WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 29: Kirruk, Kekh, Chwiet, Questa

──────

029.

Calling the Great Forest a single forest was no different from saying humans, elves, and dwarves were all people.

It was not exactly wrong, but it was not precise either, which made it a meaningless thing to say.

The Great Forest covered more land than most countries, so naturally it contained countless hidden realms within it.

Caves whose depths could not be fathomed.

Lakes large enough to swallow mountains.

And mountain peaks battered by thunderstorms every single day.

The Palamu Rainforest was one of the Great Forest's many hidden realms.

True to the name rainforest, it was an area where rain fell for more than half the year.

It was so humid that it was unfit for human habitation.

They said even elves were sick of the sweltering climate and avoided the place.

The Medeira River ran through the Palamu Rainforest, and mangrove forests flourished along its banks.

Even within the Great Forest, a treasure house of life, the Palamu Rainforest had especially high biodiversity, making it unsuitable for sapient beings to live in.

Even so, there were stories that a race had built a civilization there.

The Goblins once subjugated by the kingdom.

Now that the Goblins, once regarded as a nuisance in the mountains, had nearly vanished, reports often surfaced claiming that large numbers of Goblins had settled in the Palamu basin.

Some even said they had built a civilization.

This author, however, is convinced that such claims are nothing more than the delusions of crackpots.

There are scholars who occasionally insist that Goblins should be classified as "people."

But can that primitive race really be said to stand shoulder to shoulder with us humans and elves?

Goblins, who eat bugs and even evolve, should properly be classified in academic terms as intelligent monsters.

They may have formed several colonies in the Palamu basin, but that can hardly be called a civilization.

If one were to enumerate the traits that set "monster" Goblins apart from people...

「Sage Parvian's Mysterious and Fascinating Monster Encyclopedia: Great Forest Edition, from the Palamu Rainforest」

* * *

──────────────

【Venom Pangolin Lv. 16】

──────────────

A pangolin is a mammal covered all over in large, hard scales.

And the monster known as a Venom Pangolin could be described as a far more dangerous version of that animal.

Pangolins already possessed the hardest armor among mammals, but this one's glossy scales were especially tough.

They were strong enough to lightly deflect arrows, and the teeth of beasts could not sink into them.

And as the modifier "Venom" suggested, its saliva was a potent toxin.

Excellent defense, and attack power to match.

It was smaller than a human, but even here in the Palamu Rainforest, it was a predator.

The Venom Pangolin had just succeeded in a hunt.

A monkey lay beneath its claws.

The Venom Pangolin bit into the monkey's arm with its sharp teeth.

Crunch, crunch.

Its jaws were strong enough to chew through bone and swallow it down.

The savage sound echoed through the forest.

That was the moment a cascade of water crashed down over the feeding pangolin's head.

Shhhhh!

The pangolin jerked in shock.

Why was a deluge of water pouring down from a clear sky?

Naturally, it looked up.

Given the structure of its body, it had no choice but to rear up to do that.

Chirrrp, chirp.

There was nothing.

Only the sound of insects filled the air.

The pangolin's raised scales settled, and just as it was about to resume eating, something cold and smooth wrapped around its body.

Yes, that smooth thing was me.

I had crept in close and instantly coiled myself around the upright pangolin's body.

My body was now as thick as an adult's forearm, and probably over two meters long.

Wrapping myself around a pangolin was possible now.

I wound myself around its torso from the inside of its legs, slid past its flank, and dug upward toward its armpit.

In an instant, I had reached its neck.

I had used Acceleration here too, so it all happened in the blink of an eye.

And then, Strangling.

*「You use Strangling Lv. 2.」

This was not me merely pretending to constrict something, it was a proper skill. A new one I had just gained.

Poison Fang was not the only combat method snakes had.

The reason I had never been able to use constriction until now was simple, I had been too small and too weak.

Now that I had evolved into a sturdy python, I could constrict a monster on the level of a pangolin.

Actually, saying I could constrict it did not even begin to cover it.

Creeeeak-

Its scales twisted, and a dreadful noise rang out.

Compared to my previous life, when I had weighed far more, I was probably much stronger now.

My Poison Fang could not pierce the pangolin's scales.

And Strangling was the best option, much better than grabbing a sword and performing another dangerous blade dance.

I tightened around its neck.

The Venom Pangolin had sharp claws, but its legs were short and its joints were not very flexible.

It struggled desperately to rake at my body, but it managed no more than a few scratches.

More stubborn than I expected.

I tensed my body too.

In truth, this was my second attempt at hunting a pangolin.

The first time, I had rushed it carelessly, gotten bitten, and nearly died.

Good thing my poison resistance was high.

Thud!

I almost lost the strength in my body.

It had slammed its body into a tree.

If I fell off, I was finished.

I focused with inhuman intensity.

Just as it tried to ram into the tree again, I grabbed one of its feet with earth magic.

The thing flopped over onto its belly.

Urk.

That impact hurt me just the same.

As it struggled to get back up, I constricted harder.

Creeeeak!

The pangolin's hard scales bit into my now tougher skin.

Wounds opened, and blood started to flow.

But I could not stop now.

"Guik, guik."

With its throat being crushed, the pangolin could not even let out a roar.

Those were its dying sounds.

Crack!

A refreshing sound came from its neck bones.

My victory!

*「You have defeated Venom Pangolin.」

*「Your level has increased!」

Ah, that was always a pleasant voice to hear.

Before evolving into a python, I had gone quite a while without hearing it.

And after I finished evolving, weaker monsters no longer gave me any experience because I had grown stronger.

──────────────

【White Double-Horn Python Lv. 3】

──────────────

I was already Level 3 before I knew it.

That was the result of the week I had spent with Pelerian.

Well, to be honest, Pelerian had not helped me level up at all.

Whatever sort of battle-hardened mage he had once been, he could not cast a single spell now.

When I asked how he had used Emergency Escape and brainwashing magic, he said that had been the last of his remaining mana.

The only thing he could do was float around babbling like some spirit of the ring.

So what had Pelerian been doing while I struggled through hell to catch a Venom Pangolin?

He had just perched on a nearby rock and watched my hunt from the front row.

Apparently monsters could not see him.

I sternly scolded the comfortably idle Pelerian.

'Teacher, doesn't this count as passing?'

-Passing? Paaassing?

Teacher Pelerian scoffed.

-Can that be considered proper use of magic?

'No, I drew its attention with water elemental magic, then ambushed it in the opening and caught it. If that isn't using magic, what is?'

That was exactly right.

The combination of magic and physical attacks had flowed as smoothly as water.

If not for the fact that I was not holding a sword, I could have called myself a magic swordsman.

But apparently Teacher Pelerian still was not impressed.

-Can you still do nothing with water magic except dribble out a pathetic little stream? You would have been better off throwing a rock to draw its attention. It was painfully slow.

'...What are you talking about? My talent for magic should be exceptional.'

Pelerian's words rubbed me the wrong way.

-Talent? Puhaha.

He laughed openly.

-I can say this with certainty. Your talent for magic is abysmal!

'...'

That had to be a lie.

Just like the elf supremacist traitor who had tried to stab me in the back.

...Come to think of it, had he not sworn to answer everything I asked honestly?

Then it had to be one of two things. Either he had broken the oath, or my talent really was that bad.

There was no way the second option was true, so I started wondering what kind of animal droppings I should turn Pelerian into this time.

-Anyway, now you've learned the basic magic of all four elements. We can move on to the next step.

'The next step?'

It was the moment Pelerian's lifespan was extended a little.

Though since he was already a soul, he was not much different from a dead elf anyway.

-You said you wanted to use a sword.

'Right.'

-From what I saw last time, wrapping it with your tail and biting down on it before performing your little sword dance was completely pathetic. It wasn't swordsmanship, you just looked like a mad snake.

That mad snake had sliced your Chimera to death.

-You need hands if you want to use a sword.

'Then is there a spell that makes arms grow out?'

-That would be quite grotesque. Not a bad idea, but this is a spell called Transparent Hand.

The name was as straightforward as it could possibly be.

-At first, you'll only be able to lift something like a tree fruit, but if your proficiency rises high enough, you may be able to grip a sword and swing it.

Snakes had no arms or legs.

From that perspective, gaining hands would be an enormous help.

At last, I was learning some proper magic.

-Now then, there was a reason I had you learn the magic of the four elements first. The four elements are the basic components that make up this world.

Pelerian explained in detail how Transparent Hand worked.

-Do you remember the definition of magic?

'Recreation of phenomena.'

-Correct. Because of that, the less intuition it requires and the simpler it is, the more basic the spell. That is why I deliberately developed magic that manifests a Transparent Hand instead of telekinesis. It is easier to imagine a transparent hand than it is to imagine an invisible force moving objects.

The problem was that Pelerian could not directly demonstrate it, but his ability to teach was better than I had expected.

It seemed he had taught someone before. Had he ever raised disciples?

One way or another, I managed to try casting Transparent Hand.

Honestly, it did not feel like I had some incredible talent for magic.

I kept failing.

Potential 20 did not seem to be directly tied to talent for learning things.

'Stop. I want to end here.'

-Giving up already?

'I'm low on mana.'

-Hmm, your total mana capacity really is small. It must be because you evolved twice in such a short span of time.

That was Pelerian's assessment.

That old fossil had been incredibly impressed by the fact that I had evolved twice in a little over a month.

But the real problem was my mana pool.

I could use basic elemental magic several times, but it was not enough to use large skills.

Billy's Horn and Surpassing Horn could empty my mana after just one or two uses.

The biggest problem was the skill called Heavenly Thunder Decree.

Even though the skill I borrowed from Gunter was displayed as Level 0, it consumed an absurd amount of mana.

I fainted before I could even use the skill at all.

It was obvious what would happen if that happened in a real fight against a monster.

-There are four ways to increase your mana capacity.

Pelerian repeated something he had already explained before.

-Evolve.

-Hunt countless monsters and let Magical Essence settle into your body.

-Eat things like Magic Stones, Inner Cores, or spiritual medicine.

-And wear a Magic Tool that increases your mana.

The first and second methods would obviously take time.

The process of evolving into a python had been extremely difficult too.

Which left the third and fourth methods, and right beside me I had something like a treasure Goblin.

-If only we can find Dungeon No. 123... then yes, you can increase your mana.

Pelerian's Dungeon No. 123.

That was the destination I had chosen here in the Palamu Rainforest.

Pelerian's Dungeon was hidden somewhere in this rainforest.

And on top of that, it was not some disgusting facility like a Chimera factory.

-It was a place where I researched Magic Stones, so there should still be several high-grade Magic Stones left there. I treated them so they would not naturally decompose.

Ever since eating an Inner Core, my eyes practically rolled back whenever I saw things that were good for the body.

-I'll give them to you, but keep your promise. Send my research data to my main body.

'As long as you don't harm me.'

-I swore it, didn't I? You really do take a mage's oath lightly, even after I explained the principle to you.

Pelerian sounded irritated.

They say old people get more irritable as they age.

It was true that it would be difficult for Pelerian to harm me or set a trap for me.

Unless he was planning to die together with me, there was no way he could break that oath.

'No, seriously, why can't you find the way?'

-Hmm... I'm sure this is the right direction.

'That's the third time you've said that already.'

The problem was that Pelerian could not find the path at all.

He kept making excuses that he was used to flying around and teleporting, not finding his way on foot.

-We just need to find the river, the Medeira River.

We still had not found that damned river.

For now, we set our direction north.

I really hoped we would find the river this time.

But once again, what we ran into was not a river.

The next day, after I had finished digesting the pangolin and was starting to get hungry, I came across a Goblin being eaten alive by a pelican.

* * *

Pelerian and the snake were watching from hiding.

'Wow, that's wild.'

Pelerian glanced at the snake, who was admiring the scene so frivolously.

It really was a remarkable sight.

A giant pelican was trying to swallow a Goblin.

'Won't that thing suffocate?'

Wasn't a snake the very representative kind of monster that swallowed its prey alive?

The snake often acted as if they had forgotten they were a snake.

-Idiot.

'You mean that Goblin?'

Pelerian had snapped that the snake had no talent for magic, but in truth, that was not the case at all.

The snake's magical talent was terrifying.

Not the snake's learning speed, but the fact that their aptitude seemed to have no limit.

A mage capable of handling all four elements was actually very rare.

Usually there were differences even in the speed of learning them, yet this snake learned them all at the same rate.

How could that even be possible?

Even so, there was only one reason Pelerian had insisted that the snake had no magical talent.

He did not like seeing the snake get cocky.

He had not broken the oath. He had only sworn to answer honestly when the snake asked a question.

Anything Pelerian said first was an exception.

At this rate, Pelerian was starting to wonder if he would eventually run out of tricks and end up being looked down on by that snake.

Then the Goblin screamed something.

"Kirruk, Kekh, Chwiet, Questa. Tinggit kit!"

A festival of fricatives and plosives.

Looking to his side, Pelerian saw the snake wearing a bewildered expression.

Yes, of course the snake could not understand.

Goblin language varied from region to region, and the pronunciation was so peculiar that almost nobody could understand it.

But Pelerian, who was versed in all kinds of monsters, knew what it meant.

-Want me to translate?

'Huh?'

-It says, 'O god of the river, please save me. My mother is waiting for me!'

The snake's expression turned strange.

Pelerian felt smug.

Be impressed, snake.

But the snake said something insolent.

'What are you talking about? That's not what it means.'

-What?

'It says, "I need to get back to the river! Let me go! Big sis, save me!"'

The snake spoke with such confidence that they sounded as if they truly understood Goblin language.

Absurd.

Pelerian frowned deeply.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried