The Gift from the Sea

What was he even supposed to call this?

Drowning?

No—how does an animal that lives in the water drown in the first place?

Splish-splash. Splish-splash.

The sea otter, still half-asleep, floundered pathetically at the surface. It looked more than a little rattled.

"……I'm not gonna eat you."

Minhyuk tried to reassure it, but it didn't help. So he decided to just ignore the thing. Before long the sea otter pulled itself together and vanished into the distance.

Anyway.

"Ocean pool goes…… right about here."

Close to the beach, and still deep enough for the water to reach his waist.

Moments later, a square of green light took shape upon the sea. A private pool that no other living thing could enter—Minhyuk's alone—was complete.

"Nice! Time to hop in."

He had just yanked his shirt up and off when—

"……Hm?"

Something out of place caught his eye. Far out on the open water, a dorsal fin knifed up through the surface and sliced the swell.

No mistake about it.

"A-a shark……?"

Minhyuk scrambled straight out of the water. A shark, the instant he finished his private pool? Just thinking about it raised goosebumps.

And the thing that shark was hunting—

"……Huh? Th-that's—"

—was the very sea otter that had shrieked itself silly at the sight of him a moment ago.

Hweh, hwehhh—!

Panic-stricken, the otter fled with the shark on its tail. Dodging by a hair's breadth, it angled toward Minhyuk's pool. A message window rose over his head.

What was there to think about? Same boat. Obviously yes.

The moment he accepted, the sea otter slipped inside the green-lit boundary of his Safe Zone. And not long after—

A second window, and this one made his skin crawl. Minhyuk refused, flat and hard. Sure enough, the shark was stopped as if a cage had slammed shut in its face. It could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not cross into the Safe Zone.

Hweh, hwehhh……

The shark prowled the perimeter, glaring at the otter pressed trembling against the boundary.

At last the shark glided off toward the open sea, unhurried. Only then did the otter inch its way toward the sand.

Nudge—

And it held out the little clam it had been clutching like a treasure since earlier.

"Hm? You giving that to me?"

A sea otter's precious offering, payment for a saved life.

Appreciate it, but……

The size was a problem. The clam was no bigger than Minhyuk's thumb. And there was exactly one of them. What was he supposed to do with it—stick it on his nose?

"Nah. It's fine. You keep it."

Hwehng—?

The otter blinked, as if asking whether he meant it.

"Yeah. You eat it. Next time you've got something better, give me that."

Hweh—!

The otter nodded as if it understood, then slipped back under the water. For a lifesaver, that was a pretty cool goodbye.

"All right. Guess I'll enjoy the water myself."

Kku, kkurung?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Kkururuk?

Fine. If they wanted in, they could come too.

Splash— splash—

Minhyuk paddled around with the meerkats and had a thoroughly good time.

Day forty-four of being stranded.

"Hhh…… I'm getting sick of this."

Minhyuk wrinkled his mouth at the deserted-island set meal laid out before him. Three meals a day, and every single one of them the same.

Appetizer—cucumber. Main—roasted potato. Dessert—cherry tomatoes.

It tasted fine, of course. It was good for the body, too. And not only for ordinary health—these were excellent foods for an awakened as well.

Stats that had started at 1 had climbed quite a bit. Thanks to choking down cucumbers until he was sick of them from his very first day on the island, his Agility was already closing in on 10.

And what good does that do me…… I've eaten so much of it I'm sick of the stuff……

People forget how precious a thing is once it gets familiar. Minhyuk made up his mind.

"Gentlemen. Kkureung. Let's get ready to head into the jungle."

Jungle Reclamation. He would take the Little Wooden Soldiers in and search for new crops. It carried risk, of course. But Minhyuk had already come back unharmed twice, so it wasn't all that dangerous anymore. And hadn't he upgraded the Little Wooden Soldiers' firepower, besides?

Just don't get careless. Move slow, stay cautious, and it'll be fine.

He was getting used to it, you could say.

Chak— chak— chak—

And so the third jungle expedition set out. Minhyuk moved with Kkureung perched on his shoulder and the Little Wooden Soldiers escorting him.

Cucumbers. Cherry tomatoes.

They passed the spot where he had gathered food last time.

Step. Step.

Deeper into the jungle. Watching his surroundings, he advanced a little at a time.

How long had they been walking?

"Oooh……!"

A yellow treasure filled his vision.

Corn. Ears ripe as gold packed the field as thick as a stand of reeds. Minhyuk swallowed before he even realized he was doing it.

"C-corn……!"

Ahh— at last, a carbohydrate that wasn't a potato. He could have cried tears of pure emotion.

Haa…… thank you……

He wasn't sure whom he was supposed to thank. Either way, he was offering silent thanks over and over as he started toward the corn—

Kku, kkurung—!

Kkureung's cry.

Rustle— rustle—

At the same time, the cornstalks swayed left and right. Something was coming this way.

"All units, prepare to fire!"

Minhyuk's voice came out a little tight.

Chak—!

The Little Wooden Soldiers swung their muzzles as one toward the presence. A brief silence. And then, stepping out of the cornfield……

Grrrrngh—

A wild boar.

Three meters tall at the shoulder, its whole body plated in steel armor and bristling with porcupine quills of blade. A gigantic boar.

Frrrh— frrrh—

It blasted rough breath from its snout, raked the earth with a hind hoof, and charged Minhyuk's unit in a single instant. Minhyuk shouted at the same time.

"Fire—!"

Pop-pop-pop-pop-BANG—!

Muzzles spat fire at the giant boar. Rounds carrying a buff of +10% aiming accuracy and +10% lethality flew true. Every one of them hit. He had expected an easy takedown. Unfortunately, that expectation missed by a mile.

Thuk— thwuck—!

Hide split. The massive body staggered. That was all. The giant boar was still closing the distance at a terrifying speed, still charging. Ah…… shit.

"Everybody, dodge!"

He yelled and threw himself to the right in the same breath.

KRA-CRUNCH—!

The giant boar tore past, missing Minhyuk by a hair.

Message windows cascaded up after it. Good lord. A single charge, and fully ten Little Wooden Soldiers had been destroyed.

This…… this isn't even a fight, is it?

The hesitation was short. The decision was fast.

And the answer?

RUN.

"All units, retreat! Run for the Safe Zone!!"

Minhyuk snatched Kkureung up in one hand like a relay baton and immediately executed the oldest of the thirty-six stratagems: get the hell out. Fortunately, the giant boar only ever charged in a straight line, so shaking it wasn't hard.

"Haa…… haa…… I almost died."

Barely back inside the Safe Zone, Minhyuk took stock of his unit.

Eight Little Wooden Soldiers. One Kkureung.

The rest hadn't made it back, and he hadn't gathered so much as an ear of corn.

Minhyuk pressed a bleak hand to his forehead.

……Corn. Should he just give up?

The United States Federal Hunter Management Bureau. Hexagon.

Rustle—

Director Michael was reading, with a grave face, an article about a hunter who had become the talk of Korea.

Cha Seoyun of Korea, once a famous hunter. After contracting Mana Core Erosion Syndrome and vanishing from the public eye, she had reappeared with her former beauty and seized the attention of the world's press. She was the first case of a full recovery from the side effects of that vicious, incurable disease, so of course the world was watching. But Michael's interest had snagged on something else entirely.

"A miracle cucumber, is it……"

Michael looked at the cucumber resting on his desk.

A cucumber he had ordered Hexagon's staff to fetch in person after hearing the rumors. It was certainly special. Even setting aside the special effect that had healed Cha Seoyun's face—

A worthless cucumber, of all things, classified as an item. A grade that could actually be measured. A price of two whole coins. And even then, sold out before you could buy one…… and so on.

And more special than any of that—

The cucumber's base effect.

Just by eating it, the Agility stat goes up permanently……?

In that instant, a certain place surfaced in Michael's mind.

The legendary land at the very top of the Tower. Eternal Island.

It was right there in the myth the Tower's NPCs recited like a habit. On Eternal Island, plants grew that permanently raised your stats just from being eaten.

And that wasn't all.

Deserted island…… the blessing of a special land……

The item's name, and the lines attached to its description, were suspicious in their own right.

Don't tell me this cucumber came from the 777th floor of the Tower?

And the cultivator listed in the item window—was that the so-called Tower God Cha Seoyun had mentioned herself?

"……Tch. Useless thoughts."

It wasn't impossible. But Michael emptied his head of it soon enough. He had something more important in front of him.

Knock, knock—

A knock sounded, and Sean, chief coordinator of the Human Expedition, stepped into the director's office.

"……Director."

"Yes. The result? How did it go?"

Michael straightened in his chair as he asked.

"Well…… I'm sorry, sir. The climb failed."

The 136th floor, which the Human Expedition had prepared for with such ambition. The result was failure. Humanity had not broken through the wall of Floor 136.

"Damn it……!"

Michael slammed a fist onto the desk. Under the fury of the Hunter Management Bureau's highest authority, Sean—who had been watching his mood—carefully brought up the cause of this climb's defeat.

"It seems…… the absence of the artifacts weighed heavily."

About two months ago. An S-rank artifact transport that had gone missing while crossing the accursed Vertix Triangle. Because of it, the rare artifacts that were meant to be the Human Expedition's strength had vanished overnight.

Hexagon had scrambled to request relic-class artifacts from nations around the world. But next to the artifacts the Expedition had been using, they had fallen short.

The investigative authorities were, of course, still working to learn what had become of the missing ship.

"The investigation? Has anything turned up at all?"

"Well…… not a single trace. Not even now."

Whether it had sunk into the earth or risen into the sky, they hadn't found so much as a clue. Not even with high-ranking mages sweeping the entire sea under 8th-circle detection magic.

"Hah…… All right. I understand. You can go. The moment you learn anything, report it."

Michael let out a heavy sigh and showed him the door.

Splash— splash—

Elia and the meerkats were playing in the water, bright as anything.

"Hehe, water cannon!"

Kyurung—!

Kkururuk—!

Minhyuk stared blankly at the scene and brooded.

Isn't there some way to eat that corn……

Twelve Little Wooden Soldiers in all. A loss of fully 240 coins. The damage was severe no matter how he looked at it, and still he couldn't shake his lingering attachment to the corn. Those plump yellow kernels kept floating back up in his mind.

Screw it— just dump every coin I have into making more wooden soldiers?

The so-called everybody-pile-on strategy. It wasn't impossible that it would work, but the odds of failure were far higher. One of those charges and ten soldiers, twenty soldiers, the whole lot of them would be knocked flat.

Their firepower was fine, I'm sure of it……

The damage had landed well enough. The problem was that the wooden soldiers were far too fragile. The eternal fate of damage dealers.

Should I make the kids some wooden armor and stick them in it?

His thoughts were sinking deeper when—

"Oh? It's Kkureung!"

Elia, mid-splash, pointed at a stretch of sea.

"Boss! Kkureung's here again! He swims sooo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well!"

"……?"

Huh? What was she talking about? A Kkureung who was good at swimming had shown up?

Hwehng~

He looked that way, and there was the sea otter from a few days ago, grinning and waving at him.

"What. Why are you back?"

He was gloomy enough as it was. Still, he couldn't exactly tell a kid who'd come smiling to get lost.

"Been a while. You doing all right?"

Minhyuk shuffled toward the water, and the otter—nodding over and over—shyly held out whatever it had clutched in its paw.

Nudge—

Ah. It had come to give him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a present. Bound to be another tiny clam—

……Huh?

There was stuff like this in the ocean?