Slithering through dreams (Snake Isekai ?)

“What the hell happened just now? Wait maybe that’s exactly it, am I in hell now?! I’m pretty sure I don’t deserve to go to hell! As long as you don’t look at my search history… what happens in incognito mode shouldn’t count towards judging you for an eternal damnation, should it?! How did they even get access to that! That God should get sued! I will testify!”

….

Hello? Mr Satan? Are you there? Hellfire? Mrs Succubus maybe?

…

Still nothing… only darkness… 

…

Wait… I think I can feel something… it’s… wetness? Am I in water? Nah it’s too sticky to be water, but it’s quite similar… could it be… could it be that hell is an actual place under earth, and we are under the ocean and there was a leak?! Or maybe a big firefighting operation is going on and the hell is getting extinguished? No wait, stop this, calm down. This nothingness gets to me. 

But is it really nothing? I think I can hear very quiet.. hissing? noise from time to time. AM I IN A HELL BOILER? Is God a Chicken, punishing me for all the KFCs I’ve eaten? It’s not my fault! Isn’t this the way of chickens? The top chicken gets the goods! AND HUMANS ARE THE TOP CHICKEN!! We deserved the meat!

Please don’t eat me alive, I don’t think I will be tasty.

….

Still nothing. I started calming down, after getting tired. Wait a minute, I got tired? Dead people get tired? What if I’m not dead after all? Maybe everything that happened before was a weird dream, and I’m in a hospital, unable to hear and see… that would be hell in its own right. But that… judgment, it seemed so real… wait is it possible? Is this not hell, but weeb heaven? Have I… reincarnated?! SATUSTATUSTATUSTATUSUSUS

YEAH! It’s a status world! Or not? I’m an egg, great. Also, I’m a snake. Well, that’s not that bad, I have no idea what it’s like in this world, but on Earth, snakes were quite successful creatures. And there are many fancy snakes in world myths. But they have no thumbs! And what about my dreams of otherworldly harem? Wait, is evolution even a thing here?

There seems to be no level as well, only skill levels and stats. Is it hidden? Can I see more information?

Evil-eye open! Probingprobingprobing. Okay so if I concentrate I can see more details about stuff. Basically, there seems to be no “global” level, only skills. There is a possibility of evolving into other species! Though it requires you to improve your body enough… also it can only happen when moving from one life stage to another. What are stages? Well, in my case it’s things like “egg”, and “snakeling”. It seems that every so often, snakes shed their skin, which is when evolution and significant changes can take place. They happen more often when you are young, and the requirements to change race track are often easier. 

What’s the deal with Attributes and stats you ask? Well, attributes are properties of your body and soul, things like how big you are and how much magic you can use, while stats are a combination of your status combined with how well you can utilise it. No more details. I guess it’s something like how an elephant will have more brute strength than a mosquito, no matter how much that mosquito tries. Stats seem to be increasable, the question is what about the attributes? Are they race specific, and you can’t do anything about them? Also, what about my ability to think, should a snake be able to have this level of self awareness?

And there are skills! How different the societies on earth would be if you could see your status and its progress as a result of your work! And how many people would try to kill themselves when they saw they have a skill with NEGATIVE numbers?! What the…

Why? Doesn’t this seem like a skill that spells very quick death to anyone who uses it? I don’t think it’s the type of skill that any race would be born with by default, so what could have caused it….

Incomplete reincarnation - this souls has reincarnated, but something caused the process to be incomplete. It’s soul has been weakened and it’s shell damaged, but it retained some of its knowledge, skills, growth and potential.

It must be this guys fault. This also explains why I still remember who I am. Or was.

That being said, according to this cursed skill, I should have some kind of uncontrollable telepathy going on, and yet I don’t feel anything like that happening. Is it because I’m still an egg? Thank god (not that cow asshole though) I woke up before I hatched.

What about my other skills? There is the isekai standard identify-like skill, scope!

So basically, it only tells things that are obvious at a glance (or a whiff, or whatever senses you have) and displays them in system friendly form. Hopefully it can be upgraded. And while we are talking about my senses, I can see heat now! Or would be able to if not for the surrounding darkness. I suspect the egg shell is blocking everything. Snake smell seems to be a more potent race specific version of smell and taste. What’s the soul sight though?

… okay so now I’m going to be haunted not only by thoughts of those around me, but also by literal ghosts?! I’ve never been good with horror! I had to close my eyes when Groke appeared on the Moomins! I always turn on the lights when going to the toilet at night! Can’t a ma.. Snake get a bit of rest here?! Finally, skill remnants

Huh remnants of the abilities I gained in my previous life. But there was no “status” on earth… or was there? Just invisible to us? Or maybe you had to call it out in a language we don’t know? Also, “Scavenging”? And “Air magic”? “Pecking”? Wait… “during previous LIFES”! They are also only level 0.1, could it be that I was a mage in my previous-previous life? Yeah right, not with that pecking. It seems The before-before-me was some kind of bird. Is this why I always wanted to have a parrot? No qualms about the foul eating skill though. I knew what I ate.

Okay, great. It might not be the Isekai life I wanted, but It will have to do. I have died once, and I don’t feel like doing it again. Let’s try using the time I have as an egg to counter the effects of the mind skill.

A mother was watching her children get out of the shell, her instincts fighting between helping them, and not touching them, knowing it to be an important step in making them stronger. First one out was a bigger green snakeling with blue dots along her head, signifying their gender, then two males, no dots, instead a single stripe around their neck, then another female. Lair was suddenly filled with energetic hissing, and movement. Only one egg was remaining, the one she was most worried about, but even it was moving left and right, the hatchling trying its best to get out, but couldn’t. She started moving left and right, not sure if she should help. After all, hatching is the first trial, made to sieve out those whose genes should not be passed out, those who fail should be left to die, but she birthed many eggs before, she saw many of her children die and it pained her again every time she saw it happen. Just as she was to finally beat her instincts, the shell cracked. A few moments later,  it broke and a small, pale blue head poked from within. It looked to the left. To the right. Then at her. And then, it suddenly hissed very loudly in pain. 

Reisinling

Next chapter in a few hours after I clean up the draft. Not sure about the skill table, should I split it into each skill has separate row? I think it looks worse on mobile that way, but current version takes too much vertical space. Hmm. 

Please tell me which part needs improvement the most, and I will try to rewrite it.

 

Edit: Welp, status won, and I fixed it now. Hopefully much better