Waking up the next morning, the very first thing Shai did was check the [system log] to see her progress. Obviously, she hadn't expected a level-up notification.

[You have achieved a small breakthrough. Your path has grown to Favoured Hatchling Lvl 6. +1 to all Primary Attributes, +1 Unallocated Point.]

Well, a couple of days passed, and she did slay a few insignificant creatures of the likes of hampsters, rabbits and a couple of grey wolves. The kill hadn't allowed her to gain a level, but looking at the notification, she could only imagine it to be delayed.

Perhaps, she received some help from the fruits and underdeveloped mushrooms she devoured. They were synthesised complex essences, after all.

Moreover, she again gained a few more inches as her attributes grew. Perhaps the day wasn't far away when Shai could compete with the Black-scaled Python in shape and size.

With still 27 days to go and already Lvl 6, Shai felt mildly confident in completing the quest. Of course, the Predator mark, which increased all her attributes by 5 points, played a great role in amplifying her confidence.

With the increase, her power was far above her actual level. Still, Shai wasn't confident against the Black-scaled Python in a fair fight. With that in mind, Shai got back to her training.

Her [Basic Meditation (F)] was only 4% away from completion. She didn't know if she would get to evolve the skill on complete mastery, whatever it was Shai was eager to find out. With some experiments, she found that overloading her channels with primal energy greatly increased the improvement in [Basic Meditation (F)].

The theory revolved around keeping your cool even in a terrible situation. Shai found it was easier to be calm when the terrible situation was of her own making.

Still, the skill would take a few more days to complete. In the meantime, Shai put her focus on the other thing she was working on.

In the fight against the python, Shai had channelled her energy in such a way that her resilience, toughness, and defence, all increased. After two days of incessant training, she had become more proficient in it, unfortunately, her understanding was so rudimentary, that even the Grandpa hadn't presented himself with a skill prompt.

Come on, Grandpa, can't just give me a hint at what I'm missing?

Although she hadn't received the skill, her understanding increased more and more with the experience. This skill was bigger than she imagined, perhaps that was why she was missing so much.

However, she wouldn't stop until she made it. It was only a matter of time.

Forcing herself to eat a couple of peaches, Shai got out of her hole as the bright light of the rising sun assaulted her eyes. It was the beginning of a new day, the fourth day of her life as a snake. With enough food to go by for over a week, Shai put most of her time into training.

She channelled the primal energy all over her form, imbuing herself with it completely. It would burn away her energy reserves in a matter of minutes, but it was the only way to train the skill. Her body became resilient and tough in seconds, as Shai put herself through various training drills, forcing herself into a stressful situation.

The primal energy stirred within her, always on the point of escaping her grasp... Shai was enthralled by the feeling.

Unfortunately, in less than ten minutes, she ran out of energy. She bought out a couple more peaches and a mushroom from the inventory and devoured them. Feeling the rush of power within her, she coiled to begin meditating.

Shai was back in full power a quarter of an hour later. She went back to the practice again. The same exhaustion repeated itself a few minutes later, as she devoured more peaches and mushrooms to proceed with the unrelenting training.

The sun moved up in the sky, as the training continued. Only when it reached the horizon did Shai receive the good news she had been training so damn hard for.

[Your knowledge of the fundamental skill Essence Weaving (E) is incomplete.]

[Would you like to learn the fundamental skill, Essence Weaving (E)?]

About fucking time, Grandpa! She wheezed, rolling over to straighten up a little.

[Essence Weaving (E) will cost 1 Insight Point. Please confirm your investment.]

[Accept | Decline]

What's a fundamental skill? Shai questioned. But knowing she wouldn't receive an answer, she mulled over what this skill could entail. Possibly the way to imbue energy better and empower herself, like she had been training for. If so...

Shai accepted the prompt as deep knowledge of [Essene Weaving (E)] seized her mind. A hiss escaped her mouth. Although it was merely an E-rank skill, the sheer amount of knowledge overloaded her tiny brain. The feeling was greater than even Arcane Shot, which was a rank above.

[Congratulations! You have learned the skill, Essence Weaving (E).]

[Essense Weaving (E):

Mastery: 2%

Essence is the primal power of life. Essense Weaving is the fundamental art of all essence-based skills; it lets you employ the primal force most effectively.]

Got it, Shai winced, still a little dazed from the implanted insight. Sadly, it wasn't the skill she desired, but the cost and training were worth it. This skill actually gave her ideas about other minor essence weaving skills she might want to explore.

It was like asking for a car, but only getting the spare parts and an assembling guide instead.

Settling down to rest for a while, she checked on the resources left in her Inventory. More than half of the mushrooms were available, but she already finished up most of the peaches. Other than those, she only had the corpses of the python and beetle available. After a second thought, she ejected the beetle out of the inventory.

It didn't look that much of a sumptuous meal, but it was what it was. For survival.

Shai began devouring. It was really nasty to eat, but as she proceeded on, Shai actually found a small red marble-like thing in the back of the head of the dead creature. It was radiating a reddish-hot aura as well.

It's not going to burst into flames, is it? she mumbled inwardly and stowed it away back into the inventory, even if it looked like a volatile blob of fire magic.

Finished filling her stomach, it was time for a little strolling, and Shai had the exact place in mind. On her way to the river yesterday, she had stumbled upon a cavern, which seemed to harbour plenty of creatures for her to gain levels from.

It felt wrong—killing beasts for the sake of growing stronger so that she could live a better life—but that was how the world operated. The system simply elevated it to another level. Shai hissed in resignation as she snaked her way down the rugged terrain.

To even reach the copper rank, she probably needs to slay hundreds of creatures. Jesus, I have already slayed dozens of them

Well, most of it came from self-defence, as most of the creatures that discovered her seemed to be hellbent on eating her as if she were some rare delicacy.

Shai lifted her head and saw a bird in the sky. Like if that foolish birb sees me, it will want to eat me...

Her slitted eyes narrowed as she recognised the bird in flight. Wasn't that the golden-tailed eagle of the mercenary boss?

Shai grunted, or at least mentally expressed her frustration. Crap! I don't have time for this.

Though she wasn't exceptionally knowledgeable, Shai possessed enough common sense to understand that in a confrontation between a snake and an aerial predator, the aerial predator held the advantage.

Sure, she might be a special snake with memories of past life, but the eagle seemed bad news to her. Even her inner predator gave signals to withdraw immediately.

The mercenary boss was a powerful man, which meant his bird companion should have some capabilities as well. What troubled her the most was the bird's size. It was small, even compared with a common eagle, which only served to unsettle her further.

Thankfully, the eagle hadn't noticed her presence yet. Shai let out a breath as she slithered toward the entrance of a cavern. If her memory served her correctly, this eagle was originally after an elf and a witch. Why was it here, then? Shai had intentionally chosen a different direction from where the mercenaries had exited. However, it seemed their scout was still searching the area.

Moving swiftly, Shai made her way toward the specific hole she had found, obstructed by multiple boulders. She was still a few dozen paces away from the hole when she felt the evil eye of the eagle looming over her.

Goddamn it!

As Shai had feared, these flying predators had excellent eyesight, one of the reasons why they were used in scouting, spying, and surveillance.

It didn't take long for the golden-tailed eagle to spot the white snake stealthily creeping to the ridge. Without hesitation, it lunged toward her, forgetting its original task completely. Clearly, Shai appeared to be nothing more than a delicious meal, adorned with rare white scales.

Shai cursed under her breath, abandoned her sneaky approach and raced at her top speed. An Arcane Shot was prepared in her mouth, but she refrained from attacking or even glancing back. The bird was fast, terrifyingly so. The cavern was within reach, yet evading such an airborne predator proved to be a daunting task.

With a single powerful flap of its wings, the eagle closed the gap by fifty yards, tailing Shai closely. It aimed to swoop down and grab her up as effortlessly as a kingfisher catching fish out of the water.

Thankfully, there was no instinctual fear plaguing Shai's mind as a snake should have against its natural predator. Well, perhaps it would have been present if she were just an ordinary snake with a dull mind. Then again, she had recently acquired the Predator mark, which should assist her in resisting such primal urges.

Her mind remained cold and calculating, even in the face of danger. She couldn't devise a better plan to defeat the eagle. Unlike the injured python she had slain before, she had no hopes of overpowering it. The deep orange aura around the bird evidenced that. Her only goal now was to create an opportunity to escape. Surely, that couldn't be too difficult, right?

Shai braced herself as the bird's shadow loomed over her.