Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Western Magic Tower's Request (3)
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“Kr, kraaaah!!!!!”
Something unexpected had happened.
-Boom!!!
Johnson was spewing blazing flames from his hand.
And then.
“Damn…….”
At the tip of Johnson’s finger, the right head of the three-headed snake that had sunk its fangs deep into his finger was crackling as it burned.
“Th-this thing is still alive!”
“Calm down. It looks like you just killed it.”
Snakes don’t die easily.
Any Korean has probably heard about it at least once.
The accidents in snake charming shows where live snakes pop out.
A snake’s vitality is incredibly tenacious, surviving even in the harshest environments more often than not.
‘Lucky or unlucky, I’m not sure.’
If the snake’s head is still alive, it means I can make an even more powerful totem, so that’s good luck.
But a mage turning that live snake head into a roast…… Calling it bad luck doesn’t even cover it.
“I told you to drop it, didn’t I?”
“Is now the time to say that?!”
When I spoke calmly, Johnson yelled with a face pale as a ghost.
“Don’t get worked up. The poison will spread more.”
Fortunately, the right head was the one that spewed hemotoxic venom. So there was plenty of time to detoxify it.
“Aaack!!! My hand!!!”
“Stay still.”
I first pulled out a bandage and tightly bound Johnson’s wrist. A measure to keep the poison from spreading further.
Whether he ignored my order to stay still or not, Johnson pulled potions from his pocket and started chugging them down.
“That won’t help anyway.”
“Th-then at least heal me first! My finger feels like it’s burning!”
I couldn’t do that. Using a healing skill here would only recover a bit of stamina and let the poison spread more.
“Didn’t you know that a three-headed snake’s venom can only be neutralized by its own venom?”
“How would I know that?!”
“Then you shouldn’t have touched it.”
Whether this was due to a mage’s curiosity or Johnson’s stupidity, I decided to put the debate on hold.
“Stop wasting potions and have some booze instead. That’ll help you forget the pain.”
I handed Johnson a barrel of homemade grape wine.
“It’ll take about a day for your hand to return to normal.”
“A-a whole day?”
“You grabbed a three-headed snake’s head sober, and you’re surprised at this?”
Johnson gulped down the grape wine with a pallid face.
In the meantime, I carefully lifted the center head of the three-headed snake to extract the antidote.
-Kyu?
“…….”
Wait. This one’s alive too?
“This is ridiculous.”
The severed snake head was staring up at me with round eyes.
“Theodore, hurry!”
Johnson urged me on, but I ignored him for a moment and lightly tapped the live center head.
It just stared at me blankly, flicking its tongue, with no particular reaction.
‘Is it because of Affinity?’
I knew the center head of a three-headed snake was relatively docile compared to the left and right ones.
‘Hang on. This might let me create something really unique.’
For now, I hurriedly used [Nature’s Healing] on the severed snake head.
My healing skills have zero effect on undead. So the odds of it working on a severed snake head were fifty-fifty.
-Kyuu?
“It worked……!”
Surprisingly, [Nature’s Healing] took effect on the severed snake head.
Good, I’ve bought some time. I carefully pried open the snake head’s mouth and made it bite Johnson’s finger.
“Gaaah! What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?!”
“Hey, I told you to calm down.”
Johnson resisted fiercely, but the snake head was already clamped onto his finger.
A moment later.
Johnson’s hand, swollen purple, began slowly returning to its original color. Of course, it was still nearly twice its normal size.
Alright. That’s taken care of.
I set aside Johnson, who had collapsed from pain and drunkenness, and focused back on the severed snake head.
My original plan for the totem was a Poison Resistance one made from the fangs of the left head and the right head.
I’d planned to extract antidote from the center head, turn it into medicine, and carry it as an emergency supply.
‘But with the right head roasted, that’s out.’
I glanced at the charred right head, then back at the severed one.
It was still staring with round eyes, flicking its tongue.
If the center head is alive, things change.
‘No Poison Resistance. Switching to a full-on antidote totem.’
If I set up a top-grade magic stone to periodically supply life force to the live snake head, and make black ivy grow so it can use that as a ‘body’……
‘Theoretically possible.’
Of course, if it fails, I’d lose expensive antidote, a top-grade magic stone, and rare black ivy.
Still, it was a gamble worth taking.
-Tap!
Time was short. I pulled a top-grade magic stone I’d been saving from my subspace ring, placed a black ivy seed on it, and used [Breath of the Forest].
-Shaaa……
Black ivy grows from monster corpses, feeding on ‘mana’ as nutrients. This would act as ‘veins’ to channel the magic stone’s mana to the snake head.
‘Good, good. Nice and slow…….’
I meticulously controlled the black ivy vines. Roots wrapping the magic stone, stems delicately burrowing into the snake head’s original veins. Grow, burrow, grow, burrow—repeating endlessly. The black ivy vines, absorbing the top-grade magic stone’s mana, gleamed eerily and beautifully.
‘……Did it work?’
After the intense concentration, my body was drenched in sweat.
I wiped my damp forehead with the back of my hand and looked at the snake—no, the totem—before me.
[Totem: Merciful Monster completed.]
-Wearing it neutralizes 100% of poison status.
-Extract antidote once per day.
I equipped the totem on my left wrist. The snake head sank its fangs into the inner wrist, wrapping its tail around it. At a glance, it looked like a bracelet.
‘I made something way better than expected.’
100% poison neutralization.
With this totem, I’d be immune to all poisons.
No druid has ever made something like this.
‘If I sold it, I’d make a fortune…… No, selling this would be idiotic.’
With the once-per-day antidote extraction option, I could make money just selling the antidote.
A total win-win!
Since the snake head and black ivy are ‘alive,’ mana drains continuously while equipped, but it’s not a big concern.
‘I already have a plan for mana regeneration, so I can adjust for the totem’s drain.’
Everything fits perfectly.
“Phew…….”
Only then did I sit in a chair and catch my breath.
At the edge of my vision, Johnson lay sprawled out, either passed out or asleep.
‘Good thing Johnson didn’t see this.’
Mages aren’t just curious—they’re greedy too. If word of the totem reached Agni’s ears through Johnson, who knows what trouble that could cause.
When entering the Death Swamp, it’d be best to make it look like it’s all just my druid abilities.
Well, it pretty much is.
“Guess I need a break.”
I left the passed-out Johnson behind and exited the lab. My intense focus had left me ravenous, so I headed for a meal.
“Master!”
-Woof!
On the way to the dining hall, I ran into El and Aila. Aila came running happily, but El looked angry for some reason.
“Master! Is it true?!”
“……What?”
“That you’re not taking us on this quest!”
Looking closer, it wasn’t anger—it was grievance.
“Where’d you hear that?”
“So it is true!”
El bit her lip hard. Her face was so red it looked ready to burst.
“If only I were stronger…….”
“…….”
Lately, El had become obsessed with ‘strength.’
It seemed she still tormented herself over failing to protect her family.
I silently watched El for a moment.
‘Now that I have the antidote, maybe it’s okay to bring them…….’
Of course, on the condition they stay back from the front lines.
It could be good training.
“El.”
“……Yes.”
“Of course you’re coming with me.”
“Huh?”
El looked at me with a confused face.
“I don’t know where you heard that nonsense, but I didn’t raise you weak enough to die in the Death Swamp.”
“……Y-you’re right! We’re not weak!”
-Woof! Woof woof!
El clenched her fist, asserting her resolve.
“So stop worrying needlessly and focus on training.”
“Yes! Master!”
El’s face now sparkled with trust and faith.
I’d had zero intention of bringing them……
But with poison resistance boosted and swamp training beforehand, it should be fine.
No, it might even be a huge help.
I’ve never gone easy on them. I’ve drilled them every single day without slacking even once!
“Back to training!”
“Calm down. Let’s eat first.”
I soothed El, who was overflowing with excessive zeal to head straight to the training grounds, and opened the dining hall door.
The food from the dinner with the Magic Tower Lord had been exquisite, so I was really looking forward to the meal.
“……Huh?”
But what was this?
Mages don’t place much importance on meals, so the dining hall was usually empty.
-Murmur murmur.
-Bustle bustle.
But right now, all I saw was a dining hall packed to bursting with people.
“Food! Food!”
“How long do we have to wait?!”
“This shit’s delicious!”
They were the kind piling food like mountains and devouring it—definitely not mages.
‘Damn, the mercenaries are already here?’
Seeing this mess, a meal was out of the question. As I turned to leave.
“Whew…….”
“Theodore?”
“……?”
“Theo! It’s me!”
A familiar voice called out.