Chapter 47

Interview Begins

I stared blankly at the demon’s minion.
A demon’s minion… does that mean it was sent by a demon?

• Being lumped together with something like that as the same kind of fairy is disgraceful. To sell one’s soul to a demon…

Pelerian’s voice dripped with contempt.

‘What exactly is a demon’s minion?’

• Exactly what it sounds like. A demon must have sent a servant to this place. It’s something close to a spirit. Most likely, it burrows into the mind of a low-intelligence monster and controls the body…

So it must have mistaken me for an ordinary monster.
That’s why it immediately tried to burrow into my mind.

A low-intelligence monster?
Then why my mind?

‘Then… can it control humans or fairies too?’

• A low-grade minion wouldn’t be capable of that. It probably thought you were just a normal Serpent.

That was extremely unpleasant.
Even without my Indomitable trait, I doubt I would’ve been controlled.
Die, you bastard!

I bit into the collapsed demon’s minion.
Unlike when it pierced straight through my tail earlier, now I could actually bite it.

• What does it taste like?
  ‘Like mung bean jelly.’

Pelerian made a face that clearly said, “More incomprehensible nonsense.”

• [Devour Lv.7 is activated.]
• [Digesting the demon’s minion.]

Huh.

Devour had always been a skill whose purpose was hard to understand.
I thought it just let me eat more, but now it suddenly started showing its value.
It didn’t taste great, but I went ahead and completely consumed it.

• 「You have hunted and devoured a demon’s minion.」
• [Demon’s minions will feel slight fear toward you.]

So that’s how it works.
Devour seems to produce results by consuming things.
It’s probably not that eating just anything gives effects—maybe only rare prey like this triggers it.
I might have to become a gourmet Serpent from now on.

• Stop dawdling and search the place already!

Pelerian urged me on.
Dragon scales. And the invisibility cloak.
The two treasures believed to be in Deshnan’s house.

“Yes!”

Of course I was excited too.
I began searching through the Shadow Fairy’s house.

• Why isn’t it here?!

Pelerian jumped around in frustration.
So did I—springing my body like a coil and bouncing around.

‘My invisibility cloak!’
I’d clearly heard that Deshnan possessed a magical item that could completely hide his body.
It was even said he could escape from someone as strong as Pelerian or even a hero-class warrior.
With that, I’d be perfect.
Maybe I could even kill Gunter—Medusa Mom’s enemy.

But the cloak was nowhere to be found.
Same with the dragon scales.
I’d heard they naturally emitted mystical magic, but no matter how much I searched, nothing turned up.

Deshnan’s house was a mess.
Drawers and display cases were all open, their contents scattered across the floor.

There were all kinds of junk, but nothing I was looking for.
If there was anything useful at all—

‘At least I won’t have to worry about food.’

Sacks filled with dried “feed.”
It was definitely feed—probably meant for monsters.
It looked like ground meat and grains pressed together, and I could faintly sense magic from it.
There seemed to be even a bit of ground magic stone mixed in.

• It’s probably meant to feed the monsters inside.

Deshnan’s house was huge.
But his actual living space wasn’t that big.
Only about one-fifth of the entire house.
The rest led to a place labeled “Indoor Zoo.”
The Shadow Fairy had been raising monsters inside his home.

‘What’s this prosthetic arm?’

Another thing I found was a prosthetic arm.
At first, I thought it was a toy.
Two arm-shaped models were displayed inside a case.
But looking closer, the craftsmanship was incredibly detailed.
Each finger joint could move freely.
The metal material itself was also unusual.

• It’s too big for a human to wear.

At the joint were vicious-looking spikes.
It looked like you’d stab it into your body to attach it.

【Giant Prosthetic Arm】
Can be used as a new arm when inserted into the body.

Even the description was vague, so it wasn’t clear who it was for.

‘Yeah… I definitely can’t use this. It’s way too big.’

I’ll admit—I imagined it for a moment.
A Serpent with arms.
I’d probably wield a sword even better than when using the “Invisible Hand” spell.
But it seemed impossible.
Those spikes at the joint—if I stabbed that into my body, it would just pierce straight through me.
It was simply a size issue.
Maybe something like a giant centipede could use it.

While examining it with me, Pelerian noticed something.
A small engraved craftsman’s mark.

• A gnome’s emblem. This was made by a gnome.

Apparently, gnomes were just as skilled as dwarves when it came to craftsmanship.

• I’ve never seen this emblem before.
  ‘Wait… I think I have.’
• You have?
  “Yes.”

And it was just a moment ago, too.
I rummaged through the junk scattered near the entrance.
And there it was—a letter.
The same emblem engraved on the prosthetic arm was stamped on it.

I tore open the seal with my tail and read it.
There wasn’t anything particularly special written inside.

“Repairs for the magical items you entrusted to us are being delayed. The cloak in particular is difficult to repair. It should be completed by the end of the festival period. At that time, I will leave it in front of your house.”

Ah, so he had sent it for repairs.
There might be a gnome craftsman living nearby in hiding.
In any case, my invisibility cloak did exist. That was a relief.

“Should we track down the gnome and loot him?”

Naturally, I thought Pelerian would nod in agreement—

• What kind of nonsense is that?!

He scolded me.
I almost shrank back.

• Do you know how good gnomes are at hiding? We wait, then catch him when he shows up.
  “Ahh.”

As expected, he was thinking one step ahead of me.
For now, it seemed we’d have to stay here and wait through this “festival period” or whatever it was.

Just in case, I read as many documents in the room as I could.
By the time my eyes hurt and I was getting hungry, I discovered the whereabouts of the dragon scales.

It was in a book titled “Breeding Log.”

“Ground up dragon scales and mixed them into feed, then administered it to the Medusa Serpent. Its mate also consumed it, so if we’re lucky, a meaningful mutation might appear in the next generation.”

Pelerian’s jaw dropped.

……

Pelerian looked at me.
I avoided his gaze.

• Th-they mixed it into feed and fed it…?
  “……”
• That precious magical catalyst…!
  ‘I didn’t do it! The Shadow Fairy did…!’
• That idiot! It’ll just turn into shit—what meaningful mutation?! Breeding monsters with such an absurd method! The pinnacle of ignorance!

Pelerian exploded in anger as if breathing fire.
Even I, who slept through most of high school science class, knew this much.
Acquired traits aren’t inherited.
Feeding dragon scales wouldn’t make the offspring’s scales as hard as a dragon’s.

Well… scientifically, that’s true.
But maybe magic works differently?
Maybe I was born a white Serpent because of a mutation from dragon scales?

• If that were the case, you’d be a higher-species mutation, not a lower one.
  “……”

That one hurt me.

Well… maybe there’s dragon blood flowing somewhere in me. I’ll just think of it that way.

Anyway, judging by Deshnan’s journal, my father might also be somewhere around here.
Is he outside? Or maybe in the indoor zoo?
Probably not. He seems to be something huge.

‘Let’s check inside now.’

I dragged along the still-fuming Pelerian.
The front door hadn’t even been locked, but the door leading to the indoor zoo was a heavy iron gate.
That’s probably why even the demon’s minion couldn’t get inside.

Knock knock.

I knocked without thinking, but there was no response.
I unlatched the iron door.

Creeeaaak—

The heavy iron door opened with a chilling sound.
The stagnant air inside rushed outward.

The first thing that hit me was the smell.
A stench sharp enough to sting the nose—
the foul odor of excrement, the smell of damp water, a strong animal musk…
and even the scent of blood.

‘You call this a zoo…?’

It’s amazing how strong the assumptions created by a name can be.
I wasn’t expecting something like a children’s park, of course.
But I at least imagined a place that deserved to be called a zoo.

It wasn’t.

There was only a path down the middle, with sections divided by iron bars on both sides.
They had tried to recreate different habitats, but in many places I could see monster corpses lying around.
They hadn’t starved—more likely they had fallen sick or devoured each other.

“Why are the monsters…?”

At first, I thought there were no monsters at all.
But that wasn’t the case.
The moment I stepped in, they quickly retreated into the corners.
They curled up, trembling in fear.

They must be starving after not eating for days.
Do I really look that scary?

Well… I am a Crystal Doublehorn Python.
A high-tier Serpent monster that has evolved three times, with scales that shine like crystal.
It would be natural for them to be afraid.

• Maybe they’re not afraid of you, but of their original owner.

Pelerian poured cold water on my thoughts.
Unfortunately, he was right.

The monsters cautiously lifted their heads, looked at me—
and then approached the bars.

“Grrr! Grr!”
“Waaaah!”
“Wheeeeng!”

They barked and screamed angrily, shaking the iron bars.
Were they embarrassed about having been scared?

‘They look hungry.’

Right. It made sense—they hadn’t been fed.
The hyena-like monster grabbed an empty feed sack and shook it violently.
It was clearly begging for food.

Sure enough, outside the cages, there was more than enough feed prepared.
I briefly considered showing some mercy to these starving monsters.

Splap.

I dodged the incoming object.
The monster that threw it looked strangely familiar.

【Long-Legged Monkey Lv.18】

It threw something again.
I dodged that too—

Splat!

Something bounced off the ground and stuck to me.

It was shit.

“Grrr!”
“Wheeeeng!”

The other monsters barked as if mocking me.
In that instant, every ounce of mercy in my heart evaporated.

Sssssss—

What the hell?
The Scale Harden skill—which I couldn’t activate even when I tried—triggered on its own.
My scales turned black.
At the same time, my body and mind shifted into a combat state.

As my scales darkened, the monsters’ momentum faltered for a moment.

“Ukkiiit!”

But the long-legged monkey that threw the dung shouted as if telling them not to be afraid, and the others started barking again.

Fine. You’re first.

You said you were hungry, right?
I dragged over a feed sack.

• [Magic: Invisible Hand Lv.2 activated.]

I grabbed a handful of feed.
When I waved it in front of the cage, the monkey’s eyes lit up.

“Ukkiiit! Kyaaaak!”

Even when it stretched its arm through the bars and couldn’t reach it, it started thrashing wildly.
Shaking the cage, screaming—

And I bit down hard on its wrist.

“Kiik… kiiik!”

The long-legged monkey jumped frantically.

Then it collapsed.

• 「You have defeated Long-Legged Monkey Lv.18.」
• [Absorbing demonic energy.]

It gave decent experience for its level.
Hmm. Now you’re a good monkey.

Next.

The atmosphere around me turned cold.
The cages were fairly spacious.
There were nests for sleeping, even small pools of water.

Holding feed with Invisible Hand, I moved to the next cage—
the one that had been whining earlier.

【Poison Horn Hedgehog Lv.19】
【Traits】
[Cunning]

It approached cautiously.
Having seen the monkey die, it didn’t act recklessly.

But if it didn’t come closer, it wouldn’t get food.

I stayed still.
It stayed still.

Then suddenly—

The hedgehog lowered its head slightly—

Thwack!

Spikes from its forehead shot toward me.
A surprise attack like spraying poisonous needles.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

But not a single spike could pierce my scales.

Hmm. A cunning one.
And it has an interesting skill.

• 「Borrowing Horn Lv.4 used to borrow Poison Needle Shot Lv.5.」
• 「Temporarily acquired Poison Needle Shot Lv.2.」

Something sprouted inside my mouth.

Ptoo!

The hedgehog tried to flee in a panic.
Luckily, the needle I spat out struck its rear.

“Wheeeeng!”

That was its final cry.

• 「You have defeated Poison Horn Hedgehog Lv.19.」
• [Absorbing demonic energy.]
• [Level increased.]

Easy. And satisfying.

At last, complete silence fell.
The monsters that had been going wild slowly backed away from the bars.

But hunger couldn’t be helped—
they drooled, staring only at the feed.

In that moment, I realized something.

I held absolute power over the life and death of every monster here.
I could level up.
I could take—no, borrow—useful skills.

It was practically a buffet.

I approached the hyena that had been barking at me earlier.

【Fang Hyena Lv.31】
【Traits】
[Glutton], [Simple]

This one looked a bit stronger.

Just as I was wondering how to deal with it—

The hyena suddenly flopped onto its back, exposing its belly.

“Woof! Woof!”

Anyone could tell—it was a posture of submission.

‘At least it has good instincts.’

I tossed a single piece of feed.

The hyena leapt into the air and caught it midair.
Its tail wagged like a propeller.

Drool dripped from its mouth.

When I held out more feed, it immediately tried to shove its head forward to eat.

“Sssaaaak!”

When I stopped it—

Even while drooling, it sat back down, watching me carefully.

‘Wait… could it be…’

I tested the thought that came to mind.

• 「Taming Lv.2 activated.」
• [Successfully tamed Fang Hyena Lv.31.]

That worked… that easily?
You’re level 31!

• 「Taming proficiency has increased significantly.」
• 「Taming Lv.2 has become Lv.3.」

Now this was an unexpected gain.

From now on, your name is Spotty.

• [Fang Hyena Lv.31 has been named ‘Spotty’.]

The name I gave was accepted.

• [Fang Hyena ‘Spotty’ Lv.31 likes its name.]
• [Taming proficiency has increased.]

It follows me way too easily.
Are hyenas part of the dog family? It does look like one.

Anyway, I decided on my next course of action.

From now on, all the monsters here would go through a “selection process.”