Chapter 14

Clue for Special Evolution

Foolish golems.
When their eyes are covered, they become docile—just like brainless chickens.

If these golems were in perfect condition, how strong would they have been?
Their status windows showed “Half-destroyed” and “Malfunctioning.”
One had no legs, the other had only one arm.
Most of their skills were deactivated.

At full strength, a single golem could probably wipe out several monsters like cockatrices.
Of course… now they were just lying there, completely shut down.

Grrrrr—

I was starving.
For the past few days, all I’d eaten were cave bugs and small lizards.
And it’s not like I’d been resting either—I’d been constantly fighting the golems.
My stomach practically felt glued to my back.

Still, even I couldn’t digest something like a rock golem.

And yet, there was a reason I couldn’t leave.

That magic stone.

Just looking at the magic stone embedded in the golem’s head made my mouth water.
I had already tasted one before.

But the problem was how to eat it.
The stone sat between the crown and the back of its head.
It looked exposed—but it was covered in something like crystal, so my teeth couldn’t pierce it.

I didn’t have a hammer.
Nor hands to swing one.

So how could I break that crystal and slurp up the magic stone?

There was a way.

First, I carefully adjusted the helmet placed on the dirt golem’s head.
If it slipped off, the golem would reactivate.
I had deliberately placed it upside down.

Which meant—
if I lifted the visor that normally covered the face, the back of the head would be exposed.

There it was.
The delicious magic stone, glinting.

• [Using Beginner Elemental Magic: Fire lv1.] *

I opened my mouth and spat flames.

This felt amazing.
Like I had become a dragon instead of a Serpent.
Sure, I didn’t have to breathe fire from my mouth—but the feeling mattered.

My flames weren’t nearly as powerful as the golem’s.
If I had to compare, it was like a faulty lighter flaring up.

But it wasn’t something to underestimate.

I kept blasting flames until my face felt hot.
Of course, the crystal protecting the magic stone didn’t melt.
These golems had extremely high heat resistance.

So why go through all this trouble?

Because of YouTube.

Back when I used to lie in bed watching shorts, there were all kinds of videos.
Some of them showed science experiments.
Even though I always slept through science class, those videos were so fun I kept watching them.
Sure, they were probably meant for elementary school kids… but who cares?

And now, I was using what I learned—even as a Serpent.

I pulled out a water container from my subspace.
Calling it a container was generous—it was just a crude sphere made with earth magic.

I had filled it with water dripping from the stalactites.

Then I smashed the cold water onto the heated back of the golem’s head.

Sssshhh!

White steam rose violently.

And then—the sound I had been waiting for.

Crack—! Crack!

It split!

Just like how a heated glass cracks when plunged into ice water.
I thought it might not work—but it did.

Thank you, random experiment videos!

I carefully brushed away the broken crystal shards with my tail.
The still-warm magic stone was now fully exposed.

Wait—what?

I thought it would be hard, but it was soft like cream.
The smell… hmm… moldy.

Well, let’s call that “flavor.”

I plunged my head in and devoured the soft magic stone completely.
It felt like scraping out crab innards—rich and satisfying.
The taste of dense mana filled me completely.
Honestly, I could’ve used a bowl of rice with it.

• [Consumed refined magic stone.]
• [Magic essence takes root.]
• [Body becomes stronger and mana overflows.] *

Thankfully, it was still a magic stone.
A refined one, apparently.

And then came an unexpected bonus.

• 「Defeated Pelerian Guard B.」
• [Level up!]
• [Level up!]
• [Level up!] *

Oh!!

Golems weren’t monsters—
so I thought I wouldn’t gain levels from them.

But I was wrong.

I gained three levels at once.
That just proves how strong they were.

Since I went through all that trouble for the magic stone,
I might as well take care of the fire golem’s too.

I repeated the same process—
cracked open Guard A’s head and slurped up its magic stone.

• 「Defeated Pelerian Guard A.」
• [Level up!]
• [Level up!] *

Two levels this time.

Wait… doesn’t that mean I’ve leveled up enough now?

I checked my status window.

**

【White Horn Serpent lv10】

【Traits】
[Indomitable], [Diligence], [Horn]

【Skills】
[Borrowed Horn lv3]: Beginner Elemental Magic: Fire lv1
[Venom Fang lv4], [Breath Holding lv4], [Stealth lv4], [Predation lv3], [Bite lv5], [Poison Resistance lv4], [Bleeding Resistance lv3], [Pain Resistance lv5], [Petrification Resistance lv1], [Heat Resistance lv8], [Survival Instinct lv5], [Jump lv5], [Mana Detection lv2], [Acceleration lv3], [Beginner Elemental Magic: Earth lv2]

***

I have become a mage.

Setting aside the now much richer list of skills,
I focused on the status below.

***

【Status】
[Evolution Available], [Malnourished]

**

Level 10 was the cap!

Just like before, reaching level 10 made evolution possible.
My heart raced—though the “malnourished” part bothered me a bit.

Still, I probably couldn’t evolve right here.
Before evolving—or anything—I needed to eat properly.
What if I starved to death mid-evolution?

There was also something else on my mind.

What could I evolve into this time?

The choices during my first evolution had been disappointing.
Without special evolution, I would’ve become the same “Little Green Serpent” as my siblings.

But thanks to meeting special conditions,
I obtained the game-breaking skill Borrowed Horn.

Eating the mixed jaguar’s magic stone had created a butterfly effect.

“The answer is special evolution.”

I was certain.

If possible, I wanted to meet special conditions again and achieve a unique evolution.
But I didn’t know what those conditions were—
or even if special evolution was always possible.

For now, I decided to go deeper inside.

There was nothing more I could do just sitting here.

The corridor stretched endlessly inward.
From the outside, it looked like a large hill—
but it seemed the entire underground was actually a dungeon.

A dark space appeared.

And suddenly, Pelerian popped out.

— This is my laboratory.

Thankfully, it was just an illusion.
It seemed to assume a humanoid perspective—its eye level was quite high.
Hey, I’m down here, you know.

— It’s the latest model, powered by magic stones. Built using the Magic Tower’s technology. The elders didn’t like it, of course… The power source is over there.

There were several machines that looked like devices.
But they didn’t resemble the labs you see in sci-fi movies.
They looked crude and ancient—clearly powered by mana rather than electricity.

I pulled the power lever, which was shaped like an eagle.

Clank— Vrrrrrr—

The crystals embedded in the walls began to glow.
The room lit up.

Machines that hadn’t seen light for hundreds of years—after even enduring an earthquake—were revealed.
Most of them were broken. I couldn’t even guess what they were for.

— Well? Impressive, isn’t it? Of course it is. It’s the culmination of my magical technology… Here, I researched evolution.

Even as a mere illusion, Pelerian spoke smugly.

— But don’t worry, my kin. Your task is simple. The complicated work will be handled by the magic spirit I created. Try clapping your hands twice.

What an unreasonable request.
Is this guy some kind of anti-Serpent racist? What about someone like me without hands?

Well… no choice.

I struck the ground twice with my tail.

Tap—tap—

It made something like a clapping sound.
Immediately, a crystal on the ceiling flashed, and a voice echoed out.

— Please issue your command.

Whoa—!

It was the same voice that used to say, “Intrusion of a monster detected.”
That gave me chills.

Pelerian smiled in satisfaction.

— A chimera I created, Pafnacha, lies in hibernation here. One of its special evolution conditions is enduring 300 years. I analyzed that using the machine to your right.

My eyes widened.

So it is possible to discover special evolution conditions.
And one of them was… surviving 300 years?
What if I had a condition like that?

— It is contained in the tank over there.

I looked in the direction Pelerian pointed.

…And spoke.

“Uh… excuse me?”

There was something that looked like a tank.

“…but there’s nothing inside.”

It was completely destroyed.
Maybe due to the earthquake—the crystal panels were shattered.
And inside? Completely empty.
Not even a corpse.

— Do not fear. Leave everything to me.

If something like that monster had really been inside, even I wouldn’t wake it from hibernation.
But Pelerian said something strange.

He gave a direct order to the magic spirit.

— Spirit, seal the corridor.
— Yes. Activating interception golems.

…Those interception golems? I already smashed them.

Pelerian’s expression was deeply sinister.

— My apologies, my kin. One of the evolution conditions requires consuming the blood of a fairy. Now then—release hibernation.
— Releasing hibernation.

This racist elf bastard… no way—

— Your sacrifice will contribute to the advancement of all fairy-kind.
— Releasing Pafnacha. Transmitting experiment data.
— Farewell.

Pelerian’s illusion vanished instantly.

And the shattered tank began flickering with light.

— Unable to release hibernation.

The voice spoke calmly.

Well, obviously. The tank was completely destroyed.
And whatever Pafnacha—or Paprika—was, it had probably already escaped.
The wall behind the tank had been smashed open.

I couldn’t help but admire that elf mage, Pelerian.

Elves in this world really aren’t trustworthy.
That old fairy supremacist was willing to sacrifice even his own kind for his research.

His cunning, sinister plan had been crushed by time itself.
If not for the earthquake, he might have actually succeeded.

But still… there’s a way to learn evolution conditions.

I approached the machine on the right and looked around.

This one seemed broken too… but would it still work?

There were levers and buttons.
The moment I pulled a bright red handle—

Click.

A cover opened.

Inside was a cross-shaped slot—clearly meant to insert something.

…Wait.

This shape—it’s exactly the same as the emblem on my ring.

Carefully, I brought the ring on my tail closer and fit it into the slot.

Zzt—

A sensation ran through me.

— Lord Pelerian, please issue your command.

The voice responded.

It’s annoying that it thinks I’m that racist, psychopathic old elf…

So then—

What should I try ordering?