Komo-Doubutsu

Chapter 7: The Truth - Part 1

By: Midori Ushi Law

The Preliminary Trials for entrance into the Great Quest are the reason there are hundreds of millions of people in the world's population who don't even attempt to participate. Though the reward in the end is life-changing, the risk factor is too great for most to accept. Money or skill is the only way to get a ticket to join the adventure of a lifetime, but since those who fail actually die, there is no real review about the preliminaries from the failures. The only information the outsiders heard was from the skilled, who passed the Preliminary Trials. Most reviews were without detail, care, and realism. Because of this, there were many participants of the Preliminary Trials, who entered severely unprepared or downright terrified.

Fear was a natural response when one actually calculated the number of people who participated in the Preliminary Trials versus the number who actually survived them. Per Great Quest season, out of the roughly 30,240 people who participated, only roughly 2,016 actually survived the preliminaries; basically one out of fifteen people. That's a fourth of the people who were on the easternmost side of the room. Those numbers were not based off of luck. The truth was that it was the number of people who were actually skillfully prepared to undergo what many people could not survive.

Those statistics were unknown to the general public, who ignorantly relied on hearsay or assumption. Those with the statistics preferred it that way. Though it would decrease the number of people who did not pay, it would strike too much fear in those who did.

Needless to say, when Vibora, the Great Serpent appeared before a teenage boy, who was predicted to die at the Preliminary Trials, his chance of survival increased significantly if he accepted its power.

Chapter 7: The Truth - Part 1

"It's easy to forget," Lipagron said softly. "Some days I would force myself to believe it was not just a dream I had as a kid." He let out a short chuckle. "To believe two mentally stable parents would tell me to climb a mountain alone in order to find an animal nobody has ever seen sounds pretty unrealistic. I mean, I was only eight years old! When I returned home, my parents did not believe my story, even though they made me climb the mountain. They had me meet with a psychologist twice a week for two long years. She tried to convince me the event was not real... Now you're here." tears streamed down Lipagron's eyes.

"There there, child. There'sss no need to tell me what happened after the mountain," Vibora said calmly. "I've been watching you ever sssince you were born."

"Wait, what?" the teenager asked as he wiped his eyes with his arm.

"The truth isss that your parentsss, LeMarrqueo and Charlotte are both my usersss. They have my powersss. They never had the abilitiesss of the Light Beassst. It doesss not exissst." Vibora saw Lipagron's mouth drop open as he stared blankly down the hallway. "That'sss right, boy. In order to gain my power, you mussst meet my criteria. My requirement isss that you mussst be deceived by the onesss you love. The longer the deception lastsss, the ssstronger my power residesss within you. Your parentsss deceived you sssince you were old enough to talk, ssso they expected you to be the mossst powerful Ssserpent ussser who ever lived! But their plansss backfired when othersss showed up. They acted like the failed event on the mountain didn't exisssst and they never revealed their power to you ssso the deception could continue. Now, you've been deceived for fifteen yearsss. Your power would be unparalleled when you accept me. This preliminary tessst will not like nothing to you."

"I see," Lipagron said, still staring blankly. "It's all been a lie."

Vibora smiled. "Thisss entire time you have sssurvived without any ability. Don't let all your parentsss hard work be in vain. Don't die today. Accept my power!"