After beginning to fend for himself, Jaekyung did more than just struggle to survive. It had only been a few days since he hatched from his egg, making him the equivalent of a human newborn, yet he could already hunt various small animals. Jaekyung guessed that this was thanks to his bloodline.
His parents were clearly not ordinary snakes, so it was certain that he, too, was not an ordinary snake.
Hm.
In truth, he just wanted to believe so. Fortunately, Jaekyung's hopeful guess was not wrong. Although he had no venom to kill his prey instantly, his jaws were strong enough to crush their neck bones.
For most creatures, a single bite was all it took to end them. Furthermore, his body grew larger by the day, but his movements remained as swift as a bird's. This too was one of the weapons in Jaekyung's arsenal.
And now. Crack!
Jaekyung watched the beast die, its bones broken all over, unable to even struggle for long. It was a creature so large he could barely wrap his body around its torso once. Yet with a single squeeze, it went limp.
‘Perhaps I’ve been thinking about this the wrong way.’
Until now, Jaekyung had thought his greatest weapon was his bite. But now, he saw that the power of his constriction was beyond imagination. He had always felt his body overflowing with strength, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.
So far, once he wrapped around something, it was over.
‘The problem is that it’s a weapon I can’t use just anytime.’
The power of constriction was certain, as he had just confirmed, but this weapon was tricky to use. What kind of dull-witted fool would calmly wait until its body was coiled around? Unless he started with a surprise attack, biting the nape of the neck, it was difficult to use properly.
‘It’s hard to use properly, but… well, a weapon is a weapon.’
If it was hard to use properly, then he just had to practice until he could. A single weapon was like a single lifeline, so he could not neglect any of them. Therefore, whenever Jaekyung spotted a suitable target, he tried to hone his hunting skills.
Instead of killing it in one go by tearing at its neck, he would swiftly coil his body around it to crush its bones. Of course, he only attempted this when he was reasonably confident. The success or failure of a hunt was directly linked to his survival, so he could never approach it with a light heart.
It was a risky attempt, but it was effective. At the very least, the speed at which he launched his body had certainly become faster. This was true even as his body grew larger through his fulfilling days.
His body, which he felt had exceeded three meters, was now approaching four. Perhaps it was even longer. Jaekyung couldn't be entirely happy about this ferocious growth rate, for which the word ‘rapid’ was an understatement.
It was of course a good thing for his body to get bigger and stronger, but the corresponding increase in the amount he needed to eat was a big problem. In this place, which could be a mountain or a forest, there were all sorts of beasts, but finding suitable prey among them was not an easy task.
He had to be wary of threatening enemies that could pop out from anywhere, while also searching for prey that could be anywhere. He couldn't let his guard down for a single moment, so a great deal of fatigue built up with each hunt. One day, as he endlessly continued his hunts for survival.
With his stomach full, Jaekyung finally decided to hunt the boar-like creature that had been an eyesore for some time. He was annoyed by the creature that would often follow the scent of blood, sniffing around, and also because he had reached a point where prey without that much meat could no longer fill his belly.
In a way, it was an unavoidable choice. Of course, he was also confident he could hunt it. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have attempted it, no matter how hard it was to fill his stomach.
Luring the beast would not be difficult. Jaekyung had a rough idea of where it frequently appeared, so he thought a few pieces of meat reeking of blood would be enough. The strategy of luring it with bait and launching a surprise attack when its guard was down had been mostly successful so far.
The reason it was ‘mostly’ and not ‘always’ was because there were some unusually wary and sharp-witted creatures. But Jaekyung was certain that this boar-like creature was not one of those few. Because that greedy beast was the type to charge headfirst at the sight of food.
Jaekyung happened to catch an armadillo-like beast digging in the ground and tore open its soft underbelly. The scent of blood began to spread in all directions.
Sniff, sniff!
As expected, it wasn't long before the woolly boar appeared. The creature did not disappoint Jaekyung's expectations and immediately buried its head in the free meal. It was in a state of perfect defenselessness, to an absurd degree.
‘Arrogant pig.’
How could a creature that had survived the competition of the wild be so thoughtless? Of course, the creature's foolishness played the largest part, but after that, it was probably due to experience. Had that thing ever fallen into such a trap before?
Born with a sturdy body and great strength, most beasts would have tucked their tails and run just at the sight of it. Forget traps, there were probably few who would even dare to challenge it.
‘But I can’t let my guard down.’
Without loosening the reins of tension in his mind, Jaekyung silently approached the creature from behind. And when he got close enough, just as the creature, with its head buried in the meat, sensed something was wrong and flinched, he launched himself in a single motion. The perfectly mastered movement was utterly natural.
Launching himself like a spring compressed to its maximum and then released, he opened his mouth wide toward the neck of the boar-like beast. He never intended to rip out its throat in one go. He first questioned whether his sharp but not-so-large fangs could even pierce its thick fur and hide.
And even if they could, recalling its thick neck that was hardly different from its torso, he knew it would at most end up as a slight sting.
“Squeeeal!”
Therefore, his teeth were merely to anchor himself. Jaekyung's body, over four meters long, quickly coiled around the pig's body. Its torso was so thick that he couldn't even wrap around it once completely, so he couldn't exert his full strength.
At most, maybe seventy or eighty percent?
Thump!
The pig, ambushed out of nowhere, roared savagely and slammed its body against a tree. It was its own attempt to shake off Jaekyung, who was wrapped around it, but it had little effect on him. At most, it was a little sore.
Jaekyung was newly surprised at how sturdy his own body was and squeezed even tighter. Thanks to the pig tiring itself out by thrashing around, constricting it became easier.
Thump! Thump!
The greatly agitated pig slammed its body against trees and rocks several more times, but Jaekyung held on firmly. Then, at some point, the violent resistance and savage roars lost their strength. But Jaekyung still did not let his guard down and maintained his hold.
He knew that the most important things in this fight were calmness and patience.
“Squeeaa…”
The exhausted pig finally slumped to the ground. The strength in its body, which had been desperately resisting, drained away. At that moment, as if he had been waiting, Jaekyung poured all his remaining strength into his squeeze.
With a sound like “Pudeuk!” bones broke, and the dying pig's final scream echoed. Even after confirming that the limp pig was no longer breathing, Jaekyung did not relax for several minutes, nor did he loosen his grip. It was more out of fear than caution.
How much anxiety had he endured because of this damned creature? The fact that the bully of this area had become his prey was joyful, yet hard to believe. Once his trembling heart had calmed to some extent, Jaekyung slowly and carefully uncoiled his body.
And he bit the cooling neck of the pig, again and again. His serrated teeth were not large, but they were sharp. After clenching his jaw several times, even the thick, tough neck became sufficiently shredded.
If he had his way, he would have safely carried the whole thing up a tree, but unfortunately, there were no trees sturdy enough nearby. Jaekyung had no choice but to start filling his belly on the spot.
The total hunting time was short, but in that short time, he had been tense and had used a lot of strength, making him extremely hungry. Whatever he chewed, whatever he swallowed, just went down smoothly. When he came to his senses, only about half of the large carcass remained.
But it still seemed too heavy to carry up a tree.
‘What should I do.’
His body already felt heavy. If he forced himself to eat more here, the problem wasn't indigestion, but the fear that he wouldn't be able to climb a tree. But he didn't dare to settle down in a suitable spot without climbing a tree.
Although he had caught the creature that rampaged around this area, it didn't mean he could just lie down anywhere with his belly exposed. One never knew what unexpected thing might pop out from where and when. Just look at this misshapen pig.
Could it have ever predicted that its neck would be torn by a snake it had casually chased away not long ago?
‘I have no choice.’
A meal to store and a safe shelter. Once he set aside his regret, it was a very simple comparison. Jaekyung dragged his heavy body and skillfully climbed up a tree.
Not long after he left, all sorts of beasts, drawn by the scent of blood, began to vie for the flesh of the creature that had once made them tremble in fear. * After successfully hunting the boar, which had been the greatest threat he could feel, Jaekyung naturally loosened up.
Although his head knew he must always be on guard, his heart, now filled with confidence, was not the same. At one moment, when he couldn't find a suitable tree to rest on and thought that maybe spending a day inside a hollowed tree trunk would be fine, Jaekyung remembered his parents from this life.
He recalled how the monster that seemed like it could withstand a mountain collapsing on it had been brought down by just two people. This world was just that strange and unpredictable. If he foolishly let his guard down and lived carelessly, he wouldn't know when or where he might lose his life.
‘I need to get a grip. My mind.’
Once he had somewhat disciplined his complacent heart, a practical problem raised its head again. In truth, it wasn't that he was being lazy and just looking for any decent tree trunk. There were truly no more trees in this area that could support his large body.
‘I need to find a way.’
He had to find a bigger, sturdier tree that could support his weight, or find a more long-term place to rest his body. For example, a place like the cave where he was first born.
‘In terms of location, that cave was really good…’
There were no particularly threatening beasts nearby, and the size of the cave was just right, making it the perfect place just for sleeping. That must have been why his parents laid their eggs there.
‘But… it still makes me uneasy.’
That cave had already been discovered. Although it was unlikely they would search a nest that had already been raided, one never knew. Jaekyung didn't want to entrust his survival to luck.
‘Whatever it is, I have to move.’
At least in this area, there was no longer a place where he could rest his body at ease. There was also almost no prey large enough to make him feel full. In many ways, this vicinity was no longer suitable for him to operate in.
Jaekyung decided to move his area of activity, but the problem was where to go. Even if he climbed a tree as high as he could, he couldn't survey his surroundings. Everywhere he looked, all he could see were endlessly dense trees and bushes.
He couldn't even tell if this place was a forest or a mountain. By his previous life's standards, it would have to be called the middle of an enormous mountain range, but in a world with snakes the size of towers, it wouldn't be strange for there to be a forest as vast as a mountain range.
Whatever the case, the important thing was that this place was incredibly vast. Since it was daunting no matter which way he went, it was actually easy to choose. It would be more accurate to say there was no need to choose.
Jaekyung roughly picked a direction and began to move. Fortunately, he had a good sense of direction, so he could proceed straight ahead without getting lost. Darkness had fallen, but there was no silence.
The sounds of things, whether birds or insects, echoed rhythmically, and the sound of the wind brushing past here and there was not quiet. Jaekyung hid his presence amidst it all and continued to move. Then, at some point, he felt something had changed.
The common expression, ‘the air has changed,’ came to mind on its own. He didn't know why. He just felt it.
Jaekyung stopped in his tracks and surveyed his surroundings. The trees scattered around seemed to have gotten a little bigger. And… he wasn't sure, but it seemed the color of the trees had also changed slightly.
‘Have they become a little… redder?’
His eyes could easily distinguish objects in the dark, but that didn't mean he could see as if it were broad daylight. He thought the color of the trees had changed a little, but he couldn't be sure. As he moved with heightened vigilance in the strangely changed environment.
Suddenly, a fierce wind blew, and a loud cry was heard.
‘Above?’
Jaekyung held his breath and hid his body behind a tree. And as he poked out just his head and looked up, he saw leaves raining down. The branches, spread out like a spiderweb, were also bending back and forth as if they would break.
It looked as if it had been hit by a typhoon, but from the monstrous screams that kept coming, Jaekyung guessed another reason.
‘Two of them.’
The sounds he heard seemed similar at a glance, but they were distinctly different. One was laced with a desperate agony, while the other was nothing but savage. An indescribable power was carried in those cries.
Jaekyung was reminded of the time he had hidden in the cave, trembling.
“Kaaak!”
Suddenly, with the loud sound of flapping wings, a bird came crashing down. Excluding its folded wings, its torso alone was the size of the boar he had hunted before. It was covered in wounds, and after crashing into the ground hard enough to dig a crater, its body trembled violently.
Before the dust raised by the bird's crash had even settled, another bird followed, screeching “Kwaak!” as it fell upon the first. It was a creature with a long beak as sharp as a blade, and it too was as large as the first bird that had fallen. The bird used its sharp beak to pin down the first bird.
Shunk!
Its beak, driven in like a stake, pierced through the body of the first bird. The bird convulsed violently once, twitched a few times, then fell still. The sharp-beaked bird then raised its head.
Blood dripped from its sharp beak.
Fwump!
The sharp-beaked bird took the nearly dead bird in its beak and powerfully flew up. The proud bearing of a victor was evident in its very wingbeats. A single flap of its wings was enough to soar from the ground high into the sky.
Jaekyung remained motionless, holding his breath, until the sharp-beaked bird finished its hunt and flew away. Only when the sound of its wingbeats could no longer be heard did he let out the breath he had been holding.
‘I really can’t let my guard down for even a second.’
It was a brief moment, but Jaekyung had felt a considerable threat from those two birds. If he had encountered them, he felt he would have been severely injured, whether he won or lost. Especially that one with the bizarre beak…
His vigilance, which he had already kept sharp, rose to its peak. But then, an indescribable impulse arose. All his senses were drawn to one place, as if someone were forcibly pulling them.
The spot where the two monstrous birds had just been. The spot where one bird had bled profusely.
Sniff, sniff!
Something tempting from that spot was pulling Jaekyung toward it.
A scent?
Was it a scent? No. It was something far more alluring than that.
‘What is this?’
Jaekyung headed toward that place without knowing why. The vigilance he had raised to its peak crumbled completely at this moment. He glided across the uneven ground and reached the crater.
Splattered blood remained here and there, not yet dry. The undried blood. That was it.
As if possessed, Jaekyung licked the blood without realizing it. Soil soaked with a few drops of blood passed over his long tongue and down his throat. It was as sweet as a gulp of water swallowed when suffering from thirst.
It was also refreshing. That refreshing feeling instantly spread throughout his body, followed by a strange sense of fulfillment.
‘This is…’
Jaekyung knew intuitively. He didn't know why, but he craved this blood. He could instinctively tell that he needed this.
It was like a thirsty man finding a well, but far more desperate.