The Panel's Hidden Function

That day, after finally finishing all the meat, Bai Chuan crawled back out of the snake's burrow with his round belly sticking out.

He had also obtained the Burmese Python's ability model. Just as he'd expected, its abilities were excellent.

But since he wasn't in the safety of his own den, Bai Chuan didn't dare start evolving recklessly, lest some unforeseen danger arise. So he held off for now.

It was time to return to his familiar old lair and begin evolving once more.

After this evolution, he would become a perfect snake, entirely free of the flaws of his kind.

Half a day later, Bai Chuan finally returned and eagerly opened the panel.

'Name: Bai Chuan.'

'Species: King Cobra.'

'Length: 5.5 meters.'

'Lifespan: 7 years, 2 months.'

'Points: 18 (30%).'

'Abilities: Final Growth LV2, Snake Venom LV2, Agility LV2, Strength LV2 (chest mutation), Clairvoyance LV2, Scales LV2, Claws LV2, Muscle Electricity LV2, Environmental Mimicry LV2, Storage LV1, Danger Perception LV1, Flexible LV1, Swimming LV1, Digestion LV1, Digging LV1, Heat-Sensing Pit LV1, Diving LV1, Underwater Breathing LV1, Regeneration LV1, Aura Concealment LV1, Current Protection LV1...'

'Ability Structure Library: Rat, Python, Frog, Grasshopper, Vine Snake, Burmese Python...'

"Editable..."

Bai Chuan frowned and scanned the panel.

Now that he'd evolved, he had more and more abilities, and the information on the panel had grown increasingly varied. It was starting to interfere with his view.

He wondered if he could change it.

Unexpectedly, the moment the thought crossed his mind, a tiny Light Particle lit up in the center of the panel. All the information began to twist and spin around it.

When the panel stopped spinning, its information had completely changed.

'Name: Bai Chuan.'

'Species: King Cobra.'

'Length: 5.5 meters.'

'Lifespan: 7 years, 2 months.'

'Points: 18 (30%).'

'Abilities: LV2 Abilities (Expand), LV1 Abilities (Expand).'

'Ability Structure Library (Expand).'

"Editable..."

Bai Chuan stared for a moment, then understood and smiled.

Interesting. It really was quite user-friendly.

Bai Chuan paid no more attention to this little interruption. He opened the Ability Structure Library and selected a model of a giant python, its body stretching out without restraint.

The next moment, an ability panel unlike the ones he'd seen before appeared.

"Species: Burmese Python (Overlord)."

"Abilities: Final Growth LV3 (Overlord), Coiling Strangle LV2, Strength LV2, Flexible LV2, Scales LV2, Heat-Sensing Lip Pit LV2, Energy-Saving Storage LV2, Swimming LV2, Saltwater Adaptation LV1..."

Bai Chuan stared at the Burmese Python's lavish panel for a long time, at a loss for words.

Back when he'd first arrived in this world, his own panel had barely contained any LV2 abilities. Who could have guessed that the Burmese Python had been born with such an impressive set?

"That's the advantage of a species. Sometimes the gap really is that big."

In the end, Bai Chuan could only sigh. Fortunately, with the panel, he could overcome such species advantages.

But what exactly did Overlord mean?

After envying another creature's natural gifts for a moment, Bai Chuan came back to himself, puzzled. He gazed at the two words beside the species name and the first ability on the panel, words that seemed to smolder with a faint flame.

Overlord!

Was it literal—a title reserved for the true ruler of a region? Or did it mean a creature that reigned supreme among its species?

Bai Chuan couldn't figure it out. If it meant reigning supreme, then as a King of Venomous Snakes, he should have it too.

But he didn't.

Could it mean a creature that could be called an Overlord among all snakes? Or was this particular python an Overlord even among its own kind?

Or was it related to the fact that one of its abilities was LV3?

Bai Chuan fixed his gaze on that ability. Since coming to this world, this was the first time he'd truly encountered an LV3 ability.

And the way he'd obtained it had been so simple that it hardly felt real.

He couldn't make sense of it. He had too little information for now.

Bai Chuan sighed helplessly. Faced with this world, which he'd never encountered before, he was like an ignorant child.

Sometimes, the more you learned, the more ignorant you realized you were. It was nothing like being an animal, all innocence and instinct, with nothing to think about.

He shook his head and quickly recovered his spirits. No matter how strong they'd been, they were dead now, and soon their remains would become nourishment on his path to strength.

One day, he would tread on everything they'd left behind, climbing step by step toward the heavens and roaming freely through the nine skies.

All right, time to start strengthening.

First was the first LV3 ability he'd obtained: extract and fuse Final Growth LV3 (Overlord)!

Perhaps because Bai Chuan already had this ability at LV2, this species-specific talent of snakes presented no compatibility issues at all. The fusion was perfect.

The instant the ability fused, Bai Chuan saw his body model swell as if it had been inflated.

His body was no longer flat and hollow like Eye King's. Instead, it was like a python's, packed with solid muscle. At the same time, he noticed that his Strength LV1 had returned to LV2.

"What's this?"

Bai Chuan was a little confused. Then, as if he'd thought of something, he hurriedly checked his electricity-generating ability.

Thank goodness, it was still there.

Then he extracted Final Growth LV3, and everything returned to the way it had been.

He tested it several times like this, then enlarged the model and examined it from a microscopic perspective.

That was when he discovered another hidden function of the panel. Some of the abilities it strengthened didn't show their effects on the surface, but they were real all the same.

For instance, Final Growth seemed to correspond to a snake's body strength, physique, and similar traits.

Some abilities might conflict when the body was weak, but not when it was stronger.

Just like now: Eye King's body structure didn't contain much muscle. So even after strengthening Strength to LV2, his muscle mass and structure had perhaps only just reached the threshold for that ability.

If another ability required muscle, it could cause one of his other abilities to weaken.

That was because some of the muscle needed to maintain Strength LV2 had been diverted, leaving too little behind.

But a python's body was different. Unlike the bodies of other snakes, which were flat and hollow, its body was filled with muscle, round and solid.

The massive muscle mass that came with such a large body meant that even if some of it was allocated to the electricity-generating ability, there was still plenty to spare.