章 10: Special Chicken Skewer
What on earth was that creature?
The head was very familiar. It was that of a rooster.
The bright red comb fluttered, and the eyes were those of a chicken, with unreadable emotions.
The body was a bit strange.
The feathers were patchy, revealing rough gray skin underneath.
It reminded me of a reptile, or more precisely, a dinosaur.
Since chickens are said to be descendants of dinosaurs, perhaps this body was fitting.
And when it came to the tail, it was just absurd.
It was clearly a snake's tail.
The long appendage wriggled as if it were a separate creature.
It looked like a combination of several different animals.
I wish it was just chicken-sized, but it was much larger than a human.
Its bulk was no less than that of a Horn Jaguar.
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[Cockatrice lv12]
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The biggest problem was its status window.
Its level was 12. Not all high-level magical beasts were strong, but this one was certainly powerful.
That's because, apart from its name, I couldn't decipher anything else in its status window.
This was typical of strong magical beasts like the Horn Jaguar.
When encountering such a magical beast, the best course of action is to run away.
But the centipede husband didn't flee.
Instead, he charged at the Cockatrice, which was even larger than himself.
He rushed forward swiftly on what looked like hundreds of legs.
He climbed up the Cockatrice's body and sank his Venomous Fang into its flesh.
His fighting spirit was impressive.
There was only one reason he could show such courage.
Because his wife was behind him.
Because the bride had turned to stone.
I immediately did what I could.
Regrettably, I had to bite someone else's wife. It was an emergency, after all.
My teeth didn't penetrate, but venom flowed out in abundance.
It's working. It's having an effect!
I tried it believing in my previous experience, and the effect was fully manifested.
Starting from where the venom touched, the centipede wife's color slowly began to return.
Whether it's a Cockatrice or a Medusa Serpent, the principle behind petrification attacks might be similar.
Crack.
I turned my head at the dangerous sound.
I couldn't help but be shocked.
The centipede husband's body had been split in two.
The Cockatrice had torn the centipede apart with its talons.
Despite this, the centipede husband was still alive.
He chased after the Cockatrice as if trying to stop it, but the Cockatrice's charge was incredibly fast.
The direction it was heading was towards this side, where the petrified centipede wife was.
Even though the centipede husband's Venomous Fang wasn't weak, the Cockatrice didn't slow down at all.
It clearly had poison resistance.
I would die just from being stepped on by those legs.
Our eyes met.
Right, in times like these, you should do the opposite of what your survival instinct tells you.
I ran towards it.
My speed was quite fast thanks to my Quick Crawling skill leveling up.
The Cockatrice let out a screech, "Kieeek!"
Its vigorous roar, no less powerful than a Horn Jaguar's, shook the ground.
What is this, a crow? Are you Recon?
Just as its sharp talons were about to stomp on me, I tensed my entire body and sprang up.
I was still borrowing the Leap skill.
「The proficiency of Leap rises sharply. Leap lv1 has become Leap lv2.」
「You have completely acquired the skill 'Leap'.」
So even borrowed skills can evolve.
Moreover, it's now become completely my skill.
But this was no time to be pleased with just this much.
The beast made another Recon-like move.
It tried to peck at me while I was in mid-air with its large beak.
I danced in the air once more to avoid it.
At that moment, my eyes met the Cockatrice's golden eyes.
Ah!
A tingling sensation ran through my entire body from the sense of crisis.
The Medusa Serpent could turn its opponents to stone just by making eye contact.
The Cockatrice had also petrified the centipede wife.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Closing your eyes in the middle of a fight is crazy, but I had no choice.
Then came a stinging pain.
I opened my eyes again.
I saw the beast's tail that had just grazed my body.
At the end of that tail was a single sharp spine.
That cowardly creature... snakes don't have such tail stings.
I fell to the ground with a thud.
My body started to stiffen.
The Cockatrice's petrification wasn't done through eye contact.
Only our mother was capable of such an advanced technique.
And the charging Cockatrice collided directly with the centipede wife.
Kwaaang!
No traffic accident could be more horrific than this.
The centipede wife, whose petrification hadn't fully worn off, was literally shattered into pieces.
That warm-hearted gesture of offering a caught frog as a return gift for the moving-in rice cakes.
We'll never see her pretty smile again.
Stone fragments rolled across the ground.
The Cockatrice, having brutally killed a centipede's wife, paid no attention to it and began pecking at the stone fragments with its beak.
It looked as if it was searching for something.
And the husband who had lost his wife.
"Kweeeeeek!"
He let out an anguished cry.
Who said insects don't have emotions?
At least this husband clearly loved his wife.
He clung to the Cockatrice with half of his body torn apart.
I want to stop him.
Endure it! If you charge in now, you'll die for nothing.
But from the start, the Cockatrice didn't seem to have any intention of sparing the husband.
What two couldn't defeat, one certainly can't.
The Cockatrice easily subdued the centipede husband.
Pinning down his body with its heavy foot, there was nothing the centipede could do.
The Cockatrice's beak came crashing down like a falling object.
This chicken-head seems to have some intelligence.
At least, it was clear that it could think beyond just "kill and eat."
Instead of pecking the centipede husband to death, it cut off all of his legs.
It also removed the most dangerous Venomous Fang.
It grasped the completely incapacitated centipede with its snake-like tail.
And me along with it.
Damn it, why are you taking me too?
Did it not even notice that I was attached?
I was very small compared to the Cockatrice's build.
As it wrapped its tail around the centipede husband, I was dragged along.
If you ask why I didn't escape, it's because I was already petrified.
「You have gained Petrification Resistance lv1.」
That was quick.
As the rightful and proper heir of Medusa Serpent's bloodline, I thought I might be immune to petrification.
That wasn't the case.
I turned to stone as soon as the Cockatrice stung me.
However, it didn't reach my head.
The petrification stopped at my neck.
Maybe it's because of the venom glands in my head.
Even now, the area around my nape where the petrification was trying to spread feels itchy.
「The proficiency of Petrification Resistance is rising sharply.」
It seems the petrification will wear off on its own with time.
Regardless, I'm in a predicament of being dragged along now.
The Cockatrice started running, carrying the centipede like a trophy.
Its running speed was impressive. It ran lightly like an ostrich.
Yet, its head and tail didn't sway much.
The ride quality is quite good.
I looked at the limp centipede husband.
Poor friend.
He was in tatters.
Yellow bodily fluids dripped from his severed body and legs.
Foam bubbled from his mouth.
The two eyes that had been glowing red were slowly losing their light.
No matter how tenacious the life of a magical beast, an unavoidable death was approaching.
What a tragedy this is in the wee hours of the morning.
I felt pity for the centipede husband facing death.
I might not be in a position to feel that way. I might be eaten and killed at any moment too.
But the look in the centipede's eyes, unable to avenge his dead wife, was heart-wrenching.
Even small creatures seem to have feelings.
Ah, dawn is breaking.
The sky started to brighten faintly.
The Cockatrice kept running.
The petrification on my body had almost completely worn off.
I thought I could just drop off here and escape.
That's when it happened.
The centipede husband looked at me and wiggled his antennae.
Then he spewed foam from his mouth and.
Something popped out from inside his mouth.
...Could it be that?
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[Inner Dan: Redtis King Centipede]
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It's the Inner Dan that the centipede couple was making while doing embarrassing things last time.
Could it be that the Cockatrice came all this way to hunt because of that Inner Dan?
I couldn't understand the inside story.
But why did he spit out that Inner Dan now?
Is he possibly trying to give it to me?
The centipede husband wiggled his antennae.
'That's right, I'm giving it to you.'
I imagined such an answer.
The truth was unknowable.
But the centipede husband's body was gradually stiffening.
His antennae drooped, and his eyes lost their light.
The strength in his jaw also seemed to give out.
Plop.
He ended up dropping the Inner Dan.
I instinctively caught it in my mouth.
It would be a waste to throw it away, wouldn't it?
Hmm, it tastes like centipede bodily fluids.
Salty tears flowed from my eyes too.
No, not tears, this is also centipede fluid that got on me.
「You have consumed an Inner Dan.」
I'm not sure what effect it will have, but.
Certainly, I received it.
A hot sensation boiled up in my stomach.
==
The sun peeked its head over the cliff.
The darkness of dawn completely lifted, and morning began.
The Cockatrice arrived at its den.
It roared as its instincts dictated.
"Cock-a-doodle-doooo!"
It was a victory crow.
It had hunted down the centipede couple it had been chasing.
Though victorious, it hadn't found what it was looking for.
It must be feeling a mix of satisfaction and disappointment.
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[Cockatrice lv12]
[Traits]
[Treasure Maniac], [Sharpness]
[Skills]
[Petrification lv4], [Leap lv6], [Acceleration lv5], [Tail Whip lv7], [Heat Detection lv3], [Magic Detection lv2], [Tracking lv5], [Poison Resistance lv9]
[Status]
[Satisfied], [Disappointed]
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Its dwelling was a cave.
The fact that it made its home in a cave was evidence that it was quite a strong magical beast.
But the Cockatrice's lair was even more special.
The entrance was ordinary, but as soon as you entered, there were flat floors and walls.
It was an artificially created space.
However, it seemed to have been abandoned for a very long time. It was broken in many places.
As we went down the passage, an area with tiled floors appeared.
The Cockatrice's eyes glowed bluish.
It had a skill to detect magic.
Although it had crossed this area countless times, it checked once again the location of the tiles that glowed bright red.
It hopped across the passage, avoiding those.
Who would belittle it as a 'chicken-head'?
The Cockatrice was a magical beast with high intelligence.
It even had a hobby of collecting precious things, things that sparkled and shone.
It stopped in front of a massive stone door.
It had no intention of going beyond that, nor did it know how.
Even up to here was the best hideout that no intruder would dare to enter.
"Cock-ke-gek-gek."
The Cockatrice 'hummed.'
Here were sparkling stones, armor and weapons picked up from somewhere, and even gold items.
It was nothing short of a treasure vault for the greedy creature.
It would dismember and eat the captured centipede here.
If lucky, there might be an Inner Dan inside its body.
Knowing that centipedes make Inner Dans, it had been tracking this centipede couple for a long time.
Thud.
The Cockatrice put down the centipede's corpse and began to peck at it fiercely to dismember it.
That's when it happened.
Something whitish quickly darted out and passed between the Cockatrice's legs.
Of course.
That whitish thing is none other than yours truly.
The worst white snake in history.
I didn't seem to look threatening at all in the Cockatrice's eyes.
It tilted its head as if wondering why I was here.
But I moved forward without hesitation.
As I digested the Inner Dan, a change occurred in me.
「Your rank has increased from consuming the Inner Dan.」
「You can now see further and in more detail.」
I thought the result was rather bland.
But that was a miscalculation.
The legacy of the centipede couple had given me a very big gift.
I could see it.
The Cockatrice's skills.
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[Cockatrice lv12]
...
[Skills]
...[Magic Detection lv2], [Tracking lv5], [Poison Resistance lv9]
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And there was something else I could see.
What this space was.
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[Dungeon: Fairy Magician Pelerian's Temporary Residence]
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What the!
So there were things like dungeons in this world too?
Being able to see the Cockatrice's skills meant I could borrow them.
Seeing how strangely the creature hopped in the tiled area, I borrowed its Magic Detection.
Even to me, it seemed like a crazy decision.
Thanks to that, I confirmed that the Cockatrice was only stepping on tiles that didn't glow red.
And now, the massive stone door in front of me.
The handle of the stone door was definitely glowing red.
I started running straight towards it.
The Cockatrice panicked and chased after me.
It was certainly fast, but not enough to catch me.
I have Leap.
I jumped up and bit onto the handle of the stone door.
Click.
I heard the sound of something activating.
And the Cockatrice, which had chased me right up to the stone door.
I could see it.
The suspicious holes in the ceiling that anyone would notice.
Spears began to rain down from the ceiling.
Thud thud thud!
The Cockatrice, trying to flee belatedly, was pierced by multiple spears in succession.
Feathers fluttered everywhere, and its thrashing tail whipped the ground and walls.
But that was only for a moment.
It went limp, skewered by several spears.
What a dramatic chicken skewer.
If a shop sold something like this, they'd be shut down immediately.
「Your level has increased!」
「Your level has increased!」
「Your level has increased!」
「Your level has increased!」
I let go of the handle I was biting and dropped down.
Then I looked back at the already shattered centipede groom.
I've avenged you!
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