Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-26397825-20160524033118/@comment-27425734-20160526223916

So, I'm trying to remember this story (it was more of a legend) that I read in middle school, but I can't remember the name. I'm using it as a basis for a new RWBY OC, you see. Here's the gist of a story:

A hunter in a village (he was really respected by everyone; might have been noted to be the best in the village) decides to kill this monstrous, man-eating serpent that has been terrorizing the village for time. The serpent is described as having this beautiful glittering gemstone in the center of its forehead, and I think it was quite intelligent too (Possibly capable of human speech). Nobody had managed to kill it before, but the man claims that he can and will do so. Nobody believes him, and so they just ignore him.

Nonetheless, the man arrives at the entrance to its lair which is accessible via narrow passageway that leads to a deep cavern (I think it's a cavern, again, my memory is a little fuzzy). Before going in, he coats himself in oil then slithers into the passage. The snake tries to kill him by constricting him, but the oil makes it impossible for it  to do so. Eventually, the snake exhausts itself, and the man cuts its head off (I forget the exact method of killing he uses) then is bathed in its blood. Gross as that might sound, the man has a strange mark shaped like the snake itself branded into the skin of his shoulder by the snake's acidic blood.

Afterwards, when he tries to show it to the other villagers, as proof of his kill, none of them can see it. His wife lies, and tells him she can, but she does so only to soothe his doubts. I forget what happens at the end, but I think the man either retrieves the snake's gemstone (Which became an ordinary rock after its death) as proof of his kill, or is banished then goes insane. But, for some reason, I want to say the ending was quite tragic (The serpent may also have been sacred to the village too, but I'm not certain about that either).

Sound familiar to anyone?