Ghost Serpent's new food

6 hours later, November 20

London's Sewers

The street Kai had chosen wasn't a coincidence.

That street didn't have a manhole, but it was at a distance from one where Kai could have dragged himself without hands and legs, if necessary. The moment Heavy Block had fallen, his eyes becoming two glassy hollows, Kai had taken the enormous man down the sewers, making sure he had left no obvious trail behind.

The scenes of the fight didn't matter as much.

It had taken him some hours to reach his peak. The Filth Manipulation was turning out to be a supreme Ability in his arsenal. But Kai shuddered, thinking of himself getting overdependent on it these days. With a dead body on his shoulder, Kai kept walking until he reached the temporary asylum he had created for himself after coming down to the sewers.

Using his last experience, Kai had turned quite a big opening within the sewer lines into a makeshift small room with a bed, chair, table, and other necessities. The geyser-like protrusions on his face pulsed, secreting the light trail of the gas continuously.

He threw the corpse in a corner and slumped down on a broken chair.

'Damn!' Kai cursed, remembering last night's fight. 'I had thought I would get him with Serpent God's Wrath. What in the seven hells even was that? It seemed almost like my transformation of going beyond bodily limits.'

Kai had indeed thought of getting Heavy Block using his Forbidden Technique. But like always, he had also planned based on his experience. What if an unknown enemy were to appear suddenly and attack him, or what if an Auror were to apparate next to them? What if the Light Neurotoxin wouldn't immobilize him as he had intended?

Kai had thought about all of that. But if only thinking of these things was enough, then he wouldn't have been called a Blood Demon. There was always a trump card on him for the last moment's unexpected scenario. The appalling thing about people like Kai wasn't in having a trump card, but the Will to hold it back no matter what. Until the very last breath.

Saying, imagining, and sneering over it as if it was a simple matter, had always doomed such ordinary thinkers. If one had the power to use it in a fatal battle, how many could restrain themselves from not using it?

Ghost Serpent came out of Kai's throat, slithering around his neck, her scales sending a cool sensation into his skin.

"You were good out there," Kai said expressionlessly as if stating a mere fact.

The serpent hissed, tasting the skull and crossbones tattoo on his chin with her forked tongue in reply.

Kai took a deep breath and finally recalled the notifications he had put aside.

[

Elementary Slither Footsteps: Proficiency 70% (+6%)

Elementary Twin-Saber Style: Proficiency 75% (+7%)

Elementary Snake Instinct: Proficiency 38% (+10%)

Elementary Snake Language: Proficiency 35% (+10%)

]

Kai gazed at his Snake Language's Proficiency. One single instance of momentary resonance between him and the serpent had increased it by 10%. If someone had told him that he would come this far just by owning a serpent, he wouldn't have believed it.

Heat of the battle, Kai named the phenomenon before moving on.

[

You have killed 1 Order's Contestant

Side Mission: Kill Captain of Guard, Code Name - Heavy Block

Side Mission Status: Success

Side Mission Rewards: 150 Mission Credits

Your Kill Count is updated

Floor: 3 (1st Set)

Kill Count: (10/100)

]

It was a refreshing scene, as much refreshing as the serpent's silver mist from passing in and out of him.

Finally, Kai looked at the corpse.

'Such a massive man,' he thought, scrutinizing the bulky muscles. 'From which world he had got such strength, I wonder. Gate of Opening… Gate. I think that Data mentioned a powerful technique… some Eight Gates from the Naruto World. Was it that?'

It seemed a plausible explanation. The only thing that made little sense to him was why Heavy Block didn't use chakra-based jutsus.

'I still don't know enough,' Kai reflected, shaking his head. 'I hope the 2nd Set will give me all the information that I need, eventually. Or I can just create a random side mission and hop into the Naruto World. Haha!'

The thought excited Kai. He had already rejected a mission from the Chaos regarding the World of Ninjas. But that turned out to be a life-saving rejection. Kai couldn't think what he would have done against the monsters Chaos wanted him to spy on. Recalling the names and their info from the Thunder Faction's data boiled his blood with as much in excitement as in fear.

Kai stood up and approached the stiffened body. The stench coming out of it must have been dreadful because he felt a sweetness in his mouth as he towered over it.

'Even at the last moment, he didn't take out any Item,' Kai thought. 'I can't get anything from his MRB, and to gamble on something which I don't even think it is there would be the height of stupidity.'

So Kai chose the next best thing.

[

Calculating collective remuneration…

Reward: 1000 Mission Credits

]

'Oh!' Kai's eyes widened. 'This is quite a sum. At least hunting him wasn't an entire waste.'

It pained Kai, losing his two sabers. But he had been preparing himself for that scenario for a long time. Both his sabers and the colorless Light Neurotoxin were becoming outdated by the pace he was advancing.

The sabers, though unmatched in the 1st Set, were almost useless for powerful 4th-floor Contestants. Even the high quantities of the colorless Boa's poison were only affecting a part of their body, and even that with delayed effects.

Kai would never count on being too near to his opponents to inject the lethal dose of the purple poison using his nail. They all would have a high Perception, Kai knew. If it wasn't because the Character Cersei not having any Stats, he doubted she could have plunged the syringe into Heavy Block's arm.

'Even then he had noticed her ill-intention at the last moment,' Kai recalled, gritting his teeth. 'He broke the syringe too. Damn fucking idiot!'

Kai kicked the man's head, and blood spurted out.

Ghost Serpent coiled around his neck, hissing along with his anger. Kai canceled Koffing's blood essence and brought out Boa Constrictor's one. The serpent didn't like it. Kai could feel it in his bones. But without becoming 100% proficient in Elementary Snake Language, he didn't have any other choice.

[

Elementary Snake Language Activated

Time Limit: 30 seconds

]

-Food?- Kai hissed, passing his intention. It still strained his muscles, passing the intentions, but his body was getting used to it with every next word.

-Food- the Ghost Serpent hissed, agreeing with Kai.

The supply of flesh beads, as Kai called them, had run out some days ago. Only one remained with him now. During his time down here, he had already analyzed them thoroughly. The flesh beads were like tiny meatballs made of many types of rodents' blood, flesh, and bones. They did little to satiate her hunger, Kai had found out. Instead, he had concluded it was the wizards' way of controlling her growth by feeding her as little as possible.

Well, Kai had other thoughts about it.

-Bad- Kai hissed, showing the Ghost Serpent the last flesh bead, and then he threw it away into the filth. Then he took out his last saber, which he had yet to smear with poison.

-Good- he hissed, pointing the saber at the dead man under his feet.

Ghost Serpent didn't understand. But her master had spoken it was good, so it must be, or so she would have thought as one could expect from a child.

-Good- she hissed back.

What happened next wasn't a tale any man of sanity should ever know and live to imagine.