"This has to be a bad dream. A nightmare. No one gets reincarnated into a fantasy world by being squished between two trucks. There are rules, aren't there?"
But here I was. Standing on the sidewalk, minding my own business, heading out for groceries because, apparently, a man can't live on instant noodles alone. I had seen Truck-kun memes online, read countless webnovels where some idiot gets flattened and wakes up in a magical world as a hero, wizard, or demon lord. Heck, I even daydreamed about it.
But no one told me you could get nailed by two trucks at once.
In hindsight, it was almost impressive. The first truck veered off the road—driver probably texting or watching YouTube—and came barreling straight at me. Naturally, I froze. I had a second to think, "Well, here it comes," when, out of nowhere, another truck zoomed in from the opposite direction, completing the world's deadliest sandwich.
Before I could even say goodbye to my precious webnovels or mutter a final sarcastic remark, darkness swallowed me up.
Game over.
Except it wasn't.
When I opened my eyes again, something was off—very off. My vision was strange, almost too wide, like someone had stretched my field of view in all directions. Worse, I couldn't move my arms or legs the way I wanted.
What the hell?
I tried to stand up, but my body didn't cooperate. Instead of feeling like I had legs, I felt... wriggling. That's right, wriggling. My body was moving on its own, and it wasn't in any human way.
This can't be real. Did I reincarnate as a worm?!
That's when I saw it: floating right in front of me like a bad hologram, a status window. The kind you'd see in an RPG or webnovel. And, to make matters worse, the info on that window confirmed my worst fears.
[Name: Unknown]
[Species: Baby Snake]
[Level: 1]
[Rank: Unranked]
[Skills:]
– [Venom Lv 1]
– [Bite Lv 1]
– [Slither Lv 1]
– [Status Inspection Lv 1]
[Traits:]
– [Cold-Blooded]
– [Enhanced Sensory (Basic)]
[Status: Hungry]
"A snake? Seriously?!"
Out of all the possible things I could have reincarnated as—a hero, a wizard, heck, even a slime—I ended up as a baby snake. And not even a strong one! Look at this status window! Slither Lv 1 and Venom Lv 1? I was basically an inch away from food chain extinction.
But something else caught my eye: Status Inspection Lv 1.
A skill that allowed me to view the status windows of other beings. Normally, that would require some kind of magic item or special artifact in this world, but here it was, listed under my skills. Free. No item needed. That's definitely going to come in handy... if I live long enough to use it.
"But I bet there's a catch..."
Sure enough, there it was. My Status Inspection only worked on beings close to my rank, meaning if something was three ranks or more above me, I'd only be able to see their name. Everything else? Hidden behind question marks.
"So, great. If a gigantic monster comes along, I won't even know how screwed I am until it's eating me."
Out of sheer curiosity, I focused on my Bite skill, and the status window reacted immediately.
[Skill: Bite Lv 1]
[Description: A basic physical attack using your fangs. Causes minor physical damage. Increases in strength as the skill levels up.]
[Current Progress: 0/100 XP]
"Well, that's a bit underwhelming. I might as well be nibbling on leaves."
I tried to concentrate on my Venom skill next, hoping it would at least be somewhat useful.
[Skill: Venom Lv 1]
[Description: Weak venom capable of poisoning small creatures. The venom potency increases with each skill level. Current potency: Very Low.]
[Current Progress: 0/100 XP]
"So basically, I'm a garden hose with fangs and a mild irritant for venom. Great."
I flopped around pathetically, my new snake body wiggling uncontrollably. Whatever fantasy RPG rules governed this world, they sure weren't giving me a good head start.
But the forest around me wasn't helping either. It was dark, dense, and filled with shadows that probably hid bigger, stronger creatures. Creatures that would love to snack on a helpless baby snake like me.
But no, that wasn't even the worst part.
The worst part? I wasn't alone. All around me, slithering in every direction, were hundreds of other baby snakes. My siblings, I assumed. Because that's just what I needed—siblings to compete with in a cannibalistic snake-eat-snake world.
And then, the ground trembled.
She emerged from the shadows like some kind of snake overlord. Huge, terrifying, and glistening black scales with a gaze that screamed "you are nothing." My supposed mother. Yeah, that was the best guess. And just to really hammer home the "survival of the fittest" theme, she began doing what any loving mother would do.
She started eating us.
Yep. No joke. My mother was culling the weak, snapping up her children one by one, crushing them in her jaws like snacks. It wasn't survival of the fittest; it was survival of the one that isn't currently being eaten.
"Well, this is just perfect. I always knew I had a dysfunctional family, but this is a whole new level. Literally born into a snake-eat-snake world."
I watched, horrified, as my siblings were picked off, one by one. Some of them tried to fight back, but it went about as well as you'd expect. Those that weren't eaten were crushed under her weight, their tiny bodies squished like grapes.
"Alright, Sam, get it together. Don't just sit there. MOVE!"
I slithered. Or at least, I tried to. Let's just say that Slither Lv 1 wasn't just an insult—it was my reality. My movements were clumsy, like someone had glued a garden hose to the ground and expected it to win a race. Meanwhile, my mother's rampage continued, with my siblings being reduced to snake paste left and right.
Then I saw it—a small crevice between two rocks. Just big enough for a tiny baby snake like me to hide. Without thinking, I wriggled toward it, praying to whatever gods governed this world that I'd fit inside before I became lunch.
I barely made it. My body slipped into the gap just as I heard the familiar crunch of another sibling meeting a tragic end. The sounds of squishing and snapping echoed all around me, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry.
"Family reunions are so overrated."
From my hiding spot, I peeked out just enough to watch the carnage. My mother continued her bloody work, devouring everything in her path. The few survivors slithered away, doing exactly what I was doing—hiding and hoping not to be noticed.
But my joy at avoiding the snake-eating festival didn't last long. The real kicker? The survivors were now eating each other. That's right. As soon as our dear mother slithered off, the ones who made it began turning on each other, biting and snapping in a frenzy of hunger and desperation.
"You've got to be kidding me. First Mom eats everyone, and now it's a sibling free-for-all. What is this, a reality show?"
I hunkered down in the crevice, trying to figure out my next move. I needed to survive, level up, and get the hell out of this snake pit. Literally. But first things first, I needed to hunt. My status window flashed again, reminding me of my current level and hunger.
[Level: 1]
[Rank: Unranked]
[Skills:] Venom Lv 1, Bite Lv 1, Slither Lv 1, Status Inspection Lv 1
[Traits:] Cold-Blooded, Enhanced Sensory (Basic)
[Status: Hungry]
"Great. My hunger meter's going up, and my skill set is a joke. Fantastic."
But I couldn't stay here forever. The world wasn't going to hand me a free pass. I had to hunt, evolve, and break out of this unranked hell before something bigger and meaner decided I was easy prey.