The World Serpent

Chapter 4 - 4-First Predator

Opening her eyes, Persia saw the New World in Full Color. It was a little bit Magical for Persia to see the New World in Full Color. The Infrared Spectrum World probably affected her, although she only had it for hours. After the notifications stop bombarding her pitiful head with messages. Persia began looking around as it was time for her to continue with her little adventure in the forest.

But before moving on with her life. Persia wanted to investigate something that made her curious. The Thing was right next to her, and it just appeared after her Level Up. She was curious about how she managed to do it while sleeping.

'Now it is time to investigate this skin of mine.' Persia turned her Small snakehead towards her snakeskin right next to her. She was half bigger than before her Level up. She managed to grow a lot by just one Level Up. The Snakeskin right next to her looked like a Plastic Inflatable Persia. There was a little increase in her attributes which were probably connected to her growing size.

'My size is currently 30cm in length and 0.7cm in diameter.' Persia thought to herself while staring at her new Small White Snake Body. The Size may not look like much, but the accomplishment of Persia Leveling Up upon her first day in the New World was a good feeling.

Persia began moving her body and circled her entire snakeskin. She tried to touch a part of her skin. It was a little bit transparent and after a while of investigation. Persia concluded that there wasn't anything to investigate with her skin. She wanted to focused on hunting more creatures to make herself stronger.

'Now, what is the result of my choice.' Persia thought to herself while staring at her Notification window. The Message appeared in front of her, and it seems that she gained a lot of things from the points she allocated towards the Eyes. After staring at her notification window, Persia sighed in relief.

'I gained another Skill which is Inferior Visual Perception. The Skill is connected to Human sight, which is probably the skill I gained from evolving my eyes.' Persia nodded with satisfaction. She didn't only gain the Normal Sight of Human. The Last Skill didn't disappear.

'Thankfully, My Inferior Infrared Vision didn't disappear. But does this confirm that none of my skills would disappear if I try to gain another skill with the same origin? If it is true, That would be the best thing.' Persia sighed in relief as she didn't want something important to disappear. Although it was annoying, its usefulness in later times was undeniable.

'Do I continue hunting?' Persia began thinking if she should continue hunting. The Ordinary Forest was quite humongous. She had that strange feeling ever since she managed to gain her Human sight. She began focusing on what she can hunt in the forest. There were many creatures she could hunt in the Ordinary Forest. From Insects, Small Mammals, Small Reptiles, And Small Birds. She could even hunt their eggs or babies for sustenance.

'Wait, what? When did I become comfortable with the thought of eating babies?' Persia was confused. It was strange for her to immediately plan on eating babies if she couldn't find any small creatures. Persia just ignored the strange thought as she shook her head. She then turns her head upward and stares at the Blue Sky above her.

'It seems that noon has passed.' Persia thought while staring at the sky. She had no Watch, so she could only assume the time from her surrounding environments. The Sun already passed the center and was currently descending from the Heavens. It was safe to assume that Noon has passed in this forest. It seems that Leveling Up took hours to complete.

'Now, where do I go?' Persia thought to herself while looking around her current position. She still found herself surrounded by Slick Tall Grass. She could also see the Tree she came from near her. She wanted to stay in the tree to make it her home. But for her to grow, she needed to leave the tree and travel around the forest. It was a dangerous and stupid plan, but she could build a small burrow in her travels for her to live in.

'Let's head to the Western Direction.' Persia quickly pointed her small head to the horizon where the Sun was descending. With the Sun in the heavens. Persia could have a good idea on the Cardinal Directions. It may not be accurate, but she had to rely on this kind of thing as she didn't have any compass with her. She wanted to head towards the west since she had a good feeling coming from it.

Persia's head laid down to the ground, and her body began slithering. She was heading to the West... It was her Journey to the West. She slithered through the Tall Slick Grass in silence. She adapted to the strange movements of the snake. It was strange, but it felt like her instinct was to move like this.

She slithered through the Forest full of Slick Tall Grass. She passed many Trees that were more or less the same as her home tree. She pointed her body in one direction to not get lost in the middle of the forest. She could go back by facing the opposite direction of her body. When the First Plan fails, Persia's second plan will start. The Second Plan consists of remembering every recognizable thing she sees during her travel.

As time passes by. She was slowly getting far away from her Original Position. Her Speed was probably 2km/h. It was slow, but Persia was very small. She could also maintain this speed for a long period of time before her stamina runs out. Persia continued slithering, passing many trees along her way. Her passive, Inferior Seismic Tracking was already in motion, but Persia noticed something strange.

'I can't pick up any slight vibrations.' Persia furrowed her non-existent eyebrows. She began to stop slithering and began looking around using only her head. Her Body was still pointing in one direction, but the moment she misaligned her Body. She would probably get lost, which was not a good thing.

'There isn't any creature near me? Is this a good thing? I heard that silence in the forest means danger.' Persia watched Informational TV Programs in her Last Life. So she knew at least what she was dealing with in this forest. Persia didn't know if that was a myth, but she wished it stayed a myth.

'Let's activate the Infrared.' Persia nodded as she began using her Infrared Vision. Her Sight quickly changed into the Infrared Spectrum. She began looking around to see if anything strange was going on around her, but it was still the same and Normal. 'Still, Clear?'

'Let us continue moving.' Persia somehow felt a strange atmosphere slowly engulfing her. She ignored the strange atmosphere to let it not affect her. She continued slithering in one direction until she felt something vibrate. It was her Inferior Seismic Tracking taking effect. It was giving her info about the vibration in the surroundings.

Persia's head rose from the ground and began observing her. She felt the vibration coming from her front. It was slight vibration, and it seems to be nostalgic for Persia. She then saw a patch of leaves in front of her. Persia's Infrared Vision was staring right at the patch of leaves and saw something.

'A Flicker?' Using her Infrared Vision, Persia noticed a Flicker in the Patch of leaves in front of her. Although, she could move her head. Persia's Snake body pointed in one direction, which was the west. She obviously couldn't move in a straight line, but her body's slithering position gave her a sense of direction.

'Now that I looked at it, The Flicker does remind me of the Worms I previously ate.' Persia thought to herself. She somehow felt nostalgic at the Flicker, but it does look like the Flicker of the Worms she ate. This would only mean one thing, Prey, Food, And Biomass.

'Is it a Worm? Or is it a Worm-like creature?' Persia thought while staring at the flicker in front of her. Another Worm would mean another Prey for her. Another Prey would mean another Food. Another Food would mean another Biomass. Persia would probably need to eat 20 worms to Level up and grow.

'Let's hunt it.' Persia began slithering towards the flicker. Thankfully the Flicker was in front of her. There was no need to put a mark to remember the western direction she was pointing. As Persia slithered towards the Prey in front of her, She noticed only one flicker, which was disappointing.

Even if she traveled this far from her Home Tree, She could only see one worm in the middle of the forest. She was a little bit disappointed with this fact. She knew that she needed to stop being over-confident as Fate would throw a slap towards her Snake Face. But why were she and a worm the only thing in this forest?

Persia continued slithering towards the flicker. Persia then found herself in front of the patch of Leaves. They were dead leaves, and there wasn't any Slick Tall Grass in the area. This could get dangerous for Persia as the Grass were her only cover. There wasn't any creature around her, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

'Should I continue or not?' Persia thought to herself while staring at the Patch of Dead leaves in front of her. She could only see on flicker within it, which clearly came from the Worm. Although, it was only one Worm. It was better than nothing. The Worm was an Important Resources for Persia, so she would gladly accept it.

'The Food is near me... Let's continue.' Persia was talking to herself for no reason. But it was probably a counter to her loneliness with no one to talk to. She didn't realize her strange actions as she was focused on solving the problems in front of her. She would probably realize it sooner or later.

What could go wrong in the middle of the forest? Well, A lot could go wrong. The Probability was smaller than her size, so it was a Satisfactory Risk. Persia gathered confidence with this fact as her pillar. She also had a large number on her Stealth. The Worms may have taken a liking to dead leaves. Do they eat Dead Leaves? Persia was curious about this information since it could help her.

Persia slithered towards the dead leaves where the Flicker appeared. She was still pointing her body in one direction. Persia exiting the Grass found herself in the middle of an open field of dead leaves. The Open Field was probably only a small-scale opening in the Forest. But for Persia, It was Massive and Wide.

She couldn't find anything to hide. She could hide within the dead leaves, so Persia hid within it. She covered her White Snake Scaly Skin with dead leaves. She wanted to cover her body as she didn't want to bring attention to herself. Even though she was alone in this forest, Or was she?

It took a while, but Persia was finally nearing the worm. The Flicker was observable and was currently in front of her. It was better for Persia to snatch the worm and leave the Area. Persia began looking around the Area to checking if anything strange. Persia found herself surrounded by Slick Tall Grass in the middle of an Open Field of Dead leaves.

She was no getting nervous with this fact in mind.

[You have gained a Skill, Inferior Anxiousness Resistance.]

[Skill Description: The User can resist Mental and Physical Anxiousness.]

[Skill Status: Weak.]

'What?' Persia heard a notification deep within her mind. It seems that when she was getting nervous. She gained a new Resistance Skill. It was a useful Resistance Skill since it would keep her from getting anxious, which was good as she was currently in the middle of the wild.

The Dead Leaves rustled with Persia's movement. She was within the Dead Leaves, hidden as she slithered towards her prey. She was already near the Worm, so there was no turning back now. To be honest... Why was a worm in the middle of an Open Ground in the Forest? Did the Worm really like the dead leaves?

'Bigger than what I expected.' Arriving in front of the Worm. Persia noticed that it was a bit bigger than the Worm she had eaten previously. The Worm would probably give her more biomass than the other worms, which was a good thing. Persia slowly got closed to the worm as she laid down her head to the ground to listen to the vibrations around her. The Worm didn't care about Persia's presence and continued eating the dead leaves.

Persia was lying down to the ground while slithering towards the Uncaring Worm. Her Food was in front of her. Persia felt the desire to eat the Worm. Luckily, Persia could negate the disgusting taste of the Worm. But while she was getting nearer to the Worm. Persia forgot to do one thing before continuing.

'How could I forgot to activate my Inferior Olfaction Warning Sense.' Persia was disappointed in herself. She would activate every sense within her to stop herself from getting killed. She was disappointed as forgetting Important protocol would likely get her killed. She then activated the skill.

Persia's snake tongue flicked towards the worm in front of her. The Inferior Olfaction Sense Warning Sense activated. Persia recently got a Protocol she created for fun but found good use. The Protocol consists of Three Parts. The See, Hear, and Smell. She would always do this if she found a creature. She needed to do this to avoid Ambushes.

'Heh, Imagine getting Ambus-' Persia stopped her thought from continuing. She felt a strange feeling within her body. Persia expected a good feeling of confirmation but fate threw another bullshit towards her. After Persia flicked her snake tongue, Persia felt a huge chill in her snake bones. It was different than the Prey feeling she got before. It was Ominous.

'This is strange? This scent... A Scent of a Bird.'

'Fucking Bird!!! Shit!!!' Persia began slithering her body at the best speed she can. She didn't go back to the Grass behind her as it was far away from her. She didn't know how to hide in plain sight, but she just burrowed her body within the Patch of Dead Leaves. She was a Small Snake, so she could easily hide within the Patch of Dead Leaves.

[You have gained a Skill, Inferior Burrowing.]

[Skill Description: The User could Burrow her body a few inches within the ground. The Skill is rare and somewhat special within the Current User Skills. It is connected to the Earth Element. Be warned that this Skill will take a lot of stamina when in use.]

[Skill Status: Weak.]

'Another one? Persia, be quiet and freeze your body.' Persia thought to herself. Although, the Skill was good for her current situation. Persia just froze her body and hope for the best. Persia was hiding within the patch of dead leaves. She was betting on her Stealth attribute to hide from the predator.

Persia also thought freezing her body would make the predator not get suspicious in her area. She didn't know if it would work, but there was no use in not trying it. It was the worst time in her life. The Day she met her First Prey was the Day she met her First Predator.

'Where is the Predator? Is it near me? I hate birds now.' Persia nervously thought to herself. It was the first time she met this kind of situation. She didn't know what to do other than to hide from a possible threat to her life. Fear was slowly creeping into her heart. Persia just continued staring at the Uncaring Worm until a notification echoed deep within her mind.

[You have increased your Proficiency with Inferior Anxiousness Resistance.]

[Inferior Anxiousness Resistance(0/10)-> Inferior Anxiousness Resistance(5/10)]

[You have increased your Proficiency with Inferior Fear Resistance.]

[Inferior Fear Resistance(0/10)->Inferior Fear Resistance(6/10)]

She was far from the Uncaring Worm, but she could still observe it with her frozen body. She then felts something landing on the ground. It came from the skies, and it was obviously a bird. A Bird being her predator was good news and bad news. A Land Animal that doesn't have any wings. Persia could detect it via Vibration, but birds came from the skies.

'Perhaps this is part of its hunting ground. This means that I need to leave this place.' Persia thought to herself. She ignored the notifications and began staring at the Uncaring Worm again. She could feel vibrations heading towards the worm. It seems that she wouldn't be able to eat the worm anymore.

'I'm clearly no different than a bigger worm.' The Worm in front of her taken as the Prey of the Bird. She had to give up to hide from the bird. She didn't know what kind of bird it was but judging from the Wingspan, that was over a Meter. The bird must be a Raptor bird since it had its perfect body for nose-diving and hunting. This fact gave Persia the confirmation to stay in her position under the Patch of Dead leaves.

The Bird already left, but Persia didn't know if it was just watching this Patch of Land. She didn't have a way to be sure until her Snake Tongue flicked for the second time. It then collected the scent of the area. The Scent of the Predator was still here, but Persia didn't know if it was just a scent left after taking the worm.

'This is the hunting ground, so it is expected for the scent to be everywhere. I need to get out before it comes back.' Persia thought to herself. She then slithered out of her Burrow and began moving towards the Slick Tall Grass. She was obviously Traumatized, but it was not the time to be afraid. She needed to survive.

After leaving the Patch of Dead Leaves, Persia saw the Orange Red Sky. 'Is the Sun setting?' Persia thought to herself. She needed to hide, and she didn't plan on hunting during the night with a weak body. She had her Infrared Vision, but she couldn't fight things in the dark.

Persia then saw a Tree with uprooted Roots. She slithered towards the Tree as fast as possible. She then quickly head towards the uprooted Roots to find loose soil. Her Skill Burrowing was incredibly weak that it could only make Persia burrow 5 inches below the ground. But it was enough for Persia.

Persia then hid within the uprooted roots making her burrow. She was still anxious and nervous while notifications kept bombarding her brain. The First time she almost died without getting hurt was the most traumatic in her new life. In this new life of hers... She would have to expect this kind of thing to happen and think clearly to make it out alive.

'I'm losing consciousness.' Persia thought to herself. Fortunately, Persia managed to hide in the burrow. So she could at least sleep without worrying about something eating her. 'I'll take a nap to take my mind off.' Persia thought before she slowly lost her consciousness. Meanwhile, in Persia's mind were Notifications bombarding.

[You have increased your Proficiency with Inferior Anxiousness Resistance.]

[Inferior Anxiousness Resistance(5/10)-> Inferior Anxiousness Resistance(10/10)]

[You have increased your Proficiency with Inferior Fear Resistance.]

[Inferior Fear Resistance(6/10)->Inferior Fear Resistance(10/10)]

[Inferior Anxiousness Resistance and Inferior Fear Resistance have reached the Threshold.]

[Evolving...]

[Skill Evolution Complete.]

[Mortal Anxiousness Resistance and Mortal Fear Resistance have been gained.]