That time I was reincarnated as a snake (Tensura)

-KAI POV-

Several days had passed since the battle and the talk with Mira. Our journey continued without any problems. Although I would have liked to be a slacker during this trip, I decided to heed Mira's advice and continue acquiring skills and developing the ones I already had.

I decided to continue down the hydraulic path. It might not look very impressive compared to other elements, it might even be bland, not to mention it would be a disadvantageous element against both Velzard's ice and Veldora's lightning. It doesn't really matter, because I would never actually use any element to face those guys. After all, they are immune to them; if I were to face them I would just use an ultimate skill or it would be pointless.

Since water is one of my affinities and I had already mastered some control over it, rather than wasting time on other elements, I decided to focus on acquiring the water manipulation skill. It would help me deal with opponents up to the Demon lord seed level, as long as they didn't have magic damage nullification. I knew I could get it by acquiring a variety of water-based magic skills, as well as enough magicules and desire. If it worked, it would give birth to water manipulation.

As for wind, actually… What can you do with wind that you can't do with water? I can't think of anything other than flying in the air. You have to remember that wind is the name given to the movement of air. Both water and air are considered fluids, sharing many common characteristics. In an underwater environment, water could allow you to do almost everything that wind does.

Actually, I'd rather rule over space. Everyone knows that the most OP elements in any fantasy work are space and time. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how they work. Plus, I have some plans for the oceans of this world 😎 .

I began practicing something I had attempted in the last battle against Mira. I had realized that having a one-way attack in a speed battle was too predictable. In the heat of battle, a memory of Kyogre's signature attack had flashed through my mind. Inspired by the primal pulse, I attempted to replicate it. Although I couldn't control it well and its power was greatly reduced, the fact that one of them hit Mira showed me its viability. It would just be a matter of replicating the water gun process and multiplying it several times. Thanks to thought acceleration, I was able to create up to four stable water guns. Although they lacked true power, it was a significant advancement. I just needed to improve my multitasking ability.

I continued for a while each day. When I grew tired, I would chase after the chariot that had continued its journey and rest in its shadow. Mira, for her part, continued to develop shadow linking. She could now create two shadow whips. She set out to continue increasing the number without increasing the charge time. She preferred all of her skills to be near-instant so that they would not affect her high-speed combat.

We were a couple of days away from reaching the capital. I wanted to at least make the four water guns able to be controlled independently and have their power equal to that of the solo water gun or even higher. Upon reaching the capital, I plan to infiltrate the royal library, one of the most protected places in the kingdom. I didn't know if I might encounter trouble, so I decided to increase my firepower.

Since I was playing with water, I gave the Rasengan a try. It wasn't much of a problem. After all, the concept behind how it works is actually simple: just focus energy/water into a high-pressure sphere with currents in multiple directions. This gives it some stability, cutting ability, and in the end it becomes a bomb, similar to what happened to me because of a Tiger Sword. I already had practice creating the high-pressure sphere; I just had to make it spin in multiple directions and be able to shoot them out as explosive projectiles.

I love thought acceleration! I can say that after my unique adaptive skill, it is my favorite skill. Thanks to it and its ability to speed up my thought process by a hundred times, magicule manipulation became easier and reduced my time to master a skill. Each time I could instantly sense problems in my manipulation and quickly adjust it so that it wouldn't destabilize or collapse, allowing me to save a lot of time and magicules. I remember my first attempts at creating water gun: whenever I failed to control it properly, it would blow up in my face, wasting the used magicules. But not anymore!

Several days later

In the distance, the capital city of Eldoria stood imposing and fortified, like a jewel in the middle of the natural landscape. The first thing one notices is the colossal outer wall over thirty meters high, built from solid grey stone, adorned with banners and flags fluttering in the wind, bearing the symbols and colors of the kingdom. Imposing watchtowers are distributed at regular intervals along the wall, with archers and sentries always on alert, watching for any possible threat. The massive iron-reinforced wooden gates were currently open for daily traffic, allowing access inside.

Our wagon headed for the gigantic entrance gates. A suspension bridge was required to cross the water-filled moat dozens of meters wide that surrounded the capital, a typical defense of the Middle Ages. Although very useful in my old world, I didn't know how much it could help defend the capital against an army wielding magic.

Our arrival at the gate was just as the sun was rising, and there was already a long line waiting to get in. Luckily for us, my driver, due to my threats as Night, wanted to make the delivery as quickly as possible, so he didn't hesitate to use some of the silver coins I gave him to bribe the gate guards into letting him through early.

Damn corruption, not even in the Middle Ages in a magical world will you be saved, you bastard!

Although the guards demanded more coins from my driver, they complied and we were able to avoid waiting in line for hours. As we entered through the entrance gates, I could sense traces of magicules on the walls and doors. Apparently, they had been reinforced with magic somehow. Good for them; if even the capital didn't have that minimal defense, I'd wonder how the hell this kingdom still exists.

"Wow!" I could only say that at the sight in front of me.

After crossing the wall, before me was not a small town like the fortress city I had visited not long ago.

No, in front of me I could see a gigantic plain in the middle of several mountains, completely surrounded by the imposing wall that I crossed. Inside was an inner wall, and within it a majestic castle could be seen. Between the two walls, there was a large amount of land filled with simple houses, as well as farms and fields. I could see its inhabitants working the fields and taking care of livestock. This should be the place for the lowest class to live, isolated from the rest, with the sole purpose of producing food for those with a higher status. Although considering the danger of living outside these walls, it might be a dream for them to be able to live here.

Our cart continued moving in a straight line towards the inner wall.

When we drove through it, I was fascinated by the view.

A huge city, although its buildings did not exceed four floors, I could see more and more buildings in the distance, perhaps thousands. I could not estimate the size of this city.

But the most impressive thing was the central area, which sat on a hill. It was home to stone buildings with elaborate facades, stained glass windows, and balconies decorated with flowers. Here, the residences of the nobility and the administrative buildings of the kingdom were located. At its summit, the imposing royal castle stood. A white castle, the signature color of the kingdom, along with orange, with multiple towers and domes of incredibly large size, seemed to reach the heavens. Similar in appearance to other castles in fantasy works, but this one was many times larger, more complex, and obviously, as you would expect from royal egomaniacs, very luxurious. I could see the golden glow on the exterior decorations from hundreds of meters away.

Ignoring the castle, I turned my attention back to the town. In front of me I could see rows and rows of stalls on the main street, people shouting to attract buyers for their products, passersby checking out those products, various establishments along the streets, such as blacksmiths, glass shops, among others. Some knights could be seen patrolling to maintain public order. Rather than a medieval town like those in my previous world in the 5th-15th centuries, this one looked more like what you would find in a fantasy video game. Although the aesthetics might seem medieval, you couldn't see the ugly part of the Middle Ages, such as the muddy streets, the smell of excrement everywhere, as well as the lack of planning in the constructions.

Of course, the buildings were made of stone and wood, but they seemed to follow a standardized pattern of construction. In the Middle Ages, buildings did not follow defined patterns, which is why there were many narrow streets, a poor flow of movement within the city. In some places, the houses were packed together, while in other places they were separated by a lot of space, giving an image of complete disarray.

While this capital had wide main streets for a good flow of visitors, the streets, although not paved, were covered with cobblestones. The houses were at least three stories high. I could even see a sewage system on the roads.

Although I had enjoyed our trip with my cute driver, it was time to say goodbye. After guiding him unnoticed to a place away from people, out of mercy I decided to put him to sleep. When he was completely asleep, with a quick movement, I stepped out of his shadow with my mouth wide open and, in one gulp, I ate him.

It may be cruel, but he had already accomplished his mission. Since I currently lacked a way to erase or modify memories, the best way to prevent him from leaking what he had done for me to a third party was to silence him forever.

Having done this, I decided to find a place to base ourselves. I might have stayed in the slums last time, but I wasn't planning on doing the same this time. You have to know that on that occasion I decided to act with extreme caution because I didn't know anything, not even the time period I was in. I didn't want to stand out and then find out that I had wandered into the tiger's den.

But that's not the case this time. In preparation for this trip, I had gathered relevant information about the capital.

Although nobles usually lived in the territories they governed, most of them had at least one mansion within the noble district, a mansion they would use in case of official visits to the capital. That was my goal, to use one of those mansions as my base. Not only were they located in an area inaccessible to most of the population, but due to their conflicts of interest with other nobles and fear of being conspired against, knights from the capital were not allowed to patrol that area. Each mansion was protected and managed by each noble's own men.

I headed with Mira to the noble area of the capital. On our way I could see a large number of guards at the entrance of the area, ensuring the interests of the nobles to the maximum. I could see various types of mansions, from some very simple but spacious ones, to, to my bewilderment, mansions in the style of my old world, with bars, several swimming pools with umbrellas and chairs for sunbathing. Fields that I assume are for duels or jousting instead of tennis or volleyball courts. I even found catwalk style rooms of taiboldance .

As?!

Is there another world out there promoting the development of masculine culture among nobles?!

Or even if civilization is lost every five hundred years, do men always find their way? These doubts will keep me awake tonight.

Whatever. Since I can enjoy an environment similar to that of Earth, who would want to live in medieval style? So I decided on this last mansion, which was the largest, most luxurious and most secluded. Surely owned by some very powerful noble.

Luckily for him, he wasn't in the mansion. If that were the case, to my great regret, I would assassinate him and try to impersonate him. Then, I would slowly use his identity to create an intricate web of relationships with the lesser nobles, bringing me untold benefits, getting rid of political competitors, taking over this kingdom. Wahahahaha !

But no. For the time being I'll just use his mansion as my base. Maybe if he decides to come over sometime while I'm here, I could implement that plan. But if not, I won't bother looking for him.

This trip can be considered a change of scenery for me. I'll try not to plan so much and relax more. Maybe I'll just use shadow movement to go back to my old base from time to time to monitor Phersu so that he doesn't disappear by the time I leave here. I might be able to create another organization very easily, but it would be a hassle to do it all over again. I'd rather take some time to prevent the one I already have from collapsing without even helping me out.

With Mira's help, it didn't take long to get rid of all the guards and staff in the mansion.

At this moment I was looking at the taiboldance room . Looking back at my current body, I could only let out a tired sigh.

"What is all this for?" Mira asked me, curious about these new things.

"Nothing very special, nobles just use it for women to dance while keeping their grip on the pole."

"Why would they do that?" she asked, puzzled.

"By restricting the use of their arms, they have to make more use of their legs and waist. This results in them moving their hips a lot, which causes arousal in males," I said, sharing my vast knowledge.

Mira, seeing my longing face, she gave me a blank look.

"Forget it, I'm going to practice in the back, let me know if you need me for anything," Mira said before leaving.

I stared at the tubes for a while longer. "Ugh… I miss my old body sometimes. It may have been incredibly weak compared to this one, but I miss some of the sensations that involved 18+ content," I said regretfully.

'I should try to find a way to get a humanoid form.'

I pondered this for a while. 'I know that if I evolve with a strong desire for a human form, I might be able to achieve it, like Souei's dragonewt subordinates did. But that would make me lose my snake form, which brings many advantages and which I've grown quite accustomed to. I believe Lycanthrope had both human and beast forms. Maybe if I research their transformation, I can get a transformation ability.'

'Unfortunately, it's not possible to catch some for now. From what I've learned since I started collecting information, the Lycanthrope are currently divided into several tribes. These tribes are in continuous battles to subdue the others. It seems that all the tribes are currently located southeast of my position, where Carrion would later rule. It requires crossing a mountain range or going around it and passing through Sarion or a large part of the Jura Forest. The latter is something that neither the Lycanthrope nor the humans would do for no reason.'

'Even for me, with all my speed, it would take weeks of continuous travel to reach the nearest Lycanthrope tribes on the most direct route. It would take much longer for the ever-reliable human slavers, who specialize in capturing girls of other races and selling them to nobles. I can only put my hopes on them. Maybe they'll surprise me.'

'So I must look for other ways to obtain the transformation ability. I hope to find interesting things in the royal library, but that can wait. For the time being, I should continue with the training of the primal pulse, I almost have it.'

I headed to the back where Mira was. There I could see her practicing with her whips of darkness. She could now use up to four whips flexibly. If she keeps this up, she will surely be able to acquire the skill soon.

Not wanting to disturb her, I found a secluded spot in the mansion's massive courtyard.

I closed both eyes and relaxed. Using thought acceleration and mana sense, I slowly focused on creating four spheres of water orbiting my head. First, I increased the amount of water and pressure in them, while maintaining their original shapes. All this while continuing to slowly increase their spinning speeds around me, in order to improve my multitasking ability.

After several seconds, when I felt that I could no longer increase the pressure on them and their spinning speeds had reached several revolutions per second, I opened my eyes. The four spheres that were rapidly spinning around me instantly stopped, and with a shout from me, "Primal Pulse!" I roared with all my chuunibyou spirit.

I released all their power in four different directions.

Unlike Kyogre's attack, mine was not intended to cause damage with the impact of large, powerful jets of water. No, I sought to focus the output as much as possible to a few millimeters in diameter, seeking maximum penetration and cutting capacity. In front of me were not large pools of destruction, but four thin cutting trails that crossed everything in their path, from dozens of meters of ground and rocks, to several cut trees hundreds of meters away.

"Oh yeah, baby," I squealed in excitement at the sight.

'Hahahaha, with this power I should be able to cut down several Armosourus in a row.'

Common Skill: Successful acquisition of Primal Pulse. The Water Gun skill and Primal Pulse skill are integrated into the common skill Water Pressure.

'Okay, I didn't expect that to happen. Apparently the voice of the world groups both the water gun and my new primal pulse into water pressure, which is indeed true. I'm just controlling the water pressure and releasing it in one direction, loosening my control on it a little.'

This made me think: I had actually only been using one of the properties of water. I should be using its high density and high surface tension to shape the water and create constructs, something like shields, whips similar to Mira's, and even attacks like the Water Dragon Bomb jutsu.

Its dissolving and corrosive capacity to destroy objects.

Its high heat capacity and thermal conductivity to create more lethal attacks by imbuing it with heat, something like the Scald move in Pokemon: a jet of boiling water, which would not only do impact damage, but also leave severe burns on the target.

Or vice versa, remove heat from it and create ice. Better in defense and control capabilities, after all, the ice element can be considered the advanced element of water, just as lightning is for the wind element.

'I should try controlling water outside of myself. This may be of limited use depending on the location, but it would help me not have to waste so much of my magicules for every attack I make.'

I decided to try the latter first. Luckily for me, this grand mansion had a small artificial river. Damn nobles, while the humbler ones don't even have a home, these guys enjoy all the luxuries.

Outrageous!

Clearly it's not because I'm jealous of their things, sooner or later I'll create my own base of operations, with the coolest things in this world, these nobles will look like poor boys in comparison.

What angers me is that they are weaklings. If they had the equivalent strength to their titles, something like a meritocracy focused on power, I wouldn't care. But that's not the case. Most of the nobles in this kingdom are the offspring of those who were capable. Because of the comforts and luxuries, they were exposed to all their lives, their offspring are losing their quality with the passing of the years. But what can you expect from a race that places so much importance on supposed bloodlines, instead of their own strength?

I prefer Carrion's model of government. The strong represent an insignificant proportion compared to the rest of the population, but they control more than ninety percent of the resources and enjoy the best treatment. If those below are not satisfied, then they should strive to be stronger. This also forces the ruling class not to give in or they will be demoted and lose their luxuries.

Leaving the above aside, I reached the bank of the small river.