Outside of the chamber, the larvae ate its way along the chamber wall. The chamber wall glimmered in a dim dark red, and whenever the larvae bumped his horns against it, he had to eat his way through a bit further away.

The fungi spread inside his stomach, and extended from there to his mouth. Each of his bites grew more loose, and each crawl was accopmanied by piercing pain.

Infection (70)

You have been infected by a variant of the fungi.

As the infection spread, the number in the box increased as well, or so the larvae noted. If it only could find a way to bring those numbers down...

He slightly exhaled, and opened his stat screen.

lv 4 (*4) Fly Larvae (3rd inter)

Age: 3 days Hit Points II: 15 Dragon Magic Power: external Stamina II: 11 Mental Power V: 33 Stats Attack V: 11 Defense V: 34 Speed IV: 12 Endurance V: 23

No bar showed the larvae how much HP he had now - unlike what he experienced before. Gritting his hooks, he crawled on, for as far as he could. His health detiorated even further, until at one point he just couldn't crawl on. He was too weak, and his body felt too heavy from all the stuff he ate long ago.

He blew air out of his openings, and rested. For a moment he thought about it. He never rested before - at least as far as he knew. It was new for him, a whole new perspective and experience. He ignored his senses and focused on the sense of peace.

...

He found something in his peace, a red stream flowing inside him. With each heart beat, the stream convulsed, and a brief rush of power overcame him. The red stream had no shadows, it was the movement of a force the larvae didn't quite understand. He felt he could push the source of the stream, and increase the amount flowing. With a bit of experimentating, he pushed it forward, and a lot more redness flowed down, filling his body with all of the redness. Along with it he felt a rush of power. But it wasn't the same power he felt when leveling up, it was a different, a more primal one. One full of passion and drive, full of love and worship.

Gently he opened his eyes. His hooks formed what would be called a smile.

Title gained You gained the title "Dragon Mana Wielder".

He found clarity.

Infection (10)

You have been infected by a variant of the fungi.

His hooks still tingled a bit, the leftovers from the infection before. The larvae's belly grumbled, and he went back to eating. It was all he ever did anyway.