Reincarnated as a Land Shark???

Chapter 9: Impossible Foes

The sprint through the forest is swift and desperate, but it soon becomes clear that the Garuda didn't chase us. I can finally stop, and sigh in relief. A glance at my status window shows me that I gained the skill Carry lv 1 and leveled up Sprint. Fighting that thing is going to be impossible, even for two of us. I think I know what killed that other Nanaue. Who knows how many corpses are hidden inside that nest?

Little shark wriggles about in my grip, and I quickly let it go, finishing the job of freeing its head from the bucket. It shakes its head a few times, then looks around nervously, as if it thinks Garuda is still there. I reach over and pat its head reassuringly. It's okay, it didn't chase us. We're safe.

Acquired Title: Reassuring lv 1

I'm just raking these in aren't I?

Well, it seems like today's exploration was both a failure in some ways and a success in others. For one thing, I've figured out for certain what happened to the human population in the area. At this point, I can't ignore the fact that humanity in this area has gone extinct, and likely has been for years. There were still clothes on the human corpses, so I know they rotted there rather than being eaten and picked clean. It takes several years for a human body to decompose, even longer before it's all bone like that.

Wood is unreliable because it can begin to rot within a year, and this is a coastal environment. But by the looks of it... It's been rotting for a long time. I'd say that whole town is on the brink of collapse. It's definitely been abandoned for some time.

But I wonder for how long exactly.

Little Shark nudges me, and I realize that I've stopped walking. Little Shark looks at me in concern before pacing a bit towards the ocean, looking at me as though it wants me to follow.

Yeah, it's probably best to head back for the day. All the land creatures seem to be way higher-leveled than I am, so it's probably the safest bet. The best course of action is probably to return to the ocean and gain strength before returning here, especially with the Garuda in that town. Maybe it was just defending its nest now, but if it gets hungry and decides Nanaue look like good snacks I don't want to be in the area.

The two of us return to the sea long before we have to. Little Shark makes a beeline for the caves, but I don't.

Instead, I begin swimming around the reefs with purpose.

If I can't explore everything on the surface yet, I may as well memorize the layout of the reef.

It takes me ten minutes before I realize just how large the reefs actually are. I have to have covered a mile at least by now, but they still stretch on along the coastline. What is this, the Great Barrier Reef?

I dive down a bit, swimming through the labyrinth of coral. No way am I going to be able to memorize all of this in one exploration.

Little Shark swims around with me, seemingly thrilled by the explorations of the reef. It sure likes to tag along, doesn't it?

My eyes soon land on a prey I've desired for some time, and I take the opportunity to use a Status Inspection on it.

Name: ___

Species: Blow Barracuda

Alright!

I swim up casually, as though I don't mean any harm. Little Shark follows me curiously, looking from me to the fish as if asking what I'm doing.

I repeat the same tactics I'd used for the last one, swimming slightly above it... when suddenly Little Shark gets it in its head to attack the thing head on.

The Blow Barracuda whips around and I narrowly dodge its razor-sharp flipper as it contorts, sharp fangs slicing right into Little Sharks nose. I wince as Little Shark recoils and thrashes about wildly to try and get the thing off, only to be greeted by an explosion of bubbles as the creature rockets away.

AAAAAAAh! My food!

I swim after it as fast as I can, but in the end I can't match the speed and movement of a deflating balloon. It escapes, leaving me alone with an injured and sulking Little Shark.

...That bite looked painful. It's okay, Little Shark, we'll get him next time. I pat it on the head again in an attempt to be consoling, but Little Shark just keeps on sulking and swims away.

Well... I guess we can take a break from hunting for now. Before we continue, there's one other thing I wanted to take a look at.

If the slope up leads to land, what lies further down?

Eventually there will be a dropoff, which I am sure will then lead to the open ocean. Considering the circumstances, it may be safer for us to head that way once we're leveled up rather than stay around with the rest of the cannibalistic Nanaue.

I follow Little Shark for a bit since it's headed in the right direction anyways. Soon it gets over its sulking and swims by me as we head into deeper and deeper water. Slowly the waves become cooler as we descend.

When we leave the reef, it begins to look concerned, but still follows anyways. That concern makes me feel uneasy; perhaps it learned something by following the others that I could not have on my own?

Either way, I need to see what's out there. Perhaps it's just nervous at being in uncharted waters.

I continue to swim for about a mile, and soon even I'm worried. I know there's less life to be found outside of the reefs, but this is just eerie. It's almost like being back up on the surface again. That's giving me a very bad feeling. Little Shark is swimming very close as well, likely even more nervous than before.

Should I turn back?

Before I can entertain that thought any further, however, we reach the dropoff.

I stare off into the great blue yonder. It really does look endless from here.

Little shark backs up a bit, not willing to be as close to the edge as me. Since it's so nervous and due to the fact that nothing else is out here, I don't really want to continue forward either. It's probably better to turn back, but still...

The only way I can describe what happened next was that the entire world shook. It took me a few seconds of this to realize that the shaking wasn't some tremor in the earth sending vibrations to the waves, but rather that it was a distant sound.

Slowly, a great shape drifts into view. It's still very far, and I can only catch hints of grey scaly coloration. The body it belongs to is massive, and if it weren't for the noise I'd have thought I imagined the whole thing as a trick of the light.

One Status Inspection is all it takes for me to know just how right Little Shark is to be afraid of this place.

Name: $%^&$#@(&&&

Species: Leviathan

Lv 200/200

I can't even look at its name, huh?

That thing is so powerful not even the Garuda I just fled in terror from could make a scratch in its hide. This thing is the monster of all monsters I've seen so far.

It's like a looming god of the ocean, daring anything to try and pass it into the open ocean.

That is an impassable barrier for me, and if there's one, there are probably more.

It seems like the open ocean is a place where only gods and monsters can reside.

I turn back away from the dropoff, swimming back towards the reefs.

For now, I will stay where the mortals reside. Maybe one day I'll be able to fight that thing, but now that is a very distant dream indeed.