I continued downstream and soon reached the enormous lake. I scouted the nearby area for predators and ran into another snake. I finished it off quickly with a well-aimed ice lance as it tried to intimidate me by raising its head as high as it could.

Not the smartest creatures out here. Then again, it couldn’t have known I could cast magic.

This magic was truly a game-changer.

One thing did strike me as odd, though. These vipers gave a surprising amount of experience for how easy they were to kill. I figured their venom was probably quite potent. I didn’t see another reason.

Maybe I should upgrade my toxin resistance sometime soon. I had no idea what other creatures dwelled in this forest…

I was too close to my evolution now, though. I had to focus on getting that first. My worries for enhancing all the skill options that would open with the rainbow evolution would be for later.

I peered into the water after making sure the coast was clear of any danger. I saw many of the giant goldfish swimming about as well as entire schools of reaperfish, with a large one here and there.

My eyes spotted one of the giant ones. I threw out a line of silk to set up my bait. Soon enough I’d killed a small fish. No experience was gained, but my bait was set up.

I used ice lances to kill a few of the reaperfish that came to eat the bleeding corpse before my quarry decided to investigate.

I unleashed a flurry of spells on the giant fish, starting with a paralytic venom bolt that I hit as part of its body surfaced. I followed it up with three ice lances before casting my venom bolt twice.

I wasn’t sure how effective venom would be in water, but I knew that I’d at least gotten a fair dose in its body. I impaled it with two more ice lances as it swam away in panic.

I hoped that would be enough to finish it off…

I could chase it down with water walking… I think? I had not used the spell before, so I didn’t dare to use it now on impulse.

I watched the fish swim off while leaving a distinct trail of blood in its wake. That had to be enough…

A minute or so after the fish went out of sight, a message showed up.

That was surprisingly little experience for something so large. How much experience did I still need for the level cap?

I saw the reaperfish in the lake swim in the direction of where the large fish had swum off to.

Well, that means it’s time to hunt snakes again.

I left the lake behind me and skittered along with the vegetation, looking for any vipers. I had started to get an idea of where they preferred to be. Besides, from what I had seen so far, they would start hissing the moment I got close, giving me an even better idea of when one was near.

Stupid snakes.

I cast the physical barrier on myself as I went fairly close to the ferns and other plants that made up the vegetation near the treeline. Soon enough, I heard a hissing sound, causing me to step away in order to focus on where the sound had come from.

This was all too easy. The creature in question slithered up to me, leaving its camouflage behind.

I pierced its body with a venom bolt and then again for good measure. It never got the chance to come close.

Finally.

It was time to get at least some answers.

I made my way back to Cellestra’s home as fast as I could. On the way there, I ran into one more snake which I ignored. I had no use for it right now.

When I arrived at the wooden building, I saw a round wooden tub in front of it. The elf wasn’t nearby, so I decided to peek inside. After climbing on the tub wall I noticed the wolf pelts soaked in water.

Though, I assumed that wasn’t just water.

I went inside the house and found Cellestra at work on her dough once more. She was putting it inside the unlit stove a second time as I entered.

“Welcome back again,” She said as I climbed onto the table. “How did it go?”

She stood up and sat down at the table with a glass of milk. I started spelling out words.

“Went well. Can evolve again. Hope I get some answers.”

“Heh,” Cellestra chuckled. “I’ll get some more paper and write down larger letters. It’s getting harder with you growing so much.”

It was as if she’d read my thoughts from earlier.

“Thanks,” I wrote.

I then positioned myself near the back of the table while Cellestra retrieved some more paper and a piece of charcoal to write.

I went over my enhancement one last time out of habit but figured it was completely pointless. I could increase any skill I wanted in the rainbow evolution after all. I was anxious about what I knew would be an enormous list of spells that were going to be available for enhancement.

I waved at Cellestra one last time before lying down and confirming that I wanted the Giant Rainbow Resica evolution. I was knocked out immediately after confirming.

____________________________________________________________________________

When my vision returned at least, I felt extremely dizzy and disorientated. Everything around me was blurry. The best sense I had at the moment was my sense of smell, the scent of freshly baked bread to be more specific.

I stood up and heard Cellestra call out, “Careful with your movements, Kealyna.”

I stopped moving and just let myself drop down on the table again. Slowly but steadily my vision returned. When it did, The first thing I noticed was the colors on my abdomen. The furthest part was colored in the same purple that I donned during my purple evolutions. The middle part was colored orange, and the part closest to my head was green.

So much for a rainbow.

This was the worst rainbow I’d ever seen.

The next thing I noticed was my size. This evolution had not lied. I was truly gigantic.

I saw Cellestra look at me with slight worry in her eyes, but I waved at her letting her know I was fine.

She had her hands on the table and judging from how much they had shrunk, I assumed I was about two and a half to three feet from head to abdomen right now. I spanned over half the table. At this rate, I wouldn’t even fit anymore after an evolution or two.

Speaking of evolutions… I hoped I could get my answers now. First, I was going to make sure that Cellestra knew what was going on.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

Immediately after asking, she laid down three sheets of paper in front of me, each with large letters that seemed to fit my new size much better than before. I stood up again and started pointing at them to spell out words.

“I am okay. Do not worry. Side effects are temporary.”

Cellestra put on a small smile. I think she did it to try to put me at ease, but it was clear to me she worried about me still.

Such a kind soul.

“Going through enhancement options.”

Then a thought entered my mind. It was a simple thought, but I imagined it would help put the elf at ease.

“Bread smells good by the way.”

The brunette smiled widely at my spelled-out letters.

I knew that would help cheer her up. She should really stop worrying about me when she was the one with frequent nightmares.

“Thanks. You want some?”

I imagined I could still eat bread as a spider, couldn’t I? That’s why I had this mouth with teeth and whatnot, right?

“Sure,” I spelled out.

Cellestra then walked to the kitchen where a round loaf of bread was resting on the same cutting board as before. She cut off a few slices while I went through my enhancement options.

It was as I had feared.

This list was enormous...