I…
won…?
It’s over…
right…?
…
Accompanied by the sound of eggshells cracking, the full-heal effect brought by leveling up completely restored my broken and battered body.
*Swoosh!*
I bounded right up from the ground, taking a sudden deep breath.
While enjoying the intoxicating thrill of being reborn, I excitedly wagged my tail behind me.
Woohoo!
Vic!
To!
Ry!
Hahahahaha…
Now you know how powerful I am!
You useless piece of trash~
…
Heh, even though I’m acting all tough out loud, reflecting back on that near-death scenario just now still makes me wipe the cold sweat off my little forehead.
Phew…
I really didn’t expect that sudden brainwave I had earlier—combining [Petrifying Evil Eye] with [Earth Spear]—would actually become the secret trump card that clinched the victory.
Though, it’s lucky this guy wasn’t cautious enough…
Facing me when I was cornered, it dropped its guard and didn’t even deliver a finishing blow in time, choosing instead to stand by the side and mock me!
That left me with just enough time to construct the spell formula.
Hmph!
I turned around and kicked hard at the Anogratch’s corpse lying on the ground.
That Earth Spear strike just now, backed up by the petrification power, had pierced straight through its left arm and pinned itself deep into its heart.
Looks like it’s as dead as dead can be.
…
Ugh…
I rubbed my little claws together self-consciously.
Sorry for underestimating you earlier, Mr.
[Magic]~
«…»
«All base stats increased.»
«Acquired Skill Proficiency Leveling Bonus.»
«Proficiency reached a certain level.
Skill [Appraisal LV.4] leveled up to [Appraisal LV.5].»
«Proficiency reached a certain level.
Skill [Appraisal LV.5] leveled up to [Appraisal LV.6].»
«Proficiency reached a certain level.
Skill [Pain Resistance LV.3] leveled up to [Pain Resistance LV.4].»
«Proficiency reached a certain level…»
Ooh, ooh?!
Not bad, not bad!
The EXP granted by defeating a formidable enemy really is something else!
So happy!
Hehehe…
My heart was filled with an unparalleled sense of achievement and satisfaction, and right as I was blissfully listening to the system chimes one after another, a system announcement suddenly echoed in my mind that caught this lizard completely off guard.
I froze dead in my tracks.
«Proficiency reached a certain level.
Skill [Contamination LV.1] leveled up to [Contamination LV.2].»
(LanLi: Previously translated as Corruption.)
Uh…
huh?
Wait, hold on…
What…
what on earth is this thing?!
Setting aside the fact that it sounds like a bad omen just from the name, more importantly…
*Gulp…*
I swallowed a mouthful of spit, my brow slowly furrowing.
This skill definitely never appeared in the original story!
I couldn’t possibly be misremembering it…
Then…
there’s only one explanation left.
Could this…
be a unique skill exclusive to a “Reincarnator”?
A certain name flashed through my mind in an instant.
My whole body shuddered, and I hastily turned around, frantically scanning my surroundings.
Yet all that met my eyes were the Anogratch’s corpse and bloodstains all over the ground—nothing else appeared…
…
In the silent cave, only the sound of my own breathing echoed continuously.
I silently turned around and sat in the corner of the wall, staring fixedly at everything in front of me, terrified of missing a single detail.
…
…
Still don’t want to come out and meet up…
Ugh!
You peeping tom…
…
I dragged the Anogratch’s corpse back to the spot where I had been doing my magic training earlier.
Uwaah, so heavy!
I’m exhausted to death…
Even though I was panting heavily, my eyes never left my “trophy of war.”
Fufufu…
Taking care of this guy took so much out of me, I wonder how it tastes~
Saying that, I slowly bent down, aimed at the Anogratch’s arm, took a deep breath, and took a huge, sudden bite out of it!
Mmm…
…
*Gag, gag…!*
A suffocatingly fishy stench rushed straight to the top of my head!
Forcing down the sickening discomfort and barely suppressing the urge to vomit, I chewed repeatedly before finally swallowing the thoroughly mashed lump of meat down.
Waaaaah…
Why does it taste so awful?
It’s dry as a bone…
And my mouth is completely full of fur…
Waaaaah…
…
I lay lazily on the mossy ground, my head resting against one of the Anogratch’s thigh bones, falling into deep thought as I looked at the different evolution paths before me.
Which one should I actually choose~
«There are several higher species available for evolution.»
«Please select one species from the following list.»
«1.
<Elroe Basilisk>»
«2.
<Small Elroe Petrotort>»
«3.
<Small Shadow Basilisk>»
Yes, just as everyone can see, the very first evolution of my lizard life actually has three whole directions!
It’s truly unbelievable, which is precisely why I’m torn over how to choose.
Evolution is the watershed that determines one’s cap, so the crucial first step must be taken correctly!
I scratched my chin.
The first option to be ruled out is obviously Option 1.
I’m obviously not going to be foolish enough to choose to evolve my current lower-tier species into an adult individual.
As for the ones after that…
I looked at the next two options.
This is a bit tricky…
[Small Elroe Petrotort].
This one seems to be an individual that specializes more in the [Petrification] ability.
If combined with [Soil Magic], it’d definitely be able to display even more formidable strength.
Fighting in the Great Labyrinth with this attribute would definitely give me a bigger advantage, too…
Plus, the species name carries the “Elroe” prefix, so it’s probably a special variant individual found only in the Great Elroe Labyrinth…
As for the other option,
[Small Shadow Basilisk].
This name sounds way cooler!
And it comes with the shadow attribute species!
Oh, oh!
A traveler lurking in the darkness?
That’s pretty darn cool!
Various chuunibyou scenarios kept popping up in my mind.
This evolution direction looks super good~
However…
Right as I was about to make my choice, something suddenly crossed my mind again, and my little claw froze in mid-air once more.
Wait, no…
I absolutely cannot pick this one!
An individual that excels at using [Dark Magic] would probably have its future evolution paths specializing in this domain as well…
I tilted my head, falling into slight deliberation:
I have to admit, the dark attribute can indeed be considered one of the strongest magic types.
It possesses the most terrifying energy density and is famous for its devastating power and range.
But!
There’s another characteristic that needs to be noted, and that is [Dark Magic] is pure energy!
It doesn’t carry any natural elements, which means…
if it encounters an anti-magic barrier, [Dark Magic] won’t be able to play any role at all…
Yep, looks like I can just pass on this one directly.
Alright!
So okay then!
Now I don’t need to keep agonizing over the evolution direction~
[Small Elroe Petrotort]!
Begin evolution!
…
*Hss*, I feel like I usually fall asleep during evolution…
Wait, to be precise, I pass out!
Right after I issued the evolution command, just as that thought crossed my mind, a overwhelming wave of drowsiness suddenly rushed through my entire body.
My limbs felt as limp as cotton, and my consciousness gradually blurred.
Ugh, ugh…
It really…
is like…
this…
…
…
“That little guy finally remembered me, huh.”
“I hope he can keep giving it his all.”
“Little Lizard needs to work hard in the future, too, okay…”
…
“Mmm, this newly released snack tastes pretty good…”
…