Chapter 1-30 : The Lake Monster
After getting my new armor from Lynette, I parted with Ruka in Erst Town and headed west.
It took me a few hours of traveling through the western forest to get to Lake Clar while killing Erst Bears and Erst Wolves on the way.
I wonder if the Squidspider I met the other day still remembers me…
While wondering, I approached the lake and shouted.
「Squidspider-san, are you thereー?」(Alice)
Soon after, a Squidspider came out of the lake and looked at me.
「Hi, there. Do you remember me?」(Alice)
I didn’t know if it was the one I met, but I asked it anyway.
It replied to me with a nod.
It seemed that it was the same one.
「Glad you still remember me. I came back as promised. Is that monster still in your nest?」(Alice)
It nodded.
「I see. Honestly, I didn’t think I would come back this soon. I planned to level up and get stronger before I face that monster, but after I watched the official livestream and listened to my friend’s opinion, I decided to come to confirm something. First of all, do you know that monster? Is it a mythical beast?」(Alice)
The Squidspider tilted its head. Either it had no idea at all, or it didn’t understand my question.
「Umm… If it’s a mythical beast, then there’s a condition I need to meet to conquer it. You said you wanted to solve this problem without violence, right?」(Alice)
It nodded.
It’s definitely a yes, but… Can I really defeat that monster without fighting?
「I want to see it one more time, but before that, I want to level up my【Swimming】skill a bit just in case. Can I swim around in this lake for a while?」(Alice)
It nodded.
Looks like I got its permission to use the lake.
Since I don’t know what will happen, it’s best if I level up that skill so I can swim more easily.
「Thanks. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.」(Alice)
Because I didn’t want my new kimono to get wet, I changed my armor into my old beginner one before I dived into the lake.
I then started swimming around without going too deep.
By the way, I can’t see the nest from here since it’s near the bottom, so I think I’m safe here.
After swimming for about an hour, my【Swimming】skill leveled up a few times.
Now I can hold my breath much longer. I no longer need to get to the surface to get oxygen for a while.
Before going, I went to the surface and took a deep breath for the last time just in case. After that, I approached the Squidspider who had been watching over me nearby and raised my thumb up.
「（I’m good to go.）」(Alice)
It responded with a nod. It then wrapped its tentacle around my arm and guided me to go deeper.
I saw the other Squidspiders along the way. They seemed to be expecting me to deal with the monster.
As I went deeper, I could see a white giant cocoon hanging on the wall several meters above the bottom of the lake. It’s the Squidspider’s nest.
I headed toward it and slowly approached the hole, which was the only entrance to get inside.
「（Alright. Let’s see how our friend is doing.）」(Alice)
As I got closer to the hole, the Squidspider grabbed my arm tighter.
I slowly stuck my head toward the hole and peeked inside.
It was a bit dark, but I could see it…
That huge golden eye…
However, soon afterー
「（It’s coming!）」(Alice)
ーSWOOOSH!
Thanks to the Squidspider who pulled my arm quickly and my improved【Swimming】skill, I could dodge the water cannon in time.
ーBOOOOOOOOOMM!!
The cannon passed me and hit the bottom of the lake, leaving a huge crater there.
「（Uwaahh…）」(Alice)
What a destructive attack.
Shougo was right. I don’t think even Gaul, who has a huge defense, could survive that.
「（Hahh… Now what?）」(Alice)
Let alone talk with the monster, I don’t think it’s possible to even enter this nest.
The entrance hole is only about one and a half meters in diameter, barely enough for a person to get through. There’s no room to dodge those water cannons.
Unless you can teleport anywhere you want or have the skill to stop time, which I doubt exists, I don’t think anybody can enter.
In the first place, how in the world did such a huge monster get into this nest through this tiny hole?
Strange…
Anyway, since I can’t get inside, that means to make contact with the monster, the only way is to make it get out of the nest.
I remember Leone said something about luring it outside. That time, I didn’t think it was possible, but I guess there’s no other way.
「（Now, how do I lure it outside? Hmm…）」(Alice)
The first idea I came up with is to lure it with food.
That monster has been staying inside this nest for a long time without food. I bet it’s very hungry now.
I don’t know what it eats, but I think the meat of other monsters will do.
With that in mind, I took out the corpse of an Erst Wolf I killed on the way here and threw it into the hole.
I was expecting the monster would shoot a water cannon as soon as the wolf corpse got into the hole, but it didn’t. It seems that it only attacks people.
As soon as the wolf corpse disappeared into the darkness, I could hear a chewing sound. It seems to be eating the wolf.
「（It’s eating… Alright. Next.）」(Alice)
I decided to give it more food. This time, I threw the corpse of an Erst Bear into the hole.
I heard a chewing sound again. I think it likes the food.
I took out another bear corpse, but I didn’t throw it into the hole this time. I was just holding it and letting the blood from the corpse get into the hole.
「（Come out, come out~ If you want eat more you have to come out~）」(Alice)
There was no reaction for the first few seconds, but thenー
ーBrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRR!!
The entire lake started shaking as if there was a huge earthquake going on.
「（What’s happening!? Did I upset the monster!?）」(Alice)
I had a bad feeling.
I quickly swam away from the nest, heading for the surface, butー
ーBLAAAAAST!!
Before I could reach the surface, the nest broke, and the monster came out.
I can’t see its entire body clearly, but I think it’s coming this way.
「（Oh, shoot!）」(Alice)
I was thinking of defending myself, but before I could do anything, I was hit by something massive.
「（ーー!!）」(Alice)
I was pushed upward toward the surface at high speed as if I were being pushed by a train.
I had no idea what was happening, but the next moment, the sky came into my sight. The forest, too. My vision was spinning.
ーNo. It’s not my vision. It’s my body that is spinning.
Just when I realized that I was no longer in the water, I fell and hit the ground back-first.
「Ouch!」(Alice)
It happened so fast, but I think I was dragged by the monster as it came out of the nest and immediately kicked out of the lake. I spun in the air a few times and then fell to the ground.
Luckily, my HP didn’t decrease that much.
While holding my head, I slowly stood up and looked forward.
「Ugh… My head… Hm? Whー What theー」(Alice)
There was something huge and blue in front of me.
That’s right. It’s the monster that was inside the Squidspider’s nest. I can finally see its appearance.
「A… Dragon…?」(Alice)
The mysterious lake monster is a large dragon covered in beautiful blue scales. It’s staring at me with its intimidating, huge golden eyes.
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A FU#%&@$ pet dragon are you kidding me [the little “lizard” did not seem like a dragon]