WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 9: Dawn's Uninvited Guest
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009.
Drool ran from my mouth.
How rude of me.
But what was I supposed to do when it looked so delicious?
Like a gentleman, I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth with my tail.
A lot of the web novels I used to read were martial arts stories. Whenever the protagonist consumed an Inner Core, they would use its effects to undergo a complete transformation.
Could I become stronger if I ate that too?
I might not become human again, but maybe I could evolve into a Great White Super Snake.
When I drooled, the centipede groom twitched his antennae warily.
Did he think I was going to steal the Inner Core?
That was a deeply hurtful misunderstanding.
I would never rob such good neighbors.
I offered a fair trade.
I nudged the Galloper Hawk, which looked delicious even at a glance, then pointed at the Inner Core with my tail.
A one-for-one exchange.
I'll give you chicken, so how about you give me that Inner Core?
I'd originally meant to give it to them as a gift, but circumstances had changed, so I improvised.
Clack! Clack!
The centipede couple clicked their teeth together.
They looked furious, as if they were saying that was ridiculous.
Come to think of it, the values were a little mismatched.
I left the Galloper Hawk's corpse behind and backed away.
Go ahead and eat.
I was joking.
At that, the centipede bride cautiously picked up the Galloper Hawk's corpse in her jaws.
That was when it happened.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
I heard a rooster crow again.
Were chickens around here completely shameless?
They crowed without caring whether it was the dead of night or the crack of dawn.
It didn't sound that far away. One day, I'd have to find them and taste some real chicken.
I said goodbye to the centipede couple.
"Have a good night~"
"And please refrain from public displays of affection."
The centipede couple followed suit and lowered their heads slightly.
It almost seemed like they really understood my greeting.
I crawled into the knot hole.
I'd definitely widened the entrance that morning, but after only half a day, it had already become a little difficult to squeeze inside.
It would be nice if I could find a bigger home...
Still, exhausted as I was, I quickly fell asleep.
* * *
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...
Of the continent's Five Great Demon Realms, the Great Forest possesses a unique characteristic.
That characteristic is its abundant vegetation.
Leaving aside the barren Desert, the Great Forest's lushness surpasses both the Mountain Range and the Grasslands.
The Great Forest is the third largest of the Five Great Demon Realms, after the Desert and the Frozen Lands.
Yet if one were to count the monsters living within it, a reasonable estimate would be that their numbers exceeded ten times the combined monster populations of the Desert and Frozen Lands.
Its warm, humid climate and dense greenery likely make this possible, though one must note that the Great Forest is not situated at a particularly low latitude.
In fact, even at the height of summer, Greylim Territory at the kingdom's easternmost edge, which borders the Great Forest, has a cool climate.
Yet as one travels east through Sija Forest, which adjoins the territory, toward the Great Forest, the temperature rises sharply.
Many scholars have devoted themselves to uncovering the reason, but no definitive cause has yet been found.
The leading hypothesis is that it is due to the ancient magic of the elves.
The elven race, now racing toward extinction, is said to have settled in the Far East since ancient times.
Ruins occasionally discovered in the Great Forest bear traces of that era, giving rise to the hypothesis that the elves took large-scale magical measures to create a climate suitable for their habitation.
However, even the elves who remain today possess no ancient records, so the truth cannot be known.
This Great Forest volume seeks to describe the Great Forest's diverse monsters, those already discovered, and those yet to be found.
...
「Parvian the Sage's Mysterious and Fascinating Monster Encyclopedia: Great Forest Volume, from the Preface」
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* * *
Zain, Hero Gunter's attendant knight, wore a troubled expression.
It was because of the girl standing before him.
She was Lania Greylim, the only daughter of the lord here.
The moment Gunter had subjugated the Medusa Serpent, he had departed for the capital again.
In his place, he had left several attendants, including Zain, behind in Greylim Territory.
The days were peaceful, but Zain often found himself in awkward situations.
All because of that young lady, who was like a mischievous boy.
He had heard that she had been frail as a child and had narrowly escaped death several times. Perhaps that was why.
Instead of taking an interest in the things young ladies her age might enjoy, Rania was deeply fascinated by heroes and monsters.
"What is it, my lady?"
A lady was still a lady, of course.
As a knight, Zain had no choice but to remain courteous.
Rania gave a quick little curtsy before speaking.
"I have something to ask you, Knight Zain."
Of course you do.
Zain eventually sighed.
"Is it that book again? The Sage's Monster Encyclopedia?"
"Yes! I have more questions about the Medusa Serpent. And Horn Jaguars too."
"A proper lady should not take an interest in grotesque things like monsters."
"I want to become a hero someday!"
Rania declared it boldly.
Then she looked at the man sitting beside Zain and added,
"Or maybe a hunter."
"Ha ha ha!"
The man puffing on a long pipe burst into hearty laughter.
He was a hunter who lived here in Greylim.
Most monster hunters were little more than wandering sellswords, but some were the real thing.
This man was one of the real ones, so even Zain respected him.
"Why would a young lady like you become a hunter? Miss Rania should become a hero."
"Really? Right?"
"Leave dirty work like that to scoundrels like Oliver."
As he said that, Oliver puffed out another cloud of smoke.
"So, what did you want to ask?"
Zain wanted to send this immature young lady away as quickly as possible.
"You said some of the Medusa Serpent's hatchlings got away. What if they grow into Medusa Serpents and come back?"
"...Ha ha, you needn't worry too much about that. Medusa Serpents lay thousands of offspring at a time. If even half of those hatchlings grew into Medusa Serpents, the kingdom would have fallen long ago."
"Then..."
"Among monsters, some species have especially long evolution paths. Unlike dragons, which are strong from birth, snakes are hardly any different from insects. The Medusa Serpent is both a mutation and a higher species among them."
Zain had traveled alongside Gunter.
His knowledge of monsters did not fall behind that of monster hunters.
"Out of a thousand hatchlings, perhaps one or two will evolve as far as a Serpent."
"Ah."
Oliver cut in.
"Knight, that's true for the Mountain Range, but the Great Forest is different."
"...Is it?"
Despite being corrected, Zain did not seem particularly offended.
"The Great Forest's monsters evolve in all sorts of ways. The young lady knows that even a Medusa Serpent's offspring do not all evolve into Medusa Serpents, right?"
Rania nodded.
So did Zain.
"The Great Forest has the greatest diversity of monster species because its vegetation is so rich. There is plenty of prey too, so many strong monsters are born there. More than five out of a thousand might evolve as far as Serpents."
"That's really terrifying."
"Some might evolve in bizarre and unimaginable directions. They might even become greater than Serpents."
"Like a Leviathan?"
Rania's eyes sparkled.
Leviathan was a legendary monster described in the book she held.
A creature so enormous and powerful that if the serpent sleeping beneath the sea raised its body, the world's sea level would drop dramatically.
Oliver snickered.
"Yes, perhaps like a Leviathan. Though the Serpent of the Apocalypse probably does not really exist."
"Really... But it's written in the book."
"Not everything written in a book is true. Ah, right. Now that I think about it, didn't the captain of the guard say there was one white hatchling among them?"
"Maybe?"
The captain of the guard had allowed several hatchlings to escape and received disciplinary confinement.
Still, the lord knew well that the captain was competent. The punishment would probably be lifted soon.
According to the captain's statement, there had been a single white one among the hatchlings.
"I heard it looked small and weak, but those are the dangerous ones."
"Why?"
"Because it is likely to be a mutation. And mutations always produce unexpected results."
"If it was small and weak, wouldn't it have died out there?"
"If it survived. And if it evolves, things will be different. The problem with monsters is that they can become stronger. The weaker they begin, the more they can evolve, and that means they can become even more dangerous."
The hunter, who had been grinning until then, grew fairly serious.
He took a draw from his pipe and asked,
"But you really are interested in Medusa Serpents, my lady."
"Snakes are my favorite type of monster."
"Now that is excellent taste."
Zain, who had been listening, felt his head spin inside.
Was this really a conversation one should have with a noble young lady?
"Ah, right, there's something else I wanted to ask. Is this one a snake-type monster too?"
Rania opened her book and showed them a particular page.
It contained a description and illustration of a monster.
"A Cockatrice."
"Yes. I couldn't tell whether this was a snake-type monster too."
"You could not call it a snake type. If anything, it is a Chimera type. It is a very rare creature. They say that if you encounter one, one of two things will happen."
"What are they?"
"You will be killed and eaten, or you will become rich overnight."
"Rich overnight...?"
Oliver was about to explain when it happened.
"Miss!"
A maid came running over to Rania, completely out of breath.
"It's the day of your tea etiquette lesson. How could you run away?"
"I-I forgot."
"Then you must hurry along."
"Just give me a little more time..."
"No!"
Rania left with a tearful expression.
Oliver burst into hearty laughter at the sight.
Once Rania was gone, the place fell quiet again.
And in that silence, Zain thought,
What did he mean by becoming rich overnight?!
The interesting conversation had been cut off midway.
But the young knight's pride would not allow him to ask again.
Zain could only suffer alone inside.
* * *
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
I tucked my head between my coils.
Unlike other animals, a snake's ears were located in its skull.
Was that why?
That crazy chicken bastard's crowing was so loud.
Why did it keep crowing?
It wasn't crowing from far away.
It sounded like it was right nearby.
Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!
It had gotten really close.
In an instant, sleep fled from me, and every scale on my body trembled.
I snapped my head up.
Survival Instinct was warning me.
Something was outside. Something dangerous. Bury your head and play dead.
Or run away!
Survival Instinct warned me of danger in such an unhelpful way.
I could go out and identify the threat, or pretend I knew nothing and hide in this knot hole.
I had no idea which choice would truly keep me alive.
Crash!
Something struck a tree.
It was not the old tree I was in, but it sounded as though a tree had splintered and fallen over.
I chose not to hide.
Carefully, I crawled out of the knot hole.
It was still before dawn.
The forest was pitch-black, but my night vision let me see clearly.
The centipede bride was nearby.
Hello, do you happen to know what's going on?
I wanted to ask cheerfully, but I froze.
The bride was rigid.
Not figuratively. Literally, she had been petrified into stone.
Dread rose within me.
I only knew of one kind of monster that could turn an entire monster into stone like this.
Mom?
No, could it be Dad?
Had the father I had never even seen returned to meet his child?
"Quiiik!"
A roar rang out.
The centipede groom was fighting a monster.
The creature's appearance was truly horrific.
A chicken's head, a reptilian body, and a snake's tail.
It looked like a grotesque hybrid.
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【Cockatrice Lv. 12】
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That was the name of the midnight intruder.
Footnotes:
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