WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 42: The Headless Red Snake

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"Bring fresh cold water."

The Great Shaman's voice carried the frailty of old age.

"Bring more bamboo leaves."

Whenever she gave an order, the other shamans bowed reverently and obeyed.

Once a Goblin passed fifty, it would not be strange for them to die at any time.

The Great Shaman's face was covered in deep wrinkles carved by the years. The tattoos engraved across her entire body and face were the symbol of the Great Shaman. Even their dark ink had grown cloudy and faded with time.

Yet strength filled her voice, and every movement was disciplined.

The Great Shaman had stayed up all night assisting Nanaruk.

Evolution was both a blessing and a curse bestowed upon monsters.

By evolving, monsters extended their lives and grew stronger. But evolution was not granted to everyone, so the Great Shaman, who had already completed her evolution, would soon face an unavoidable death.

Still, she did not feel afraid or sorrowful.

Because before her stood the future of their entire race.

She soaked a towel in cold water and gently wiped Nanaruk's arm.

The young chief was enduring an immensely painful evolution process. The moisture on her skin evaporated in an instant. Her burning fever had not yet subsided.

But she had clearly improved.

Last night, her skin had peeled away like a shed skin whenever the Great Shaman wiped her with a towel.

But now?

She looked like a human woman with slightly flushed skin. It was soft, yet seemed tough like rubber. Under the sunlight, her skin glittered as if fine gold dust had been scattered over it.

Nanaruk had always been slim and tall, but she had grown even taller. She was probably as tall as an average Elf now. Her hair had grown so much in a single day that it hung down in long locks.

'The other Goblins will look like children standing beside her.'

But that was for the best.

Nanaruk would become the king of their race. And a king of their race needed to look imposing to anyone who saw her.

"......Great Shaman."

Nanaruk opened her eyes.

Her long lashes trembled.

"You're awake."

"How long have I...... Ah."

Nanaruk tried to sit up, swayed, then lay back down.

"Please rest a little longer. You don't seem fully recovered yet."

"No. If I'm not there right now......"

"Rest. I will handle the trivial matters. And from now on, I ask that you stop using honorifics with me."

"What? How could I?"

The Great Shaman had already been an old woman and held her current title when Nanaruk was still wearing diapers.

"You are no longer a chief, my lady."

"Then......"

"You are the High Chief, or rather, the king."

"A king......"

Nanaruk gave a bitter smile.

She did not wave her hands in embarrassment or look flustered.

"So that's what happened."

Hop Goblin King.

She had evolved beyond a Hop Goblin. And she also understood the duty that came with being a superior species.

"You will grow used to it."

"Where is Ululullulu?"

"They have not yet come out of the Dungeon."

Nanaruk nodded.

The Great Shaman rose from her seat.

"The children will soon come to attend to you. Please rest."

She gave a respectful bow before leaving.

It was difficult to read the expression on the Great Shaman's wrinkled face.

At that moment, the snake's name circled through her mind.

'Ululullulu.'

That snake had saved Runga.

Krok had been a tyrannical king. He had not been suitable kingly material, yet the sacred snake had slain that false king.

Now, every Goblin in Runga believed in the Snake God.

There was one astonishing fact.

A secret no one would dare even guess.

'Where did that snake come from?'

The Great Shaman herself did not actually believe that the snake was a god.

She had felt that way from the beginning. Even when the vanished snake returned, the Great Shaman had shed tears and acknowledged the snake as Ululullulu, but her doubt remained.

It was undoubtedly an extraordinary monster.

But it was certainly not the Ululullulu passed down in oral tradition.

Ululullulu was black, large enough to coil around a mountain, and a true god who wielded lightning.

How could that small snake be Ululullulu?

The strongest Goblin in the tribe became chief, while the wisest became the Great Shaman.

The Great Shaman was wise.

That was why she had acknowledged the snake as Ululullulu and united the frightened tribespeople.

It was an effective method.

Lost in thought, the Great Shaman turned her head.

The tribespeople were in an uproar. It was loud enough to reach even her failing ears.

The warriors had gathered there.

As she approached them, the Great Shaman drew a small breath.

Kadiram, the king's younger brother, had appeared with someone in tow.

Kadiram was an excellent warrior himself, yet his face was stiff with tension.

The person he had brought was a Fairy.

The Great Shaman had the knowledge to recognize that the stranger was no ordinary Fairy, but an evil Shadow Fairy.

The Shadow Fairy scratched his head.

"This doesn't seem to be the entrance to the Dungeon."

It was where the warriors rested.

He placed a hand on Kadiram's shoulder.

"......There are other Goblins I could ask instead of you."

"Ululullulu is in the Dungeon. I cannot let you enter."

"What is this Ululullulu supposed to be?"

The warriors crowded closer with weapons in hand.

Yet the Shadow Fairy did not seem to feel the slightest pressure.

"You don't even know? Ululullulu is the sacred Snake God."

"Snake God? Sounds like some local folk belief."

"Ululullulu truly exists!"

Kadiram, you have become a brave warrior.

The Great Shaman clenched her teeth and quietly gestured.

Following her signal, the warriors raised their weapons and drew their bows.

"I am not interested, so take me to the Dungeon......"

"An intruder! Don't mind me, shoot!"

Kadiram had brought the Fairy into the gathered warriors, prepared to die.

Yet despite his cry, the warriors could not bring themselves to fire their bows. Worried that Kadiram would be struck, they only approached with weapons in hand.

The Shadow Fairy sneered.

"How brave. It would be a shame if that courage went unrewarded."

At that moment, bright red blood burst from Kadiram's chest.

No, it was not simply blood.

The blood moved like a living snake and pierced through Kadiram's body.

The Hop Goblin warriors charged forward in a rage.

"Yaaah!"

"You bastard!"

One warrior dragged the fallen Kadiram away, while the rest swung their weapons at the Shadow Fairy from every direction.

"You really are making this troublesome."

A uniquely shaped crescent blade emerged from the Fairy's coat sleeve.

He used that small blade to meet the warriors' weapons.

Clang!

Whether the weapon itself was mysterious or had undergone some magical treatment, no one knew.

But every time the crescent blade passed by, the warriors' weapons broke with ease.

The Shadow Fairy did not personally kill the warriors who had lost their weapons.

He simply flung both arms up.

The darkness in his sleeves was black like a monster's throat.

A dozen bright red snakes leaped out from that darkness.

Headless red snakes made of blood.

Unlike the kind white snake, the red snakes ruthlessly pierced through the warriors' bodies.

Thud, thud, thud!

Some tried to knock them away with broken swords, but the snakes crawled over the blades and forced their way into the warriors' chests.

"Argh!"

"Aah!"

"Gah!"

Agonized screams rang out all at once.

Amid that horrifying chorus, the Great Shaman shouted.

"Fire your arrows! Fall back and respond from a distance!"

The warriors obeyed.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

Arrows flew from all directions.

Even exceptional warriors like Nanaruk could do no more than knock aside one or two.

But the Shadow Fairy blocked all ten arrows with absurd ease.

The red snakes that sprang from their sleeves each stopped one arrow.

"You are becoming tiresome. I will keep killing you until you guide me to the Dungeon."

The Shadow Fairy was fully capable of doing so.

Veteran Goblin warriors who had fought and defeated the Krok Tribe began to be slaughtered one by one.

These were lives far too precious to be wasted like this.

The Great Shaman had to make a decision.

Should she bring that murderous Fairy to Ululullulu?

She was about to do so.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Nanaruk appeared, holding an axe without even wearing armor.

The Great Shaman felt the strength leave her legs.

This was the worst possible situation.

Nanaruk would never forgive the Fairy who had massacred her warriors.

And as expected, she did not.

"Aaaah!"

Enraged, Nanaruk roared.

Every Goblin present felt their fur stand on end, their hearts pounding.

That was the roar of a ruler, filled with a ruler's fury.

Nanaruk threw her axe.

The spinning axe did not trace an arc, but a straight line.

It tore through the air with savage force.

Whoosh!

The force of the wind-rending axe was terrifying.

Nanaruk had completed a proper evolution.

Even Krok would not have compared to the current Nanaruk.

For the first time, the Shadow Fairy tensed.

Every blood snake emerging from his sleeves moved to block the axe.

Crash!

One snake was crushed.

Then another, and another.

By the time eleven of the twelve snakes had been crushed, the axe lost its force and stopped.

Clang.

Ah.

Even Nanaruk's all-out throw had been blocked.

On top of that, the crushed blood snakes gathered together again and regained their shapes.

Despair settled over the scene.

"Interesting. A new king was born as soon as Krok died?"

He stroked his chin in admiration.

"And a far more proper one at that. I've decided."

The Shadow Fairy declared.

"Fine. I will capture you and take you with me. I will raise you well."

"Shadow Fairy."

Nanaruk smiled brightly without the slightest hint of intimidation.

It was a smile of fury.

"Let's see if you can still say that after your head is split open."

Nanaruk raised her axe and charged.

But cold sweat ran beneath the hair by her ears.

Her body had not yet recovered.

The Great Shaman squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for Nanaruk's safety.

* * *

Ahh, I slept well!

That was some serious rest.

And I had a good dream too.

I dreamed of going to a buffet.

I was still a snake in the dream, but for the first time in a while, I got to eat food made by people.

I was piling sweet, chilled yukhoe onto my plate when something suddenly occurred to me.

Come to think of it, wasn't yukhoe something I ate all the time anyway?

The moment that question came to mind, I woke up.

What a shame. I should have had pumpkin porridge and gimbap too.

For the record, my favorite things at buffets are yukhoe, pumpkin porridge, gimbap, and rice cakes.

Every time I loaded up on the last three, people would scold me and say I had no business coming to a buffet, though.

-You're awake!

Pelerian's voice brought me back to my senses.

-Heh heh heh, you're finally awake. How do you feel?

How do I feel...... Gasp!

This evolution had not made my body larger.

Nor had it increased the number of my horns.

I looked over my body and sighed in relief.

'Thank goodness! I'm still white!'

-What are you talking about, color? That's not what matters.

'Oh!'

My body color had not changed.

But its appearance definitely had.

True to the modifier Crystal, my scales had undergone a tremendous change.

Snake scales were actually part of their skin tissue.

They formed when the outer layer, the epidermis, hardened.

Most reptiles were like that.

Snake scales were no different.

Their shape and toughness differed somewhat by species, but except for a few special kinds, scales were not particularly hard.

Anyone who had touched a snake would know.

They were generally smooth and surprisingly soft.

'They got harder!'

My scales, that was.

My current scales did not feel like snake scales.

Each one was hard and smooth, shining like a gem.

Looking closely, they seemed more translucent than white.

When light hit them, it scattered into several colors in a soft glow.

This really was crystal.

-They look just like carp scales!

'Not dragon scales?'

-They are not comparable to dragon scales.

Pelerian was definitely a T.

'They look tough.'

I ran my tail over my body.

'Oh, what? They're softer than I expected?'

They might even feel better than before.

This time, I lightly slapped the ground.

Clang!

What was that?

The impact produced a metallic sound.

Were they soft when touched gently but hard when struck?

They were practically a dream material.

Wouldn't modern materials companies drool if they saw my scales?

A shiver of pride ran through me.

Shrrring.

My scales trembled and made that sound.

Oh, that was fairly intimidating.

I could not become a rattlesnake, but I could make a unique sound now.

I checked my status window.

──────────────

【Crystal Double-Horn Python Lv. 1】

【Epithet】 Heart-Eating Snake

【Traits】

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

【Skills】

[Billy's Horn Lv. 4]: Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 0, [Surpassing Horn Lv. 1], [Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 1]......

──────────────

Hehe.

All those Magic Stones I had devoured had not gone to waste.

My mana capacity had increased enormously.

Compared to before, at least three times as much mana was surging through my body.

I thought I could finally use Gunter's skill, Heavenly Thunder Decree.

I had acquired a skill that looked like an ultimate move at a glance, yet I had not been able to use it even once.

And most importantly.

I had gained a new skill through evolution.

It was related to scales.

'This is incredible.'

My heart pounded just looking at the name.

I was about to try using the skill when...

-We should begin the transmission now.

Pelerian spoke in a serious tone.

In the previous Dungeon, there had been a device that transmitted the experiment's results directly to Pelerian.

There was a similar device here.

Pelerian desperately wanted to activate it.

It seemed that would allow Pelerian to find out what had happened to Pelerian's original body.

'All right, let's do it.'

Wearing a deeply tense expression, Pelerian explained how to operate the device.

It seemed that if we sent a signal, the Elves would detect it as well.

We planned to flee immediately afterward.

-Go!

-Transmission begins.

Then a mechanical sound began to ring out.

At the center of the machine was a disk.

Tiny metal fragments attached to that disk moved in a mysterious arrangement.

-South...... and east...... Why, not north?

Pelerian seemed capable of deciphering what it meant.

Pelerian's expression gradually grew more serious.

-Beyond the kingdom...... mountain range.

Pelerian muttered something.

Then fell silent for a long time.

-......I'm dead.

Pelerian let out a sigh.

'What?'

-The signal is heading to Delphram's Dungeon. I am dead. Probably.

'I am dead. Probably.'

It sounded like the opening line of an existentialist novel.

I was about to comfort Pelerian.

Boom!

I would have, if an explosion had not sounded in the distance.

I could hear Goblins screaming too.

Pelerian and I were horrified at the same time.

'The long-eared bastards are here already!'

-How did they find us so quickly?

We mistook it for the Golden Leaf Investigator having found us.

'Let's run.'

-Pack everything up!

I swept the Magic Stones into Subspace.

I stored the valuable ones first, then swallowed a few that I could not fit.

I hurriedly opened the door and fled the Dungeon.

It was obvious that our poor Goblins were being sacrificed to the Elves.

I passed through a long corridor.

Opened an iron door.

Went through the cavern holding Krok's corpse.

Climbed over several Goblin corpses and crawled up the tunnel.

At last, I emerged outside into the sunlight.

The smell of blood washed over me.

Our fears were only half correct.

There was a Fairy.

But it was only one ash-gray Shadow Fairy.

The Shadow Fairy was gripping Nanaruk by the throat.

The Shadow Fairy looked back at me.

"Oh, there really is a snake."

Nanaruk was dead, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

At least, that was how she looked to me.

Ah.

The color of rage was definitely black.

Because my heart had been stained black.

And my scales were stained with the color of my heart as well.

Ssssss-

So this was how I used it.

Despite it being a skill I was using for the first time, it was easy to control.

This was the new skill I had gained through evolution.

*「You have activated the skill, Black Scales Lv. 1.」

Just wait a moment.

I'm going to become a black snake.

Footnotes:

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