I stared at the Devil’s Minion with a dumbfounded expression.
It said it was the Devil’s Minion, so was it sent by the devil?
“To be lumped together with the same fairy is shameful. Selling your soul to the devil.”
Pelerian’s voice dripped with contempt.
‘What’s a Devil’s Minion?’
“It’s exactly as it sounds. The devil must have sent a minion to this guy’s house. It’s close to a spirit body. It seems to be burrowing into the head of a low-intelligence magical beast to control its body…”
It must have mistaken me for an ordinary magical beast.
So it immediately burrowed into my head.
Low-intelligence magical beast?
But why into my head?
‘Can it freely control people or fairies too, then?’
“There’s no way a low-level minion could do that. It probably thought you were just an ordinary snake.”
It’s an extremely unpleasant thing.
I don’t think I would have been controlled even without my Indomitable trait.
Die, you bastard!
I tried to bite the dead Devil’s Minion.
Unlike when it had easily passed through my tail earlier, now I could bite it.
“What does it taste like?”
‘It tastes like cheongpomuk (clear jelly).’
Pelerian made an expression that said, ‘Another nonsensical remark I can’t understand.’
「You use Devouring lv7.」
「You digest the Devil’s Minion.」
Oh.
Devouring was actually a skill whose significance was difficult to understand.
I thought it was just a skill that allowed me to eat more, but suddenly it started to show its presence.
Although it didn’t taste like much, I completely ate it up.
「You have hunted and devoured the Devil’s Minion.」
「The Devil’s Minions will be a little afraid of you.」
So that’s how it is.
The effect of Devouring seems to be producing an output by eating something up.
It’s not that eating just anything produces something, but it only has an effect when eating such rare food.
I might have to become a gourmet snake from now on.
“Stop dawdling and let’s search quickly!”
Pelerian urged.
Dragon scales, and an invisibility cloak.
Two treasures that were supposed to be in Deshnan’s house.
‘Yes!’
It’s not that I wasn’t excited.
I started to search the shadow fairy’s house.
==
“Why isn’t it here!”
Pelerian jumped up and down in anger.
I was the same. I made my body like a spring and jumped up and down.
‘My invisibility cloak!’
I had heard that Deshnan definitely had a magical tool that could completely hide his body.
It was even said that he could escape from Pelerian and even hero-class strong ones.
If I just had that, I would be perfect.
Maybe I could even take down Gunter, who is Medusa Mom’s enemy.
But that cloak was nowhere to be seen.
The dragon scales were the same.
I heard that dragon scales naturally emit mysterious magical power, but no matter how much I searched, they weren’t there.
Deshnan’s house was in a mess.
Drawers and display cases were all open, and their contents were scattered all over the floor.
There were various odds and ends, but none of the items I was looking for.
If there was anything I gained.
‘At least I don’t have to worry about food.’
The dried ‘feed’ packed full in the sack.
It was definitely feed. Probably for feeding magical beasts.
It seemed to be ground and kneaded meat and grains of unknown origin, and somehow I could feel magical power.
Although in small amounts, it seemed that even magic stones were ground and mixed in. Probably.
“It must be to feed the magical beasts that will be in there.”
Deshnan’s house was huge.
However, in fact, his living space wasn’t that big.
It was only one-fifth of the total area of the house.
The door leading to the rest of the space was labeled ‘Indoor Zoo’.
The shadow fairy was raising magical beasts inside his own house.
‘I wonder what this prosthetic arm is.’
Another item I found was a prosthetic arm.
At first, I thought it was a toy.
Two arm models were placed in the display case.
Looking closely, its craftsmanship was extraordinarily delicate.
Each joint of the fingers could move freely.
The metal material is also extraordinary.
“It’s too big for a person to wear as a prosthetic arm.”
There were vicious-looking needles attached to the joint part of the prosthetic arm.
If you stick this deep into your body, you should be able to use it as a prosthetic arm.
──────────────
[Giant Prosthetic Arm]
You can use it as a new arm if you stick it into your body.
──────────────
The explanation was roughly written, so I couldn’t tell who it was for.
‘I guess I can’t use it. It’s too big.’
To be honest, I imagined it for a moment.
A snake with arms. I could perform better swordsmanship than when using the ‘Invisible Hands’ magic.
But it seems difficult.
The needle that connects the prosthetic arm to the body.
If I stick that into my body, it will completely penetrate my body.
It was a matter of size.
Maybe a centipede mom could wear it.
Pelerian, who was examining the prosthetic arm with me, found something.
It was a craftsman’s emblem engraved small.
“A gnome’s emblem, it’s an item made by gnomes.”
It was said that the gnome race has excellent craftsmanship, as much as dwarves.
“It’s an emblem I’ve never seen before.”
‘Oh wait, I think I’ve seen this emblem before.’
“You have?”
‘Yes.’
I think it was just a moment ago.
I searched through the odds and ends scattered in front of the entrance.
And there it was. A letter.
The letter had the same emblem engraved on the prosthetic arm.
I tore open the seal of the letter with my tail and examined the contents.
There wasn’t much significant content.
It just said briefly:
‘The repair of the magical tools you entrusted to us last time is being delayed. Especially the repair of the cloak is difficult and not easy. It seems that the repair will be completed around the end of the festival period. I will leave it in front of your house at that time.’
Ah, so he had it sent for repair.
There might be a gnome craftsman hiding somewhere around here.
Anyway, my invisibility cloak really existed. I was truly relieved.
‘Shall we find the gnome and plunder him!’
Of course, I thought Pelerian would nod and agree.
“What nonsense are you talking about!”
He scolded me.
For a moment, I almost felt dejected.
“Do you know how well gnomes hide? We should wait and catch him when he appears.”
‘Ah, I see.’
As expected, he was a fairy who looked one step ahead of me.
For now, I should stay here and spend the time of this fruit week or festival or whatever.
Just in case, I tried to read as many documents in the room as possible.
At the point when my eyes were hurting and I was getting hungry, I found out the whereabouts of the dragon scales.
It was a book with ‘Breeding Journal’ written on the cover.
‘I ground the dragon scales and sprinkled them on the feed, then fed it to the Medusa Serpent. Its mate ate it too, so if we’re lucky, there might be a significant variant in the next generation.’
Pelerian’s mouth fell open.
‘…’
“…”
Pelerian looked at me.
I avoided his eyes.
“M-m-mixed it in the feed and fed it…”
‘…’
“That pre-precious magic catalyst…”
‘It wasn’t me who did it. The shadow fairy…’
“That stupid fool! It will just become poop, what significant variant! Was he breeding magical beasts with such an irrational method! The height of ignorance!”
Pelerian raged as if spitting fire from his mouth.
Well, even I, who kept dozing off during high school science classes, know that much.
Something acquired postnatally doesn’t get inherited.
Feeding dragon scales won’t make the offspring’s scales as hard as dragon scales.
Well, even if that’s scientifically true, it might be different magically.
Maybe I was born as the only white snake due to a mutation caused by the dragon scales.
“If that were the case, it would have been an upper-class mutation, not a lower-class one.”
‘…’
This time, I was the one who got hurt.
Yeah, let’s think that dragon blood might be flowing somewhere in my blood.
By the way, looking at Deshnan’s journal, it seems our father is somewhere around here too.
Is he outside, or perhaps in the indoor zoo?
That doesn’t seem likely. Father seems to be very huge.
‘Let’s take a look inside now.’
I forcibly dragged Pelerian, who was still angry.
While the front door wasn’t locked, the door connecting to the indoor zoo was a sturdy iron door.
That’s probably why even the Devil’s Minion couldn’t get in.
Knock knock.
I unconsciously knocked, but there was no response.
I unlocked the bolt locking the iron door.
Creeeeak-
The heavy iron door opened with a chilling sound.
The air that had been stagnant inside rushed out.
The first thing I felt was a stench that stung my nose.
The nauseating smell of feces, the smell of water, and a clear stench, even the smell of blood.
‘They said it was a zoo…’
How strong is the preconception given by the name.
It’s not that I was thinking of something like a children’s grand park.
But at least I thought of an environment that could be called a zoo.
But it wasn’t.
There’s just a path in the middle, and areas divided by iron bars on both sides.
They tried to create different habitats for each area, but dead magical beasts could be seen here and there.
They didn’t seem to have starved to death, but rather died from illness or ate each other.
‘Why are the magical beasts…’
At first, I thought there were no magical beasts.
But that wasn’t the case.
As soon as I entered, the magical beasts quickly hid in the corners.
They were crouching, trembling in fear.
Those guys, they must be hungry after not eating for days.
Do I look that scary?
Well, I’m none other than a Crystal Double Horn Python.
It’s natural for them to be scared by the appearance of an upper-class snake magical beast that has evolved three times, with scales shining like crystal.
“Isn’t it that they’re afraid of their original owner, not you?”
Pelerian cut in from the side.
Unfortunately, that statement was soon proven true.
The magical beasts that cautiously raised their heads saw me and approached the iron bars.
“Woof woof, wooof!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Waaaaaaang.”
They barked as if angry and shook the iron bars.
Were they so embarrassed that they had been scared?
‘They seem hungry.’
Yeah, I understand that they’re sensitive because they haven’t eaten.
A magical beast that looked like a hyena was frantically shaking an empty feed bag with its mouth.
It’s crying out for food.
Indeed, there was an abundance of feed prepared outside the iron bars.
I thought about showing mercy to the starving magical beasts.
Splat.
I dodged something flying at me.
The magical beast that threw something from inside the iron bars had a somewhat familiar appearance.
──────────────
[Long-legged Monkey lv18]
──────────────
It threw something again.
I dodged this time too, but.
Splat!
Something on the floor splashed and got on my body.
It was poop.
“Woof woof woof!”
“Waaaaaaang!”
Other magical beasts barked as if it was funny.
That was the moment when the compassion in my heart instantly evaporated.
Tstststs-
How could this be.
The Black Scales skill that wouldn’t activate no matter how hard I tried suddenly activated on its own.
My scales turn black.
At the same time, I feel my body and mind entering a combat state.
As my scales turned black, the magical beasts instantly lost their spirit.
“Ooh-ki-it!”
But the long-legged monkey that threw the poop shouted as if telling them not to be scared, and the other magical beasts started barking again.
Alright, you’re first.
Since you’re hungry, I dragged a sack of feed.
「You use Magic: Invisible Hands lv2.」
I grab a handful of feed.
When I shook the feed in front of the iron bars, the long-legged monkey’s eyes rolled.
“Ooh-ki-i-it! Ki-yak!”
When it couldn’t reach even though it stretched its arms out of the iron bars, it started throwing a tantrum.
It shook the iron bars and screamed.
And I bit its wrist hard.
“Kik, ki-ik.”
The long-legged monkey jumped up and down.
It collapsed.
「You have killed Long-legged Monkey lv18.」
「You absorb the magical energy.」
Maybe because it had some level, I gained a decent amount of experience.
Hmm, now you’ve become a good monkey.
Then next.
The atmosphere around became chilly.
The space inside the iron bars was quite wide.
There was a nest where they could sleep, and a puddle of water.
I moved to the side holding the feed with my invisible hand.
It was a magical beast that had been whining since a while ago.
──────────────
[Poison Horn Porcupine lv19]
[Traits]
[Cunning]…
──────────────
It approached cautiously.
It seems to have seen the long-legged monkey die, so it’s not acting recklessly.
But it won’t get food unless it comes close.
When I stayed still, it stayed still too.
That’s when it happened.
The porcupine seemed to bow its head and then.
Pak!
The thorn on its forehead shot at me.
It was a surprise attack in the form of spraying poison needles.
Tititing!
But there were no thorns that could pierce my scales.
Hmm, you’re a cunning friend.
And you have an interesting skill.
「You borrow Poison Needle Shot lv5 with Billy’s Horn lv4.」
「You temporarily gain Poison Needle Shot lv2.」
Something seems to be growing in my mouth.
Ptui!
The porcupine trying to run away in a hurry.
Luckily, the poison needle that shot out of my mouth stuck in its butt.
“Waaaaaaang!”
That was its last roar.
「You have killed Poison Horn Porcupine lv19.」
「You absorb the magical energy.」
「Your level has increased.」
Easy and delicious.
Finally, complete silence was surrounding us.
The magical beasts that had been going crazy slowly backed away from the iron bars.
But unable to resist their hunger, they were just looking at the feed, drooling.
At that moment, I felt it.
That I held the power of life and death over the magical beasts here.
I can level up, and I can steal… no, borrow useful skills.
It’s literally a buffet.
I approached the hyena that had been barking at me earlier.
──────────────
[Fang Hyena lv31]
[Traits]
[Glutton], [Simple-minded]
──────────────
This one looks a bit strong.
As I was pondering how to cook it, at that moment.
The hyena flopped down, exposing its belly.
“Woof! Woof!”
It was clearly a posture of submission to anyone who saw it.
‘You have discerning eyes.’
I tossed a single piece of feed.
Then the hyena leaped into the air and caught the feed to eat.
Its tail wagged like a propeller.
Drool was dripping from its mouth.
When I held out the feed, it immediately thrust its head forward to eat.
“Ssssak!”
When I stopped it from eating.
It sat in place, looking around while drooling.
‘This might be…’
I tested the idea that came to mind.
「You use Taming lv2.」
「You have successfully tamed Fang Hyena lv31.」
To succeed so easily.
You’re level 31, aren’t you?
「The proficiency of Taming rises rapidly.」
「Taming lv2 has become Taming lv3.」
This was an unexpected gain.
Your name is now Spot.
「You have named the Fang Hyena lv31 ‘Spot’.」
The name I gave was accepted.
「Fang Hyena Spot lv31 likes its name.」
「The proficiency of Taming increases.」
It follows people, no, snakes too easily.
Was the hyena part of the canine family? It did look a bit like a dog.
Anyway, I decided on my future course of action.
The magical beasts here will now go through a ‘selection process’.