Chapter 15

"Watch out!"

Theodore's first reaction was to counteract. He conjured up multiple magic circles and controlled the incoming fire into a central point, causing it to swirl upwards before finally dispersing into little flickers, leaving behind only vaporized smog from the clash between two different temperatures.

"Not bad." A middle-aged woman spoke as a shadow emerged from the mist.

She could've been mistaken as a man if not for her chest and feminine face, her greenish body was muscular and tall. Her hair was short and tied into a little pony tail, decorated with colorful feathers which appeared around her tribe-like outfit, and in her hand was a wooden staff with a red gemstone embedded onto the tip.

"…You're a sage." Theodore eyed the woman with caution, even Merlin knew something was wrong and stepped back until he was almost hiding behind his large body.

The female troll smiled. "So you know, and here I thought you were nothing but a mindless snake."

"Y—Young mistress!"

"Please don't provoke the Great Serpent!"

The sage frowned at the other trolls, confused about their reaction, at first she thought they were faking it for a hidden purpose but she soon realized that they truly were afraid of the giant snake. "…What's wrong with you guys?"

"We've made a god furious! We need to compensate for our foolishness!"

"Great Serpent?" The female troll turned to face Theodore. "It's just another monster! So why—"

She suddenly paused as she stared at him with round eyes, a hint of terror visible in her gaze. "Wh—What the hell are you?"

[The Sage had activated the skill 'Nature's Eyes'.]

[She's now staring at the Fragment of the Original.]

From the sage's view, a dark serpent-like shadow loomed over Theodore's figure, it was at least twice as big as him while a pair of blood-red eyes gazed down at her coldly as if it didn't consider her a living being.

Theodore glanced towards Merlin for a moment then looked at the trolls, he suddenly had a thought of how he could use this situation to his advantage.

'Instead of killing them all for experience points…Wouldn't it be best to make use of the Deitify attribute?'

He would've smirked if he could.

"Have you realized the graveness of your situation?" The Forest Trolls flinched at his speech.

"What are you doing?" Merlin whispered to him, but Theo ignored him for the time being.

"Your kin has surrendered to my prowess, yet you dare to attack me again? Do you wish for your tribe's fall?"

The sage took a step back, her expression still filled with fear. "No…No, I—"

"Young mistress! It is not too late!" The other trolls sounded desperate, and since she's the daughter of the Forest Trolls' leader, she naturally felt the need to prioritize her people first.

The sage swallowed her pride before slowly kneeling. She dropped her staff and lowered her head until it touched the ground. "Oh Great Serpent of the Oracle, please forgive this lowly soul, I've made a big mistake."

Theodore held his head high. "A fool's first mistake can be forgiven. Now, take me to your chief."

The sage flinched but still kept her body down low. "May I ask why you want to meet with my father?"

"Why else?" His green eyes shifted towards the four trolls and a hint of amusement could be seen through his cold stare. "They told me your tribe will serve me until the end of time."

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"What was that super villain act all about?" Merlin dragged his feet across the ground as he and Theodore followed behind the group of Forest Trolls. Eldora was still flying up high while keeping an eye out for any monsters from a bird's eye view.

One of the trolls was carrying the corpse of their poisoned comrade on its back, although it didn't seem to be fazed by touching a dead body at all.

Theodore surprisingly felt no guilt when killing the gate creatures even after he'd gotten the 'All-Speak' personal attribute. Despite hearing them constantly beg for their lives, he didn't hesitate once out of sympathy.

"They're more useful when they're alive."

Merlin looked visibly disturbed. "I knew you were a psychopath…But I didn't mean literally!"

He would've smacked his friend across the head if he could, although he doubted that the ginger could survive getting hit by him, even if he controlled his strength.

"It's necessary for my growth, their lives aren't meaninglessly wasted."

"I understand. But don't you feel any remorse when killing them? When I suddenly could understand animals and monsters it took me months to get used to it."

Theodore didn't reply immediately and they walked quietly for a whole minute. "I guess it's because I'm not human anymore."

They didn't say anything to each other for the rest of the way. Although their silence didn't have the time to turn uncomfortable since the Forest Trolls would finally come to an abrupt stop.

"Here we are."

They'd stopped by a low cliff overlooking a small village, the houses were made of leather, wood, and hay, built in a tent-like design that could fit in at most three trolls in one place.

One of the tents looked particularly larger than the rest, it has torches embedded by its front door as if hinting that it has some sort of importance.

"That is my father's chamber." The sage troll spoke as she pointed towards the big house. "But please let me inform the chief about your arrival first."

Theodore knew it wouldn't be a good idea for a behemoth like him to suddenly enter their tribe without warning, so he nodded at the sage's request. "Go ahead."

Merlin let out a sigh. "So what's your plan? Why are you keeping them alive?"

"...It's a skill."

"A skill?" The ginger looked up at Theo with a dumbfounded look.

"I can gain strength from…'faith'. They either have to worship me or fear me, it doesn't matter, both will increase my stats."

"Ah, classic gaslighting and emotional manipulation."

"Well, it's not like I'm going to use the trolls as a stat-pumping machine, at the very least I could offer them something in return."

Merlin tilted his head. "What are you going to give them?"

Just as Theodore could see the sage walking up to them from a distance, he turned to look at his friend before replying. "Why else would people pray to gods and deities?"

The redhead's mouth slightly fell open. "Y—You can give out blessings?"

"No…" He sighed. "You'll see what I'll do soon enough."

"My father will meet you at the town square, please follow me." The sage troll spoke when she'd reached the foot of the cliff.

Theodore didn't waste any more time and slithered down the hill, continuing to follow the sage towards her tribe.

The Forest Trolls were eyeing them with fear and wariness, although because they'd been vaguely told about the 'special guest', they didn't panic and simply watched them from the safety of their houses.

The town square was marked by a large, circular water fountain with neat paveways and bushes and flowers decorating around its perimeter.

A Forest Troll stood there with his arms behind his back, he was around the same height as any other male troll, although he was wearing clothes similar to the sage with the same colorful feathers around his attire. His medium-long hair was white from old age and he has many wrinkles on his fierce face, despite that though, he had a decently well-built body.

His black eyes stared at Theodore as he approached. At first the chief of the trolls showed no signs of fear, but when he'd gotten close enough that they could hear each other speak, the old man suddenly fell on his knees.

"Oh Great Serpent! I apologize for my people's foolishness! We shall make up for our mistakes by worshipping you!"

Theodore was slightly taken aback by the chief's attitude, he thought that as the leader of intelligent humanoids he would put up more of a fight instead of surrendering so easily.

Either way, it worked in his favor.

"I want no blatant words. Prove your faith, Leader of the Forest Trolls."

"Of course!" The chief raised his head and turned his head towards the five trolls. "Four of you! Go tell the best sculptor to make the Great Serpent a statue!"

"Yes!" Only the sage remained after the other trolls had left.

Theodore stared at them as they left, one was still carrying its friend's body on its back, he had no idea if they'd forgotten him from the fear or if it's some sort of Forest Troll tradition.

'...'

It didn't matter to him either way and he turned his attention back to the chief. "Is a sculpture all you have to offer me?"

The old man's eyes widened with fear. "N—No, Great Serpent! Please tell me what you desire, I shall get them all for you!"

"Evil bastard…" Merlin muttered behind Theo, but he ignored him for now and continued the flow of the conversation.

"What do I want?" He slightly raised his head and stared down at the old troll. "I want your people's absolute faith, for in return I shall grant you my protection, no creature in this wood could ever touch this village as long as I'm alive, those who dare to do so shall become nothing more than my offering."

"You…You'll become our town's deity?" The troll asked in both disbelief and amazement.

"I am not some thief that takes things without consideration. As long as I am offered the strongest beast you could find each month, I shall be satisfied."

"Strongest beast? My apologies Great Serpent, I don't understand what sort of animal—"

"None of those regular beasts of man." Theodore cut the chief off, startling him slightly. "I want the Creatures of the Gate, those that should not belong on this planet, for my goal is to devour all that refuses to bow down to me."

"Ah…" The troll nodded in acknowledgment. "Don't worry, Great Serpent, we have powerful warriors who could subdue dragons, will those suffice as offerings?"

"The stronger the better!" Theodore couldn't hide the excitement in his tones. Now that he'd gotten a small community to worship him like a god, he could passively get stronger from their beliefs, and he could also use them to hunt and find good experience points for him to easily take.

'Leveling up shouldn't be as difficult now…'

Merlin took a few steps away from Theo and narrowed his eyes with contempt. "Bro, didn't you say you won't turn evil?"

"I'm not."

"Great Serpent, may I ask who this human is?" The chief suddenly spoke up.

"He's my friend, treat him with care." Theodore glared at the troll. "Or else."

"Yes…Yes, of course…"

Merlin seemed happy with his friend's reply. He smiled and crossed his arms pridefully. "Oh, so you do care for me."

"It would just be troublesome if you die on me now."

"C'mon! Would it hurt to admit that you don't want to see me dead!?" The redhead pouted as he turned away from him.

Theodore wasn't the type to care about pacifying his friend, so he just ignored him and continued his interaction with the troll chief. "What's your name?"

"Ah, my name is Azibo, my daughter here is Shamba."

Shamba the sage had been quiet this whole time, she was gripping her staff nervously as she stood behind her father.

"…I am a being with many names."

Merlin flinched and looked back around, wincing as he stared up at Theo. "That's cringe."

Theodore suppressed the urge to slap the ginger with his tail and continued. "But I shall be called Ouroboros."

He could hear the real Ouroboros squeaking happily in his mind.

[Oh, you shouldn't have!]

'I'm just keeping my promises.'

"Oh, Ouroboros the Great Serpent! It is an honor to know of your name!" Azibo spoke before he turned towards his left as suddenly another Forest Troll made their way towards them.

"Chief! We've prepared housing!"

"Very good!" The headman smiled at Theo. "Ouroboros, we've prepared you the best shelter we could provide at this moment, of course we'll be changing it to your likings when we gather enough materials."

Theodore tilted his head, glancing at the surprised Merlin in the process. He was impressed that they already had somewhere for him to stay despite him just arriving about ten minutes ago. "Oh? I certainly can wait for my dedicated shrine."

"You want a shrine?" Merlin looked at him weirdly.

"Hey, it's for the special effects."

The ginger scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Sure, totally not because you wanted to play god."

Theodore ignored him as he looked up at the sky, specifically to where Eldora was still circling above them. "Call her down, let's go check out what the trolls had prepared for us."

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The building's walls were made from leather while the roof was hay, the sheets slanted downwards until the house was shaped similarly to a dome.

It was the size of a small modern house, just enough for Theodore to fit through the hay curtains that covered the front door.

Inside were nicely lit up by floating light balls as a hint of mana radiated from them. The floor was covered in dry grass and fur carpets, making the surface very comfortable for him to sleep on.

Merlin had not yet gotten himself a home since the Forest Trolls prioritized Theo first.

"This is nice." Theodore nodded in approval as he coiled his body, testing if he could sleep without issues.

"...Where do I sleep?" Merlin looked around the place some more, but there wasn't anything else within the den. "It's just an empty space…"

Eldora was perched on the redhead's shoulder, she looked around enthusiastically as if trying to find somewhere she could build her nest. "It's a little low on the ground, but this place is cozy!"

"Ah." Azibo, who was standing near the door with his daughter, started sweating profusely. "We…We'll prepare another housing for you soon, Mister Merlin."

"No need." Theodore interrupted as he looked at them lazily. "He can sleep in here."

"Hey! You want me to sleep on the floor!?" The ginger frowned in disapproval.

"What about it? The floor is soft enough."

"It's alright for you but not for me!"

"Either you sleep in here or outside."

"?#*!"

Theodore let out a mocking hiss, which annoyed his friend even further, although he didn't engage with him and spoke to the chief. "When do you think you can get me a live beast?"

Shamba finally spoke up for the first time. Though instead of sounding nervous, she talked with confidence and pride. "I can dispatch a group of hunters right now! Please leave this to us!"

"Oh?" He tilted his head. "Go ahead, let me see what sort of monster you can catch."

The sage bowed before excusing herself out of the house.

Azibo pursed his lips. "Do you need anything else from me, Great Serpent?"

"No, leave me for now."

"As you wish."

After the last troll had left, Theodore let out a sigh before looking at Merlin. "We should start planning our next move."

"Yeah, sure." The redhead still sounded angry, but otherwise he still spoke. "You said you need to level up right? So how much more experience points do you need?"

"A lot, those two trolls only leveled me up once."

"Master!" Eldora exclaimed as she turned to look at Merlin. "Can I sleep here? I like this place!"

"Eh!? You weren't joking?"

"No! I mean, yes it's not high up like I wanted…But I don't want to sleep where it's dangerous!"

Theodore snorted. "See? Even Eldora isn't as picky as you are."

"At least let me sleep on a hay bed!"

"Anyway." He diverted the conversation or he might not get the chance to get back on topic. "From my calculations, I need to kill at least six more high-leveled monsters to reach level forty."

Merlin didn't have a problem with changing the discussion either, but his tone was still lashed with annoyance. "Well, how long do you think it will take?"

"Maybe a week, while the monsters in Deeper Delphi are strong, they don't live close to each other to avoid unnecessary conflict, so it's going to be hard to find them."

"That makes sense."

"...But that's still too much time." Theodore lowered his gaze to the floor. "Dad might not last if I delay any further."

"Are you going to go out now?"

"No. It's stupid to mindlessly wander around without knowing where to go, it would be best to plan first, or else we might just be wasting our time."

"If only we have a map." Merlin sighed as he crossed his arms.

Silence covered the whole room as they all tried to think of a proper strategy.

'Maybe I should just try my luck after all…'

'No, there must be some other way to effectively hunt in a short time.'

His head perked up as something came to mind. Theodore said in an ecstatic voice. "Wait! Wouldn't the trolls have a map?"

"Would they? I know they're intelligent but…" Merlin was doubtful as he frowned while tilting his head.

"We won't know unless we ask Azibo."

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"A map?" The troll chief looked up at Theodore as he peeked his head through the curtain of his chamber. "Yes, we do have it, why must you need it, might I ask?"

"I need six sacrifices." Theodore replied in an authoritative tone. "It would be quicker if I go hunt them down myself, however I do not know where would be best to find strong creatures in this area."

"Ah, I see." Abizo didn't question him any further. "It's in my abode, please wait here a moment."

It indeed didn't take very long for the chief to come back with a roll of worn-down paper in his hands, he gave it to Merlin who unfurled it the instant it was in his grip.

Theodore leaned in to look at the content on the map. Their current location was marked with a red "X" in the middle of the page, around it were small trees drawn from black ink and multiple dotted lines extended outwards to places located with an "O".

Underneath those "O" were words written in an unknown language, but because he has the 'All-Speak' attribute, he could easily read what they were saying.

One of them piqued his interest, it was on the far left corner of the map surrounded by a river and a dense forest hinted from the amount of trees drawn around the marked area.

"The Ancient Cavern."

"Ancient Cavern?" Abizo's eyes widened. "Oh Great Ouroboros, that place is the most dangerous out of all we've explored. We lost fourteen of our men just from getting close to the entrance of the cave."

"That's wonderful." Theodore's tone was filled with excitement despite what the troll had said.

'If it can annihilate dozens of Forest Trolls, then it must be strong…An elder dragon, maybe?'

"Merlin."

"Y—Yeah?" The ginger seemed to have gotten scared after Abizo had described what the Ancient Cavern was. He looked at him with a terrified expression. "No…Theo, no…"

"We're going to the Ancient Cavern."

Fear turned into despair, Merlin pursed his lips nervously as he turned his attention to Eldora, who stared back at him with a confused expression.

'What's wrong, Master?'

'I'm so dead…'