After defeating the priests of death, Shawn, Ava, and the old man proceeded to the next room, where they had to fight another monster called Gordon, a venomous serpent that had a mythological origin. It was actually the queen of the most venomous snakes in the world.
Seeing it with his own eyes, Shawn couldn't believe that even mythological creatures also existed in this world. How rare to see such a creepy thing, especially that it wasn't just a normal Gordon, for it had twelve heads and twenty-four eyes.
Shawn was about to look at Gordon's face when Ava covered his eyes. "Don't look into its eyes, or you'll become a stone. I don't want to lose you yet," she whispered in his right ear.
After hearing Ava, Shawn remembered what he read from books when he was still on Earth: that anyone who looked into Gordon's eyes would turn into a stone, so he was wondering how he would fight it if he couldn't look into its eyes.
"I know." Shawn removed Ava's palm from his face and looked into her face instead. "How could a beautiful woman turn me into a stone?" he asked.
"I'm not a Gordon, so we won't know," Ava replied in her annoyed manner. "How about eating the newt I have cooked?" she started again.
"Cut that crap, guys. I will need your help with this one, so lend me a hand. I'll deal with six heads; the rest belongs to you, deal?" The old man didn't wait for their reply. He initiated a magical attack towards the half-asleep Gordon, arousing it from its sleep.
"Is he trying to make a curry out of Gordon's flesh?" Just hearing Ava's words, Shawn couldn't imagine it. He was already vomiting. "You're so dramatic, Shawn. Why won't you help us prepare our dinner?"
"Just stop it. I haven't eaten any amphibians before." Shawn kept nauseating, though there was nothing coming out of his mouth. He lost track of time, not knowing that it was almost time for dinner.
Ava and the old man started fighting the venomous Gordon. Shawn knew this would happen because that was how he knew them. They loved putting him in trouble, overestimating his ability, and pushing him to his limit, but now Shawn didn't see it as a bad thing, but as a way to challenge his fear.
As Shawn knew, Gordons could perform saint magic, and he could see it again—their hit points and mana. He thought about how convenient it was to peek into their status.
This one seemed to be the strongest of them all, the toughest among the enemies he had encountered. Even though he knew that the old man and Ava could finish it without him, he also wanted to help them for his own reputation.
Shawn didn't want to be a burden. He wanted to be useful without slowing them down due to his own incapability. He wondered if he could use his communication skills with this creature.
Shawn started to connect with Gordon's mind, and he began hearing many noises, having forgotten that this snake had twelve heads. They were so loud that Shawn's couldn't handle them all. He felt like his head was about to burst without understanding anything.
"Useless skill!" Shawn scowled for the first time while wondering how he could help the old man and Ava in this situation. He thought that he was a complete, hopeless loser. But he didn't have to worry or grieve for his misfortune.
Shawn instinctively charged at the snake using a sword that appeared on his hand out of nowhere. He was confused about how he got such a sharp sword that slashed the snake's head into two with just a single swing. But Shawn didn't have time to be confused yet; he focused on cutting the snake again and again, but it also kept regenerating its sliced body.
"What a cool sword you've got there, Shawn!" The old man shouted, watching Shawn handle a golden sword that glittered as he slashed Gordon's neck. It looked familiar to him.
Ava was surprised by how Shawn fought. He seemed to have transformed into someone she couldn't identify with. He was no longer wearing his old, crappy clothes, but a silvery armor that covered almost every part of his body.
"This is bad," Ava whispered. "Only the heroes can do this. Am I getting cheated by my own eyes? Is Shawn really a hero now? Isn't that a holy sword he is using against the Gordon?"
The old man wondered if what he was thinking was possible. As far as he could remember, Shawn had a mysterious origin, saying that he came from Earth; he was a stranger who got lost in this world.
A smile appeared on the old man's face. It was the first time he smiled, seeing an unexpected hero fighting a twelve-headed serpent with him. "Isn't it enough reason to be glad? Isn't it an honor to have been accompanied by a hero?"
Ava didn't say anything but watched carefully every move Shawn made. Every step he took was planned well, as if he were trained by a famous swordmaster. In Ava's eyes, Shawn became more attractive and cooler than his former self.
Shawn wondered why Ava and the old man were looking at him. They had stopped fighting the gordon and let him finish it. The old man's smile was telling him something he couldn't explain.
However, Shawn didn't let them lose his focus. He saved his curiosity for later. He focused on defeating the venomous Gordon by using his new-found power. He was also confused about it.
Ava and the old man could do nothing but cheer up for Shawn, encouraging him to do his best against the enemy as if they were just watching a basketball championship tournament.
Eventually, the twelve-headed Gordon was defeated. It didn't manage to regenerate when Shawn found its weak spot, which was its heart located on its forehead. He wondered how he realized that; the old man didn't even tell him about it.
"Clever boy!" The old man complimented, clapping his hands at Shawn, who was now picking up rubies on the ground that came from the snake, filling the pockets of his new armor. "I didn't expect that I'd been with a hero all this time."
"What do you mean by that, geezer?" Shawn asked curiously as he looked back and walked towards them. "Were you satisfied with my fighting style back there? I got so worked up fighting that tough serpent. But I'm still confused about how I did that."
Shawn unsheathed the magical sword that he got comfortable holding. Didn't it fit him very well to fight enemies using a sword? Perhaps he was slowly realizing his purpose in this world.
"I know you noticed it too. I'm just waiting for you to show your true colors. You're not just a hardworking kid with lots of determination, but you're also clever, and I think I have found someone who really deserves to be Ava's husband," the old man exaggerated.
"You—" Ava was frustrated again. Hearing her master's paradox, she blushed. She couldn't look directly at Shawn's face, realizing that he was so cool with his new appearance.
"You can't say that yet, geezer. I might have defeated the Gordon by myself just now, but we still have a long way to go, right?" Shawn asked politely.
"The truth is, I have been in this dungeon before. I have faced the demon lord, but I haven't defeated him. I was honestly a coward," the old man said.
"If you have been here before, how did you get out alive, Master? And why didn't you tell us about it?" Shawn and Ava simultaneously asked.
"I," the old man said, making a long pause. He knew he shouldn't lie towards these people who trust him very much, though he didn't know how they would react to what he was going to say.
"You what?" Ava asked impatiently. "Were you the one who brought that dragon who killed my parents, right? Why did you even save me?"
Shawn was surprised by the sudden change in the atmosphere again. He thought they were both happy, but then they were intensely overdramatic.
"Just calm, Ava. You're going too far. I know your master wouldn't do such a thing," Shawn tried to convince them.
"She's right, Shawn. It was all my fault. All this time, I have been hiding from the guilt and possible punishment of my wrongdoings, despite the fact that conscience has been hunting me every night," the old man admitted in an apologitic tone.
Ava started punching her knees as tears streamed down her face. She was looking at the ground and still couldn't accept the truth that someone saved her from the demonic dragon, which was the reason for her parents's deaths.
Why did he even train her if she promised to get revenge on whoever killed her parents? Did he mean to make her strong enough to fight against him?
Everyone was quiet, not saying anything, except for the sound of dripping tears coming from Ava's eyes, until Shawn found a way to break the silence.
"I think the old man didn't mean it, because if he did, he hadn't saved you and Ash at all. I think we missed something," Shawn started.
"What could I miss, Shawn?" Ava asked. Her face was filled with tears and emotions. "You don't know how it felt to be raised by someone who killed your true parents, so you can't tell me that!"
Shawn didn't know if he would keep going. He didn't want to add to the sadness that Ava felt. He might not know how she felt, but he was empathetic enough to put himself in her position.
"There's something wrong with your perspective, Ava. Please let me enlighten you," Shawn continued. "I know old man wouldn't want that tragedy too, because if he did, then he wouldn't be here, helping us get here out alive."
The old man remained silent. He was so indebted to Shawn, who still understood and remained neutral even in this kind of situation. He really deserved to be called a hero.
"The old man might have driven the demon lord crazy to follow him in our homeland, but he wasn't the one who killed your parents!" Shawn added.