The Malfae stared at the roaring muddy water and its lips twitched in a smile. It had taken the Malfae one week and two bouts of showers to finally reach this river which was an unusual one. It was widespread. Its breath spanned far enough that the [Hive Monarch] couldn't see the other shore even when flying. If not for the constant flow of the water, it would have assumed the waterbody to be a lake.

Yet, it was not the width of the waterbody that the [Survivor] found strange; it was the water itself. The water was brown, murky and tepid as if it carried the refuse of an entire civilization. The alarmed [Reincarnated] had thus frantically searched for signs of mortal interference in the stream.

However, it had neither found unnatural objects, nor it had found the dead creatures floating atop the water surface. Despite being brown and murky, the water hadn't turned foamy and black, unlike what it had seen in her memories. Instead, the sediment-filled water gave the impression that the river had just passed through a desert instead of a grassland.

Still, after arriving at the waterbody, the [Survivor] didn’t need to worry about other surviving the seasons anymore. However, its newfound tranquillity didn’t last long.

No sooner had the rain stopped than a creature became visible within the murky waters of the river and the [Hive Monarch]’s heart raced. Its ears flattened and the goosebumps erupted on its skin and back. Its pupil-less eyes widened and its breathing became difficult.

This creature spotted by the Malfae was a serpent so enormous that the [Survivor] couldn’t even see the end of it. But that wasn't what was unusual about the serpent, the unusual thing was the draw that it had on the Malfae’s attention. As despite wanting to escape from the serpent with all its heart, the [Hive Monarch] found its gaze drawn to the mammoth reptile like a moth drawn to fire.

As its flittering gaze fell on the passing serpent, the first thing to catch the Malfae’s attention about it was its colour. The serpent was a bright shade of purple with a head that seemed much more proper on a lizard rather than a serpent. The creature even had horns poking out of its head that ran down its spine.

The second thing of note was its width. Enormous as the serpent was, its girth was just as wide. The serpent’s girth was almost the same size as the length of a fully grown mortal, or perhaps more. The serpent passed by the Malfae, paying the evolved bug not even a moment of thought as it continued to swim.

The massive serpent hadn't even noticed the Malfae but as the reptile passed by, it had unknowingly affected the [Hive Monarch] all the same. The Malfae was punished for merely being in the purple serpent’s presence. Its body trembled while the serpent's image consumed its mind. Even as the said creature paid the evolved bug not the slightest bit of attention and simply continued to swim away.

Such was the effect of the serpent on the Malfae that the Malfae lost at least 100 HP in the encounter, even when both the parties didn’t even interact. One had simply gazed at the other and had been punished for it. At that moment, the Malfae’s eyes widened as it stared death in its face and its heart raced, causing a sudden bout of agony to rise in its chest.

Ting.

[Your heart has been greatly weakened. Lifespan has been reduced by 1 month. Current Lifespan: 4 Years 4 Months 23 Days.]

Its heart raced even faster and its chest felt like it was being pounded on. It knew it couldn't allow itself to be stuck in this cycle once again. Thus, it hastily used a Skill that it knew would knock it out. ‘Moulting! Moulting!!’

0.0

The encounter with the serpent left the [Hive Monarch] with a few Skill Level ups. Its [Domination Resistance] rose to Level 4 while [Pain Resistance] to Level 8. It was the Skill [Moulting] that surprised the Malfae as it levelled up all too soon to reach Level 6. Despite the Skill Level ups, the [Survivor] was nearly scared shitless every time it thought of the encounter. It had lost another month of its lifespan to the serpent and if this pattern continued, the Malfae feared it would end up losing it all.

No matter how scared the [Survivor] had been, it couldn't abandon the muddy river; for it was the only guide that it had in this horror infested grassland. If it left this path, it feared it would be stuck forever. Thus, despite its cowardice, it kept on crawling along the shore of the freshwater. In the creature’s mind, if it had to face death with both the choices, it would rather choose the one where a chance to escape existed.

Per this choice, as the time passed and the Malfae continued to travel along the shore of the muddy river, it naturally came across even more of the true inhabitants of this region. Every single of them were creatures of unfathomable power that paid the Malfae no mind. However, the very presence of these creatures affected the Malfae’s physical health, as it witnessed their power. For it could only witness. It could only suffer as it experienced their might. It could do nothing else.

If these creatures had wanted it dead, the Malfae could do little but roll over and die obediently. After all, these were creatures whose mere scents had overwhelmed it to the point of domination. How could it do anything else but witness?

0.0

Over the course of the next month, the monsoon bid farewell and autumn arrived to be welcomed by colourful leaves and chilly air. Meanwhile, the Malfae encountered quite a few beasts that caused it to just stare it in terror, agony and heartache.

The first memorable immortal the Malfae came across was a beetle immortal that stood at a height akin to that of a mortal and was just as large. That beetle though did not live long as it was preyed upon by a winged creature of some sort. The flying immortal that devoured the beetle was so fast that even after it had descended to pick the beetle before flying away, the Malfae had not been able to get a clear enough picture to recognise the bird.

This encounter had reduced the Malfae lifespan further by a month despite the [Hive Monarch]’s best efforts to remain calm. But the shock had been just too much for the creature to bear and its heart had failed a tiny bit more.

That was not all that happened, however. As, over the course of this month, the Malfae had already levelled up a mind-boggling amount of its Skill at a ridiculous pace. It knew that back in its original home, it would have taken at least a year of diligent work to make the same amount of progress.

For during this period, [Domination Resistance] had levelled up further to Level 6, [Drone Eggs] had risen to Level 9, [Fade] had reached Level 4, [Malfae Shield] had raced up to Level 6 and even [Night Vision] had achieved Level 11. But above all of them, [Moulting] had levelled up once again and had become Level 7. And much to its chagrin, even [Crawl] had gained levels to reach Level 8.

By this point, the Malfae had figured out that there was something in this region that was causing its Skills to accelerate at truly ludicrous speed. It didn't take the [Reincarnated] much deliberation to decide on capitalising on such a rare opportunity.

As a result, it began using [Sense Essence], [Mana Manipulation] and [Survive] to try to level them too. It had considered using [Sense] to Level it up but the very thought of the scents intensifying under the effect of the Skill had made its heart shake in terror. Its cowardice then raised its ugly head and the [Hive Monarch] hadn't dared to touch the Skill.

It was around this time that the [HIve Monarch] felt the eggs, which had been left behind in the crevice, hatch new caterpillar’s hunger materialised within its mind. And not long after, the drone broke out of its shell into its newly evolved moth form.

The Malfae had been initially amazed that [Hive Mind] had worked over such a large distance. However, it dismissed the amazement soon after. To it, the Skills had always seemed to have no limitations. After all, if a single Skill could make someone immune to poisons and grant the ability to sense Essences of all beings, something that took mortals years of diligent effort, then why would distance be a limitation on a Skill?

As the combined hunger of the caterpillars pulsed again, demanding attention and food, the creature almost spat out blood in anger. ‘These pathetic idiots! I am barely surviving myself and they hatch at this time? Do they want me to die?’ It beat its chest as it tried to calm itself but its fury didn’t subside. Its wrath was misplaced of course. It knew this too. But it didn’t care. It was unfair of the Malfae, but it didn't even understand the concept of fairness. Why would it care? After all, it was a creature of malice, what did it care about fair and unfair?

Thus, without even waiting for a moment more, the Malfae ordered the newly evolved Moth to kill the caterpillars and consume not only their flesh but also their eggshells.

Once the order was completed and the caterpillar’s dead, the [HIve Monarch] felt much better. However, the future of the moth drone didn't look good as the moth didn't receive even a single Level from consuming all the caterpillar's gifts, much like how the Malfae had expected.

0.0

While the Malfae continued to crawl alongside the river, autumn kept marching until the time came for it to leave. As the evolved bug kept on trailing the muddy river, it continued to encounter more of the native creatures.

It found bears the size of mortal homes with their fur shining like silver in the light of the white moon. The gigantic creature didn't seem to be hunting, instead seemed to be bathing in the white moonlight.

It saw stags who had horns of light and body of stone. Yet, the stag seemed to walk not the ground but on the very moonlight of the white moon itself. Its stony flesh flaked off with each step the immortal took and turned to dust as it fell.

It saw water buffaloes the colour of the darkest night sky with eyes that shined with light akin to that of the white moon. Their curved horns seemed to be made of the very water that they prowled in and their flesh rippled like flesh absolutely shouldn’t.

It encountered them all and it saw many more but all those creatures paid the evolved bug no mind. It was just too powerless for them to even glance at it. It was akin to a single ant passing through the den of a lion. The lion couldn’t care less. Yet, it did not mean that the creature escaped unscathed. For even though the immortals dismissed the [Survivor], their presences did not leave the Malfae alone.

When it had happened upon the moonlight-soaking Bear, the Malfae had dared not move and as a result, it had been trapped with the bear for the next few days. Those days had been one of the most heart-wrenching ones for it, causing it to lose four months of lifespan as it had felt its control on its own heart slip time and time again.

It had reminded the [Reincarnated] of the time when it had first awakened within this new region and had lost 2 years of its life span. Despite the re-traumatisation of the Malfae, it gained another preposterous set of Skill level-ups as most of Skills had gained levels.

[Night Vision] had risen to Level 12. [Sense Essence] and [Survive] had both reached Level 5. [Drone Eggs] had levelled up to Level 10 and [Fade] up to Level 6. [Malfae Shield] and [Moulting] had all reached Level 8 while [Domination Resistance] and [Pain Resistance] had become Level 9. Even [Hive Mind] had levelled up once to Level 6 as the [Hive Monarch] had been diligent in guiding the drone to a few safe locations but the physical distance proved too much and the drone too idiotic.

In the end, the drone had been hunted and the Skill had halted all progress; much like what it had expected.

In a fit of irony, [Crawl] had reached Level 10, while [Mana Manipulation] had refused to even budge. When the [Survivor] noticed it, it had looked like it had bit into a lemon again.

0.0

As the time continued to pass in its signature unhurried pace, autumn went on its merry way and winter made its presence known with a sudden drop of temperature and morphing of the ever-present autumn’s chill into the coldness of the white winters. With the arrival of the early winters, over the course of two weeks, the lethargy that the Malfae had not known since it had been a moth erupted within the creature.

This sudden bout of lethargy almost caused its heart to skip a beat. It hadn't considered that it would have to undergo hibernation deep within this mana rich region. But the [Reincarnated] managed to keep its heart under control with the use of [Dominance Resistance] and [Pain Resistance].

With the arrival of lethargy, the [Hive Monarch] could do little but prepare for the inevitable. It had no intention of defying its body and try to wither the winters on its own. Not after it had experienced the summers and had almost died of dehydration.

It did not have any intention of challenging the nature itself in this weak pathetic Vessel of a Malfae.

0.0

Over the course of the next week, the Malfae crawled away from the muddy river and towards solid ground and sparse trees. It eyed the ground for a moment before giving up on hibernating in a pit and instead, slowly crawled up the nearest tree.

This climb would have been utterly unnecessary if it were Monsoon. Under the cover of the rain, the [Hive Monarch] could have simply flown up but as it was, the Malfae could only crawl up. The creature continued climbing until the bark softened and then it began digging. Though, instead of using its hands the Malfae used its [Malfae Shield]. And when the shield broke due to repeated shocks, it just summoned another one.

As it continued to dig, it paid special attention to keeping the entrance small, while keeping the inner space wide and spacious. The Shield’s ability to expand and contract like a moth’s wings became quite useful towards this goal.

With the hideout complete, the [Reincarnated] considered leaving the entrance unblocked, as anything that existed within this high-mana zone would be able to look past any sort of disguise that the Malfae could come up with. However, the very thought of leaving the entrance open caused it breathing to hitch and, in the end, it decided to block the entrance once again with poisoned mud. Once it was inside, it placed the shield to reinforce the much blockage.

With the hideout ready, it began producing and eating its own eggs. With the Skill [Drone Eggs] reaching at Level 10, it produced 55 eggs per usage of the Skill, which took 100 MP. Thus, the [Hive Monarch] had no lack of food to eat and it abused this to eat, eat and eat some more.

As the days passed, the [Survivor] noticed that with every passing day, its capacity to eat increased along with the fat around its belly. In short, the Malfae was growing fat.

0.0

As time continued its march at its slow and steady pace, the temperature steadily continued to decrease. The water from the nearby muddy river rose and created a fog that enveloped the area, giving it a rather eery feeling.

Meanwhile, the Malfae was growing fatter.

The fat that had initially been just been around its belly, had grown and now covered the entirety of its body. Its face had swollen up, cheeks had puffed up and eyes had seemingly become smaller. It now even sported multiple chins and the condition of the rest of its body was quite similar.

The figure that had once been lithe and slim, had now become chubby with multiple thick layers of fat underneath. It hands and legs had almost doubled in circumference and only half of that was flesh and bone. Even the creature’s fingers had become stubby and thick. It almost seemed like the [Reincarnated] had offended a hive of bees and had barely escaped with its life.

But this was what that it had wanted all along. Its instincts had egged it to prepare for the upcoming winter and this was the preparation that had been demanded. And now that the preparations had been completed, the Malfae fell asleep.

0.0

The temperature continued to decrease but the Malfae silently slept.

As the temperature dropped, the land seemed to freeze and a thin layer of ice developed on the muddy river. The sounds in the grassland became muted and so did the movement of life and in the blink of an eye, almost 4 months passed.

0.0

When the Malfae woke up once again, quite a few surprises awaited its awakening. ‘Huh?’ The first and foremost thing that it noticed was that the space inside its hideout had increased. ‘Did this tree have a growth spurt in the middle of winter?’ Very obviously, that was not the case. As its sleep-addled brain slowly booted up again, it realized that it wasn't the tree that had enlarged, instead, it had been the Malfae’s body that had sized down.

The [Hive Monarch] had lost most of its weight that it had gained before its hibernation. And the only remnant of it was the slight chubbiness around its waist and the loose skin all over its body. The creature even had stretch marks around its thighs and waist.

Ting.

[Skill [Cold Resistance] granted.]

Ting.

[Skill [Cold Resistance Lv.1] has levelled up to [Cold Resistance Lv.2]. Environmental damage mitigation has increased to 2 HP per minute.]

.

.

.

Ting.

[Skill [Cold Resistance Lv.11] has levelled up to [Cold Resistance Lv.12]. Environmental damage mitigation has increased to 12 HP per minute.]

Ting.

[Skill [Domination Resistance Lv.9] has levelled up to [Domination Resistance Lv.10]. The resistance has been marginally increased.]

Ting.

[Skill [Pain Resistance Lv.9] has levelled up to [Pain Resistance Lv.10]. Continuous damage caused by pain has been decreased by the 10 points.]

The creature blinked at the notifications before summoning up the explanation of [Cold Resistance].

Ting.

[Ability to resist the detrimental environmental effects of cold. Resist the environmental damage of cold by an amount equal to the Level of this Skill per minute.]

‘Well.’ The creature dismissed the notification and stretched. ‘That explains how I slept through the winter.’

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.