Warm steam filled the air as Alex stepped out of the bath.
He took a deep breath, letting the clean air fill his lungs. He felt refreshed and his stress washed away.
A plain white towel was tightly wrapped around his waist, hanging low on his hips, leaving his chest completely bare.
Tiny droplets of water rolled down from his wet hair, tracing slow paths over his neck and shoulders.
He walked slowly toward the bathroom sink.
With a swipe of his hand, he cleared the heavy condensation from the large mirror and stared at his reflection.
It was time to see exactly what this last shedding process had done to his body.
Right away, he noticed the changes were not as drastic as the very first time he shed.
Still, they were impossible to ignore.
He slowly traced a hand down his arm and across his stomach. The texture of his skin had changed.
It was incredibly smooth, almost soft like silk, and his skin tone had also grown paler, giving him a delicate, almost glowing look under the bathroom lights.
But a smooth complexion wasn't what made his heart race.
He leaned closer to the mirror, his eyes dropping to his chest.
"Please, just let it be normal, I don't want to have breasts…" he thought, feeling a knot of anxiety tighten in his mind.
He raised his hands and began to carefully examine his chest.
He poked the center of his pecs. He pressed down firmly with his fingertips, feeling for any soft tissue or new weight.
He squeezed and rubbed the area, repeating the process multiple times just to be absolutely sure.
Finally, a heavy sigh of relief escaped his lips. His shoulders slumped.
Nothing had changed. It was still flat. He hadn't grown breasts.
But as he leaned even closer to the glass, his relief vanished.
The overall shape was flat, sure, but the details were completely different.
The skin right around his nipples had turned a much deeper, flushed red.
The areolas were wider, and the nipples themselves were noticeably puffy and swollen.
They were larger than before, standing out sharply against his pale skin. They looked exactly like a woman's.
He dragged a hand down his face, groaning out loud.
"Damn it..." he muttered, his voice sounding low in the quiet room. "It's really happening, isn't it?"
"This is just the initial phase and you're already this worried," Just then a smooth, velvety voice echoed instantly within his mind. It was the Empress.
"Did you really think you could stop it, Alex?" she asked. Her tone was calm, carrying a hint of playful teasing. "Your physical body is simply adjusting to match its true nature. It's natural, you should pride yourself for becoming a true Naagin."
"Beautiful? A true Naagin?" Alex argued back in his head, gripping the edge of the sink. "I look like I'm stuck halfway between being a guy and a girl! If anyone sees my chest right now, I have a lot of explaining to do."
A soft, low laugh vibrated through his thoughts, sending a strange shiver down his spine.
"You worry far too much about the opinions of humans," the Empress purred. "You should embrace these changes. Besides... I think it suits you. You are becoming quite lovely."
Alex rolled his eyes, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Easy for you to say. You aren't the one who has to experience all this."
"Hehee, my dear," she replied easily. "Now, stop fussing over your appearance and look forward to a better future."
Alex shook his head, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.
She was right. He needed to focus on the facts, not just his feelings about his changing body.
He took a step back from the mirror and focused his mind.
"Status panel," he commanded out loud. But the screen that popped up was entirely different from before.
[ Name: Alex]
[ Age: 19/72]
[ Race: Human / Snake Demon Hybrid (Mutating)]
[ Feminization Progress: Phase 1/9 (Ecdysis) 73% (+)]
[ Profession: Civilian]
[ Cultivation Level: F - Rank (+)]
[ Cultivation Techenique: None]
[ Genes: Ancient Naagin (Enchantress) (+), Recovery (Lv-1) (+)]
[ Gene Abilities: Shedding, Feral Gaze, Empathic Resonance, Void Yin Constitution ]
[ Skills: Thermal Spirit Sight Lv-1, Serpentine Musculature Lv-1, Cold-Blood Optimization Lv-1, Scaled Dermis Lv-1, Pheromone Secretion Lv-1, Yin-Serpent Mana Circuit Lv-1]
[ Source Power: 82.8 ]
Alex blinked, leaning in closer to the floating blue screen, within his reach. Yet, there was no visible reflection of the system panel on the mirror next to him.
His eyes scanned the lines of text, compared to before, the system panel had gone through a massive overhaul.
The layout was cleaner, but the biggest change was the little plus signs (+) hovering right next to his cultivation level, his genes, and his skills.
He reached out, his wet finger hovering over the (+) next to his Cultivation Level and a new prompt appeared in front of his eyes.
[ Please select the amount of Source Power to invest… ]
[ Note: 1 Point of Source Power can simulate 10 days of Cultivation.]
Looking at this line of text, Alex didn't choose to continue as he didn't choose any profession or cultivate any cultivation techniques.
Even if cultivated for a whole year, with his cultivation aptitude, his efficiency in cultivation would be very low compared to nothing.
His only option right now was to either awaken a new profession, improve his Naagin gene, or upgrade his current skills.
He tapped the empty air to close the cultivation prompt and crossed his arms, and paced a few steps across the damp tiles, his bare feet making soft, sticky sounds on the floor.
"Hmm," he pondered, furrowing his brow as he stared at the system panel. "To unlock a new profession, I need to find a specific awakening item or meet the awakening requirements and also need to practice a specific skill and cultivation technique until it reaches the entry level."
His gaze drifted down the panel, lingering on the little plus sign next to his Ancient Naagin (Enchantress) gene.
He knew exactly what that meant. That gene was the root cause of his feminization. If he dumped his Source Power into that, it would instantly accelerate his mutation.
"Not a chance," Alex muttered, quickly pulling his eyes away from that row. He hugged his arms tighter against his chest, a hot flush crept up his neck. "I am not speeding this up. I still want to remain a man."
He then looked at his list of skills: Thermal Spirit Sight, Serpentine Musculature, Cold-Blood Optimization.
"I only have 82.8 points of Source Power to spend." But as he thought about it, Alex realized that improving his current skills would only bring a very minimal, short-term boost.
Without a core profession to back them up and give him proper stat multipliers, it was a waste of his hard-earned points.
"So, it has to be a profession," Alex concluded, leaning his back against the cool bathroom door.
He already had a few standard professions in mind that he could actually try to unlock. Given his new Yin-Serpent Mana Circuit and his naturally stealthy, snake-like physical traits, a combat class like a Swordsman, Knight, Martial Artist or an Assassin Profession made perfect sense.
Unlike caster type professions like mages or warlocks which cost a lot of money, the above professions are easy to get started and have their own complete professional paths from Basic level to Grandmaster level.