Chapter 135: Black Snake

“Wait, it seems that monsters are about to appear.”

Following Touya, who noticed the anomaly, we also peeked into the room.

Usually, the precursor to the emergence of monsters would be a black haze, but this time, it had changed to a pale green color. Considering this sign, it’s undoubtedly a new species of monster.

Even as we were thinking about this, two hazes continued to materialize.

“Just to be safe, let’s communicate telepathically from here on. I’ll inform everyone as soon as I appraise it. Until then, please don’t move.”

“Understood!”

After a few seconds, humanoid monsters completely materialized. They were about 2 meters tall, covered in blue-black scales, holding a sword and shield in each hand, and wearing armor such as helmets and chest plates.

—

Black Snake Warrior Level 95

Skills:

– Swordsmanship Level 4

– Shield Technique Level 4

– Self-Regeneration Level 4 (Instantly regenerate a part of the body by consuming internal magical essence)

Characteristics:

A snake-like monster. Even if the head is severed, it does not disappear. Excellent self-regeneration ability.

Weakness:

Destroy the magic core in the chest, or it will disappear if the internal magic essence falls below a certain threshold.

—

We immediately appraised and shared the information with everyone. Dragon, Sakura, and Kyoko were the first to react.

“Oh, it seems to be a monster after all. It doesn’t seem to be a snake-person. It doesn’t look like we can communicate with it…”

“I thought it might be a Lizardman, but the face is definitely snake-like.”

“The self-regeneration skill could be troublesome. I want to confirm where the ‘magic core’ in the chest is and whether there are individual differences.”

While saying this, the others were already getting up, entering combat stances. The conversation continued as if assuming a battle.

The two snake people in the center of the room possessed three skills each and seemed to have decent equipment. However, considering their level, they didn’t appear to be unbeatable opponents.

“Alright, the village chief and I will handle one. The other one, Dragon and Dolly, please. Let’s start with magic attacks…”

“Then I’ll take the right one, and Kyoko-san, please take the left. Since it’s a reptile, ice-based magic should work, but I’ll leave the attributes to you.”

“I’ll use piercing ice magic. I want to see if it can penetrate the armor. Let’s do this.”

“Touya, are we aiming for the weak point in the chest?”

“No, let’s aim for limb destruction. We have swords. Leave the chest to the striking team.”

“Understood. Dolly and I will create openings for you.”

“Alright, Akiho, I’m counting on you!”

“Sure, let the enchantment magic begin!”

With Akiho’s enchanted magic as a signal, a simultaneous barrage of magic by the two mages started. Spears of sharp ice rained down at the entrance of the room. Boom, the thunderous sound echoed as the Black Snake Warrior was blown away.

The released ice spears seemed to penetrate both the shield and armor. However, the holes in its body were quickly regenerated, returning to their original state. Moreover, for some reason, even the shield and armor were repaired. Perhaps, the equipment is also part of its body.

“Wow, the regeneration is too fast!”

“But we’re dealing damage. Its movements seem a bit sluggish.”

Ignoring such a conversation, Touya and I closed in on the snake people.

Beheading one as it tried to get up. At the same time, Touya cut off both arms. The thing that rolled on the floor immediately dispersed like mist and disappeared.

“Seriously, it took less than 3 seconds to regenerate. The self-regeneration is incredible… Touya, what should we do?”

“Anyway, keep cutting. Let’s find out the limit of its regeneration. Send attacks alternately to any part!”

“Understood!”

At the same time—Dragon and Dolly attacked the snake people from the front and rear.

Dragon, positioned in the front, persistently aimed for the chest, but his effective strikes were blocked by the opponent’s shield. However, the way he was smashing the shield with his fists was terrifying even as an ally.

The snake person facing Dragon was unable to respond to Dolly attacking from behind. It was hit several times.

“Sakura-san! Freeze the cut part when I behead it next. Any part is fine.”

“Okay! I can do that anytime!”

After glancing at us, Touya gave a signal to aim for the neck. Following that, I cut off the thick and splendid tail from the base.

Immediately, we stepped back to prepare for Sakura’s magic. By that time, the neck of the creature was frozen solid.

After waiting for about 5 seconds—

“…It’s not growing back, huh. It’s obvious, but it seems to have lost its vision too.”

The snake person without a head swung its sword wildly in the dark cloud. We successfully prevented regeneration, and Drago reported that they had settled their fight.

“Touya! Aim for the solar plexus. That seems to be its weak point!”

“Got it!”

Upon hearing this, Touya quickly closed the distance, and pierced the frozen torso with his sword. Accompanied by the sound of something cracking, the movements of the Black Snake Warrior came to a halt as it collapsed to the floor.

Just as it collapsed, a pale green haze appeared, and soon disappeared.

“Phew, we’re done here too, Drago-san. As for the drops, it’s the magic ore we saw earlier, and… these blue-black scales? Village chief, what are these?”

Saying this, Drago handed me a palm-sized blue-black scale. I received the same from Touya and immediately appraised it.

—

Black Snake Scale: A snake scale that automatically repairs even if damaged.

Contaminated state

“It seems to be called ‘Black Snake Scale.’ But more importantly, this, it looks contaminated… Is it safe to hold?”

“What do you think? Keisuke-san, is there anything abnormal with your body?”

“For now, nothing… but it feels like a cursed item, and I don’t like it.”

(The automatic repair function is certainly amazing. But it can’t be contaminated.)

Now, as I pondered what to do, Sakura, with a surprised expression, spoke up.

“Keisuke-san, did you do something? That scale… it’s gradually turning white.”

“Really. What is this?”

“Like the magic ore earlier, isn’t it the village chief’s magic power? Try infusing it with magic.”

As soon as she said that, I understood, “Ah, I see.” It seemed Touya’s point was correct. When I infused it with magic, it rapidly changed to a pure white state.

“The name has changed. It seems to be ‘White Snake Scale,’ and the contamination attribute is gone.”

“It seems usable now. The village blacksmith will probably be delighted.”

“The Black Snake Warrior, if you watch out for ambushes, seems doable. It looks like a good hunting ground, and we can level up as well, right?”

“Hmm, we can gain experience in PvP as well. Truly a splendid opponent.”

Until now, everyone has diligently leveled up. Thanks to that, we were able to hunt steadily without much difficulty.

Although it’s still a bit before noon, there’s still the possibility of encountering something that can defeat this creature. We decided to check only the next room and return today.

As we reorganized our formation and were about to walk towards the next passage—

A group of white snake people appeared from the opposite passage.

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