Chapter 36
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"...Hey, system," Astaroth asked with a twitching brow.
[Yes, dear host!]
Astaroth's smile became crooked. "Why are the Energy requirements already in the quadrillions once again…?" He asked.
[Ding! The Infinite Energy System is a construct that requires immense amounts of energy to operate and function—]
"The short answer, please."
[Ding! Stop worrying about the prices! Just get your money up!]
Silence.
"...That is one hell of a way to call me broke," Astaroth muttered with a sigh. "Is there any way to deactivate your comedic undertone and unusual phrases?" He asked in a hopeful tone.
[Denied! That is not possible, dear host!]
"I see…"
Needing a moment or two to calm his nerves, Astaroth perched himself on a large rock and entered a state of meditation.
After his brief meditation session was over with, he shot his eyes open and observed his surroundings. Although overlooked until now, from left to right and back to front, there were snakes all over the place.
Laying over and intertwined with one another, they were in a state of deep sleep that seemed to allow their actions to stay in sync.
Zooming out from Astaroth's location, there were still snakes.
Zooming out even more, it was still a sea of snakes…
Stretching the zoom even further out! No surprise there, still snakes…
Ranging from Lvl 1 to Lvl 9, Water Snakes festered this part of the pond like an unstoppable plague!
And if any minute occurrence were to set them off, all of them would wake up at once and jointly attack the brazen intruder!
The fate of the intruder would be a gruesome one…
Speaking of the intruder, as the camera zoomed back in, there sat a comparatively tiny black and red demonic spider with a contemplative expression distorting his arachnid features.
"The way to get out of this place," Astaroth said keenly. "Isn't it quite obvious? I just need to devour and evolve."
"While in a pit of red tagged and black tagged serpents, this is the only plausible choice. And it is one that I would never be opposed to."
A cold, almost evil glint flashed past his devilishly beady eyes as he stayed in stealth mode and leapt off the rock.
From here on, he would need to be analogous to that of a stealthy assassin in the dead of night. This was no time to get overconfident or proud and fight an unwinnable war with an endless number of organisms stronger than he was.
With a cautious and calculative mindset, the snake farmer farmed his crop…
After two minutes of farming, Astaroth managed to kill a large number of Lvl 4 Water Snakes and even a few dozen Lvl 5 Water Snakes. It was only when he was around 0.1% of the way to the next Energy Overflow that a peculiar system notification appeared in front of him.
[Ding! The host has poisoned more than 1,000 organisms and received a unique title!]
[Ding! The host has received the 'Novice Psychopath' Title!]
[It grants the effects of '50% increased poison damage' and '30% faster poisoning!']
Silence.
It always seemed so silent as of late, but when it came to the Infinite Energy System, Astaroth was reminded time and time again of its eccentric nature.
"...Hey, system," Astaroth began with a slow and shaky voice. "What have I done to elicit such blatant bullying…? I don't recall having offended some young master just yet," he said in exasperation.
[Ding! The system does not compute!]
"...Of course you don't," Astaroth sighed. "Can you at least change the name of the title…?"
[Ding! The system does not compute!]
Silence.
A hush once more fell over a tiny part of a sea of snakes.
One man and one automated existence — they seemed to have a conversation of a thousand words without saying a single thing.
In the end, Astaroth left the conversation with a tired sigh as he quickly went back to mercilessly slaughtering the slumbering Water Snakes.
This was his only way to relieve stress…
After ten minutes of mowing through the Water Snake population like a poison maniac, Astaroth received yet another unusual system notification.
BLING!
[Ding! The host has killed more than 10,000 organisms with poison and has thus received a rank-up of his 'Novice Psychopath' Title!]
"...And what has it become?" Astaroth inquired with a hidden sense of vexation.
[Ding! The title has ranked up from the 'Novice' rank to the 'Apprentice' rank. The host has now become an Apprentice Psychopath!]
[Would the host like to equip this title and make use of its effects?]
"..."
Astaroth wanted to immediately decline this offer, but its contents were just too tempting to pass up.
'120% increase to all poison damage and 45% faster poisoning time… Although I really don't want to do it, I have no choice,' he thought.
Looking up from his thoughts, Astaroth accepted the proposal made by the system. It wasn't long after this confirmation that a small blot of purple light flew out of the system interface and entered inside his body.
"!!!"
Thinking quickly on his feet, Astaroth assumed this would cause a small, noticeable disturbance. Therefore, he asked the system to use up some energy and conceal it to the best of its abilities.
He did this just in the nick of time, as one of the closest Water Snakes was very close to waking up.
Thankfully, that didn't happen, and he was in the clear… for now…
"That was close," Astaroth said with a relieved sigh. "But with this risk turning out in my favor, I can feel the effects of the Title having altered something very fundamental about my poisonous aspects."
Wishing to test out his speculations right away, Astaroth approached a yellow-tagged Lvl 5 Water Snake and used his |Venom Spit| ability.
The results were astonishing…!
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