'1-2-3-4—Sharp left! Then jump twice!'
Lavayla hooked her foot against a slanted rock and launched herself left, her body scraping past a thorny bush before she made two quick bounding jumps over uneven ground.
'1-2-3-4-5-6-7—Slow down, slide diagonally! Thirty degrees! Now!'
She didn't question it. She dropped her weight, sliding across damp soil at the angle the system barked out. A branch whooshed over her head, close enough to snag a few strands of her hair.
'1-2—Stop twisting your torso, host. Straighten your spine. Now vault forward with your right hand unless you want a face-to-face kiss with that boulder coming up in three… two… one—Vault!'
Lavayla braced her palm on the cool stone and vaulted over the huge boulder right as the python's tail whipped into the space she would've been. She hit the ground hard, rolled once, and exploded back into a sprint.
The forest ahead suddenly opened.
Light spilled in.
Air hit her face.
She burst into the clearing — and there, exactly where she'd left it, was the tiny beast baby wrapped on the fur pelt laid over the mound of bushes.
Thank goodness the baby was still there, she thought, chest burning, legs trembling.
She didn't slow. She lunged forward, grabbed the baby with two of the fur pelts beneath it, and scooped it securely against her chest. The infant whimpered, tiny fingers flexing weakly.
'Good. Now move! Follow the path ahead! Turn right in ten seconds!'
Lavayla obeyed immediately, the pelts wrapped tight so the baby's head wouldn't jolt.
The terrain changed as she moved — the trees thinning, the air growing colder, more open. She could hear distant rushing water.
'I already scanned the surroundings. This side of the forest is close to the edge, which is how the python managed to smell the baby while it was searching for food. Once you run out of the forest, close a distance of up to a hundred meters and head upward to your right, you'll reach a section of the mountain that's split apart, forming a cliff. At the bottom is a surge channel — waves crashing violently through the gap — and on the opposite side is the rest of the mountain.'
Lavayla's breath hitched. A cliff. Water. A baby in her arms. A giant murderous snake behind her.
Great. Perfect. Wonderful.
The system continued, far too cheerfully.
'The greatest weakness of the Dreadcoil python is that it can't swim. Its dense musculature makes it sink like a stone. So, you just have to find a way to get to the other side of the mountain and make it fall into the surge channel — and tada! Mission completed~!'
Lavayla screamed internally.
Externally too.
"How the hell am I supposed to get to the other side?! Do you expect me to fucking fly?"
'If you're dumb enough to, you can try. Anyway, I never said I was done talking. To reach the other side, of course you need a bridge — and what would I be here for if I don't have it?'
Lavayla blinked, sweat dripping into her eyes.
"You have a bridge?"
'Yes. Normally you could only buy the materials for building one, but I can give you finished products in special cases, and this is a special case since it's an emergency.'
Lavayla wanted to ask how, why, what kind, where, and also what the actual fuck.
But the system kept talking.
'I know you have a lot of "questions," but don't worry your little head about this. Just wait and watch a magical scene that not even the movies in your world could make real.'
In no time, she burst out of the forest — not without difficulties. Roots snagged her feet, sweat stinging her eyes, loose rocks tumbled under her weight, and branches whipped across her face. Yet these obstacles worked in her favor, slowing the python and giving her a precious moment to catch her breath, albeit briefly.
However, as soon as she crossed almost twenty meters into the clearing, the python erupted from the forest behind her. With nothing to block it, it moved faster than she expected, its massive coils thrumming across the ground like rolling logs. Panic surged, and she gritted her teeth, forcing her legs to move faster.
'Go. Go. Go. Go! Run faster, you can do it! Woohoo!'
The system's voice cheered in her head, annoyingly bright and gleeful.
Lavayla's arms burned, the baby squirming against her chest as its tiny cries rose. She ignored it, ignoring her own pain, ignoring everything but the path ahead.
Once she covered a distance of one hundred meters, the slope began to tilt upward. She felt her lungs screaming, her legs trembling violently, but she pushed onward. The ground beneath her feet became uneven, loose rocks rolling as she forced herself up, and each step sent her heart hammering faster.
'Alright host, get ready because you are about to witness a magical sight,' the system sang cheerfully.
Lavayla's stomach dropped. She barely had the energy to lift her legs, let alone take in the system's dramatics. Seconds passed in a blur, the python growing ever closer, its hissing now a deafening roar in her ears.
Three… two… one…
'Look up, host~'
Lavayla obeyed — and nearly choked on her own breath.
Before her, at the end of the slope, a thin line of shimmering white light sliced across the air ahead of her. It widened, expanding like a blade cutting through the air, and formed a perfect rectangular portal, humming like it had a pulse of its own.
Then, something dropped out.
It wasn't a crude plank, or a simple log arranged in some haphazard way. This bridge was elegant, its wooden panels gleaming with a soft luminescence. The handrails curved, entwined with glowing vine-like patterns that pulsed in rhythm with the portal's light. Each panel fell into place with a precise clack, like an artisan laying tiles in perfect order, extending the bridge across the gap between the cliffs.
The python's hisses turned frantic, its bulk thudding against the ground as it surged toward her.
'Pretty, isn't it?' Nessa cooed in Lavayla's head. 'I made sure it matched your impeccable taste. Only the best for my host~'
Lavayla had no time for sass as the baby wailed suddenly, startled by the bridge's appearance, its tiny fists flailing. She groaned, adjusting her hold. "I know, I know! Shh, shh! Just a second, little one!"
The bridge seemed almost sentient, forming step by step, panel by panel. The first few boards clicked into place just as Lavayla reached them, creating a solid pathway across the chasm. With every stride she took, the boards behind her began disassembling in reverse, disappearing into the shimmering portal as though the system was retrieving them in real time.
She leapt forward, landing hard on the bridge, pelts wrapped tight around the baby. Each step made her heart spike — if she faltered, the python could reach her before the gap ended. But the bridge held, trembling slightly under the weight of both her and the baby.
'Keep going, host! Almost there! Your mission completion is imminent!'
The python reached the edge of the cliff. Its bulk slammed against the final rocks before the drop, and it let out a hiss that shook the air. Its head reared back, jaws snapping, eyes fixed on Lavayla and the baby.
Lavayla didn't respond — she couldn't. She only ran, baby clutched against her chest, eyes fixed on the far side of the cliff, muscles screaming with every step as the bridge slowly vanished behind her, tile by tile, until she finally reached the safety of the opposite side.
The surge channel below roared, waves smashing against the cliff walls with violent fury, mist spraying upward in chaotic sheets. The python's massive head reared over the edge of the cliff — too late. Its dense body slipped, struggling and flailing…
Then pitched downward as the surge channel below claimed it, waves crashing violently against the rocks, pulling the serpent under with a series of deafening splashes.