A Snake's Path (A Snake's Life Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Summary

  Shadow Alley Press Mailing List

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Interlude: Ayla’s Choice & Findral’s Duty

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Interlude: Reunion

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Interlude: Thor’s Anger & Amaar’s Game

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Interlude: The Hunters

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Interlude: Birth of a Monster

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Books, Mailing List, and Reviews

  Books by Shadow Alley Press

  Books by Black Forge

  LitRPG on Facebook

  Even More LitRPG on Facebook

  GameLit and Cultivation on Facebook

  Copyright

  About the Author

  About the Publisher

  Summary

  THE PATH TO THE TOP is never easy...

  The title of Serpent King is up for grabs, and Torga's going to need the power it brings to protect his new family. Standing in his way are eight Royal Serpents and a host of shadowy forces who want to manipulate Torga for their own personal gain.

  As if that wasn't enough, the jotnar are returning to Asgard, threatening the people Torga swore to protect. He has to become stronger, but will his allies pay the price for his rise to power?

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  Prologue

  A YOUNG ELF WOMAN OPENED her eyes to see what appeared to be a computer screen floating in front of her.

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Welcome back to the land of the living, Hero!

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  “About time,” she said aloud as the inky blackness she’d found herself trapped in began to disappear and the image of an ocean superimposed itself over it.

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  As a [Hero] you have an obligation to your patron and must fight her enemies as if they were your own.

  You have been transported to [Uathea, an earth elemental world. Home of massive forests and the “guardian” of the druids.]

  Would you like to see your information?

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  "Sure." She shrugged.

  The elf had already known most of this information from her talks with the so-called “goddess.” She'd already had the basics, why she was brought here, and what was expected of her. But if the goddess thought the elf was going to be a slave to her whims just because she brought the elf back, then she had another thing coming to her.

  The only reason the elf accepted the deal in the first place was that she wanted to make a difference in this world. She wanted to help people, to save lives, and to protect the innocent.

  And since she’d managed to weasel the knowledge that her home world, Earth, was connected to the “World Tree,” she could see her family again. So regardless of what the “goddess” thought was going to happen, the elf was going home to her family.

  With her mind made up and her resolve set in stone, the elf re-opened her eyes and looked at the new windows floating in front of her.

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Because of your past actions/deeds, you are eligible to keep your previous skills as well as receive a few new ones!

  Name: Reina

  Race: High Elf

  Primary Class: Hero

  Sub-Class(es): Surgeon, Soldier

  Skills: Limit Breaker, Surgeon's Scalpel, Numbing Touch, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Ranged Weapon Proficiency, Minor Stamina up, Minor Strength up, Minor Speed up, Monster Slayer, Spell Creator, Death Defying

  Spells: Heal; [Tier 1 healing spell], Regenerate [Tier 2 healing spell]

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  "Hmm... Interesting," Reina mumbled as she reached the bottom of the window.

  Before she could spend too much time in thought, the ground started to violently shake, and she heard an ear-splitting roar.

  "What on earth was that!?" Reina yelled. The ground beneath her tilted as an earthquake hit, causing her to stumble backwards and fall on her butt. However, her question was soon answered. She looked up and saw two colossal creatures apparently locked in a battle to the death.

  The first was an honest-to-god living, breathing dragon! It had brownish yellow scales with spikes covering most of its back and on the back of its head rested four horns with a fifth on his nose... And did she mention that it was the size of a freaking mountain!?

  The other creature was a truly gargantuan serpent. It had dark green scales with a gray underbelly, massive wings, and a large red gem in the center of its forehead.

  Suddenly, and without hesitation, the serpent slammed the dragon onto the ground and the true battle for dominance began. Grievous wounds were inflicted on both sides as the serpent fought to contain the dragon while a red light danced through the air and occasionally attacked the beast.

  "What in the world did I get myself into?" Reina asked herself. Turning and fleeing from the two battling behemoths, she ran until she could run no more. When she turned around and looked back the way she had come, she saw something that would stick with her for years: the serpent and the dragon locked together in a struggle for dominance as a transparent white shell closed around them, preventing prying eyes from witnessing the end of their fight.

  Just before the two disappeared from sight, a window appeared and blocked her vision.

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Do you see now, Hero? These are your lady’s enemies and just some of the creatures you must defeat in your lady’s name.

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  She rolled her eyes at the screen's dramatic words and waved it away. "They might be your enemy, Goddess, but they sure as hell ain’t mine."

  The next morning

  REINA PULLED HER "BORROWED" cloak closer to her body in a vain attempt to keep warm. Ever since arriving in this strange world, she'd been almost constantly harassed by the cold wind. Of course, this was made all the worse by the fact that she was naked. That damnable goddess dropped her on an unfamiliar world with little more than the hair on her head and a smile. So, while she did feel guilty for taking the clothes off of a dead elf and essentially becoming a grave robber, at least she was decent now.

  She'd been walking almost nonstop since her encounter with the serpent and dragon. She'd only stopped to rest for an hour before dawn and to wash her face in a shallow river. Incidentally, that's where she found her "borrowed" outfit. It consisted of a green woolen cloak, a brown cloth tunic, matching pants, and a pair of dark leather shoes. They were slightly too large for her petite frame, but she tied a knot in the tunic's excess material and wore it like a crop-top. She couldn't do much with the pants or boots, so she had to put up with them being uncomfortable.

  The snapping of a twig pulled her out of her thoughts. Her head involuntarily swiveled toward the sound. She shift
ed her center of mass to make fleeing easier, should the need arise.

  "Easy, elf girl." A tall human male stepped out from behind a tree with his hands in the air. "I'm just fleeing the battle. Same as you."

  "I don't recall asking what you were doing."

  "Okay,” he said, drawing out the “kay” sound. “Look, I'm not going to hurt you." He stepped closer to her.

  Reina's eyes narrowed and her hypersensitive hearing picked up someone attempting to sneak up behind her. "No? That must be your friend's job, then."

  "Ha! Not bad elf. Not bad at all." Another man stepped out from behind a tree. Where the first man was tall and skinny, this one was the complete opposite. "How'd you know I was there?"

  "I heard your fat ass jiggle."

  The man scowled and pulled a club out from beneath his gray cloak. "You should watch your mouth, elf girl."

  A metallic sound caused Reina's eyes to dart back to the first man. He'd pulled a small dagger from somewhere and was gripping it tightly in his left hand.

  Hmm—I could use that little trinket. Reina's eyes slowly returned to the fat man. "I'm guessing that fleeing story was bullshit. Anything else you'd like to tell the class?"

  "Oh, no, we are fleeing from those monsters," the fat man admitted. "Our camp was near an elf village when that serpent burst from the ground and attacked the dragon." As he was talking, he and the tall man began to approach her.

  She backpedaled to keep them at a distance. "So, what, you just get a kick out cornering defenseless girls in the middle of the woods?"

  "Of course not," the fat man said with mock sincerity. "However, we recently lost most our 'shipment,' and we need to resupply."

  "Oh? What kind of shipment? Maybe I could help you find it if I know what I’m looking for."

  "Why don't you come back to our camp and I'll show you?” The man flashed her a crooked grin.

  Reina's back bumped into a tree and she internally cursed. "Sorry, but you'll need to buy me dinner before I go home with you."

  "Is that a fact?" the tall man whispered as they closed in on her.

  "Yep, I'm a classy woman, after all."

  "Well, you're certainly a pretty one. I'll give you that." He reached out and ran the back of his hand over her stomach.

  Before the man could react, Reina’s left palm shot up and slammed into his nose, while her right grabbed and twisted the hand holding the dagger until she heard a painful *crack.* She ducked under his arm to avoid the fat man's club and danced out of the way of his follow up attack. While the tall man was holding his wrist and screaming in pain, Reina scooped up the fallen dagger and held it out in front of her body.

  "I don't want to hurt either of you. However, if you continue to harass me, I'll show your bodies what kind of week I've been having."

  The tall man continued to scream in pain, so he didn't respond to the threat. But the fat one did. He glanced at the dagger in Reina's hand, then yelled at the tall man. "Oh, be quiet, you idiot!" The tall man dropped to his knees and began whimpering. He bit his lip until blood ran down his chin but didn't make another sound.

  "You know how to use that blade, elf girl?" the fat man asked.

  "Only one way to find out."

  "S'pose that's true." He snorted. "Tell you what. You give me that dagger and we'll forget this meeting ever happened." He held out his hand. "How about it?"

  The fake smile on his face and the anger behind his eyes made Reina want to shiver, but she suppressed it. "Sure, that sounds fine. Where do you want it?"

  "In my hand, elf girl."

  "Alright, if you say so," she agreed.

  He reached out to take it... Reina grabbed his arm to steady it, then slammed the blade through the back of his hand and ripped it out through his fingers. The man began to scream, but she held it up to his throat.

  "Make one more sound, and I'll give it to you again."

  He swallowed the sudden overflow of saliva in his mouth and shakily nodded.

  "Good. Now, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go about my day and pretend that I found this knife on the ground, and we never had the—pleasure—of meeting. If you follow me or otherwise hamper my ability to do this, I will gladly introduce my “found” blade to the side of your throat." She pressed the blade against his neck for emphasis. "Understand?"

  "Mm hm."

  "Excellent. Now, back the hell up."

  Fat man followed her orders and stepped away. The rage in his beady black eyes made a cold chill run down her spine, but she once again suppressed it. She backed away from the two men until she felt it was safe to turn and run into the cover of the forest. But, when she was just three-hundred feet from the two men, she made a sharp right turn and circled around behind them.

  She’d made the decision to follow them after the fat man had mentioned a "shipment." She hoped she was wrong, and they were just creeps. But she somehow doubted she was that lucky.

  The two men stumbled through the forest, eventually finding their way to a campsite about a mile from where she’d met them.

  "My luck sucks," Reina sighed. She could hear the sound of the two men whimpering in pain from the nearby tent.

  She saw a seven- by eight-foot cage in the back of a wagon. The horse meant to pull said carriage was tied to a post outside the tent. Inside the cage, she saw three men, two women, and a handful of children, all elves, and all wounded in some way. Luckily for her and the elves, the men had only tied the cage shut with a thick piece of rope. While it was thick enough to keep the elves from easily untying it, it held up no better than any other rope under the sharp edge of her new knife.

  She made short work of the rope, then popped open the cage door. Once all the elves had climbed out, the largest and most imposing male stepped forward and pointed at the knife.

  "May I borrow that?"

  "What for? You're free; you can leave."

  "These “men," he hissed, "tortured a friend of mine to death to send a message to the rest of us."

  "And?"

  "I'd like to return the favor."

  "You know that won't bring your friend back?"

  "I do."

  "And you'll do it with or without the knife."

  "Yes."

  Reina sighed and handed the blade to the elf. "Just—don’t forget to return this to me. It’s a good knife."

  "You have my word." Or so he'd said. All but one elf walked into the tent, leaving a lone woman to tend to the children. Then the screams began. Reina and the elf woman covered the children’s ears as best they could while they waited for the other elves to return.

  Two or three hours passed before the elves exited the tent looking none too happy, but at least they seemed relaxed now.

  "Didn't turn out as you expected?"

  The “leader” shook his head and handed the suspiciously clean knife to Reina hilt first, along with a small scabbard he'd taken from the tall man.

  "No, Halfar was tortured for five hours before he died. These humans are pathetic, each one barely lasted an hour before they fled this world with their tails between their legs."

  Reina quietly inspected the blade for any specks of blood, then sheathed it inside the scabbard and tied its leather strap around her waist. When she turned her attention back to the tall elf, she noticed he was holding out his hand.

  "My name is Toross, captain of these men and former member of the Grand Veil tribe of Uathea."

  Reina cautiously took the elf's hand and shook it. "Reina, and I'm just passing through."

  Toross' ear twitched at her words, but he said nothing on the subject.

  "Would you like to come with us? We are preparing to leave this place and could use another pair of hands."

  Reina thought it over for a moment, then nodded her head. "Sure, it beats getting lost in the woods again." And so, Reina joined her first adventurer party and with their help, she left Uathea for the worlds beyond.

  Chapter 1

  DO YOU WANT TO HEAR a story? t
he mischievous voice of a young girl asked. Well, boy, do I have a story for you.

  I wanted to grumble, but I couldn’t speak... Not yet.

  This, like most stories, is the story of a sna—man. The owner of the voice corrected herself. I traveled with this man for ten years, and during that time I saw him do things I never imagined possible. He explored the deepest valleys and climbed the highest peaks on five different worlds. He fought off invading armies and slayed monsters no other man could have in defense of the innocent. Commoners and kings alike stood in awe of his power. A few even worshiped him as a deity. But to me... He was just Torga: my adoptive father.

  However, the voice turned harsh. This man was also an idiot who routinely forgot to watch his back. The girl sighed. Nine months and sixteen days ago we were off world on the planet of Alabos, a planet two bridges from here. We found ourselves doing some mercenary work for the king of the small island country of Asta. An unknown monster was reportedly sneaking into the port city of Orsira and destroying the homes of its citizens. In return for finding and eliminating the monster, and ensuring the city would remain unmolested, the king would give us an item that would supposedly enhance Torga’s power.

  So, we staked out the city one night and awaited the expected attack. As it turned out, the king was right. An attack did come a few days after we began our stakeout. But it was no monster that was attacking the city. Merely a group of humans dissatisfied with those in power and taking out their frustrations on the unsuspecting populace.

  We engaged them, the girl continued. I prayed to Yggdrasil for the strength to help my father in the upcoming battle, and used a bit of my druidic magics—an enchantment on the stone beneath their feet that returned it to its natural state—that of loose soil. The rogues initially lost their balance and gave Dad the opening he needed to ambush them. He magically enhanced his body before leaping into the air, his powerful legs carrying him thirty feet through the air, before landing in the center of the distracted group.

  Dad’s hand whipped out and decapitated a large man in dull gray plate mail with an almost casual backhand. Before the large man’s head could touch the ground, Dad’s fists blurred, and three more men were killed. That was as far as he got before the group reacted and began to fight back.