NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
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[You consumed an eel. Experience points and satiety have increased]
[Satiety has reached its maximum. Satiety is being converted into experience points due to Gluttony (E) Lv.1 skill]
[Digestion (F) Lv.3 proficiency has reached its maximum. Digestion (F) Lv.3 → Digestion (F) Lv.4]
[Satiety has reached its maximum. Satiety is being converted into experience points due to Gluttony (E) Lv.1 skill]
[Gluttony (E) Lv.1 proficiency has reached its maximum. Gluttony (E) Lv.1 → Gluttony (E) Lv.2]
[Experience points have reached their maximum. Lv.10 → Lv.11]
I was so engrossed in the fight that I didn’t notice, but all my skill levels went up. I think this is the first time I’ve used so many skills at once… it really hit me that I faced a near-death experience and barely made it out.
What lies beyond is a sweet fruit, worthy of the risk, worthy of a challenge.
It’s not just the skills that have changed. The title ‘Master of the Eel’s Spine’, which originally belonged to the eel, has now been slapped right in front of my species name.
[*Master of the Eel’s Spine: The ruler of the eel’s domain. The residents tremble in fear and obedience.]
…That’s vague. The only residents are probably fish that can’t even communicate.
Stepping back outside the valley, I noticed I had grown a size. After a significant effort to climb out of the water, I had now reached 2.6m at Level 11.
‘…Am I longer than an eel now?’
What a surprising feeling.
Even though I haven’t evolved, there’s a bigger change than any evolution. My appearance is the same, but my size has multiplied. Most importantly, I weigh 30kg. Animals like chickens or rabbits could be crushed just by pressing down on them. I’ve grown several times in just a few hours.
‘But I still don’t think I could beat that wolf…’
I don’t even have a 1% chance of winning. If I take a decimal point and stretch it out over a page, only then will the tiniest bit of ‘1’ appear at the end. I thought I had overcome one hurdle, but after climbing that hill, I stumbled upon a massive mountain. And that massive mountain shouldn’t be the end.
Still, I could finally stand at the starting line.
Don’t get complacent, don’t let your guard down, keep pushing forward.
I need to seek the path to grow more.
…
Speaking of which, I think the title mentioned that the eel’s residents are trembling in fear and dread…
***
“What the heck! Why am I always sent to the administrative office?! I can’t believe this!”
My grumbling echoed inside, unable to escape as I struggled for breath. I was dead tired, and unfortunately, I still had a long way to go.
Worn out, Euna looked up at the mountain path, but the end was nowhere in sight.
There used to be a path, but that’s ancient history. Fifty years of unchecked plant growth had concealed all routes.
Feeling hopeless, I wanted to turn back… but I couldn’t. With a sigh, I pressed on until I finally saw a clear valley.
I cupped my hands to collect water and splashed my face. After washing up, I felt a bit better, but using that water was a questionable move.
It must have been the same water the animals drank… I shouldn’t have washed my face.
I put my backpack down, awkwardly checked the map, and it seemed like I was downstream… should I try to get upstream?
Remembering someone once said—if you’re unsure, just try it—Euna grimaced and stood up. I shook off the dirt that had piled under my backpack, and following the waterway, it didn’t take long to reach upstream.
“…?”
As I dipped my hands into the valley, a strange unease hit me, and I tilted my head.
“…Why are there so few fish?”
***
‘Chewy and not bad.’
I couldn’t taste it, but I could tell it had a nice texture. My grief over digestion melted away with that incomprehensible digestion skill. I reaffirmed that my gut instinct choice was spot on.
Though I had snacked on small fish, now those tiny ones wouldn’t give me any experience points; I was only gobbling up the bigger ones, over 30cm.
But I left some small ones behind, so the ecosystem should be safe. …Hopefully.
Even with swimming and diving, catching the fish wasn’t easy, but with the title’s effect kicking in, I was able to eat until I was sick. Eventually, Gluttony hit level 4, and Digestion reached level 9 before my meal was done. Catching just one eel felt like getting a dessert on the side. After devouring the last fish, I checked my status.
[Master of the Eel’s Spine (Amorphous Gel) Lv.14] [EXP 3474 / 5302]
[Body Length 3.11m] [Height 12.8cm] [Weight 36.9kg]
[Strength 51 (73.7%)] [Agility 39 (44.9%)] [Vitality 127]
[Skills]
Gluttony (E) Lv.4, Tentacle (F) Lv.8, Heat Detection (F) Lv.7, Weak Regeneration (E) Lv.5, Weak Stealth (E) Lv.6, Observation (F) Lv.8, Presence Detection (F) Lv.6, Weak Hearing (F) Lv.5, Weak Intuition (F) Lv.3, Weak Vision (F) Lv.4, Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.3, Weak Hardening (E) Lv.3, Transformation (F) Lv.7, Weak Poison Resistance (F) Lv.1, Threat (F) Lv.3, Digestion (F)Lv.9, Swimming (F) Lv.4, Diving (F) Lv.4, Resilience (E) Lv.3
[Remaining Skill Points 5]
I experienced unbelievable growth. When I ate the eel, Gluttony which was at E-rank level 2 shot up to level 4. It’s no wonder with how I completely wiped out the valley’s ecosystem untouched by human hands for decades. And the title proves it, right?
‘Master of the Eel’s Spine.’
A hollow laugh escaped. I don’t need to observe to get the gist of its effectiveness, but I don’t think I’ll benefit from it again. The residents of the eel’s domain had all made excellent protein sources.
Moreover, the system’s displayed status changed slightly. The long-desired figures had emerged. There’s a % attached, but I think I can guess its meaning. Based on previous statuses, it’s likely a comparison again. When I checked with observation, sure enough, it stated that it’s about the average physical abilities of animals with similar weight.
‘Vitality doesn’t even show.’
Not comparable. Only vitality indicates I’m a monster. How amazing it is that the slime that survived grew smaller than my finger joint.
…I’ve spent a decent amount of time in the eel’s domain. But it’s time to leave.
…
Seeing a squirrel up in a tree sparked my appetite. But the problem is, I have no way to get up there. It’s one thing to sneak up on it with stealth, but capturing a fleeing squirrel head-on would be impossible. Then suddenly, a question popped into my mind: ‘Is it really impossible?’
Could I use elasticity like a monkey climbing a tree? Even if I fall, with damage reduction and weak regeneration, I don’t need to worry about dying. Besides, being able to climb trees in the mountains would be a huge advantage. I wouldn’t have to struggle up the steep hills anymore. I might even be able to use it for climbing rocky surfaces too.
It felt worth a shot, so I began to climb the nearest tree. I slipped at first, but using my tentacles to dig into the tree’s crevices gave me enough grip to continue.
However, it was painfully slow; it took me three minutes just to ascend one tree. I was about to reach the lowest branch when another thought occurred to me.
30kg. My own weight. Could that branch truly hold me?
With that thought in mind, I stepped onto the branch. At first, it felt okay, but as I moved to the tip, it began to creak and bend alarmingly. Even though I knew I wouldn’t die or feel pain if I fell, the stark reality still scared me. An instinctive, unavoidable fear. I forced myself to take deep breaths to calm down.
With positive self-suggestions, I finally made it to the tip. Swinging like a pendulum while hanging, I heard unwelcome sounds from the branch.
Crack—crack!
As the branch snapped, I managed to jump just in time. I flew a few meters, landing precariously on a nearby branch.
Well, I succeeded; it wasn’t the exact spot I aimed for, but hey, I didn’t fall. Plus, I was higher than expected, close to the top of the tree. I should have anticipated this kind of movement in water, but the elasticity was stronger than I thought.
‘If I jumped high, I can go further.’
I spotted a position where I could make a straightforward leap and headed there.
[You consumed a squirrel. Satiety and experience points have increased.]
It was a small mishap while I was jumping; the squirrel collided with me and slipped right into my mouth before melting away in an instant.
I hadn’t planned on eating it, but hey, something good is better than nothing.
I felt a renewed awareness of that power. To think a 30kg mass hit me like a cannonball. Just imagining it is terrifying.
Of course, if I got heavier, the branch would surely snap and I’d be grounded.
Anyway, I had climbed pretty high now. Being a slime, I couldn’t make my way into the city, so I’d need to figure out how to get in. I couldn’t just keep living in the wild.
‘If only I could eat that black wolf…’
That would lead to huge growth. If I shifted my form just a little with transformation, could I possibly enter the city?
Even if I devoured that black wolf and turned into a similar wolf, I could still change form to some extent thanks to my transformation skill. As my level increases, I should be able to change more freely. With transformation on my side, there’s no need to stick to being only a slime. …Maybe it’s time to consider evolving into a different creature.
[Possible Evolution List]
1. –
…The immediate goal seems clear: evolve into that black wolf rumored to be the ruler of the mountain. To eat it, I obviously need to grow stronger. I must not stop growing. Suddenly, a creature caught my eye.
A browsing roe deer. Seeing it sharpened my focus. I tensed up like a strung bow and, with sudden release, flew towards it, colliding instantly, turning the deer into a grotesque mass.
It turned into an indescribable form, plastered on the ground, once a roe deer and now utterly transformed. Even though its appearance was horrifying, I kept reminding myself that it was all experience as I deactivated my vision and tried to not think about it while stuffing it into my mouth.
That was an effective strike. An impactful strike, but it had repercussions. The impact hurt my body significantly. Even with weak hardening at the end, it still did some damage.
However, I had acquired a weapon worth the price. Thinking of a 37kg rock dropping from the top of a tree… I might just have become the apex of the ecosystem. At least until that black wolf shows up.
The weak regeneration kicked in quickly, restoring the body area I had lost, and it didn’t take long to devour the bloody mass of the roe deer.
[You consumed a roe deer. Experience points and satiety have increased.]
[Digestion (F) Lv.9 proficiency has reached its maximum. Digestion (F) Lv.9 → Digestion (F) Lv.10]
[Digestion (F) Lv.10 has reached its maximum level. Digestion (F) Lv.10 → Hunger (E) Lv.1]
I expected Tentacle to be the first to reach E-rank, but it was Digestion that hit E-rank first.
Isn’t there a bit of a gap between Digestion and Hunger?…
[Hunger (E): Increases appetite and aids digestion.]
…I don’t think anything’s fundamentally changed. At least my digestion ability remains intact. No, even if the skill level rises, the previous skills don’t disappear.
Continuing down my path, I sensed a peculiar presence behind me. Powerful energy that was easily felt despite being outside the range of heat detection—too much energy for a single creature. It felt like an explosion happened far away.
That massive energy was something I had already encountered once before. Even using it clumsily before evolution had instantly boosted my stealth level—a monster.
It wasn’t even like the black wolf. Instead of weighing my chances, I felt a strong conviction that I wouldn’t stand a chance even if a truck came barreling down at me.
[Weak Intuition (F) Lv.3 proficiency has reached its maximum. Weak Intuition (F) Lv.3 → Weak Intuition (F) Lv.4]
Whenever I feel like I’ve grown stronger, even stronger ones keep appearing, one after the other. I fought rats, battled chickens, faced the monster wolf in the eel’s spine, and struck the master of the eel’s spine, only to realize it all meant nothing.
There’s no respite; it’s a constant reminder.
‘…For now, let’s escape.’
Being brave and being reckless are two different things. I wasn’t looking for a certain death.
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