Battle with the Giant Python

"Hissss..."

The giant python raised its upper body high, its fine scales exceptionally beautiful beneath the flecks of light refracted by the sun. Its slit-like pupils fixed tightly on Taylor, and Taylor refused to yield, staring straight into its eyes as four fireballs appeared in his palms.

Taylor knew that the giant python before him was highly intelligent, nothing like the fox, water buffalo, or the gorilla and tiger frozen in place not far away.

The giant python stared at Taylor for a moment before suddenly lunging forward, opening its bloody maw and biting straight at him. Taylor leaped lightly, a breeze surging beneath his feet. With a backhanded motion, he hurled all four fireballs from his palms, blasting four small, bloody holes into the python's scales.

The immense pain made the thick giant python let out an enraged hiss. With a sweep of its tail, it lashed at Taylor's waist like an indestructible iron whip.

Suspended in midair with nowhere to push off, Taylor had no choice but to play Spider-Man for a moment. The Spider's Eye on his chest shot out a strand of webbing, pulling him onto a tree trunk.

Before Taylor could steady himself on the trunk, the giant python rapidly climbed the tree. Its powerful muscles directly crushed the massive tree in two, and the broken halves fell helplessly to the ground. Taylor immediately split off several strands of webbing, securing himself between several large trees.

"Hissss..."

The giant python raised its head high and hissed at Taylor above it. Taylor fired several Crescent Wind Blades in succession, striking the python's scales. After hitting them, the wind blades merely knocked away a few translucent scales and caused no further harm to the giant python.

"After all, Wind Blade Spell isn't specifically meant to amplify damage. It's already pretty good that Gale Spell can reach this level."

Swinging on a strand of webbing, Taylor jumped onto the main trunk of another tree. After dispersing the breeze in his hands, blazing flames began to rise from them once more, condensing into balls of fire.

Next, he flew around like he was flying a kite, continuously bombarding the not-so-agile giant python with fireballs. Whenever the python tried to wind its way up a tree, he smashed fireballs at its head. The giant python roared in fury again and again, but it could do nothing about Taylor darting around above it.

Taylor not only kited it with fireballs, but occasionally laid down webs to hinder its speed. In all its years dominating the southern part of Monster Forest, it had never encountered such a shameless wizard apprentice.

In the end, the enormous giant python collapsed to the ground unwillingly only after Taylor blinded both its eyes with fireballs and detonated several more fireballs in its mouth when it opened it. Half its head had been blown apart by Taylor's improved fireballs.

In a mud pit not far away, Taifas also staggered out of the mud. He carried a crocodile corpse in one hand, its belly and internal organs already scooped clean, while his other hand had transformed into several tentacles wrapped around another crocodile's head. That crocodile had only its head left as well.

"Not bad, Brother Taylor. Looks like your combat ability has already surpassed mine."

Seeing that Taylor had killed, eliminated, restrained, or immobilized all seven magical beasts, Taifas released the crocodile corpse in his hand and even gave Taylor a thumbs-up, revealing a mouthful of white teeth beneath his muddy face.

"You did well too. After all, it was the Saltwater Giant Crocodiles' home turf, and you took down two crocodiles."

Taylor nodded and returned the professional flattery before ignoring Taifas, who was grinning foolishly to himself. He walked over to the gorilla and three-eyed tiger, cut off three of the gorilla's fingers, crippled the eye on the three-eyed tiger's forehead, and retrieved the round badges stuck to them.

According to the Apprentice Wizard Basic Rules, magical beasts that had not launched an attack in front of a round badge could not be killed.

They had long since witnessed Taylor's overwhelming might. Even the giant python, the strongest among them, had been casually killed by him. After Taylor cut off the gorilla's fingers and destroyed the tiger's eye, they did not dare utter a word and immediately fled with their tails between their legs into the depths of the forest.

After the two regrouped, they continued along the patrol mission route to complete the remaining journey. Along the way, seeing that Taylor was still so taciturn, Taifas could not help but speak up.

"Actually, running into danger this time was beneficial to us too. We gained combat experience, and after reporting the magical beasts we encountered to the Miscellaneous Affairs Office, we can receive point compensation."

"Oh."

Taylor nodded, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

Taifas had grown utterly used to this. Suddenly, he spotted something resembling a bird's nest in the distance. The nest was made of reddish wood that still flickered with tiny sparks. His eyes lit up. He patted Taylor on the shoulder, told him to wait, and then dashed beneath the nest.

His hands immediately transformed into tentacle-like things and rapidly climbed to the top of the tree. He plucked down the nest, took an oval bird egg from it, and tossed the nest aside.

Taifas carried the egg in his hands and took two steps forward before remembering something. He went back to pick up the nest, placed the egg back inside, and carried the nest over to Taylor.

Taylor did not ask why Taifas was carrying a bird's nest and egg. The two continued their mission until it was complete and they were about to part ways and return to their own residences. Only then did Taifas hand the nest and egg to Taylor.

Holding the bird's nest and the still-warm egg in both hands, Taylor looked up at Taifas in confusion. He had no idea what the man was thinking, suddenly stuffing a bird egg into his hands.

Under Taylor's puzzled gaze, Taifas scratched his head and said with a chuckle, "I noticed that Brother Taylor currently lacks a large-scale sensing spell. But those spells are easy to learn and hard to master, so I'm giving you this bird egg. It can fly in the sky as your eyes, becoming a shortcut for large-scale sensing magic. The corresponding breeding method is also in the Apprentice Library, so it'll be easy to handle."

It turned out that Taifas had silently observed Taylor during the mission as well. He had discovered that he could distinguish enemies through the pheromones drifting through the air, but Taylor seemed to lack that ability. This bird egg could make up for his friend's weakness.

Moreover, he seemed to think that his newly acquainted close friend was a little lonely. Someone who was not lonely would not seriously listen to him ramble on for so long.

Taylor looked at Taifas's sincere face, then at the bird egg in his arms. Suddenly, he felt that this guy's chatterbox nature was not so annoying after all.

"Thanks."

Waving at Taifas as he walked away, Taylor turned and headed toward the Apprentice Library.