WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 35: I’ll Refuse Exactly Twice

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You think Deadly Venom: Neurotoxin Lv. 3 is a joke?

Unless a Hobgoblin had Venom Resistance at around Level 10, they would not be able to escape death.

Even collapsing is slow.

No, they are not collapsing.

The Hobgoblin did not fall.

Instead, they swung their sword at me.

Whoosh!

The blade failed to cut me.

They were pretty fast, much better than the goblins I had met by the riverside. I could tell just by how they controlled the distance while swinging their sword, making sure it would not strike the floor and make a sound.

I countered by casting water magic.

"Hngh!"

Nanaruk, who had been snoring, woke up.

Startled, she grabbed the axe she kept beside her head. Nanaruk was the sort of veteran warrior who slept with an axe beneath her pillow.

Her axe swung with incredible speed.

Swish!

Yet rather than cutting off the assassin's neck, the axe passed over their head.

Nanaruk had not made a mistake in her sleep.

The rigid assassin toppled over like a log. Only then had the Neurotoxin spread through their body properly.

Thud!

"Cough, khk, cough!"

They were choking, unable to breathe properly.

Reveal yourself, assassin goblin.

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【Hop Goblin Lv. 21】

【Traits】

[Assassin], [Hobgoblin]

【Skills】

[Stealth Lv. 10], [Swordsmanship Lv. 8], [Assassination Lv. 7], [Venom Resistance Lv. 8] ······

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So they really did have Venom Resistance.

They were stronger than I expected!

I was startled by how strong the goblin assassin was.

Still, my Neurotoxin really was powerful. Their Venom Resistance was Level 8, yet they had still died from poison.

Then something truly wonderful happened.

*「Your level has increased.」

Gasp!

It had not even been a full day since I last leveled up.

That meant the assassin goblin had given me a tremendous amount of experience.

This was far more efficient than hunting hard by myself.

"An assassin... Did Krok send them?"

Nanaruk murmured, going pale.

Right, this was not the time to celebrate.

Pelerian! Wake up!

Pelerian sprang out of the ring too.

It looked like Pelerian had been asleep as well, judging by the groggy expression as Pelerian raised one finger.

-There is another one.

Something flew in through the window.

Nanaruk swung her sword.

She displayed quite an impressive technique.

Ting!

She knocked the incoming object away with her sword.

"A poison needle!"

She picked up the poison needle that had fallen onto the floor.

It had probably been fired from a blowgun.

And a Hobgoblin assassin, apparently the one who had fired it, was climbing in through the window.

Nanaruk threw the needle back with her hand.

Thunk!

I thought she was some Murim master.

The poison needle Nanaruk had thrown struck the assassin's shoulder.

But rather than falling, the assassin charged forward with a scythe-like weapon in hand.

What was the point of firing poison needles if the poison was this weak?

Watch out, Nanaruk!

I leaped from where I had been hiding in the darkness.

The assassins were not wearing anything like armor. On top of that, for some reason, they had their chests completely exposed.

Then it was time for the Heart-Eating Snake.

Crunch!

"Aaagh!"

I had heard real assassins did not scream even when stabbed with a sword.

Their training was lacking.

The assassin collapsed, spraying blood, then spoke their last words while looking at me.

"The real... Heart-Eating..."

That's right. I'm the Heart-Eating Snake.

For some reason, I had not gained an epithet called Ululullulu.

I liked Heart-Eating Snake better anyway.

'If I consume the heart of my prey, I can obtain more Magical Essence.'

That was the benefit of my epithet.

Sure enough, I could feel a clearly greater amount of Magical Essence being absorbed.

If I caught just one more, I would level up again. I was certain of it.

I was thrilled at the prospect of leveling up so quickly for the first time in a while.

"Thank you! You saved me!"

Nanaruk hugged me and thanked me.

I honestly felt a little sorry for stealing her last hit, but come to think of it, I had saved her.

I should be proud.

"Why were assassins here... Ah!"

Nanaruk abruptly stood.

"The chieftain, my father, is in danger!"

As far as I knew, Nanaruk was the Runga Tribe's strongest warrior.

She was especially strong even among Hobgoblins, and many warriors followed her. Some warriors even thought Nanaruk should become the next chieftain.

Still, would assassins really go out of their way to target only Nanaruk?

If assassins had come all the way here, they had surely gone to the chieftain's home as well.

"Let's go!"

I had been planning to go anyway.

I could not pass up a level-up.

I naturally climbed onto Nanaruk's shoulder.

She was much faster running than I was slithering.

"Assassins! Warriors, gather!"

Nanaruk shouted as she ran.

They seemed to have a basic security system in place. Someone began ringing a bell loudly.

The chieftain's house stood in the center of the village.

Just as expected, shouting could be heard from far away, as though fighting had already broken out.

Several goblins lay dead.

I could taste the blood hanging in the air on my tongue.

All of the dead were goblins from the Runga Tribe.

Some of them had been the ones making a fuss as they called me Ululullulu.

I jumped down from Nanaruk's shoulder.

One assassin was fighting the Runga Tribe warriors who were running over to support the chieftain.

The chieftain's house was on fire.

"Please!"

Nanaruk understood my intention the moment I jumped down.

We really did understand each other well.

I will eat you.

An assassin Hobgoblin charged toward Nanaruk.

*「You use Beginner Elemental Magic: Earth Lv. 4.」

A pillar of dirt rose from the ground and caught the assassin's leg.

The assassin rolled once to break free of the restraint.

At the same time, they scattered something from inside their clothes.

Three crudely made daggers shot out at once.

I easily dodged...

Slash!

Ow.

The daggers were faster than I had expected.

My skin split open, leaving a long wound.

*「You have been poisoned.」

*「The proficiency of Venom Resistance has increased.」

It hurt!

The wound burned as if it were on fire.

I could not hesitate here.

Trust in my Venom Resistance.

I linked Leap and Acceleration.

Both skills had risen quite a bit in level. I shot forward as fast as an arrow.

I had never seen a goblin react to this properly.

"Guh!"

So there was a goblin like that here!

The assassin Hobgoblin had excellent reflexes.

The sword they thrust out seemed ready to cut my body in two.

I barely twisted in midair and avoided the blade.

Why are they so strong?

-Tsk tsk. You underestimated Hobgoblins.

Things had gone well until I killed the assassin at Nanaruk's house.

But the only reason I had caught them so easily was because I had ambushed them.

-You forgot how snakes hunt.

Pelerian was nagging me.

But Pelerian was not wrong.

I had been too arrogant.

I was still only a two-month-old hatchling.

Had learning a little magic made me look down on the world too much?

There was a reason the assassins gave so much experience.

To fight them head-on, I would have to risk my life too.

*「You use Beginner Elemental Magic: Water Lv. 1.」

Trickling water poured over the assassin's face.

And if a mask got soaked, it became difficult to breathe.

"Uhp, pff!"

Unable to breathe, the assassin panicked.

When they hurriedly tore off their mask, I had already bitten their ankle and passed by.

"Ugh!"

This Hobgoblin seemed to have Venom Resistance too.

But now I remembered how snakes hunted.

I retreated and hid.

I would eat their heart later.

In the end, the assassin collapsed with a thud.

The results were still satisfying.

*「Your level has increased.」

Hmm. Let us not forget today's lesson.

Thanks to my struggle, the situation quickly settled down.

The Runga Tribe's Hobgoblin warriors arrived and caught one more assassin.

The warriors stormed into the burning chieftain's house.

Soon, Nanaruk emerged, supporting the chieftain.

It seemed the assassins who had infiltrated the house had been defeated as well.

It was a little disappointing that none had been captured alive.

The chieftain had no fewer than three concubines.

All three rushed out, looking utterly terrified.

Nanaruk was covered in blood.

It did not seem to be hers. It appeared to be the assassins' blood.

No, she was wounded too. Blood dripped from her forearm.

-An outstanding Hobgoblin. She may evolve further.

Even Pelerian was impressed.

I agreed.

You worked hard, Nanaruk.

You saved your father.

Now there would be a touching scene where father and daughter embraced in relief.

That was what I thought.

But the chieftain did not care at all that his injured daughter was there.

He only fussed over his concubines.

As far as I knew, Nanaruk's mother, the chieftain's first wife, had died. That was probably why the children lived separately.

After a long while, the chieftain approached Nanaruk.

I thought he would say, Thank you, my daughter.

"This is all your fault, bitch!"

Smack.

The chieftain slapped Nanaruk across the cheek.

I could not understand what was happening.

The other goblins did not seem confused, though.

They watched the conflict between father and daughter with strange expressions.

"Isn't this because you provoked Chieftain Krok? If you had just, just lowered your head earlier..."

The chieftain was on the verge of tears.

The assassins' arrival had frightened him that badly.

"Chieftain Krok must be seriously misunderstanding something. Assassins... We must send an envoy for peace immediately. Shaman!"

"Chieftain, please calm down."

"Calm down? Are you going to listen to that Nanaruk bitch?"

"Chieftain!"

Shouts flew back and forth.

I got the general picture.

Their father-daughter relationship was definitely not good.

-I like that one.

'The chieftain?'

-Those cowards are very easy to handle.

I liked him too.

Enough that I wanted to bite him hard.

Nanaruk slowly walked away.

She was not crying.

When she saw me, she gave a faint smile and held out her hand.

I climbed up her arm and settled onto her shoulder.

It was a noisy night.

Nanaruk did not cry until she returned to her room.

* * *

Everyone's tear ducts were different.

Some people rarely cried, but when they did, they cried as though a dam had burst.

Once the lock on their tear ducts broke, they had no choice but to cry until every last bit of it had spilled out.

Nanaruk was like that.

After sending her younger siblings away, she shut herself in a small room and cried.

Along with her sobs, she poured out her tangled emotions and words.

Through that, I learned many things.

How cowardly the man called her father was, and how much she missed her dead mother.

How completely screwed the Runga Tribe's situation was, and how Krok would eventually attack the Runga Tribe and kill everyone.

I even learned that she was afraid of that.

The only reason I got to witness Nanaruk sobbing from the front row was because I was a snake.

Nanaruk had pressed her eyelids against my body.

Feeling refreshed?

"Wouldn't this make my eyes less swollen?"

I hope so.

"...You're not Ululullulu, are you?"

I had not expected even her to ask that.

I shook my head.

Of course I am not.

"I wish you were that snake. Then you would defeat Krok too, right?"

Maybe I would.

But I was not Ululullulu.

I was only a weak snake who had barely managed to deal with a single assassin Hobgoblin.

I did not know.

If I evolved someday, could I really become as strong as Ululullulu?

Then maybe I could help this poor Hobgoblin girl who had been kind to me.

But not now.

"Don't leave."

Nanaruk spoke as though she knew I was leaving in the morning.

I was startled.

How did she know?

"You made and packed Water of Life. And today, you patiently put up with my siblings' pranks. People who are about to leave suddenly become kind."

Hmm. She was a smart girl.

But I had no choice.

In fact, me staying here would be even more dangerous.

I did not know when the fairy trackers would come looking for me. And would those psychopathic fairies leave alone the goblins close to me?

-Hmm, I cannot deny that.

Even Pelerian admitted it.

When I shook my head, saying I could not stay, Nanaruk looked sad.

Then she spoke as though she had made up her mind.

"You might say you are not, but maybe you really are Ululullulu."

'I told you I am not.'

"Maybe you are not now, but you might evolve into Ululullulu someday."

'...Huh, could that be?'

Ululullulu might be in my evolution tree.

Who could say for sure?

"Wait a moment."

She suddenly began moving busily.

She brought over a chair and climbed up, then carefully removed a wooden panel from the ceiling.

After rummaging around inside, she took something out.

It was a small box that had been sealed exceptionally well.

"This was left behind by my mother..."

What is it?

The box looked extremely old. It had been carefully sealed with melted honeycomb.

Nanaruk tore it open without hesitation.

The moment she opened the box, a clear, fragrant scent spread through the room.

"Try eating this. Maybe you will evolve."

Hmm...

This.

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【Inner Core: Crimson Tarantula King】

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Ah, um.

"My mother's father formed a do-or-die hunting party and hunted the monster for its Inner Core. They said eating it would let you evolve."

No, eating an Inner Core would not make me evolve.

And why give something that precious to me?

No matter how much I liked things that were good for the body, I felt awkward accepting it.

But there was one person, or rather one fairy, whose eyes had gone wild.

-Eat it!

Pelerian shouted forcefully.

No, but...

I slowly shook my head.

"No, eat it."

-Eat it!

What is wrong with both of you?

Footnotes:

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