WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 11: Starting Today, I'm a Fairy
──────
011.
Nom, nom, nom.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Ugh, this tastes awful.
Even if I'd become a good snake who could eat anything, it didn't mean I had no sense of taste.
And Cockatrice was especially awful.
──────────────
【Cockatrice Corpse】
──────────────
Well, of course it was a corpse.
When I relaxed my eyes, the panel before me disappeared.
This was the power of the centipede's Inner Core. I could now see things that had been invisible before.
Spiritual creatures really were different.
I diligently ate the Cockatrice.
I'd always thought this, but my body had terrible fuel efficiency now.
Compared to a car, I was like a Ferrari or Lamborghini that guzzled gas.
Whenever I moved around a lot or kept using skills, I got hungry in no time.
Come to think of it, I used to suffer from acid reflux every day.
Maybe this was still better than being unable to digest food.
The Cockatrice's muscles were as tough as steel tendons.
Ow, one of my teeth broke.
It had broken before too, but fortunately, a new tooth grew in whenever one fell out.
Just like a shark. Apparently, sharks kept growing new teeth when theirs broke.
Let's eat without worrying!
「You have been poisoned. Venom Resistance proficiency increases.」
Damn it.
How could this thing have venom even in its meat?
What was it, a pufferfish?
My stomach started aching a little.
Still, there was nothing to worry about. It hadn't bitten me or stabbed me with its talons.
「Venom Resistance Lv. 3 has become Venom Resistance Lv. 4.」
My Venom Resistance went up.
I'm the strongest venomous snake around. I could endure venom seeped into its flesh.
As I continued filling my stomach, I finally managed to dig my way close to its heart.
I carefully worked my jaws.
After chewing over and over, the area around my mouth turned red like a child who had eaten tomato pasta.
Then, at last, I found it.
Crunch.
There was something like a stone.
It was exactly like when I found a Magic Stone in the Horn Jaguar's heart.
Back then, I hesitated to eat it because I wasn't sure if it was a urinary stone or something, but now I couldn't have been happier.
I came out with the Magic Stone in my mouth.
After wiping the blood from my face with my tail, I focused my eyes.
──────────────
【Cockatrice's Magic Stone: Grade 2】
──────────────
It really was a Magic Stone!
The only disappointing part was its grade.
The one I'd gotten before had been a Grade 3 Magic Stone. This one was Grade 2.
It seemed the Horn Jaguar had been stronger than the Cockatrice.
Even now, it was sheer luck that I had managed to defeat that thing by fighting it from inside its body.
Well then, thanks for the meal.
A Magic Stone for an after-meal dessert. How luxurious.
I gulped down the Magic Stone. Somehow, it even felt sweet, like candy.
「You have consumed a Grade 2 Magic Stone.」
When I ate the Horn Jaguar's Grade 3 Magic Stone, nothing much happened.
I thought it would be the same this time.
「A faint magical essence infuses your body.」
「Your rank rises slightly.」
「Your body becomes sturdier, and your mana is filled.」
Oh, what is this?!
An unfamiliar sensation spread through my entire body.
It was different from the pleasant warmth of leveling up.
Like when you drank strong liquor, or ate a mint candy, a cool sensation spread out from my stomach.
The magical essence that had infused my body.
And the mana that had become full.
I could definitely feel that my reserve of that energy, the stuff I used whenever I activated a skill like Billy's Horn, had increased.
I'd grown.
Hunting the Cockatrice had brought me a fitting reward.
That meant it was time to check my status panel.
──────────────
【White Horn Snake Lv. 5】
【Traits】
[Indomitable], [Relentless Growth], [Horn]
【Skills】
[Billy's Horn Lv. 2]: Mana Detection Lv. 1
[Poison Fang Lv. 4], [Breath Holding Lv. 4], [Predation Lv. 3], [Tear Apart Lv. 4], [Venom Resistance Lv. 4], [Bleeding Resistance Lv. 2], [Pain Resistance Lv. 4], [Heat Resistance Lv. 2], [Survival Instinct Lv. 4], [Leap Lv. 2], [Stealth Lv. 2]
······.
──────────────
I definitely had a lot of skills.
I even had far more skills than the Cockatrice, which was clearly much stronger than me.
That also seemed to be an effect of having 20 Potential.
Come to think of it, just how amazing had my brother been, with skills more impressive than mine? (Little Green Snake Lv. 3, died from a fall)
If he'd survived, maybe he would have eventually become a great snake who surpassed Mother.
Still, it wasn't the strong who survived. It was those who survived who became strong.
I read further down the status panel.
──────────────
※Evolution Available:
[Quick Crawling Lv. 10]
【Status】
[Mana Saturation], [Pride]
──────────────
Something had changed!
What did it mean, evolution available?!
Quick Crawling had somehow reached Lv. 10.
It was the first skill I'd ever gotten to Level 10.
My heart raced.
Just as I'd become a dignified Horn Snake, would Quick Crawling undergo a complete transformation too?
There was no reason to hesitate.
Quick Crawling was the skill I used best.
Evolve!
A grand Digimon evolution theme played in my mind.
「You consume magical essence to evolve the skill.」
So it wasn't free.
Urgh, I felt weak.
Just like when I used Billy's Horn several times, dizziness washed over me.
My stomach was full, but I felt hollow inside.
I had a feeling that if I hadn't eaten the Cockatrice's Magic Stone, I wouldn't have been able to evolve the skill.
「Quick Crawling evolves into a higher-tier skill.」
Right, this new skill had better be worth more than my magical essence.
「Quick Crawling Lv. 10 has become Acceleration Lv. 1.」
Huh.
Ah, what?
I thought it over for a moment.
The result was a little ambiguous.
Acceleration was a skill the Galloper Hawk had possessed.
But Quick Crawling had become pretty fast already. Just how good was Acceleration?
After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to test it out.
I coiled my body.
I tensed my entire body and sprang into the air.
I used Leap, which I had fully learned through Billy's Horn.
Then, I added Acceleration.
「You use Acceleration Lv. 1.」
Whoosh, cool air brushed against my face.
I cut through the wind.
Like Billy's Horn, it was the type of skill that consumed mana.
I shot forward like an arrow and landed magnificently.
Now I was certain.
This was incredible!
Acceleration was clearly the superior version of Quick Crawling.
My usual Stealth-Leap hunting combination couldn't be used properly if the enemy noticed me.
Even if I leaped at them, all they had to do was casually dodge.
But a Leap combined with Acceleration was so fast that it would be difficult to avoid even after seeing it coming.
And I felt like there were countless ways to use this beyond just leaping.
I imagined being attacked by the Cockatrice.
If it tried to peck me with that massive beak...
Whoosh, like this, hup! Like this!
I could dodge sideways. Huff, huff.
The fact that I could now perform evasive maneuvers alone made it an amazing skill.
It would be nice if my other skills could evolve like this too.
I wanted to test it more, but now I was really short on mana.
After catching my breath, I looked at the shattered remains of the centipede husband.
It's all thanks to you, newlywed.
Without the centipede's Inner Core, hunting the Cockatrice would have been difficult.
Using my tail, I gathered the pieces of the centipede husband together.
Then I sprinkled dirt over them.
That made a fine grave, didn't it?
Hmm, it looked too plain without any decoration.
Instead of a memorial tablet, I looked around.
Then I placed a gold crown that had been lying nearby on top of the grave.
······What is all this?!
Only then did I notice the junk scattered around me.
That crazy monster.
The Cockatrice had a trait called [Treasure Hoarder].
I'd wondered what that meant, but it had piled up all sorts of junk around here.
There were rotten branches and seashells from who knew where.
That would have been one thing, but there were also gold coins and jewels.
There were even armor and weapons.
They were all rusted, but some warrior from long ago must have worn them here and died.
I'm rich now!
But I couldn't really celebrate, since all of it was useless to me.
What was I supposed to do with gold coins? It's not like I could throw mesos around like in Maple X Story.
If only I had a bag to store the valuable things in, maybe I'd find a use for them someday.
There might even be vending machines in this world that accepted coins.
I put aside those pointless thoughts and looked around.
The centipede's Inner Core had allowed me to see what I couldn't see before.
There was something that had bothered me the most since entering this place.
That stone door.
──────────────
【Dungeon: Fairy Mage Pelerian's Temporary Residence】
──────────────
Right, this place was a dungeon.
If there were monsters, there had to be adventures and dungeons too.
And a Fairy Mage? Did this world have elves too?
Seeing all the traps plastered around this place, it had to be one of two things.
Either something valuable was hidden here, or that mage had a cruel personality.
Or maybe both?
Leaving while pretending not to know anything would make me a coward.
Charging in and demanding the dungeon's treasure would make me a real man.
I was somewhere in the middle, so I first carefully examined the stone door and its surroundings.
「You use Mana Detection Lv. 1.」
It was fortunate that I'd borrowed this skill from the already-dead Cockatrice.
The places I shouldn't touch glowed red.
Actually, it didn't seem to warn me of danger. It looked more like areas where mana had gathered.
Which meant they could be traps, or they could be mechanisms for opening the door.
······Come to think of it, that was a little dangerous earlier.
The ceiling had holes that looked suspicious to anyone, so I assumed they were traps. But if they had actually been a doorbell, I would have been eaten after hearing a ding-dong.
I carefully scanned the area, but I couldn't see anything.
I was running low on mana, so I deactivated the skill.
Could I not open it?
Just as I thought that, I noticed writing above the elaborately decorated stone door.
I had been surprised when I realized I could understand speech, but it seemed I could read too.
[Elves who can read this, knock on the door seven times.]
I'm not an elf. I'm a snake.
Come to think of it, the title did call him a Fairy Mage.
······Could that be elven writing?
I could read and understand it, but I had no idea whether it was human writing or elven writing.
There was no way to know, so I had no choice but to try.
Knock on it.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
Then it would open.
Grrrrrrk.
It must have been an automatic door.
The door opened.
The stone door was thicker than a human fist.
Even if someone brought a gun and fired at it, it would probably be difficult to break through.
You call this a temporary residence, but why did you seal it up so tightly?
What kind of treasure are you hiding in there?!
I cautiously went inside.
Ugh, it smelled dusty.
I had no idea how long it had been abandoned.
From what I could tell, it seemed to have been at least several hundred years.
Maybe there had been an earthquake in the meantime, because the statues lining the corridor had been broken.
I slithered over a statue's head.
Up close, the statue also had long ears. So they really were elves.
They said elves never grew old and were all handsome men and beautiful women.
My heart raced.
I crawled onward, getting my entire body covered in dust.
I carefully inspected the surroundings with Mana Detection.
I worried there might be traps, but I didn't see any as I passed through the corridor.
It was so dark that anyone without a night vision skill like mine probably couldn't get through.
Past the corridor was a huge room.
In the middle of it was some kind of crystal ball.
It clearly looked expensive.
The moment I approached it, the crystal ball began to glow.
Oh, mana was gathering.
The light pouring from the crystal ball formed the shape of a person. No, the shape of an elf.
"Welcome, stranger."
His voice wasn't very pleasant.
That made sense, since he was an old man of considerable age.
I'd thought all elves were young, but this old man looked completely worn out.
Far from handsome, his face looked full of spite.
If it weren't for his pointed ears, I wouldn't have known he was an elf.
"This is the laboratory of Archmage Pelerian. You have traveled far to reach it."
Still, his manner of speaking was kind.
I shouldn't judge someone by their appearance.
"If you opened the door and entered, you must be one of our outstanding and pure kin."
The moment he finished speaking, the elf's illusion suddenly spoke in another language.
“If you are a pure-blooded elf and not one of those filthy inferior races, you must know Ancient Fairy Language. Bow your head at once, now!”
Who does this old man think he is?
It seemed I could understand all kinds of languages.
There was no need to bow my head anyway.
I was already pressed against the ground.
Then a spear flew in from somewhere and pierced through the air above my head.
Whoosh, crash!
This old man really seemed to love traps. Especially spear-launching traps.
The old elf immediately dropped his kind smile and said,
"Glory to the World Tree. It is good to meet you, kin."
This elf was a racist.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
