I used [Sensing] again right after the snake's clone disappeared, but I didn't detect any energy waves at all.
Energy waves only occur when there's a fluctuation in the space caused by the activation of a skill. So the disappearance of the clone wasn't caused by a skill?
But the only wave I can sense right now is coming from the big snake, so did it use some skill or mechanism to make the clone vanish?
Aaaaaa... I'm too lazy to think.
Not teleportation.
Not substitution.
Then what is it?
I want to go home!
But my home is that cave that's been destroyed, right?
I want to escape!
While I was thinking, the big snake somehow got behind me and slammed its tail into my back before I could react, sending me flying.
Got sent flying again,
Damn it.
Thankfully I managed to use [Flash] at the last moment, so the impact wasn't too bad.
The snake didn't follow up the attack—instead, it summoned two smaller snakes to its side.
What's it planning?
My anxiety grew stronger.
Then I saw the two small snakes disappear while the big snake coiled up tightly.
I didn't dare to attack; I just retreated as far as I could and observed cautiously.
What is it doing?
Is it restoring its strength?
Is this some kind of special move?
My mind kept racing through all the possible devastating skills the snake might be preparing to unleash.
This time, I knew that [Adamantine Body] wouldn't be enough, so I had [Invincible Shield] ready.
But it didn't go the way I thought!
The snake's outer skin suddenly started cracking and falling off in small fragments.
It… it's shedding its skin?
I suddenly had a very bad feeling.
And just like I expected, the snake was in the middle of shedding. It's probably going to be fully restored after this.
I knew I needed to do something, but I was helpless.
I turned to check the dragon, but it still hadn't moved.
Damn it.
Don't leave me alone with this thing.
The snake's external wounds began to heal, including the severe one on its head.
I knew it!
I have to run.
No.
Running won't help either.
But that's not all—from behind the snake, a pair of wings emerged, the same purple color as its scales. Now it had two heads, and its outer skin grew spikes without even needing to activate a skill like before.
This…
It's evolving!
Why!?
It was already hard enough to stall it while it was injured, and now it's evolved on top of being fully healed.
I tried using [Appraisal] on it again.
<
Huh? Why did its level reset after evolving?
But the change in name proves that it really has evolved.
Now I'm in deep trouble…
Earlier, even when it was badly wounded, I couldn't do anything to it—what hope do I have now that it's back to full strength and even stronger?
This is hopeless.
How long will it take to kill me?
Will it eat me or just blow me to pieces?
<
Am I scared?
Of course I am.
It would be weird not to be.
What do I do now?
Even if I wanted to run now, I don't think it would let me escape.
Sure enough, it's staring at me like it's about to devour me whole.
As soon as its evolution completed, the snake charged at me with no warning, slamming its tail toward me.
Same old move, but now with speed and pressure a hundred times greater than before.
Every cell in my body screamed in alarm, but I was frozen in place. At the very last second, I managed to activate [Flash] to escape, though I still suffered damage from the shockwave.
Just the shockwave alone was enough to make my whole body ache.
The moment I landed, the snake attacked again. I tried [Paralyzing Evil Eye], and it paused for exactly one second before charging again.
No time to think, I had to keep using [Flash].
But after each teleport, the snake would still appear right in front of me, forcing me to chain flash non-stop—I didn't even have time to use my evil eye again.
<
Compared to the earlier fight, I'm now in a situation where even a single mistake means death.
Hang in there, me.
Somehow, even though I'm terrified and under pressure, part of me is… exhilarated.
Is this what they call battle mania?
Tch tch.
How am I still thinking about nonsense like that?
I kept dragging the fight out, but from overusing my skills, my stamina was already hitting rock bottom again.
<
Huh? What's SP?
Since it appeared when I'm exhausted, it must be related to skill usage.
Thanks a ton, system.
My SP began to slowly recover, but at the rate I was spending it, the recovery couldn't keep up at all. I had no idea how long I could hold out.
On the other side, the snake stopped its physical pursuit and switched to using skills.
A wave of scorching purple heat burst from its mouth straight toward me.
Nai wa.
That thing's dangerous.
I had to flash five or six times in a row to get out of its attack range, but unfortunately, one of my legs got caught in the flames and caught fire.
PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN!
I tried putting the fire out, but it didn't work—so I had to abandon the leg.
Now I was down to five legs out of eight, and moving became much harder.
If I recall correctly, fire is a critical weakness of spiders in my previous life, right?
If that holds true for my species too, then I'll have to be especially careful with that skill.
While thinking, I kept using [Flash] because standing still for even a second could get me killed.
The snake kept shooting magic from its mouth—fire, then ice, then earth, wind, all sorts of elements…
And I could only dodge passively.
Once again, I used [Flash] to dodge the massive stone pillars it summoned, but before I could [Flash] again, a fireball shot toward me.
That sense of impending death came rushing back, and I instantly activated [Invincible Shield].
Boom!
An explosion erupted, but surprisingly, I survived—completely unscathed.
The shield in front of me held firm as a rock. When I looked around, the whole area had turned into a sea of fire, with scorched black earth and rocks.
Even the snake looked surprised that I was still alive.
<
Oh wow, just one block and it already leveled up.
As expected of a gifted skill.
But this thing drains energy like crazy. Just one use felt like it cost nearly ten times as much SP as using [Flash].
I'd better conserve it.
<
Even though the skill just leveled up, I don't think I can hold on much longer. I feel increasingly exhausted—dizzy and lightheaded, with my insides screaming from overwork.
Owwwwhhhh.
SP just regenerated a bit!! [Endurance] saved me again.
With the amount that recovered, I estimate I can use [Invincible Shield] two more times.
Hopefully by then, the dragon will wake up.
After seeing that its attack failed, the snake switched to a new method. It curled itself up again, head pointing upward.
Damn it.
I know what it's doing.
I quickly ran away—as far as I could. Since it had evolved, I had no idea how powerful this version of the skill was, so I needed to stay far enough even if I wanted to level up my resistance.
I ran at full speed, but after only a few steps, I started to feel pain in my soul.
I fell down, rolling on the ground.
It hurts like hell.
Even though I was far away and had resistance, the pain was much stronger than before, proving that this version of the skill was being used at high intensity.
By my estimate, it's at least five times stronger than before.
<
After enduring that long, finally my skill leveled up.
Thanks to that, I had a brief moment to catch my breath.
I managed to stand up again, but I didn't run this time. Using pain to level up resistance might be dangerous, but it's also very efficient.
Ow ow…
Oww…
The pain spread throughout my body, and it felt like my head would explode.
The snake, seeing me stand up, focused on me even more. It intensified the skill, and just as the pain had started to ease, it surged again.
I could feel my resistance rising rapidly. The sudden spike in pain followed by a gradual decrease showed that the resistance was working.
I had to pretend to still be in agony so the snake would keep using the skill.
A body this good shouldn't go to waste.
<
Success!
While enduring the pain, I also got other things done.
<<300 Skill Points used to upgrade [Auto SP Recovery Lv2] to [Auto SP Recovery Lv3]>>
<<400 Skill Points used to upgrade [Auto SP Recovery Lv3] to [Auto SP Recovery Lv4]>>
<<300 Skill Points used to upgrade [Auto HP Recovery Lv1] to [Auto HP Recovery Lv2]>>
With the system's level-up notifications, the snake finally stopped—it must've given up after seeing I was still standing.
I actually wanted it to keep going.
My resistance was pretty high now, so the pain wasn't even that bad anymore.
Oh well.
While enduring the pain, I upgraded my SP and HP recovery skills using Skill Points because I desperately needed them.
The fatigue eased up noticeably, proving that leveling up the skills really helped.
Good.
I'm ready to fight again.
I don't know how much energy the snake has left, but if I can drain it completely, I won't have to worry about it spamming all those spells anymore.
Alright.
Let's go, time to make my move!