Chapter Fifty: An Unexpected Situation

The data provided by the chip left Hughes utterly astonished. He marveled at the effects of that red fruit, which had enabled an ordinary snake to evolve venom, especially enhancing its constitution far beyond its other attributes.

“Hiss!” The black-patterned snake, seeing Hughes hesitate, assumed its venom had intimidated him and continued slithering toward the cave’s entrance.

Hughes wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip by. He drew his longsword and struck at the snake’s body.

A metallic clang rang through the air. Hughes looked at the spot where his blade had landed—only a thin line of blood trickled out. The snake, about fifteen meters long, barely registered the wound; it was insignificant to such a massive creature.

Injured, the serpent had no intention of lingering; it crawled away without a backward glance, intent on finding a place to digest whatever it had swallowed.

“Carolla-Utara!” Without hesitation, Hughes cast a bolt of lightning upon the snake.

A bowl-sized hole was blasted open in its body, and a strange aroma of cooked meat wafted through the cave.

The giant snake, now inflamed with rage, began to turn, its upper body lifted high into the air—only to freeze suddenly.

Hughes, puzzled by this abrupt pause, watched as the faint red markings on the serpent’s body began to glow. The swollen lump in its belly slowly receded, and the gaping wound from the lightning strike gradually healed. Its scales shifted from black to pale red, and its body elongated, growing from fifteen meters to twenty-four.

Hughes didn’t wait for the snake to recover; he fled the cave first.

As Hughes escaped, he heard repeated roars echoing from within. He was soon outside, and the giant serpent followed close behind, coiling its mountainous body and facing him directly.

“Let’s do this!” Hughes gripped his longsword and cast an ice shield upon himself—he couldn’t afford to be as careless as before.

“Wait, I think we can talk, can’t we?” The serpent raised its massive head, and a deep voice emanated from its body.

“You—” Hughes was speechless, his mind a storm of confusion. How had a common python suddenly mutated into this? Even the banshee hadn’t transformed so drastically. He’d only been away a week; no matter how much the snake ate, it shouldn’t have become like this.

Silence fell, neither side moved.

The serpent seemed perfectly content, stretching its body as if savoring the sunlight.

“Who are you?” Hughes didn’t believe the snake had simply learned to speak through mutation—he suspected a soul, much like his own, had fused with this body.

“Me? Let me think… It’s been so long, my memory’s a bit hazy.” The serpent shook its head, as if genuinely pondering.

“Oh, oh, you can call me Gegariel. At least, that’s what others used to call me.” The serpent spoke as it slithered closer, its massive form looming.

“I can see your strength. If we fight, we’ll both suffer for it. Why don’t we each take a step back?” Gegariel’s eyes gleamed with a strange red light.

“What would you gain by killing me? Rather than mutual destruction, why not make a deal? What do you say?” Gegariel’s tone was enticing.

“Beep! Gegariel: Strength: 6.31, Agility: 5.34, Constitution: 11.17, Mental Power: ??? Status: ???”

“What do I get?” Hughes eyed the data from his chip, his expression dark. The chip had highlighted the warning in red.

This level of power was already beyond Hughes’s ability to handle. Unsure of Gegariel’s intentions, but seeing no immediate threat, Hughes decided to follow the serpent’s lead.

“No need to be so tense. I won’t harm you—after all, you have such beautiful eyes.”

Hughes wondered if Gegariel was merely stalling for time. He knew his eyes were unusual, but nothing particularly special.

“Oh, you don’t seem to know.” The serpent looked at Hughes with a mocking expression.

“What do you really want?”

“Beep! Data updated!”

“Beep! Gegariel: Strength: 9.38, Agility: 8.24, Constitution: 14.17, Mental Power: ??? Status: ???”

“Damn it!” Hughes regretted ever coming here as he watched the chip’s updated data.

“Oh! You sensed it, didn’t you?” Gegariel seemed to understand Hughes’s reaction.

“As I was saying, even though I could easily kill you now, I choose not to. I can let you go, perhaps even offer you something in return. What do you think?” Gegariel’s excitement was palpable.

“What do you want from me?” Hughes was gradually calming down. He’d felt tense before, but as Gegariel said, the serpent could kill him at any moment but chose not to—there must be something about him Gegariel valued.

“Agree to help me with one thing when you become a full-fledged wizard, and I’ll let you go. Remember, you have no choice.” With that, Gegariel released a terrifying aura.

The oppressive force made Hughes struggle to breathe.

“I… I… I agree,” Hughes managed to reply.

“Good!” Hearing Hughes’s consent, Gegariel withdrew the aura.

“Whew… whew…” Without the pressure, Hughes collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

“Since you’ve agreed, I’ll come find you when you become an official wizard. Also, take this.” A red snake scale, half the size of Hughes’s palm, floated toward him.

Hughes held the smooth, cold scale in his hand.

“Beep! Data link detected. Connect?”

“Not yet.” Hughes didn’t dare trust the contents immediately.

“I’ve left something useful for you in that scale. I didn’t kill you, so I won’t tamper with it,” Gegariel seemed to know exactly what Hughes was thinking.

“Aren’t you worried you won’t find me?” Hughes was wary of curses or contracts, and the ease of this encounter made him suspicious.

“Hah! You think all races are like humans? If you’re confident you can escape me, you’re welcome to try.” Gegariel spoke with absolute certainty.

Hughes didn’t know what future powers the serpent might possess, but its mental strength was already on par with a true wizard. The chip could only scan up to third-level apprentices, and Gegariel had surpassed that in mere moments.

“Besides, you’ll understand eventually. What I want you to do will benefit us both. For the sake of your eyes, I won’t harm you.”

Hughes fell silent. He had no idea what made him so valuable to Gegariel. Despite hearing time and again that his eyes protected him, his chip never detected anything unusual.

“Oh, right—there are three more fruits on the tree in the cave. Their effects can’t compare to the first, but your body should withstand them. You may eat them.” Gegariel, basking in the sunlight, suddenly recalled the tree in the cave.

Thus, man and serpent both fell into silence.

Hughes pondered how to extricate himself, while Gegariel lazily enjoyed the sun.

“Well, I must be going. I look forward to our next meeting.” As Gegariel spoke, his body began to shrink, dwindling down to a one-meter-long snake. He glanced at Hughes once more, then slithered into the forest without a backward glance.

Hughes was dumbfounded—he hadn’t expected Gegariel to possess such abilities.

With Gegariel gone, Hughes finally relaxed. He didn’t know what task lay ahead, but at least he’d saved his own life.

Hughes found a relatively clean spot and sat down, examining the scale in his hand, debating whether to use it.

The scale was smooth and cold, its edges as sharp as any blade.

“Chip! Begin the link!”

“Beep! Link successful. Due to the volume of information, estimated reception time: eight minutes.”

Hughes had no reason to distrust Gegariel. He was also eager to learn more about his own eyes, which Gegariel had mentioned twice.