So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

I rode Spot down the cliff.

Of course, there weren't only monkeys and insects in this Shadow Forest area.

That's just the composition of our group, there should be many other monsters around.

Of course, there probably won't be any that can stand up to the silver monkeys and the insect king.

I set out to find such creatures.

It wasn't difficult to find them.

A herd of deer was grazing on grass.

I tapped Spot's head once, and he slowly stopped in front of them.

These aren't ordinary deer. They're monsters that occasionally eat meat too.

You can tell by their sharp teeth.

The buck that seemed to be the leader raised its head and eyed me warily.

"Grrrr..."

That's a tough growl for a deer.

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[Thornwood Antler Deer lv19]

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Right, so you're the boss, huh.

It growls at me, coming forward as if to protect the others.

Its antlers were vicious.

Unlike normal deer, its antlers were as sharp as if thorny branches had been stuck on them.

The thorns are red with blood. Bits of rotten flesh and torn skin hang from them.

"Grung!"

It scrapes its hoof on the ground as if it were a warhorse.

That spirit is admirable.

I like you.

I decided to test my newly acquired skill.

「You use 'Hegemon lv2'.」

I didn't expect to see visible results.

Since it's a mental skill, I thought it would only affect the target.

Whoosh!

Who would have thought that a gust of wind would sweep through, making all the grass lie flat.

The surroundings darkened and the temperature suddenly dropped by a few degrees.

If I had hair, it would be wildly fluttering right now.

Like a demon king descending upon the mortal world...!

Of course, I don't have hair, so only Spot's mane fluttered.

And the deer that took the full brunt of my intangible aura.

Plop plop.

The timid ones dropped pearl-like droppings.

I glanced at the ones standing behind. They lowered their heads or fell to their knees with a thud.

Wow, this consumes a lot of mana.

However, the leader buck stood firm.

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"That deer has some courage."

I glared at it and maintained the Hegemon skill.

'Ah.'

I realized.

The leader was standing upright, but it had fainted.

Its eyes were glazed over.

'This is amazing.'

The effect of the Hegemon skill was beyond what I expected.

I shouldn't underestimate mental skills.

I leaped in front of the buck and struck its neck with my tail.

Only then did the deer come to its senses and whimper.

'You, and you, and you.'

I picked three that looked combat-capable, including the leader buck.

'Join our crew.'

Isn't twenty monsters too few for now?

Once their will was broken, monsters were easy to tame.

「You use Taming lv8.」

「You have successfully tamed 'Thornwood Antler Deer lv19'.」

「You have successfully tamed 'Thornwood Antler Deer lv16'.」

「You have successfully tamed 'Thornwood Antler Deer lv17'.」

Well.

I didn't expect it to be this easy.

If I had this earlier, it would have been easier in the indoor zoo too.

「The proficiency of Taming increases.」

「Taming lv8 has become Taming lv9.」

Let's aim for about 50 for now.

==

The cliff is ruled by a small snake and a big snake.

Such a rumor must have spread among the surrounding monsters.

It seems likely.

The monsters that used to loiter around this cliff have all disappeared.

Either absorbed into the zoo animals.

Or they've fled far away, fearing the snakes.

I looked at the upgraded achievement.

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[Monster Leader]

You have tamed over 50 monsters.

Your dominance over monsters increases.

You exude a leader-like aura.

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I have over fifty subordinates now.

It's because I've been street casting and occasionally hunting to increase the numbers.

It's still the smallest group among the three, but I pride myself on having gathered only the elites.

The phrase 'You exude a leader-like aura' in the achievement.

It's hard for me to sense it myself, but it seems I've gained some outward dignity.

In the past, there were quite a few who would underestimate my small size and charge at me, but not anymore.

Even without using the Hegemon skill, I'm getting attacked less often.

Now, that huge root that's grown in the center.

The time to aim for the radiant fruit that will ripen there is approaching.

Father's condition has improved for now.

It's because we hunted the surrounding monsters and harvested magic stones.

I gave those to my father.

The effect of 'eating magic stones' is surprisingly limited.

Magic stones are full of magical energy, so they're essential for evolution, and eating them slowly replenishes mana.

But eating them doesn't immediately raise your level or make you stronger proportional to how much you eat.

Using those precious magic stones like mana potions is a very inefficient action.

"Magic stones need to be digested too. You had relatively good digestion efficiency, but it's not easy to digest them properly. Especially with high-grade magic stones, the physical burden of absorbing them into mana is greater."

'Are you just saying that because you don't want to lose your magic stones?'

"...While that's not entirely untrue, it is the truth. That snake seems weak in stamina too."

The vow to tell the truth must still be in effect. Judging by how he's speaking.

Pelerian explained about this:

"The true value of magic stones is demonstrated in magic or alchemy. Especially when an individual uses grand magic, high-grade magic stones are needed as catalysts. It's the same when making potions."

'Basic magic doesn't need such things though.'

"Didn't I say grand magic?"

'I heard magic stones sell for a lot. Then magicians must be money-guzzling demons.'

"Traditionally, that's been the case."

It seems Pelerian bankrupted the fairy society before he was exiled from it.

'Still, let's use some of those high-grade magic stones.'

"..."

'You said we could grind them to make potions. If not, just eat them whole.'

"Fine. Alright, I'll make them if that's what you want."

'Thank you~'

And so, with Pelerian's help, I made mana potions.

They were much harder to make than health potions, so we only managed to make two bottles.

This will only be enough to fill a bit of Father's mana.

Still, if we use a few more days, we should be able to make two or three more bottles.

A moment of respite.

My monsters and I were spending such time.

But as always.

Disaster strikes without warning.

It was something that could rightly be called a disaster.

It happened when the Lion Owl with a mane like a lion was flapping its wings and flying around.

Why was this usually nocturnal creature doing this?

Was the sky purple, making it impossible to distinguish between day and night?

Or perhaps it was a commendable thought to scout the surroundings on my own.

I was lying next to my father, watching the owl flying around.

Boom!

The owl disintegrated, leaving only feathers behind.

Its body nearly vanished, and only the feathers exploded and fluttered down.

I realized immediately after that it was due to a stone thrown like a bullet.

'Oh, owwwl!'

I stood up abruptly in shock and anger.

My father, who spent more than half the day lying down, did the same.

Someone appeared.

The gorilla, who was usually always brave, started trembling.

"M-m-m-master...!"

The gorilla made a futile attempt to hide behind me.

I couldn't tell if she was calling me, or if she was referring to the silver monkey walking alone towards us.

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[Silverback Akims lv129]

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The enemy leader appeared alone.

As soon as he appeared, he killed my subordinate.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-

My scales turned black on their own.

My father blocked my path.

When my father raised his body, his enormous presence was extraordinary.

But the silver chimpanzee didn't look scared at all.

"Big, cool... snake. So, you've formed a new group after all?"

He was smiling.

Isn't he afraid?

"You seem to have mistaken the leader for your father."

Ah, is that so?

Hmm, hmm. I probably don't need to assert that I'm the leader here.

I hid behind my father's back and peeked at the chimpanzee.

「Silver monkey...」

My father's thought wave rumbled.

「Did you come here to die?」

Well done!

Coming alone, isn't he a crazy monkey?

But the chimpanzee just laughed and said,

"I came to kill you and your subordinates."

Seeing him so confident made me a bit uneasy.

Surely not...

"You. Halfwit."

The chimpanzee pointed at my father and said,

"Magic-deficient sick snake!"

Did he already know about my father's problem?

Is that why he thought he could take us all out alone and came here?

Silverback Akims declared,

"I can kill all of you alone!"