A Flying Serpent?!
Hup, hah, hup.
There's a way to enjoy food more deliciously.
You stuff as much as possible into one bite.
Think about a lettuce wrap packed full in your mouth.
You chew it down with difficulty, gulp it down, and when your throat almost feels clogged, you chug some cola afterward.
That feeling of fullness is indescribably satisfying.
Even now, as a Serpent, it's the same.
I could tear meat apart with my teeth, but swallowing prey whole is better.
Maybe it's just my Serpent instincts.
Besides, out here in the wild, it's safer to swallow prey whole and move on rather than leisurely tearing it apart.
After swallowing the rabbit in one bite, I rested in the bushes.
It wasn't just for digestion.
Ugh… I'm dizzy.
After using Borrowed Horn several times, I started to understand it better.
Other skills didn't feel like they consumed much of anything, but this one clearly did.
At first, it felt like all my strength drained away.
Borrowing another monster's skill was incredibly useful, but of course it came with a cost.
Whether it consumed mental strength or some kind of magic power I might have—I couldn't tell for sure.
To replenish that something, the only thing I could do was hunt and rest.
But even though Borrowed Horn had leveled up, my own level still hadn't increased.
Could it be… that dangerous rabbit wasn't even a worthy opponent for me?
Just looking at its front teeth was terrifying, but apparently it wasn't enough.
Well, I suppose it's about time I start aiming for prey stronger than rabbits anyway.
I began slithering slowly.
During my hunt, I gained an important skill.
[Stealth proficiency has increased.] *
This was the skill the centipede couple had too.
For a cool Serpent like me, it was absolutely essential.
If you wanted to quietly approach prey, Stealth was mandatory.
As I pushed through the bushes, the sounds I made became noticeably quieter.
After advancing like that for a while, I suddenly stopped.
Ahead of me was a sunny clearing.
The sky above was bright blue where the leaves didn't cover it, and sunlight poured down.
It looked like the kind of sunlight that would feel pleasant to bask in.
And apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so.
There was already someone there.
A lizard about the same size as me.
I focused my eyes to examine it.
[Longtail Gecko Lv.7]
[Traits]
[Scales]
[Skills]
[Bite Lv.7], [Wall Climb Lv.2], [Tail Whip Lv.10]
[Status]
[Thermoregulating]
Tail Whip!
A level 10 skill.
You rarely saw skills that high on weak monsters.
As its name suggested, its tail was long.
At the end of it was something covered with spikes, like a mace.
It looked like it fought by swinging that tail.
Among the monsters I'd encountered so far, this one definitely seemed fairly strong.
This would be a satisfying fight.
The creature was basking in the sunlight, regulating its body temperature.
Its eyes were gently closed—it looked extremely comfortable.
…Hmm.
That Tail Whip skill looks tempting.
I have a tail too.
If I could fight by whipping my tail around, that might be pretty useful.
Right now, the skill I had borrowed was Leap, which I got from the rabbit.
Should I borrow Tail Whip instead?
From what I'd observed, borrowing higher-level skills was more advantageous.
Borrowing a Level 3 skill gave me a Level 1 version.
Borrowing a Level 6 skill gave me a Level 2 version.
And Tail Whip was a delicious-looking Level 10.
After thinking about it for a moment, I made my decision.
I won't borrow it.
My magic power is still low.
Resting for a short time probably wasn't enough to fully recover.
Maybe it was—but since I had no way to check, it was safer to be conservative.
Besides, for an ambush, Leap is more useful than Tail Whip.
I'll just stay hidden like this, coil my body, launch myself forward, bite its side once, and escape.
I curled my entire body.
Then I stretched out and launched myself.
Thud!
A true flying Serpent.
The Longtail Gecko, basking in the sun, didn't even notice my leap.
And just as I was about to bite it—
Something fell from the sky.
That was the only way to describe it.
BANG!
A thunderous sound like a gunshot rang out.
And where the Longtail Gecko had been—
Nothing remained.
I landed awkwardly.
Looking around, the lizard was nowhere to be seen.
Only bloodstains remained where it had stood.
And then—
A moment later.
The Longtail Gecko fell from the sky.
Smack!
It must have been dropped from high above, because its neck was snapped.
The Longtail Gecko had turned into a crushed mess.
Looks pretty tasty.
I heard the sound of wings.
When I looked up, I saw a bird perched on a large tree in front of me.
I hadn't seen it earlier.
Animals are most vulnerable when they're hunting another creature.
Knowing that, I had carefully checked my surroundings before leaping.
So where did that bird come from?
It was large enough to carry off the Longtail Gecko and fly away.
Its eyes were fierce, and its feathers were bright red.
Its large yellow beak curved sharply at the tip, clearly marking it as a bird of prey.
[Galloper Hawk Lv.9]
[Traits]
[Bird of Prey]
[Skills]
[Flight Lv.7], [Acceleration Lv.5], [Peck Lv.4], [Talons Lv.3], [Silence Lv.2]
[Status]
[Curious]
So you're my real enemy.
Everyone knows that birds of prey are the natural enemy of Serpents.
That thing looks dangerous.
Flying birds and ground-crawling Serpents have terrible compatibility.
You stole my prey, but I'll let it slide this once.
I slowly began backing away.
I hoped it would just let me go.
But the bird seemed arrogantly curious about me.
It spread its wings and slowly lifted into the air.
Danger.
My Survival Instinct screamed a warning.
I slithered quickly toward the bushes.
Then a powerful pain struck my back.
BANG!
Now I understood where that gunshot-like sound came from.
Its flying speed was unbelievable.
It suddenly accelerated, slamming down onto prey with its talons.
My vision spun.
Was it planning to drop me from a height like it did with the poor lizard?
No.
I had simply been knocked away by the impact and landed back on the ground.
When I turned my head, the Galloper Hawk was calmly perched on the tree again, wings folded.
Blood poured from the wound on my back where its talons had struck.
What was that?
It could have dealt a fatal blow.
So why did it retreat?
Did it sense the danger of my venomous fangs?
The hawk rose into the air again.
I wouldn't be caught off guard this time.
I used Leap, the skill I had borrowed from the rabbit.
Damn it.
I can't dodge it.
BANG!
This time a terrible pain tore through my stomach.
Even in perfect condition, it would have been difficult to dodge such a fast attack.
But with an entire rabbit still inside my stomach, my body was heavier than usual.
If I had known this would happen…
No.
It's too late for regrets.
I had carefully checked my surroundings, yet I still failed to notice that bird's presence.
I thought this time I might really die, but the bastard landed on a tree branch again.
What should I do?
If I could bite it just once, I could poison it and win.
But crawling on the ground, there was no way I could get that opportunity.
Thud!
It struck me once again as it flew past.
The wound wasn't serious. But if this kept going, I would eventually die.
Why did that bastard keep repeating this?
I soon realized the reason.
Because it started flapping its wings and laughing.
"Kkak-kkak, kkak-kkak!"
[Galloper Hawk 1v9]
...
[Status]
[Unpleasant]
That damn bastard!
It had been playing with me.
A surge of intense anger rose inside me.
So you're looking down on me, huh.
Let's see if you can keep laughing like that inside my stomach.
They say beasts are most careless the moment they hunt their prey.
No—actually, they're most careless when they're playing with a toy.
That thing was completely underestimating me.
Now was the chance.
With the borrowed Leap Lv1, I couldn't jump that high.
But I had a secret move.
I would borrow the skill it had—Flight Lv7.
Am I a genius?
My whole body trembled at the flexibility of my own thinking.
[Due to racial characteristics, this skill cannot be borrowed.]
…Huh?
Nope~ can't do that~
Leap worked because even Serpents can spring upward.
Carapace worked because I at least had scales.
But Flight was different.
I didn't even have limbs, let alone wings—how could I possibly fly?
…Damn it. I had a feeling, but it seems even the skill has its limits.
But I'm not an idiot.
If I can't borrow Flight, I'll borrow Acceleration Lv5.
That bird's insanely fast flying speed probably came from Acceleration.
If I combined that with my fast crawling, I could hide under the shade of a tree.
I wouldn't get my revenge, but as long as I survived.
Just then—
「Due to the trait 'Diligence', development is not restricted.」*
What?
[Borrowing Flight Lv7. You have temporarily obtained Flight Lv2.]
What is going on?
Potential 20—I trusted you!
When I set my Potential stat to 20, I gained the trait Diligence.
Unlike "Indomitable," whose effects I roughly understood, I hadn't known what Diligence actually did.
But now I finally realized its true value.
Potential means the possibility for growth.
I could learn things that I normally shouldn't be able to learn.
[Using Flight Lv2.]
Which meant—
I had actually become a flying Serpent.
My body lifted off the ground.
And then I started soaring forward at a fairly fast speed.
The ground quickly grew distant.
This is damn terrifying.
The direction I was heading toward was the Galloper Hawk perched on the tree.
The bird that had been cackling suddenly looked shocked at what was happening.
It flapped its wings belatedly, but even then I was already rushing toward it.
I was flying, but I had no wings.
I couldn't control my direction or speed.
I was simply continuing in the direction I had first launched.
The bird panicked and tried to take off—
but I suddenly uncoiled my body.
Crunch!
I bit it!
I clearly felt my venom fangs pierce into the base of its wing.
As my venom glands tightened and released, the bird flapped wildly.
I wrapped my body tightly around its torso.
Trying to escape is useless.
I tightened my body and constricted it.
No matter how much of a bird it was, with its wings bound it couldn't fly.
We plummeted to the ground together.
Thud!
Stars flashed before my eyes.
My head had slammed into the ground, and I nearly lost all strength in my body—but I forced myself to stay conscious.
The flapping gradually weakened.
The bird let out a few final cackles…
and then died.
[Level has increased.]
Hunting success.
Heh… that hurt like hell.
This time, without lowering my guard, I carefully looked around.
Fortunately, there were no other monsters trying to steal the kill.
I let out a sigh.
The feeling of flying was really…
terrible.
They called it flight, but it was no different from being swept away by the wind.
I couldn't control my direction at all.
If I hadn't managed to cling to that thing, I might have flown off by myself and fallen to my death.
Serpents really seemed better suited to crawling on the ground than flying in the sky.
Well, who knows.
If I got used to it someday, maybe I could make use of it.
Since the Borrowed Horn could only borrow one skill at a time, it would probably take a long while before that became possible.
I looked at the two creatures that had become my dinner.
Either one looked filling enough for a meal.
The sun seemed like it would set soon.
Should I head back?
I swallowed the Long-Tail Gecko in one gulp.
That should keep me full for several days.
As for the Galloper Hawk—
I actually carried it all the way back to my nest.
If I had something like a bag, that would've been nice.
Thankfully, birds are light.
It wasn't to store it like a lunchbox.
I intended to share the food with the kind centipede couple.
I had already ripped open the belly just in case there was a mana stone, but they would surely still be happy.
With that warm thought, I brought it with me.
However—
the horrifying sight before me left me stunned.
The centipede couple were together under the sunset glow.
They weren't leisurely enjoying the sunset.
They were embracing each other.
Their bodies were completely tangled together, wriggling…
It was obvious what they were doing.
This is that thing, right?
Doing that outside like this?!
I thought they were good neighbors, but still—this is too much.
I was so shocked that my mouth fell open—
and the Galloper Hawk dropped with a thud.
Startled by the sound, the centipede couple suddenly separated.
Yeah, of course you'd be embarrassed.
You should be.
But it seemed I had misunderstood everything.
They weren't making love.
They were holding something.
An egg?
No… it didn't look like an egg.
It was a jet-black, glossy spherical object.
The husband carefully held the round sphere in his grasp.
Then something suddenly came to mind.
In martial arts novels, spiritual creatures like centipedes usually guard something.
An Inner Core?
Is that an Inner Core?
Like the kind the protagonist eats to increase their cultivation realm?
I focused my eyes and used Insight.
[Inner Core: In Production]
Yep.
That's definitely an Inner Core.