A wave of fire-pain pressed against my scale-flesh, centering itself on the Great Cores likeness upon my head-scales. I twisted and writhed, slithering painfully away from the edges of the gathered bad-things.
My grip on [Illusion Spark] flickered and flared with the pain - one mont disappearing entirely, the next forming a blazing beacon.
Alerted by the flashing light, a few of the bad-things turned. They clicked their mandibles together, still dripping the molten stone that was a near permanent fixture on their hard-flesh bodies.
The three Fla Formicans attacked, scurrying towards on their many legs.
And still, my transformation was not completed. The Great Core was not done with .
I gave up my attempts to hide, loosening my grip on [Illusion Spark] entirely. Pained as I was, it was doing more harm than good, forcing my scale-flesh to flare with uncontrolled bursts of light. The fire-pain was too much and, unlike real fire, I could not absorb it through my scale-flesh.
My length coiled tightly in preparation, my scale-flesh bunching together. Soon, the nearest of the bad-things was upon .
I struck, uncoiling in a blur of motion.
The Great Core had created for this; it had ford with quick strikes and decisive first blows in mind - and, as always, it had not failed.
Before the bad-thing could react, I had already pierced my fangs through its hard-flesh. Its outer shell resisted the attack, fighting against the purchase of my fangs, but the speed of my strike was enough to puncture through. I twisted and thrashed, turning the bad-thing in the air before it could strike with its own molten mandibles.
I could already feel the heat that they held; I pulled furiously at it, dimming the resulting fire-pain by pulling it into the reservoirs within my scale-flesh. Still, I could only do so much. A gout of fla lashed from my scales as another bad-thing approached, aiming for its eyes.
As the second bad-thing flinched back, I pushed venom furiously through the hollows in my fangs. Knowing that I needed to be quick and as pained as I felt, I was less than careful. My stores began to deplete, but so did the bad-things resistance.
In the end, one disappeared far faster than the other.
Experience Gained!
The thought-light flickered, celebrating my victory. This ti, my enemy had been uninjured by the Coreless and other bad-things, allowing to receive my full reward - though I doubted that it amounted to much, given the likely level difference between the two of us.
Regardless, I had little ti to think about that. The second bad-thing had already recovered, and the third was upon as well.
I reared back again - yet, just as I was about to strike, another wave of fire-pain flashed through . My length spasd as my form continued to change, epheral blue fire lashing across my scale-flesh. It pulled back as I slumped, finding its place again within my head-scales.
The bad-things bit down, crushing my scale-flesh between their mandibles.
My blood boiled at their touch, the poisonous black fluid wisping into the air- and the bad-things flinched again. Both of them let go at once, staggering backwards on unsteady limbs.
I hissed in relief, thanking the Great Core for its rcy. I had actually forgotten about the poisonous blood that I had received for defeating the Aridae. It hadnt been useful yet, beyond admonishing the female-who-was-not-Needle. Now, it served its purpose, despite how painful the bites had been.
It gave enough ti for the Great Core to finish its work. Later, I would heal. For now though, I simply changed.
The blue flas hollowed out my flesh, forming a new organ. I could feel the fire-pain as it heated my insides, searing the flesh that surrounded it. I focused, drawing away the heat that escaped it. It ward my scale-flesh, beginning to fill the reservoirs that [Illusion Spark] had created.
My fangs began to drip with fire-pain, the molten liquid pulling itself from an ever-heating organ that rested beside my venom sacs. It was becoming a little cramped in that area, which was slightly concerning, but I put off the thought for now.
The thought-light flickered, confirming what I already knew.
Blooded Trait: [Molten Bite I] Acquired.
I opened my mouth in a defiant hiss, displaying my transford fangs. Little drops of molten liquid uncontrollably slipped through the hollows of my fangs, searing the lower flesh of my mouth with uncomfortable fire-pain.
Again, I desperately pulled that heat away, shifting it towards my reservoirs before it could burn entirely. A mont later, I pushed it, firing a gout of fla towards the bad-things as they began to recover.
The little fla glanced off of their hard-flesh. They barely reacted. Unlike their eyes, the rest of them seed to resist the heat. In fact, they probably had so form of Fla Resistance, given the way they constantly dripped with heat. It would do little more than startle them.
In that mont, I wished for so form of Fla Resistance, myself. [Illusion Spark] was a good stopgap asure, preventing my newly acquired trait from burning in the flas of fire-pain entirely, but it pulled my focus away from the fight and required periodic emptying.
Still, gaining a new resistance was extrely difficult. The Great Core had created with the beginnings of Piercing Resistance and Venom Resistance, two things that had served greatly. I was thankful for that, but I wished I had received a few more.
I banished the thought.
The Great Core made no mistakes - I had received enough.
I lashed out with a second gout of fla, whipping it towards the wobbling bad-thing that approached . This ti, I aid for its eyes.
It flinched back and, in that mont, I struck.
My fangs, their piercing capability increased by [Molten Bite], punctured the creatures hard-flesh far more easily than before. My venom flowed.
Another bad-thing died.
Experience Gained!
Its death didnt go unpunished, however. My scale-flesh trembled once again as the final bad-thing crushed it between its mandibles. My blood boiled under the heat, despite my attempts to seal the fire-pain within the reservoirs of my scale-flesh.
I twisted my length, baring my fangs at the attacker.
I didnt need to.
It was already dead, the strength of my poisonous blood too much for it to handle. The thought-light flickered, announcing the Great Cores victory over the bad-things.
Experience Gained!
Blood still seeped from my sides, spilling from the wounds within my scale-flesh. Fire-pain licked at my scales, its bite lessened by [Illusion Spark] but not gone entirely. Above it all though, I was elated.
I was victorious.
Before the lesser Core could begin to reclaim the corpses of my defeated foes, I shielded myself under the concealing colors of [Illusion Spark] again. Now that I wasnt wracked with the fire-pain of my transformation, it ca far easier. My scales shifted slightly, moving away from their natural all-consuming darkness to sothing more closely resembling the black of the stone below .
As I unhinged my jaw, beginning to swallow my most recently defeated foe, I expanded my reach. The bad-thing shifted as well, becoming harder to notice should any of the bad-things that were attacking the Coreless decide to turn around.
I doubted that they would, mindless as they were, but I didnt want my als to go interrupted.
One by one, I swallowed them all. Each ti, they shifted states and traveled to the Great Cores likeness upon my head-scales. Each ti, I felt a wave of pleasure at the reminder of my victory. Each ti, I grew closer to what the Great Core wished to be.
Blooded Trait Upgrade Progress: 3/10
I hissed before coiling inwards, twisting to grab the end of my tail, and making sure to keep my eyes pointed towards where the battle continued to rage on. My wounds itched and scratched as [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] took effect.
It burned a little more than before, nearly causing to shrink back as the molten fire-pain that now dripped from my fangs touched the scale-flesh of my tail. I pulled what I could from it with [Illusion Spark], blunting its bite, but a portion of [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail]s healing still went towards repairing the damage that I was doing towards my own scale-flesh.
Still, it was manageable.
I shifted my attention towards the battle, watching the Coreless that the Great Core had entrusted to . The mountain of corpses that surrounded them made my own victory feel hollow - and yet, more bad-things still ca. Here and there, I could see faint wisps of mana-light as corpses began to disappear, returning to the lesser Core that had spawned them.
I released my tail - I had done enough healing. I needed to move.
Those corpses belonged to the Great Core.
They belonged to .
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