2 Adventure! Hunger? Fear.
A small snake slithered along the dense underbrush of an expansive forest. His soft green scales made him easy prey, as they had yet to solidify. He was just a hatchling of course!
Unlike other hatchlings though, he had no reference, no parents, no teacher. He didn't know what to do, or even, what a parent was. All that he wanted to do was look around.
So he did.
He just kept on going in a single direction.
No rhyme.
No reason.
He observed towering trees, small ferns, the dry and dehydrated needles coating the forest floor beneath his body. He slithered up massive rocks, only to be scared back to the underbrush by a shadow cast by a creature from above. He drank from small streams to quench his thirst, only to be scared back by reflective creatures splashing about beneath the surface.
He watched as the clouds passed over the canopy above and as the blue sky faded into a darker grey.
Along his adventure he had discovered an interesting ability, he could see the warm spots and the cold spots clear as day. When he first saw those spots, he was spooked by the floating green creature appearing from nowhere.
[Ability awakened! : Infrared Vision]
For some reason, those strange creatures would follow him around, appearing at the most frustrating times.
When the shadow scared him off of the rock and he hurt himself trying to get down:
[Damage taken! : -1 HP]
When he took a drink from the small stream:
[Hydrated! : Recovery speed increases]
Every time he was distracted those meddling creatures would come and scare him away. After those creatures appeared several times, they would not move... So he tried to touch one.
As soon as his small red tongue touched the bottom of the creature, it faded away like mist, much to the small snake's terror.
After this, he just decided to ignore them, but his adventure was soon interrupted by a dull aching pain down the length of his uniform body. It wouldn't go away, nor would it fade. The little snake was hungry. Perhaps, if he had eaten the food within his egg he would have been able to travel further.
Thus, he decided to go back.
He needed to eat, and he didn't even know how to hunt, so his only option would be to go back to his egg. So back to the egg he slithered.
After a few wrong turns and loop-backs our little scaredy-snake arrived at where it all began. His egg.
Much to his outrage, it seems that a few small flying insects had taken up residence in his former home! He would not stand for this! For the first time today, he had found creatures that were smaller and weaker than him. It was time to take out his anger on them.
He slithered as fast as his thin little body would slither, and as soon as he was close enough to the egg, he reared up and struck!
Only to completely miss one of the bugs.
The audacity!
These bugs had the audacity to come into his home, to feast on his food, and not even ask him! And now, now these little squirrely bugs had the gall to dodge him! A snake! In his own home!
He was very, very angry.
Despite the fact that he had completely abandoned his "home" earlier that day. Snakes aren't known for their intelligence...
Nonetheless, he struck yet again! This time trapping a little fly within his "strong" jaw. He quickly swallowed, in order to keep that little bug from escaping and eating any more of his food.
[Creature slain! : Miniscule Fly]
[Analyzing Creature: Data added to Monster Log!]
[Assimilating highest stat...]
[All stats are "1"]
[Assimilating random stat...]
[+1 Agility!]
Six green creatures appeared! In a moment of despair (not really), the little snake got faster (it was because of the stat increase), skillfully (clumsily), he bit and whipped his tail at the evil green creatures. In his weakest moment, a moment of triumph, they had come to attack him!
He would not let that happen! He would not let them steal his food!
After a few desperate bites and swipes, the creatures dissolved into mist.
The other Miniscule Flies, despite their single intelligence point, knew crazy when they saw it, and flew away as fast as their flimsy little wings could carry them. Sadly for them, our little snake's agility is much higher than theirs now, and he quickly caught up and snatched them right out of the air.
[Creatures slain: Miniscule Fly x3]
[Assimilating highest stat...]
[All stats are "1"]
[+1 Intelligence +1 Vitality +1 Agility]
The green creatures! They show their dirty faces yet again! Our snake was angry now! Very angry! So angry in fact, that his body became even stronger! (it was the stat increase)
In a moment of extreme focus, the little snake rocketed himself high into the air (just above the ground) and spun in the air! He bit and swiped his tail and defeated the devilish green creatures yet again!
Finally... peace.
Exhausted, he slowly slithered his way back to his egg.
He looked around to make sure he was safe from those green creatures, before quickly devouring everything in sight. The soft eggshell, the delicious (though slightly stale) inner fluid, everything. Ahhh... relief. His hunger was finally sated.
[Hunger sated! : Recovery speed increased!]
[Creature consumed: Miniscule Fly Egg x153]
[Assimilating highest stat...]
[All stats are below the threshold of "1"]
[Combining assimilated energy...]
[+13 Free Stat Points!]
[Title Earned: Ovivorous]
[Ovivorous: You ate a lot of eggs! Since you like it so much... Why not get more energy from them?
Effect: Receive more energy, and possibly stat points from consumed eggs. Digest them more efficiently as well.]
He felt it.
Fear.
Through some divine intervention, or possibly some unlocked sixth sense, he knew.
He knew they were there.
Right behind him.
More than he had ever faced at once.
He didn't even need to look.
He ran... well, slithered, as fast as he could. They were endless. He had defeated at least a dozen of those creepy green creatures and now... He turned to look behind him.
There it was, the biggest green creature he had ever seen. He had defeated its children, underlings, whatever, and now... The big boss was coming for him.
He kept moving. As fast as he could. Away from the hill, away from the egg, away from the terrifying floating green beasts.
He needed to move faster. He had made it to the edge of where he had explored previously, and much faster than he had earlier in the day. Night had fallen already, and the bright moons shone through the gaps in the thick upper canopy.
He slithered through thick brambles, over small streams, the creatures kept following him.
[Low internal temperature: Seek heat source!]
[Symptoms of exhaustion: Rest to recover!]
He was moving slower. He became more sluggish. He couldn't outrun the ominous green creatures.
Then he saw it.
On the tree ahead, in the middle of a small clearing, familiar figures hung from the branches.
He remembered looking into the small stream and seeing his own reflection, at first he thought it was another snake of course but now that he had higher intelligence, he realized that's what he looked like!
On the tree, yes... there it was!
Dozens of them! They looked just like him! They dangled from the branches by their tails.
It was them! His family! Finally! Father! Mother! Brothers! Sisters! They could protect him from these scary floating creatures! He quickly slithered up the tree and dangled from it just like his brethren.
The only thing missing was his leaf-like structures. Once he grew those... he'd fit right in with everyone else!
Oh no. Don't tell him.
