NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51
Chapter 52
After walking for an hour alongside the winding river that flows like a snake, we encountered a few monsters, but Shar easily dispatched them without breaking a sweat.
As we reached a point where the river bent sharply, I placed my hand on the wall and turned the corner—suddenly, the mist cleared, and the canyon walls widened like an hourglass.
In the center of the widened gorge lay a massive lake, larger than Harmony City itself. Water cascaded down from an unfathomable height.
The waterfall, starting from such a great altitude, naturally splashed in all directions, creating a beautiful rainbow in the sunlight.
“Ah, Daddy, could that be a rainbow!?”
“Yep, that’s right. Isn’t it pretty?”
Nestled in my arms, Shar seemed too captivated by the scenery to even respond, merely exclaiming “Wow!” in awe. Indeed, this Blindfold Lake and Tear Waterfall were breathtaking. Even in the bleak Hunter’s world, they were often cited as a must-see spectacle.
“Are you telling me this lake and waterfall are called that? Blindfold and Tear?”
“Yep. According to the map, this part looks like a blindfold. The waterfall is called Tear because…”
“Why are people so bad at naming things!?”
At this, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but laugh. It was so true. The serene lake in the midst of the echoing waterfall seemed to beg for a name that wouldn’t inspire laughter.
“But just hearing the name doesn’t spark any expectations. It’s actually this landscape that’s moving.”
“Ugh, uhm, I guess that makes sense, but….”
Yet, determined to refute it, Shar shook her head vigorously.
“I’m going to call this lake Nea Lake! It’s not quite as beautiful as Mother, but it’s still gorgeous!”
“What about the waterfall?”
“Yeon-woo Waterfall! It’s not that it’s small… or maybe it is? Anyway, it must’ve touched Mother’s heart!”
“Hahaha, that sounds good. So, the splash when Nea and I meet is Shar, right?”
“Err, I don’t really like that idea… it’s not cool….”
Ruffling Shar’s hair, Yeon-woo set her down.
Yeah, that would be nice. Just to pervade that way.
“Okay, let’s warm up, Shar. Just follow what Daddy does, alright?”
“Why suddenly warm up? Are we going to swim in a lake full of monsters?”
“Yep. We have to dive. There’s an underwater cave at the bottom of that lake. It’s the most likely spot for Dongja Sam.”
“Is it… going to wake up…?”
“Don’t worry. What lives down there is closer to a god than a monster.”
“A god…?”
As Shar awkwardly tried to mimic Yeon-woo’s warm-up, she tilted her head in question. Why is it so hard to resist the urge to answer every question a child asks?
“It’s a different case than the gods you usually hear about. This one exists without any contract; it just exists there. They call it a primordial god. You know, the Amazon River has long been seen as the river god and serpent god in stories by the tribes living there? This guy is like that too.”
“So it’s a case where they’ve deified a massive natural force?”
“Exactly. So when a flood happens in this gorge, they say, ‘The Earth Serpent opened its eyes.’ There have even been reports of a giant snake’s shadow seen during floods.”
“Wow, Daddy sounds smart. But if you know all this, why didn’t you want to come here?”
“Well… you never know… wanting to go into a lake where monsters live is just strange…”
While having that conversation and warming up, Yeon-woo and Shar took out the spare clothes they had packed. Two sets of simple shorts and white T-shirts. It was a shame not to have bought Shar a swimsuit, but that could wait for when they go to the pool later.
“I hoped we wouldn’t have to use these.”
Taking out a bag of Swamproot Powder purchased in a hurry from the Adventurer’s Guild yesterday, Yeon-woo buried it with Lizardman leather to prevent other hunter groups from potentially stealing the bag.
“Ready? If we’re lucky, we might get to see what the Earth Serpent looks like.”
“I… think I’m ready!”
With a snort, Shar, puffing out air, jumped into the lake with Yeon-woo. First, he intended to teach her how to swim lightly.
Coating their faces with Swamproot Powder, Yeon-woo and Shar pushed themselves into the lake. The clothes they wore floated in the air like feathers, creating a buoyancy.
Shar got used to swimming and diving in less than 30 minutes. Our kid really must be a genius!
Thanks to that, they could immerse their faces in the lake, basking in sunlight that had almost slipped away.
Communication was no problem since they could share thoughts mentally, so as long as Shar was taught the method to breathe underwater, they’d be fine.
The Swamproot Powder captured the air around them. It would be most accurate to think of it as creating air pockets around their faces. In practice, it wasn’t heavy nor restrictive like normal diving gear.
Of course, the time they could stay submerged was much shorter than proper diving gear, but after all, this was an innovation brought forth by the Gate.
‘Are you okay, Shar?’
[Yes! No problem!]
Confirming each other’s conditions from the bright part of the lake above, the two swam down into the depths….
*
‘We should be arriving soon, did you see enough of the lake?’
[Yeah, I want to see this friend called Earth Serpent, but I can’t see it…!!!]
If we classified it by species, it would indeed be a friend, but did they already build an inner intimacy?
‘Actually, I’ve been watching since earlier.’
[What? That’s a lie! Where is it? I can’t see it at all!]
As Shar flailed around, turning her head this way and that, Yeon-woo approached her with a smile.
‘Not over there, over here.’
Grabbing Shar’s chin, Yeon-woo swung her around. As she looked down without resisting, she saw the bottom curving smoothly.
‘Look closely. Don’t you see the scales?’
[…What?]
Indeed, when focused with magical sight, small, scale-like shapes peeked through the sand at the bottom. As they pieced together that shadow, it revealed a rather shocking shape.
[Hii, hiik! The lake bottom looks just like a snake…!!]
‘Hahah.’
Seeing Shar’s shocked expression as she clung tightly to Yeon-woo, he couldn’t help but laugh. It was a familiar reaction.
That’s exactly it. This Dangmach’i Gorge may not be on par with the Grand Canyon, but the canyon, carved out by the river, is massive and long. If a river can bisect the Korean Peninsula, there’s no need for further explanation.
And how gigantic would the embodiment of such a large river—a snake formed by the river—be?
It’s certainly not something that could fit into a lake the size of Harmony City, which is closer to the structure of a medieval Western castle, so they could continuously observe parts of the Earth Serpent’s body as they went further downstream.
‘When this guy rolls over while sleeping, the nearby landscape changes, which causes quite a stir in the Hunter world.’
[Whoa…!]
‘So you’ve seen enough? Shall we get going?’
After spinning Shar around like a pole, they turned towards the noted waterfall where the cave would be located, when something strange caught their eye at the edge of their vision.
A gigantic eye. A reptilian pupil of deep black, resembling Nea’s gaze, fixed on Yeon-woo.
‘What the…!?’
Thinking what kind of nonsense was this, as he turned his head, the sand at the bottom of the lake merely swirled, as if nothing had happened.
[Is something wrong, Daddy?]
‘…Ah, no. Nothing at all.’
It was nothing… surely.
Finding the underwater cave behind the waterfall at the bottom of the lake wasn’t very hard. It had an entrance that opened down rather than forward, similar to a beaver’s dam, making it difficult to see due to the water’s perspective. However, if you knew exactly where it was, as Yeon-woo did, it was easy to find.
Inside the cave, glowing moss dotted the rocky surfaces. Thanks to that, they could explore the cave without even needing to use magic. Yeon-woo went up first, holding Shar’s hand to pull her up as he lifted her.
“Yay, thank you!”
“Don’t mention it.”
Thanks to the Swamproot Powder, his head didn’t get wet, but his body was drenched. With a quick motion, he wrung out his clothes and then Shar, who waited with her arms raised.
“This cave isn’t very deep… but thinking that Dongja Sam is here makes it feel heavy.”
“Ah… isn’t that the other name for Mandrake? Then it probably screams, huh?”
“Imagine screaming in a cave like this; what would the tenants upstairs think?”
Below was the Earth Serpent, and above were the fish. No one would say a word.
“So, how was it, Shar? Your first scuba diving experience?”
“I never imagined I could swim like this! There were so many pretty fish and some that looked tasty! Oh! The sunlight shining through the water was so beautiful, right? Did you see it, Daddy?”
“Yeah, I did. Really beautiful, right? There might not be many places on Earth where you can safely scuba dive like this!”
“Dad, um….”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Can we, like, go to the sea someday…?”
Shar looked up at him with adorable wide eyes, and Yeon-woo couldn’t help but laugh.
“Of course. Just trust me, Daddy. I’ll show you every amazing sight of the world.”
“……Okay!”
Nodding determinedly, Shar smiled as Yeon-woo ruffled her hair and they advanced deeper into the dim cave. After about three minutes, the cave suddenly brightened up. The area where the luminescent moss had grown had noticeably increased.
Only after looking at the center did Yeon-woo and Shar understand why the moss was spreading so suddenly.
“Well, I suppose the moss should photosynthesize, right?”
“It’s quite the impressive elixir….”
Golden fruits grew from roots at the center of the cave. It looked as if it was saying, “There’s something here, and you just overlooked it?? Are you serious??”— an appearance that seemed to draw attention with a crazed allure.
“Well, I can’t blame them for being so….”
It was reasonable to speculate why a Mandrake grew in this spot. Because the Earth Serpent lay asleep, not many would dive down here, and it most likely thrived here due to the magical energy constantly emitted by the serpent.
However, fundamentally, Mandrake sustains itself on the blood of living beings. It’s not just a legend that says they grow from the blood or fluids of executed prisoners.
“If there aren’t many creatures around here, then it’ll definitely try to grab any creature that comes by and scream to make them bleed….”
“That’s terrifying. So, do you have anything prepared to pull it? It might become its meal, after all.”
“Of course, I’m prepared.”
The fact that the Mandrake’s scream could be amplified by the cave was a rather troublesome condition in some sense. He didn’t know how that person before his rebirth managed to take it, but they must have had their own secret plan.
“Shar, cover your ears. It’ll be noisy.”
“Uh… is it really okay?”
“Of course. Trust your Daddy. I’m not the kind of father who’d fall to a mere Mandrake.”
“Yes, I understand…!!”
With a solemn voice, Shar pressed her hands against her ears. How cute. With a smile on his face, Yeon-woo kneeled before the Mandrake, gripping the plant tightly with one hand as he took a deep breath.
(To be continued…)