The Lake Serpent

Ness was a boss monster with a fixed territory, just like the Blood Mountain Lord.

The heart of the lake. I would need to push a little deeper in from the island where the Midron Company was located.

“As I thought, it was this way.”

I narrowed my eyes and studied the lake carefully. A massive shadow rippled near the water’s edge. It was the giant snake—Ness. Its body stretched roughly twenty meters long, longer than any anaconda, gliding lazily beneath the surface.

A faint red aura clung to Ness’s body. It was far paler than the one that had surrounded the Blood Mountain Lord or the Demon King of the Swamp. It didn’t mean Ness was weaker than they were—it meant I had grown that much stronger.

“Better than when I faced Baal.”

“Even though it means staking half my life on the line?”

When I fought the Demon King of the Swamp or Baal, the ground had been muddy but at least it was land. To hunt a giant snake, I had to enter the lake itself. Not only would Mother Earth’s Blessing be nullified, but even with the Gills skill, I would only be able to mitigate the water’s resistance. I would have to accept every penalty that came with underwater combat.

“I already told you awakening the goddess’s power wouldn’t be easy.”

“I wouldn’t have started if I didn’t think I had a chance.”

After confirming Ness’s patrol route, I went to meet the merchants. The elf, the dwarf, and the gnome. The three of them lit up the moment they saw me.

“Welcome, customer!”

“We will provide the highest quality service.”

“Whoa, are you here to buy more moonstones?”

A perfectly capitalist reaction. Excellent.

Goddess, this isn’t popularity. They’ve simply found a sucker. I bought thirty-two nearly useless moonstones last time, so of course they were treating me like an easy mark.

I stopped in front of the elf merchant.

“Customer, is there anything specific you’re looking for today?”

“Do you have any blessed ash leaves?”

“Planning to go fishing, I see.”

“Something like that.”

To be exact, I was hunting a snake, but there was no need to explain.

The elf handed me leaves tinged with a bluish hue.

“Each leaf is twenty points, customer.”

The elf smiled brightly. In truth, these leaves were unpopular consumables, just like the moonstones. The listed duration looked long, but the effect vanished the moment you surfaced. Even though the description claimed sixty minutes, in practice you could only use them for one or two. A classic bait item. Or a trap card. No wonder the elf was looking at me like that.

‘But I’m different.’

I had obtained the Gills skill from the tyrant catfish’s essence. Since I could breathe underwater, I could maximize the leaf’s effect. Without Gills, I would have needed to buy ten or more. Even then, fighting Ness would have been extremely disadvantageous.

I answered with a nod.

“Give me three.”

I paid the points without hesitation.

“Thank you for choosing the Midron Company.”

“Hey customer, you were bare-handed last time too. Don’t you need a weapon?”

“Whoa, we have other items besides moonstones and miscellaneous goods.”

Greed practically dripped from the two merchants’ eyes. I had no need for weapons or armor thanks to all the essences I had absorbed during the tutorial. I moved on to the gnome merchant.

“W-what can I get for you?”

“Three watermarks, please.”

“T-that’ll be thirty points each.”

“If I have more business, I’ll come again.”

Leaving the dwarf’s regret-filled gaze behind, I headed back into the lake. Preparations were complete. All that remained was to clear the tutorial stage’s graduation trial.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”

I brushed off Nyx’s encouragement and slowly advanced deeper into the lake.

The hairs on my body stood on end. Red eyes flashed from the depths. The ruler of the lake, Ness, had noticed the intruder. I placed one of the newly purchased leaves in my mouth.

Good. The effect was solid. Overlapping with Gills, it cut water resistance by a full fifty percent.

“Come at me, you snake bastard.”

The red light drew closer with every passing second.

* * *

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

The giant snake Ness resembled an anaconda. Its primary attack patterns were biting and constriction. At least it wasn’t venomous.

Hiss— Hiiiiss!

The snake charged straight at me with its jaws spread wide.

Nyx’s warning bordered on a scream. I had finished my battle preparations long ago.

“Haaaaah!!”

Ness’s eyes trembled violently. As expected. The Demon King of the Swamp had been too far above me for the roar to have any effect, but it worked perfectly on this snake.

I drew my feet together in a balanced stance and pushed the water aside. Ness’s charge missed me by a hair.

The dark-red energy of greed coiled around my sharpened nails. I swung them at the serpent’s underbelly as it passed beneath me. The claws, strengthened by Greed’s Blessing, tore through its scales without resistance. Green blood seeped from the wound.

Hiiiiss!

Ness thrashed from side to side. The lake churned violently. My claws, buried beneath the scales, were slowly forced out by its writhing.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I seized the serpent’s body with my left hand as well. I had held back on using super strength for the first strike in case the recoil knocked me away. Now that I had a solid grip with my right hand, a little extra power wouldn’t dislodge me.

Hiiiiss!

Ness’s body shuddered. Having a hole punched into it by three-hundred-percent-enhanced muscle power must have felt refreshing.

Crunch!

Like a climber, I clung to the creature with both hands and pressed my body against it. Ness was thicker than a large tree; even with my arms fully extended I couldn’t wrap around it completely.

Hiiiiss!

Giving up on shaking me off, Ness coiled in place and tried to wrap around me instead.

“I know.”

Just before its long body could envelop me—

I used its own body as a springboard and kicked off with all my strength. The distance between us opened in an instant. The coiled serpent fixed me with its red eyes and struggled to unwind itself once more.

A fully charged blue orb shot forward, aimed directly at the wound my claws had left. The scales absorbed most of the impact, but they couldn’t stop every trace of energy from slipping through the cracks.

Hiiiiss!

Ness screamed in pain.

“Don’t get excited. It’s only the beginning.”

I calmed my breathing. Even though the giant snake was thrashing wildly, the actual damage I had dealt was still minimal. On the other hand, the moment I got caught in its coils, I would be finished. What an unfair fight.

“Why?”

Only after she pointed it out did I realize the corners of my mouth had turned upward. The tension of knowing a single mistake could mean death. It felt like the moment a gambler pushes all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his chips onto the table and waits for the outcome.

Yes. I didn’t dislike this tension at all.

“If I didn’t enjoy this, I wouldn’t have survived this long.”

I answered her with a small smile. I couldn’t tell her about my regression, so affirmation was all I could offer.

Hiss! Hiiiiss!

Having fully uncoiled, Ness charged straight at me once more. Even though its speed had slowed, the danger had not decreased. If anything—

‘It’s even more dangerous now.’

The tip of its head swayed left and right. It was warning me that any movement would result in an immediate bite. Once it latched on or began to constrict, the fight would be over.

I drew my legs in like a sprinter preparing for a dash.

Baal’s authority that eroded everything it touched. I seized the water beneath my toes with Greed and kicked off. The sensation was like leaping from a cushion—soft, so I couldn’t achieve full speed, but it was enough to completely escape Ness’s charging path.

While the serpent twisted its body, I landed another fully charged bolt. Hiiiiss! Ness opened its mouth wide where it floated.

Water Ball. It condensed the water it had inhaled and spat it out under high pressure. You could only guess the direction; the attack itself was invisible and therefore difficult to dodge.

At least for normal players.

A tingling sensation raced up my spine.

I swam diagonally. The invisible attack left only the ripple of its passage as evidence.

Wait.

“Goddess, you can see it?”

Oh ho. Our goddess was more useful than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I expected.

I had planned to simply dodge every time Ness used Water Ball, but this changed things. I could alter the strategy.

“Can you tell me every time that snake spits water?”

“Tell me the angle and the exact target location too.”

Good. Nyx was finally earning her keep.

I kicked through the water, dodging the water ball and closing in on Ness.

“That guy can’t move right now.”

To use Water Ball, it needed water. Ness’s belly was slightly swollen—a subtle change that would be easy to miss unless you were looking for it, but it was clearly larger than before.

“It stores water in its stomach and then fires it.”

Knowing the enemy’s information beforehand was this important. The data on the giant snake Ness had already been uncovered by players in the previous round. Even without being a regressor, it was information I could have obtained. Thanks to that, constructing a strategy to defeat Ness had been simple.

With its movement sealed and Nyx helping me read the water ball’s trajectory, I could easily create openings to strike the defenseless serpent. I continued pushing through the water, steadily closing the distance to Ness.