Chapter 61
Someone must have deliberately made these snake-shaped statues.
They were staring at me with their mouths open.
It was too obvious. Even an idiot would know that something would come out of those mouths.
Whoosh!
Metal arrows were fired all at once.
It was extremely predictable.
Whoosh.
At the same time, flames passed over my head.
This was quite clever.
If I jumped to avoid the arrows, I would get caught in the flames, and if I avoided the flames, I would get hit by the arrows.
They seemed to have put some thought into this.
If an intruder had no information about this place, they could be driven out with just this one trap.
But it wouldn’t work on me.
Because I knew the perfect strategy.
That was simply to stay still.
Ting!
The metal arrows couldn’t pierce my scales and bounced off.
It’s not for nothing that they’re called dragon scales.
“Hieeek!”
[The faith of 【Ball Python lv14】 has increased.]
Of course, if those arrows were in perfect condition, I might have been hurt.
But the arrows were in poor shape.
They had clearly not been maintained for a long time, as they were covered in rust.
If they had been made of wood, they would have rotted and been useless, but since they were metal, they at least retained their shape.
Regardless, they couldn’t penetrate my body.
Even the device shooting the arrows wasn’t functioning properly.
When I lightly pushed it with my hand, the statue wobbled and fell over.
Crash!
“Hiek!”
Shishishi was startled.
I had passed the entrance trap like this.
Walking a bit further, I saw two forks in the road.
A fork in the road.
This was not something I could solve with my body.
Python.
I’ll trust you.
“Shish!”
Python raised its head stiffly, then pointed to the left.
You’re telling me to go that way?
Python nodded.
Then, it raised its head upward.
Shishishi had assumed a strange posture.
It must have something to tell me.
I didn’t need the status window’s help for this.
It was a warning to be cautious of above.
I activated Sprint once again.
It was to quickly pass through that section.
As I ran at high speed using Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
Click!
I heard the sound of a mechanical device activating.
Something would fall from the ceiling.
I recognized the familiar smell.
A fragrant yet somewhat fishy smell.
…Oil!
This was something I absolutely had to avoid.
I stepped on the wall with Gecko Kung Fu and increased my speed even more.
Tadadadadot!
No matter how resilient I was, if boiling oil was poured over me, I’d end up as fried lizard.
Whoosh!
At the last moment, I put strength into my legs and jumped as if flying, barely escaping the trap’s range.
Phew….
As soon as I escaped, oil poured down all at once.
Thunk!
…Thunk?
Why was there a thunking sound?
I turned my head to check the path I had come from.
Oil had indeed fallen.
But it wasn’t boiling oil; it was cold, solidified oil.
…How long has this place been neglected?
Various other traps awaited me.
Most of the traps didn’t activate, and even if they did, they lacked the power to kill anyone.
In one trap where a log was supposed to fly, only the rope that tied the log came flying.
“Saaaaak!”
A somewhat threatening trap activated.
Various poisonous insects, including millipedes, centipedes, and scorpions, charged at me.
It seemed they had managed to survive, finding something to eat in here.
Kwakakak!
The insects’ attacks fiercely hit my body.
“Hieek!”
Python was startled and tried to somehow remove the insects below.
Quite admirable.
As expected of rank 3.
More useful than Tang So-yeong.
But, you don’t really need to.
There’s no way they could pierce my dragon scales.
Even if they bit the parts without scales, I wouldn’t be affected by the poison thanks to my immunity.
I slowly counted the types of insects.
Centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, bees.
There were no spiders.
Which meant I could safely deal with all of them.
The insects tried to climb my body.
If I delayed any longer, Python might get bitten.
Time to handle them.
Whirlwind Kick.
Swishswishswishswish!
I swung my hind legs swiftly.
Not only did the insects on my legs get flung off, but those crawling up also got smashed.
Having removed those on me, it was time to deal with the rest.
I put strong force into my legs.
A slow but unavoidable strike.
Strong Dragon’s Shockwave.
Kwoooosh!
The swarm of insects was swept away by the shockwave and wiped out.
“Hieeek!”
[【Ball Python lv14】 respects you.]
It’s nothing to be impressed by.
…But isn’t this too easy?
The dangerous traps didn’t activate, and those that did couldn’t harm me at all.
It was so easy it felt like a training ground set up just for me.
Is that why Baek Yeonyeong sent me here?
To easily and safely obtain a fortuitous encounter?
If there was a sect called Yeonyeong Sect, I’d join immediately.
I worship you, Yeonyeong.
…Though my heart says so, I can’t actually do that.
Because I am the protagonist who serves four gods.
And upon reflection, this place wasn’t that easy.
Reaching this temple was difficult in itself.
If I hadn’t charmed this plump snake, I wouldn’t have found it.
Seeing the black dragon wandering around might have scared me off.
Even if someone had found this place, an ordinary lizard would have been killed by the rusty arrows at the entrance.
As I continued walking, avoiding traps, I came across a space different from what I’d seen so far.
It was an open garden-like space.
Light seeped in through the slightly open ceiling, and unknown weeds grew tall on the ground.
There was also, unsurprisingly, a snake statue waiting for me here.
The difference was, this time, its mouth was closed.
It was a very wide clearing.
This was probably the central area of the temple.
Surely, something must be hidden here.
“Shish!”
Python raised its head stiffly.
It moved as if telling me to go to the center.
Following Python’s advice, I headed to the center.
There was a stone structure in the center, surrounded by many unreadable Chinese characters. The only character I could recognize was the “Heaven” character.
But I couldn’t find what I wanted.
There must be a complex mechanism hidden here that I couldn’t understand with this lizard brain.
I glanced at Python.
Shishishi tilted its head.
It slithered and climbed onto the center of the structure.
You know something, don’t you?
Alright.
My little cutie, I’ll count on you.
Python opened its mouth wide.
Was it because it was a snake? Its mouth opened much wider than I expected.
Crack.
…It opened quite a lot.
Creeeak.
“Cheep!”
With a chick-like sound, a white beam shot out from my little cutie’s mouth.
Boom!
…You could do that?
Isn’t that what the Anzu used to shoot?
A destructive beam?
Although it was on a different scale from what the Anzu used, it was undeniably similar.
Since the Anzu is a mythical creature, it’s acceptable for it to shoot destructive beams from its mouth.
But the cute creature in front of me was a snake.
A ball python, a snake that exists in reality.
And this snake shot a beam from its mouth?
While pondering the true identity of this cute snake, something fell in front of me.
【Mid-level Core】
【Low-level Core】
【Intermediate Core】
They were cores.
There were many of them, though the grades were a bit low.
And intermediate-level cores, while a bit disappointing, weren’t that low either.
What does it matter what this snake’s true identity is?
It’s a treasure trove, a real gem.
[【Ball Python lv14】 feels proud.]
I gently petted Python’s head.
The treasure twisted its body in pleasure.
I felt like my own tail was twisting too.
I managed to obtain three cores at once.
Just as I was about to swallow all the cores at once, I paused.
Is it okay for me to eat all three when I just got them?
“Kekeke.”
Do you want a bite too?
“Shish!”
The treasure shook its head and burrowed into my embrace.
That plump body looked especially pretty today.
It definitely wasn’t because of the cores.
Chomp.
I gulped down the three cores in front of me.
The energy within my body began to surge.
Rumble….
Normally, one should avoid consuming many cores at once.
The energies could clash.
But I wasn’t an ordinary lizard.
I was a lizard that even ate the Azure Sky Immortal Dew, a thief of miraculous elixirs.
Three intermediate-level cores were no problem.
I could store them in my belly and slowly absorb the energy later.
“Shish!”
Python was rubbing its head against my leg.
Its tail wagged like a puppy.
“Kekeke.”
But, my treasure.
Don’t you have anything more?
A shameless lizard seemed to think even three cores weren’t enough.
“Hiek….”
Python rolled its eyes, looking around.
There’s more, isn’t there?
[【Ball Python lv14】 hesitates.]
Come on. Why are you like this between us?
[【Ball Python lv14】 fidgets nervously.]
The treasure glanced at my face, then quickly bowed its head.
While three cores were a great elixir, it didn’t feel like the best there could be.
Baek Yeonyeong had told me there was a fortuitous encounter here.
There must be something at least comparable to the Azure Sky Immortal Dew.
“Hiek….”
[【Ball Python lv14】 says it can’t do that.]
Should I give its butt a light tap?
Spiders liked that sort of thing.
…But it might not work since it’s a snake.
Besides, I don’t even know where its butt is.
Sigh, what should I do….
It feels like I almost have it….
Python was desperately lowering its head.
It seemed to hesitate to look at my face.
It must be weighing its options.
Should it hand over the deed to its house to a bad lizard it met for the first time today?
I had no choice but to use my trump card.
‘Tail Cutting.’
Swoosh!
I hate to say it myself, but the females around me loved this tail.
Not only spiders, but even Tang So-yeong and Baek Yeonyeong liked my tail, so this plump tail must have some invisible charm.
Now that I had become a spiritual creature, my tail must have some mystical effect as well.
Otherwise, there’s no way both spiders and humans would like my tail.
There was a high chance that this snake would like my tail too.
I was a bit concerned about selling my body for elixirs, but what did the process matter?
I extended my severed tail to Python, who was looking down.
“Hieeek!”
Python was startled.
It alternated between looking at me and the tail before suddenly collapsing.
“Hiek!”
It quickly got back up and gently wrapped its body around the tail I offered.
Python’s round eyes stared at me for a long time.
“Hieek….”
Python lowered its head in embarrassment.
A message from the status window arrived.
[【Ball Python lv14】 has declared it will give you all its elixirs, body, and heart.]
Great!
…Huh?
[The Snake Queen is furious at your indecent behavior.]
Not great.
No.
I didn’t mean it like that.
[The Snake Queen is very curious about your face.]