I seemed to be having a pleasant dream. There was a field of blood red spider lilies and I was happily running through it like a little girl.

I scowled. This fever dream did not suit me at all!

It was something I would never do in my right mind. Although it was beautiful, I was allergic to pollen for one.

Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about the dream itself so it continued, until I looked down and was shocked to see the lower half of my body was that of a snake.

Then I heard a monotonous voice echo in the back of my mind and the flower field in front began to fade into darkness.

〚Undergoing Evolution... 〛

Ding!

〚『Steel Skin LV10』has synthesized with 『Dragon Scales LV5』 to become『Meteor Scales LV1』〛

〚Skill『Poison Fang LV10』has evolved to『Deadly Poison Attack LV1』〛

The space around me was shrinking. Soon all that was left was a withered patch of grass under my snake half.

Ding!

〚Skill『Heat Sense LV10』has evolved to『Heat Sphere LV1』〛

〚Unique Skill『Area of Authority』has been acquired〛

Ding!

〚Skill『Stealth LV10』has evolved to『Shadow Shroud LV1』〛

〚『Rugged Scales LV10』has synthesized with『Stinger』 to become『Empowered Stinger』〛

The field of flowers was completely gone, replaced instead with scorched earth burning through my skin.

I jolted awake.

I looked around and saw a place I never expected to be in again - The Host Graveyard.

I was surrounded by the hardened shells of corpses and powdery remains where some shells had begun to disintegrate.

Ugh…There were no fond memories here at all. Wasn't this where I nearly died twice?

I was frantic. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was running away before the other Queen arrived at the hidden chamber.

And then…

What did I miss?

But more importantly...

I was starving.

So unbearably hungry!

My snake belly ached with emptiness and it felt sluggish to move.

What was this terribly ravenousness?

I felt a warm presence beside me and I turned towards the source to see the lizard sleeping beside me.

Hmm...it couldn't have been the same one. Why did it seem much smaller than before?

My mouth began to water as I looked at it. A lizard steak didn't sound very appetizing, but I was too hungry to be picky.

«What are you doing?» An annoyed voice sounded out as I fastened my jaw around the lizard's neck.

"Eating?" I answered absentmindedly.

There was a sigh. «As much as I want you to get rid of him, he's not your food. Release him.».

"But I'm hungry…"

I felt a mild electric current flash through my body and my jaw around the lizard's neck slackened.

Ouch! What was that?

«You will regret your actions when you come to your senses later.» Sensei scolded. «And besides, he's the reason you're still alive.»

My jaw was slightly sore as I turned from side to side to try to relieve it.

"What happened?"

Sensei scoffed. «You passed out like a log and this lizard was smart enough to carry you away from danger, before the wasps found your temporary hidey hole.»

"Ah…" I was surprised.

Wait!

So, does that mean I had successfully evolved?

And was that shock earlier, like a cramp or growing pains?

It was possible, I did just grow a significant amount in a short time.

I slowly turned towards my sleeping companion and sighed. Never did I think the dumb lizard would actually save my life.

I appraised him out of curiosity and saw his still recovering stats.

-------------------------

LV9 Ivenium Stilio

Specie: Ailith Drake

HP: 55/89 Defence: 89

MP: 23/62 Intellect: 30

SP: 15/92 Magic: 47

Attack: 105 Agility: 88

-------------------------

I saw that he had a new title, [Saviour] and I somehow felt annoyed and felt the urge to slap him awake. However, he was still healing from his previous injuries so I relented.

I was still hungry, but it felt unfair to eat him after everything.

More so, there was a new option after his level.

What exactly was I supposed to name him?

I was too hungry to think, so I opened [Dimensional Box] and brought out the Hidden Queen's corpse to sate my hunger. Looking at her, memories of the previous battle resurfaced in my mind, and I wondered how long had I been passed out.

«It's been 28 minutes since you fled.» Sensei was kind enough to give a response.

28 minutes? That meant I still had time! I appraised the Queen's stats and wondered if eating her was enough to gain a skill with [Devour].

-----------------------------

LV28 Horothia Decoris

Specie: Ailith Vespoidea

HP: 0/325 Defence: 218

MP: 0/196 Intellect: 97

SP: 0/212 Magic: 136

Attack: 285 Agility: 240

Skills:

[Flight: LV:10] [Deadly Stinger: LV7]

[Accelerated Flight: LV7] [Lift: LV10]

[Aerial Manoeuvring: LV9] [Bite: LV7]

[Leadership: LV5] [Razor Claw: LV7]

[Grip: LV10] [Compound Eyes: LV10]

[Wind Blade: LV8] [Oviposition: LV8]

[Perception: LV6] [Pain Toxin: LV10]

[Chitin Armour: LV7] [Coercion: LV6]

[Ultraviolet Vision: LV8] [Scent: LV7]

[Bloodless: LV9] [Overeating: LV8]

[Exoskeleton: LV10] [Claw: LV10]

[Pheromonal Telepathy: LV8]

[Sting: LV10] [Air Burst: LV10]

[Directional Stability: LV7]

[Paralysis Venom: LV10]

--------------------------------

Title:

[Hive Queen] [Ruthless]

[Foul Feeder] [Kin Eater]

Magic Skills:

[Air Magic: LV8]

[Wind Manipulation: LV4]

Resistances:

[Mental Warfare: LV8]

[Pain Negation: LV10]

[Poison Resistance: LV2]

[Piercing Resistance: LV8]

[Wind Resistance: LV10]

[Pain Resistance: LV10]

[Impact Resistance: LV10]

[Paralysis Resistance: LV2]

[Cutting Resistance: LV8]

[Fear Resistance: LV6]

[Faint Resistance: LV10]

----------------------------

Her stats were impressive.

If I could gain something like her [Wind blades] or [Telepathy], I would be ecstatic.

With those thoughts, I began to eat the Queen, satiating my bottomless hunger. But I was met with disappointment.

〚Devour has reached maximum satiation for specimen『Horothia Decoris』Evolution tree of 『Ailith Vespoidea』has been unlocked.〛

〚Would you like to acquire attribute『Coercion』(Accept | Reject)〛

Reject.

I wanted to reject it.

I slithered around the graveyard in a huff. Only one skill? Where was the justice?

I already had [Mind Chain], and it seemed wasteful to accept a skill that was so similar in effect. I wondered if I rejected it, would another option appear?

Sensei sighed at my hesitation. «Just accept it.»

"I want a do over?" I retorted stubbornly.

«Do you have another Queen in storage that I'm unaware of?»

I sighed. There was another Queen alright, but it was highly unlikely she would let me eat her. And she may have an entirely different skill set too.

The only one similar to this Queen was the Scary wasp and I wasn't confident I could kill him yet. I paced some more in frustration before finally hitting [Accept]. What a waste.

Well, at least I had amassed [1237] XP points from the battle and from killing the Queen. I consoled myself with the idea of going on a shopping spree and thoroughly spending every hard earned point until I'm satisfied.

Opening the system store, I first saw some familiar skills like.

[Mark: 100XP] [Labyrinth Atlas: 300XP]

And as I looked below them, some new skills were added.

[HP Recovery: 100XP] [MP Recovery: 100XP] [SP Recovery: 100XP]

I appraised each of the new skills to determine their worth.

[HP Recovery: 100XP] - Auto recovery of depleted HP at the rate of six points per minute and fifteen per minute when HP is less than 25%.

And it was similar for [MP Recovery: 100XP] and [SP Recovery: 100XP]

These were useful skills to have, so I purchased them all and checked my status window.

--------------------------

Name: Aurelia LV16 [Small Cerastes]

Specie: Cerastes Vipera

HP: 258/258 Defence: 230

MP: 158/158 Intellect: 170

SP: 216/216 Magic: 126

Attack: 238 Agility: 260

Skills:

[Poison Fang: LV10] [Bite: LV7]

[Venom Rain: LV4] [Mark: LV1]

[Scent: LV5] [SP Recovery: LV1]

[MP Recovery: LV1] [Grip: LV8]

[Silence: LV8] [Rapid Strike: LV7]

[Heat Sense: LV10] [Pain Toxin: LV4]

[Stealth: LV10] [Meteor Scales: LV1]

[Buoyancy: LV4] [Steel Skin: LV10]

[Rugged Scales: LV10] [Leap: LV6]

[Appraisal: LV5] [Heat Seeker: LV1]

[Mana Sense: LV5] [Detox: LV4]

[Heat Sphere: LV1] [HP Recovery: LV1]

[Deadly Poison Attack: LV1]

[Poison Synthesis: LV1]

[Shadow Shroud: LV1]

----------------------------

Titles:

[Apostle] [Coldblooded]

[Commander] [Hero] [Trickster]

Unique Skills:

[Devour] [Area of Authority]

Magic Items:

[Dimensional Box] [Labyrinth Atlas]

Magic Skills:

[Poison Magic: LV1] [Shadow Magic: LV1]

Attributes:

[Obsidian Horn] [Mind Chain]

[Empowered Stinger] [Coercion]

----------------------------

Resistances:

[Impact Resistance: LV9]

[Pain Resistance: LV9]

[Cutting Resistance: LV1]

[Mental Warfare: LV1]

[Dark Resistance: LV1]

[Wind Resistance: LV6]

[Shock Resistance: LV9]

[Faint Resistance: LV6]

[Pain Mitigation: LV2]

[Poison Resistance: LV7]

[Paralysis Resistance: LV6]

-------------------------------

Experience Points: [537]

--------------------------

I was satisfied with my new stats and the remaining exp points.

My evolved form was larger than before and I realised I was now just as large as the lizard and could easily coil around him four times over. I wondered if I would keep getting larger with each evolution?

I could easily eat thirty of my former self right now...or a human child.

Well, that was a chilling thought process.

The lizard was still asleep so I let him rest. But I was curious to know what had happened to the Hidden Queen's chamber after I left. The other Queen must have arrived there to see so many wasps dead and her rival disappeared.

Wait, did the scary wasp return?

I was worried what he would do when he learnt of his Queen's demise.