Chapter 198: Loop 2, Day 1

Chapter 198: Loop 2, Day 1

Itching was the first sign of my rebirth, that now-familiar sensation of scale-flesh too tight for comfort scraping against new flesh. I twisted and thrashed, sloughing off the dead and welcoming the new. Cool air brushed against my length as an opening formed.

I broke free; the thought-light welcomed me, as brilliant as it always had been. Offering me the chance to choose again. Offering me the chance to move in another direction, to test more of the blessings that the Great Core could provide.

As powerful as the combination of [The Golems Echo] and [Guardian Link] were, I had already made the decision to try something new in every life. I might not get another chance to do so. With the most recent use of [The Endless Cycle] protecting me from permanent mistakes, not trying new things would have been a mistake.

I focused on the rewards that the thought-light presented.

Revealing Possible Rewards Unlocked Through Species: Snake And Its Interactions

In a flurry of decision, surprise, and decision again, I made my choices. The thought-light flickered in acceptance, and I began to change.

It was uncomfortable, perhaps the most uncomfortable I had ever been. Like my flesh was bloated, overstuffed and fit to burst. Like I was too dense, too heavy for my form.

The Great Cores newest blessing rushed through me in a torrent of pure change, altering flesh and scale and blood and bone.

I grew, my body responding to the first of my chosen blessings.

Size: Your body mass increases greatly, with all of the increase in strength and health that comes with a greater size. (Provided by: Snake)

Reward Chosen: Size.

[Size] Acquired.

Ribs flexed outwards, stretching across the expanded confines of my length. Fangs elongated. Flesh thickened. Lines of pressure, like vice-like coils mercilessly wrapped around my underside, bloomed against my scale-flesh.

And then, when the growth finally stopped, my second chosen blessing activated, the source of my earlier surprise. A new reward - or the same one, just offered once more.

Reward Chosen: Size II.

[Size II] Acquired.

I probably should have expected it, with any thought. If I had been a lesser snake, without the potential that the Great Core had blessed me with, [Size] might have been the only reward that I could receive. If it could be received only once, a normal snakes progress would stop there. Growing in levels would amount to almost nothing, without the leaps in power that the rewards at every tenth level provided, and without access to Blooded Traits to use Trait Points on.

Instead, [Size] was a repeating option. With that in mind, I couldnt help but pick it twice. I had already decided to test [Size] in this life. It would be a waste to not continue on that path.

Again, my body shifted under a torrent of power, bones flexing to make way for new growth. My mind basked in images of glory, of a body the size of a leviathan, crushing bad-things with every slither.

Even the pain of the transformation could hardly distract me from my dreams of power, despite the fact that, more and more with every passing moment, burning lines squeezed across my underside, making it hard to breathe and it hurt and what was happening -

Resistances: [Piercing Resistance - Intermediate I] [Venom Resistance - Intermediate II]

Level: 55

Trait Points: 23

Core Skills: [The Endless Cycle] [Chrono Fire] [Verdure Parasite] [The Golems Fading Heart]

Lesser Core Skills: [Mana Manipulation XI] [Mana Venom XI] [Mana Fire VII] [Little Guardians Totem MAX] [Life Essence Manipulation VI] [Life - Invigorating Bite XI] [Life - Vitality X] [Life - Vigor III] [Life - Vigorous Spores IV][Little Guardians Focus XI]

Level Rewards: [Traveler] [Mana-Life Conversion] [Size] [Size II]

Description: A growing Ouroboros, symbol of the eternal.

I had 23 Trait Points to spare. Last life, I had spent them on [Ascended Sense] in a bid to ensure that no more of Tiamats Ascended were skulking around. Given that [Ascended Sense VII] had failed to find anything nearby, I decided that it wasnt worth slithering along the same path in this life. Some, while expensive, would always be good choices. [Spore Puppeteer] had more than proven its worth. [Illusion Spark] had done the same. Even [Sound Shaping] could be powerful in the right situation.

I didnt pick any of them. Instead, I picked something that would most take advantage of my newfound size. Like the last, I didnt expect this life to be permanent. Especially since I hadnt grown to the size of a leviathan as Id hoped I would. With that in mind, I decided to try out something that I would never be able to use properly at my normal size.

Available Trait Points: 23

Use Trait Points To Upgrade A Trait?

21 Trait Points Required For Upgrade of [Constriction I] to [Constriction VII].

Upgrade Successful.

In yet another painful transition, my scale-flesh twisted and contorted as the Trait grew in power. Muscles itched and tingled below, causing me to writhe about in a futile attempt to make it go away. I could feel them grow stronger, thicker and denser with every moment, more able to flex and constrict and bind.

Before the transition completed, the first of the many-legged bad-things neared. The click-clack of legs against stone would have been just barely audible to an unsuspecting victim. Even in my distraction, I was far from that.

In my most recent false-life, I had hunted down the many-legged bad-things, tracking them to their nest with [The Golems Echo] slithering alongside me. In those moments, I had been safe. They stood little chance against the power of [The Golems Echo].

Instead, it was in the moments when I was alone that I found myself in danger. These particular many-legged bad-things were cowards, I had learned, preferring ambushes, traps, and overwhelming numbers to defeat the enemy - none of which mattered against [The Golems Echo].

They had, however, mattered against me. More than once, bad-things creeping in the dark had caught me by surprise. They liked to lurk in the darkness and hide in the shadows. Even their nests followed that same rule.

By that same token, they feared the light.

And in the last short while, I had been gathering quite a bit of it.

My scale-flesh pulsed.