“Welcome, Pelerian.”
A voice spoke.
Boom.
The sound of the iron door I had just passed through closing echoed.
No one will be able to pass through the iron door now.
Unlike before when it opened with just a few knocks, this door had a more complex locking mechanism installed.
“You went through the trouble of setting up an identity verification device for no reason.”
‘That’s right.’
Originally, Pelerian designed it so that one had to spill their own blood on the iron door to enter.
At the same time, one had to authenticate their voice and emit their unique magic power wave for the door to open.
It was excessively thorough. I almost couldn’t get in despite coming all the way here.
Fortunately, Pelerian himself had designed that security system.
He had created a backdoor, so I was able to open the door one way or another.
‘It’s not like it’s some kind of public certificate system.’
“What’s that?”
‘There is such a thing.’
The lights turned on.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
It was similar to the sound of halogen lamps turning on when entering an abandoned warehouse in a Hollywood movie.
A neatly organized corridor came into view.
I tensed up without realizing it.
What if a golem suddenly wakes up again?
Seeing how well-preserved the dungeon is, it doesn’t seem like the security golems will be half-destroyed like before.
Thinking about it now, those golems were incredibly strong.
Even if it were the current me, I probably couldn’t win against them.
“Haha, don’t worry. There are no traps or security devices inside here.”
Pelerian chuckled gleefully seeing me scared.
What a mischievous old man.
‘What’s different about this place?’
“Dungeon 123 is not designed assuming the entry of outsiders. It’s made solely with the assumption that I would enter. Therefore, while the external security is strong, the inside is made to be comfortable.”
I see.
This time, as soon as we entered the dungeon, a voice saying “Welcome, Pelerian” was heard.
The previous dungeon’s exact name was ‘Laboratory’. And this place is ‘Magic Stone Storage’.
Suddenly, I became curious.
‘But, it’s not like you only have one or two dungeons, couldn’t you send someone else in?’
“Ah…”
‘You could ask a friend to bring some magic stones for you.’
With security this tight, isn’t that impossible?
If you have to come in person every time, it would be terribly inconvenient.
Pelerian was silent.
Just when I was about to forget I had asked a question, he opened his mouth.
“…I don’t have friends.”
‘How did you know!’
I was startled.
“Huh?”
‘Ah… You said you don’t have friends.’
“That’s right.”
For a moment, I thought he meant I didn’t have friends.
It was embarrassing, but I tried to ask again as if nothing happened.
‘Then what about trustworthy colleagues?’
“…”
Pelerian was silent again.
After a while, he answers.
“None.”
‘Trustworthy subordinates?’
More silence.
“…I don’t think I have any.”
If I were truly an evil snake, I would have asked like this.
No, you’re an elf, so you must have lived for a very long time, how can that be?
You must have family at least. Don’t you have family you can ask such favors? Siblings or at least parents!
Like that.
But I’m not that ruthless of a snake.
Pelerian had sworn to me.
He would answer honestly to my questions and follow my words.
But that doesn’t mean I’m treating Pelerian as an unpaid slave.
If it’s not absolutely necessary to know, I don’t force questions.
If I had really asked questions like earlier, Pelerian would have felt ashamed.
When taking someone in, you must embrace them with your heart.
Truly loyal subordinates can never be obtained by force.
Of course, Pelerian himself probably doesn’t think I consider him a subordinate.
“What are you looking at?”
You can tell by that.
‘What do you mean what am I looking at? We should quickly go to the magic stone storage.’
“We are going!”
Pelerian continued the conversation while bickering with me.
When the topic of evolution came up, his voice brightened as if he had never been grumpy.
“Forget about that result sheet now.”
He was talking about the special evolution conditions I had looked up in the Chimera’s dungeon earlier.
“In my view, it’s fair to say that your evolution tree has no limits.”
‘Gasp.’
To see through my potential of 20. As expected of Pelerian.
I asked about something I was curious about.
‘Then could I suddenly evolve into a different monster?’
“A different monster?”
‘Yes, like a centipede.’
I suddenly asked that because a centipede came to mind.
“It’s both impossible and possible.”
I didn’t like such vague answers.
Fortunately, Pelerian added a specific explanation.
“If you grow legs in the next evolution, then a carapace in the next, and then venomous claws in the next, you could evolve into a centipede-type monster. But why would you?”
I had no intention of doing so either.
“Whether by chance or not, you are evolving very efficiently. I explained that there’s a limit to the number of times each monster can evolve, right?”
‘Yes, teacher.’
“For some reason, you’ve repeated evolutions in a short period, but it seems you can still evolve much more. It’s amazing that even lowly creatures like snakes, centipedes, and spiders can evolve several times.”
We agreed not to call them lowly creatures.
But since it sounded like a compliment, I listened quietly.
‘What do you mean by evolving efficiently?’
“Efficient evolution doesn’t necessarily mean evolving into a strong monster. In some ways, it might even be the opposite.”
‘Then?’
“It means you can evolve in a direction with greater potential. For example, let’s assume you evolved in a different tree instead of this one.”
Professor Pelerian began his lecture.
“While the Little Green Snake’s evolution tree is diverse, the most common direction is to increase its size.”
From Little Green Snake, to Green Snake, and then to Giant Green Snake.
“That’s often the end for them.”
‘Only that far!’
“If they’re lucky, some might go as far as Green Snake King.”
A Giant Green Snake is a massive snake reaching 10m in length.
But to end there after evolving only three times.
Considering that I evolved into a White Double Horn Python after just three evolutions, isn’t that too disappointing?
“Then you should evolve into a higher species before becoming a Giant Green Snake. There could be paths like becoming a python, like you did.”
‘What about Mother Medusa?’
“You mean the Medusa Serpent. That too followed a special evolution process.”
‘Serpent’.
That was a higher snake monster species than snakes or pythons.
“A monster that became a serpent and gained petrification ability probably evolved into a Medusa Serpent. But that’s also a disappointing direction. The Medusa Serpent can probably only evolve once more.”
Oh ho.
The assumption that Mother Medusa could evolve further was true.
“You should aim to evolve into a serpent too. Serpents go through special evolution processes that other named snake monsters also go through.”
I don’t want to become a Medusa Serpent. It’s too ugly.
There was something that bothered me in Pelerian’s words.
‘Named snake monsters?’
“Some are recorded in documents, and some individuals are presumed to be alive. I’ll explain about that later. For now, your current evolution is important.”
The special evolution condition I should achieve first.
Pelerian spoke lightly.
“There’s an efficient and sure method. It’s a secret only I know…”
‘What is it!’
A more bland answer than expected came back.
“Eating a lot of high-grade magic stones.”
‘Ah.’
“Normally, it would be an evolution condition impossible to achieve at your level. Where would a monster get that many magic stones?”
It truly was so.
Not all monsters contain magic stones.
Monsters with high-grade magic stones would all be incredibly strong.
But this place is Pelerian’s magic stone storage.
It’s no different from an all-you-can-eat buffet.
“It’s impossible to raise the level of evolution through magical saturation like before. But this is even better. You’ll be able to evolve into a species that can handle large amounts of magical power!”
My heart swells.
‘Finally, I can become a real swordsman!’
My heart races at the thought of being able to learn the Invisible Hand magic.
I will definitely become a grand master of snake swordsmanship.
“…Magic is the ultimate discipline.”
Pelerian clicked his tongue but pointed with his finger.
“Pull that lever.”
I did so.
Click.
Then, the wall opens.
Whoosh, white steam billows out.
A cold sensation enters.
And something like a display case pops out.
“That is my magic stone collection. Look at it, and applaud.”
‘Wow!’
I exclaimed in admiration.
I thought it would be a dusty warehouse since it’s called a storage, but what’s this?
Covered with crystal plates, it looked just like a jewelry box.
In the sense that I can eat them, it also looked like a high-end chocolatier’s chocolate display case.
Dozens of magic stones were densely arranged.
The smallest ones were 1st grade magic stones the size of beans.
──────────────
[1st Grade Magic Stone], [1st Grade Magic Stone], [1st Grade Magic Stone], [1st Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [2nd Grade Magic Stone], [3rd Grade Magic Stone], [3rd Grade Magic Stone], [3rd Grade Magic Stone], [3rd Grade Magic Stone], [3rd Grade Magic Stone], [4th Grade Magic Stone], [4th Grade Magic Stone], [4th Grade Magic Stone]…
──────────────
Next to them were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade stones, with 4th grade magic stones being as big as acorns.
Pelerian burst into laughter.
“Eat gratefully, snake, you can eat as much as you can! You’ll probably reach magical saturation at some point and won’t be able to eat anymore, but…”
Even the Chimera’s magic stone was only a 4th grade magic stone.
When I ate two, my magical power was completely filled.
Pelerian made an even more generous decision.
“You can take as many of the leftovers as you can fit in your subspace.”
Ah, he shouldn’t have said that.
“…Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you at a loss for words because you’re too grateful, snake?”
Pelerian’s tone was exceedingly kind.
But the problem is that when he acts like this, I can’t help but be suspicious even if I don’t want to be.
Although the time we’ve spent together hasn’t been long, it was more than enough to grasp Pelerian’s personality.
‘There’s more, right?’
“Hm?”
‘The magic stones, this isn’t all of them, is it?’
The best magic stones I’ve eaten were the two 4th grade magic stones that the Chimera had.
The Chimera was a formidable enemy from my perspective. Even now, it wouldn’t be easy to fight.
But what about Pelerian?
Is it really just 4th grade magic stones that he’s hidden in such a massive dungeon?
That couldn’t be.
I expressed my dissatisfaction in an old-fashioned manner.
‘Show me more before you try to fool me.’
“…”
‘Staying silent won’t work. Be honest and reveal everything.’
We were just talking about trust and whatnot earlier.
But I still need to look out for myself.
Pelerian agonized for a while before nodding.
“Pull the lever on the right again.”
I did so.
Whoosh-
And just like before, another display case popped out.
Only then could I finally smile.
──────────────
[5th Grade Magic Stone], [5th Grade Magic Stone], [5th Grade Magic Stone], [6th Grade Magic Stone], [6th Grade Magic Stone], [7th Grade Magic Stone], …[9th Grade Magic Stone]
──────────────
The quantity is small, but the quality is high.
There was even one 9th grade magic stone.
Just how many grades of magic stones are there?
‘There’s really nothing else hidden, right?’
“Do you think magic stones just pop out whenever you catch a monster, damn it-! I sold the higher grades for money. Happy now?”
‘Why are you getting angry?’
Pelerian huffed.
I consoled him.
‘If I don’t take them, the fairies will come and steal them anyway.’
“Who knows… If I completely collapse the rock, they might not find it.”
‘Tsk tsk.’
Pelerian eventually acknowledged my words.
“Just eat as much as you can. If there’s any left, you’ll have to return it later.”
He’s talking about if he ever regains his body.
“Start eating from the lower grade stones. Otherwise, your body might really explode and die. This is not a lie.”
I nodded.
That was the truth.
‘Then I’ll eat.’
I started with the 1st grade magic stones.
I wonder what monster these were extracted from.
Even magic stones of the same grade tasted different from each other.
It seems to depend on who the original owner was.
“You eat well.”
I devoured all 10 of the 1st grade magic stones.
「Absorbing a large amount of magical energy.」
「Level is at the limit.」
「Unabsorbed magical energy is being stored.」
──────────────
[White Double Horn Python Lv20+]
──────────────
A + appeared next to the level.
Next are the 2nd grade magic stones.
I easily ate all 10 of the 2nd grade magic stones too.
“Aren’t you getting full yet? Is your skin itchy or anything?”
‘Nope.’
I’m fine.
From the 3rd grade magic stones, the quality is different.
Even just one magic stone from the Horn Jaguar would have been a luxurious meal for my past self.
「Absorbing a large amount of magical energy.」
「Unabsorbed magical energy is being stored.」
The + became two.
“This is strange, strange…”
Despite Pelerian’s worries, I could eat more.
There wasn’t much strain on my body either.
Does my potential extend to the talent of a food fighter?
I ate all the 3rd grade magic stones.
I was starting to feel a bit full.
The 4th grade magic stones were indeed challenging.
I was almost done eating all of them when I got a reaction.
It felt like my body was about to burst. It didn’t seem to be a problem of my stomach being full.
“Crazy, you really eat well.”
Pelerian started to admire me, beyond just feeling regretful.
“Don’t push yourself too hard…”
‘Wait.’
I still have one more trick up my sleeve.
There were a few skills that had reached level 10.
──────────────
[White Double Horn Python Lv20+++]
[Skills]
…
※Evolution possible:
[Biting Lv10], [Leap Lv10]
…
──────────────
Yes, let’s evolve.
But, there was something written beyond my expectations.
──────────────
※Due to the special benefit of the title ‘Heart-eating Snake’, you can fuse evolve skills.
‘It is said that there is a special technique for eating hearts’
──────────────
My heart raced when I saw this text.
Alright.
「Consuming magical energy to fuse evolve skills.」
「Biting Lv10 and Leap Lv10 are fusing.」
Thump thump.
「Obtained the skill ‘Leap of Heart-eating Lv1’.」
I became a snake that could physically steal people’s hearts.
But does this mean I can’t use the Leap and Biting skills separately anymore?
I’ll have to check.
“Urgh.”
The magical energy drained instantly.
I started eating again.
“How much more are you going to eat!”
Pelerian was in a frenzy of excitement.
After eating all the 4th grade magic stones, I finally started on the 5th grade ones.
Surprisingly, I was completely full after eating just two 5th grade magic stones.
──────────────
[White Double Horn Python Lv20++++]
…
[Status]
[Evolution Possible]
──────────────
「You have achieved the special conditions for evolution.」
This seems to be my limit.
“You ate five times more than I thought…”
Pelerian, who looked like he had been burned white, muttered.
Well then, shall we start the evolution right away?
I was feeling drowsy from overeating anyway.
“There should be an evolution option related to magical saturation. Look carefully!”
I was planning to do that even without Pelerian’s nagging.
I settled down and closed my eyes.
As always.
I fell into a deep sleep in an instant.
==
──────────────
From [White Double Horn Python Lv20] to
[Long Double Horn Python]
[Poison Double Horn Python]
[Hot Pink Double Horn Python]
──────────────
Wait, what’s with the hot pink?
Could it be because I ate the inner core of the Crimson Tarantula King?
White and red mixed…
This is definitely a pass.
I don’t want to lose my dignity.
I read on.
──────────────
[Green Double Horn Python]
──────────────
No, I said I’m not doing green.
When will the green option disappear?
Isn’t there anything related to magic stones?
And, the last option.
When I saw it, I felt my scales stand on end.
I instinctively felt it.
──────────────
[Crystal Double Horn Python]
──────────────
Crystal.
Quartz, or crystalline.
I can imagine it. My appearance with skin shining like crystal.
Crystal snakes, crystal lizards, and such were very rare monsters in games too.
Crystal is strictly white as well.
Isn’t this a gift from heaven for me who didn’t want to give up on white?
The magic stones I devoured also looked like crystals in a way.
The other options were not good at all.
They either changed color or had nothing to do with magical power.
Maybe it’s an evolution that strengthens the scales?
Since the pattern had its own effect, the scales must have something different too.
Yes, there’s no reason to hesitate.
「You have selected Crystal Double Horn Python.」
「Starting evolution.」
I began to evolve.
==
And, outside.
It had been a day since the new chief Nanaluk and the sacred snake Ullullullu killed Croc.
Nanaluk was evolving in the hut that used to be Croc’s dwelling, and Ullullullu still hadn’t come out from underground.
All the warriors of the Lunga tribe, who had newly occupied this place, had bright expressions.
The new king of the goblins.
Unlike Croc, Nanaluk, who was excellent in character as well, would lead the goblins of the great forest on a new path.
The hobgoblins who participated in the battle, including Jadiram, were in a good mood.
There were no more threatening enemies now, but Jadiram and Kadiram volunteered to stand guard.
“Is the chief okay?”
“Yes, he collapsed but they say he’ll wake up soon. Hehe.”
The two were having a pleasant conversation.
That’s when someone approached.
“Hey. Hobgoblins.”
Kadiram and Jadiram were startled.
They hadn’t noticed the approach, but someone had appeared right in front of them.
His attire didn’t suit this hot jungle.
A long coat. And a hat.
A tall, slender man.
His appearance was beautiful, but his skin was ashen.
Above all, those long ears.
It was none other than a shadow elf.
“Where is Croc?”
He asked gloomily.
It was clearly goblin language, though clumsy.
Jadiram and Kadiram raised their weapons and shouted.
“Who are you!”
“…Hmm.”
The shadow elf clicked his tongue.
“That stupid fool. Seems he’s dead after all.”
“We said identify yourself!”
Kadiram shouted threateningly.
But the shadow elf muttered something, ignoring them.
Kadiram turned to look at Jadiram, unsure of what to do.
“Keh-ack, keck.”
For a moment, he thought he had seen wrong.
There was a large hole in Jadiram’s neck.
Blood gushed out, and Jadiram collapsed with a thud.
“You.”
The shadow elf said, wiping the blood from his hand.
“You will guide me to the dungeon.”