CH45: The World Serpent, Gandr

***

CH45: The World Serpent, Gandr

[Notice: Interference from Patron Spirit, Lord Jormungandr, detected.]

[Lord Jormungandr has closed off access to benefits of each grade until Host chooses a grade to summon.]

[Notice: Lord Jormungandr's eyes are on the Host. Patron Spirit is watching with interest.]

[Message: Life isn't that easy, boy. There are times you have to grope in the dark.]

[Message: What will you do? Will you risk the benefit in your hands for an unknown power? Or will you play it safe and keep the benefit in your hands? Now decide, boy!]

-

I read through the messages again. Finally, my eyes landed on the big red window in front of me.

*

[Notice: High energy environment detected. Does Host wish to sacrifice this environment to summon the highest Supreme-grade Incarnation?]

[Y/N]

*

I smiled, then made my decision.

I clicked on Yes.

-

You should know I never gamble.

Don't get me wrong, I can play the casino games. In fact, I got quite good at them during my time as the leader of Taskforce 47.

I've had to defeat, and lose, to some marks in order to approach them and get what I needed to achieve my objective.

That said, I never gambled.

Not in the true sense of the word.

To gamble, means to shoulder a risk of loss... to leave defeat and win to chance, to lady luck as they say.

I've never done that. Never once have I ever left a risk to chance in a game.

Before I got in play with someone, I would study them. I knew everything about every person I've ever 'gambled' with.

Their histories, their tells, their habits. I knew every decision they'd make before they made it.

The game was no longer a gamble left to chance, but a play that followed to my every whim!

So, I never gamble. I orchestrate plays.

Victory or loss are all determined by the needs of my objectives.

*

Lord Jormungandr tried to position things in way that I'd have to 'gamble'... to take the risk of losing a precious Mana Vein with a mature Vein Core that was about to become a Mana Soul.

And for what?

A reward that I didn't know was worth the effort or not.

It sounded sketchy as hell.

Or it should've been.

It's a pity that before my Patron Spirit set the stage, he had revealed himself to me.

I knew his history and I had deduced his traits. With these, the function of the stage had changed.

It was no longer a stage to test whether I would dare gamble to a stage set for a show that moved to my whims.

*

[Notice: Opening a Supreme-grade Summon Gate. Please, standby.]

A massive gate, the height of the entire cavern manifested before me. The massive gate, which towered many times over me, opened up.

I had expected a massive creature to exit the gate.

However, to my surprise, what exited the gate was a small, silvery-black snake about the size and length of my arm.

The little guy looked so ordinary that I doubted I hadn't been cheated by Jormungandr.

The thought vanished immediately I looked in the snake's... or rather serpent's face.

The serpent slithered to me, then half of its body rose off the ground, giving me a good look at its face.

The serpent looked oddly charming.

I was almost certain that even someone with Ophidiophobia would find this serpent attractive. It was certainly not an ordinary creature.

[Notice: Supreme-grade {World Serpent} Incarnate summoned.]

[Notice: Please allow Incarnate to draw blood from you to complete the contract.]

I stretched out my arm before the little guy.

Fangs laced with saliva and perhaps venom extended out of the ceiling of its mouth when it opened it.

However, I didn't pull my arm back.

I trusted my body's healing factor, especially in an energy-rich environment like this Mana Vein. Plus, I was highly resistant to poisons. I knew the serpent couldn't kill me instantly.

Nor did it have a reason to.

The Serpent's fangs dug into my wrist and blood flowed into its mouth.

Oddly enough, I didn't feel any pain from the bite. It was likely its saliva had numbing toxins which killed off my sense of pain in the bite area.

This was actually a very terrifying poison. The snake could bite and inject its venom into a target without it realising if it attacked from a blindspot.

It was a perfect assassination-type snake.

The thought subconsciously made me smile. I was liking the little guy already.

If I had to guess, I think I lost about a bag of blood to it before it pulled back its fangs from my wrist.

The loss wasn't enough to hamper me. I could aready feel my body working to makeup the loss. The bite spot on my wrist had quickly healed thanks to the high ambient mana concentration.

[Notice: Contract between Host and Supreme-grade {World Serpent} established.]

[Notice: Host is required to name the Supreme-grade {World Serpent} to seal the contract.]

-

"A name, huh...?" I muttered.

I wasn't exactly known for my naming sense.

Specifically, if someone ever wants to name a child, I'd be the last person they'd ask for a name.

That's how bad it was.

Even the other Taskforce 47 members, who we were all as close as brothers, knew not to ever make that mistake.

Looking at the beautiful (or is it handsome) serpent before me, the names that came to mind were Shiny or Blacky.

Fortunately, I was under no illusion. I knew my naming sense was terrible. The same way I knew those two names were atrocious. Not for a creature like this. Not for an incarnation of the mighty Spirit, Jormungandr.

Then, it struck me.

"Gandr..." I muttered.

I didn't know what the 'Jormungandr' meant, however, 'Gandr' from the name sounded like Grand or Grandeur.

Thinking about it, it sounded like a fitting name for this {World Serpent}. At least, it was the best I'd come up with.

[Host names the Supreme-grade {World Serpent}, Gandr.]

[Confirm/Deny]

I clicked 'Confirm'.

The {World Serpent}... no, Gandr released a bright silvery glow.

I saw a snake print on the back of my hand, which disappeared as soon as it came.

In that moment, I felt connected to Gandr. I felt like I could understand it. Its emotions and thoughts.

Perhaps this was how it felt to have a Summon-type Pangea.

I also felt like I could relay my instructions to it through my thoughts.

It was a convenient system. This meant I had a near perfect control over it.

After the connection stabilised, I felt an emotion... or rather a thought from Gandr.

It was a simple, near primal, instinctive thought really.

Hunger.

Like a new-born, Gandr was very hungry and had to feed.

The massive gate dematerialised and disappeared like an illusion that was never there.

Gandr's serpentine eyes turned to the Mana Vein.

[Notice: The Supreme-grade {World Serpent} Incarnate is now named Gandr.]

[Notice: Contract complete.]

[Notice: Gandr will now accept Host's offering in line with the contract.]

I wondered how it was going to feed on the entire Mana Vein with its diminutive figure, compare to the cave.

I watched as Gandr slithered to the centre of the cave. Then, it opened its mouth wide.

The next scene I saw, made my jaw almost touched the ground .

Suddenly, a vortex opened before its mouth.

Before I could react, the entire Mana Vein vanished into the vortex and disappeared. The cave was so clean that no one would believe that there was ever a Mana Vein here.

The little guy released a contented burp. Then, it slithered back to me.

It rubbed its head against my leg, after which, it sank into my shadow.

[Notice: Gandr is digesting the energy absorbed. Details of the Incarnate will be prepared once the energy digestion is complete.]

I was still in a stunned state.

One moment, there was a Mana Vein worth millions of UC, then in the next... poof, it was gone.

The creature responsible then went to rest in my shadow?

That's it?

Have I misread the situation? Was I played?

My mind was in a mess.

The message from the Interface did little to allay my mind.

But then, a new message appeared in my vision.

[Notice: Lord Jormungandr is pleased with your action.]

[Message: You've done well, boy. Remember, hoarding external resources is useless if you cannot use it to increase your strengths. I am pleased to see that you can look beyond the allure of useless wealth. You have my assurance, your sacrifice shall be worth it.]

A smile made it to my lips when I saw this.

It proved I was right about Jormungandr.

From the brief history I know about him, I determined a few of his traits.

Jormungandr was protective of his people.

This can be seen in how he fearlessly fought multiple powerful Spirits to save his progeny, even though they were many generations detached from those he would've recognised.

He meant well for those in his patronage.

Many people knew Jormungandr as the World-eater serpent, however, few people knew that he actually didn't devour those planets for himself but rather he fed them to his home planet and progeny.

This two traits alone told me he wasn't the kind of person to offer me an unfavourable deal.

As much as he tried to make my previous decision look like a risky affair, his nature assured me there was nothing to fear. That I would benefit more from giving up the Mana Vein to summon a Supreme-grade {World Serpent}.

Jormungandr's message just now, proved I was right.

As I said, I never gamble. I always only make calculated decisions that were risk-free.

-

With the Mana Vein gone, all that was left was a dark, large empty cavern.

It didn't have much use to me anymore that would justify the security placed around it.

It was unlikely that a new Mana Vein would grow there again. In that case, I might have to find another use for it.

It's a shame to leave such a perfect place unused, right?

Unfortunately, I didn't know what to use it for, so I decided to leave it like that for the future.

-

The cave was now dark but I didn't have any problem finding my way out. I had the Mana lamp with me which I used to light my path through the Labyrinth tunnel.

The Mana Lamp was a mana-powered version of a flashlight. It could be powered by the user's mana or with a mana stone.

The Lamp with me was a mana stone powered version. After all, I had an entire Mana Vein. Mana stones were the last thing I lacked.

'I will have to be frugal with my Mana Stone consumption, now that my Mana Vein is gone.' I sighed a little.

I soon returned to the study, then I took a shower before eventually joining Navia in bed.

Due to our connection, we could sense each other if we were close by. This sense was there even when we weren't conscious.

Navia, who was still deeply asleep, wrapped her body around mine immediately I got into the bed. She had a content smile after doing this.

I chuckled a bit before finally falling asleep myself.

A part of me wondered what Gandr had in store for me when it finally finished digesting the energy from the Mana Vein.

(To be continued...)