ALL NOVEL Chapter 12: Hunt (Part 1)
Ren slithered across the jungle floor. His body moved from side to side through the gaps between the trees. Thick foliage, camouflaged his body.
There were no sounds.
The jungle was dead quiet.
In the hour that Ren had been travelling across the jungle, he had not had a single encounter with another Pokémon. It was as if no Pokémon lived in the jungle…
Ren was in no mind to deal with such things.
He continued to deal with the pain.
The unrelenting pain.
Although he had been able to prevent the bioenergy from escaping from his stomach, the pain remained. The bioenergy in his stomach crashed against the barrier he put up, setting off tremors in his body.
These vibrations struck his muscles and flesh.
It was like an earthquake was erupting inside of him.
The barrier itself was not invincible. It was the manifestation of the skill [Evolution Suppressor]. Like all skills, it had a limit and his was soon coming.
Under the relentless crashes of the bioenergy, the barrier was slowly coming undone and bioenergy was escaping into his body.
The symptoms of overloading were appearing again.
His body temperature was increasing.
Ren had to find a suitable location to evolve.
He observed his surroundings. He was not able to climb the large trees of the jungle nor would he even consider it. This would make him susceptible to tree climbing Pokémon and expose his location.
No… he needed a more secure hidden location under the ground.
As the seconds ticked by, the barrier grew weaker and weaker.
‘This will have to do…’ Ren thought.
Hidden among the thick foliage of the forest floor was a hole.
It was about 7cm by 5cm.
It went into the ground at an angle. Ren slithered in. It was about 3-4 meters deep.
He assumed that it was something that some Rodent Pokémon had dug it out as a shelter from the elements and other Pokémon.
The lack of fresh feces and other signs of activity indicated that it had long been abandoned.
‘Perfect’
He got to work.
Ren collected leaves, twigs and branches from the surroundings and moved them to the hole with his fangs.
He used his tail and fangs to carefully position the foliage at the entrance of the hole, camouflaging the hole from the outside.
Ren did not let the pain cloud his thoughts.
It was too dangerous for that.
If left visible, any Pokémon would be able to enter the hole and kill him.
Ren’s body slipped through a small gap that he had left for himself and formed a coil shape at the very end of the borrow.
He really could not take it anymore.
He had to evolve.
Ren slowly undid the energy around his stomach as he initiated the evolution process through the system.
His mind was hit with a wave of weariness.
‘Goodnight…’
He did not know when he would awaken again. Only that it would mark the beginning of his new life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren opened his eyes.
Sunlight flowed in through the foliage, illuminating the a part of the hole in its bright rays.
‘Where am I…?’ Ren wondered confused for a few seconds.
Memories flashed through his mind.
‘That’s right; I reincarnated in this fucking world… as an Ekans.’
His body slowly came back to life.
His slow heartbeat started increasing. His muscles were rejuvenated, his bones began to crack.
Memories on the beach flashed through his eyes… of the battle that he had won against the Charmander and the escape from the Scyther.
‘I am awake now… so that means…’
He had finished levelled up.
Ren could feel energy flowing smoothly throughout his body.
[Ding! Host has successfully reached level 1! Your length has grown longer! Your spirit, defense, power and wisdom have grown significantly!]
[Ding! Skill percentages of ‘Spirit Manipulation’, ‘Evolution suppressor’ and ‘Shedding’ have increased!]
‘System bring up my old stats and new stats.’
Two screens appeared in front of him.
Old Status
Host Name: Ren
Species: Ekans (Infant)
Element: Poison
Level: 0 [Limit: 5]
Bio-Energy: 10/10
Length: 21cm
Spirit: 1.0
Power: 1.0
Wisdom: 2.4
Agility: 1.2
Defense: 1.1
Skills: Breathless Breathing Technique [7.3%], Poison sting [4.32%], Terrorize [13.37%], Acceleration [4.45%] Spirit Manipulation [2.9%] Evolution Suppressor [2.35%]
Racial Skills: Shedding [4.65%]
New Status
Status
Host Name: Ren
Species: Ekans (Infant)
Element: Poison
Level: 1 [Limit: 5]
Bio-Energy: 0/20
Length: 31 cm
Spirit: 2.8
Power: 2.9
Wisdom: 4.0
Agility: 2.2
Defense: 2.7
Skills: Breathless Breathing Technique [7.3%], Poison sting [4.32%], Terrorize [13.37%], Acceleration [4.45%] Spirit Manipulation [5%] Evolution Suppressor [9%]
Racial Skills: Shedding [8%]
He had really grown. From little more than 10cm when he was born to nearly triple that size. His skill percentages had grown dramatically.
So had his stats. His Wisdom had reached 4 points.
Ren moved his tail before his eyes.
He carefully observed it and compared it to his original body.
‘Not only am I longer but I am also wider and more muscular.’
Ren slowly observed the rest of his body. His purple scales had become slightly darker. He softly rubbed his tail against the ground.
His scales felt harder and more durable.
‘I need to see my face…’ A strange desire popped into his head.
‘Am I handsome snake…?’ he wondered.
During the time that he had spent in this new world, not once had he ever seen his own face.
Ren used [Breathless Breathing] to calm himself down.
He had priorities.
‘System, how long was I out for…?’ Ren asked
[Calculating… 50 hours]
It was a bit more than 2 days.
Ren was shocked.
‘So long…’
His attention was soon drawn to his present body’s condition.
‘First… I need to scout the surroundings and then I need some food…’
Ren was extremely hungry.
He could see his skin shedding to the side of the burrow.
Shedding his skin and growing by such a large amount would have used a lot of energy. He had also used up all of his bioenergy.
‘More than that… I need water.’
Ren’s throat was parched. It was as if there was no moisture left in his body.
‘I have to leave…’ Ren decided.
After revolving his breathing technique a few times, he slithered out of the hole.
The sun’s rays blinded him for a second before his eyes gradually adjusted to the light. He took a good look around.
The hole was located around a cluster of trees.
Thick, lush green ferns sprouted out from the ground all around him.
It was a good location for a base.’
‘I have to mark it.’ Ren thought.
Energy smoothly gathered, causing his tail to emanate a light red aura.
He slithered to a nearby tree, raised his tail and etched a cross onto the tree.
‘Done.’
Finished marking his base’s location, Ren slowly slithered away into the thick vegetation.
He kept his head raised, looking for any possible signs of danger.
‘First I’ll need to find water…’
The hard soil rubbed against the underside of his body.
Occasionally he would feel the sharpness of a pebble.
Contrary to when he had first travelled through the jungle, the jungle was full of noise.
Every so often, he would create a small mark on a tree. He needed to have a method to get back to his den.
He could hear screeches and roars in the distance. Birdcalls rang out in the sky above him.
Ren could not help but question the reason for this discrepancy.
It was silent the last time he had travelled through it despite it being the middle of the day.
Shaking his head, Ren concentrated on the sounds emanating from the distance.
The sound of running water was the best way to find a water source.
Ren concentrated.
His ears processed a myriad of noises.
‘Found it!’ Ren could hear something; a faint noise of water against rock.
Ren’s body sped up into the thick overgrowth.
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