“What? Can a divine artifact break this easily?”

“I… can’t believe it.”

I can’t believe it either.

It wasn’t my intention.

I don’t want to become a statue.

I put on the most pitiful lizard face I could muster.

The Queen of Snakes' vertical pupils silently stared at me.

Her expression was eerily similar to Baek Yeon-Yeong’s: flat and emotionless.

It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Gulp.

I swallowed hard.

Is she going to get angry?

She’s definitely going to get angry, right?

After all, I broke the divine artifact.

“Come closer.”

Right.

It’s better to face the punishment early.

Even though I broke the divine artifact, she won’t turn me into a statue, right?

She’ll probably just make me pay for it somehow, since it’s already broken.

She might even say something like, “Pay me back with your body!” or something along those lines.

Of course, that would probably mean she plans to peel off all my scales one by one.

“Gehk…”

Letting out a cautious hiss, I slowly crawled towards her.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful of my sleeping partner, Ssh Ssh, who was still dozing off.

The Queen of Snakes lightly grabbed my snout and opened my mouth.

“Geeeeek?”

Wait, this kind of thing is what Baek Yeon-Yeong does!

Not only do they look alike, but they act similarly too.

The Queen of Snakes carefully examined the inside of my mouth.

It felt like she was inspecting structures like my uvula and salivary glands.

“You’ve brought back something quite precious.”

Thud.

She released her grip on my snout.

“Snake with legs, are you hungry by any chance?”

What’s with that out-of-nowhere question?

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like she was about to rip my snout wide open.

…I did eat some meat earlier, but I could go for a bit more.

“Gehk.”

I let out a soft affirmative hiss.

“I figured as much. I’ll be back shortly. Wait here.”

With those words, the Queen of Snakes slithered gracefully towards the passageway leading out.

Why did her question remind me of the tradition of a last meal for prisoners on death row?

You know, that custom where they let you eat your fill before you die.

Maybe after I eat the meat, I’ll…?

Now’s my chance.

I’ll escape while the Queen of Snakes is away.

“Don’t even think about escaping. Stay here.”

“Gehk.”

Yes, ma’am.

…There’s no way I could escape.

Even if I did try to run, I’d get caught again if I couldn’t escape the jungle.

While I was nervously biting my claws, a tremendous roar began to sound from outside.

Kuwaaah!

Huh? What’s that sound?

It was like the heavens and earth were being torn apart.

Shivering, I thought the noise was probably connected to the Queen of Snakes going outside.

Maybe she’s really angry.

Yeah. Maybe I should try putting the mirror back together.

Just as I was attempting to piece together the broken mirror, the Queen of Snakes re-entered the temple.

She was dragging some large, unidentifiable chunk of meat.

“Filling your belly comes first.”

Drooling, I stared at the meat, which looked absolutely delicious.

“Gehk…”

Is that for me?

I glanced at her while still holding the shard of the broken mirror.

“It was just an old relic anyway. As long as I confirmed my daughter’s appearance, that’s enough. Don’t worry about it.”

“Gegegegek!”

The Queen of Snakes is the best.

How should I put it… I felt a warmth from her.

Even though she’s a reptile, she exuded a kindness that seemed more like a mammal’s.

Even the slightly cooked meat had a comforting warmth to it.

“Go on. Eat up.”

Waaang.

Thump.

This meat tasted better than any I’d ever had before.

Given the situation, I didn’t think I’d be able to taste anything, but the flavor was overwhelming enough to ignore my worries.

It was as if the meat had been grilled to perfection by the Queen’s destructive ray—it was exactly the kind of texture I liked.

“Well, is it good?”

I nodded enthusiastically.

With this amount of meat, if I finish it all, I might even be able to level up.

But… It feels like too much to eat alone.

I was about to wake Ssh Ssh so we could share it.

“Don’t wake her.”

“Gehk.”

Yes, ma’am.

“Suddenly gaining power, it’s natural for her to feel sleepy. It’s like she’s consumed some kind of elixir.”

Is that so?

Well, that makes sense. She did eat some of the stew from my tail.

It’s probably better to just let her keep sleeping.

Even the loud noise didn’t wake her, so she must have really needed the rest.

So, I continued to devour the meat before me.

The Queen of Snakes watched me as I ate.

“Although she is my daughter, she’s quite a pure and unblemished child.”

Suddenly, she began to praise Ssh Ssh.

“Look at her as she sleeps. Isn’t she so adorable?”

I agree.

For a snake, she has a face like a puppy, and her body is so plump.

It’s definitely not because of what I saw in that Mirror of Absolute Possibility.

“She’s still young, but when she matures, she’ll make a good mate.”

Yes, a good mate…

Wait, Mother?

I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding here.

“What’s with that face? Don’t you find my daughter appealing?”

The Queen’s eyes narrowed.

“Gehkehk!”

I vigorously shook my head, making a loud protesting hiss.

That’s not what I meant at all.

The Queen’s face became stern.

“Could it be that my daughter isn’t your first woman?”

No, that’s not it.

I don’t have another woman.

“Are you thinking of someone else?”

[First Follower, 【Atercopus Lv9】 is listening intently.]

[Second Follower, 【Antrakomartus Lv8】 is waiting eagerly.]

[???, 【Nephila Jurassica Lv30】 snickers.]

What the hell? Go away, shoo!

“Gegegegek!”

Yeah, it’d be better if I was thinking about another woman.

It’s not like I have someone I love, just thinking is fine, right?

Even contemplating that martial art technique my master Baek Yeon-Yeong taught me is technically thinking about someone else.

If it stays like this, we’ll just remain in a good relationship, right?

I even gave her some of my tail, and I’ll help out with the Queen’s request, too.

We’ll remain on friendly terms.

“…How dare you toy with my daughter?”

What?

How did it come to this?

Sure, we shared a bed and I gave her some of my tail, but that doesn’t mean we’re involved!

“You took my daughter, but in your heart, you cherish another woman?”

“Gegegegegek!”

I let out a fierce denial.

“Just who… who is this woman…?”

The Queen trailed off.

I slightly lifted my head to check her face, wondering if she was about to unleash her destructive ray.

What is going on?

The Queen’s face had turned slightly red.

“No way…”

She curled her tail slightly, avoiding my gaze as if embarrassed.

[The Queen of Snakes is deeply conflicted.]

“Could it be… me…?”

This is a disaster.

The jungle is home to a variety of creatures.

From small dinosaurs seen all over the Ten Thousand Mountains, to towering sauropods that overwhelm with their sheer size.

Even some mystical beasts naturally roamed the jungle. It wasn’t surprising to find beings like basilisks or human-faced birds wandering around, so the jungle had its share of unexpected guests.

“I’m telling you, mystical beasts really do exist!”

Jang Bong was passionately arguing.

Despite the Dilophosaurus’ attack, he had survived.

After yelling at the Blood Lion, he had run faster than anyone else, which saved his life.

However, surviving didn’t guarantee he’d stay alive long in this jungle teeming with far more dangerous creatures than the swamp.

He would’ve perished by now if not for a fortunate encounter.

He had met Baek Un, a swordsman and one of Jongnam’s promising figures.

“A ten-thousand-year Hwa-ri, a Golden Frog, and even a Golden Turtle. If what you say is true, it’s tempting… but how can I believe that?”

“I swear! I saw it with my own eyes.”

“It must have been a similar-looking beast. But mystical beasts definitely exist in this jungle. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to check out the swamp when I get the chance.”

“I’m telling you, it was a ten-thousand-year-old Hwa-ri. And as I mentioned before, there’s a dragon in that area, so we should be well-prepared.”

A dragon, huh.

Baek Un smirked cynically.

“A dragon, you say? But wasn’t it just a small one, about the size of a bird?”

“Well, yes, it was about that size…”

At Baek Un’s feet lay the corpse of a beheaded Terror Bird.

For someone who had surpassed first-rate level and was approaching the peak, a Terror Bird wasn’t much of a challenge.

It wasn’t just the Terror Bird.

Even creatures like the Deinonychus, which had initially been mistaken for dragons, were no match for Baek Un.

Though he had been startled by the appearance of unfamiliar beasts, he had been excited about the possibility of obtaining their inner cores. However, despite killing numerous Terror Birds and Deinonychus, none of them yielded any cores.

What Baek Un desperately needed was a mystical beast’s inner core.

If the swamp was really home to mystical beasts, as Jang Bong claimed, that would be ideal.

Jang Bong’s words had piqued Baek Un’s interest, but only slightly.

It still sounded too far-fetched.

There was no way that so many mystical beasts could gather in one place.

And if there really was a dragon, even more so.

“I’ve cut down several creatures that looked similar to dragons. But they weren’t dragons, just large reptiles. There's no chance that any of them were actual dragons.”

“But I sensed an unusual energy coming from it…”

“Nonsense.”

Baek Un chuckled.

How could someone like Jang Bong, who was only at a third-rate level, sense the inner energy of a mystical beast?

True mystical beasts always conceal their inner energy. The only way someone at Jang Bong’s level could sense their energy was if it was so immense that it couldn’t be completely hidden.

But that was impossible.

If it had that much energy, how could Jang Bong have survived?

“Well, we can think about it once we get out of here.”

“That's the real problem, isn't it? There are so many venomous insects and the tall plants make it hard to see ahead…”

Being trapped in the jungle was indeed a problem, but Jang Bong felt reassured.

He knew Baek Un, a warrior trained by Jongnam, wouldn’t abandon him.

And unlike Jang Bong, Baek Un’s skills were first-rate, so as long as he stuck close to him, they wouldn’t be killed by any giant lizards.

Jang Bong began to prepare the Terror Bird’s carcass for cooking.

Even though they hadn’t agreed on it, he felt it was his duty to handle the food since Baek Un was the one who took down the bird.

Just as he started to carve the bird’s meat and prepare a fire, an ear-piercing cry echoed through the jungle.

“Cock-a-doodle-dooo!”

“…Is that… a bird’s cry?”

“To be precise, it sounds more like a rooster.”

Could it be a companion of the creature he was butchering?

Jang Bong briefly entertained the thought, but he quickly realized it was a pointless worry.

As long as Baek Un was around, no bird or creature in the jungle posed a threat.

“Jang Bong. Keep quiet and follow me.”

Even though Baek Un suddenly used informal speech, Jang Bong didn’t argue.

What puzzled him more was the sudden command.

“H-Hold on. Why are we doing this now? We’re almost done preparing.”

“That cry just now… It’s likely a creature close to being a mystical beast.”

“Well, the cry did sound different from these other birds, but…”

“If you don’t want to, you can stay here. I’ll go ahead.”

With that, Baek Un swiftly headed toward the source of the sound.

“Tch… Ugh…”

Reluctantly, Jang Bong had no choice but to follow.

Being left alone in this jungle would be a death sentence.

“Ba-Baek Un, wait for me!”