Even Pelerian was astonished.
A small but peaceful village.
A modest territory lacking any splendor.
Those were always the words used to describe Greyrim.
But that had long since become a thing of the past.
In present-day Greyrim, knights clad in dark armor roamed the streets.
Even on rainy days, they never removed their armor. As those heavy knights marched about, the stone slabs paving the roads cracked and shattered beneath their weight.
And that wasn't all.
Gunter possessed not only the Iron Lion Knights but also private soldiers of his own.
Those soldiers now patrolled inside the outer walls in place of the original territorial guards.
The lord had been forcibly taken to the capital.
His most loyal retainers were imprisoned under various pretexts, and some were even killed for resisting.
Ordinary villagers should have had nothing to do with such matters—but reality was not so kind.
A bleak wind swept downward from those above.
The children who once ran noisily through the streets were nowhere to be seen.
Rumble—
It was a day of heavy rain.
A young child in a robe hurried along.
The man accompanying her stopped her from anxiously looking around.
Their destination was a mill built against the city wall.
On a day like this, with rain pouring down, the mill wasn't operating.
The child and the man entered together.
Only a few candles lit the dim interior.
Several people had already gathered inside.
They removed their robes.
The man was Oliver, Greyrim's finest hunter, and the child was Rania, the lord's daughter.
"Mother!"
Inside the mill was the lady of the house.
Rania ran into her arms and embraced her tightly.
It had been a long time since mother and daughter last met.
"You've done well, Oliver."
Oliver bowed his head slightly in respect.
Everyone gathered here was loyal to the lord.
The Baron of Greyrim might not have been particularly outstanding, but he had been blessed with good people.
"Thank you all for coming."
At the lady's summons, they had gathered in secret.
"Much time has passed since that man Gunter took the lord away. We've sent letters to the royal palace and the council of nobles, but there's still been no proper response."
The lady looked utterly worn.
"At this rate… something terrible may happen to him. That must not be allowed."
She and the retainers had tried every means to save the lord.
But the palace only repeated that it was a lawful procedure, and the nobles merely promised to 'look into it.'
This could not go on.
At last, the lady made a difficult decision.
"We must seek the Marquis's help."
"…Ah…"
Someone let out a sigh.
The Marquis—Gerard, the Tiger Marquis.
The lady's father. One of the Eight Heroes.
There was a reason for that reaction.
The lady's father was a terrifying man—perhaps even more so than Gunter.
It was like calling a tiger to hunt a wolf.
But what choice did they have? The original owner of the territory—the raccoon—might die otherwise.
No one opposed the idea.
They had expected it.
The steward of the lord's estate spoke quietly.
"I've arranged a carriage."
"A mere letter won't move my father. That's the kind of man he is."
The Marquis must already have heard through the nobles' council, yet he had remained still.
Perhaps he was preparing justification—or calculating gains and losses.
"Either I or Rania must go in person."
But the lady herself was under Gunter's watch.
Even attending this meeting was a risk.
In the end, there was only one option—send her young daughter.
The lady handed Rania a letter she had written herself.
Rania tucked it into her clothes, her posture timid.
"Oliver will help you."
"I owe the lord my life."
Oliver placed a hand over his chest.
The lady gave a slight nod of gratitude.
Afterward, they discussed the general plan.
Soon, a carriage would leave Greyrim—carrying Rania and the letter.
"Then… may fortune be with you all."
With the lady's words, the group dispersed one by one.
Rania and Oliver did the same.
But this time, Rania left first—alone.
She was disguised as a maid of the estate.
Holding a basket of flour, she hurried along.
Not even watching where she was going—
She was stopped by soldiers.
Rania slowly raised her head.
They weren't Greyrim's guards.
They were Gunter's men.
"What are you carrying?"
"Fl-flour…"
"In this kind of rain?"
The soldier roughly checked the basket.
After confirming the flour, he stared at her intently.
"Why are you shaking so much? Hiding something?"
"N-no…"
"Pretty for a maid, aren't you?"
She had deliberately dirtied herself and dressed plainly.
But even so, the soldiers smirked with interest.
Rania had been confined within the inner castle for so long.
At least these newly arrived soldiers didn't recognize her face.
"Let's search you. You look suspicious."
Rania trembled in fear.
If the letter was discovered, it was over.
Just as the soldier reached out—
Smack!
Someone struck the back of his head.
"Which bas—… Ah! Sir! Salute!"
It was Knight Zain.
Rania quickly lowered her head.
"Of course she's scared—look at your ugly mugs."
"…Hehe."
"Let her pass."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier stepped aside.
Rania resisted the urge to run and moved on.
Zain watched her leave with a complicated expression.
Then he too resumed his patrol.
Not far away, behind a tree—
Oliver stood hidden in the rain.
Click.
He returned the dagger he had drawn back into its sheath.
"…Hmm."
He silently watched Zain patrol alone in the rain.
—
Festival.
Blooming Season.
Week of Fruits.
Violet Banquet.
All these expressions referred to a natural phenomenon of the Great Forest.
Among the many hidden realms in the world, this dramatic event could only be seen in the Great Forest where the World Tree stood.
It was already well known—the World Tree was no ordinary plant.
It possessed traits akin to a carnivorous creature.
It fed on monsters.
Its roots spread throughout the entire forest.
Sometimes, parts of those roots emerged above ground—massive, like giant trees themselves.
And at certain times, they bore fruit.
This occurred when the mana within the World Tree exceeded a critical threshold.
The roots would produce extremely fragrant fruit—
fruit that lured monsters.
These fruits, filled with dark mana, amplified the monsters' ferocity.
The monsters grew stronger, gathered, fought one another, and grew even stronger.
Those that died would decay and be absorbed into the roots.
A hunting method so efficient it was almost chilling—
using bait to harvest nutrients.
This process occurred throughout the forest.
But certain areas were known as "festivals."
Places where particularly vivid red fruits appeared.
There, the most dangerous named monsters gathered.
Thus, a realm of chaos and survival of the fittest was born.
—Excerpt from "The Mysterious and Enchanting Monster Encyclopedia of Sage Parvian: Great Forest Edition"
—
I told Nanaruk the recipe for the potion.
Pelerian grumbled that I should at least charge money, but goblins don't have money anyway.
Nanaruk, without even being asked, promised to repay me someday. She's a good kid.
I did set one condition.
Do not spread the recipe.
Not to other races—and even within the Runga tribe, only to shamans.
Nanaruk swore it.
She's trustworthy, so she'll handle it well.
Besides, the ingredients are hard to find outside the Great Forest anyway.
The reason I shared the recipe wasn't just generosity.
The new name I gained—Uroboros.
Its description included this:
"Currently worshipped by a very small number of goblins. As that faith spreads, the bearer of this name will attain a status worthy of it."
Nanaruk and the Runga tribe had no intention of staying in the Palamu rainforest forever.
"First, we'll unite the goblin tribes of the Great Forest. Then we'll head to the continent."
Who would've thought Nanaruk had such ambition?
Their plan was grand.
And as the Runga tribe expanded, the influence of my name would spread as well.
Someday, I might even hear a message like, "Ding! Your faith is spreading."
With potions, there was no way the other goblin tribes could overpower them.
Nanaruk and the goblins packed me plenty of food.
The problem was that my subspace was already full—there was nowhere left to store it.
They tied everything into a large bundle, but as a Serpent, there was no way I could drag that around.
But it didn't matter.
I had a new companion now.
"Gyeeeek!"
A centipede mother sprinting at astonishing speed.
And on her back rode three baby centipedes.
Perhaps the wind felt nice—freed at last, the little ones roared with joy.
"Kke-kke-kke!"
"Kkeee~"
"Kke!"
"Sssaaaak!"
And the last one—that was me.
I sat quietly atop the centipede mother's back.
The bundle was strapped onto her like a backpack.
Before parting ways with the goblins, I gave Nanaruk some advice.
'Never trust the long-eared race! And if you head west, there's a human territory called Greyrim—avoid it at all costs. There's a monster there.'
I also warned her about Gunter. She listened carefully, nodding.
"Let's meet again."
'Yeah.'
Nanaruk said that and hugged me tightly.
Just as I was about to set off in search of Deshnan's dwelling, the centipede mother approached me.
She lowered her body.
At first, I thought she was bowing—but that wasn't it.
She was telling me to get on her back.
…Could she read my thoughts too?
"Gyeeeet!"
Judging by the fact she only made that sound, probably not.
Anyway, her ride quality was incredible.
With so many legs, the up-and-down motion was minimal.
And she was strong—most monsters didn't even dare approach us.
We moved deeper into the forest.
—
By the time the sun stood high in the sky, she stopped.
It meant lunchtime.
Ugh, my body's stiff.
Sitting still wasn't exactly exciting either.
Even though we still had plenty of food, I decided to go hunting.
After all, I had to pay for my ride somehow.
Pelerian was asleep.
Enjoying the rare silence, I slipped into the bushes.
It hadn't been long since I parted from the goblins, yet I already felt a little lonely—but this was nice too.
I am a Serpent crawling through the darkness of the forest.
Silence is my ally.
Grrrr…
And yet, there was a foolish beast making noise in that silence.
I smeared dirt over my scales.
My new scales shone brilliantly in the light, but in darkness, they were even harder to spot than before.
It would be even better if I could dye them black using the Side-Scale skill—but that wasn't easy.
The new skill had a fatal condition: it only activated when I was extremely angry.
Crack, crunch.
I found the source of the noise.
A carnivore.
Smaller than a leopard, larger than a cat.
[Checkered Lynx Lv.21]
[Trait]
[Ferocity]
Not an easy opponent.
It was tearing into a monkey larger than itself.
I didn't hesitate.
I lunged—bit down on the back of its neck and coiled around its body.
The lynx was strong—it leapt into the air even with me clinging to it.
"Gyaaaang!"
So that's how a lynx cries.
I tightened my grip.
Since the baby centipedes would eat it too, I held back from using venom.
When constricting clawed monsters, you have to be careful.
But now I was experienced—the poor lynx couldn't bite or scratch me.
Crack.
Phew… tougher than I thought.
I killed it cleanly.
Then I waited for sweet experience—
Nothing.
Only a faint trace of magical energy.
…Had I outleveled it already?
Seems like it.
A carnivore. Level 21. And still this inefficient?
This situation isn't good.
Maybe I need to go deeper into the forest and hunt stronger prey.
Still, as far as hunting goes—it was a success.
—
I dragged the lynx back to where the centipede mother and her babies were waiting.
As soon as they saw it, drool dripped from their mouths.
'Wait a second, kids.'
I wasn't going to just toss them raw meat anymore.
I had started cooking now.
The method was simple.
First, drag the lynx into an open area where the sky is visible.
Take out a potion from subspace and place it nearby.
Climb onto the lynx—and focus.
[Activating Skill: Horn that Surpasses]["Heavenly Thunder Spirit Lv.0" temporarily becomes Lv.1]
The air stilled.
The lynx's fur stood on end.
[Using Heavenly Thunder Spirit Lv.1]
Then lightning struck me.
KRAAAACK!
This time, I tucked my head into my body and shut my eyes—but the searing pain was still there.
[Heat Resistance proficiency greatly increased][Heat Resistance Lv.8 → Lv.9][Electric Resistance proficiency greatly increased][Electric Resistance Lv.3 → Lv.4]
Aaaargh! It hurts!
My whole body burned.
Unbelievably, using Heavenly Thunder Spirit didn't make me immune to being electrocuted!
I rolled desperately toward the potion.
I smashed the bamboo container with my mouth and gulped it down.
Even that wasn't enough—I rolled over the spilled potion on the ground.
Hah… I almost died.
And I'd already done this several times.
[Skill "Heavenly Thunder Spirit Lv.0" fully acquired]
Still—it paid off.
Grr…
—There you go again. Haha.
Pelerian popped out of the ring.
I lifted my body.
This wasn't just for skill training.
The lynx meat was steaming—perfectly cooked.
Grilled lynx, complete.
You've been waiting, haven't you?
The three baby centipedes sparkled with excitement.
"Kke-kke-kke!"
"Kkeee!"
"Ah!"
Look how happy they are. Cute.
Time to clap, kids.
I tapped the ground with my tail.
The baby centipedes clacked their venomous claws together.
That was their version of applause.
Smart little things.
'Alright, line up and eat.'
The centipede mother stayed still, as if watching over us fondly.
I tore the meat apart and handed it to them.
They gobbled it up eagerly.
—They've really warmed up to you.
They used to be scared of me.
Now they cling to my back like we're best friends.
Yeah, so this was purely goodwill.
No way a message would pop up or—
[Successfully tamed Centipede Larva Lv.3][Skill "Taming Lv.1" acquired]
…What?
I jolted and looked at Pelerian.
—What?
'It says I succeeded in taming them…'
I said it out loud without thinking.
I shouldn't have.
…Huh?
Pelerian narrowed his eyes at me.
—So that was your plan all along. Even I didn't see it coming.
"No."
—Planning to raise centipede slaves, huh?
'I said no!'
This is unfair.