Chapter 2

Theodore's body suddenly went numb and heavy, he laid his head on the cool stone floor of the cave. A sudden wave of drowsiness hit him without warning and his visions wavered, everything blurred and started to fade until it went completely black.

It felt like only seconds had passed and his sight returned to him. He'd always wondered how some animals sleep without closing their eyes, but now he knew. He dismissed his thoughts and perked his head up to look at his body, noticing that he'd indeed grown longer and his scales slightly overlapped each other; the smooth, steel-like plates looked very enchanting. He could've been a very majestic creature if not for his pathetic size. "Status."

<<Name: Theodore Varon

Species: Green Pit Viper (1.5 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

Lvl: 7

EXP: 0/4000

Skill Points: 0

HP: 320/320

MP: 260/260

Attack: 14

Speed: 17

Defense: 8

Charm: 2

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 11

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.1). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.2). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl. 1).

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl. 1)>>

He was surprised that his 'Charm' stat actually increased from the slight change in his appearance, even though it was by two points, he still felt happy about it. His green orbs looked up at the small hole in the ceiling before crawling onto the surface. Now that he'd leveled up and evolved, he felt confident enough to go around hunting for more levels. Hopefully to the point where he could kill a monster within the time limit. "It's time…"

Theodore wasted no more time and got to hunting, he flicked his tongue and his personal attribute 'Tongue Receptor' immediately activated. This was the skill all snakes have in their arsenal, however, he was a snake blessed by a god, so his senses were a lot sharper. He immediately detected several prey somewhere to his right and began to slither towards them.

His eyes landed on a small bird pecking at the ground and 'Gaze of Wisdom' gave him its information.

<<Great Tit

Lvl. 2

Yielding: 5 Exp.

Description: They're quite small with distinctive patterns on their bodies. The largest one could grow to only about 14 centimeters. They love to make their nests in a tree hole while some will use gaps between rocks.>>

An actual description this time. Theodore made a mental note about these birds' nesting habits since they could come in useful later on. After looking at it, he concluded that the five experience points they give are quite decent at this level. He slowly crawled towards the bird, careful not to startle it with his movements, his scales were a slightly darker shade of green, so he had no problem blending in with the bushes and leaves around him.

Once he was only a finger away from the tit, he prepared himself, tightening his muscles, before springing forward and opening his jaw wide. The bird, after hearing the sudden noise, tried to fly away on instinct, however, it was too slow. The small avian could only let out one pained chirp before dying in between the viper's fangs. It was small enough to fit in his mouth and he didn't need to use a single drop of his venom.

Theodore held the bird's body in his mouth for a moment, contemplating whether he should eat or drop it. His inner human soul was shouting at his snake instincts that eating a raw, dead bird is unsanitary. However, his empty stomach prevailed in the end and he decided to grit his teeth and swallow the bird. A small bulge formed at his abdomen but it didn't hinder his movements and he continued to slither forward, flicking his tongue in search of another prey.

He came across another ant colony a distance away from the previous one. He was surprised they haven't found and attacked each other yet, but he didn't ponder about it for too long since they would all become his experience points anyway.

[Ice Magic: Frost Spear]

Theodore used the same tactic as he did before, managing to wipe out a lot of ants by freezing them with ice magic. However, there were a lot more ants in this colony than the only one, so he had to persistently chase and kill the rest of them that'd managed to survive being frozen to their cores.

It took him ten minutes to clear the remaining survivors of the colony, but this also comes with another discovery. He felt that his movements became very limited after using ice magic up to four times. To test out his theory, he slithered up a rock nearby where the sun directly shone on it, and it didn't take long for his body to heat up, allowing him to move freely again. "Having ice magic as a cold-blooded animal is just not ideal…" He could only sigh with lament, though if the god let him keep such a disadvantage as his skill then he's sure it would come in handy someday.

"Think optimistic things. Think optimistic things~" Theodore sung to himself as he continued his search for more things to kill, after murdering the ant colony, his experience points had went up to 3820, only 180 more for his next level.

He found three more Giant Tits along the way and killed them as well, deciding to eat one to fill his empty stomach; it seemed that he could digest things a lot faster because of the System's help.

"Hm…Where to get the rest of my XP" Theodore flicked his tongue, receiving the information around him. He detected something not far from where he's at and he began to happily slither over there.

However, he'd failed to detect something very crucial.

.

.

.

After around three minutes of crawling silently on the ground and constantly receiving new stimulants through his tongue. He'd arrived at where this 'prey' was located. In front of him was a large cave, slightly hidden by the tall bushes and trees at its entrance. The road leading to it was rough, yet it barely had any leaves or flora on it. "Huh." He was curious about the empty path but his focus was all on the creature resting inside of the cave.

Flicking his tongue again, Theodore received some new information confirming that something was indeed inside of the den. "I can probably fight bears with these skills." He was confident with his ice magic, and after upgrading his speed stats, he was sure that he could dodge any attacks of a bear.

He slowly crawled closer to the cavity, edging more to the right in hopes of using the trees as camouflage. He was close enough where he could poke his head inside to see what the creature was.

But after he'd seen it. Panic rose in his eyes, he could feel himself shaking while backing away on instinct, his gaze never leaving that 'thing' for a second.

"Please don't wake up…Please don't wake up…"

His prayers were immediately ragged on as bright golden orbs shone within the darkness of the cave. At first, only a pair of eyes opened but soon more followed, counting a total of four sets.

"F*ck. Sh*t." He panicked and tried to crawl away as fast as he could. But the creature let out a loud, deep roar, paralyzing his body. "I can't move…"

He glanced at the monster as it slowly stepped into the sunlight. It has a bulky body cladded in red armor-like scales with a large tail that could most likely put someone six feet under with a mere flick. However, its most prominent feature was its head—four of them on top of their slim yet firm neck stared at Theodore with their slit pupils, clear murderous intent radiated from their gaze.

From the tip of the head to tail, this beast is at least 10 times longer than Theodore.

<<Lesser Hydra

Lvl. 21

Type: Normal Hydra (Red Scales)

Yield: 20,000 Exp > 60,000

~Due to the major difference in level, the EXP gained from killing this creature will increase.

Description: A smaller, less powerful form of the Hydra. They usually have 2-4 heads and the largest one can grow up to 15 meters long. Their regenerative abilities are inferior to the Hydra and can be easily hunted by two average awakens due to their small number of heads. Their physiology is similar to most reptiles and is weak to unstable temperatures.>>

The lesser hydra let out another roar, as if telling him that he had no chance of ever beating it. Theodore swallowed an invisible lump and slightly coiled into himself. "Yeah, how can I beat that?…"

He was barely over a meter long and was barely worth the energy killing, but monsters don't discriminate between species, as long as it breathes, it should immediately be killed. It was as if their genocidal tendencies were encoded in their genes. Their basic animal instincts only work on fellow monsters, like goblins will run at the sight of orcs but not armed-to-the-teeth humans.

Theodore could only stare in fear as the hydra began to walk towards him, taking its sweet time as if knowing that he could never outrun it even if he tried.

His instincts were screaming at him, wanting him to flee this place as fast as possible, however that roar from the hydra had anchored his body to the floor. He concluded that it was a skill—Or maybe it's just the fear—He couldn't care less at this moment.

"I don't want to die. Not like this!" He hissed at the hydra, a futile attempt at scaring away a predator, and anyone looking at this scene would've been rolling on the floor laughing right now.

The lesser hydra titled its head, as if confused about his sudden courage, one of its head growled back while the other looked amused. "F*ck you! Don't underestimate me!" He activated his skill: Ice Magic. A bright blue magic circle appeared in front of him and an icicle shot forward, hitting the hydra straight in the chest.

However, this move had only caused the hydra to get irritated, all of its head bare their fangs at Theo before rushing forward, it wasn't very fast due to its size, but it could certainly catch up to him even if he ran with all his might. Theodore didn't have any other options anyway and weaved to the side, barely dodging the hydra's opened maw. It barely managed to stop its momentum and turned around, preparing to run at him again.

Theodore wouldn't just stand there and take a fatal hit of course, he conjured up another spell and three magic circles appeared in a triangular position.

[Frost Bullet]

Shards of ice emerged from the circles and flew towards the hydra. "Status." Theodore glanced to his side as a screen appeared, he didn't look at anything else but one thing;

MP: 173/260

"I still have quite a bit…" He thought to himself before his focus shifted back to the hydra. It was being held back by the barrage of ice-like bullets, it roared in anger but couldn't do anything about its current situation. He noticed that one of the heads was bleeding from its eyes while some spots on its body had frosts covering it. Magic comes in different shapes and forms depending on each person's compatibility.

There are plenty of ice mages around the world, however, Theodore's ice magic is different from the rest; It's the coldest ever recorded on the planet. If something is continuously hit with his spells, they'll get severe frost bites to the point that their limbs could be entirely covered in frost and ice. This had earned him the nickname "Winter Frost Mage"

However, right now he is no longer a human, he's a cold-blooded snake that doesn't fare well in cold climates. He could feel his movements becoming more sluggish as he continued to use his skills. He stared at his attribute window and noticed that something had appeared under the mana point line.

Status Condition: Frost.

"What?"

[Would you like to view more information on the status?]

"Not now! I'm busy!" He got angry when he heard the System's voice, up until now, it hadn't spoken to him nor given him any sort of idea on how to defeat the lesser hydra. How dare it ask him about something so irrelevant to his current situation? Besides, he already has a basic idea of what the 'Frost' status is.

Half of the monster's body was now covered with ice, its movements slowed down tremendously and its remaining three heads glared at him with hatred. Theodore had to disband his magic since he didn't want to further burden his body, he looked back and hissed as a warning. "Just go away!".

The hydra was more persistent than he'd anticipated, he knew gate monsters' fight or flight mechanism doesn't activate with earth creatures, but at the very least they should stop once they knew their life was in danger. "Damn it! Then die!"

The monster opposite of him let out a roar as if responding to his tauntings before running at him, however it became a lot easier for him to dodge its attacks due to his ice magic. He weaved to the left—Where the blinded head was—and formed another magic circle.

[Freeze]

A blast of ice hit the weakened head and it let out a cry of pain, the other heads turned towards it, worried about their member's well-being. But they weren't distracted for long and they immediately shifted their attention to Theodore.

They roared at him but this time he felt no fear, the adrenaline and frustration was keeping his animal instincts at bay and all he could focus on was the enemy in front of him. "Bring it on you pieces of sh*t! Is it fun picking on the weak!?"

A large magic circle formed in front of him, it was wide enough to cover a grown man from head to toe. Sparks flew around his body and pain coursed down his spine. He tightened his muscles and endured the pain—This was his one and only shot at killing the hydra. He was using a self-destruction technique all mages were afraid to use: Forced Skill.

Any mage has the potential to perform this risky feat. It involves watching and imitating spells that they don't have in their skill list. The results could either be instantaneously learning a new spell or the mage's body will break down until they become cripppled, permanently damaged—worse case scenario is death.

[Warning! Your body is currently being torn apart!]

"Shut up! I know!"

The hydra seemed to have realized that its opponent was severely weakened, it didn't waste this opportunity and ran towards him, opening its many mouths, wanting to tear him apart in an instant.

"Great Lord of the Arctic, may your presence freeze all that is not yet your domain. Descend and cast this land of life into eternal winter."

[Devouring Frost]

A burst of cold air radiated from his form, freezing everything within ten meters, icicles rose from the ground and the magic circle gleamed brightly, chains of ice emerged around the hydra and started wrapping themselves around its huge body. It tried to struggle out of the bindings, roaring in pain as the cold began to freeze its armored skin, however its movements only made the chains tightened around it.

Theodore's vision became blurry, every inch of his body was aching with unbearable pain, but his will to live persisted in keeping him conscious. His eyes glance towards his attribute window, which had turned from blue to red with exclamation marks blinking at the top.

HP: 2/320 (!)

MP: -673/260 (!)

His ultimate skill, 'Devouring Frost' consumes 500 mana points to cast, it will freeze everything within its range and capture any and all that he considers to be his targets. The ice chains are cold enough to freeze an entire elephant in only two minutes.

[You've reached the required threshold. The skill 'Ice Magic' will increase by two levels and a new attribute will be rewarded]

As the System's voice sounded out, his status window was refreshed.

<<Name: Theodore Varon

Species: Green Pit Viper (1.5 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

Lvl: 7

EXP: 0/4000

Skill Points: 0

HP: 2/320 (!)

MP: -673/260 (!)

Attack: 14

Speed: 17

Defense: 8

Charm: 2

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 11

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.1). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.2). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl. 1). Will to Live (Lvl.1) [NEW!]

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3)>>

Theodore read the changes in his attributes, but none of the information got into his head. He was tired and in constant pain, though his tenacious mind forced him to stay awake until he could be sure that the threat was dead.

The hydra could only continue to struggle for a few more seconds before it swayed sideways and fell to the ground, shattering the ice chains in the process. It took one more hateful glare at Theodore and soon the light in its eyes went out.

[You killed a Lesser Hydra. Gained 60,000 Exp.]

[Level Up! You're now Level 21!]

[New options for evolution are now available. Would you like to view them?]

[The evolution process will heal all your injuries and recover your mana. It is advised that you undergo your metamorphosis immediately.]

"Show me the options" He muttered tiredly and his attribute window changed once again:

<<~ Currently 2 Options for Evolution.

- Gaboon Viper (Adds 5 Points to Speed. 1 level increase to the 'Venom' attribute)

- King Cobra (Adds 5 Points to Attack. 1 level increase to the 'Venom' attribute)

After your evolution, your length with increase to 3 meters.>>

"I picked the Gaboon Viper." He said with zero hesitation as couldn't think of anything at that moment and went with the first thing he saw. After he'd confirmed his option, he blacked out.

.

.

.

[Your attribute window has been refreshed. Would you like to view it?]

Theodore was startled awake by the sudden notification. The drowsiness was still clouding his thoughts but when his gaze landed on the body of the hydra he immediately jumped back with surprise, eyeing it with wariness. His surroundings that was once turned into a frozen wasteland was slowly returning to normal, frost and ice began to melt under the rays of the afternoon sun, signaling that the effects of 'Devouring Frost' was coming to an end.

He would relax a moment later as he recalled what'd happened, after letting out a tired sigh he remembered to respond to the System. "Open my attribute window."

<<Name: Theodore Varon

Species: Green Gaboon Viper (3 Meters) (Evolutions Available)

Lvl: 21

EXP: 420/100,000

Skill Points: 28

HP: 6100/6100

MP: 400/400

Status Condition: Frost (60 seconds remaining)

Attack: 14

Speed: 17

Defense: 8

Charm: 2

Intelligence: 12

Magic: 11

Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.1). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.3). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl. 1). Will to Live (Lvl.1) [NEW!]

Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3)>>

"Show me more information on the new attribute"

Another light screen appeared next to his status window:

<<Personal Attribute: Will to Live.

Level: 1

Requirement for Upgrade: [Unknown]

Cooldown: 24 Hours.

Description: Your vengeance and strong tenacity had pushed you through your limits. Even when faced against inevitable death, you refuse to give up. Any attack that will kill you will instead leave you at 2 Hit Points, this effect will only happen once per day.>>

He hummed in acknowledgement, now knowing why he had two hp remaining despite using a suicidal technique like Forced Skill. Anyhow, there was no point in him thinking about it too much now since the results turned out a lot better than he'd anticipated—Though everything up until this point still felt like a dream to him.

Theodore turned his attention to the dead lesser hydra, causing the System to speak. [Congratulations, you've slain a Creature of the Gates. You'll be rewarded with a new skill]

"???" He didn't expect to get anything for completing his quest since it didn't say anything on the screen he saw earlier. Perhaps it was to surprise him—A gift from the god.

His attribute window changed once again, though he focused solely on the new skill that'd appeared next to "Ice Magic":

<<Skill: Ambitious Snake: Devour [NEW!]

Level: 1

Requirement for Upgrade: 10 Skill Points.

Cooldown: Until the skill effect ends.

Description: An ambitious snake can swallow anything whole, and so can you. Activating this skill will allow you to consume prey up to ten times your current size. While you're digesting your food, you'll be given a 50% 'Slowness' debuff. As of now, you can only use this skill to eat one prey at once, the time required for digestion depends on the prey's size.

Bonus Effect: You can steal one of the consumed prey's skills (Creature of the Gates or Humans)>>

Theodore didn't need to be told what to do next, he turned to face the frozen hydra's corpse and began slithering towards it.