Chapter 47: Lakeshore (2)

As I went down following the river, I didn’t run into any dangerous animals.

Normally, all kinds of animals come to rivers, but I don’t know if it was because of the strong current or the golden frog, there weren’t any to be seen.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t encounter animals at all. Small animals would appear from time to time.

Title) This is a lizard, right?

WildGrills (photo of a huge lizard)

What species is this? Isn’t it too big?

Of course, small by the standards of the Forest of Four Seasons.

As soon as the lizard saw me, it ran away at full speed.

It’s fine to avoid fights, but curiosity is curiosity, so I asked in the gallery.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) It’s a giant lizard. How about catching it and eating it?

ㄴWildGrills) It’s a good idea, but it ran away.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Hmm. It seems it instinctively knew you are strong and fled.

ㄴWildGrills) I don’t think that’s it haha…

ㄴAllFather) Judging by its appearance, it’s an iguana. Since this is the Forest of Four Seasons, it seems to have grown a lot.

ㄴWildGrills) Is it herbivorous?

ㄴAllFather) Yes. It’s herbivorous, so you don’t need to fear it. Even so, be careful because of its size.

ㄴWildGrills) And the taste?

ㄴAllFather) It should taste like normal meat.

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

But regretting it early or late is the same. I left the disappointment behind and kept walking.

Gurgle—

As I moved further downstream, the current slowed.

The width of the river also became quite large. This is probably the lower part.

Along the way, there were no spatial distortions or sudden environmental changes.

Bzzzzzz—

But the problem was the giant mosquitoes.

At first, I thought it was just a matter of perspective.

But when that thing threatened me with its sharp stinger, I understood it was a monster.

Clang!

In panic, I managed to block it with my shield.

My golden shield is dented from the muscular mushroom, but it’s still useful.

As soon as I blocked it, I immediately drew the sword at my left side.

Slash!

And I struck the mosquito, which was the size of my head.

Because of its size, it was cleanly cut in two.

Seeing it twitch on the ground, I was left speechless.

‘Did I fall into a dark fantasy world?’

I shook my head. It’s better to believe that this forest is the one that’s messed up.

But there’s something worrying. That giant mosquito.

Then what about bees?

If those colony-living insects were also huge…

Imagining swarms the size of my head attacking me is terrifying.

‘Good thing there are no hives near the cave.’

Thinking that, I left the mosquito’s corpse behind.

After taking a few steps, I heard a sound behind me.

Shasha—

Since I couldn’t ignore even the slightest noise, I turned around startled.

Not forgetting to raise my shield at the same time.

Tap tap tap!

The iguana I saw earlier was running away with the mosquito in its mouth.

I stared at it, stunned, as it disappeared at great speed.

This place is impossible to process.

‘There must be even stranger things than that.’

How many more will I have to see? How exciting.

I continued moving silently downstream.

Now I carried the sword in my hand, ready to react at any moment.

I don’t know how long I walked. Maybe an hour.

But there was nothing really remarkable.

Splash!

The only remarkable thing were the fish.

From time to time, huge fish leapt out of the water.

Maybe it’s my imagination, but they seem much bigger than the ones I’ve caught.

Since this is the lower part of the river, not the upper, there should be more fish.

‘I could place the trap here…’

Splashhh!

Just as I thought that, something shot out from the river.

It was smaller than a whale, but far too big to be a fish.

Its black body was imposing just to look at.

Splash!

When it submerged again, it splashed a large amount of water.

I stood there staring, unable to react.

‘…Are there whales in rivers?’

I felt a strong urge to go back.

I can deal with normal animals, but not that.

Even so, I wanted to see the end of the river. I couldn’t give up.

So, with my heart tense, I kept moving downstream.

Then—

“Ha… damn.”

I let out an exclamation from deep within.

More than a curse, it was a sigh of disbelief.

“Is this a sea or a lake?”

At the end of the river, a huge lake stretched out.

Although calling it a lake is strange, since it was very shallow.

The water was so clear that the bottom could be seen perfectly.

‘This is like it’s telling me I can’t get out.’

I felt my spirits starting to break.

I sighed and posted in the gallery.

I wanted to see some reactions to cheer myself up a bit.

Title) I found a nice lake

WildGrills (photo of the huge lake)

Following the river I reached a lake. Nice, right?

How am I supposed to escape haha

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) It’s a beautiful landscape. I’d like to take a boat and recite a poem.

ㄴWildGrills) Huh?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Is there a problem?

ㄴSwordmaster) Read the situation. Do you think Grills has the leisure to go boating?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Hmm. You’re right. I apologize. I was distracted by the scenery.

ㄴWildGrills) It’s fine…

ㄴBut it really is nice haha

ㄴI’m going to draw that.

ㄴThere are quite a lot of rocks in the lake.

ㄴDoesn’t it look like the depth is very shallow?

ㄴHey. What’s that blurry thing in the back? It looks huge.

ㄴIsn’t it just a rock?

ㄴGrills, it’s hot, just jump in and dive already.

ㄴWildGrills) It’s shallow, if I dive I’ll crack my head;;

ㄴA lake and it’s shallow? Are you sure it’s a lake?

ㄴWildGrills) No idea. It’s too big to be a pond, but too shallow to be a lake.

ㄴNormally that would be a swamp.

ㄴWildGrills) There are many rocks, so it’s not a swamp.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Do you have good footwear? To pass through there you absolutely need military boots.

ㄴWildGrills) That’s why I’m hesitating. I wanted to ask you, but I feel like I’ve already asked too much, so I’ll ask someone else.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Yeah, I’m not good with shoes either. I don’t know about my people, but among humans there are many better than me.

ㄴWildGrills) I’ll have to get shoes later.

Thinking about it, I focused on getting clothes, but completely neglected shoes.

For someone who has to walk for long periods, shoes are very important.

I wanted to ask the dwarf, but as he himself said, it already feels like I depend on him too much, so I’ll pass.

Even the dwarf advised that, at least for shoes, it’s better to ask someone else.

‘I thought military boots were only used by reservists.’

Who would have thought I’d end up looking for them here. Life really goes in circles.

But more than boots, in this case what matters is that they’re waterproof.

If I wear wet shoes for a long time, not only will I get sick, but my skin will swell.

‘Isn’t there rubber in the auction house…? There isn’t. Should I just endure today?’

I’m hesitating between enduring today or going back.

I could return, but it feels like a waste.

It’s not like I’ve reached a dead end—I can’t give up so quickly.

‘Yeah. I can also make a raft. I’ll explore a bit more.’

If the depth increases even a little, I’ll go back immediately.

I nodded and started moving through the shallowest areas.

It felt like I was going around the lake, but I was still making progress.

‘If I keep this up, I might be able to cross the lake.’

It seems I can reach the other side without needing a raft.

Though there are puddles along the way, so getting my shoes wet is unavoidable.

As I walked carefully, alert to my surroundings—

“Grrrk.”

“Grrk. Grrk.”

“Huh?”

I heard a strange sound. Right in front of me.

When I looked, I saw a bunch of large “rocks” gathered together.

It didn’t take long to realize they weren’t rocks, but living beings.

‘Crabs? Why are there crabs?’

They were crabs. Walking sideways.

And they weren’t normal—they were much bigger than a lobster.

Roughly the size of my torso.

They moved their pincers while their antenna-like eyes swayed.

I approached carefully.

Even as I got closer, they didn’t seem to have any sense of alertness. They just kept moving their pincers.

“……Fish?”

Yes, fish.

The crabs were eating fish corpses.

I had heard that crabs play the role of scavengers.

But even so, I don’t understand why there are fish corpses here.

‘With how shallow it is, they shouldn’t even be able to swim properly did they just have bad luck?’

First, I’ll take a photo to identify the species.

I took a photo of the crabs calmly eating and uploaded it to the gallery.

Title) Does anyone know what species this is?

(Photo of crabs eating)

I was walking along the lake shore and saw crabs eating.

They’re about the size of my torso. Does anyone know what species they are?

ㄴAre there crabs in lakes?

ㄴYes. They’re experts at adapting. They live wherever there’s water.

ㄴThey say crab is quite tasty.

ㄴFrom how it looks, you could roast it and eat it.

ㄴAllFather) It’s a Gafers crab, suitable for consumption. Normally they’re the size of a fist.

ㄴWildGrills) Don’t they have parasites or something?

ㄴAllFather) There’s nothing that fire can’t kill.

So as long as I don’t eat it raw, it’s fine. Perfect.

When I go back, I should take one with me.

‘It won’t be too hard, right?’

Just in case, I stabbed it with HeavenlyDemon’s sword.

Crunch!

With a satisfying sound, the shell was pierced.

The crab, skewered by the sword, flailed its legs and pincers.

The other crabs didn’t react and kept eating fish.

‘As expected of HeavenlyDemon’s sword. No need to doubt it.’

I shook the sword and dropped the crab.

The crab, with its shell pierced, flipped over and trembled for a while.

I felt a bit of guilt, but only for a moment.

“Grrrk.”

“Grrk. Grrk.”

Other crabs began to approach. Toward the injured one.

I watched to see what they would do.

Then, the crabs surrounding it raised their large pincers.

Crunch! Crunch!

They struck the overturned crab.

Each blow caused the shell to break into pieces.

Eventually, it stopped trembling. It died.

And the dead crab became food for the others.

“……”

Nature is cruel.

I shook my head and kept walking.

Along the lake shore, there were countless crabs.

Almost all the same.

Normally, a lake has a diversity of life, so this was strange.

‘How did crabs dominate the entire shore?’

Their pincers are strong, but they’re still weak creatures.

With that question in mind, I came across a huge rock.

Much bigger than me.

It was strange for a rock to stick out like that out of nowhere, but I could go around it.

“Grrk.”

“Huh?”

But the rock made a strange sound.

The same sound the crabs made.

I frowned and stared at it.

Rumble—

With a slight vibration, several legs emerged from beneath the “rock.”

And on both sides, enormous pincers appeared.

It was already a large rock, but now it seemed much bigger than before.

So big that I had to fully raise my head to look at it.

“Grrk. Grrrk.”

“……”

Eyes, like antennae, stared directly at me.

Seeing that, I had no choice but to slowly step back.

The rock—no, the enormous crab—watched me for a moment and then moved its legs.

Fortunately, it didn’t approach me, but turned its body instead. It seemed to have lost interest.

‘…Wait a second.’

Don’t crabs move sideways?

Just as I thought that—

Whoosh!

A massive pincer came down toward my head.

And to repeat, crabs fulfill the role of “cleaners.”

Booom!

“Ahhh!”

That means they’re omnivores.