Daniel slowly pushed himself up again, breathing heavily as he glanced around. He was still trapped inside the food pipe of the monstrous serpent. The air was thick, humid, and rank with the smell of acid and rot. But then… something caught his eye.
Dangling between the rib-like bones of the serpent's internal structure, something dark—black—was stuck. Curiosity tugged at him. He hesitated for a moment, then carefully stepped toward it.
The object appeared to be coated in some black element, shaped like a tablet—around fifteen centimeters long. It pulsed faintly, as if it held something more than just matter… as if it were alive.
Meanwhile, the serpent outside was writhing in agony. The pain in its stomach had grown unbearable. With a guttural groan, it opened its massive jaws and began gulping in water, desperate to ease the burning inside.
The sudden whooshing sound of water rushing in made Daniel freeze.
His eyes widened in panic.
"Shit—water!"
He darted toward a nearby vein-like structure, throwing himself behind it and grabbing onto a narrow crevice in the fleshy wall with all his strength. The surge came just moments later—crashing through the food pipe like a tidal wave.
Daniel held on for dear life.
The water roared past him, nearly dragging him with it. But after a few terrifying seconds… it was gone.
Silence returned, as if nothing had ever happened.
Daniel slumped against the wall, drenched, shaking, but alive.
"Survived… again," he muttered, breathing hard.
Then he chuckled to himself bitterly.
"Survived? Really? You're still inside a giant snake, you idiot."
He shook his head, half-laughing, half-despondent.
"How can someone's luck be this bad? I haven't even been in this world for a full day, and I've already had three near-death experiences. Is this really what happened to Daniel in the novel? Maybe that's why he never shows up again. Maybe the writer never even thought this far."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"But wait… just writing or thinking something wouldn't be enough to create a whole world like this. Right? Unless… this is some kind of deleted script… or an alternate draft."
Daniel's breathing grew erratic. His mind spun.
"What the hell is going on here? Am I dreaming? A really long, screwed up dream?"
Frustrated, he suddenly exploded, throwing his arms in the air and yelling:
"AAAH THIS IS MAKING ME FKING MAD!!"**
His voice echoed within the hollow serpent's body.
"What am I? A fking protagonist now? I'm just a side character, you sucking writer, or whoever you are—"**
He launched into a barrage of curses and slurs, too vile for even his own ears.
After a long, tense silence, he sighed—deep and defeated.
"There's no point losing my mind over this. Thinking too much won't help. First, I need to find a way out of here."
He looked down, thinking aloud:
"There are only two ways out… either I get out through the mouth…"
He grimaced.
"…or I get digested and come out the other end… as poop."
He fell silent for a moment, then muttered with a bitter laugh:
"Great choices."
But then his expression changed. A realization crept into his eyes.
"Wait… if I'm not wrong… this isn't just any snake. This is a mythical beast. A Serpent God—Selena. One of The guardian beast of Centory."
His heart pounded again.
Serpent God Selena—a mythical beast feared across realms. Facing her meant one thing for sure: certain death.
Selena was not just powerful… she was a force of nature.
Her strength rivaled that of ancient dragons. She could manipulate water at will—twisting, turning, shaping it into weapons or shields or torrents capable of drowning entire cities. Her command over aquatic magic was absolute. And on top of that, she wielded poisons so potent they could paralyze armies… along with a range of devastating magical attacks.
If she wished, she could wipe out thousands in the blink of an eye.
Thankfully, Selena preferred the solitude of the ocean. She hunted only sea creatures, dwelling deep beneath the waves, rarely surfacing, and almost never attacking human civilizations. But now… things were different.
Daniel had somehow ended up inside her.
A few moments passed as he ventured deeper into the massive serpent's body. Eventually, he stumbled into a pulsating chamber—a large, rhythmic thumping echoed all around.
He didn't need to think twice.
His eyes locked onto the massive organ at the center.
It was the serpent's heart.
Selena's heart was enormous—as large as a small house, and glowing with a soft, eerie light. It didn't just beat… it radiated energy.
Daniel stared at it, mesmerized.
His eyes began to gleam—but not with wonder or fear.
It was greed.
Pure, primal greed.
This wasn't the shine of a reflection… it wasn't curiosity.
It was the unmistakable glimmer of temptation.
"This… this is power," Daniel whispered to himself, stepping closer, drawn to the glowing heart like a moth to flame.
He could feel it pulsing—not just physically, but spiritually. Something inside that heart called to him. Beckoned him. Promised him something more.
Something greater.
What was this feeling?
Was it the serpent's influence?
Or something darker… something awakened within Daniel himself?
In this world, there are countless types of beasts, monsters, and demons. As diverse and dangerous as they may be, there is one thing common among them all—the Core.
This core is generally referred to as the Mana Core, though some call it the Spiritual Core, Beast Core, or even Demon Core. It acts as a center of energy, a source of their strength and power.
Interestingly, these cores are not only found in monsters or demons. Even awakened humans possess them. Ordinary humans do not have any core, but once they awaken, a core begins to form within them. Why or how this happens has never been clearly explained.
If Daniel Johnson had tried to fight this serpent, it wouldn't have taken a second for the beast to crush him and tear him apart. He was lucky that when the snake swallowed him, he was still inside the car—otherwise, his fate would've been the same as that poor driver who had tried to kill him. That man had likely already been digested by now.
Daniel Johnson stared longingly at Selena's heart. In this specific place within the snake, Selena couldn't harm him. And right in front of him was a Mythical Beast Core—something rarer than rare, something that was thought to be impossible. But now, that impossible was visible and within his reach. And without that core, Selena wouldn't survive for much longer.
Daniel stared at the beating heart for a while, then muttered to himself, "But how do I rip this thing apart and get the core out?"
First, he tried to dig his nails into Selena's heart, attempting to tear into it—but it didn't work. After struggling for a few moments, he paused, falling into thought. A few seconds later, he touched the heart's muscular surface, squinting and breathing deeply. Then, surprisingly, he opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and hesitantly tried to taste it.
He recoiled slightly and exhaled sharply.
"Don't overthink it, Henry," he told himself. "It's like chicken meat. Just a bit raw."
With that, he suddenly lunged forward, tearing into Selena's heart with his teeth and devouring it like an animal.
He hadn't intended to eat it this way—but he knew doing so might grant him a title, and that was worth it.
Meanwhile, far out in the ocean, Selena—the Serpent God—thrashed in unbearable agony. Her howls echoed through the sea, sending every sea creature fleeing in terror. Not even the most mindless fish dared come near her now. Maddened by pain and fury, Selena unleashed her powers around her—powerful water strikes, magical blasts, chaotic energy. When nothing brought her relief, she began slamming her own body against the ocean floor, writhing and thrashing violently.
Back inside the serpent's body, Daniel continued to devour her heart with primal hunger. His face and clothes were drenched in blood, which now gushed from the still-beating heart and sprayed all over him. He didn't care—his focus remained solely on devouring the flesh.
Then, suddenly, with the blood came the glowing Beast Core—sliding out of the heart, shrinking as it emerged, and drifting directly toward Daniel. Without even realizing, Daniel inhaled it along with a mouthful of flesh. The core passed into him, unnoticed.
But then, things changed.
Daniel's vision blurred.
His surroundings began to spin.
And then—darkness.
He collapsed, unconscious, still covered in the blood of a god.