Increased difficulty (3)

You didn't tell me about the vampire snake yet.

<If you must know then fine. It's not like it can even rival choosing the adolescent lamia. Vampire animals usually gain the skills to suck blood and regain their strength by doing so. Some also gain the ability to infect others creating lesser vampires though that is a rarity. You'll likely lose or at least greatly weaken the progression of your sanguine skills if you choose this option. The only benefit is that Valeria will be able to teach you a lot more.

Considering all that I've said the choice is incredibly easy, isn't it?>

I totally agree with you.

"Ptorimea, lock-in lesser sanguine wyrm as my choice."

<What? Why didn't you choose the sanguine adolescent lamia??? Why would you choose something like that damn worm! Tell Ptorimea that you misspoke quickly!>

"Very well, friend. It has been done."

<No, it's too late now.>

Calm down, Navi. I'm happy with my choice so there's no problem.

<No problem? Do you know how strong even an incomplete sub-dragon's bloodline is? You'll definitely lose your human appearance even more than before! You won't be able to interact with any customers.>

Not my problem. And there's still the VR program.

I want to keep talking to Navi but my consciousness abruptly fades. I distinctly feel like I am fighting but apart from that, there's nothing. Just an empty void.

I wake up with a jolt and find myself in my bed, in my room. What happened.

<You went wild and nearly demolished the room we prepared for you. Like we predicted something violent awakened in you and took over the moment your evolution began. You sure you didn't have the talent to become a berserker in your former life.>

Is Ptorimea alright?

<She might not look it but she is a strong monster in her own way. You couldn't hurt her even if you tried. And all you did was lash out driven by instinct. But really, why did you choose the lesser sanguine wyrm?>

It's the last step before becoming a dragon! If I chose it my next evolution would lead to me being a dragon. Who'd settle for something like a lamia?

<Sub-dragon! Wyrms are only sub-dragons. Though I can see your point. The raw strength and tenacity of a sub-dragon alone are worth going for. Whatever, you'll just have to bear the consequences of your choice.>

What consequences?

<Don't your legs feel weirdly comfortable? Look down.>

I look down and discover that the shape of my legs below the covers is all wrong. Pulling the covers aside a thick tail is revealed from my hip down. And here I thought I didn't choose the lamia.

<You didn't. The spell we use to humanize you has partially been intercepted by your new species and the result is that you look like this. But if we want to get technical you don't look like a lamia. Lamias have thinner snake-like tails with smooth scales. Your tail is very thick and has rougher scales. It resembles that of a naga but your power isn't anywhere near it.>

My tail does seem more massive than that of the lamias I saw in Vespasian's dungeon. But it also feels incredibly powerful and very robust.

Status!

Status Jade Lv.1 lesser sanguine wyrm

Mp 10+40+237

Strength 3+40+19

Constitution 3+40+30

Speed 6+40+10

Magic ability 5+40+15

Skills:

universal humanoid language, universal monster language, dungeon map, thermal detection

Sanguine bite lv. 5; blood-stealing constriction lv. 3; weak sanguine venom lv. 8; enhanced stamina lv. 5; sanguine boost lv. 3; stealth lv.4; energy fang lv.7; hardened scales lv.6; tail whip lv.3; heat resistance lv.3; blood magic lv.4; group fight tactics lv.1; digestion of the great serpent lv.1; venomous mist breath lv.1

My constitution stat shot through the roof. My defense is a few folds stronger now if you consider that hardened scales went up by two whole levels too. The last change seems to be that my venom spray skill became venomous mist breath. I wonder how much stronger it is?

It says that it is venomous so I doubt breathing it in will do much damage but unlike the droplets I sprayed before, the mist will be harder to evade.

<I still think that the adolescent lamia would have been the better choice.>

You go ahead and think that then. While you are at it you can do something useful and find a dungeon for me to test my new strength.

<I have just the thing. But the difficulty may be a bit higher than usual.>

Bring it.

I lie back down and moments later I find myself in a magnificent audience chamber. On the large opal throne before me sits a comically small skeleton dressed in a noble's attire. It glances at me with disinterest and waves its hand as if to shoo me away.

On both sides of the chamber, skeleton knights are standing perfectly still like statues. I assume the little skeleton is some kind of commander or ruler in this dungeon so I turn around and head for the door.

The massive two-winged door swings open as I approach and I enter the castle's hallways. The door to the audience chamber is guarded by a platoon of skeleton knights that make me feel threatened just by looking at them. How difficult is this dungeon to conquer?

<This is only a mid-level dungeon. The lich noble you saw before is its dungeon master. He turned his body into an undead to increase his survivability. The dungeon is a story dungeon as we like to call it so it is very difficult to clear if you want to use brute force. But if you do it the right way the difficulty plummets.>

Why would you make a dungeon like that? It's stupid!

<To save on costs of course. If you make certain sacrifices you will get benefits for it. By creating a way to make the dungeon easier he made it harder for those who don't follow that way. And adventurers are stupid so most of them don't bother trying to find the right way.>