Chapter 47 - Lakeside (2)

I hadn't encountered any dangerous animals on my way down the river. Rivers usually attracted all sorts of animals, but whether it was the strong current or the golden frogs, there were none in sight.

That wasn't to say I hadn't encountered any animals at all. I occasionally ran into small ones.

This is a lizard, right?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a fucking huge lizard)

What species even is this? It's ridiculously big.

Small by the standards of the Forest of Four Seasons, that is.

The lizard had scurried away the moment it saw me, too. I was glad to avoid a fight, but I was still curious, so I asked the forum.

└Heavenly Demon: An enormous lizard indeed. Why not catch it and eat it?

└Wild Grylls: Good idea, but it ran away.

└Heavenly Demon: Hmm. It seems to have instinctively fled upon sensing your strength, my honored friend.

└Wild Grylls: I don't think that was it, haha...

└Allfather: Judging by its appearance, it's an iguana. It seems to have grown considerably larger in the Forest of Four Seasons.

└Wild Grylls: Is it an herbivore?

└Allfather: Yes. It's an herbivore, so there's no need to be wary of it. Still, do be careful given its size.

└Wild Grylls: How does it taste?

└Allfather: It should taste like ordinary meat.

What a waste. I should've caught it instead of taking a photo.

But regret always comes too late, no matter how soon you feel it. I put my disappointment aside and moved on.

BURBLE...

The current grew slower as I followed the river down. It had also grown considerably wider; apparently I was in its lower reaches now.

Space hadn't warped along the way, nor had the environment abruptly changed.

BZZZZZZ!

Instead, the problem was the gigantic mosquito flying around.

At first I wondered if my sense of perspective was off. Only when it menaced me with its pointed proboscis did I realize it was a monster.

TING!

I barely managed to block it with my shield in my panic. The golden shield might have been dented by the muscle mushroom, but it was still plenty useful.

As soon as I blocked, I drew the sword hanging at my left hip.

SLASH!

Then I swung at the mosquito, which was as big as my head. Given its size, it split neatly in two.

Watching it fall to the ground and twitch left me dumbfounded.

'Have I landed in a dark fantasy world?'

I shook my head. Better to believe it was just this forest that was strange.

But something worried me. If mosquitoes were this big, what about bees? How big would bees be, living in huge colonies?

The mere thought of a swarm of head-sized bees attacking me was horrifying.

'Thank God there isn't a hive near the cave.'

With that thought, I walked past the mosquito's remains.

A few steps later, a rustling sound came from behind me.

I couldn't help being sensitive to even the slightest noise, so I jumped and turned around. I didn't forget to raise my shield as I did.

PATTER-PATTER!

The iguana from earlier was running away with the mosquito's remains in its mouth. I stared blankly as it sped off.

There was simply no getting used to this place.

'There must be even weirder things out there, right?'

Just how much stranger would the things I encountered get? I could hardly wait.

I silently continued down the river. Now I kept my sword in hand, too, ready to strike back immediately.

How long had I been following the river? It felt like I'd walked for an hour, but nothing in particular stood out.

SPLASH!

The only things of note were the fish. Every so often, a large one leaped out of the water.

It might have been my imagination, but they looked much bigger than the ones I'd caught. This was downstream, not the fast-flowing upper reaches, so there would be more fish here.

'I could set up the fish trap here...'

SPLOOOSH!

I was just about to think this wouldn't be a bad place for the trap.

Something a little too small to be a whale, and far too large to be a fish, surged out of the river downstream. Its pitch-black body radiated a terrifying presence just to look at.

SPLASH!

Water shot up as its enormous body plunged back into the river. All I could do was stare blankly.

'... Do whales live in rivers, too?'

The urge to turn back immediately grew stronger and stronger. I could handle most beasts, but there was no way I could take that thing.

Still, I wanted to see where the river ended, so I couldn't give up. And so I continued silently downstream, tense all the while, until...

"Ha. Fuck."

An exclamation welled up from deep within my chest. It was closer to a sigh of utter disbelief.

"Is this a sea or a lake?"

A vast lake stretched out at the end of the river. A lake so shallow it barely qualified as one.

The water was so clear I could see the bottom distinctly.

'It's practically stamping NO ESCAPE on my fate.'

I felt my spirits gradually breaking. With a sigh, I posted on the forum. I was feeling down, so I wanted to at least make a post and see the responses.

Found a pretty lake

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a vast lake)

Followed the river down and found a lake. Pretty, right?

How am I supposed to escape? Hahahaha.

└Heavenly Demon: A beautiful scene. I would like to take a little boat out there and recite a poem.

└Wild Grylls: Teacher?

└Heavenly Demon: Is something wrong?

└Sword Masta: Read the room. Do you think Grylls has the leisure to take a boat out?

└Heavenly Demon: Hmm. You have a point. I apologize. The beauty of the scenery seems to have entranced me for a moment.

└Wild Grylls: It's okay. It happens...

└It really is pretty though lol.

└Gonna paint that.

└Lots of rocks in that lake.

└Looks really shallow, too?

└Hey, what's that faint thing at the far end? Looks fucking huge.

└Isn't it just a rock?

└Grylls, it's hot out. Go take a refreshing dive.

└Wild Grylls: It's shallow. I'd crack my head open...

└A shallow lake? Is it even a lake?

└Wild Grylls: How should I know? Too big to be a pond, too shallow to be a lake.

└Usually that'd be a swamp.

└Wild Grylls: There's lots of gravel too, so it's not a swamp.

└Passing Dwarf: Got good shoes? Combat boots look essential if you're going through there.

└Wild Grylls: Yeah, that's been worrying me. I'd like to ask you, but I feel like I'm asking too much, so I'll try someone else.

└Passing Dwarf: Yeah, I'm not confident about shoes either. Shoes for my own kind, maybe, but plenty of people are better at making them for humans.

└Wild Grylls: I'll have to get a pair later.

Come to think of it, I'd talked about getting clothes but neglected shoes. They were crucial for someone who had to walk long distances.

I wanted to ask the dwarf, but as I'd just said, I felt too dependent on him, so I passed. He'd also advised me to ask someone else when it came to shoes.

'I thought I'd only ever wear combat boots again for reserve training.'

And here I was looking for them in this place. You never knew where life would take you.

Combat boots were one thing, but waterproofing mattered more in a situation like this. Wearing wet shoes for extended periods could make me sick, not to mention leave my skin swollen and waterlogged.

'Any rubber at the auction house...? Nope. Should I just put up with it for today?'

I couldn't decide whether to put up with it today or head straight back. I could go back now, but it felt unsatisfying. It wasn't as if I'd reached a dead end. I couldn't give up so soon.

'Right. I could make a boat to get across. Let's just investigate a little.'

I'd head back the moment the water got even a little deeper. Nodding to myself, I stuck to the shallowest areas I could find.

It felt like I was circling the lakeshore, but even that yielded results.

'Couldn't I get past the lake this way?'

It looked like I could reach the other side without taking a boat. Still, puddles dotted the way, so I couldn't avoid getting my shoes wet.

I was walking along, keeping an eye on my surroundings, when...

"Gurrgle."

"Gurgle. Gurgle."

"Huh?"

I heard a strange sound directly ahead. Looking over, I saw several large rocks clustered together.

It didn't take long to realize they weren't rocks, but living creatures.

'Crabs? Why are there crabs here?'

They were crabs. The kind that walked sideways. They were also much larger than lobsters—roughly the size of my upper body.

The crabs twitched their antenna-like eyes and worked their claws. I approached cautiously.

Even as I came closer, they kept busily moving their claws, seemingly without any wariness.

"... A fish?"

It was a fish. The crabs were eating a dead fish.

I'd heard in passing that crabs acted as scavengers, but that didn't explain why there was a fish carcass here.

'It's so shallow it'd have trouble swimming. Did it get unlucky?'

First, I'd take a photo and find out what species they were. I photographed the crabs enjoying their meal and posted it on the forum.

Anyone know what species these are?

(Photo of crabs enjoying a meal)

Was walking along the lakeshore and now I'm watching crabs eat.

They're roughly the size of my torso. Anyone know the species?

└Crabs live in lakes too?

└Yeah, they're adaptation pros. They'll live anywhere there's water.

└I hear crabs taste really good.

└They look ordinary enough. Probably fine to roast?

└Allfather: Those are edible Garpus crabs. Normally they're about the size of a fist.

└Wild Grylls: Do they have parasites or anything inside?

└Allfather: None that fire won't kill.

So as long as I didn't eat them raw, I'd be fine. Very satisfying news. I could take one back on the way home.

'They aren't too hard, are they?'

Just to make sure, I stabbed one with Heavenly Demon's sword.

CRUNCH!

With a satisfying crunch, the blade went straight through its shell. The impaled crab flailed its claws and legs.

The other crabs were too busy eating the fish to care whether one of their own died.

'That's Heavenly Demon's sword for you. I shouldn't doubt it.'

I shook the crab off my sword. It flipped onto its back and trembled for a while, its shell pierced through.

My twinge of guilt didn't last long.

"Gurrgle."

"Gurgle. Gurgle."

Crabs began gathering from elsewhere, heading toward the one with the pierced shell. I watched quietly, wondering what they were doing.

Soon, the crabs surrounding it raised their large claws.

CRUNCH! CRACK!

They brought their claws down on their upturned kin. With every blow, pieces of its shell shattered.

Eventually, it stopped even twitching. It was dead. The dead crab had become a meal for its own kind.

"..."

Nature really was cruel. Shaking my head, I moved on.

Countless crabs inhabited the lakeshore, almost all of them the same kind. Lakes usually supported a variety of life, so I couldn't help wondering.

'How did crabs take over the lakeshore?'

Their claws were powerful, but ultimately, these creatures were weak.

As I pondered that, I came face-to-face with a rock. It was much bigger than me.

It was a little strange to find a rock jutting up out of nowhere, but I could simply go around.

"Gurgle."

"Huh?"

Except a strange sound came from the rock—the same sound the crabs had made earlier.

Puzzled, I stared at it.

RUMBLE...

With a slight tremor, several legs suddenly emerged beneath the rock. Enormous claws appeared on either side, too.

The already huge rock grew even bigger. So big, in fact, that I had to tilt my head all the way back.

"Gurgle. Gurrgle."

"..."

Its antenna-like eyes stared directly at me. All I could do was back away, step by hesitant step.

The rock—no, the gigantic crab—watched me for a while, then scuttled its legs. Fortunately, it turned its body instead of approaching me. It seemed to have lost interest.

'... Wait a minute.'

Didn't crabs move sideways?

Just as that thought struck me...

WHOOSH!

An enormous claw dropped toward my head.

As I said, crabs serve as "scavengers."

BOOM!

"Aaargh!"

Meaning they're omnivores.