Chapter 5
Theodore stared in the direction where he'd heard the loud noise, he could feel a small trace of powerful mana coming from over there and immediately his interest was piqued.
"Humans?"
While some monsters are able to use magic like humans, he could tell the difference between the two with ease, after all, he was once considered a skillful mage when he was still a human.
<<Time Limit: 18 Minutes>>
The clock continued moving forward, prompting him to quickly make up his mind. He closed all of the screens before crossing the river and slithering towards the source of magic. "Let's see what's over there." He thought to himself, there's a possibility that he could get his last bits of experience points by stealing some kills.
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.
.
<<Time Limit: 11 Minutes
[Notice! You should quickly finish the quest before the time limit! You'll be severely punished if the quest is not completed by that time!]>>
Theodore dismissed the message that appeared next to his vision as he continued to move forward. He'd heard multiple spells being casted during those lost minutes and was able to guess that it was a lightning mage's magic.
He became curious if he could win against that person in a fight, while lightning is considered to be the most powerful form of elemental magic, a mage still needs to have the skills to properly control it, so far, he'd never met anyone who could beat him when it comes to magic.
Although, he wouldn't be finding out any time soon since when he'd arrived at the scene, the mage was already swallowed by a large monster and only a single human remained, kneeling on the ground and had seemingly given up his will to fight.
<<Grey Hydra
Lvl. 50
Rank: B
Heads: Eight
Yield: 200,000 Exp.
[Difference in level detected]
>400,000 Exp.
Chance of Victory: 60%
Description: A Lesser Hydra that has more than four heads can grow to become a powerful 'Hydra'. It could have, at most, nine heads. A nine-headed Hydra would gain a massive power spike that is incomparable to the strength of its eight-headed version. However, it is every hydra's dream to evolve into this 'final form', so the chances of coming across one are extremely slim. Even so, a hydra with eight heads is still a monster to be fearful of, it can breathe fire at its enemies and its blood is extremely toxic, combine this with its fast regeneration, the Hydra becomes close to an unstoppable killing machine.
Expanded: Despite being seemingly invincible due to its skillset, The Hydra's strength is also its main weakness: If it loses its head, its strength will drop as well, and as shown in Greek Mythology, burning the wound can prevent it from regeneration the head back. But do be wary of the Hydra's flames, a smart one wouldn't let anyone get close enough to decapitate it that easily.>>
After 'Gaze of Wisdom' had reached level three, the information on the monsters given to him weren't random 'fun facts' like it'd once shown him when he was fighting the Chimera, now he could actually gain insight on the weaknesses of his targets.
Theodore's attention shifted towards the human on the ground, he could only see the person from the back, but after hearing 'him' speak, his eyes immediately widened with recognition. "…Merlin?"
He didn't have time to call out to him though as the Hydra opened its eight mouths and prepared to blast its target with fire. Theo let out a hiss and activated his magic: [Freeze].
A burst of cold air struck forth as a magic circle appeared in front of him, the icy wind ignored the human and went to attack the Hydra, pushing it backwards due to the sheer force. Its seemingly impenetrable scales began to freeze until it got down to the monster's skin, causing it to roar out in pain before its attention shifted to the attacker.
"You're meeting who?" Theodore watched as the red-haired man turned around with a hopeful look on his expression, although it shifted to pure confusion as he looked down at him.
"What the f*ck?"
"No time to explain." Theo crawled forward until he was in front of Merlin, staring up at the Hydra with his head perked up high. "Assist me, I'll distract it."
"Wait! You're injured!" His friend's voice was filled with worry while he looked at the claw marks on his body.
"That's not important right now! We fight first!" As if the Hydra could understand his words, its eight heads let out fierce roars before breathing columns of flames onto the two of them.
Theodore summoned more magic circles and blocked all of them. "Move!" He shouted and immediately Merlin threw himself to the side just as Theo disbanded his spells. He couldn't afford to let them get destroyed or else he'll be weakened, he prefered fighting this monster at his best condition.
<<Time Limit: 7 Minutes>>
"Merlin! Support!" The dazed human quickly stood from the ground while picking up his bow, reaching to the quiver at his back, he knocked multiple arrows at once and imbued them with his mana before letting them fly into the Hydra's frozen scales, it shattered and pierce into the flesh easily causing it to let out cries of agony.
[Magic Arrow]
Theodore followed up his friend's attack and unleashed his most powerful spell. The Hydra sensed an incoming danger, but just like any other gate creatures, it didn't flee and instead stood its ground.
It roared before running towards him with its mouths opened wide, its teeth could easily cleave him in half since he was so small, but he didn't waver and started chanting.
"Great Lord of the Arctic! May your presence freeze all that is not yet your domain. Descend and cast this land of life into eternal winter!"
[Devouring Frost]
As soon as the temperature in the area started to drop, The Hydra began charging up its fire breath while still moving towards him, knowing that it should get rid of its effect before it's too late. The blast of flames made their way towards Theodore's magic circle in an attempt to destroy it, however, the skill had already become active the moment he finished the incantation. Frost began to build up on the floor around them which managed to slightly hinder the monster's speed.
He swiftly slithered out of the Hydra's attack range, moving the magic circle with him. The surprised Hydra couldn't stop its momentum and crashed into a tree behind him and knocked it over.
That didn't faze the behemoth though as it quickly turned in a panic and tried to run at Theo again, but an arrow suddenly flew towards it and impaled into one of the head's eyes, stopping its movements. Merlin stood firmly with another projectile knocked on his bow, aiming at the monster.
The Hydra ignored the human, having enough intelligence to know that he wasn't the biggest threat at this moment. It immediately started running towards the cobra, but unfortunately for it, it was just about time that the spell started to take effect.
Ice chains shot up from the ground and launched themselves at the monster. Once they were within their attack range, they started to coil around the Hydra's body, tremendously slowing it down while the contact caused its scales and skin to freeze.
More shackles began to emerge and wrapped around the monster's heads once its movements were restricted. They were strong enough to rear the heads back and started choking them, preventing them from using their fiery breath.
The large monster's struggles only made the chains bind it tighter and it eventually started to lose strength. The Hydra fell to the ground while trying to claw at the chains, still attempting to use their breath attack. One head even managed to spat out a burst of flames but Theodore only responded by sending one of his own back at it, the fire collided with each other before dissipating, causing the Hydra to stare at him with shock.
[Flames of Pride]
[Your confidence has sky-rocketed! The power of the skill 'Flames of Pride' will increase!]
[Temporary: Flames of Pride (Lvl. 1) —> Flames of Pride (Lvl.3)]
The monster began to cry out in pain, its many voices echoing throughout the forest, but no one in this world would come and save it, not even its own kind still wandering around somewhere deeper within the woods. The frost had spread at an alarming speed and was already covering more than half of its massive body, only its persistence was keeping it alive.
Merlin walked closer to the Hydra, his bow was strapped against his back while he held a knife in his hand. "It's better to put you out of your misery." He said to the Hydra while kneeling down, preparing to strike the head with the blade.
"Wait!" Theodore shouted as he sprung himself forward, managing to cross a five meters distance in a single second due to his upgraded speed, he tackled Merlin's leg and forced him to the ground.
His friend let out a pained grunt, dropping the knife in his hand. "Ow! What the hell?"
"Don't steal my kill! That thing's worth a million experience points you know!"
"???"
Theodore ignored his friend's confused frown and turned towards the Hydra, immediately activating the 'Ambitious Snake' skill. The large, light silhouette of himself emerged, causing Merlin to edge backwards with surprise, it began circling around the Hydra as if inspecting this new food before it decided to start swallowing from the tail.
While the ice in the area slowly began to melt, the light cobra had finally finished its meal. It was struggling slightly due to the prey's size but still managed to eat it whole. He felt that his stomach had filled up as the skill's effect came to an end, prompting the large snake to disappear into shiny particles.
[You killed a Grey Hydra. Gained 400,000 (x3) Exp.]
[Level Up! You're now Level 36!]
"Wait a moment, don't reveal my status yet." Theodore thought to himself before turning towards Merlin.
"It's been a while, you look…What? Twenty?"
The red-hair didn't respond immediately, he was still staring at him in disbelief, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape. "You're really Theo? I'm not dreaming or anything right?"
Theodore let out a sigh. "Of course this is real. You would have woken up the moment I hit you if it wasn't."
"But you're…What even are you? A king cobra?"
"Yes, and no." He nodded his head before he started telling Merlin about everything that's happened so far, starting with his rebirth and how he has a 'system' that can help him grow stronger by killing monsters. This explanation also included how he wanted to use this new power to take revenge on Rhys Griffins, the man who'd killed him.
.
.
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Merlin listened to him very carefully, often nodding along despite his expression showing clear doubt and confusion. "So you're saying…Some god decided to reincarnate you because it was your dying wish?" He tilted his head, asking after Theodore had finished his story.
"Yes."
"And that god, who'd never told you their name, is giving you mandatory errands that you need to go around doing?"
"I've gotten only two so far, but that's about right."
Merlin went quiet. "What the f*ck…?"
Theodore rolled his eyes. "Exactly"
Now it was his turn to ask some questions. "Anyway, I'm surprised that you can understand me, is it a skill?" He had to ask since when he speaks out loud all he hears from himself are hisses and growling.
"Oh, yeah. It's called 'Animal Empathy', I can communicate with animals and even tame them if I'm lucky."
"Alright, and…What's with that collar? A kink?"
"No!" Merlin immediately protested. "It's a 'slave collar', some of the others from our team became slaves for the Griffins family after you died."
Hearing this made Theo's blood boil, he let out a hiss which for Merlin he would hear them as a series of creative cursings directed at Rhys Griffins. "F*ck, I swear he'll die an 'even more' painful death!"
Merlin pursed his lips, as Theo's only friend, he naturally knows him best. Especially about how explosive his temperament is despite usually being the calmest person he knew. Getting on Theodore Varon's bad side is comparable to sentencing yourself to death.
"Ah!" The red head suddenly shouted, gripping his hair in distress. "I completely forgot! I came here because of a commission!"
"Commission?"
HIs friend began explaining to him about the Griffins' 'dark business'. They often accept dangerous yet profitable jobs, usually they're gathering rare monster parts, but since it's a deadly job, they will used 'slaves' instead of their own personnel to go hunt the monsters. Only on special occasions, like this one where there were multiple commissions coming in at once, would they send some of their members to oversee the job.
"We needed hydra fangs as the last item." Merlin stared at Theodore with a look of horror on his face. "They wouldn't give a damn about those guys' death, but if I return now without the items…" He let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm f*cked! Theo! You have to spit that hydra out!"
"I can't." Theodore spoke in a calm tone.
"Theo please! I needed those fangs!"
"Calm down, I can go kill another one for you."
"What do you mean!? This is not the time to be joking!"
"I'm not! Didn't I tell you about the System? I'm already a lot stronger than I was a moment ago!"
Merlin could only look at him with a frown. "I…Okay, fine. I was ordered to return this evening, so you better get me those fangs!"
"Yes, yes. Let me check my stats first."
<<Name: Theodore Varon
Species: King Cobra (6 Meters) (Evolutions Available)
~ Currently 5 Options for Evolution. [Mythical]
Lvl: 36
EXP: 160,000/550,000
Skill Points: 4
HP: 5086/140,000
MP: 10/550 (!)
Status Condition: Bleed.
Effects: 3x EXP Gain. (5 Days)
Rank: C
Attack: 26
Speed: 36
Defense: 20
Charm: 5
Intelligence: 12
Magic: 31
Personal Attributes: Gaze of Wisdom (Lvl.3). Thermal Vision (Lvl.MAX). Venom (Lvl.4). Agility (Lvl. 1). Tongue Receptor (Lvl.3). Will to Live (Lvl.1)
Skills: Ice Magic (Lvl.3). Ambitious Snake: Devour (Lvl.1). Master of Poison (Lvl.1). Persistence (Lvl.1). Flames of Pride (Lvl.1)>>
"Hm, put those four skill points into speed. Also, show me the evolution options."
<<~ Currently 5 Options for Evolution [Mythical]
-Python
-Bashe
-The Horned Serpent
-Leviathan
-Ouroboros
After your evolution, your length will increase to 15 Meters.
This will be your final evolution for the [First Act]. Afterward this mechanic will change from [Evolution] to [Bloodline Skills.].
[Due to the amount of information, only the description of your interested options will show.]>>
Theodore's attention was fixated on the lines at the bottom. He didn't know what 'First Act' meant but he could somewhat guess what 'Bloodline Skills' are. Every other evolution up to this point doesn't matter at all, it merely gave him some more fighting power so that he could quickly reach the point where finally his choice would start to affect him now.
Merlin suddenly spoke, pulling him out of his thoughts. "What are you doing?"
"Making the most important decision of this life."
He went back to staring at the screen in front of him before he began bringing up the information on all of the five evolutions. Multiple screens appeared in his vision, separating the descriptions into either one or two per window.
<<-Python
Description: Once in ancient times, a serpent slept beneath the stones, guarding the Delphic Oracle—Something it considered to be very precious as it was a gift from its mother, Gaia, the Earth herself. With this power, Python became the Voice of the Future, constantly receiving knowledge even the gods coveted for. That jealousy would lead to Apollo, one of the Olympians, killing him and taking his place as the Prophet. His rage still lingers within the sacred ground of the Delphi and the power of the future remained untouched yet it is within reach for you to claim. Choosing this evolution will give you the skill [The Oracle].
[The Oracle]: A skill that allows you to hear whispers of the Fates, they'll often come in riddles or ambiguous lines. But, if you manage to solve their puzzling words, you'll be given the Knowledge of Destiny. Hearing the Fates' voices can cause confusion and temporary loss of consciousness, to cause minimal harm to the Oracle Bearer, these riddles will often come in the form of dreams.
-Bashe
Description: A legendary python-like behemoth from the East. It's known for its gigantic size and its ability to devour elephants. This creature often represents 'Greed' in humanity, giving it the power to bring out the inner desires of any sentient beings. Picking the Bashe Line will reward you the skills [Bottomless Hunger] and [Greed Inducement]
[Bottomless Hunger]: An attribute that goes well with your 'Ambitious Snake' skill, it allows you to consume any prey no matter their size. However, you'll require twice as much sustenance to keep your hunger at bay.
[Greed Inducement]: The Bashe is said to be an evil spirit in the form of a giant snake, it will often appear in front of those with hidden desires and will softly whisper into their ears, causing them to go berserk while forcing them to fulfill their greatest wish, whether it would be robbing people to get rich or killing someone due to jealousy.
-The Horned Serpent
Description: A deity worshipped by many Western tribes, the Horned Serpent is often associated with rain and thunder. It's not aggressive towards humans and it would even bless them with its divinity from time to time. The Horned Serpent Line will give you the skills [Rain Prayer], [Thunder Lord], and [Divine Aura].
[Rain Prayer]: You can summon rain anywhere and anytime, even the desert's glaring sun won't stop this skill's effect. While it's raining, you'll be given a buff in the Speed stat and anyone you consider your ally will have their HP and MP slowly restored.
[Thunder Lord]: The mighty weapon of the sky is yours to command, during the rain, you can summon and manipulate lightning, you'll also gain a 100% resistance to all lightning-based skills while you're under the rain.
[Divine Aura]: Your presence is a blessing amongst many, this is a Personal Attribute that can cause others to feel at ease around you. However, when faced with an enemy, your Divine Aura will cause them to fear you, lowering their Attack stats by 20%.
-Leviathan
Description: A sea serpent that went against the Creator, it's the embodiment of Chaos as it often hunts and devours the spirits of the dead, putting them in constant pain for the rest of eternity. The Leviathan was eventually slain by the Creator himself and as punishment his flesh was given to the humans, it was devoured just the same way it'd done with the damned souls. By becoming the Leviathan, you'll gain the skills [Nightmare of the Dead] and [Lord of the Sea].
[Nightmare of the Dead]: Guided by fear, you can command and control the dead whether they're in the form of a corpse or a spirit. You'll also be able to touch incorporeal beings such as ghosts. Consuming spirits will also give you half the experience points they once gave when they were alive.
[Lord of the Sea]: Your domain is the vast ocean, when you're in your territory, you'll be given a buff to your Attack and Defense stats. The creatures within the sea will also follow your commands and the water will always be on your side, allowing you to disable any water-based skills of the enemy.
-Ouroboros
Description: A symbol that's existed since ancient days, it's depicted as a dragon or a snake swallowing its own tail. The Ouroboros is the symbol of eternity and rebirth, and while most believed that it is merely a metaphor, the Ouroboros does exist physically somewhere in the world, it simply had chosen not to reveal its existence yet. Though, it'd been eyeing your presence for quite some time now. If you choose it as your bloodline, you'll be given the skill: [Embodiment of Chaos].
[Embodiment of Chaos]: A Personal Attribute that gives way to many other skills. The Ouroboros represents Life and Death, and usually housing two opposite powers at once would cause imbalance, however, due to this being its nature, the chaotic power within it doesn't affect it at all, instead, it can utilize this power to its advantage. You can cause discord within any living being, things like making their skills go out of control or breaking their minds are all within your capabilities. But, due to your lack of understanding and experience with the power of Chaos, overusing your attribute can cause your soul to break apart—Even the gods can't save you if that happens.
Note: The Ouroboros is a very special line, it gives you multiple paths to choose from in the future.>>
Theodore was a fast reader, he swept his eyes through all the screens and managed to take in all of the information in only a few minutes. He glanced at Merlin, who was eyeing him curiously, before turning back to the matter at hand.
"The god seemed to favor the Ouroboros Line." He muttered to himself while staring at the window that purely shows the Ouroboros' information, he was especially interested in the fact that it has a 'note' section unlike the others. "They probably want me to pick it…"
"Pick what?"
"My final evolution line." Theodore replied to Merlin, who still has a dumbfounded look on his face.
It looks suspicious, very suspicious. But after reading through the other evolution lines, he wasn't impressed by any of the options at all.
The Python line sounds quite interesting, since he's confident in his riddle-solving skills, having insight into the future seems extremely useful. However, these types of powers aren't rigid since the future can always change, so he cross it off the list.
The Bashe line seemed to be meant for pure experience point farming. But other than that it has no real offensive skills and making people go berserk with greed just sounds useless in his opinion.
The Horned Serpent was a viable option, now that he'd reunited with Merlin, the buffing skills would be extremely useful in a fight. Although, after seeing the last two evolution lines, he immediately crosses this one out of his choices.
The Leviathan, while it seemed like a very powerful option to choose, it would only be at it's fullest potential when he's at sea. So ultimately his choices were reduced to only one: The Ouroboros.
Combine with the fact that the System seemed to be promoting the Ouroboros Line, he thinks that this would be the best choice and he was also curious about the 'multiple paths', from his interpretation, he would be able to get more of those 'Bloodline Skills' if he chooses this evolution.
"It sounds too good to be true…"
Why does the god want him to choose this line?
Either way, after a few more minutes of thinking about his decision, he concluded that if the god was scheming something then he'd already walked right into their plan, after all, he'd been using their system to grow stronger.
Besides that, he managed to get himself this second chance because of the god, so there would be no point in reincarnating him if the mysterious being wanted him dead from the start.
"Okay, I made up my mind." He said outloud, causing Merlin to perk up his head.
"Oh, you're done?" The redhead asked with a tilt of his head, he was sitting on the ground while supporting his chin in his palms. "You were staring at the empty air for so long. What are you going to choose?"
Theodore dismissed all but one of the status windows. He looked at it one more time before speaking.
"I'm choosing the Ouroboros Line."
[This final evolution with take 30 Minutes. Please confirm your option.]
He nodded slightly before turning towards Merlin just as a wave of drowsiness washed over him. "See you in half an hour."
With that, his body felt limp and soon he would fall unconcious.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AncientDreamZz
AncientDreamZz I should say that the origins of the mythical creatures in this story will be slightly altered (or changed entirely if it needs to). So if you see any 'mistakes' in their myths, then it's most likely intentional :)
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