-- Chapter 21:

A massive creature resembling a cross between a dragon and snake towered ten meters high. It charged, angling its body and slamming against an insignificant speck.

The sapling that took the full brunt of the impact rebounded far off into the valley.

Several seconds later, a shadow darted out from the trees and leapt, soaring towards the monstrous beast’s flank.

The beast seemed to be expecting this retaliation. It tilted its body sharply and the previously stationary tail instantly accelerated, agilely whipping forwards.

The figure in midair shone with a silver glow as it stretched out a limb and effortlessly attached itself the tail, following along it without breaking stride.

The flood dragon sneered. It rapidly vibrated the muscles of its tail, loosening Hui’s tenuous grip on its sleek scales.

Hui’s complexion sank as he felt himself slipping. He had fought to a standstill with this beast for the greater part of the morning, barely dealing some minor injuries past its virtually impenetrable scales. The flood dragon was truly a worthy adversary. It was perhaps at the peak of the first level.

As his body was mildly disoriented from the vibration, the cunning reptile strained its lower back and forced the momentum of its tail towards the sky.

The vigorous energy contained in the flood dragon’s limbs and muscles transferred to its tail, batting Hui into the sky several kilometers.

Hui’s breath stopped as he took in the surroundings. This was the first time he had truly seen the world he had reincarnated into. Though he was eyeless, his senses gave him perception not unlike vision. It faded along with distance, with almost nothing that could be distinctly made out after several kilometers. Even during the few occasions Hui had attempted to understand the world above hundred meter high treetops, he was only able to identify a subset of the wilderness, a wide expanse of forest and mountains.

Now, as Hui thought to himself in the brief moment he hung motionless, he finally understood the scope of this world. Previously, Hui had a vague idea as to its vastness. His speed had long outpaced even the most competent athletes, overcoming even the more common transportation in his previous life. Yet, he had never came close to what might be called the end of the forest. In his months alive, he had traveled along what he had believed to be a border region, filled with only lesser beasts whose essence had not consolidated into anything meaningful, and the first level evil spirit beasts, that had a crystal which served as the fountainhead for their energy, a mysterious construct that was fundamental to this world’s lives.

Hui could feel a trace of the energy in the air he breathed. It entered his pores in millions of insignificant specks and slowly congregated above his core, gradually nourishing his ocean. Thus far, he had neglected this trace, because it was incomparable to what he received through swallowing lives. Hui had assumed that proportion of energy was consistent throughout the world’s atmosphere, and that more powerful creatures progressed through devouring the resources from others, much like how he did.

Now, he knew he was sorely mistaken. He saw before him a vastness that overwhelmed his senses. In the past, he had drudged through lessons in schools from a young age, desensitizing himself to certain things as a result of overexposure to information. One of those, evidently, was scale. He had been taught of the existence of planets that dwarfed his own. Even the sun of his galaxy was incomparably large relatively, but that in the grand scheme of the universe was also a mere insignificant dot. However, to truly feel it was entirely different.

Hui related his experience to what astronauts must have felt. He himself was kilometers above in the air, though there seemed to be no end in sight, as he was nowhere near space. Hui felt as he were a frog in the well, glancing at the sky. The region he had called home was a drop in the ocean of wilderness. Towards one side, the forest grew sparser before ending. He saw a regularity that signified pastures and fields, and civilization. On the other, trees competed for sunlight, towering higher and higher. At the edge of his vision, he saw a sheer precipice that seemed as if it were the world’s end.

Looking into the depths, Hui saw impossibilities. He could almost feel the density of energy that was no doubt circulating the air. It seemed that it was lightest where the humans were, building in thickness towards the endless mountain, resulting in greater living beings.

Hui’s sapling blood throbbed in anticipation. A previously nonexistent longing was born and he felt compelled to charge recklessly into the depths to ease this yearning.

Hui calmed his unusual excitation. All that was for the future. At the moment, he had more pressing matters.

As Hui fell back down, he concentrated fully on his opponent. He felt the surroundings dull. Even the unforgettable sights lost color.

A flash of inspiration lit Hui’s mind. His branches and roots extended, binding themselves together familiarly into a spear angling downwards. Silver energy trailed his body as he forced himself along the direction of his ascent.

Hui focused his gaze on the flood dragon waiting calmly below in anticipation of his uncontrolled plummet, and the effortless meal that would come afterwards.

Killing intent rose from Hui as he fell. Even from the distance, the flood dragon fought off a discomforting shiver.

As he fell, Hui poured all the energy he could muster into reinforcing his branches. Then he spun himself.

As the beast calmly searched in the sky for its prey, it somewhat regretted its decision. Perhaps against an average beast the fall would instantly kill it, but would that work against a plant? Well, regardless, it believed that the sapling would be severely wounded and easy pickings.

The flood dragon scanned with its single eye, rotating its head around furiously. After the battle had temporarily been brought to a close, fury had clouded its judgement again. It desperately wanted to catch the sapling, tearing it apart in retaliation for the wounds that would take months to properly heal. It hoped the tiny body contained a worthwhile amount of essence as compensation.

After a small wait, it thought it caught the sight of something flashing silver in the sky, though it immediately vanished in the skylight.

It remained confused and anxious as a several meter long silver spear broke the heavens and pierced its skull, exiting through its entire body.

“BANG!”

The earth seemed to ripple, and the waves of the nearby surged. A cloud of dust covered the valley, along with the metallic smell of blood.

Hui freed himself from the depths of the hole and climbed out the dust, the energy in his body depleted and his branches aching. He cheered at the convenience of this new body, as his mind hadn’t become disoriented even with the spinning.

Chuckling to himself, he went to work making use of the flood dragon’s essence.

--

Hui tossed the flood dragon’s bulky crystal to the shameless pup who had crawled back at some point after the fight. It bit down and swallowed the core whole as it had done many times. Content, it then sat down and closed its eyes.

A month had passed since Hui had taken the pill. He had eased into familiarity with his new body. Outside of his senses, his stats had not multiplied by much. The truly astounding effect of the pill was in two areas.

His body was far more malleable than before. He could extend any of branches up to five meters. This on top of the already flexible nature of his body made him unbelievably versatile within the forest.

Secondly, he found his vitality had increased dramatically. That, along with the traces of the pill’s efficacy that seemed to remain in his body, allowed him to practice almost masochistically. The more he pushed the limit of his body, the stronger it would be after refinement. No lasting injuries could remain after a single meditation. Lately he had taken to sparring with first level beasts while weighed down by several thousand kilogram boulders. Impatient for a fiercer adversary, he had sought out the flood dragon.

Hui sat atop the peak of a tree and looked towards the wilderness depths, and the strange sights he could barely make out of behemoths that walked over mountains and flying abominations.

The sea of his core had been nourished by the constant flow of the essences of his kills. However, lately, regardless of his efforts, growth had stagnated. Even the flood dragon’s vigorous energy had barely improved the capacity.

Driven by the sights he had seen kilometers above, Hui whispered to himself, “Is it time to hunt second level beasts?”