So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

Deadly Poison: Is Neurotoxin lv3 a joke?

Unless a Hobgoblin has at least level 10 Poison Resistance, it can't escape death.

It's even slow to collapse.

No, it's not collapsing.

The Hobgoblin didn't fall.

Instead, it swung its knife at me.

Whoosh!

The blade didn't cut me.

Pretty fast, much better than the goblins I met by the river.

Just by watching how it swung the knife, adjusting the distance to avoid making noise when hitting the floor, I could tell.

I responded by casting water magic.

"Blub blub!"

Nanaluk, who had been snoring, woke up.

She grabbed the axe she had placed by her bedside, startled.

Nanaluk was a veteran warrior who kept her axe under her pillow.

Her axe swing was incredibly swift.

Swish!

But the axe passed over the assassin's head instead of striking its neck.

It wasn't a mistake Nanaluk made in her sleepy state.

The assassin, stiff as a board, fell like a log.

The neurotoxin had finally spread properly.

Thud!

"Kuh, kheuk, kuh!"

It chokes, unable to breathe properly.

Reveal your identity, assassin goblin.

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[Hobgoblin lv21]

[Traits]

[Assassin], [Hobgoblin]

[Skills]

[Stealth lv10], [Swordsmanship lv8], [Assassination lv7], [Poison Resistance lv8] ...

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So Poison Resistance really existed.

It's stronger than I thought!

I was surprised by the goblin assassin's strength.

Still, my neurotoxin seems to be quite strong. It caused poisoning even with lv8 Poison Resistance.

And the truly joyous thing happened next.

「Your level has increased.」

Gasp!

It hasn't even been a full day since my last level up.

In other words, the experience points given by the assassin goblin were quite impressive.

Much more efficient than my own hard hunting.

"Assassin, did Croc send you?" Nanaluk muttered, turning pale.

Right, it wasn't time to be rejoicing.

Pelerian! Wake up!

Pelerian also popped out of the ring.

He seemed to be sleeping too. Judging by his drowsy face as he raised his finger.

"There, again."

Something flew in from outside the window.

Nanaluk swung her knife.

She displayed quite impressive skill.

Ting!

She deflected whatever was flying in with her knife.

"Poison needle!"

She picked up the fallen poison needle from the floor.

It seemed to have been shot from a blowgun.

And the Hobgoblin assassin who appeared to have shot the poison needle was crawling in through the window.

Nanaluk threw the poison needle back.

Thwack!

I thought she was a martial arts master.

The poison needle Nanaluk threw hit the assassin's shoulder.

But instead of falling, the assassin charged in with a sickle-like weapon.

What's the point of shooting poison needles if the poison is this weak?

Dangerous, Nanaluk!

I, who had been hiding in the darkness, leaped.

The assassins weren't wearing anything like armor.

Moreover, for some unknown confidence, they were exposing their chests.

Then it's time for the Heart-eating Snake.

Crunch!

"Aaaagh!"

I thought real assassins don't scream when stabbed. Your training is lacking.

The assassin fell, spewing blood.

And he uttered his last words while looking at me.

"Really... Heart-eating..."

That's right, I am that Heart-eating Snake.

For some reason, the title Ulluullullu didn't appear.

I preferred Heart-eating Snake anyway.

'When you devour the heart of your prey, you can gain more magical power.'

That was the special benefit of my title.

Perhaps because of that, I could feel a noticeably larger amount of magical power being absorbed.

I was confident that if I caught just one more, I'd level up again.

It was a moment of excitement from the rare rapid leveling.

"Thank you, I'm alive thanks to you!"

Nanaluk hugged me and expressed her gratitude.

I felt a bit sorry for stealing her killing blow, but come to think of it, I did save her.

Let's be proud.

"Why did the assassin come... Oh!"

Nanaluk stood up abruptly.

"The chieftain, father is in danger!"

As far as I know, Nanaluk is the best warrior of the Lunga tribe.

She's particularly strong among Hobgoblins, and there are many warriors who follow her.

Among the warriors, there are even those who say Nanaluk should be made the new chieftain.

But would assassins really try to assassinate just Nanaluk for that reason?

If assassins have come this far, they must have gone to the chieftain's house as well.

"Let's go!"

I was thinking of going anyway.

Can't resist leveling up.

I naturally climbed onto Nanaluk's shoulder.

Her running was much faster than my Quick Crawling.

"Assassins! Warriors, gather!"

Nanaluk shouted as she ran.

There seems to be a basic guard system in place.

Someone rang a bell loudly.

The chieftain's house was in the center of the village.

As expected, fighting sounds could be heard from afar.

There were several dead goblins lying around.

I could taste the blood lingering in the air on my tongue.

All the dead were goblins from the Lunga tribe.

Among them were those who had made a fuss calling me Ulluullullu.

I jumped off Nanaluk's shoulder.

One assassin was fighting with Lunga tribe warriors who were rushing to support the chieftain.

The chieftain's house was on fire.

"I'm counting on you!"

Nanaluk guessed my intention just from me jumping off.

As expected, we communicate well.

I'll eat you.

A Hobgoblin assassin rushed at Nanaluk, but.

「Using Basic Elemental Magic: Earth lv4.」

An earth pillar rose from the ground and grabbed the assassin's legs.

The assassin broke free from the restraint with a somersault.

And at the same time, he scattered something from his bosom.

Three crudely made daggers were shot at once.

I lightly dodged... No.

Slash!

Ouch.

The daggers were faster than I thought.

A long cut formed as my skin was torn.

「You have been poisoned.」

「Poison Resistance skill level has increased.」

It hurts!

The wound felt hot as if it was on fire.

I can't hesitate here.

Let's trust my Poison Resistance.

I combined Leap and Acceleration.

The level of these two skills had risen quite a bit. I shot out like an arrow.

I haven't seen a goblin that could properly react to this.

"Hup!"

So there was such a goblin here!

The Hobgoblin assassin had excellent reflexes.

The knife he stretched out seemed like it would cut my body in two.

I barely twisted my body in mid-air to avoid the blade.

Why is this one so strong!

"Tsk tsk, you underestimated the Hobgoblin."

It was good until I dealt with the assassin in Nanaluk's house.

But I easily caught them only because I ambushed them.

"You forgot the snake's hunting method, that's why."

Pelerian nagging.

But his words weren't wrong.

I think I was too arrogant.

I'm still just a two-month-old baby.

Did I take the world too lightly just because I learned some magic?

No wonder the assassins gave a large amount of experience.

To face them head-on, I had to risk my life too.

「Using Basic Elemental Magic: Water lv1.」

The trickling water poured onto the assassin's face.

And when a mask gets wet with water, you can't breathe.

"Blub blub."

Unable to breathe, the assassin panicked.

When he quickly took off his mask to put it back on.

I had already bitten his ankle and passed by.

"Kuk!"

This Hobgoblin seems to have Poison Resistance too.

But I've now remembered the snake's hunting method.

I retreated and hid right away.

I'll eat your heart next time.

Eventually, the assassin collapsed.

Still, the results were quite juicy.

Hmm, let's not forget today's lesson.

Thanks to my struggle, the situation quickly calmed down.

The Hobgoblin warriors of the Lunga tribe also came running and caught one more assassin.

The warriors rushed into the burning chieftain's house.

Soon, Nanaluk came out supporting the chieftain.

It seemed they had also defeated the assassins who had infiltrated inside.

It's a bit disappointing that they didn't capture any alive.

The chieftain's wife was no less than three in number.

All three ran out looking terrified.

Nanaluk was covered in blood from head to toe.

It doesn't seem to be her blood, probably the assassin's.

No, she's injured too. Blood is dripping from her forearm.

"An excellent Hobgoblin. She might even evolve further."

Pelerian admired.

I agreed with his opinion.

You did well, Nanaluk.

You saved your father.

Now there will be a touching scene of father and daughter embracing and feeling relieved.

That's what I thought was true.

But the chieftain didn't care about his injured daughter at all.

He's just busy taking care of his concubines.

As far as I know, Nanaluk's mother, who was the legal wife, had passed away. That's why the children seemed to live separately.

The chieftain approached Nanaluk after a long while.

I thought he would say, thank you my daughter, but.

"This is all because of you!"

Slap!

That was the sound of the chieftain hitting Nanaluk's cheek.

I couldn't understand the current situation.

But other goblins seemed to.

They watched the conflict between father and daughter with strange expressions.

"Isn't this because you offended Chieftain Croc! If only you had bowed down earlier..."

The chieftain was sobbing.

He was that scared of the assassins coming.

"Chieftain Croc must be terribly misunderstanding. Assassins.... We must send a peace envoy right now. Shaman!"

"Chieftain, please calm down."

"Calm down what! Are you trying to listen to that Nanaluk's words!"

"Chieftain!"

Loud voices were exchanged.

I can roughly guess what kind of feeling it is.

It was certain that the father-daughter relationship wasn't very good.

"I like him."

'That chieftain?'

"Such cowards are very easy to handle."

I like him too. To the point where I want to bite him hard.

Nanaluk slowly walked out.

She wasn't making a crying face.

She looked at me and smiled, reaching out her hand.

I climbed up her arm and settled on her shoulder.

It was a noisy night.

Nanaluk didn't cry until she returned to her room.

==

The strength of tear glands differs from person to person.

Some people rarely cry, but when they do, they cry as if a dam has broken.

Once the lock on the tear glands breaks, you can't help but cry until all its contents are spilled out.

Nanaluk was like that.

Leaving her siblings behind, she locked herself in a small room and cried.

She poured out unorganized emotions and words along with her tears.

Through that, I could learn several facts.

How cowardly her father was, and how much she missed her dead mother.

How 'screwed' the situation of the Lunga tribe was, and the fact that this Croc person would eventually attack Lunga and kill everyone.

Until she said she was afraid of that.

The reason I had a front-row seat to her wailing was solely because I was a snake.

Nanaluk was pressing her eyelids against my body.

Feels cool, right?

"I wonder if this will make my eyes less swollen."

I hope so.

"...You're not Ulluullullu, are you?"

I didn't expect her to ask that too.

I shook my head.

Of course not.

"I wish you were that snake. Then you could have defeated Croc too, right?"

Maybe I could have.

But I'm not Ulluullullu.

I'm just a weak snake that barely managed to face one assassin Hobgoblin.

I don't know.

Maybe someday when I evolve, I'll become as strong as that Ulluullullu.

Then I might be able to help this poor Hobgoblin girl who was kind to me.

But not now.

"Don't leave."

Nanaluk seemed to know that I was leaving in the morning and said.

I was surprised. How did she know?

"You made and packed the Water of Life. And today you quietly endured the younger ones' pranks. Usually, people who are about to leave suddenly become kind."

Hmm, smart girl.

But it can't be helped.

Rather, it might be more dangerous if I stay here.

I don't know when the fairy trackers will come. And will those psychopathic-looking fairies leave the goblins I'm friendly with alone?

"Hmm, can't deny that."

It's a fact that Pelerian acknowledged.

When I shook my head saying no, Nanaluk became sad.

Then she spoke as if she had made up her mind.

"You might say no, but you might actually be Ulluullullu."

'I told you I'm not.'

"Even if you're not now, you might evolve into Ulluullullu."

'...Oh, is that so?'

Ulluullullu might be in my evolution tree.

Who can be sure?

"Wait a moment."

She suddenly started moving busily.

She pulled out a chair, climbed on it, and carefully removed a wooden board from the ceiling.

She took something out from there, rummaging around.

It was a small box that was very well sealed.

"This is something my mother left for me..."

What is it, what?

The very old-looking box was meticulously sealed with melted honeycomb.

Nanaluk opened it without hesitation.

As soon as the box was opened, a clear fragrance spread.

"You try eating it. You might evolve then."

Um...

This is.

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[Inner Dan: Crimson Tarantula King]

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Ah, um.

"My mother's father formed a suicide squad and hunted this monster. They say you can evolve if you eat it."

No, you can't evolve just by eating an Inner Dan.

And why give such a precious thing to me?

No matter how much I like good things for my body, it's embarrassing.

However, there was one person, or more precisely, a fairy whose eyes had gone wild.

"Eat it-!"

Pelerian shouted strongly.

But still...

I slowly shook my head.

"No, try eating it."

"Eat it!"

Why are both of you like this?