Chapter 28: Request From the Western Magic Tower Part 3

"Ku, kwaaaaaaa!!!!"

Something unexpected happened.

– Thud!!!

Johnson was emitting blazing flames from his hand.

And then,

"Shi*t…"

At the tips of Johnson's fingers, the right head of the Hydrus was crackling as it burned with its fangs deeply embedded in his flesh.

"This, this, this thing is alive!"

"Calm down. It seems you've just killed it."

Snakes don't die easily.

It's a saying many Koreans would have heard at least once.

It refers to incidents where live snakes jump out of bottles of snake wine.

The vitality of snakes is incredibly tenacious which allows them to survive in the harshest of environments.

I'm not sure if this is good luck or bad luck.

If the snake's head was still alive, one could consider themselves fortunate for the opportunity to create a more powerful totem.

However, the fact that the wizard had turned the living head of the snake into a roast… was an understatement to say it was bad luck.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away?"

"Is now really the time to say that?!"

When I spoke calmly, Johnson retorted with a pale face.

"Stay calm. The poison will spread further if you panic."

Fortunately, the right head was the one that spewed blood toxin, so there was ample time for an antidote.

"Aaahh!!! My hand!!!"

"Just stay still."

I promptly took out a bandage and tightly wrapped Johnson's wrist to prevent the poison from spreading further.

Ignoring my advice to stay still, Johnson frantically pulled out a potion from his pocket and began to gulp it down as if his life depended on it.

"It's no use."

"Th-Then, at least give me some healing! My fingers feel like they're on fire!"

That was out of the question. Using a healing skill here would only slightly restore health and further spread the poison.

"Don't you know that hydrus poison can only be neutralized by hydrus poison itself?"

"How was I supposed to know that!"

"Then you shouldn't have touched it."

Deciding to set aside whether this was due to the wizard's curiosity or Johnson's folly for later,

"Stop wasting potions and drink some alcohol instead. It'll help you forget the pain."

I handed Johnson a flask containing wine I had brewed myself.

"It will take about a day for your hand to return to normal."

"A whole day?"

"I'm surprised someone who dared to touch a Hydrus's head with a clear mind is startled by something so trivial."

Johnson was still looking pale and he kept gulping down the wine.

Meanwhile, I carefully lifted the middle head of the Hydrus to extract the antidote.

– Kyuu?

"….."

Wait. Is this one alive too?

"This is ridiculous."

The severed snake head was staring up at me with wide-open eyes.

"Sir Theodore, hurry!"

Although Johnson urged me on, I momentarily ignored him and lightly tapped the middle head of the living Hydrus.

The creature just looked at me with a dull expression and flicked its tongue, but it showed no great reaction.

Is it because of affinity?

I knew the middle head of the hydrus was relatively docile but that was only in comparison to its left and right counterparts.

Wait, this might be an opportunity to create a very unique totem.

For now, I hastily applied [Nature's Healing] to the severed snake head.

My healing skills were of the type that had no effect on the undead. Therefore, the chances of it working on the severed snake head were fifty-fifty.

– Kwee?

"It worked…!"

Surprisingly, [Nature's Healing] took effect on the severed snake head.

Good, I had bought some time. I carefully opened the snake's mouth and made it bite Johnson's finger.

"Aaah! What on earth are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Ah, just calm down a bit."

Johnson resisted vehemently but the snake head was already biting his finger.

A moment later.

Johnson's hand, which had been swollen and purple, gradually started to return to its original color. Of course, it was still almost doubled in size.

Good. That problem was solved.

Leaving behind Johnson, who collapsed from the pain and intoxication, I refocused my mind on the severed snake head.

The totem I had originally intended to create was a poison resistance totem made from the fangs of the Hydrus's left and right heads.

I had planned to extract the antidote from the middle head to create a medicine for emergency use.

But with the right head burnt to a crisp, that plan's gone down the drain.

I glanced at the charred right head before turning my attention back to the severed snake head.

It was still staring with wide eyes while flicking its tongue.

If the middle head was alive, it would change everything.

Instead of poison resistance, it's time to pivot to a detoxifying totem.

If I were to set up a high-grade magic stone to periodically supply life force to the living snake head and grow black ivy so that it can be used in place of its "body"…

It's theoretically possible.

Of course, if I failed, I would lose not only the valuable antidote but also the high-grade magic stone and the rare black ivy.

Still, it was a gamble worth taking.

-Thump!

Time was of the essence. I pulled out a high-grade magic stone from my space ring and placed a seed of black ivy on top of it, then I used [Breath of the Forest].

– Whoosh!

Black ivy, a plant that grows from the corpses of monsters and uses "magical power" as its nourishment, sprouted forth. It would act as a "blood vessel" to allow the magical power from the magic stone to flow into the snake's head.

Good, good. Just like that, slowly…

I manipulated the vines of the black ivy very carefully. I wrapped its roots around the magic stone and carefully guided its stems to intertwine with the original veins of the snake head. Growing, burrowing, growing, burrowing—I repeated this countless times. The vines of the black ivy, nourished by the high-grade magic stone, shone eerily and beautifully.

…Did it work?

Perhaps due to the high level of concentration required, my body was soaked in sweat by the end.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and then looked at the snake in front of me, or rather, the totem.

[The Totem: The Benevolent Monster has been completed.]

– Detoxify 100% of poisoning when equipped.

– Extract one antidote per day.

I wore the totem on my left wrist. The snake's head embedded its fangs into the inside of my wrist and wrapped its tail around it. At a glance, it resembled a bracelet.

"I've created something far more incredible than I had imagined."

A 100% detoxification from poisoning.

With this totem, I would be invulnerable to all poisons.

No druid could have crafted such a totem.

Selling it would fetch a fortune… No, selling this would be foolish.

With the ability to extract one dose of antidote per day, I could make money just by selling the antidote.

A win-win situation!

While the heads of the Hydrus and the Black Ivy are "living" beings, meaning that the totem would continuously consume magical power while it was worn, this wasn't a great concern.

I've already thought of a way to regenerate magical power, so I'll just have to account for the effects of the totem.

Everything fell perfectly into place.

"Phew…"

Finally, I settled into a chair and let out a deep sigh.

At the edge of my vision, I could see Johnson sprawled on the ground either passed out or asleep.

It's a good thing Johnson didn't see this.

Wizards were a curious and greedy bunch so it could pose a problem if word about the totem reached Agni through Johnson.

When entering the Swamp of Death, it would be best to make it seem like all of this was solely the result of my druidic skills.

Well, that was partly true, after all.

"I think I need to get some rest."

I left the room while leaving Johnson lying down. The intense focus had left me extremely hungry, and I was intent on getting something to eat.

"Master!"

– Kuuun!

On my way to the dining hall, I ran into El and Ayla. Ayla ran up to me excitedly, while El seemed to be angry for some reason.

"Master! Is it true what they're saying?!"

"…What are you talking about?"

"That you're not taking us on this mission!"

When I looked at her again, it wasn't anger on El's face but a look of injustice.

"Where did you hear such a thing?"

"So it is true!"

El bit her lips very hard. Her face turned such a deep shade of red that it looked like it might burst at any moment.

"If only I had been stronger…"

Lately, El's obsession with "strength" has intensified.

She was evidently still tormented by her inability to protect her family.

I watched El in silence for a moment.

Now that I have the antidote, perhaps it would be safe to bring them along…

Of course, under the condition that they would not be placed on the front lines.

It might even serve as valuable training.

"El."

"…Yes?"

"You're coming with us, of course."

"What?"

El looked at me with a puzzled look on her face as if she couldn't grasp what I was saying.

"I don't know where you heard such a thing, but I haven't trained you to be so weak that you couldn't survive in the Swamp of Death."

"…Yo-you're right! We are not weak!"

– Kuun! Kuunkuun!

El raised her fist in the air to show her determination.

"So, stop worrying needlessly and focus on your training."

"Yes, Master!"

El's face soon shone with trust and belief.

I had absolutely no intention of taking her along…

However, it seemed that increasing her resistance to poison before entering and training her for the swamp might be a good idea.

In fact, it might even be greatly beneficial.

I had never gone easy on them. If anything, I had pushed them every single day, never giving a day's training in vain!

"I will go back to training now!"

"Calm down. Let's have something to eat first."

I calmed El who was ready to rush to the training ground with excessive enthusiasm and opened the door to the dining hall.

I was quite looking forward to the meal, considering the exquisite dishes I tasted at the dinner with the tower master.

"…Huh?"

But what was this unexpected turn of events?

Wizards typically didn't place much importance on meals, so the dining hall was usually almost empty.

– Murmur murmur.

– Buzzzzz.

However, what lay before my eyes now was a dining hall bursting at the seams with people.

"Food! Food!"

"How long do we have to wait?"

"This is fu*king delicious!"

Those piling up mountains of food and devouring it were certainly not wizards.

Damn it, did the mercenaries arrive already?

Seeing the current state of things, it was clear that getting a meal now was out of the question. Just as I was about to turn and leave the dining hall,

"Haah…"

"Theodore?"

"...?"

"Theo! It's me!"

A familiar voice reached my ears.