CH 14

“I didn’t think it would be so…”

I mumble while looking at the wasteland around me on top of Hipopo.

I’ve only been in what’s commonly called the borderlands for a few minutes, but it’s exactly as people say. Most living beings here are monsters. I thought people were exaggerating, but no.

To be quite honest, there are a lot of living beings in the wasteland in front of me that I’ve never seen before, so I’m not absolutely sure they are monsters. One thing I’m sure of is that every plant and animal I’ve gotten close to has attacked me.

Even now I see a shadow crawling on the ground. It keeps slithering until Hipopo quickly raises its foot and squashes it with a thud, raising a lot of dust too.

“Thank you Hipopo. The way you can sense enemies is really helpful.”

I compliment Hipopo, and it shakes its ears and tail. It then moves its foot, and I see the squashed shadow.

I can’t tell if it’s a snake or a vine, but its slimy body has what looks like teeth on one end.

“What is this? I guess I’ll collect it, it could serve as material for something.”

I say while putting it in my backpack. I don’t want to touch it with my bare hands, so I use gloves made specifically for harvesting. It’s still a little slimy, so I put it in a waterproof bag.

“Ahh, good grief. From what I remember, there are a lot of monsters in remote regions because regular animals can’t compete with them. Hmph. Well, if there are this many monsters I’ve never seen, that makes it more fun to do research. According to the map I should be reaching a body of water. From there it’s only a short way to Kalin’s place.”

I say to Hipopo while looking at the simple map.

“Oh, there it is. Let’s take a break. Are there different monsters near the water?”

I say while jumping off Hipopo. I’m a little excited, and I approach the pond while reaching into the backpack with one hand.

“Bumoh!”

Warns Hipopo, and something jumps out from the water.

I Twist my neck, and whatever it is passes right by my face.

The reflected light from the sun leaves a white afterimage in front of me.

A little lizard?

I turn around to get a closer look, when I hear Hipopo warning me again and duck.

Something comes out of the pond again. This time it’s something that looks like a tentacle.

The tentacle passes above my head and wraps around the lizard that is still in mid-air.

“Higyah!”

I hear a small shriek, and see the tentacle wrapped around the white lizard’s legs smack it to the ground.

The white lizard is dragged into the pond while desperately trying to resist.

I think the lizard is a child because every part of its body is round, and its big eyes are very round and cute.

The white lizard seems to have run out of energy and is dragged next to me. As it passes, our eyes meet. It looks like it’s asking me for help.

But even if it’s a child, it’s clearly a monster. Not to mention that just because it looks like a child it doesn’t mean it really is one. It could be that it looks like that precisely so its enemy gets careless! And it’s survival of the fittest among monsters. Nature’s law.

…Ah geez, I can’t help feeling sorry for it!

My heart wavers and I yell.

“Go Hipopo!”

“Bumoh!”

Hipopo quickly runs past me, and it targets not the white lizard, but the tentacle dragging it into the pond.

Hipopo tears off the tentacle with one hit, and it slips into the lake while spraying a purple liquid.

Now all that’s left is the exhausted white lizard.