WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 126: The Type With a Highly Developed Sense of Smell
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Strong things naturally have four-syllable names.
Destruction Beam.
Immortal God Sword.
Kaidou.
Shinra Tensei.
And... Elastic Rampage.
I succeeded in seizing that skill.
The fact that such a strong-looking Chimera only had it at Lv. 3 showed that it was a high-tier skill.
Rebound, and rampage.
You could get the feeling just from the words!
「Temporarily, the target's ‘Elastic Rampage Lv. 3’ becomes ‘Elastic Rampage Lv. 2.’」
The Elastic Rampage I stole was only Lv. 1.
I used the skill without hesitation.
So what happened?
If I described everything that happened in the time it took to blink, I could probably fill several A4 pages.
To put it simply.
To start with the conclusion.
I succeeded in dodging Dancer's attack.
At the same time, I half-failed at seizing Elastic Rampage.
The initial leap was fine.
When I jumped, the rebound felt far stronger than before.
But there was a reason it had the word "rampage" in its name.
I couldn't control that bounce or acceleration.
Like Bloodscale before, I began ricocheting in every direction.
Like a rugby ball, only much faster.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
I only managed to land after crashing into the walls around seven times.
"Sssak..."
I threw up.
When I raised my head, Dancer was clinging to a corner where the ceiling met the wall.
It seemed surprised that I had moved so similarly to it.
A thing without eyes...
I still couldn't see its eyes or ears.
Only its wide-open, blood-red mouth stood out.
Looking closer, it did have nostrils.
But more than its disgusting face, I wondered how it could keep its balance so well.
I couldn't control myself at all, so how could something much heavier than me...?
'...Ah, its legs!'
Then it hit me.
It walked on four legs attached where its arms should have been.
Its knees acted as suspensions, reducing the impact, and it had four of them.
Of course it was easy for it to keep its balance.
It even seemed to have suction cups on its soles. Or maybe it clung on with its claws.
Meanwhile, the number of legs I had was... zero!
'This skill is useless.'
I tried to seize another skill.
「You cannot use Seizure yet.」
It seemed the Crown of Seizure couldn't be used consecutively.
Well, otherwise I could lock up some monster with a good skill and regularly shear skills off it like wool.
So, I would put Elastic Rampage aside for now.
I'd fight with my other abilities.
I had fast techniques too.
Whiiing!
A longsword shot fiercely toward Dancer hanging from the ceiling.
It was probably the Chimera's first time seeing Telekinetic Swordsmanship too.
Rather than kicking the sword away with shins as hard as steel, it acted more intelligently.
It dodged the sword first.
Boing!
It sprang away to another spot.
But that was part of my plan too.
Separate from Sunset, which I had launched in a straight line, Dawn flew even faster.
The lighter dagger drew an arc as it swooped in.
Dancer only noticed it as it landed.
Just as Dawn was about to pierce its neck.
Ting!
Sparks flew as Dawn bounced away.
It had raised one of its four shins and blocked the incoming blade.
It really wasn't something I could underestimate.
As if it were now its turn, it sprang toward me.
Actually, I was pretty good at leaping too.
I met its charge head-on.
「You use Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 4.」
But unlike before, I didn't dare try to eat its heart.
Getting struck by its shin would be no different from getting hit by an iron pipe.
Everyone knew it was hard to dodge in midair.
All that practice to become a rolling expert had been for situations like this.
「You use Roll Lv. 10.」
I hadn't rolled to look cool.
Spinning, I managed to ride up the shin that had been swinging at me.
Just as I was about to sink in my fangs.
Before their tips could even pierce its skin, my body was violently flung aside.
It had shaken me off.
I spun through the air and bounced away.
It was fast.
Moving this way and that as if wary of me, it maneuvered through the air.
I followed it with my head and opened my mouth.
「You use Beam Lv. 3.」
「You use Beam Lv. 3.」
「You use Beam Lv. 3.」
Pew-pew-pew!
I fired beams in rapid succession.
Dancer somehow dodged the first two.
But no matter how fast it moved, it couldn't be faster than I could turn my head.
Whiiing!
In the end, one beam struck it.
A blood-red hole opened in its belly.
It wasn't fatal. Maybe it was like taking an extremely hard finger jab.
Perhaps because of that hit, it abruptly fell while running around.
It got back up and moved again, but it was clearly flustered.
'Ah, its skill level dropped...'
Thanks to the Crown of Seizure, its Elastic Rampage had temporarily dropped in level.
That seemed to have slowed it down.
As if it sensed something was wrong with its body, it began backing away.
-If we don't catch it now, we never will.
I agreed with Pelerian.
It was too fast.
It was tougher than I had expected, too.
It didn't seem very intelligent yet, but it might get smarter with time.
If I let it go now, I wouldn't be able to catch it easily.
Not unless I evolved first...
But the only way to gain experience in this Dungeon was from the Chimeras...
-There's that human too. Wasn't he supposed to be lunch?
'They wouldn't even touch the sides!'
I would catch it here.
With that resolve, I charged at it.
What was my strongest source of burst damage?
Obviously...
'Isil!'
Isil-emong's fire that burned anything.
For the record, I had tried to "borrow" Isil's Hellfire before, but it had failed.
Only Isil could use Hellfire for now.
Purple flames that burned everything.
Fwoosh!
They shot toward the thing charging at me.
I thought the flames would engulf it.
Its Magic Stone and meat would burn up, but that couldn't be helped.
Just as the purple tongue of fire from hell was about to lick the four-legged Chimera.
Thump!
Surprisingly, Dancer stopped its advance.
It spread its legs and braced itself against the wall.
Then, just before part of its body touched the fire, it charged in the opposite direction.
In other words, it ran away.
It escaped faster than the Hellfire could reach it.
Maybe it got a slight burn on its skin.
I couldn't confirm it.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.
'Haa.'
A deep sigh escaped me.
I'd used every method I had, and still couldn't catch it.
I missed Mom.
Not my real mom, but why was I thinking of Wyvern Mom and the three siblings?
She had fought to protect me.
She wasn't still waiting for me, was she?
Several days had passed since the Dungeon door closed, so she had probably returned by now.
I hoped she was getting along without fighting that crazy wyvern again.
"Hoo..."
Then the human sighed.
I didn't know what he had done to deserve a sigh.
"It's incredibly fast."
"Sssak!"
Hey, human.
I called to them.
I didn't think I could catch Dancer alone.
But if I borrowed a cat's paw, no, a human hand, I might be able to catch it.
'You said you'd help me, right?'
When I took out my notebook and wrote that down.
"Gah!"
The human jumped in surprise.
* * *
Chugota carried one golem high into the sky in her jaws.
It was a dizzying flight.
Even if it was only one of the golem's three separated parts, it was enormously heavy.
Naturally, since it was made of stone.
Chugota carried that heavy thing higher and higher.
It was impossible to tell what she was thinking just from her eyes.
Chugota had once been called the wise queen, yet none of that old intelligence could be seen now.
Chugota rose until she looked like a dot from the ground.
It was a waste of stamina, but she repeated the act every time she recovered.
She flew high.
Then dropped the golem she held in her jaws.
Gravity reclaimed the possession it had nearly lost to the wyvern.
The golem fell as lightly as bird droppings.
But the impact was magnificent.
Kwoooooong!
A huge boom erupted, and clouds of dust surged up as if exploding.
"Pipipipi!"
"Kkeeek!"
"Chuiii!"
The hatchlings beside Seleta cried out and ran about in circles.
They weren't doing it because they were surprised or scared. This had been happening for days now.
At first they had really been frightened and cried, but it had practically become a game by now.
After running in circles for a while, the hatchlings watched the golem as the dust settled.
Despite falling from that height, the golem wasn't completely smashed apart.
It was monstrously tough.
Even so, the shocks from the falls had accumulated, and now huge cracks had formed in it.
The hatchlings cawed curiously at the mysterious blue light visible through the cracked outer shell.
"Gugaaak..."
Seleta gave a warning so feeble it would have been better not to bother.
The golem had remained motionless, as if dead, for several days.
The wyverns had clearly won. That was Seleta's judgment.
But the mad Chugota seemed determined to destroy all three golems before she would be satisfied.
She had been at this for days and still hadn't finished off even one of them. How much longer would she keep it up?
"Gugaak..."
Seleta didn't leave.
If Chugota hadn't been there, she might have taken the three surviving hatchlings and gone.
But Chugota wouldn't leave the stone tower, so Seleta couldn't either.
What if the youngest escaped the stone tower alive...
And Chugota caught and swallowed him up?
Thud.
Chugota landed roughly.
Yet she didn't even inspect the golem's condition, merely sitting still.
She must have exhausted her stamina.
Seleta could tell from the way Chugota stood with her eyes closed.
At some point, Chugota and Seleta had stopped fighting.
This strange coexistence had continued for days.
They stayed some distance apart without approaching each other...
Exhausted herself, Seleta closed her eyes for a moment.
Children naturally had more stamina than adults, so the hatchlings did not sleep.
Normally, the three siblings never strayed far from Seleta.
They only loitered around nearby, but for some reason, on this day...
"Pii."
With the bravest eldest leading the way.
They began creeping toward Chugota.
"Keeeek."
"Chui..."
The second and third followed with frightened looks.
They drew closer and closer to the sleeping Chugota.
Just when even brave Pipi could no longer go any farther.
As they hesitated, one of Chugota's three heads opened its eyes.
It was Go.
Go's head twisted downward like a pretzel.
Then it stopped before the three siblings and met Pipi's eyes.
Go's mouth opened wide.
"Gwooooooar!"
A foul-smelling roar burst out.
"Piaaaak!"
The hatchlings screamed, turned, and fled.
Seleta, who had nodded off for a moment, shot into the air in shock.
It seemed another bloody battle to the death might break out.
But after chasing off the hatchlings, Go simply closed its eyes and began dozing again.
"Gugaak..."
Looking awkward, Seleta landed again.
She glared at the hatchlings.
Realizing they were about to be scolded, the three siblings hurriedly hid.
* * *
The notebook fluttered through the air.
The pen moved, writing words.
'You can do that, right?'
Jannil had known this was no ordinary snake, and that the snake was intelligent.
But Jannil never expected the snake to write and communicate like that.
Jannil felt as though they had been hit in the head with a hammer.
'Why aren't they answering?'
"Ah, yes, I under...stand."
Then the snake and Jannil talked.
They discussed how to hunt the Chimera called Dancer.
The four-legged Chimera was incredibly fast.
It was so fast that hunting it had seemed impossible.
Yet the snake seemed determined to catch it.
Honestly, Jannil didn't think they could catch it even if they joined forces.
'All I have to do is stay calm...'
When Jannil heard the snake's plan, it sounded fairly plausible.
No, Jannil wondered how a snake monster had even come up with such an idea.
"Damn it, I don't know if this is right."
Success or failure aside, Jannil was definitely in danger.
It couldn't be helped.
The plan was to use Jannil as bait.
Tap.
Dancer rarely made any sound.
Tap, tap, boing!
It only made the sounds of its approach.
The very same sounds Jannil had heard yesterday.
Boing!
Jannil saw it beyond the corridor.
The fact it had come this close meant it was confident it could win.
It must have thought it could handle Jannil and the snake by itself.
"Raaaargh!"
Jannil roared, but Dancer only ran silently toward them.
At this point, Jannil had no choice but to trust the snake.
Jannil didn't know how the snake knew, but they still had an ampoule that released a scent monsters hated.
They smashed it against the top of their head.
Then, just as the snake had predicted, a wind suddenly blew.
Wind elemental magic carried the ampoule's scent toward Dancer.
"Jure."
Dancer froze with a start and made a strange sound.
"Jurererererek!"
Then it clutched its stomach and started retching.
"Jureeeek! Juek!"
The snake had named it Operation: Hold Your Breath and Dungeon Dive.
It was clearly working.
Footnotes:
The opening joke is that every listed Korean name has four syllables, including references to One Piece and Naruto. “Isil-emong” parodies Doraemon, portraying Isil as a source of any useful power. “Hold Your Breath and Dungeon Dive” riffs on IVE's “Love Dive.”
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