【The Rise of the Ugly Monster】 Wings of Poison, Time to Take Flight

​

​

* * *

​

​

"N'eh!? N'eh!? N'eh!?"

A lapse in consciousness, and then, awakening.

Not much time seemed to have passed... but in that short interval, he had changed significantly—no, he had experienced 【Evolution】!

The plumage reflected in his eyes and the vitality overflowing through his entire body—to the point where he felt a sense of omnipotence—gave Dokugegon absolute certainty of this.

(【Status】, open!)

Thus, to confirm his current situation, Dokugegon immediately summoned the supernatural, blue semi-transparent board!

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Species: Purple Poison Magic Bird

Name: Dokugegon

Age: 1 year old

Vitality: 208

Magic Power: 3,850

Level: 70

Skills: 【Poison Resistance 300】, 【Poison Generation 300】, 【Mimicry 8】, 【Tree Climbing 4】, 【Poison Liquid Manipulation 280】

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Looking at the values displayed there, Dokugegon was astonished!

While his status remained heavily biased toward magic power... every single attribute had risen dramatically!

Furthermore, even his "Species" had changed.

What exactly was "Species"? What was 【Evolution】?

To have one's species change in the middle of living?

Why did such a thing happen?

This fantasy reality was utterly absurd once one started thinking about it.

However, Dokugegon was not given the time to confront this inexplicable reality.

<<<BOAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!>>>

Because right in front of him, the giant monster, the Land Whale, still remained!

The Land Whale roared at Dokugegon, emitting a terrifying murderous intent that seemed tinged with jealousy for some reason!

"N'eh...!"

A crushing pressure...!

The air vibrated violently; giant flies—scavengers of the Plateau of Behemoths who had been circling far off to observe the Land Whale—were struck by the murderous intent, died instantly, and plummeted to the ground!

However!

"N'EEEEEEEEH!!!"

Dokugegon... this still-small Purple Poison Magic Bird, roared back at the Land Whale, refusing to be intimidated!

(I won't lose...! I'll avenge Emi!!)

The sadness of losing his owner, and the anger!

They continued to pour reckless courage into Dokugegon's soul, boiling with intensity!

"N'eheh!!"

And it was Dokugegon who made the first move.

Guided by instinct, he performed an action... the secretion of poisonous liquid.

The same familiar behavior as before his 【Evolution】.

However, the amount of poison secreted was incomparable to what it had been!

Dokugegon's entire body—which was only slightly larger than a basketball—was instantly enveloped in purple poisonous liquid, becoming a sphere floating in the air.

The diameter of this sphere easily exceeded five meters!

<<<BOAH!!>>>

Next, the Land Whale moved!

Loathing the idea of striking Dokugegon directly and getting contaminated, the Land Whale commanded the barnacles still clinging to its skin to fire their 【Barnacle Beams】.

Beams of light, which the former Dokugegon would have found impossible to evade, flew straight toward the floating sphere of poisonous liquid!

However!

"N'eeeeeh!!"

The giant sphere of poisonous liquid enveloping Dokugegon evaded them with agile movements!

Thanks to the effect of that mysterious golden light, Dokugegon's level of poison liquid manipulation had skyrocketed.

Along with it, his mobility had also increased dramatically!

"N'eeeeeh...!!"

Through the poisonous liquid, Dokugegon perceived the surrounding situation in more detail than he could with his vision alone.

He was able to fully master this truly mysterious super-sense... something unimaginable to a human, which had suddenly been bestowed upon him.

Bi!!

Bi!!

Bi!!

That super-sense warned him of the threat of the 【Barnacle Beams】 flying so close they nearly grazed the poison!

(Faster... even faster!!)

Dokugegon continued to fly, circling the Land Whale while dodging the barnacles' beams.

Gradually, the spherical poison began to shift into a form specialized for flight.

That form was a bird.

The newly reborn appearance of Dokugegon himself!

"N'eh!! N'EEEEEEEEH!!"

Transformed into a graceful yet giant monstrous bird, Dokugegon flew directly in front of the Land Whale, came to a sudden stop in a manner impossible for a normal bird, and flapped his wings in a posture that sent a gust of wind toward the Land Whale!

What he released from both wings were not fallen feathers... but droplets of poisonous liquid that had become bullets!

<<<BOAH...!? BO... MUGUH!!>>>

The Land Whale, who had been about to roar to 【Intimidate】 the insolent gnat fluttering in front of its face, hurriedly shut its mouth.

It had immediately understood Dokugegon's aim.

The poison secreted by Dokugegon had become incomparably stronger than before!

However, even with that, it did not possess the power to break through the self-healing abilities of the mountain-sized Land Whale and kill it.

Dokugegon had realized this fact by circling the Land Whale and showering it in poison.

If that was the case, what should he do?

Having 【Evolved】, Dokugegon—whose mind was now turning slightly faster—immediately found the answer.

No matter how much poison he poured onto that toughened outer skin, it was pointless.

The target should be...

The more vulnerable... interior!