Survival: Day 1

Day 1 of survival.

The first day as a snake—a monster.

With this pathetically weak G-rank body, I had no clue what to do first.

I wanted to do something, but you have to stay alive before you can do anything, right?

I worried that if I tried anything reckless, I'd just get ambushed and killed by another monster.

...Yeah. No big plans for now. Just focus on surviving.

Shiii───

After quite a bit of agonizing, I finally set my immediate goal.

Survive.

Anything more ambitious was a luxury I couldn't afford right now.

Survive first, then figure out the rest.

And so, my saga as a snake began.

In the past, working as a porter, I'd picked up plenty of tips on surviving the labyrinth.

But those were all from a human perspective, so now that I was a snake—a monster—they weren't much help.

The one useful thing was my knowledge of the monsters that appeared in the labyrinth.

After turning into a snake, a new ability awakened—one I hadn't had before.

My vision was so hazy it felt suffocating, but as I mindlessly flicked my tongue out—

Shiii──

My forked tongue slipped slyly out of my mouth.

And with it came a brand-new sensation I'd never known.

Not seeing, but feeling.

Beyond what my eyes could barely make out, I could sense a much wider area.

A flood of information rode in on the tip of my tongue.

Details I never could've spotted with my eyes alone all gathered there.

...This is amazing.

The one silver lining of ending up like this?

Sure, it paled compared to losing my arms and legs, but considering my grim snake life ahead, it was at least some comfort.

This makes the haziness a bit more bearable.

Finding my way through the foggy blur was tough, but my tongue gave me some reassurance.

Alright, time to get used to this body first?

I needed to adapt to these totally alien senses compared to my human days.

To survive, I had to master this unfamiliar form.

And in the process, I discovered something new.

I'd vaguely heard from hunters back in the day.

To raise your status window stats, you had to train.

I never imagined "training" meant something this simple, but hey, the stats went up anyway.

Probably because my stats were so pitifully low that even basic actions counted as training...

Should I even be happy about this?

Raising stats wasn't hard at all.

If I hadn't known about the status window, maybe, but now that I understood how it worked, it was easier than expected.

A new notification chimed in my ear, and I stretched lazily.

No arms or legs, but still.

As I ground away at my stats, I took a moment to think leisurely.

What did I need most to survive?

A safe spot to hide in, first and foremost.

At first, I thought this place wasn't safe, but after hanging out here a bit, I realized it was.

Quite some time had passed, and I hadn't encountered a single proper lifeform.

So better to stay put in this slightly uneasy but empty spot than wander off to somewhere teeming with life.

For the time being, I'd stick around here.

That said, I wasn't planning to hole up forever.

I didn't know why nothing else lived nearby, and staying passive like this was too risky.

This was the labyrinth.

A demonic realm where even seasoned hunters dropped dead in the blink of an eye.

Stay complacent and passive, and I'd die without a peep.

Especially as the bottom-barrel G-rank monster.

I needed to think ahead, act on my own, and stay proactive—one step ahead.

With that in mind, I'd grind stats hard around here for now.

Humans too, but monsters especially—strength was survival.

To make it in this brutal labyrinth, I needed basic combat power, and the surest way was raising stats.

I kept at it steadily for what felt like one or two hours.

Easier said than done—moving nonstop that long was brutally exhausting.

Eventually, I collapsed in a heap, too drained to continue.

The notifications in my ear had grown sparse sometime ago.

Some kind of tolerance? The higher the stat, the harder it got to raise.

Growth slowed sharply after a point.

Yeah, this wouldn't be a cakewalk.

...I don't wanna do anything intense right now.

Shiii───

A lazy hiss slipped out.

Glancing over, my tongue was flicking busily on its own, asserting its presence.

Whoever's tongue this is, it works hard.

No need to turn my head—constant updates on my surroundings made me naturally lazy.

Already like this on day one—what about later?

A vision of myself as a fat, bloated snake flashed in my mind.

...If I survive long enough to get that plump, great.

Shiii───

I chuckled, then sighed at the grim reality.

If I were even a bit higher rank, no worries like this—but no, G-rank bottom-feeder.

How could I not despair?

If I just sleep and wake up in my bed back home...

Exhausted from the workout, drowsiness crept in.

I wished this was all a dream.

Close my eyes, open them to my familiar bedroom ceiling...

Sruruk—

...Snakes don't have eyelids, huh.

A sigh like a lament escaped.

I wanted to close my eyes, but couldn't. Why was a monster so faithful to the real-life model?

Could've skimped on this detail.

No eyelids means no closing eyes. No closing eyes means... how do I sleep?

Shaaa───

A threatening ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hiss leaked out involuntarily.

Just natural irritation bubbling up.

Body tired, but can't sleep? What gives?

But surprisingly, falling asleep was easy.

The moment I decided to sleep, my consciousness sank into slumber.

My vision was already blurry—eyes open or not, it felt the same.

No need to close them, apparently.

Ah...! But I can't sleep now!

Grinding stats in the middle of an open clearing? Sleeping here was stupid.

Shiii───

I fought the waves of sleep, snapping awake again.

Body aching all over, desperate to collapse—but with my last shred of willpower, I moved.

Some noises rang in my ears as I dragged my aching body along, but exhaustion and fogged mind kept me from registering them properly.

Or maybe I ignored them on purpose.

Right now, vague sounds mattered less than crashing somewhere safe.

Feeling every muscle scream, I slithered into a hollow under a tree stump.

A bit cramped, but that made it cozier somehow.

Though in my state, anywhere would've felt cozy.

I coiled up snugly inside and finally surrendered to the overwhelming sleep.

Day 1: End.

Day 2 of survival.

Slowly rousing, I opened my eyes.

Blurry vision made me reflexively rub them, but the emptiness hit me—reality check.

...Right, I'm a snake now.

Shiii───

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

No familiar bedroom ceiling from last night's wish.

Just damp earth scent and dim confines.

I flicked my tongue naturally.

Flick—

Instantly, unseen info flooded in.

Temperature and humidity in my burrow, the forest outside.

Not far-ranging, but everything nearby was crystal clear, like I'd seen it.

Still no other lifeforms...

Combining the data, I slowly uncoiled.

Fully used to this body after a day.

Still missed limbs a bit, but livable enough.

Only day 2, after all.

Alright, time for today's grind?

Shiii───

Not-quite-training training. Stat grinding via repetition—priority one: Agility.

Quick reactions could save my life.

Then Stamina/Durability. Strength third.

Mana too, but no clue how—helpless there.

Overheard from hunters as porter: sense ambient energy. Total nonsense to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠normal-guy me.

What kinda ghost story was that?

Yesterday I managed at least two hours... wonder about today? Not doubling suddenly, right?

Same as yesterday, I settled in the clearing to boost Agility—

Or tried to.

Until that showed up out of nowhere.