WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 46: Burglar
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-Don't lie, you cunning snake!
‘No!’
Pelerian sternly scolded me.
-You definitely planned to turn the centipedes into slaves and make even their mother serve you!
‘I said no!’
-I'm not scolding you, I'm praising you. It's a rational and excellent decision. A mage should do exactly that.
‘Let's stop joking now. It's not funny anymore.’
-I'm not joking.
They had to be joking.
I had no intention of making the centipedes my slaves.
But...
I looked at the centipede larvae.
‘They are cute, though.’
How could a mother and her children look so different?
The larvae still had yellowish, translucent skin. Maybe it was because they had been eating well lately, but their bodies had also gotten plump. They did not have that many legs yet, so they were not too creepy.
Most importantly, when I shook my head from side to side like this...
The little ones shook their heads along with me.
You little copycats.
-The Taming skill probably isn't as all-purpose as you think. If you're curious, try testing it.
‘How do I test it?’
-Make them do something.
Only the eldest had shown a successful Taming message so far.
I looked at all three and gave an order.
‘All right, go over there.’
Oh?
Then came the next command.
‘Now go over there instead.’
Wow.
The result was astonishing.
‘None of them are listening.’
The centipede larvae only stared blankly at me.
Even the eldest, whom I had supposedly tamed, was just spacing out.
-Exactly.
There were two reasons.
-Your Taming level is low, and the targets are not very intelligent.
Pelerian roughly explained how the Taming skill worked.
Apparently, it was not literally a skill that turned others into slaves.
-See? I told you. Using Taming on you back then wasn't such a terrible thing.
‘Did you say that?’
-I did!
I did not remember that.
Still, I would rather believe a spider was kind-hearted than trust Pelerian's character.
‘One last thing, everyone. Bow together.’
The three centipedes bowed along with me.
*「You have succeeded in taming Centipede Larva Lv. 2.」
*「The proficiency of Taming increases sharply.」
Huh.
The level 2 one was the middle child.
Was Taming really this easy when all it took was bowing together?
-I never knew monsters could possess the Taming skill in the first place.
Was it originally a skill only humanoid races could possess?
Thinking about it, perhaps this was also the result of Potential 20.
That created a problem.
The youngest was going to feel left out.
Ah, what would happen if I used the skill directly?
Hmm...
*「You use Taming Lv. 2.」
*「You have succeeded in taming Centipede Larva Lv. 1.」
*「The proficiency of Taming increases.」
Wow.
It worked.
I looked at Centipede Mom.
The Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede seemed to be watching me with a pleased expression.
She did not look angry.
Hmm...
Right. I could not avoid trying it.
An opportunity like this would be hard to find again.
I focused my mind and looked at the giant centipede.
*「You use Taming Lv. 2.」
*「You have failed to tame Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede Lv. 33.」
Goodbye, world.
My life as a snake had been short, but I had lived fiercely.
I humbly accepted my coming death.
How would the giant centipede punish me?
Decapitation with venomous talons, crushing me beneath her body, smashing my torso with a tail strike.
I lowered my head for a moment, wondering what my cause of death would be.
But no terrible pain came.
When I looked up, Centipede Mom was only staring blankly at me.
Could it be that she did not know I had used Taming on her?
That was what I thought, but Centipede Mom shook her head as if to say otherwise.
Or perhaps she was declaring, You are not worthy yet.
-Pwahaha! As if that could ever work!
Pelerian was having the time of their life.
-You are far too lacking, far too lacking! It's no different from a cat trying to tame its owner.
This old geezer clearly still held a grudge over failing to tame me.
And cats really did tame their owners.
-I've just seen something very entertaining, so I'll give you a useful tip.
Pelerian spoke quietly.
-Try giving them names.
‘Names? To the babies?’
-Yes, name the larvae. Their mother does not seem likely to do it.
Naming was a privilege of intelligent races.
Medusa Mom had given birth to thousands of children, but she had never named any of them.
The centipede larvae stared blankly at me.
Centipede Mom seemed equally indifferent.
Well, they would only be names I used in my head, so it did not matter.
I studied each centipede's traits and named them.
‘The eldest is especially polite, so you're Bowbow.’
‘Your eyes are big, so you're Big Eyes.’
‘Your head is a little bigger, so you're Big Head.’
After naming them, I felt a little sorry for Big Head.
But I had no time to regret it.
*「You have named Centipede Larva Lv. 3 ‘Bowbow.’」
*「You have named Centipede Larva Lv. 2 ‘Big Eyes.’」
*「You have named Centipede Larva Lv. 1 ‘Big Head.’」
Huh, were the names I gave them officially recognized?
*「Centipede Larva Big Head Lv. 1 likes their name.」
*「Your bond with a tamed monster deepens.」
*「The proficiency of Taming increases.」
So this was how bonds deepened.
I was glad Big Head liked the name.
I checked the other larvae's status windows too.
──────────────
【Centipede Larva Bowbow Lv. 3】
──────────────
The name I had given was really displayed in the status window.
For some reason, a powerful emotion washed over me.
So this was what a name meant.
It definitely felt different from an Epithet.
-Did it work?
‘Yes.’
-Wow, that actually worked.
‘What do you mean?’
-I did not think it really would. Maybe your affinity differs because you are both monsters.
For all their smug talk, Pelerian had not expected it to succeed either.
-Do you know the three requirements for taming a monster?
They explained.
-Affection, respect, and fear.
It was easy enough to understand.
If they were close to you, they would follow you. If they respected you because you were superior, they would follow you.
And if they feared you enough, they would follow you too.
‘Then they must respect me.’
-Ho ho.
Pelerian ignored my claim.
-Any method is fine. Try getting closer to the monsters you named. Their mother does not seem to dislike it either.
‘Why?’
-Something interesting might happen.
Was that so?
We were moving deeper and deeper into the Great Forest.
After checking the various details written in Dashnan's journal, I was certain we were nearing our destination.
‘No. I don't have time for that. I need to get stronger quickly, and that means training.’
I answered coldly.
-Admirable. Magic?
‘Swordsmanship.’
-...
What was my goal?
To become a snake that nobody dared touch.
A snake no Hero, Elf, or monster would dare challenge.
In other words, I was going to become a Samu-ryeong.
* * *
It had been three days since I began traveling with the centipede mother and her children.
Far in the distance, I spotted the exact cliff described in the journal.
If I had not ridden on the Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede, it would have taken at least ten days.
It seemed Dashnan had some other means of traveling quickly.
"Ukii, ukkiki!"
A monkey was dancing in the tree above me.
──────────────
【Long-Legged Monkey Lv. 17】
【Traits】
[Long Legs], [Ferocity], [Group]
──────────────
The monkey, which I had never seen before, was fearless.
It danced while looking down at me, then threw something.
I easily dodged it.
Splat!
What fell where I had been was none other than poop.
The bastard had thrown poop at me.
"Ukik!"
It clapped happily.
It was acting that way because it believed a snake crawling on the ground had no means of attacking from range.
Earlier, it had tried to kidnap Big Head, but I had stopped it.
Perhaps it held a grudge over that, because it kept hovering around us.
I focused my mind.
"Kekekeke!"
You might be angry, Big Head, but hold it in. I'll handle this.
I could not make a mistake while the children were watching.
My mind sharpened like a whetted blade.
The Long-Legged Monkey was about to throw poop again.
At that exact moment, a sword rose in front of its face.
The sword rose very slowly.
Besides, would a monkey that had spent its entire life in the jungle have ever seen an Elven Broadsword?
Perhaps it was captivated by the gleaming sword, because it slowly reached out toward it.
Then the sword floating in the air swung.
*「You use Slash Lv. 2.」
Slash, the superior skill of Cut.
The sword passed through the monkey's neck with absurd ease.
The monkey, which had been jumping around, fell limply to the ground.
*「The proficiency of Magic: Transparent Hand Lv. 2 increases.」
As a result, I had trained both magic and swordsmanship.
It meant I could now summon Transparent Hand and use it to swing a sword.
To others, it would look as if a sword were moving and fighting on its own.
In other words, I had become a master swordsman who wielded flying swords.
I had finally acquired a Swordsmanship skill that I could never obtain when swinging a sword with my tail.
This was proof of my effort.
*「The proficiency of Awkward Swordsmanship Lv. 1 increases.」
I was only a little dissatisfied that, instead of plain Swordsmanship, I had acquired an obvious lower-tier skill.
"Kekeke!"
"Keee!"
The centipedes rushed at the fallen monkey and started beating it up.
If I translated what the children were saying, it would be something like, Die! and You arrogant bastard!
I felt like I could understand them better now that we had become close.
Was this why Centipede Mom seemed to understand my thoughts?
The centipede larvae feasted on monkey meat, while I finished the last of the food Nanaruk had given me.
At last, our beautiful journey together was ending.
"Keee."
Centipede Mom murmured quietly.
Was it my imagination that her gaze seemed a little lonely?
-Which eye are you talking about, the fourth eyeball?
Pelerian ruined the mood again.
When I asked the giant centipede to come with me to the cliff, she shook her head.
Then she gathered her children, who were trying to follow me, into her embrace.
It was time to part ways here.
I was sad too, but it could not be helped. We each had to go our own way now.
Raising children could not be easy, and traveling with me would bring them nothing good.
I would walk a road soaked in blood...
Once we finished eating, it was truly time to say goodbye.
The centipede larvae did not seem to realize I was leaving.
When I stood still in front of them, they thought I wanted to play again and tried to climb onto my back.
The problem was that I found even this adorable now.
Back when I was human, if a centipede had latched onto me, I would have immediately started a breakdancing festival.
When I pushed them away with my tail, the three siblings looked dejected.
‘We seem to have gotten much closer, but nothing has really changed yet?’
Pelerian had given me a challenge.
I was supposed to earn the loyalty of the three siblings I had named.
We had definitely grown closer over the last three days, but...
-Hmm... Maybe the problem is that you have only become too familiar with them.
That could not be true.
I had called down lightning and used flying swords to kill a monkey for them. How could they not respect me?
Right, kids?
Even if words did not get through, hearts did.
We exchanged our goodbyes.
Then, one last time, I stroked the three centipedes' heads.
Goodbye.
Let's meet again someday if we get the chance.
Bowbow, Big Eyes, Big Head.
By then, I hope you will have grown into splendid giant centipedes.
That was when it happened.
*「Your bond with Centipede Larva Bowbow Lv. 4 has deepened.」
Oh?
*「Centipede Larva Bowbow grows under your influence.」
Something did happen.
But I had no idea how that influence would take shape.
With one final bow, I left.
A truly cool snake needed an equally cool departure.
Only after traveling for quite some time did I look back, and the giant centipede family had disappeared from sight.
I continued onward.
‘The sky looks strange.’
On days without rain, the sky above the Great Forest was blue and clear.
But this place was different.
It had an ominous violet hue.
‘Is Shadow Forest normally like this?’
This place was called Shadow Forest. I had heard the name had little to do with Shadow Fairies.
-No. It is a phenomenon caused by the concentration of Magical Essence in the air rising before the Violet Banquet. The scattered light takes on a violet hue.
The air smelled different somehow, too.
It carried a strange, rotten stench...
-That smell seems to be coming from that house.
It took quite a bit of effort to climb around the cliff.
But it was worth it, because there really was a house on top.
‘What is this?’
The house could not be seen from beneath the cliff.
I had assumed it was a very small house, but I was wrong.
There was an enormous house, as though it had fallen from the sky.
It was not very tall, and it was a crude building that looked as though wooden walls had simply been raised, but it covered a huge area.
Had that Shadow Fairy built a zoo inside?
It looked large enough to raise monsters.
-Hurry up and go inside!
Pelerian urged me on.
I wanted to do that too.
-There may be traps, so inspect the area properly before entering.
What a contradictory order, like asking for something both spicy and mild.
I carefully examined the surroundings.
I used Mana Detection and checked for traps with Pelerian's help.
-There do not seem to be any traps.
That was the conclusion.
I cautiously opened the door.
Click.
Apparently, they were not worried about burglars, because the door was unlocked.
I carefully slithered inside.
Tap, tap.
Something was in there.
A pitch-black... ghost?
Something amorphous leaped out from the darkness of the room.
It did not look like a living creature at all.
-A Devil's Minion! Dodge!
"Kikikikit!"
It had definitely laughed.
I swung my tail to knock it away, but...
Swoosh.
The black shape passed through my tail and lunged at my face.
‘Huh.’
That thing entered my head.
I was sure of it.
A strange laugh thundered through my mind.
Was it some kind of ghost?
Before I even had time to get scared...
*「Kikik, kikikik.」
*「Due to the trait ‘Indomitable,’ you are immune to mental attacks.」
Huh.
A blackish Devil's Minion popped out of my nostril.
It trembled, then stiffened and stopped moving.
*「You have defeated a Lesser Demon Minion.」
*「Your level has increased.」
What was that?
Footnotes:
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