Chapter 3

Episode 69: The Strange Creature Rising Upstream 

The long canal, the Sendens River, supports the trade in the Wenost region.  

At the bottom of this river, which flows out from the Oulus Lake, there was a strange magical beast that crawled unnoticed.  

Its blue body, clearer than the river water, was transparent and looked like jelly.  

In the center of its body was a mysterious pouch.  

Despite being a cube, which should be prone to water resistance, it moved effortlessly against the river’s flow.  

It advanced serenely as if traveling through a windless field.  

Perhaps curious about the unfamiliar creature, a fish-like magical beast approached it.  

When it was just a meter away from the cube, spikes suddenly shot out and pierced through the fish’s head.  

The spikes had barbs similar to harpoons. When they retracted, the fish was pulled along with them.  

The strange creature swallowed the pulled-in fish with a gulp and continued on.  

“(Hmm, tasteless. I guess this is what you get from a Lesser Beast.)”  

I, the strange creature, commented on the taste of the fish I just ate.  

The mana was thin, so it wasn’t very tasty.  

Since this is a canal, the magical beasts here are mostly weak.  

Even after several days in the river, I’ve only seen a Greater Beast once.  

The reason for traversing such a dull region is to avoid human detection.  

There’s a limit to only passing through magical beast habitats, so the plan was to go underwater to avoid being seen.  

Fortunately, the river flows just northwest of the Dwozof Forest, allowing me to slip through unnoticed.  

As expected of a canal, the water is deep, so there’s little chance of being discovered.  

I would be completely satisfied if the |Mana| were a bit denser, though…  

“(Well, it’s good in that I can relax more.)”  

Despite my dissatisfaction, I continued to leisurely progress as if on a stroll.  

I could move faster if I put in more effort, but there’s no need to rush and tire myself out.  

Moreover, moving too fast might disturb the water flow.  

I think it’s fine for now. But if the disturbance in the water reaches the shallows and attracts human attention, it would be a disaster.  

So, I swam and crawled, enjoying my upstream journey at my own pace.  

Oh, right. During this underwater journey, I learned a few [Skills]. Let’s review them.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skill Details

[Diving]

• • • • • • • • Enhances propulsion during swimming and provides a constant boost to lung capacity.  

[Clairvoyance]

• • • • • • • • Allows visibility in the dark and can see through obstacles up to a certain thickness.  

[Countercurrent]

• • • • • • • • Reduces air and water resistance when moving against currents.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Diving] is an upgraded skill from [Swimming], and it’s a bit confusing.  

Do Slimes even have lungs?  

For the past few days, I haven’t needed to breathe at all, so I might not be benefiting much from this [Skill].  

Next is [Clairvoyance], which is an advanced skill from Night Vision].  

The riverbed is dimly lit, so I must have leveled up this [Skill] without noticing.  

I tried it out, but its performance is still low, only able to see through a thickness of about a board. This needs special training.  

Being able to neutralize blinding effects is quite powerful.  

And finally, [Countercurrent]. This is a completely new [Skill].  

Since learning it, I’ve felt less resistance from the water.  

In combat, it might be useful against enemies who control water or wind.  

“(That’s about it.)”  

Reflecting on my growth, I continued upstream at my own pace.  

After a while, I stopped suddenly.  

“(This should be the place…)”  

In the pitch-black underwater world, my [Night Vision], or rather [Clairvoyance], showed a river that split into three branches.  

The left branch was as wide as before, while the right branch was less than half its width.  

The confluence of the main river and its tributary was my destination for the underwater walk.  

The nighttime was also convenient. I emerged from the river with a splash.  

“(Phew, it’s been a while since I breathed air.)”  

Ah, no, saying “breathed air” is odd.  

It’s probably because Slimes don’t need to breathe— they don’t need oxygen.  

I absorbed the water droplets on my body and then checked my surroundings to confirm my direction.  

“(Just as the map shows.)”  

The river in this area forms a ‘Y’ shape on the map.  

Following the main river goes northwest, while the tributary goes northeast.  

Although Ergo recommended heading northeast initially, I’m not going down either path. I’m going straight north from here.

What I can see now is just the dense, overgrown forest, but beyond this forest lies one of my destinations.

When I was taught the geography of the Wenost region by Ergo before fighting the Forest Turtle, the place that intrigued me the most was there.

“([Replicant Form], Eight Legs)”

Since I’ll have to walk a long distance from here, I’ll mimic eight weapons as substitutes for legs.

It’s been quite a while since I used this. The river was so muddy that walking with legs was difficult.

The weapons I’ve mimicked this time are not the chain scythes I always used.

Although they are chains, they don’t have scythes attached; instead, they have stakes. The material isn’t metal but tree trunks.

These are massive, dark brown, and have a substantial and heavy feel, making them a fitting weapon for a Sovereign Beast.

Each ring of the chain is far larger, thicker, and sturdier than a human arm, and countless of these rings form one long, extensive chain.

I’ve mimicked eight of these chains.

The stakes attached to the ends are made from horns.

These horns are larger than a person. If they hit, their mass alone is a significant threat.

—Yes, this is a chain made from Forest Turtle materials, a forest chain.

The chain was crafted by selecting the highest quality wood from the Forest Turtle’s shell, compressing it, and molding it into a single chain.

The special effects focus on overall strength enhancement and weight reduction. It’s lighter, so it can move quickly when used as legs.

It also has significant advantages in combat.

The chain scythe had issues with strength, so it was often used sparingly against Sovereign Beasts. But with the hardness and speed of the forest chain, it’s unlikely to break even against equally matched opponents.

Besides the versatile forest chain, I created four other weapons from the Forest Turtle: a hammer, arrows, a shield, and a halberd—excluding a staff because it’s too small for personal use.

I’ll explain the details of these weapons another time.

“([Frenzied Charge]!)”

I kick off the ground with the forest chain legs and launch into a rocket start.

I charge into the vast forest, heading towards my destination.