Chapter 2:
The Deathbearing Serpent
Part 1
I RAN THROUGH THE FOREST with Allo and Treant on my back. Flying would have been faster, but I didn’t feel safe in the air with the threat of the Origin Matter looming over us. I didn’t want to attract it—or any other monsters of that caliber. And even though the tower was a good distance away, at my current speed, it wouldn’t take more than a few days to get there.
Besides, I want to raise my level up a decent amount before we get there, and evolve Treant if I can too… Can Treant pull it off? It’s gotta, right?
I glanced behind me. Treant was staring at me intently in its tree spirit state. ‹Master…after everything you said, you’re still worried about me?›
Ugh. This was the one downfall of Telepathy…! ‹N-no! I’m not that worried!› I protested, shaking my head.
“Not that worried…?” Allo repeated, head tilted. C-crap!
A-anyway, even if there did end up being some sort of hint at the tower about how to get back to our home world, there was no way I could go back as I was now. I couldn’t even beat the Origin Matter, and the Divine Voice’s Spirit Servants were bound to be far stronger.
Whenever I caught the presence of a monster nearby with Psychic Sense, I tried to give it a wide berth. Even if it was a strong monster that would give a lot of experience points, it wouldn’t be great for raising Allo and Treant’s levels. Instead, I was keeping an eye out for a pack of moderately powerful monsters. Thankfully, it looked like there were plenty of monsters around who were just below the kesaran pasarans in terms of strength. While we wouldn’t come across such convenient groups that often, we should be able to find one close enough before too long.
For now, rather than leveling myself up, I wanted to focus on leveling Allo up, making Treant evolve, finding a way to get back to our home world, and getting rid of my evolution cap. I’d get plenty of experience points for myself if I managed to defeat the Origin Matter, anyway. If other Legendary rank monsters roamed this forest, I’d have no trouble raising my own level.
Of course, whether I could win against them or not was another matter entirely. Having this plan in place let me prioritize my other goals, though, and that was all that mattered right now. We were working with an unknown time limit—two of them, in fact, between the Mad God condition and whatever horrors might be happening in our home world while we were gone. There was no way to tell how long leveling myself up would take, so for now, all our other goals took priority
But maybe finding a convenient pack of moderately strong monsters here might be easier said than done… All the presences I’d picked up on nearby so far were single monsters. Maybe we’d have to fight single enemies after all…
But Treant would never get to max level that way. It just wasn’t suited for hunting down higher-level monsters. Allo, on the other hand, could hunt as many powerful monsters as she liked as long as she could use her mobility and protect herself.
I’d always known Treant struggled with leveling up because of its status. Honestly, I hated to say it, but Treant wasn’t really suited for the dangers of this world, period.
‹Master…› Treant called out to me with Telepathy, its voice morose.
I didn’t respond; I just kept running, and kept my mind carefully blank.
Just as I resolved to throw in the towel, my Psychic Sense caught on to a multitude of presences in the distance.
My mouth opened in shock as I realized just how many there were. I’d been thinking a group would be perfect, but I wasn’t expecting a group that large. I couldn’t see them to check their statuses yet, but I had a feeling they might be a good enemy for Treant to farm for levels.
H-hold on. Be careful, me! Don’t go assuming these guys are small fry without knowing anything! That’s an easy way to make a big mistake!
“Gah!” As we got closer, my paw sank into the now-soft ground with a splash that covered my underside in a layer of mud. I stopped moving and peered at the ground ahead of me; it seemed even muddier than where we were now.
Great. A swamp.
‹Allo, Treant, watch out! I think there’s a nest of enemies nearby.›
I noticed two of the presences getting closer. They seemed to think they were approaching undetected, but I could spot them easily. Maybe they’re not great at hiding?
“Givaa!”
Two huge heads emerged from the swampy underbrush on either side of us. I kicked out of the mud and forced my way into the air. Behind me, the two heads snapped their jaws shut on air.
I spun around and looked at my opponents. Six eerie vertical pupils stared back at me from two blue-black serpents; each had an additional eye on its forehead. I could only see their heads, but based on the size, they had to be about eight meters long.
Hmm. They don’t look like much of a threat, but I can’t be too careful. First, let’s check out their status!
Species: Deathadder
Status: Mad God
Lv: 64/100
HP: 632/632
MP: 453/453
Attack: 552
Defense: 361
Magic: 522
Agility: 660
Rank: A−
Special Skills:
Automatic HP Recovery: Lv 7
Heat Sensor: Lv 7
Stealth: Lv 6
Petrifying Gaze: Lv 8
Mad God: Lv —
Resistance Skills:
Physical Resistance: Lv 6
Magic Resistance: Lv 6
Petrify Resistance: Lv 8
Poison Resistance: Lv 5
Paralysis Resistance: Lv 5
Curse Resistance: Lv 5
Normal Skills:
Clay: Lv 7
Diseased Breath: Lv 7
Curse: Lv 7
Gravity: Lv 7
Cursed Fireball: Lv 6
Foul Bite: Lv 6
Regenerate: Lv 6
Filthy Tongue: Lv 6
Call Allies: Lv 5
Title Skills:
Former Beast King’s Servant: Lv —
Final Evolution: Lv —
Deathbearing Serpent: Lv —
Forest Prisoner: Lv —
Sorcerer: Lv 7
“Graaaaaaaaaah!” I roared in joy. Finally!
The two deathadders flinched, then began to tremble.
‹M-Master?! What is it?›
‹This is it! The monsters I’ve been looking for! They’re the perfect opponent to level you up! I can’t believe it!›
Usually, when we come across a lucky find like this, there was some sort of catch involved. But the deathadders seemed like fairly easy monsters to deal with. They didn’t have much by way of specialties; their stats were pretty even across the board. A jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type monster. To be honest, they weren’t great evolutions in general, but as enemies, there was no easier target. They were also rank A−; exactly the rank I was looking for.
‹This is great news for you, Treant! I doubt you’ll evolve with just these two, but you should be able to bump up your level quite a bit!›
The deathadders stared at me, still trembling, then opened their jaws wide and let out a bloodcurdling screech. “Givaaaaaaaaaa!”
I turned away from the two deathadders’ extending heads and flapped my wings, increasing my altitude. Their heads followed after me, reaching as far as they could.
‹Are we retreating, Master?› Treant asked, confused.
‹What’re you talking about? I’m doing this to give you a chance to attack, Treant.›
‹Hmm?› Treant tilted its head, peered at me intensely for a few moments, and then nodded. It had to be using Telepathy, I realized.
‹Yup. We’re gonna have to go higher if we want your Meteor Stomp to be strong enough.›
‹U-understood.› Treant responded, sounding resigned.
I flew up to the very tops of the giant trees covering Ngai Forest. The deathadders were a little smaller than I’d thought—closer to seven meters than eight—so I knew they couldn’t reach us up here. They stared up at us from below, hissing.
‹All right! Let ’er rip, Treant!›
‹Y-yes, Master!› Treant leapt from my back and released its Tree Spirit Transformation in midair to revert to its massive tyrant guardian form. It then used Fire Sphere to coat its entire body in flames, then Statue to turn its body into metal. The now massive hunk of burning metal that was Treant dropped down on the deathadders like an anvil. They looked up at Treant, stunned, as if they’d never expected such a bizarre attack. Well, this is what happens when things drop on you from the sky outta nowhere.
A boom echoed through the trees: the sound of Treant landing squarely on the head of one of the deathadders and splatting into the mud. A wave of mud flew into the air and then splashed back down. Treant’s Meteor Stomp had gone off without a hitch.
The deathadder who’d suffered the direct hit floated limply in the swamp, its head sideways, forked tongue lolling out of its mouth. The blow didn’t kill it, but it’d knocked out most of its HP in one fell swoop. The other serpent, stunned but mostly unhurt, looked around in bewilderment.
It was a difficult skill to prepare and we didn’t get many opportunities to use it, but when we did, Meteor Stomp really shone as a powerful technique. And the higher the drop, the more powerful it became. The deathadders were a rank above Treant; that a single attack could nearly one-hit KO one was amazing.
‹Ah! Master!› As I admired the impressive scene, I heard Treant’s panicked cries from below me. Uh oh. No time to gloat. Treant’s still stuck in the swamp!
Treant’s trunk was sticking out from the swamp’s surface. It began to shrink as it used Tree Spirit Transformation in an attempt to unstick itself from the bottom. As it struggled, though, three more deathadders peeked out from the swamp; the impact of the Meteor Stomp must’ve alerted them. All four deathadders spotted Treant at once and locked eyes with it.
‹Masteeeer! Heeeelp!› Treant’s telepathic message sounded even more frantic than the last one.
I immediately swooped down toward the swamp. If I don’t do something, they’ll eat him!
“Dark Kaleidoscope!” Allo shouted from my back, enveloping herself in black light. Her silhouette blurred, then split into three identical shadows.