Ryan never imagined he would find himself inside the stomach of a snake as a transmigrator.

'What is with this shitty luck?! At this point I think it would have better if I was transmigrated in the body of a girl!'

Ryan thrashed inside the stomach of the snake but to no avail couldn't make much progress in escaping.

Probably an hour had passed since he was devoured. After being devoured he had been spun around inside the snake like a sock inside a washing machine before the snack remained completely still.

However, he did find it somewhat weird that he could thrash around inside the snake and wasn't instead dead, because he recalled watching a documentary on how a snake's digestive juices were a lethal weapon - but then again, he should have died of suffocation before the juices could even work their magic.

'I should be grateful I haven't reached the snake's stomach yet. Considering this is a magic world then the snake's digesting speed must be ridiculously fast.'

Ryan paled, if the normal snakes back home could even digest hair and bones then it wouldn't be a wonder if this magical snake could even digest his soul.

'I guess I should consider myself lucky to some degree because the snake hasn't been moving for a while now and its muscles are completely relaxed, who knows what will happen if it gets rejuvenated somehow'

But then again, staying there and hoping for a miracle to happen wouldn't help him with anything. Ryan was all by himself and he didn't even have the slightest hope for the adventurers he had met to come and save him, he was after all a stranger to them.

'Dammit, what should I do ...think Ryan, think.'

It took a few minutes of thinking in the dark before Ryan came up with an idea.

'Wait....I can breathe inside this snake; then wouldn't this mean there is an opening on it somewhere? It's basically the same logic as when I was stuck inside that stupid hole. I just need to find it.'

Ryan bit his lower lip in frustration, how could he ever hope to find an exit inside a big snake in the dark? At least if it had a hole punctured through it then that probably meant it was dead - which would explain why it hadn't been moving for a while.

'Fuck this.'

Ryan finally decided to move towards the direction of the stomach, it was a crazy gamble to be honest. Even if the snake was dead, that didn't mean it's digestive juices magically disappeared, but Ryan didn't have much of a choice as his head was facing the stomach - Hoping to crawl backwards while in a snake's slippery esophagus was nothing but a pipe dream.

Ryan pushed with his hands and feet, his bare hands barely clutched the wet and slimy inside of the snake but with just that he was able to make some slight progress even if it was at a very slow pace.

After almost 30 minutes of slithering, Ryan felt like somehow the ventilation inside the snake had improved.

'That means I am close to the exit; I am so thankful the exit wasn't the other way. Hehe, isn't this ironic? I am inside a snake but crawling like one'

Ryan made a dry laugh, but after 4 more minutes of slithering he felt his arms aching. He hadn't fully recovered from escaping inside that small hole after all , he was still somewhat weary.

While taking a break, he decided to plan.

'Okay, let's say I do manage to escape - what do I do then? Up until now I've been doing things randomly without a clear pathway - sigh, it would have been better if I had some strong system or something - I wouldn't have been inside a snake to begin with'

Ryan moved his muscles a bit then felt them easing a bit.

'After leaving here I should probably try being an adventurer even if I am powerless - I could earn some money by being a carrier for their weapons.'

Who knew how long Ryan would stay in this magical world, it was better for him to prepare ahead - and he was sure he wouldn't remain powerless forever, there was surely some rare elixir or pill somewhere in the world which would grant him extraordinary powers.

'Time up , let's get it rolling!'

Ryan started moving again , however it didn't even take 2 minutes before he felt somewhat a rush of fresh air coming from ahead him. There was even a small light which illuminated an eerie exit.

'Finally!'

Ryan felt happiness as he crawled out of the dead snake. He lightly pushed the soft tissue of the snake in front of him which looked like a dead end, it began crumbling and gave away a passage.

He grabbed onto the ground and pulled himself out. He then stretched his weary body and took a deep breath. It was only after the deep breath that Ryan took a close look at the stationary snake that he realized that he had actually exited through where most of the snake's lower body was supposed to be.

'What on earth even happened to it, I am so glad its stomach got removed in whatever mess it found itself into. It would have been an instant death if I fell into its stomach while crawling around'

Ryan stared at the dead snake, he had been in such a hassle because of the thing. He started kicking it in anger to vent his frustration.

" Stupid bastard, serves you right - thought you could eat me and get awa.. Oh shit !! "

Ryan jumped back after feeling the snake's muscles quickly tense up , the snake then turned to look at him with the greatest effort it could muster before making a weak and dry hiss at him.

" You're telling me this thing got cut in half and somehow still managed to survive? What crazy endurance and healing abilities !"

Suddenly it made sense why the snake wasn't completely ripped open like a straw on the dead-end Ryan had used an exit, it probably had been damaged greatly and decided to put all of its energy into healing that place, and without a stomach it couldn't even attempt digesting Ryan to gain some energy since it would have to heal one from scratch.

Ryan smirked devilishly.

" So what if you are alive? You're so weak that you can't even do anything to me, that hiss alone probably took more than half of your energy you dumb snake. "

Ryan felt so much better as he stared at the helpless snake - if the situation was slightly different, or if the snake had retained its stomach after whatever brutal attack it had received, Ryan knew it wouldn't have wasted even a second to devour him.

'Hmm, what's what?'

Ryan noticed a familiar dagger lodged into the snake's left eye.

The dagger was pale white and looked like an extended version of a military knife, Ryan would have to be an idiot to not recognize it.

'Isn't that the dagger that lady pointed at me when she wanted to skin me alive?'

Ryan had a greedy look as he stared at it. He remembered how she had extravagantly explained how it was made from a bone of a wyvern and how it was ridiculously sharp.

Wasn't this lady luck finally smiling at him after all he has gone through? Only a fool would leave such a worthy and strong weapon!

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

'Hehe'

Ryan thought as he moved closer to pull the dagger out of the snake's eye socket. It was too weak to retaliate.

With just a single pull, the dagger was removed from the snake. Ryan didn't waste any time and began brutally stabbing the snake which hissed in anger and helplessness at him ,It's screeches gradually dying down. It wasn't up until Ryan had stabbed it 24 times that it stopped moving.

'This guy was ridiculously resilient! Even at his weakest state he survived getting stabbed that many times'

Once again Ryan was so glad the snake had suffered a brutal injury, he would have been the snake's nutrients otherwise.

Suddenly Ryan was assaulted by blue screen which floated in front of him. He felt like he was losing his mind as he stared at it.

'This... the heavens have finally decided to be merciful, I've finally received my own system. Haha!'

[ Your first kill was a heavenly beast, even though it was a fallen one and received grievous injuries beforehand.. as a result of this nearly impossible achievement, the system has gifted you with a skill egg. ]

Ryan felt as if he was being mocked.

'Hey! The snake was a difficult opponent to kill okay!'

[Skill Egg +1 ]

5 years and 234 days remaining till skill egg hatches

'What a ridiculous countdown! 5 years is a bit too much , who knows if I won't be devoured by monsters before then. what is a skill egg anyways?'

Ryan thought.

[ Skill Egg :

it is a skill earned after killing a monster of a greatly higher-level than you. There is 1/100 chance of attaining a skill egg after killing a greatly higher-levelled monster than you.

As such, you are one of the extremely lucky ones to attain one ]

Ryan suddenly felt like being devoured by the snake was not that bad of a thing.

'If I knew I would earn a system, I wouldn't have minded even being partially digested!'

Ryan laughed out loud. Now with a system, he could ridiculously grow overpowered like the MCs in manga and anime.

rustle rustle

It was only after he heard a rustling sound that Ryan realized he was actually in the middle of a forest, the snake had probably tried escaping to somewhere and lost its ability to do so along the way.

rustle rustle

Ryan didn't get to enjoy the view long enough as the rustling sound grew increasingly closer, he tried to locate its source and along his line of sight saw a man who his sense of fashion could only described as otherworldly in a literal sense.

He seemed to be wearing a black Taoist robe with light geta shoes and a similarly black haori and white socks ,he also had a black head band on. He completely looked like a cultivator out of a xianxia novel or manhua.

'There are cultivators too here? This world's system is crazy!'

Cultivators and adventurers in one place were an obvious indicator of trouble and yes, death. Cultivators were ridiculously overpowered in their own world, this collaboration of the adventurer-orientated world and cultivator one would be chaotic.

The nameless man stopped just a few miles away from Ryan, he had a somewhat expressionless face as he looked at Ryan and then at the dead snake.

"You have killed my prey..."

He said in a calm and solemn voice, yet that somehow still sounded as if that was the greatest sin anyone could ever commit.

"Your prey? I don't see your name on it!"

Ryan cheekily replied.

So what if he was a cultivator? Ryan had gotten a good look at the man's face and body and surely he wasn't that much older than he was, probably 5 years older at maximum.

'Hehe, I have the system now. I can act like a cheeky young master as much as I w-'

Ryan suddenly felt something rush past his head at great speed and hit something behind him, a second later a portion of his hair fell on the ground. Ryan turned to look behind him and he saw something which was cut diagonally - a previously long tree was reduced to nothing but a stump.

'Holy fuck.'

" It seems I missed... how unusual. "

Ryan heard the cultivator mutter loud enough for him to hear, when Ryan turned, he saw the cultivator inserting back a black-hilted katana into a scabbard he held with his left hand.

'HOLY fucken fuck!'

If this wasn't a warning then Ryan didn't know what it was, he hadn't even seen the cultivator unsheathe the katana, let alone sense the incoming attack.

'Heh- have a system my ass, this guy can make my head roll, and I wouldn't even be able to dodge the attack!'

Ryan's blood went cold as he stared at the man who stared at him with emotionless abyss-black eyes.

"Forgive this junior, I didn't know it was senior brother's prey. "

Ryan didn't waste time and started apologizing, he even cupped his hands and started bowing like how he saw some cultivators do in Manhua. His attitude took a complete 180-degree turn.

The man simply stared at him and put his hands on his chin as if thinking deeply.

" How strange, this should be a strong opponent even if it's a fallen heavenly beast. Did you kill it with only just that lone dagger?"

There was a tone of suspicion in his voice as Ryan felt the man's eyes pierce his bowed head. Ryan felt as if he was being eyed by a dangerous predator and his next words would decide whether he lived or met his maker.

" To be honest senior brother, I was first devoured by this thing but it's only after it got injured by some people that I was granted the opportunity to escape it with my life, I only dealt the finishing blow at its weakest. "

Ryan made a dry laugh as he continued to bow.

'Please don't kill me!'

He pleaded in his heart.

" Oh, that makes some sense if you put it that way. Also explains why you look like that "

Ryan glanced at himself and noticed he looked disgustingly slimy, and of course he was still partly naked with just the jacket strongly tied around him, hiding his little ryan.

However, in the next moment, he felt a strong and sudden gust of wind approach him as if it was air coming from a massive leaf blower. The wind was quick and short, it miraculously blew away all of the slimy liquid drenched on his body.

Ryan didn't even get to react before he felt a clothe wrapped around his shoulder. Sure enough it was a black haori , the culprit of all what had transpired simply stood in his original position without a haori on and a blank face as if nothing happened.

Ryan couldn't help but slightly open his mouth in shock.

'This is ridiculous! How can anyone be this fast?! It would have been a shocking feat alone to blow wind on me and not manage to throw me away like a leaf, this guy even went far and wrapped a robe around me and went back to his original position, and I didn't see a thing!'

Ryan's ego completely deflated, even his system now felt like garbage compared to the might of the man.

" Hmm. Junior brother, you did say you killed it while it was down, correct? Regardless, this was my prey. So how do you plan on compensating me?"

The astute cultivator said with a serious face. Compensate? How could Ryan who was a poor as a mouse and didn't even have much valuable on him compensate a strong cultivator like him?

"Senior brother I... "

Ryan was about to explain but stopped, he glanced at the wyvern dagger in his hands. Considering it was made with the bone of a wyvern, it must have been valuable to some degree.

Ryan didn't think twice and immediately made a gesture to hand it over.

" Senior brother, I don't have much on me, but will this do? "

Ryan walked closer to hand it over.

The expression of the cultivator completely switched from calm to angry in that moment.

Ryan felt like he couldn't breathe as an unseen pressure pressed on him.

" Junior..... are you making fun of me? How could the bone of a pathetic lizard serve as compensation? "

Ryan immediately realized his mistake.

Surely a strong man like the cultivator had very high standards. The valuable-looking wyvern dagger probably didn't look any different from a rusty and old kitchen knife to him.

Ryan saw the man draw out his katana, he was sure he would get slain right there and then.

" Wait , you are misunderstanding! I am offering senior brother this dagger because it is the only valuable thing I have, please do not kill this junior!"

Ryan finally openly pleaded for his life. The cultivator sighed hearing his words and his previously angry expression completely disappeared almost instantly.

'How scary to be able to regain your composure that quickly!'

"Junior brother, did you have a set destination you were heading to or an important thing to do before this senior stopped you? "

The nameless man asked in the same calm tone.

How could whatever excuse Ryan think of be ever more important than attending to the man in front of him? He didn't have a death wish!

"No senior brother, this Junior doesn't have a place to go. In fact this junior ran away from the local village nearby to pursue a life of solitude, the junior picked the dagger he used to kill the snake right next to a pair of dead bodies. "

Ryan lied.

How could he say he actually got hit by a truck and got sent to this world? His head would fly faster than a tennis ball hit by a cricket.

The cultivator jumped at Ryan and closed the distance between them in half a second, he immediately placed his hands on Ryan's wrist as if feeling his pulse.

Ryan could only awkwardly stand there without any retaliation. After 5 seconds of standing like a statue, Ryan saw the man slightly back away from him.

" This is a such a coincidence Junior brother, to think I was looking for a disciple and you happen to be a free person. "

The cultivator said in a suggestive tone. He was obviously suggesting for Ryan to become his disciple.

Ryan felt his heart plummet.

The idea of being the disciple of a cultivator sounded quite pleasing on the surface, however with the manhua Ryan had read so far, he could deduce that being trained as a disciple was actually a gruesome process , some disciples in the manhua he read actually died due to the harsh training and the master would go on to pick another disciple as if they were farmed cabbage.

However, how could Ryan reject?

"This junior would be honored to be your disciple "

Immediately after saying those words the cultivator's expression grew softer and he began to slightly smile.

Ryan thought he saw a small light shining in the abyss-black eyes.

" My name is Wung Dao, it is a pleasure to meet you, my disciple. "