"Damn, what a crazy dream..." Kai woke up, mumbling to himself upon remembering the dream he had. Disregarding the goddess involvement, the gods assignment and the bloody battle with the bandits in which he only survived because the gods made him immortal. Made it more of a nightmare, than a dream. What's strange is that, unlike the usual dream. Kai's memory still recalls the events vividly, without blurry pieces.

"Yeah right, like hell something like that can be real. Argh, did we party too much last night?"

He looked around, expecting to be in the usual shared apartment in the school dormitory. Where Paul and Aron's double-deck bed and his stick on the cement wall. However, the room was nowhere to be seen, as were his friends. The memory of their late night party after graduation also didn't exist. Instead, a vivid reminisce of impossible events was itched in his mind.

'... It's not a dream.'

The woods surrounding them were testament to that undeniable fact.

Kai's nonchalant mood drop, replaced by stern gloominess.

Everything that happened so far was real, so were the following events.

He sighed.

"There's no changing it, I'm not a god."

But Ariella is one, immature as she may be.

Waking the sleeping beauty comfortably resting on his arms with a gentle shake, she opened her pure silver eyes.

Ariella had become more attached to him last night due to the fear of darkness. Decreasing her guard down towards him. She must have acknowledged that Kai is her guardian, the only one she can rely on and trust in this feral environment.

"Get up now, Ariella. My arms are numb."

But she only shifted, not wanting to part away from slumber.

'I hope she won't grow up to be a lazy goddess. F*ck, my arms are hurting.'

"If you're not gonna move, then don't complain to me if you don't have a fellow tonight. Cause I won't be lending my arm anymore." Yet she remained stubborn for a while more before finally letting him go.

In these times, Kai realized how troublesome babysitting a goddess can be. His already feeling the weight of responsibility that parents bear. However, unlike them. Kai didn't even do anything to deserve this! He had no romantic relationships to speak of, let alone, careless sexual intercourse to accidentally promote himself to parenthood. Perhaps after experiencing those things makes this kind of responsibility deserving. But he didn't even get the slightest taste of romance, yet his supposed to be guardian? Dying can't even spare him from this job.

'Damn those Irresponsible gods!'

Unlucky for them, they choose the wrong person to raise a goddess.

Kai's tummy rumbled, implying his hunger. But where would he find food in the wilderness without hunting experience? Practicing will surely be time consuming due to the trials and errors before successfully catching food. Fortunately, he already had a irresistible bait in hand.

Just like what he did yesterday, Kai left Ariella alone for a moment to let her play with the furry animals. Then ask to give him one from the kind hearted Ariella.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Little did she know that she's handling her playmates to their death...

'Ah, I'm so bad at parenting.' Thought Kai as he bit on grilled meat without shame. Even though Ariella was enjoying her breakfast beside him.

After having their fill, Kai left Ariella to set off. They're not staying here forever, of course.

Kai stretched his stiff bones. Sleeping on the ground isn't that comfortable, unlike a soft mattress. It leaves him an aching body as he walks.

"We're getting out from this forest today to find a human settlement outside. We will be safer there, I think. Who knows, maybe we'll even encounter some of the graduation participants that have been summoned like me."

He fell silent, passing the trees of the forest under the shadow of their leafy crowns. The morning sun hung high above.

An evident factor Ariella lacks is knowledge. Kai being merely an average highschool graduate lacks expertise in teaching. Still, he did the best of his capabilities for her to learn by listening to his blabbering as they travel hoping she learns about society on the way. Ariella seems to understand his language for some reason, or was her godly ear capable of understanding anything spoken?

He isn't much of a talker, so Kai felt uncomfortable at first. However, being the sole speaker made it feel like his talking to himself, which is a relief.

After a while, he spoke again gazing up in a wistful tone.

"But you know what, I kinda like it here... Alone, without relying on anyone or having to deal with complicated society to earn a living. Even though you're a goddess, you probably didn't know this. Humans are the most complicated creatures, they built countless structures serving different proposes such as hotel, hospital, school and so on."

A sad smile appeared on his lips.

"Honestly... I don't even know how to keep us both alive once we're there. But well, what happens, happens. Like how we are together now, even though I'm just at my graduation yesterday."

He let out a heavy sigh.

"That's life for you, You never know what you get."

Just as he said that, he noticed unnatural details in the tree's top before them. Kai frowned, stopping on his tracks. His eyes narrowed, gazing at the spot.

'What's that?... Wait. Wtf!'

Kai's body became stiff, his eyes opened wide. Its focus frozen on a camouflage creature hiding in the verdant cluster of leafs above. If one looked closely, they would notice a long body coiled on the branches, covered in green scales. And if one traced it's line, they would see what Kai is seeing.

A single eyed head of a reptilian creature, glaring at back with hunger in its vertical eyes!

As for its size... Kai didn't even know a snake could grow that big.

Kai cursed.

'And it gives us a f*cking snake, thanks a lot!'

Ariella was just about to give him a questioning look when he suddenly grabbed her by the hand.

"Turn back!"

Kai dashed back as fast as he could while holding Ariella's hand. Fortunately, her being a goddess didn't disappoint. Her speed isn't much slower than him, rather, Ariella looked as if she's doing a normal run instead of desperate scape for survival. On the other hand, Kai was haggard.

'There's no way I'll be eaten by a snake!'

His immortal, true. Accepting that fact wasn't quick for Kai, leading him to think deep into it. Which touches the question, what are its disadvantages? As an undying man, there's situations Kai didn't want to be in. One of which is being trapped inside an anaconda's digestive system!

It would be torture for an immortal, that's for sure.

A rumbling sounded behind them followed by sinister slithering soon after. Of course, a predator won't easily let go of its prey. The monstrous reptile came down from the tree and chased after them!

However, Kai found the sound it make odd. Driven by curiosity, he took a quick glance over his shoulder.

Letting him witness the snake's entire glory.

Clad in green leaf-like scales that aid It's disguise and boost a body length of a few meters as thick as a man torso. He wasn't fooled though, because snakes are generally known for their body expansion when consuming prey. A snake that big is capable of storing him and Ariella within it's belly. However, what shocked him the most is its legs!

'Why do it have limbs?!'

A snake wasn't supposed to have one, let alone, a dozen short legs that let it crawls like an insect. Then again, Kai is not on Earth anymore. The same animals don't exist in this world, so did their evolutionary limit that restrain their threat against humans.

Kai runs with all his might, hastily draining his stamina in the process. He would love to conserve his strength, but the monstrous reptile crawl too fast. Demanding every ounce of energy from him just to keep distance between the predator and prey. On the other hand, Ariella wasn't even showing signs of fatigue. He even thought the goddess was enjoying this, treating it like a fun game of chase.

Eventually, Kai was running low on energy. His leg muscles are burning, begging him for rest. Sadly, he doesn't have such luxury. The reptile doesn't only appear monstrous, it's endurance are that of a beast, as well. Fighting it in a game of was a fools errand.

His growing desperate to the point he frequently glance at Ariella. She doesn't seem tired, rather, she's enjoying herself thanks to her superior physic of a goddess. Which isn't solely beautiful, but strong too. So... Having already used her for his shameless mischiefs, it wouldn't hurt to make her carry him, right?

He struggled to imagine it, not even wanting to picture the comical scene of Ariella piggybacking Kai. Still, his shamelessness knows no bounds.

'Yeah, that's right. She can't abandon her teacher to be eaten by that snake, she needs me! Furthermore, helping others is a must to become a good goddess.'

He was just about to spout sh*ts. When a arrow flew by, accompanied by more. A shrill wail of the pursuing snake sounded behind them. Kai stopped, turned to look and saw the monstrous reptile being constantly ravaged by hunting arrows. It cried, struggling in pain as it tried to flee away. However, a harpoon landed on its eye, piercing the brain within and taking its life.

The snake fell heavily on the ground, then a rowdy cheering sounded afar from multiple voices.

Kai sighed in relief. The voices of other humans imply they encounter civilization, marking his return to a safe society of humans instead of roaming in this dangerous wilderness where unimaginable creatures lurks.

With a smile of his face, he face the approaching humans with a friendly demeanor. However, his face fell t

he moment he recognized them.

'Ah, life. F*ck you and your ancestors if you even have one! F*ck my luck too!'