Chapter 65: The Mirror of Possibilities
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 65: The Mirror of Possibilities
“Gogadurisu. The name of the traitor who betrayed the snakes.”
I knew it.
Gogadurisu must mean Cockatrice.
A monster with the head of a rooster and the tail of a snake.
A reptile that wields the power of petrification, sometimes considered one and the same as a Basilisk.
Since it has the traits of both a chicken and a snake, I guess it betrayed the Snake Queen and sided with the king of birds.
“What I will ask of you is to eliminate the Gogadurisu.”
Right.
The Cockatrice that shattered this balance.
It would take a creature of my Gomodo level to defeat such a monster.
“…is what I wanted to ask, but you’re not some disposable pawn. I can’t very well send my son-in-law to his death.”
Thank you for your consideration.
…Or should I be thankful?
That sounded like she was assuming I couldn’t beat the Cockatrice.
“Gekgegek.”
I let out a ferocious cry.
That should be enough to prove my valor.
“Ohoho. The more I see of you, the more amusing you are. If it weren’t for my daughter, I would just…”
Why is she casually coiling around my body again?
Swish-Swish.
Wake up.
Your mother’s eyes are getting scary.
“The Gogadurisu is a very dangerous creature. Of course, it’s pathetic compared to me, but its petrification ability is on par with my own. That is why even beings stronger than it are reluctant to fight it.”
So, what the Snake Queen was saying was that even if I could defeat the Cockatrice, I could be petrified and lose my life.
But I was the one who had withstood the Snake Queen’s own petrification.
A big snake specializing in petrification? It’d be as easy as pulling spider silk from Pus while lying down.
“Of course, I know you have a resistance to petrification. It is likely thanks to the dragon scales covering your body. If not that, there might be another reason.”
She knew me well.
If I could block the Snake Queen’s petrification, why couldn’t I block its inferior version?
“But you only have a resistance to petrification. Unlike my daughter and I, you are not immune. What that means is that if you let your guard down, you could fall to its power.”
Sssss.
The tip of her tail tickled my shoulder.
The Snake Queen’s eyes fell upon it.
Crrrack.
My shoulder slowly began to turn to stone.
The petrification was undone when the Basilisk closed her eyes, but that brief moment was enough to tell me one thing.
My resistance to petrification wasn’t perfect.
And the power she had used when we first met had been a controlled output.
“Of course, that creature will also be extremely reluctant to use an output strong enough to affect you. If it unleashes that much power, it won’t be able to use petrification for some time. Unlike me, it relies solely on petrification, so it will try to conserve its power however it can.”
It was only natural.
Wild animals are extremely afraid of getting injured.
If they grow weak, they are immediately pushed out by other competitors.
For a Cockatrice that relies solely on petrification, revealing its trump card would be more fatal than most injuries.
“But it’s a different story in a life-or-death battle. To survive, it will unleash all its power to turn any intruder into stone.”
I finally understood the Snake Queen’s thinking.
With my resistance to petrification, I was somewhat safe from the Cockatrice’s ability.
However, in a fight to the death, there was a high chance I would be defeated by a Cockatrice that wasn’t thinking about the consequences.
That was why she hadn’t asked me to defeat it.
“I want you to bring me a clue to its whereabouts.”
What the Snake Queen wanted was a clue about the Cockatrice.
“If I spend my time searching for it, the king of birds will surely make a move. But if a third party—a snake with legs—discovers the Gogadurisu’s location, we can catch that hideous bird off guard.”
This was a reasonable mission.
The reasoning was convincing, and the difficulty seemed manageable.
But one important thing was missing.
“Hah, what is it? What’s with that displeased look?”
Well, I am undertaking a life-threatening mission.
Shouldn’t I get something for it?
“Gek gek.”
I put on my most conscientious lizard expression.
“…Isn’t forgiving you for stealing and eating the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit a groundbreaking offer in itself?”
Of course, if she had given me the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit as a reward for this mission, I would have welcomed it with open arms.
But I’d already eaten it.
Give me more.
“Gekgegek.”
“Haa… You truly are a greedy one.”
The Snake Queen narrowed her eyes.
“But I do not dislike those with ambition.”
The Snake Queen licked the corner of her mouth with her long tongue.
…That’s just a habit because she’s a snake, right?
There’s no other meaning behind it, is there?
“Very well. If you grant my request, I shall allow you to use the divine artifact within this temple.”
A divine artifact?
“There are not only elixirs here, but also a few items that could be called divine artifacts. Most of them, I do not know how to use, or they are broken, but a few are still usable.”
My mouth started to water.
“Yes. To give you some motivation, and since the princess has returned, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show you one.”
The Snake Queen rose from her spot.
She very naturally placed the Python on her back and coiled her tail around my body.
Sliiiide.
The Snake Queen glided forward at a rapid pace.
I wasn’t exactly small, yet it was amazing how she moved without any difficulty.
The place the Snake Queen took me to held a large object covered by a cloth.
It was oval-shaped.
I couldn’t tell for sure because of the cloth, but from its appearance, it looked like a mirror.
“The name of this divine artifact is the Mirror of Possibilities.”
It was a mirror.
But, the Mirror of Possibilities?
“To gain faith, I have reshaped my body countless times. An act of changing the flesh, which some call metamorphosis and others call evolution. The Mirror of Possibilities is a mirror that allows one to see the final destination of that process.”
What?
Such an object exists?
I stared at it with my Wild Eyes, but no explanation appeared.
There was no reason for this snake to lie to me, so it had to be true… but was that even possible?
The Snake Queen smiled and pulled the cloth off the mirror.
Reflected in the mirror was the Snake Queen.
However, there was no change.
“As you can see, nothing changes when I am reflected in this mirror. This form is my final destination. I don’t like that a body mixed with human is treated as a higher-order being than a snake’s body, but there is nothing I can do about it.”
She licked her lips.
So you have to be at least a Basilisk to be able to transform into a human.
A part of me had wondered if I could return to being human, but it seemed I still had a long way to go.
It made Nephila Jurassica, who evolved directly from a spider to an Arachne, seem all the more incredible.
“When my daughter was reflected in the mirror, only a large snake could be seen. But now, she has eaten your tail. Her potential has greatly increased, so there is bound to be a change.”
The Snake Queen carefully held the dozing Swish-Swish in her arms.
The moment she brought Swish-Swish close to the mirror…
Zzzzing!
A purple light rippled, and a new image began to appear in the mirror.
The form of the chubby, dancing snake slowly began to change.
It transformed into a large snake like a Basilisk, then at some point, its size shrank again.
Shwaaaaa!
Finally, a single figure appeared in the mirror.
That’s Swish-Swish’s future?
…You said she wasn’t your real daughter.
I knew Swish-Swish was pretty for a snake, but I had no idea she’d be this beautiful.
I’d better be good to her from now on.
Not that I haven’t been.
“Of course, this form is not a fixed future. It merely shows the possibility of becoming this way. Now, aren’t you tempted? To see what your own final destination might be.”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t.
I wanted to see my own form right away.
“If you grant my request, I will allow you to use the Mirror of Possibilities as a down payment.”
“Gekgegek!”
I nodded my head furiously.
A slight curve formed on the Snake Queen’s lips.
“I am also curious. What my son-in-law’s final destination is.”
But why have you been calling me son-in-law this whole time?
The Snake Queen took a few steps back.
Without hesitation, I stood before the mirror.
Now that I had maximized my potential by eating the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, what was my final destination?
Even if I saw my future form, it wouldn’t mean it was guaranteed to happen.
As the Snake Queen said, it was just a possibility.
In other words, it meant I could advance to an even higher stage than what was reflected in the mirror.
After confirming my final destination, I could decide which direction to move forward in.
There was no reason not to look in the mirror.
As I stood before it, a light even stronger than before burst forth.
“Hoh… The intensity of this light is unusual. It is like seeing my former self.”
A certain shape began to emerge in the mirror.
It was something enormous.
The light was so intense that I couldn’t make out exactly what the shape was.
Soon, the light would dim like it did for Swish-Swish, and my form would be revealed.
With a pounding heart, I waited for the light to fade.
Crrrrraaaaaack.
But the light showed no signs of diminishing.
“What is this!”
I heard the Snake Queen’s shocked voice.
Craaaaaaack-crack-crack!
A large crack appeared on the mirror I was looking into.
Uh.
Wait a minute.
Did I cause trouble?
Why is it cracking?
Something was very wrong.
The light showed no sign of fading, and I couldn’t even see my reflection in the mirror.
The moment I sensed things were going strangely and tried to step away from the mirror…
Shatter!
The Mirror of Possibilities split in half.
…I’m in big trouble.
I’ve gone and broken my mother-in-law’s prized possession.
I tilted my head slightly to the side to gauge the Snake Queen’s reaction.
She was muttering to herself as if she couldn’t believe it.
Yep, I definitely caused trouble.
Big trouble.
I think I’m about to get an achievement that would surprise even a Gomodo.
1. Converting a precious believer.
2. Sleeping with a noble daughter.
3. Stealing and eating elixirs, including the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit.
4. Breaking a divine artifact, the Mirror of Possibilities (NEW!)
I’ve achieved a grand slam.
I think I’ve had a pretty good life.
I’ll probably become a lizard statue now, guarding this temple for all eternity.
“…A being that even a divine artifact dares not contain?”