4 Slow and Slimy

Inside the dark cavern, the screeching sound of claws being slashed against the hard rock was heard. If one was to enter this cave they would see a nearly 3ft in length lizard repeatedly attacking the wall.

The lizard threw his body to gain more momentum each time he clawed the wall. Sparks continued to materialize, glowing bright until they littered the rocky ground becoming dull.

He had been doing this for about 30 minutes now. As he attacked the wall for the last time, this time with much more strength than the previous attack, the lizard hissed.

He was frustrated. It had been nearly two days since he had killed the dark goblin and feasted on the armored hedgehog. During that time he had been testing his skills and trying to level them up. However, in contrast to what he had in mind, none of his skills had leveled up except Night Vision which was now level 4.

Even though he earned some levels in Night Vision, the lack of progress with his other skills annoyed him.

He had wasted nearly two days doing this. Fed up, the lizard stood up on its feet, he was going to go hunt. He hadn't eaten anything since the fight with the dark goblin so he was starving at the moment.

As he walked toward the exit, the friction of his claws touching the rocky ground made a clicking sound. He quickly moved through the extended tunnel of the cave exit and again, he was greeted by the three different routes that split leading to different locations.

It only took him a second to make up his mind as he walked into the route that lead back to the forest expanse. There was no need to tread the unknown and expose himself to danger.

Although the forest expanse was just as dangerous, he felt more comfortable going to a place he had already experienced.

Finally, the lizard had made it back to the forest expanse. The greenery of the plants and trees appeared much more vibrant than before, most likely because of the mutations the lizard underwent. The lizard flicked his tongue searching for its new prey. He began to quickly crawl along.

As he moved, tons of bizarre-looking trees towered over him and even bigger trees stood above those. Large mushrooms loomed below him casting deep shadows over the forest floor. However, he ignored them, flickering his tongue occasionally to pinpoint his prey. Something had caught his attention and he was following its scent.

As he got close to the scent, an odor began to mix and blend with it, making the scent almost unbearable to endure. The lizard shook his head to combat such an awful smell.

He was standing next to a large tree which was wrapped tightly around by white long mushy mushrooms. The nasty smell was at its all-time high. The prey was definitely here, however, as the lizard scanned the area he couldn't see anything other than plants.

He licked the air, collecting the mana molecules. He could almost taste the unpleasant smell. The lizard closed its eyes, allowing his head to follow the scent until he felt it was directly in front of him.

Opening his eyes, in his line of sight was a shelled creature that was slowly simmering up the tree. It was almost half his size but its shell was the shape of a large mushroom. Perhaps that is why he didn't see it?

It moved terribly slow, to the point the lizard began to get confused if it was actually moving or not. As it simmered it left a slimy trail behind it. With a flick of his tongue, the lizard was easily able to pinpoint that the nasty smell was coming from the trail being left behind the shelled creature.

He climbed the tree effortlessly catching up with the slow creature. Underneath the shell, he saw a slimy monster that had its two eyes protruded. As it locked eyes with the lizard it retreated back into its white shell.

The lizard simply swung its body, hitting its tail against the creature. It fell off the tree and landed on the ground but the creature never came out. The lizard crawled back down and hissed. He slapped his tail against the monster once more.

[Tail Whip has reached level 2]

The robotic voice echoed in his mind. His Tail Whip had leveled up? This meant that certain skills could only level up if he was using them directly or indirectly against an enemy. Learning this lizard began repeatedly whipping his tail on the shell.

*Wham*

*Wham*

*Wham*

*Crack*

The shell cracked. Seeing this the lizard continued with more enthusiasm.

*Wham*

*Wham*

*Wham*

[Tail Whip has reached level 3]

*Wham*

*Crash*

[You have defeated level 4 Disorientatio Cochlea]

[You have gained XP]

The shell had been completely broken. Lifting his tail, squished organs began dripping. The lizard drew his face closer to the squished monster and flicked his tongue, smelling and tasting it. The smell made the lizard almost gag, yet he dug into his prey without hesitation.

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Disorientatio Cochlea, you are rewarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Disorientatio Cochlea unlocked]

The robotic voice reverberated in the lizard's mind. No matter how unappealing the food seemed the lizard had already starved for too long, he wouldn't leave food behind.

After a short amount of time, he finally finished the meal and once again heard the robotic voice.

[You have gained one biomass]

***

Monster Profile:

[Disorientatio Cochlea: Disorientation Snail. Vegan monster, its slime trail has a smell used to disorientate and confuse predators. Its shell has high durability. Found in the first and second Stratum of the Great Aeternus Labyrinth]