WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 58: Quick to Fall in Love
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An arrogant monkey.
My scales kept bristling with a rattle.
Not because I meant to, but because I was furious.
What a ruthless bastard.
He said he would wipe all of us out by himself?
Me and Dad?
Did he really think he could do that?
Dad wasn't the only one here.
The crystal python who had beaten a Chimera to death as a hatchling and burned that insane Shadow Elf black, killing him, was hiding deadly fangs here. If I could properly target an opening, that monkey wouldn't escape with a hole through his heart.
Should I Burrow beneath him and approach from under his legs?
It would be a little dirty, but the space between his legs had to be a weak point. Would even that monkey be able to endure Heart-Eating Leap there? It might work better if I splashed water around to block his vision. Maybe his fur caught fire easily too.
Something grabbed me as I tried to creep closer, looking for an opening.
Dad's tail.
「You're being reckless...」
His gaze remained fixed on the monkey, but for some reason, it felt like he was speaking to me.
It seemed Black Scales made me a little emotional.
Tsss...
The blackened scales returned to their original color.
I wasn't any less angry, but it was strange.
-Has this brat gone blind and deaf too? Hey!
Pelerian suddenly snapped at me.
‘Why?’
-Why are you ignoring me when I'm talking to you?
‘Huh?’
Apparently, Pelerian had been talking to me for a while.
I had been so focused on figuring out how to kill that monkey that I hadn't heard him.
-That monkey, from what I can tell, is an extremely cunning bastard.
A good student should be able to read between their teacher's lines.
Pelerian did act as my teacher, so I thought carefully about what he meant.
‘...I think so too.’
Did Silverback Chimpanzee Akims really believe he could wipe out Dad and all of us alone?
I didn't know. Still, he didn't seem to be bluffing.
I knew that because I had seen him fight Grand Riokk. Besides, Dad wasn't in good condition.
Then was fighting Dad no burden to him at all?
That definitely wasn't true.
If it had been easy, he would have killed Dad long ago and raised his level.
On the other hand, if it had been difficult, there was no reason to come alone.
‘It's suspicious that he came alone.’
Right. There was no reason for him to come alone.
His subordinates definitely outnumbered ours, and some of them would surely be elite monsters.
There had to be a reason he had abandoned all those advantages.
-I'm sure of it. That bastard is...
‘Testing us.’
He was testing us.
If he had ambushed us, that would have been one thing. But he had shown up like this, blustered, and dragged things out. It was suspicious.
‘We should show him that we're not easy prey.’
If I gave him one good sword thrust, he would realize he had made the wrong choice.
This worked out well.
I couldn't do it last time because the timing was off, but I should borrow a skill.
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【Silverback Chimpanzee Akims Lv. 129】
...
【Skills】
...[Monkey Decapitation Lv. 10]...
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As expected, it was difficult to see through everything in detail.
Maybe because he was closer, but it seemed a little better than last time.
Time was critical.
I summoned super-snake concentration.
Then I finally found a skill worth borrowing.
*「With Surpassing Horn Lv. 2, you surpass the limits of the skill ‘Billy's Horn Lv. 4.’」
*「‘Billy's Horn Lv. 4’ temporarily becomes ‘Billy's Horn Lv. 10.’」
Using what I had learned from Gunter, I strengthened Billy's Horn itself first.
*「With Billy's Horn Lv. 10, you borrow ‘Thunder Roar Lv. 10.’」
The result was...
*「Success.」
*「You have temporarily acquired ‘Thunder Roar Lv. 1.’」
The monkey, who had looked ready to charge at any moment, flinched to a stop.
“Snake...! What did you do!”
Like Gunter, powerful beings seemed to notice when I borrowed one of their skills.
Though he seemed to think Dad had done something, not me.
Dad only stared at the monkey in silence.
His eyes flashed like the North Star.
The atmosphere was no joke.
In reality, he probably just couldn't understand what the monkey was saying.
This was why appearances mattered.
I darted up onto Dad's back.
A plan had formed.
“It doesn't matter... I'll kill you anyway.”
I would let that monkey, who was still acting tough and dragging things out, know that our strength was beyond anything he imagined.
I spoke to Dad.
‘Dad, use Destruction Beam!’
I didn't know whether he would listen.
Just in case, I added one more thing.
‘At maximum output!’
「Arrogant monkey.」
Dad granted his child's request.
A sphere of light gathered in his mouth.
Piiiiing!
The beam fired.
And the arrogant chimpanzee didn't dodge.
As expected, he was trying to gauge Dad's strength.
But that wouldn't be a good choice.
It was a Destruction Beam fired at maximum output, with no concern for mana consumption.
The monkey's expression twisted at the output beyond his expectations.
I had hoped he would turn to ash.
But he seemed to have something he trusted in.
Kwaaaa!
He spread both arms and blocked the beam.
The beam struck his palms, bent away, and shot into the sky.
Kwaaaaaa!
Even he couldn't completely ignore that force.
The monkey dug his feet firmly into the ground, but he was gradually pushed back, carving furrows into the earth.
“U-aaaaaah!”
He shouted, yet somehow endured.
What a terrifying bastard.
Dad had followed my instructions exactly.
He had spent all the mana he had recovered in that brief moment.
The Destruction Beam stopped, revealing Silverback Akims.
He was alive.
But both arms had been charred black, and blood dripped from his palms.
Should I praise him for blocking the Destruction Beam with that?
Or should I praise Dad for injuring a monster like that in an instant?
“Uh, heh. Heh.”
A smile spread across his lips.
If a battle was an exchange of moves, Dad had used several at once.
And the monkey probably believed he had countered them with a single move.
To crush his confidence, I climbed onto Dad's head.
My eyes met the chimpanzee's.
He looked confused by my appearance.
Then I roared.
*「You use ‘Thunder Roar Lv. 1.’」
At the same time, I unleashed the aura of Overlord.
*「You use ‘Overlord Lv. 2.’」
A fierce wind swept through the area, and the air grew cold.
A cry like thunder burst from my mouth.
“Saaaaaak!”
At the same time, the fur all over the monkey's body puffed up.
He was definitely scared. I could tell from the way his mouth twisted.
「My son.」
Dad added that at just the right moment.
Monkey, you didn't have only one enemy to face.
‘Dad, Tail Strike.’
And Dad did exactly that.
The moment his tail traced a wave through the air, I charged too.
*「You use Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 2.」
My speed seemed to surprise even the chimpanzee.
He took a stance to face me.
Then he saw Dad's tail flying toward him.
“Ghk!”
He couldn't ignore it.
He swung his fist, seemingly intending to knock away the massive tail first.
Kwoooong!
A Shockwave exploded.
The chimpanzee endured once more.
In that time, I closed the distance.
I didn't greedily aim to eat his heart or sink my fangs into him.
That didn't seem possible.
I summoned a sword into the air and swung it.
I even had the Swordsmanship skill.
And I added Slash on top of it.
Second Form of Heavenly Thunder Sword Technique.
Heart Cleaver.
He really was impressive.
He thrust out his hand, its skin stripped raw and red.
Kwaak!
He caught my sword in his palm.
The blade only dug into his hand.
It had to hurt terribly, but he was a vicious bastard.
“Heheh.”
Let's see how long you can keep smiling.
Heavenly Thunder Sword Technique was a sword art completed by containing lightning.
*「With Surpassing Horn Lv. 2, you surpass the limits of ‘Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 0.’」
*「‘Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 0’ temporarily becomes ‘Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1.’」
*「You use Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1.」
Then lightning fell.
On me again.
Jjeojeojeong!
The lightning running through my body spread to the sword.
Then into the monkey's palm, where it was embedded.
The lightning traveled through sticky blood and veins, electrocuting his body.
“Kyaaaaaak!”
This tenacious bastard.
He didn't let go of the sword.
No, maybe he couldn't.
The Elven Broadsword clenched tightly in his hand.
My beloved sword finally failed to withstand that force.
Kwachang!
The sword shattered into pieces.
The flying fragments injured me too.
“S-Snake...”
At least his body seemed tougher than Dashnan's.
Steam rose from the monkey's body as he glared at us.
Then...
“Kiik!”
He vanished in a flash.
-It seems that bastard ate one too.
The Emergency Maneuver Fruit.
We guessed that monkey had eaten one as well.
We based that on the fact that he had come to scout alone without bringing his group.
‘I knew it.’
My entire body throbbed with pain.
I quickly took out a potion and poured it over myself.
That guy probably didn't have potions, so he would suffer quite a bit.
I wished we could have killed him this time.
I gave Dad a mana potion too.
-Now that your sword is broken, I won't have to listen to you go on about being a swordsman.
Pelerian sounded refreshed, but I felt a little depressed instead.
‘My sword...’
That monkey had shattered it to pieces.
I had used it well for quite a long time, so I couldn't help feeling sad.
A sword that light and sharp wasn't easy to find.
-Heheh, give it up! Magic suits you. What are you going to do without hands?
But Pelerian's joy was short-lived.
*「You have achieved the accomplishment, ‘Sword Swung Until It Broke.’」
Huh.
Huh?
-What is it? Why are you acting like that?
‘No, there's a new accomplishment...’
Let's check.
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【Sword Swung Until It Broke】
You struggled until your sword broke.
The efficiency of Swordsmanship proficiency increases.
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It wasn't an amazing accomplishment.
But the heavens were telling me something.
Don't abandon the path of the sword.
-Damn it all.
* * *
A Hero.
The taxidermist, Hailit Langrey.
She had finally entered the Shadow Forest region.
Even in this dangerous Demonic Realm, Hailit could walk about leisurely.
Weak monsters posed no threat to her, and she had ways to hide herself from anything dangerous.
Wearing leather pants that showed off her long, darkly gleaming legs, she strolled along the edge of the Demonic Realm.
“Looks like you really can't get inside.”
Fruit Week, the Violet Banquet, the Festival.
It had begun after she entered the Shadow Forest.
Something like a round dome covered an area dozens of kilometers in radius.
A translucent wall prevented anything from entering or leaving.
Thump, thump!
She drew a dagger and tapped it with the pommel.
Its elasticity was no joke.
Perhaps great magic could break it, but...
“Guys, what's so delicious in there that you're all sniffing around?”
She was looking out from inside the dome.
Monsters lurked beyond the transparent wall.
Some drooled as they glared at Hailit.
Some bit at the wall, while others repeatedly slammed their heads against it.
“You're the ones who should be grateful for the wall.”
That was probably true.
There were quite formidable monsters outside.
But to Hailit, they were only prey.
Had she walked about three kilometers along the boundary by now?
After her stroll, she had become certain.
“It really looks like it's going to happen.”
A Monster Wave.
She had seen monsters gathered together everywhere she walked.
When so many monsters gathered in one place, a Monster Wave occurred.
She didn't know exactly what caused it, since she wasn't a Magic Tower mage, but once more than a certain number of monsters gathered, they moved like one vast swarm.
Outward.
They would surge like a wave from the Demonic Realm toward the center of the continent where humans lived.
Still, it posed no threat to Hailit Langrey, who was inside.
She began heading toward the center of the Shadow Forest.
To find prey.
To find material for a new jacket.
And to kill Shadow Elf Dashnan, cut off his ears, and claim the bounty.
Her steps were light.
Thanks to her exceptional skill, Hailit could move silently.
It wasn't on the level of magic, but it was enough to fool ordinary monsters.
As long as she kept a little distance and didn't attack, she could approach and observe them.
At last, the first prey she marked was a silver monkey.
‘Oh, not bad.’
It was a sparkling silver chimpanzee.
It looked quite strong.
But Hailit wasn't planning a fight. She was planning a hunt.
If she targeted an opening and set a trap, it looked huntable enough.
‘I wasn't planning to make fur clothes.’
Still, it seemed a shame to throw away that silver fur.
She wrote it down in her mental notebook for now.
The next thing she found was a gigantic insect, Riokk.
‘This one's out.’
She had no desire whatsoever to hunt Riokk.
Not because it looked strong, but because it was useless.
What would she do with a giant bug that lived half-submerged in a swamp?
It was far outside Hailit Langrey's tastes.
Most of all, she couldn't turn it into clothes.
Perhaps it could be used as construction material.
So she passed.
Then she found traces of Dashnan.
There was a house atop a cliff.
She climbed the cliff right away.
Scaling rocks wasn't difficult for her.
She never expected to encounter a gigantic snake there.
“...Ah.”
The sound slipped out before she knew it.
She had almost been heard.
Hailit's heart pounded wildly.
‘W-What is that?’
It was the most beautiful and enormous snake she had ever seen, incomparable to any monster she had witnessed.
She felt as though her heart had been stolen.
In a sense, this could be called first love.
And Hailit's fondness for monsters usually flowed in one direction.
‘It's huge too. At that size, I'd never have to worry about clothes for the rest of my life.’
A starlight leather jacket.
A starlight wallet.
Starlight pants.
A starlight coat.
Her mind filled with desire.
As her cheekbones rose toward the sky, a silver chimpanzee appeared too.
‘And I get to profit as a bystander!’
She might be able to add silver fur to a starlight leather coat right here.
She watched the battle with eager excitement.
Then she noticed a small snake behind the Big and Cool Snake.
‘What's that...?’
Hailit's expression changed from moment to moment.
The small snake bounced around in anger, and the large snake stopped it.
The small snake climbed onto the large snake's back, then the large snake fired a beam cannon.
The monkey deflected it.
The small snake fearlessly sprang forward.
Then it swung a sword that appeared from nowhere.
Flash.
Lightning struck.
The small snake drove off the chimpanzee.
The small snake stood proudly, looking pleased with itself.
‘Ah...’
In Hailit's eyes as she watched in secret, the afterimage of lightning and the small snake remained.
Five minutes after finding her first love.
Hailit Langrey.
Found her second love.
Footnotes:
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