The Sea (2)
Every time I saw the sea, all I could think was how truly beautiful it was. If I'd come here as a tourist, I would've soaked in that beauty and enjoyed myself. But whether it was the forest or the ocean, everything around here was crawling with danger.
It looked like a pristine sandy beach? That was exactly what signaled the risk. Thanks to that, those giant octopus tentacles hadn't dragged me away. Things that appeared beautiful on the surface demanded absolute vigilance. You never knew when or where something might ambush you. I couldn't afford to let my guard down even for a second.
The beach is pretty wide.
The sandy stretch was fairly expansive. I walked for ages without reaching the end. Even more astonishing was the location. From what I could feel, I was on the far side of the river—the side where space twisted and shifted constantly. But this place was nothing but endless sand, with not a hint of change.
Just in case, I looped back, but it was the same. A bizarre sensation.
Is it only weird across the river?
The distortion on the river's far bank was odd enough, but this side being perfectly normal was equally strange. Everything was so weird it was hard to make sense of it. At least I didn't have to worry about getting lost. Wandering around like this wasn't yielding much anyway. Better to head back.
"Hm?"
I'd given up scouting the beach and was turning to leave when something suspicious caught my eye. The sand was mostly flat, but there was a single concave dip. Extremely fishy.
I wanted to dig it up out of curiosity, but I hesitated. What if it's another trap?
After getting screwed over so many times, my hand didn't move easily. What if something popped out when I got close? The worry won out, but ignoring it felt off too. Information was sorely lacking here. Who knew what worse might crawl out later?
Stacking up intel like this boosted survival odds. I made up my mind. It's a pit, so I'll just peek a little.
I approached cautiously. It might sense vibrations like that octopus. Keeping a safe distance, I craned my neck out.
It was precarious, but I could see inside the pit. ...An egg?
An egg. Elliptical and huge. Not like a chicken egg—more like an ostrich egg. And it wasn't just one; several were clustered together.
What kind of egg is this?
Laying eggs smack in the middle of a beach like this? What animal would nest in such a deadly spot? With no knowledge to draw on, the Gallery was my only option.
Anyone know whose egg this is?
YasaengGrill (photo of ostrich-sized egg)
Was walking and found a pit, checked it out—eggs inside. Anyone know what this is?
└Cheonma: Never seen eggs that big before.
└SwordTasteStar: Why do you keep seeing new stuff all the time?
└It's a Jungwon person, duh.
└Jungwon folks know people but not critters.
└Too many humans there, so they don't know that stuff lol
└Racist much?
└SwordTasteStar: Jumping to racist over one question is a bit much;;
└Olfather: Only sea creature I know that lays eggs on beaches is turtles. Looks like turtle eggs.
└YasaengGrill: Turtles?
└Olfather: Yes. Sea turtles usually lay like that.
└YasaengGrill: Cool if I take one?
└Olfather: Asking me won't make a difference, will it?
└True that lol
└Think of it like when you killed Wonmo's mom.
└YasaengGrill: Nah, I mean what if the mom comes charging out after I steal it? Nearly died to that octopus earlier;;
└Octopus? Where'd an octopus come from?
└YasaengGrill: Came out of the ground. Just a tentacle, but definitely octopus.
└Octopus tentacles from underground lololol
└Such a monster exist?
└Of course not lololol Just this area's fucked up, that's all.
└Olfather: Taking normal sea turtle eggs is usually fine. Still, be careful.
It said taking one was okay. I eyed the eggs intently right after reading that comment. Auction house had eggs sometimes, but I'd never bothered buying any. No need, and they didn't appeal. But wild-found ones looked tasty regardless.
Gotta snag one.
This single egg could cover a meal. I carefully lifted the ostrich-sized turtle egg. No traps or mama turtle appeared—lucky. It was heavy and bulky, but no biggie. I had my subspace bag.
Grab one more?
I was getting greedy when—
Whoosh!
A fierce splash erupted behind me. Not waves—something bursting from the water. I whipped around at the sound.
"......"
"......A turtle?"
What emerged from the sea was none other than a turtle. Unlike land tortoises, its legs were flipper-like: a sea turtle. Whether it saw me steal the egg or not, it crawled slowly toward me.
Doesn't know?
Just in case, I backed away stealthily. But it seemed to notice me and halted abruptly. Then it extended its long neck, staring me down.
The situation screamed "egg thief," so it had to know.
It's fine. It's a turtle.
Land turtles were one thing, but sea turtles were slow on land. I could bolt if needed. That's what I thought.
"Uuuuuh."
The turtle made a weird noise and retracted its flippers into its shell. Face still out, it looked comical, but...
Swoosh! Thunk!
What followed was no joke. Not flippers anymore—thick, blunt land-tortoise legs emerged from the shell. Like some transforming robot. A turtle pulling that off was shocking... nah, actually pretty cool.
Awesome.
It was so badass I was impressed. That felt like true evolution. The shark giant had been grotesque, but this was practical.
Vwoooom!
The now-land turtle's mouth began condensing a spherical orb. I knew exactly what that was—I'd faced it from the guardians already.
KABOOOOM!
A massive laser blasted from its mouth. Since I was near the eggs, it aimed right at my head. I barely dodged by twisting away.
BOOM!!
The laser's power was insane. Definitely stronger than the guardians. A huge hole had melted into the cliff it hit. Jaw-dropping force.
If it shoots the ground, I'm dead.
Mouth cannon, wide blast radius. But turtles were turtles—slow and sluggish...!
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Correction: ridiculously fast. It charged me in a flash and leaped high. Leaped, I say. Then it tucked in all legs and head. Meaning a massive shell was flying straight at me.
I hurriedly raised my shield against the rocky projectile.
KRAAANG!!
"Gahk!"
Speed, jump power, solid shell. Perfect combo—even blocking sent me tumbling back. Despite bracing properly. Terrifying impact.
"Ugh..."
Vwoooom!
Dazed from the shock through my shield, I snapped my head up at the gathering energy ahead. It must've popped its head out unnoticed; another orb forming in its mouth. I'd strayed far from the eggs—time to finish me off. No way my shield could tank that laser I'd just seen.
Wha—how do I... Ah!
There was a way. I rummaged my subspace pouch at top speed. Crossbow got in the way, but I grabbed what I wanted.
"H-Hey, look at this!"
I yelled and held up the ostrich-sized turtle egg. My hands were big enough to grip it one-handed. The turtle flinched hard at the sight, energy in its mouth visibly shrinking.
"......"
It fully dispersed the orb. But its glare was murderous, like it wanted to rip me apart.
A dopey turtle making that face? I looked like the bad guy here.
No, I am the bad guy.
Not content with stealing, I was brazenly waving it as a threat. Objectively, undeniable. But survival first. Unlike that turtle, I couldn't shoot lasers. I'd do anything to live.
Step-step—
Showing the egg, I backed away slowly. It followed step for step. No return, it'd chase me to hell.
No choice.
Once at the river mouth, toss the egg and book it. Kill it? Too inefficient. It was bear-sized, plus freakish agility unworthy of a turtle.
Time to head back anyway.
Had to make dinner time. Dark falls, I'm screwed. Worst case, lost forever. Priority: return unscathed.
Splash!
Backing up, I reached the reversing river's start. Turtle never broke eye contact. Face growing angrier. Just roll the egg over—done. Any attack sign, I'd chuck it.
"......Huh?"
During our tense standoff, something wild happened behind the turtle. The pit was far from the river mouth. But my improved eyesight let me see clearly. Birds—out of nowhere—swooping toward the pit.
"Hey! Hey! Those! Those things!"
"Ueng?"
I pointed frantically; turtle turned. Meanwhile, birds gulped eggs pelican-style. Too big, struggling though.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
The turtle exploded—not figuratively, volcano-level. It blasted toward the pit at insane speed, just like it had at me. Birds panicked, flapping away.
Now's my chance!
I bolted without looking back while it returned to the pit. Circulated mana in case of a mana blast. Forests blurred by; raging river seemed sluggish.
"Heehee."
Safe at last, I couldn't help laughing. Unexpected haul, assault, luck. Result: ostrich—no, turtle egg in my subspace bag. Eel too—rare treats ahead.
And never going near the sea again.
That hell? Hard pass. Forever.