The Warning of a Cobra

  "This is the fifth time you have interrupted my class today, get out." The professor snapped, "in all my years, this is the second most foolish question any student has ever asked. The first question was asked by you as well."

  "Professor, I didn't mean to be rude. I was just curious." Edard said, looking from the angry face of the professor to the mocking smiles of his classmates.

  Edard packed his stuff and headed for the door. He was angry but astronomy was his favorite and he felt the urge to apologize. For a second, he slowed down, contemplating whether to apologize but he resisted and stepped out of the class.

  It was just a question. He thought.

  He returned to his apartment. The first thing he met was a black hound that was twice the size of a normal dog. It looked at him deeply for a while before it barked.

  "Shut up, Lorenc." Edard snapped.

  The hound quieted down for a second before it barked at an increasingly louder tone.

  "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

  Should I mourn just because you have been kicked out of class again? The dog actually talked, even though only Edard could hear.

  "Who said I was kicked out?" Edard mumbled before he stepped into the house.

  The parlor was decorated with a glass cage that covered half of it. The cage was divided into four compartments by a thinner glass. The first compartment housed a young cobra, the second compartment housed the African variety of rats, the third compartment was empty and the fourth housed rabbits.

  Edard headed directly to his room without sparing the animals a glance. When he was a step away he suddenly turned around and checked the rats in the second compartment.

  "Where the hell are the rest?"

  The cobra cocked its head, showing no interest. Edard turned to the rabbits but they seemed to be playing a jumping game and none of them paid him any heed.

  "Well, I have my scout. Lorenc, come here." He called the hound outside.

  I'm busy. Lorenc said.

  Edard used his magic and saw a young lady passing in front of the house. "She is the wife of that new guy, stop looking at her butt."

  What?! That's not what I'm doing, I'm scouting. I have to check out anybody, lady or not.

  "Fuck scouting, come here." He made his tone non-negotiable. The hound barked a few curses before it finally came.

  "Where's Jen? I have twelve rats and now there are ten."

  I think... she went out to stretch her legs.

  "You think? That cat, she didn't eat my rats, did she?"

  I think... the rats fell sick.

  "Stop with the 'I think' bulshit. Tell me what hap.... " He stopped abruptly as someone knocked on the front door.

  "Edard." The visitor, a middle-age woman, cried out his name and pushed the door open without waiting for permission.

  Before he could adjust the woman was upon him. She carried a small metallic cage with one hand, using the other hand to reinforce the door of the cage.

  "My lab rats are going berserk, I need your help. My job is on the line." She rattled.

  Edard grimaced. He was neither happy nor angry to see the woman. He didn't like working for her but she could help him with the astronomy thing.

  "Why should I help you, you failed me your course."

  "I didn't, you scored 50% so there was no need to help."

  "What about the marks for my research contributions? It's about your collective grades not the marks of an individual subject."

  "Okay okay, my bad. I will pay five-thousand if you do this. Please..."

  Edard shook his head. "Not enough. But there's something else only you can do... "

  She interrupted. "Oh, the astronomy thing? Edard the mystic man! Why are you wasting your time on such ridiculous things?" She sighed softly before she continued, "you are so obsessed with myths? You have the potential to be great, if you keep all these nonsense out of your head."

  "Can you intervene or not?" Edard asked, casting a meaningful glance at the cage in her hands.

  I need to know. Edard told himself.

  He had a fairly successful life. What really bothered him was curiosity. His powers, where did they came from? This curiosity had created a space in his heart that could only be filled with myths. Stories of beings with powers, stories of dragons and elves and aliens. At one point, he had wanted to become a monk but he realized the monks weren't that special, just human.

  "I will see what I can do. Now, my rat." She turned the window of the cage to him. For the first time, a spark of interest shone in his eyes. The rat was normal but its ears were pointed upward several inches longer, like a rabbit's.

  "Where did you get an ELVEN RAT?!" He asked excitedly.

  "Elven rat? Stop it. I believe its ears are a bit longer but its not an elf. Just tend to it, I'll see what I can do about the astronomy thing." She handed over the cage and hurriedly left.

  Edard spent the next hour talking to the rat but not a single response.

  "You are beautiful, may I know your name? Or maybe you don't have it, shall I give you a name? I'm Edard, by the way. Your ears are awesome, can I touch it?"

  The rat kept it's silence.

  After an hour, Edard put the cage aside and laid on the floor. He would spend an hour sleeping to regain his strength - not that he needed it - it was something he'd learned from the humans he'd lived with. After that he would focused on the rat. As he closed his eyes, the cobra hissed something in his ears.

  Thunder will strike.

  "What? Since when do you start a conversation?"

  Thunder is coming.

  The cobra expanded the skin on its neck into a hood, showing the seriousness of the situation.

  Edard sighed softly. It badly wants out, it's willing to lie.

  The last time he let the snake out so many bad things happened in the neighborhood. He wouldn't let it out again.

  He closed his eyes and slept.

  He woke up later, looking for the elven rat but he was greeted by a giant mountain covered in snow. For a second he thought he was hallucinating but the cold air hitting his skin proved he wasn't. He looked at his feet to find they were buried in snow. When did it snowed?

  His first instinct was to run back into his bedroom but the house was no longer there.

  "What the hell is going on!" He exclaimed his thoughts, realizing something even more abnormal than himself was happening.

  As if the situation wasn't bad enough, he saw several blue screens at the corner of his eyes with writings he didn't know.

  He tried reading the text which resulted in a sharp pain in his head. He saw a message.

  He could now read the earlier texts. The most glaring part was his lifespan.

  One-hour? What the hell... And how can I gain longevity??!!

  His lifespan had reduced from the average of 75-85 years on Earth to one-hour. He felt a crushing pain in his left wrist which lasted for a few seconds. A glowing wrist watch appeared on the wrist. The watch was literally inside his body and he couldn't remove it. He could only cover it to prevent others from seeing his exact lifespan.

  00:59:20 The watch showed.

  He panicked for a minute before he calmed down and read the remaining panels quickly. There was a biodata tab, an attribute tab, a Classification tab, and a skill tab. He touched the panels but no response.

  "Biodata!" He resorted to calling it out loud but still nothing. What did the trick was thinking about it.

  He used two names but only one appeared and his race had just changed from human to Dragonelf. He didn't have any title, that much was acceptable but a lifespan of one-hour was just absurd.

  The attribute tab was the least informative. It brought a list of things with no descriptions. Either the things listed were so common no one needed any explanation or the system was really mean.

  Edard observed the attributes for some seconds before he moved to the Class tab.

  None of it made any sense except he had inherited four Classes. He moved to the last panel, the skill tab.

  Edard observed the screens in utmost disbelief. He understood little but one thing was certain: he was no longer on Earth. The nature of the screens resembled those in the video games he used to play but the feeling was different. It was as if these were part of him and any change in them would affect him.

  He wasn't in any immediate danger at the moment but he wouldn't stay like that forever. What he needed was something to protect himself with as he looked for longevity. Thinking about this made him opened the skills selection tab.

  Edard subconsciously thought about making the screens disappear and they did. If he stayed there, he would either freeze to death or die when his time ran out. So the first thing was for him to find someone or something that could tell him how to get longevity. He would figure things out later.

  As he started off toward the mountain, he heard indistinct voices of animals the same way he did on Earth. For him it wasn't only the voices actually, he could understand what the animals said as if he spoke the language. He was happy to know he didn't leave this ability on Earth. He would use it to stay out of danger for the meantime.

  The mountains became larger as he drew near but that didn't discourage him. He went deeper, hoping to find someone who could help him. Ten minutes later, he picked an interesting conversation between two snakes.

  The first snake cried, "the legendary arch conqueror is dying. He won't last another day."

  The second snake replied, "he has conquered hundreds of dungeons and has been alive for thousands of years. His death is timely. Even my great grandma has served him."

  The first snake replied angrily, "who do you think will check the balance of power now that the dragons are gone? The world will never be the same."

  The other replied, "I believe another hero will rise. I will witness his death, I deserve it. Are you coming?"

  The other said, "Of course, I'm coming."

  As Edard waited and listened to the conversation has saw a notification.

  00:49:50! Dammit!

  He had been wandering aimlessly with only forty-nine minutes left, following the snakes would be a good start. At the very least, they would take him to someone who knew how to get longevity. On Earth, he could see things veiled behind walls or clothes, he could see things outside his visual field. If he still had that ability, he could follow the snakes undetected. If things got dangerous, he could always run.

  The first snake measured fifty-feet long and two-feet wide while the other was much smaller. Edard waited till they were a hundred feet ahead before he followed them.

  This was a survival skill that would increase his chances exponentially. Looking at the remaining slot Edard clinched his teeth and decided.

  The entire mountain range within thirty-meter radius became visible to him. He could see anything like it was right in front of him. As he relished the feeling, his skill panel finished processing and opened up again.

  Edard sighed softly. He did not understand what a Contract was, but he needed it to wield the lightning element. Luckily, he could use the other three Classes.

  He checked out the skills available for each Class.

  Only three skills to be selected out of ten!