Chapter 204
Turning back time a little, when they were still in the Elder Things' city.
He didn't know exactly where Yurik had been trying to go.
Yurik also had limits to what he could explain himself, and when they escaped, it seemed his body had moved first before he could think about grasping the surrounding geography in detail.
But while he was still receiving the Elder Things' favor, he could obtain information about the nearby geography.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't well-organized books or written information, but rather the result of comprehensive speculation based on content he had inadvertently heard while conversing with the Elder Things.
"First, it's certain there are other life forms besides the Elder Things and Shoggoths in this area."
"Other life forms?"
"They said the research materials they used as the basis for creating Shoggoths and you were nearby. I think I heard they captured and brought them."
Though he couldn't know what the 'research materials' were or what they consisted of, it was at least clear they were alive.
Actually, looking at the Shoggoths as the result of research, there was a high possibility that the life forms that became the basis for Shoggoths wouldn't be favorable to them either, ...But looking at Yurik, wasn't there no guarantee it would be that way? No, of course, even though they called Yurik a defective product.
Strictly speaking, Yurik and the Shoggoths were brothers from the same root.
If there were violent ones like the Shoggoths, wouldn't there also be ones like the current Yurik?
Yurik stuck close to his side and asked.
"Then are we going to look for that?"
"We don't have to meet them, but if possible, it's better to find land where life forms can live. Do you remember the red wasteland we crossed to get here?"
"Yes."
"There was no water there, and you had nothing to eat, so it was really hard."
"Yes... I didn't like walking. The dirt kept getting eaten."
Yurik's face scrunched up as he seemed to remember the red wasteland that had no end no matter how much they walked.
While ruffling Yurik's rough hair, he tried to gauge the distance to where the life forms lived.
How far was 'nearby' according to flying life forms like the Elder Things?
They were beings who originally traversed the universe riding interstellar winds and solar winds between stars.
However, now that they had settled on Earth, there was also the possibility they had considerably degenerated.
The Elder Things had appeared on Earth about 1 billion years ago.
He didn't know how much time had passed since then until they built cities, created countless life forms including Yurik and the Shoggoths, and conducted various research.
But judging by young Yurik being 7,000 years old, the Elder Things probably hadn't had a chance to use their wings for at least 100 million years.
"...Winter migratory birds in our country fly 3,000 kilometers to Korea, but how far can the Elder Things fly?"
"Migratory birds?"
"You don't need to know yet."
No. There was no need to sell the farm in advance.
The 'research materials' might be closer than expected, and if they were lucky, it would be an opportunity to understand this planet's current situation in detail.
The finally decided route was to go straight ahead using the red land and small lake where they had met as a midpoint.
The process of preparing for travel went smoothly.
Since he didn't need to eat or drink, they only needed to pack food for Yurik.
Whenever they had a chance, they would go to the garden and gather various things including the red berries Yurik had been carrying.
Food check, water check, and finally his book and pen.
When the sun set and a large moon illuminated the bottom of the giant city,
They escaped the Elder Things' city with only simple luggage.
Thank you for everything, giant circular body friends.
[Yu Yesung's steps did not easily fade away.
Was it because of the strange sense of kinship as an alien species that had crash-landed on the planet,
Or was it thanks to the favor they had shown him without reservation for a long period?
It might have been due to the guilt arising from being unable to respond to their request for Yurik's return.
But at this moment, Yesung could dare to assert.
They were among the first residents to nest on this planet,
And were the First Ones armed with gentle temperaments and rational intelligence that pursued harmony.
Yu Yesung, who knew a little about their future, could only feel sorry.
The moment the 'Shoggoth Rebellion' occurred once more,
The Elder Things were destined to slowly enter the path of destruction.]
*
"Are you okay?"
"No... well..."
It had definitely been fine at first.
Whether because of the Elder Things' recovery pod, he felt more energetic than usual.
But after three consecutive days of sleeping rough, the overflowing energy had disappeared without a trace.
Of course, the confidence that had existed along with the energy had long since evaporated like smoke.
Eventually, the frequency of rests increased, but the problem was...
"Yesung is too weak."
"I don't want to hear that from you, even if it might be true in the future..."
"But we only walked a little. We rested over there once."
"I know that too!"
Young Yurik looked at him with a pitiful expression, then split a fruit stolen from the Elder Things' garden in half and handed it to him.
After drinking some of the juice dripping from the juicy fruit, he finally felt some energy.
Yurik bit into the remaining half and tilted his head.
"Doesn't the planet where Yesung was have long walks?"
"Since public transportation is well developed, there's no need to walk for long periods. No, rather, the reason I can't walk much isn't because of that."
"Then?"
"It's because this body is weak."
"...Mmm."
Seeing Yurik try to hide his pitiful expression made him feel even more self-deprecating.
But 'Arenheit's' body was really weak.
His original body in Korea hadn't been this frail.
He had lived without drinking or smoking, had life muscles trained from years of housework.
On weekends, he had lightly jogged around the neighborhood park, managing his stamina in his own way.
But when was it that he first regressed after coming here?
His nosebleed wouldn't stop and kept flowing.
At that time, he couldn't even think it was strange.
When he first faced death, he was too scared. Yurik was scary, and this world was scary.
So he could do nothing but desperately think about how to escape this situation.
Naturally, he couldn't think deeply about his physical condition.
It would have been good if he had known that death just before regression greatly affected the body.
But by then, he had already entered unstoppable runaway train mode.
Damn! He should have lived taking better care of his body! It would have been nice if there had been a regressor's guide or something!
"Yesung. Are you crying? Is it because of what I said?"
"...No. I just had sad thoughts for a moment. Rather than that, how far do you think we've come from the city?"
"Hmm."
Yurik took a big bite of fruit with a crunch, then answered.
"If the Elder Things chase us, one day. If Shoggoths come instead, one day and half a day."
"We haven't come as far as I thought."
"If we go a little more, we'll reach where we slept last time. Should we sleep there again?"
"Since we don't need to find a new path, I think that would be good."
As Yurik's language level improved to a considerable degree, advantages he hadn't discovered before naturally became visible.
Yurik was really good at showing the way.
Leandros had also been a genius guide, but Yurik somehow remembered the paths and places they had taken even without maps or special markers.
In a world without Naver maps or KakaoMap, the only means he had to know direction was the sun's movement.
So there were moments when Yurik's talent particularly shone.
For example, in situations like now.
"Shall we get up soon? If we keep sitting like this, I think I'll collapse here."
"I wasn't sitting... Yes."
Yurik quickly ate up the fruit he had only tasted, shook and dried his wet hands, and immediately stuck to his side.
They walked hard until the sun set. When the sun began to tilt, familiar scenery appeared as Yurik had said.
The night was still not very cold, so they didn't need to cover themselves with blankets.
He found a suitable spot to avoid dew and placed the book on the ground.
Using the thick book as a pillow and habitually stretching out his left arm, Yurik lay down using his arm as a pillow as if he had been waiting.
His eyes looking at him were bright and alert, so it seemed like getting him to sleep early today was hopeless too.
"You can hug me if you're cold."
"Then can we talk together too?"
"I wish you wouldn't use me like a living diary."
"What's a diary?"
"It's for recording what happened during the day. It's written, not spoken, but you don't know how to write well yet."
"Yesung taught me in the city. But I forgot a little."
"When we have time later, let's slowly learn again. Words quickly evaporate, but writing remains for a long time."
"Where do you write a diary?"
"In places like this. Usually on empty paper, or in books."
When he gestured to the book he was using as a pillow, Yurik looked at the book with interest.
"Does Yesung write a diary too? I've seen you scratching with that long thing every time you open it."
"The long thing is called a pen. It's not scratching, it's writing. It's not exactly a diary, but I'm writing down things that seem worth remembering."
Should he call it a diary or an autobiography?
He was writing as objectively as possible, but it was a bit much to call this a diary.
When he spoke evasively, Yurik suddenly said.
"Give me a book too. I want to write a diary."
"You mean a diary, right? If you had a diary, what kind of diary would you want to write?"
Paper hadn't been invented here yet.
And it was too much for him to cut down trees and do various things to make paper.
So he naturally changed the subject, and Yurik immediately fell for it and began to think.
At times like this, his experience raising a younger brother who often threw tantrums was very helpful.
"Walking all day today."
"That's not interesting."
"And I want to write about the taste of the fruits I ate. Sour, sweet, and bitter ones too. I'll write about the blue sky, sore feet, and the sparkling sky at night too."
"To write all that, the diary would have to be huge."
"I'll write in a really big book. And I'll write about Yesung's stories too."
"Oh. What stories about me?"
"About Yesung giving me an arm pillow, walking together, asking for directions. And resting all the time while walking."
"My being weak probably isn't important enough to write in a diary..."
"And I'll write that I like walking with Yesung."
Oh. This was unexpected.
"You like walking with me?"
"Yes. I want to keep walking together."
"Won't your feet hurt? You just said they hurt."
"It's okay. Walking with Yesung is the best."
No. This kid was thinking such precious thoughts?
Compared to Yurik from other worlds, he was nothing but a gentle sweetheart.
Are you watching! You Yurik bastards from other worlds!
Try to resemble even half of this child who giggles while using his arm as a pillow.
How did such a child become such a final weapon? This worldview was truly harmful to all things.
He patted young Yurik's belly.
"I like it too. Walking with you."
Yurik smiled brightly. After that, he chattered non-stop until he naturally fell asleep, almost bursting his eardrums,
But thanks to that, he wasn't bored until dawn.
After staying up all night watching the sleeping Yurik, he woke him at dawn.
He coaxed and soothed the whining child who was drowsy, got him up, and repeated walking again.
The journey proceeded as planned.
They replenished water at the lake and took care of hygiene.
After that, they headed toward an unknown territory that even Yurik had never been to.
Where red earth continued endlessly, toward a horizon where only wasteland continued like just before a desert.
*
"Yesung, this is a lizard."
"It really is. Lizards are seen quite often."
Yurik pointed at a reptile clinging to a rock made of red soil.
How long had they walked after that? Though it was hard to say exactly where, anyway, from the moment they clearly crossed the section that could be called the Elder Things and Shoggoths' territory, such things were frequently seen.
Small lizards or thread-thin snakes.
Since they were creatures that would immediately disappear at the slightest sound even while sunbathing in sunny spots, they weren't dangerous to them.
But somehow he felt strange.
Since reptiles were living creatures anyway, it would be better for them to be near lakes rather than in such wasteland.
Even compared to the lake, the number of lizards in the wasteland was overwhelmingly large.
Was it just needless worry, or was there something he was missing?
While he was pondering, Yurik was stealthily approaching a lizard sunbathing.
When he unconsciously followed behind Yurik, he saw a brown lizard warming its body in the warm sun in the humid air.
With a body length smaller than the width of his palm, a dark-colored body good for hiding in the shadows of the ground, and a vivid white mark on its head as if a drop of paint had been dropped, it was like...
"Come here."
"But it's a lizard."
"Come here!"
Yurik looked back at him with surprised eyes.
But it was already too late.
From cleverly hidden underground burrows,
From under the shadows of rocks and stones,
From blind spots they hadn't been able to see, snakes poured out.
Each snake's head had a vivid white crescent moon pattern clearly marked on it.