A Cold-Blooded POV

[Novacula Oris Vermiculus: Razor Mawed Maggot. A newly spawned and created monster, and the subspecies of the Vermiculus monster species. They are specifically designed to live underground on the first stratum of the new Labyrinth that is being constructed. The mutation and evolution pathways are currently being theorized]

​ Ethoss listened to the mechanical voice intently. From what he had just heard from the voice, these maggots were a new species, not only that but, their was a new labyrinth being created. Ethoss had already knew that he himself was born in a labyrinth, specifically the Great Aeternus Labyrinth.

How could he not know? Every time he killed and consumed a new monster in the forest expanse, their monster profile would be unlocked, and on every single one of those profiles it always mentioned them inhabiting the the Great Aeternus Labyrinth. Although he was ignorant to various things due to his limited knowledge on the world, Ethoss was very observant.

Intelligence wasn't only in the form of knowledge, it was also based on memory, deduction, and awareness.

Now, the first question was how did he gain the advanced profile of the maggot monster? If he thought about it clearly, there could be many reasons. Was it because of his love for eating them? No, that's too narrow of a reason, if it was that easy, he'd already have several advanced profiles unlocked at this point, he loved all of his food, after all.

Maybe it was because the monster was a new species? Unlikely, actually this was impossible. Every single monster that he consumed during his time in the cavern network all had the same description's regarding where they inhabited: 'Only found in #%*! Unnamed'. The "unnamed" was probably the new labyrinth that was being created. There was a high chance that all the monsters within these caverns were new a species also, and he hadn't gained an advanced profile from any of them.

There was only one reason that made logical sense to Ethoss. It was the amount of times he had consumed the maggots. Ethoss had already eaten over 40 of these maggots over the days, which was more than any other monster he'd eaten before. Apart from the maggots, the goblins were the second most monster species he had eaten.

Not to mention, the voice in Ethoss's head had announced something about the monster digestion proficiency being reached. Speaking of the voice…

'What is that voice exactly? It always sounds weird when it talks to me about my levels and mutations, however, it sounded drastically different during my evolution when it talked to me. It even had the appearance of a giant eye…' Ethoss thought.

He had always been curious about the voice in his head. Not his thoughts, which he was now used to, but the other voice. The voice that always spoke to him, even before he was conscious. The one that he was sure didn't belong to himself, yet didn't feel alienated.

More and more questions were being formed, yet, he could not receive any answers. The only way he'd get those answers was if he grew and became much stronger than he was now.

With this, Ethoss felt a surge of motivation encompass him. His nightly blue eyes gleamed with new ambition. It was time for him to move out of these caverns, he had already claimed as much biomass that he could, tasting each and every insect within the confines of this cave network. This place would not allow him to grow as he wanted, and he had been unsatisfied with the level of freedom that he was restricted to. He was a large reptile, so these tunnels and caves made him feel suffocated. Even if he was forced to dig his way out, he was determined to get out of this place.

Before that though, Ethoss wanted to mutate. After eating the diverse amounts of insect monsters, he had amassed 17 biomass, which was just enough for him to get the rest of his mutations to +5.

Ethoss pulled up the status in his mind.

Name: Ethoss

Level: 7(Red Core)

Strength: 60

Toughness: 55

Cunning: 50

Will: 27

HP: 54/54

MP: 36/36

Skills[Attack]: Lethal Venomous Bite level(II) 2, Reinforced Tail Whip(II) level 1, Pernicious Claw Swipe(II) level 1

Skills[Support]: Rapid Dash(II) level 2, Deep Night Vision(II) level 3, Discoloration Camouflage(II) level 3, Dig level 4, Mana Shaping(II) level 1, Mana Recycle level 1

Mutations: Unmasked Jacobson's organ +5, Absorption Legs +5, Mana-sight Eyes +5, Crystal Scales +5, Claws +3, Teeth +4, Flamethrower Fire Gland +5

Species: Draco Aeternus Lacerta(Male)

Biomass: 17

Skill Point: 4

'First, let's go mutate my teeth' He thought.

As he willed himself to mutate his teeth, just like his previous time mutating his mutations to +5, another window opened and enlarged itself, showcasing a list with countless options he could choose for his teeth's upgrade.

Ethoss scrolled through the list patiently, unlike last time, he wasn't tired nor sleepy. This meant he could take his time to debate on the route he wanted to take regarding his mutations.

There were pretty interesting options, like the upgrade Bloodsucking Teeth. This mutation gave him the ability to suck the blood of his prey and turn it into HP for himself. Each time he bit into his prey, his teeth would simultaneously suck it's blood. Honestly it was a pretty decent upgrade, if he couldn't find something he wanted more, then he would most likely come back to this.

There was another upgrade similar to the Deadly Bloodsucking Teeth, however this one sucked mana? Ethoss liked liked magic and he loved his mana shaping skill, however, he had already gained so many skills and mutations specifically for his magic casting. What he needed now was more offensive or defensive mutations for his physicality.

He continued to scroll, until he finally came across a mutation that he felt was perfect for him: Noxious Teeth.

[Noxious Teeth - Allows a potent venom to be channelled through, inducing a deadly venom with every bite]

This would give him a synchronization between the mutation and his skill, Lethal Venomous Bite, making his venom buildup drastically more fatal than before. Not to mention, he instinctively felt a very strong urge to mutate and take this route.

Next was his claws. He willed it to mutate to +5 and the window showing all the options of mutations opened. Ethoss found lots of cool options that he could go with, however, what interested him here was another mutation upgrading his venom buildup. What he was aiming for was complete synchronization for his venom. Achieving that would make hunting— no, it would make killing extremely simple. Venom was a extremely efficacious way to kill, and that's exactly what he needed, especially if humans were going to be an issue in the future.

[Nocuous Claws - Allows a potent venom to be channelled through, inducing a deadly venom with each attack]

Ethoss selected this, then the next prompt popped up asking for confirmation.

[Would you like to purchase Noxious Teeth +5 and Nocuous Claws +5? It will cost 14 biomass.]

He accepted.