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?

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!