[Deceitful Shapeshifter has been activated.]
The crystal ball began to transform into white liquid and form a body. Eon growled as he took his usual form. He began to crawl away from the spot where he had been for nearly four days, his gaze wandering throughout the small chamber he was in. His gaze, however, was drawn to the image of his new body.
His form had changed as a result of his evolution as a Cryo Teplonide, and Eon noticed it the moment he looked at his long body. The Slug form's supposed brown body was no longer brown as dirt, but rather white as snow. His entire body was white, with the exception of his gooey eyes, which turned gray but could be seen as sky blue depending on the light and angle. His two eyes stared at each other, one gray from the darkness of the chamber and the other sky blue from the sun's rays entering through some holes in the chamber.
When Eon realized the changes, he growled. Not only did his Slug form change, but all of his forms would be this color as an indication of the element he embodied.
For a few seconds, Eon stared at his body, marveling at its pure white color that stood out from the filthy environment he was in. After admiring his body, he returned his attention to the floating status board in front of him.
Due to the stat path and evolution he chose, he received an additional nine strength stats in addition to one point of defense. And as he progressed, he received the same stats to further empower himself. He was still too low leveled to realize his full potential, but as he grew stronger, he would become the battlefield master he was born to be.
Eon began interacting with his status board. He was given two skills, one of which was passive and the other a damaging active skill.
[Icy Touch.]
[Following the activation of this skill, the user's next physical contact will deal 150% (+50% per level) of the user's Strength stat. This skill causes no pain to the target, but it does freeze the target. The skill's effect will be deactivated after 60 seconds of inactivity following activation. This ability can be canceled at any time. This skill can hit multiple targets at the same time, as long as they are in contact with the user when the skill is activated.]
Icy Touch was a skill that functioned similarly to Lethal Augmentation, but it dealt more damage and caused no pain to its target. Icy Touch was also a Crowd Control skill, which meant that its freezing effect could immobilize its target. It was possible to use both skills at the same time, making them the ideal combination for melee combat.
[Lesser MP Regeneration.]
[Restore 5% of the user's maximum MP per hour. This skill will be upgraded when the user reaches level 60.]
This passive skill increased Eon's regeneration rate from one MP per hour to a much higher rate, greatly improving his capabilities.
Eon paused for a few seconds, thinking about the incredible things his newly acquired abilities could accomplish. Superior regeneration and crowd control.
Crowd Control skills were any abilities that could limit, prevent, or influence an opponent's movement or actions during a battle. Depending on the type of crowd control used, a crowd control user could completely turn the tide of a losing battle in their favor.
The next thing he did was dart his gaze toward his available skill point. He still had one skill point to use on his new ability, Icy Touch.
[Icy Touch has received one skill point.]
[The damage output of Icy Touch has increased from level 1 (150% of strength stats) to level 2 (200%).]
Eon's gaze was drawn to his level bar. His level cap was raised from 10 to 20, allowing him to continue leveling up to a higher level than before, when the maximum was level 10. If he kept killing and killing and gaining tons of experience points, his level cap would prevent him from leveling up, and all of his experience points would be wasted. To avoid wasting experience points, he evolved as soon as he reached a level cap and continued slaying monsters after his level cap was upgraded higher. Those lost experience points could never be recovered.
Eon crawled out of his home to be greeted by the sound of birds singing and the gentle touch of the sun. As the sun touched his snow-white Slug skin, it stood out more from the background. Eon's gaze was drawn forward as he moved through the tall grasses toward the river.
When Eon arrived at the river, the scenery of the calm river was the first thing that caught his eye. The supposed-to-be-raging river became shallow, making crossing possible once more. Eon's gaze wandered around, and he found not a single Gerolak Tadpole lurking around, which was guarding the place on his previous visit.
Kanundra's Hell's Gate had reopened.
To quench his thirst, Eon crawled toward the river's edge and sipped water directly from the river. When he'd had enough of the water, he raised his head and wandered his gaze once more. He stood motionless for a few seconds before growling and turning away from the river. He crept away.
***
At the edge of the opened Kanundra Hell's Gate, at the edge of the river's deepest part. A set of eyes was watching what appeared to be an albino Slug crawling away from the river. However, it simply observed the white Slug with enough curiosity, as it did every monster passing through the shallow part of the river.
The Bakunawa, the Warden of Hell's Gates. It was completely invisible to all eyes, just drifting in the river's depths, watching over the entrance it had made. The Bakunawa stood guard against any army of peasants who attempted to cross the river via this route. Because the Bakunawa kept a close eye on the shallow part of the river, no Peasant army could cross using this route. If the peasants tried, they would be destroyed immediately.
The Peasants did not have to cross for the time being because monsters began to enter their lair, providing them with just enough monsters to prey on.
However, as a result of Eon's existence, peasants would become prey on their very own territory.
***
Or... At least, until Eon decided to.
Because, well, Eon... If it wasn't obvious, was a big fan of downtime.
[Deceitful Shapeshifter has been activated.]
Eon spread his white wings and lifted himself into the air. His Fledgling Sentrowl form, which was already pure white before he evolved, was the only one that didn't change much.
As he flew higher in the air, Eon growled with his white Slug head, taking in the massive scenery of the vast forest surrounding him. As he waved his wings again to fly faster, his retractable eyes extended forward. He flew through the air, but not in the direction of a rich harvest of peasants; he would return for it later, but for the time being, he chose to fly in the opposite direction to see the location to which his father had sent him.
The great forest of Kegali, which was so vast that even from a high altitude and at high speed, Eon couldn't see the end. But it didn't matter to Eon because he had no plans to leave this place right now. Not until he had gained sufficient strength.
Eon growled as he flew away from the location where he had been since the day he was sent into this world. His gaze was drawn to the scenery of the green forest and smaller rivers scattered across the land beneath him. Monsters of various sizes could be seen roaming the land, which, in contrast to the death pit that was Red Island, was filled with life.
He wasn't aware of it, but he was getting closer and closer to a certain person while occupied in his leisure time.
The threads of destiny would entwine, causing a massive shift.
What lay ahead was the event that would sound the beginning of everything.
The gods of Giera should have prevented this from ever happening... but they couldn't.
When the young conqueror finally met the jungle's king. Their fateful meeting would alter the course of history.
