Rory turned his head, scanning the area, hoping not to find whatever it was that had killed this bloody fifty-foot-long snake and dragged its giant scaley ass back here. This entire situation was absurd and entirely avoidable. First, he should have checked before just marching in a dark underground cave built by a massive talking snake. Second, he was completely unaware of his surroundings, meaning the bloody killer of a massive bloody snake could have been in here too and he wouldn’t have noticed.

But more than either of those, Rory was frustrated at himself for not having practiced how to use his new ring before he got stuck in this situation. Letting out an annoyed hiss, he touched the ring to see what he could do with it. Then he hesitated, thinking now wasn’t the best time to be experimenting.

Hmm. I‘ll just try for a minute and if nothing happens, I’ll leave and decide what to do later.

Nodding to himself, he pulled the commo’s interface. It turned it was just like his old one but with more options.

1. Communications

2. Activity Log

3. Soul Summary

4. Device Connection

5. Banking Information

6. Bestiary / Species Identification

7. Soul Vault

Options four, five, six, and seven were new to Rory. Four was irrelevant because he had no other device, as was five since he didn’t have an account at the bank. He had just used six for the first time having identified the sniper snake, and seven was what he was looking to try in the next second.

When he selected Soul Vault, a projection about ten inches by ten inches appeared above his hand with twenty-five boxes in a five-by-five square. Rory hesitantly touched the ring to the snake. Nothing happened. Biting his lip, he pushed harder on the snake. Still nothing. Looking at the small projection he tapped the top right box. The projected box flashed red and nothing else happened.

Shit. Well that’s time. I guess I just have to experiment more before trying again.

Rather than risk staying in a place where something that can kill a fifty-foot snake keeps its stuff, Rory ran out of the hole into the glowing light of the jungle. He looked around and headed towards a tree that had low branches but a good amount of foliage and could look at the hole for the cave. Going to it, he first checked for anything creepy and, thankfully finding nothing, tried to climb up. He managed it after a fall, thankfully only a few feet, caused by his hand jerking away from being sliced by a broken branch.

Finally, he sat straddling a tree branch about ten feet in the air staring at a hole in the ground fifty feet away.

Well that was as bloody brilliant go of it, Rory…

After that thought he leaned his against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

That could have been a disaster. I need to do better. I need to do everything better.

Letting out a breath he whispered to himself. “Okay. Think. Make a plan.”

Rory figured that in order to make a plan he needed to decide how much time he had. Checking the time on his new commo, he found it to be barely half past eight in the morning.

“Good. I have an entire day. Working backwards, I have to be back in my flat by no later than ten at night to make sure I have enough time to prepare for Mycroft’s midnight visit – not to mention that he might come early just to be an asshole. So when do I need to get back to Mick’s? If it takes thirty seconds to scan one myst cell last night not including the research – which he will have already prepared – seventy-two times thirty seconds that means… ugh, I hate math… umm… thirty-six minutes? So I need to be able to get to Mick’s by nine ‘cause I want to play it safe so I’ll guess the whole sales and trade process will take an hour. If the transbus ride plus the wait for it takes an hour, plus the walk taking another half, plus the two hours from the vault to the cave entrance takes another two… more maths… err… I need to leave the vault by five thirty.”

Rory let out a breath, having at least figured that out. Math sure was draining.

“Okay, so I can spend quite a bit of time out here figuring out this new commo and then… what?” Unsure exactly, Rory shrugged. “One thing at a time.”

First thing he did on his new ring was up his Soul Summary.

Soul Summary:

Available/Used Vessels (Gathered): 1/1

Available/Used Vessels (Granted): 0/268

| Wielder |

-Body

--Vitality (1/X)

| Construct {Serpent Chakram} |

-Melee (0/1)

-Ranged (0/1)

-Neutral (0/1)

| Soul |

-Soul Bond (250/250)

--Active Bond {Ice Basilisk} (1/1)

--Soul Form (X/100)

-Soul Control (1/1)

--Soul Capture (5/5)

--Soul Call (5/5)

--Summoning (1/X)

---Living Spring Treant (5/63)

--Withdraw Soul (1/5)

The surprises just kept dropping on Rory like he dropped moonshine bottles on Margie’s table. His Wielder tree was actually active now. It was still broken or whatever, but it showed that he had changed. It also explained why his physique appeared different.

From what little he remembered, Vitality represented the overall health of the body. It also portrayed strength in a weird way. Not “lifting heavy objects” type of strength, so much as, “a strong and healthy body can withstand more,” type of strength. Beyond that, he really wasn’t sure what it did.

Ugh. What I wouldn’t give for a tablet and a GalNet connection. Well, soon hopefully.

His ring apparently had a limited one if it could access the bestiary and banks, but that didn’t help him research info on Soul Wielders.

That done Rory explored other choices on his new commo. As he expected, that offered nothing useful except the vault. Speaking of, he knew he needed to figure out how to use it. So he snapped off a small branch and tried the same thing he had tried before with the snake that had resulted in a red light. Rory touched the ring to the piece of wood and this time when he tapped the top right box, the branch looked like it got sucked into the ring over a period of two to three seconds.

Rory stared at his empty hand and then at his ring.

So bloody wicked…

“Okay. So how do I get it out then?”

Trying the obvious first, he tapped the box again and the branch flowed out of the ring in the same two to three seconds. As he didn’t know where it would come out, the thing reappeared in the exact same position it was sucked in at in comparison to his ring, which meant it fell onto his lap and then bounced to the forest floor.

Rory nodded to himself. The logic of it made sense at least, even if he didn’t a clue how the thing worked. It was surprisingly straightforward. So the question was, why did that work and not the snake? Tapping his fingers on the branch, Rory placed his hand flat on the tree and pressed another square on the ring. It unsurprisingly blinked red.

Size. Rory rolled his eyes at himself. I’m a bloody idiot.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Mick had even told him each box was a three-foot cube. He’d need to cut anything down he wanted to store, or curl it up or the like. He knew it would take some experimentation, but he was also fine with that.

“Okay. So now what?” Rory asked himself.

Thinking of his options, he figured he could go down and retrieve the cells, but he also felt that wasn’t the best idea. If he missed whatever it was that came and left from Lucifer’s home, he wouldn’t know whether to expect it back or not. And there was no way he was going in there and cutting things for hours until he felt confident there wasn’t going to be a giant-snake-killer visiting.

So that means I wait… Then Rory shifted on his branch, adjusting how he was leaning against the trunk until he was more comfortable. Well, patience is a virtue I suppose.

So Rory opened up the Bestiary on his commo and spent the next two or so hours just reading about various creatures and Cursed in alphabetical order. Why in that order? Because that was what the glorious Crown felt was right.

He knew he wouldn’t remember most of what he read, but who knew – it might help at the right moment. And what else was he going to do, leave the skin and treant? Hell no! That was completely out of the question.

Rory took a bottle of water and a strip of who-knew-what-kind of meat out of his backpack and satiated his thirst and huger. He had purchased them for two pence each in the morning, having recalled his lack from the prior evening.

“See?” he mumbled to himself while chewing. “You can learn.” Then he took a swig of water and said, “Now I just need to do it for this whole Soul Warrior hunting thing.”

Having finished his strip of meat, Rory was about to put his water back in his bag but stopped. Instead he touched it to his ring and sent it into the vault.

“Nice,” he mumbled. After a few more seconds of thought, took it back out and put it back in his bag. “I might need that shelf space though, so I’ll keep it out for now.” Then he went back to his research in the bestiary.

And so another hour passed before something finally happened.

Good thing cause that was boring as hell and I was just about fed up. Now what in the bloody hell is that thing?

The weirdest snake Rory had ever thought could exist slithered up to the nest hole. It was colored like a reflective rainbow but was smaller than he had expected. At only about ten feet long and two to three inches thick, it was carrying a snake more than twice its size back to the hole.

Rory was no genius, but he took science classes. Something lighter should not be able to lift something heavier. Physics and all that. But Rory just accepted it with a shake of his head.

First talking snakes, then walking trees, and now this. Myst just makes things weird.

Anyway, Rory watched as the snake somehow lifted its massive spotted black victim and dragged it into the nest.

“What the hell is it doing with those bodies?” he mumbled. Not that he really cared. What mattered was that it had been gone for at least three hours last time, which felt like an opportunity to Rory. He decided then that if it left again, he would head in and start slicing. If not, he’d at least try to figure out what it was and go from there.

After a few minutes of no weird shiny snake existing the whole, Rory decided he was going to give it a little bit more time and then head in. This time though, he was going to pay attention and not be a dumbass.

After half an hour of waiting, Rory slowly climbed down the tree going branch to branch, managing not to fall. He slowly made his way towards the nest as silently as he could go – which wasn’t great given the debris on the ground – and looked into the hole. He was about to turn on the fully wound lantern to light the nest, but realized he didn’t need to for some reason. Unsure, he slowly stepped further in, looking for the source of the light. It was the shiny snake. It was bloody glowing like a bloody rainbow.

Everything is weird here.

Shaking his head, Rory slowly and carefully made his way further in using its light. As he got closer, he saw the new glowey snake was just in front of the pile of snake, skin and treant and that it now sported an additional occupant, the spotted black one. As before he waited to verify it was asleep, which he felt it was, he slowly stepped forward, trying for a scan with each step. At what he thought was about ten feet, he received a response. Immediately after, he backed up to hide behind the tail of the big black snake and read the information.

Rainbow Ferret Snake (0 - 24) - Rainbow Ferret snakes take after their mammalian namesakes in that they hunt other snakes and tend to be hoarders of anything and everything that interests them. It is believed that the females choose mates based on the size and variety of their hordes. This species hunts through a strange form of hypnotism as their rainbow bodies glow and pulse, confusing and distracting both prey and predators. They are extremely venomous and no creature or human under three times the level of the creature (except another of its species) has ever survived more than a few minutes once bitten. The venom also acts as a preservative which enables its victims to be added to its mate-attracting horde. Observations have shown these creatures run before predators and rarely fight when attacked first unless cornered due to their scale’s lackluster defense. However, they will defend their hordes to their death. The males of the species flash their entire bodies all the time, but the females flash only the diamond on their heads when they are seeking a mate.

Rory froze still.

Okay, that is so creepy. The lady snakes only like the snakes with big… piles? Seriously? And holy shit. Up to level twenty-four?

This was… a risk. A huge risk. But then he thought about it and realized it was also a huge opportunity.

Okay Rory, break it down. Think. What are the risks?

First, the level. It’s higher than him, possibly by a lot. Second, it’s obviously super strong if it can lift massive snakes. Third, accord to the description it has a special ability to confuse its prey. Fourth, its bite was very very poisonous.

Thinking for a while, Rory couldn’t think of any other risks that didn’t fit under one of those so he addressed them: The big one was the level. While Rory didn’t know exactly how strong it was, it seemed unlikely to him that it was as high as twenty-four. With the exception of Lucifer – who had probably ruled the place and kept the locals away – none of the snakes Rory had seen in the area around his nest had been above level one based on the amount of myst they’d given him. It just did not make sense in his mind to have something that high a level in the area.

Next, the strength. Well, yeah… it was obvious to him that it was strong. That said, it was asleep. If he could get a good sneak attack in while it was asleep, that would go a good ways towards evening the odds and even weakening it.

Third, the weird ability to confuse. That was another unknown and Rory figured he could just… not look at it or something. He wasn’t a beast after all. How hard could it be to not get confused by lights? And lastly, the venom. He had to admit, that one kind of sucked and was probably the biggest reason to run the fuck away. It was super scary. A guaranteed death if bitten. The only solution to that one was the combination of the other solutions: sneak attack, weaken it, don’t get confused. All together those added to the not-get-bitten plan.

Right… Maybe it isn’t worth it. Umm… So what are the upsides? They’d have to be pretty big to make it worthwhile.

First, the myst gained. Even if it was only, say, level two or three, that would be enough myst to fill one vessel and a good deal of the next. Second, the money. This pile of snakes would be worth a lot to the right people. According to Henry, rich folks paid top dollar at posh restaurants for myst-infused meat. Not that Rory had ever had anything to sell to them, but Henry claimed to have once or twice. Beyond that was the molted skin of Lucifer. Rory was well aware that he had no clue how much it was worth, but he was absolutely confident it was a lot. Definitely more than all those myst cells combined. Not that he was planning on selling it, at least not yet. The idea felt… ungrateful maybe? And with Leila in his soul, the concept of selling the last pieces of her brother just did not sit right. That said, Rory was confident he could do something with it that would lead to him making more money. And that meant both improving his and his mum’s life by advancing his path as a Soul Warrior. Lastly, if he managed to not die and kill it, there was a chance to capture its soul as a summon. Small chance but huge reward if successful.

So, yeah… all those together are pretty good motivation. Risk it all for a huge payday and a better future, or go down to the vault for a small but guaranteed payout that won’t last more than a few weeks.

Rory stood there, still as a statue just thinking for about thirty seconds, just considering his two choices. In end, his decision was based off a single priority.

If I die, then mum will die too. But I have to do something new. She can’t keep going like this. I can’t keep going like this. She isn’t going to get better. She needs… a lot of help. A little quid here and there isn’t going to matter. We need a lot and we need it soon. A few hundred for the cells and then a little bit as I hunt isn’t going to be enough. We… She needs more.

So Rory closed his eyes, took in a deep quiet breath, breathed out, and, firm in his decision, opened them. Then he walked around the edge of the black snake’s tail, which was about eight feet from the head of his the rainbow snake, and lined up his throw. He was going overhand because the snake was on the ground and he felt it most sensible to come at a downward angle. Taking another deep breath, Rory’s arm bent backward and then shot forward releasing the white chakram.

Damnit! It hit, but not perfectly. A furious hissing sound echoed through the nest and Rory ducked back behind the tail. The entire nest started flashing the colors of the rainbow and the pile of snake bodies he was hiding behind shook and shifted. Unfortunately, the snake tale in front of him also shifted and he was exposed.

The good news was the thrashing snake hadn’t seen him. The bad news was Rory looked at the snake and its flashing rainbow colors. What he saw was… strange. It was like lights were inside the snake’s skin moving up and down, creating an entrancing glow. Rory found himself unable to pull his eyes away from the beautiful sight.

It was then that the creature finally spotted him near its stash. It hissed at him and the flashing seemed to slow and stabilize, causing Rory’s legs to weaken. He could barely stand, just staring at the mesmerizing movement and flow of the stunning creature.

He felt that it was the most magnificent sight he had ever seen. The snake was a stunning creation, and he couldn’t get enough of it. Thankfully, the glowing head approached slowly, its smooth movements only increasing the grace and beauty of the creature in Rory’s mind. He decided he needed to get closer to it. Then its head was only a few feet away, and it had risen up, granting him an even closer view of the dazzling lights and stunning appeal. He watched in awe as its elegant mouth started opening and white fangs appeared, dripping clear liquid.

Suddenly, across Rory’s vision, gleaming white scales flashed and he blinked. Coming to, he blinked his eyes only to see the snake opening its mouth just feet in front of him and he simply reacted. He called his chakram to him, of which only the black was near enough to answer, having fallen at his feet in his limp hand. While it appeared, he flung his arm forward in an underhanded throw and he watched as if in slow motion the black circle spun towards the snake at the moment as it struck towards him. Rory lurched and fell backwards and he watched from the floor as the blade slammed half of its diameter into the soft upper palate of the glowing creature’s distended mouth and into its brain. The body of the beautiful predator collapsed a yard in front of Rory with a thump and dispersed dirt and debris and slide forward to come to a stop only inches from his feet.