A Snake's Life

by Kenaren

  “So?”

  “If I can’t prove that she’s done something wrong, I can’t punish her for it.”

  “Who would stop you?” She paused in her pacing and stared at me.

  “What?”

  *Chuckle* “I said, who’s going to stop you?”

  “Well… I mean… It wouldn’t be right?”

  “So, what she’s doing is right?” She stepped back.

  “No! Of course, not!”

  “Then, why does it matter?” She looked at me in confusion.

  “Huh?”

  “Regardless of who’s doing it. The truth is that two wrongs are being committed. One by her, and one by you.”

  “I’ve done no such thing!” She snarled.

  “Oh, but you have…”

  “Explain.”

  “Her wrong is persuading ignorant kids to believe themselves to be above their animal counterparts. While yours is equally as damning.”

  She glared at me and her foot started tapping.

  *Chuckle* “So, she got that from you?” My question surprised her so much she stopped.

  “Huh?”

  “Ayla does that as well.” I motioned to her foot. She looked down and realized what I meant.

  “Oh… Yes. *Chuckle* Ayla’s picked up a few of my habits.” A small smile formed but was quickly erased.

  “I’m still waiting to hear what I’ve done wrong. When I’m certain I’ve done nothing.” She glared at me again.

  “Exactly.”

  “… What?”

  “Doing nothing. That is your wrong. While she’s been proactively harming your community, you’ve done nothing to stop her.”

  Her glare grew more intense for a few seconds… Before it softened until it disappeared.

  “I suppose you’re right…” She fell back onto the stump.

  *Sigh*” I suppose, I really am as foolish as they say…” I shook my head.

  “No, you’re just too honorable for your own good.”

  *Chuckle* “I guess, I’ll have to fix that. Won’t I?”

  “That’s ultimately up to you. Whether or not you heed my advice and do something about her is none of my concern.”

  “…. Then, why say anything?”

  “Because Ayla reminds me of someone I used to know. And I would prefer it if she wasn’t corrupted by that bitch.”

  *Laughs* “That makes two of us.” She stared at the ground for a few seconds before turning her eyes back to me.

  “Alright, so tell me what it is you want to know and I’ll do my best to answer.”

  I collected my thoughts for a few moments before I asked my first question.

  “How many continents are on this planet?” She folded her hands underneath her chin.

  “Just the one.”

  “… How is that possible?” She smiled.

  “You underestimate just how small this planet is.” She waved her hands and a dirt ball floated into the air. Then, she waved her fingers and a line carved its way around the planet.

  “This is a representation of the planet we are currently standing on. That line in the center is the only source of water on this rock.”

  “The river…” She smiled a little brighter.

  “Exactly.”

  “But, what about civilization? I mean, surely this camp can’t be all that exists!” She shook her head.

  “Of course not.” She waved her hand and a small tree grew underneath the ball of dirt. The tree suddenly sprouted innumerable branches, before it finally stopped growing.

  “This” she motioned to the tree. “Is Yggdrasil.”

  “What’s that?” She closed her eyes, for a moment to think.

  “Maybe it’s better if I called it the ‘World Tree’”

  “… Oh” I remembered the golden being said something about Sarah being born at its ‘home’ but thought it just meant a really large tree… Don’t tell me.

  “And… Where are we?” She twitched her finger, and the ball of dirt floated over to one of the highest branches, shrunk down, and stuck itself onto the tip.

  *Sigh* “That fucker lied to me…”

  “Who lied to you?” She tilted her head.

  “… No one important. Just some guy I met awhile ago.”

  “What did he lie to you about?” I shook my head.

  “That’s private… Although… Where would the ‘home’ of Yggdrasil, be located?” She seemed confused.

  “I… I guess that would be where the roots are located, but no one has ever made it that far down the tree.” That caught me by surprise.

  “Why not?”

  “Hmm… Well, the further down the tree you go. The more dangerous it gets.”

  “Explain.”

  “Okay… *Ahem* for instance.” She made a bigger ball of dirt form and stuck it on a branch a little further down the tree.

  “This is Rhan, and it’s currently the farthest down the tree anyone has managed to get.”

  “And what’s there?”

  “As it’s a frontier town, there’s not much at the moment. A few towns and villages maybe, but nothing major.”

  “Where’s the current seat of power?” She smiled.

  “Depends on who you ask.”

  “Multiple kingdoms?”

  “Yep. Though I don’t know the actual number. The main three are, Dadora, The beast-man kingdom.” A ball of dirt stuck itself to a branch near planet Rhan.

  “Lusan, The Human kingdom.” Another ball stuck itself to a higher branch.

  “And the Shazar Empire.” A final ball positioned itself on the other side of the tree.

  “What’s a Shazar?”

  “It’s the Empire of an Elder Lich, known as Shazar.”

  “One creature has its own empire!?”

  *Chuckle* “No, the empire part, is because of the massive undead horde that roams the planet.”

  “… And, this Lich… It just stays there, does it?” She nodded.

  “Most of the time. Although, it has been known to travel to a new planet every… Hundred years or so.”

  “Oh…” I might have to deal with that Lich eventually, lest it threatens Sarah’s life.

  *Sigh* “Very well… I only have one more question.”

  “Alright.” She nodded.

  “Can you explain the humanoid Tier system to me?”

  “… Sure?” She took a moment to collect her thoughts then began speaking.

  “I’m assuming you know how the beast ‘Tier’ system works?” I nodded.

  “Higher the tier, the more powerful the creature.”

  She paused for a moment.

  “Almost, while that is true. There are certain… Variables that affect it.”

  “Oh?” She nodded.

  “Yes, if a beast has a unique trait, then it is usually considered more powerful than a creature without, even if they’re the same race.”

  “Is that the same for humanoids?” She shook her head.

  “We have classes that work in a similar way. Though we, as a race, are stuck at Tier 3. If we have a powerful class, then our Tier goes up with our strength.”

  “Can you only have one class?” She nodded.

  “Yes, everyone is allowed one Class. For instance, my class is Druid.”

  “I see… Can you change your class?” She shook her head.

  “No, but our class can evolve, should we meet certain conditions.” That makes some sense, I suppose. I nodded.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a heat signature trying to hide behind Granny’s tent. It was too large to be Ayla, so I assumed it was one of Aurae’s ‘followers’.

  “Well, I should get going. I don’t want to cause any more trouble, after all.” She was silent for a moment.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “To find a way off this planet.”

  “I see…” She stood and walked to the side of her tent, then pointed at the cylinder.

  “That… Is Yggdrasil’s branch, and you
r way off this rock. When you get there, you’ll find a portal that’ll lead you to your next destination… I’m sure you can figure out the rest.”

  “Thank you for the information.” I slightly bowed my head and moved passed her.

  I noticed the heat signature leave. It probably heard what it needed to, and was going to get help.

  “Oh ho… Looks like I get to have that meal, after all.” A phantom smile spread across my face.

  After leaving camp and making my way to the branch. I began to notice heat signatures following me, and one of them happened to be missing an arm.

  “Well, well. Look who’s here.” I saw them congregate ahead of me, so I ducked down and circled around them. Once I was close enough, I saw them hiding in the trees.

  “Trying to ambush me, eh?” I looked around for the signature that was missing an arm and snuck up behind it. Then, I rose to my full height.

  “Thanks for the meal~” She apparently heard me, because she turned and saw me…Well, she saw the inside of my mouth. I bit down on her head and neck before she could scream, tilted my head back and swallowed her whole. Then, I left the young elves waiting in the trees.

  “Consider this a favor to you, Granny.” I went on my way, while the young elves continued to wait in the trees. How long it would take them to realize their leader was gone, I didn’t know.

  But, Aurae’s screams from inside my stomach kept the smile on my face for quite awhile…

  Chapter 11

  I traveled for what felt like days, and I only stopped when I was ready to sleep. Otherwise, I kept moving.

  I ate almost everything to cross my path, whether it was an obsidian beetle, Alpha Deer, or even the few Large Alpha deer I came across. None were spared from my stomach. Though I did make sure to avoid most of the Elves and Humans I saw along the way. The few that did stumble upon me, as long as they didn’t attack, I left them alone. However, as I currently had four Humans in my stomach. I obviously, wasn’t going hungry.

  Eventually, I arrived at Yggdrasil’s Branch. Only to see it under heavy guard, and sentries were patrolling the forest around the branch.

  However, as I looked over the guard’s heads. I saw what I’d been looking for.

  “So… That’s the portal Granny was talking about?”A large clear ring was floating just in front of the branch and had approximately ten guards stationed in front of it.

  “They must be stationed here to protect the portal from the Alpha Deer.” Instead of allowing myself to be seen in the sunlight. I instead, moved deeper into the forest to watch the Guards for awhile. The clear sky around the ranch would make sneaking through the Portal almost impossible, so I had to come up with another plan.

  *Snap* I slowly turned my head to the side, and saw a patrol heading in my direction. So, I slowly moved out of their way and resettled back in, to continue watching their movements.

  I watched them circle once, then I started counting how long it took them to make a rotation around the branch. I watched them head deeper into the forest a few times, but they always came out after a few minutes.

  “If I try to take out the stationary group while the other is out of sight, then I’ll only have a few minutes to kill them and get through the portal.” But, as I was watching them. I noticed something off to my left.

  “Or, I could always go with plan B.” It was a stray Alpha Deer that had gotten separated from its group. I remembered what Ayla told me about the deer being a vindictive bunch, so I came up with a plan… Why do this myself, when I can sit back and let something do it for me?

  My course set, I headed for the Alpha Deer.

  * * *

  Eren Leotris had been assigned to this post along with the seventeenth regiment of the Lusan Kingdom to prevent any of the native animals from making it through the portal.

  He was walking next to his long time friend, Shaun Baldove. The two of them were part of the patrolling unit and were currently walking along the backside of the branch.

  “Hey, Eren?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why are we doing this again?” I rolled my eyes at him.

  “You know why, Shaun. We were drafted, so we’re stuck here for another three months.”

  *Groan* ” Do we really have to wait that much longer!?”

  “Yes. Now, be quiet before something notices we’re here!” I whispered.

  *Scoff* “Nothing is going to happen, Eren. We’ve been here for six months, and haven’t seen a damn thing apart from those elves that came through last week.” I glared at him.

  “You don’t know that! What if your blabbering alerts a group of Alpha deer?” He rolled his eyes.

  “Oh, no~ Not the dreaded Alpha deer. Whatever shall I do?~” Our commander turned around then.

  “You’ll die if you keep up that attitude, Boy!” Now, most people would heed the commanders warning. The man had been stationed here for years and obviously knew what he was talking about.

  But Shaun didn’t see it that way.

  *Laughs* “Is the great commander Evrart scared of a few deer?” Shaun mocked. the commander stepped up to Shaun, and though he was a few inches shorter, he was much more intimidating than Shaun could ever be.

  “Aye, I am scared of the Demonic beasts!” He yelled, before continuing in a much quieter voice.

  “And if you ever encounter them yourself. I guarantee, that you will fear them as well.” He turned away and moved to the front of the group.

  “Enough lazing around!” The men jumped to attention and saluted.

  “Aye, Sir!” We shouted, and continued on our way. We made it halfway around the branch before we started hearing the screams.

  “Double time, men!” The commander yelled.

  We hoisted our shields and sprinted the rest of the way around the tree, and saw a war zone. Bodies lay everywhere, as Alpha deer feasted on them. And our few remaining comrades were desperately trying to protect the bodies closest to them.

  The commander drew his sword and charged, so we copied his actions and followed him into battle.

  He was a whirlwind of death, as he hacked and slashed his way through the feasting Alpha deer. And after we reached the surviving members of the seventeenth, he ordered the men to tell him what happened while we fought off the remaining Alpha Deer.

  “I don’t know, Sir!”

  “What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’!?”

  “But, I don’t! One moment we were all standing guard as usual, and a second later, a headless deer body came flying at us. Luckily, we managed to raise our shields in time, but the blow knocked most of us off our feet. And before we could stand back up, we were already under attack by these beasts!” The lieutenant yelled.

  “A… Headless Deer?” The commander started looking around and eventually saw the headless deer laying on top of a dead soldier.

  “Looks like it did more than just knock them off their feet…” The patrol group had just killed the last deer when the ground began shaking.

  “Oh…Fuck No!” The commander yelled.

  * * *

  *Chuckle* “Oh, fuck yes!” I’d seen the Large Alpha Deer walking through the forest since before the battle began, but I didn’t actually expect it to join the battle.

  The Large Deer crashed into the soldier with the fanciest armor first and speared him through the chest while he was trying to defend a taller man. Then, the Large Deer made quick work of the surrounding soldiers with its hooves and horns.

  By the end of the battle, the Deer’s legs were covered in blood and bodies adorned its horns like some kind of sick decoration… And it was continuing to take its anger out on the fallen Human corpses.

  “Don’t worry… You’ll be joining them soon!” I launched myself out of the treeline and impacted the Deer’s side. Then, I bit into its neck, wrapped my body around it, and almost instantly began to suffocate it. Although, it did try to thrash around. I was easily able to hold on until it finally fell over and remained motionless.
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  “That… That was too easy…” I bit into the Deer’s neck even harder and pulled with all of my strength… And It screamed, just before I ripped its throat out.

  “The fucker tried to trick me.” I unwrapped myself from its body and watched it for any more tricks, but it truly was dead this time.

  Unfortunately, now I had a slight issue…

  “What do I eat first?” Deciding that it didn’t really matter, since I was going to eat everything, anyway. I started with the human bodies as an appetizer, then came the Large deer and its accessories as the main course, and for dessert, I ate the little deer.

  I then decided to only enter the portal after my meal had digested, because after eating such a large meal, I was ready to sleep. So, I circled my body around the Branch and went to sleep…

  “I hope the next world has one of the creatures I need… And that it’s delicious.” I drifted off with that pleasant thought in mind.

  Chapter 12: A new world

  I woke up sometime the next day and began to observe the portal. As far as I could tell, It was just a clear ring floating in front of the branch. And It lacked any identification markings, that would give me some clue as to where it led. So, I was going to need to be extremely cautious moving forward, lest I get ambushed on the other side.

  “Where will you take me?” I moved up to the portal and realized, it made a slight humming noise. Though, it was so faint, I could only hear it once I’d gotten close to it.

  I leaned my head closer until my nose was brushing against it… And that was my mistake.

  A strong pull instantly began to affect my body, almost as if the portal had its own gravity field. First, my nose was stretched until it was pulled inside, then my head followed and my body was pulled through, after. None of this hurt, though it was incredibly disorienting.

  Once I was inside the portal, all I could see was a kaleidoscope of colors, and no sound seemed to exist in this place.

  “Where… Am I?” A pop up answered my question.

  Welcome to the Bifrost

  Please select your next destination from the available branches.

  “Hmm… Alright, let me see the choices.”

  Iorus A majority of this planet is covered by water, and only three islands exist.