WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 68: I’m So Jealous of the Overlord

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"Hyah!"

Zain urged the horse onward.

The warhorse quickened its pace with ragged breaths. Two well-trained soldiers followed behind Zain, both skilled riders.

They were chasing the carriage ahead.

The carriage that had departed at dawn had finally reached the area near Akinzrow Gorge.

"It seems they're taking the dangerous road above the gorge!"

The carriage was not heading down into the gorge. If it did, Zain and the soldiers would catch it at once.

"They've lost their minds. Do they want to die?"

Yet the perilous path running along the gorge's edge was just as dangerous. Zain frowned.

'Is that Oliver's idea?'

There was no way a two-horse carriage could shake off pursuers. The fact that Zain had nearly caught up despite the carriage's much earlier departure made that clear.

Oliver intended to settle this.

Then Zain doubted his own eyes.

Someone stuck their head out of the carriage window.

There was no mistaking her. It was the cheerful little girl who had shown an unnecessary amount of curiosity about monsters and talked about becoming a hero or hunter, quite unlike a noble lady.

Rania was looking back at Zain.

Their eyes met. Zain gritted his teeth.

At that moment, one of the riders beside Zain raised a crossbow. Zain barely managed to strike the rider's shoulder.

Twing!

The bolt flew past Rania's face.

Someone pulled Rania back inside the carriage. Zain flew into a rage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Ah, no..."

The rider instead looked flustered.

"The knights said to kill them if things became impossible..."

"..."

Zain held back the words that nearly burst out. Was this truly such an impossible situation?

"I'll decide whether they die or are captured."

Zain glared at the carriage.

"We'll stop the carriage before the road gets narrower. I'll go left. You two take the right."

They spurred their horses forward again.

White foam dripped from the horses' mouths. Riding this hard endangered both horse and rider.

But this was a time to take risks.

At last, Zain and the riders caught the carriage.

"Ah!"

The coachman hastily veered the carriage right. One soldier trying to avoid it was thrown from the saddle.

The remaining soldier leaped onto the driver's seat regardless and grappled with the coachman. While they struggled, Zain jumped onto the carriage as well.

Zain barely clung on and tried to open the carriage door, only for someone inside to kick it open.

Zain nearly tumbled from the speeding carriage.

Only grabbing the door saved Zain.

Then a sword suddenly thrust out through the carriage window.

Zain turned aside and dodged it, but could not avoid having his cheek sliced open.

"Ugh..."

Zain was a trained knight as well.

With astonishing speed, Zain climbed onto the carriage roof.

The person who had thrust out the sword climbed up after Zain as swiftly as the wind.

As expected, it was Oliver.

"Have you come looking for a grave, Sir Knight? If you fall into Akinzrow Gorge, wild dogs will tear you apart, and no one will even find your body."

"Hand over Lady Rania, Hunter."

Oliver and Zain had once looked after Rania together.

Now they pointed swords at each other.

Zain's eyes sharpened.

A hunter might be an expert at hunting monsters, but surely they could not dare face a knight.

Oliver, however, looked utterly confident.

"I won't tell you to get lost. You wouldn't listen anyway."

Oliver smiled.

For some reason, Zain could not look down on the hunter before him.

That was why Zain coated his sword in Aura from the very beginning.

It proved to be the right choice.

At the same moment Oliver pulled a hand from their clothes, five daggers shot forth.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

Zain knocked away three with the sword.

The armor caught the other two.

The daggers carried considerable force.

After scattering the daggers, Oliver drew a short sword, slightly larger than the daggers, from their waist.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The longsword and short sword tangled in the air.

Yet Oliver was not pushed back in the slightest.

A brilliant light shone from the short sword.

That was definitely Aura too.

Zain's eyes widened.

"Why would someone of your skill work as a hunter on the frontier...?"

One exchange had been enough for Zain to recognize Oliver's ability.

"Someone skilled? Sir Knight, you're overestimating me. Or perhaps you're overestimating yourself."

"You..."

Zain's face flushed.

Just as Zain was about to speak, Oliver stretched a leg forward.

It was a sudden attack that caught Zain off guard.

A blade shot from the tip of Oliver's shoe, nearly piercing Zain's throat.

Rattle!

The carriage jolted violently then.

Zain did not know whether it had struck a rock, but the jolt saved Zain's life.

Zain swung the sword again.

Clang! Clang!

Their blades crashed together.

Even atop the shaking carriage, Zain and Oliver continued fighting.

Rattle! Boom!

The carriage shook so hard that they could no longer fight.

Zain stared in horror.

The soldier who had been grappling with the coachman had rolled off the back.

"Damn it!"

Yet it was Oliver who cursed.

Oliver abandoned Zain and hurried back inside the carriage.

"Milady, get in my arms!"

Zain turned toward the driver's seat.

The coachman hung limp and motionless.

Their eyes were open, but they were dead.

A sword was lodged in their side, with bright red blood streaming out.

The horses were running wildly, unaware that their coachman had died.

And this was a dangerous road along a cliff, with Akinzrow Gorge far below.

The horses stumbled.

Then, in a single instant, the carriage slid over the cliff's edge.

Rattle!

The carriage lifted into the air.

Then came the impact.

The carriage was dragged down.

All Zain could do was grab the ornament on the carriage roof and hang on.

The carriage, two horses, and three people fell into Akinzrow Gorge below.

* * *

Yum yum.

Ah, delicious.

They were eggs from an unidentified mountain bird, but they were wonderfully savory.

The Monster Wave showed no sign of stopping.

There were only brief rests, and its advance was incredibly fast.

At my usual speed, crossing the Great Forest would have taken a long time. Not now.

The basin visible in the east seemed to be Akam Basin.

I'd made it here in only two days.

The Root Chimera I was clinging to was no ordinary monster.

It looked like a snake, but its body was made of wood.

Even the face where Gunter's axe spear had struck was covered by fresh trunk and returned to normal.

It barely ate and never took a dump.

The problem was me.

'At this rate, I'll starve to death or die of thirst.'

I needed to find a way to stop the Chimera and hunt.

Eventually, I succeeded.

The method was simple.

Like training a cat with a laser pointer, I made the Chimera spin around in place.

After doing that for a while, it seemed to get dizzy and stopped for a moment.

Only after figuring that out could I finally eat.

Today's meal was five bird eggs from a nest.

I picked them up with Transparent Hand, poked holes in them, and slurped them down.

Once I finished eating quickly, the Chimera Snake finally stood again.

Other than when it slept, it never rested for long.

What was outside the Great Forest that made it so determined?

A gentle breeze brushed across my face.

'This is relaxing.'

I'd even gotten used to the bizarre monsters roaring in front of and behind me, as well as the soldiers and flames that occasionally appeared.

With a full belly and pleasant weather, it almost felt like everyone was going on a picnic together.

'Maybe living like this isn't so bad.'

They said crying when things got hard was third-rate, while laughing was first-rate.

Like a first-rate person, I decided to accept my current situation.

-Think of it as a journey.

'Then this is a first-class seat.'

Even the most astonishing sight became ordinary if you kept seeing it up close.

Bored, I decided to make use of this rare free time.

-If you're that bored, practice magic.

That was Pelerian's suggestion.

Pelerian told me to take this opportunity to learn magic.

Normally, I would have been indifferent, but I readily agreed.

It was because of the human mages I'd seen recently.

The fire dragon they had created was incredibly cool.

When I said I wanted to use magic like that too, Pelerian scoffed.

-You're captivated by such trivial magic. Tsk tsk... If you properly inherit my teachings, you can become an Archmage.

'Trivial magic? Those old men looked amazing.'

The three mages all looked different, but they certainly seemed like archmages.

-They wore Magic Tower robes, but they're nothing special.

'I read in a book from the Dungeon that the Magic Tower masters are all amazing...'

-They are ordinary people who were merely born in an age without me.

I could not deny that Pelerian's arrogant tone made my heart beat faster.

-A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Try using Transparent Hand.

'Okay.'

*「You use Magic: Transparent Hand Lv. 7.」

I'd been practicing diligently lately, so the level of my Transparent Hand magic had risen quite a bit.

-Try touching that one over there.

A hairless boar was running diligently forward up ahead.

-With maximum output.

I focused my mind.

In the pitch-black darkness, a hand floated at the center of my heart.

I swung that hand.

Smack!

"Squeeeal!"

The hairless boar was struck on the butt and whipped its head around to look behind it.

It snorted angrily, but there was only me and the Chimera Snake behind it.

Startled, the boar ran forward and fled.

-That is more or less the power of Transparent Hand.

'Won't it change if I train more?'

Actually, it had grown stronger from leveling up even this much.

Before, it would not have made such a satisfying sound.

-Once you reach a certain level, you may be able to use two hands. But the physical force will not rise dramatically. That is how telekinetic magic tends to be.

'Two hands... Then, if I wield two swords with both hands and use my tail too, I can have a three-sword style...'

-Seven Magic Swords!

That startled me.

Pelerian suddenly shouted. What was with that?

-There is a magic that controls no fewer than seven swords. Isn't that interesting?

'Y-yeah... That sounds interesting.'

-It is magic from the same category as Transparent Hand, telekinetic manipulation magic. Anyone facing it must stop seven swords rushing in as though they were alive.

The more I listened, the more tempted I became.

Wasn't that an utterly incredible realm?

It was surely a technique that had reached the realm of Harmony, magic that had surpassed skill, become art, and even reached the Way.

-Do you want to learn it?

'Yes.'

-You want to become a telekinetic mage who can face an army with a whistle!

'Yes!'

-Then learn magic seriously. First, Weight-Reduction Magic.

For a while, I would have to become an enthusiastic student.

Otherwise, Pelerian's personality might become even more eccentric.

-Proper use of Weight-Reduction Magic is the foundation of telekinesis. Even if you grip a sword, if you do not first make that sword lighter, the consumption of Mana will be extremely inefficient...

Pelerian was an excellent teacher.

During the leisurely journey, I spent my time learning magic from Pelerian.

Time passed.

At last, I completely escaped the Great Forest and arrived at Lion's Mane Forest.

It was the very forest where I had been born.

For a moment, I considered visiting that cave, but before I knew it, I'd passed through Lion's Mane Forest too.

Soon after, I saw a human territory.

'Was it called Greylim?'

The walls protecting the territory had already collapsed.

There was no sign of people. It seemed the monsters that had passed through earlier had already swept the place clean.

The Chimera Snake and I would soon pass through there too.

Then something caught my eye.

'Isn't that a Goblin?'

Among the monsters running beside me was one creature that stood out by walking on two legs.

They were a small Goblin.

Like the other monsters, they seemed to have lost their mind.

The drool streaming from their mouth made that certain.

-Seems so.

'Were they someone I met in the Runga Tribe?'

-Do you think I remember the faces of mere Goblins?

No chance.

I tried to wake the small Goblin's mind.

*「You use Transparent Hand Lv. 8.」

Smack!

I slapped the Goblin's cheek with Transparent Hand, which had leveled up again in the meantime.

"Ack!"

The Goblin jumped in alarm.

The Goblin still tried to run again, so this time I used water magic and poured it over their head.

Only then did the Goblin come to their senses.

"Gasp! Wh-what is this?!"

They spoke the same language as the Runga Tribe.

Had they not even realized they were running among monsters?

They turned to look at me, but their face was not familiar.

Oddly enough, though, they seemed to recognize me.

"U-Ululoros!"

It's Urooros.

Still, the modifier they added afterward was unbelievably strange.

"Th-the evil snake of Runga!"

What did you say?

The Goblin hurriedly tried to run away.

But escaping through this enormous crowd of monsters was impossible.

If it had been easy to escape from here, I would have done so first.

*「You use Beam Lv. 1.」

The Chimera Snake splendidly leaped after the beam.

Boom!

The Chimera Snake landed after turning the monsters in front of the Goblin into bloody pulp.

I skillfully drove the Chimera Snake to a stop.

'Hey, what Goblin tribe are you from? Do you know me?'

Of course, the Goblin could not understand what I said.

I missed Nanaruk especially today.

'Is Nanaruk doing well?!'

"Aaaah!"

The Goblin tried to run away again.

-Catch them!

I did.

I grabbed the Goblin's tied-up hair with Transparent Hand.

No one could put up much of a fight when their hair was grabbed.

The Goblin was no exception.

"Ah, that hurts! Ow!"

Perhaps they hated having their hair pulled out, because they came closer on their own.

It was not easy, but I finally managed to pull the Goblin up in front of me, onto the Chimera Snake's back.

The Goblin trembled in terror.

A satisfying sight.

'Tell me everything you know.'

The Goblin prostrated themself and babbled all sorts of things.

They introduced themself as a Goblin from a tribe conquered by Runga.

Apparently, they were the child of the former tribal chief, who was now dead.

From what I heard, I seemed to be considered something like Runga's guardian deity.

Then they said something I absolutely could not ignore.

"O-Overlord Nanaruk has already left the Great Forest. All our tribes too..."

'Overlord?!'

My mouth fell open.

When had Nanaruk acquired such an awesome epithet?

I was jealous. So jealous.

'So Nanaruk left ahead of us?'

Since the Goblin could not understand me, it would take quite a while to get all the answers I wanted.

Then it happened.

Booooom!

The territory ahead exploded with a deafening roar.

Though it was quite far away, a hot blast rushed all the way over here.

The hot wind carried the smell of oil.

If I had not stopped the Chimera, I might have been caught in that explosion.

As I soothed my startled heart...

"Aah, spare me!"

The Goblin I had captured flattened themself against the Chimera Snake's back and trembled.

That wasn't me.

Footnotes:

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