"What is this light? Where am I? I need to get out of here; my senses are telling me that I need to go towards that light to escape this place," a small creature pondered to himself. He tried to open his eyes slowly, fighting through blurred vision, while he felt a ray of light piercing through from a particular direction.
He started moving towards the light, desperate to escape. He was surrounded by a pitch-black space and wanted nothing more than to leave this dark place.
"Phew! I am almost there. What is this, a thin wall? I have to crack this to get out of here." He saw a white wall in front of his sight; it looked relatively thin. Having decided to destroy it, he started to bang it with his head because he could not feel any limbs attached to his body. He cracked that wall-like structure without taking a break, just like a persistent woodpecker striking a tree to make a hole.
"Phew! Almost done," he muttered to himself while he continued to crack the wall. He was filled with joy at the prospect of escaping that pitch-black space. In reality, that was not a wall but a membrane—the membrane of an eggshell. He was a tiny, shiny black snake about one meter long, and two tiny little horns could be seen protruding from his small head.
"Wait, what is this place, and where am I?" he mused to himself. When he opened his small eyes for the first time and gained complete vision, he was surprised to see the unknown environment around him. The space in front of his eyes was massive and dark; millions of eggs could be seen lying on the ground. Thousands of eggs were hatching every second, and thousands of little snakes were slithering around the area.
"Holy f.u.c.k, are those snakes my brothers and sisters, or maybe cousins?" he reflected, observing the serpents around him, and he started cursing his fate. He felt devastated; his life had taken a 180° turn in an instant. Watching this bizarre event unfold, hazy memories suddenly started appearing in his brain.
"F.u.c.k! What the hell happened? Did I die on my life's special day when I was finally about to lose my virginity? I died as a virgin loser! I worked very hard for this, and when my landlady finally gave me consent to have s.e.x with her, I died! I wasted four precious years of my life courting her, and when the most awaited day arrived, what happened to me? Yes, I remember." He brooded, cursing both his fate and his life.
A few more hazy memories appeared in his mind as he recalled the event. "You damn Truck-kun! I died in an accident while crossing the road in Delhi. I am f.u.c.k.e.d over by that damn Truck-kun!" Shivam started to denounce the vehicle while thinking about the fatal accident.
He was a nerd who had lived a carefree life in India; he was a university dropout working a part-time job in a hotel as a waiter. He had no girlfriend because he was not popular with women, but fortunately, he had fallen in love with his landlord's second wife and started courting her. She pitied him and finally, four years later, permitted him to have s.e.x with her, but alas! Destiny played a cruel game. Truck-kun f.u.c.k.e.d him before he could f.u.c.k her.
"What did I do wrong to get this kind of treatment? I didn't expect much from the world even though I was living a normal life, but why me?'' he bellowed in his mind. "Being incarnated as a snake! I didn't deserve this." He pitied himself for a while. "Shit, let's see what kind of place this is. I need to know where I am right now and—"
With that thought, he tried slithering, and suddenly his movement became smooth, as if he were skating on ice. "Wow, this is convenient. It's better than my previous life; it takes at least eight months for a human baby to crawl, and here I am doing this easily," Shivam observed while slithering through that nasty, dark place.
After a few minutes of exploring, he saw a little snake that was the same size as him. He approached the little Hebi and halted in front of it. "Hey! How are you, my little brother? I am Shivam. What is your name? Are you having fun? I am your big brother, and I just broke through my egg. Where is our mommy? Did you see her around here?" he inquired, looking towards the snake with a deep gaze to get some answers.
To his surprise, only a forked tongue emerged with a sharp hiss. Seeing this, he felt a chilly sensation throughout his body. "Holy f.u.c.k, I am f.u.c.k.e.d," he breathed in a low voice, realizing he could not speak a single word. The other snake seemed confused by Shivam's bizarre movements. It looked at him with confusion and, in response to Shivam's actions, gave a reaction.
"Hiss, hiss..." it sibilated in a long hiss to respond to Shivam. Looking at the confused snake, Shivam vented a deep sigh. "Never mind, little Hebi brother, it's nice to meet you." Shivam shook his head with disappointment. The other snake ignored the bizarre behavior and started slithering in a different direction, leaving Shivam alone.
"Even a little snake is ignoring me. Sigh! Let's see where I am." Shivam took a deep breath and started to leave, venturing out to explore his surroundings. The area was quite dark, and he became more curious as he explored further. Suddenly, his gaze shifted toward the direction where every snake moved after hatching; they were clearly following their senses.
Shivam followed suit and started slithering towards a cave where the others were heading. He followed thousands of little snakes from behind. A few hours later, they arrived at a massive lake situated deep inside the heart of the cave. One by one, these little snakes started to jump into the lake to hunt the small fish around them.
Shivam was shocked to see the massive lake. It was incredibly vast, and millions of small fish could be seen swimming in packs. Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound. "Growl, Growl." His stomach was protesting; he felt famished seeing the prey around him.
"Sigh! My stomach is asking for food, but eating raw fish... is that okay? Maybe I should cook them before eating," he posited excitedly. "Oh, I forgot! I am not a human anymore. It is a harsh reality that I have to accept as soon as possible. Anyway, let's try eating raw." He felt sorrow but had no option other than to accept his current state. With the thought of eating those fish, he started slithering towards the water, and a moment later, he jumped in to hunt.
"Wow, I am swimming! I didn't know that swimming was this easy to master. Well, I know that snakes can swim, climb, and crawl. It's not that big of a deal, but why can I see things like a human? Snakes are normally dichromatic; they react to heat, and I can feel that my blood is cold, yet I am also able to hear like a normal human. Am I a special type of snake breed? Different from my little brothers and sisters?" he speculated.
"Well, it is a good thing that I have these kinds of abilities. Thank you, God, for this gift. I am very grateful that you didn't abandon me," he murmured and looked around. "Now it's time to eat, then I'll think about the next step. I am feeling very hungry now. Itadakimasu!"
With those words, he dashed towards the fish. In an instant, he killed one and swallowed it whole like a tasty treat. His senses were guiding him perfectly. But to his surprise, something unexpected happened when he swallowed the fish. A voice resounded in his head.
[Ding]
[You killed a Tier 1 Fish; you gained a beast stone. 100 Tier 1 beast stones are needed for advancing to the next level.]
"What the hell? Who are you? Have I become retarded? Suddenly I can hear things out of nowhere in my mind," Shivam croaked in a low voice. After hearing the voice, his face became pale, but then something else happened.
[I AM RAPHAEL, AND I AM GOING TO ASSIST YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY.] He heard a female A.I. voice in his mind.
"Raphael? Who are you, and why am I hearing you in my mind? What kind of business do you have with me? And what the hell are you doing in my body? Did I eat you accidentally? How is that possible? I was just born and haven't eaten anything else," Shivam demanded of Raphael in a serious tone.
[What the f.u.c.k are you talking about? I am a System, and I am imprinted in your will to guide you on your journey and help you to evolve.]
Hearing Raphael's words, he was surprised. He laughed and exulted in his mind, "Oh God, you didn't abandon me! I heard many isekai stories when I was on Earth—how someone dies and is reborn in a different world—but now it has become reality!"
"Hey Raphael, what do you mean by evolution?" He queried.
[Yes, you can become awakened once you reach the level of a Tier 5 beast, and then you can enter into the cultivation realm,] she replied.
"Raphael, what do you mean by 'awakened'?" Shivam probed curiously.
[Well, in this world, seven realms exist for humans. But for a beast, you must become a Tier 5 beast first; it is a basic requirement to get awakened. However, there are a few mythical and hidden classes that also exist beyond Tier Five beast Evolution. Let me show you,] said Raphael. Suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of his eyes, displaying info regarding the realms and cultivation levels.
Cultivation Levels:
• Body Awakening Realm
• Core Formation Soul Realm
• True Body Soul Realm
• Earth Body Soul Realm
• Heavenly Soul Realm
• Semi-Divine Soul Realm
• Divine Soul Realm
• Divine Lord Realm
• Divine Monarch Realm
• Divine God Realm
[After becoming a Tier 5 beast, you must go through special requirements—a Ritual—to advance into the cultivation realm. Beasts who are able to advance after Tier 5 or beyond will get a chance to enter the cultivation realm and are known as Awakened. They are few in number, and people call them Calamities because they can transform from their beast form to human form at will,] she explained.
"So if I want to be awakened, I have to clear those five beast tier stages, then I can become awakened?" Shivam confirmed with Raphael.
[Yes,] RAPHAEL REPLIED.
"So if I devour these millions of fish, I can advance to Tier 5, right?" Shivam postulated.
[No, you are just a Tier 1 snake.] She paused before continuing. [It is not easy to advance. Each tier has its own difficulty level, but do not worry, I will guide you,] Raphael replied. Shivam shook his head.
"Well, whatever. I am happy that I can transform into a human form after getting awakened. I just have to work hard until then," Shivam conceded. "Hey Raphael, show me my status window," Shivam requested.
Immediately, information appeared on the blue screen in front of his sight.
[Ding]
[Name: Shivam]
[Level: Tier 1 Beast]
[HP: 100]
[Race: Snake]
[Bloodline: Ancient Dragon]
[Ability: Poison breath, Poison bite]
"What the f.u.c.k? What do you mean by an Ancient Dragon bloodline?" He gasped in shock!
[Host, you are lucky to have the bloodline of the Ancient Dragon. I am surprised that a mere snake could possess such a bloodline; it is not a common thing,] Raphael responded.
"Damn you!" He rebuked Raphael from the bottom of his heart for calling him a mere snake. He felt a chill, but he was ultimately happy to have such a bloodline.
"Let's get started. I need to level up quickly." With that thought, He entered the pond.