Merfolk (Part 4)

Evolution might sound splendid on paper or through the lens of modern media, but reality painted a far grimmer picture. If it veered down an aberrant path, it could very well cost a creature its life.

In the first place, true evolution was a process wrought over countless generations through perpetual cycles of birth and death. No one could predict how genes altered as abruptly as mine would manifest in the future, nor where those transformations might lead. Organisms shifting to accommodate their surroundings—that was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the essence of evolution. The terrifying reality was that such a process was never guaranteed to be benevolent.

Evolution...

I narrowed my eyes as I mulled over Allfather's hypothesis. Hearing another person's reasoned assessment lent an unsettling weight to my fears. It wasn't as though I were the chosen protagonist of some fantasy novel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or comic book; sensing mana in an instant had always been abnormal. Just as he surmised, the idea that my physiology was forcibly adapting to survive the Forest of the Four Seasons made far too much sense. Earth was an iron civilization forged purely of steel and concrete, devoid of magic, let alone the very concept of mana.

My height hovered around 175 centimeters—the dead center of average. Years of subsisting on instant ramen had saddled me with visceral fat, leaving me with a classic 'skinny-fat' build. Yet after the brutal ordeals of recent days, I could feel that stubborn layer of fat steadily melting away. That part made sense. But what followed did not.

The lean muscle hidden beneath was becoming remarkably pronounced. That defied explanation.

In terms of raw wilderness survival, shouldn't fat reserves be vastly superior?

I vaguely recalled reading somewhere that obesity had only emerged as a societal crisis less than a century ago. Before then, humanity spent millennia prioritizing the accumulation of fat because it favored survival during harsh scarcity. Evolution was intimately tethered to survival, so this abrupt shift in my physique felt completely backwards.

I wiped my dry face with both hands, feeling an overwhelming headache creeping in. Yet one grim truth was undeniable: my survival was under siege. Gathering rations and warding off immediate predators was no longer the full battle; the forest itself was actively threatening my life in real time.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but...

The mountain of circumstantial evidence pointed straight toward biological transmutation. A body that had abruptly developed an affinity for mana out of thin air. Physical capabilities skyrocketing to borderline superhuman heights. And beyond that, dead skin peeling away in sheets to reveal newly regenerated flesh beneath. Unless it was the forced environmental 'evolution' Allfather spoke of, none of these phenomena made any rational sense.

Did the Fast Tree Sloth evolve the same way?

I glanced over my shoulder at Bbarmbo, still clinging leisurely to my back. As ever, the creature hung there with a serene, unbothered expression. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume this fellow was also a product of such aberrant evolution.

The Adult Mandrake Roots are no different.

Beasts and flora alike were affected. Whether gorged on the sheer saturation of mana or driven by some unfathomable environmental pressure, their growth rates were unnaturally accelerated.

My exchange with Allfather drew to a close. The moment the connection severed, a heavy sigh escaped my chest. Was this what it felt like to understand something you desperately wished you didn't? As lingering suspicions hardened into conviction, a cold anxiety took root. Fear of the unknown was inherent to human nature, and the uncertainty of what this forest might warp me into was terrifying.

I don't need to dissect the cause. All I need to do is escape...

Realizing that simple survival wouldn't be enough completely deflated my spirits. It made all the blood, sweat, and tears I had spilled feel maddeningly hollow.

Which is all the more reason I can't afford to quit.

I took a deep breath and anchored my resolve. It was far too early to succumb to despair. If nothing else, every single change to my body thus far had worked in my favor. Allfather's hypothesis was just that—a hypothesis. Nothing was set in stone.

I won't know for certain until I uncover more evidence.

Before that, however, there was an urgent matter to settle. I glanced aside toward the empty cast-iron pan resting lonely on the floor.

The fish that the giant shark-man had devoured in a single bite. The very fish I had taken the time to coat with precious oyster sauce.

First, food.

Koreans run on the fuel of a good meal. Even if I lacked rice, filling my belly was essential. I drained every last drop of the remaining oyster sauce and cooked up another catch. It tasted absurdly good. Unlike the previous attempt where I had only managed a single mouthful, I scraped the pan clean this time.

It's so damn delicious it actually pisses me off.

Perhaps because of the ominous discussion beforehand, even a full stomach did little to lift the gloom. But I needed to shake this off immediately; negative thoughts were poison to survival. As I told myself, nothing was set in stone. Who knew? Perhaps that giant shark-man existed out in the normal world as well.

After finishing my meal and completing my routine with the Mind Cultivation Method, I began preparations for reconnaissance. My route this time lay upstream along the river rather than down. Traveling upriver was bound to reveal plenty.

With any luck, I might stumble across a tributary.

I desperately hoped so. I prayed that whatever lay ahead wouldn't stomp my remaining hopes into dust. Wiping the blood from the Heavenly Demon's Sword with oiled paper, I made sure every piece of gear was in fighting shape. When your mind is drowning in complicated thoughts, sweating through physical labor was the time-tested remedy.

The moment I published the post, the thread swelled with a lively mix of genuine support and casual trolling. Chuckling at how reliably consistent they all were, I prepared to depart alongside my two animal companions... or rather, just one.

"Bbarmbo. Look after Wonmo while I'm gone, alright?"

"..."

Mornings were one thing, but Wonmo was guaranteed to crash into a deep slumber the second he finished lunch. He was still an infant cub, so it couldn't be helped, and I wasn't overly worried.

The iron fence is up, and Bbarmbo is on guard. It's safe.

With that settled, I took a sweeping glance around the cave camp before heading out.

I should definitely ask for more barricades later.

The giant shark-man had breached the camp by squeezing through a gap where the barricades were sparse. It was a space I had intentionally widened to make hauling supplies to and from the river easier, and his bulk had miraculously fit right through. Then again, considering the sheer mass of that brute, he probably would have smashed through even dense wooden stakes.

It might make moving around a pain, but security comes first.

Eyeballing the spots that needed reinforcement, I took my first strides toward the outside world.

Fwhooooooosh!

The river was as fierce as ever, churning white water with staggering momentum. I watched the violent rapids for a moment before lifting my gaze across the bank. What greeted my eyes on the opposite shore this time was...

"Whoa. Is that a volcano?"

A volcanic zone. Far in the distance, a jagged peak vomited thick surges of glowing magma into the sky. Fortunately, the immense distance meant it posed no immediate danger, but the sheer spectacle left me gaping. The ground over there was barren—not a single blade of grass survived—shattered by deep, jagged fissures oozing molten stone.

Truly a forest that never ceased to boggle the mind. It was enough to drive a man stark raving mad.

I'd better just get used to this shattered geometry.

Turning around, I began trekking upstream along the rocky riverbank. The deafening roar of surging water harmonized with the low, distant rumbles of erupting lava. What a splendid symphony. I resolved to take these absurdities in stride; staring in awe and moving on was the only sane approach.

Still, I pray that giant bear from yesterday doesn't show up.

Taking things in stride didn't mean I could afford complacency. Massive predators could emerge without warning, so I kept every sense dialed to maximum alert. Any creature in this wilderness was bound to visit the water sooner or later.

Splash!

Just like the scene unfolding before my very eyes. But wait... looking closer, this creature hadn't come for a drink. Something had been violently catapulted out of the deep forest, crashing headlong into the river. What in the world had just flown through the air?

Bobbing up—

Before long, its silhouette broke the surface of the raging rapids. It was a four-legged beast patterned with spotted fur and a long, sinuous tail. My zoological knowledge wasn't deep enough to tell whether it was a leopard or a cheetah, but it was unmistakably a lethal carnivore.

...Just what kind of blow sent that thing flying?

The beast drifted helplessly downstream with the current, completely limp. It appeared to have been knocked clean unconscious. Was there another monstrous presence dwelling in that grove, just like the Golden Apple Deer that effortlessly dispatched the bull shark? A spike of dread prickled the back of my neck as I glanced sideways.

It was a dense thicket where the trees grew unnaturally cramped and shadowed compared to the surrounding woodland. Venturing in there was out of the question.

Ooh-ooh! Ooh! Ooh!

From deep within that shadowed canopy came the shrill, agitated shrieks of what sounded like monkeys. Or perhaps something far worse. And it wasn't just a lone cry—dozens of harsh voices rose in chorus. I crept past in absolute silence. I wouldn't dream of trespassing into that territory; even an ordinary baboon on Earth possessed enough brute strength to tear a man apart.

"...Wait, what?"

Trudging endlessly along the water's edge, my eyes snagged on something utterly bizarre sprawled across the stony bank. Eight sprawling tentacles topped by a bulbous, fleshy sac. A slick, glistening aquatic creature.

"...Why the hell is there an octopus here?"

It was an octopus. What's more, its skin was vivid with luminous purple rings. It looked blatantly, lethally venomous, but another glaring question took precedence.

Don't octopuses normally... live in the ocean?

Why was an octopus lying on a riverbank? As far as I knew, octopuses were strictly marine creatures. I had no idea if freshwater octopuses existed somewhere on Earth, but they certainly had no business existing within my common sense. Perhaps this absurd world had native freshwater cephalopods.

...No. That can't be it.

Swallowing the cold lump of dread in my throat, I quickened my pace upstream. The higher I climbed, the sharper a distinct scent pricked at my nostrils. A breeze laden with the heavy, humid tang of salt.

The more pungent the salt air became, the heavier my stomach sank with foreboding. My brisk walk broke into a hurried march, and soon into an outright sprint, paying zero heed to the brush around me. And finally, when I reached the end of the river and burst through the perimeter of the treeline, what met my eyes was—

Ssssssshhhhh—

An endless, breathtaking expanse of deep sapphire. A vast, boundless ocean stretching beyond the horizon.

Staring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blankly out over that infinite sea,

"...You've got to be fucking kidding me."

A ragged curse was the only thing I could muster.