WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 65: Snake-Shaped Doll
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065.
Thump. Thump.
‘Ah!’
I opened my eyes.
I thought I might undergo this evolution while conscious, but no. The last thing I remembered was a message saying I would evolve into a Crystal Crown Python, or CCP for short, before I blacked out.
I did feel different.
There was no mirror, so I couldn't see for myself, but the two horns on my head had changed shape. When I felt them with my tail, they seemed to have become a crown.
My body didn't seem any larger. If anything, it might have gotten a little smaller.
I wasn't that interested in getting bigger anymore. I planned to acquire a skill called Giantification eventually anyway.
For some reason, Pelerian couldn't leave the ring. I didn't know whether it was because of this cocoon or the slime.
Should I take a closer look at the results of my evolution?
I focused my mind.
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【Crystal Crown Python Lv. 1】
【Epithet】 Urooros, Heart-Eating Snake
【Traits】
[Indomitable], [Relentless Growth], [Crown]
······
──────────────
It was a shame I hadn't become a Serpent.
Still, I couldn't have been happier that several traits had been merged into one trait called Crown.
It definitely said this was a “unique lineage.”
In other words, I might be the first monster with the Crown trait. If I had to trace my roots, I would be a snake-type monster, as well as a horn-type monster. Monsters with “horn” in their name and horns on their heads were horn-type monsters. They were common throughout the Great Forest.
Then I could call myself the founding ancestor of Crown-type monsters.
At the very least, the thing on my head couldn't just be decoration. I clearly heard a message saying several skills had been merged, too.
Huh.
My skills had changed.
A lot!
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【Skills】
▸Crown
[Seizure Lv. 4]: Giantification Lv. 0, [Overcoming Lv. 2], [Domination Lv. 1]
▸Magic
[Basic Elements]: Fire Lv. 4, Earth Lv. 5, Water Lv. 2, Wind Lv. 3
[Transparent Hand Lv. 3]······
──────────────
My horns had vanished and become a crown.
It looked like three skills existed beneath the larger Crown skill. Billy's Horn seemed to have changed into Seizure. Should I call it the Crown of Seizure, then?
It borrowed things instead of stealing them, so why did it get such a brutal name as Seizure? It was unfair.
Then Surpassing Horn had become the Crown of Overcoming... but where had Domination come from?
Ah, Taming must have changed into a skill called Domination.
There had been so many skills lately that reading my status window was becoming a chore, but this was definitely easier to look through. I also liked that my magic skills had been organized.
When I looked further, the other skills had been neatly arranged as well.
──────────────
▸Techniques
[Beam Lv. 1], [Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1], [Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 2], [Deadly Venom: Neurotoxin Lv. 5], [Poison Scales Lv. 1], [Awkward Swordsmanship Lv. 1], [Tail Strike Lv. 1], [Slash Lv. 3], [Acceleration Lv. 6], [Predation Lv. 7], [Mana Detection Lv. 3]
▸Survival
[Resistance]: Poison Lv. 7, Bleeding Lv. 3, Pain Lv. 8, Heat Lv. 10, Cold Lv. 1, Petrification Lv. 1, Lightning Lv. 1
[Survival Instinct Lv. 6], [Black Scales Lv. 2], [Swimming Lv. 1], [Hold Breath Lv. 5], [Stealth Lv. 8]······
──────────────
Now this was readable.
Why had my status window changed? Was that thanks to my evolution too?
Well, this evolution had received support from the World Tree. If I thought of it as Mega Evolution rather than an ordinary evolution, it made sense.
Or maybe my subconscious had organized the cluttered status window. It seemed like I was the only one who could see my own status, or anyone else's, in such detail.
I'd have to ask Pelerian again later.
That was when it happened.
*「The goblins' faith has spread.」
*「The rank of the Epithet ‘Urooros’ rises slightly.」
Had Nanaruk accomplished something?
I checked immediately.
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【Urooros】
······
The goblins of the Great Forest currently worship you.
As that faith spreads further, the owner of the Epithet will attain the rank they deserve.
──────────────
Using my extraordinary memory, I found what had changed.
Originally, it said that “a very small number of goblins” worshipped me. That had changed to “the goblins of the Great Forest.”
Nanaruk had finally united the Great Forest.
‘Isn't that way too fast, Nanaruk?’
It was fast enough to leave me speechless. While I was barely talking about dividing the world into three from the Shadow Forest region, she had already taken control of most of the Great Forest's goblins.
How had she done it? It was physically difficult to pull off.
Of course, I'd supported her, but I had doubted whether it was truly possible.
Was I... jealous right now?
I took a moment for self-reflection.
Right. Even if Chief Nanaruk had been here in my place, it wouldn't have been easy for her to do as well as I had. I had subordinates I cared about too, and Centipede Mom.
I needed to have confidence.
Thump, thump, thump.
Something knocked against the cocoon from outside.
Was that sound what had woken me up?
“Lea... der.”
It sounded like Gorilla's voice from outside the cocoon.
“You have to... come out!”
It was muffled, so I couldn't hear clearly, but her tone was undoubtedly urgent. Had something happened?
There shouldn't have been any monsters nearby that would target us.
I grew anxious.
My evolution was complete. It was time to emerge from the cocoon.
*「You use Slash Lv. 3.」
After I awkwardly swung my tail around, a scratch appeared on the cocoon. Its durability must have weakened when my evolution ended. Slime slowly began to leak out through the opening.
*「You use Slash Lv. 3.」
It would have been easier if I had the Elven Broadsword.
Should I just try using Giantification in this state?
That was when I heard someone's voice.
“Fulfill your role...”
Gorilla?
What was that supposed to mean?
No, it didn't sound like Gorilla. Her voice was much rougher and warmer.
As I panicked, Gorilla's iron prosthetic arm slipped into the gap in the cocoon. She practically tore it open.
Craaack!
She was in a real hurry.
I climbed up her prosthetic arm as usual, all the way to her shoulder.
“Cough, hack!”
The slime in my stomach burst out through my nostrils and mouth. I violently coughed up every last bit of it.
Now I could finally breathe.
Only then could I look around.
And the conclusion I reached was...
‘Is this a dream?’
If it was, it had to be a nightmare.
-What dream? This isn't a dream!
Pelerian finally burst out of the ring as well.
If it wasn't a dream, we had a problem. This place had to be hell.
‘What is this?’
I had expected the purple sky to turn clear and blue.
That was what Gorilla had heard from the Sage. It was what Pelerian had explained, and what Dashnan's records said too. Once the Festival ended, normal days would return.
But that wasn't the case.
A blood-red sky greeted me. The Magical Essence in the air was so dense that it left a stale taste in my mouth.
‘Where are we?’
“On... a huge root.”
It seemed Gorilla had carried me here, cocoon and all. Because of that, I could see the entire area at a glance.
‘Why are there so many monsters?’
Countless monsters were circling the root.
The plain was packed with even more monsters than when the Insect Legion and monkey legions fought. There had to be over ten thousand of them. They came in every size, from enormous creatures to tiny ones.
“Yesterday, they suddenly... gathered here.”
‘After I started evolving?’
“They all came... here.”
Only then did I realize that Gorilla was the only one of my subordinates in sight.
It felt terribly ominous.
‘Where are the others?!’
“I made them... run away.”
For a moment, I thought they might have been eaten by those monsters or were down there circling with them.
I let out a relieved breath.
‘You did really well.’
Recruiting Gorilla had been the best decision I ever made.
But the situation was far from good.
-It's a Monster Wave.
Pelerian said it with a pale face.
-This is definitely a Monster Wave.
‘The one where monsters gather and charge toward the center of the continent?’
-Yes.
‘You said Monster Waves didn't happen in the Great Forest.’
-They never had, until now. They didn't happen even when I was alive.
Pelerian looked just as bewildered.
-But what in this world lasts forever...?
That was true.
Maybe the day had finally come when insane monsters gathered, swore brotherhood, and went on a field trip outside the Great Forest.
And that day was today.
-If it's a Monster Wave, there should be a leader, right?
A Monster Wave had a leader monster at its very front, roaring.
The monsters would fall into madness and follow that leader toward the center of the continent.
Where was that insane monster?
Was it the huge elephant circling below? Or the creature that looked like a slug?
I couldn't see the commander of madness who would cause countless casualties anywhere.
“Uh, uhh, Lea... der!”
Gorilla suddenly looked at me in alarm.
What? Why? What was wrong?
Pelerian jumped in shock too.
-You idiot, you're floating!
My body was rising into the air.
The monsters that had been circling all stopped at once.
*「A leader is being selected.」
Those bastards were staring at me with hazy eyes.
Don't tell me this...
...was me?
Was I supposed to lead these monsters out?
I didn't want to.
Zap.
A heavy impact rang through my head.
My insides lurched and grew hot. It felt like my stomach was on fire.
For some reason, madness and rage seemed to be invading my mind. Lava churned inside me.
Ugh.
Urgh.
“Blergh!”
I threw up the rest of the slime in my stomach.
Hm. My stomach felt better, and my mind had cleared too.
*「You are immune to mental attacks due to the trait ‘Indomitable.’」
No way.
Had someone just used a mental attack on me? To make me lead the Monster Wave with the other monsters?
I explained what had happened to Pelerian.
-What? No, if that's true...
There was only one thing that seemed capable of doing this.
The one that helped with my evolution, bore a radiant fruit for me to eat, and gave off a scent to lure in the monsters.
-You're saying the World Tree is instigating a Monster Wave?!
The World Tree was a suspicious tree beyond belief.
Maybe because I hadn't become the leader, something strange happened.
The root shook, and sharp roots like thorns sprouted from the ground.
Papapapapack!
Some of the monsters covering the ground were skewered by spear-like roots.
They shriveled up in an instant, like vampires had drained their blood.
Creak.
Then something began to form in the exact place where the radiant fruit had grown.
A bright red fruit was rapidly growing before our eyes.
‘Uh, I think we should run.’
Where to?
There was nowhere to go. A dense mass of monsters filled the ground below.
The bright red fruit kept growing until it was the size of a bull.
Pshhhk!
The fruit's skin burst, and bright red liquid dripped down in heavy drops.
Something crawled out from inside.
It was a monster.
-A Trent?
A Trent was a monster like a walking tree. Its body was covered in something like bark.
But it looked exactly like a snake.
As if it had been modeled after me or my father.
“...Grrr.”
A tree snake covered in bright red juice that looked like blood.
I hurriedly focused my eyes.
──────────────
【Root Chimera Lv. 100】
【Traits】
[Madness], [Ferocity], [Leader], [Low Intelligence], [Infant], [Crown]······
──────────────
It was a crazy baby tree snake!
It was level 100, and I could feel its overwhelming strength. I didn't think I could beat it even if I fought it.
The creature slowly approached Gorilla and me.
It was a tree, but could it be carnivorous? Its teeth were sharp. Drool dripped from what looked like its mouth.
“Ugh, aaah...!”
Gorilla hid behind me, trembling.
I was scared too.
Terrified!
But it was a baby. And it had low intelligence. Maybe I could do something.
Screw it.
*「You use Crown of Domination Lv. 1.」
*「You have failed to dominate ‘Root Chimera Lv. 100.’」
Goodbye, world.
What kind of useless Crown was this?
*「You have partially succeeded in taming ‘Root Chimera Lv. 100.’」
What? Then did it work?
The Crown was the best!
At that moment, the creature suddenly bit my head.
I almost activated Heavenly Thunder Decree. With insane self-control, I held back.
“D-Did it kill you...?”
Gorilla screamed.
But the Chimera didn't chew me.
Instead, it gave me a very gentle bite, then licked me with its tongue.
‘?’
Did it think I was its mother or something?
Its head bore a crown shaped like mine. I doubted it had the exact same skills, though.
Maybe it was a Chimera created in the image of me, the winner of the Festival.
The trait Crown was plainly written in its status too.
It was much uglier than me, though...
Crack.
Arm-like tree roots sprouted from its nape and wrapped around me. Like a child holding a doll, it gripped me so I couldn't move an inch.
A real snake shouldn't have arms and legs!
Still clutching me, the creature leaped off the root.
Crash!
The monsters beneath it burst like tomatoes.
Even so, not a single one tried to run. Every monster here seemed soaked in madness.
The tree snake, which looked like the craziest one of the lot, raised its body.
Then it roared in a way that wasn't snake-like at all.
“Grrrraaaaaah!”
The other monsters howled in response all at once.
The Chimera began to move.
The monsters surrounding it followed like a living swarm.
-This is where the Monster Wave begins.
I watched it happen.
Tightly held like a doll by its leader.
I barely managed to turn my head and look at Gorilla on the tree.
With a deeply sorrowful expression, she raised her right hand.
She was saluting.
‘...I'm fucked.’
That seemed to be the case.
* * *
And then.
Farther beyond the Shadow Forest, near the border of the Palamu Rainforest, where the goblins had now disappeared.
Gunter stood still.
A mage from the Magic Tower stood beside him.
The mage was behaving a little like a madman. He curled his right hand into a tube, then pressed an eye to it as though he held treasure inside.
He had been doing that incomprehensible thing for fifteen minutes.
At last, the mage beamed.
“I see it, I see!”
His voice whistled through the gap left by his missing front teeth as he informed Gunter.
“The Monster Wave has begun! It's heading this way!”
The mage had been observing a distant area through a familiar.
Gunter answered without a change in expression.
“Thank you.”
He gave the knights an order.
“It has begun. Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
Footnotes:
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