As I walked through the gate, a few thoughts flashed through my mind. I thought it would be better if I died. In my old world, I had caused my brother too much worry. My failing university and unemployment had forced him to abandon his future and sell fish at the market, even working late into the night.
I also had a job at my mother's veterinary hospital, but the meager pay wasn't enough to support both of us. I couldn't bear to see my brother working so hard anymore. I didn't want to lose another loved one someday.
When I heard that my mother sacrificed her soul so that I could be reborn into this world, I decided to live life to the fullest in this new world. I couldn't let all her efforts go to waste.
A beam of light appeared, blinding me. I tried to shield my eyes with my hands, but I realized they were gone. The light enveloped my entire body, and then everything went dark.
~~~~
"...it's so cramped..."
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a deep red space. I could even see my veins. It was quite frightening, as I didn't know what I had just been reincarnated into.
"It's so warm..."
"But why is it so dark?"
I noticed I was surrounded by some kind of liquid, with a rather foul smell. The space was very cramped; I could barely move much.
I tried to move a little, and then...
~Crack!~ I broke through the dark space. Light shone in from outside, and I slowly crawled out, following the light.
I moved my body and tried to feel myself, but I suddenly recoiled; I couldn't feel anything at all. My legs and arms were completely numb.
"Wait, where are my arms and legs?"
"I can't feel anything!"
I tried my best to move my limbs, but I couldn't feel those vital parts. Instead, I only felt like I could crawl.
"What happened to my limbs?" I began to regain my vision and could see around me.
"Where... am I?"
I looked around; it was a dark, damp cave, the air smelling of damp earth and the stench of some corpses in the distance.
Rocks jutted out from the cave ceiling and walls, their long, tangled vines hanging down like matted hair. A faint light filtered through a crack above, illuminating only a small area of the cave.
The cave floor was uneven, some parts covered in moss, others flooded with water. Deep inside, the sounds of howling wind, rustling bats, and something crawling in the darkness made me a little scared.
I shivered slightly as the gentle breeze blew across my body.
"It's so cold here, but why is my skin so sensitive?"
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a terrible headache struck me. I used my tail to wrap around my head. A flood of information was pouring into my mind.
The body I reincarnated into belongs to the White Crimson Serpent, a reptile species with a light, snow-white body. On either side of its head are two large, pale pink scales, which help it navigate in the dark like a bat. This species also has a rather strange habit: after laying about ten eggs, they leave their offspring there to fend for themselves. And that's why I'm here.
"What a heartless creature! Who would leave their offspring here?"
"But, I need to find a way out of here now."
I see some torches on the wall; if so, it means there are people here.
I should stay away. In this form, I'm sure I'll be killed. After all, the White Crimson Serpent is classified as a monster.
After thinking for a moment, I crawled forward. It was a little difficult at first, but after a while, I became more adept and moved more easily.
"But why is this information in my head?"
In my old world, I had a hobby: reading manga and light novels, sometimes even visual novels. Therefore, my bookshelf was full of publications from various authors, including works of the isekai genre.
According to the typical plot of those web novels, the goddess who gives birth to the protagonist will grant them something called a system. The system is a panel that appears after the protagonist dies and is reincarnated into another world.
"But why isn't it showing up?"
The pain returned. The voice of the sun goddess Amaterasu echoed.
"Kisugaki Fumoto, I will reincarnate you into the body of a snake. I apologize for any discomfort, but it's the only body suitable for your soul and origin. Oh, and that system that's about to appear... its personality will be a bit unpleasant, so you'd better bear with it. Good luck, don't die too soon."
The voice ended, and the headache subsided.
"This system will have a very unpleasant personality? I thought that besides Ciel from 'I Reincarnated as a Slime,' the other systems didn't have emotions."
~Tin~ A sound behind me startled me, and I turned around. I thought it would be that system. But it seems I was wrong. The thing making the sound was... what was it called again? Oh right, it was a slime. My memory is terrible.
It was very strange; this slime didn't resemble the slimes I'd seen in fantasy games. It wasn't cute like my favorite slime characters, but instead looked like a gray mixture, its body transparent. I could even see a skull inside.
"This is really bad."
The slime moved slowly. At first glance, others might be mistaken for it moving very slowly, but it was actually trying to deceive me. Slimes aren't particularly strong, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. Their ability to absorb everything allows them to devour anything and everything using the concentrated acid in their bodies.
My eyes widened, and I tried to watch every movement of that slime; if I took my eyes off it for even a moment, I would surely end up like the skull inside its belly.
I don't know how this red snake attacks, but it must have injected venom, right? It's not that I lack knowledge about snakes, it's just that if this were a different world, their biological structure would probably be different, wouldn't it? But even if it could inject venom, with that slime's almost liquid body, the venom would probably be completely useless.
Wait a minute, it doesn't have a brain, so why should I overthink it?
I used my tail to pick up a rock and threw it. Just as I expected, the slime was fooled. It crawled after the rock I threw, no longer paying attention to me.
I breathed a sigh of relief and crawled away, but things weren't so sweet.
The slime wasn't fooled, but I was. The moment I looked away, it leaped towards me. Luckily, my agility allowed me to dodge.
"Luckily I moved quickly, otherwise I would have been in its stomach."
I strained my eyes to observe the slime; it had sprouted many whip-like tendrils from its body.
"How on earth did I kill it?"
Suddenly, a panel appeared before me. Oh my god, the system just appeared now.
A robotic female voice rang out.
======
[Beginning analysis]
[Creature Name: Slime]
[Species: Slime]
[Class: None]
[Occupation: Corpse Eater]
-Skill-
[Corrosion: Skill allows eating corroded objects]
I looked at the panel. Thankfully, my weapon was here.
The system seemed to read my thoughts and spoke.
[Huh?]
I used the sword-collecting system, tossing it towards the slime like a sword dress.
[Ah ah ah, you used me the wrong way!!!!!!]
The system cut through the slime, but didn't kill it. That wasn't my intention; I was just slowing it down. While the system was cutting it in half, I crawled away as fast as I could.
The system reappeared in front of me.
[Warning: Don't do that again.]
"Sorry, sorry."
"But why did you only appear now?"
[Answer: Because I'm an object from a higher dimension, so I need a lot of time to create my own unique form of information.]
"A form of information?"
[Answer: Systems like mine can be a form of information independent of this world's optical universe, which gives us almost all the information she needs.]
"Let's talk about that later, it's attacking again!"
The slime's tentacles swung towards me, but I easily dodged them with my agile body.
"Dodging all the time isn't good, hey, do you have any ideas?"
The system displayed three dots, paused for three seconds, then showed my stats.
======
[Stats]
[Name: Kisugaki Fumoto]
[Species: White Red Snake]
[Class: None]
[Nickname: Reincarnator - (hidden)]
[Occupation: None.]
-Skills-
[Corrosive Venom: Allows the release of a corrosive poison that can corrode objects.]
[Binding: Binds the victim with the body and forces them to their death.]
======
I glanced at my stats. They were different from the stats I'd seen in the games I'd played. There were two skills I could use, but only one was useful.
I turned to the system and asked,
"How do I use the {Corrosive Venom} skill?"
[Report: You just need to open your mouth and spit.]
"Is the information accurate?"
[It's accurate, trust me.]
I reluctantly followed the system's instructions. I opened my mouth and spat directly at the slime. My saliva and its saliva collided, and true to the ability's name, the slime instantly dissolved like an ice cream cone in the sun.
It's powerful, even stronger than acid.
[Tick, tick, tick]
A pleasant sound rang out, the system appeared, its robotic voice becoming cheerful.
[Congratulations, Kisugaki Fumoto, you have completed two tasks.]
[Task: Familiarize yourself with your new body - Completed.]
[Reward: Transform into a human - One-time use only]
[Task: Eliminate the enemy - Completed]
[Reward: New skill]
I glanced through the lines of text, which were decorated with many bright colors.
Transforming into a human? Oh my god, I thought I'd have to go through a lot like my favorite character, that they had to go through a lot to become human, but I just completed a task from the system and I became human. It's incredibly overpowered!
But... what's the new skill?
I looked down and saw an unlock button. I used my tail to press it.
It worked! So snakes can do so many things like this too?
The system emitted a beam of light that blinded me. I used my tail to shield my eyes.
It took me a while to regain my vision.
The system's robotic voice sounded again.
[Congratulations to Kisugaki Fumoto on receiving a new skill.]
[New Skill: High Priest of the Great Ancients - Cthulhu.]
End of Chapter 2