The Samael Pharmaceutical Corporation or the SPC for short was globally recognized as one of the biggest sellers of medical technology, provider of life insurance as well as being board members of multiple different hospitals, including the one where Leones body was.
When a notice was sent out about a patient who was experiencing a previously unseen medical phenomena, it inevitably reached the ears of the Acting CEO of the SPC.: Anthony Samael. A middle aged man with short black hair and grey eyes but he was by no means attractive as he was a known womanizer and quite chubby. In addition to that, he was petty, greedy and had trouble keeping his anger issues under control.
Hearing about this medical marvel, Anthony came to the conclusion that he needed to monopolize this and immediately drafted a message to Leone who was stuck in the game. He was essentially telling him to die in the name of ‘Science’ but the reality of it was that he was just chasing glory and credit, something that would allow him to retain the seat of CEO when his father returned from overseas. He did not trust any of his 7 younger brothers and sisters to not try and backstab him to take his place. The only ones he ever called upon were his secretaries and the youngest ‘sibling’ Adam.
Adam was unlike his other siblings, he was a child of a mistress and raised outside of the family for most of his life. Adams father might have never known of his existence if not for the terrible tragedy that had taken the life of the young boys mother. From the Age of 7, he was ostracised from his brothers and sisters, often being bullied out of his fathers sight by them as well. He had no reprieve at school either as both students and teachers alike made his school life a living hell in attempts to get into his siblings good graces.
The reason they bullied and abused him was for a simple petty reason: He was the only among the 9 of them that had inherited their fathers golden amber coloured eyes. Fearing that if he was left unchecked, they had banded together to crush a young boy who just craved familial affection.
Whether his father noticed it or not, he refused to help Adam, leaving him to fend for himself. All of this left lasting scars on Adams psyche but he refused to show it. He did not want to give the monsters he was related to by blood any satisfaction from abusing him.
As time passed, his siblings grew bored of tormenting him. No longer viewing him as a threat, they turned on each other, dragging each other through the proverbial mud in often messy and savage schemes. Adam had been a witness to his 7th sibling Jeffery being arrested for the rape and murder of a young intern who had gone missing, her body having been dredged out of a river. Adam had not moved when his brother pleaded for his help with tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t murder her! I swear! You have to believe me” he had cried.
Adam knew that was true… Jeffery had only raped the girl, it was his sister Elise who had killed the girl and had it dumped in the river, knowing it would be found in an attempt to damn her brother in the process. He had spent a day in jail before the family lawyers had him out on bail. Not even a day later, the charges too were dropped and journalists were bribed to bury the story, leaving the family to go about its business as if nothing had ever happened.
None of them viewed life as something sacred, viewing themselves as being greater than the common rabble so the life and death of these ‘ants’ were nothing to them.
Adam hated it with every fiber of his being, he missed the days he spent at the dinner table with his mother, just the two of them. He missed cuddling with her on the couch watching cartoons, he missed the way she read him books when he was sick. Now every day felt so cold as he waited to see what fresh new atrocities his siblings would cook up.
While his eldest brother was the Acting CEO, their father had assigned Adam to be his brothers secretary and helping him out wherever he could. Anthony did not appreciate that and had dismissed Adam from the role almost immediately after their father had left, replacing him with a couple pretty girls to fool around with despite being married and even having a daughter who was only a few years younger than Adam.
Adam did not attempt to reverse the dismissal, instead continuing to play the role as the family black sheep. He constantly flirted with women, openly acting like a degenerate playboy douchebag but he never laid his hands on any of them. He couldn’t bring it upon himself to truly be like his siblings nor could he find it in what remained of his heart to love anyone. He didn’t wish to drag someone he loved down with him while he plotted and carried out a scheme of his own: To tear down the Samael Family and the den of vipers that was the company.
While Anthony had unfounded confidence that his letter would work, he nevertheless called his brother to the office.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Listen here you lil bastard. I need you to do something for me. I need you to enter this game and make contact with whoever this Leone Haru or whatever his name is and agree to the request made of him by the SPC. An orphaned brat like him will fold like a rice cracker when a big company threatens to force him to pay his medical bill.
Adam narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing Anthonys request. Clearly he had not taken a look at Leones file. He had failed to notice that the boy had a sister and that sister was well known as the closest confidant of Liliana Gattioni, the sole daughter of the Gattioni Family. While that family as a whole had turned over a new leaf, their origins were still stained with blood from countless crimes. They would most certainly protect one of their own and by extension, that boy most certainly was one of them.
“You do well here and I will make sure you are treated as a proper family member around this company and not just some scummy bastard. Do we have a deal?” Anthony asked with a disdainful smirk. He truly believed that Adam would be happy to be treated like a proper member of the family. Of course Anthony had no intention of following through on this promise, he did not wish to be associated with a urchin taken off the streets like Adam. He was far more noble than that and having someone with ‘dirty blood’ like Adam would be a stain upon his own dignity once he secured his position.
Anthony knew that the news couldn’t possibly be suppressed for something like this so he had to prepare a scapegoat to take the heat when things went south. Naturally his choice for that was Adam.
Little did he know, The seemingly bullied and dull useless brother he planned to backstab could tell what he was thinking all too easily. Adam decided to go along with Anthonys plan for now but would backstab him first. He had no interest in Leone but he did have a plan for the connection to the Gattioni family. If he played his cards right, the Samael family could possibly be crushed.
“Sure thing…Brother” Adam had replied. In response, Anthony threw a console at him, his expression fierce as he hissed “DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!” with quiet fury.
“Sorry. Sorry~” Adam said with a smile, catching the box with relative ease before leaving the office. He took the console home and laid down his bed, loading the game up.
He had heard a rumour that the Character Creation Area of a persons character was a reflection of their nature and personality. So when he found himself in a pit full of snakes of various species, he wasn’t surprised and instead remained calm. Sitting on the edge of the pit, a young girl sat, leaning over to look down at the cold young man.
“Oh? A person in a den of snakes and vipers. You must be pretty twisted” The girl had said with a bright innocent smile that didnt reach her eyes.
“Well considering how I grew up, that sounds fair. But Im not some deranged psychopath. I have a goal.” He replied unphased as he felt some of the snakes climbing his body.
“Oh~? Whats your goal then?” the girl had asked
“To destroy my so-called family!” he hissed, venom in his gaze. He truly hated them and in a place where he could be free, he no longer hid how he felt.
“That’s so crazy! I like it~!” the girl had said before tossing a piece of paper down into the whole.
Adam caught the ticket and saw it was emblazoned with the words Soul Armory.
“Thats from my personal stash, take your time and pick your favourite~! I look forward to seeing how things pan out for you~” The girl giggled before her body fell apart like a sandcastle that had become soaked in water.
Feeling like he had to choose a snake to proceed, he thought about how to pick but then a daring thought came to his mind: Why choose one? Couldn’t he technically pick multiple if he provoked them into attacking him?
Unafraid, he tested his theory by trying to punch and kick at the snakes in the pit with him. The result was as expected: he was bitten by dozens of snakes that bit down on his arms and legs, their venom coursing through his veins. He didn’t stop though even as he began to vomit purplish black blood. It was only when he was on the ground, barely able to move when the 100th snake bit him.
At that moment, all the pain in his body faded away, strength began to course through him as the snakes turned into blobs of liquid and entered through the holes they had punched in his body.
A screen appeared in front of him, confirming that his choice had been the right one.
Congratulations on achieving the Hidden Snakekin Race: Myriad Hydra.
Additional Unique Skill Generated.
Poison Resistance (B) has been generated.
Fame +20
‘How fitting’ he thought as he tore the ticket he had been given. I grew up in a den of them so I became a snake myself.
In a flash of purple light, Adam found himself in a dimly lit cave, various ominous looking pieces of equipment hung from stalagmites, each one looking extremely eerie as if they were cursed or possessed.
Adam could feel alarm bells going off in his head as he looked around. He needed to pick something quick and run away or something bad would happen. It took him a moment but he ended up picking a curved dagger, the blade a sickly obsidian color attached to a large spool of thread. Tugging on the string, he felt that while it had a bit of stretch to it, it was extremely durable. Having made his choice, he felt his body begin to turn into smoke. When it was just his head that was left, he noticed a large amber coloured stone resembling an eye looking directly at him. The cave began to rumble as the stone pulled away. Adams' own eyes widened in horror as he realized that stone that was more than 10x his height was in actuality the eye of a gigantic snake monster!
Adam found himself waking up on a bed sweating uncontrollably as he tried to calm himself down. Taking deep breaths, he quickly regained his composure and stood up. He looked at his body in a mirror to see what changes had occurred. While he had grown a few scales all over his body, the most eye catching change was his eyes. They remained the same golden amber colour but now there was a vertical slit for his pupil, resembling that of a venomous serpent.
When the screen asked him to select his name, only one came to mind when it involved his ultimate goal. If he wanted to destroy the company and his family, he would most likely have to consume himself in the process.
“My name will be [Ouroboros]”