[Title Effect Activated: Root of Hunger – Hunger Pulse enabled. Prey within 5 meters emit faint mana pulses. Extraction chance increased.]
It began with a flicker—a ripple through the earth like someone had dropped a pebble into mana-infused mud. To anything else, it would've gone unnoticed. But to me? It was like sonar in the dirt.
And I was starving.
I slithered forward, creeping through the soft loam, pushing aside pebbles and fungus. Root Sense hummed constantly now, boosted by Hunger Pulse. I was starting to get a feel for this body—how to stretch without tearing, how to anchor my base so I didn't yank myself apart like a dumb weed.
Another ripple. Closer.
Then I felt it—a creature, burrowing, blind, stupid. Mana signature low but steady. Probably a crawler-beast or burrow maggot. Nothing special.
Didn't matter.
I lashed out. My vine whipped through the earth, thorns sprouting mid-strike. It struck something squishy.
[Target Consumed.]
[Mana Absorbed: +2]
[Skill Fragment Acquired: Reinforced Hide (Low-Tier)]
[Skill Extraction Failed. Partial Genetic Data Retained.]
'Partial data? Can I get mutations too?'
My form wriggled with excitement. Not that I had a face, but if I did, I'd be grinning like a lunatic.
I spent the next few hours doing what I now did best—eating anything that came close. Larvae, crawling worms, slime molds, even a glowing mushroom that gave me indigestion.
[Skill Acquired: Bioluminescent Gland (Fungal Type)]
[Mana Absorbed: +1]
Parts of my vine began to glow faintly. A soft green-blue pulse spread from my central stalk. I realized, for the first time, that I could be seen.
'Wait, do monsters in this place see? Or just feel? If someone sees this glow, would they follow it?'
Cautiously, I focused on dimming the effect—and to my delight, the glow receded.
[Bioluminescent Gland can be toggled: ON/OFF.]
'Sick. Stealth plant mode.'
[Evolution Progress: 22%]
Progress felt slower now. I wasn't just leveling—I was learning how to be me. I started branching out (pun totally intended), testing terrain, climbing damp walls of stone. The dungeon was deeper than I thought—more like a labyrinth. Ruins of a forgotten place, swallowed by the roots of time.
And still, no adventurers. Just monsters. Dungeon fodder. But some of them were weird.
[New Entity Detected: Cracked-Bark Crawler]
[Tier: D-]
[Threat Level: Moderate]
[Estimated Skill Yield: High]
I didn't even think.
I struck fast, launching multiple tendrils like a net. But this thing was tough. Its hide cracked and flaked, releasing toxic spores. One of my vines blackened on contact.
[Warning: Toxin detected. Damage sustained. Initiating Regeneration.]
Pain.
Real, plant-pain. Not quite like a burn—more like rotting while still alive. My tendrils recoiled, curling like dying leaves. I hissed through the soil.
But I didn't retreat.
I redirected.
I pumped mana into Spore Burst (Lesser). My own spores flooded the tunnel, colliding with the crawler's toxins. Green clashed with violet.
Then—I struck from above.
One vine slammed down from the ceiling. Another coiled around its underbelly.
Crunch. Snap.
[Target Consumed.]
[Skill Acquired: Cracked Bark Armor (Lesser)]
[Skill Acquired: Toxic Resistance I]
[Mana Absorbed: +6]
[Title Earned: Predator of the Rotting Deep]
[Title Effect: Increased resistance to decay and toxins. Prey slain within tainted zones yield more stat growth.]
[Evolution Progress: 40%]
'Oh yeah. I'm built different.'
The armor began to form naturally—cracked bark spreading across portions of my vine. It wasn't pretty, but it felt solid. Natural. Like the dungeon was molding me into something... worse.
And I was fine with that.
I was alone in the dark, but I was no longer small. I was evolving.
And soon, this dungeon would remember my name.