Special Chicken Skewer
What on earth was that creature?
Its head was very familiar. It was unmistakably that of a rooster.
A bright red comb fluttered, and its eyes were exactly those emotionless chicken eyes.
But the body was strange.
Feathers were sparsely missing, revealing rough gray skin beneath.
That skin resembled a reptile—or more precisely, a dinosaur.
Well, chickens were said to have descended from dinosaurs, so perhaps the body suited it.
Then came the tail…
And that was simply ridiculous.
It was unmistakably a Serpent's tail.
Long and writhing, moving as if it were a completely separate creature.
It looked like several animals had been stitched together into one.
If only it were the size of an ordinary chicken.
Unfortunately, it was much larger than a human.
Its bulk rivaled that of the Horn Jaguar.
[Cockatrice Lv.12]
The biggest problem was that status window.
Level 12.
A high level didn't always mean a monster was strong—but that thing definitely was.
After all, aside from its name, I couldn't see anything else in the status window.
Strong monsters like the Horn Jaguar were the same.
When you encounter a monster like that, the best option is to run.
But the centipede husband didn't run.
Instead, he charged at the Cockatrice that was far larger than him.
With what looked like a hundred legs, he rushed forward at incredible speed.
He climbed up the Cockatrice's body and drove his venomous fangs into it.
His fighting spirit was impressive.
There could only be one reason he could show such courage.
His wife was behind him.
His bride was frozen into stone.
I immediately did what I could.
It was unfortunate, but I had to bite someone else's wife.
It was an emergency.
My fangs didn't pierce, but venom still spilled out.
Compared to before my evolution, the venom was much thicker and more abundant.
It worked.
It was effective!
I had tried it based on my previous experience, and it worked just as I hoped.
Starting from the spot touched by the venom, the color slowly returned to the centipede wife.
Maybe the petrification attacks of the Cockatrice and Medusa Mom worked on similar principles.
Crunch.
A horrible sound made me turn my head.
I was horrified.
The centipede husband's body had been split in two.
The Cockatrice had torn him apart with its claws.
Even so, the centipede husband was still alive.
He tried to chase after the Cockatrice, as if to stop it.
But the Cockatrice ran incredibly fast.
And the direction it was heading was—
this way, toward the still-petrified centipede wife.
The centipede husband's venom wasn't weak, yet the Cockatrice didn't slow down at all.
It clearly had venom resistance.
If even one of those legs stepped on me, I would die instantly.
Then our eyes met.
Right.
In situations like this, it works best to do the opposite of what your instinct tells you.
So I ran straight toward it.
My Fast Crawling skill had leveled up, so my speed was pretty good.
The Cockatrice shrieked.
"Kiiieeeek!"
A roar as powerful as the Horn Jaguar's shook the ground.
What are you, a morning rooster or a reconnaissance drone?
Just as its sharp claws were about to crush me—
I tensed my whole body and launched myself upward.
I was still borrowing Leap.
[Leap proficiency has increased rapidly. Leap Lv1 has become Leap Lv2.][Skill 'Leap' has been fully acquired.]
So even borrowed skills can evolve?
And now it had become my own skill.
But this wasn't exactly the moment to celebrate.
The monster acted like a rooster again.
It tried to peck me out of the air with its huge beak.
While in midair, I twisted again as if dancing.
I managed to avoid the beak.
But in that instant—
my eyes met the Cockatrice's golden gaze.
A chill shot through my entire body.
Medusa Mom could turn enemies to stone just by meeting their gaze.
And the Cockatrice had already petrified the centipede wife.
I shut my eyes tightly.
Closing your eyes in the middle of a fight is insane—but I had no choice.
Then came a sharp pain.
I opened my eyes again.
I saw the monster's tail brushing past my body.
At the end of that tail was a sharp stinger.
That coward…
Serpents don't even have stinger tails like that.
I fell to the ground with a thud.
My body began to stiffen.
The Cockatrice didn't petrify with its gaze.
That kind of advanced technique was something only my mom could do.
The Cockatrice, meanwhile, slammed straight into the centipede wife.
BOOM!
No traffic accident could have been more horrific.
The centipede wife, whose petrification hadn't fully worn off yet, was shattered to pieces.
The warm kindness she had shown when she gave me that frog as a return gift…
I would never see her beautiful smile again.
Fragments of stone scattered across the ground.
The Cockatrice, which had just brutally killed someone's wife, didn't care at all.
It began pecking among the fragments with its beak.
As if it were searching for something.
And the husband—
the husband who had lost his wife—
"Kweeeeeeeek!"
He let out a roar filled with grief.
Who said insects have no emotions?
At least that husband clearly loved his wife.
Even with half his body gone, he clung to the Cockatrice.
I wanted to stop him.
Don't!
If you attack now, you'll die a pointless death too!
But the Cockatrice had no intention of sparing him from the start.
Two of them couldn't beat it—one alone had no chance.
The Cockatrice easily subdued the centipede husband.
It pinned his body down with its heavy foot.
The centipede could do nothing.
Then the Cockatrice's beak dropped down like a hammer.
That chicken-headed thing seemed to possess some intelligence.
Meaning it could think beyond simply "kill and eat."
Instead of pecking the centipede husband to death, it tore off all his legs.
It also removed his most dangerous venomous fangs.
Then it grabbed the completely helpless centipede with its Serpent tail.
And me too.
What the hell—why take me?!
Didn't it even realize I was attached?
Compared to the Cockatrice's size, I was extremely small.
When it wrapped its tail around the centipede husband, I got caught along with him.
If you're wondering why I didn't escape—
I was already petrified.
[You have acquired Petrification Resistance Lv1.]
You learned that quickly.
Since I was the rightful heir of Medusa Mom's bloodline, I thought I might be immune to petrification.
Apparently not.
The moment the Cockatrice stung me, I turned to stone.
But not completely.
The petrification stopped around my neck.
Maybe it was because of the venom glands in my head.
Even now, the back of my neck where the petrification had been creeping up felt itchy.
[Petrification Resistance proficiency increases rapidly.]
It seemed that after some time, the petrification would wear off on its own.
But whether it did or not didn't matter right now.
I was being dragged away.
The Cockatrice began running, carrying the centipede like a war trophy.
Its speed was incredible.
It ran lightly like an ostrich.
Even so, its head and tail didn't shake much.
The ride quality wasn't bad.
I looked at the centipede husband hanging limply.
Poor guy.
He was completely battered.
Yellowish fluid dripped from his severed body and legs.
Foam bubbled from his mouth.
The red light in his eyes slowly began to fade.
No matter how tenacious a monster's life was, death was approaching.
What kind of tragedy was this at the crack of dawn?
The dying centipede husband was pitiful.
Maybe I wasn't in a position to pity anyone—I might be eaten any moment myself.
But the centipede's eyes, unable even to avenge his wife's death, were filled with sorrow.
Even a tiny creature seemed to have a heart.
Ah…
Dawn was beginning.
The sky slowly started to grow brighter.
The Cockatrice kept running.
The petrification in my body was almost completely gone.
If I dropped off now and ran, I might escape.
Just then—
The centipede husband looked at me and twitched his antennae.
Then foam poured from his mouth as he struggled…
Special Chicken Skewer (continued)
Something popped out of his mouth.
Don't tell me…
[Inner Core: Red-Fang King Centipede]
It was the Inner Core the centipede couple had been… rather embarrassingly producing earlier.
Could it be that the Cockatrice had hunted them all the way out here for this Inner Core?
I had no way of knowing the truth.
But why was he spitting it out now?
…Was he trying to give it to me?
The centipede husband weakly moved his antennae.
Yeah. I'm giving it to you.
That was the answer I imagined.
Of course, I couldn't know the truth.
But the centipede husband's body was steadily growing stiff.
His antennae drooped.
The light faded from his eyes.
Perhaps the strength left his jaw as well.
The Inner Core fell from his mouth.
Instinctively, I snapped it up.
What a waste it would be to leave it behind.
Hmm.
It tastes like centipede body fluid.
Salty tears streamed from my eyes.
No—those weren't tears.
It was probably just centipede fluid splashed on my face.
[You have consumed an Inner Core.]
I didn't know what effect it would have.
But one thing was certain.
I had received it.
A hot energy began to boil inside my stomach.
The sun slowly peeked over the cliff.
The darkness of dawn lifted completely, and morning began.
***
The Cockatrice arrived at its nest.
Following instinct, it let out a triumphant roar.
"Cock-a-doodle-dooo!"
It was a victory crow.
It had successfully hunted the centipede couple it had been pursuing.
It had won.
But it hadn't found what it truly wanted.
Satisfaction and disappointment likely mixed together.
[Cockatrice 1v12]
[Traits]
[Hoarder], [Sharpness]
[Skills]
[Petrification Lv4], [Leap Lv6], [Acceleration Lv5], [Tail Swing Lv7],
[Heat Detection Lv3], [Mana Detection Lv2], [Tracking Lv5], [Poison Resistance Lv9]
[Status]
[Satisfaction], [Disappointment]
Its lair was a cave.
Using a cave as a base already suggested it was a fairly powerful monster.
But the Cockatrice's nest was even more unusual.
The entrance looked ordinary, but once inside, there were flat floors and walls.
It was an artificial space.
However, it seemed to have been abandoned for a very long time, because many parts were crumbling.
Further down the passage, a section appeared where the floor was covered in tiles.
The Cockatrice's eyes glowed faintly blue.
It possessed a skill that could detect mana.
Even though it had crossed this area countless times before, it carefully confirmed the positions of the bright red glowing tiles again.
Avoiding them, it hopped lightly across the corridor.
Who would dare call it a mere "bird brain"?
The Cockatrice was a monster of considerable intelligence.
It even had a hobby of collecting shiny things.
The creature finally stopped in front of a massive stone door.
Beyond it, the Cockatrice neither knew how to enter nor had any intention of trying.
Even this place alone was already the perfect hiding spot where no intruder could easily reach.
"Keok-gek…"
The Cockatrice muttered to itself.
Shiny stones were piled here, along with armor and weapons it had scavenged from somewhere—even gold ornaments.
It was practically the monster's treasure hoard.
It planned to dismantle the captured centipede here and eat it.
If it were lucky, it might even find an Inner Core inside.
The Cockatrice had known that centipedes could produce Inner Cores, which was why it had been tracking that couple for so long.
It began pecking violently at the centipede corpse to tear it apart.
Just then—
Something pale shot out quickly and slipped between the Cockatrice's legs.
Naturally…
That pale thing was me.
The worst white Serpent in history.
Apparently I didn't look threatening to the Cockatrice at all.
It simply tilted its head as if wondering,
Why is that thing here?
But I charged forward without hesitation.
After digesting the Inner Core, something had changed within me.
[Your rank has increased after consuming an Inner Core.][You can now see farther and more clearly.]
At first, the result seemed a bit underwhelming.
But that was a mistake.
The legacy of the centipede couple had given me an incredible gift.
I could see it.
The Cockatrice's skills.
[Cockatrice Lv12]
[Skills]
…[Mana Detection Lv2], [Tracking Lv5], [Poison Resistance Lv9]
And there was something else I could see.
This place—
[Dungeon: Temporary Residence of the Fairy Archmage Pelerian]
What?!
There were dungeons in this world too?!
Being able to see the Cockatrice's skills meant I could borrow them.
Watching it hop strangely across the tiled area earlier, I had borrowed Mana Detection.
Even I thought it was a crazy decision.
But thanks to that, I realized the Cockatrice was avoiding the tiles glowing red.
And the giant stone door right in front of me now—
The handle of the door was clearly glowing red.
So I ran straight toward it.
The Cockatrice panicked and chased after me.
It was certainly fast—but not fast enough to catch me.
Because I had Leap.
I sprang upward and bit onto the stone door handle.
Clank.
Something activated.
And just as the Cockatrice reached the stone door—
I had already noticed something.
Those suspicious holes in the ceiling.
Suddenly—
Spears rained down from above.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Spears stabbed repeatedly into the Cockatrice's body as it tried to escape too late.
Feathers scattered everywhere.
Its tail lashed wildly against the floor and walls.
But only for a moment.
Soon the creature went limp, impaled by multiple spears.
What a dramatic-looking chicken skewer.
If a shop tried to sell something that looked like that, they'd probably get shut down immediately.
[Level Up!][Level Up!][Level Up!][Level Up!]
I let go of the handle I was biting and dropped to the floor.
Then I turned to look back at the centipede husband, who had already been shattered to pieces.