WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 24: Long-Eared Psychos

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Ah, what a beautiful morning.

There was no warm sunlight, and no birds singing trills.

Even so, it was unquestionably a beautiful morning.

After all, whether a morning was beautiful or not was up to me.

Even if I had fallen into hell.

Even if I were rolling around inside a tunnel, on muck soaked in Chimera blood, as long as I was happy, it was a beautiful morning.

I sincerely believed that.

Still, it was a shame there was no sunlight.

Just imagining how beautifully my two horns and the pattern on my scales would shine under the sun was enough to make me feel good.

That's right, I had successfully evolved.

My horns were still so small they looked cute, but having one on each side in nice balance did make me look a little cooler.

My life had definitely changed after sprouting horns.

Who was I?

The owner of Billy's Horn.

And at the same time, the owner of Surpassing Horn.

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【Surpassing Horn Lv. 1】

Focus your mind and surpass with all your strength.

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Yeah, Surpassing Horn.

This thing made even less sense than Billy's Horn.

...Hmm.

After evolving, there was more I could see.

There was a description for Surpassing Horn, but I still had no idea what exactly it was supposed to surpass.

Well, I would probably figure it out once I started using it.

And now I wasn't a snake anymore, I was a python.

Of course, a python was still a snake, but if someone had to call me something, I'd prefer python over snake.

Like how someone living in New York doesn't say, "I live in the USA," but, "I live in New York."

And the defining trait of a python was the pattern.

Even with night vision, I couldn't see everything perfectly clearly, but an apricot-colored pattern stood out beautifully against my white body.

I could tell it wasn't just for decoration from my status window alone.

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【White Double-Horn Python Lv. 1】

【Traits】

[Indomitable], [Relentless Growth], [Horn], [Pattern]

...

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Right, I had gained Pattern as a trait.

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【Pattern】

You possess a pattern imbued with magic. It is not easily damaged, and it repels magic and curses below a certain level.

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So this was basically some kind of defense buff.

And it even repelled magic.

The real question was what counted as "below a certain level," but it was definitely a trait worth being grateful for.

Niiice.

Now that I'd killed a Chimera, maybe I could swagger around this basin like a king.

I had a feeling this was near the entrance to the Great Forest. At the very least, I hadn't seen any monster stronger than the Chimera.

I hiss-laughed to myself.

But was there really a god in this world after all?

One who brought divine punishment down on the arrogant...

My pattern trembled.

No, maybe it was my scales.

My good friend Survival Instinct was telling me to run.

But where?

The tunnel had two directions, front and back.

I picked one at random.

There really wasn't much of a gap between Survival Instinct's warning and my response.

I moved immediately, using Acceleration.

But it was already too late.

The tunnel started collapsing.

At first, that was what I thought.

More precisely, it wasn't collapsing.

The earth was rising.

The tunnel seemed to have been dug fairly deep underground.

But the dirt falling from above sealed off both side passages, while the ground beneath the Chimera and me rose rapidly.

This was clearly abnormal.

It was as if the earth itself were alive.

Was this magic?

I tried Mana Detection.

Ah, my body shuddered.

Torrents of mana were swirling all around me.

Like Van Gogh's Starry Night. Glowing streams of mana flowed through the soil.

If this was magic, then wasn't it something like advanced elemental magic?

Ah, light was pouring in from above.

I'd already been dragged up to the surface.

Damn it, I hurried under the Chimera and hid.

Shwaaaak!

We reached the surface in an instant.

And from the shadow of the Chimera's corpse, I saw the one responsible for all of this.

'A long-ear!'

There stood an unmistakable fairy.

Unlike Pelerian, this was a young, beautiful, long-eared elf.

It looked like something that had leaped straight out of my own prejudices.

* * *

"Thank you."

Iris gave her thanks.

At her feet was a mole with its front paws raised, sniffing.

Its translucent appearance made it obvious that it was neither an ordinary animal nor even a monster.

"You can go back now, Clay."

It was a spirit.

One of the four elements, a spirit that governed earth, or soil.

Iris had not mastered magic, but as someone from a noble elven family, she did know how to command spirits.

But the spirit was not Iris's possession.

Even after being told it could leave, Clay lingered around, still sniffing.

Iris stopped paying attention to the spirit.

She had found one of Pelerian's cursed creations.

Only, it was dead.

And dead inside a burrow, at that.

It had already been dead from the moment she detected it through the spirit.

'What a gruesome mess.'

That was her first impression the moment she saw the Chimera's corpse.

Iris was an elf who had come through battlefields. As an outstanding warrior and hunter, she had fought large monsters more than once or twice.

But the state of this Chimera was so dreadful that even Iris felt a chill run down her spine.

Its legs had been viciously severed.

Its whole body was covered in wounds, and black blood reeking as though it had been poisoned.

It had died in the exact state it must have been in while crawling along, spilling blood and entrails.

Who?

Who had fought a Chimera like this?

And how had it ended up dead inside a burrow?

There were no clues at all.

First, she would have to collect its blood and retrieve the Magic Stone it might be carrying.

Just as Iris made that decision and drew her sword, it happened.

Tap tap.

Clay, the little mole-like spirit, tapped Iris on the foot.

"What is it?"

The spirit pointed at the Chimera's corpse.

No, more precisely...

"Really? ...I see."

Then, help me for a moment.

Iris sent that thought to the spirit.

The spirit obeyed its summoner's will.

Thooom!

The earth surged upward.

Despite having lost several legs, the heavy Chimera bounced into the air and spun.

And of course, the white snake hiding underneath it was exposed.

"Hmm."

It had horns on its head.

A Horn-line monster.

'A white specimen. An albino.'

Monsters born albino stood out.

Most were eaten before they could grow very large.

For one of them, it seemed to have grown all the way to adulthood. It even had double horns.

That was fairly impressive.

Iris looked down at the snake.

She never once imagined that such a small snake could have killed the Chimera.

The snake moved quickly, as if trying to flee.

Reflexively, she tried to step on its neck.

Whip-

And the snake avoided Iris's foot.

Not only that, it sprang up with astonishing speed and counterattacked.

Its fangs were extremely sharp.

It certainly looked like it carried a potent venom.

Iris tried to step back.

Just then, earth rose and bound her foot.

It wasn't the spirit's doing.

'No way, this snake...!'

An attack from a venomous snake while her foot was bound.

If Iris had still been a young fairy, she might have been caught.

But basic earth magic was nowhere near enough to stop a Golden Leaf Investigator.

She shook off the dirt and retreated.

The snake bit at empty air and fell back down.

Iris let out a small gasp.

"It has learned magic."

Monsters did occasionally learn magic naturally.

But something this tiny? Just a snake?

"It'll be dangerous if it grows."

Best to kill it early and pull it out by the root.

That was Iris's judgment.

Even the elven elders acknowledged her decisiveness.

She swung her Elven Broadsword at the snake as it leaped again.

Its head did not come off with a clean slice.

Kakang!

Instead, sparks flew.

* * *

That crazy long-ear.

I nearly died.

Trying to stomp me to death out of nowhere was bad enough, but then a sword slash too?

My tiny heart was pounding wildly.

My neck had split open and blood was running down.

But it hadn't been cut off.

Huff, huff, I was alive.

Something like adrenaline seemed to be flooding through me.

My whole body tingled, and I felt strangely light.

That sword.

It was an Elven Broadsword. I knew because I'd used one myself.

It's ridiculously light and insanely sharp.

And yet it couldn't cut through my neck, all it did was throw sparks.

That was because, in that instant, I realized how to use Surpassing Horn.

The moment that sword came at me, I instinctively knew I couldn't dodge the slash.

Then I had to block it.

I didn't have skills like Iron Carapace or Carapace.

That only left Pattern.

Wasn't there some way to make use of the Pattern trait?

That whole train of thought happened in less than a second.

I wished for it desperately.

*「With Surpassing Horn Lv. 1, you surpass the limits of the trait 'Pattern.'」

*「The trait 'Pattern' temporarily becomes 'Magic Circle: Defense.'」

Right.

Surpassing Horn was a skill that surpassed limits.

Thanks to that, it ended with only the skin on my neck splitting open.

Thinking about it now was terrifying.

If I hadn't found one more Magic Stone from the Chimera, if I hadn't gained a new horn from it, my neck would have been chopped clean off just now.

It was amazing that I had survived.

And apparently I wasn't the only one in shock.

The elf just stood there with mouth open and eyes wide.

Hey, I was more shocked.

"..."

That crazy murderous elf didn't give up.

A brilliant light gathered on the Elven Broadsword.

It was definitely Aura, and much brighter and clearer than the Aura that brat knight Zain had used.

If that hit me, I'd die on the spot.

I hurriedly tried to run.

Thump!

But damn it.

The ground surged up and sent my body floating into the air.

Off to the side, I saw that mole spirit covering its mouth and laughing.

I added it to my mental death ledger.

Right below that crazy psychopathic elf woman.

Ah, my whole life is flashing before my eyes.

Though there wasn't much to it.

Getting bitten by a Mosquito Rat.

Sharing neighborly warmth with that friendly centipede couple.

The day I evolved for the first time.

Those scenes flashed past.

I had no way to stop that glowing sword.

Surpassing Horn had taken most of my mana.

Farewell, world.

So much for Potential 20, it was useless after all.

Mental Strength 20...

Hmm, if I don't give up to the very end, that would at least be worthy of a proud Mental Strength 20, right?

Then a memory flashed through my mind.

The time a golem stepped on my tail.

Back then, I had naturally assumed my tail would be crushed, but it was fine.

Because of the ring.

Instinctively, I curled my tail inward.

Honestly, no matter how tough that ring was, it didn't seem like it could block that sword.

But in that very brief instant, the elf saw my ring and her eyes flew open.

Then Aura and the ring collided.

Jjeeeong!

Was this the kind of deafening boom you'd hear if lightning struck right in front of your face?

A shockwave exploded out. It wasn't something that could come from metal merely striking metal.

Wait.

Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, there was a cloud beside me.

What the hell, I was in the sky.

I'd been launched away at incredible speed.

Far in the distance, I could see the flustered elf and the Chimera's corpse.

Shwaaaaa!

The air slammed into my body like mad.

The whole Akam Basin spread out beneath me.

In the clear sky, it almost felt like my tail could touch the sun.

Ah, my tail, and the ring too, were both intact.

What in the world was this thing made of?

But gravity was the sort of bastard that never willingly gave up what belonged to it.

I fell in a long arc.

I was definitely going to die like this.

Surviving a sword slash infused with Aura only to die from the fall, now that wouldn't even be funny.

But it seemed my luck hadn't run out yet.

The ground rushed up fast.

I crashed down, snapping several branches along the way.

And then, water.

Pooong!

I hit a pond with a huge splash.

My whole body went numb with cold.

It hurt so much it felt like my entire body might burst apart.

I'd barely finished evolving, and it felt like several bones had broken already.

But I couldn't afford to lose focus here.

As a cold-blooded animal, my body would stiffen up in an instant.

I thrashed desperately.

Toward the bank, toward dry ground.

*「Due to the trait 'Relentless Growth,' you are not restricted in acquiring skills.」

*「You have acquired Swimming Lv. 1.」

Oh, thanks~

But I was already out of the water.

Huff, huff, I seriously almost died.

My whole body was freezing.

Far away, I could see the elf standing beside the Chimera.

I hurried behind a rock and hid.

In this moment, I made a decision.

Long-eared races, elves, fairies.

Every last one of them was full of lunatics, and I would never trust them.

Ah, rage burned inside me.

"That crazy bitch."

"Completely insane."

"Swinging a sword the moment she sees someone, what a filthy temper."

Whoever you are, would you stop standing behind me and saying all the right things?

I whipped my head around.

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【Pelerian's Signet Ring: Unsealed】

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Huh?

I wasn't surprised that the ring had been unsealed.

I was surprised because standing in front of it was a translucent old fairy, as though a person had been shrunk down to barely a handspan in length.

It was a familiar face.

And there were only two fairies I knew in this world.

It wasn't the crazy woman standing over there.

Pelerian?

No way, was it really Pelerian?

Footnotes:

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