At the outermost edge of the Beginner Forest, there was a faint green line that was almost impossible to notice. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a thin blade of grass lying on the ground. However, if one looked closer, they would realize that the line was actually alive. It was a tiny snake. Its body was only about ten centimeters long, slender and nearly identical in color to the surrounding grass. Because of this, spotting it was extremely difficult. The small snake slightly raised its head, quietly observing the silent forest around it. Its instincts constantly warned it to remain alert, because in this forest, the weak rarely survived for long.
The small snake carefully looked around. Everything around it seemed enormous; even the blades of grass looked like small trees to its tiny body. A strange unease stirred within it. Where am I… and why is everything so big? it wondered. It tried to search its memories, as if it should remember something important. Yet no matter how hard it tried, nothing surfaced in its mind. While questioning itself, it suddenly noticed something even stranger. It didn't just forget how it came here… it couldn't even remember its own name. Not a single memory of its past remained. Realizing this filled the tiny snake with an indescribable emptiness and a faint sense of panic.
At that moment, a cold and mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
Beep…
[Evolution System Activated]
[Status Panel]
[Name: Aethryon Drakoryx]
[Title: None]
[Race: Datura Snake]
[Cultivation: 1 Year]
[Combat Power: 3-Year Spirit (Level 3 Spirit Student)]
[Element: Poison]
[Abilities: Weak Poison Breath, Low-Level Concealment]
[Divine Concept: None]
[Evolution]
[System Shop]
[0 Points]
...
The small snake froze for a moment. He tried to understand the strange panel that had suddenly appeared within his mind. At the very least, he now knew one thing.
"At least I know my name… Aethryon Drakoryx."
When he repeated the name in his mind, a strange feeling appeared within him. It felt natural, as if the name truly belonged to him. Yet many questions still remained unanswered.
Thinking carefully, Aethryon spoke within his mind.
"What… are you?"
He waited for a moment.
Silence.
The forest remained just as quiet as before, and no response came from the system.
After tinkering with the system for a while, Aethryon became certain that it showed no signs of intelligence or consciousness. It seemed to be nothing more than a mechanical tool. It didn't answer questions and showed no reaction to his thoughts.
Soon, his attention moved to the next option: Evolution.
However, when he opened it, he discovered that there was only a single choice available.
[White Datura Snake]
[High-Level Poison]
[50% Larger than a Standard Datura Snake]
[Low-Level Speed]
[Powerful Poison Breath]
[Requirements]
[Become a 200-Year Spirit Beast]
[Consume 100 Poisonous Plants]
[Kill at least one Level 15+ Spirit Master]
When Aethryon read the conditions, he couldn't help but sigh internally.
Every one of those requirements felt unbelievably far away. Right now, he was only a one-year spirit beast. Forget killing a Spirit Master he was probably too weak to even face a stronger spirit beast.
Lowering his head slightly, he grumbled inwardly.
"I wish this system at least had some kind of consciousness…"
If it did, he could at least ask it a few questions or maybe even scold it for giving such ridiculous requirements. Unfortunately, all he faced was a silent and emotionless panel.
Meanwhile, the forest remained just as quiet as before.
The next thing Aethryon looked at was the System Shop. Unfortunately, it couldn't be said that the options there were very useful to him.
[System Shop]
[1-Month Bone Hardening Strawberry: 1 Point]
...
[10,000-Year Spirit Beast Bloodline: 50,000 Points]
[Pure True Dragon Bloodline: 1,000,000 Points]
[Pure Phoenix Bloodline: 1,000,000 Points]
[1,000,000-Year Divine Life Fruit: 10,000,000 Points]
...
The list seemed to go on endlessly.
However, Aethryon had no intention of continuing to look. Everything in the shop was tempting enough to make his mouth water. Powerful bloodlines, divine fruits, unimaginable treasures… every item looked incredible.
But the reality was far harsher.
Right now, Aethryon was poor beyond poor.
He didn't even have a single point.
Worse yet, the system didn't even tell him how to earn points.
The small snake slightly tilted his head. A strange sense of helplessness rose within him. In front of him lay a mountain of endless treasures, yet he didn't have the ability to reach even the smallest stone on that mountain.
Suddenly, Aethryon's stomach growled loudly.
He needed to eat. But what exactly could he hunt? A helpless thought appeared in his mind. My god… I'm only a ten-centimeter snake. No matter how much he complained internally, the reality wouldn't change. If he wanted to survive, he had to hunt. With that thought, the tiny snake slowly began to move forward.
After about half an hour, he finally found something. A mouse roughly fifteen centimeters in size.
The good news was that it was an ordinary animal. That meant it wasn't a serious threat to him.
The bad news, however, was that the mouse was bigger than him. Killing and eating it would definitely take time.
But that wasn't actually a major problem. Aethryon was currently in the outermost and weakest area of the Beginner Forest. Most of the spirit beasts roaming this area were either at the same level as him or simply normal animals. For the small snake, this meant at least a somewhat safe place to begin.
Aethryon wasted no more time and immediately launched his attack. Moving quickly with his small body, he first coiled tightly around the mouse's body. Then he drove his extremely venomous fangs into the mouse.
At first, the mouse struggled wildly. Its tiny claws scraped against the ground as it desperately tried to escape. However, Aethryon's venom was far too powerful for an ordinary animal. The poison quickly spread through the mouse's body, and within seconds its movements began to weaken. Soon after, it went completely still.
The mouse had already begun its journey to the other world… and this trip came with a one-way ticket.
Aethryon stayed still for a few seconds. Then a thought slowly appeared in his mind.
"Maybe I've been underestimating myself."
After all, he wasn't an ordinary snake. He was a Spirit Beast.
Without thinking too much about it, Aethryon immediately began eating.
At first, he thought he would feel disgusted. After all, eating a raw mouse didn't exactly sound appealing. However, to his surprise, the taste was strangely good. In fact, his instincts seemed to accept it as something completely natural. Aethryon assumed this was probably because he was now a Spirit Beast. His sense of taste had changed, and he no longer possessed any human memories that might make him feel repulsed.
It took him about two hours to finish eating the mouse. For his tiny body, it was quite a large meal. But in the end, his stomach was full and he felt strangely satisfied.
At that moment, the familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind once again.
[1 Adult Mouse Consumed]
[You have gained 0.1 Points]