Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 186

Two-Headed Serpent King

The Sixth Floor, just like the one where they fought the two-headed Demon, was grassy marshes. The only difference was that the sky was dark and dotted with stars.

“Night time in a Dungeon…” Akula whistled. “Incredible. It looked just like the real thing. Except for the positioning of the stars. And the cloud doesn’t move.”

“You know a lot about stars, Akula?” Illumca asked.

“Nothing to do at night in the Grasslands except for singing and looking at the stars,” she replied with a sigh. “And look at that. Poison Hounds!” Akula said. They have fought Poison Hounds before, back above grounds. They were nasty monsters shaped like very large dogs. But possessed of poisonous saliva that could cause irreparable damage to its prey. They like to hunt in packs.

“Thirty, thirty-five Poison Hounds, give or take.” Illumca said, preparing her weapons. “And that big one has a fierce look about him. But we can take them down fast if we work together.”

The dog-like monsters, who were resting around a large boulder raised their heads when they sniffed their smell. In response, they stood up with furs bristling, growling at them. Their alpha, a hound twice their size, made his way to their front.

The alpha was an experienced one, who had killed many of the monsters who had challenged him and his pack. And by instincts, he could feel the threat coming from the three meat bags before her. They must be protecting the smallest one.

The smallest one, however, ignored the warnings of the more powerful ones. The prey walked forward defencelessly, separating from the others that could have protected the weak little thing.

Seeing this, the alpha Poison Hound made his move. A powerful lunge that used his speed, his sharp fangs, dripping with venomous saliva was aimed at the creature’s jugular.

The little thing raised her arm. Useless. As long as he could sink his powerful fang into the flesh, the prey would be rendered helpless. And after that, his pack would swarm upon the soft prey and they would eat the flesh and shared their innards with the younglings.

Or, at least that was what should have happened.

The alpha was dangling on the supposedly weak arm. However, to the hound’s surprise, its fangs could not sink any deeper. He tried to bite down, but the skin was too tough. It was like chewing on a rubber.

The supposed prey with the golden hair was amused. “Amazing, my control over my Energy has been increased so much that I can restrain my power willingly.”

Connie held the hound by its snout and sent in her Energy into its body.

“Now then, if you are so intent on eating me, you should be prepared to be eaten too, yes?”

The hound’s cry of pain was muffled as its body twisted with a loud crack. Its legs were the first to be broken. Then slowly the body began to twist.

Snap, crackle, snap.

The horrendous sound of cracking bones made Illumca feel her skin crawling and Akula held her stomach uncomfortably. Lihua, on the other hand, nodded approvingly at the way Connie had employed her control over her Energy.

The Poison Hounds that were following their leader scrambled to a stop when they saw this; their well-organized charge falling into complete disrepair as they piled on top of each other in a desperate effort to not get any nearer to the thing that was killing the alpha.

At the end, the alpha now looked more like a cloth that had been wrung out. Broken bones pierced through its skin. Its blood dripping onto the marshy ground.

Connie threw the bloodied rag of a monster towards the expectant Chen, who engulfed and digested it fully within a few seconds.

Seeing this, the hostile monsters’ quickly turned tail; their instincts were telling them that they were facing a true predator at the top of the food chain.

“Hahahah!!!” With an exuberant laughter, Connie leaped high into the sky, focusing her Energy into her legs, then shot towards the ground using her regained power to fly.

She stomped on the earth and exploded her Energy, causing the ground to concave. The ground erupted with Yin Energy, throwing the hapless Poison Hounds into the sky.

“Light! So light!!” Connie then moved her arms around in a circle, then released a Sword Energy bloomed like a spider lily in autumn, its petals cutting through everything in its path.

The blood of the unfortunate hounds spilled on the leftover Sword Energy, colouring it crimson red.

Illumca and Akula stared silently at what just transpired. The beauty in the brutality of her sword. It made those who would call themselves swordmaster look like children playing with toy swords.

“It has been a long time since I saw this Technique,” Lihua said. She dabbed the edge of her eyes with her sleeves elegantly. “It seems that the rise of the Heavenly Poison King is imminent.”

“Madame. Do you know that Technique?” Illumca asked.

“That one was something the Mistress created during a challenge with the Golden Lotus Vagabond. Its killing prowess is nothing to speak of, but it is doubtlessly beautiful.”

Amidst the newly destroyed landscape, Connie breathed deep of the air through new lungs. The baleful Energy from the dead hounds flowed out from their corpses and was absorbed into her body. “How convenient. This new body conducts the flow of Energy many times better than my old one. It makes the Yin Gu Tempering Body that I was so proud of look like a second-rate Technique.”

Soon, the stairs heading down to the next floor appeared, and the four of them continued their raiding.

Within a day, the four of them made quick work of the Dungeon. Untouchable Marshes’s worst characteristic was that it needed great resources to be able to handle the poison and venom that came naturally from its surrounding. But with Connie in her new body at the helm, it was more of casual exercise.

“We…reached the bottom in less than a day. I can’t believe it!” Akula commented, still feeling like it was not real. “

“Of course, it’s the result of this one’s training. By training one’s five senses to be more attuned to the natural flow of Energy, scouting becomes much easier and more efficient.”

“I still cannot be as good as you, Madame.”

“Dear, this one has been doing this kind of thing for hundreds of years. If this one lost to a young one like you, this one might as well retire.”

“It’s a shame that we left most of the corpses behind though.”

“That kind of thing can be left for later. Now I just want to test out a few things,” Connie said while licking on a honeycomb filled with luscious dark gold honey. One lick could cause one to hallucinate. But for her it just gave a nice buzz. Akula tried some when they found the beehive at the ninth floor and was immediately sent to heaven, before being brought back forcefully by the Madame’s powerful slap.

Now before them was an ancient looking door. It was easily four times their size, and was made of wood. Illumca tried to push it open, but she found it to be extremely heavy.

Akula loosened up her arms with a few rotating movements before giving it a try. Her muscles bulged as she pushed the heavy door, the ancient hinges making a loud and heavy creak.

The room within was large enough to house a small village. Stone statues overgrown by thick vines and all manners of poisonous flora dotted the room. A musty smell characteristic of old ruins untouched by men made Illumca frown.

In the middle of was a tall altar - much larger and taller than the one in Alabaster Atrium - half-covered by plants. Illumca noted the large pillar suspended above it, decorated by the sculpture of a two headed snake. It was something of a poor taste.

“Look. Its’ the Dungeon Core!” Akula pointed at the large crystal on top of the altar.

The crystal was greenish in colour, glowing brilliantly and full of vigour. Brambles and ivy vines grew wildly upon it. It was also the only source of light in the room, giving the place an eerie, secluded atmosphere.

“Where’s the Guardian?” Akula asked.

The four of them walked cautiously towards the altar, weapons out. Out of the blue, the whole place trembled. Dust and pieces of broken vines rain down upon them.

“Look, up above!” Illumca shouted.

The eyes of the sculpture of the two-headed snake suddenly opened. Pieces of rock and vegetation that had grown on its back fell as it slowly slithered. Two powerful claws, hidden under its large body, dug into the pillar as its two forked tongues tasted the air.

Then, it dropped down, fully intending on crushing them.

“Scatter!!”

Lihua brought Illumca away while Connie took care of Akula.

“SSSSHHH!!!” the two-headed snake reared its ugly head and wrapped its body around the altar protectively.

Illumca used Analyze on the giant snake and shouted. “That’s a Two-Headed Serpent King! It hasn't grown its horns yet. That means that it’s still an infant!”

“An infant at this size?” Lihua mused. “This one shudders at the thought of size of an adult one.”

Connie cracked her knuckles with a smirk. “Finally, something that can handle some roughing up. Let’s get this done quick and take care of the Dungeon Core.”

Suddenly, she felt a tug on her sleeves. When she looked down, Chen was wobbling expectantly.

“You want to fight the snake alone?” Connie rubbed her chin curiously. “You do realize that though that monster is weaker than Bet-Zebek, It’s quite a bit stronger than you.”

Chen jumped up indignantly and started to move towards the Guardian.

“Connie?” Illumca’s eyes looked at Chen with puzzlement.

“Let him go. It’s what he wants.”

The result was as everyone had suspected. Although Chen had the spirit, he did not have the power.

The Poison Slime could not do much damage as the white scales of the Two-Headed Serpent King was thick and tough. A simple slap of the tail was enough to scatter his body.

It was pitiful, looking at how he tried to fight a monster that was many times his size.

After a while, the giant snake seemed to have lost its temper and earnestly pounced on Chen with its giant claw, crushing him into the ground.

“I can’t look at this anymore!” Illumca drew her dagger, intending to join the fight.

With a hiss of triumph, it directed its hostility towards his new enemy. But when it tried to lift its claw, it found that it was being held back by something.

The slime beneath its claw expanded, ballooned, forcing it back.

From where they were, Connie’s party looked on as Chen’s body began to bubble. The Poison Slime grew and grew, shifting and changing. Two skeletal arms sprouted from his body, followed by a hollowed torso and a skull. From which two twisted, goat-like horns sprouted. They all had seen that skull. That was the skull that now decorated the square in Greyvault.

The giant skeletal body looked nightmarish, a direct contrast from the usual pudgy and bouncy slime form that Chen usually took.

“…That’s…Bet-Zebek?” Connie mouthed. Surprised and intrigued.

“RROOOAARGHHH!!!”

Slimes were the weakest monster in Grea. Many Hunters started their first Quest by hunting these translucent little creatures. They fed only on things weaker and smaller than them. Or things that could not fight back. Like dead bodies. And as one of them, Chen was destined to be weak.

And even though he had evolved into a Poison Slime and nurtured by Connie, he was still a slime. Those times that he was fighting and winning against much stronger enemies, it was because Connie was doing the bulk of the fight.

No matter how he tried, fighting against a monster as strong as a Two-Headed Serpent King alone was impossible.

However, a weak monster also had something they were good at. Mimicking something. That’s how slimes survive, how they fight.

And now, Chen was using the Unique Skill that he gained after defeating Bet-Zebek with Connie.

True Mimicry.

By using it, he had taken on the form of the strongest enemy that he had ever fought. One of the prerequisites of this Unique Skill was to have defeated and ingested parts of his enemy’s body. During the last fight with Bet-Zebek, he managed to shave off parts of the Demon’s Essence Crystal, allowing him to do just that. However, as he did not manage to take in much of Bet-Zebek’s Essence Crystal, it did not allow him to take full advantage of the Skill.

Chen let out a bestial roar that made the giant snake flinch, before launching a powerful punch that caused it to reel back. Its right head shook and snapped at Chen, who caught the head mid-air and slammed it into the ground.

The left head managed to evade the attack and sank its fangs into Chen’s body. Deadly Venom was released into his body, which did nothing but making Chen angrier. He retaliated by gouging its eye with his claw and pulled it out.

“KSHAA!!” the serpent cried out in pain as it flung its powerful tail which hit Chen square in the face, taking his head off. Though it took out a chunk of his health, Chen simply regrew the head and headbutted him with that freshly grown head.

The room shook and trembled with the two giant monsters wrestling and scrambling for dominance, instincts taking over.

“Did…did Connie really fought that Demon?” Akula said, flabbergasted. She was not afraid of monsters, but there were things from bedtime stories that she’d rather not have to fight.

“Excellent!” Lihua said. “This one admires those who does not shirk in the face of defeat! Win, little one!!”

Yao-Er was peeking out from Connie’s hair and jumped up and down excitedly.

“RRAARGHH!”

“SSHH!!!”

Chen slipped out of the serpent’s strangle hold and pounced on the one that he had blinded, climbed on top and started pummeling it with his powerful arms. When the right head tried to fight back, Chen slapped it with a powerful backhand.

Powerful fists kept raining down on the snake. Chen could feel the strong scales starting to give in. When he was about to land a killing blow, Connie shouted. “Chen! Don’t kill it!”

Chen, who was in the winning position growled angrily at being told to stop. Like a child getting angry from being told not to play with his toy. But Connie did not relent. “Stop. We’re not here to kill the Guardian.”

“We aren’t?” Akula blurted the question.

“We aren’t,” Connie walked up the stairs of the altar, then placed her hand on the Dungeon Core’s surface. “I’m going to try something.”

Upon touching it, Connie felt her mind melding with it. He could feel it breathe. Like it was alive. But it had no will of its own, acting solely based on its primary purpose. That was, to absorb mana and grow the Dungeon. Using the method that Tian Gu taught her, she implanted her will inside the Dungeon Core. A wisp of purple sunk into the green, before melding into it.

And now, you have another purpose.

To serve the Heavenly Poison King.

Once she let go of the Dungeon Core, the Two-Headed Serpent King seemed to have lost all aggression.

Connie raised a hand and told Chen to back down. The Poison Slime obeyed, albeit unwillingly, releasing his hold on the creature’s scaly neck.

The serpent slowly turned its gaze at the young woman descending down the altar. It ignored the wary stares of the others as if hypnotized, and moved its snout towards Connie. Illumca and Akula raised their weapons, but Connie signaled them to stand down as she placed one hand on the snake’s smooth scales.

“Now that you are my servant, I must name you,” Connie said. “You shall be named Jyahari. After the name of the legendary snake that protected the Grave of the Blue Jade Scholar.”

She then placed a few pills on her hand and offered them to the snake. “Eat. Eat and heal. Loyal Guardian. You will continue to protect this place. Remember our scents, so that you will not attack us when we return.”

As if understanding her words, the giant snake lapped its tongue on each one of them before returning to its place and continue its slumber.

“Connie…that’s amazing! How did you know to do that?” Akula asked with an excited laugh.

“I don’t know. It’s just an informed gamble. Most of the stories I read about Dungeons always said that the ones called the Guardians – or Boss – by the Otherworlders all seemed to move only when its territory is threatened. In this case, the Dungeon Core. Especially, how Jyahari always tried to move away from the Dungeon Core. As if she’s afraid of damaging it.”

“She?” Illumca gazed at the snake, who was now so still it looked like nothing but a sculpture.

“Yes, that one’s a she,” Connie said. “Now, come. We’re finished here. Let’s return to the surface.”

Connie offered her arm to Chen, who was clearly sulking by how slowly he was moving. The transformation had taken a lot out of him and he did not even get to win defeat the Two-Headed Serpent King properly.

“Don’t sulk. We’ll get you a nice meal when we’re out of the Dungeon.”

Chen lazily turned into a snake and slithered up Connie’s sleeves, feeling slightly better.

Akula strutted beside Connie with a wide smile behind her veil as they were going up the stairs to the Fifth Floor. “Finally, the Untouchable Marshes is conquered and the Dungeon Break is ended. Now this is what I got out of the Grasslands for!”

“Hmm? The Dungeon Break won’t end,” Connie commented.

“Huh? Didn’t you just take control of the Dungeon?”

Connie looked at Akula with the same look as a teacher hearing a student asking a stupid question. “Yes. But I didn’t stop the Dungeon Break phenomenon. Why would I stop letting a gold mine that self-regenerate to die on its own?”

“W-what? Then what’s all that hard work we did for then?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Akula. I just made it so that it won’t grow out of control," Connie then began to explain with an excited smile. "Can you think of the Pills I can make with all the materials we can get from this Dungeon? The sickness and disease that the Alchemists can heal with their medicines without having to go through cutthroat merchants?” Connie said as an excuse. “You need to learn to look at the big picture, Akula. Think long term!”

“O-oh, is that so?” the Centaur said. “I guess you’re right. If I want to be a Hero, I need to think more.”

However, the only thing in Connie’s mind now was the furthest thing from heroic. Of course, with all these materials in my hand. I can experiment as much as I want to!