]
[1. Steal 10 items from others (Not Met)]
[2. Successfully detect and avoid danger 15 times in advance (Not Met)]
[Status: Requirements Not Met]
After reading all the options, I fell into deep thought.
Every path required conditions...
And each path's development route was completely different.
I began carefully analyzing.
Fang Rat—combat specialization. Though it looked strong, the evolution requirements were too difficult. Plus, we had Waspy now. Its hallucinogenic toxin had already proven its value in combat, ensuring basic fighting power. I didn't really need to become a pure combat type.
Nimble Leaper—agility specialization. This looked like it would greatly improve survival ability, but... I glanced at the skill list. Leap, Evasion, Bite—no space-related skills at all!
This meant if I chose this path, I'd lose my Cheek Pouch Space!
No way, that would be too wasteful. The Cheek Pouch Space was my biggest advantage—I couldn't give it up.
Sensing Scout—perception specialization. Treasure-hunting and scouting abilities would become excellent, and Magic Detection and Stealth sounded very useful too. But... from the skills, it completely lost combat ability, becoming pure support.
Finally, Hoarder Squirrel—spatial enhancement.
I carefully read this option's description.
"Cheek Pouch Space becomes Dimensional Cheek Pouch..."
This meant the Cheek Pouch Space might become more stable, allowing Brownie and Waspy to stay inside longer!
Plus there was the new skill "Spatial Dodge."
Though the description was brief, "brief spatial evasion ability" sounded very powerful.
This had high potential to be a life-saving divine skill!
The more I looked, the more I felt this path suited me.
Spatial ability was my core. If the space could contain more companions, we could leverage even greater advantages.
And I suddenly imagined a scene—enemies thinking it was just me alone, then I suddenly released a whole group of companions from my space. That spectacle...
Just thinking about it felt amazing!
"I'll choose this one!" I made up my mind.
I clicked the "Hoarder Squirrel" option.
The system panel immediately showed a notification:
[Evolution path selected: Hoarder Squirrel]
[After completing evolution requirements, click evolution option again to evolve]