“Don’t lie, you cunning snake!”
‘No!’
Pelerian sternly rebuked me.
“You definitely planned to enslave the centipedes and even control their mother!”
‘I did not!’
“I’m not scolding you, I’m praising you. It’s a rational and excellent judgment. That’s what a true magician would do.”
‘Let’s stop this joke. It’s getting boring.’
“I’m not joking.”
Surely it must be a joke.
I had no intention of enslaving the centipedes.
But…
I looked at the baby centipedes.
‘This one is cute though.’
They’re clearly mother and children, but how can they look so different?
The baby centipede’s skin was still yellowish and transparent.
And it seems they’ve been eating well lately, their bodies are plump. They don’t have that many legs yet, so they’re not creepy.
Above all, when I shake my head left and right like this.
These little ones shake their heads left and right along with me.
You little copycats.
“To begin with, the Taming skill isn’t as all-powerful as you might think. Try it out if you’re curious.”
‘How do I test it?’
“Just try ordering them to do something.”
Right now, it shows that I’ve successfully tamed only the eldest.
I looked at all three of them and gave an order.
‘Now, go over there.’
Oh ho.
Then the next command.
‘Now go over there, then.’
Wow.
The result was surprising.
‘No one is listening to me.’
The baby centipedes just stared at me blankly.
Even the eldest, who was supposed to have been successfully tamed, was just spacing out.
“Yes, that’s how it is.”
There are two reasons.
“Your level of Taming is low. And the intelligence of the targets is low too.”
Pelerian roughly explained the principle of the Taming skill.
It doesn’t seem to be a skill that literally enslaves them.
“So, I told you, right? That when I used Taming on you back then, it wasn’t such a big mistake?”
‘Did you say that?’
“Yes!”
I don’t remember that.
But I’d rather believe a spider is kind than trust Pelerian’s character.
‘Lastly, everyone greet together.’
The three centipedes bowed and greeted following me.
「You have successfully tamed Centipede Larva lv2.」
「The proficiency of Taming rises sharply.」
Huh.
Level 2 was the second one.
Just a greeting, and Taming is too easy, isn’t it?
“I didn’t know that magical beasts could have the Taming skill in the first place.”
Is it originally a skill that only human races can possess?
Thinking about it, this might also be the harmony of Potential 20.
This creates a problem.
The youngest becomes too pitiful, doesn’t it?
Ah, I wonder what would happen if I tried using the skill myself.
Hmm…
「Using Taming lv2.」
「You have successfully tamed Centipede Larva lv1.」
「The proficiency of Taming rises.」
Wow~
It succeeded.
I looked back at the centipede mom.
The Giant Centipede seemed to be watching me with a somewhat pleased expression.
She doesn’t seem to be angry.
Hmm…
Yeah, I can’t not try it.
It would be hard to have this kind of opportunity again.
I focused my mind and looked at the Giant Centipede.
「Using Taming lv2.」
「Failed to tame Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede lv33.」
Farewell, world.
It was a short snake life, but I lived it intensely.
I humbly accepted the coming death.
How will the Giant Centipede punish me?
Poison claw decapitation, crushing by squeezing, body bursting by tail whipping.
I was curious about what my cause of death would be, and I lowered my head for a moment.
But the terrible pain didn’t come.
When I raised my head, the centipede mom was just staring at me blankly.
Could it be that she doesn’t know I used the Taming skill?
I thought so, but the centipede mom shook her head as if to say no.
Or, it seemed like she was declaring, ‘You are not yet qualified.’
“Puha-ha! As if that would work!”
Pelerian was extremely amused.
“You’re far from it, far!! It’s no different from a cat trying to tame its owner.”
This old man must have held a grudge for failing to tame me.
And cats actually do tame their owners sometimes.
“Since I’ve seen quite an amusing sight, I’ll teach you a good tip.”
Pelerian murmured quietly.
“Try giving them names.”
‘Names? To the babies?’
“Yes, give names to the larvae. That mother doesn’t seem likely to name them.”
Naming is a privilege of intelligent species.
Medusa Mom gave birth to thousands of children but didn’t name any of them.
The baby centipedes looked at me blankly.
The centipede mom also seemed to have no thoughts about it.
Well, it’s just a name I’ll call them in my heart, so it doesn’t matter.
I observed each centipede’s characteristics and gave them names.
‘The eldest is especially polite, so Bowingie.’
‘You have big eyes, so Big Eyes.’
‘This one has a slightly bigger head, so Big Head.’
After naming them, I felt a bit sorry for Big Head.
But there was no time for regret.
「You named the Centipede Larva lv3 ‘Bowingie’.」
「You named the Centipede Larva lv2 ‘Big Eyes’.」
「You named the Centipede Larva lv1 ‘Big Head’.」
Huh, are the names I gave officially recognized?
「Centipede Larva Big Head lv1 likes its name.」
「Your bond with the tamed magical beast deepens.」
「The proficiency of Taming rises.」
Is this how the bond deepens?
I’m glad it likes its name.
I checked the status windows of the others too.
──────────────
[Centipede Larva Bowingie lv3]
──────────────
The name I gave really appeared in the status window.
For some reason, this brings a strong emotion.
So this is what a name is.
It definitely feels different from a title.
“Have you named them?”
‘Yes.’
“Wow, this works?”
‘What is it?’
“I didn’t really expect it to work. I wonder if it’s because you’re both magical beasts that the intimacy is different.”
It seems Pelerian didn’t know if it would succeed either, despite his boasting.
“Do you know the three elements needed to tame a magical beast?”
He explained.
“Affection, respect, and fear.”
It’s something I could roughly understand.
If they’re close, they’ll follow. If they respect you as superior, they’ll follow.
If they’re too afraid, they’ll follow too.
‘Then these little ones must surely respect me.’
“Hoho.”
Pelerian dismissed my claim.
“Any method is fine. Try to get closer to those magical beasts you’ve named. The mother doesn’t seem to dislike it either.”
‘Why?’
“Something interesting might happen.”
Is that so?
We’re getting deeper and deeper into the great forest.
Checking various elements written in Deshnan’s journal, we’re definitely getting closer to our destination.
‘No. There’s no time for that. I need to get stronger quickly. For that, I need to train.’
I answered coldly.
“How admirable. Magic?”
‘Swordsmanship.’
“…”
What is my goal?
To become a snake that no one else dares to touch.
A snake that heroes, elves, and even magical beasts can’t challenge.
In other words, to become a Snake Spirit.
==
It’s been three days since I set out on a journey with the centipede mother and daughter, or mother and children.
I found the very cliff written in the journal far away.
If I hadn’t ridden on the Giant Centipede, it would have taken at least ten days.
It seems Deshnan had a separate means to move quickly.
“Ookey, ookeekee!”
Right now, a monkey was dancing on a tree above me.
──────────────
[Long-legged Monkey lv17]
[Traits]
[Long Legs], [Ferocity], [Pack]
──────────────
That monkey I saw for the first time was fearless.
It danced while looking at me and threw something.
I avoid it lightly.
Splat!
What fell where I was was none other than poop.
It had thrown poop at me.
“Ookee!”
It claps its hands and enjoys it.
It’s doing this believing that a snake crawling on the ground has no means of long-range attack.
It seems to hold a grudge against me for stopping it when it tried to kidnap Big Head a little while ago.
Let’s focus.
“Kekekeke!”
I know you’re angry, but bear with it, Big Head. I’ll handle this.
With the children watching now, I can’t make a mistake.
My mind was sharpened like a blade.
The long-legged monkey was about to throw poop again.
At that moment, a sword appeared right in front of its nose.
The speed at which the sword appeared was very slow.
Moreover, would a monkey that has lived its whole life in the jungle ever have seen an ‘Elven Broadsword’?
It seemed fascinated by the shining sword and even slowly reached out its hand.
And then the floating sword was swung.
「Using Slash lv2.」
Slash, the higher-level skill of Cutting.
The sword passed through the monkey’s neck all too easily.
The jumping monkey fell limply.
「The proficiency of Magic: Invisible Hand lv2 rises.」
As a result, I trained both magic and swordsmanship.
It means that now I can summon an invisible hand and swing a sword.
To others, it would look like a sword is moving and fighting on its own.
In other words, I’ve become a supreme swordsman using spirit sword technique.
I actually gained a swordsmanship skill that I couldn’t get even if I died while swinging a sword with my tail.
This is the proof of my effort.
「The proficiency of Clumsy Swordsmanship lv1 rises.」
I was just a bit unsatisfied that I gained an obviously lower-level skill instead of just Swordsmanship.
“Kekeke-!”
“Keee!”
The centipedes rushed to the fallen monkey and beat it up.
If I translate what the children are saying, it would be something like ‘Die!’, ‘You arrogant bastard!’
It seems I can understand their hearts as we’ve gotten closer.
I was wondering why the Giant Centipede seemed to understand my thoughts, was it something like this?
The baby centipedes feasted on monkey meat, and I finished the last of the food Nanaluk gave me.
Finally, this beautiful journey is coming to an end.
“Kee.”
The centipede mom muttered quietly.
Was it my imagination that her eyes looked somewhat lonely?
“Which eye are you talking about, the fourth eyeball?”
Pelerian ruined the atmosphere again.
The Giant Centipede shook her head at my request to go to the cliff together.
And she pulled her babies who were trying to follow me and held them.
It meant let’s part ways here.
I was sorry too, but it couldn’t be helped. Shouldn’t we go our separate ways now?
It’s not easy raising kids, and there’s nothing good about traveling with me.
I’ll be walking a path drenched in blood…
If we’ve finished eating, it’s really time to say goodbye now.
The baby centipedes didn’t seem to even know that I was leaving.
When I stood still in front of them, they tried to climb on my back thinking I wanted to play again.
It’s a problem that even this looks cute to me now.
If I were still human, I would have started a breakdance festival as soon as a centipede clung to me.
When I pushed the three siblings away with my tail, they looked dejected.
‘It seems we’ve gotten much closer, but still nothing’s really changing?’
Pelerian gave me a challenge.
The content was to win the loyalty of the three siblings I named.
We definitely got closer in three days, but
“Hmm… Maybe the problem is that you’ve only become too familiar.”
That can’t be.
I made lightning strike and used spirit sword technique to catch a monkey for them, how can they not respect me?
Right, kids?
Even if words don’t communicate, hearts can.
We exchanged farewells.
Lastly, I patted the heads of the three centipedes.
Goodbye.
Let’s meet again if we have the chance.
Bowingie, Big Eyes, Big Head.
I hope you’ll have grown into fine king centipedes by then.
That’s when it happened.
「Your bond with Centipede Larva Bowingie lv4 has deepened.」
Oh?
「Centipede Larva Bowingie grows influenced by you.」
Something happened.
But I don’t know how that influence will progress.
So I bowed farewell for the last time and left.
A cool back view is what makes a snake truly cool.
When I looked back after a while, the Giant Centipede family was no longer visible.
I kept moving forward.
‘The color of the sky is strange.’
On days without rain, the sky of the great forest is blue and clear.
But this place is different.
Somehow, it’s an ominous purple color.
‘Is the Shadow Forest always like this?’
This place is called the Shadow Forest. I heard the name has nothing to do with shadow fairies.
“No, it’s a phenomenon that occurs when the concentration of magical energy in the atmosphere rises before the Purple Banquet. The light scatters and takes on a purple hue.”
Somehow the smell of the air seems different too.
A strangely rotten, foul smell…
“That smell seems to be coming from that house.”
It was quite tough climbing up bypassing the cliff.
But it was worth it, there really was a house up there.
‘What is this.’
The house wasn’t visible from the bottom of the cliff.
So I thought it was a very small house, but it wasn’t.
Suddenly, as if it had fallen from the sky, there was a huge house.
It’s not very tall, but it’s a crude building that looks like walls were just put up with wood.
The area is large like a big warehouse.
Did that shadow fairy set up a ‘zoo’ in there?
It seems like it would be enough to raise magical beasts.
“Hurry up and go in!”
Pelerian urged me.
I want to do that too.
“But there might be traps, so look carefully before going in.”
What a contradictory request, like asking to make a spicy and mild jjamppong.
I carefully examined the surroundings.
I tried using magic detection and got Pelerian’s help to check for traps.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any traps.”
The conclusion was reached.
I carefully opened the door.
Click.
They didn’t seem to worry about thieves, as the door wasn’t locked.
I carefully crawled inside.
Tap, tap.
There was something inside.
A pitch-black… ghost?
Something amorphous was hiding in the darkness of the room and jumped out.
It didn’t look like a living creature at all.
“It’s a minion of the devil! Avoid it!”
“Kikikiki!”
It definitely laughed.
I tried to swing my tail to strike it down, but.
Swoosh-
That black form passed through my tail and pounced on my face.
‘Huk.’
It entered my head.
I was certain.
A weird laughing sound thundered loudly inside my head.
Is it some kind of ghost or something?
Wham, before I could even get scared.
「Kigik, kigigigi.」
「Due to the ‘Indomitable’ trait, you are immune to mental attacks.」
Eh.
The devil’s minion popped out of my nostril.
It trembled, then stiffened and stopped moving.
「You have defeated a Low-rank Devil’s Minion.」
「Your level has increased.」
What is this?