Chapter 569 - The Promise of Unexplored Regions
"Uh, we're about here right now..."
The upstream part of the river was blank, but up to this point, what I had drawn from memory seemed correct.
Looking west, I could see the forest, and it seemed to be gradually ascending.
What do you do from here?
"We'll leave the boat here and go a little west. That way, we should be able to get above this drop structure."
Eh? ...Drop structure?
Ah, crap.
I used a super technical term, but...
[Utagehte] "Oh? What's that?"
[Tonen] "Sounds like an expert!"
[Carsene] "A mechanism to stabilize the riverbed's slope."
[Grand] "Civil Engineering Skill knowledge or something?"
etcetc...
"Uh, there seems to be someone knowledgeable, and I think that's correct."
It's like creating a place to temporarily slow down the river's flow. Not quite a dam, but...
Does that mean this area has been altered by human hands?
"Probably. I don't think it would look like this naturally."
After all, it was a place with a port and Ancient Ruins, so it wouldn't be strange for flood control measures to be in place.
However, it was strange that revetment work hadn't been done? Perhaps they wanted to keep it as natural as possible.
"Woof"
"Yeah, let's go. True and the others, are you alright?"
"Kyu~" ""Kyu!""
No problem. They went deep inland to gather Rumorella (bayberries) quite often, so they should be fine.
Heading west and climbing a gentle slope, the forest had a familiar feel to it.
"I think it's beyond the forest where I met Rigel."
Taking out the map and looking at it, if I continued west, I should reach the lake with the Ghillie Dhu's Divine Tree.
[Hikarun] "Whoa, amazing!"
[Newd] "Are Rigel-kun's siblings there?"
[Shumei] "Almost completed exploring the entire island!"
[Bluesha] "So exciting~(^○^)"
etcetc...
Nevertheless, today's objective was upstream of this river. I planned to go as far as possible.
"Woof?"
"Yeah. Today, it's towards the river."
So, saving that for another time, we headed towards the river.
Above the drop structure, the current was gentle, and it seemed we could still follow it upstream.
How far do you plan to go?
"Probably until we can't walk anymore. Climbing a cliff would be too tough, after all..."
Looking up, only plumes of smoke from the island's central volcano were visible, and the pressure from the mountain in front of it was immense.
Is Europe like this?
"Kyu!"
True and the others suddenly tensed up, pointing their tridents towards the riverbank.
Noticing this, Lupi and the others also took a combat stance...
Shou-kun!?
"Something seems to be coming. Shal, please look after Sweee and Raz."
"Meow!"
I had Sweee and Raz retreat to Shal, and I stepped in front of True. It would be bad to be dragged into the water, especially on land.
I asked for a Spirit's Blessing and readied my Round Shield and Ken-nata. I'd left the Kukri Knife, which I'd just made, behind because I couldn't show it on stream yet.
"Kyu..."
I stared intently at the water surface that True and the others were watching...
An alligator, with only its snout showing above the water, suddenly leaped out and attacked!
"Guh!"
As I deflected its large biting attack with my Round Shield,
""Kyu!""
The Selkies' attacks pierced its back, but were repelled by its hard hide.
The alligator was easily over 2 meters long, with a long, slender snout and a huge nose, which was unsettling...
[Dubugavial]
*An alligator monster that ambushes unsuspecting prey in the water. Can also spit water from its mouth.
Material Processing: Bones, hide, and fangs become various materials.*
[Marsal] "Scary!"
[Subrock] "What is this alligator..."
[Shigerusan] "Is it modeled after an Indian gharial?"
[Charinbou] "Its eyes are too scary!"
etcetc...
Should we retreat?
However, it seemed to struggle moving on land, hissing and slithering on its belly.
I could probably retreat if I just backed away, but I wanted to defeat it if possible...
"No, I'll defeat it. But how?"
I didn't want to use Stealth and Backstab. Actually, I didn't think they'd be effective.
So, it had to be magic...
"Sharr!"
"What! Ow!"
Shou-kun!
A stream of water shot from the alligator's mouth, and though I frantically blocked it with my Round Shield, it shook its head, causing a sharp pain to my arm where it grazed.
So this is what spitting water meant!
"Kyu!" ""Kyu-kyu!""
True and the others seemed to dodge successfully, but it became even harder to approach, and as I wondered what to do,
"Kururu!"
Raz's Fire Arrow hit its mouth, and the Dubugavial's mouth snapped shut.
That made me realize something with a start.
"[Falling Rocks]!"
I created a large chunk of stone above the alligator's head and dropped it,
"Followed by [Gravity Increase]!"
"Kyu-kyu!"
As its head was pinned down, True jumped and plunged his trident into its back.
...I thought True's spear glowed, but it must be because he's a Selkie Prince. Yeah.
"Did we get it?"
[Wizun] "The way they defeated it is brutal!"
[Reaper] "That's a flag for sure! lol"
[Sack] "Didn't the trident glow?"
[Karin] "A flag is coming~?"
etcetc...
The two attendant Selkies poked it with their tridents, but it didn't move.
I also approached to confirm... Yep, it seems fine.
That's good. Are you okay with your injury?
"Yeah, I'm fine. The water jet from its mouth surprised me a bit, though..."
I asked True and the others to be vigilant again, and then decided to break the rock chunk I'd dropped with Excavation magic.
As I crouched down,
"Kururu~?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to you, Raz, I figured out how to defeat it. Thanks."
I thanked Raz, who had scampered up onto my shoulder.
Some people in the comments were writhing in anguish, but I ignored them.
"[Excavation]"
When I split the fallen rock chunk in the middle, the Dubugavial's head, pinned underneath, was a bit... something.
I quickly dismantled it, taking the hide, bones, and fangs...
"Kyu!" ""Kyu-kyu!""
[Necrons] "Ah-ba-ba-ba-ba!"
[Skinco] "Oh no, oh no!"
[Nelson] "That flag was for that side!"
[Messerin] "Run~~~!(＞＜)"
etcetc...
"Watch out! Everyone, get away from the water's edge!"
Two new Dubugavials approached, but as we moved away from the water, they gave up and returned.
Shou-kun. This place is already...
"Yeah. It's dangerous, so we'll keep our distance and head upstream."