The witch warned us to not take it out of the box, Kai thought. But I can't let it live the rest of its life there. It's no use to me in a fucking box.
Petyr had asked him why Kai wanted another serpent when he already had the blood essence of Boa Constrictor.
The thing was, Kai hadn't bought the serpent to devour it. Though the Blue-tailed Boa Constrictor was a non-magical beast, Kai had yet to complete the proficiencies of its Elementary Abilities and devouring this hatchling would put it into the third empty slot, not replace the existing one.
Even if he could replace it, Kai won't. The reason was simple.
Kai wasn't sure if he would get the same Elementary Abilities or not. The chances were high, but if he had learned something after coming to the Primordial Tower, then that was to not rely on his Luck.
The only reason for him to get a pet serpent was to talk to it.
With all his Abilities experiencing steady growth, his Elementary Snake Language had fallen behind. Before dispensing the Boa's Blood Essence, he also wanted to increase its Proficiency to Advance. However, the only way to go about this process was to communicate with a serpent or serpent-like creatures.
The white cobra hatchling slithered out of the box, leaving its enchanted prison.
It lazily raised its head, glancing around at its surroundings. It was now or never, Kai knew. Once the serpent becomes a ghost, even he won't be able to find it again.
Hisss!
Kai stirred his blood essence, and a hissing sound erupted from it as the surrounding steam blurred his figure.
The effect was immediate, but not the one Kai had desired.
The white serpent raised his hood, hissing back.
Kai saw the scales on the underside of its hood were pale red. It took Kai's hiss as a challenge, he could tell. He could feel the ferocity in its hiss. It was a magical beast, a noble creature. Kai's hiss had come from a non-magical one. How could it ever tolerate the rudeness of such a challenge?
"You dare!" Kai growled.
For the first time, Kai stirred the thing inside his chest. The terror hiding in his chest churned, sending out deep, hideous pulses on his naked skin, trying to crack it apart.
Cersei gasped.
The serpent's state was worse.
It thrashed its tail in defiance, in fear, in the horror of the thing that desired its flesh with such primal desire. This feeling was enough to make it let go of all its defenses.
Under the devouring gaze of Kai's slitted pupils, the white cobra bowed its head.
Kai extended his right arm, and the serpent came slithering at it. Its forked tongue kissed Kai's fingers before it coiled itself around his forearm, overshadowing the snake tattoo there.
The stats appeared over its head then.
…
[
Beast: Ghost Serpent (magical beast)
Grade: E+ (growth)
Type: Poison, Ghost
HP: 100
MP: 180
SP: 100
Attributes-
Strength: 8
Agility: 13
Stamina: 10
Perception: 16
Correspondence: 18
Breath: 10
Abilities-
1. Intangibility
2. Soul Chill
Skills-
1. Ghost Neurotoxin
2. Earth Vibration Sense
]
…
Kai stared at it, as it stared at him in return.
Something was happening, something deep. An unseen bond was creating itself, attaching him and the creature with a string.
Kai just knew what to do.
His throat twisted, all his muscles screamed as words tried to come out of his mouth. Yet, what came out was only an intention.
A hiss surrounded this intention like a mother's embrace.
-Hello!- Kai said, the veins on his forehead popping up.
-Master- the snake hissed out her own intention.
Kai didn't know how, but he could tell that the hiss that had come out of its mouth was childish, and full of warmth and that the serpent was a female.
"What a creature!" Cersei approached then, her hand reaching for the serpent to pet it.
"NO!" Kai roared, knowing the Character must have thought that the serpent had been tamed by him. But it wasn't as simple as taming. The emotions went deeper than that.
Hissss! The hatchling opened its black maw at her, spitting two thin trails of venoms.
Cersei's figure blurred. But this time, it didn't solidify back at all. She was truly being forced back into the Book. The shock on her face was not something Kai had ever expected to see.
She looked at him with terrified eyes. "Bring me out again, if you want to know the solution to the second problem."
Then she exploded into a blackish-white smoky cloud.
*
*
5 minutes to the meeting,
November 6
Leaky Cauldron
Kai didn't look as formal as he had at his arrival into the world.
A white shirt, loose pants, and a cloak around his shoulders whose hood was down. Behind him, Petyr played with his hat and greatcoat, waiting for Kai to come out of his deep reverie.
There were too many things going on in Kai's mind.
All morning he had spent conversing with the Ghost Serpent, increasing his Snake Language Proficiency by 5%. Although they had only shared their intentions, the taste of blood still lingered in his mouth.
But no matter what, Kai couldn't get the serpent to acknowledge him, letting him gain the Elementary Pokemon Trainer Ability.
More like she doesn't know what this acknowledgment is, Kai thought. The serpent was as confused as me about the meaning of Pokemon. Hmm… maybe all Pokemon comes under the term Magical Beasts, but the reverse does not hold true.
This made sense to him.
Suddenly, a silver mist came slithering out of the bed next to him.
Petyr backed away at the sight of it as far as he could. The silver mist was long, sometimes coiling on itself, and sometimes undulating. It passed through the chair as if it wasn't there and just when it reached Kai's shoulder, the mist solidified.
First, the serpent's head took shape, and then gradually its body. By the time it made a turn around Kai's neck, the white cobra had already become solid.
Hissss!
The serpent hissed, its forked tongue slithering out, touching Kai's bare skin. To Kai, though, this hiss meant much more. He didn't have his Blood Essence activated, still, he could barely understand the meaning.
-Food!- it had hissed, Kai could tell.
The serpent lazily coiled itself around Kai's neck and yawned, adjusting its fangs and ligaments.
Kai took a bean-sized red-colored ball out of his pocket. It was the food the witch had given them for free to feed the serpent. He let the bean roll around in his palm. The Ghost Serpent reached out, smelling the food, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Kai felt her scales pressing into his skin as the food went down to her stomach. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so attached to her, given that they had just met.
"Have you given it a name, my lord?" Petyr asked, still standing far.
"Her." Kai corrected, not before the serpent raised her hood to look at Petyr. Kai smirked. He had been gobsmacked, seeing the Ghost Neurotoxin affecting his Characters so profusely.
Not even Petyr had thought that the serpent would become a bane of their existence.
This will keep them in check, Kai thought, turning around. They were becoming too wild these days.
"Yes, her," Petyr agreed. "A name is very important. It gives things, alive or dead, a meaning."
"Do you want a name?" Kai looked at the serpent. This was the monstrosity of the magical creatures. They could understand human speech, more than a regular creature, at least. It looked quizzically at Kai as if saying she hadn't thought about it.
Kai chuckled.
"Did you read the books?" Kai asked, his eyes going for the two books on the table. "What do you think about the fifth tale?"
"It doesn't matter," Petyr replied. "Unless we get someone to translate the runes, it will never matter."
The truth was harsh.
Kai had spent all night reading the two books.
For him, reading, or even memorizing those books, wasn't too hard. Since he was but a baby, books had been friends to him, or they were forced into a friendship. Nonetheless, Kai had never objected to his parents' decision. Daily reading, memorizing, and analyzing were as much a part of him as breathing.
The thing that pained his heart now was that he couldn't put what he had read into practical application. His hand throbbed to take out the wand and try out the spells mentioned in the book. But without Magical Aptitude, he might as well as burn the book.
The serpent sensed his anxiety better than even Kai had.
She again turned into a thin silvery mist, slithering down to his navel. There she entered his flesh as if she was part of his body, his blood and bones. His soul.
Kai shuddered.
A cool, calming sensation took over him, chilling his soul. All anxiety, ecstasy ran away, scared of the cold the serpent brought with her into him. Kai could feel it, resting just below his navel, curled into a small ball. She was sleeping.
Ability - Soul Chill!
It was the third time she had done this. Moreover, Kai could tell she wasn't using the full potential of this Ability on him.
Suddenly, as if struck by thunder, his eyes shook remembering the Blood Prophecy.
Hmm… Kai' thoughts roared inside his mind, a vile grin struggling to surface across his lips. It… can… work…
"It's time, my lord," Petyr said, finally taking out the courage to approach Kai. "We don't want the goblin waiting for us, do we?"
Kai put the bubbling thoughts in the back of his mind and took a deep breath.
Taking the upcoming meeting lightly would make him fail the Main Mission even before it had started.
*************
AN:
-xyz- Such structure from this chapter onwards will always represent Snake Language.