Records of Rebirth

Chapter 15 - Quest

The display on the status window changed to that of a menu. Currently in the store there were three skills.

Appraisal [100XP]

Poison Resistance [100XP]

Dragon Scales [250XP].

Then my eyes went further down and saw my experience points that were currently at a heartbreaking [0].

I patted my non-existent wallet, feeling its depressing flatness and sighed. So this is what it felt like to be broke.

"How do I increase my experience points?" I asked with a sigh.

Sensei was strangely quiet for a while before he responded. «You get points for every monster you successfully kill. Each monster will give you a value depending on their level and difficulty. You can also gain points through completing quests.»

I wanted the [Appraisal] but [Dragon Scales] looked promising too.

Too bad I couldn't tell exactly what these skills pertain to because a certain system did not include any descriptions.

Even retail stores knew to explain the functions of the things they sold. What a wicked schemer this Sensei was.

Wasn't this just pushing me to purchase appraisal?

Damn him.

For now I had to focus on getting [Appraisal] first, [Dragon Scales] were too expensive.

Without [Appraisal] even if I purchased other skills, it would be a gamble if I didn't know what said skill did or how to use it.

This was especially important so I wouldn't make the mistake of purchasing a useless skill just because its name sounded strong.

If [Appraisal] wasn't there, I would have focused more on getting a map or a skill that helped improve my eyesight.

But lucky for me as a snake I have other ways of navigating besides sight, like through scent and heat sense.

Snakes could tell which direction a prey went solely through their chemical traces left in the air.

These traces were caught on the tongue, which was why snakes typically had their tongues flicking in and out at all times.

The tongues are inserted into pits in the roof of the mouth where the traces are analysed. Then the snake follows the direction, depending on which side of the fork on its tongue the chemical trace came from.

Heat sense worked in a similar way, allowing the snake to judge their distance from the prey using the difference of temperatures from their surroundings. It let the snake know the size and shape of any prey at a certain range.

This worked especially well in the dark. So even if I was completely blind I was not totally helpless. I would manage with this for now until I earned enough points.

For now, I had another concern.

Why was Poison Resistance a skill? Surely I naturally had that?

"Hey Sensei, can skills be displayed in the store if you already have them?"

«Once you possess a quality similar to a skill, it becomes redundant and would not appear in the store.» Sensei replied calmly.

So I didn't have poison resistance? Wow. I was glad I had managed to calm down the nestlings. If even one of them had bit me I'd probably be dead by now.

"Is it possible to die from a snake bite as a snake?"

It sounded like such a silly question out loud but it was a pretty important factor to know in case I encountered another snake whilst outside. What if I were bitten and had no resistance?

They didn't exactly make antivenom out in the jungle.

«Snakes have evolved to be immune to the venom of their own species. You wouldn't die if one of the snakes here bit you.

Biting is in fact, a fairly common activity amongst snakes. It is seen as a display of fondness.

Your species engages in a lot of biting especially while in coitus, it engorges the pleasure senses, increasing the chances of fertilisation...»

Oh god. My delicate ears.

I wish he had a mute button. A little warning would be nice Sensei! I don't want to hear about snakes getting freaky.

Especially not from my teacher!

«You would however, die if bitten by a venomous snake from another species.»

Okay. Got it. Just stop talking about biting.

"How strong would you say I am compared to other monsters?"

«That I can't say. You have to learn that experience for yourself.»

I heard a faint ding and the system window flashed once again with words flitted across the screen.

[Quest Issued: Leave the nest]

[Reward: 50XP]

[(Accept | Reject)]

Ooh a quest! I was thrilled.

50XP just for leaving the nest? Wasn't that too easy? Sorry I misjudged you Sensei, you're amazing after all.

I happily accepted the quest.

If I could complete this, I would be halfway to purchase [Appraisal] from the store. I just needed to earn fifty more points and I'd be able to see the skills of others!

"Sensei, you're all knowing and powerful. It would be so easy for you to tell me what my skills did right? I'm sure it wouldn't cost you anything..." I tried to butter him to see if I could get something out of him.

«If I did that, there wouldn't be any need for the store.» He replied in a deadpan tone.

Tch. It was worth a shot to try. Too bad this miser wasn't giving in at all.

«This works both ways. The more points you get, the stronger I become and the more benefits I can provide to you. In this situation we both benefit through each other.»

Yeah sure, you simply gain while I do all the work.

"Doesn't that just mean things will get more expensive when monsters get easier to kill and I have too many points?" I was worried about the future.

Sensei chuckled.

«Yes, but by then there will be higher quality items and skills to buy. A skill's value in experience points is equivalent to its worth, so the higher it is the more beneficial it will be. It's not like I'm trying to cheat you. You'd be receiving more things for the price.»

Yeah right! Wasn't this the same tactic retailers used by covering up old items in fancy new boxes to make you think you were buying something different when really it was the same standard as the rest? Just more expensive.

I wasn't buying it. 

I had too much experience with these sorta things in my past life to fall for such tricks.

«Besides, you will find it tiring to hunt monsters much weaker than yourself after a while.»

"Why would I when it's the easier option?" I retorted. Did he think I was battle obsessed? Why would I fight strong monsters when I could kill weak bunnies? I'd rather spend my time lazing about in this life.

Perhaps his caution was because he did not want me to hunt anything to the point of extinction. If it was so, I couldn't really fault his ethics.

Sensei did not respond and I wasn't too keen to continue either.

In order to complete the quest I set about exploring and practising my skills. Before leaving the nest I had to make sure I was familiar with every facet of this new body so I knew exactly what to do if I encountered a predator.

I started with [Bite].

Since it would be improper to bite one of my fellow nestlings, I decided to practice on some of the dry branches in the nest. Rearing my head back, I bit down on one of them with force, to have the branch snap in two.

Amazing!

Could it be I was actually really strong? I kept on practising, breaking more and more branches like I were karate chopping, until this happened.

?Skill Aptitude Increase?Bite LV 1?has become?Bite LV 2??

It was that voice again! The one I'd heard while I was in the egg!

Was it some sort of system announcement? If so, it meant you could increase the level of skills just by practising using them. Nice!

Why didn't Sensei mention this? That sly fox was just content with leaving me to stumble around in the dark.

Spurred on by my accomplishment I continued biting more branches to see if it would increase again, but after that initial announcement nothing else happened. I wondered why.

Maybe using the same material over and over was no longer effective?

I decided to try something else. This time I moved towards the walls of the nest. My eyes attracted to a set of rocks jutting out of the slope.

Rearing my head back, I lunged with force, biting down hard on the piece of rock.

Owwwuch!

Sharp painful pangs flowed through by teeth and the taste of blood filled my mouth as I writhed around on the floor in pain.

That was extremely painful! I hope I hadn't broken any teeth.

Flicking out my tongue, I was comforted by the presence of my fangs still in my mouth, but my gums hurt sorely.

What was I thinking biting rocks? I thought the bite force of my jaws pretty strong, but forgot to factor in the fleshy parts of my mouth. Luckily, I had not cracked any teeth.

But my fangs were pretty strong too. They left two deep holes drilled into the rock. My bite force must be amazing!

?Skill?Pain Resistance LV 1?has been acquired. Activating status effect now. Success?

I was still rolling around in pain when the voice came again. Immediately after, the pain in my mouth reduced. It still hurt but it was not as excruciating as before. For that I was grateful.

I immediately checked the system. As it said, a new skill had appeared in my status under resistances. So you could gain skills passively like this too?

Why hadn't Sensei said anything? Was he deliberately sabotaging me, so I would depend more on the skills sold by the system? That sly fox!

"Why didn't you mention I could get skills like this?" I demanded angrily.

«You would have figured it out eventually.» He wasn't bothered at all.

Ugh! I wanted to hit something, preferably his face.

«I wouldn't depend so much on it. You mostly gain physical skills and some resistances. It won't give you anything most monsters don't already have.» He added.

"It doesn't matter. I still would have liked to know."

I felt Sensei had been failing to mention a lot lately. Was it now his new nature to gloss over things he didn't deem important? Like me, was he also dealing with the effect of his new existence?

Regardless of his advice, I was going to try to gain skills passively. The system was great to have but I didn't know exactly what sort of effect it had on Sensei.

He didn't really talk about his experience and what it felt like to suddenly become a system so I didn't know if he was dealing with any negative side effects.

«Alright, I will explain more next time.» He relented much to my surprise.

I sighed in relief. The suspicion I had lifted when he agreed so easily. Had he really just forgotten?

The Sensei I remember was already a goofy person who never took himself seriously, so it was very possible.

I really hoped he was telling the truth and not hiding anything.