Chapter 210: Survival
A small light flickered on in the darkness.
Something like a will-o’-the-wisp floated in the air, softly illuminating the surroundings.
「Is that magic?」
「Yeah, I can use simple magic.」
It seemed to be a type of demon magic.
Unlike human magic, which often requires incantations, this kind could be used easily by children without any need for chanting.
I could hear a gentle splashing, as if we were in a shallow pond. Looking around, I noticed an old boat floating in the middle of a slightly warm pool of water.
Holding Rara-chan close, I swam over to the boat.
「Phew…」
「It feels kind of sticky.」 Yeah, everything feels sticky.
Considering the storm that had just passed, the complete absence of that atmosphere now only meant one thing.
「We’re inside the belly of the great sea dragon.」
「That’s the only explanation that makes sense. I had a feeling this was the case.」
The great sea dragon swallows everything that falls into the depths of the ocean, just like the sailor’s legend Drake mentioned. This is more like something out of a story I read as a child—either from “Moby Dick” or perhaps “Pinocchio’s Adventures”.
Being swallowed by a giant fish… or in this case, a sea dragon, reminds me of those tales.
It seems we won’t be digested immediately, but looking around with the light, I could see the floating bones of various animals, so we can’t afford to waste any time.
We were in the stomach of a monster, meaning digestive fluids or something similar could start being released at any moment.
「Takeru-san, what should we do?」
「We can’t stay here long; we need to escape quickly.」
I grabbed a long bone floating nearby and used it as an oar, steering the boat toward the pinkish stomach wall.
「What are you going to do?」
「It might be a bit rough, but this is the plan!」
Drawing my magic sword from my waist, I channeled the power of the ‘Neutral Sword’ to its maximum output. Since we were far from the Eura Continent, the holy magic of Asama was weakened, and the power of the ‘Sword of Light’ couldn’t be fully utilized.
However, the power of the ‘Neutral Sword’ given to me by the Mother of Chaos seemed stronger in comparison, so there was no problem. With the sword blazing intensely in silver flames, I began to slice through the pink stomach wall, digging a hole.
「Whoa, it’s shaking again…」
「Stay close to me. And please, try not to throw up from seasickness!」
To the sea dragon, it must have felt like a vicious parasite was tearing through its insides. Its massive body shook violently, as if in an earthquake.
But I didn’t stop. I kept slashing through the stomach wall, cutting deeper into the flesh, aiming to reach the outside.
At some point, I must have severed an artery, because a flood of blood poured over me. But once I started, I couldn’t stop. I continued cutting and slashing, desperate to reach the outside. The sea dragon roared in pain, but I pressed on.
Eventually, seawater gushed in through the hole I had made, just like when the hull of a submarine is breached. Realizing this, I quickly called out.
「Rara-chan, we’re about to be submerged in the ocean! Hold your breath!」
As I thought that the sea dragon might be in a submerged state, we were suddenly expelled from its body, thrown into the sea. Now, I could only hope that the sea dragon hadn’t dived too deep.
I swam desperately toward the light above, bubbles rising around me. Finally, I broke through the surface.
「Phew…」
It had been the middle of the night when we were swallowed, but now it seemed that dawn was beginning to break. I looked around to check on Rara-chan and saw that the boat was floating upside down nearby.
「There’s the boat!」
「Great job, Rara-chan!」
While I had been busy tearing open the sea dragon’s belly, Rara-chan had managed to hold on to the stomach-acid-soaked boat and drag it along with her. Rara-chan, who inherited the strong bloodline of the demons of the Afri Continent, might be much tougher than me.
Instead of drowning in the sea, she had pulled the large boat up to the surface ahead of me. The boat would be a great help—it would keep us from being thrown back into the rough sea.
Or rather… the sea wasn’t rough anymore. The storm had calmed, and the sea had returned to a peaceful state with the rising sun.
As I righted the overturned boat and climbed back in, I could finally relax. With the sun rising, it meant that the storm and lightning had passed.
The morning sky was clear as far as the eye could see. The great sea dragon, which had been raging moments ago, had disappeared without a trace.
「Huh, I thought there would be another fight.」
Rather than fleeing, it seemed that the sea dragon had thrashed around in pain and swam off somewhere. After being sliced open and thrashing in the water, the sea dragon probably didn’t even notice us, mere specks to its enormous form.
「Takeru-san, I don’t see the ship…」
「Yeah, it’s nowhere in sight…」
By the ship, I didn’t mean the boat we were on. The black cedar warship we had arrived on was nowhere to be found.
It seemed we had completely lost contact with it.
「What should we do?」
「Don’t worry. Kaara can fly, so she’ll definitely be looking for us. For now, let’s wait for rescue.」
There was no guarantee that the two black cedar warships had survived, but they wouldn’t have sunk from just that storm and the attacks. When lost and waiting for rescue, it’s important not to panic. With that in mind, the best course of action was to conserve energy and wait.
「Hey, Takeru-san. Isn’t that land over there?」
「Eh… you’re right!」
Far on the horizon, I could faintly make out the silhouette of an island.
Change of plans. I used my magic sword as an oar and started paddling towards the distant island.
No matter how much I rowed, the island remained far off, but it gradually grew larger. It didn’t seem like an ordinary island—it was too large.
It looked more like a peninsula. It might even be the new continent we were aiming for!
Fueled by the excitement, I kept rowing until the sun was high overhead. Finally, the boat touched the sandy shore.
「Ugh, I’m exhausted…」
After fighting all night and escaping from the belly of the sea dragon, I had overexerted myself using the power of the ‘Neutral Sword.’ Now that we had reached a safe place, exhaustion hit me all at once.
「You did well.」
Rara-chan, who had somehow found a palm leaf, began to fan me with it. If there were palm leaves, there must be coconuts too.
「I’m thirsty. Let’s see if we can find something to drink.」
「In that case, how about those?」
The palm trees beyond the beach were heavy with clusters of coconuts.
「Oh, I was worried we’d have to start a survival life from scratch, but it looks like we’re off to an easy start.」
「Then I’ll go get them!」
I was thinking of throwing a rock to knock them down, but Rara-chan had already started climbing the palm tree with ease.
As a half-reptilian Reptilian, Rara-chan seemed to be quite skilled at tree climbing.
She quickly tossed the coconuts down. When I cracked one open with a stone, a lot of sweet juice flowed out. Taking a sip, the refreshing liquid spread through my tired body. The fruit itself was also delicious.
「Phew, this is criminally good. It’s just a coconut, and it doesn’t seem to be poisonous.」
「It’s yummy!」
In a survival situation, eating or drinking something unfamiliar right away can be dangerous—some things could be poisonous.
So, kids, don’t try this at home.
As a hero, I’ve become immune to most poisons, so I’m perfect for the role of food tester. Plus, I have antidote potions and elixirs in my pouch, just in case.
Given Rara-chan’s high physical abilities, capable of pulling a boat, and my ability to use the ‘Neutral Sword’, which could double as a woodworking tool, the usual hardships of survival life might not apply to us. Even if this were a deserted island, we could probably build a mansion more impressive than the Dragon Palace on Rango Land Island while waiting for rescue.
「But from ‘Pinocchio’s Adventure’ to ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ huh?」
「What’s that?」
「It’s a story about a man stranded on a deserted island. Though it turns out not to be deserted after all.」
「Sounds fun. Just like us!」
「Yeah. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of human habitation, but I’d be happy if we found someone living here.」
Rara-chan, who had left Sheba Village, was a curious girl interested in everything. Despite her age, she remained remarkably calm, even after being swallowed by a sea dragon and stranded on what seemed to be a deserted island.
Well, that makes sense. The area around Sheba Village where Rara-chan lived is a hellish environment, with scorching deserts infested with man-eating sand snakes.
In comparison, this place is much more livable, with food and water available. No wonder she’s unfazed.
「Hey, I’m all sticky.」
「Yeah, after being covered in stomach acid, we need to wash it off before it starts to itch.」
Both of us were sticky, with dirt sticking to our clothes. Even with fresh coconut juice to drink, we needed to clean up before the irritation set in.
「I guess in a situation like this, the first thing to do is to build a shelter. However, I think we should start with a bathtub.」
「Oohhh, bathtub!…..what’s a bathtub?」
Why did you react happily if you don’t know what it is?
Well, there are a lot of places where people don’t take baths.
「Seawater is full of salt. We’ll get salt crusts if we use it. Let’s find a river.」
「Yes!」
I decided to move inland in search of a freshwater source. Fortunately, we had plenty of coconuts to eat and drink along the way.
Just then, we heard the faint sound of a helicopter’s rotor from the direction of the sea.