43. Vegetarian Crocodile
Rangga remained seated in the mud, staring at the spot where the Simosuchus had been standing moments earlier.
The creature was also frozen in place, cautiously peeking its head out from behind the mangrove roots, as if making sure Rangga wasn't about to chase it.
A few seconds later, the Simosuchus slowly turned around. Then it waddled away with short, cautious steps before disappearing among the swamp trees.
Rangga blinked several times.
"...It really ran away."
Only then did he turn to the golden screen still floating before him.
Mechanical Simosuchus
Description: A herbivorous mechanical reptile that inhabits swamp regions. It spends most of its time feeding on aquatic plants and swamp flowers. Despite its intimidating crocodile-like appearance, it is extremely timid and will immediately flee whenever it detects danger.
Weakness: The optical sensor on its head is highly vulnerable to ranged attacks.
Drops:
Preservation Module
Reinforced Synthetic Hide
Armor Blueprint
Rangga read the description slowly.
"...Herbivore... Timid."
He paused for a moment.
"Wait... A vegetarian crocodile? Is that even a thing?"
He placed a hand on his chest.
"Damn it... Nearly gave me a heart attack."
He looked toward the place where the Simosuchus had disappeared.
There was nothing there anymore. The creature had genuinely chosen to flee rather than face him.
Rangga let out a long sigh.
"Huff... Nothing about these islands has made any sense since day one... Damn it."
One liked stealing. One charged everything in sight. One attacked with flying kicks. And now there was a vegetarian crocodile that was actually afraid of humans.
Still shaking his head, Rangga walked toward the patch of Swamp Yarrow.
This time, however, he was much more cautious. His eyes constantly scanned the swamp.
Left, right. Every now and then, he even poked the mud with the tip of his spear, making sure there weren't any more "vegetarian robot crocodiles" hiding beneath the surface.
"Don't pop out again, okay... My heart hasn't recovered yet."
After making sure the area was completely safe, Rangga put away his spear and drew his copper knife.
One by one, he carefully harvested the Swamp Yarrow flowers.
As he cut the stems, he continued grumbling to himself.
"Seriously... A vegetarian crocodile? Who even designed that thing? What if I'd gotten so scared that I ran straight into the deep swamp?"
He placed the flowers into his boat's inventory while occasionally glancing nervously toward the trees.
Even though he now knew the Simosuchus wasn't dangerous. It still looked way too much like a crocodile for him to truly relax.
On Earth, The moment the scaly creature emerged from the mud, millions of viewers watching Rangga's livestream held their breath.
From the camera's perspective, all they saw was a crocodile-like mechanical creature suddenly appearing right beside him.
The comment section instantly exploded.
"A CROCODILE!"
"Behind you, Rangga!"
"RUN!!"
"Watch out!"
"Don't get close!"
Across the world, countless viewers instinctively jumped out of their seats.
Then Rangga screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAH!! A ROBOT CROCODILE!!"
He immediately turned around and ran as fast as he could.
But only a few seconds later. Something happened that nobody had expected.
The crocodile-like creature let out a frightened squeal. Then turned around and ran away even faster than Rangga.
...
For several seconds, the comment section fell completely silent. Not a single new message appeared. Everyone was trying to process what they had just witnessed.
Then the comments exploded.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"THE CROCODILE GOT SCARED TOO!"
"THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER SEEN A CROCODILE RUN AWAY!"
"WHO'S SCARING WHO HERE?!"
"RANGGA RAN... AND THE CROCODILE RAN TOO!"
"Poor crocodile... It probably got startled too!"
"I thought we were about to watch an intense battle."
"Instead, they both panicked."
Clips of the incident were immediately cut and shared across social media. Funny headlines quickly appeared.
"For the First Time in History: A Crocodile Runs Away from a Human."
"Who Is the Real Predator?"
At the Garuda Presidential Palace, General Suryo, who had been watching the livestream from the beginning, frowned in confusion.
He pointed at the screen, where Rangga was still wiping mud off his body.
"Huh..."
He turned toward the team of analysts.
"Do crocodiles actually run away like that?"
Several analysts exchanged glances.
A zoologist slowly shook his head.
"Earth crocodiles generally don't behave that way, General... Especially one that size."
Another analyst added,
"It seems the behavior of the mechanical creatures in the Pioneer World can't be compared to Earth's animals."
General Suryo looked back at the screen.
"Hmm... So something that looks terrifying isn't necessarily dangerous... And something that looks harmless isn't necessarily safe."
Several analysts nodded in agreement. The longer they observed the Pioneer World. The more they realized that appearance was no longer a reliable way to judge the nature of the creatures living there.
Rangga stored all of the Swamp Yarrow in his inventory.
After making sure none had been left behind, he gripped his spear once more and continued walking through the swamp.
His pace remained slow. His eyes constantly watched the muddy surface.
If one "vegetarian crocodile" had nearly scared him to death. There might be more.
A few minutes later, beneath a large tree, he spotted another mechanical creature.
Mechanical Simosuchus.
It had lowered its head and was quietly feeding on swamp plants growing around the tree's roots.
Rangga stopped.
...
He observed it for a few moments. The creature hadn't noticed him at all.
Rangga slowly slung his spear onto his back and took out his Composite Alloy Bow.
"If its weak point is the head..."
He slowly drew the bowstring.
Creeeak...
The tip of the arrow lined up perfectly with the Simosuchus's optical sensor. Rangga steadied his breathing.
Then—
Whoosh!
The arrow shot forward.
Thunk!
It struck the Simosuchus squarely in the head.
"Miiieeekk!!"
The startled creature rolled across the ground. But instead of attacking. It immediately tried to get back up and run away.
"Hey, trying to run?"
Rangga had already nocked another arrow.
Whoosh!
Thunk!
The second arrow struck its head again. The Simosuchus immediately stopped moving.
A few seconds later, its body dissolved into particles of light. Only two items remained on the muddy ground.
Preservation Module and Reinforced Synthetic Hide.
Rangga chuckled.
"It really is a scaredy-cat... Damn."
He casually walked over to collect the loot. But after only a few steps, another golden screen appeared.
Swamp Cypress
Description: A large swamp tree capable of growing in muddy, waterlogged environments. Its hardwood is highly resistant to moisture and decay, making it an excellent material for construction.
Weakness: Can be chopped down using an axe.
Rangga immediately stopped walking. His gaze slowly shifted toward the tree where the Simosuchus had been feeding.
The trunk was massive. Its bark was grayish in color
Its roots firmly gripped the swampy ground.
Rangga's face instantly brightened.
"I knew it... There really is hardwood here."
All the worries he'd had since yesterday were finally answered.
He hurried over, collected the Preservation Module and Reinforced Synthetic Hide, and stored them in his inventory.
Then, without wasting another second, Rangga swapped his bow for his copper axe.
The smile never left his face.
"If that's the case... I can finish everything in one trip."
He raised the axe high above his head and began chopping down the Swamp Cypress.
Thack!
Thack!
Thack!