I was still standing pressed against the wall.
In front of me was that same white snake — the same one that had spoken a few seconds ago.
Its voice was still echoing in my ears.
A… snake… was talking.
My mind froze for a few moments.
It felt as if all the warmth had been drained from my body.
"A snake… how can it talk…?"
This question kept crashing inside me again and again.
Then it spoke to me again.
"There's no need to be afraid,"
there was a strange calm in its voice.
"I won't harm you."
I slowly slid toward the door, my heart pounding hard.
"W-whatever you are…"
I said in a trembling voice,
"and wherever you came from… go back there."
Hearing that, the snake…
started laughing.
That laughter…
did not sound like a snake's.
It had a human kind of cleverness and humor in it.
I became even more nervous.
Then it said—
"You don't need to be afraid.
Your father himself made a Contract with me for you."
My eyes widened.
"…my father?"
"Yes,"
it said,
"so that when you become worthy of power…
I can give you that very power," and be with you.
One question after another exploded in my mind.
Narco…
my father…
what kind of power…?
And how does this snake know all this?
A cold wave ran down my spine.
"How do you know I'm Narco's son?"
I asked directly.
The snake looked at me for a moment.
Then the corners of its mouth lifted.
"I only said that I had talked to your father,"
it said with a smile.
"But you yourself told me that you are Narco's son."
And then—
it laughed again.
I froze.
A moment later I understood.
I had revealed my own identity.
My cheeks grew hot.
Shame and irritation filled my heart at the same time.
"This… this is…"
I groaned inwardly.
I had humiliated myself.
And that snake…
was just enjoying it.
I lowered and steadied my voice and said,
"Fine, calm down. Now tell me why you are here."
The mysterious snake in front of me was coiled on the study table. Its red eyes were fixed straight on me, as if it were looking inside me.
Without any introduction, it spoke directly—
"To give you Paragon powers."
Then I slowly started going closer to it because I no longer felt danger coming from it. Then it said, "I'm glad you came close to me without fear."
"Are you not scared?" it whispered.
I looked at it carefully. My heart was beating fast, but I kept myself steady.
"Are you poisonous? You won't bite me, right?"
The snake flicked its tongue, as if enjoying my nervousness.
"I'm tired of answering the same question again and again. I won't bite you, trust me."
I went even closer.
"So, how will you give me powers?"
"You came straight to the point, fine!"
The snake nodded slightly.
"First I will explain to you the Paragon Power System."
Then the snake told me about the Sequence structure. It began speaking: in this world, people who use power are called Paragons, and in this world you have to choose one pathway, and then the sequences run within it.
In this world, Sequence 1 is the lowest level (entry level).
As your power increases, you reach Sequence 7, which is the highest rank.
To reach Sequence 1 of a chosen pathway, you have five basic elements (Pathways) to choose from:
Fire — destruction and energy
Water — flow and adaptation
Thunder — speed and strikes
Wind — agility and invisibility
Earth — stability and defense
It opened its mouth and took out a tooth. That tooth did not look normal; a strange energy was coming out of it. It said,
"This tooth can take you to Thunder Nature Sequence 1."
I took that tooth in my hand.
"How can a tooth give me powers?"
A mysterious glow appeared in the snake's eyes. Then it told me,
"In this world everything is made of Aurum. Every living thing has its own Aurum, which can also be called life energy."
Suddenly something connected in my mind.
So last night the Red Moon was absorbing the Aurum inside my body.
That's why I felt so weak.
The snake's voice became deep. Then it said to me,
"People like you underestimate these powers in the beginning, but later these very powers become the reason for your end. If you can't control your powers, you will lose control."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"If a Paragon uses more Aurum than his capacity, Corruption starts to build up on him. Either he loses mental balance, or ancient Deities corrupt him. Once corrupted, he becomes tied to their fate. With every higher Sequence, this danger increases."
"But in Sequence 2," the snake said, "you must fully synchronize with your chosen element. If you succeed, the chances of corruption or losing control drop by 80%."
I asked, "Then why only five elements?"
A faint glow came into the snake's eyes.
"Sequence 1 and 2 are only the foundation. When you reach Sequence 3, the real paths open."
"The five great paths that I know are—"
The room had become strangely cold.
The snake's red eyes were fixed on me, and its whispering voice echoed inside my mind—then it told me about the five it knew:
1 Cipher, 2 Chronicler, 3 Genesis, 4 Ravager, 5 Magus… "But to know about these, you must first become a Paragon. Telling these things to an ordinary human puts him in danger."
I took a slow breath.
"So… how do I become a Paragon?" I asked.
The snake slightly lowered its head and pointed at the tooth.
"It's simple," it said. "You have to eat it."
My stomach jolted.
"What?" I said in disbelief.
"How can I eat a tooth taken from a snake's mouth? Is this your tooth?"
I was honestly feeling disgusted.
The snake calmly replied,
"Don't worry. It isn't mine. It is a Rainy Camel's tooth."
I frowned.
"Rainy Camel? What kind of name is that?"
The snake's voice became low. Then it told me,
"According to ancient legend stories," it said,
"four thousand years ago the Rainy Camel was a tribe of humans. They betrayed the Impaler Lord, because of which the Impaler Lord cursed them, and as punishment they were turned into camels."
A shiver ran through my body.
"Even today, tribes living near the Ashkara Mountain Range worship them," it continued.
"There it rarely rains. It is said that when Rainy Camels remember their ancestors and their sorrow and cry, the souls of their ancestors cry in the sky and those tears fall as rain, and crops grow. That is why they are worshipped like gods."
I looked at the tooth in my hand.
It was no longer just a bone — it was the curse of an entire tribe.
Then the snake spoke again.
"Now I will tell you the final rules of the Paragon world. If you follow them, you might survive."
Its voice was harsh.
"First rule — never call any God by their true name. Because if you take their true name, that God's attention may fall on you."
A chill ran down my spine.
"And do not come into contact with anything… and do not listen to anything… that can corrupt you."
But my attention was now on the tooth.
Something inside me broke.
I lifted the tooth…
and swallowed it.
"Wait—!" the snake shouted.
But it was too late.
The tooth had already gone down my throat.
"What did you do?!" I asked in panic.
The snake was trembling with anger.
"I said you have to eat it — but before that there is a ritual! You swallowed it directly!"
"So… will something happen to me?" I asked in fear.
"That was the only tooth I had," it roared.
"Now it's gone. And now… you might even die."
My heart started racing.
I began hitting my chest hard, trying to throw up — but nothing came out.
Then black energy began swirling around me.
The room seemed to shrink.
Even the snake was stunned.
"Th-this… what is happening?"
Darkness covered my eyes. Then I looked up; in front of my vision dark energy was swirling beside me.
In front of my eyes there was a full moon and the sky looked filled with stars.
And then everything turned black. Stark energy came in front of my eyes and completely darkened everything.
I fell to my knees. Then that dark energy disappeared.
When the black energy vanished, I felt more power inside my body than before, and it felt like
electricity was running inside me.
I stood up trembling. I saw
faint lightning coming out of my hands.
The snake stepped back.
"This… how is this—?"
Then I felt electricity flowing in my hands and body, and I moved my hand like a snake.
Then I raised my finger toward it.
A small spark of lightning hit its skin.
It jumped.
"How are you using lightning?" it asked in panic.
I had no answer.
But one thing was clear—
I had become a Paragon.