As Aethryon moved deeper into the swamp, an invisible but obvious sense of satisfaction filled him.
This place was truly…
perfect.
The smell of rot, the thick humid air, and the poisonous aura everywhere felt almost like an invitation to him.
It didn't take long before he found his first prey.
A small shadow suddenly jumped out from the mud.
A Poison Swamp Frog.
Aethryon didn't hesitate. His head shot forward instantly.
SNAP!
The frog disappeared straight into his mouth.
[21-Year Poison Swamp Frog consumed: +0.6 System Points]
[Venom Hunger activated]
[Corrosive Venom: 4.0 → 4.3]
Aethryon flicked his tail slightly.
"Nice start."
But that was only the beginning.
A little further ahead, beneath the muddy water, several Blue Poison Leeches were hiding. Aethryon slid into the water and swallowed several of them in a single motion.
[17-Year Poison Leech consumed: +0.4 System Points]
[18-Year Poison Leech consumed: +0.4 System Points]
Just a few meters later, a Swamp Scorpion suddenly attacked from beneath a rotten log.
But before its attack could land, Aethryon's tail slammed it into the mud.
[29-Year Swamp Scorpion consumed: +0.8 System Points]
Aethryon continued moving forward.
The swamp truly felt like a restaurant.
At one point, a long Poison Swamp Snake slithered out from the mud.
Aethryon stared at it for a few seconds.
"…Cousin?"
Then he shrugged mentally and swallowed it as well.
[33-Year Poison Swamp Snake consumed: +0.9 System Points]
After some time, he reached a small swamp pond.
Things became even more interesting there.
Inside the water lived many different spirit beasts:
Swamp Turtle
Poison Water Spider
Mud Worm
Black Venom Fish
Aethryon hunted non-stop for several hours.
He pulled the turtle out of its shell and devoured it.
He swallowed the spiders together with their webs.
He gulped down the mud worms almost like noodles.
System notifications rang continuously inside his mind.
[26-Year Swamp Turtle consumed: +0.7 System Points]
[19-Year Poison Water Spider consumed: +0.5 System Points]
[23-Year Mud Worm consumed: +0.6 System Points]
[28-Year Black Venom Fish consumed: +0.7 System Points]
And every time, the same notification followed.
[Venom Hunger activated]
[Corrosive Venom progressing]
Hours passed.
Large parts of the swamp had grown strangely quiet.
Aethryon coiled himself on top of a rock and thought for a moment.
Then he looked around the swamp.
"…This place is very hospitable."
He flicked his tongue through the air.
"…Although the population seems to be decreasing."
Aethryon stared at the swamp for a while.
Over the last few hours, he had eaten nearly everything he encountered.
Frogs, scorpions, leeches, mud worms, venom fish… even a few unfortunate swamp snakes were now resting peacefully inside Aethryon's stomach.
He flicked his tongue into the air one last time.
Then he sighed.
"…Well."
He shook his head slightly.
"I suppose my work here is done."
As he left the swamp, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
His long crimson body coiled across the muddy ground.
He looked at the swamp for a few seconds.
Then he spoke in a very serious tone.
"Thank you… for everything."
He paused.
"…I promise."
His tail swayed slowly.
"I will return soon."
After saying that, Aethryon began slithering away from the swamp.
He needed to find a safe and quiet place to undergo his evolution.
But there was something Aethryon didn't know.
In a few corners of the swamp, several spirit beasts had barely survived by pure luck.
And they had heard what he just said.
At that moment…
they all reached the same decision.
Migration.
And a very fast migration.
A swamp frog panicked and jumped straight into the water.
A scorpion disappeared into the mud.
A swamp snake slithered away without even looking back.
Because they were all thinking the same thing.
"Run before that monster comes back."
Several hours later…
Aethryon finally stopped in a quiet part of the forest.
This place was covered with ancient towering trees. Thick roots twisted across the ground like sleeping serpents, while sunlight filtered through the leaves in thin golden beams.
Aethryon carefully tasted the air for several minutes.
There was no danger nearby.
It was exactly what he wanted a quiet and safe place.
Slowly, Aethryon coiled his body on the ground.
He opened the system panel in his mind.
For a moment, he paused.
Then he gave the command firmly.
"Start evolution."
Beep…
[Evolution process initiated]
At first, Aethryon tensed every muscle in his body.
Every major power increase he had experienced before had been painful.
He expected the same thing again the feeling of his flesh tearing apart, bones breaking and reforming.
But…
The pain never came.
Instead, the surrounding air suddenly grew heavy.
The ground trembled slightly.
Spiritual energy from the forest began gathering toward a single point.
And that point…
was Aethryon's body.
Waves of red, green, and silver spiritual energy began swirling around him.
The energy became denser and denser.
Then suddenly
A cocoon of energy formed around Aethryon.
It surrounded him completely like a massive egg of light.
Aethryon could feel it happening, yet he could no longer move.
Energy poured into his body.
Into his scales…
Into his bones…
Into his blood.
Then suddenly…
An overwhelming sleepiness washed over him.
Aethryon's eyes grew heavy.
"This… is different from what I expected…"
His thoughts slowed.
His vision darkened.
And soon…
his consciousness faded into darkness.
But the evolution had only begun.
Inside the energy cocoon, Aethryon's body began to change.
First, his scales.
The crimson and dark green scales slowly peeled away.
In their place, new scales began forming brighter and far stronger.
These new scales were silver-white, shining like polished metal when light touched them.
Then his skeleton began transforming.
His bones thickened.
His muscles became denser and more powerful.
His neck grew longer and stronger.
His skull expanded.
His fangs lengthened, becoming sharp like blades.
Behind his head, bone spikes began to grow.
One…
Two…
Five…
Soon a crown of sharp bone spines spread along the back of his head like a terrifying royal crest.
But the greatest change appeared on his chest.
There, a strange point of energy formed.
Above Aethryon's heart, a bright green core slowly began to crystallize.
The core continued to grow.
Then the surrounding scales shifted aside.
Green veins of energy spread around the crystal.
It looked like the heart of his venom power.
Inside the cocoon, Aethryon's body continued growing.
Three meters…
Four meters…
Five meters…
His muscles hardened like steel.
His scales became heavier and tougher, resembling the scales of an ancient dragon.
By the end, the creature inside the cocoon was no longer a small serpent.
It looked more like the reflection of a primordial dragon lineage.
Hours passed.
Finally, cracks began forming across the energy shell.
CRACK…