So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

Hegemon's Fruit, huh.

While the name sounds a bit ominous, it looks the best among all the fruits I've seen so far, just by its name.

Doesn't it look better than even the 'Radiant Fruit' that's supposed to ripen on that huge root in the central area in a few days?

I wonder what its effect will be.

'You will become a strong and cruel hegemon.'

That might be the effect.

But looking at the description:

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[Root Fruit of the Hegemon]

You can emit a hegemonic aura.

The intensity of that aura is proportional to the strength of the monster that consumed it.

──────────────

Something feels off.

What kind of thing is a hegemonic aura?

Is it like fighting spirit?

It's probably not like that technique from a certain pirate manga.

But it wouldn't be wrong to abbreviate "hegemonic aura" as fighting spirit.

'It's ambiguous...'

That was my impression.

All the fruits I've eaten so far had practical effects.

They made the body more efficient, allowed for experience sharing, and lent useful skills like Emergency Return.

But a hegemonic aura?

"If it's a mental skill like 'Intimidation', it might be better than you think."

A mental skill, huh.

Come to think of it, I didn't have any mental-related skills.

But what bothered me most was:

'Aren't I already emitting a sufficiently hegemonic aura?'

"?"

I didn't like the way Pelerian was looking at me.

'Look at this.'

The leader had infiltrated right up to the enemy commanders and stolen the fruit, yet there were monsters lazily lounging around.

I approached them and barked harshly.

"Saaaark!"

They panicked.

The owl flapped its wings frantically, and the mole burrowed into the ground to hide.

I gave Pelerian a look as if to say, "See?"

"If startling others is a hegemonic aura, then a cockroach jumping out from under the bed would be the hegemon of hegemons."

'...Now that I think about it, you're right.'

"Mental skills are completely different from that. Look at your father's side, you'll understand."

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Dad seemed to have a charm-like mental skill too, right?

He hid his status window so well that I couldn't check properly.

I immediately went to find my father.

He was taking a nap.

'Uh...'

But his condition seemed a bit off.

He looked somehow weak. Usually, he didn't show his sleeping figure.

When it was time to sleep, he would disappear somewhere, but now he's just lying there weakly.

I asked the gorilla about the current situation.

"Big and Cool Snake... seems sick."

So he wasn't just sleeping after all.

"Since before, no energy..."

Other monsters didn't approach my father closely.

Why do they fearlessly come close to me, but not within a 10m radius of my father?

"If anything, that snake probably has more of a hegemonic aura."

It's quite embarrassing as the leader of the pack.

But somehow, I can't help but worry.

I slowly approached my father.

Even so, he didn't open his eyes.

"Oh, he really doesn't look good."

Pelerian scratched his chin with interest.

Is it okay to show such interest in someone else's sick father?

"Ahem, aren't I knowledgeable about monster ecology? I'm trying to see what's wrong."

Pelerian made excuses. I didn't expect him to be so awkward.

"I've been storing up a bit of power too, so I should be able to do a basic examination."

Then he says, as if doing me a favor.

"Try putting the ring on your father's body."

'Like... this?'

I gently, very gently, placed my tail on Dad's body.

He may be called Dad, but he's still a bit scary and difficult to approach.

Who knows when he might suddenly turn and eat me!

Fathers have been scary beings to me since my previous life.

"Wait a moment."

Pelerian chanted a strange spell.

Unlike me, he doesn't seem to be able to use silent casting magic. How pitiful.

Unaware of what I was thinking, Pelerian finished his chant.

Then the ring felt like it was getting a bit warm.

Pelerian was listening to my father's body.

"Oh..."

Then he frowns.

What is it? What's wrong?

"Mana depletion. No, how can this be?"

Pelerian spoke like a doctor who had found a rare disease.

"A monster of this level shouldn't have such slow mana recovery."

'Explain it to me too.'

"The balance of his body is off."

Pelerian's explanation wasn't too difficult.

Monsters have mana.

My use of various skills and magic is possible by consuming mana.

Mana is a real force, so if you use it all up, you get dizzy and very tired.

But mana is naturally replenished over time.

My father's body wasn't properly recovering.

His mana recovery was ridiculously slow.

"It seems he used a skill that consumes a lot of mana, like the Destruction Beam, recently... but it's still strange. It should have recovered by now."

'Could he have caught some kind of disease?'

"That might be the case..."

Pelerian put on a more focused expression.

"No... it seems to be leaking. Most of the replenished mana is escaping somewhere."

Where could that mana be leaking to?

Could there be a crack in something like his dantian?

'So what should we do?'

"Well, there aren't many options."

If it's a body problem, we need to find and fix it, or feed him things that can replenish mana.

Like a mana potion.

Was Pelerian's examination too rough?

Suddenly, my father woke up.

He twisted his body convulsively, his eyes flashing.

「...Ah.」

Then he looked at me, seeming confused.

I was already in the process of digging into the ground to hide.

Fortunately, he seemed to recognize me, so I came back out.

I thought my heart was going to drop.

He definitely looks tired.

I pondered for a moment.

I hadn't eaten the Crimson Root Fruit yet.

Partly because its effect was ambiguous, but also because I remembered the effects of the fruits I had eaten so far.

'Should I just give this to Dad?'

"That fruit?"

All the fruits I had eaten so far were rich in nutrients.

They weren't as effective as potions, but regardless of their effects, they were rich in mana.

Of course, there was an even bigger reason.

"That would be more efficient."

The description attached to the Hegemon's Fruit.

'The intensity of the aura is proportional to the strength of the monster that consumed it.'

Even though I've become much stronger, the strongest force in our crew is still my father.

He looks cool and huge, so he'd be advantageous in emitting a hegemonic aura.

I pondered for a moment and showed him the fruit.

I was curious if my father would be tempted.

Ssssshk-

He wrapped his tail around my body.

What are you doing!

「You eat it.」

'Excuse me?'

Here I am trying to show some filial piety.

'Me again?'

He just looks at me without answering.

Reluctantly, I chomped down and swallowed the Hegemon's Fruit.

It's quite sweet.

Only after seeing that did my father release my body.

He's a man of few words.

He patted my head lightly with his tail.

Somehow, I didn't feel like my pride was hurt.

「You consume the 'Root Fruit of the Hegemon'.」

「You temporarily acquire the skill, Hegemon lv2.」

Woah!

The level of Emergency Return was 20, wasn't it?

The level of this newly acquired skill is only 2.

But I was even more excited.

'It seems like a higher-tier skill.'

"That's right. You can tell just by the name."

You can't compare Heavenly Thunder Spirit lv1 with Magic: Static Electricity lv10.

Higher-tier skills felt different from the name alone.

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[Hegemon lv2 (Temporary)]

Emits a hegemonic aura. Targets feel intimidated regardless of their rank.

Lower-rank monsters may feel overwhelming fear.

──────────────

Is this the Conqueror's Haki?!

Pelerian, who received my explanation, nodded.

"Hegemon is a higher-tier skill of Intimidation."

'Is it a skill you know?'

"Yes, it's a skill that only some talented heroes of the era possessed. To think that a mere snake can now use it."

When he puts it that way, I had no choice.

I had to try it out in practice.

There's no point in testing it on monsters that are already under my command.