Solomon was very tempted to choose efficiency again. After all, what he wanted most was to grow. But being so close to death a week before he could not help but think that he could avoid dangerous situations if he could just see better.
Therefore he put both of the points into vision, improving it dramatically.
He could now see objects that were meters away, which is several times rger distance than before. He could make out general shapes of pnts around him, as well as see their colors better. As he slithered towards the carpenters’ pce, he saw something glowing on the ground in the distance. It must have been some small mammal. Still way too big to be his food.
He needed more carpenters to fill his stomach now, but there were more than he could count. Should be enough for weeks to come, he thought.
But the next week, when going to eat a few more, he saw a glowing shrew rummaging through where the carpenters lived. ‘He’s so huge, he’s not going to leave anything for me!’ Solomon thought. Not wanting to get in the way of an animal that could easily kill him, Solomon went in another direction, looking for bugs on leaves.
While previously it took one or two, now it took four bugs to fill him. Still, not a big deal. He can find them easily. Much more easily than before, in fact, thanks to his improved vision. But the best thing about it was he no longer feared stumbling on a bigger animal by accident. He could see them from far away and could easily avoid them.
Name: Solomon
Level: 6
Length: 100 mm
Weight: 582 mg
Perk points: 1
Avaible perks:
Efficiency III
Digestion I
Poison immunity
Venom I
Vision III
Solomon liked the feeling of his hole in the ground becoming smaller with each level up. But more importantly, he knew that the predators were becoming progressively smaller too. Of course, he would make the hole rger next time he goes to rest.
He was exactly 10 cm long now, he noticed, twice the length he started with. And his weight increased dramatically. He weighed over half a gram now! Which, he realized, was still insignificant. He was still one of the smallest animals out there.
He pondered what perk to choose next. Efficiency was always a good choice. The two upgrades into it made his growth noticeably faster. Vision has been a massive upgrade, but he thought it was good for now. Digestion was still not worth it. Venom not useful yet. Poison immunity? It might prove life-saving, if he ever ingested a poisonous animal by accident.
But he cked size the most, and Efficiency is what would make it faster. So that’s what he chose.
Before exiting his hideout this time he decided to wait. It’s because he saw a bird flying over the area. It was picking bugs from the pnts. ‘Great. First the shrew, now the bird. What will I eat? Have you considered that, bird?’ But he was also gd that he had the vision now. Without having the two perks in it, he would go out, likely becoming the bird’s food as well.
After the bird disappeared from view the snake waited a little bit more to be sure, and then went looking for any leftover bugs to eat. Even though the bird devoured a lot of them, Solomon did not have trouble finding enough of them for himself. The advantage of being so small is you eat very little. A few bugs is enough.
Solomon rested. Solomon ate. Solomon rested. Solomon ate. Solomon rested. You would think he would get bored spending most of his time resting, not even being able to sleep. But snake needs are different. Having a full belly and lying in a safe pce is just as fun for a snake as for you it is to be reading this story.
Name: Solomon
Level: 7
Length: 140 mm
Weight: 1.60 g
Perk points: 1
Avaible perks:
Efficiency IV
Digestion I
Poison immunity
Venom I
Vision III
Putting points into Efficiency made a significant improvement. Solomon felt his body expand now even more with each level up. And he weighed over a gram now! That was still very little. But he felt it was an important milestone. Being measured in a unit several magnitudes greater. A milligram is almost nothing! Now, a gram, it’s something.
Solomon emerged from his hideout once again, not knowing it was the st time. He easily found a few bugs to eat and was ready to go back to rest. But even being as careful as he was, he was not able to avoid all danger.
Solomon saw the bird that appeared in the sky. The snake froze in pce. That, he thought, was the best strategy when dealing with predators. Movement attracted their attention. The bird was flying in circles above the area. ‘I am just going to wait until it goes away.’ But luck had different pns.
There was an earthworm near Solomon that didn’t get the memo. It emerged from the ground and slithered on the surface. ‘Stop moving, or it will catch us both,’ Solomon reprimanded the work in his mind. Unfortunately, he was right.
The bird nded in front of the earthworm, picked it up with its beak and swallowed it. ‘Maybe it won’t notice me if I stay still.’ But once the bird was done with the worm, it id its eyes on the snake.
Solomon momentarily sprung to movement, slithering away as fast as he could away from the predator. Though it wasn’t very fast due to his full belly. And from the perspective of the bird, it was rather pitiful. The bird caught up with the little snake and grabbed him with its beak as it did with the worm.
Solomon felt pain stronger than he ever had in his life. The bird’s beak crushed a part of his body. He was sure even some of his bones were now broken. It didn’t matter, if he was going to become food anyway. Death would end the pain.
But the bird didn’t swallow him. It held him firmly in the beak and took off.
Solomon got to see what bird’s eye view means, as he was carried over a green expanse that he just barely recognized as a forest. ‘It’s taking me to its babies,” he realized. But he didn’t have much hope of escaping in this state. He wished for the relief of death to come soon.
But he was also angry at the bird. He has been a snake for three months, and what for? Using a little surge of energy his anger provided, and those of his muscles that still worked, Solomon reached for the bird’s neck. And with all his remaining strength he bit, his tiny teeth only slightly irritating the bird’s skin through the yers of feathers.
But that was enough. The bird must have not realized before, that it caught a snake, and not a worm, for it never has found snakes this small before. But now, knowing that this noodle in its beak could bite, it released it from its beak. It didn’t want to feed its babies something that could bite them. Or at least that’s what Solomon thought when he recollected these memories ter.
Solomon was free. But his body was still broken. And he was now in the air, falling. Due to his size, the fall was not too fast, fortunately. Some leaves on his way slowed his descent further before he nded on a branch of some tree. He was still in pain and unable to move due to his broken bones. As the adrenaline wore off, the pain overwhelmed him and for the first time since becoming a snake he lost consciousness.
