WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 64: Bear the Weight of the Crown

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【Radiant Fruit】

A radiant fruit containing the essence of the World Tree.

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Something I often thought about was how useless these descriptions could be.

So what if it contained the essence of the World Tree?

Wouldn't it be nice if it told me what effect it had?

Then again, maybe it was shameless to ask for that much.

Being able to learn even part of the information was a privilege not everyone enjoyed.

It smelled incredible.

My mouth watered.

I wanted to chew and swallow it right away, but I held back and put it in Subspace first.

‘You must obtain the fruit.’

Father had said that.

Considering how many times that quiet man had emphasized it, the fruit had to be extremely important.

Maybe it was medicine that could heal Father's body.

...Come to think of it, was Father all right now?

His chronic lack of Mana seemed to have come from constantly maintaining his gigantic form.

Though maybe there was a practical reason he had to stay that way.

Perhaps he had some illness that made him unable to live without enlarging himself...

I let my imagination run wild.

Either way, this devoted snake returned to Father with the fruit.

In the meantime, Father had grown huge again.

I immediately got angry.

What was he doing when his wounds hadn't even fully healed?

Why did he keep enlarging himself when he was short on Mana?

When I raged and jumped around, Father dealt with it in his usual way.

He ignored me as though he couldn't hear.

‘Then why do you keep using Giantification? At least tell me why.’

Normally, I wouldn't have received an answer.

Unexpectedly, Father replied.

「...Later.」

Did he mean he'd tell me later?

After eating the fruit?

Or tomorrow? After ten nights of sleep?

I didn't know, but I took out the fruit anyway.

‘Here, I picked it like you told me to. Eat it.’

Father shook his head again.

「You eat it.」

‘You insisted I had to pick it, and I went through all that trouble...’

As he had all along, Father refused to eat the fruit.

Every monster supposedly had an instinct to grow stronger, so why did he keep doing this?

For a moment, I wondered if this was Father's indirect way of showing affection, like telling me to eat the chicken leg.

「I already ate one.」

‘Dad doesn't really like chicken legs.’

For a moment, that was what I thought he meant.

But he meant it literally.

「Last time.」

‘Huh... what?’

Father had eaten a Radiant Fruit before.

He said he had claimed one at a Violet Banquet held somewhere else in the Great Forest long ago.

「...And evolved.」

What kind of snake had he been before that?

Maybe a Polaris Python. Or perhaps just a White Serpent.

Father wasn't stronger than the chimpanzee or Insect King Riokk, so I had never imagined he had such an impressive history.

Then had the monsters gathered for this Festival been unusually powerful?

「So eating another fruit is useless.」

It seemed the fruit's effect only worked once.

「So you eat it.」

Father said it again, as if emphasizing the point.

If he put it that way, I had no choice.

I'd eat it.

-A fruit that affects evolution. How exciting. Another secret of evolution is about to be revealed.

I agreed with Pelerian.

Father had evolved into a Unique Species.

Unique Species weren't inherently superior.

Still, because they were rare, some possessed exceptional abilities.

Pelerian said that many Named Monsters were Unique Species, as were many creatures called calamities.

‘Will I become a Unique Species if I eat this too?’

-It's not an unlikely possibility...! But I can't be certain.

Pelerian had a tendency to get overly invested in evolution.

So did I.

I wanted to evolve right away.

After eating the fruit, I needed to find somewhere safe immediately.

“Lea... der.”

That was when Gorilla approached.

Gasp. Was she going to demand a share of the fruit?

Despite my petty suspicion, she gave me a broad smile.

Why was she smiling so sweetly?

I glanced over my subordinates.

Even with everyone gathered, there weren't sixty of us left.

We had fought while trying our hardest to profit from the chaos, yet nearly half the monsters had died in battle.

It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

‘You are responsible forever for what you have tamed.’

Remembering those words, I had gone out alone to save the centipede family.

Father had probably saved me with a similar thought in mind.

Even so, I couldn't keep every monster I had tamed safe.

Maybe reciting those words was nothing more than self-satisfaction and hypocrisy.

“Thank... you.”

‘What?’

Gorilla said something unexpected.

“We fought. But we weren't much help.”

‘Well...’

That was true.

Father and I had done everything in today's battle.

I might have been rational and cool-headed, but I didn't say that aloud.

Still, if it hadn't been for you guys, dividing the powers into three groups would have been impossible.

“Only Snake and Father Snake fought hard. But we survived.”

‘Yeah...’

“And our levels rose. We got much stronger.”

Gorilla raised both arms and thumped her chest.

Well, the experience from the monsters Father and I defeated had gone straight to the group.

“If not for Leader... everyone would have died.”

After saying that, Gorilla raised a hand to her brow.

“Loyalty...”

That was the salute I had taught her when I was bored.

She remembered it surprisingly well.

Of course, the other monsters just stared blankly.

Only Spot raised a forepaw and waved it around, trying to imitate Gorilla.

Still...

Something tightened in my chest.

‘That's a left-handed salute. You need to use your right hand.’

“Ah, ah...”

Come to think of it, I might have underestimated the monsters too much.

Even if I had tamed them, they weren't children.

Each of them was a warrior who fought constantly to grow stronger and evolve.

I took the fruit out of Subspace.

‘Thank you for everything so far...’

As the leader of the crew, I spoke as though making a toast.

‘Let's keep doing our best, everyone!’

“Waaah...!”

With Gorilla applauding, I put the Radiant Fruit into my mouth.

Crunch!

The texture was exactly what I had expected from its appearance.

As I chewed the crisp flesh, juice burst across my mouth.

I swallowed the sweet fruit.

My insides warmed up. It felt like the medicine was taking effect.

What would the Radiant Fruit do?

After checking its effect, I should return to the cliff and try to evolve.

*「Evolution is being prepared.」

What?

Until now, the rule had been that I needed to sleep somewhere safe before evolving.

Why was evolution suddenly starting right here?

*「The evolving monster is protected.」

What was going on?

Crack, crack.

World Tree roots suddenly began to grow from the ground.

They were particularly white and thin.

Fine roots like ivy wrapped around me.

Startled, I tried to escape, then met Father's eyes.

When I had nearly been defeated by Riokk, he had rushed over at once.

Now, he only looked calm.

He nodded as if to say it was all right.

Had Father gone through this process too?

I stopped trying to flee the fine roots.

Fortunately, they weren't binding me. They gently enclosed me instead.

‘Let's talk later about what you couldn't tell me!’

I said that to Father.

There was so much I wanted to know.

I wanted to ask about Giantification, and how he had become a Polaris Serpent.

I wanted to know how he met Mother, and why he had run away like that back then.

His level was one hundred. Was he preparing to evolve too? If so, I wanted to help.

I also had to tell him about Gunter.

If Father truly loved Mother, Gunter might become someone he would have to take revenge on someday.

Father didn't answer.

My vision was gradually blocked by the roots.

In the end, like a silkworm wrapped in a cocoon, I was enveloped by the World Tree's white roots.

*「The concentration of Magical Essence in the air grows denser.」

Then I heard a strange message.

*「Roots that failed to bear fruit are rotting.」

*「A foul stench rises from the rotten roots.」

What did that mean?

But trapped inside a pure white space, I couldn't tell what was happening.

-Whoa!

With a short cry, Pelerian slipped back into the ring.

Transparent, sticky fluid began filling the space around me.

* * *

Hailit Langrey looked up at the sky.

The sky had been violet because of the high concentration of Magical Essence in the air.

Now that the Radiant Fruit had fallen, the Festival should have ended.

The barrier that had covered and protected this place like a dome had vanished.

Yet the concentration of Magical Essence in the air seemed even denser.

The sky was now blood-red.

‘Will the monsters that were waiting rush in?’

She looked at the monsters that had been drooling outside the barrier.

There might be some among them as strong as Silverback Akims or Insect King Riokk.

She hadn't managed to make the “clothes” she wanted.

Still, she had enjoyed an interesting experience here.

The struggle of the small snake and his father had moved Hailit Langrey.

The little snake now looked as though he were trapped in a cocoon.

The World Tree's white roots were protecting him.

Hailit drew her sword at the speed of light.

Then she struck the edge of the roots forming the cocoon.

Clang!

Her sword vibrated wildly.

But the white roots didn't even bear a scratch.

“That's a relief.”

Polaris Serpent lowered his tail slightly.

He had realized that Hailit held no hostility toward the little snake.

Now that she knew the little snake would be safe, the only snake she needed to worry about was the big one.

She didn't care what happened to Gorilla or the other monsters.

“Mister Snake.”

She wasn't actually that old, but Hailit had plenty of life experience.

She had a feeling.

He had always carried the air of someone, no, a snake who was about to leave.

“Are you leaving right away...?”

For some reason, she ended up speaking politely.

To her surprise, Polaris Serpent nodded.

He could speak through Thought Waves, yet he was a quiet monster.

His voice through the Thought Waves was cool too, just like his appearance.

“You want to evolve further, don't you?”

Evolution was every monster's instinct.

Even monsters who could no longer see a path to evolution continued longing for it.

Wasn't it the strongest instinct after the instinct not to die?

Seeing how maintaining his gigantic form alone seemed to strain him, he probably wasn't satisfied with his current state.

The snake nodded again.

“Do you know how you can evolve again...?”

Higher species sometimes realized their own path in advance.

She hadn't expected an answer.

「I must reach the stars.」

“Ah.”

Hailit admired how fitting it was.

Polaris. It was an evolution condition worthy of that name.

It was romantic too.

Though she couldn't see any possible way to accomplish it.

“Say goodbye to the kid before you go. When a father disappears without a word, the child turns crooked.”

With that, Hailit spun around.

She ran away with movements like a fairy's. She needed to escape before the monsters rushed in.

Polaris Serpent didn't answer. He simply remained silent.

There was a slight hesitation in him.

Then he carefully raised his tail and stroked the white cocoon.

He thought about what to say to his son.

「...Thank you.」

He hadn't even been able to say goodbye to his wife.

「Someday, we will meet again.」

After saying that, Polaris Serpent turned his enormous body around.

Toward the deeper parts of the Great Forest.

Quietly, slowly.

Seeking solitude once more.

Gorilla and the other monsters remained there, blankly staring.

A sweet fragrance drifting from somewhere made their heads spin.

* * *

‘Where are you going!’

Even inside the cocoon, I could hear the conversation outside.

I struck the wall, trying to get out.

‘Daaad!’

But the cocoon was filled with transparent, sticky fluid.

Even when I swung my tail, I couldn't put any force into it.

‘Damn it!’

This was suffocating.

When the fluid entered my nostrils and lungs, I thought I was going to drown to death.

Yet strangely, I could breathe.

More accurately, I should say I wasn't suffocating. What was this, some kind of LCL fluid?

‘Dad!’

In the end, Father seemed to have left.

He was going to search for the stars.

He was obviously a snake with absolutely no astronomy knowledge.

Stars were so far away that he couldn't travel to them, and if he reached one, he'd burn to death. Even Heat Resistance Lv. 100 wouldn't save him.

Thump.

The cocoon showed no sign of breaking open.

‘...Fine.’

There was a saying, ‘Those who meet must part.’

And another, ‘Those who leave will return.’

If we both stayed safe, we'd meet again someday.

I wrote those phrases in my head, trying to soothe my aching heart.

Then the space before my eyes gradually began to glow.

At first, I thought light was entering from outside.

It wasn't.

My body was glowing.

*「You can evolve.」

A voice rang out.

Whenever I evolved, I always dreamed of floating in darkness.

This was the opposite.

What kind of choices would appear this time?

My heart pounded.

But no choices appeared.

*「Your deeds and Potential are considered.」

I only heard the voice.

Was it because I had eaten the Radiant Fruit?

*「You are a Python.」

That's right. I was a python.

*「You are a Horn-lineage monster.」

I had horns on my head.

There hadn't been just one or two dangers I had overcome with those horns.

*「You possess Crystal Scales.」

I had eaten a huge number of Magic Stones and gained the modifier Crystal.

According to Pelerian, those Magic Stones had been worth enough to buy an entire territory.

By that measure, each of my scales might truly be no different from a jewel.

*「You were a Leader.」

I was also the leader of the Beasts of the Zoo, that legendary crew.

The crew that had finally won the Festival.

*「You are worshipped by some Goblins.」

I was Urooros too.

Come to think of it, had Nanaruk united the Goblins of the Great Forest?

My deeds seemed to be determining this evolution.

And so was my Potential.

*「Potential is assessed.」

*「The trait ‘Relentless Growth’ removes restrictions on evolution.」

I wondered what I would evolve into.

Could I possibly...

*「You gain the unique lineage ‘Crown.’」

A unique lineage!

*「You have acquired the trait ‘Crown.’」

*「The trait ‘Horn’ is integrated into ‘Crown.’」

*「The trait ‘Pattern’ is integrated into ‘Crown.’」

*「The trait ‘Scales’ is integrated into ‘Crown.’」

As the voices continued, my head tingled.

Horns like the two that had grown from my head emerged.

They gathered, aligned, and changed shape.

Like...

A snake wearing a crown.

*「You have acquired the skill ‘Crown.’」

*「‘Billy's Horn Lv. 4’ is integrated into ‘Crown.’」

*「‘Surpassing Horn Lv. 2’ is integrated into ‘Crown.’」

*「‘Taming Lv. 10’ is integrated into ‘Crown.’」

Crown was an all-purpose skill.

Then, at last, I learned the name I would evolve into.

*「You evolve into a ‘Crystal Crown Python.’」

Evolution had begun.

Footnotes:

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