I couldn’t observe until the humans returned, so I searched the field for nourishment. I found a small mouse that was already dead and swallowed it whole. It probably got caught up in a slime, and as you know slimes don’t eat creatures. They eat grass and rot wood.

With my middle satisfied I found another tree - this time an alert young maple - and asked it if I could stay for the night. I wasn’t sure what triggered the ‘sleep’ curse yet and I wanted away from the slimes when and if it came. I didn’t want to end up like the mouse. Evolving into a tree was one thing. Dying? Was not in my plans.

Like the apple tree, the little maple was surprised a creature was using the “roots” skill. Trees live mostly peaceful lives and are rarely surprised by anything. In return for the amusement, the maple granted permission for me to sleep under its branches and I curled up by the trunk surrounded by raised roots.

There I waited until sunrise. I wasn’t aware I needed sleep or how to trigger that strange state, so if it did hit me I wasn’t aware. I did close my eyes a few times, but even with the young maple’s permission this place was more exposed than the apple tree’s hideout.

Oh, how I longed for my bark again! Bark is as sturdy as any shield, and if the four legger returned a solid bark would keep me safe.

Would have. If I still had it.

Which I didn’t.

I heard the sounds of humans and returned to the field. The sun had risen, bringing light to the stretch of nature, and with it the slimes had flowed out of their hiding holes. I have no clue why some slimes hate darkness or where they go when it falls. As inevitable as rain, though, they returned with the light.

As the day before, humans gathered to learn growing skills and battle the slimes. They were waving thorns about with ease even when the length was three times my snake body. These large thorns were used to poke the slimes until the creatures burst. These humans were too experienced; just a single thrust was destroying a slime. My efforts the previous night told me I would fail similar attempts.

They were also loud, shouting things like “Ahhh!” and “Take that!” and “Hi-yaaaa!” in a very distracting way.

I think that’s how humans activate skills. Many humans shout like that even if no skill is activated, as if just wishing for the power of an “Ahhh!” skill will manifest a successful blow. I wondered briefly if I needed to shout, but the mechanics of it had me perplexed. My thorns were in my mouth, and I needed my thorns to attack. Plus my snake jaw wouldn’t form words, and I didn’t have the right muscles to make sounds.

Luckily, after half a day of observing humans, the gods favored me and showed me a young human seedling learning how to hunt. It was about time the gods showed me favor. They owed me. I was a snake.

“You see that there? That’s a field slime. They only come out during the day, and they’re non-aggressive. The skin on a slime is very sturdy, so you need one of two things to damage it: a very, very sharp sword or a lot of fast blows to the same spot. They need to be quick or the slime will recover before you break it. Go ahead, try hitting it.”

I lifted my head up for a better look and almost fell over in shock! There was a larger human with a thorn at his waist and then a smaller one with limbs like a two-year sapling they were so thin. And the thin one was waving a thorn made from a branch! The audacity!

The thorn came from the Great Oak of the Night Valley. I was sure of it. I’d lived over 200 years and there was no way I’d make a mistake. That tree was a legend over 1000 years old. And this mere human thought to take one of those great limbs and turn it into a training tool?

Such cruel and barbaric creatures. And they called us monsters? The four legger that chased me would never make a weapon from human bone!

My ire only eased when I realized the branch was being used to destroy slimes. It was a noble cause, and Great Oak of the Night Valley would want to vanquish as many slimes as possible. I was still offended. I learned then that humans were incredibly rude. I mean, I’d heard it before but to actually see it was different.

I watched the young human just in case there was some other trick to it, but he did indeed hit the slime three times with the mutilated branch. After the third hit the slime broke, a bit of the gel splashing on the Great Oak. I could hear the hissing from the damage to the thorn.

Once the bark was broken the slime’s core was revealed. I almost thought to slither away until I heard the larger human speak again: “Make sure to smash the crystal too or you won’t level up.”

Level up?

These words hold meanings related to the gods messages. Creatures don’t think in terms of levels because we can’t read the messages. They’re just squiggly lines. I knew I was right: leveling is important to evolution. Only humans can read the gods’ messages, so only humans could follow the path of fate easily. That was their blessing from the gods, just as trees were blessed with the “roots” skill.

A tree knows how much it has grown by how many rings its created from the inside out. My trunk was a very respectable 273 rings. Other creatures went by size and evolution when they managed it. Knowledge passed down from adult to sapling on how they grew as big as they did.

I was currently a small snake, but I could grow as big as the one who died before. And if I could find the right path I could find the way to evolve into a tree. A new term for a familiar concept. If only I could read the messages to know exactly which path to follow…

Still, I’d gained some knowledge from watching. Growing came from smashing cores. My thorns weren’t big enough or sharp enough to pierce the slime bodies, but that didn’t mean I was out of options.

I waited until a human killed a slime near the edge of the field. Slimes were slow to reform so humans took their time finishing them off if they found another one. Like the human the night before who killed the whole field of dark slimes first. He wasn’t collecting anything after - he was smashing cores! It made sense now!

Yes, yes, father confirmed he was smashing cores after killing dark slimes. He also collected a handful to take back to the guild and report the night slimes. Stop interrupting.

Eventually I found the perfect target. While the human was distracted I slithered over to the slime and used my thorns to pierce the stone center.

A blue glow appeared, signaling my success. I felt rejuvenated! Accomplished! Superior! I had skill. I, too, could feel the blessings of the gods!

I snuck away quickly before the humans saw me. They wouldn’t appreciate my greatness properly. I had to celebrate this new feat!

My middle part told me the best way to celebrate was to eat. My tongue led the way, and I followed it back into the trees. I was better prepared to find my own meal this time, and went after the small little leg-hoppers known as crickets. My speed was superior now! I chomped on them in midair and swallowed them down without regret!

Ok, maybe a little regret. The mice were dead and therefore took less effort. Chasing crickets was work, and they were small bites barely bigger than my tongue. I wanted another mouse.

Worse, they crunched inside me and even squirmed around in my mouth before that. It was uncomfortable and I did wish I had killed them before putting them inside me. It had to be as terrifying for them as it was for me.

The crickets suited me much better than the mouse in other ways. Because they were smaller I was able to control how many went inside. I only ate until my middle was satisfied and not until that lethargy took over. The eating debuff that comes with a snake’s overconsumption is rather unmanageable.

To further celebrate, I preened in the sunlight for an hour after. I enjoyed the warmth of a sunny rock and let my body recover without the aid of “roots”. This form of recovery was slower, but felt more satisfying.

(I did try to “eat” again, but no matter how hard I tried the skill refused to activate. Nevertheless, basking in the sunlight felt marvelous.)

After the sun had moved in the sky and my rock fell into shade, I decided to move on. It would take a lot of growth - leveling - for me to evolve. The first step was a big one, and worth celebrating, but there were many more I still had to make.