The weakest Tamer Trash Picking Journey Begins Light Novel

Huge Ants

While moving along the animal path, I try to search for small animals, but they are hard to find. I can only hunt small animals like rabbits and mice. I wish I could hunt something bigger, but if I get greedy I'll get hurt. 

I learned this from experience. It's still impossible with my current ability.

".....There's none~.....what a shame."

There seems to be no small animals around here. I can't find them even after searching for their presence. I'm glad that I picked the nuts I found on the way. Otherwise I'm going to eat the last piece of dried meat.

But, somehow I feel that not only small animals but also large animals are few in this place. Once again, I check for a presence around me, but I don't catch anything. That's strange...

I looked for a while, before I gave up. I eat some nuts and look for a place to sleep today. There are no holes or caves that can be used as a place to hide ... Is it on a tree for today?

I look around at the trees and choose the one with a thick trunk. It's branches are thick and feel more stable than usual branches, so I decided to rest on a branch that was a little higher up.

It's a little early, but let's rest for today. I'm somewhat tired.

The most inconvenient part of a journey is sleep, you can't sleep well. You're likely to die if you sleep deeply.

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I woke up to a sense of danger. It's far away, but it's heading to this place at a great speed.

What to do, should I move? Or keep hiding like this? Calm down my heart, and check for its presence.

Given the speed of its movement, it seems that I can't outrun it. I pressed my body against the gap in the tree I found. I can only hold my breath, hide my presence, and wait for it to pass.

After a while, the sound of fallen leaves being stepped on gradually approaches. The sound comes not from not one but a few dozen. The presences were mixed, so I can't figure out the exact numbers.

Hold the body that seems to tremble, and harden it so that it doesn't move as much as possible. If I move they'll notice!

Under the tree where I lurk, a lot of noise passes by. I move my line of sight slowly and check the origin of the sound. Through the gap of the tree I could see a glowing body, lit by the moonlight.

...That is certainly a Huge Ant that I've seen in my book. They're supposed to be monsters that attack in groups. It's size is over 1 meter and its movements are...fast!

If I look closely, there are several black lumps moving under the tree...

When I look, my body trembles, so I shut my eyes tightly and erase my presence.

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I don't know how much time has passed, but the presence of the Huge Ants has moved away. I still can't move. If I move now, they might come back and attack me.

After quite a while, the stiffness in my body finally released itself.

...I'm exhausted.

The presences are no more, but I still checked my surroundings to be sure. This forest may be close to the Huge Ant's nest.

....So that's why there are no animals around.....

Haah, I didn't notice.

The reason for the unusually small number of animals is because of the Huge Ants. Speaking of which, it seems that there were multiple traces on the ground.....

Are these their footprints?

This is the first time I've seen them, but I'll be sure to remember it. Even so, their numbers are amazing. I'm glad they didn't notice me.

It was really scary.

619 words