The desert remained as scorching as ever, and Thorne had been in this world for a week now.
After surviving the initial threat of death, Thorne began a monotonous yet intriguing life of hunting.
Using the Spring Breeze Rain skill once a day, not only did his size increase, but after seven consecutive days of rainfall, Thorne could now truly be called a lake.
Moreover, due to the rich spiritual energy in the rain brought by the Spring Breeze Rain skill, some water plants, small fish, and shrimp that were on the verge of death revived. In the mud, seeds blown over by the wind or carried by animals began to sprout.
The once lifeless lake gradually became vibrant and full of life.
Of course, these were just icing on the cake. For Thorne, the greater gain was that, lured by the spiritual water, animals came to drink here every day.
Over these few days, Thorne had captured no fewer than twenty beasts, mostly buffalo, while he chose not to act against smaller animals.
Late one night, a pitch-black beast silently crept over, making no sound at all, its entire body seemingly blending into the darkness.
When its claws stepped onto the mud near the lake, Thorne detected it immediately.
It was a hunting dog, but clearly different from the hunting dogs of Thorne's previous world.
This dog's fur clung tightly to its flesh, its body resembling that of a typical hunting dog. What was eerie was that it had two heads, four red eyes glaring conspicuously in the dark, and equally striking was a sharp bone spike on its front claws that looked incredibly lethal.
The double-headed hunting dog cautiously scanned its surroundings. Its red eyes flashed, confirming no threats nearby, and it approached Thorne, lowering its head to drink.
Thorne naturally couldn't let it go. If he devoured this double-headed hunting dog, the system would surely reward him with substantial energy.
With a "swoosh," Thorne used Water Bind.
Compared to ordinary beasts, this hunting dog's senses were far sharper. The moment the water rope emerged from the surface, the dog swiftly retreated.
However, Thorne had anticipated that a single Water Bind wouldn't be enough to take it down. He used Water Bind five times in succession. The first water rope was dodged by the dog, but the other four firmly wrapped around its limbs.
The hunting dog struggled in panic, but under the might of Thorne's entire lake dragging it, its body inched closer to the water.
Just as it was about to be pulled into the lake, its red eyes emitted two beams of red light, striking the water.
With a "bang," two splashes erupted from the lake.
After unleashing this attack, the double-headed hunting dog's body went limp, as if drained, and was effortlessly pulled into the water by Thorne.
That attack, aside from causing splashes, had no significant impact on Thorne.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the first magic beast kill mission. Killing a Mortal Tier Level 1 magic beast rewards 1000 energy points."
"Ding, special substance detected in host's body. Refine it?"
Still basking in the joy of being rewarded 1000 energy points, Thorne was startled when the system mentioned a special substance in his body. After some thought, he decided to refine it and see what it was.
"Confirm refining."
"Ding, refining complete. Host has refined two Mortal Tier 1 Hellhound Eyes, gaining 500 energy points."
…
After some time sorting and digesting the information, Thorne finally understood. That double-headed hunting dog was called a Hellhound, a Mortal Tier Level 1 magic beast. The two beams of red light it shot before dying were actually its eyes.
According to the system's information, creatures in this world, whether magic beasts or humans, were ranked by strength into four tiers: Mortal, Extraordinary, Legendary, and Saint, with each tier divided into ten sub-levels.
This aligned perfectly with the levels provided by the system.
As for whether there were higher tiers, that remained unknown.
After some comparison, Thorne deduced that the flame lion from the buffalo's memories was likely Mortal Tier Level 3. He was currently Lv1, equivalent to Mortal Tier Level 1, but since his body was a lake, most skills seemed ineffective against him.
"System, how do I level up?"
"Host can consume 2000 energy to upgrade to Lv2."
For safety's sake, Thorne decided to reach Level 2 before confronting the flame lion.
Host: Thorne
Identity: Lake
Level: Lv1
Skills: Spring Breeze Rain Lv1, Water Bind Lv1
Energy: 2500
"Upgrade," Thorne commanded.
After a tremor, the lake was shrouded in a thick mist. Half a moment later, the mist cleared, revealing the lake, now more than doubled in size, with lush water plants and fish and shrimp swimming about.
"Upgrade successful. Congratulations to the host for gaining the new skill Water Arrow Lv1."
This upgrade left Thorne with only 500 energy points, but his size had expanded again, and he gained a new attack skill. Even the plants and fish in his body benefited, growing faster.
Water Arrow, as the name implies, allowed him to condense water arrows to attack enemies. Each arrow consumed 100 energy points, with a maximum of 20 arrows at once. The larger the lake, the more arrows he could conjure.
Seeing this information, Thorne felt a bit troubled. With his current energy, he could only use Water Arrow five times.
But with a new attack skill, Thorne was confident he could take down the flame lion, believing the system would offer generous rewards afterward.
In the buffalo's memories, the flame lion primarily preyed on them. Due to the mass hunting in recent days, fewer buffalo had come to drink lately. Thorne needed a way to gather enough buffalo to lure the flame lion.
The next evening, Thorne used Spring Breeze Rain again. Only this widespread rainfall could create enough temptation to draw the buffalo.
Sure enough, as night fell, a few buffalo cautiously approached.
After probing the lake's edge and finding no abnormalities, they began drinking heartily.
With Thorne's current size, he didn't need to skimp on water. To lure the flame lion, he held back, remaining still.
By the third day, more animals gathered around the lake, including a few waterfowl playfully splashing about.
Thorne waited patiently, aiming to create an illusion of safety. When all the animals came here to drink, the flame lion would have no choice but to hunt here.
Perhaps due to drinking the spiritually infused lake water, the animals by the shore seemed more spirited, like fragrant, juicy pieces of meat waiting for the flame lion to savor.
After waiting two days with no sign of the flame lion, watching the buffalo brazenly bathing by the lake, Thorne was tempted to act.
Finally, on the fourth day, a lion with a ring of flames around its neck appeared in Thorne's perception from afar.
"It's finally here," Thorne said excitedly, ripples spreading across his lake surface.