God Magnus

Oliver's scream echoed through the forest, and only the sound of the river's current responded. An awkward silence settled in, and for a moment, he thought that damn snake had actually understood what he said.

Sssssssssssss!

Its hiss came along with a massive bite, and all he could do was raise his ivory fangs in a desperate attempt to block the attack.

"This is gonna hurt..."

Boom!

Smooth rocks shot in all directions, and his body sank a few centimeters into the ground. His hands were numb, his muscles swollen from straining, but there he stood. Right in front of a creature the size of a small train.

"This... This was nothing like before. Your hands still hurt, but he still standing. It's totally manageable!"

The creature backed off a few meters and stared at Oliver as if in disbelief. He took the chance to draw its attention away from the tree where Nikki lay unconscious.

Its face followed him as he ran along the flooded riverbank, and it seemed to be analyzing him carefully. Maybe nothing had ever withstood an attack from that apex predator, and it was curious.

"Shit, the water's already up to my shins! This makes it harder to move!"

As if reading his thoughts, the hiss came again and this time, not followed by fangs, but by a towering wave. The river pulled back a few meters, and then a mass of water surged straight at Oliver.

"AH, FUCK!"

The impact slammed into his chest like a train, and maybe the kinetic force wasn't much different. Air burst from his lungs, and his body went limp for a few seconds. The wave collapsed and spread along the entire riverbank. Smaller trees fell, and the vegetation got wrecked.

Cough-cough!

Oliver struggled to breathe, coughing hard as water poured from his throat. In just a few seconds of battle, that albino snake had already beaten the crap out of him. His fingers gripped the ivory fang tighter, and he shoved all doubt to the back of his mind.

It was either Oliver wins, or dies.

The river started to recede again, and this time he saw what the creature was doing. A pure white, cylindrical body began rising toward the sky. Didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming.

His mind kicked into high gear, and as he glanced at the sky, an idea hit him.

As the creature's body began to descend, about to crash into the river and unleash another wave, Oliver threw his fang at one of the surviving trees. Using it like a step, he launched himself upward and grabbed a branch.

As soon as his hands latched on, he saw the devastating wave crash against the tree, shaking everything. It looked like the poor tree was fighting just as hard as Oliver to keep its roots in the ground.

"Come on, Mrs. Tree, you got this! For the sake of my ass, you got this!"

Well, his words of encouragement seemed to help. The tree tilted a few meters but held its ground, tall and fairly steady. The water began to spread again, and in that moment, he saw the perfect opportunity.

He swung like a seasoned primate and launched himself toward the snake's damn head. His other fang should still be embedded in the tree, so only one remained in his hand. With both hands gripping the root-wrapped hilt, Oliver raised the blade above his head and drove it straight into the top of the snake's skull.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

He felt the blade pierce through its scales, and a hiss of pure pain echoed across the forest. Blood spilled out, staining its white scales, but his actions weren't without consequences.

Oliver's world started to spin, and before he knew it, his body had been flung several meters toward the river. That fucking snake only needed a single shake to toss him aside.

"The difference in mass is just too much. Even if my smaller body gives me an edge in dodging, she's still a monster with strength way beyond my comprehension."

His thoughts were interrupted by pain as his back slammed into the river. The current started to drag him, and he had to hold his breath to avoid drowning.

Strangely, his body barely hurt, and a fierce energy burned in his flesh. It was like lava was being pumped through his veins with every heartbeat. Of course, it was just hot, oxygenated blood, but still, his body was responding.

When Oliver hit the riverbed, he twisted and planted his feet on the stone-covered ground. He launched himself toward the bank, just in time to see a damn mouth, almost as wide as the whole river, coming straight at him.

"If I had hesitated, she would've swallowed me whole. Wasn't this thing supposed to be venomous? Why the hell does she keep switching up her hunting tactics???"

It was inevitable. His ridiculous size and lack of damage output let fear creep into his body. He wasn't a warrior, and all he had managed to do was improve his body, clearly in a way he still didn't understand.

As he dragged himself out of the river and ran away from the bank, he saw his trembling hands and drenched body. But there was a puddle right beneath the sunlight, and in it, he saw his reflection.

.

At that moment, Oliver's body shuddered, because the man staring back wasn't him. At least, not the one he had become after that day.

Black, slightly wavy hair clung to his face. He'd lost several kilos, still had some fat, and looked nothing like Nikki's bodybuilder physique, but he looked good. His height was nearly 1.80m, and his brown eyes no longer had the dark circles earned from endless gaming sessions into the night.

"This me... This is what a warrior looks like!"

He lifted his gaze and stared down the albino serpent. Her red slit eyes met his brown ones. The ivory fang was still stuck in her skull, and now Oliver's hands were empty.

SSSSSSSS!

Her hiss echoed again, her classic move and her attack came right after. He had to start running toward the old tree, hoping his blade was still there.

Boom!

The impact sent rocks flying, and he had to dive to the ground to avoid getting his head taken off. But then he saw the soaked earth and his blade, half-buried in the trunk.