Chapter 168 - Treasure (1)

└Allfather) By Aragon! This video has me getting hard! To think the mythical sky whale actually exists...!

└Wild Grylls) What sort of myth? I don't really know much mythology...

└Allfather) They were creatures that purified the energy of heaven and earth back when the gods descended into the mortal world. They are said to cleanse tainted mana.

└Wild Grylls) That whale was sucking up bugs. Are bugs its main diet?

└Allfather) Oh! It ate insects? I've learned something new. The myths said they consumed mana.

└What even is the Forest of Four Seasons? Are more mythical animals going to show up next?

└Like what?

└A girlfriend?

└Fuck lmaoooo

└That was so out of nowhere it made it even funnier lol

└Why's a girlfriend a legendary animal? lmaooo

└So you're saying you have a girlfriend? Blocked.

└Lmaoooo

└Look how fast he jumped on that lol

The sky whale video made a much bigger splash than I'd expected. For starters, Allfather was openly excited, and people were questioning their own eyes before cracking jokes.

To me, it was just another of this world's many strange and wonderful animals, but apparently the locals didn't feel the same. Maybe it was like discovering a unicorn, a creature of legend, back on Earth.

└Wild Grylls) One thing I'm curious about: are there any mammals here that lay eggs?

└Allfather) Hoho. What amusing nonsense. If such an animal existed, it would shake academia to its foundations. Though, of course, the existence of sky whales will already do that.

└Next you'll tell us mammals have beaks lol

└Grylls did say his world had animals with really long necks lol

└What kind of fantasy land did this guy come from?

Even this fantasy world adamantly denied the existence of the platypus. They might simply not have discovered one yet, but perhaps there really weren't any. This was a world without giraffes, after all. It wouldn't be strange if a few other animals I knew didn't exist here either.

BWOOOOOO

The sky whale's call echoed through the Forest of Four Seasons. Hearing a whale calling from the sky rather than the sea... What a strange experience.

PLOP

That was when something dropped from the rear of the receding sky whale. The object fell from near its tail and plunged toward the ground. Judging by the perspective, it was fairly far away, but not impossibly so.

As I watched the sky whale grow more distant, a question occurred to me, and I asked Allfather.

└Wild Grylls) By the way, did the journal mention sky whales at all?

└Allfather) No, it did not. Apparently there were strange sounds from the sky on occasion, but the trees blocked the view. We might consider that a sign of their presence.

└Wild Grylls) Oh, right. There was jungle right on his doorstep, so the trees were pretty tall. Anything else?

└Allfather) Nothing in particular. In fact, when you think about it, a talking gorilla could also be considered a mythical being.

└Wild Grylls) Oh.

└Come to think of it, that's true.

└A talking gorilla... You mean Sun Wukong from the Central Plains?

└Sun Wukong's a monkey, not an ape. He's got a tail.

└Does that make the Blood Demon Tripitaka? lol

└Next we'll get a talking pig-man lmao

Leaving the sky whale discussion there, I made plans for what to do next. The whale had sucked up all the bugs before leaving, clearing my view. With no insects clinging to me, I could get on with everyday life again.

'So I can assume the bugs swarm at regular intervals, and a sky whale comes along to take care of them?'

Experiencing the beginning of each season had taught me that I couldn't do a thing during those initial days. Winter brought blizzards, spring brought dust storms of pollen, and summer brought swarms of insects. I didn't know what autumn would bring, but perhaps it would be relatively mild.

'Well, I've got a window to get things done. Better make good use of it.'

I looked up at the brilliant blue sky. But what came to mind when you thought of summer? The miserably long rainy season. I planned to get as much done as possible before it arrived.

'First, let's find whatever the sky whale dropped.'

I knew roughly which direction to go. The problem was that I didn't know what had fallen, and other animals would be interested too.

I'd better go fully prepared. Fortunately, Lackey had recovered from the insect bites that had left him so out of it. Starlight Lady's remedy had worked wonders. I had a feeling I'd be using it often.

'And Icon Merchant Company agreed to keep supplying repellent.'

Despite selling out, Icon Merchant Company had promised me a steady supply. I was rather suspicious because they'd made a public post instead of sending a private message, but they provided enough verification for me to trust them.

Various other merchant companies had sent me sponsored goods since then, though their performance hadn't actually been verified. Well... I'd have to find some way to put them to use.

'I should try out that fishing rod soon.'

The fishing rod interested me most. A merchant company had sent me one, presumably after seeing how much fish I ate. They appeared to specialize in the fishing trade, and their reputation was pretty good.

Like on Earth, high-end fishing rods here commanded astronomical prices, yet they'd readily given me a top-of-the-line model. Even to someone as clueless about fishing as me, it looked so impressive that I was determined to try it.

I'd have preferred a fish trap, but perhaps they'd sent a rod because my traps kept getting washed away.

"Kyuek! Kyueeek!"

"There, there, Roundfur. Hold still. There might still be bugs outside."

I applied repellent thoroughly to Roundfur. With his keen nose, he struggled against its strange smell, but he was still only a cub. After him, I applied it to the speed-sloth and Lackey, finishing our preparations.

'It might rain while we're gone, so I'd better put away anything that needs to stay indoors.'

In summer, the rain could come down at any moment. Experience had taught me to trust that instinct. Once I'd taken every possible precaution, I set off in the direction the sky whale had disappeared.

Not toward the river, but deeper into the forest, where the orichalcum cave was. Maybe I'd find it if I searched around there. If not, I'd simply give up.

SKITTER SKITTER

"Huh?"

I'd been walking along without any trouble or interruptions. Lots of bugs were nothing unusual in summer, and that included ants. By which I mean there was a whole column of ants busily heading somewhere.

It was the sort of scene you saw in documentaries: ants marching in a continuous, unbroken line.

'They're going more or less the same way... Should I follow them?'

I didn't know what they'd found, but following them seemed like a good idea. Their direction was roughly right, so they'd either found what the sky whale dropped or something else. Whatever it was, it had to be something special to draw such enormous numbers.

'The repellent works on these guys too.'

I edged closer just to check, and the ants quietly moved away. The only disappointed one was Roundfur, who'd wanted to eat them. Those are yucky, sweetie. Yucky.

I barely managed to calm Roundfur down and followed the ants. Eventually, I reached an area I'd never seen before.

SKITTER SKITTER!

The terrifying swarm of ants made me recoil in horror. They blanketed the entire area, without exaggeration. If I set foot in there, they wouldn't just bite, tear, taste, and enjoy me. They'd gnaw me down to a skeleton.

They said the strongest creatures in a forest weren't tigers or wolves, but ants. However strong those two might be, they were helpless against overwhelming numbers. The same went for me. I couldn't even contemplate stepping in there.

'What's that?'

Until I saw what the ants were working so hard to carry.

The ants covered everything in the area except for one thing: the object they were carrying. That gave me a clear view of it.

'A golden... rock?'

It was a rock glittering gold. At a glance, it even looked more precious than gold itself. I couldn't imagine why the ants were carrying it, but it seemed worth examining. Trusting the repellent to come through once again, I approached.

SKITTER!

The ants scattered as soon as I approached, letting me get a close look at the golden rock. A pleasant fragrance wafted up the moment I drew near. There was a sweetness to it, too. No wonder it had attracted ants.

'Did the whale make this rock?'

I wasn't sure about that, but I put it in my extradimensional backpack for now. The moment the golden rock disappeared inside, the ants scattered.

RUSTLE!

And fast, too. They looked like a well-trained army retreating. If I'd entered summer without applying repellent... I didn't even want to imagine it.

Maintaining such numbers in a place where the seasons changed so often was an impressive feat in itself. I'd meant it as a joke, but perhaps they really were the strongest creatures here. In the wild, it wasn't the strong who survived. The survivors were the strong.

"Sniff, sniff. The smell's rubbed off already."

I'd touched the golden rock while putting it into my extradimensional backpack, and the scent had lingered on my hands. Honestly, it hadn't felt particularly pleasant. I'd thought it was a rock, but it was soft like slime and a little sticky.

That only made me more curious about this golden rock(?). I'd have to ask Allfather or Starlight Lady.

When I finally returned to the shelter, I immediately took out the golden rock... actually, no, I didn't. I had to be cautious, since taking it out might draw a swarm of ants. Luckily, I'd taken a picture beforehand. I posted right away.

Title) Found something weird

Wild Grylls

(A quick photo of the golden rock being carried by ants)

Something weird dropped out of the sky whale, so I went over there. There was a column of ants heading that way too.

Stole what they were carrying and brought it home. Gives off a really nice smell.

Gonna ask what it is before I decide what to do with it.

└Heavenly Demon) It gleams more brightly than gold. Beautiful.

└Sword Masta) That came out of the sky whale? It looks incredibly precious.

└Precious doesn't cover it. The world would go nuts if that got out.

└Sky whales are mythical creatures to begin with, and this came from one lol

└What could it be? What on earth would make a whale drop something golden like that?

└Bet it turns out to be shit lol

└That's fucking gross lmao

└All Hail the Sun) Can I have it? If it's fragrant, I could probably use it as perfume.

└Wild Grylls) It might attract a lot of bugs. Would that be okay?

└All Hail the Sun) What bugs would there be in a desert lol. Scorpions and spiders at most.

└Wild Grylls) That sounds even more dangerous... I'll think about it once I know exactly what this is.

└All Hail the Sun) It's pretty big. Could you spare even a little if possible?

└Wild Grylls) Let me find out what it is first.

└Allfather) Hoho. Goodness. It only just went down, and now I'm about to get hard again.

└This old guy's been getting hard a lot lately...

└Is he gonna die of high blood pressure? lmao

└Necromancy Is Love) Given his age, it is certainly possible.

└You can't even get hard yourself lol

└Necromancy Is Love) Silence, you wretch!!!

└Lmaooo look at him lose it

└Getting hard is way better than getting no reaction at all lol

└Starlight Lady) I'm out right now, so I don't think I can take a look.

└Wild Grylls) Does anything come to mind, at least?

└Starlight Lady) If it came from a whale, ambergris is the only thing I can think of. Besides, I know next to nothing about sky whales.

└Wild Grylls) Understood.

In the end, I had no choice but to ask Allfather. He readily agreed and took the golden rock to examine it. We'd both agreed that I'd only cut off and send a small piece. Sending the whole thing might attract bugs for no reason.

Before long, Allfather revealed a shocking fact.

└Allfather) This is feces, you know?

└Wild Grylls) ... Sorry?

└Allfather) Feces. Whale poop.

I was dumbfounded to learn it was poop, but only for a moment.

└Allfather) Hohohohoho. This old man is truly happy. Not only have I learned that sky whales exist, I have their droppings! It truly pays to live a long life.

Allfather was ascending to paradise.