Chapter 65: The Serpent’s Meal

[Progman / Lv.93]

‘Long time no see, Keroros.’

Progman.

Levan called those guys Keroro.

And the Progmans were nearly 30 levels lower than Levan.

But now, this kind of difference was what made fights enjoyable, and Levan couldn't help but smile.

‘Back in the day, I could barely handle two at once.’

The number of Progmans appearing before his eyes was four in total.

Not particularly intimidating.

Without slowing his pace, Levan charged at the Progmans ahead, swinging his Black Iron Rod.

Grrrk grrk!

Grrrrk!

As Levan closed in, the Progmans, sensing the threat, let out frog-like cries and all jumped at once.

Then, true to their humanoid monster form, they balled their fists and threw them at Levan.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwump!

Progman fists rained down mercilessly on Levan’s face and body.

With a Progman’s fist stuck to his face, Levan muttered,

“Kinda spicy. But……”

Vwoom!

With a brief comment, Levan grabbed the fist stuck to his face tightly. And then—

[Grip activated.]

The skill ‘Grip’ embedded in the Master Orc’s Gloves was triggered.

Ribbit ribbit!

When their comrade was seized, the remaining Progmans hurriedly backed away from Levan in alarm.

Of course, the Progman caught by Levan tried to pull away as well.

But the Master Orc’s Gloves were of Unique grade.

A mere field mob didn’t stand a chance against such a skill.

Bang!

A perfect throw!

Levan roughly used the Progman’s wrist as a handle and slammed him in the opposite direction.

[Progman has been stunned.]

As a result, the Progman, unable to withstand the powerful blow to the back of his head, instantly passed out.

‘Weak.’

Levan had more or less expected he wouldn’t struggle against Progmans.

He’d acquired a tremendous amount of stats passing through the Pass, the Kingdom, and even the Infinite Tower.

But to be completely unscathed even when attacked by four monsters, each 30 levels lower, at once—

‘Beating up the weak is always fun.’

That made it all the more enjoyable.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Levan, still gripping the unconscious Progman, slammed him left and right without a pause. Unable to withstand the force, the Progman finally—

[You have hunted a Progman.]

Died, turning ashen without so much as a squeal.

Shaking his hand, Levan said,

“Next Keroro?”

Grrik!

Frightened by Levan’s friendly smile, the remaining Progmans bolted in an instant.

Watching them flee with their tails between their legs, Levan muttered,

“As expected of Keroros—they’re smart.”

After that, Levan pressed forward without hesitation.

The pattern was the same.

If a monster appeared, he smashed it, overwhelming his enemies with sheer presence.

Again and again.

At last, Levan arrived near the Prison of the Swamp, leaving only one swamp behind him.

He checked the spray’s duration and applied another coating to his shoes.

The swamp he had to cross from here was on a completely different scale from all the others he’d traversed so far—almost like a swampy lake.

Squish, squish!

Thanks to the Surface Tension Spray, swamp residue stuck to his shoes and then fell off almost immediately.

The sound was so clear that, if you closed your eyes, you’d never imagine it was a swamp.

As Levan was halfway across the swamp—

[A boss monster is being summoned.]

“Hm?”

A sudden boss monster notification.

Levan was startled.

‘A boss monster spawns here, just like that?’

Was this that kind of zone?

He’d never been here before, so he hadn’t known this was a field boss area.

Levan stared at a spot in the swamp where bubbles began to froth.

Bubble, bubble, hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Bubbles rose, creating a hole at that spot. The surrounding swamp began to tremble.

It felt like an earthquake in the middle of the sea.

At last, from the bubbling spot, a massive snake—presumably the boss monster—emerged.

[Hundred-Year Serpent / Lv. 110]

“Wow……”

A short exclamation.

Not because of its level.

Levan was simply awed by the sheer size of the Hundred-Year Serpent, which looked well over six meters long.

‘Is it around six meters?’

An overwhelming presence.

But he wasn’t intimidated.

He’d already faced such size before with the Amthoslin.

Levan muttered,

“Frogs, snakes, this is a real herbalist’s bonanza.”

A hunting ground any herbalist would love.

Muttering to himself, Levan grabbed the Stone Shield from his back with his left hand and the Black Iron Rod with his right.

Then, with a bookmark clenched in his mouth, he quickly closed the distance with the serpent.

Kiaaaaaaaa!!

The Hundred-Year Serpent’s howl.

It threatened to burst his eardrums.

But the howl of a giant monster always set an adventurer’s blood boiling.

As Levan entered its attack range, the serpent’s head shot toward him in an instant.

Shuuuuuk!

‘A snake is still a snake, huh.’

It had looked slow due to its size, but Levan had to admit that was just prejudice.

He raised his shield to block the descending jaws.

But—

Chomp—!!

……The Hundred-Year Serpent swallowed Levan whole, shield and all, and dove beneath the swamp.

---

The Hundred-Year Serpent, with its head submerged, finally dove all the way in, even its tail sinking deep.

Thanks to this, a strange peace returned to the swamp’s surface, as if nothing had happened.

Time passed.

Doom—!

Somewhere, a drumbeat began to sound.

Doom—!

It wasn’t an illusion.

It was a real sound.

Doom—!

And as time went on, it only grew louder.

Doom—!

It was certain now.

The sound was truly getting louder.

At first, it echoed like in a cave, but now—

Doom! Doom! Squish! Doom! Doom! Squish!

It unmistakably shook the entire swamp.

Gulp.

As the whole swamp vibrated, the creatures within grew tense.

Afraid that a shrimp’s back might burst in the whale’s fight.

It was then. At one spot in the swamp, air bubbles began to rise.

Bubble bubble—

Bubbles, in the sticky swamp.

It looked like magma.

And most magma—

Bang—! Kwwwaaaang!

Explodes soon enough.

An unprecedented, massive explosion rocked the swamp.

Kiaaaaah!

The Hundred-Year Serpent let out a piercing cry as it resurfaced. But strangely, it looked to be in great pain.

Why?

The reason was revealed when the serpent’s entire body emerged from the swamp.

Kwwaaaang!!

The Hundred-Year Serpent, which had been rearing up endlessly like a tower trying to reach the sky, suddenly stopped and began to tilt to one side.

As it tilted, its immense shadow fell over the nearby swamp.

Using the shadow it cast as a pillow, the Hundred-Year Serpent collapsed helplessly.

Unable to bear its massive weight, the swamp belched forth huge waves as the serpent fell.

Sssshhhhhhh!

It was a tsunami.

Big enough to engulf every creature nearby.

But since it wasn’t a natural phenomenon but a mere serpent’s doing, there wouldn’t be a second time.

Peace returned once more to the swamp, large as a lake.

At that moment—

[You have successfully hunted the Hundred-Year Serpent.]

[You have successfully solo killed the Hundred-Year Serpent.]

[‘Achievement: Solo Slayer of the Hundred-Year Serpent’ obtained.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have leveled up.]

A small notification sounded from somewhere.

Right after the tiny chime echoed—

Creak— crackle—!

One side of the toppled Hundred-Year Serpent began to freeze. Then,

Shatter!!

With the sound of glass breaking, a large hole burst open in the serpent’s side.

From within, a familiar voice came out.

“Damn, I thought I was gonna puke and die.”

It was Levan.

Levan brushed off his head and walked out of the serpent’s insides.

He said,

“Ah, shouldn’t be leveling up in places like this……”

He’d solo-killed a Level 100+ boss, the Hundred-Year Serpent.

Thanks to that, he gained a level and reached 64.

But for Levan, that wasn’t welcome news.

Because once he hit Level 69, he’d have to stop his quest for the broadcast and return to the Infinite Tower.

So, he wanted to avoid gaining levels from anything other than quest rewards.

‘If I go to the Infinite Tower while in the middle of a quest, it just feels wrong.’

Of course, the gap could be patched up with editing, but Levan didn’t want his immersion in the quest to be broken.

Sighing, Levan checked the achievement he’d earned by defeating the serpent.

[Hundred-Year Serpent, Solo Slayer]

-Condition: Achieved by solo killing the boss monster, Hundred-Year Serpent.

-Option: Current highest stat +5.

‘Still, this is nice.’

Gaining a level was a bit of a shame, but the achievement for a solo kill was always welcome.

Just for killing a single boss, he got five free stat points.

Levan invested the bonus stats in Strength, then placed his hand on the dead serpent’s body and muttered,

“Item loot.”

[You have obtained Hundred-Year Serpent’s Scales.]

[You have obtained Hundred-Year Serpent’s Venom Fang.]

[You have obtained Serpent Rope.]

Three items acquired in total.

Upon checking, the scales and fang were materials, while the rope—

‘It’s really just a rope?’

It was a genuine rope, classified as a sub-equipment.

Levan checked the Serpent Rope’s options.

[Serpent Rope]

-Grade: Unique, Boss.

-Restriction: None.

-Durability: 1,500/1,500

-Options

User of the rope grants the bound #Power Restraint.

User grants #Serpent Binding to the bound, no matter how the knot is tied.

[#Power Restraint]

-Effect: If the person tied with the rope has less Strength than the user, it is impossible to break free by force.

[#Serpent Binding]

-Effect: Immediately applies high-grade restraint upon binding. Only the one who tied it can release it.

‘Oh wow, that’s a good rope.’

At least, for anyone weaker than himself, it was a perfect shackle.

Once he finished looting, the serpent’s corpse turned to ash and vanished.

‘What a shame. If I brewed snake wine from this thing, I could probably sell it for a fortune.’

But what mattered now wasn’t the snake wine, but that his visit to the Prison of the Swamp had been delayed by the serpent.

Squish, squish—

After collecting his items, Levan crossed the lake-sized swamp again, heading for the Prison of the Swamp marked on his minimap.

“Halt! State your business. This is the Prison of the Swamp. No unauthorized entry. Identify yourself.”

It was just after he arrived at the prison.

From a guard tower at the entrance, two guards with crossbows aimed at Levan and demanded identification.

Levan held up the letter of authority he’d received from Hagon and said,

“I’m from the Gald Castle Library, the Gray Memory. I’m here to inspect the prison’s book inventory on behalf of Lord Hagon.”

“Oh, is it today? Okay, wait a moment.”

Official business always gets the fast pass.

Thanks to Hagon, Levan was able to enter the Prison of the Swamp without any trouble.