25 Snake Snake

[Experience points reached threshold. Individual, Small Lesseratalect, leveled from LV7 to LV8]

[All base stats increased]

[Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired]

[Proficiency reached threshold. Skill 'Pain Resistance LV1' upgraded to 'Pain Resistance LV2']

[Skill points acquired]

[Experience points reached threshold. Individual, Small Lesseratalect, leveled from LV8 to LV9]

[All base stats increased]

[Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired]

[Proficiency reached threshold. Skill 'Poison Fang LV5' upgraded to 'Poison Fang LV6']

[Proficiency reached threshold. Skill 'Dark Vision LV9' upgraded to 'Dark Vision LV10']

[Condition met. Skill 'Dark Vision LV10' has evolved into Skill 'Vision Expansion LV1']

[Skill Points acquired]

Substantial increase.

Winning against an opponent of higher rank grants greater experience points. This appears to be a universal rule across all worlds.

Two levels gained at once.

The serpent was indeed a formidable foe.

A direct confrontation would have left me with no chance of victory.

Powerful physique.

Defensive capability enhanced by a layer of hard scales.

Judging from the impact during the charge into the net, speed was also considerable.

Possibly faster than me.

And serpents are known for venom.

This one undoubtedly possessed venom as well.

Honest assessment: even after capture, the odds of victory remained fifty-fifty.

The shedding that occurred simultaneously with the level-up healed the wounds, but stamina had been reduced to a critically low state.

Stamina was at its limit. It had been close.

That meant the return was significant.

When harvesting Geji, I’d thought I’d reach level eight soon, but I hadn’t expected to jump straight to level nine.

Level-up was welcome, but the increase in skill level was even more important.

Pain Resistance going up was never a loss. Poison Fang was now one of my two primary advantages, alongside spider silk.

Higher Poison Fang level directly increased my attack power.

In fact, at present, my only reliable offensive method was Poison Fang.

Facing an opponent with high Poison Resistance would be problematic.

Then there was Dark Vision—the most concerning aspect of this level-up.

Yes.

Now that you mention it, it was logical to have it.

Of course, no sunlight reached inside this dungeon.

Nothing capable of serving as a light source exists. Considering this, the surroundings are completely dark.

Yet my eyes perceived the surroundings clearly, despite the dim light.

The fact that it was due to a skill was somewhat surprising.

I thought it was just a racial trait, after all.

Dark Vision had increased in level. Changes had occurred in my vision as a result.

The dimness gave way to brightness.

The surroundings came into sharp, clear focus.

Skill level appears to cap at ten.

Otherwise, this brightness cannot be explained.

Perhaps Dark Vision only happens to have a maximum level of ten.

Whether it was a bonus from Dark Vision reaching level ten, or not, she acquired the skill known as Vision Expansion.

It's fine, but honestly, the effect is unclear.

If the name is to be believed, one might expect broader vision—but that does not appear to be the case.

Skills with unclear effects have been common before, based solely on their names. This is no different.

In moments like this, it would be useful to鉴定 the skill. But that is not possible.

The condition for鉴定 appears to be limited to things that are visible.

Everything related to skills is conveyed by the Heavenly Voice (temporary designation) (・・・・・・・・・).

Since it is not visible,鉴定 cannot be performed.

The鉴定 result is displayed in my mind, which is why it is considered "visible."

If the鉴定 skill level increases, perhaps skills will eventually appear in the status screen. If that happens, skills may become鉴定-able.

Until then, there is nothing to be done. Skills with unknown effects must be ignored.

Well then, since I’ve captured such a substantial target, I might as well consume it properly.

First, rebuild the简易 home to prevent being attacked by other monsters while eating.

Given the snake’s massive size, consuming it all at once is clearly impractical. I’ll stay here until I’ve finished eating.

So, construct the简易 home with slightly more care than usual.

《Proficiency has reached threshold. Skill 'Spider Silk LVL 6' upgraded to 'Spider Silk LVL 7'.》

Good things seem to come in clusters.

The spider silk skill, which had been stagnant, finally increased.

Perhaps using it extensively during the fight with the snake helped?

Either way, both my core skills—poison fangs and spider silk—have now leveled up simultaneously.

In truth, this increase in combat effectiveness contributes more than the base stat gains from leveling up.

I’ll enjoy my meal in high spirits.

But first, I gotta peel off this thing’s scales.

Even I can’t eat scales this damn hard.

To get at the meat, I have to remove the scales.

Got 'em off!

Ah… tired.

More exhausting than expected.

Hard to remove and stubborn as hell—took a long time.

My total stamina, restored by level-up, is down to about a quarter.

That’s how much effort it was.

But now I can eat without worry!

So, I’ll begin.

Ugh… bitter.

Extremely bitter.

Bitter—same as poison, right?

If it’s this bitter, how strong a poison was this thing carrying?

Could’ve been bad if it bit me.

[Skill level up: Poison Resistance LV5 has increased to Poison Resistance LV6]

Yeah.

Taste is awful, but from a skill standpoint—very delicious.