《Purple Scales - A Reincarnation Story》 Chapter 1 - Waking Up ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Its dark. Very dark. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m blind. I can perceive the darkness around me, though I can¡¯t see or feel anything. Not even my arms or legs. I can barely feel my body, or what feels like it, at least. I can move it around, squirm for a bit, and touch the base of it, whatever it is, with my head. Though the latter might be inversed. But no hands, nor arms. No feet, nor legs. And its not like the numb feeling of them being cut off of blood. No. I just can¡¯t feel them. Like they don¡¯t exist. I remembered the feeling of, well, having them. And this is clearly different. Too different. Not even like how amputees feel. I know how it feels to lose an arm. And this is just so different. That sucked, big time. You get itches you can¡¯t scratch, pain you can¡¯t comfort, and sometimes you act like it was there, maybe even lose balance and trip as a result. Basically, it was horror, although only for a while. Now, compare that to this. I just can¡¯t feel it. I can¡¯t even imagine it. As if I wasn¡¯t supposed to have hands in the first place. Same goes for my legs. But even then, I don¡¯t feel incomplete. In fact, I feel content, complete. Feels natural, as if I never had legs and arms. I KNOW I had them before, so where are they now? Dammit, it¡¯s too dark! I should¡¯ve been panicking right now. Screaming my heart, soul, and ass off. But I didn¡¯t. Somehow. Well, that somehow is the fact that I can¡¯t. That too, is gone. Or at least, my throat is, I think. I can feel my mouth, my tongue, and my nose. That¡¯s something. Though now after I feel it further, I¡¯m pretty sure this is not a human tongue, or mouth for the matter. Dammit, I have no vocal cords and I must scream! I think I can somewhat make out my mouth details. I swear I feel like having additional muscles in the roofs, something that definitely don¡¯t belong. As I still am partially numb, I think I¡¯ll get back to it later. Focusing on one question while a million more is scattered around won¡¯t bring me anywhere. As if I can focus at all! ¡­ ¡­ Urmgh¡­ Body¡¯s numb, memory¡¯s hazy, and I feel like crap all over, internally and externally, mentally and physically. But whew, okay, at least now I actually feel like I¡¯m starting to get conscious enough to collect my thoughts. Okay, what did I do before I sleep? So I can¡¯t remember. Huh. Well, not the first hangover I¡¯ve gotten. Back for that later. Let¡¯s try this again, shall we? Hangover yoga, as how that guy taught me. Who¡¯s that guy again? Damn, can¡¯t even remember him? Him, brain. BFF, gambling idiot, weebmaster69? Ugh, whatever. Okay, back to the yoga. Breathe in¡­ ¡­? Breathe in¡­. ¡­.what? Breathe in¡­.? BREATHE IN¡­!?! WHY CAN¡¯T I BREATHE IN?! O-OH GOD! BREATHE IN! BREATHE IN! FUCK! OH FUCK! GODDAMNIT BREATHE INNN WHAT THE FAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!-- *blp* ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. HWOAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! Okay, fuck, calm down, calm down, don¡¯t waste the precious air you have. Calm down. Okay. Did I pass out? I think I did. ¡­.? Yeah, I definitely did. Okay, calm down. Breathe in- no. That didn¡¯t work. Fuck, hold that panic back down. Calm down and feel around.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Feel around the face, search for blockages. Move around a bit, sense if the air changes. Hold up, isn¡¯t this liquid? Okay, feel the air- err.. liquid around your nostrils. Liquid all over me, I think. I can catch a glimpse of air or three, but that¡¯s when I intensively squirm. Alright, it looks like for now, I don¡¯t need air. Or more accurately, I can¡¯t breathe. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯m dying. I might need to be careful, but I¡¯m alive, at least. Am I incubated and line-fed? Can¡¯t see, can¡¯t feel much aside of basic bodily outlines, too. Oh, yeah. Body. Hmm¡­ ¡­ Aside of the arms and legs, I think I feel fine. I feel like I have a spiraly butt, though, however wrong that may sound, and however weird that may seem. And on the tip of the spiral, I feel like I can flex it around. Oh, I moved a bit. I can undo and redo the spiral a bit. I can move the tip around a bit. That¡¯s it, I guess? I mean, there¡¯s nothing else I can feel that I feel a need of testing on. I can barely squirm around, and it feels like there¡¯s a lot of liquid surrounding me. There¡¯s some sort of hard lining around me. I can¡¯t seem to find a corner on this encasement, even when I tap my tip to it. Ball shaped, I guess? Well ain¡¯t that peachy! *sigh* Okay, let¡¯s recap. I¡¯m missing all my arms and legs, in total darkness, in a ball filled with mostly liquid, without need for air, with inability to breathe, and what seems to be a new appendage, this butt tip. Am I in a sealed container? But why would I need to be in a sealed container for? Am I being quarantined? No, that doesn¡¯t seem right. I never really got anything serious. The most I got was Malaria, which is fully treatable within today¡¯s healthcare tech. No genetical disorders either. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m as healthy as can be¡­. ¡­yeah, aside from habitual sugary drinks consumption maybe. Thai Tea was the rage, don¡¯t blame me. Back to the point. No genetic illness, no infected illness. I can cross sickness off the list, for now. But then, why? Was it due to my arms and legs missing? But I thought I¡¯m only missing a left arm? No, not even the whole arm, only up to the elbow. Why was it gone again? Uhh, it was¡­ uhh¡­ accident, I think? Oh yeah, a crash. Fell over a motorbike, and the truck behind ran my lower left arm clean. Okay, I guess I can remember more now. So, this place, body, darkness¡­ ¡­ Whoa, I¡¯m gonna have to stop you right there. That¡¯s right, back down. Keep that panic and mental chaos down in the gut. That¡¯s right. Back down. Calm down. Hold it in. Yes, that¡¯s right. ¡°The body may be hurt, the brain may be mad, but the soul stays calm.¡± At least, that¡¯s what mum used to say. ¡­ Hmm, mum. Where would she be now? Yeah, that¡¯ll be a light topic. Distract myself of this entire fiasco. So, mum. Hmm¡­ We moved to the suburbs, then to the even more suburb-y area. We stayed there for years, with little brother. So where is she now? Oh yeah, we were picking dad up for reconciliation, I guess. We were driving down the interstate highway, cruising in a peachy 60 miles. Wait. Oh yeah. It doesn¡¯t matter. We died. Wait, we DIED?- -Ughh... Okay, before that improvised mental dam burst, lets run down the whole story. We were in the highway, just continuing the drive. Then there¡¯s a police chase, with a shootout. Few cars chased by lots of police cars. Someone swerved and created a chain reaction, I think. Did we hit the chain crash? Hmm¡­ I remember it more clearly now. The entire chase became a shitshow, everyone crashing on each other. Dad tried to dodge, but eventually got hit right from the side. The car rolled and rolled, and we landed in a ditch. A T-bone to a 00s MPV straight to the right side isn¡¯t exactly something we can survive, I guess. Damn, that car was faithful to the family. *sigh* As for me¡­ If I remember correctly, there¡¯s puddles of blood. I can see my ass covered in blood and grime, with an impaled steel bar for good measure. Whole body twisted. I can only sat in there and slowly lose consciousness. Dammit, I shouldn¡¯t¡¯ve recalled all that. I REALLY shouldn¡¯t¡¯ve recalled all that! I did die. Did I? Did everyone else survive? Did I survive? No, I definitely survive. I can feel my body right here. Wait, no. I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m definitely dead. I¡¯M DEAD? NO WAY I¡¯M DEAD! I¡¯M STILL HERE! BUT THAT CRASH! I''M DEAD! NO! NONONONONO! AM I DEAD? AM I ALIVE? WHATTHEFUCKHAPPENEDTOMEDAMMITAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHghk- ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. HGAAAAHHHHH¡­.!! Christ on a stick! I fainted again, did I? Okay, calm down. Calm down. Dead? Alive? It doesn¡¯t fucking matter dammit! Just...just calm down¡­ Breathe in¡­? BREATH- oh yeah, that didn¡¯t work either. Dammit! Calm back down! Okay, this is harder than what I wanted it to be. Stomach my panic back in the guts now. Calm down. Calm¡­Down¡­ Okay¡­ Whew¡­ Now, where were we? Oh yeah, literally, where were we? Here. Obviously, but here where? Oh right, in this rotund casket filled with strange liquid. Wait, why am I here again? Why... am... I¡­ here¡­. ¡­. Oh yeah. I died. Okay, right, fine, I¡¯m convinced. I definitely died. But I lived. Lived? No, let me correct myself. Yeah, I¡¯m dead, but then I¡¯m alive. But how? 2019¡¯s science can¡¯t explain any of this shit! Nope, none of it. Is this life after death? Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Samsara? Is this hell? A dark liquid-filled casket with no light whatsoever? That¡¯s soooo cheap! There¡¯s no way this is hell! Or is it? Hmmmhh¡­ Well, the only other reliable explanation is reincarnation. Either the religion one or the literature one. I mean, I¡¯m definitely dead before, so that must be it. Reincarnation, huh? Never thought all those jokes would be real. I wish they were real, as plopping in some other world on a field is still better than this. For all I know I might be a fetus in some underground lab miles away from civilization. I might not even be human anymore, because I don¡¯t recall having a sharp tip for a butt. Gautama will have to be responsible for this! Or God, or whoever that is! Hmmmhh¡­ ¡°I might not even be human anymore¡± huh? As much as I don¡¯t want to admit it, its closer to the truth than anything. I can only feel this tip, and I can control it somewhat similar to a tendril. Coupled with the fact that my arms and legs are bygones, might I be a snake of sorts? I mean, putting two and two together, and if say this liquid-filled structure is in fact an egg, then I mean, it IS possible. But am I going to accept this explanation? NOPE! Scientific methods man. I have the hypothesis, now I need the testing. For the sake of simplicity, lets say that I¡¯m indeed in an egg. That means I¡¯m still a fetus of sorts. And that means I can still be anything. Maybe a salamander? Or a lizard? The thought of that only broke my spirit further. I do want to say no to myself, but once you latch on to a quite solid theory, it¡¯s hard to let go. Not to mention that- THE FUCK IS THAT?! Something¡¯s floating around my vision, just out of reach from the focus. Something boxy, with a line across or sorts. It¡¯s not that faint, but looks blurry since it¡¯s in the corner of my eye and it seems to follow my vision wherever I look. It looks like an icon of sorts? Its really noisy too! Well, no its actually not. It¡¯s just the first true sound I hear since however long I had been awake. I try to stay still and focus on the ¡®icon¡¯, and it looks like it worki- AAAHHHHH!!!!!! IT BURNS!! SO BRIGHT!!! CLOSING MY EYES DON¡¯T HELP!!! DAMMIT ARGH ITS TOO BRIGHT!! ¡­. Once my eyes adjust to whatever this is in my vision, I waste no time analysing it. If you gonna decide to burn my eyes just like that, you better be something useful!
Randy, I know you won¡¯t remember me, as I had to erase your memories of our conversation after you died. It¡¯s me, God. To recap, you just have to survive and grow big. Anyways, I forgot to give you something. Once you¡¯re out and about you¡¯ll be able to see a particular skill, and that¡¯s something I want to test. Oh, and I will be giving you the UI early because I had woken you up early. Thought you might get bored. Just wait a few days and it should come to your vision. XOXO, God
T H E . . . . F U C K ! ? ! ? Chapter 2 - Linkuh Statoh Randy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡­.
Randy, I know you won¡¯t remember me, as I had to erase your memories of our conversation after you died. It¡¯s me, God. To recap, you just have to survive and grow big. Anyways, I forgot to give you something. Once you¡¯re out and about you¡¯ll be able to see a particular skill, and that¡¯s something I want to test. Oh, and I will be giving you the UI early because I had woken you up early. Thought you might get bored. Just wait a few days and it should come to your vision. XOXO, God
T H E . . . . F U C K ! ? ! ? What in the triple hells is this? ¡®Randy, I know you won¡¯t remember me, as I hmm hmm hmm¡­.¡¯ Really now? God? They exist? What the hell does this even mean? Deleting my memories of my conversation with them? Skill? UI? None of this makes sense. Well, it probably would if whatever memories I had with them didn¡¯t get erased. And that, ¡®UI¡¯, really the UI as in User Interface? As in, this bright blue box in my eyes that just suddenly pops out of nowhere? Well, looking at it now this seems oddly similar to some kind of message box normally used in games. I¡¯m not a fan of MMORPGs, but any teenage worth their salt will recognize a system like this easily. Can I close the box though? It¡¯s getting really irritating having something bright and pastel coloured following the very middle of my vision. How do you close a pop up without a keyboard or mouse though? Scream the command in my thoughts? ¡®Uhh.. [Close message]?¡¯ *whip* Huh, that was easy. The message closes back into the faint icon in the corner. Focusing on it brings it back. Upon closer inspection of God¡¯s message, they mention something about an experimental skill of sorts, and my only purpose is to ¡®survive and grow big¡¯. Is that what I had agreed with them? Being their guinea pig in the development of whatever game this is? Is this even a game? For all I know this might turn out to be like those stories and novels I had read about systemic worlds. If it really do be like that, then damn, aren¡¯t I somewhat lucky? I mean, I at least have some semblance of guideline of how it will probably work. I won¡¯t know truly until the UI God promised pops out, but it¡¯ll probably be something along the lines of ¡°level up to get stronger,¡± ¡°do specific stuff to get and raise skills,¡± and all that. Maybe. Heh, never thought I would have a use for all those procrastination materials I have been oh so diligently grinding pages after pages. The UI will come in a few days, or so they said. Then what should I do in the meantime? Sleep? I don¡¯t feel like sleeping right now, especially after fainting quite a number of times. I probably should get to know by ¡®new¡¯ body better then. [Close message] *whip* ¡­ *twitch* *wiggle* *stretch* So, I really don¡¯t have limbs. I¡¯m still not used to this at all, and trying to flex a single muscle related to my former ones breaks my paper thin mental health pretty quickly. Instead, there¡¯s this coil around my lower body I can flex without worry. This will take some time getting used too. Truly not what I had in mind, I mean in the books the main character usually got their full control of their new body relatively quickly and easily, even naturally. But this? Its like I became a cripple while not being one simultaneously. Wrestling myself from those thoughts, I turn into my situation instead. There are still a lot to be analyzed. If I¡¯m in an egg, and it doesn¡¯t feel too cramped yet, then doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m still in a fetal stage? ....I don¡¯t even know what to do with that information, nor I have either the means or ends to react to that. Though, now I know that I will have at least a month before I can see the outside world, as eggs usually hatch within those time period. Ain¡¯t that peachy. If the UI don¡¯t come soon I¡¯ll probably die of boredom before that. Also, I¡¯m a snake of some kind. 100% tested and confirmed, through the meticulous little experimentations I did and process of elimination. I mean, long body without limbs, egg reproduction, elongated face, it has to be a snake. Or whatever it is locally called, anyways. Swallowing some imaginary spit, I feel like more and more unprepared for my new life, or reincarnation, or whatever this is. I just hope that I don¡¯t get suddenly hunted once I¡¯m out of here. I feel myself getting unstable, especially after confirming what I am. The flood gates of chaos that has been boiling inside my mind burst forth in a fiery fashion. This time, without a chance to internally freak out, I fainted. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡®Rghmmghh¡­ Just a minute more¡­.¡¯ ¡®Rghmmhh¡­ Fine fine I¡¯m awake¡­¡¯ Where¡¯s the alarm clock? Dammit, did it fall on the floor? Geez its getting really annoying now! I¡¯m going to find that alarm clock and give it a good little stern talking to! Oh wait a minute, I¡¯m not in my room anymore. Nor my world, to boot. And this sound is not of the alarm, but that message notification thing from God. ¡®Alright alright geez.¡¯ I focus on the icon and open the new message. GAH! BRIGHT! BRIGHT! ¡­ What might be the contents now, I wonder.
Randy, here¡¯s the UI I¡¯m talking about, say ¡®Start UI as user: Randy¡¯ to begin. Worry not about commands, as I took the liberty to make sure it follows your intentions instead of raw command input. Have fun ??Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. XOXO, God P.S: Set system to ¡®Beast¡¯ later on, otherwise it¡¯ll be unusable.
¡­ This God is truly irritating, don¡¯t they? Have fun my sharp pointy ass! I not even hatched yet! And not to mention, you drop me in an unfamiliar world, in an unfamiliar body, as an unfamiliar species, with unfamiliar mechanics, and you ask me to HAVE FUN?! AND WHAT¡¯S WITH THE SMILEY FACE?! ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?! ARE YOU TRYING TO BE HIP?! ARE YOU MOCKING ME?! Haaaahhh, whatever, I¡¯ll make damn sure they''re the ones I pray to last. If, at all. What a betrayal. And what is that with that ¡®set as Beast¡¯ thing? Are you trying to slam it in my face further that I¡¯m no longer human now? This God is insufferable! Malicious! I mean, it might actually be something related to the system, but still, isn¡¯t it too face-front? Now, about the command¡­ Wow...it truly is a game-like system, especially with that command.It will be nice if this world has respawn features too. I just hope that janky God¡¯s attitudes don¡¯t seep over into the UI as well. Here it goes¡­ [Start UI as user: Randy] ¡­. I watch in deep determination and confusion as the screen starts flickering, closing, and then opening in an explosive way. Some kind of booting sequence went out, somewhat similar to a quick-running cmd screen. Few lines here and there I can spot include; ¡°¡­.recognizing species¡­.¡±, ¡°¡­.loading preset skill¡­.¡±, and ¡°¡­.hatch time factor calcu¡­.¡±. I take that as another confirmation to my current position and species. They really spare no resources in reminding me that, even almost made the fact itself mundane. After several minutes, the cmd-like screen closes, with a single window replacing it, with words slowly animating into existence. Truly computer-like.
You are now integrated under the world system. This is a special message brought upon due to the detection of True Intelligence. You will have two style of growth option, (Human), and (Beast). (Human) growth option is slower, but simpler and more straightforward. (Beast) growth option is in faster, in steps and levels, but more complicated and specialized. You are given 60 seconds to choose. If input is not detected, you will be automatically assigned the (Human) growth option. Choose now <59>
*sigh* If I¡¯m given this ¡°World System¡± thing a little bit while past, I wouldn¡¯t even hesitate and choose Human. But now, I¡¯m not so sure. I mean, I¡¯m something of a snake now, so choosing Human might not be the best option. On the other hand, which I don¡¯t have, I don¡¯t want to throw away my humanity just like that. 21 years¡¯ worth of living as a human ain¡¯t exactly something one can throw out of the window in a day or two, especially after a sudden change in species. Though, God¡¯s instructions might be onto something. I also don¡¯t want to screw the system without knowing the heads or tails of it. As much as I¡¯m hating them, I don¡¯t want to screw myself in the very long run just to piss them off once. Settling my choice in with surprising ease, I choose Beast option. [Choose: Beast Growth Option] Hearing stuff again after quite a long moment of literal silence is pretty shocking. How do snakes hear anyways? Or is this UI projected directly to my brains, neurons and stuff? Nevertheless, I stare back into the UI, which after a few flickering boxes pops in and out, decides to settle and display a loading bar. It¡¯s pretty funny if you ask me, out of all the things I don¡¯t expect, I certainly did not expect a loading screen. It gives me time to recollect my thoughts and calm my mind, so it¡¯s a welcome little hindrance. ¡­. Come to think of it, didn¡¯t it said something along the lines of ¡°not choosing in 60 seconds means an automatic choosing of Human Growth Option is selected¡±? Doesn¡¯t that mean all humans will go there? Logically, they won¡¯t be able to choose during their infancy, right? As they don¡¯t have enough consciousness yet? Or do the system comes later? But wouldn¡¯t it be weird if a lot of people actually choose the Beast Option? What a weird little twisted quirk¡­ ¡­. The loading screen is done, and changed with yet another window.
Legend [Status] = Open status table [Skills] = Open skill table. Choose between passive or active. [Evolution] = Open evolution menu [Help] = Ask for UI help [Legend] = Opens this window
Ain¡¯t that ridiculously straightforward? And what¡¯s with the ridiculously gamey commands? And evolution menu, does that mean I can evolve into something else? Well that¡¯s really beastly and all, but well¡­ ...nothing actually, it makes good sense. Rather than stalling any further, I eagerly check around what I could do according to the Legend. As it is the first one, I command the UI to show me my status. [Check Status]!
Name: Randy Species: Tiny Dungeon Cave Serpent (Fetus) Level: 0
HP: 1 MP: 1 Fortitude: - Strength: - Luck: 55
SP: 0 Status: - Resilience: - Intelligence: - C???????????????????????????????o??????????????????????????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????????: /
Well ain¡¯t that fancy? And what I feared for was truly and unchallengedly confirmed; I¡¯m a snake. Tiny Dungeon Cave Serpent, to be precise, whatever that is. I will need to get a good look over myself after exiting my egg. For all I know I might be pink, which adds motor oil into my wounds incase it really is the truth. The other stats are pretty standard, as far as an RPG system goes. HP for Health Points, MP for¡­ well¡­ Magic Points maybe? SP must be Skill Points. The four main stats are pretty self-explanatory, though seeing it empty seems a bit disconcerting. Level 0? Is that because I¡¯m still a Fetus? Maybe¡­ The one stat that catches my eye however, is that Luck stat, with 55 whole points on it. Whatever the reason for that is, thank you and fuck you, God. Now to address the elephant in the box; what the hell is that lower right factor there? With the weird, glitchy, flickering text with similarly corrupted-looking value. I can¡¯t even catch any single glimpse of what might be written on it, the text come and go just too fast. I hope that ain¡¯t what God said about experiment something, and I sure as hell hope that isn¡¯t something of a curse value that will fuck me up in the long run. Or Karma points. Or something similar. After staring to that glitchy corner for a bit, I decide to move on with that problem and move to the easier ones to solve, at least as of yet. [Check species: Tiny Dungeon Cave Snake]! I think I messed that one up, but God said I should be fine, right?
Tiny Dungeon Cave Serpent A somewhat more uncommon early monster, they hunt alone with ambush tactics. Few can spawn with weak magical attributes, which is prized for their mana-conductive skin.
Ooookay, so I¡¯m still a run-of-the-mill petite little nuisance, rather than a feared beast of legends. This is going to be really hard, except if I spawn in some kind of snake utopia, which is doubtful considering I literally have the word ¡°Dungeon¡± in my species name. But oho, what¡¯s this? Weak magical attributes? Mana-conductive skin? This is really magic isn¡¯t it? True, honest-to-goodness magic? Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Maybe you aren¡¯t so bad after all, God¡­ ¡­ Finishing my little euphoria regarding magic, I close the status window and proceeds to call forth the other windows with the commands Legend gave me. [Skills: Active] [Skills: Passive]
Skill Table 1 (Passive)
Parallel Whispers Lv. 1 (MAXED) Blessing of God Lv. 1 (MAXED) {+50 Luck}
[Open Evolution Menu] [UI Help]
UI Helper Tool - You can ask for any explanation regarding Skills, Stat Factors, etc. Command the system for explanation. - UI can and will update over time, as it is connected to Interdimensional Parallax Connection. - UI Information only updates according to areas explored, individuals interacted, and items inspected.
¡­. After a quick read, what I can gather is basically I need to wait after I hatch to be able to access active skills and evolution menu. Logical, if any, since you can¡¯t expect an embryo to do anything except silently growing up inside their egg. That passive skills list though, is what interests me. Parallel Whispers Lv. 1 and Blessing of God Lv. 1. Huh, so that insane luck value is because of this. If this truly is good, then I might give you a glance of the eye, you one heathen of a God. But what is Parallel Whispers? Is this what they¡¯re talking about? The experimentative skill bestowed upon me? What does it do? How does it work? Well I guess I¡¯m sent here not for free. That skill better be something good. I will do as I¡¯m ordered then; test the crap out of you. And with that, I start my task! [Inspect skill Parallel Whispers] Well ain¡¯t that just swell. As I¡¯m still in the mood, I¡¯ll start inspecting everything I can inspect then! ¡­. After what seems like hours inspecting the hell out of my UI messages, I get a tiiiny bit clearer of an idea of how the system works. SP is spent to the growth factors of Fortitude et cetera, and is gotten while levelling up and evolving. Luck has no real value, instead it affects the environment around you to be a bit more in your favour. Blessing of God skill has no description, though its pretty straightforward to begin with. Levels are raised with XP, which can be acquired through killing, eating, and a veeery tiny amount of background income for surviving. I confirmed that I¡¯m in an egg, and confirmed that I need to grow and get out before I can get information regarding anything else. One funny thing I discovered is a pong minigame hidden behind [Inspect: Name: Randy]. Played it for an entire minute before I got bored. The other interesting thing I found while inspecting MP value is [Mana Manipulation] skill, which then promptly added to my roster of active skills, which I still cannot inspect. Further digging reveals that it can be later upgraded into various other specializations, which the UI haven¡¯t told me yet. I¡¯ll assume the more clich¨¦ ones will be present, like water, fire, earth, and air. ¡­. Speaking of Mana Manipulation, I wonder what can I do with it¡­. Chapter 3 - Swirling Randy
.... [Mana Circulation]! ¡®Whooaaa¡­¡¯ Scanning around, I can sort of ''see'' the particles suspended in the air/liquid, making very rough outlines of my embryonic body. Mostly though, is scattered all around me in a really compact fashion, which I assume is my eggshell. The particles look like if you use the airbrush thing in digital art softwares, although each particle is as discernible as the other. Judging by the name circulation, I try moving the particles with some sort of mind power I didn¡¯t know have. One particle moves, then another, then even more of them. The gist of it is surprisingly easy, I just have to command them to move and they¡¯ll move. The problem lies within moving more at once. It strains my mind to focus on multiple particles at once. But this is legit, actual magic. The kind of magic imagined with mana floating in the air, or magicules, or whatever they call it nowadays. I¡¯d be foolish to not practice early on. It might be hurting my head more and more, but its pretty fun seeing them dance in the air. Twirling them here and there, like I¡¯m some sort of telekinetic person. Now if I can just¡­. Get the other clump¡­. Dammit you, I¡¯m going to get you no matter- No! Nononono! NONONONO! PLEASE I DON''T WANNA D- *pblp* ¡­. ¡­. HOAGAAHH!! I¡¯m awake! Draining MP seems to faint me down, huh. Why didn¡¯t that UI tell me anything about MP drain? Another point of caution I need to take note of, then. So spending mana until I drain levels it up? I don¡¯t really want to faint myself over and over again, but oh well. [Mana Circulation]! Trying to swirl mana in front of me, I can notice that I can collect a bit more of mana in front of my vision before I start to strain. So levelling up really does make the skill easier. That¡¯s one more minor doubt proven. I have a hunch that something good will emerge once I get to level 10 on it. Games usually work that way, like there will be some sort of advancements or skill evolution or something. Then, level up, I shall! ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ It only took me like, I don¡¯t know, 12 forced faints to reach Mana Circulation Lv. 10. My hunch was right. Although I¡¯m getting sick of being forced to sleep multiple times, I did it. I can now properly swirl mana around and apply pressure to the egg shell. Though, I refrain from actually breaking it, as I don¡¯t think I¡¯m fully developed. Now, Mana Detection is a bit different. Mana Circulation, and Mana Control, is already a basic mana detecting skill as far as I can analyse. But they¡¯re unfiltered. I can see all mana available within some radius, but Mana Detection lets me filter it according to my wished. By filter, it means dimming the other manas a little bit. I can actually discern my bodily outlines now. I¡¯m definitely getting bigger, and I can start wiggling my body even further, which is now starting to look like an actual snake too. ¡­ I¡¯m actually doing it! Sorcery! Magic! Forget about being a snake, forget about losing humanity, I¡¯m now a proper mage! Well, I might still be a sucky little student at that, but I can actually feel the forces of mana swirling around, creating a current inside my egg. AND THAT¡¯S REAL MAGIC! I¡¯m going to keep grinding until I¡¯m satisfied. I can¡¯t let my chance of early start boost go away. As long as I¡¯m in my egg, safe and sound, I can practice with no care for the world.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. And so, I reembrace my of grinding, with double the determination. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ There you go, another upgrade. I must¡¯ve been grinding for days on end, diligently fainting after every exhaustion. I now can probably crack my eggshell if I try hard enough, though it won¡¯t be bigger than a pinprick. It¡¯s a big feat, but at the same time feels pretty insignificant. I mean, if you crack some eggs in the morning to cook and eat, do you really focus your entire effort, or do you just hit it to some corner and push the crack with your fingers? Thought so. What¡¯s more exciting for me is Mana Detection. I have been switching with Mana Control every so often, and now I can partially perceive the outside world as well. And¡­ uhh¡­ I do not like what I see. I am below ground, with only the very upper tip of my egg barely jotting out of the dig hole. Various shapes I can only perceive as broken eggs are scattered all around. Some looks like results of hatching snakes, and some other¡­. yeahh¡­. Various squished eggs scattered all around, with mana flowing here and there, indicating a puddle of sorts? And there is something moving right above, passing my eggshell as they stride along. Seems like a cicada without wings, and they seem BIG. Like really big. I mean, it can be due to my size, but I have seen snake eggs before, and this cicada can easily be twenty times that. And they¡¯re feasting upon a newly-cracked egg. Slowly removing the shells out, and then sucking the contents bit by bit. I can see the mana swirls around its body, taking in another stream of mana inside it, like drinking from a straw. And there¡¯s only one act that can generate such sequence of mana flow. Feeding. Fuck, I really need to double-time my mana training. I ain¡¯t hatching out to an instant suicide! [Display Hatch Time] Not exactly what I wanted, but I can still interpret it as nearing completion. Dammit! I¡¯ll keep on swirling mana even if that¡¯s the last thing I¡¯ll do. I just hope I can get a real offensive skill while I¡¯m winging it. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Uughh... Only God know how long I have been grinding. The pressure of seeing more and more monsters above ground pushes me over the edge. I might be living in cold sweat for few hours before fainting, and repeating the grind cycle. This is honestly making me sick. On one side, I have never been the diligent boy society wants me to be, even now that part of me still wants it''s lazy life back. On the other hand, I¡¯m being constantly reminded of the instant death roaming around the outside world. Sometimes the large-ass cicada. Sometimes a tapir-elephant hybrid monsters with evil-looking body shape and strong trunk kicking around, with a variant of them having either stronger-looking trunk, or a literal tusk-blade on them. Sometimes large centipedes. Sometimes large lizards, like komodos on sterioids. I named them Megacada, Eletapir, Kilopedes, and uhh¡­ Komodo, respectively. My naming sense ain¡¯t the best. Do not pester me. Mostly, the Megacada killed and ate the other beasts. At least the grinds have been going really nicely. I can flick mana with considerable power. Flicked a clump down to the bottom of my eggshell once, and it tore through in a clean round hole, and through the soil beneath, like at least several eggs deep. After a panic session I managed to seal it with pure hardened mana clump. Did I actually over grind? Is there even a limit to grinding? Well, over or not, as long as I can at least survive. I¡¯m on my mental breaking point. Tired. Exhausted. I think I¡¯ll stay up a bit longer before continuing the grind. I¡¯ll check on my status for a bit. [Status]!
Name: Randy Species: Dungeon Cave Serpent (Early) Level: 0
HP: 1 MP: 1616 Fortitude: - Strength: - Luck: 55
SP: 1 Status: - Resilience: - Intelligence: - C???????????????????????????????o??????????????????????????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????????: \
Well, well, well, what do we have here? That MP count is pretty outrageous, isn¡¯t it? I started with 1, and now here it is, over a thousand in value. All the grinding I did is not a waste after all! But wait! Might it be that those values aren¡¯t as special? I mean, what if the cost of a single spell is like 100 MP per shot? UI never gave me anything when I ask. Its not like I have a single spell or magical attacks I can use to gauge. What if that Megacada has like tens of thousands of MP and health, with every attack amounting to a thousand each? Gah, dammit! The MP increase only adds burden to my confidence, instead of raising it up. Coating everything with prayers wouldn¡¯t work if the looming threat is expected to attack. My species status went from (Fetus) to (Early). I guess that means I can be hatched prematurely? Yeah right, premature hatching to premature death. I ain¡¯t having none of that shit! Looking at my body, it seems I have grown really large. The egg has been getting pretty cramped as of lately, but never really had paid attention until now. I have never really tried moving myself aside of squirming though, that could be a problem. I don¡¯t know how to slither. Like, not at all. I guess I have to let fear do the job while I face that Megacada up above? I mean I heard of- Huuuh? What? I really am close to hatching after all. Evolution, huh? I guess I really can evolve. I mean, I¡¯m getting used to the system, but I never really take things as they said until it really happens. Might be a bad habit of mine, but this is me being a skeptic. I mean, Evolution! And of course, human logic is to be bagged up and disposed if I were to live as a snake. At least, the part about biology and anatomy. Though, I still can¡¯t come to terms with my serpentine body. Gags me up even just feeling around it. In all the books and novels I have read about something of my own scenario, the very first objective is always to survive. Nu-bloody-uh. Getting used to my body is a challenge in on itself. Surviving is number 1, sure, but adjusting to one¡¯s own self is a really close second. I mean, I lost my limbs for goodness sake! Losing a single finger is already really irritating and took me weeks to readjust. Do they really think a 5-minute ¡®1, 2, 3, testing testing¡¯ on this serpentine body is enough? NO! Not to mention that Megacada waiting. I¡¯m surprised it didn¡¯t even find me. Maybe it has no mana detection capabilities? More for my survival then. Anyways, back to evolution. This fires me up a bit for some reason. Never would I thought changing species would excite me. Alright, whatever, here we go! [Open Evolution Menu]! Chapter 4 - Evolution and Skills Randy
[Open Evolution Menu]!
Evolution Prompt 1 You are now nearing hatching, and thus is the ripe time to choose your starting species specialization. 1.(Venomous Dungeon Cave Serpent) {60%} 2.(Scout Dungeon Cave Serpent) {17%} 3.(Constrictor Dungeon Cave Serpent) {13%} 4.(Elemental Dungeon Cave Serpent) {5%} 5.(Breeder Dungeon Cave Serpent) {3%} 6.(Leader Dungeon Cave Serpent) {1%} 7.(Shadow Dungeon Cave Serpent) {1%} 8.(Intelligent Dungeon Cave Serpent) {0%} 9.(Mage Dungeon Cave Serpent) {0%} 10. (Demon Dungeon Cave Serpent) {0%} *Values are rounded to nearest ones You are given 1200 seconds to choose. If input is not detected, specialization, future evolutions, and SP distribution will be randomized. <1199>
Okay now wait just a minute now, what¡¯s with that large selection of evolution types? Venomous? Scout? Leader? Demon? Aren¡¯t this a bit too many? And what¡¯s with that percentile numbers? Three zeros? Though, it did say values rounded to nearest ones. Maybe they¡¯re just so insanely rare that their percentile numbers are below zero? The green ones must be what I can choose, and red is what I can¡¯t, right? I mean, it''s common sense and all. Also, I think it¡¯s the same setup as that first prompt, which I had forgotten. Something about man and beast? I don¡¯t think monsters can just choose what they want, so the timer will always runs out. Then isn¡¯t this leaning too heavily towards me? I can choose to be whatever I want, I might even choose the most OP start there is. Heheh. Hey God, do you really balance your game right? ¡­I should not says stuff that will jinx me like that. I did get hurt when grinding once, the pain is enough to remind me how real all of this is. *sigh* I will need to inspect each further. I should have enough time to do so. [Inspect Evolution Choices]! ¡­. [Inspect Demon Dungeon Cave Serpent]! ¡­. ¡­.? Nothing? UI you rascal! Traitor! Evil!How could you! I wanna know what I¡¯m evolving into before I select! You have given so much written information since before, why not now??!! Dammit, I really did jinx myself! Then, I¡¯ll just have to use cold hard logic to get there. I shall put my best impression of that thinking man statue before I continue! I can cross out 1stto 5thoptions, the common ones. I mean, Breeder Serpent? I ain¡¯t gonna be some snake mama shitting eggs around town, especially since I¡¯m a guy before. Come to think of it¡­. I never really did check down there, not that it¡¯s the right time though. I¡¯ll save that for later. Leader should be some kind of general, but I don''t think I will be leading snakes anytime soon, especially since ¡­. everyone else is dead. Shadow, I think it has to do with shadows, as in jumping out of one shadowy area to another shadowed area like a ninja? It might work great in caves with no lighting, but if there¡¯s magic, shouldn¡¯t there be lighting spells? Also, I¡¯m treading blind here, so I won¡¯t risk it. Intelligent¡­. Maybe its sapience? I¡¯m already one though, former human and all. Maybe I can go above sapience and transcend my mind into the 4thdimension? That might happen, but even if so, I won''t pick this one. No info means no info, and I should play it safe. That leaves us with the most obvious choice of all, Mage Cave Serpent. I haven¡¯t been training magic for nothing, so I¡¯m pretty glad I actually got a specialization for it. This will be my choice for sure. ¡­.I wonder what a Demon Serpent would be though. I really hope I don¡¯t miss out on something really big due to some kind of negligence in my usage of the UI. Though, I¡¯m running out of time. I¡¯ll have to investigate later on when I have the chance. Then its settled. The one true profession any reincarnated person must choose when going into a world of magic; Mage! [Select Evolution Species: Mage Cave Serpent]! .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­.aaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!! NO ONE TOLD ME EVOLVING WILL HURT LIKE CRAAAZYYY!!!!!!! All of my body hurts! From head to tail! Everything! I feel like sizzling! MY ENTIRE BODY TWISTS AND TURNS AND EVERYTHING BETWEEN! MY INSIDES ARE TYING UP TO A KNOT! IT SIMPLY HURTS ALL OVER! DAMMIT! I CAN¡¯T STAND THIS! AARRGHHHH!!AARRGGGHHHHGHK- ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. Urrghh... My eyes open widely as I shake myself up mentally. Fainting is not the best feeling in the world, especially after you had incited hundreds of them before. I shake my entire serpentine body until I feel a bit more comfortable. Strangely enough, I feel far more comfortable being a snake now than before. That evolution must¡¯ve done something for my coping with it. At least, it doesn¡¯t seem as foreign as it is before. Before doing anything else, there are quite a few things I need to check. Going outside without preparation isn¡¯t exactly the best idea with that Megacada lurking about. I¡¯m not stupid, I know how frail I am mentally. I¡¯m really unresistant to pain, and significant changes, both of which I have experience a lot of in the previous month or so.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Firstly, I need to take a look at my new evolution stats. Secondly, I will need to devise a strategy. Thirdly, I need to test my own strength. No, wait. Second will be to learn to slither. Time the break out correctly and I might get a whopping few seconds of solitude before Megacada starts slurping my body down like noodle. No wait, would that be third? GAH, who cares! I¡¯m still a bit aching from evolving. [Display Status]!
Name: Randy Species: Mage Dungeon Cave Serpent (Early) Level: 1 (0/100 XP to level up)
HP: 100/100 MP: 2019/2019 Fortitude: 15 Strength: 20 Luck: 65
SP: 2 Status: - Resilience: 25 Intelligence: 175 C???????????????????????????????o??????????????????????????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????????: %
Ayy, I got actual stats now. I don¡¯t know how large is 100 HP, so I¡¯ll still assume a one hit KO. MP rose up by quite a bit it seems. But if it rises just that easily, doesn¡¯t that mean MPs are counted in hundreds as the norm? Now hold on just a minute, what the hell¡¯s with that Intelligence stat? 175? I mean, I might be a logical thinker with lots of obscure Wikipedia knowledge, but like, isn¡¯t that still too high? Wait up a second, I actually never inspected Intelligence yet. The others are pretty straightforward, so I assumed this one too. [Inspect Intelligence]
Growth Factors -> Intelligence [Intelligence] is the amount of understanding of mana and magic of an individual. Not necessarily reflecting individual¡¯s actual intelligence, it helps in easing the casting of spells and amplifies spell powers by ([Spell Power] x 1.05^[Intelligence Value])
Oh GOD! MATH! Waaaahhh!! Jokes aside, that doesn¡¯t seem like high buffs. Although powered values tend to rise up pretty quickly. I wonder if the UI has a calculator built in, would be pretty funny if it has one. [Open Calculator]!
_ =
7 8 9 +
4 5 6 -
1 2 3 x
0 00 . /
WAIT WHAT? BUHAHAHAHA! WHAT A JOKE! THERE ACTUALLY IS ONE! ¡­. After crunching some numbers, I¡¯m faced with a stupid amount of numbers. Really stupid numbers. Let¡¯s say spell damage is 1. Which leaves us with just 1.05^175. Rounded, that¡¯s basically over 5000 damage per spell, not counting for each spell¡¯s actual power. Which is horrifying, to say the least. Am I really that strong? I mean, I might be level 1, but looking at my HP figures I really doubt it would go over ten thousand. Even if the Megacada has like a 100k HP it¡¯ll still only take me 20 shots to bring it down. Isn¡¯t this a bit too OP, even for starters? No, that must not be it. It might be just my numbers being stupidly low. Which makes somewhat of a sense. There¡¯s that logic of mages trading everything for magic power, making them glass cannons, right? Then doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m still pretty much underpowered? All the more reason to plan the shit out of my battle strategy. ¡­. How long till I am able to hatch again? [Display Estimated Hatching Time]! I¡¯m really close, but obviously, getting out early is basically an early suicide. I actually missed the SP notifications, but thankfully the UI reminds me of my 2 unspent SPs and how to access skill shop. Considering I¡¯m about to address the problem of not having actual (read: my version of) offensive skills. Curious, skills are bought. Or is this a monster-specific trait? Wait, can monsters even buy skills themselves? Is there stuff that I miss? I sure hope I don¡¯t miss anything too important. I¡¯ll just open the menu, I¡¯m getting tired of all the twisted stuff. [Open Skill Shop]!
Skill Shop (Mage Dungeon Cave Serpent) SP: 2 - Venomous Bite (0 SP) = Inject venom in every bite. Standard serpent skill. Unlocks specialized venom skills. - Constriction (1 SP) = Longer and more powerful body to constrict targets with high crushing power. - Egg Laying (1 SP) = Opens possibility of creating offsprings. Reproduces asexually. [Req: NOT: Breeder] - Basic Mana Affinity (1 SP) = Understanding of one basic mana. Unlocks specialized skills in shop according to species. Price rises with every basic element understood. [Req: Elemental/Shadow/Mage/Demon] - Mana Fine Control (2 SP) = Fine-tunes mana manipulation to atom precision. [Req: Skill: Mana Manipulation] - Mana Condenser (2 SP) = Condense mana until it materializes. [Req: Skill: Mana Manipulation] - Accurate Mana Sensing (2 SP) = Fully detects ambient mana, mana traces, and past mana atmospheres up to 24 hours. [Req: Skill: Mana Vision] - Biomana Manipulation (2 SP) = Controls mana in living beings, and integrate ambient mana to them. [Req: Mana Expertise]
¡­ Hahah! Well of course it has to be [Egg Laying]! NOOOONONONONONONO! DECLINE! DECLINE! ABORT PURCHASE! CANCEL! Hoooly Christ, I nearly dug my own grave! *sigh* I¡¯ll just see what my options are. Venomous Bite is free, so I¡¯ll definitely take that. I won¡¯t be touching Constriction and Egg Laying. Probably ¡®yet¡¯ with Constriction, but never with Egg Laying. Oh I wonder why¡­ Basic Mana Affinity might be a good choice, especially if I¡¯m going to fight Megacada. Like, aren¡¯t bugs supposed to be weak to fire? I mean, all my exposure to TV and games led me to believe so. Problem is I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t be the case. I never really saw it aside from with Mana Vision, which is now really great to discern anything within this cavern, but not anything outside of it. Outline looks Cicada-ish, but you never know¡­ That leaves me with the last four options. I won¡¯t be needing Accurate Mana Sensing yet, I think. I can discern that Megacada pretty greatly already, even though I assume it would be as dark up there as it is down here. I mean, it¡¯s a cavern room, what should I expect. There doesn¡¯t seem to be hints of manmade structures either. I don¡¯t think I need Mana Fine Control either, the other two seems legit more useful than this. It comes down to either Mana Condenser or Biomana Manipulation. Mana Condenser sounds really great because I might be able to collect ambient mana and make some sort of javelins out of it. That¡¯s one way of fighting. Biomana Manipulation on the other hand, would probably allow me to drain mana out of that Megacada, maybe even make fast work of it. Problem is that I don¡¯t know what the drain rates, or to what extent I can use it for. It might not be anything more than a glorified healing spell. How about¡­ [Inspect Biomana Manipulation]! ¡­ As expected, it never shows anything during crucial times. As tempting as Biomana Manipulation sounds, its just too vague. I¡¯ll have to see on it later on, preferable after I have some more SP. Right now, Mana Condenser will be my choice. [Skill Purchase: Venomous Bite and Mana Condenser] Yes! [Skills: Active]
Skill Table 2 (Active)
Mana Expertise Lv. 2 {Effect: Manipulates Mana} Mana Vision Lv. 4 {Effect: Filters mana detected} Venomous Bite Lv. 1 [10 MP] {Effect: Paralyzes Enemy}
Mana Condenser Lv. 1 [Max : 100 MP] {Effect: Creates Mana Crystal Objects}
Nice! I guessed right! Mana Condenser do make mana objects. Its MP cost is absurd though, 100 MP per projectile isn¡¯t exactly cheap. There should be a bit more info from the UI though. [Inspect: Mana Condenser]
Skill: Mana Condenser Condense large amounts of mana until it actually materializes. Heavy MP cost is due to the amount of mana needed to materialize it. Maximum size of twice your body size. Projectiles are dissolvable, when dissolved you gain 50% of MP spent back.
That actually makes sense. You need lots of water vapour just for a bottle of it, and conversely an entire sauna would use no more than a bucket of water. How do I activate this one though? My first two skills don¡¯t have their MPs displayed so I always assume their consumptions are relative. It says Max instead of a fixed 100 MP, so if I condense a small crystal it would use less than it? ¡­ I try swirling mana around myself, before collecting a large amount of them in front of my face. Before, there was some sort of same-pole magnetism-like force that keeps me from actually condensing it to solid object density, but that is now gone. The mana compacts according to my wills and it collects into a tiny crystal. The crystal itself is as easy to move around as how mana of that amount would be. I assume the skill comes with an automatic MP gauger, as I know on the back of my head that I use 14 MP for this little crystal. Shame that I cannot see it with my eyes, as there is literally zero light inside this egg. Looking at the crystal with Mana Vision, it glows in a bit different colour than mana. Both colours cannot be described with the colours discernible by humans. Something past ultraviolet is the best I can describe it as. Trying to test how fast I can lob the little crystal away, I aim at the very bottom of my shell, before launching it with the one technique I know how; which is clumping a large amount of mana until that magnetism force starts to really make it hard for me to compress it any further, and encapsulating it with a slightly bigger mana tube, before letting go of that mana clump entirely until it explodes and blows out of the tube¡¯s end with quite the power. It shook the egg¡¯s inner atmosphere. It is similar tohow guns work, so I¡¯ll call it [Bullet Spear]. Looking at the hole created with Mana Vision, it cuts a clear round-ish hole on the egg shell, and it actually went so far down even Mana Vision fails to track it after a few seconds. I start to wonder if I underestimated myself, but I quickly shoo that thought away and went on to plan ahead instead. ¡­ While patching my egg¡¯s shell, a notification pops up. One that sends a bit of shiver down my serpentine spine, and anticipation up my guts. Chapter 5 - Against Megacada Randy
As if on some fucking cue, the Megacada, who was previously sitting on the cavern corner, suddenly got up and run directly into my position. Dammit! I not even out of my egg yet! What do I do what do I do?!?! Tail? Tail, yes! Wiggle it out, punch through the shell, assist it with magic. QUICKLY! I open a hole just large enough for my body diameter and start climbing up to escape. Getting my head out, I can fully detect Megacada¡¯s large body looming right above my entire being. The atmosphere thickens with gratifying pressure as I struggle to keep my composure. Looking at it¡¯s bright mana-infused body is far more terrifying from directly in front of it than from the safety of my egg. H-HOOOLY FUCK THAT¡¯S LARGE!!! This Megacada¡¯s height is easily two times my entire length. Mana Vision distinguishes its features clearly enough, not that I wanted to look at it with such details. Its basically a large cicada with teethy housefly mouth. It¡¯s wingless, but those feet look strong! It might even be able to jump onto the ceiling. Its decorated with sharp jagged edges, which covers its entire body along until its abdominal tip, even making something of an imitation stinger. Whose God in their sane fuck decides to create something like THIS?! The Megacada stands high in front of me as if its taunting me. Cold shivers run onto my back, as my head go blank with nothing but fear. Everything about this sounds sooo much better in theory; I just need to fight some large insect, lob some magic, and kill the damn thing. Easy and simple, it should''ve been. I never take into account that reality is often disappointing. I can only stare in horror as my fight-or-flight response went straight to freeze instead. Looking at the darkly bright figure of mana in front of me once more, something in me snaps and I start slithering the hell away from it. ¡­ My mind went blank through and through as I keep on internally screaming. I slither faster as soon as the Megacada slams its front feet onto the ground, which is the entire difference between running away and being squished by one of its large legs. The entire ground shakes as it displaces and reorients. WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT THAT NOW! SAVE MEEE!!! One disoriented and frantic slithering later I find myself running away from the hideous beast of a monster, which is just barely slower than I am, but still keeps up due to its sheer size and travel length. Any attempt of reaching back to sanity is gone wasted as the only thing I can do is lose myself to the snakey instincts screaming at me to slither away, taking near-full control over my own body in the process. *KRBOOM* *KRRGHMMM* *THUMMM* The Megacada keeps on attacking me with its two front legs, barely hitting me every time it did. It¡¯s a smart one, engaging in a battle of attrition instead one of quick finish. A battle of attrition I''m clearly losing. Not after long, I¡¯m already running out of stamina, wit, and mental power. Not to mention, with the ground tremors created by its sheer power every time it pounds, its getting harder to find the apex travel path to distance myself from it. This is seriously different from everything I had read about dungeons. No challenging combats, no grand tactics, or skimming its health little by little with carefully planned out attack strategies. None of those fancy shmacy "attack the soft spots" or "let''s keep it up, it''s dying". Unfamiliar, terrified, and alone, the only thing I can do is run away in circles against this monstrosity of an insect. Dammit, can¡¯t I do something? Anything at all? My shrinking portion of calm mind remembers that I have magic. In franticity I called upon the UI. [MANA CONDENSER ACTIVATE!!!] In an instant I feel half of my panic dissolving, instead being redirected to focus on collecting large amounts of mana and clumping it in a sort of ball. More of it went into the clump. I¡¯m starting to strain but I cannot feel the spell slowing down. If any, the spell is taking quite long. Running in circles over the increasingly broken cavern floor, I am condensing mana in large amounts, which results in a single large uneven ball floating in my peripheral vision. I carried it for sometime until I¡¯m getting really tired. Tired of exerting mana, tired of running away, and tired of only being able to run away. You know how too much of everything ruins the experience? Well now I¡¯m tired of being scared. Exhausted, with a slowly dissipating fear, and with a newly growing feeling of being pissed off, I snap my head back to look onto the large abomination dead on. I lob the ball at it, smashing to what seems to be its head. The mana ball shatters, and I can feel some amount of mana going back to me. ONLY 21?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Megacada stops on its tracks to shake it off and look at me. I can feel its entire being being covered in anger, directed towards me, and me only. It swings its front legs in horrifying precision. Jumping left to dodge the left leg, I got kicked by its right leg instead, sending me flying through the room and landing on the opposite wall. *SMACK* *THHMMP* *THUCK* THAT FUCKING HUUUURTS! HUUUURTS! MY BAACK! MY FAACE! MY ENTIRE BODY! JUST FROM THAT ONE HIT? ARE YOU BEING FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! Hurting literally everywhere, I lift my head back up a little bit. I can see the Megacada charging straight into me. Still in intense agony I forcefully clump manas into a crystal. My mind is running on fumes as I can barely perceive what I am doing anymore. The only thing I know is I¡¯m conjuring mana crystals and I¡¯m about to lob it at this insect bastard. With blurry perceptions, I aim for its center of mass, and release the crystal. That¡¯s¡­ good I guess? There¡¯s a mana tendril that is now detached and starts leaking mana back into the air. It must be one of its legs. I might not hit it directly, but it¡¯s still a hit regardless. Slithering away from it as far as I can, I start to tend to my body for a bit, which is nothing but basically rubbing one part of my body with another to¡­ well¡­ I don¡¯t know really, it just feels a bit better to do so, like rubbing your hands over a stressed area. The Megacada stumbles around and makes something of a clicking gesture with its frontal legs. It writhes in agony as it tries to pick itself up but still hurting due to the limb. A precious few seconds! I take this chance to calm myself a bit more and start to mentally slap myself back to real world. A few self-talking and incessant swearing later I feel just a tiny bit better. A tiny bit more of mind clarity goes long ways. Remembering some parts of the plan I had devised, I quickly shape up a long thin spear of mana crystal, which although is crude, should do the job. I barely have time to conjure the explosion thing as it is now charging at me like a raging bull. I froze in panic as I kept trying to compact even more mana into the Bullet Spear. As its coming closer, I find myself unable to continue holding on to my actions. *FWBOOOMM* ¡­I let go too early. I¡¯m too scared to even think of it. The ¡°gunpowder¡± explodes and it propels the spear forward. The crystal spear went low and pierced its dangling mouth, and grazed the abdomen, before hitting the wall behind it and shattering. I guess that explosive power is enough then. I can shape up larger spears instead. The Megacada steps back in recoil, before it gets increasingly agitated and stares into my entire being with pure animalistic fury. Frightened, I call upon another of the spell which only now I remember had prepared. [Activate Spell: Bullet Spear]! Instead of manually making a spear and tube, I feel my energy and MP draining by quite a bit, in exchange for a fully ready Bullet Spear contraption ready to fire. Before its ready to charge, I accidentally let go of the compacted mana. It missed and hits the wall instead. Dammit! Uninterrupted, the Megacada is now charging at me. Calling the spell once more, I opt to actually aim before shooting, to its general center of mass. It hit dead on, impaling a bit to the left of what I assume its face. I slither to the left and went to the other corner of the room. It took its sweet time tending to its left eye, which is still impaled. Apparently if its not a wasted shot the crystal I conjured will stay stuck. Still a bit hurting I curl rub around myself before calling another Bullet Spear. Although, before I could aim properly my reflex jolts and I instantly roll to the side. *BHWHAAOOUUMMM* I-i-it shot a beam at me. IT SHOT A BEAM AT ME! IT SHOT A FUCKING CHARGED BEAM AT ME! BRIGHT ENOUGH THAT I CAN SEE THE ENTIRE CAVE FOR A SECOND! FUCK! I MISJUDGED IT! THIS IS GOING TO BE HARD!!! FUCK FUCK FUCK! I call upon Bullet Spear again and aim it a bit to the right, before releasing the compacted mana propellant. I start to attack in a rudimentary tactic which consists of lobbing a couple spears, running to the opposite end of the cavern, lobbing a couple more spears, rinse, and repeat. ¡­ *KRHHBWHOOAAUUUMMMM* KHGYAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! IT HUUURTS!!! IT FUCKING HUURTS!!!!! YOU OVERSIZED FLY! YOU¡¯RE SO FUCKING DEAD!!! [BULLET SPEAR!!!] ¡­ ... Uuuugghhhhh... I¡¯m tired as shit¡­ I am running on what is basically adrenaline fumes now. I am exhausted beyond belief, my tail is still AWOL, and my MP is down to 300ish. I will need to conserve mana or I will actually die by fainting and getting eaten. As much as my fear had faded I¡¯m still not ready to die. No one is ever truly ready to die. On the other scale, Megacada also looks battered up. Mana flowing out of its body, which outline is barely even discernible anymore as my barrage of spears made it look like a Hedgehog. I¡¯m guessing that mana is infused in the blood of every organism, and that is what¡¯s flowing out of it. It lost one leg on each side, so it can barely use any of its legs to attack, and it runs solely on its charged beam attack. Problem is; IT JUST WON¡¯T DIE! It¡¯s as if any injury it took only made it stronger and recover faster! I keep on slithering here and there as to not lose adrenaline just yet, as I¡¯m depending on it. Because aside from the fact that I actually do, that corpselike Megacada is actually sprinting faster and faster. This feels like a really shitty beep test I got in PE once at the school¡¯s gym. Gambling on it, I call another Bullet Spear and aim at its right side. I will need to sever two of its legs and incapacitate it in a single sweep if I want to end this. Dammit! Another one! NO! ANOTHER MISS! I have one last shot. I have to aim this carefully. I slither around once more, getting even more tired with every inch of it. It starts charging again, albeit far slower than when we first clash. Crap, my adrenaline is wearing out. I¡¯m shivering in extreme cold as my grip on reality starts fading. It¡¯s too soon for that dammit! With fading eyes, I start to aim. Shaky, inaccurate, laced with a million prayers and hope, all I can do now is bet on it, as my feeling of being pissed off fades, and actual fear starts kicking back in. Fear of failure, fear of hurt, and fear of death. The loss of adrenaline, overexertion of my physical body, and the returning fear, all result in a deadly cocktail of emotions which made my entire soul shiver. It¡¯s too shaky to aim! FUCK IT AAAALL! *FWBBOOOM* FUCK YEAH! IT HIT! ¡­ Wait, no! NO! IT DIDN''T HIT THE LEGS! DAMMIT! FUCK! F-FUuuuuuuuUUK! I-I NEED TO- T-To¡­ f-finish¡­ A-Aarghh... I- I- I¡­ I¡¯m slipping away¡­. Nooo¡­. Fuck¡­.. I don¡¯t wanna die¡­¡­¡­. ¡­. Please¡­. .....God¡­. ......anyone¡­ .......help me¡­. .....Mommy¡­. ¡­. Chapter 6 - Something of the Irish Randy
Its dark. Very dark. Not like I¡¯m blind. I can perceive the darkness around me, though I can¡¯t see or feel anything. Not even my arms or legs. Oh wait. Deja Vu. I''ve been here before. Yeah, I''m reincarnated as a snake. A Mage Snake. What did I do again? Why am I hanging upside down? Oh right, Megacada. Did it die? Did I die? No, I¡¯m alive. At least, I believe to be so. No, not my first life, I died in that one. I¡¯m alive here. Somehow. A quick glance reveals everything I need to know. Megacada had plunged into a large crater on the ground, squeaking and writhing in agony as it sit down there, rotting, or waiting for me to finish it, all the while it dies an already guaranteed slow, painful death. Why is there a hole in the ground? There¡¯s a cave system directly below it? If there is, then its no surprise that that amount of floor-smashing would cave its ceilings in. *sigh* So, I¡¯m alive, I think?. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m dead, or do I? Seems hard to believe. I fainted after I fired my last shot. So why am I alive? Oh right, the sinkhole. I¡¯m dangling on some rocks conveniently jotting out of the edge, presumably after rolling a bit due to the shock the entire sinkhole ordeal gave. My mind feels strangely clear after sometime resting. I might be exhausted, weak, and battered, but I¡¯m wide awake in my head. And alive. Though, if I can throw up, I might¡¯ve done that three times in a row now. I feel like absolute shit right now.. I¡¯ll just dangle around this rock for a bit while I crumple in mentally. ¡­ Okay. This will be the very first time I actually try moving my body under my own wills. It feels really weird and alien, having a new body which is really far away from your former one. I can pull my tail upwards, as crippled as it is. I can move my dangling lower half of my body around, which is nice. Feels like dangling a leg off the cliffside, but extend it to the entire pelvis. Not having arms is weird, like really REALLY weird. I want to grab on both of the rocks to climb up, but obviously, I cannot do that. How do snakes climb up? I try bending my entire lower up until my tail reaches one of the rocks, which is surprisingly easy. Holding onto it, I wrap my body on that rock, before slowly climbing out of the rocky clamps and into the clearer grounds, while slithering the wrap bit by bit until it¡¯s fully undone. Somehow or the other, movements and slithering comes extremely naturally after that, thankfully. It¡¯s like walking with a million legs, while they¡¯re not legs. Like making belly-waves all across my lower body. The further behind the more it will zig-zag, because it feels like it just won¡¯t go straight. Well, that IS how snakes slither, as far as I know. Slithering a bit closer to the hole¡¯s mouth, I can leer down towards where the Megacada is. Impaled with tens of mana spears, battered, with both eyes gone and 2 limbs gone, not to mention the impact it should get from the drop, it should be really close to death now. I can roughly call my MP amount from the back of my head, which is 500ish. It started the fight, and I''ll finish it for it. [Bullet Spear]
Battle Log Enemy [Mature Dungeon Boss Tetrategii] is defeated. Gained 35 SP from killing a Nation-level Boss Monster. As you are not in a party, you are individually accredited for the kill, with a bonus of 1.25x XP gain. You levelled up to level 25. Gained 13 SP. Evolution selection is available. Extra XP will be carried over with 50% penalty. Stats Gained: - HP (+500) - Fortitude (+25) - Strength (+40) - Resilience (+45) - Intelligence (+25) - Luck (+25) Level ups: - MP Self Regeneration, Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2 - Mana Expertise, Lv. 2 -> Lv. 5 - Mana Vision, Lv. 4 -> Lv. 6 - Mana Condenser, Lv. 1 -> Lv. 4 Unlocks: - Bullet Spear, Shortcut -> Skill, Lv. 1
Okaaay, now hold on for just a minute there¡­ WHAT THE FUCK¡¯S WITH THAT?If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. NATION-LEVEL BOSS MONSTER? ISN¡¯T THIS JUST PLAIN INSANE?! LITERALLY MY FIRST ENEMY AFTER HATCHING IS A BOSS MONSTER! I can¡¯t fucking believe it. I can¡¯t believe how totally unbalanced my hatching area is. I can¡¯t believe I defeat that thing by myself. Hell, I can¡¯t believe that I lived on due to some dumb luck like that thing smashing a sinkhole. Now that I think about it, that was waaAAAYYY TOO CLOSE! If that sinkhole didn¡¯t form I might very well literally die, again, the second time, not even a day after I get to hatch. The more I think about that the more my gut clenches and unstable my mind gets. I-I need to lie down, again. ¡®Oh my effing God¡­¡¯ ¡­. After what seems like several hours, I finally managed to clear my mind. Feeling ready, I open the message again. [Open Last Battle-log] I got 48 SP, and maxed out my levels until I¡¯m ready for my second evolution just from that one boss. That¡¯s beyond crazy! Here I am, not even a day away from when I hatch, and I get to evolve already. My grindings were not wasted after all. In fact, it really is starting to seem like I overgrind. I guess I just got too accustomed to forced fainting. The stats increase pretty wildly there too, but I guess that¡¯s due to levelling up all the way to level 25. A bunch of skills also levelled up, which to be honest, is quite more than what I expected. I guess fighting something levels it up more than self-grinding and randomly swirling mana around. Bullet Spear has now become a skill, which should be a good thing since I will be relying on it a lot. Or not? I got 48 SP after all, I can start buying other skills like the fire, water, and air magic. The basic mana affinities unlocks a whole load of skills, and I think there will be new skills open for me. ¡­ After double-checking the log window and calming my blaring nerves some more, I open the skill list once more [Open Skill Shop]
Skill Shop (Mage Dungeon Cave Serpent) SP: 48 (Due to the quantity of skills available to purchase, it will now be categorized based upon its usage. A search function is also available, utilizing [Skill Shop Search] as command header.) - Basic Snakes Skills - Spatial Skills - Pure Mana Utilization Skills - Affinity Mana Utilization Skills (Purchase Basic Mana Affinity for 1 SP to unlock) - Biological Skills - Fighting Skills - Healing Skills - Civilization Skills
Ain¡¯t that convenient? Categorized, and with a search system. There''s only one answer to this; I¡¯ll be here for quite a while. Most of these are pretty straightforward. For example, Basic Snakes Skills are literally a mash of constriction skill, types of venoms, et cetera. Pure Mana Skills are the ones from before, like Biomana Manipulation. Biological Skills leans more to what I can consume, my length and size skills, and all that. Fighting and Healing needs no introductions, as they¡¯re what they said. That leaves the two interesting ones here. [Inspect Spatial Skills and Civilization Skills]
Skills Definitions: Spatial Skills Spatial Skills utilizes the space-time transcending properties of mana to create pocket dimensions, teleportation devices, Time-slowing penchants, and more. Main choice of spatial items Mage-Merchants due to the popularity of [Item Box] and Bottomless Bags
Skills Definitions: Civilization Skills Civilization Skills are skills corresponding to civilizations, like languages, governing skills, and one¡¯s influence over their citizens. Mostly used by historians to decipher ancient languages, and ruling classes to lead their territories.
Nice, combining commands do work. So Spatial Skills works like 4th dimensional helper tools, while Civilization Skills works more on, well, civilizations. These are great info because now not only that game-like infinite storages do exist, but¡­ THERE ARE CIVILIZATIONS! PEOPLE! NATIONS! Mage-Merchants? Ruling Classes? Historians? These are legit professions! I¡¯m stoked! Although I¡¯m fully aware of my entire being being a snake and all, I will be lying if I say I don¡¯t want to see with my own eyes this world¡¯s civilizations. And by those professions that doesn¡¯t seem like Earth at all, except if I somehow got spawned in some part of Romania. Either way, seeing this world culture and civilization will be something to look forward too. Looking at the skills list, there are fitting skills formy other prepped needs as well, like language skills, ancient history skills, and city building skills. Languages are quite expensive, like 10 SP each, so I will be saving 10 SP for when I need to purchase one of them. Hmmm, doesn¡¯t that mean there will be adventurers too? Or delvers, guild members, or whatever they call them here? I mean, I might be classified as a pest monster for all they care, so I will need to have some means of self-defense. The javelin might be good for long range, but if this is indeed a medieval fantasy nation, they might have mages and anti-spells. And self-defense means I shall choose. There are a lot of skills to choose from, and by that I mean A LOT. Activating the search function with nothing filled in it reveals hundreds of different skills I can buy with my stock of 48 SP. Oh wait! ¡­ Yes! ¡­ Make it 47 SP. Now, some of these are pretty bizarre sounding. I mean, Total Biological Transformation for 45 SP? Mana-based Spatial Disruption for 40 SP? Undying Hellfire for 30 SP? Some of these sound pretty damn sick! Though, most of them are really expensive, and I¡¯m not sure about the specific functions of at least half of them. Like, what even is an Undying Hellfire? It only says ¡°Spawns an area of black flames at will¡± as its description. There are a lot of more reasonable skills to choose from though, like that Item Box skill from earlier, which runs for 5 SP, and Elemental Trifecta Manipulation (Water, Fire, Earth) for 12 SP. Why those three are clumped together I have no idea, but I won¡¯t turn down a bargain. Low Biological Healing and Low Mana Healing runs for 3 SP each, might need a grind but any healing at all will be worth it, as I don¡¯t think I can repeat that sinkhole luck with Megacada from earlier. With this amount of worthwhile-looking survival skills, I take in Hunger Resistance, Fire Resistance, and Second Wind for a total of 9 SP instead. I had a long-standing hunch that I won¡¯t be able to find good food here, and I have no experience hunting or eating as a snake. For good measure, I also pick up Constriction, Neurotoxic Venom, and that earlier Mana Fine Control skill, for 3 SP total. I think I can acquire Biomana Manipulation and some other attack skills by myself, as I have an idea on how they should work. Intelligence skills are mostly stuff like maths, science, and those other stuff you can learn at school, or at least 21st century Earth-grade school. I have no need of them, and basic math and accounting was already hammered into me several years ago. ¡­. Looking at my options, and contemplating on how I¡¯m not too sure on each of my picks, I eventually settle for them anyways because thinking for too long will only rise up my doubts, and they seem rounded enough to be useful for my future ventures. Yes! [Inspect Active and Passive Skills]
Skill Table 2 (Active)
Mana Expertise Lv. 5 {Effect: Manipulates Mana} Mana Vision Lv. 6 {Effect: Filters mana detected} Neurotoxic Venomous Bite Lv. 1 [10 MP] {Effect: Paralyzes Enemy}
Mana Condenser Lv. 4 [Max : 100 MP] {Effect: Creates Mana Crystal Objects} Bullet Spear Lv. 1 [75-100 MP] {Effect: Makes Bullet Spears setup.} Item Box Lv. 1 [250MP per usage] {Effect: Infinite space item storage pocket-dimension}
Elemental Trifecta Manipulation (W, F, E) Lv. 1 {Effect: Manipulated Water, Fire, and Earth} Low Biological Healing Lv. 1 [2 MP per 1 HP, 5 HP/s] {Effect: Heals body and limbs} Low Mana Healing Lv. 1 [5 MP per 1 HP, 40 HP/s] {Effect: Heals body and pain}
Second Wind Lv. 1 {Effect: Down to 1 HP before dying} Constriction Lv. 1 [1 MP/s] {Effect: Constricts enemy} Mana Fine Control Lv.1 {Effect: Surgical Mana Precision}
Skill Table 1 (Passive)
Parallel Whispers Lv. 1 (MAXED) Blessing of God Lv. 1 (MAXED) {+50 Luck} Impossible Grinding Start Point Lv. 4 (LOCKED) {+100 Intelligence}
Reincarnator Lv. 1 (MAXED) MP Self Regeneration Lv. 2 {0.4 MP per second} Hunger Resistance Lv. 1 {Increases Metabolism Efficiency}
Fire Resistance Lv. 1 {Slightly Fireproof Scales}
Whew, I''m really tired of all that, but I guess that''s that. Now, to evolve! Chapter 7 - Security Randy
[Open Evolution Menu]!
Evolution Prompt 2 You have reached level 25, now you can reset your level and progress down the evolutionary lines. 1. (Boss Mage Dungeon Cave Serpent) {0%} 2. (Mage Cave Serpent) {0%} 3. (Mage Serpent) {100%} 4. (Aquatic Mage Serpent) {0%} 5. (Airborne Mage Serpent) {0%} *Values are rounded to nearest ones Your have 44868 XP stored. Carrying over XP will result in 50% penalty.
Seriously¡­. That is A LOT of XP! A whole 45 bloody thousand XP! Imagine all the levels I could rank up with those XP figures! If that boss really was a Nation-level boss, then that should''ve meant the XP gained would be shared by the entire soldiers battalion subjugating said boss. Am I....really that strong? I really am inclined to believe that I''m just lucky, though. Yeah, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m just lucky. Overestimating oneself will only bring demise. I should just keep my head down and do what I do best; laying low. Now, about the evolution. There are five choices available, with 3 unavailable, and only one of them seems the have been picked.... Ooohhh.....! So that¡¯s what the percentiles meant, not chances, but the number of serpents of said species, in percentage! It might work as chance percentiles then, but judging by the figures, it won''t work here. It might just so happen that it was distributed similar to an exponential graph. Does that mean the other Mage Serpents choose manually? I think previously it said something about randomizing choices, so if it really is, should the number figures be similar to before? I might be getting ahead of myself, but I think I know what that means. Yeaaahh.... I''ll have to keep an eye out for the other Mage Serpents then. Back to evolution! I¡¯m getting distracted. I need to get this done so I can start actually gaining grounds on this forsaken cave. Seems like the ¡°Dungeon¡± and ¡°Cave¡± means my habitat or something. If so, there really is only one choice. [Select Evolution Species: Mage Serpent]! ¡­. I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!! IT HUUUURTSS!!! GYAAAHHHH!!!! MY MOUTH IS BURNING MY HEAD¡®S GONNA EXPLOOODE!!! IT¡¯S EVEN WORSE THAN BEFORE! MY ENTIRE BODY HURTS! I CAN FEEL MY BONES STRETCH, MY ORGANS SQUIRMING AROUND! I¡¯M BEING MUTILATED ALIIIVEE!!!! HGYAAAAGGHHK- ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. Eeuuurrghhhh.... I still can¡¯t get used to this¡­. Shaking myself awake, all the open pain receptors previously suspended flares up for the last time until it slowly dissipates, with me clenching my jaw the entire time. Not having teeth to clench is pretty weird in on itself as I¡¯m pushing my folded fangs against soft tissue. Feeling heavy and clumsy, I try seeing through my Mana Vision. While previously there are only mana in shades of purple-ish lights, there are now a whole lot of other colours. Blue, brown, traces of yellow even. Might this be the elemental manas? Attempting to move them around, I quickly notice that they¡¯re significantly harder to manipulate. I can barely shift or carve some dirt, while it¡¯s nearly impossible to create more than a drop of water at a time. Ah, first levels are that easy after all, especially now that I have a larger pool of mana. The change is barely noticeable, but the earth I shifted earlier is far easier to move around now. Oh yeah, I almost forgot! [Low Biological and Mana Healing]! I feel a cooling sensation rising from my chest, spreading through my entire body. What previously aches now feels great, what¡¯s previously heavy now feels light, and I can feel like I¡¯m more body-conscious than before. HEALING MAGIC IS SOOO COOL! Aside of that, I guess either that fainting when evolving or the evolving itself tops my HP up to the brim. Can¡¯t complain about that though, as I¡¯ll be needing it for my next objective; Finding something to eat and drink. ¡­. I¡¯ve been feeling hungry since my first evolution, but it has been hidden by adrenaline and the hunger suppressant skill. The correct effect would be closer to stopping myself from feeling hungrier, which means I can still feel hungry.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. And I¡¯m scared to confront this. Why? I¡¯m a goddamn alien snake! I don¡¯t know how or what they eat? Can I eat that Megacada from earlier? Maybe? DO I WANT TO eat that Megacada from earlier? Hell no, that thing looks horrific just from mana sight alone! I can¡¯t even imagine how despicable it will actually look with optical eyes! Plus, I¡¯m not that desperate, I guess. This is only skipping lunch hungry, not 3 days of starvation hungry. I will still secure the carcass though, don¡¯t want the cave critters to rob the spoils. Also, since this is a Nation-level Boss, its body parts must be pretty expensive. I don''t want any random cave divers to steal them from me. ¡­ As this is a perfect chance to test out the item box skill from earlier, I spare no MP in getting it to pop out. [Item Box]! It looks like a miniature black hole in which I can tell the contents from the back of my head, which I can move around to take stuff from wherever I want. The further it is the more strain I¡¯m getting, and its range maxes at just around 5 body length-ish. For starters, I cut all of its legs and put it inside the black hole. The legs just barely fits the diameter of the black hole''s mouth. After further testing, it turns out that it won''t take anything bigger than that mouth. The Megacada won¡¯t fit in its entirety, so I leave it as it is. Instead, I make out a crystal cage enveloping it, designed specifically so that nothing twice the thickness of my tubular-ish body can enter. With that settled, now I can start trying to find food. Which is really hard as the only cave monster nearby is the agile Tapir-Elephant hybrid which constantly has its back against the furthermost wall looking like I had been doing Kabedon on it since the fight first started. Is it¡­scared of me? I mean, it¡¯s good and all, but I won¡¯t be able to hunt for food this way. This world is moved by mana, so might it be that? I did have an arbitrarily expansive mana pool... Actually observing my body for the first time, I can see a little mana leakage from my body. Not too much, just barely visible, and with no apparent or sensible effect to my body. Could this be those kinds of intimidating auras popular in the writings of OP MC isekai books? Like that one with the blue slime needing a mask or something to mask it? Concentrating on each of the leakage, I manually plug the ¡°holes¡± one by one with a thin layer of mana, which results in them opening another hole and leaking out in other places. Frustrated, I instead try to blanket my entire self in a thin layer of ambient mana, until there¡¯s none of them visible anymore. My body looks more like a mismatch of ambient mana than the natural feeling of my bodily mana, however I should explain that. It feels kinda wrong somehow, as if I''m wearing a thin latex suit. Can I save this contraption? Save spell [Aura Mask]! [Keep Aura Mask running indefinitely] Hey, it works! And I still have 0.3 mana per second after that one. Nevertheless, the Eletapir seems to calm down a bit as soon as I cover up with ambient mana, and I got myself a new spell. Now, should I kill that Eletapir? I mean, I¡¯m hungry, but I don¡¯t want to just slaughter everything I see, especially after this particular one got traumatized for life at however large of an aura I¡¯m emitting before. You¡¯re plenty lucky Eletapir, I¡¯ll give you that. Consider me generous. I repeat, generous, totally not because I¡¯m too afraid to actually butcher a mammal. Hold on, can¡¯t I use Mana Expertise to do the dirty work? Gaaahhh dammit, and it already ran away! AND I CAN COOK IT WITH FIRE MANIPULATION TOO! maybe¡­ *sigh* I¡¯m such an idiot. ¡­. Slithering out of the cave I¡¯m met with a pile of thick rubble blocking what seems to be the only entrance to the cave. Bullet Spear does jack shit, and my Earth Mana manipulation is far too low for this. This means I have to drop down the sinkhole, huh? I slither to the hole¡¯s mouth and opened the Megacada cage¡¯s top, before dropping down just above it. It¡¯s surprisingly squishy, which certainly only raises more questions than answers, not that anyone''s here to answer. I jump below and look for another path, while closing the cage top back. What I find is certainly not to my liking nor to my advantage. One side¡¯s completely buried in rubble, and the other path descends down, hard. Not the Seattle kind of elevation difference, I¡¯m talking about 45 degrees full on dive into the deep right here. I hate this, especially since going down means I will most likely be going further from the surface¡­ ¡­did I just say that? You¡¯re a genius Sherlock! Climb up to get higher and all that stupid obvious shit! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but I think I¡¯ll be tasting that Megacada first. I¡¯m horribly embarrassed. Mom¡¯s not gonna be proud of her boy for tasting insects like this. Not like I have much of a choice aside of sliding down the slope though. I pick somewhere I think might be tasty, or at least slightly less horrible than the others, before conjuring mana crystals shaped like floating utensils and granting myself a perfect block of squishy Megacada meat. Which can barely be called meat at all. Now, how do I eat this? Do I eat it whole? Do I gulp it down bit by bit? Flicking my tongue to taste it a bit, I find my entire human instincts clash with my snake instincts. One side claims this is horrible, embarrassing, gross, and stupidly futile. The other claims this as an astonishing galactic-level delicacy Gordon Ramsay would kill for. Go figure which claims which. *sigh* Here goes nothing¡­. ¡­. I can only barely taste it, because I gulped the entire thing down like some prostitute swallowing a sausage. But, in the little time it did hit my tongue, MAAAAAAAANNNN THAT¡¯S GOOD! It¡¯s like Gordon Ramsay himself cooked an entire Kobe Beef steak for me, that¡¯s how good this is. But snakes don¡¯t actually ¡°taste¡± food, do they? Might it be the meat¡¯s mana? Ahh well, WHO CARES? I¡¯M TAKING SECONDS! NOMNOMNOM! ¡­ ¡­ That hits the spot! I finished half of the entire thing before I got full though, so I probably will need to look for more food. Where did they even went? It¡¯s like every person reincarnated in a magical world has magical black hole stomach¡­ ¡­I really did just ate an oversized roach, did I? Gross. But also delicious. Whatever, I guess it¡¯s better for them to be delicious than gross. I would probably die of indigestion if the dungeon food tastes like what that Nai Waa~ spider girl experienced. Time to descend down the slippery slope! I guess I¡¯ll take a look at my stats while I¡¯m at it. [Open All Stats and Skills]!
Name: Randy Species: Mage Serpent (Early) Level: 13/25 (3268/3900 XP to level up)
HP: 650/650 MP: 327/7441 Fortitude: 50 Strength: 65 Luck: 90
SP: 12 Status: - Exhausted - Tail Crippled Resilience: 80 Intelligence: 200 C???????????????????????????????o??????????????????????????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????m????????????????????????????????: %
Skill Table 1 (Passive)
Parallel Whispers Lv. 1 (MAXED) Blessing of God Lv. 1 (MAXED) {+50 Luck} Impossible Grinding Start Point Lv. 4 (LOCKED) {+100 Intelligence}
Reincarnator Lv. 1 (MAXED) MP Self Regeneration Lv. 2 {0.4 MP per second} Hunger Resistance Lv. 1 {Increases Metabolism Efficiency}
Fire Resistance Lv. 1 {Slightly Fireproof Scales} Aura Mask (SPELL) {Hides presence, -0.1 MP per second}
Skill Table 2 (Active)
Mana Expertise Lv. 5 {Effect: Manipulates Mana} Mana Vision Lv. 6 {Effect: Filters mana detected} Venomous Bite Lv. 1 [10 MP] {Effect: Paralyzes Enemy}
Mana Condenser Lv. 4 [Max : 100 MP] {Effect: Creates Mana Crystal Objects} Bullet Spear Lv. 1 [75-100 MP] {Effect: Makes Bullet Spears setup.} Item Box Lv. 1 [250MP per usage] {Effect: Infinite space item storage pocket-dimension}
Elemental Trifecta Manipulation (W, F, E) Lv. 2 {Effect: Manipulated Water, Fire, and Earth} Low Biological Healing Lv. 1 [2 MP per 1 HP, 5 HP/s] {Effect: Accelerates natural healing} Low Mana Healing Lv. 1 [5 MP per 1 HP, 40 HP/s] {Effect: Heals body with mana}
Second Wind Lv. 1 {Effect: Down to 1 HP before dying} Constriction Lv. 1 [1 MP/s] {Effect: Constricts enemy} Mana Fine Control Lv.1 {Effect: Surgical Mana Precision}
Chapter 8 - Books of Old Randy
How long does this slope go for? Forever? Just previously, tension was at an all time high, with the anticipation of stepping- err...slithering into the dark overpowering half of my senses. Honestly, it¡¯s not exactly dark, but the aura is there. Was. It was scary before, but it''s way past that now. Too much of something will inevitably wear the effects down instead. It''s a horrendously long way down. Like, reaaaally long. I have been slithering for what feels like 5 hours now, and only now is the ground leveling. As grateful as I am to have mana assisted everything, no amount of mana will improve the incredible loneliness I get from this journey. Instead, I try to distract myself and decides to grind my Trifecta during the trek. [Earth Manipulation]! [Fire Manipulation]! [Water Manipulation]! As I find out after casting them, they need actual Fire, or Water, or Earth mana to manipulate. I can''t create, only manipulate. Such is whichever law of physics talking about creating or destroying atoms, or something like that. Thankfully,the ground and walls here are pretty moist. With enough water manipulation level ups, I will able to get water for myself. Pure, uncontaminated, undiluted Dihydrogen Monoxide. Nuclear powerplants must be jealous of me and my unending supply of aquadest! And since it¡¯s a 3-in-1 skill, I can just keep grinding [Earth Manipulation] and the other two will level up all the same. I wonder how that works. Through hours of grinding I am now able to write and draw on the walls, although since the walls here are made of moist mud, I don¡¯t think it takes a whole lot to begin with. I can also make a really tiny ice prick. It might just be useful, but currectly it serves no purpose. There are also a few monsters down here, one of those Tapirs and what looks like a centipede-cockroach hybrid. Fighting them is really easy endeavour with [Bullet Spear] on my sleeves. Too easy. I might actually overgrinded. That, or human ingenuity. Humanity, Fuck Yeah! ¡­. I have been walking for more hours, and finally, FINALLY, I STRUCK GOLD! Not only the path starts to ascend, there are actual structures here. STRUCTURES! MAN MADE! Firstly, there emerges a wooden railway of sorts, then a wooden cart, then a steel one, then a whole load of them, with mixed up materials here and there! Is this my luck stat in performance? If so, I¡¯m deeply grateful for it. That wicked God better be happy. If I follow the trail it should lead to civilization. Or at least to the exit of this pitiful gosh darned damp cave. The more I look, the more I realize that the carts and tracks look like they are in a really bad shape, some of them are either dried out, petrified, or heavily fungi infested. It seems like this rail system is beyond ancient, with layers of rudimentary improvements stacked upon each other, for centuries on ends. Not a good prospect, but I can still hope to see an end. I double my pace and go on with renewed strength. ¡­. After walking for several more hours, I assure you that my ¡°renewed¡± strength has now long gone. The entire event is back into a tedious lonely climb, although this time there''s alot more fun conversing with yourself side your head. Seriously, this goes on forever! There are more structures as I pass. Some kind of mess hall, storage rooms, and what seems to be a smithy, all of which are dusted to oblivion and looks like they have been left sitting there for at least a century, and looted to dirt at least a hundred times now. REALLY BORING! No cool stuff to look for, no monsters to fight, not even someone else to talk to. I have been slithering on autopilot for hours, nibbling on a Megacada leg all the way. Pong gets really tiresome after an hour or so. Do I even make the right choice? Should I be slowly digging the rubble out instead? I mean, I will be incomprehensibly mad if this passage ends up in a dead end. Way to discourage myself, idiot. I have been slithering more than a day. I''m starting to feel tired and sleepy. I probably should get some shut eye soon. Even Low Biohealing can¡¯t fix general tiredness. I spot a wooden door on the right of my path. It doesn¡¯t look natural within the environment, like someone had dug out another cave and slap a door on the entrance, as opposed to the regular mining cave structure. Finally, an interesting thing to look at. The door¡¯s surprisingly light too, like someone has been using it for decades before letting them to rot. I mean, it still started to rot, so whoever lives here left recently. Slithering inside I¡¯m greeted with a strong decaying smell, and a plethora of books. The furniture looks regular, similar to those you can find in a typical medieval house; some tables, chairs, mugs, and the likes. There¡¯s a sink for some reason, with a Toto-styled mud tap. What? That aside, the room is incredibly messy. It¡¯s like a cabin from titanic if it had sunk thrice, before being lifted out of the water and given a good dry blow with dust. Books everywhere, unwashed plates, piles of dirty cloth, and¡­ ¡­and¡­ Oh God¡­ There¡¯s an Elf corpse in here. No wonder it smells like miasma in here. It¡¯s incredibly wrinkly and it seems like its pulsating, with flies and maggots opening night clubs all over it. Death by old age, it seems. Even Elves do age, huh.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Ughh¡­ if I have my human stomach I might¡¯ve throw up. My calm-ish mind and my reactive guts is a really painful duality I have to stomach. This is pretty spooky. Never had been good with deaths, and certainly not now. But if the stereotype is correct then this world will have much more of it, at a much rapid pace. And since this is an Elf, there might be more. This must be one of those mixed-race world, might even be similar to D&D or something. I guess¡­. I can give them a proper burial later? *shudders* I will have to sleep outside. I ain¡¯t sleeping with a corpse. I still have to finish inspecting the room, and that¡¯s exactly what I did, although with much more careful not to disturb whatever souls might be around. I am superstitious, don¡¯t judge me! There¡¯s a crate full of items, all of which I have knowledge neither on their usage nor their price. A golden lamp/stand of some kind, a wicked staff, several gems of differing size and clarity, a few jewelleries, and a lot of other gizmos which shapes and materials I can¡¯t even imagine. One thing I knew from the start of my journey is that I will need to store as much items I can secure, especially with the advent of [Item Box]. So, I will. I¡¯m sorry for bothering you, oh wise Elf, but if I may, I shall take duplicate items. [Item Box]! I feel extra guilty for robbing one¡¯s grave, but come on now, they¡¯re dead! And its not like they¡¯re going to miss it or anything. And since they die alone in a dusty cabin like this, they must be one of those outcasts with no one to miss them. Still, I¡¯ll leave some so it doesn¡¯t look strange. Even professional kleptomaniacs have standards! I¡¯ll take some of your laundry and books too, if it¡¯s okay to you. I stumble upon an open book right beside the corpse. It looks like one of those Necronomicons, with decorations and everything. I lift the book away with some mana crystal and [Mana Expertise], and drop it down to the front door. Looking at the last and only bookshelf in the room, most of these writings are bullshitly hard to even guess. It¡¯s like if your typical Englishmen being shoved with Hanzi and them asked to convert them into Thai, and you¡¯re looking at the result. I better head out an- Hold up. HOLD THE FUCK UP! BULL FUCKING HORSESHIT WHAT¡¯S THIS? ¡°Dictionary of English to Lehvaslaiho - 23rd Iteration.¡± I CAN¡¯T BELIEVE IT! An entire book authored by the pen name. Is this the work of God, putting such a convenient book like this here? Or are there actual people who arrived here before me? As the book is actually dusty and degraded by wear and tear, leaning me more towards the predecessor theory. Not to mention they might not have printing press here, adds to the authenticity of this book being an actual work from someone before me. The English used seems like those letters written during the era of World War 2. Old, but just relevant enough to still work. And all of these is cursive handwriting, which is tedious to decipher unless you had trained with cursive. Mother, and school, I can¡¯t thank you all enough for actually forcing me to perfect my cursive. Never knew I would have such a major use for it. I can add and edit as I go, even when I have to learn writing with my tail. Seems like it¡¯s what the previous owner did, and the other previous owner, and the other before him. There¡¯re half a dozen different handwritings here, strewn about in a completely random istance. Still, though, A legit dictionary. How bloody convenient. After I think about it some more, it might not seem as convenient as it actually is. This means I have to actually learn the language, don¡¯t I? *sigh* Bastard God, at least give me auto translate, will you?. We literally have a systemic¡­. system, yet there¡¯s no auto translate? I¡¯ll have to keep a bit more of your books then, oh kind Elf. Sorry for being a pinprick to your domain¡­ ¡­even though you¡¯re dead. I can¡¯t stand being in this stinky room being all lovey dovey with an Elven corpse. I¡¯m heading out, period. Slamming the door behind, I dig up a little crook on the soft ground to act as my sleeping spot and curl inside against myself. Damn, if there¡¯s any merit of being a snake, its that they sleep like kings. Seriously, how comfy this is, to curl against yourself and do a little snuggle rub rub. Really comfy¡­ Comfy¡­ ¡­. ¡­. ¡­.zzzsssssSSSsssss¡­. ¡­. ¡­. SSsssssshaaa¡­¡­ I¡¯m awake! That¡¯s the best sleep I¡¯ve had like, ever! I actually feel refreshed for once. Maybe because this is near-literally my first time sleeping without any care for the world. No university shit, no work, no nothing! I¡¯m starting to like this. I shall grab some food and- WHOSE FOOTPRINTS ARE THESE?! There are footprints of two sized feet scattered around the door, going from and to the top of the inclination. They¡¯re brand new, obviously. Who are they? What do they want? Are they inside? I might know the strength of this cave slash dungeon monsters¡¯, but I don¡¯t know the strength of the people of this land. They might very well be bunker busters, every single one of them. Not to mention there are two of them, one¡¯s smaller than the other. A child, perhaps? That¡¯s even worse! Everyone knows how parents tend to be around their kids! Not to mention they might see me as a danger noodle. Well, I AM one. After a snip of contemplation, I decide to peek inside anyways. My curiosity might kill me one of these times, and I really am afraid it might. But regardless, this is still a historical moment for me My first chance of seeing actual living people. Might they be Elves like that deceased one, or might they be humans, dwarves, or halflings, or even some kind of dragonlings? ¡­maybe not dragonlings, these footprints are clearly somewhat human feet-shaped. I carefully peek inside the door, keeping my quiet as best as I can. Not even a hiss, not even a tongue flick. Just a snake moving in perplexingly slow speeds opening the door bit by bit. This must be my insane luck values at work. The door is perfectly lubricated from the old clumpy oil, leaving not a single creak as it slowly opens. *peek* ¡­. ¡­. Nothing. Whoever they are, they took the corpse away, along with the rest of their belongings. What¡¯s left are what I presume trash, even to them. I think I hit the nail when I propose the idea that they don¡¯t have printing press. All of the books are brought along with the corpse. If they weren¡¯t as valuable they might leave some, but no. Swept clean. The crate from earlier is emptied clean. I only took most of them I deem replaceable, has duplicates, and/or extra rare, but now everything is gone. They must¡¯ve taken it with them¡­ ¡­and the corpse. Yes, yes, I get it. There are very few small potteries and Chinas they left behind, which immediately goes to [Item Box]. They are from a secret compartment I found by sensing the mana geometries of the room. Whoever came down here did not know of the compartment. Which means, either the late shut-in elf never told anyone of his domain, or those which had came are not related and doesn¡¯t know. This is what happens when I get a shut eye for even just a night, trivia after trivia piles up with no answers found for any one of them. First the messages, then the sinkhole, then the corpse, and now this. I will have to be even more careful. EIf I had been sneaking on 10, I will have to go past 11. Who knows what fighting prowess they have? Not to mention they outnumber me by at least 2 to 1. I will have to raise my spell selections. Devise something more powerful. Something explosive. Something even more bombastic than the [Bullet Spear]. I had managed to create that compacted mana blast to launch the spears; I can probably scale that up. I turn to my [Mana Expertise], [Mana Condenser], and [Mana Fine Control]. There must be something I can do to make this work. I envision something along the lines of mana grenades, with on-contact explosion. I try compacting huge amounts of mana inside the blast cylinders I previously devised for Bullet Spear to work. A lot. A whole huge lot. More. MORE! MORE! MORE! I ended up compacting 500 MP worth of mana before my control eventually fades and it diffuses out slowly like a pricked bike tire. Psshhhh¡­. THAT¡¯S IT! A simple overpressure mechanism, with loads of spikes surrounding the outer shell to work as shrapnel. I can just lob them with my controls on, before releasing them to let them explode. All thanks to [Mana Fine Control] for providing me with snap disconnection within my controlled objects.. A test prototype was made, all while I slither up towards the entrance light, which darkness had started to dispel by the warmup of the sun. 100 MP should be enough for now. I dub thee, sir [Scatterbomb]. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, as they say. Even when I end up not using this, I still take pride in my works. Now, as I¡¯m nearing the exit, how should I approach this? After all, with the threat of the unknown present, I¡¯m not na?ve enough to just run out there and bask my scales in the warm yellow sun my cold-blooded self has been longing for¡­. ¡­.not really, no, but I figure that¡¯s what snakes like. Instead of planning right away, I opt to take a look first. As a last measure, I can even play the role of a typical powerless cave snake. Killing will always be a last resort, and that''s final. I''m better than a crazed gunman assassinating everything he meets. And besides, as I have never kill anyone before, I''m not keen on trying it out unless its absolutely necessary. Even when fighting with bullies desensitize me to hurting people, I won¡¯t have the guts to actually kill someone. At least, not yet. Chapter 9 - Runaways ???
¡°Where we going Big Brother?¡° ¡°Who cares, just run!¡± Big Brother might be wise, but he does not know better of geography. This is the Uncharted Forest. I take peek at the papers mom has sometimes. It says here is dangerous. ¡°A cave! Rai, in here!¡± Big Brother leads me into cave. Cave is dry and warm, but we are still wet. Cave is not known to anyone. Not a new dungeon, it seems. A dead one, perhaps. Already have cart rails too. [Low Detection]! No monsters detected, we are safe. Cave still look dark and scary,but better than dangerous outside. ¡°Are you okay? You are not hurt are you?¡± Big Brother really cares for me. But I am fine. I just shake my head to disagree. ¡°We will need to check the mines. There must still be at least a few rags we can use.¡± Mine looks old. Any rags here will be dusty. But dryness comes first. I silently follow Big Brother as we go down the mine. .... As we walk deeper into the mine, I recall the reason we run away. Parents take us to big city, for education, also for trade. Elven tribe make good syrup and forest harvest, people like what we sell. On the road, bad people came to take our stuff away. They shoot arrows and shoo horses away. Mom and dad defend but got caught. Big Brother pull me to run, so I did. I hope mom and dad is okay. They have blood pouring out as they fight. I hate blood. It means pain and hurt. I hope bandits do not end them. A few bandits chase us. Big Brother turn by a tree and dropped to the ground. While the bandits are confused, he jumps on one with a sharp stick, inserting it to his chest. Big Brother then take his blade, shooing the other Bandits. Big Brother end one Bandit. But ending...killing? is necessary. He protects me. Ending people must hurt. Much blood, much pain. ¡°The mine is inconceivably dark, I will have to use my light. [Light Source!]¡± ¡°Big Brother, what is that word? In conch fable?¡± ¡°Inconceivable. Think of it like this; If I say ¡®really dark¡¯, then it means darker than normal dark. If I say ¡®inconceivably dark¡¯, then it is even darker than ¡®really dark¡¯. It is similar to an exaggeration.¡± ¡°Big Brother, what is this ¡®exact gration¡¯?¡± ¡°Uhh, it is when you say ¡®really dark¡¯ when it is only normal ¡®dark¡¯. In basic, it means you define something as too much more than what it really is. For example, if you say ''the fire will burn a whole forest'' when the fire is just a bit bigger than normal.¡± ¡°Oooohhh¡­ Thank you Big Brother!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Big Brother is really smart. He know lots of adult words! ¡°This cave is inconceivably dark!¡± ¡°Yes, Raseiniai, it is. Don¡¯t use the word too often or it will lose its meaning.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± Big Brother ruffles my hair. I like it when he do that. We walk quite long times. The rough dirt makes my feet sore. ¡°In here, Rai. A door!¡± Big Brother opens door carefully and walks in. Do he not think there can be someone inside? That¡¯s bad manners! I will have to remind- ¡°Rai, cover your eyes!¡± What? Big Brother what happen- Oh. ¡°A person?¡± ¡°I TOLD YOU TO COVER YOUR EYES RAI GET BACK!¡± What is he angry about? Big Brother can be without reason somethimes, but because Big Brother do not like when I don''t do his words, so I turn my back. Big Brother carry someone outside. I look at items here else of looking. A lot of books. They have big price. Books are hard to make. Someone making must write hours for few papers. Person also need to join paper together. Hard work for much money. Seems fair. Big Brother tells me to get dry over the pile of rag. He move books away from bed. [Spatial Bank]! Big Brother is really great mage. Only on 25 years old and he can use [Spatial Bank], [Light Source], and [Low Biological Healing]. Elven mages supposed to have 25 years more to live before able to use more than one skill. I am even more young, only 8 years old. I can use [Low Detection]. I am even better, my age on his age to my skill to his skills. Remembering that, I forgot. [Low Detection]! ¡­hm? ¡°Big Brother, I detect life near.¡± ¡°WHAT? WHY ONLY NOW RAI?¡± ¡°Sshh Big Brother they will hear you.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Where is the detection from?¡± ¡°Very near, left of the door.¡± ¡°Got it, I will be right back.¡± Big Brother leave the room in hurry. He just do things when he thinks of it. It can get him the scold, or worse, the ending. Bandit might be outside. But Big Brother enter room again. He says not problem. Only sleeping cave serpentUnauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°If we kill the snake now the Bandits might just notice we were here.¡± He is right. Aside of tracks they will know. Big Brother make one strategy. We will walk out again, and then walk even more deep in. We walk on cart rails, so footprint not visible. Bandit will see footprint and think we run out. Clever. Smart. As how Dad and Big Brother also is. Big Brother take all items from the room. It is not polite. Maybe owner is ended? Dead? There is dust so there might not be anymore owner than the one person. May you be given a peaceful next life, dead person. We walk out again, carefully to not make sound. Bandit still around. Then we walk in again. This time on rail wood and rail iron. We pass snake. Huh, snake is awake. We pass room, and go even deeper. I hope Bandits get confused by bait and leave. They say bad painful things are given to you when you are taken by Bandits. They will chain you and sell you to bad people, while hitting and throwing you around. I don''t want that.
Randy
The closer I slither onto the light source, the more disappointing it actually seems. Light isn¡¯t nearly as interesting when you have reptilian eyes instead of humanlike optics. I pass a couple of little elven kids. How cute, especially the little one. They don¡¯t seem dangerous, so I let them be. The older one seems pretty smart; he keeps staring at me the entire way and is on edge everytime he''s near me. They don¡¯t seem to carry much, they must not be the house robbers. That taller boy really gives me the creeps though. He looks at me like I¡¯m about to pounce on him or something. The snake inside me screamed like hell, "ATTACK!! ATTACK NOWW!!! DANGEROUSS!!!" With control from the human me, I¡¯m able to remain calm. Flick a tongue at them, and move on. A bad first impression won¡¯t do. I want to present myself as an innocent snake, or at least as of now. Who knows, I might need or meet them again. I just want to relax and snuggle against myself every hour long. After all, with a "vacation" like this, one¡¯s bound to want to enjoy it. [Mana Vision] and [Trifecta] both detect something. A lot of people are outside the cave entrance. They seem like in the middle of foraging. No. After closer inspection, it seems like they¡¯re searching for something. Or someone? Are they looking for the two kids I passed by? There¡¯s no way, right? Remembering back of their appearances, they do seem a bit tattered and dusty. I also sensed mana movement from both of them. Might that be how mages track and detect each other? Well, I guess some senses are innate and a must when you can detect and manipulate Mana. Now, about the people outside. Two people are guarding the cave, they seem to peer inside but not enter in. Differing from everyone else, I sense someone with actual mana movement in them. They look like a large muscular person. If I can gather that only from their mana outline, I wonder how jacked up that person really is. One thing¡¯s for sure; he¡¯s the pack leader. It would be really funny if he¡¯s not, though. ¡­. Let me try this. *tongue flick* *flickflickflick* The air smells¡­.dusty. Yeahh, mana senses are much more potent than most of my snake senses. ¡­. I¡¯m on the cavemouth. Now what do I do? It¡¯s dusk by now. They are setting camps to last the night. The guards from before are gone, I will presume they¡¯re helping with the tents. I¡¯m going to slip out and see their operations. These men¡­ They look like the raiders in those post-apocalyptic games, with coarse equipment consisting of whatever mismatch of whatevers they could find. A few campfires are lit, with tents surrounding them. The muscle man from earlier is inside a larger tent, with his personal campfire and guards even. Yeah¡­ No matter how and from whichever angle you look at it, these guys are your typical clich¨¦ raider bandits. Just great, first time out and it¡¯s almost night, surrounded by bandits I assume are setting up camps to inflict attrition on those two kids. Two people are walking on my direction. They must be the guards from earlier. They seem to be conversing. I will need to hear how and what language they are talking with. ¡°Ngo aslah vanoto pratpo naa¡­¡± ¡°Ya ma, nada vanotopo lea rento megada hardina.¡± ¡°Daka ni talo, tokanalo nah giduta vanotore rentore.¡± ¡°Yaah, noto ni kartida revento maledoko rewinda zaski ma.¡± Uhh¡­. Dammit! I guessed right! There¡¯s no auto translate! Argh, you fucking piss of a God, how could youu!! Yeah, system. What¡¯re you gonna do about it? Yesss¡­ YEESSS!!!! THIS IS IT! THE AUTO TRANSLATE!! [Yes, confirm translation] Now, to eavesdrop on those two once more. ¡°¡­.ver about us, it¡¯s always about them.¡± ¡°Obviously, women are always like that. But actual love sex just feels different. Love sex actually feels, you know, more satisfying.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just you man, people like you are rare. Usually¡­.¡± Whoa, okay, alright. The unimportant conversation aside, it feels really weird how I can sort of ¡®hear¡¯ them speak, like a dub over their original lip movements. At the same time, my 3-dimensional audio geometry is being messed up badly from the translations. Due to my anatomy, perhaps? I can think of it later, but for now; maybe those in the camps have better intel. I sneak past their boots and into the treelines. With my small body, no one can notice me creeping by the woods like a stalker. I slither a bit closer to one of the bonfires, in particular, the big boss¡¯ private fire. As I have guessed, I can hear a lot of talks from inside. And I come at a fortunate time, too. ¡°SILENCE! You idiot lots can squabble outside my tent! Now listen here you maggots!¡± Oooh, just like a drill sergeant, this guy is. ¡°We camp here for the night, and then enter by day. That cave was formerly a dungeon, some 50 years ago. Dungeons during the night has increased chance of monsters to appear, and they are tougher than regular. We can let those kids tire themselves out, and only then we grab them, preferably by dawn.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the kids die?¡± ¡°You see how those pricks evade and defend! They even killed Marash! If we weren¡¯t paid to retrieve them, I would have personally chip their skin little by little!¡± ¡°But boss, even if they die, won''t we still get paid?¡± ¡°Less than half, but yes. Those revolutionary leafheads still have uses for their bodies even if they¡¯re dead. Sick bastards, but I¡¯m not one to stick my nose in politics. Especially elven ones.¡± ¡°What about food, sir, we have been running on fumes since two days ago.¡± ¡°Scavenge for some, our pay can feed us for at least a week, or a month if we capture them alive. It will be our last deal on those nasty politics anyways, so we have to hang in there, UNDERSTAND?!¡± ¡°YES BOSS WE UNDERSTAND!¡± ¡°Make do for tonight, for we shall hold feast after it¡¯s all over. And for once, the feast¡¯s on me! CAN YOU SURVIVE THAT LONG, MAGGOTS?!¡± ¡°YES BOSS WE CAN!¡± ¡°Good, now get out! I need some sleep!¡± This boss guy doesn¡¯t seem like a half-bad leader. His underlings run out of his tent filled with motivation and rallies the other men to hunt for food. There seem to be some kind of disciplinary thing going on, like actual soldiers when they prepare to march. Less of that, more on the other things he said. The kid killed someone? No wonder he kept looking at me back in the mine. He had killed larger fish before, and he¡¯s weighing my size in that fish analogy. Seems like I¡¯m right on the bill, these guys really are hunting for the kids. Now, I don¡¯t know about whatever they are even talking about, or the reasons behind it. But the boy seems really adamant on protecting the tiny little girl. He must¡¯ve killed for the same reasons. He did have this weird gleam of determination on his eyes. A careful stare to gauge on his enemy. He is no ordinary boy, and neither this entire scenario is. Not that it''s original or something by any means, no. It¡¯s pretty cliched, as far as these kinds of setting goes. I''ve seen a lot of these in novels and mangas. And usually, the kids are on the right. I will bet on it. I¡¯m still not keen on entertaining the idea of killing people. I will set up defences on the cave instead. And besides, won''t it be problematic if word got out that a mage snake just emerged from a dead dungeon mine. I''ll be the bane of everyone even before I actually do anything. The problem with being an enemy of the whole area is not about power, it¡¯s about how they have the numbers against me. They can whittle me down, and my MP isn¡¯t infinite either. That¡¯s why I plan on trapping this entire Bandit Legion inside the cave instead. Looking by their setup, it doesn''t seem like they''re planning to have much stay outside of the cave anyways. But first, I want to test the Fire Manipulation from [Trifecta]. I have this Big Boss Bonfire for myself, after all. Fire seems to be akin to a dancing mana, generated by a ¡®core¡¯ in the fire, and it dissipates into regular mana as it emits away from it. Grabbing a bit of that dancing mana, it dissipates into regular mana really quickly after I grab them. I try it two more times before confirming I cannot grab the floating fire mana just like that. Instead, I now try to grab a piece of that fire core. It''s actually as easy as grabbing on regular mana. And it works too, the fire stays lit even as I flail it around. I theorize that fire mana behaves more like the phlogiston theory of medieval ages instead of the chemical reactions we have in these modern days. My former modern days... I lob the fire core onto the Boss¡¯ tent and scuttle away back onto the cavemouth, and into the cave. I doubt he will die just like that from some fire, but it will keep him distracted for the night. Him being a bit sleepier might very well be the key deciding factor within our eventual battle. Now, it is time for me to bolster defences and set up traps. Chapter 10 - Dive Deep, Dig Deep Raseiniai
¡°Big Brother, what should we do if the tunnel stops?¡± ¡°You mean a dead end? Well, we have to at least make a dug in. They are hunting for us after all, I imagine they would want us alive.¡± It is simply sad that for us to survive, we must end other people''s lives. But we, as the survivors, cannot choose what we want to do. How did the saying goes, again? ¡°Big Brother, what is the old saying of that something bigger and closer?¡± ¡°Beggars cannot be choosers?¡± That one. Big Brother is amazing. He knows a lot, and he is very smart. He is also good at....what was it, ¡®Martial Arts¡¯? .... We had been walking for a really long time. The deeper we walk in, the dustier the air is, and the less mine carts are there. We are getting deeper, into the depths where only some people have ever been. But we are far enough from the room before. It should be okay to step on the ground now. *step* Big Brother sees me jumping down, but he didn''t judge. It really is far enough after all. Walking on dusty wood hurt my feet. I quickly regret walking on dirt, as it is even more painful. ¡°Big Brother, I cannot walk anymore.¡± ¡°You got blisters already? Sit down here, I will heal you.¡± Big Brother motions me to sit on an upside-down cart. Very dusty, but that does not matter now. What matters now is my hurting feet. [Low Biological Healing]! Big Brother uses his healing spell on me. Healing spell users are uncommon, but most who can can also use it on other people. My feet are covered in fuzzy cool light, they erase pain from my feet. Big Brother learned the healing spell from our town¡¯s healer. Big Brother regularly sneaks out of mansion at night time, learning magic and spells from other people. He does not like boring things like dipli- diplomacy? ¡°There, done. You should be able to walk again soon. We can rest here for the minute.¡± Big Brother knows when to stop and rest, and when to keep walking. As I am already really tired from hours of walking, it is good that Big Brother calls for a rest. And so, we rest. "Hmm, we might be far enough to finally use this as lighting." [Light Source]! The spell [Light Source] is too bright to use early on, as the people chasing might see us. Before, Big Brother slits his fingers with his sword at some intervals and uses the weak light from [Low Biological Healing] to light out path, just enough for us to see, not enough to be quickly visible from far away. Using the bright light, Big Brother take out a book and read it to me, teaching me language, reading, and other stuff. Big Brother is really kind to do that for me, even in this dire time. After some time, we start walking again down the cave. We meet a difficult cave monster on the way down. We wanted to run past, but since we are really hungry, Big Brother and I agree on a plan to take it down instead, for food. The plan is for me to distract the monster while Big Brother bring it down. I will run to the left while Big Brother close in from the right. These kinds of fights are always scary, but I trust Big Brother to protect me. I run deeper into the cave while Big Brother let us pass. The monster can run faster than me, but not Big Brother. While i run, Big Brother starts to catch up and starts slicing on the monster''s feet. The monster did not slow down as expected. I almost get hit, but I dodge and run back to Big Brother¡¯s position. Now I am between the monster and Big Brother. While I run pass Big Brother, he runs onto the monster and spears it with his sword. He stabs the monster directly on the trunk, into the face, and into the facial bones. With that one stab, the monster is dead. Blood dripping from the sword, onto the ground. ¡°This is something I have never seen before. Similar to a Trunka, but way bigger. Trunka Maxima, perhaps?¡± ¡°Big Brother, why are bigger Trunkas a problem? Don''t we get more food from bigger monsters?¡± ¡°It is not a problem, but it is just strange. You know, it is realy rare to see one in such large size. Except if my hypothesis is correct; which is we¡¯re nearing a high-level dungeon, or what is left of it.¡± ¡°But can we eat this?¡± ¡°We should be able to. Their meat is traditionally eaten raw. We should butcher the entire thing and move along.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Ooooohh.¡± Again, we stop and rest. Since the monster is big, we need to cut them into smaller slices to eat and store. We eat quite a lot of it. What is left is stored in Big Brother''s [Spatial Bank]. It tastes sweet, but chewy and weird. I guess I just don¡¯t like raw meat. From what Big Brother told me, Dungeons are a really scary, but useful place. Dungeons will have lots of strong monsters, but is also where mana crystals are from. I will guess that that¡¯s why most dead Dungeons are remade as mines, everyone wants the crystals. After quite some time walking, the rail tracks finally sunk into damp dirt. The cave becomes a dirt cave, with occasional mine carts left around. We start to see drawings on the walls, floor, and raised dirt mounds. The deeper we go, the more drawings we see. Big Brother seems really fascinated with all these drawings. ¡°What in the name of the guardians are these?!¡± ¡°They are just carvings, Big Brother. Very old ones perhaps?¡± ¡°No, see here, they are orderly. This must be some sort of unknown language. See how the text has no dust on them? They are practically brand new. There are people down there making these.¡± ¡°Big Brother is really smart to notice so much details in just a few moments. Should we still walk down, though? I mean, who knows, the cave people inside might be kinder to us than those outside?¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks. At this point we can only hope you are right, Rai.¡± ¡°No problem, Big Brother.¡±
Randy
I scuttle back into the mine tunnel, a few hours¡¯ worth of slithering won¡¯t shorten themselves. Now how should I approach this, exactly? With my current mana level, I can either make some dug outs, or an entire crystal castle. I can pepper the entire walls with preset [Bullet Spear] and [Scatterbomb], or I can dig the entirety of my way from here to the doors full of those Vietnamese spike traps. ¡­look at me here, planning to purge an entire group of people out of existence. What happened to my doubts of killing from before? I can¡¯t help it though, it¡¯s self defense. Mostly. Argh, I''m starting to descent into a goddamn Hypocrite, aren''t I.... Thinking for hours on end as I slither down towards the original location where I plan to set up the defences in the first place, I must be subconsciously writing on the walls with Earth Manipulation, because the Trifecta skill levelled up. I wonder why they are paired in a Trifecta, instead of being one-per-element. Not that I''m compleining though, since it makes grinding a whole lot easier, especially fire. Without fire mana and phlogiston, as I''m going to call it from now onwards, fire won¡¯t be worth shit. Or might it be because they¡¯re all connected to phlogiston theory somehow? Like, earth is the phlogiston fuel of sorts, fire is the usage of phlogiston, and water is the anti-phlogiston. That makes a whole lot of sense actually. Trifecta is not directly mastering the elements, but controlling phlogiston instead. And since phlogiston is linked with three other elements, I can hit three birds with one skill. Cool! Now, back to defence planning. I¡¯m thinking of making some sort of crystal pikes I can launch at them, some [Scatterbomb] spots on the ground around, and another lot of [Bullet Spear] all around it. I still want to try building that Vietnamese spikes thing though, and shall I did. I dig out the ground with a crystal shovel, around 3 meters by 3 meters wide, with a thin pillar constructed from [Earth Manipulation] in the middle. I then craft a lot of crystal spears, sharp enough to pierce their skin easily, and thin enough to let impalement happen easily. Thinness is achievable from the crystal¡¯s natural tensile strength. After I¡¯m satisfied with the number of spears stuck in there, I grab some dirt and begin to slowly close the entire thing with a thin layer of earth. The trick is to use Earth Manipulation to achieve a natural-looking ground. I created the contraption once more before I realize that building them is just cumbersome at best and needlessly brutal at worst. I decide to abandon the idea of making more and reabsorbing the crystals used for the spikes back into my mana pool, before I slither further down to the late Elf room. Making a stick stack defence is really easy. Just make a shit ton of thin mana spears and arrange it like pikes sticking out. The room¡¯s door sticks out, tightening the opening from one side of the cave to the other, making it a perfect choke point. I set up a lot of hidden [Scatterbombs] and a whole lot of [Bullet Spear] just behind the stick wall, and several of them disguised as wall pikes. They will all regret crossing paths with me here. Now, the waiting game. There might be hours before they actually arrive here. I might just curl up and snuggle for a bit. Aaaaahhhhh¡­.. What comfort¡­.. ¡­.mmmm¡­¡­ ¡­..zzzz¡­¡­ ¡­. ¡­. H-Huh?! Oh fuck I fell asleep! How long have I been out for? And the wall- damn... DAMMIT! They went through just like that! They strip the wall out from the far door side, took some crystal sticks with them, and dismantled the rest until they¡¯re all now just piles of crystal sticks. Those bastards! How insolent! How disgraceful! How¡­. Yeah, it¡¯s all my fault for dozing off... .... Oh, FUCK! THE KIDS! I hurriedly slither down the mine, in hopes of catching up to them. But I¡¯m not fast enough! With my current rate I can barely slither faster than someone walking in a leisure pace. A pace that I oh so desperately need to overtake. Grrhhh fuckdammit! I swear, If you fucks mess with the kids I¡¯ll fucking send all of you shits to kingdom come, just you stupid raider-for-hires wait! Slithering down in an unbearably slow pace, start to I prepare for ambushes and fights, in case the worst comes to worst. 10 [Bullet Spear]s conjured, with tens more to come. I do not believe in violence against underage kids, not before, not today, and not ever. Besides, those cruel bastards are going to use the kids for politics. Stupid upper-class bigwigs and their stupid armchair games. I always hate the bourgeois for obvious reasons, and this shit proves that they can¡¯t be trusted. Why the fuck would you use kids as pawns. Messed up idiot fucks. I mean, I get that this is another world, and a medieval one at that. But still, how backwards are you guys going to be to involve kids¡¯ livelihoods in political matters. I will protect those kids even if it¡¯s the last thing I¡¯ll do. The bootprints from those raider bandits stops in a jumble of messed up bootprints from and to all over, for quite the while, indicating they took a rest before diving in deeper. I might still have a chance. I might still catch up with them. I have slithered for so long that I am now within the area where I had been writing shit with my [Earth Manipulation]. The kids must¡¯ve noticed this by now. I wonder how they will react. Might there be a latin-like writing system? Might there be English-like language from this world? Gahh, that¡¯s assuming they¡¯re alive in the first place! What matters now is that I have to catch up on them. HEY! I remembered one of those video games where the snake would bite his own tail and make a makeshift hoop or something That¡¯s kinda smart actually. I wonder if I can do it too. I try making a simple hoop and biting my tail. The resulting roll being a pathetic little tumble down before I went down crashing. Maybe it¡¯s too thin? I try making a double loop, as tire-like as I can possibly make, before securing a bite on my tail. Trying again, I build up some momentum and roll down the slope like a tire doing literally the same thing. It works really great, only for the first minute or so. I have to repeat the same process two more times, due to unfortunate crashes, before I finally get a decent roll down the slope. Really feels like that Cheese Rolling tradition of...where was it, UK? The more you roll down and the more speed you gain, the more the bumps on the slope will affect you. It didn¡¯t hurt per se, but the accumulated little scratches will eventually pile to make quite the nasty itchy bruise. [Low Biological Healing]! The bioheal do work, but the pain still persists. But this is not the time for that. My only hope is that the kids are fine. They better be. Chapter 11 - A Desert as Dessert Katerin
After walking for hours on end with Raseiniai, it is an obvious that we will eventually need to rest. I pick a spot where one of the last overturned mine cart resides, with somewhat clean clearing near it. The spot has a newly-carved painting on the wall just behind it, resembling a snake. Too clean, as if someone had cleaned it to sculpt or carve the painting. Undisputable signs of previous activity. I really do wonder if this cave has indigenous people living inside or something similar. There is this weird carving of a....snake? And there''s some runes below it. According to what little amount of scribbles I can skim out from the books we take earlier, this one part means this, and this one means that, so the translation must be¡­. ¡°No stepping onto snakes¡±? The writing is a tad bit different, but it seems close enough. The tribes down below must have been worshipping snakes then, or something similar. Might they have a Servintus Odantus as their leader? It is a possibility. Intelligent dungeon creatures are really rare, but they do exist, and are considered people. At least, in our small city. They say most human cities are not as welcoming to other species, especially those closer to the heart of the continent. Racist bunch... At the very least we are safe in the forest areas. Not only that, Elves are stronger there due to the abundance of natural unstained mana, while humans are less compatible with forest and jungle areas, something about the miasma being natural human deterrent. Not like it deters most adventurers nor merchants though, as natural miasmas are quite easy to overcome. Yes, even the stained miasma of human cities are overcomeable by Elves, if they are determined enough to get used to it. ¡°Are you hurt, Rai?¡± ¡°No Big Brother, I am still okay.¡± ¡°Then go to sleep, we need the energy.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± And just like that, Raseiniai is asleep. She really is a heavy sleeper, although she can last really long without it too. I will keep her pure soul stay pure, not until at least several more tens of years. Should I sleep? I mean, the footsteps we left them are just subtle enough that they will think we really did get out again. Besides, I¡¯m not that sleepy. Not sleepy, but my eyes are fighting tooth and nails for its breaktime. I will just, distract myself. Maybe, I will have a look on this runes and paintings, they really are curiously intriguing, like something from a long-lost past, yet still being carried on towards the future. Now, let us see here¡­*yawn* ¡­ ¡­ *slump* ....zzzzzz.....
Dardan
Ugh, it HAS to be US! Boss¡¯ camp got burned last night, to an entire crisp, WHILE HE¡¯S INSIDE! The guts of some people¡­ And it¡¯s US whose blame fell to? RIDICULOUS! If the pay wasn¡¯t THAT good, I would have deserted since long ago. And now, with everyone¡¯s morale being lowered by that idiot Boss¡¯ incessant rambling of his tent and whatever shit got burned with his bags of loot, they still expect us to march into a dark ass cave with barely any lighting? RIDICULOUS! ABSOLUTELY IRREDEEMABLE! And beyond the cave mouth, why must it be a lot of fucking damp dirt? Dirties my shoes! I can imagine those two kids getting their feet dirty too, look at those footprints. Wait, footprints? Now we really have something going on. The faster I can find those kids the better. I just want to sever my ass with that idiot bandit boss.Stolen novel; please report. I¡¯m so not cut out for this kind of job¡­ My standards are not so low as to kill kids, dammit! ¡­ Their footsteps lead inside for quite some time. They really outdid themselves with their walking. Now what in the triple hells we have here? CONDENSED MANA CRYSTALS?! A WHOLE WALL OF THEM?! HOLY SHIT I¡¯M RICH! WE¡¯RE RICH! RICH AS FUCK! The crystals are polished to the point that they look like simple javelins, and some are actually stabbed hanging on the walls. I think we can break some of these, pocket it, and only then report to the boss. Escaping isn¡¯t an option as they had moved in several minutes behind us. After all, what is a few sticks worth of Condensed Mana Crystal when there¡¯s a boatload more of these? Everyone else can live like kings even when Boss takes 50% of these. As a matter of fact, though, I think we should just keep to ourselves and send Boss most of it. A market crash will not be good for us, while Boss, as much of an idiot he is, still understands basic economics. Not being greedy has its merits, after all. Distributing some of the sticks to the others while dismantling the entire thing, I realize that the emplacement seems overly deliberate. Like as if they really made the crystals themselves, this is what a rudimentary fortification would look like¡­ ¡­does that mean the kids can conjure Condensed Mana Crystals themselves?! Holy shit, no wonder they are looking for them. And when they¡¯re caught, either the boss gives them back or take them for himself, the former being implausible if we really did tell of this information. We should just not, if we can¡¯t have the kid for ourselves, he should not too. Actually, just to be save, I¡¯ll take a look a bit further in, just in case they¡¯re laying an ambush. I will also need a little bit of time to rest, away from the hot mess which is that idiot bossy Boss. ¡­. Huaahh¡­ nothing¡¯s like a little rest away from the commands of that jacked up shithead. And about the scouting? Nothing, an entire 100 royal cubit and no one¡¯s around. Judging by the footprints, they should be back out, as there are two double-pairs of footprints. Weelll...I kinda wanted to bail since long ago, though. And its not like they will check anyways. ¡°Rodik!¡± ¡°Yes, scout master?¡± ¡°Report back to the boss, we have interesting findings. Tell him we found the kid''s tracks, condensed mana crystals, and where they went before." ¡°Yes, scout master. Then I shall.¡± Yes, good, walk away, you damn bootlicker. While you¡¯re away I shall pocket as much crystals as we can. I mean, regular mana crystals ain¡¯t worth jack, they can even grow overground if the mana is dense enough. But condensed ones? They only grow underground, on specific hotspots, like near a dungeon core pedestal or really small pockets of underground mana-infused lakes. Granted they¡¯re not as uncommon as one might think, but they¡¯re just that hard to acquire, even when we eventually spot some of them. Directly fighting a dungeon core is as hard as it sounds, but when is found inactive local markets will crash like a lamp knocked by the roof of a tavern. And with low supply and high uses their prices jumps as high as a dragon launch. Alchemists everywhere on the continent uses these crystals for, well, alchemy. Not to mention how these crystals can power mages up through reverse mana-induction. Short version, we¡¯re rich. Ah, there¡¯s the return envoy. I shall slip away later, once we¡¯re back here and get all distracted by the crystals. I¡¯m not risking my life and conscience taking away two poor kids for political usage, or worse, boss¡¯ personal money maker and possibly anything else he wants them to be. But a hustle¡¯s still a hustle. ¡­. Of course, IT HAS TO BE ME! MEE!! What¡¯s the deal with that bastard, bossing me around like I¡¯m not going to backstab him or something. What a power tripped piece of shit! This room is empty, no two sides on it. There¡¯s an empty hidden compartment, but that¡¯s it. It¡¯s an abandoned room, it¡¯s dusty as hell for a reason! He¡¯s really THAT dense! Lords forgive, what an asshole. Never listens to people of their field. If you¡¯re going to pay me for scouting you better LISTEN! Actually, you know what, great, I''m bailing out. ¡°If you really still want to deny then search towards the deep, maybe they really are that clever, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Yes, maybe they really are. Now, SCOUTS!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± ¡°Aye sir!¡± ¡°Search the immediate outer vicinity, we¡¯ll be back in several days.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Hohohoho¡­ Yeess¡­ YEESS!!! HE IS THAT DAFT! Thought I will just go on and do what you say, huh? Even when you''re right to send me out, you forgot about one thing; not all of us are loyal. Obviously, I¡¯ll just run away with the loot, no use licking a dirty scumbag¡¯s boot. Besides, with all the crystals¡¯ worth inside my bag I can retire into a peaceful life! Buy a plot of land and a village, be the new baron, rule the land. And with my money I can actually retire! SPLENDID! ¡­. ¡°WHO ARE YOU GUYS TO BLOCK MY WAY OUT?!¡± ¡°Orders, sir, we are to not let anyone out, not even you.¡± ¡°Bullshit, the boss himself ordered us scouts to scout!¡± ¡°Orders are orders, sir. Or we¡¯re forced to maim.¡± Dammit, now I¡¯M the one to fall into his trap. ¡°Listen here now you little shits, I got something that the boss had took all for himself. Know what this is?¡± I grab a regular mana crystal and show it to them. Its blueish pink hue gives no one a surprise. ¡°Yes, a mana crystal. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to attempt on a pathetic one.¡± ¡°Obviously, no. It will not be a pathetic one, at least. Now, compare it to this one.¡± I take out a little piece of the condensed crystal. The darker blue hue can be easy to miss in this damp cave with little lighting, but once one touches it, none can deny the difference. ¡°This is¡­.¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Yes, way. Now, I¡¯ll give you each an entire fistful, but only if you agree to desert with us. You have families to feed, don¡¯t you guys? With the money acquired from it you can go and run, away from this hot mess of a place. Buy some land, build a house, grow a farm, anything.¡± ¡°Well¡­ uhh¡­ but we, uhh¡­ but¡­¡± "If we run now, we can outrun him you knooow...?" Heh, easy. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m wrong though, only the most desperate or unlucky gets roped in on that idiot¡¯s businesses. ¡°Grrhh, fine. The sooner we leave, the more distance we can put behind him. However, you better lead us two to the edge of the forest. I¡¯m getting the spooks here.¡± ¡°Same here.¡± ¡°Fine, whatever, just make sure to keep up.¡± No guaranteeing if they¡¯re going to backstab me once they¡¯re out of the forest. They agreed with my scheme to run away, after all, and once one does it once, they will surely do it again. Heh, how hypocritical of me. Can''t blame me though, backstabs and betrayals are too convenient, and addictive. I get loyalty and its fundamentals, but with people like Boss, there will be no loyalty if he doesn''t have quite a lot of family members hostage. And thank goodness I have none on mine. Anyways, I¡¯ll make sure to leave these two in the dust in the middle of the forest. Chapter 12 - Dead Heat Randy
Oh no... OH NOO!!! I mean, it was a trance! I don''t know! I-I forgot the two of them make their own footsteps too, dammit! Oh my fucking God no! I came down all hurried up like this for naught. The raiders aren¡¯t here, the kids are sleeping, and now I look like a total idiot of a snake, stiff as a branch, staring at two little kids like a pedophile of sorts. Now what do I do? Should I maybe clean some of my scribbles? They might¡¯ve seen them already, it would make no sense to erase them unless I want to agitate them further. Really, I don¡¯t know what to do now. I¡¯m stuck. Nothing. Nada. My brain is fried of the multitudes of emotions and mental slappings I receive from myself. I guess, uhh, I can put some distance away and watch out if the raiders will actually come? Well, I can do that. Sleep tight, kids. I get off my lazy scales and begin to climb back up some distance away. Playing pong for a little bit, I quickly get bored of it and decides to switch back to scribbling on the soft, damp, walls. My finest work of art might be that ¡°No Step On Snek¡° thing I drew behind an overturned minecart. In case someone of my era, or someone from the future with lost historical knowledge, gets the reference. Being beyond bored and all, I switch to tinkering with my [Mana Expertise] instead. My whole body has mana circulating it, and I have gotten used to the aura supressant coating my entire body. Maybe circulating them faster will result in a faster healing? Come to think of it, I can¡¯t speak worth shit. Maybe except if you count the silent hisses I make every once in a while. From my earlier ventures, I noticed that mana vibrates just like regular air when in contact with sound waves. I will need a test subject to test my theory out. The theory being that I can directly use [Mana Fine Tune], or whatever that is, to speak telephaticly by directly vibrating the mana in their ears to what tune I want them to hear. At least, it will feel like telepathy from the recepient¡¯s Point of View. Point of Listening? Besides that point, I will need to find more dictionaries, for more language translations. I might need to travel the world in hopes of finding the other Mage Serpents, if they¡¯re still alive / exist. I will probably need to- Hm? Finally, after literal hours of slithering, I sense a bit of vibration from the ground. Pretty cool feature of the snake body DLC right here. I can even pinpoint that they¡¯re getting closer bit by bit. Must be the raiders. I must start my defense endeavor. I make a load of suspended [Bulled Spear]s and a few more I control directly, with a little bit more ¡°gunpowder¡± in the breeches, and arrange them up to point upwards, towards where the invaders will come from. I also lay a few [Scatterbombs] here and there to deter the lucky ones. I will need to kill that Boss guy first if I want to win a one versus many guerilla defence. I will see if he walks on the middle, like some people do In the novels. ¡­.assuming I¡¯m fit for murder, with a license to maim. Crafting an entire castle¡¯s worth of defense, I wait for them to come rolling down on their own will. After all, it won¡¯t be self defense if I initiate the first strike. After a while, they do come around. I was curling in the middle of the passage trying to make bigger [Scatterbombs] when one of them spots me. And sure enough, someone actually initiates. ¡°A dungeon serpent. Let¡¯s get it guys!¡± As if I will let that happen. [Bullet Spear]! I still can¡¯t get over the idea of killing people, so this is the best I can do; stabbing their legs. I mean, bloodshed is unavoidable, but killing is. I hope. Everyone stares in shock. The harmless supposed nature of Dungeon Serpents, combined with the literally floating crystals, the loud noise of gunmana exploding, and the sudden injury of their four frontliners. Yes, please, just back off. I don¡¯t wan¡¯t to hurt people. I may be a hypocrite, but I¡¯m a hypocrite who tries¡­.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡­hold on for just a fucking second¡­ Just WHAT THE FUCK am I trying to achieve here? Not only would word spread that an extra dangerous telekinetic snake appeared in a dungeon God-knows-where, now they will probably resent me and try to actually kill me with their nearly 40:1 ratio. Should I just get rid of them? They will know of my powers and they still have a high chance of overrunning me down with sheer numbers if I don¡¯t act soon. But just outright killing is wrong. I don¡¯t want to turn into some cold-blooded bastard! "AAAUUUGHHH MY FOOT!!!!" ¡°W-what the fuck is that thing?!¡± ¡°K-KILL IT! EVERYONE, ATTACK!¡± ¡°SAVE THE FOUR, QUICKLY!¡± ¡°AAAARRRHHHHH!!!!¡± Ohfuckfuckfuck! The entire raider group comes crashing down in flurry of terrified people lobbing whatever attacks they can muster. A large assortment of spells, arrows, weapons, and other things throwable are heading into my position, fast. Too fast, even, especially some of the mages¡¯s spells which are bullet-like. GAAAAAHHHH RUUUUNNNN!! I slither on for dear life as the crowd of panicked mess rains down hellfire above and around me. I lob several more [Bullet Spears] in return, but I just can¡¯t hit anything worthwhile. Not with my focus being mostly dedicated to what¡¯s deeper down than what¡¯s above. I remember that I had set up quite a few [Scatterbombs] on some select key points for the ambush, and in case they actually pass me. I decide to detonate them all out, thinking that that will at least slow them down. [Detonate Scatterbombs]! Little did I know, it will do much, MUCH more than slow them down. *BWHAAOOUMM* *BRRRMMMM* *BRRHUUMMM* *BOOOOHNMMM* Over a dozen [Scatterbomb] contraptions detonates exactly after I commanded them to do so, in my panic, without setting parameters on which I actually want to donate. I had misjudged their collective power when detonated together during my set up phase. It pays greatly to test and experiment. And now, I will pay dearly for not adhering to that. A dozen large explosions followed by what seems to be blue flames erupts all over the cavern walls and floors. Everyone takes turns screaming in agony as the tube-shaped tunnel channels even more flames and shockwave over to the two most prominent directions it can take; descend, or ascend. My entire serpent curl gets flinged towards the descending path, hitting the floor and roofs several times over. I got engulfed in the flames for quite a while, before a shockwave ripple knocks me back out of the fireball. I pass the two Elven kids, which are now screaming in total panic and surprise as they¡¯re launched deeper into the cave by a flaming hot ball of blue flame and a stupendously powerful explosion shockwave. The explosion knocks me back inside for over two kilometers away. The elven kids themselves are knocked away over a hundred meters away from their sleeping position. Basically, it is a really bad day for us. I smack my face and body some more against the roofs and walls of the cave before I stop dead on a rock, snout first. *CRACK* I think that¡¯s my entire skull cracking. Yep, it is. It didn¡¯t even hurt much at first, but I can feel the agony seeping in slowly as reality starts to fade back into my vision. And as fast as the pain enters, my consciousness left. *blp* ¡­. ¡­. Katerin *cough* *cough* *hzzz* *cough* *cough *cough* What in all the name of the great trees is THAT?! A sudden shockwave woke us up in the middle of our sleep, only for it to introduce us to a really big fast cloud of blue fire in a quick flash. I could do nothing but thrash and scream as the entire shockwave made us tumble really far away, probably even breaking out bones while we¡¯re at it. Gaahh, my body hurts all over, paralyzing pain engulfing my entire torso and limbs. But if I survived, would Rai also- *gasp* ¡°RAI! RAISEINIAI! WHERE ARE YOU!!!¡± ¡±RASEINIAI!! WAKE UP!!¡± Oh no. I force myself to get up, ignoring the all the pain I harbor. Stepping on my left leg hurts even more, I suspect something had snapped in there. My body aches like never before, my entire clothing is barely even there, and I am really sure that I have fireburns all over me. But none of that matters. What matters now is Raseiniai and her safety. I begin to walk, first upwards. If I will need to receive jolts of lightning everytime I walk I might as well traverse the harder terrain first. ¡°RASEINIAI!! WHERE ARE YOU?! ANSWER ME!!!¡± My voice echoes through the blindingly light-devoid cave as I continue my search for Raseiniai. The longer I can find her, the lower her chance of survival may be. I am the one with healing, and I will need her help to straighten my leg and my bones before I can heal myself. ¡°RAISEINIAI!!¡± I had walked around 50 Royal Cubit before I decide to turn back and search inside instead. The tube-shaped cave seals heat perfectly, and even now, it is sweltering hot inside here. The air is dry and rough, barely but surely choking me slowly little by little. I am getting weaker as I go on, but I hold firm in my heart that Raseiniai comes first. ¡°RASEINIAI!!! IF YOU¡¯RE THERE ANS-¡° *Cough* *cough* *GHAKK GHAKK* ¡°RASEINIAI ANSWER MEEEE!!!!¡± Nothing. Really, nothing. The entire cave stings of silent nothingness accompanied by the very slight sizzle cause by the fire¡¯s previous heatburst. The longer I scream, the longer I search, the smaller my hopes for a surviving Raseiniai becomes. I hate myself for thinking as such, but I just cannot help it. I was supposed to guard Raseiniai from the entire political ordeals, especially out of assassins and kidnappers. Not letting her die due to some massively unexplained freak accident. What if this really is their attempt at killing us? No, it wouldn¡¯t be. Everyone knows we¡¯re too important of a political asset to put down just like that. Damn those up above ruling class and their politics! Damn those bird-brained idiot lower-castes making stupid revolutions! I just want us both to have a peaceful life dammit! ¡°DAMN YOU ALLLL!!! RASEINIAII WHERE ARE YOUUU!!!!¡± I walk down even further down, screaming her name even as I started coughing blood. Until I finally, actually saw her. No. NO! NONONONO!!! RASEINIAIIIII!!!! She lays there, motionless, covered in excessive amounts of grime, blood, and dust, with a clearly broken arm, a massive gash through her back, and several other significant cuts tearing into her ruined clothes and into her skin. I quickly run towards her until my legs gives up just right before her limp body. She tethers really closely on the edge of being alive and dead. The sooner I can heal her, the better. I begin by straighting her arm back into position, although the force needed to do such things always makes me wince. *CRACK* I then lay her on her back and begin to wipe her out of her blood wherever I can. As her blood very slowly seeps back out, I begin using her and my clothes to shut off the major gash on her back by wrapping the clothes around her. I lay her on her belly and start chanting. Please let this work, o Gods of the trees. Please, save her! [Low Biological Healing]! [Low Biological Healing]!! ¡­. [Low Biological Healing]!!! [Low Biological Healing]!!!!! [LOW BIOLOGICAL HEALING]!!!!!!!! *huff huff huff* *cough cough* I did it. It may not look like much, but most of her bleeding has stopped, most of her scars are gone, her broken arm is reattached, and most importantly, she¡¯s stable and is just sleeping now. Thank the stars and the skies and all the Gods above us! *sigh* I¡¯m really tired. I must have used far more mana than what I originally intended. Gahh, not like it matters anyways¡­ All for Raseiniai¡­ All for my little sister¡­ Urgghh¡­ I slump down right beside Raseiniai, using a particularly smooth stone to hold my head like a pillow. The overwhelming exhaustness slowly creeps through my entire body as my fervor leaves me at roughly the same pace. Panic now becomes relaxation, and worry now becomes calmness, as I leave this mortal world and into the land of dreams. The last thing I see is a long thin figure slowly slithering onto our position. ¡°Ahh, such a shame, finished by a cave snake after a freak accident.¡± I thought to myself¡­ ¡­before the already lightless cave turns darker from my fading consciousness.