Chapter 95 - The Monster of the Lake
A loud noise echoed through the forest, trees were being knocked down. The trio crawled on their stomachs, inching closer to the lake. Pushing the bushes aside, they were trying to figure out what had roared.
The lake was calm, with no signs of disturbance.
What caused that sound?
Suddenly, a giant rock in the distance began to move. It opened its thousand eyes, and the dark stone turned. A massive creature, its body partly draped in tattered cloth, revealed itself. As the monster faced them, they saw countless legs protruding from it, resembling a porcupine covered in rotting limbs. The creature, made of eyes and dark flesh, looked like a colossal, six-meter-long tadpole. It had only two limbs, which it used to drag itself along, and these limbs were longer than the creature itself, resembling a mix of arms and legs that extended and bent toward the ground. The monster had a single, enormous mouth lost within its spiny, limb-covered body. It was chewing on something, though they couldn't quite tell what it was. But the sound—the unmistakable crunch of bones breaking and the faint cries of pain—told them all they needed to know: danger!
What the hell is that thing? There's no way to find a weak spot.
"Advanced Incipient..." Anna murmured.
Dear God! An Advanced Incipient? I had a feeling, but I didn't want to believe it!
The creature dragged itself further into the lake, submerging as it moved deeper. The trio didn't utter a word; they remained silent, crawling backward without turning their backs to the lake. Once they had retreated far enough, they slowly stood up and moved as far away as they could.
"W-what was that?" Anna asked, still shaken as she sipped her water.
"It was something seriously twisted. I don't even know what kind of animal or monster that thing used to be," Alice murmured.
"We wouldn't even scratch it…"
Anna was still in shock from the sight of the monster, but Luke was shaken by something else.
"Did you see what I saw? The end of the lake…"
"Yeah…" Alice sighed.
"I-I didn't take my eyes off that thing for a second. What did you see?" the small redhead asked, still confused.
Seeing her friend's confusion, Alice decided to explain.
"The lake ends at the mountain wall. There's no way to continue around it… at least not on this side."
"What does that mean?" the little redhead asked.
Luke took a deep breath.
"It means there's only one way forward. Assuming the other side is the same… we'll have to go through the dungeon and exit through the fort."
"The fort that's flooded and might be filled with dangerous creatures?" the small redhead turned pale.
"Of course… that's assuming the worst-case scenario. Maybe the other side of the lake doesn't have this mountain blocking it? If it does, we could try to go around the mountain…" Luke tried to argue, but as he spoke, he realized that might not be the case. Especially in this cursed place, it was always the worst-case scenario.
"I doubt it's that simple, and there's no guarantee that the other directions will have easy access to the upper part of the island… and we can't swim around it because who knows what's in the water. Maybe it's not even safe to stay near the other beaches. Captain Flyn mentioned that this part was safe, but the others… I doubt it's wise to stay close to the sea… or worse, think about swimming in it…" Alice said.
The little redhead listened quietly.
Luke sighed.
I can't believe I'm going to have to go back into a dungeon…
"Let's stay calm, we're assuming the worst-case scenario. Let's explore a bit more and see what we can do…" Alice suggested.
They had already discussed this with Flyn earlier; this island was a giant monster nest. Only the area they were in was considered safe, and now they understood why. Most likely, the major threats are located in the upper part of the island.
"It's just one problem after another…" the little redhead murmured.
That's my line, Little Anna…
The trio was hesitant to return along the lake's edge, so they decided to head into the deep forest as the day gave way to night.
"This part of the forest is really dense, but I think we can manage if we keep heading toward the fort and then return to the beach," Alice said, leading the way.
We've been avoiding straying too far from the natural paths and open trails this whole time, never daring to venture into the deep sea of trees. It almost feels like a wall of trees… I can tell she's trying to stay positive and not show any nerves… I'm slowly learning to distinguish the mask she wears. I've seen her nervous, anxious, and even a little scared… but if there's one thing I have to admire, it's her resilience. Both of them, really…
Luke glanced at the little redhead, who held her bow in hand, with her goblin helper accompanying her.
Gods! If I saw a woman walking in a forest at night with a bow and a goblin by her side and with that red hair, I'd think she was a demon coming for my soul.
Walking through the deep forest for some time, they headed towards the beach. The worst part was that, with the darkness of the night and the thick trees blocking the moonlight, they had no choice but to conjure a torch.
We're walking around like a target… my god, I'm screwed… it would be so easy just to run straight through, passing through anything in my way with intangibility… damn these conflicting feelings.
"What the hell is that?" Luke whispered.
"Crickets…"
"Since when are there crickets in this cursed place?"
There were cricket sounds all around.
"Douse the torch…" Alice murmured.
Insects are attracted to light… I hope they're just insects… I'd even take snakes over them… no, no snakes.
Alice took the lead, sword in hand. In the middle of the darkness, they lined up in single file like a train. The redhead was behind Alice, Luke was behind her, and behind him… was Gobby.
I can hear the goblin's breathing… it sounds the same as the incubator goblin's… it's making me want to vomit… I hate this goblin.
Luke held his hammer in hand. He preferred the knife, but it was too weak. He had tried to pick up the skeletons' weapons on the other island, but most of the swords were rusted, and the good ones were gigantic, heavy swords that would take away all his mobility. Luke even saw a sword as tall as he was. He wished for a sword card; their equipment wasn't holding up against the challenges. Anna also had a club she used and the knives on her belt, which she lent to Gobby when he was summoned.
Luke noticed that Alice was activating her power as sparks ran along her body, slightly illuminating the darkness.
A strange noise was coming from ahead, like fruit being crushed.
They didn't dare get closer to the strange noise, but it was in their path. With the faint light from the sparks running along Alice's sword, they continued forward. Occasionally, the moonlight managed to pierce through the darkness.
'Crunch… crunch'
The sound of something being crushed grew louder.
'Crunch'
"Torch…" Alice whispered.
Luke conjured a torch and handed it to her. She raised the torch slightly to illuminate the area ahead.
"Holy shit!" Luke exclaimed, seeing something bizarre in front of them.
Giant crickets, the size of dogs, were devouring each other.
They all stopped eating and turned to face the trio of Deviants.
Opening their mandibles, they extended their tongues, which looked like giant centipedes, and screeched at them.