Read Novel Full Vol 17 Chapter 16
Vol 17 Chapter 16
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Chapter 16 – Ecology of the Water Magical Creature
Taking advantage of a small gap in the dawn, we rushed with the Pal into the mythical royal capital. The city was half buried in sand, but for some reason, the area around the plaza was not, and the fountain in the center was still functional, spewing clean water at high speed. Moreover, the water was said to be a magical creature. I don’t understand a thing.
“Well… I heard that it’s a magical creature, but what should we do?”
I guess we should either look for the core or leave it alone, but I have no idea what the right answer is.
“Magical creatures have life, even if it’s temporary. The fact that such a creature survived in the royal capital, which was destroyed so long ago that it was not even recorded, means that it must have some way of sustaining life.”
Ilma-san tells us about the magical creatures as if she is explaining them to us. She seems to be thinking a bit, so perhaps she is sorting out the situation as she puts it into words.
“If they were alive, would there be a problem?”
Alessia-san asked a basic question.
Yes, it’s true. It’s a mysterious creature, so it’s not strange if it’s alive. After all, it is a mysterious creature.
“Yes, there are cases where it’s not a problem, but in those cases, it’s easy to take the obvious solution of taking a life to save a life. Are you aware of this? We haven’t seen a single monster since we entered the royal capital, have we?”
“Now that you mention it, yes. The sun has already risen, and considering the density of monsters we’ve seen so far, it seems strange that we haven’t seen any monsters.”
Dorothea-san nodded in agreement with Ilma-san’s explanation.
You can’t see any monsters? I also imagined that there were many monsters in the royal capital.
It’s starting to sound terrifying, but I think it’s because of the magical creature in the water in front of us.
It’s not like seeing the true form of a ghost or a withered silver grass… If it were a withered silver grass, I wouldn’t be afraid, but this magical creature seems to be frightening.
“Yes, that’s right. So, I’m going to experiment a little. Everyone, if it’s what I think it is, it will attack, so be on the lookout.”
Ilma-san suddenly announced that she was going to experiment. I think she has a bit of a crazy streak in her.
“Wait, you think we’re going to be attacked?”
Alessia-san is a surprisingly reasonable person, isn’t she? As expected from a leader.
“If I’m right, we could be attacked anywhere there’s water. If that’s the case, it’s better to try it here, where the surroundings are open. There’s also the barrier of the Pal.”
I see; once we enter the palace, we can leave the ship’s barrier, right?
“If that’s the case, we’d better try it. Ilma, I’m counting on you.”
Alessia-san thought the same and gave her permission for Ilma-san’s experiment.
“I understand.”
After receiving Alessia-san’s permission, Ilma-san gently extends her hand outside the barrier. Is this all there is to the experiment?
Slightly disappointed, the water from the fountain rises and attacks Ilma-san’s hand.
She quickly pulled her hand back, and at about the same time, the water hit the barrier and splashed out.
“Ilma, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. But it was faster than I thought.”
Ilma-san answers Alessia-san’s question with a smile. I’m glad she’s okay, but why the smile?
“Hey, look at that, Master.”
Ines points to the fountain, surprised to see Ilma-san’s smile.
Wow, the surface of the water is in some kind of frenzy. Did it get angry because it couldn’t eat Ilma-san’s hand?
Boom! A huge pillar of water rises from the well, and the next thing you know, all the barriers are covered in water.
I see; it couldn’t catch its prey, so next time, it will swallow it in one gulp.
The Pal floats up and is carried away by the water.
Right, the Great Worm had never moved on land except when it swallowed us whole, so I didn’t know it could move on land when water came along.
I was a little surprised, but of course, the Pal is also an amphibious vehicle.
For some reason, none of us panicked, and we were all quietly carried by the water to the corner of the plaza. Perhaps the plaza had been spared from sand erosion because this had happened so many times before.
When we reached the corner of the plaza and landed on the sand, the water returned to the fountain like a receding wave, leaving us alone.
Since we were inside the barrier, it seemed that we were recognized as foreign objects, not prey. It was a little disconcerting to be treated like garbage.
Well, Ilma, did you find out anything?”
Yes, I found out a lot of interesting things.
When I asked Ilma-san a question on board Pal No. 2, she began to develop her own theory as if she had been waiting for the question. There are some words that sound difficult to understand, but will I be able to understand them?
I couldn’t understand the details, but I managed to get the gist. In short, it seems to be this.
The water magic creature reacts to life or magic power.
The ship’s barrier blocks it, and the water magic creature does not see it as a prey target.
The core of the water magic creature is not in the fountain but somewhere else because of its reaction to magic power.
That sums it up in three lines. That’s why researchers…
“So, in order to safely investigate, we should first aim to eliminate the core of the magical creature, right?”
“Yes. Since water and the magical creature are definitely connected, we can assume that the core is located in the center of the water source in the royal capital.”
Ilma-san nodded in agreement with Alessia-san’s decision. If all places where there is water are danger zones, it would be a safe decision because you can’t search for treasures carelessly.
“But where is the water source?”
A simple question from Carla-san. Come to think of it, in the desert, you usually build a city near a body of water, like an oasis.
A huge city like the royal capital should have such a huge oasis, but I can’t find a shred of water other than a fountain.
Perhaps it has dried up? That’s why the royal capital was destroyed… No, then I wonder about the existence of the water magic creature. Since it is a water magic creature, it would need water in addition to life force and magic.
An invisible water source, or one that would be difficult to find.
“It would be safe to stimulate the water in the well again and check the flow of magic power.”
Ilma suggested a solution. I have no idea about the flow of magic power, but if we can trace it, it would be the right answer.
After Ilma-san’s suggestion was accepted, we approached the fountain again.
This time, Ilma-san concentrated on the flow of magic power, and Marina-san took her hand out of the barrier.
As before, the water attacked, and when she dodged it, we were again swept away by a large amount of water.
“The flow of magic power continues from the royal palace, huh?”
Ilma-san told us a little uncomfortably.
We wanted to explore the royal palace safely, so we wanted to deal with the water magic creature first, but it ended up being a sad result.
“The royal palace. I wonder if it’s the same now as it has always been, that the powerful monopolize what’s important to them.”
Dorothea complained as she looked at the royal palace with dissatisfaction. It’s true; if you have a monopoly on water in the desert, your power base is rock solid. It’s dying, but…
“Hmm? Watch out! There’s something wrong with the fountain!”
Suddenly, Marina-san gives a warning command. I look at the fountain, and we are far away from it, but the water is swirling wildly. Why is it doing that?
“Maybe it’s angry because we didn’t feed it?”
…Ines has a point. If we were food for the magical water creature, that would mean that we dangled food in front of it twice and then left it as it was. It’s usually harassment.
The water vibrates slightly, and we hear a strange sound coming from the fountain.
“An enormous amount of magic power is being spread.”
Ilma-san tells us about the flow of magic power. It seems that the magic is spreading along with the sound.
We stay alert for a while, but nothing happens except for the anomalies in the fountain. The magic power seems to be spreading, but there is no other change.
“What should we do, Ilma?”
“Even if you say what to do… it’s a bad idea to move in this state, isn’t it?”
Alessia-san asks Ilma-san a question she can’t stand, but Ilma-san is also confused if there is anything we can do.
We can run away, but there is little point in running away because of the barrier. So we wait for now.
“Master, I hear something coming from the gate.”
Just when I was getting a little bored with the unchanged situation, Felicia sensed a change in the situation.
When she looked in the direction of the gate, there was a cloud of dust.
After a while, the familiar sound of monster footsteps appeared, along with the sight of many monsters. They had been chasing us for so long that it had become a familiar sight.
Perhaps the abnormality of the fountain attracted the monsters.
Hmm, that might not be a bad way to get rid of invaders. Unless we’re the ones they’re after.
“We can’t run around the royal capital. Let’s go to a place where it will be easier to fight.”
Alessia-san instructed us to move near the buildings in the square. The walls have already taken out one side of the city, so it will be a little easier to fight.
“Huh?”
The monsters that entered the plaza were about to come towards us, but they ignored us and charged into the well.
“Whoa…”
A huge column of water rises from the well, enveloping the horde of monsters that have jumped in. Obviously, there is not enough water in the well alone, so it must be replenished from somewhere.
The hordes of monsters were swallowed one by one. The water rushed into the Pal as well, but thanks to the barrier, we were not swallowed.
The sound of the monsters’ bodies being crushed could be heard. It seems that the magical creatures have a lot of physical strength despite being water.
Crushing, killing, dissolving, and absorbing. It’s disgusting, but it seems to be efficient.
“It seems that it didn’t call the monsters to kill us but to eat them.”
Ines said disgustedly, but I think she was right. After we toyed with it twice, it called for food on its own.
Before our eyes, the monsters were absorbed one by one, and finally, the magical creature returned to the well. The monsters in the back of the group that were not swallowed by the water fled without even looking at us.
I understand why there were no monsters in the royal capital and why this area has become a dangerous zone.
The water magic creature has the ability to attract monsters to the capital with sound or magic power, and it eats the monsters in the capital and the surrounding area.
The leftover monsters reproduce in the vicinity of the capital. Repeatedly, the density of the monsters will increase, and as they devour each other, stronger monsters will be created, like an alluring poison. Over a long period of time, the area will turn into a danger zone.
It’s just my imagination, but I don’t think it’s wrong.
I mean, the only reason the plaza was so clean was because this plaza was a feeding ground for the magical creature.
“…Anyway, let’s go to the royal palace…”
When the plaza became quiet, Alessia-san gave us instructions on what to do next.
It’s a natural order if we don’t retreat… but are we going to go to the royal palace where the main body of the magical creature that cruelly crushed the group of monsters is? I’m getting a little scared.