TL NOTE
All mentions of Lolo Gougarf throughout the Tidal Island arc should be Gogomoa. The error affects both published and already drafted chapters, making it difficult to correct everywhere.
My apologies, and thanks to Salvosdd for pointing it out.
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Neither Morgan nor Theo was the kind of person who could sit still for long.
Morgan was only a 4★ Hunter, yet he already wore a Seltas Queen Gunner Set made from the materials of a Large Monster rated at 5★. That alone made his appetite for danger obvious.
Theo was also the type to stick his nose into any commotion.
At the prospect raised by the Village Chief and Altaïr, neither showed any concern. Instead, both grew excited.
Morgan quickly checked his ammunition, then nodded to Altaïr. "I brought plenty of Spread Ammo and Sticky Ammo, enough to sustain a high-intensity fight."
Theo, meanwhile, turned around to show his companions the strangely shaped, intricately constructed wooden barrel on his back. "If we really get the chance to hunt a Large Monster, I'll show you all what I can do. Hehehe."
"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask. What is that barrel?" Isis walked back over after finally scrubbing the sticky fungal filaments from her hands. "You've been carrying it this whole time. Is it some special kind of Item Pouch?"
"It's not that simple!" Theo waggled his eyebrows and let out a strange laugh. "I'll keep it a mystery for now. I've been exploring all over lately and haven't had a chance to fight anything.
When we finally run into a big Monster, you'll all see what this thing can do!"
"All this mystery, meow." Clawdia was not pleased with Theo's secrecy.
Sajji ventured a guess. "Could it be some kind of special Barrel Bomb, meow?
But isn't it a little too small for that, meow? Even with the highest-grade gunpowder, a barrel that size probably couldn't seriously wound a Large Monster, meow."
Sajji's suggestion made Clawdia take a closer look at the small barrel on Theo's back. "Not necessarily, meow. There are plenty of explosives stronger than gunpowder, but that probably isn't what it is, meow."
As they spoke, none of them noticed the Village Chief staring at the wooden barrel with a strange expression, as though he recognized it.
"All right, let's move. We'll follow the river upstream. Since the coral came from the sea, we should find more traces farther upstream." Altaïr waved them onward and set off at a steady jog.
The others hurried after him.
An ordinary, untrained person would have struggled to keep up with a Hunter's pace, but the Village Chief was clearly no ordinary person. Surrounded by the Hunters for protection, he ran nimbly and even found time to study their surroundings.
After the group had followed the riverbank for several hundred meters, sharp-eyed Morgan spotted another piece of gray-green coral rock.
This one was much smaller than the first, barely larger than a fist. If half of what looked like a starfish skeleton had not been stuck to it, the Hunters might have overlooked it entirely.
Altaïr picked up the coral rock to examine it and once again found the strange fungal filaments.
"We're on the right trail. Keep going."
The terrain on both sides of the Great River was fairly flat, with no trees or vines to impede them. In just over half an hour, the group covered more than ten kilometers.
By then, the terrain had begun to change.
The layer of soil underfoot grew thinner, giving way to gray-white rock. The land turned uneven, with fissures, caves, and oddly shaped boulders scattered everywhere.
The group's pace inevitably slowed.
Altaïr, still leading the way, suddenly raised a hand to signal a halt and warn everyone to stay alert.
Isis and Theo immediately raised their shields and guarded either side of the Village Chief. Morgan brought his Heavy Bowgun to bear, watching for threats around them.
Altaïr took a few steps toward the riverbank. A distinct drag mark scored the pebble-strewn shore, clearly left by something heavy being pulled across it.
Had some Large Monster dragged its tail along the ground as it passed?
He moved closer and estimated the width of the mark. It measured a good three to four meters across, which immediately ruled out his first guess.
If the tail alone were truly three to four meters wide, the Monster's body would likely be at least fifty meters long. Any colossal Monster crossing this rocky shoal would have left far more than a single drag mark.
He crouched beside the mark and picked up a stone.
Strands of fungal mycelium clung to it. Looking around, he also found fragments of a porous, coral-like material.
"That thing definitely left this," Altaïr said, turning his gaze downriver toward the estuary.
Some kind of Large Monster had come ashore at the estuary carrying coral rock from the sea, or perhaps covered in it, and followed the river all the way upstream.
His gaze traced the obvious drag mark.
Then it had left the river and entered this maze of rocky hills?
He explained his deductions to the others, then turned to the Village Chief. "Chief, we're already quite far from the planned outpost site.
If that Monster makes its home around here, we shouldn't have to worry about it attacking the outpost directly. However..."
"But you're concerned that it might regularly travel along the river between the sea and these rocky hills, either to feed or for some other purpose, aren't you?"
The Village Chief finished Altaïr's thought. "If so, it would certainly pose a threat to an outpost built beside the Great River. Let's keep tracking it. At the very least, we need to learn what that thing is.
That knowledge will also help us devise suitable defenses when we establish the outpost."
"Understood."
Once they found the obvious drag mark, tracking became much easier.
Altaïr did not know exactly what had been dragged across the ground, but it must have been both extremely heavy and hard. It had scored even solid rock with grooves like those left by a giant file.
The Hunters slowed down and followed the trail as it wound through the uneven stone forest. They continued for several more kilometers.
After cresting one of the rolling rocky hills, they came upon a colossal stone fissure dozens of meters long. At its far end yawned a sinkhole more than fifteen meters in diameter.
The drag trail vanished into the fissure, clearly leading underground.
"Whew!" Theo whistled. "That looks like a passage to hell, doesn't it?
What do you say, everyone? Are we going down?"
Morgan shot him a glare, pulled a portable oil lamp from his pack, lit it, and hung it from his belt. His actions made his answer clear.
Altaïr, the squad leader, frowned slightly. He had no qualms about charging into a battle with some Monster. With two 5★ and two 4★ Hunters in the party, they could handle most situations unless they had the rotten luck to encounter an Elder Dragon-level Monster.
But diving straight into what looked like a Monster den was another matter. He was not that reckless.
"We'll need rope." The Village Chief cut in as soon as the words left Altaïr's mouth.
"Rope? I've got it!"
The Village Chief lowered the huge jar-shaped pack from his back and pulled out a long coil of rope. "Need anything else? I have alchemical torches too!"
"...Thanks."
Altaïr walked to the edge of the pit and peered down. Perhaps the angle kept sunlight from reaching inside, but the bottom was pitch-black and impossible to make out.
He tied one of the torches to the end of the rope and slowly lowered it into the pit to gauge its depth first.
The torch soon touched the bottom.
Altaïr was surprised, not because the pit was too deep, but because it was unexpectedly shallow.
Even "shallow" was not quite right. The vertical drop from the opening to the floor was still more than twenty meters. At that depth, the bottom should have been visible in daylight.
He leaned over the edge again and looked more carefully. Only then did he realize that the poor visibility was not due to the lighting alone.
A haze of dust filled the bottom of the cave and obscured the sunlight. Even the torch he had lowered into the pit looked blurred and indistinct.
After a moment's thought, Altaïr turned to his companions. "There's a haze of dust down there, and I can't see a thing. I'll go down alone and scout. Wait for my signal.
If the terrain below isn't safe to move through, pull me back up. We can return with filter masks or something similar."
"I'll go with you." Isis stepped closer.
Altaïr raised a palm to stop her. "If I go alone, all of you can haul me out in seconds.
With two of us down there, you couldn't pull us both up as quickly. That makes it less safe."
Isis hesitated.
Morgan took the Heavy Bowgun from his back, crouched at the edge of the pit, and set it up. "I'll keep watch from here. If anything happens, I can provide immediate fire support."
Isis gritted her teeth and raised her Gunlance as well. "I'll cover you too. At this distance, my shells should just barely reach..."
"Don't," Altaïr quickly cut in. "Your Glavenus Gunlance uses Wide shelling. You'd turn me into Swiss cheese too."
Isis fell silent.
"All right, don't worry so much. If anything goes wrong, I'll call for you."
Altaïr grinned, tightened his weapon strap, seized the rope, and leaped backward into the pit.
(Translated by yourtl.app)