So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

Ah, what a beautiful morning.

The sunlight wasn't particularly warm, and there were no birds chirping melodiously.

Nevertheless, it was undoubtedly a beautiful morning.

After all, isn't it up to me to decide whether a morning is beautiful or not?

Even if I'm in hell.

Even if I'm rolling around in the mud soaked with Chimera Fafnir's blood inside a burrow, it's a beautiful morning as long as I'm happy.

I truly believed that.

Still, it's a shame there's no sunlight.

Just imagining how beautifully my two horns and scale patterns would shine under the sunlight makes me feel good.

That's right. I successfully completed my evolution.

Although the size of my horns was still adorably small, having one on each side in a balanced manner seemed a bit cool.

My life has definitely changed since my horns sprouted.

Who am I?

The owner of "Billy's Horn".

And at the same time, the owner of "Leaping Horn".

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[Leaping Horn Lv1]

Concentrate your mind and leap with all your might.

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Yes, Leaping Horn.

This is even more nonsensical than Billy's Horn.

... Hmm.

I could see more things after evolving.

There was an explanation for Leaping Horn, but I couldn't understand what it was supposed to leap over.

Well, I'll probably figure it out as I use it.

And now I'm no longer a snake, but a python.

Of course, I'm still a snake, but if someone were to call me, I'd prefer to be called a python instead of a snake.

Like how a person living in New York would say "I live in New York~" instead of "I live in the USA~".

And the defining characteristic of a python was none other than its patterns.

Even with night vision, I couldn't see very clearly before, but now beautiful apricot-colored patterns appeared on my white body.

That it wasn't just for decoration was evident from my status window alone.

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[White Double Horn Python Lv1]

[Traits]

[Indomitable], [Perseverance], [Horn], [Pattern]

...

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Yes, Pattern became a trait.

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[Pattern]

You possess a pattern imbued with magic. It's not easily damaged and repels magic and curses below a certain level.

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So this is like a defense buff.

Plus, it repels magic.

The question is what "below a certain level" means exactly, but it's certainly a grateful trait.

Nice.

Now that I've also taken down a chimera.

Should I live like a king in this basin?

I think this might be the entrance to the great forest. At least I haven't seen any monsters stronger than the chimera.

I laughed with a hiss.

But was there really a god in this world?

One who punishes the arrogant...

My pattern trembled.

Or maybe it was my scales that trembled.

My friend Survival Instinct was telling me.

To run away.

But where to?

The burrow has two directions. Forward and backward.

I chose either one.

There really wasn't much of a gap between my Survival Instinct's warning and my response.

That's because I moved swiftly using my acceleration skill.

But it was already too late.

The burrow started to collapse.

That's what I thought at first.

To be precise, it wasn't collapsing.

The ground was rising up.

The burrow seemed to have been dug quite deep underground.

But the collapsing soil from the ceiling blocked the passages on both sides, and the ground where the chimera and I were quickly rose.

It's clearly an abnormal situation.

It's as if the soil is moving on its own.

Is this magic?

I tried using Magic Detection.

Ah, I couldn't help but tremble.

Torrents of magical power were swirling all around.

Like Van Gogh's Starry Night. Streams of glowing magical power flow through the soil.

If this is magic, it must be some kind of high-level elemental magic.

Ah, light is coming in from the ceiling.

We've already been lifted to the surface.

Damn, I quickly hid under the chimera for now.

Whoosh!

In an instant, we reached the surface.

And from the shadow of the chimera's corpse.

I witnessed the one who caused all this.

'It's a long-ear!'

There was an unmistakable fairy standing there.

Unlike Pelerian, a young and beautiful elf with long ears.

She looked like she had just stepped out of my preconceptions.

==

"Thank you."

Iris expressed her gratitude.

At her feet was a mole sniffing with its front paws raised.

Its semi-transparent appearance made it clear that it was neither an ordinary animal nor even a magical beast.

"You can go back now, Clay."

It was an elemental spirit.

One of the four elements. A spirit governing the element of earth or soil.

Although Iris hadn't mastered magic, befitting her noble elven lineage, she knew how to command spirits.

But the spirit wasn't Iris's possession.

Despite being told it could leave, Clay continued to sniff around and fidget.

Iris turned her attention away from the spirit.

She had discovered Pelerian's cursed product.

However, it was dead.

Dead in a burrow, at that.

She had sensed it through the spirit even before she saw it.

'It's in a terrible state.'

That was her first impression upon seeing the chimera's corpse.

Iris was an elf who had been through hell. As an excellent warrior and hunter, she had fought large magical beasts more than once or twice.

But the state of the chimera was enough to send chills down even Iris's spine.

Legs brutally severed.

Wounds all over its body, black blood emitting a foul odor, possibly poisoned.

Dead in the very state it had been crawling in, spilling its entrails and blood.

Who.

Who could have fought this chimera like this?

And how did it end up dead in a burrow?

There were no clues.

For now, she should collect its blood and retrieve any magic stones it might be carrying.

Just as Iris had made this decision and drawn her sword.

Tap tap.

Clay, the small mole-like spirit, tapped Iris's foot.

"What is it?"

The spirit pointed at the chimera's corpse.

No, to be precise...

"Oh? ... I see."

Then, could you help me for a moment?

Iris conveyed such a thought to the spirit.

The spirit obeyed its summoner's will.

Whoosh!

The ground rose up.

Despite having lost several of its legs, the heavy chimera bounced up and spun around.

And of course, the white snake that had been hiding underneath was revealed.

"Hmm."

It had horns on its head.

A horn-type magical beast.

'A white individual. An albino, huh.'

Albino magical beasts tend to stand out.

Most of them don't grow much before being eaten.

For one to have grown to adulthood like this, and with double horns at that.

It was quite an admirable feat.

Iris looked down at the snake.

She couldn't have imagined in the slightest.

That this small snake could have killed the chimera.

The snake moved quickly, seemingly trying to escape.

She reflexively tried to step on the snake's neck.

Whoosh-

And the snake dodged Iris's foot.

Not only did it dodge, but it counterattacked with surprising speed, leaping up.

Those fangs looked extremely sharp.

It must surely possess a deadly venom.

Iris tried to step back.

At that moment, the soil rose up and bound her feet.

It wasn't the spirit's doing.

'Could it be, this snake!'

A venomous snake's attack while her feet were bound.

If Iris had been a young fairy, she might have fallen for it.

However, there was no way a Golden Leaf Investigator could be stopped by such basic earth magic.

She shook off the soil and retreated.

The snake bit the air and fell.

Iris let out a small exclamation.

"So you've learned magic."

It's not uncommon for magical beasts to naturally acquire magic.

But for such a small creature? A mere snake?

"You'd be dangerous if allowed to grow."

Nip it in the bud. It's worth killing preemptively.

Iris made that judgment.

Her decisiveness was something even the elven elders acknowledged.

She swung her broadsword at the snake that had leaped again.

The head wasn't cleanly cut off with a thud.

Clang!

Instead, sparks flew.

==

Crazy long-ear.

I almost died.

Suddenly trying to step on me to death, and now swinging a sword!

My tiny heart is pounding.

My neck is split open with a wound.

Blood is trickling out.

But it wasn't cut off.

Huff, huff, I'm alive.

Something like adrenaline seems to be gushing out all over my body.

My whole body feels tingly and like it's floating.

That sword.

It's an Elven Broadsword. I know because I've used one before.

It's incredibly light and ridiculously sharp.

But it couldn't cut my neck and only produced sparks.

That was thanks to me figuring out how to use Leaping Horn in an instant.

The moment the sword came flying.

I instinctively knew that I couldn't dodge that sword strike.

Then I would have to block it.

I didn't have skills like Iron Armor or Carapace.

So all I had was Pattern.

How could I utilize the Pattern trait?

This series of thoughts occurred in less than a second.

I desperately wished.

「Using Leaping Horn Lv1 to surpass the limits of the 'Pattern' trait.」

「The 'Pattern' trait temporarily becomes 'Magic Circle: Defense'.」

That's right.

Leaping Horn was a skill that surpassed limits.

Thanks to that, it ended with just my neck's skin being split.

Thinking about it now, it was a close call.

If I hadn't found another magic stone from the chimera.

If I hadn't gotten a new horn because of that, my neck would have been cut clean off just now.

Surprisingly, I survived.

It seems I wasn't the only one shocked.

The fairy was standing with her mouth open and eyes wide.

Hey, I was even more surprised.

"..."

The crazy murderous fairy didn't give up.

A brilliant light enveloped the Elven Broadsword.

It's clearly an aura. Moreover, it's a much brighter and clearer aura than what that young knight Zain used.

If I get hit by that, I'll die instantly.

I tried to run away quickly.

Thud!

But damn it.

The ground rose up and my body floated.

I could see that mole spirit covering its mouth and laughing beside her.

I added it to my mental hit list.

Right below that crazy psychopath elf woman.

Ah, my life flashes before my eyes.

Well, there wasn't much to it.

Getting bitten by a Mosquito Rat.

Sharing neighborly affection with the friendly centipede couple.

The day I first evolved.

Those scenes flash by.

I had no means to block that glowing sword.

Leaping Horn had taken most of my magical power.

Farewell, world.

Potential of 20 or whatever is of no use now.

Mental Strength 20 is...

Well, I guess not giving up until the end is what befits Mental Strength 20, right?

A memory suddenly flashed.

When my tail was stepped on by a golem.

At that time, I thought my tail would surely be crushed, but it was fine.

It was thanks to the ring.

I instinctively curled my tail.

Honestly, no matter how sturdy the ring is, I don't think it can block that sword.

In that very short moment.

The elf's eyes widened as she saw my ring.

And the aura collided with the ring.

Boom!

Is this the kind of thunderous sound you'd hear if lightning struck right in front of you?

A shockwave erupted. It was something that couldn't have been produced by a simple collision of metal and metal.

Wait.

My consciousness blacked out for a moment.

When I opened my eyes, there were clouds beside me.

Damn, it was the sky.

I had been flung away at an incredible speed.

I could see the bewildered elf and the chimera's corpse far away.

Whoosh!

The air hit my body furiously.

I could see the entire Arkan Basin below.

In the clear sky, it felt like my tail might touch the sun.

Ah, my tail, and the ring are all safe.

What on earth is this thing made of?

However, gravity was a stubborn fellow that didn't know how to give up its own.

I fell, tracing a parabola.

This looks like I'm going to die for sure.

I survived a sword strike imbued with aura, but to die from falling? That's not even funny.

But it seems my luck hadn't run out yet.

The ground was rapidly approaching.

I fell, breaking several tree branches.

And then the water surface.

Splash!

I fell into a pond, creating a spray of water.

My whole body feels piercingly cold.

It felt like my entire body was about to burst with pain.

It seemed like several bones were broken, even though I had just evolved not long ago.

But I couldn't lose consciousness here.

Being a cold-blooded animal, my body would stiffen up in an instant.

I shook my body frantically.

Towards the shore, towards the ground.

「Due to the Perseverance trait, you are not restricted in skill acquisition」

「You have acquired Swimming Lv1.」

Oh, thanks~

But I've already gotten out of the water.

Gasp, gasp, I really almost died.

My whole body is cold.

Far away, I can see the elf standing next to the chimera.

I quickly hid my body behind a rock.

I made a resolution at this moment today.

Long-eared races, elves, fairies.

I won't trust any of them because they're all crazy bastards.

Ah, my anger is burning.

"What a crazy bitch."

Completely insane.

"Swinging a sword as soon as she sees someone, what a terribly nasty temper."

I don't know who you are, but could you stop saying the right things behind my back?

I quickly turned my head.

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[Pelerian's Signet Ring: Seal Released]

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Oh?

I wasn't surprised that the ring's seal was released.

It was because there was a semi-transparent old fairy, as if a person had been shrunk to barely a span in length, in front of it.

It was a familiar face.

And since I only know two fairies in the world.

It wasn't the crazy woman standing far away.

Pelerian?

Could it really be him in person?