Chapter 168
Treasure (1)
└ All-Father: By Aragon! This is enough to get my loins stirring! To think the mythical sky whale truly exists!
└ Wild Grylls: What myth is it from? I don’t know much about mythology.
└ All-Father: When the gods still descended into the mortal realm, it was a creature that purified the energies of heaven and earth. It is said to cleanse tainted mana.
└ Wild Grylls: That whale was sucking up insects. Are insects its main diet?
└ All-Father: Oh! It ate insects, you say? I’ve learned something new. The myths claimed that it consumed mana.
└ What kind of place is the Forest of Four Seasons? At this rate, won’t other mythical creatures appear too?
└ Like what?
└ A girlfriend?
└ That came so far out of nowhere that it’s even funnier, lmaooo.
└ Why is a girlfriend a legendary creature? Lmaooo.
└ So you’re saying you have a girlfriend? Blocked.
└ Look how instantly he reacted, lololol.
"..."
The impact of the sky whale video was even greater than I’d expected.
For one thing, All-Father was openly excited, and instead of cracking jokes, people were doubting their own eyes.
From my perspective, it was merely another fascinating animal in a world full of them. But apparently, it wasn’t viewed that way by the people of this world.
Was it similar to discovering a unicorn, a creature of legend, back on Earth?
Bwooooooo.
The sky whale’s cry reverberated throughout the Forest of Four Seasons.
Hearing the call of a whale coming from the sky rather than the ocean was quite a bizarre experience.
└ Wild Grylls: I’m curious about something. Are there mammals here that lay eggs?
└ All-Father: Hoho. What an amusing bit of nonsense. If such an animal existed, it would shake the foundations of academia. Ah, although the existence of the sky whale will already do that.
└ You might as well claim that mammals have beaks, lol.
└ Grylls said there are animals with long necks in his world too, lol.
└ What kind of fantasyland did that guy come from?
Just then, something fell from behind the receding sky whale.
The object had come from around its tail and eventually plummeted to the ground.
Considering the distance and perspective, it had fallen fairly far away, but not so far that I couldn’t reach it.
As I watched the sky whale gradually disappear into the distance, a question suddenly occurred to me, so I asked All-Father.
Even this fantasy world adamantly rejected the existence of the platypus.
Perhaps it simply hadn’t been discovered yet, but it was also possible it didn’t exist here at all.
This was a world without giraffes, so it wouldn’t be strange if some other animals I knew were absent as well.
└ Wild Grylls: But wasn’t there anything about sky whales in the journal?
└ All-Father: No, there wasn’t. It did mention strange sounds occasionally coming from the sky, but apparently the trees obstructed the writer’s view. We might regard those sounds as a sign of their presence.
└ Wild Grylls: Ah, that makes sense. The jungle was right on the doorstep, and the trees there were pretty large. Was there anything else?
└ All-Father: Nothing particularly noteworthy. Strictly speaking, even a talking gorilla could be considered a mythical creature.
└ Wild Grylls: Ah.
└ Now that I think about it, that’s true too.
└ A talking gorilla... Are you talking about the Monkey King from the Central Plains?
└ The Monkey King is a monkey, not an ape. He has a tail.
└ Then is the Blood Demon supposed to be Tang Sanzang? Lol.
└ At this rate, a talking pig-man will show up next, lmaooo.
I ended the discussion about the sky whale there and began planning what to do next.
Thanks to the sky whale sucking up the entire swarm of insects before leaving, my surroundings were clear again.
There was no longer any danger of insects clinging to my body, so I could resume my everyday activities.
I guess swarms of insects appear at regular intervals, and then the sky whale comes to dispose of them?
After experiencing the beginning of each season one by one, I’d realized that it was impossible to do anything during the transitional period.
Winter began with a blizzard, spring brought a yellow dust storm of pollen, and summer unleashed swarms of insects.
I didn’t know what autumn would bring, but perhaps it would be comparatively mild.
Now that I can move around again, I should make good use of the time.
When I raised my head, I saw a sky glowing blue.
But what came to mind when one thought of summer? The unbearably long monsoon season.
I planned to accomplish as much as possible before the monsoon arrived.
First, I should find whatever the sky whale dropped.
I knew the general direction.
The problem was that I didn’t know what had fallen, and the other animals would probably take an interest in it as well.
It would be best to prepare thoroughly. As it happened, Kkobong had fully recovered from the insect bites that had left him in such a miserable state.
The special medicine the Starlight Princess had given me had worked wonders. I had a feeling I would be using it often in the future.
And the Icon Merchant Company agreed to keep supplying me with repellent.
They had promised to continue supplying the repellent that had sold out.
I was somewhat suspicious because they’d announced it in a public post instead of sending me a private message, but they had provided various forms of verification, so I could trust them.
Afterward, all sorts of merchant companies sent me sponsored products, though their performance had yet to be tested.
Well... I’d find some way to put them to good use.
I should test the fishing rod soon.
Of all the items, I was most curious about the fishing rod.
Apparently, one merchant company had seen how much fish I ate and sent me one.
Judging by the product, they seemed to specialize in the fishing industry, and their reputation was quite good.
Just like on Earth, high-end fishing rods in this world commanded astronomical prices, yet they had readily given me one of the finest models.
Even though I knew nothing about fishing, it looked so impressive that I immediately decided I had to try it.
I would’ve preferred a fish trap, but perhaps they’d sent a fishing rod because traps were frequently swept away.
"Kyueek! Kyueeek!"
"There, there. Wonmo, hold still. There may still be insects outside."
I carefully applied repellent all over Wonmo.
With his sharp sense of smell, Wonmo struggled against the repellent’s peculiar odor, but he was still only a cub.
After Wonmo, I applied it to the fast sloth and Kkobong, completing our preparations to leave.
It might rain while we’re gone, so I should put everything that needs protection inside.
Since it was summer, there was no telling when the rain might start pouring. It was a hunch born of everything I’d experienced so far.
Once I’d taken every precaution available, I set off in the direction where the sky whale had disappeared.
It wasn’t toward the river, but deeper into the forest—in the direction of the orichalcum cave.
If I searched the surrounding area, perhaps I’d find it. If not, I planned to simply give up.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
"Hm?"
I had been moving along smoothly without encountering any obstacles.
It wasn’t unusual for there to be many insects during summer. And "insects" naturally included ants.
In other words, a colony of ants was marching diligently toward somewhere.
It was the sort of sight one would normally see only in a documentary—a single, unbroken line of ants advancing without interruption.
They’re heading in roughly the same direction... Should I follow them?
I didn’t know what the ants had discovered, but following them seemed like a good idea.
They were traveling in approximately the same direction, so they had either found whatever the sky whale had dropped or discovered something else.
Given the staggering number of ants on the move, it had to be something unusual.
So they react to the repellent too?
I cautiously approached them just in case, and the ants quietly moved aside.
The only one disappointed by this was Wonmo, who had wanted to eat them. Those are yucky, Wonmo. Yucky.
After finally calming Wonmo down, I followed the ants.
Eventually, I arrived in an unfamiliar area.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
I couldn’t help recoiling at the horrifying number of ants.
Without exaggeration, they blanketed the entire area.
If I set foot among them, they wouldn’t merely bite me, tear at me, taste me, and enjoy me—they would gnaw at me until nothing but my skeleton remained.
There was a saying that the true rulers of the forest weren’t tigers or wolves, but ants.
No matter how strong the former two were, they were powerless before overwhelming numbers.
The same applied to me. I couldn’t even consider stepping into that swarm.
What’s that?
At least, not until I saw what the ants were so diligently carrying.
The ants covered the entire area, but there was one exception:
The object they were laboriously transporting.
Thanks to the clear space around it, I could see the object perfectly.
A golden... stone?
It was a stone that glittered gold.
At first glance, it looked even more valuable than actual gold.
I had no idea why the ants were carrying it, but it seemed worth examining.
Trusting the repellent to work its magic once again, I approached.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
As soon as I drew near, the ants quickly scattered, allowing me to inspect the golden stone up close.
A pleasant fragrance wafted from it the moment I approached.
There was also a sweet note to the scent, enough to make me understand why the ants had swarmed around it.
Did the whale create this stone?
I wasn’t sure about that, but I placed it in my spatial backpack for the time being.
As soon as the golden stone disappeared into the spatial backpack, the ants scattered completely.
Whoosh!
They moved incredibly quickly, like a well-trained army executing a retreat.
If I’d faced summer without applying the repellent... I didn’t even want to imagine it.
This was an area where the seasons changed frequently, yet the ants were still able to maintain such vast numbers. That alone was remarkable.
I had said it as a joke before, but perhaps they truly were the strongest creatures here.
In the wild, it wasn’t the strongest who survived—the ones who survived were the strongest.
"Sniff, sniff. It’s already rubbed off on me."
I had touched the golden stone while placing it inside the spatial backpack, and its scent had already clung to my hands.
To be honest, its texture hadn’t been particularly pleasant.
I had thought it was a stone, but it was as soft as slime and slightly sticky.
That only made me more curious about the true identity of this golden stone(?). I’d have to ask All-Father or the Starlight Princess.
When I finally returned to the shelter, I didn’t take the golden stone back out.
I had no choice but to be careful, since doing so might attract another swarm of ants.
Fortunately, I’d taken a photograph beforehand. I immediately made a post.
Title: I found something interesting
Wild Grylls
(A photo of what appears to be a golden stone being carried by ants.)
Something strange fell from the sky whale, so I went to where it landed. But a swarm of ants was heading there too.
I stole what the ants were carrying and brought it back. Its most distinctive feature is the pleasant fragrance it gives off.
I’m going to ask what it is before deciding what to do with it.
└ Heavenly Demon: It glitters more brilliantly than gold. How beautiful.
└ SwordMaster: You’re saying that came from the sky whale? Just looking at it, you can tell it must be incredibly precious.
└ "Precious" doesn’t even begin to describe it. If that thing reaches the outside world, there’ll be an uproar.
└ The sky whale itself is already a mythical creature. If that fell from such a being, then... Lmaooo.
└ What the fuck could it be? Why would something like that come out of a whale?
└ What if it’s actually poop? Lol.
└ That’s fucking disgusting, lmaooo.
└ Praise the Sun: Can you give that to me? If it’s fragrant, I might be able to use it as incense.
└ Wild Grylls: It’ll probably attract a lot of insects. Will you be all right with that?
└ Praise the Sun: What insects would there be in a desert? Lol. At worst, there might be scorpions and spiders.
└ Wild Grylls: Those sound even more dangerous... ;; I’ll think about it after I find out exactly what this is.
└ Praise the Sun: It looks pretty large. If possible, could you give me even a small piece?
└ Wild Grylls: I’ll decide after finding out what it is.
└ All-Father: Hoho. Goodness. I’d only just calmed down, and now it seems my loins will begin stirring again.
└ This old man seems to get worked up pretty often these days...
└ Isn’t he going to die of high blood pressure at this rate? Lmaooo.
└ Necromancy Is Love: Given his age, that isn’t impossible.
└ Says the guy who can’t get worked up at all, lol.
└ Necromancy Is Love: Silence, you wretch!!!
└ Lmaoooooo, look at him throwing a fit.
└ Getting worked up is still way better than having no reaction at all, lmaooo.
└ Starlight Princess: I’m outside at the moment, so I don’t think I can examine it.
└ Wild Grylls: Does anything come to mind?
└ Starlight Princess: If it fell from a whale, the only possibility I know of is ambergris. Besides, I know almost nothing about sky whales.
└ Wild Grylls: Understood.
Ultimately, I had no choice but to ask All-Father.
All-Father readily agreed and accepted the golden stone for examination.
We both agreed that I should cut off only a small piece for him. If I sent the entire thing, it might attract hordes of insects to his location.
Not long afterward, All-Father informed me of a shocking fact.
└ All-Father: This is feces.
└ Wild Grylls: ...Pardon?
└ All-Father: It’s feces. Whale feces.
I was briefly dumbfounded by the revelation that it was poop.
└ All-Father: Hohohohoho! This old man is truly happy. Not only have I learned that sky whales exist, but I have even obtained sky-whale feces! Living a long life truly does bring wonders.
All-Father ascended toward paradise.