The world snapped bato a brutal, agonizing focus for Bathilda. The suffog darkhat had bee her temporary reality remained, but it was no lohe primary source of her distress. Every nerve ending screamed in protest, a symphony of pain that resohrough her very being.

  She was a broken doll, limbs twisted and unresponsive, her retly gifted wings, what should be symbols of newfound freedom, were shattered and useless. Each shalled breath was a struggle, a battle against the crushi of her injuries.

  Yet, amidst the chaos of pain, a flicker of awareness emerged. The familiar ping of her (Echolocation) skill painted a crude, yet vital, picture of her surroundings. The echo-den ndscape revealed a grim tableau: she had op the very creature that had pursued her, the monstrous shat had drivehrough the byrinthine passage.

  The impact, softened by the snake's colossal form, had spared Bathilda from instant annihition, but the damage rofound. Had their positions been reversed, she khe snake would have crushed her like paste.

  Shitty sed life, she griped, the thought a harsh reality against the backdrop of her agony. The tornado wasn't even this bad. Seriously! A bitter rese surged through her, a rebellion against the cruel irony of her situation. She had been given a sed ce, a ce to help others, a, she was utterly helpless, trapped in a body broken beynition.

  A faint, almost imperceptible red blip flickered itom er of her vision, a tiny bea in the sea of darkness. Beside it, cryptic letters and numbers: HP 2/14. A chilling realization dawned upohis was her life force, her remaining vitality. Two points out of fourteen. A tdown to oblivion. Is this how my new life ends? It was a hollow echo in the silent darkness. With math? When I hit zero, it's all... over.

  Just as despair threateo e her, a shimmering, blue portal ripped open the fabric of reality above her. The familiar, melodious voice of Florence echoed through the air.

  "Terribly sorry, Bat, we may have failed to mention a few things befod sent you off like that." Florence's blonde head bowed through the portal, her radiay a stark trast to the grim reality of Bathilda's situation.

  "You think!" Bathilda tried to shout, but her voice was a set of angry clicks that cast (Echolocatioedly. The effort sending waves of excruciating pain through her body. She risoner in her own broken form, uo express the torrent of frustration and ahat raged within her.

  "It damages reality fod to do this for long, so just listen," Florence tinued, her voice urgent. "I know things seem bleak for yht now, but all you have to do is level up aronger. Earn yourself some new skills and improve the ones you already have. As you get stronger, you should also get bigger. Remember that every big fish starts small. Oh, and monsters. On this world, there are real monsters, not like Earth. Monsters like dragons, griffins, and all other manner of creatures you could think of exist here. Not all monsters are ined toward death aru though, nor do they live by the rule 'survival of the fittest'. You will just have to use your own judgement to make the decision ht and wrong, good and bad."

  How the hell am I supposed to do that when I'm literally almost dead, Florence! Bathilda screamed internally, the silent rage a burning inferno. Another wave of agonizing pain washed over her as she slipped off the snake's bading face down on its head.

  The impact sent a fresh wave of agony through her shattered body, but she was too numb tister it fully. HP 1/14 Through the muffled sounds, she could hear the sirrih her, a low, guttural rumble that vibrated through her bones. It wasn't dead!

  "Tain your lost life force, you will have to finish off your oppo," Florence's voice echoed, the words a chilling pronou. "If you do not, the mao recuperate, it will likely eat you instead."

  A shiver of primal fear ran through Bathilda, a cold dread that pierced through the haze of pain. She turned her head towards the portal, her gaze pleading. So kill the snake? How? I 't move, if you haven't noticed, Florence!

  The portal began to shrink, the shimmering blue light fading. Florence smiled, a serene, almost detached expression on her face. "You have teeth, do you not? If you ot figure a way out of this situation, then... That would be unfortunate for you. This is also the st time our paths are likely to cross like this. Farewell and good luck, Bathilda."

  The portal vanished, leaving Bathilda alone in the darkness, the echo of Florence's words a cruel reminder of her predit. I have teeth? What. The. Hell. Florence!? I'll show you teeth!

  Driven by a surge of desperate anger, Bathilda ched her jaw and saeeth into the snake's head, biting down with a ferocity born of desperation. The taste of blood filled her mouth, the metallig a grim reminder of her struggle. She bit through the pain, ign the searing agony that ripped through her body as she forced her broken limbs to move. She bit and bit agaieeth tearing through flesh and bone, her determination fueled by a primal instinct to survive.

  Her limbs went numb, the pain receded, but she tio bite, her jaws w with a relentless, meical precision. She bit until she was certain the snake was dead, until the grouh her was slick with its blood.

  Then, a notification appeared before her, a burst of light in the darkhat she could see properly.

  Millisnake has been sin

  Bathilda has reached Level 10 (MAX)

  p has reached Level 5

  Fly has reached Level 2

  A new skill has been acquired: Poison Fang

  A new skill has been acquired: Wing Ssh

  Skill Points have been acquired

  "Evolution Avaible"

  A surge of energy coursed through her body, a wave of healing that washed away the pain and mended broken bohe world snapped bato sharp focus, the darkness repced by a vibrant, if still echo-den, awareness.

  Wow, she breathed, the thought a mixture of relief and disbelief. That's a lot to take in. Max level? I like the sound of those skills, especially (Wing Ssh). That sounds like a strong move. Maybe when I mao get a better handle on my body, I'll be able to use it. And if (Fly) keeps leveling up, I'll be able to use that properly too.

  She gnced back at the notification, her mind rag. The level increase had healed her, granted her new skills, and unlocked the ability to evolve. The level increase is probably the reason I'm able to evolve, but how do I do that? And what exactly is going to happen to me when it does? Also, how I spend skill points? Fug Florence, she barely even told me anything useful whilst she was here. Holy, what was the point in her even showing up at all?

  Anger and fusion warred within her, a tempest of emotions that mirrored the chaos of her situation. She pushed herself up, her body feeling strangely light and agile. With a newfound sense of trol, she glided down to the ground, her wings moving with a smoother, more fluid motion than before.

  Alright. That was ok.

  The notification s lingered in her vision, the word "evolution" a tantalizing mystery. As if in respoo her thoughts, a new s appeared beside it, her a choice.

  Evolution avaible: Current Species: Baby Wingtail Bat.

  Possible Choices for Evolution: Mature Wingtail Bat: Poisonous Bat:

  Bathilda stared at the s, her mind reeling.

  A bat. A goddamn bat? Bathilda's mind reeled, a chaotic whirlwind of disbelief and shock. This wasn't some whimsical transformation, a fleeting fancy. This was... uling. Profoundly so.

  She wao scream, to demand answers. Panic threateo overwhelm her, but Bathilda forced herself to take a deep breath. Right now, hysteria would solve nothing. She o think, to assess. Was she in danger? Could she be harmed? And most importantly, was there any way to reverse this... this abomination?

  The cold reality settled in: she was alohere was no oo sult, no magical remedy at her fiips. For now, all she could do ray that this was not a perma state. Hopefully "Evolutiohe key, but again she was unsure.

  Another decision, another unknown path. The list of problems tio grow, a testament to the chaotiature of her sed life. Ah, when life used to be simple, she sighed, a wistful memory of her former life eg in her mind. Now, she had to make a choice, a choice that would shape her future in this strange, dangerous world.