Burglar - Don't Lie, You Sly Snake!

'No!' Pellelian scolded me sternly.

-You're definitely planning to enslave those centipedes and even control their mother!

'I said no!'

-I'm not scolding you—I'm praising you. It's a rational and excellent judgment. That's how a true mage should act.

'Let's end the joking here. This is getting boring.'

-I'm not joking. Though it's obviously a joke. I had no intention of turning the centipedes into my slaves. But...

I gazed at the baby centipedes.

'They are kinda cute.' How could a mother and her kids look so different when they're clearly family? The baby centipedes' skin was still translucently yellowish. And thanks to their recent good feeding, their bodies were plump and round. They didn't have too many legs yet, so they weren't creepy. Best of all, when I shook my head side to side like this, they mimicked me, shaking their heads too. You little copycats.

-The Taming skill isn't as omnipotent as you think from the start. Curious? Test it out.

'How do I test it?'

-Just give them some orders. Right now, only the eldest shows as successfully tamed. I looked at all three and gave a command.

'Okay, go over there.'

Ho. Next command.

'Now go the other way.'

Wow. The result was astonishing.

'No one's listening.' The baby centipedes just stared blankly at me. Even the eldest, who was supposedly tamed, stood there dumbly.

-Exactly. There are two reasons.

-Your Taming level is low, and their intelligence is underdeveloped.

Pellelian roughly explained the principles behind the Taming skill. It wasn't literally about turning them into slaves.

-See? I told you. Using Taming on you back then wasn't such a big sin, right?

'Did you say that?'

-Yeah! Don't you remember? But I'd sooner trust that spiders are kind than rely on Pellelian's character.

'One last time—all of you, bow.' The three centipedes bowed in unison, mimicking me.

Huh. Lv2 was secondary. Just a bow, and Taming was this easy?

-I had no idea monsters could even have the Taming skill. Is it normally exclusive to humanoid races? Thinking about it, this might be harmony from my Potential of 20.

But now there's a problem. The youngest looks so pitiful. Ah, what if I try the skill myself? Hmm...

Whoa~ Success. I checked the centipede mom's mind. She seemed to watch me with a pleased expression. Not angry. Hmm... Yeah, I had to try it. Opportunities like this don't come often.

I focused my mind on the Giant Crimson Fang Centipede.

Farewell, world. It was a short snake life, but I lived fiercely. I humbly accepted my impending death. How would the Giant Crimson Fang Centipede punish me? Poison claw decapitation, crushing underfoot, tail whip to burst my body. I bowed my head, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠curious about my cause of death.

But no horrific pain came. Looking up, centipede mom just stared blankly. Did she not notice the Taming skill? No—she shook her head. Or maybe declaring, 'You're not worthy yet.'

-Puhaha! As if! Pellelian burst into laughter.

-You're way too weak! It's like a cat trying to tame its owner. This old man must harbor a grudge from failing to tame me. And cats actually do tame their owners sometimes.

-That was hilarious. Here's a good tip: Name them.

'Name them? The babies?'

-Yes, give the larvae names. Their mom won't. Naming is a privilege of intelligent races. Medusa Mom birthed thousands but named none. The baby centipedes stared blankly. Mom seemed indifferent too. Fine, just nicknames in my mind.

I assessed their traits and named them.

'The eldest is polite, so Kkubugi.'

'You have big eyes, so Wangnuni.'

'Yours has a bigger head, so Daegari.'

Daegari felt a bit pitiful after naming. No time for regrets.

Huh, my names are officially recognized?

Bonds deepen like this? Glad they like the names. I checked the others' status windows too.

The status really showed the name I gave. A profound sense of emotion washed over me. So this is what naming feels like. Definitely different from an epithet.

-Named them?

'Yes.'

-Whoa, it worked.

'What do you mean?'

-I didn't think it'd actually succeed. Maybe because they're the same species, higher affinity? Despite his boasting, Pellelian hadn't expected success.

-Do you know the three keys to taming monsters?

He explained:

-Affection, respect, and fear. Obvious enough. Affection makes them follow; superiority earns respect; excessive fear compels obedience.

'Then they must respect me.'

-Heh heh. Pellelian ignored my claim.

-Any method works. Get closer to those you named. Mom doesn't seem to mind.

'Why?'

-Something fun might happen. Maybe. We're heading deeper into the Great Forest. Checking Deshunan's journal entries, we're nearing the destination.

'No time for that. I need to get stronger fast. Training first.' I replied coldly.

-Commendable. Magic?

'Swordsmanship.'

-...

My goal? Become a snake no one dares touch—not heroes, elves, or monsters. In other words, the Serpent Commander.

Three days traveling with the centipede family—or mother-daughters. We found that exact cliff from the journal. Without riding Giant Crimson Fang Centipede, it'd have taken ten days. Deshunan must have had faster transport.

"Ukki, ukkiki!"

A monkey danced on me from the trees.

This new monkey showed no fear. It danced before me and threw something. I dodged easily.

Splat!

It was shit. The monkey threw poop at me.

"Uk!" It clapped happily. It figured a ground-crawling snake had no ranged attacks. It tried kidnapping Daegari earlier but I stopped it, so now it taunted.

I focused.

"Kkekke!"

Angry, but hold on, Daegari. I'll handle it. Can't mess up with kids watching. My mind sharpened like a blade.

The long-legged monkey prepared another poop toss. A sword appeared before its nose.

The sword materialized slowly. A forest monkey its whole life—ever seen an Elven Broadsword? Drawn to the gleam, it reached out slowly.

Then the floating sword swung.

Sword Strike, advanced form of Slash. The blade effortlessly severed the monkey's neck. It fell limply.

I trained both magic and swordsmanship. Now I can summon Transparent Hand to wield a sword. To others, it'd look like a self-fighting blade—an ultimate swordmaster using flying sword arts. Swinging with my tail got me the skill I couldn't before. Proof of my effort.

Just "Swordsmanship" would've been fine—hating the obvious sub-skill name.

"Kke!" "Ke!"

The centipedes swarmed the fallen monkey, beating it. Translation: "Die!", "You cocky bastard!" Bonding lets me understand. No wonder Giant Crimson Fang Centipede seemed to get my thoughts.

The babies feasted on monkey meat; I finished Nanaruk's last rations. Our beautiful journey ends.

"Ke." Centipede mom murmured softly. Her eyes seemed lonely—was it my imagination?

-How many eyes is that, your fourth?

Pellelian ruined the mood again. At my invitation to the cliff, she shook her head and gathered her following young. Time to part.

I was sad too, but inevitable. Time to go our ways. Raising kids isn't easy; traveling with me brings no good. I'll tread blood-soaked paths...

Post-meal, true farewell. Babies didn't grasp my leaving—climbed me thinking playtime. Now even that's cute. Human me would've breakdanced at a centipede sticking.

I nudged them off with my tail; the siblings wilted.

'We're close now, but nothing's changed much?'

Pellelian gave me a challenge: Win loyalty of the named trio. We'd bonded more in three days, but—

-Hm... Maybe too much affection, not enough? Nah. I dropped lightning, slew monkey with flying sword—how not respect? Right, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kids? Hearts connect beyond words.

Final goodbyes. I stroked their heads. Bye. Meet again someday. Be fine King Centipedes then. Kkubugi, Wangnuni, Daegari.

O? Something happened. But unclear how the influence works.

Last bows, then I left. A cool back view makes the snake stylish. Looking back after a while, the family was gone. Onward.

'Sky color's weird.' Great Forest sky is blue and clear on non-rainy days. But here, ominous purple.

'Is Shadow Forest always like this?' That's the name. Unrelated to shadow elves, apparently.

-No, pre-purple feast, demonic essence rises in atmosphere, scattering light purple. Air smells off too. Faint rotten stink...

-That smell's from the house. Circling the cliff was tough, but worth it— a house atop.

'What is this.' Invisible from below, thought tiny. No—a massive house dropped from sky. Low height, crude wood walls like a warehouse. Big enough for shadow elf's 'zoo' of monsters.

-Hurry in!

Pellelian urged. I want to.

-But check for traps first. Like asking for spicy yet mild jjambbong—contradictory. I cautiously scanned. Used mana detection, Pellelian's help for traps.

-No traps. Conclusion.

Door creaked open easily—no lock, no thief worries. I slithered in carefully.

Crackle, tap. Something inside. Pitch-black... ghost? Amorphous shadow lurked in darkness, lunged.

Not alive-looking.

-Devil's minion! Dodge!

"Kkikkinat!" It laughed. I swung tail—but

Whoosh—it phased through, covered my face.

'Gah.' It entered my head. Sure—thunderous weird laughter inside.

Ghost-like? Snap, before fear—

Eh. Dark devil minion popped from my nostril, twitched, stiffened, still.

What is this?