The only explanation for the snake to be able to spit poison needles, become invisible, and possess an unnaturally large frame was for one of those aspects to be innate, and the other two to be mutations.

The earliest a monster could possess two mutations was at the third stage.

If the needle-spitting part was innate, that would also explain the snake's preference for using it. It was part of its hunting instincts to stay hidden and launch paralyzing needles that killed its target without it needing to do anything.

Its invisibility aligned perfectly with that. As long as it targeted those who couldn't notice its attacks in time, it would remain undefeated.

But as it grew stronger, it needed to eat stronger monsters.

As an animal, it would have been too cautious to target mages and warriors.

As a monster, it didn't have the capacity to care.

It stopped hiding.

"Ticka, get back!" Nia shouted.

"If you think I'm going to run from a fucking snake—"

"Ticka!"

"...You're goddamn right!" Ticka turned and ran right in time for the snake to lunge toward her.

The snake's scales scraped against the ground, leaving a trail in the soot.

"Keep running, Ticka! If I'm right, the snake should just keep chasing for now!" Alec shouted after her.

"That's Lady Highfield to you, bitch! And don't think that was my plan?!"

Alec ignored that and turned to Maura with a grave expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked with a frown.

"I'm going to need you to turn up the heat."

"Sure. What's the problem?"

"If I'm right about the snake's habits, you might end up the target. Unless you can make that place over there hotter than the rest of the room?"

"I'm pretty sure that the heat will originate from wherever I stand at first. After a while, I'll be able to make that area hotter than my surroundings."

"Do it. I'll keep it distracted."

"When it comes for me…?"

"I'll keep you safe." Alec looked Maura straight in the eye.

Maura nodded and focused. Heat Ray was a good spell. She wanted to get better at it. While the circumstances weren't ideal, it was still a good opportunity to practice without needing to worry about their surroundings.

"Lady Victoria, I have a plan!" He shouted while running after the snake that was quickly gaining on Ticka.

"I will follow your lead!" She shouted back.

"I need you to cover that part of the floor in ice. Maura's heating up the area beyond it to lure the snake there. I'll take over the snake's aggro. I want Nia and Ticka to prepare as much rubble as they can to trap it under."

Victoria's eyes narrowed for a second, but she nodded and started cooling down the floor. She had to use quite a bit of mana to overcome the heat that Maura generated, but the layer of liquid water on top of the ice made it even slicker.

Meanwhile, Alec started shooting Fireballs at the snake.

The snake seemed like it was focused on Ticka to the point where it wouldn't care about weak sparks that didn't even scratch its scales.

Fire clearly wasn't a weakness. Otherwise, it would have already shown signs of suffering when they roasted the entire room.

If it had been intelligent, it might have ignored Alec's Fireballs. But it wasn't. It relied on base instincts.

Right now, those instincts were telling it to go for the target in front of it.

However, the bright spots of orange that filled its heat vision confused it as much as it could be confused.

It slowed down and looked around while blinking. Slowly, it followed the traces of heat in the air to Alec.

'I fucking knew it!' Alec celebrated inwardly.

Not all snakes could see the heat radiating from their warm-blooded prey. But the Paratrellian Spit Snake was an ambush predator that hid in the darkness and waited for its prey.

He hadn't been sure since it was so big and pure-white. But now that he was staring straight at it and could compare its face to the features described in a reptilian beastiary of the La continent, he was sure.

The color probably meant that it was just albino or a side-effect of its invisibility mutation. It had thrown him off a little, despite the unique poison needle-spitting ability. It did not belong in the Vongrad Kingdom, which was to the east on the continent, compared to the snake's home in the western region.

But it was a Paratrellian Spit Snake without a doubt.

And right now, it was staring straight at Alec while he was looking at the text in [Reader].

'Shit.'

Time slowed to a crawl as the snake's mouth widened enough for a stick to fit through the gap between its jaws.

Alec's eyes narrowed as he saw the tip of the poison needle slowly slip out and start to fly toward him.

'What…?'

An instant later, his eyes widened, and he twisted his torso like a cannonball had hit his shoulder.

The needle whizzed past his cheek close enough for him to feel the wind with his ear.

His heart beat was as steady as a mountain, thanks to the magic circle and Heartguard. But Alec could feel it. His heart was like a wild beast thrashing inside a cage.

Without his Heartguard, his heart rate would have been in the hundreds.

'What was that?!' He asked while punching air through his nose with each breath.

He stared at the snake. He was more than confused about what had just happened, but now wasn't the time for that. He needed to keep the snake's attention on him while the others prepared.

Without another second's hesitation, he cast a Fireball straight at the snake's face. It landed right between its slit eyes. It was enough to make it blink. That was it.

A third-stage monster was durable.

'Ticka wasn't wrong. This fucker is a motherfucking bitch bastard of a snake.'

Alec sighed and cast Flamethrower as the snake charged at him.

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