Stereotypes X Not

He was being carried by Giant Snake.

Although I don't know where I am ahead.

But that feeling became more and more obvious.

They appeared to be approaching the nest.

The snake's den.

Sunlight struggled to penetrate the layers of scaly leaves of the towering forest canopy in the basin, sparingly casting down a few strands of gold.

Beneath our feet lies a rare, pristine landscape, with vast expanses of translucent Quartz Sand covering the woodland.

The Giant Snake swam about, and because it was a being of Nen Aura, it seemed to have no physical form and made no sound.

But it makes a subtle, pleasant "rustling" sound, like crushing dry snowflakes.

The air was filled with a strange freshness, carrying the dampness of a forest after the rain and a kind of indescribable, cool, and light fragrance—it was surprisingly like this.

It's almost unbelievable.

There were no rotting branches or leaves, no stagnant mud, and even the usual chirping of insects and birds was scarce. Only the faint sound of the wind rustling through the trees, like the low hum of an organ, could be heard from afar.

It's so clean.

It's so clean here; it doesn't look like Snake Nest at all.

Shouldn't it be a scene of bones scattered everywhere, rotting and reeking?

Instead, it resembled a pristine, undisturbed place.

That's somewhat of a stereotype.

However, it was only the faint feeling in the air that made Kevin associate this place with the Resentful Eater Snake.

Continue forward.

The image is no longer so clear and simple.

As far as the eye could see, the enormous Snake bone were the only "debris" in this pristine place.

What you see first is actually the burial place of these snakes themselves.

They were not scattered randomly, but rather like some kind of sacred offering, carefully half-buried in the glistening sand.

These bones were dazzlingly white, their surfaces as smooth as meticulously polished ivory, gleaming with a warm luster in the dappled light.

The largest skeletons, hundreds of meters long, with scaly spines and massive ribs guarding the center of the woodland.

The remains of Resentful Eater Snake?

It looks like this.

The conjecture in the Record Book suggests that the ecology of the Resentful Serpent is a process of transformation from a creature of Nen Aura to a physical being.

In their Infancy after hatching from the egg, perhaps to avoid powerful predators, they transform into a Nen Aura form that is easier to hide and evade.

In this form, the Resentful Eater Snake has no physical form; it is like Nen Beast constructed purely of Nen.

Although some physical means have been lost, the security level has been significantly improved.

Kevin speculated at the time that this was due to the relatively dangerous ecological environment of the Dark Continent.

Once it reaches a certain stage of growth, the Resentful Eater Snake will begin to materialize through predation.

However, at this stage, it is still possible to combine the virtual and the real.

The reason for this judgment is that Kevin was facing a situation at this stage when he was in the Village.

When needed, it can be condensed into a physical form; when not needed, it can be used in the form of Nen Aura.

This is why Kevin's Nen ability was needed to completely eliminate the Resentful Eater Snake that existed at the time.

Because the massive amount of Nen Aura at the core needs to be removed in a very short time.

Don't expect a novice Nen user to do something like this.

Only Kevin's pharmaceutical capabilities can meet this condition.

With the preparation of the potion, the target was completely killed from the state of Nen Aura being.

What we are seeing now may be the final stage of adulthood.

Having truly possessed a physical form, the illusory state of Resentment vanished.

As for why he wanted to transform from a better Nen Aura form into a physical form, Kevin thought it might be because of the food.

In the Nen Aura form, it is clear that it does not need to prey on flesh and blood.

Using Snake Venom to solidify the Resentment within a creature's body, absorbing this Resentment is sufficient.

However, it is clear that as children grow, this Resentment cannot be perfectly compensated for; simply put, insufficient food leads to malnutrition.

How could a Nen Aura form possibly prey on flesh and blood?

They need to gradually change their diet, incorporating more nutritious meat and blood into their diet, so that they can grow taller and healthier with sufficient nutrients.

Kevin speculated that this might be because the Nen Aura form grows slowly and requires a large amount of food.

This can lead to a bottleneck as the risk level increases infinitely with growth.

This means there aren't enough prey creatures available, and the risk of preying on creatures that can fill their stomachs is extremely high.

Under these unavoidable circumstances, it transformed into a physical form and rapidly increased its strength until it reached adulthood.

It can be said that this growth path minimized the Danger Level.

Of course, all of this was just his conjecture.

They were being dragged forward.

We entered this peculiar Dense Forest.

Heading inwards.

There, a Pool lay quietly.

The Pool was unbelievably clear; one could see the bottom at a glance—where it was covered with even more tiny, equally clean and white fragments of Snake bone, like a thick layer of pearl sand.

By the pool, the drooping Snake Berry Vine are laden with plump berries, their skins a translucent ruby red, oozing a clear, viscous juice and emitting a cool, refreshing minty aroma.

Occasionally, a ripe fruit bursts open with a "pop," and the sticky juice drips down, rolling on the Quartz Sand into tiny Amber Ball that refract a faint light.

Then a surge of energy erupted.

Kevin could feel it very clearly.

This stuff is rich in a strong aroma.

Combined with its surroundings, the faint Resentment that permeated the place blended in with the atmosphere.

It has become an environment that is extremely easy to adapt to the Infancy of the Resentful Eater Snake.

Oops.

This is truly a perfect nest.

There is no such description in the Record Book.

This suggests that this might be a more central, rear area. So why weren't any other snakes seen?

It can't be that my previous guess was wrong.

The Giant Snake continued forward.

Kevin and Melusina kept observing their surroundings.

In the past, they would have avoided such places from a great distance and would never have come near them.

Just like my initial attitude towards that tower.

We seem to have arrived here in a somewhat safe situation, so we should take a closer look.

This is the environment of the Dark Continent.

Every minute and every second is a spectacle.

However, amidst this almost dreamlike purity and tranquility, something invisible and viscous weighed heavily on my heart.

It wasn't a smell, nor a sound; it was a chill that penetrated directly to the bone marrow, a thick, unyielding resentment and pain lingering after the passing of a massive life.

The Resentment began to intensify.

It silently permeates the luster of every grain of sand, hides beneath the icy touch of every white bone, and entwines itself in the excessively clear reflection of the Pool.

The more the sunlight tried to illuminate the area, the deeper the shadows cast by the enormous Snake bone appeared, as if countless cold gazes were staring at you from their empty eye sockets.

Kevin couldn't help but rub his neck.

I already have goosebumps all over my body.

"As expected, how could the lair of such a creature be as tranquil and elegant as the outside?"

It seems this is not a stereotype.

The air remained fresh, but beneath that freshness lay a deathly stillness—the purest and heaviest Resentment, left behind after being absorbed and purified by this eerie land, silently filling this excessively clean space.

The Giant Snake that feeds on Resentment indeed lives in this area heavy with Resentment.

The area where Snake bone were buried outside, though seemingly dangerous, is actually a place that brings peace of mind.

Instead of a clean environment filled with piles of corpses, the heavy pressure of Resentment surrounding it makes people like Kevin feel extremely uncomfortable.

Because Resentment, from beginning to end, is harmful to humankind.

Finally.

Here.

Kevin saw more Resentful Eater Snake, and the scene that should have been in the lair.