While I slept, I dreamed about my days back in college.

It was a rough dream, as usual. Bullies were everywhere, and I could do little to defend myself. It was almost nostalgic.

Nonetheless, that was nothing but a dream. Real life was, alas, just as bad.

I slowly awoke, still finding it awkward that I couldn't close my eyes. My body felt different from the last time I was awake.

I looked at the egg I hatched from. It had become significantly smaller than before, meaning only one thing. I was a bit bigger now. Yay.

Looking around, I saw how some other eggs in the cave had now hatched, but I couldn't see any of my kin in the cave. They'd probably just gone by their instincts and noped out of here.

But I wasn't willing. I swiped away the notification that popped up in my mind informing me of my status, although why it appeared was a mystery. Instead, I slithered my way over to a random egg close by.

I was now significantly larger than before, having grown in just one night. Which, by the way, made absolutely no scientific or even reasonable sense, but God knows I'm thankful for it anyways.

Breaking this new egg took much less effort than before. In fact, it almost looked as though it imploded when I applied my full strength to constricting it.

The little snake-fetus inside looked a lot more mature than the previous one, but it still stood no chance against me. I quickly ripped it apart without mercy and swallowed all of it.

Newborn (egg) Snakeling killed. Exp granted.

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of level-ups of any kind, but at least I didn't instantly crash this time. Feeling more confident, I swam over to one of the bigger eggs around and got to work shattering it too.

This egg had, compared to the other eggs around, a little bit of a redder hue, and it was also at least 25% bigger. Nonetheless, it was still fairly easy to crush it now that I got the hang of it.

Inside it, the fetus looked almost like a full snake. It had red-green scales, compared to the previous mere green of the other fetuses I ate.

Still, fancy colors didn't save it from the fate of being torn to pieces and swallowed.

Newborn (egg) Pepper Snakeling killed. Exp granted.

Skill (Constriction Lv. 1) gained.

As I suspected, the snake was of a different species. I was a bit disappointed at not having leveled up yet, but the skill was nice.

I was still a bit unsure of what exactly skills did, so I tried to coax the system into telling me the answer by constantly hovering my mental... clicker? I don't know what to call it. Anyways, eventually, the system figured out my silent question.

Skill (Bite Lv. 2) - Grants extra damage to any bite attack. Each level increases bonus damage and gives correctional aid to bite attacks.

Skill (Swim Lv. 1) Allows user to swim more efficiently.

Skill (Constriction Lv. 1) Grants extra damage to any constriction attack. Each level increases bonus damage and gives correctional aid to constriction attacks.

Well, that wasn't very helpful, although the correctional aid part was weird, and no matter how much I tried to coax it, the system staid stubbornly silent.

I huffed in my own mind. I knew I was very close to becoming full again, and I had a feeling I would be forced into a coma again if that happened. Although I lacked evidence, I suspected this instant-growth thing, despite being risky, was probably an evolutionary response in order to make individuals grow as fast as possible, regardless of the risk.

Well, I could use some extra weight... God, I never thought I would say that. I wasn't exactly the thinnest person in my previous life.

Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I swam over to yet another egg, which was quickly crushed. I did indeed note that it was a bit easier to wrap around and crush the egg, and I had a very, very faint sense of... something... tell me where to crush for maximum damage, but it was so faint it was basically useless.

I quickly ate the fetus inside, and at last, the much-awaited notification came.

Newborn (egg) Snakeling killed. Exp granted.

[Nameless] Has reached Lv. 2. 3 Status Points grants.

I was a little disappointed at the small number of points granted, but it was still alright. I could already feel the claws of the coma trying to drag me into oblivion, so I swiftly dumped the points into my status.

[Nameless] [Newborn Snakeling]

Age - 0 years

Level - 2

Constitution - 4

Strength - 3

Dexterity - 3

Intelligence - 1 (?)

Wisdom - 1

[Special] Poison - 4

Skills - (Bite Lv. 2), (Swim Lv. 1), (Constriction Lv. 1)

At this point, I didn't really see much use in anything but the physical stats. Although being smarter sounded good, I already had enough mental faculties for now, and what I needed was a stronger body. As for magic?

Yeah, no. Useless.

I struggled with myself to reach my previous napping spot and barely made it there before my body basically shut down on me. I really hoped this wouldn't become a common occurrence because it sucked. Big times.

This time, however, my sleep was much, much better than the last one. I could constantly feel pleasant tingles running down my mind, and although it was hard to think coherently during this sleep... It felt good. Really good.

I would say it was like sex, but I never got the chance to do the deed, so... Rip.

If I'd been more conscious, I would have asked myself whether snake sex was like human sex. Thankfully, I wasn't, or I'd probably have been disgusted-but-not-disgusted with myself.