Lizarius emerged from the cave, the sun bathing the forest in its golden light.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees, casting patches of warmth across the forest floor.
*Let’s see what these wings can do,* he thought as he turned invisible.
He leaped into the air and began flapping his wings with enthusiasm.
Unfortunately—
**CRASH!**
Lizarius came tumbling down into a tree, his body colliding with the branches before dropping onto the ground below.
His invisibility abruptly ceased.
*It’s harder than I thought,* he grumbled, scrambling back up onto a nearby branch.
“I can’t fly.
Looks like I have to take this step by step.”
He spread his wings again.
Then he jumped.
**Flap!
Flap!**
He landed on another branch.
Again.
He leaped from tree to tree, repeatedly flapping his wings and adjusting the movement of his body as he practiced.
At first, his movements were clumsy.
Sometimes he would lose his balance.
Sometimes he would rise only a short distance before dropping back onto a branch.
But Lizarius continued practicing.
He kept flapping his wings.
He kept jumping.
He kept trying to control his movements.
After a while of persistent effort, Lizarius finally managed to take flight.
His body rose from the branch.
His wings beat steadily.
He flew between the thick branches of the trees, gradually gaining altitude.
Higher.
And higher.
Eventually, he broke through the canopy.
Lizarius continued ascending until he reached the clouds.
*I’m so high up.*
A thrill of exhilaration coursed through him as he looked down at the enormous forest below.
*I’m still not proficient, but I’m doing great.*
He attempted to fly even higher.
His wings beat harder.
But his body refused to rise any further.
Lizarius frowned.
“Looks like I can’t fly any higher than this.”
He continued hovering in the sky for a moment.
*I’m not that fast either.*
His yellow eyes narrowed.
*I need to be faster.*
An idea suddenly sparked in his mind.
*If I use the Lightning Gene, I can probably fly faster.*
Lizarius immediately charged his body with electricity.
**Zzzzt!**
Lightning crackled across his scales.
His wings became surrounded by electricity.
Then—
**BOOM!**
Lizarius tore through the wind.
His body shot forward at incredible speed.
The air rushed past him as he accelerated through the sky.
*I’m about five times faster than before!*
A surge of excitement filled his thoughts.
He continued flying for some time before finally slowing down.
Lizarius hovered in the sky and looked down.
Far below, he spotted something unusual.
A swamp was nestled within the vast forest.
The dark, murky water was surrounded by thick vegetation, making the area look completely different from the rest of the forest.
*A swamp?*
*This forest is bigger than I thought.*
He slowly flew closer to the swamp.
Suddenly—
**Splash!**
Something emerged from the murky water.
A frog as large as a dog rose from the swamp.
Its eyes fixed directly on Lizarius.
Before he could react, the frog opened its mouth.
**Psssh!**
A stream of green liquid shot toward him.
Lizarius was still hovering in the air.
He immediately moved to the side.
The projectile passed beside him and struck a nearby tree.
**Sizzle!**
The bark began dissolving.
The surface of the tree rapidly decayed beneath the corrosive liquid.
Lizarius stared at the ravaged tree.
His yellow eyes widened.
*System, what kind of beast is that?*
**[Acid Frog.
A Rank 3, Late Stage beast.
It mainly attacks using acid.]**
Lizarius looked at the tree again.
*Lucky I dodged that.*
Then the system continued.
**[Acid Frogs are also known for living in groups.]**
Lizarius’s eyes shifted back toward the swamp.
“What do you mean, groups?”
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
**Splash.**
Another frog’s head emerged from the water.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, multiple frog heads began poking out from the swamp.
Their eyes glinted menacingly as they stared at Lizarius.
Lizarius remained suspended in the air.
A bead of sweat rolled down his body.
“That’s what you mean.”
The frogs suddenly opened their mouths.
**Psssh!
Psssh!
Psssh!**
A barrage of acid was launched toward Lizarius.
Lizarius immediately ascended higher into the air, effortlessly dodging the streams of corrosive liquid.
*There are so many of them.*
Frustration crept into his thoughts.
He charged his body with lightning.
Electricity surged across his scales as he gathered the energy toward his horn.
**Zzzzt!**
The lightning continued concentrating.
Lizarius aimed downward.
Then—
**BOOM!**
He unleashed the concentrated bolt toward the swamp.
A brilliant flash of lightning descended.
**CRACK!**
The lightning struck the swamp with a deafening sound.
Most of the frogs immediately leaped from the water in panic.
Those that were too slow were struck by the powerful electric jolt.
Their bodies convulsed before they lost consciousness, floating lifelessly on the surface of the swamp.
The frogs that had escaped the lightning strike continued launching acid toward Lizarius.
*These bastards!*
Lizarius moved through the air, avoiding another stream of acid.
*I can’t get closer because of the acid spit.*
He considered using his sound wave attack.
*Using a sound wave attack might attract the attention of other nearby beasts.*
Lizarius decided against it.
**WHOOSH!**
The powerful movement of his wings generated several sharp wind blades.
The wind slashes tore through the air toward the frogs.
**SHING!
SHING!
SHING!**
The blades struck the swamp with deadly precision.
Multiple frogs were cut apart.
*That works!*
A surge of satisfaction filled Lizarius’s thoughts.
He continued flapping his wings.
More wind slashes tore through the air.
**WHOOSH!**
**SHING!**
One after another, the wind blades struck the swamp, systematically eliminating the remaining frogs.
The unconscious frogs floating on the surface were also struck by the wind slashes.
After a while of relentless attacks, the swamp finally fell silent.
Lizarius slowly descended.
He landed beside the edge of the murky water.
His yellow eyes scanned the swamp before settling on the corpse of one of the frogs.
Its skin glistened with the residue of its own acid.
Lizarius approached the corpse.
He opened his mouth and bit down.
His teeth tore into the flesh as he began devouring the creature.
When he finished eating, the system chimed.
**[You have gained 200 evolution points, the Acid Frog Gene, and 3 Gene Points.]**
Lizarius’s eyes brightened.
He looked toward the other corpses scattered around the swamp.
Then he moved toward another one.
“System.”
**[Yes?]**
“Fuse genes.”
A burning sensation suddenly spread through Lizarius’s mouth.
He paused.
**[Fusion complete.
Lizarius’s saliva is now acidic.]**
Lizarius blinked.
He could feel something different inside his mouth.
A new sensation spread across his tongue and between his teeth.
He approached another frog corpse and bit down.
The flesh immediately began dissolving inside his mouth.
*The meat dissolves in my mouth!*
His yellow eyes brightened.
*Now I can eat even more!*
Lizarius continued devouring the frog corpses scattered around the swamp.
He ate every corpse he could find.
Some had fallen near the water.
Others had been cut apart by his wind slashes.
Lizarius even ventured into the swamp itself to consume the corpses that had fallen into the murky water.
He continued eating until there were no more corpses left that he could find.
After some time, he finally finished his gruesome feast.
The system’s voice sounded once again.
**[Gain 23,000 evolution points and 250 Acid Frog Gene Points.]**
Lizarius paused.
His yellow eyes widened slightly.
That was far more than he had expected.
After finishing his feast, Lizarius turned invisible.
He spread his wings and soared out of the swamp, rising back into the sky.
Once he had gained enough altitude, he looked down at the vast forest below.
“System.”
**[Yes?]**
“How many points do I have now?”
The system responded.
**[You currently have 40,200 evolution points and 250 Acid Frog Gene Points.]**
Lizarius’s yellow eyes brightened.
*I have never gotten so many points before.*