"Raaaat..." The Acrid spoke, lifting a portion of its upper body in the air, "The....situationnnnn...haaassss..chaaangeeedd..." It slowly opened its mandibles before it continued, "We....hunteeerrrsss...haaaaveee...becomeee...theeee...hunteeedd.."
I gulped at the ominous words of the Acrid. We've become the prey, well, I was always the prey I thought inwardly, "What were those scales I saw earlier then?!" I asked hurriedly as my eyes madly scanned the surroundings near me looking for even the slightest hint of the viper.
"Illusssiooonssss...faaaakeee...useeee...noooseee...to...smelllll...prey..." The Acrid spoke in a broken manner it was nervous as it remained on guard keeping me close.
I nodded my head from the information it gave me. Use my nose? I can't even get a whiff of what it smells like, nor even hear it. The weird laws of this world don't make any sense!
The Acrid suddenly twitched to its left and lunged with its mandibles wide open.
CLAAAAAAAANG!
The deafening sound of metal scraping made my ears hurt as the Acrid's mandible landed a hit on the camouflaged viper. As it gripped the viper tightly it began to vigorously thrash its upper body shaking the viper in its grasp.
HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
The viper finally unconcealed itself as its body was violently jerked by the Acrid. Its elongated body began to wrap around the viper's body successfully injecting it with its paralyzing venom. All of a sudden the tides were in our favor as the helpless struggling of the viper began to slow down.
I quickly approached the two creatures and went into a position to strike, my eyes met the gaze of the viper as I raised my tail. Was it just me or were those eyes didn't look like the eyes of someone in a predicament? I jabbed my tail towards the viper aiming carefully between the scales.
TINK! TINK! TINK!
Too tough! I need something to break through those damned metallic scales. I looked towards where the Acrid managed to land its menacing mandibles and I saw some of the scales present there were folded exposing its flesh. There!
I quickly ran towards the Acrid's head which was gripping the Viper by the base of its serpentine neck. I swung my claws with all my might aiming directly at its exposed flesh. In that instance, the viper wriggled free off of the Acrids clutches seemingly unaffected by its paralysis.
"I got you," The viper laughed as it quickly lunged at me. Its mouth was wide open enough to swallow me whole. As I peered into its maw, I remembered the look in its eyes and cursed at myself. It was feigning capture all along.
"UHF?!" I grunted as the Acrid which was thrown off by the viper hastily slammed its tail at me effectively keeping me out of harm's way. My body once again went flying to the side as the rough ground caught my fall.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Acrid screeched in pain as the tail end of its body received the fangs of the Viper easily tearing through its tough exoskeleton. The venom of the viper was no problem for it, because of its species it is immune to any and all toxins. Not feeling satisfied with the damage it caused, the viper, with its fangs still deep inside the Acrid pulled with all its might effectively tearing off its tail end.
SKRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
A deafening screech more painful than the last one exited out of the Acrid's mouth. Instinctively it desperately created distance between them so that it wouldn't suffer more. Bright green blood trailed behind the Acrid as it quickly ran away from the viper.
Satisfied with what it has done to the Acrid. It switched its gaze to me and began to speak, "Come now, little one. With your friend injured, how are you going to fight?" it taunted as it slithered towards me.
'Hng?!' I winced in pain as I took a few steps back. Some of my ribs were cracked and it looks like my right leg was sprained from the saving slam a while ago. A small cost for my dear second life. I quickly racked my brain to think of a plan. Think Vaeden, Think!
I needed to hit where it's was soft enough for my stinger to puncture, but it's entire body was covered in those damned metallic scales. Where?! Where?! Where should I strike?! Time began to slow down as my thoughts accelerated giving me more time to create a plan.
「Quick Thinking Skill has been Unlocked」
「You have Activated Quick Thinking」
「Quick Thinking: Your ability to create plans on the spot has hastened. Your perception of time has slowed down. 」
A new ability? No, now's not the time to think about that. The viper was about to strike me. Its long serpentine neck extended out in a quick manner launching its head towards me as it bore its fangs at me.
Its mouth welcomed me as my resting place. Wait! It's mouth! I found the answer to my dilemma. With my sprained back legs I lept backward enduring the pain, the action was slow as my body wasn't accelerated like my thinking. As my right leg collapsed from the sprain, I sloppily landed and maneuvered my tail.
Faster! I screamed at my body as I watched my tail move above me in a slow manner. The viper was moving even faster as its unstoppable trajectory headed towards me. FASTER! I desperately pulled on all the muscles I had on my tail to outspeed the viper.
I despaired internally, it was impossible. The fangs of the viper approached ever so closely as I watched the darkness of its maw cover my vision. If I'm dying, I'm bringing you with me! I screamed inwardly as I accepted my incoming death.
The viper stopped in the air for a few moments all of a sudden giving my tail enough time to catch up. What?! At the corner of my vision, at the edges of the darkness of its maw slowly slithered a trail of green ichor. The Acrid! In its last-ditch effort to save me, it looks like it grabbed onto the viper's tail.
My stinger which was now closer than before slowly made its way to the viper's soft fleshy mouth. The fangs that were about to dig onto my neck twitched as my stinger successfully landed first. I DID IT! I rejoiced internally as I pumped the viper's mouth full of my blight.
My perception of time returned to normal as I shouted with all my might, "Oh, how the tables have turned!" I finally managed to say it without fumbling! The fangs which were only a few centimeters away from my neck retracted back to the viper's mouth as it writhed in pain in front of me.
The Acrid let go of the viper's tail and slithered towards me as we both watched the viper helplessly struggle in vain. My blight was directly injected in its mouth, it won't be soon until it ceases its pointless struggle.
It began to slow down as its body relaxed accepting the sweet embrace of death. Its eyes stared at the morning sky vacant and unmoving.
「You have slain an Adult Prismatic Viper (Level 5)」
「You have earned experience.」
「You have leveled up (Level 4 -> Level 5)」
「You have leveled up (Level 5 -> Level 6)」
「You have leveled up (Level 6 -> Level 7)」
「You have leveled up (Level 7 -> Level 8)」
As the messages appeared in front of me a warm gentle light enveloped me and the Acrid. It disappeared quickly as sudden as it appeared, this was a new feeling. I instinctively what the blanket of light did to our bodies.
The fractured ribs I had and my sprained leg were healed magically. Other than that, there were some other changes I've felt in my body. The ground below me seemed a bit more distant than usual, and the fur that coated my body felt like it became shaggier. My heart pumped with more vitality than usual as I vividly felt strength course through my entire body, what's happening to me?
「You are on the verge of evolution.」
「Your body grows stronger.」
As I read those words that appeared in front of me, I couldn't help but feel satisfied. The near-death experienced I just had rewarded me with what I yearned for. Strength.
As I was about to open my status window I felt a poking sensation at my right side, "Raaaaaattt....feeeeeedddd...meeeeee..." The Acrid spoke in delight as it stared at my tail intently. I scanned the starving Acrid and noticed that its wounds have also magically healed. Other than its regrown missing tail there were no other changes to its body.
"Alright buddy," I responded moving my tail close to its mouth. It began to happily feed on my blight. It seems like I'm not the only one that's satisfied with what transpired today.
I stared at the unmoving body of the viper we have slain and moved towards where its heart was supposed to be located. I opened my mouth and began my feast.
CLANK!
My head shook as my teeth rebounded from the metallic scales of the viper. I clutched my head as it throbbed in pain. I should peel the scales off first. Carefully I moved my claws between the gaps in its scales and began peeling them off one by one.
I took a bite out of the part I exposed and relished its flesh. This was my second victory. Just how many times would I be able to win a fight by a hair's margin? Only the Gods of this world would know. I swallowed the piece I was chewing as a dilemma surfaced in my mind that I didn't think about properly.
'How would I introduce the Acrid to Elizabeth? How would she react? Would she kill it? Do I need to hide the Acrid?' countless questions popped up in my mind as I took another bite nervously. I looked towards the direction of Elizabeth's home with a heavy heart. What should I do?