That time I was reincarnated as a snake (Tensura)

A week ago, in a place far from the MC...

-Shadow Panther POV-

As our MC began his hunt after Shadow Panther's attack, the latter was resting in its cave, on top of a large hill, recovering from the wound inflicted by our MC. What it didn't realize was that the frustrated cry it let out a moment ago had caught the attention of someone passing overhead at an altitude of hundreds of meters.

The passerby had the appearance of a huge eagle with a wingspan of more than ten meters and beautiful plumage of various shades of green. With each flap of its powerful wings, gusts of wind were created, as if the wind element responded to its every movement. A Gale Eagle.

With his keen eyesight, he could tell at a glance, even at high altitude, the condition of Shadow Panther. With a mocking glint in his eyes, he quickly changed direction.

-Eagle Gale POV-

' Hahaha , lucky me! Who knew I just went out for a snack and would find such a funny scene?' I scoffed.

'That bastard always intimidates us because she is a bit stronger, forcing us to give her most of our prey if we want to avoid her harassing us every day.'

'Damn that shadow movement skill, it's disgusting!' I said helplessly.

'But an opportunity has finally arrived. I must hurry up and tell the others. Who knows when we'll get such a good opportunity?' I increased my flying speed.

Within a few minutes I had reached the territory of that detestable snake. Not wanting to waste any time, I let out a mighty croak with all my might.

" Kreeeeeee ! Kreeeeeee !"

" Ssssssssss ..."

" Ssssssssss ..."

" Ssssssssss ..."

I heard three loud hisses in response.

"Who gave you the courage to invade my territory?"

"Are you ready to die?"

"What he said, what he said."

As I heard three voices scolding me, I could see the bastard crawling out of the swamp. It was a three-headed snake, and although it had an intimidating body, I had to do my best not to laugh at the third head, who looked like an idiot. After all, I'm looking for cooperation. If I offend him, he might take it out on me.

Without any fear I perched on a tree near him.

"Relax, I'm not looking for trouble," I said reassuringly.

"So, what do you want? Say it quickly, don't waste my time," the central head answered me.

"Remember that Shadow Panther?"

"How could I forget her? Ever since she came to this area, she has been demanding our prey," the second head said hatefully.

"Well, I have some great news. Apparently, she was injured by some unknown monster."

"Are you serious?!" all three heads shouted simultaneously.

"Yeah, I just saw it. I happened to fly over her lair a few minutes ago and saw her with a big hole in her torso. Whatever it was, it pierced her from side to side. It should take a few days to heal," I said proudly.

"Are you interested in joining me in taking her down?" I invited him.

"Are you an idiot? Or do you think I'm an idiot?" The three heads looked at me with narrowed eyes.

I was stunned by that comment.

"Even if she is seriously injured, what gives you the confidence to kill her before she can use her disgusting ability and run away?"

"You should know that if the action fails, we will have it on our asses every day," said the central head.

Not having an answer, I remained silent.

"Get out of my territory before I lose my patience," he said impatiently.

Not wanting to fight him, I took to the air.

'That's one less. I hope Sparky agrees with me.'

Without wasting any time, I flew to its territory. Luckily for me, it didn't take much effort to find it. It was resting under a large tree. Its appearance was like that of a white tiger surrounded by countless electric currents around it. A Thunder Tiger.

Flying in a dive, it didn't take long for me to get close to him. Having sensed my arrival, he became alert.

"Looking for trouble, chicken?" I frowned at that nickname.

Not wanting to get entangled with him, I went on to tell him the same thing I told the snake.

"So, are you joining me in taking her down?" I asked impatiently.

"I refuse," he said in a simple tone.

"Why?" Wanting to know his reasons, I asked.

"Because I value my life," she said with her eyes rolled back.

"Of the three of us, I am the one at the greatest disadvantage against her. You can fly and escape her attack range, and the snake has rough skin and thick flesh. Even if you can't win, you can leave without much trouble. Only I would perish on the spot."

I couldn't deny that logic. Of the three of us, he was sure to die, win or lose.

Having lost the motivation I had before because of these guys, I decided to find some snacks and head back to my nest.

After a while, I returned with my prey in my claws and deposited it in my nest.

"Cowards, they are so afraid of that bastard that they don't dare attack her even when she is injured and we are the majority," I complained while eating pieces of my prey.

"Maybe they are very smart."

"Smart? Ha! They're cowards," I said disdainfully.

'Wait, who just spoke?'

* Slash *

* Slash *

" Aaaaaaaaaaaaa " I screamed in pain.

My wings had been cut off, preventing me from flying. I turned around, only to see that bastard in front of me.

"You know, it's not nice to criticize a lady behind her back," he said in a playful tone.

"W-What are you doing here?" I asked between stutters.

"Nothing, I just thought something fun might happen when I heard a sonic boom in the sky," he looked at me with mocking eyes.

'Damn, me and my emotion.'

"So I followed the tracks and, surprise, I heard an interesting conversation between a chicken and a snake, and another between the same chicken and a kitten."

'Heard it all, I'm screwed.'

"You know, I've always treated you guys well. I just ask for most of your prey, not all of it like others. I don't make excessive demands and I don't ask you to follow my orders, because I see no need to have you as subordinates," he said with contempt.

That just made me mad.

"Don't think so much of yourself! If we teamed up, we would surely defeat you," I shouted angrily.

He looked at me like he was looking at a fool.

"How now? How long did it take me to clip your wings and deprive you of your advantage?"

It's true, it didn't take him any time at all to clip my wings.

"Seeing that you have already realized the truth, I will just say goodbye."

"Don't wait -" I tried to stop her.

*Boom*

A head could be seen rolling around in the nest, with nothing nearby except a decapitated corpse.

-Shadow Panther POV-

Having gotten rid of a pesky bug, it was now time to rest. Eating some prey, offered by the two guys who weren't stupid, I entered the depths of my cave so I could recover in peace.

After a week, my wound was finally gone, I was back to my best condition. Curious about what that unique monster has been up to, I decided to take a look at it.

Like last time, I sneaked into his cave in the shadow space and approached him.

'This guy has no guard!' I complained as I saw him completely relaxed.

'I was only gone for a week and this guy thinks I'm not coming back to collect on this debt?'

'I guess that's to be expected from a guy who was born special and hasn't had to suffer what others have,' I complained.

'Let's give him another scare,' a smile formed at the corners of my mouth.

I quickly came out of the shadow and attacked his eyes, I'm sure that would hurt him. But when my shadow claws were about to cut his eyes...

* Clang *

Sparks flew where my claws collided with the tip of a tail. Yes, a tail.

-MC POV-

After a day of rest to relax, I had finally overcome the torture I put myself through to gain skills. When I thought that Shadow Panther might not return, to my dismay, I had just sensed a strange anomaly in my magic perception at the entrance of the cave and it was heading towards me.

I could only think of something or someone.

Shadow Panther was back!

To surprise him, I pretended to be completely relaxed. He would surely take advantage of that and allow me to counterattack.

And as I expected, it lunged towards my eyes, wanting to take my sight away, something useless now that I had my new perception abilities, but I wasn't going to let it succeed.

I had my tail ready to attack from the start. When I sensed his target, I quickly used my tail to cover myself.

Unlike last time, his claws failed to pierce my scales, only leaving cut marks on them.

Happy about this, I decided to chat with her.

"You didn't eat?" I said mockingly.

"Or shut up, I didn't put my all into that attack."

"Now is the real attack," he said as he ran towards me.

'The darkness in her claws grew larger and more intense this time. It seems she spoke the truth and had never been serious,' without letting my guard down I faced her.

Using my flexible body, I attacked her from every direction, she always dodging at the last moment with ease.

Just when I thought I was about to land a clean hit, she would hide in the shadows and appear in an unexpected place. Luckily for me, with thought acceleration and mana perception working, I could dodge her attacks.

It was no longer just their punching bag, it was a real battle, one where someone attacked and the other dodged, blocked and counterattacked.

Although their attacks were stronger, they could only leave large wounds on my body, wounds that would not take long to heal.

Regarding her, even though I tried with all my might to hit her or bite her, her agility was incredible, she always managed to avoid whatever I threw at her.

With neither of us able to inflict significant damage on the other, the battle continued for a long time.

At some point, I had a smile on my face.

I was having fun!

It was no longer just me using my intellect to defeat a stronger opponent, or me using my overwhelming skills against weaker monsters.

I was now using everything at my disposal to confront my opponent, and still I couldn't defeat him, although it was the same for him.

I don't know if Shadow Panther has something like thought acceleration, or it's just his experience in battles, but he couldn't get an advantage over her.

Although I could see everything around me slower and react, my body could not keep up with that pace; it had to evolve to become stronger.

Time passed, without either of us caring.

In what I thought was an opportunity, I shot a water gun at her trying to cut her, but she wasn't stupid, since the fight started she had always been alert to my mouth. The moment she saw what was inside, she condensed shadow energy and released the blade from last time again.

Our attacks met in the air, it didn't take more than a second to see a winner. The shadow blade shattered my water gun and with the remaining energy it rushed towards me. It wasn't hard for me to dodge it, it passed by my side and left a large cut in the cave behind me.

After that, we stopped for a moment.

"I see you've improved a lot in a very short time," she told me with a touch of emotion.

Something that puzzled me was that it seemed like her desire for me to become stronger.

"Yeah, I see you weren't serious last time."

"Of course, if I had wanted to, I would have killed you with the first attack that you didn't notice," he said in a confident tone.

I agree with that statement. If he had attacked me with the force he used just now, that first attack would have torn me apart without me knowing how I died.

But that raised a question in my mind. Why didn't he do it?

Not wanting to think too much, I decided to ask directly.

"And why didn't you do it? What was your goal?" I asked in a curious tone.

"Have you ever heard of unique monsters?" he said in a playful tone.

For a moment my face stiffened, something she noticed.

"It seems you know, you know what you are" he narrowed his eyes.

It seems that this fellow in front of me is not simple. While the information of the unique monsters is not a secret, it is also not common knowledge due to the fact that very few of them were born and in different eras.

Knowing that it was impossible for me to lie to him, I preferred to know his intentions.

"Yes, I know I'm a unique monster. What does that have to do with you?"

"You might think it's just curiosity. What makes you so special? Why are you so much stronger than other monsters with larger amounts of magic than you?"

"How did you go from being a toy I was afraid of breaking to someone who can fight me for so long in a week?" he asked me with his eyes narrowed.

"What can you offer me if I answer your questions?" I replied in a serious tone.

Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. Apparently my response was something she hadn't expected.

"Y-You're willing to tell me?" he asked me in a doubtful tone.

"It depends on what you can offer me in return," I said in a playful tone.

"Whatever!" he said quickly.

""I like you" I said with a perverted smile.

She shuddered at my statement. Indescribable images flashed through her mind one after another.

When I saw that she was paralyzed and did not give me an answer, I spoke again.

"Are you there? Did you hear what I said? Do you agree or do you object?" I said impatiently.

My voice seemed to bring her out of her daze.

"Y-You fucking pervert" she yelled at me angrily.

I knew I had misunderstood him, but that was actually my intention. In transactions you should start with a high price, so the other party will accept something a little lower.

"Why am I a pervert?" I feigned innocence.

"First you make those statements and now you want to act innocent. You may fool others, but I am not that naive," she said dryly.

"Okay, okay. I admit I said it that way as a joke, but it's true that I'm willing to share the information you want in exchange for you."

"You're dreaming, if you think I'll submit to you for a little information. Why don't I just get it out of you after I beat you up?"

"Harsh words for a lady. Why haven't you? You know I know, you just need to beat me up," I said in a mocking tone.

Now it was his turn to put on a stiff expression, which amused me.

"You should have noticed by now. Although you can hurt me, you cannot defeat me. Likewise, I cannot hurt you. If we continue this battle, it will turn into one of resistance. But if I want, I can leave and replenish magicules with some prey and you cannot stop me."

In the face of the truth he could not refute me.

"I like you" I said firmly.

She hesitated for a while.

"I know that the so-called curiosity is false. You wouldn't show that much interest in something like that. Let me make a guess: you want to become stronger, but for some reason you can't do it anymore. So after you realized that I'm a unique monster and my rapid growth, you put your hopes on me. You hoped that I could help you. Am I right?" I said in an affirmative tone.

He looked at me with angry eyes.

"You may be right, but so what? I'm not willing to submit to a guy who can't defeat me," she snorted.

"And that's why I don't want you to be my subordinate."

"I want you to be my partner, someone on my level. Someone who can be honest with me when I do stupid things, who can listen to my stupid things so I don't feel alone, someone who can help me with my stupid things, someone who can tolerate my stupid things and with whom I can share my adventure in this world" I said with an excited tone.

"You're bored of being alone, aren't you?" He gave me a dry look.

"A little" I openly admitted.

It's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, what's the point of chatting up guys you're going to eat?

Besides, even though I could have some subordinates to pass the time, it would be a hassle to have to protect them from dying in this forest. That would only make me waste valuable time to become stronger.

I'd rather have Shadow Panther to hang out with. He's strong enough not to die. From how desperate she is for information, it's clear she has a motivation to get stronger. I'd rather have someone like that, who's looking to get stronger instead of waiting for someone to protect them. So we could get stronger together and most importantly...

It's a female!

…

That?

Don't tell me that as men you wouldn't prefer to have a girl by your side to spend time with than another man.

I am not a hypocrite who will say that I give equal treatment to both genders. Naturally, girls get more favorability with me.

If Shadow Panther were male, he wouldn't be having this conversation, he'd be continuing our life-or-death battle.

You know, in this world, monsters strong enough can acquire abilities to take on human appearance. And seeing as how all the girls in this world are beauties, I'm sure Shadow Panther will be one when he takes on human form, I can only say:

Nekomimi !​

"So what do you think? You become my partner and I'll tell you everything I know to become stronger, and together we become unstoppable in this world," I looked her straight in the eyes.

"Why are you so sure that I won't abandon you at any moment after acquiring the information and won't kill you?" he asked with genuine doubt.

"It's simple, because over time you'll realize that being on my side is more advantageous. As for whether you can kill me, that remains to be seen," I said in a confident tone.

He looked at me with doubt on his face. I gave him time to think.

After several minutes.

"I agree, but only if your information helps me become stronger," he reluctantly agreed.

"Great, to celebrate we're going to eat my entire warehouse!" I couldn't hide my excitement.

She gave me a tired look.

__________________

Author's notes:

Hey guys, what do you think? Our MC now has a travel companion. He'll finally have someone he can chat with and not just monologue in his head like a madman.

It may seem like everything happened very quickly between Shadow Panther and the MC, but you have to remember that they are monsters, not humans. They don't beat around the bush when they want something. Plus, they only got into one collaboration; how they'll pull it off remains to be seen.

You might think that the MC is acting carelessly and on impulse, but in reality it is all coldly calculated. After all, he only proposed the collaboration knowing that neither of them could overwhelm the other. Now he is confident that even if Shadow Panther tries to kill him, he will not be helpless. Moreover, he has found a weakness of the other party: their desire for strength.

If you're wondering why I introduced Gale Eagle if I was going to kill her, the answer is: she was just a tool to show the position that Shadow Panther represents in her territory, as well as to show her true capabilities. Because someone might think that she wasn't very strong because she lost to the MC. That's a clear no.

No matter what kind of work you look for, the most dangerous thing is not a character like the classic swordsman hero who can face armies head-on, but the assassin who can infiltrate your room while you sleep and kill you without a trace.

PS: This is the last chapter of this week, see you next week, I will try to bring a chapter daily.