FLY HIGH!

It's a fiery hell.

Could the hell they say you go to after death be this horrific?

That guard captain was truly a terrible person.

Reading the wind direction for fire tactics, does he think he's Zhuge Liang or something?

The southeast wind didn't blow, but there really seemed to be air holes inside the cave.

The flames didn't just flicker on the ground; they rose into the sky, creating a hot wind.

The soldiers began to slowly retreat, covering their faces.

"Retreat to the cave entrance and guard it!"

The guard captain commanded his subordinates with those words.

His determination not to let even a single one escape was admirable.

My siblings whose bodies caught fire shriveled up and died instantly.

Like hagfish on a hot plate.

So am I unscathed, being away from the flames?

No, that wasn't the case.

「Your Heat Resistance skill is rapidly increasing. You've gained Heat Resistance lv1.」

Just from the heat alone, my scales began to singe white.

Survival instinct warned me to flee from these flames.

My scales trembled, urging me to hide in damp crevices.

「You've gained Survival Instinct lv1.」

This wasn't a joke; it was real.

But I didn't follow the warning of my survival instinct.

With the fire spreading along the oil, hiding in rock crevices would only turn me into a well-roasted snake.

Instead, I glared at the retreating guard captain.

I've remembered your face.

I won't forget this grudge.

That was the extent of my composure.

At this rate, I'm really going to die.

The reason I had waited until now was that the petrification of the monsters needed to wear off to some extent.

Their complexion was slowly returning.

They still couldn't move, but they were twitching slightly.

Now my teeth should be able to sink into their flesh.

What I was about to do was clearly insane.

But if I didn't do something crazy, there was no way to escape this fiery hell.

I crawled directly into the wide-open maw of the Horn Jaguar.

The Horn Jaguar is larger than a bull.

It had roared in fear at the sight of its mother, and had frozen in that state.

In other words, its throat, characteristic of carnivores, was wide open.

Entering between the sharp teeth, there was its tongue, and hanging at the back was its uvula.

Chomp~

I bit the uvula.

The petrification had worn off enough for my teeth to sink in deeply.

Like this, unless the uvula is torn off, I should be able to hide inside the Horn Jaguar's mouth.

Now go, Horn Jaguar!

Finally, the petrification wore off.

And naturally, what the monster with its uvula bitten started was gagging.

"Keck! Kegegeck! Queeeck!"

Even I would gag to death if something was dangling from my uvula.

But I'm small enough to be called a thread snake.

If I were an ordinary animal, I would either be crushed by the contracting throat muscles or be ejected with a "keck!"

However, with its vast throat that gulps down unchewed meat, it couldn't vomit me out.

I stubbornly clung to its throat.

Think of it as a non-sedated endoscopy, Jaguar.

Stop! Stop gagging!

"Guweeeck!"

Aack!

It vomited out its stomach contents.

The Horn Jaguar's vomit washed over my skin, which was already sore from the fire.

It smelled and stung.

If it had lasted a bit longer, I might have gained Pain Resistance.

Anyway, I kept hanging on.

Only then did the Horn Jaguar notice that it was in the middle of a sea of fire.

Whether monster or human, the fear of fire was the same.

The Geiger Hog, which had been petrified alongside it, started running with a loud cry.

"Gweeeeck!"

"Krheong!"

The two monsters ran wildly.

Instinctively avoiding the fire, towards the direction where the retreating soldiers were.

They were incredibly fast.

It was an amazing ride, like being on a speeding chariot.

The two monsters paid no attention to the snakes writhing under their feet.

They ran, trampling the thread snakes with a thud.

As the Horn Jaguar ran with its mouth wide open in agony, I could see the whole scene.

As expected, my siblings had fighting spirit.

They instinctively bit the legs of the passing Geiger Hog and Jaguar.

The two monsters continued running without being able to shake off my siblings.

About dozens of them clung to the monsters' bodies and escaped together.

However, the riding conditions between my siblings and me were as different as first class and economy.

Many of them were scorched by the flames and had their teeth broken and flew off due to the running momentum.

Goodbye, everyone.

Finally, the Horn Jaguar escaped to the cave entrance.

And the soldiers waiting there were shocked.

"Aaaaah!"

"W-What is that!"

They probably expected to catch snakes crawling out of here in a hurry.

Even their armor, including gambesons, was just enough to catch snakes.

Some even had shovels and hoes instead of spears to catch snakes crawling on the ground.

So how surprised must they have been when suddenly two house-sized monsters popped out?

"Monsters!"

The soldiers seem to be a bit faint-hearted.

The guard captain smacked the back of the head of the soldier who shouted that.

"You idiot. Look closely. Those are just monsters."

"Ah, snakes... I see."

I'm not sure if there's much difference between monsters and beasts, but I noticed from the soldiers' reactions.

The Horn Jaguar was on fire all over and had dozens of snakes clinging to it.

No wonder they were shocked by that sight.

If I could, I'd like to peek out and say "peekaboo" from inside its mouth.

Of course, if I did that, I'd be bitten by the angry Horn Jaguar.

Come to think of it, getting out of the Horn Jaguar's mouth is going to be a problem.

I can't exactly say, 'Thanks for everything!' and leave politely.

Anyway.

"Maintain formation!"

Here, I can only hope for the Horn Jaguar's struggle.

"Raise spears!"

And my nemesis, the guard captain, fulfilled his duty to the end.

At his command, the soldiers quickly raised their spears.

Several soldiers with spears can take down even a fierce beast.

The same goes for monsters.

"Gweeeeck!"

The brave Geiger Hog charged first into the midst of the soldiers.

A boar larger than the giant wild boars said to live near the military demarcation line was skewered by spears.

Thud!

Two unlucky soldiers were sent flying as if hit by a car, but five spears were stuck in the Geiger Hog's body.

Even a sturdy monster can't help it.

It couldn't go any further and planted its head in the ground.

"Don't let your guard down! Another one's coming!"

With the guard captain's command, the Horn Jaguar started running.

All I could do was hold onto its uvula tightly.

I'm getting a bit nervous. The soldiers' encirclement was tighter than I thought.

"Krheong!"

Hearing a beast's roar from inside its throat was an amazing experience.

My inner ear attached to my skull vibrated, making my whole body tingle.

And then, my body floated.

Zero gravity.

The Horn Jaguar had jumped high.

I could see the soldiers below with their mouths wide open.

The Horn Jaguar's leg strength exceeded their imagination.

For a moment, I think I made eye contact with the guard captain.

Boom!

It was a leap that could easily clear a building, but the landing was light.

The Horn Jaguar started running as if its tail was on fire.

Towards the forest in the east.

Towards the primeval forest, so densely wooded that humans dare not follow.

...So how do I get out of here now?

I pondered this while smelling the Horn Jaguar's damp and hot breath.

==

Many animals live in the Sija Forest.

Among them were monsters imbued with magical energy, as well as ordinary beasts.

Although many extraordinary things happen in this place, today was particularly unique.

Even forest animals like monkeys and rabbits couldn't resist watching out of curiosity.

"Kuweng Kueeeng!"

Horn Jaguar.

A dangerous monster not found in the Sija Forest, only seen when entering the great forest.

There was no threat in this Sija Forest that could harm a Horn Jaguar.

Such a Horn Jaguar was now in a complete frenzy.

"Kuweck! Keck!"

It jumped high enough to easily clear any ordinary tree, and also rolled on the ground.

Thud!

Then it rammed its head into a tree.

Startled birds flew up, and monkeys screeched and ran away.

"Krheong!"

It roared fiercely and swung its front paws.

The tree cracked and fell over.

The Horn Jaguar was already covered in blood.

It clearly hadn't been attacked by anyone, but had broken its claws and injured its face in its own frenzy.

Where it was now was the border between the Sija Forest and the great forest.

There's no actual border in the forest, so it could be described as a place where dangerous monsters increase and Sija trees become rare.

It was also in front of a basin surrounded by cliffs.

At some point.

The Horn Jaguar choked as if its breath was suddenly cut off.

"Keck, Keeng!"

It coughed roughly, and then suddenly couldn't even do that anymore.

Had something inside it finally choked its windpipe?

As expected of a beast that roamed the forest, the Horn Jaguar didn't stop fighting even on the brink of death.

It suddenly started running madly and threw itself off the cliff.

The crazy jaguar had a fit and finally put on a suicide show.

The watching forest animals quietly peered at where the Horn Jaguar had jumped.

The cliff was sufficiently high.

The Horn Jaguar would suffer no more.

==

Aaaaargh!

I screamed internally.

Burning to death vs Being eaten by a Horn Jaguar.

If I had to choose the worse option, it would now be the latter.

Die! Die!

I shouted that in my heart.

Of course, it must be the same for that beast.

It was good that we broke through the flames and soldiers.

But it was really impossible to get out of this Horn Jaguar's mouth quietly.

All I could do was desperately hold onto its uvula.

If I let go of the uvula, only one of two fates awaited me.

Either being chewed up bit by bit, or being swallowed whole without even being chewed.

「Pain Resistance lv2 has become Pain Resistance lv3.」

「Breath Holding lv2 has become Breath Holding lv3.」

「Biting lv2 has become Biting lv3」

Because I endured with all my might, the skill proficiency increased insanely fast.

It's a battle of who gets exhausted first.

Putting 20 stat points into mental strength was really an excellent choice.

I endured with sheer willpower and toughness.

The life of a snake I chose... well, not really, but anyway.

However, there was a limit to enduring against its struggles as it shook its head and gagged.

Finally, at the moment when my consciousness became hazy and my jaw lost strength.

It took a big breath, and I, small enough to be called a thread snake, was sucked into its windpipe.

"Keeng!"

The moment the advantage completely shifted to me.

It could no longer harm me.

And I had infiltrated its most vulnerable part.

Inside its lungs.

I'm the guy who always asked the ajumma for extra lungs when eating blood sausage.

I used Biting frantically. Hot blood began to pool around me.

Uwaaa!

「The proficiency of Biting is rising steeply.」

Eventually, a hole was punctured in the lung.

That's when it happened.

My body floated up.

Oh, this.

A familiar sensation.

The thrilling feeling like a shark is about to bite your butt.

It was that feeling you get when riding the Gyro Drop at Lotte World.

The sensation of falling.

This crazy jaguar had thrown itself from somewhere.

Is this the spirit of Nongae, embracing the enemy and throwing herself off a cliff?

It must have been a high place, as the fall was quite long.

Long enough that even a sturdy monster couldn't avoid death.

But I'm light enough to not even make up one serving of pork belly, and this is a soft inside.

Boom!

Nevertheless, the impact was strong enough to see stars, but.

I survived.

Of course, the jaguar doesn't seem to have survived.

「You've leveled up.」

「You've leveled up.」

「You've leveled up.」

「You've leveled up.」

「You've leveled up.」

「You've leveled up.」

「You've leveled up.」

It was thanks to the feast of level-ups.

What is this, a Chu-Gong novel?