Chapter 18
Get rid of the green already!
【Chimera Paphnachia Lv20+++】
【Traits】
[Chimera], [Subterranean Monster], [Dragon Bloodline], [Molting]
【Skills】
… [Frenzy Lv20], [Carapace Lv10], [Burrow Lv9], [Heat Resistance Lv6], [Self-Healing Lv3], [Mana Detection Lv4], [Olfaction Lv7], [Slash Lv10], [Clone Lv3] …
The chimera had several noteworthy traits and skills.
“Dragon Bloodline” likely came from the fact that draconic blood had been used in its creation.
Even though it wasn’t a true dragon but only mixed with drake blood, it still possessed the Dragon Bloodline trait.
If that’s the case, it might satisfy one of my special evolution conditions: “Consume dragon blood.”
The next trait that caught my eye was “Molting.”
That one gave me a huge shock.
‘…Why haven’t I molted?’
Come to think of it, Serpents are reptiles.
And naturally, a species that molts.
So why haven’t I shed my skin even once yet?
After thinking for a moment, I came to a reasonable conclusion.
I’m still just a baby.
Because I got bigger through evolution, I forgot—but it’s only been a little over a month since I was born.
Maybe I’ll molt soon.
Still, the chimera had “Molting” proudly listed as a trait.
Similar to how I had “Horn” listed among mine.
It likely had special abilities related to molting as well.
And among its skills—“Frenzy Lv20.”
What the heck is that?
Frenzy? As in going completely berserk.
And it’s level 20.
So skill levels don’t necessarily cap at 10.
There were plenty of other interesting things, but it would take too long to go through everything.
I returned to my dwelling.
After living in the swamp for several days, I came back to the place with the old tree.
In the clearing, two cross-shaped grave markers made of branches were stuck into the ground.
I made them.
For the kind newlywed couple who once made their home here.
A bird perched on the tree dropped its droppings right on top of them.
That damn bird.
I really seem to have bad luck with birds.
I’ll definitely get revenge for that.
Making that vow, I slipped into the hollow of the old tree.
First, I need to sleep…
It’s not like I have wings—catching birds is still difficult.
Sleep is essential.
Especially for me, sleep wasn’t just rest—it was another window of opportunity.
Not in the sense of recovery, but literally a chance through the status system.
Before I knew it, I fell asleep, and a message appeared before my eyes.
[You have reached Level 10 and can evolve.]
[Would you like to evolve?]
The thrill I felt when I first saw this message was still vivid.
Back then, I remember thinking, “Of course I will, you idiot! Heh heh.”
But now, I was more cautious.
[※ You must meet the conditions to evolve.]
- Sleep
- Consume a Grade 2 magic stone
- Reach Level 10
There were three conditions for evolution.
I had already fulfilled them long ago.
Every time I hit Level 10, I met the evolution requirements—but honestly, they weren’t that easy.
Without the overpowered skill Borrowed Horn and the sacrifice of that centipede couple, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat the cockatrice.
No—in fact, even with those, I couldn’t have beaten it head-on.
If not for the spear trap, how would a Serpent like me defeat a dinosaur-like monster like that?
The magic stone that cockatrice had was Grade 2.
Normally, even reaching Level 10 wouldn’t have been enough to meet the evolution requirements.
Hmm… I wonder what the chimera’s evolution conditions are like.
Judging by the “+” next to its level, it probably hadn’t evolved for a long time.
Monsters that can evolve as easily as me must be rare.
Well, facts are facts—I’ve met all the conditions.
Last time I evolved, I couldn’t see the evolution options at this stage.
This time, thanks to the centipede couple again, things were different.
Because I consumed their inner cores, I could see it.
The evolution options!
From 【White Horn Serpent Lv10】
you can evolve into:
- 【Green Horn Serpent】
- 【Poison White Serpent】
This time, there were multiple choices!
Not only that, I could also see information about each evolution option.
Is this really because of the inner cores?
Even so, this kind of change feels a bit surprising.
Well, no harm in being grateful.
【Green Horn Serpent】
The adult form of a green Serpent.
Its body becomes larger and tougher.
Get rid of the green already!
I like white. This is absolutely out.
By that logic, “Poison White Serpent” is also out.
As the name suggests, choosing this would strengthen my venom.
Useful, sure—but at the cost of losing my horn?
If I lose my horn, I’m no different from an ordinary venomous Serpent.
My horn is my identity—my pride!
Besides, I already upgraded my Venom Fang into Deadly Poison.
The truly tempting options were below that.
[※ Special evolution conditions have been met. New evolution paths unlocked.]
- 【Swamp White Horn Serpent】
- 【Trap Horn Serpent】
- 【Double Horn Serpent】
Long live special evolution.
In Pelerian’s dungeon, I learned about various special evolution conditions.
Option 3, the swamp one, was obtained after fulfilling the condition of living in a swamp.
It gives some vague boost in swamp environments, so I’ll pass.
What’s interesting is that the conditions I read about weren’t all of them.
Options 4 and 5 were proof of that.
【Trap Horn Serpent】
A Serpent that has broken through a dungeon has learned the beauty of traps.
Someday, it may create and rule its own dungeon.
Even the tone of the description is different. It almost feels… kind.
“Pelerian’s temporary base” was clearly a dungeon.
Breaking through it must have been the condition.
【Double Horn Serpent】
Your horn becomes two.
The power contained in the new horn will originate from your will.
Two horns, you say~
“Borrowed Horn” was the best skill I had.
If I could gain another skill like it, that would be nothing short of amazing.
Maybe I fulfilled the special condition by using Borrowed Horn so well.
Both options 4 and 5 were attractive.
That’s where my dilemma came from.
“…Maybe I can just evolve as is?”
That was the conclusion I reached.
Do I really need to go out of my way to fulfill some condition like consuming dragon blood?
Besides, I wasn’t even sure I could evolve into something better than Double Horn Serpent.
At my current strength, taking down the chimera seemed difficult.
It might be better to evolve first, become stronger, and then hunt the chimera afterward.
That would be the safer option.
Hmm.
After some thought, I made my decision.
Alright.
Let’s observe it for a few more days.
If I find an opening to hunt the chimera, I’ll go for it. If not, I’ll evolve then.
I was a Serpent of pure rationality.
I firmly made up my mind.
So.
What kind of result did this decision lead to?
To put it simply—
my choice to delay the decision was correct.
There is such a thing as “timing” in this world.
With every choice I make, countless parallel worlds branch off.
To proceed down the right path, you must make the correct choice at that branching point.
It’s not for nothing that wealthy parents spend huge amounts sending their kids to English kindergartens.
When the brain is still flexible, that’s when you have to cram in language learning to develop multilingual abilities.
Of course, I can’t speak English. My TOEIC score was about the same as my shoe size.
Anyway, my evolution was similar.
The more you evolve, the harder it becomes to meet the conditions.
There were evolution paths I needed to secure while I was still weak.
So sleepy.
The deadline I set after postponing evolution was three days.
Observe the chimera for three days, and if no way to defeat it appears, evolve first.
That was my decision.
And just like that, it became the third day.
The conclusion I reached was simple.
There’s no opening.
I don’t think I can defeat the chimera alone.
Unless I had allies.
I was perched on a tree.
Below me lay the corpse of a magical beast, bleeding out.
A boar would’ve made the best bait, but I couldn’t find one this time.
Today’s prey was a deer.
When you hear “deer,” you might imagine something cute like Bambi.
But this one was nothing like that.
Its tongue was split in two, and its teeth were sharp—a carnivorous deer.
In any case, it now lay dead, blood gushing from its torn throat.
Rumble rumble—
Ah, the chimera was approaching from afar.
It seemed to have realized that food was prepared here every day.
I might as well have been running a free food service.
There won’t be any food from tomorrow—wonder how confused it’ll be then.
I chuckled to myself, no longer even tense.
It was probably by coincidence that I looked up at the sky.
Or maybe it was the glint of light reflecting off armor.
Right. There were people on top of the cliff.
About six of them.
They were looking down and seemed to be discussing how to descend.
Even from that distance, I recognized them instantly.
Because among them was my sworn enemy.
“The captain of the guard!”
How many of my kind had been turned into grilled eel because of that guy!
I had sworn revenge someday—but who would’ve thought we’d meet again this soon?
Of all places, for them to appear on this side of the vast cliff—
was this divine intervention?
…Well, thinking about it, if you ran straight from Medusa Mom’s cave, this direction would be natural.
My head started spinning.
This might be… a variable.
A new variable had appeared just as I was about to give up on hunting the chimera.
“Shall we descend from here?”
Zain asked.
The captain of the guard stroked his mustache and replied.
“Yes, this must be the place where the pillar of light rose.”
“…Isn’t that what you’ve said three times already?”
“Cough.”
The captain cleared his throat.
He was certainly a capable soldier, but it had taken over ten days to reach this Arkan Basin.
“It wasn’t easy to determine the direction based on such vague testimony.”
“Yeah… I suppose.”
It couldn’t be helped.
The pillar of light that had clearly appeared in the night sky had vanished in less than a minute.
Even making it here under orders to investigate was impressive enough.
“Can you climb down the cliff using ropes?”
“I’ve been trained. Of course.”
Knight Zain, the captain of the guard, and four elite soldiers experienced with the Great Forest.
Though few in number, the investigation team was undoubtedly elite.
As the soldiers lowered ropes down the cliff, the captain of the guard looked below.
A strange sight—a magical beast lying dead.
And—
“…Hm?”
The captain frowned.
Zain noticed and approached.
“A bizarre-looking deer is dead. There might be a magical beast nearby.”
“No… that’s not it.”
I thought I saw something white wriggling in the tree…
The captain swallowed those words.
It must’ve been his imagination.