Do Failed Snakes Have Ears Too?

Failed snakes don't have ears, do they? Of course not. A snake's charm lies in its sleek, rounded head. If something like ears were tacked onto that graceful, curving dome, it wouldn't look nearly as cool. But to be precise, it's not entirely accurate to say they have no ears. Having been reborn as a snake, I could tell for sure. There were no ear holes, but I could still hear sounds from around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. There must be an inner ear attached to the skull beneath the skin. That's how I could hear. And my hearing didn't seem any worse than it was back when I was human. It probably wasn't supposed to be that way anyway—maybe because I'm not an ordinary snake, but a magic beast.

Why am I thinking about all this? Because the Dancer didn't have ear holes either. No eyes, no ears—just a bright red maw. But it could hear sounds, judging by how it reacted to presences. Its eyes definitely couldn't see, though. That's for sure. So how could it move so fast? Just by sound? Or maybe, like how snakes sense heat with pit organs, it had something similar. I'm pretty sharp-minded. Yeah, that had to be it. My keen deduction nailed the answer.

It had charged in suddenly from afar once before—right at the moment the human and I met. It couldn't have detected our body heat from that distance, so it must've heard our conversation or caught our scent. The human had been soaked in blood, carrying chunks of chimera meat. Maybe it tracked the blood smell. As I examined it with that suspicion, sure enough, there were nostrils. And not just that—the inside of its gaping red mouth was grotesque, with a long tongue flicking out just like mine. Snakes flick their tongues to gather scent molecules from the air. If it did the same...? The Dancer must have an incredibly developed sense of smell.

That's how it was in the fight, too. Even when I stayed silent and still, it had looked right at me. I shared the hypothesis with Pellelian.

He stared at me with such a grave expression that I wondered if I'd said something weird.

It was the opposite—he was impressed with me. We immediately dug a trap using the secured chimera meat and blood to lure the Dancer in. It showed up fast, probably starving. Zanil shattered the ampoule at just the right moment.

It was nothing impressive—just a plain wind. No blades mixed in for attack. Just a strong enough gust, thick with the ampoule's scent, that swept over the Dancer.

"Jurelelelelek!"

With its unique ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cry, it spewed vomit. My prediction was spot on. It was a magic beast with an acutely sensitive sense of smell.

A magic beast is most vulnerable when it's vomiting.

Puuk!

I finally landed a solid hit. Sunset sank deep into its flank.

"Jukeok!"

Blood erupted from its mouth along with the vomit. Got it!

Pellelian was right. It kept retching but tried to flee with the blade still embedded. Had to stop it.

Upgraded to intermediate, the earth magic could now form not dirt walls but stone walls. Stone from the floor erupted, blocking the fleeing Dancer's path.

Kwang!

If it had been in good shape, it would've smashed through a thin rock wall easily. But the foul stench had it disoriented, so the wall held.

It flopped on the ground, trying to rise. No matter how horrific the stink, you adapt given time. Had to finish it before that. Path blocked—perfect for Hellfire. But Zanil hesitated.

"Haaap!"

He was scattering throwing knives. Made sense—he was trying to keep the rising Dancer at bay. Turning your back to flee and getting stabbed in the lower back would be fatal.

Pababak!

Surprisingly, the attack worked well. Knives started embedding in the dazed Dancer's body. They were coated in poison, so effective. But only briefly.

Teoreung!

The Dancer charged at Zanil like a body slam. Zanil flew back like he'd been hit by a wild boar—right toward me. And the wind was still blowing from behind, carrying the volatilizing scent molecules from the shattered ampoule.

"Sawk!"

It inhaled. Snakes have a good sense of smell, by the way.

"Saauek!"

"Jureleleleek!"

The Dancer and I started retching together. What a godawful stench. Like week-old unwashed socks stuffed with fermented tofu and canary fish sauce, then aged three days in a hot electric blanket.

But I had a noseless ally nearby.

Kkadat...

Isil. For some reason, even the plant-like Isil seemed tormented by the smell. Anyway, it could still breathe fire.

Whoosh!

Hellfire erupted. The passage was narrow, walls sealed. No escape, so even an agile Dancer got engulfed. Extreme heat scorches flesh instantly, shrinking the body as muscles cook. That's the end. But the Dancer had decent heat resistance. And the Elastic Rampage skill.

Pure desperation. It kicked off the ground with all its might and slammed into the blocked wall.

Teoreung!

The magic stone wall shattered. But Hellfire claimed two of its legs. With burning legs, it writhed and tried to flee.

I hit its hindquarters as it tried to stand. Aimed for the calves, but anyway—it toppled with a thud.

"Saauk!"

"Leave it to me!"

Zanil charged in. The approaching stench made me retch again. Fortunately, he passed me and went for the Dancer. For a moment I worried he'd steal the kill, but thankfully no such outrage occurred. Instead, he hurled paralysis-poisoned knives wildly, then threw a net.

The flailing Dancer was finally subdued.

"Heave-ho!"

Zanil slowly dragged it in by the net. Well, I'd emphasized it, after all. The killing blow was mine.

"Stubborn bastard..."

Zanil grinned as he approached. Don't come closer—the smell! I stopped him short.

'Good work.'

"Heh. No big deal."

He rubbed his back, wincing. Meanwhile, I carefully extracted Sunset from the Dancer's body with my Transparent Hand.

"Man, every time I come to these mountains, it's such a hassle... Shouldn't have messed with those wyverns again."

His words froze me. 'Messed with wyverns?'

I wrote it on my notepad. Zanil's expression turned odd—conflicted, like he wasn't sure if he should say.

I'm a snake, not human. Spill it casually.

"Come to think of it, Snake—you were fighting wyverns too."

Fighting wyverns? Well, from afar, hiding humans might've seen it that way. No way they'd guess I was mistaken for their child by two wyvern queens.

"I was on a mission from the Empire."

He didn't elaborate much. But two key points.

"I helped adventurers steal Seleta's egg, but I don't know if those fools escaped properly. Pathetic..."

First, he was involved in stealing the wyvern mom's egg.

And second...

"Wasn't like that in my day. Once, I successfully stole a wyvern queen Chugota's hatchling."

Zanil looked proud.

"My three companions all died, but I hauled that thing all the way to the capital."

Truly astonishing. Honestly, I felt like yelling, 'You bastard, it was you!' ...but not quite.

'Because of you?'

Shocking, yeah. The human who'd hugely impacted two named magic beasts—Seleta and Chugota—was right in front of me. The wyverns themselves oblivious.

But apparently, I wasn't the only shocked one. The limp Dancer seemed to have heard too. It sprang up in surprise, flapping its legs. Who'd guess bright red cartilage would burst from its hip joint?

Puuk!

The sharp bone spike pierced Zanil's chest and protruded.

Was today "talk like a pirate" day? "Arrr..."

That was Zanil Feze's last word. Heart burst—no helping that.

"Jurelelelek!"

From ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠between its broken and burned legs, more bright red cartilage legs sprouted. Eight legs total now—like a spider. No wonder its trait included "spider."

With the new legs, it bolted.

Already planning to. Should've predicted it was my nemesis from the traits.

"Jurelek!"

"Saauk!"

Suppressing our retching, we pursued. With gashes from my blade and multiple paralysis knives embedded, running at all was impressive. Blood dripped, but it didn't stop. It crashed down the stairs and reached the horizontal corridor.

Pellelian gnashed his teeth.

Someone stood across the corridor. Human-like, but not human. Definitely a chimera. Number 9, the elf-like one—name "Undecided" or something. It stared at us with an unreadable expression. The Dancer kept charging, oblivious or not.

'What if it favors fellow chimeras and attacks?'

Briefly crossed my mind. But no. Somehow—too fast for my eyes—it seized the wounded yet swift and strong Dancer in one motion.

It gripped the Dancer's neck and turned to us. Then the unexpected happened.

"...Failed product."

Number 9 spoke. Slurred, but clear words. In fairy tongue, even. Pellelian raged.

I raged too. It tightened its grip.

Udok!

The Dancer went limp.

'Trying to steal my kill!' Undecided. I won't forgive you.

I shot forward like a black lightning bolt. Not revenge for stolen demonic essence—I don't like closing the barn after losing the horse.

I bit clean through the Dancer's broken neck.

Seogeok!

Severed it right off. The dying body hit the floor. Meaning I got the killing blow.

Demonic essence flooded in. As expected from something so strong—it gave far more experience than previous chimeras.

Thanks to that, I leveled up too—great mood. Eager to check my new possibilities. Of course, first I had to deal with the monster in front of me.

"Failed... product."

The monster—like fish, elf, and clay mashed together—glaring at who?! It squeezed, and the Dancer's head burst with a pop. Splattering blood like pomegranate seeds. I quickly backed off, creating distance. Time to appraise the foe.

'...Gasp!'

Shocked. Its level was barely visible—insanely strong. And not "Undecided"—another name.

Failed Product. Pellelian kept calling it that, huh.

"Failed..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The elf-like chimera showed me hatred.

"Pel...le...rian—!"

It approached me. Kicked my body. I didn't see a thing until impact.

Teoreung!

This guy was definitely the world's strongest failed product.