I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 4 – When I opened my eyes, I was a snake 4

—–CROW—– 

It was burning.

The Hero’s Gallery, which had been relatively quiet until now, was blazing like it had been bombarded out of nowhere.

And what was I, the cause and center of this firestorm, doing?

Gulp.

“Ssss~!”

‘Ahhh~! So refreshing!’

I was eating the Amrita, the fruit called the fruit of ancient times.

Was it okay to eat something that hadn’t been properly verified yet?

…But I couldn’t help it. I was incredibly hungry.

Besides, it was like… being hungry made my instincts take over, prioritizing filling my belly over figuring out my current situation.

For a brief moment, it felt like I had transformed from a person into a beast, driven purely by instinct.

‘And the choice to eat the Amrita was excellent.’

The Amrita was quite amazing.

First of all, the taste itself was like a sweet juice with a mix of various fruits.

But it wasn’t sticky, so even if it got on my lips or body, it didn’t feel unpleasant.

Plus, the moment I ate it, my thirst and hunger vanished instantly. It was a strange experience.

‘But that’s not the most important thing.’

I started coiling my long body around a nearby rock.

It was more accurate to call it a pebble rather than a rock due to its small size, but it was big enough for me, with my small body.

Ssssss.

As I wrapped around the rock, or rather, the pebble, and slowly started to constrict, applying force!

‘Heave!’

Crack.

I could see the rock breaking.

A newly hatched snake breaking a pebble?

One might think it was because I was a snake living in ancient times, different from ordinary snakes, but I would shake my head.

The reason I could exert such force was the effect of the Amrita I had just eaten.

‘They said Ambrosia was a fruit obtained during the restoration process.’

And the ability of Ambrosia was to increase stats and heal wounds.

Plus, there was a low probability of permanently increasing a portion of the increased stats.

It was truly a fruit deserving of the name elixir.

‘And they said Amrita was more effective than Ambrosia.’

Wouldn’t the increase in stats, as well as the rate and probability of permanent stat increases, be higher?

[So, where did Yonggari go?]

-Author: HotWaterInSummer

Isn’t it a bit much to set the gallery on fire and then go silent?

Come out and explain properly. I’m really curious.

-Yeah. Gallery Master, come back soon.

-Since when was Yonggari our Gallery Master?

-From now on.

-Hey, calm down everyone.

-Seriously. Has it only been an hour since he disappeared?

-LOL, everyone’s so impatient.

My reason returned as my thirst subsided thanks to the Amrita.

I looked at the burning gallery and made up my mind, taking a picture.

Click.

[I’m taking control of the gallery now.]

-Author: YonggariSnack

The gallery is burning because of me. I’ve come to put out the fire myself.

I’ll explain everything you want to know.  That Amrita? It’s not photoshopped, it’s real. I couldn’t even find a way to photoshop anyway. I ate it, and my thirst and hunger disappeared instantly, and my body is full of energy. Even if the power fades over time, I feel stronger than before, like it has a superior version of Ambrosia’s abilities. And the era I live in? As you guessed, I suspect it’s ancient times.  There’s no other way to explain my current situation. Lastly, my identity? Yes. I’m not human. Unlike you, I was reborn as a snake.

(Picture of a white snake wagging its tail)

This is me now.

Don’t ask me why. I don’t know either.

Anyway, I’m aiming to become a mythical creature and staying in a cave rich in mana. There’s plenty of Amrita nearby, so I don’t have to worry about food, which is convenient. If you’re curious about anything else, ask away. This gallery seems to be the only way I can communicate with anyone.

There.

I finally revealed my situation and all the information.

Now, while waiting for their reactions…

“Ssssaaa…”

‘Yawn… I guess I’m sleepy after filling my belly.’

Suddenly feeling drowsy, I curled up and slowly closed my eyes.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

Unaware of the gallery notifications going wild.

***

“Sss.”

‘Mmm. Slept well.’

Maybe it was because I was a snake now.

Even though I slept on the plain ground with nothing, my body didn’t feel stiff or sore.

Just a refreshing morning.

I looked up at the clear sky with the warm sunlight and ate some Amrita for breakfast.

Crunch.

‘Is my body a little tougher than before?’

I quickly checked my current physical condition.

And then immediately opened the gallery.

[Gallery Master! Come back!]

[Analysis of the Gallery Master’s era.]

[Gallery Master-nim. Give me information about the ancient era.]

[So you’re really a snake?]

[I have a question.]

‘The enthusiasm is amazing.’

The gallery was burning with the same, no, even greater fervor than yesterday.

They now called me Gallery Master and wanted more information about my current situation.

Various posts filled with simple curiosity and requests for information about the ancient times I lived in.

“Sss.”

It would be hard to reply to each and every one of them.

[Does the Gallery Master have a system too?]

‘System?’

While scrolling through the posts, pondering where to start,

I spotted an intriguing post and immediately checked its content.

[Does the Gallery Master have a system too?]

-Author: ChickenLeg

If the Gallery Master was really born as a snake unlike us, would he be able to use the system like we do?

-Wouldn’t it be possible?

-It would be impossible.

└Why? The system is a power engraved on the soul.

└There’s no confirmation that the system is embedded in the soul. And the Gallery Master’s situation is different from ours. Who knows?

-If he can use the system, wouldn’t the Gallery Master become super strong?

└Right? Since he’s a beast, it would be easier for him to absorb mana.

‘System?’

That was another thing I’d never heard of.

Was there another ability besides the Hero’s Gallery?

Flick. Flick.

I quickly moved my tail and wrote.

[System? What’s that?]

-Author: YonggariSnack

I’ve never heard of it, you can use a system? Tell me how.

-Why is the Gallery Master so late?

└(Author): I just woke up.

-What were you doing?

└(Author): Sleeping.

-System? You didn’t check?

└Yeah. I wasn’t in a situation to.

└Isn’t checking your status window standard procedure when summoned to another world?

‘There’s a status window?’

I knew about status windows.

It was a common power in the web novels I read when I was still human.

A cheat ability that quantified one’s abilities and provided detailed allocation and direction for growth.

I never thought I’d have such a power.

It seemed they gave me this ability because I was summoned from the game.

The problem was that I didn’t know how to bring up the status window.

If I had to say it out loud, I would never be able to call up the status window.

└Isn’t checking your status window standard procedure when summoned to another world?

└(Author): Does it work if I say it in my mind?

└Yeah. It would be too embarrassing if we had to shout it out every time.

└LOL.

Thank goodness.

I just had to say it in my mind.

I almost missed out on seeing my status window until I became a mythical creature.

“Sss!”

‘Status Window!’

….

“Sss?”

‘What?’

Nothing appeared?

Was my voice too quiet? Or did I have to say it with a stronger will to call up the status window?

“Sss!”

‘Status Window!’

This time, I shouted with all my sincerity.

But I was met with the same lack of response as before.

I narrowed my eyes and replied to the guy who mentioned the status window.

└(Author): My status window isn’t showing up!

└?

└Why isn’t it showing up?

“Ssss!”

‘Why isn’t it showing up?! Because you lied!’

It was a good thing there were no other creatures around.

If there were, it would have been incredibly embarrassing!

└Gallery Master, I made a post, check it out.

I immediately checked the new post.

[There really is a status window.]

-Author: SugarRush

(Picture of a glowing blue interface with various stats and numerical values)

Gallery Master, can you see this? There really is a status window.

-?

-Why are you suddenly posting your status window?

└It seems the Gallery Master said he didn’t have one.

-Hey, but the values are strange, aren’t they?

└Why is his magic power so high?

└Wow, his magic power is over 500.

└Isn’t that Archmage level?

-Damn, Sugar’s status window is insane.

└Wow, with those stats, he could kill anyone with just Magic Missile.

Surprisingly, there really was a status window.

The picture of the status window SugarRush posted was just like the ones commonly seen in web novels and games.

‘Then why don’t I have a status window?’

There were two shocks I received from SugarRush’s post.

One was that I didn’t have a status window.

And the other was that SugarRush’s stats were more incredible than I had imagined.

Even the people who were initially focused on me were now amazed by SugarRush’s stats.

‘Especially the magic power exceeding 500…’

That would be a difficult value to achieve even in the game.

Judging by his previous posts, he seemed to be a student at the academy, but with those stats, he could go fight the Demon King right away with just a little bit of magic practice.

“Ssssaaa…”

‘I’m envious…’

Of those high stats, and of the status window that allowed him to accurately check his condition at any time.

-(Author): Gallery Master, reply if you saw this.

└Yeah.

-(Author): Then what about your status window?

└I don’t have one.  I think it’s because I’m a snake.

Saying it like this made me even more depressed.

└You really don’t have a status window? Why?!

└(Author): Don’t worry.  Since it’s ancient times, I’ll grow quickly even without a status window.

Well, it seemed like they were trying to comfort me out of concern.

Of course, that made me feel a little better, but still, I didn’t  have a status window.

—–CROW—–