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….

…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.