''Like this?''
''Yeah, grind it slowly and carefully... Peln, you're so good at this.''
''Is that so?''
''I didn't know doppelgangers have high dexterity. A new knowledge, hm.''
''Mhm.''
No offense to doppelgangers' dexterity, but it's probably because I'm not Peln.
Right now, Ariel is teaching us how to compress the poison from the flowers, using the makeshift mortars and pestles that I made via [Sharp Claw]. I thought carving stones might be too much, but it was trivially easy.
Either way, I decided to double down on my Peln act, even faking my status screen to be the same as the original Peln's. It's a good opportunity to test it after all.
Looking at Mister Slen and Smiley doing this almost made me break character and laugh, but I somehow held it in.
HOOT HOOT
''These guys are doing unexpectedly well, huh.'' Skely mutters.
A little bit earlier, owl mom bought us a ton more flowers and left five of my siblings here to help. They're doing well for a bunch of giant fluffy owls, I have to say.
''Let's hurry up, everyone! We need to finish it before Aurora wakes up.'' Ariel manifests herself and begins to grind.
Don't worry, she won't wake up anytime soon...
----------------------------------------
''Tell your mom that master is grateful to her, alright?'' I pet one of my siblings gently.
HOOT~!
It replies, excitedly nuzzling my legs. Does it know that I'm Aurora?
''Good, now go.'' I push it toward Skely, who is holding the remaining four, ready to teleport to owl mom.
''Is it just me or Peln is strangely human today...?''
It is just you, Ariel.
Regardless, after almost an hour of grinding, we have the finished product with us—a dense pack of poison double the size of me, wrapped in the spare robes of Skely.
I seriously need to find some proper clothes for myself after getting into the human world, I'm still naked under the robe.
But well, it's time to wake up.
I close my eyes and let myself flow into the silver line again. My body instantly becomes lighter, and I can feel my original strength swirling inside me again.
''Hgn...'' I stretch out lazily. It feels like my body just got a nice nap.
''Aurora~!'' Ariel flies in front of me. ''We got the poison all done!'' She says with a proud expression.
''Oh, is that so?'' I fake a surprised face. ''Thanks a lot.''
''No problem~''
I nod lightly and stand up, then turn around to see Peln standing there normally.
''Thanks, Peln.'' I stroke her head gently.
''...Yes, master.''
''You guys too.''
----------------------------------------
It is now the next night. After a day of rest, we're finally ready.
For this part of the operation, only me, Mister Slen, and the undead siblings will be going. Smiley and Peln are unfortunately too fragile to participate.
''We will be teleporting to a hill near the basilisk's nest. Please keep quiet just in case.''
We all nod to Skely's statement.
To save my MP, we will all be going by his teleportation.
''Alright, go.''
The scene abruptly changes, and we are now in the woods. Immediately, I can see glimpses of the glossy scales in the distance, through the dense grey trees.
Silently peeking out, a sight straight out of a movie greets me—in a large and deep clearing, akin to a crater, an enormous snake is lying still, eyes closed, curling up to fit the circular area.
Not to mention the size of it, which is even bigger than owl mom, I reckon its length is somewhere between three to four hundred meters. Each of its breath blows the trees nearby violently, like two giant leafblowers.
''Now, is everyone ready?'' I whisper.
After receiving everyone's confirmation, it is now Ariel and Mister Slen's time to move.
Ariel will act as bait for the serpent to open its mouth because the serpent will not be able to hurt her, while Mister Slen will stand nearby to activate his [Invincible] and intervene when he judges that it is an emergency.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
By the way, the reason why we can't just have Ariel go inside the snake's brain and blow her magic there is because of its internal energy. Magic doesn't work well when activating inside mana-bearing creatures. My gauntlet is different, it uses the power of the system, which can interfere with mana in that environment freely.
While I'm thinking that, it seems like Ariel has arrived in front of the serpent.
Silently, she extends her hands and puts her wrists together. After a bit of chanting, a blast of ice bursts out of her hands, enveloping about one-third of the monster's head.
HISSS—!!
There it is. The ancient serpent jolts awake, its golden slit eyes widen. And right when the mouth filled with sharp teeth of it opens-
''Go!''
Skely, who's holding me and the poison pack, immediately teleports us following my signal. We arrive inside the serpent's mouth, and a hot and damp atmosphere greets me.
THUD
Skely throws the pack at one of the spike-like teeth, letting the poison burst out.
As the serpent's mouth closes, I teleport myself and Skely back to our previous position.
Now at a safe distance, I can see the creature blink its eyes confusedly, then begin to squirm. I also see Ariel fly out of its mouth normally, good.
VROOOM—!!
The ground, no, the whole space begins to tremble as the giant creature quivers, I'm having a hard time standing straight.
The poison's effect can quickly be seen though, the monster's body gradually begins to lose strength, its movement getting weaker and weaker by the second.
''Good luck, Lady Aurora.''
''Thanks.''
I activate [Flight] and shoot myself into the air, wings spread. This is only the second time I have tried this, but as expected, nothing can beat this feeling of being airborne—the feeling of freedom.
Either way, I crank up my flying speed and move toward the trembling creature, all the while pouring my MP into creating my attack. Intense golden-white mana swirls around my hand, illuminating the whole area.
Before long, I have already landed on top of the creature's head.
SHIING—!!
The energy around my hand swirls even more intensely, ready to burst into deadly ice anytime. I aim my hand right below my feet.
Gauntlet of Severance, activate, range—five meters.
The energy abruptly disappears from my hand.
BOOOOM—!!!!
A muffled boom can be heard, accompanied by bright rays of light leaking out from the space between the scales. I can feel the glossy scales of the serpent cooling off rapidly through my bare feet.
The creature lets out a faint shriek before its body stops moving completely.
[You have defeated a Lv.61 Ancient Serpent - Z]
[Proficiency achieved a certain level]
[Being: Aurora Lv.30 has become Lv35]
[5 skill points acquired]
Operation successful. So I didn't just jump to level 45 or something, probably because the serpent was already in a weakened state.
''...''
Wait, something's not right. According to Skely, I should've gotten the title the moment I defeated the serpent-
KENG—!!
''!!''
Suddenly, a dark something flies straight at me from the corner of my eyes. I hurriedly brandish my sword and parry it.
''Heavy...!''
HISS—!!
Appear in front of me is another serpent with the exact same features as the one I've killed, but significantly smaller.
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Name: Z
Race: Ancient Basilisk Title: King of West Zircon
Level: 37
HP: 156/156 MP: 144/144
STR: 4.4 INT: 6.4
AGI: 4.4 STA: 4.6
Skill: [Sharp Fang Lv.6], [Hard Scale Lv.6],
[Bite Lv.5], [Enhanced Vision Lv.4], [Lightning Magic Lv.4],
[Earth Magic Lv.3], [Domination Lv.3],
[Status Condition Nullification Lv.3], [Stealth Lv.1].
State: Agitated.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It... Resurrected?!
HISS—!!
No time for thinking.
[Acceleration], [Domination], [Ice Magic], [Light Magic].
I spring myself forward, holding my ice-light sword tightly, just as the serpent is slithering with its fangs coated in a layer of black.
KENG—!!
One more time, my sword and its sharp teeth collide.
''Tch...!''
My strength is clearly higher than it, but the slippery scales are nerfing me.
Deciding that it is wiser to switch grounds, I swing my sword sideway, flinging the snake to the right. I immediately jump after it.
I spread out my wings and activate [Flight] to boost my speed as I pour half of my remaining MP into my sword's infusion. The serpent struggles in the air, probably not expecting me to go all out in the air like this.
SHING—!!
I raise the sword above my head, and right when I get close enough to the serpent's neck, I shoot myself forward with [Flight] once more, ramping the momentum of my attack up.
Time seems to stop.
My sword rips through the air, leaving behind sparkling trails of ice mixed with light.
ON THE NIGHT OF TODAY, UNDER THE BRIGHT MOON, I ASK OF YOU—
The blade smoothly runs through the scales of the monster, through the flesh, through the bone, until there is nothing more to be cut.
—AN UNDYING PLIGHT.
The monster is sliced in half. Golden-white ice begins to grow from the surfaces that made contact with my blade earlier as I fall with the two halves.
THUD
I land lightly on a small clearing, while the severed parts fall onto the trees nearby, crushing some of them.
''Phew...''
[You have defeated a Lv.37 Ancient Serpent - Z]
[Proficiency achieved a certain level]
[Being: Aurora Lv.35 has become Lv36]
[1 skill point acquired]
[Title: 'Queen of West Zircon' acquired]
[Achievement unlocked: Ancient Basilisk Z]
[2 skill point acquired]
Okay, this time it's for real. But I can't let my guard down yet, there's still-
rustle
''!!''
Suddenly, I can hear something move through the bushes nearby. I immediately turn to the direction of the sound and narrow my eyes, raising my sword.
To my complete surprise, the one appearing is... A girl. A human girl.
She has silky long blonde hair that cascades down her shoulder, a pair of brilliant blue eyes, and a princess-like face.
''Who are you?'' I keep my [Domination] on and point my sword at her.
But the girl just stares at me, eyes widened. She then shakily brings her hand forward a bit-
''A-Aurora...?''