The Snake Report Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Snake Report: Life as a Wanted Criminal, Day 1

"[Voice of Gaia] Tell my status."

[Level 71]

[TITLE: DIVINE BEAST, LEVIATHAN, GUARDIAN, ENEMY OF MANKIND]

[BRANCH: Divine Being]

...

[UNIQUE TRAITS:]

[Toxic] - Toxic Flesh. Dangerous if consud.[Crystalline scales] - Increased Defense[Omnivore] - Capable of eating non-monster food-stuffs.[Affinity of Fla] - Bonded to the Elent.[Legendary] - A rare being. Not often seen, known only to Legend.

...

[STATUS: Temporary]

[Mana burn] - Overflow of mana. Result of Mana Crystal consumption.

[WANTED] - Bounty issued for capture or proof of execution.

...

[RESISTANCES]

[Poison resistance: Rank XII][Fire resistance: Rank V] - Affinity*[Mana resistance: Rank 40][Steel resistance: Rank I][Iron resistance: Rank I]

...

[Skills]

[Healing:][Passive Healing 38] - Automatically being to recover from injuries. Mana drained as a result.[Heal III] - Third rank of healing.[Fla elent] - Affinity*[Leviathan breath VI] - Rare ability. Advanced variation of [Fla Breath][Fireball X] - A ball of fla, capable of long-range.[Earth elent][Earth Sculpting III] - Second spell rank of [Earth Manipulation][Water elent][Water Manipulation VII] - Ability to actively mold and shape water.[Knowledge elent][Voice of Gaia IX] - Knowledge embodint. Spirit of the world.[Divine elent][Royal Spirit of Man] - Acquired.[Ancient Spirit of Depth] - Acquired

I am a criminal.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

A wanted snake.

There is a Bounty issued.

For my head in a sack, there is a reward of three-thousand Gold pieces. Dead or alive, it matters little.

From the echoes I've listened to with holes in the dungeon walls, I am known as the Blue Death: A fearso monsters that wishes to destroy mankind's only footholds of within the Labyrinth of the Dungeons.

The most terrible beast of legend: A Sanctuary Destroyer. The type of creature only rumored to exist in the dusty tos of ancient books, and never proven. I have taken away the most valuable of resource for humans in this terrible place, all to save a single Paladin.

To make matters worse, according to the passerby of this area, the I ruined was extrely important to the newer adventurers. The ones not quite capable yet of venturing farther into the Dungeon safely. It seems that this Sanctuary was the last "Upper-level" area before the Dungeon dropped into much more dangerous levels.

So there is a reasonable chance my actions will lead to people dying, trade routes faltering, businesses failing...

Guilt.

I feel a lot of guilt.

My own people, or at least, my own ntally-identified species, consider their enemy. After all this ti, hoping beyond hope maybe I could go to the surface and find a way to live outside of this horrible place, my dreams have been crushed.

The Surface is for people: Humans.

Humans hate .

Sitting here in my new Camp Solitude, I know this because I am listening. Burning out the last of this insane amount of mana, feeling both sick to my stomach and my heart, and eavesdropping very carefully beside the acoustic tunnels that lead back into the regular dungeon.

Listening for adventurers.

There are many of those in this region, hundreds of them. Groups and parties of them walk about, weapons and armor clanking with heavy steps, but from my resting place I'm not interested in what they're carrying: Only what they're talking about.

Needless to say: It's not good.

Almost all the talk in the tunnels that reaches , is about what I did. There are only a few other topics, and most of those are indirectly related. Issues like "Reconnecting with the cut-off Sanctuaries" or "Passing on word to the newer adventurers and returning safely."

Rescue missions and the like. I've thrown the Network here into total chaos.

Many veterans are patrolling in groups, rounding up inexperienced people and sending them back up towards the surface. A serious sense of Comradery is now palpable in these passageways. Humans against the wanted "Beast of destruction."

The Big-Bad-Monster: who isn't really very big, didn't really intend to be bad, and ntally isn't a monster at all.

If I could talk, I think many things might be clarified.

I still can't talk though.

Not yet.

Missing a crucial number of points.

Hisss...

[Knowledge Elent]

[Spirit Attendant] - Bonded Spirit of the Earth, a tool for its master. Known to accompany Divine Beasts of Legend.[8,000 Points]

I have 6,005... I'm a little short.

More than just a little short.

It's troubleso to acknowledge that getting the rest of my needed tallies here won't be coming from leveling. That still only gives 5, apparently. Not exactly a reliable plan.

But then, there were so other things that gave points. Killing that Giant Skeleton, and that galodon... Those things... well, at least the galodon for certain gave skill points.

So, to get those next 1,995 points...

Hisss... I'm drawing unfortunate conclusions here.

Yes.

I have to earn them. If I ever want to clear my na, grinding the little guys isn't going to cut it.

I'm going to have to go monster hunting.