021-040 · 026-ch22

Chapter 22: Day 1

　I tied a cloth bag to my spear and slung it over my shoulder as I walked. Robo walking beside me had a wider stride, but since we've had a relationship for years from back when she was about the size of a normal wolf, she adjusts her pace to match mine.

"Grasslands and hills as far as the eye can see... well, the visible range is only about ten-something kilometers."

>>The scenery doesn't change.

>>Just hills the whole way.

>>So relaxing.

>>Even a fixed-point drone healing stream would work at this level.

"The thing is, even though the scenery looks similar, every step leads to something different. Seriously. Like, there's a hill ahead, or that hill over there has a cave, things like that. It's all just hills and forests when you look from afar, but when you get close, the contents are all different. That's what I like about it."

To be honest, I can seriously walk around all day. I think even I've changed quite a bit, but I enjoy it so that's fine. Though I wouldn't want to walk around in circles in the same place.

"Just so you know, this area has quite a spread of hills and forests. And in that direction"

I pointed ahead while walking along the cliff edge.

"If you go that way for a while... about twenty or thirty kilometers, maybe. A plain spreads out there. And beyond that, there should be the sea. I went there quite a while ago, though."

>>There's a sea?

>>If there's a sea, does that mean it's like some other planet?

>>All kinds of terrain, huh.

>>Seriously, what even is this place? Another world?

"I haven't gone all the way around, you know. And the areas I've explored so far aren't that extensive either. If there really is something like the Eurasian continent spreading out, I'm far beyond the level of being able to explore it all by myself. Even just the Japanese islands are still pretty big. Even just Kyushu and Shikoku, I could probably walk from one end to the other, but covering every inch would be completely impossible."

My longest travel destination in the past was about a month, though I made all sorts of detours along the way. If I went in a completely straight line, it would be one to two weeks, but with mountains and valleys and all sorts of other terrain, straight-line movement is impossible anyway.


 Rather than someone who wants to walk straight from one end to the other, I'm the type who wanders around aimlessly, seeing what there is to see. Since I truly love nature, I'm perfectly satisfied with that, so I end up making more detours. Still, I've never actually tried deciding on a direction and heading straight that way for several weeks or over a month. I've attempted it before, but I usually run into something and stop. Permafrost, deserts, giant lakes. Or basins where the entire ground is glass and too dangerous.

"Well, yeah. Taking into account what I know, I think it's probably some other world or a different planet."

>>Oh?

>>Seems like you know more?

>>Tell us whenever, no rush.

>>Honestly, if you suddenly told us, we wouldn't be able to process it.


Well, that makes sense. The idea that a dungeon spreads... I shouldn't just spill my idiotic speculations.

"But still, looking from here too, that thing is huge."

Walking continuously for about six hours. We left around 9 AM, and the sun is already starting to tilt. The viewers have also gone off to do their own exploring and training, so only about four people remain. Though I feel like having four out of twelve people stay is pretty substantial.


And during that time, the World Tree, which we had only seen once on the other side of the cliff, was getting closer and closer. We should still be tens of kilometers away, but the fact that it's already starting to look like a wall in the far distance can only be described as ridiculous.


>>It's seriously huge.

>>I'm off to explore today~. Leave an archive, please.

>>Take care. Even at this distance, you can see it that well—it really is an incredible size.

"It really is huge, isn't it. Good luck to those going out to explore. I think we'll arrive tomorrow, so come watch again if you have time. I'll probably leave the stream running overnight at night."

I still have a bit further to go. Stopping right when the sun has gone down quite a bit should be about right. Since we're just spending one night here, we don't need a proper temporary shelter.

"Monsters too—like the ones in the dungeon are pretty aggressive, but the ones here aren't like that, right?"

On the hill to my left, I spotted a monster with a huge armadillo-like body with glittering stones growing on its back. That's what I straightforwardly call a Gem Armadillo. I've hunted it once before—the meat had a slight quirk but nothing off-putting, and the tenderness was top-notch, and while the skin was too hard with limited uses, the stones on its back turned out to be magic stones, quite useful for magic-powered crafts. By the way, the reason I give it such a straightforward name like Gem Armadillo is because I don't want to give it a pretentious name and then feel embarrassed later.


Then, just as I returned my gaze from the Gem Armadillo to straight ahead, a booming sound that resonated in my belly came from the hill area in front—ZU-SHIN, ZU-SHIN. In addition, the ground beneath my feet was vibrating slightly. The cliff ended just in front, connecting to the ground below with a gentle slope. The sound seemed to be coming from there.


>>What? What is this?

>>An earthquake?

"No, I think this is that. With this sense of scale."

Several years since descending into this world beyond the dungeon. I've walked all sorts of places and seen all sorts of monsters. Among them are monsters with unbelievable ecologies, and monsters that make you want to say "now that's fantasy."


And the same applies to scale.


Stopping to watch, eventually a huge face popped out from below the slope. The dinosaur-like face with thick shell had moss growing on it. And the body that became visible next didn't just have moss growing on it, but grass and even trees, though they were short in stature.


The total length is about 30 meters or so. The same size as the blue whale, Earth's largest animal, but with four sturdy legs that firmly tread the ground and a huge shell on its back, it overwhelms the blue whale in terms of volume.


>>...Huh?

>>B-

>>You're going to fight that? You're joking, right...?

"I won't fight, I won't fight. Like I said earlier, there are quite a few non-aggressive monsters."

Laughing at the trembling comment section, I explained about the monster that was slowly trying to cross right in front of us.

"This guy doesn't have a settled nest or anything, it's truly a monster that just keeps wandering around. I've seen it a few times during adventures before too. Even at this size, it's still a juvenile. When it gets bigger, it exceeds 100 meters in total length. Its back is flat and trees grow normally on it, and sometimes monsters even make their homes there."

Apparently this monster expels nutrients from its body, and when it becomes an adult, the plants on its back keep getting bigger. And its poop also seems to be full of nutrients, as I've witnessed many new sprouts growing from there.

"If you build a house on its back, it's seriously a moving fortress. Since this guy itself is huge, incompetent monsters won't attack it either."

It really just walks endlessly, without any particular destination. An interesting monster with a unique ecology not found on the surface.


>>That's a juvenile...?

>>It's too big!

>>By the way, are there creatures even bigger than that adult form?

"Bigger than the adult... I've seen ones about as big as adults in other places, but I haven't seen anything clearly larger than an adult yet."

At 100 meters, it's one of the largest monsters I've seen. Well, the strongest class are elsewhere.


Seeing the monster off, I resume walking. After walking for about 30 minutes, I found a spot between hills that looked good for spending the night.

"That place looks good. I'll spend the night there today."

>>Oh, camping.

>>Please leave the stream running.

"I'll leave it running continuously."

Answering the comment section, I unload my luggage and remove Robo's saddle to let her relax. Freed, Robo ran off like the wind to hunt prey.


By the way, regarding camping precautions, for some reason, highly aggressive monsters don't live near the dungeon exit. However, having walked for over 7 hours, I've long since passed that area.


Therefore, before starting camping preparations and cooking, I first set up multiple trap magic circles for warning.


And then, finally, I begin preparing for camp.