WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 99: Special Evolution Preparations Complete
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Roil and Amaen returned to Kalea from the capital.
They had converted all the gold, silver, and treasures the snake had given them into cash, using it to establish a base in the capital and purchase a warehouse here in Kalea City as well.
Roil had once been nothing more than an ordinary wagon merchant.
Yet once Roil had been given the wings to spread his ambitions, he displayed remarkable ability. He handled matters simply and swiftly.
Roil did not simply throw money around.
He turned an unused lot in central Kalea City into a warehouse and gave work to idle hands, earning the favor of Kalea's mayor.
The potbellied man who had handled trade with the dwarves had become penniless after Red Anvil Mine shut its gates. Roil persuaded the mayor of Kalea to give him that position instead.
Roil had heard that the dwarves no longer accepted beer or sold ingots, but still.
Hadn't that happened after the snake went inside?
Surely the snake would resolve the problem soon.
Roil had made a considerable donation to become the official in charge of trade with the dwarves. It was a bold investment.
Or perhaps it had been a foolish choice.
At that moment, Roil had Amaen on his shoulders as he looked toward the entrance of the collapsed mine.
It was the very place where he had once delivered beer to the dwarves.
The potbellied man who had looked down on Roil was now a mere servant.
From behind them, the man secretly glared at Roil and Amaen as if he wanted to kill them.
"When do you think Master will come out?"
"Who knows... It seems like the work is taking longer than expected."
"I want to see him soon."
They said a mage's words held mysterious power.
If that was true, perhaps the words of a mere aspiring mage like Amaen carried a faint power as well.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
The mountainside suddenly exploded, and flames surged upward.
What burst out of the gaping hole was a truly bizarre creature.
A lizard made entirely of fire.
Its head, however, looked just like a dwarf's.
The creature tried to charge toward Kalea City, toward where people lived.
But a chain caught on its horn, yanking its head sharply to the side and sending it crashing back down.
Roil saw what held the chain.
A white snake, a huge white snake.
It was the same figure that had driven away the intruders that night.
"Wow!"
Amaen gasped.
"AAAAH!"
The potbellied man, who had been glaring at them, screamed from behind.
They were halfway up the mountain. The fire lizard could likely be seen from Kalea City, but only the three people here could see the white snake as well.
Frightened by the monsters' appearance, the potbellied man hurriedly tried to flee.
For a moment, Roil looked back and forth between the snake and the potbellied man, unsure what to do.
"Dad, look over there...!"
Amaen pointed.
The fire lizard was spitting fireballs into the sky.
Those fireballs flew toward where Roil and Amaen stood.
Roil threw himself forward, wrapping Amaen in his arms as he rolled.
Thankfully, they avoided the fireballs, but the fleeing potbellied man did not.
BOOM!
A fireball crushed him.
He died instantly, without even managing a scream.
"Oh, shit."
"Dad, let's go over there."
"What?"
Amaen was his child, but the boy was truly fearless.
Rather than running away, Amaen wanted to approach the snake.
"We have to help!"
"We'll only get in the way!"
Ignoring Amaen, Roil put him on his back.
He had intended to flee on horseback, but Amaen muttered something, perhaps angry at being ignored.
"...Ria Aquamancy!"
He had not been grumbling. He had been chanting a spell.
It was impressive enough that he could use magic while being carried on someone's back.
A stream of water poured over the fire lizard's head.
HISSSSS!
Water might put out fire, but the creature's size and flames were overwhelming.
It would be no different from spitting once into a campfire.
Still, the fire lizard had eyes, and Amaen's stream struck its eye sockets precisely.
"KRAAAAAH!"
The fire lizard roared in pain.
Amaen's eyes met the snake's.
The snake raised its tail.
Somehow, Amaen understood that the raised tail meant a thumbs-up.
Water poured onto the fire lizard's head again.
This time, the water came from the snake's magic.
HISSSSS!
The stream was no more impressive than Amaen's, but it still seemed to scorch the creature's eyes.
"Just as expected of Master!"
"Amaen, shouldn't we just run...!"
CRACKLE-CRACK!
This time, lightning struck.
What happened when lightning struck fire?
In nature, lightning might have made the blaze grow larger, but that was not the case now.
The fire lizard's flames abruptly dimmed.
It was clearly an evil monster.
Sensitive to Mana, Amaen could feel that the fire lizard was a product of the dark Demon Realm.
"Seriously, Master is amazing!"
Amaen marveled at the snake again.
He had read magical tomes before.
Lightning had special properties.
Thunder and lightning supposedly possessed the power of purification. Amaen vaguely remembered reading that some legendary imperial Daoist hunted demons while chanting a spell called, "Thunderous Might Shakes the Heavens and Changes People," or something like that.
The snake summoned lightning, then drew a sword and wildly carved up the fire lizard.
The attacks were clearly landing, but something felt wrong.
At some point, the snake stopped summoning lightning.
Amaen shouted into his father's ear.
"We need to help Master! Dad, we can't just run away!"
"How are we supposed to help?"
"We bought Mana Potions."
The snake had ordered Roil to buy Mana Potions.
The snake had said not to care about the price and to buy only the highest quality available.
Mana Potions were so expensive that they could not buy much, even in the capital.
If the snake needed Mana Potions, perhaps they had anticipated a situation where they would need to replenish their Mana.
This seemed to be that situation.
Roil immediately understood Amaen's point.
A merchant's greatest virtue was judgment.
If one understood the risks properly, one could become a decent merchant.
With his son beside him, running away as fast as possible would have been a reasonable choice.
But to take on the risk, calculate the return on an investment, and not forget one's sense of duty and loyalty.
That was the quality of a great merchant.
Roil was not yet a great merchant, but he made the choice of one.
"You run right now. Run straight down the mountain!"
"But..."
"Now!"
Roil spoke sternly and sent Amaen away.
Amaen wisely obeyed.
Instead, Roil mounted the expensive horse he had bought in the capital.
"I'm insane..."
Choosing to spend extra on a good horse had been the right decision.
Even terrified, the horse charged forward.
Roil snatched up the sack he had placed on the side table.
Mana Potions were inside.
As the snake and fire lizard fought, fireballs scattered everywhere.
BOOM!
A fireball landed directly in front of Roil and the horse.
Startled, the horse reared and whinnied.
Roil fell from the saddle.
The frightened horse abandoned its owner and began fleeing in a panic.
"Do you know how many gold coins I paid for you?!"
He was about to burn to death.
"AAAAH, Uru-nim! Mana Potions!"
There was no chance of catching the horse, so he might as well give the Mana Potions to the snake.
The snake turned toward Roil.
Roil put every ounce of strength into it.
He hurled the sack of Mana Potions into the sky hard enough to tear his shoulder apart.
"Damn it, I should've exercised!"
But he did not have enough strength.
Just as the precious Mana Potions were about to shatter on the ground.
Something transparent snatched the sack out of the air.
It was clearly the snake's magic.
"SSSAAAK!"
The snake roared and swallowed the entire sack in one bite.
The moment Roil saw that, he turned around and ran.
CRACKLE-CRACK!
Lightning flashed behind him.
* * *
As a refined, cultured snake, I would never dream of chewing up a drink bottle without even opening it.
But this was an emergency of emergencies.
I had no idea what the sack in my mouth contained, but after chewing it up, a cool sensation flowed down my throat.
Of course, I could also feel the sharp, crunchy texture of glass shards.
Let's trust my digestive ability for once.
*「You use Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1.」
*「The proficiency of Heavenly Thunder Decree increases.」
*「Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1 becomes Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 2.」
Finally, this skill leveled up too.
*「You use Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 2.」
CRACKLE-CRACK!
Lightning, now even stronger, struck the fire lizard.
The village on the other side of the peak would probably think Calea Mountain had actually been a volcano.
Fireballs rose into the sky while lightning struck continuously.
‘Oh!’
Strangely enough, lightning had the effect of stripping away the fire lizard's flames.
I had learned that thanks to Pelerian's advice.
-That, that's it!
Pelerian pointed at something.
I could see it too.
Inside the lizard's body, where its flames had dimmed, was a distinctly visible purple mass.
-It's a Demon Magic Stone!
Like a demon's fruit?
-That thing was made because a high-ranking demon needed to vent his anger. After burning everything around it, it would burn away itself. That Magic Stone must be its energy source.
Pelerian insisted that I catch it before that happened.
-A Demon Magic Stone is one of the finest magical catalysts. It could be the key to your evolution!
I seemed to remember one of the Special Evolution conditions mentioning demons.
Thinking about it, this was clearly an opportunity.
Nice one, old man Pel.
"Snake!"
"We're here!"
Just then, the dwarves came running out in a group.
Their bodies were soaked, and they carried buckets and similar containers in their hands.
It was clearly the cooling water used when entering the deepest level.
"Leave it to me!"
Rosena and the dwarves grabbed the chain I had been holding.
This time, they looped it around a stone pillar and secured it tightly so they would not get dragged away.
"I'll kill any bastard who lets go!"
Rosena shouted fiercely.
Shouldn't she be the new mine lord?
The more I looked at her, the more obvious it seemed.
While I was briefly distracted, the fire lizard counterattacked.
CRUNCH!
It bit down hard on my body.
It was unbelievably hot and painful. On top of that, its face looked exactly like Bluebeard's, which made it even more disgusting.
*「You deactivate Giantification.」
I escaped the danger through flexible thinking.
For a moment, I worried about the glass shards in my stomach.
Fortunately, the shards remained inside, and my stomach did not burst.
The creature bit down on empty air.
I dropped to the ground in the meantime.
I opened my Subspace.
Dawn's Dagger Ashira.
I clenched it tightly in my mouth.
‘What the, Kibaema!’
Kibaemi came out attached to the dagger.
Kibaemi refused to return to the Subspace.
Instead, Kibaemi wrapped Tendrils around me and clung tightly to my body.
I tried to shake Kibaemi loose, but they would not let go.
‘Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?!’
-What are you worried about? Kibaemi is a World Tree Chimera with higher Heat Resistance than you!
Pelerian was right.
Ah, whatever!
Before the creature's dimmed body could recover, I sprang into the air.
*「You use Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 4.」
Transparent Hand could be countered by the intense heat, so I had no choice.
Feeling my Scales shrivel, I approached its Magic Stone.
Snake Blade Style.
*「You use Perran School Dagger Arts Lv. 1.」
Demon Cleave.
SLASH!
I clearly felt the Magic Stone split.
At the same time, extreme heat burst outward.
Ashira's blade melted.
No.
My Heat Resistance couldn't endure this...
*「Seedling Chimera uses Communion Lv. 1.」
*「You share Heat Resistance Lv. 20.」
At that moment, the burden of the heat lessened sharply.
Still, there was no preventing my body from catching fire.
"SSSAAAK!"
As I screamed and rolled across the ground, someone dumped cooling water over me.
"A-are you okay?"
A bald head, a round face.
Gentle eyes.
It was Dunkel.
It hurts. I'm not okay.
"You look like you're in a lot of pain."
Seeing that expression made me afraid to check my own body.
Dunkel poured a Health Potion over me.
Thankfully, the pain quickly faded and my body began to heal.
That fire lizard bastard...
Ah, I got it.
*「You have defeated Paimon's Fire Lizard Lv. 140.」
The lizard's body completely collapsed.
Its blazing red flames broke apart and drifted through the air.
It was even a beautiful sight.
*「You have leveled up.」
*「You have leveled up.」
*「You have leveled up.」
*「You have leveled up.」
*「You have leveled up.」
...
My level rose repeatedly.
As a result, I reached Level 31.
It was faster than expected, but I still could not evolve.
Did I need to reach Level 40 or 50 after all?
That was when it happened.
*「Evolution is possible.」
I heard that message.
At first, I thought it was directed at me, but it was not.
──────────────
【Seedling Chimera Lv. 10】
...
【Status】
[Evolution Available]
──────────────
Oh, finally!
Kibaemi had reached the moment of evolution too.
If Kibaemi evolved again, I should give Kibaemi a proper name this time.
I could not keep calling them Seedling Kibaemi forever.
-Quickly, take the Demon Magic Stone.
Pelerian urged me on.
A purple Magic Stone lay where the fire lizard had vanished.
──────────────
【Demon Magic Stone: Paimon】
──────────────
I did not think this was something I could analyze by saying what grade of Magic Stone it was.
Kibaemi wiggled their Tendrils with interest.
It's still too soon for you.
When I said that, Kibaemi curled their Tendrils as though yielding it to me.
It was deeply admirable.
It felt like seeing a child offer their father a chicken drumstick.
My eyes grew moist as I tried to swallow the Magic Stone.
"PHSSSAAAK!"
A burning pain shot through my teeth, and I immediately pulled my mouth away.
-What are you doing?
‘Ah, it's too hot!’
There was no way I could eat this.
At this temperature, it would burn through my throat and body completely.
Was even my Level 11 Heat Resistance not enough?
‘Should I pour water on it?’
-You can't! Its power is already leaking away every moment.
Mana was flowing steadily out of the purple Magic Stone.
I guess it was the kind of thing that tasted best while warm.
‘Um...’
I looked at Kibaemi.
They were still wriggling their Tendrils.
Kibaemi had the Fire trait, and their Heat Resistance was higher than mine.
I shut my eyes tight and carefully asked Pelerian.
‘What about giving this to Kibaemi?’
-What?
I was only asking for his opinion.
‘It looks like it will evolve soon too. Don't you think it might have a Special Evolution condition or something?’
-That's an excellent idea.
‘...What?’
-It would be far better than you eating it!
For some reason, I felt a little hurt by Pelerian's words.
I tightly shut my eyes and gently patted Kibaemi.
‘H-here. You eat it.’
Kibaemi bobbed their sprout.
I had expected Kibaemi to refuse once out of politeness.
But Kibaemi immediately extended their Tendrils.
Sure enough, the purple energy pouring from the Magic Stone flowed in thick waves into Kibaemi's Tendrils.
Good child, eating so well.
Seeing Kibaemi eat so eagerly made me feel rather pleased.
And the result came immediately.
*「You have fulfilled the Special Evolution conditions.」
It was time for Kibaemi to evolve.
Footnotes:
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