As I observed the nestlings over the course of the next few days, I began to notice a few things.

Firstly, my guards were adorable. And secondly, I seemed to have gained an admirer of sorts. It was the unconscious snake from the rebel group.

For some reason it seemed to have grown especially fond of me.

It would follow me around the nest everywhere. I had to hiss at it few times to resume training, just so it would leave me alone.

It was extremely clingy, especially when it was time to sleep.

'Why did this snake always want to huddle up next to me?'

Did it think I was its mother or something?

Even my two loyal guards did not bother me as much.

However, because of this snake's annoying behaviour, the mood around the nest had been more relaxed. When the other snakes saw that I didn't lash out at him, they began to feel encouraged. And soon more and more snakes began coming to me.

They couldn't really talk so they would just linger next to me.

But soon enough, I faced another problem at the end of the day.

All of the snakes wanted to remain close to me. I would sleep alone and wake up with additional snakes in my nest area. At first it was just two, then five and the numbers just kept on growing with every passing night.

I couldn't tell them apart by appearances, since they all looked almost the same. I need to spend more time with them to be able to tell them apart from each other. But judging from the shape and thickness of their tails, I could at least tell their genders.

The nestlings were split evenly with fifteen males and fifteen females. The clingy snake was a male and I could tell him apart from the long scar right across his belly that I'd given him.

My two guards were respectively male and female. The female one seemed to have an abundance of white stripes while the male was almost entirely black, with only a few white stripes at his neck and midsection.

As I woke up, I was not surprised to find my body half buried under a pile of eighteen sleeping bodies.

I let out a helpless sigh. What did I expect from a bunch of infants?

It now happened so often I was already used to this.

Waking up to this everyday was beginning to exhaust me. The nestlings were behaving like cats more and more. They would wake up at the slightest movement and then follow me around the nest. Everyday, it was the same thing all over again.

So I stayed in place and let them continue sleeping.

They worked really hard yesterday. They deserved their rest.

The nestlings were making steady progress on climbing, after falling repeatedly on the first day most of them had gained [Grip LV1] and could understand the proper climbing method.

But most of their stats were similar.

__________________

Nameless LV1 [Small Hatchling Snake]

Specie: Ailith Cerastes

HP: 30/30 Defence: 15

MP: 08/08 Intellect: 9

SP: 26/26 Magic: 8

Attack: 20 Agility: 25

Skills: [Poison Fang: LV1]

[Scent: LV1] [Grip: LV2]

[Heat Sense: LV1] [Bite: LV1]

Titles: [Pit Member]

Resistances: [Pain Resistance: LV2]

[Impact Resistance: LV1]

__________________

The wounded nestlings were making progress, but they still chose to stay away from me.

Unlike the rest of the nestlings, they did not try to sleep near me or gather around me. I felt they were still wary of me because of the beating but, there's nothing I could do about that.

That was all in the past.

They followed my instructions and did not try anything suspicious. So, I left them alone. They would come around eventually, I just had to wait patiently.

For the moment, their progress was slow, but they were quickly catching up with their siblings.

___________________

Nameless LV1 [Small Hatchling Snake]

Specie: Ailith Cerastes

HP: 25/30 Defence: 15

MP: 08/08 Intellect: 9

SP: 20/26 Magic: 8

Attack: 20 Agility: 25

Skills: [Poison Fang: LV1]

[Scent: LV1] [Grip: LV1]

[Heat Sense: LV1] [Bite: LV1]

Titles: [Pit Member]

Resistances: [Pain Resistance: LV2]

[Impact Resistance: LV1]

[Fear Resistance: LV1]

__________________

But unlike others, they also possess an additional skill [Fear Resistance: LV1]. The clingy one had another additional skill on top. [Faint Resistance: LV1].

Out of all the nestlings I noticed some that had taken my climbing form and improved on it. Developing skills I could only call extreme.

My female guard for one, had found a way to prevent herself from hitting the ground when she slipped off the wall. Rather than falling like the rest and gaining [Impact Resistance] she had figured out a way to glide to the ground.

She would jump off the wall while flattening her body and form an 'S' curve in the air.

By undulating her body from side to side she was able to carry herself through the air, it looked as though she were swimming through air currents, with the added ripples slowing down her descent to the ground.

It was incredibly cool to watch.

She was much smaller than the other nestlings and I often wondered if a tree snake had gotten mixed up in the nest without me knowing. However, her patterns bore a similarity to the others, so I was confident she hatched from the same eggs.

With my appraisal, I could notice her stats were also different than the others.

___________________

Nameless LV1 [Small Hatchling Snake]

Specie: Ailith Cerastes

HP: 30/30 Defence: 10

MP: 12/12 Intellect: 15

SP: 26/26 Magic: 12

Attack: 20 Agility: 30

Skills: [Poison Fang: LV1]

[Scent: LV1] [Grip: LV3]

[Heat Sense: LV1] [Bite: LV1]

[Floating Ribs: LV2] [Leap: LV2]

[Buoyancy: LV1]

Titles: [Pit Member]

Resistances: [Wind Resistance: LV2]

___________________

Her intellect was a little higher than the others. It was very possible she developed the skills [Floating Ribs] [Leap] and [Buoyancy] because of her aversion to falling.

Her gliding skills were very interesting but as a result of them she did not have some important skills like [Pain Resistance] or [Impact Resistance].

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing.

The second guard was also different than the others, but he had taken a completely different approach to the female guard. Rather than resisting the fall, he embraced it wholeheartedly and gained his own skills.

___________________

Nameless LV1 [Small Hatchling Snake]

Specie: Ailith Cerastes

HP: 18/30 Defence: 20

MP: 08/08 Intellect: 15

SP: 20/28 Magic: 8

Attack: 20 Agility: 18

Skills: [Poison Fang: LV1]

[Scent: LV1] [Grip: LV2]

[Heat Sense: LV1] [Bite: LV1]

[Steel Skin: LV2] [Rugged Scales: LV3]

Titles: [Pit Member]

Resistances: [Pain Resistance: LV4]

[Impact Resistance: LV4]

[Faint Resistance: LV2]

[Shock Resistance: LV1]

___________________

He seemed far closer to getting dragon's scales than I was!

My male guard was very sturdy, his scales were much rougher than the others due to his many slips and falls. He was practically covered in little dents and scars.

Still, he remained unwavering and would continue the climb. But even after he reached the top of the wall, he would still find ways to fall down. I wondered if he simply loved pain or if he was just a very clumsy snake.

Apart from my two guards, I observed another nestling who was also very unusual.

He would bite down repeatedly on wooden planks with never before seen speed, his bites were not necessarily strong but his speed was outstanding.

When I appraised him I found another surprising skill [Rapid Strike: LV1].

Ah, are they really my dumb nestlings?

Where did these strange anomalies come from? These three were simply too brilliant!

They were just like that rabbit I encountered in the tunnel who was different from its siblings and knew surprise attacks!

They were outliers of the nest, just like I was.

How interesting. I decided to pay more attention to these three in the future to determine how far their skills would develop.

I followed in the steps of the fast one and gained [Rapid Strike] too.

How could I let mere infants outdo me, their leader!

The rest of the nestlings were normal. They kept up with the climb and were progressing at the standard pace. With repeated falls, their existing skills had increased two levels.

All that was left was for them to learn new ones.

Most of them were lacking four more skills while some of the better nestlings like my male guard only needed two, and the female needed just one.

The two anomalies were performing better than the rest and in turn they also gave me an idea. If I had the others practice the same way they did, the others would also eventually gain the same skills.

My two guards could act as instructors to teach the rest. Even I wouldn't mind learning few extra skills. And besides, I really want to learn that [Floating Ribs] skill!

But first, I need to wake them all up.

Shaking myself awake, I threw off the eighteen snake nestlings piled on top of me.

They groggily stared at me, blinking a few times to wipe away the sleep.

There was no time to waste! There should start practising!

As soon as they gained the same skills as my guards, I only needed to take the nestlings on their first hunt and let them gain [Stealth] or [Silence] to finish the quest.

Everything was progressing really well.

I hiss fiercely at the sleepy nestlings, ordering them to get up. Soon they are all lined up in front of me.

Turning to my two guards, I instructed them to teach the nestlings. My male guard gave a curt nod, his eyes showing a determined glint. Whereas the female guard's eyes were full of excitement.

They were like little lieutenants! How adorable!

First, I made the nestlings practice quick strikes by biting down on wooden planks hoping they would gain [Rapid Strike]. While my guards took a small troop of them through their own activities.

Soon, the cave was filled with the miserable hisses of snakes who failed. Most, in their attempts at gliding crashed and tangled into each other in the air, while others who managed to reach the ground did so at a weird angle, falling awkwardly on their sides, instead of landing flat on their bellies.

The wailing hisses of the snakes continued to echo throughout the cave. I felt sorry for them but I ignored their howls because nothing would go in vain. Because, even in their suffering, they would gain another level in [Impact] and [Pain Resistance].

My guards were strict and ruthless too. They never gave them enough recovery time, and resumed the training only after a short 10 minutes of rest.

Ah, they were a little too enthusiastic.

Still, I let them continue, choosing only to monitor them, to let each nestling find their own way. I had to practice my own skills before these brilliant nestlings overtook me.

[Quest: Train Nest Mates. [Time Remaining: 240 Hours]]