Life for Adam had settled into a satisfying, if dangerous, rhythm. He was the undisputed apex predator of the dungeon's upper-middle levels.
His Hunter's Sense and Deep Camouflage made him a ghost, and his diverse skillset allowed him to handle almost any threat with calculated efficiency.
He was farming, steadily closing in on the Agility and Vitality needed for his wings, and his EP was steadily climbing towards the next evolution.
He was tracking a Granite-Hide Lizard, his mind already on the Stone Skin fragment it would provide, when the world suddenly went cold.
It wasn't a metaphorical chill. The very air temperature plummeted. The moss on the walls crackled with a thin layer of frost.
Adam's Hunter's Sense screamed a warning so profound it was physically painful—a wave of killing intent so vast it felt like the dungeon itself had turned against him.
"What in the—"
Before he could finish the thought, a section of the cavern wall he was passing exploded outward.
Emerging from the rubble was a monster that dwarfed anything he had ever seen. It was a scorpion, but built on a nightmarish scale. Its body was the color of bleached bone, and its carapace was covered in jagged, icy spikes. Its tail, arched high over its body, ended not in a stinger, but in a glowing, blue-white orb of condensed frost.
The name that flashed in his vision was simple and terrifying: Rime-Tail Scorpion (Mini-Boss). It didn't have a level. It was just a Mini-Boss.
"RUN!"
Adam didn't think. He activated Weasel's Sprint, shooting away like a bolt. But the scorpion was impossibly fast. It didn't chase him; it simply moved, its multiple legs carrying its bulk with shocking speed, cutting off his escape route. The air around its Rime-Tail orb shimmered, and a wave of sheer cold erupted forth.
Adam tried to dodge, but the area-of-effect was too wide. The wave washed over him.
[ Health: 32/45 ]
[ Status Effect: Deep Chill (Moderate) - Agility reduced by 20%. Movement Speed reduced.]
Panic, seized him. His greatest asset, his Agility, was crippled. He felt sluggish, his coils responding too slowly. He fired a Crystal Shard Shot at its face. The shard shattered harmlessly against its icy carapace.
The scorpion's massive pincer, large enough to snip him in half, slammed down. Adam barely twisted out of the way, the impact cracking the stone beneath him. He tried to use Mantis Slash on one of its legs, but the chitin was too hard. He was completely outclassed. This wasn't a fight; it was an extermination.
"Think! THINK!" his mind screamed, even as his body trembled from the cold. "It's too strong, too tough. I can't fight it. I can't outrun it. What do I have?!"
His Hunter's Sense was going wild, feeding him useless data about the monster's impossible physiology. But then, it picked up something else. Behind the scorpion, where it had burst from the wall, was a narrow fissure, barely wide enough for him to squeeze through. It was his only hope.
But how to get there? The scorpion was between him and the fissure.
The Rime-Tail glowed again, preparing another frost wave. He was cornered.
"The bat! The Gloomwing Bat!" A memory of his last hunt flashed in his mind—the ripped wing membrane, the way it tumbled from the air.
He didn't have wings. But he had something else.
As the scorpion unleashed the second wave of cold, Adam didn't try to dodge sideways. He coiled his body and, using every ounce of his Strength, leaped. It was an awkward, desperate jump, enhanced by a final, draining use of Weasel's Sprint. He wasn't jumping away from the blast; he was jumping over the lower part of it, directly towards the scorpion's head.
The scorpion, expecting evasion, was caught off guard. Adam slammed into its face, right between its clacking mandibles. He immediately sank his fangs deep, injecting his entire reserve of Paralytic Neurotoxin directly into whatever passed for its nervous system.
It wasn't enough to paralyze it. Not even close. But it was enough to be profoundly annoying.
The scorpion roared, a sound like grinding glaciers, and thrashed its head violently. It was exactly what Adam had hoped for. He held on for dear life as the massive head whipped side-to-side, and on the widest arc, he let go.
He was flung through the air like a pebble, directly over the scorpion's body, landing in a painful, rolling heap right in front of the fissure. He didn't look back.
He scrambled into the narrow crack, pushing his chilled body deeper and deeper as the enraged scorpion's pincers smashed against the opening behind him, shaking the entire tunnel but unable to follow.
He didn't stop until he was hundreds of feet away, collapsed in a cold, dark, and unknown part of the dungeon, his health low, his mana and stamina depleted, and his body wracked with shivers.
He had survived. But for the first time since his reincarnation, he had felt truly, utterly powerless. The dungeon had reminded him of his place. He was strong, but he was not at the top of the food chain.
As he lay there recovering, a new notification appeared, a small consolation prize for his insane gambit.
[ Venom Gland Efficiency has reached Level 3 through extreme usage. ]
[ New passive effect unlocked: Venom Potency slightly increased. ]
It was a meager reward for nearly dying. But as his heart rate slowly returned to normal, a new determination hardened within him. Complacency was a death sentence. He needed to get stronger, faster. He needed those wings.
He needed to evolve again.
The encounter with the Rime-Tail Scorpion left a deep, frigid scar on Adam's psyche. Huddled in the new, unknown tunnel, the Deep Chill status finally wearing off, he came to a stark realization.
His entire existence had been built on a single pillar: Agility. Speed, stealth, and a single decisive strike. The scorpion hadn't just countered it; it had shattered the concept entirely with a single area-of-effect attack.
"I've been a one-trick snake," he thought, the humility a bitter pill to swallow. "If something can neutralize my speed, I'm just a slightly tougher piece of prey. I need a trump card. Something that doesn't rely on moving fast."
His mind went to the System Shop. He had been so focused on hunting and consuming for fragments that he'd largely ignored it after his initial purchases. Now, with over 200 EP and 3 unused Skill Points burning a hole in his proverbial pocket, it was time to invest.
He willed the Shop interface open. It had expanded since he was Level 5, now offering more options.
[ Available Purchases - Skill Point Section ]
> Skill: Iron Will (Passive) - Cost: 2 SP
Grants increased resistance to mental attacks, fear effects, and debilitating status conditions like paralysis and chill.
> Skill: Mana Core (Passive) - Cost: 3 SP
Slightly increases your base Mana pool and improves mana regeneration rate. Prerequisite for many advanced active skills.
> Skill: Tail Whip (Active) - Cost: 1 SP
A simple, powerful physical attack using your tail as a bludgeon. Scales with Strength.
[ Available Purchases - EP Section ]
> Attribute Point - Cost: 50 EP
A single point to assign to any attribute.
> Skill Upgrade Token - Cost: 100 EP
Instantly levels up one of your existing skills by 1.
He analyzed his options with the cold, calculating focus the situation demanded.
"Iron Will is a direct counter to what just happened. Another chill attack wouldn't slow me down as much. It's a defensive necessity. Mana Core is an investment. My Crystal Shard Shot and future skills will drain mana, and I have almost none right now. But it's expensive..."
He looked at his Skill Points. Three. He could get Iron Will and have one point left, or he could save for Mana Core.
"Survival first. I'll take Iron Will."
He purchased the skill. A wave of mental fortitude washed over him, a steely resolve that settled in his mind. The lingering phantom feeling of the Deep Chill vanished entirely.
[ Skill Learned: Iron Will (Lvl 1) ]
With his one remaining Skill Point, he decided on utility. He upgraded his Venom Gland Efficiency to Level 4, further increasing his venom's potency and ensuring his primary weapon was as lethal as possible.
Next, he looked at his EP. He had 228 EP. He could buy four Attribute Points, or three and save some, or get a Skill Upgrade Token.
"Agility is still my core, but it can't be my everything," he reiterated to himself. "I need to be able to take a hit and dish out damage even when I can't move."
He made his decision. He purchased four Attribute Points for 200 EP.
He didn't put them all into Agility. That was the old Adam. The new Adam thought strategically.
◇He put two points into Vitality (12 -> 14). A significant boost to his health pool and durability. Every point here increased his margin for error.
◇He put one point into Strength (11 -> 12). A smaller boost, but it would make his constriction and his new Mantis Slash hit harder.
◇He put one point into Agility (20 -> 21). Acknowledging it was still his greatest strength, but refusing to over-invest.
The changes were immediately felt. He felt sturdier, more substantial. The constant, low-grade anxiety of being one-shot was alleviated.
His new status reflected his strategic shift:
[ Status ]
Name:Adam Smith
Species:Stalker Shadowscale
Level:10
EP to Next Level:3/55
Evolution Points:28/1000
Skill Points:0
[ Attributes ]
Strength:12
Vitality:14
Agility:21
Intelligence:13
[ Traits ]
Deep Camouflage,Prey's Tremor, Hunter's Sense
[ Skills ]
Constrict(Lvl 2), Venom Gland Efficiency (Lvl 4), Acute Smell (Passive), Scale Fortification (Lvl 1), Crystal Shard Shot (Lvl 1), Weasel's Sprint (Lvl 1), Mantis Slash (Lvl 1), Iron Will (Lvl 1)
He was no longer a glass cannon. He was becoming a well-rounded combatant. His trump card wasn't a single, flashy skill, but this newfound resilience and versatility.
He could now envision a fight where he tanked a hit with his higher Vitality and Iron Will, countered with a Mantis Slash strengthened by his higher Strength, and still had the Agility to reposition.