Progress and No Progress

A/N - Just some context for this chapter: "Representations of a feathered snake occur as early as the Teotihuacán civilization (3rd to 8th century CE) on the central plateau. At that time Quetzalcóatl seems to have been conceived as a vegetation god—an earth and water deity closely associated with the rain god Tlaloc."

Source - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quetzalcoatl

*****

It's warm. I feel like I'm in my mother's embrace once more.

I was back in my room somehow.

As I try to stand up, I fumble slightly since I was not used to my new body. I had a full understanding of the evolution bodies in the outer space area but here, I feel so uncomfortable. That's right, I'm not only taller but my body feels much lighter, stronger, denser, smoother… yes, the body of a monster.

『Status』

[Name: Lucy]

[Race: Ancient Snake (Half)]

[Level: 1/50] (0/25) XP Needed

[HP: 75/75 MP: 75/75 SP: 50/50] - Above Average

[Strength: 50] - Above Average

[Defense: 50] - Above Average

[Magic: 50] - Above Average

[Speed: 50] - Above Average

[Skills: [Lesser Quetzalcoatl's Ancient Fire] [Ice Fossilized Snake Necromancy] [Royal Ice Crown] [Living Sacrafice] [Bloodthirsty Rage]

[Passive: [Photographic Memory] [Boiling Frozen Blood] [All Language Perception]

…

[Shop]

[Inventory]

[Map]

…

"Woah, I'm this strong and I'm not even a full ancient snake?"

Right now I'm equivalent to at least a C or B-rank dungeon runner. Plus that's just my stats, I have new skills that I need to check out.

[Living Sacrafice]

[To please the gods, you sacrifice the souls of living beings to increase your power given by said gods. If enough souls are given at the same time, the gods might bestow you a handy gift.]

[Bloodthirsty Rage]

[The emotion of anger overflows in your body, doubling your stats but you will slowly take damage the longer you use it. People that can control emotions to their fullest extent can keep their sense of reasoning but normal people when using this skill, will kill and slaughter anything in their way.]

[All Language Perception]

[You can understand any language that has ever existed.]

These skills are sort of handy, but [Living Scrafice] is strange. I don't think I'd ever use it… wait it just says living beings. I thought the Aztecs used human sacrifices not just any living being?... That means I could probably sacrifice 100 bugs and receive a large reward… but maybe the reward and power I gain depends on the strength of the soul?

"No point thinking about it and just try it out… but first... time to buy some new clothes,"

My clothes were too small for me now. Even though they were baggy before, they just don't feel the same when they actually fit me.

…

It took a while for me to adjust to this new body. Even just one step on the ground caused a small crack to appear in my room. It was only a 15 point difference but it seems my race drastically altered my body's power as well.

"That should be about it,"

I was finally able to control my body to its fullest without destroying my surroundings… but it sacrificed my entire bedroom.

I just threw my old clothes into my inventory while buying the same clothes online, but bigger. I only put them away in my walking closet before taking a shower and putting on a long-sleeved shirt and some shorts.

"Excuse me, my bedroom is broken can you get somebody to fix it. I'll pay for the damages," I say to the maid I called to my room.

"M-may I see how much damage so we can calculate the price?" the maid responds.

I give her a nod of confirmation as we walk upstairs. She was shocked by the damage that happened to my room. Broken walls, cracked ceiling, cracked floor, destroyed furniture, my bed split in half.

"This is probably about 50,000 US dollars worth of damage," The maid says, clearly shocked.

"I'll send it right now," I say, pulling out transactions and smiling at the amount of money I currently have.

"I sent it… do you have a training room?"

"Yes, it is on the first floor where all the entertainment facilities are," The maid replies, pulling out a tablet and typing something on it.

"Thanks,"

I left my apartment to the maid as I took the elevator down. While I was in it, I opened up the shop since I evolved and there should be new options now.

[Shop]

[168010 G]

[Skill Book: Snake Necromancy] [10000 G]

[Weapon: Basic Macuahuitl] [1500 G]

[Potion: Healing Potion] [300 G]

-

[Skill Book: Drizzle] [50000 G]

[Weapon: Sun Stone Macuahuitl] [3000 G]

[Potion: Mana Potion] [500 G]

[Evolve for more options]

…

Drizzle… that's like the complete opposite of my ancient fire skill. Well, I have the gold so I'll buy it, I can't see the description right now but I should be able to after I use the skill book.

Just using my mind, I bought all of the options and a few mana potions. While healing potions can be afforded by most semi-big families and larger, mana potions are reserved for the best of the best. If I brought one into the auction, people will start to get suspicious of me so I'll just keep them a secret.

Once the elevator door opened, I went to the receptionist and asked her for directions to the training room. She told me to take a left down the hallway and then I should see a large room with a few rings for sparring matches.

"Thanks,"

I followed her directions and arrived in a massive auditorium with 5 large sparring rings. There weren't many people sitting on the grand bleachers that were on the opposite side of the entrance.

Since I didn't have anybody to spar with, I decided to just absorb any techniques I can learn from these older dungeon runners or power users. I sat on the bleachers but saw a familiar face that started to make me sweat and shake non-stop.

It was Tiana the Primordial Brave of Ice.

Why is she always where I was?

It took me almost all of my willpower to stop shaking for a couple of seconds and sit down. She was looking at me with a smile while I felt my breathing rate increase. Once she noticed my strange state, she walked over to me and sat down right next to me.

Cold sweat ran down the back of my neck as I felt the need to throw up. She didn't smell bad in fact she smelled like flowers, but I was so nervous that I wanted to throw up everything I had. Also, for some reason, tears started to well up in the corner of my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Tiana asked with a strangely warm voice.

I didn't even realize her different tone, since I felt slightly faint.

She goes to put her hand on my shoulder but I reflexively swatted it away. She was surprised but also noticed how much I was shaking. Her face was that of my mom's as when she comforted me at night after I received harsh treatment at school.

"It's alright. I'll be here next to you as long as you need somebody," Tiana said.

For some reason, those words felt familiar.

"You know, your mom was my first girlfriend. She was funny and sweet, I always hugged her when I had the chance… but she always thought she was a burden to me and decided to break up with me because of that. I kept telling her it was fine but she refused to believe me,"

What… what is this woman saying? There's no way that's true. That has to be a lie so she can get close to me. I don't know what she wants but she can't have good intentions… I-I have to get out of here…

As Tiana's warm smile continued, I eyed the entrance that I came from before sprinting towards it, shaking non-stop the entire way. I continued to run like last time. I ran and ran until I found myself in an alleyway, knees tucked, forehead resting on my knees, and shaking non-stop.

I hated myself. For some reason, I couldn't make progress. It was almost like my fear was engraved into my very soul.