Reincarnated as a Land Shark???

Chapter 27: Jello

The first thing I notice about this part of the forest is that it seems a lot less haunted than the previous area I explored.

The next thing I'll have to observe is the annoying increase to the amount of foliage. It's great for smaller animals and biodiversity, but to me it only serves to scratch me up and make it hard to explore. Despite the trouble I have traversing the area, it's still much prettier than a lot of the forest I've been through lately.

The only problem is how... flighty the animals seem. Unlike before when I traversed the area, everything is scattering away at the first sign of me. It might just be because I'm louder than usual due to constantly trampling over bushes, but this seems a bit much compared to the norm.

Does that mean the animals here are accustomed to monster attacks?

That must be the case. If that's so, it means I've stumbled across a good area. It makes sense that something tough would live over here considering the spider hasn't expanded its webs into this place yet. The question is whether that something is a something or multiple somethings.

I trample over yet another bush and find, to my relief, that there's a break in the foliage. I take a moment to look for a route that isn't completely covered in bushes that I'll need to trample over to get past and start walking that way.

This is probably why the beach is so barren - I'm acting just like the Nanaue and trampling everything in my path to get through. Kind of a creepy thought.

As I trod through the path, I listen closely to the sounds around me. The bird calls are still going in the distance, but everything near me is silent...

That train of thought is cut off as a quiet, unusual sound catches my attention.

Squish.

I perk up, looking around in confusion as the sound repeats itself. Squish, squish, squish.

It's strangely rhythmic, almost as if something's walking; that or dribbling a very strange basketball. It's just... that something also happens to sound very...

Squish.

How do I even describe that?

Any good adjective escapes my mind, so I just decide not to bother trying. I lighten my steps and crouch to the ground, sneaking towards the source of the noise. Again, I'm pretty sure my fin is sticking up above the bushes but there's really nothing I can do about that.

Still, the pattern of noises doesn't seem to change, moving along seemingly the same path as usual. It suddenly squishes twice rapidly and comes to a stop.

I freeze, wondering if my fin and bright colors have given me away, but when nothing else happens I move forwards, peering through the leaves of the bush in my way to see the source.

Hmm... All I see is a clearing, more bushes, some trees...

And hold on, is that a giant blob of jello on the ground?

Yes, yes it is.

The lump of green jello jiggles where it rests on the ground enticingly, and I wonder what flavor it is absentmindedly before I remember the strange noises.

No way, then the thing that was making that sound was...

It turns and bounces, squishing a bit farther along the path before stopping by a patch of flowers with a butterfly.

IT'S ALIVE!

I examine it a bit more, curious. It... looks like jello but isn't?

Does it taste like jello?