Aethryon thought for a moment before giving a familiar command in his mind.
"Open System Shop."
The transparent panel immediately appeared in front of him.
Aethryon scrolled directly to the two items that interested him the most. His eyes carefully studied their descriptions for several seconds.
These were the two things that had been stuck in his mind recently.
[Low-Quality Body Optimization Pill: Reconstructs the host's body, granting a genetic evolution that surpasses the normal limits of the species: 75 System Points]
[Poison Hunger (Passive): Absorbs consumed poisons to continuously strengthen the host's venom and make it increasingly lethal: 100 System Points]
Aethryon stared at the two options for a long time.
His tail slowly curled along the ground.
"Both of them… are really good."
One would strengthen his body, while the other would allow his venom to continuously evolve.
But the problem was obvious.
He still didn't have enough points to buy both.
As Aethryon stared at the panel, he silently thought to himself.
"So that means…"
The small snake's eyes gleamed slightly.
"…I need to hunt more."
As Aethryon stared at the panel, another thought suddenly appeared in his mind.
"…Or…"
His tail slowly moved across the ground.
"I could just buy one of them right now."
The idea quickly began to sound more reasonable.
If he purchased a single ability, his strength would immediately increase. And if he became stronger, he could start hunting stronger prey.
Which meant…
more points.
Aethryon's eyes gleamed slightly.
"Stronger prey… more points… faster growth."
The small snake nodded seriously.
"That sounds like a very good plan."
Aethryon stared at the two options for a long time.
Then…
he made his decision without hesitation.
His tail tapped the panel and he purchased the pill.
[75 System Points deducted]
His system points immediately dropped.
But the small snake showed no regret.
In truth, the Poison Hunger ability was actually more tempting to him. The idea of his venom continuously evolving sounded extremely attractive.
However, after thinking about it carefully, he realized it wasn't very practical right now.
For that ability to truly work, he would need a huge number of poisonous resources.
Finding venomous spirit beasts in the Beginner Forest wasn't very difficult…
But the problem was the quantity.
A few would never be enough.
For his venom to become truly terrifying, he would probably need to consume thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of poisonous creatures.
Aethryon briefly glanced at the other items in the system shop.
The situation there wasn't any better.
Even the cheapest poisonous spiritual plant cost 10 system points.
And he would likely need thousands of them.
Aethryon lightly tapped his tail against the ground.
At this point, the plan was obvious.
First…
get stronger.
Aethryon slightly expanded his chest as if taking a deep breath.
He knew that this pill was supposed to reconstruct his body, so naturally he had expected an extremely painful process.
The small snake prepared himself.
"Alright… here it comes."
Without hesitation, he tossed the pill into his mouth and swallowed it.
One second passed.
Two seconds passed.
Aethryon instinctively tensed his muscles, bracing himself for the unbearable pain that he thought was coming.
But…
the pain never arrived.
Instead, a pleasant warmth began spreading throughout his body.
It felt like resting on a sun warmed stone under gentle sunlight.
The warmth slowly spread through every part of him his muscles beneath the scales, his bones, even his internal organs.
Aethryon remained still for a few seconds in confusion.
"…Huh?"
Then he lightly flicked his tail.
"This… is much better than I expected."
Aethryon half-closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant warmth flowing through his body.
"I wish…"
He lightly flicked his tail.
"…the fire flower had felt like this when I ate it."
Remembering that moment made him shiver slightly.
The pain he had experienced back then had almost killed him.
But this pill was completely different.
The warmth slowly spread through his entire body, and then the transformation began.
At first, Aethryon felt a strange tension in his scales. It was as if each scale was individually strengthening and restructuring itself.
His crimson scales, patterned with green veins, gradually became brighter and more refined. Under sunlight, they almost shone like polished metal.
Then pressure built within his muscles.
His body slowly began to thicken.
Muscle fibers tightened, bones reinforced themselves, and his entire body became denser and stronger.
Aethryon could clearly feel the change.
With every breath, his body felt slightly heavier… and much more powerful.
Then his length began to change.
75 centimeters…
His tail brushed against the ground.
80 centimeters…
His body stretched further as his muscles became more defined.
But the growth wasn't chaotic.
It wasn't an explosion of power.
It was more like perfectly refined evolution.
Aethryon lifted his head and looked at his new body.
His scales were tougher.
His muscles were stronger.
And the energy inside him felt far more stable.
The small serpent's eyes gleamed slightly.
"…This pill really works."
Aethryon carefully examined his new body for several minutes.
Compared to his previous form, he was visibly stronger. His scales were tougher, his muscles denser, and his movements carried more weight and control.
And this…
was only the effect of a low-tier pill.
Aethryon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"If the low-tier version already has this kind of effect…"
His tail slowly tapped the ground.
"…what would the higher tiers be like?"
Curiosity quickly took over.
Aethryon gave the command in his mind.
"Open System Shop."
The panel immediately appeared, and Aethryon navigated directly to the Body Optimization Pill category.
New options appeared one by one on the screen.
[Mid-Tier Body Optimization Pill]
Price: 2,000 System Points
Description:
Reconstructs the host's entire muscular structure, bone density, and internal durability. Upon consumption, the body surpasses the natural limits of the species and develops an elite physical foundation.
Effects:
1)Greatly increases physical strength
2)Scales and skin approach weapon-level durability
3)Enhanced regeneration ability
4)Expands the host's growth potential
[High-Tier Body Optimization Pill]
Price: 25,000 System Points
Description:
This pill does not simply strengthen the body it transforms it into a natural war machine. Cells are rewritten and muscle fibers gain extraordinary density.
Effects:
1)Physical strength increases tenfold
2)Scales evolve into natural armor
3)Attack power and speed rise dramatically
4)Severe injuries heal rapidly
[Sacred-Tier Body Optimization Pill]
Price: 300,000 System Points
Description:
Brings the host's body closer to the level of sacred creatures. After consumption, the body becomes not only stronger but also gains a holy structure capable of harmonizing with energy.
Effects:
1)Physical strength reaches high-class spirit beast levels
2)Scales capable of carrying sacred energy
3)Poison and elemental attacks greatly enhanced
4)Perfect internal energy circulation
[Divine-Tier Body Optimization Pill]
Price: 5,000,000 System Points
Description:
This pill elevates the host's existence toward a semi-divine form. Cells begin absorbing divine energy, turning the body into something nearly indestructible.
Effects:
1)God-level durability
2)Extreme resistance to elemental damage
3)Vastly enhanced energy manipulation
4)Physical strength approaching the ability to shatter mountains
[Forbidden-Tier Body Optimization Pill]
Price: 100,000,000 System Points
Description:
This pill is classified as dangerous even by the system. Upon consumption, the host's body surpasses natural laws and becomes a catastrophic physical entity.
Effects:
1)Body becomes nearly indestructible
2)A single strike can tear apart powerful spirit beasts
3)Terrifying levels of physical and energy power
4)Existence-level durability
Aethryon stared at the prices for a long time.
Then he slowly lowered his tail to the ground.
"…I think I need to eat a few more rats."