3 days had passed since the delivery job. Ben was now going on a more difficult one. He was handling this one by himself. The job he was about to go on might be more dangerous than the last one, so no one else was going with him.
It involved killing a giant serpent living near a village. It ate 10 livestock in a single night. The villagers want it eliminated before a villager was next on the menu.
Ben quickly drove to a village on Mt. Hakobe. It's located deep within the mountain range. The villagers there were raising livestock and selling them to butchers from nearby towns.
It took a hour, but he eventually arrived in the village. He went to the village chief's home and verified the job. The village chief was a middle-aged man that seems plain like other extra characters.
"Y-you're the one taking the job? Where are your adult teammates? Are they waiting outside?" The chief asked.
"I came here by myself." Ben answered.
"H-huh? H-ha ha ha, you must really like to prank people, boy." The chief laughed nervously.
"Does this look like a prank." He held up a piece of paper.
"N-no." The chief stammered.
He took the paper and read it carefully. His hands started shaking and his eyes bulged a little.
"NO WAY! THIS KID REALLY CAME HERE BY HIMSELF AND HE'S AN A-CLASS MAGE?!" The chief screamed in shock.
"Well? Can I complete the job or not? Other guilds might not take it today, so the odds are high your livestock will die tonight." Ben pointed out.
"W-well, I'll leave it to you. The Magic Council approved your rank, after all. But you know the risk, right? You could die on this job, so unless you're sure you can complete it, don't accept the job and return to your guild." The chief advised.
"I'm sure, don't worry." Ben nodded.
"Alright then. Don't say I didn't warn you." The chief responded.
He then led Ben to the farm where the attack occurred. The surrounding area had been destroyed. He also saw the trail of the giant serpent leading to the forest.
"It's diameter is about 2 meters, length 35-40 meters. With that size, 3 cows and 2 pigs won't be enough to satisfy it. It will come back here to eat. The village is a easy target for it with all this livestock." Ben said while looking at the plump cows and pigs on the farm.
"When did the attack occur?" He asked the chief.
"4 days ago. There haven't been any sightings of it since. We thought it left, but we're not too sure." The chief admitted.
"4 days. It must've finished digesting the food, or it's pretty close to doing so." Ben commented.
Serpents are slow eaters. They need some time to digest all their food because they eat prey whole. Ben didn't know a whole lot about this world's serpents, but they probably behaved just like the one's on Earth.
"Old man, that serpent could return here at any time, so I suggest you warn the villagers. Have them stay inside their homes so the serpent preys on livestock, not people." Ben insisted.
"I think you're right. I will tell everyone about this." The chief agreed with his suggestion.
"I'll look for it in the forest, but it might come here while I'm searching, so you need to be careful." He advised.
"Alright." The chief nodded.
After talking with the chief, Ben went to follow the serpent's trail. Even though 4 days went by, the serpent's trail was still clearly visible due to it's size. After walking for 15 minutes, Ben stumbled across a large cave.
"Should I destroy the cave? Hmm, no there might be something important inside. Besides, I'm not sure if the serpent's in there. My senses aren't that strong." He said out loud.
Ben elected not to destroy the cave and instead bait the serpent out. He headed into the forest to find the perfect bait. He came across a small boar after looking around for a few minutes. Ben knocked out with a punch.
After knocking the boar out, he tied it's legs up and took it to the cave. He placed it in front of the cave and slapped it to wake it up. After it woke up, Ben climbed a tree and hid.
The boar squealed because it couldn't stand with it's legs tied up. It would surely alert the serpent if it's inside, so Ben waited patiently. He stood there for a few minutes, but the serpent didn't come out of the cave.
"Damn, did it leave the cave already?" He cursed.
Ben decided to enter the cave and check even if it was risky. He freed the boar and walked into the cave. He kept his guard up while walking through the cave and his senses remained active.
'I'm picking up 2 scents. Are there 2 serpents in here instead of one.' He thought.
Ben continued walking until he reached the deepest part of the cave. When he got there, he found the serpents and sighed in relief. But the scene in front of him made him regret entering the cave to begin with.
'I never considered the possibility it wouldn't emerge because it was mating with it's spouse.' He sweat dropped.
What Ben saw in front of him were 2 serpents with brown scales. They were in mating season now. No wonder they didn't leave because they're currently indulged in worldly pleasure.
'Should I attack them now? It's the perfect chance.' Ben pondered.
'Ugh no, I'm not that cruel. I'll let them enjoy this for the last time. I wouldn't want anyone disturbing me if I was in the same situation, so I won't disturb others either.' He said mentally.
Ben took a step back and sat on the ground while waiting for the serpents to finish what they're doing. He leaned on the wall and spent his time reading some scanned books in A.I Chip's database.
'I hope they're done soon.' He thought.
After a minute, the serpents were done with their ritual.
'That was fast.' Ben commented.
He stood up and peeked at the serpent couple. He saw them conversing in serpent language. But Ben noted their expressions and could guess what they were talking about.
"Phew, that felt very satisfying, right babe?" The male serpent asked.
"Meh, it's average." The female serpent muttered.
"I-is that so?" The male serpent felt disappointed.
At least that's what Ben thought. It's already weird that he could understand their expression, not to mention their conversation.
'Maybe it's due to the fact I'm a Dragon Slayer, I can understand the expression of scaly beasts.' He thought.
While Ben pondered something useless, the serpents became aware of his presence.
"HIISSSS!" The serpents hissed.
"...Uh, hi?" Ben said with a sheepish smile.
"SHHYYAAA!" The serpents hissed again.
The serpents lunged at Ben at the same time with their mouths wide open. He ran to the entrance as fast as he could with a panicked expression on his face.
"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! LET'S TALK FIRST! I DIDN'T INTEND TO PEEK, I JUST HAPPENED TO SEE IT!" He shouted.
"SHHHYYAAA!" The female serpent was angry.
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" Ben yelled.
He ran until he was outside the cave, then stopped and turned to face the serpents.
"I don't know what you're saying, but if you want a fight, bring it on! My job is to either kill you or drive you out after all." Ben assumed a fighting stance.
The serpents now realize that Ben is their enemy, so they also got ready to fight.