Chapter 6 - Snake God System

[𝙾𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙳𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍]

 [𝚂𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚂𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖 𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎]

…

𝙾𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚛𝚋 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜

 𝙷𝚘𝚜𝚝: 𝙾𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚒 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚗-𝙱𝚘𝚛𝚗

 𝙰𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙻𝚟: 𝟷

𝚂𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚝 𝙿𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝙿𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎

 𝚂𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚜: 𝙽𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝙼𝚒𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛, 𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚂𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎

 𝙳𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝙼𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝙵𝚎𝚎: 𝙰 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎.

Gasping, Orochi was thrust back into the world. He lay there for a moment, dazzled. It took him a second to notice the huge floating screen to his side. In a flash he sat up, the screen following his movements.

"What the hell…" His eyes widened upon hearing the foreign voice, fingers tracing the shape of his lips from where the noise came.

"I can speak," muttered Orochi. Which meant only one thing… his Spirit Orb was whole again.

Orochi's head spun as a ping sounded.

[𝙾𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙼𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎]

𝚂𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝. 𝙻𝚊𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝.

The floating words looked similar to the screens in his memories. He had seen this before. Was it from Earth?

Another ping echoed.

[𝙾𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙼𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎]

𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝚆𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝?

From the books Orochi had read, he knew that when the Spirit Orb fused with a Spirit Beast granted by a god through a contract, the user would be enlightened upon entering the First Ascension Level.

This must mean that this 'system' was the Spirit Beast. Orochi was sure that thing in his mind's eye had collided with the fragments. It seemed the manual of the First Moon-Born really had found a way to circumvent the gods.

Orochi clicked 'yes' on the floating pop-up. In a flash, as if a USB had been inserted into his brain, millions of letters and numbers blasted into his mind, his eyes lighting up as enlightenment filled him.

╰┈➤

Orochi was about to open the library door when he heard a familiar voice behind it. Lady Moon-Born. He froze.

Without realising, Snake Sense suddenly activated. A skill he had seen on the System.

All at once, he could see the warm red outlines of the two people on the other side. A heat-sense vision. Then the voices grew clearer as his ears adjusted.

"…he's been inside all day?" questioned Lady Moon-Born.

"Yes, ma'am," Althea replied, keeping her eyes on the floor. "If you would like, I could go and inform the young master of your arrival."

"No need." Lady Moon-Born stared at the door. For a moment, Orochi felt as though she might have seen him.

"It is a shame he wasn't as focused before. Maybe then he might've… I wonder what happened…" The noblewoman drifted into deep thought, leaving Althea stiff in uncomfortable silence.

"His father will come to see him soon. As you know, in three months Selina will be going to the Gamma Samma ceremony in the capital to represent the family. I fear the worst may befall Orochi in that time."

His father would kill him. Cull the embarrassment of the family.

Expected, thought Orochi. But this confirmed another thing: Lady Melina Moon-Born's concern was that of a relative, not a mother.

Through his reading of the family history, Orochi had learned his father had a secret affair. One thing had become clear: Lady Melina Moon-Born was not his mother.

The doors to the library opened as Orochi stepped out, intercepting Althea's reply. For a moment she looked angry, likely ready to say something that would have cost her life had Orochi not walked out just now.

"Hello Mother," he wrote on his chalkboard.

It was best the world still believed he could not speak. Best to appear weak.

Lady Moon-Born's eyes flickered. It seemed the past Orochi had never referred to her as Mother. Confirming his suspicions.

Quickly steadying herself, Lady Moon-Born smiled.

"Oh, hello sweetie. I've heard you've started reading? I've asked the servants to bring you some toys."

Orochi nodded dubiously. The overly exaggerated concern of a mother from he first woke up wasn't there anymore. Probably because the physician wasn't here. No need to act up. Now Lady Moon-Born seemed to be looking for an excuse to be away from him. Though if she really wanted him dead, then surely she would've informed the House, so why keep the secret?

"Mummy will be back later to check on you, your sister is preparing for her big day."

She patted him on the head instead of giving him a hug and scurried away in her long dress, leaving Althea and Orochi alone.

"Young master—"

"Althea."

The sound of his voice stunned Althea.

"Althea."

The commanding tone made her bow instinctively.

"Young master, you can spe—"

"You've done well. Thankyou for taking care of me."

Slowly, she looked up to meet his gaze. Her knees wobbled, shaking as tears filled her eyes.

How long had it been since she heard that voice?

"The reason why I'm talking to you is because I trust you. My life is in danger, Althea. I need you."

╰┈➤

One thing he did not expect was to console the sudden fountain of tears from his maid. She collapsed to her knees, weeping in joy at his recovery.

Unsure what to do, Orochi awkwardly patted her on the head, which for some reason made her cry even harder.

After a few minutes, Althea finally managed a full sentence without hiccupping.

"We should inform the House of your recovery, young master."

"No. The House wants me dead. No one but you will know," replied Orochi.

He had to think this through. Right now, he had just stepped into Ascension Lv 1. Before he could step into the world as Orochi Moon-Born, more power needed to be consolidated. His own power.

"I need a teacher. Someone who can teach me how to fight. Find me a tutor. To make any payments, sell everything that isn't necessary in the house. Understood?"

He made sure to say it commandingly, making it clear this was not up for discussion.

Dutifully, Althea bowed. "It will be done."

Nodding, Orochi looked out of the window into the vast, dangerous world.

He would need three things before stepping into the unknown.

Money. Power. People.

Right now he was broke, powerless, and had only Althea.

Soon things would change.

Soon the world would have to meet a new Orochi Moon-Born.

Looking out of the corner of his eye Orochi sighed at seeing Althea unable to stand still. First he should probably update his maid on a few things. Just by looking at her he could tell she was bursting at the seems with questions. 

(ง'̀-'́)ง