Someone had definitely made these snake statues intentionally.

Their mouths were open, staring right at me.

It was so obvious. Even an idiot could tell something was about to come out of those mouths.

Pew!

Iron arrows were fired all at once.

Predictable.

Whoosh.

At the same time, fire passed over my head.

Now, that’s a decent trap.

If you jump to avoid the arrows, you’d get hit by the fire. If you dodge the fire, you’d get hit by the arrows.

It showed a bit of thought.

An intruder who had no knowledge of this place could be driven off by this trap alone.

But it wouldn’t work on me.

Because I knew the perfect way to deal with it.

Simply stay still.

Clink!

The iron arrows bounced off my scales without penetrating.

After all, I am covered in dragon scales.

“Hieeek!”

[【Ball Python lv14】’s faith has increased.]

Of course, if those arrows were in perfect condition, I might have taken some damage.

But they weren’t. The arrows were heavily rusted from lack of maintenance over the years.

If they had been wooden arrows, they would have completely decayed and become useless. At least with iron, they’d kept some of their shape.

But that didn’t change the fact that they couldn’t pierce my body.

Even the mechanism firing the arrows was barely functioning.

I gave it a gentle push, and the statue wobbled before toppling over.

Crash!

“Hieek!”

The python jumped in fright.

With that, I’d passed the trap at the entrance.

As I walked a bit further, I came across a fork in the path.

A forked path, huh.

This wasn’t something I could solve with just my physical abilities.

Python.

I’ll trust you.

“Hiss!”

The python lifted its head and pointed to the left.

That way, right?

The python nodded.

It then raised its head higher.

A strange posture for Shikshik (the python’s nickname) to take.

The fact that it went out of its way to do this meant it had something to communicate.

There was no need to check the system.

It was probably warning me to watch out above.

I reactivated my sprinting ability.

I needed to run fast to get through this section.

I utilized Soaring Dragon Step to dash forward at high speed.

Clunk!

I heard the sound of a mechanical device activating.

Something was going to fall from the ceiling.

I caught a familiar scent.

A nutty, fishy smell.

...Oil!

I absolutely had to avoid that.

I kicked off the wall with Wall Step, accelerating even more.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

If hot oil fell on me, I’d end up as lizard tempura with no chance of survival.

Fwoosh!

At the last second, I jumped as high as I could, narrowly escaping the range of the trap.

Whew...

Just as I escaped, oil poured down all at once.

Tudunk!

...Tudunk?

Why did it make that sound?

I turned to look at the path I’d just taken.

Oil had indeed poured down.

But it wasn’t boiling oil—it was cold, solidified oil.

...Seriously, how long has it been since they’ve maintained this place?

There were various other traps awaiting me.

Most of them either didn’t activate, or even if they did, they weren’t strong enough to kill anyone.

One trap that should’ve involved a swinging log merely sent the rope flying.

“Sssss!”

Finally, a somewhat dangerous trap activated.

Centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, and a variety of venomous insects rushed toward me.

At least there was some food left for them in here, which was why they were still alive.

Clack!

The bugs swarmed my body.

“Hieeek!”

The python was startled and tried to shake off the bugs clinging to it.

That’s kind of cute.

You’re proving to be more useful than Tang Soyeong.

But, you don’t need to worry.

There’s no way those bugs could pierce my dragon scales.

Even if they bit at the parts without scales, my Immunity to Poisons ensured that their venom wouldn’t affect me.

I leisurely identified the types of insects.

Centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, bees.

No spiders.

In other words, I could freely deal with them.

The insects started to crawl up my body.

If I waited any longer, the python might get bitten.

Time to clean them up.

Lightning Dragon Strike.

Crack!

I swiftly swung my hind leg.

Not only did the bugs clinging to my leg get flung away, but the ones crawling up were also smashed to pieces.

Now that I’d shaken off the bugs on my body, it was time to deal with the rest.

I gathered strength in my legs.

It was a slow but unavoidable attack.

Earth Shattering Dragon Tremor.

Boom!

The entire swarm of bugs was wiped out by the shockwave.

“Hieeeek!”

[【Ball Python lv14】respects you.]

All this over something so simple?

...But isn’t this too easy?

None of the dangerous traps activated, and the ones that did couldn’t hurt me.

It felt like this place had been turned into a training ground just for me.

Is that why Baek Yeon-Yeong sent me here?

So I could safely and easily obtain an opportunity?

If there were such a thing as the Church of Yeon-Yeong, I’d join immediately.

I worship you, Yeon-Yeong.

...Though, I can’t actually do that.

I am, after all, the head of a faith that four beings already follow.

And when I really thought about it, this place wasn’t that easy.

The challenge was actually in getting here.

If I hadn’t managed to charm this chubby snake, I wouldn’t have been able to find it.

If I’d seen the large herbivorous dinosaurs wandering around outside, I’d have likely run away in fear.

Even if someone else had found this place, an ordinary lizard would’ve died from the rusted arrows at the entrance.

After evading the traps and continuing forward, I entered a space that was different from what I’d seen before.

It was like a wide, open garden.

Light filtered in from the slightly open ceiling, and long, unidentified weeds grew on the ground.

Sure enough, there were snake statues waiting for me.

The difference this time was that their mouths were closed.

It was a very spacious clearing.

This was probably the heart of the temple.

There had to be something hidden here.

“Hiss!”

The python raised its head high.

It was signaling for me to head toward the center.

I followed its direction and made my way to the middle.

At the center, there was a stone structure surrounded by ancient characters that I couldn’t read. The only thing I could decipher was the character for “sky,” like before.

But there wasn’t anything I was looking for.

There must have been some sort of complex mechanism hidden here, something too complicated for my lizard brain to understand.

I glanced at the python.

It tilted its head in confusion.

Then, it slithered up to the center of the structure.

So you do know something!

Alright.

My little lucky charm, I’m counting on you.

The python opened its mouth wide.

I guess because it’s a snake, it opened even wider than I expected.

Crack.

...It’s opening quite a bit.

Crack!

“Peep!”

With a sound like a baby chick, a white beam shot out from the python’s mouth.

Boom!

...You could do that?

Wasn’t that the same as the beam the human-faced bird fired?

A destructive ray?

The scale was much smaller than the human-faced bird’s, but it was definitely similar.

I mean, the human-faced bird is a mythical creature, so I guess it’s plausible for it to shoot destructive rays from its mouth.

But the cute snake in front of me?

The ball python, a real species?

And it could shoot beams?

Just as I was puzzling over the true nature of this cute snake, something fell in front of me.

【Mid-tier Core】
【Low-tier Core】
【Mid-tier Core】

They were cores.

There were many of them, even though the quality was a bit lower.

Still, mid-tier cores weren’t that bad.

Who cares what this snake really is?

It’s a treasure!

[【Ball Python lv14】feels proud.]

I gently patted the python’s head.

It squirmed happily.

I felt like wagging my tail in satisfaction, too.

I’d just scored three cores in one go.

I was about to swallow them in one gulp when I paused for a moment.

I’d gotten three of them. Should I really eat them all myself?

“Geggek.”

Want a bite, too?

“Hiss!”

The python shook its head and snuggled into my arms.

Its chubby body seemed especially adorable today.

And no, it wasn’t just because of the cores.

Chomp.

I swallowed the three cores in front of me.

Power surged through my body.

Rumble...

Normally, it’s not a good idea to consume a bunch of cores all at once.

Their energies could clash and cause harm.

But I’m not an ordinary lizard.

I’m the elixir-stealing lizard that even ate the Heavenly Clean Stone Oil.

Three mid-tier or lower cores are nothing to me.

I’ll store them in my belly and absorb their energy later.

“Hiss!”

The python rubbed its head against my leg, wagging its tail like a puppy.

“Geggek.”

But, lucky charm...

Is there anything else?

Even after receiving three cores, some shameless lizard still felt like it wasn’t enough.

“Hieek...”

The python rolled its eyes, trying to gauge my reaction.

You’re hiding something, aren’t you?

[【Ball Python lv14】is hesitating.]

Come on, you don’t need to act that way with me.

[【Ball Python lv14】is getting anxious.]

The python glanced at me and quickly bowed its head.

While these three cores are good, I don’t believe this is all there is.

This is the place where Baek Yeon-Yeong said I’d find a great opportunity.

There has to be something on par with the Heavenly Clean Stone Oil here.

“Hieeek...”

[【Ball Python lv14】says it’s impossible.]

Should I give it a little tap?

The spiders loved that.

...But this is a snake, so maybe that wouldn’t work.

Besides, I don’t even know where its butt is.

Sigh, what do I do...

I’m so close to convincing it...

The ball python was desperately bowing its head.

It was probably weighing things in its mind.

Is it really okay to hand over everything to this shady lizard I just met?

I had no choice but to use my trump card.

‘Tail Severing.’

Shing!

I hate to admit it, but the females in my life love this tail.

Not just the spiders, even Tang Soyeong and Baek Yeon-Yeong had a fondness for it.

There must be some invisible power in my plump tail that draws them in.

Since I’d become a mythical creature, my tail must also possess mystical properties.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for both spiders and humans to like it so much.

So, this snake might like my tail, too.

The idea of trading my body for an elixir did bother me a bit, but what’s the harm in the process?

I offered my severed tail to the python.

“Hieeeek!”

The python flinched in surprise.

It looked back and forth between me and the tail, then suddenly fainted.

“Hieek!”

It immediately stood back up and wrapped its body around the tail.

Its round eyes gazed at me for a long time.

“Hieek...”

The python bowed its head, as if embarrassed.

Then the system message arrived.

[【Ball Python lv14】has declared it will give you its elixirs, body, and soul.]

Yes!

...Wait, what?

[The Snake Queen is enraged by your lewd behavior.]

Not good!

No, no, that’s not what I meant!

[The Snake Queen is now very curious about your face.]

 

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - I'd really like to see how far Leon goes and how far we can increase the number of chapters. Thanks~!

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