Records of Rebirth

Chapter 112 - Queen Or Tyrant?

Typhon oversaw the training of the nestlings from a small platform above. 

The three groups they created, the snakes struggled to complete one activity after another in a tense atmosphere that did not allow for failure. 

He observed their progress very strictly, making sure there were no mistakes and none were slacking. With the exception of the snakes that had passed their leader's test, the rest of them were continuing the gruelling training. 

Yet in the tremulous air, he heard the ring of laughter followed by the sound of a body smacking into one of the pillars.

[Stay still, you cheat!] Galahad bellowed with rage, while nursing a rather large bruise to the head.

[I told you there's no winning here. You can't catch me.] Cygnus replied in a cheery voice.

Typhon looked at the two and sighed. In one of the activities set out by their leader, Galahad was the seeker whose task was to use [Heat Sense] to find the hidden Cygnus. 

[You're not supposed to move around! I would have won already if you didn't keep cheating!] Galahad complained angrily.

He wasn't wrong.

Anytime Galahad came close to catching him, the gap between the two would widen ever so slightly and Galahad would end up missing him, before colliding into one of the pillars of the obstacle course.

Normally he would reprimand Cygnus, but the problem was that even he couldn't see Cygnus move. He was still in his original position looking innocent.

Besides, Galahad had been acting far too arrogant since 'she' had given him a name and he was due for some humbling. 

[Winners don't make excuses! Continue!] Typhon called out, and the two immediately stopped arguing.

Galahad resumed his training with a dejected look, while Cygnus continued playing his tricks with an innocent look. However on Galahad's fifth miss, a splash of water appeared right in front of Cygnus, washing him clear across the floor until he was directly in the path of Galahad.

And with that, Cygnus was finally caught.

Typhon sighed and looked away, while the exhausted Galahad started his long awaited victory celebrations.

Was the training still fair, if these two could cheat so casually like this?

Typhon glanced at their leader who was comfortably coiled around herself and settled inside her perch of decorative flora, courtesy of Ophelia and her group. He then noticed that her gaze affixed on the training grounds.

Was she really watching them train?

But why did her gaze seem to trail Galahad like he was a juicy piece of meat?

Did she really have a crush on him like his sister said?

He shivered at the thought and turned away.

Anyhow... Galahad? Cygnus?

At first he thought his name was weird, but these two really pulled it off. Their leader seemed to be throwing out these names like nothing, yet none objected. Now he didn't even blink when the nestlings began referring to themselves with names, as if it was something normal.

He overheard some of them talking while he passed by. Most of their conversation were geared towards their leaders' size and her shiny scales, with many looking at her with amazement. It was unusual of them to see such brightly coloured scales since all they were used to was black and white.

[She's so big and shiny. Is she our mother?] One of the nestlings asked.

Wait. What?

Typhon nearly gagged at their words. This was not something he expected to hear!

Who was teaching these kids such nonsense?

Galahad also overhead and knocked them over the head with his water creature. [What mother? Don't you remember who she was? She was born with us.] He hesitated, flustered as he tried to find the words. [S-she's only gotten bigger for some reason, but she's the same snake! I always knew she would come back.]

The nestlings gushed at his words. [No way? She's back? How fat!]

Galahad looked incredibly proud, like he'd accomplished something. [And, I have a name now. And so, you should all call me Galahad from now on.]

Typhon scowled and turned away from them. What disrespectful snakes.

He suspected his sister had something to do with their silly claims as she wouldn't stop gushing about how strong their leader had become. It was like she had put a spell on all of them. Or rather, it was the effect of having something powerful in their midst that put them in their place.

All the snakes cheered for her arrival and everything had seemingly returned to normal. If there was ever any resentment because of her previous absence, it was gone now. Overall the response to her training methods was largely positive – aside from a few who complained about the overwork, no one could really fault her.

The effect of her presence was simply too scary to contend with.

Typhon had experienced the drastic change of the cave since training began. The named nestlings had become quieter, seemingly focused on staring at nothing in front of them and training even harder like they are under a curse. He was just the same as them, and even more since he was made to enforce their strict regime.

Although he could see their leader's intentions of making them stronger because he had [Status Inspection]. The other snakes who did not have the skill had been swept up in a frenzy without knowing what was going on.

Apart from the few named snakes who could see their stats, the others thought their leader was tormenting them with excessive training, and it didn't help matters that some other snakes were pushing this narrative and spreading misinformation.

The spaded snake that used to follow him around had started moving suspiciously ever since her terrible defeat and seemed to always be in a dark mood.

Unsurprisingly, she didn't know what was going on, and she hated it. So he could only imagine her surprise when the snakes she knew started calling themselves strange names.

And it didn't help when the other snakes who she used to ignore, quickly began to surpass her in ability.

He'd tried to explain to her, but she was stubborn and refused to listen. It wasn't surprising that she would lash out when she was suddenly weaker than before and couldn't understand what was happening or why. 

Typhon also wasn't sure why their leader had not named her. After all, she'd been one of the snakes he trained after she left Ophelia's group and he thought she was skilled. But perhaps their leader was searching for something else. And indeed, when compared to the snakes that had been named, she was subpar.

Artemis was timid in nature, but she was always careful and analytical while Morgana was quiet and thoughtful, yet crafty. He'd always thought she was like a mature older sister to Ophelia, who sometimes let her emotions get the best of her.

And yet Morgana knew when to be discreet.

She was skilled, perhaps not as skilled as Ophelia, but she was good all the same. Yet he'd never seen her show off or try to challenge her once. Whereas the spaded snake had done nothing but that the moment she left Ophelia's side.

As for the others, there was Cygnus who seemed to possess extraordinary speed and Galahad whose determination to improve himself was positively infectious.

Compared to them, the spaded snake would look ordinary in anyone's eyes. Especially since their leader seemed to be looking for higher level or unique skills. 

And the spaded snake wasn't training as much as the others. Instead, she was capitalizing over the discomfort of the confused nestlings and spreading rumours.

Typhon shook his head in disappointment. Right now she was physically in the training grounds, but her thoughts were elsewhere. How was she going to improve and get noticed by their leader if she continued acting like this? She might as well not have been in the training grounds from the progress she was making.

He was going to ignore her, but when he saw Cygnus making his way over to her, dripping wet and still annoyed at his loss – he knew it wasn't going to end well.

Cygnus was normally well behaved, so he never guessed he would do something like this. But when they began to converse, it quickly grew heated.

Typhon arrived just in time to hear the spaded snake speak.

[I don't need something stupid like a name! I'm fine without it.]

He was unsure of what Cygnus had said, but the spaded snake was very upset. And then Galahad who just happened to stroll over couldn't resist a jab at Cygnus. [Why are you being so mean to her. It's not her fault. She didn't get a name because her skills aren't good.] 

He had come to defend her, but all his words did was anger her more. The spaded snake couldn't respond and stormed off in a huff, and the two snakes were left staring at each other.

Galahad looked confused. [What did I say?]