Chapter 32

Ah… a very Pelerian-style way of thinking.

Cry, you weak goblins.
Your terror has arrived.

“A heart-eating Serpent!”

The goblin who shouted that collapsed onto the ground.
It seemed like goblins had a passive fear of Serpents.

Well, thinking about it, a Serpent suddenly appeared and devoured a comrade’s heart—of course that’s terrifying.

I was going to take care of them cleanly if they just stayed still.

“You wicked Serpent! Incarnation of the devil! Begone!”

The goblin spat as he pulled out a necklace.

“Foul creature, begone!”

That stung a little.

Well, a “heart-eating Serpent” should act like one.

Naturally, I had no reason to fear a necklace like that.
When I didn’t retreat, the goblin swung his rusty sword.

Whoa.

The blade struck the ground where I had been a moment ago.
But what terrible swordsmanship.
Compared to that elf’s sharp technique, it was unbearably slow.

Instead, I climbed up along the goblin’s rusty sword—up his arm.

You should’ve worn armor.

Crunch!
「Bite proficiency has increased.」
「Bite Lv9 → Bite Lv10」

Good.

Now Bite had reached Lv10.
The goblin ambushers gave a decent amount of experience.
But none of them had mana stones.

“Th-the heart-eating… Serpent…!”

Did you call me?

That was the goblin’s final words, his chest wide open.

Pelerian, acting like a navigation system, watched me with satisfaction.
He turned his head slightly and said:

—One more is coming.

So even ambushers have camaraderie.
To come running even after hearing those horrific screams.

A goblin with a sword burst through the bushes.

He looked between his fallen comrade and me, then shouted:

“A Serpent…! The heart-eating one!”

Do they only know how to say that?

He charged at me with his sword.
The situation repeated itself.

“Urgh—kgh!”

Another goblin collapsed, blood pouring from the hole in his chest.

—Two more are coming.

Handling two at once wouldn’t be easy.
I prepared earth magic.
Trip one, kill the other first.

Soon, two goblins burst out together.

But this time, they didn’t engage.

“So it’s true… the heart-eating… Serpent…”
“R-run away!”

The moment they saw the corpses of their three comrades, they lost all will to fight.
They immediately fled into the bushes.

I was about to chase them—then stopped.

Not out of mercy.

『You have acquired the title “Heart-Eating Serpent.”』

A title?

Not the ringing-in-the-ears kind.
More like a nickname—like “Gunther the Steel” or “Pelerian the Heaven-Defier.”

—What are you doing? Go chase them and start a blood festival.

Pelerian sounded puzzled, so I told him what I heard.

—You got a title?!

He burst into laughter.

—In all my life, I’ve never seen a monster less than two months old gain a title. What kind of title is it? “Heart-Eating Serpent”?!

I was curious too.
Focusing, I brought up my status window.

【White Double-Horn Python Lv3】
【Title】 Heart-Eating Serpent

Oh.

The title appeared beneath my name.
I now carried the brutal nickname “Heart-Eating Serpent.”

How did I suddenly get a title?

—A title is another name, separate from one’s true name. And names are born when others call you by them.

In simple terms, the goblins calling me “Heart-Eating Serpent” gave rise to the title.

That raised a question.

‘Then if people call me “Whitey” or “Serpenty,” would that become my title?’

Whitey.

If that became my title, my dignity would be destroyed. Just imagining it is horrifying.

Pelerian shook his head.

—Being called that by a few individuals isn’t enough. At least hundreds must call you by that name for it to become a title.

‘Then what just happened?’

—Most likely, among those goblins, the concept of a “heart-eating Serpent” is already widespread. Like a legend or folklore.

Ah.

So in folktale terms, my title is like “The Tiger That Won’t Eat You If You Give It Rice Cakes.”

—I don’t know what that is. But you must live up to your title.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time I’d eaten hearts.
The mutant jaguar, the chimera… I’d devoured their hearts too.

Then what about “Steel” or “Heaven-Defier”?

—I was a great mage who defied the laws of heaven.

‘…I see.’

—Titles carry power. The stronger the title, and the more people who call you by it, the stronger that power becomes.

So that’s why Pelerian said names hold power.

I examined my new title more closely.

【Heart-Eating Serpent】
A terrifying serpent passed down in the Palamu Forest Krok Tribe’s legends.
Its infamy has not yet spread widely.
Teeth become sharper.
Devouring a prey’s heart grants greater demonic energy.

Pelerian was right.

And it even had additional effects.
Sharper fangs, and increased gains from devouring hearts.

Both were exactly what I needed.

An unexpected benefit. Not bad at all.

—Another one is coming.

I prepared for battle again.
These guys are more persistent than expected.

—No… wait.

I immediately understood what he meant.

The one emerging from the bushes was Nanaruk.

She looked between the fallen goblins and me, then shouted in shock:

“Whitey!”

…Whitey?

Is she calling this heart-eating Serpent that?

“Did you do all this?”

I nodded.

Nanaruk’s face lit up with admiration.

“That’s incredible. You took down warriors so cleanly.”

This much is easy.

Her own sword was also stained with thick blood.
She had no injuries.
She must have taken down several enemies herself.

After checking her status earlier, I already knew—
Nanaruk was quite strong.

Not comparable to the elf or Gunther, of course.
But far above what I had imagined goblins to be.

“There’s an arrow stuck in you. We need to treat that.”

She looked at my wound with concern.
The shaft had snapped off, leaving only the arrowhead embedded.

“Stay still.”

It’s fine—I can just use a potion later.

But she pulled the arrowhead out anyway.
Blood spurted out.

She took out a bamboo tube and smeared a green ointment from inside onto the wound.
Strangely, the bleeding stopped.

“It’s just a temporary measure. I’ll take you to the village and treat you properly.”

Hmm. Not bad.
I can save my potion.

—To think we’re infiltrating a goblin village… what an extraordinary experience…

Pelerian seemed pleased as well.

Suddenly, Nanaruk picked me up.

Then she draped me over her shoulders like a scarf.

This position… is actually comfortable.

“Let’s go.”

Aside from the one unfortunate goblin who died from the arrow to the head,
there were no other casualties.

Together with the goblins, I arrived at their tribe.

The idea that goblins live in caves
or in primitive huts—

was just prejudice.

Of course, some goblin tribes might live like that.
But not the Runga Tribe of the Palamu Forest.

They had settled here for over three hundred years.

The Runga village had proper wooden buildings.
Because of the heavy rain, the houses were raised about 50 cm above the ground on wooden pillars.

Goblin children ran between the elevated houses.

And they watched the returning warriors with curious eyes.

“It’s a white Serpent.”
“I think Nanaruk brought it.”
“It looks alive!”
“Woooah!”

The children gathered around me, buzzing with excitement.
They didn’t come too close, though—they seemed afraid of Serpents.

Among the returning goblins was a boy their age.

“Retch, what’s that Serpent?”

The boy whose life I had saved puffed up with pride.

“It might be Ululululu.”
“Ulululkulu?”
“Yeah. It saved me. And it killed Krok goblins too. Ate their hearts.”
“Gasp… their hearts…?”
“They were calling it the heart-eating Serpent.”
“Woooah…”

That’s right, kid.
Spread my reputation far and wide.

But seriously… what even is “Ululululu”?
That name sounds ridiculous.

I glanced at Pelerian—he was floating around, busy observing everything.

—Wow, this goblin tribe is incredibly advanced.
‘Wasn’t it like this before?’
—Back then, they were a primitive cave-dwelling tribe. I almost wiped them out, actually. Good thing I didn’t.

He seemed genuinely fascinated by the village.
At times like this, he really does feel like a scholar.
…Though more of a mad scientist, to be precise.

“I’ll treat you.”

That’s what Nanaruk said.

For a moment, I wondered if they had something like a hospital—
but no.

She brought me to where the shamans gathered.

They were adorned with elaborate ornaments, their bodies covered in tattoos.
They welcomed us.

“Great Shaman.”

So that’s who it was.

To my surprise—
it was the grandmother who had told them to let me on the boat.

Turns out she was someone important.

The other shamans placed a headdress on her and hung a bone necklace around her neck.
In an instant, she became a far more intimidating-looking grandmother.

“This Serpent…”

When the shamans asked about me, the grandmother replied:

“I believe I’ve encountered a sacred Serpent.”
“A sacred Serpent…”
“Bring healing ointment and bandages. We must treat it.”

The shamans’ attitudes changed instantly.

They handled me carefully, as if I were some honored guest.
What is going on here?

They cleaned my wound and wrapped it with bandages.

Inside the shaman’s shrine were mysterious murals.
And one of them caught my eye.

A black Serpent with wings.

Lightning struck around it, and beneath it lay a dead red Serpent.

What a cool fellow.

Nanaruk whispered to me:

“That’s Ululumullulu.”

Ah… so that’s him.

But mistaking me for a black Serpent?
Black and white are completely different.

Sure, I admit black looks cool—but I prefer white.
Black Serpents look too villainous.

“By the way, what’s with that ring?”

Nanaruk pointed at my ring.

Since I couldn’t answer, I just swayed my tail slightly.

“Honestly… it’s kind of lame. Looks tacky.”

I agree.

Pelerian spoke up:

—What did she say? It sounded like she asked about my ring.
‘She said it looks incredibly stylish.’
—Heh, even goblins have a sense of aesthetics. I designed that crest myself.

Of course he did.
What an ego.

Nanaruk seemed to have nothing better to do—she stayed right beside me.

Then something caught my eye.

An idea flashed in my mind.
I told Pelerian, and he liked it too.

I tapped Nanaruk’s hand with my tail and pointed at something.

“Paint? You want me to bring that?”

She really does understand quickly.

There were many ritual tools in the shrine.
Among them were primitive paints.

When I indicated something like ink, the shamans, intrigued, brought a wooden board and pigments.

I dipped my tail into black paint.

—Alright. It’s an elephant-shaped rock. Draw it like this.

My idea was simple:

Draw the landmark near my destination and ask for directions.

If I relied only on Pelerian’s vague directions, who knows how long it would take to find the dungeon?

But what I did had a bigger impact than I expected.

“Oh! It’s drawing!”
“Truly sacred, Great Shaman!”
“No way…!”

The shamans all gathered around me.

For some reason, I felt nervous—my tail trembled slightly.
It felt like people watching a prodigy solve a math problem.

I carefully drew the elephant-shaped rock.

Thankfully, Nanaruk recognized it.

“That’s Elephant Rock!”

Yes!

She said the dungeon was hidden just beneath that rock.
Since it stored mana stones, Pelerian had designed it with extremely strong security.
Even earthquakes wouldn’t collapse it.

—Good. It must still be intact.
‘Isn’t it possible the elves already found and looted it?’
—Impossible.

When I asked why he was so confident:

—Because if anyone tries to force their way in, the entire rock collapses.

…
—Heh. Arrogant intruders would be buried alive along with the mana stones.

Before, I had wandered into the dungeon without thinking.
Now that I know this… that’s terrifying.

I tapped the elephant rock drawing.

“You want to go here?”

At Nanaruk’s question, I nodded vigorously.

But her expression darkened.

“This place… has been occupied by the Krok Tribe for about a year.”

…What?

Wasn’t that the same goblin tribe I had just fought?

“It used to be our land. But the Krok chieftain invaded and made it their base. It looks like they’re digging beneath the rock… but security is tight. It’s hard to get close.”

Shock.

Did those goblins actually find the dungeon?

It didn’t seem like they had entered it yet—but still.

Pelerian, however, was furious.

—Those rat-like vermin!

The tiny old fairy raged.

—Go, Serpent! Go and devour all their hearts!

Easy for him to say.

But I was angry too.

‘They dare target my mana stones?!’
—I’ll kill them all and turn them into specimens!