Slithering Nestlings

I wanted to wring Sensei's neck. How dare he put me in this situation and act, like it had nothing to do with him.

I couldn't have done anything because I was not there as he alone had the meeting with the gods. But why didn't he put in a good word for me?

What a bad teacher.

And to think he was my favourite teacher. He could've mentioned I was a good student, that I always handed in my assignments on time. Or better yet, he could've explained how I singlehandedly quelled an entire class of would-be delinquents into submission.

Although it was done through the threat of expulsion, I made it work when so many others before me had failed.

He could've told them about all the classmates I'd saved from bullying. Or the entitled heirs I'd put in their place by stopping their tyranny.

Even if he were to ignore all those, surely there were more traits that stood out about me than those of a cold blooded reptile.

Tears of agony and shame filled me as I paced about in anger.

This was just too cruel!

There was far too much resentment, first from my classmates and now from the 'gods'. When was I going to be vindicated?

My innocence defended and avenged?

I sighed, pausing my mini tantrum for a more important matter. 

Where the hell was Sensei? 

I looked around me, carefully examining my surroundings. I was inside a rocky cavern that looked to have been altered for comfort.

It contained clumps of dried grass all around , and what looked like wood shavings, covering the parts of the ground where the cracked eggs were located, like some sort of rabbit nest.

It probably used to be a rabbit nest before it was 'taken over' to become the den of a snake.

Snakes were infamous for never building nests of their own, preferring to lay their eggs in the dens of other weaker creatures. Naturally, after they had been conquered and eaten of course.

The ground I was on was flat and rocky until it sloped upwards, creating a wall which revealed a crack at the top where light poured in.

There was no visible boulder large enough for Sensei to hide behind. Come to think of it, this space was quite small. It would be about the size of a rabbit hutch back on earth.

Considering I was a little snake right now it was the perfect fit.

Newly born snakes were quite small, some snake eggs being as tiny as five centimetres long, producing a baby snake no larger than the width of a pinkie.

I wasn't sure of my exact size but I assumed I was just as tiny.

The nest did not go deeper or widen into a larger cavern the further you went in, like a normal cave.

It was very modest by human standards, but large enough for a bunch of little snakes to live comfortably, as you could tell from the sight of my brethren snake nestlings happily slithering around.

The wall was so tall, I had to tilt my triangular head upwards to stare at the crack on the top. I assumed this was the exit as it was the only source of light.

There was no way a human would fit in this space.

If Sensei were here, he would tower over me and have to crouch down, tight like a cat stuffed in a box. He could easily break open the lid of the nest with his body if he chose to stand up.

I was so small, he would probably lift me up by the tail and fling me about like a rubber band or crush me accidentally with his shoe.

I shivered.

Was this the devastating fate awaiting my lithe snake body? Death by crush or death by fling. Fun.

I wouldn't put it past Sensei to treat me like an elastic band or worse, try to dissect me for his reptile collection. But I dare him to try!

I had fangs and potent venom. I was completely prepared to bite him if he tried.

Behold my great power, foul human hybrid!

I looked around my surroundings striking an attack pose, my head raised, fangs exposed and raring to go.

But there was nobody.

Where was he? I'd been hearing him talk for a quite a while now, he had to be here somewhere. Unless… It couldn't be.

A smile slowly crept onto my face. The sound of mirthless laughter escaped my lips.

Had Sensei turned into a snake too?

The fleeting thought filled me with intense pleasure. Serves him right. The gods had served my due diligence at last!

«Why are you smiling like a pervert? What kind of dirty things are you imagining?»

Sensei's droll voice appeared out of nowhere and I jumped.

There was no mistake, he was nearby. But there was no snake. They were all still behind me where I'd left them when I ran. I could hear them hissing and writhing some distance away.

So where was his voice coming from?

"Nothing at all." I laughed while looking around. "Where are you hiding? How come I can't see you?"

Sensei sighed, his voice containing a hint of frustration as if he were scolding a little child.

«We've been talking for a long time already. Don't tell me you didn't notice. Did you really think you could converse as a snake?»

I bristled at his mocking words. "Of course not, snakes don't have vocal cords."

I had indeed wondered how I was able to communicate since before birth and even now as a snake, since the details were unclear I chucked it up to one of the inexplicable quirks of rebirth.

Perhaps it was telepathy?

Of course normal shakes could not talk but in this new world, what exactly was the standard of normal?

On an alien planet with unknown biology, it was possible all creatures could speak.

Sensei had said there were twelve intelligent races so maybe somehow, I had incarnated to one of them, but as a snake?

An intelligent snake.

Hmm… wasn't this quite problematic?

If humans lived in the same world where snakes were as smart as them, wouldn't there be nowhere safe?

A dark foreboding thought hit me, perhaps humans were the hunted species.

If this was a world filled with all sorts of intelligent monsters, imagine snakes who knew how to open doors, evade traps and set bait.

Even worse, snakes that created their own traps to catch people! How terrifying!

An intelligent snake race would be formidable, and I had become one of them! I had to find out exactly what the state of this world was and how high my place was in the food chain.

Sensei's words broke through my train of thought.

«Then how have you been talking?»

I pondered his words, coming to one of many conclusions. "Is this telepathy?"

«Close, but no. We are bonded together, me as the system and you as the host. We can communicate through that mental link»

"Does this mean you don't have a body?"

I had yet to see anything resembling a physical form. It seemed Sensei had reincarnated as a disembodied voice. Suddenly I felt bad for him.

Our poor teacher had just been scammed by the gods and he didn't even know it.

Even though a system was all powerful, it was still just a tool in the end. An item used by players to achieve what they wanted, it was always bound to a host and without one, it was useless.

What was the point of becoming a sage-like existence if you couldn't use all of that knowledge for yourself?

I knew there had to be a catch somewhere. No one did anything good just because they could.

He should have gotten the hint when I became a snake rather than a person, the gods were clearly selfish and up to nothing good, besides their own amusement.

Sensei would probably have wanted to do other things with his life than being saddled with guiding a bunch of kids as they stumbled their way through life.

I wondered how he had managed to survive all this while on earth, if he was this easy to dupe. He had gotten the worst lot, maybe even more than me.

«Of course not»

Sensei snapped back.

«Systems are intangible existences. Our role is that of a guide. It would be counterproductive if we suddenly had to evade attacks while doing our job. That's what the host body is for.»

Eh... Hold on a minute.

Why did it sound like he was describing a bulletproof vest? Was I the fleshy barrier to take all attacks and hurt, while he carried on as normal since they could not physically touch him.

Well… I was a monster after all. Monsters were typically attacked.

But hold on! Do I now have to spend the rest of my life running away from attacks while Sensei was wrapped up all cosy inside his flesh vest?

All the pity I felt for him instantly dissipated. Once again I cursed Sensei's existence in my mind.

"What happens if I take an attack and die? What will happen to you? Will you die with me?"

He had to. There was no way he could survive if his host was dead.

Sensei paused to ponder, before breathing a sigh.

«It is unclear. My existence right now is fragmented. I mentioned before there are parts of me spread all over.

I assume as long as one of those parts still exists, there is no way I can truly die. At worst, if one of my hosts is killed the others will assimilate the part of me that splits off from the dead body.»

That sounded… so cold.

Was Sensei saying he was now essentially immortal. As long as one of his hosts lived huh?.

Your mother!

So I was supposed to die like a fleshy meat bag while he lived on to transfer to another host like some immortal cockroach.

No way was I having that! I was not going to let myself die so easily!