For months, Aethryon had been roaming through the outermost regions of the Beginner Forest. He was patient, methodical, and most importantly… extremely greedy when it came to hunting. Finding Violet Village and the two nearby villages had been relatively easy, since they were located close to each other and their scent trails practically led him there.
Unfortunately, the other nine villages were not arranged so conveniently. Some were hidden along distant forest paths, some were behind low hills, and others were scattered near small rivers or farmland clearings. Because of this, it took Aethryon months of wandering to locate them all.
But patience was something Aethryon had learned very quickly in his new life.
He waited.
He searched.
He tasted the air with his tongue again and again.
And eventually…
he found every single one of them.
And when he did
Aethryon did not hesitate even for a moment.
To him, villages meant only two things: food and system points.
Humans, livestock, hunters, dogs, even chickens or goats… anything alive was placed into the same category in Aethryon's mind. They were nothing more than walking bundles of system points. When night fell, he silently slipped into the villages. Throughout the night he hunted in the shadows, moving from house to house with terrifying efficiency, and before dawn arrived he would quietly retreat back into the forest. Sometimes he finished a village in a single night. Sometimes he took two or three nights, slowly consuming everything alive.
At the beginning he had been careful.
But as time passed…
his confidence grew.
And eventually, after months of this long and extremely… appetizing expedition, the final result appeared before him.
Aethryon coiled himself on top of a large rock and opened the system panel in his mind.
[System Points: 1028.7]
The number quietly glowed in front of him.
Aethryon blinked.
Then looked again.
"…A thousand?"
His tail lightly tapped the ground.
"…It's really a thousand."
He stared at the number for several seconds.
Then tilted his head slightly.
"…I suppose human populations are actually a very efficient resource."
Until now, Aethryon had never really checked his total balance. There was a simple reason for that. While infiltrating villages, having a smaller body was far more advantageous. Slipping through walls, crawling beneath doors, and moving silently through houses was much easier when he was smaller.
But now…
Things were different.
The villages were gone.
There was no longer any reason to keep his strength restrained.
So Aethryon finally decided to spend some of his accumulated points.
Without hesitation, he spent 600 System Points.
[100 Years of Cultivation purchased]
The moment the purchase was confirmed, a powerful energy spread through his body.
Aethryon's crimson scales trembled slightly as the transformation began. His aura immediately became heavier and far more oppressive. The surrounding grass bent slightly under the invisible pressure of his spirit energy.
His body began to grow.
Slowly at first…
Then faster.
His length stretched across the ground as his muscles thickened and his scales hardened.
Two meters…
Two point two…
Two point three…
Finally, the growth stopped when his body reached roughly 2.7 meters in length.
Aethryon lifted his head slightly and flicked his tongue into the air.
The difference in power was obvious.
Satisfied, he opened the System Panel.
[System Status Panel]
[Name: Aethryon Drakoryx]
[Title: None]
[Race: Crimson Poison Datura Serpent (Mutated)]
[Age/Cultivation: 223-Year Spirit Beast]
[Combat Power: Comparable to a ~350-Year Spirit Beast]
(Approx. equivalent to Level 26–28 Spirit Grandmaster)
[Elements: Poison • Fire]
[Abilities]
Weak Poison Breath
Stealth (Low-Level)
Hardened Scales (Passive)
Venomous Tail Strike
Large Stomach (Passive)
Mutation Trait: Crimson Flame Body
Venom Hunger (Passive)
[Venom Evolution]
Fire Venom → Corrosive Venom (3.2 / 100)
[Evolution Paths: Available]
[System Points Remaining: 428.7]
Aethryon stared at the panel for a moment.
Aethryon stared at the system panel for a moment while thinking quietly. His growth until now had been rapid, but the first true evolution was finally within reach.
He began reviewing the evolution requirements one by one in his mind.
The first condition was already completed: becoming a 200-Year Spirit Beast. With the cultivation increase he had just purchased, he had already surpassed that threshold.
The second requirement was also essentially fulfilled: 300 System Points. Aethryon still had more than that remaining in his balance, so that was not a problem either.
The third condition had actually been completed earlier than expected. Because he had consumed the 250-Year Crimson Flame Orchid, the system had already recognized that requirement as fulfilled. That dangerous mutation had nearly killed him at the time, but looking back now… it had turned out to be quite a profitable investment.
That left only the final requirement.
Consume 50 poisonous spirit beasts.
Aethryon flicked his tongue through the air and lightly swayed his tail.
He had already completed most of that task.
So far, he had consumed 32 of them.
Which meant only…
18 more remained.
And that was exactly why Aethryon was currently standing at the entrance of the Swamp Region of the Beginner Forest.
Swamps…
were one of the places where poisonous spirit beasts gathered in large numbers.
The scent of decaying plants, the thick humid air, and countless creatures hiding beneath muddy water…
For most Spirit Masters, this place was extremely dangerous.
But for Aethryon?
This place was basically…
an all you can eat buffet.
Aethryon slithered deeper into the swamp.
The ground became softer with every movement. Mud, decaying plants, and thick poisonous vapors filled the air. Most Spirit Masters would instinctively want to turn back the moment they entered such a place.
But for Aethryon, things were completely different.
The moment he entered
A green shadow suddenly jumped out of the muddy water.
A Poison Swamp Frog!
Aethryon's eyes lit up.
"…Seriously?"
It was almost as if the swamp had sent him a welcome committee.
Before the frog could even finish its attack, Aethryon's head shot forward like lightning.
SNAP!
The frog disappeared directly into his mouth.
The system immediately displayed a notification.
[24-Year Poison Swamp Frog consumed: +0.7 System Points]
Another notification appeared at the same time.
[Venom Hunger activated]
Aethryon could feel the poison inside the frog being absorbed into his body.
[Corrosive Venom progress: 3.2 → 3.5]
Aethryon stayed silent for a moment.
Then he looked around the swamp.
"…First-class service."
He had barely moved a few meters when a Poison Swamp Snake suddenly lunged from the mud.
Then another one.
And beneath a rotting log nearby, a Poison Scorpion was hiding.
Aethryon flicked his tail slowly.
"…Maybe 'buffet' wasn't the right word."
He swallowed another scorpion.
[31-Year Poison Swamp Scorpion consumed: +0.8 System Points]
[Venom Hunger active: poison absorbed]
[Corrosive Venom progress: 3.5 → 4.0]
Aethryon lifted his head.
The entire swamp was filled with the scent of poisonous creatures.
A slow smile appeared in his mind.
"…This place is wonderful."