Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Terrain Reconnaissance
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< Terrain Reconnaissance >
"What a killer view."
I was momentarily absorbed in the footage from the drone.
So this is what it looks like.
This is the forest I've been struggling through.
A breathtaking landscape stretched out endlessly, one that could rightfully be called a natural wonder.
"Is that north?"
Taking the cave as the center.
If I used the faintly visible ocean as south, then the mountains were closer to northwest.
With that white cap on top, it looked like it was covered in perpetual snow.
"Not too far from here?"
It was just from the drone's camera, but it seemed worth checking out.
That must be why I smelled the sea when I first entered the forest.
"Where's that valley..."
I diligently searched for the valley where I'd encountered the red trout and the Owl Bear.
Moving the drone by rough estimate, suddenly the view opened up wide.
There it was, that valley.
"Found it."
I carefully maneuvered the drone and located the pit where I'd tried to bury the goblin.
What had happened after I fled in panic from the Owl Bear?
Dozens of arm-thick fish swam in the flowing valley stream.
"I could live off just those."
If I could somehow deal with the Owl Bear, that is.
After flying the drone around for a while, I finally found the pit.
I'd shoved it in haphazardly in my rush...
"It's gone?"
There wasn't a trace of it.
No sign anywhere nearby, so where the hell did it go?
Maybe the Owl Bear ate it and it turned into a Bone Creeper.
Or perhaps the goblins spotted it and cleaned it up.
"But that Bone Creeper I saw back then wasn't goblin bones."
If it was the latter, that meant a goblin pack had come nearby.
Lowering the drone near the pit, sure enough, small footprints came into view.
Meaning a goblin group had lingered there.
"The distance from the valley to here..."
Straight-line distance was about 1 km, but factoring in the forest, it was around 1.5 km.
Not far, but not close either.
"No GPS, so I have to calculate this stuff manually."
I roughly sketched a map of the area around the cave.
"If they came all the way to the valley, there should be more traces."
What made goblins scary was that they blended into the forest, used paralyzing poison darts, and knew how to set traps.
Spot them early with drones, telescopes, perception stats, and infrared detectors.
Block the poison darts imperfectly with anti-sword suits and motorcycle helmets.
Limit the battlefield to around the cave, and the odds of winning shot way up.
"At this level, goblins should be doable."
I dug through the videos and found one where I lectured newbies on fighting goblins.
I'd been such a busybody back when I played Survival Life.
Traces of my desperation to play with newbies.
Otherwise, I'd quit even faster.
That's because goblins can gauge your combat power.
Unlike other monsters that just charge blindly, goblins know to watch and wait.
They won't rush in recklessly if you look strong.
But a monster's a monster.
Desperate to kill, they'd dig crude traps, pull aggro, get counterattacked, and get wiped out. That was routine.
"With detectors, the cave interior's safe at least."
The problem was running into a goblin pack while wandering the forest.
Run away, or...
"If I could take out three or four from the fight..."
The perfect tool for that was a net gun.
Humanity had refined nets into compressed nitrogen-powered net launchers.
Expensive, but incredibly powerful—hard to cut with brute strength alone.
Even a goblin's crude dagger wouldn't do it.
I controlled the drone to retrieve it, then searched for net guns.
"Looks like a flashlight."
Fired by single-use compressed nitrogen capsules, range 5 to 20 meters.
Four net heads included, so with spare capsules, you could fire repeatedly.
Considering goblin size, it could snare at least two.
"Meaning I could neutralize eight of them."
The price...
No production company left, so over a million won.
Net heads expensive, capsules 9,000 won each.
"But not really pricey."
Temporarily immobilizing monsters was a huge advantage.
Add firecrackers, and handling a goblin pack would be no problem.
Monsters generally feared flames and flashes, but goblins especially panicked.
"Gotta get this."
I returned to the two-story house, ordered two net guns with accessories.
300 shots possible, so no worries for a while.
Firecrackers too, but no need for bulk orders.
The zombie outbreak hit during Busan's fireworks festival week.
Festival fireworks would end up as trash anyway.
"Gotta clean up trash."
No one would complain.
I headed back to the cave house and launched the drone again.
Time to see the ocean.
.
.
.
The ocean...
I admired the vast otherworldly sea through the monitor.
There was the ocean I'd longed for.
An untouched ocean.
Teeming with countless creatures and resources.
A dangerous, sometimes brutal ocean awaited me.
The drone circled the coastline, sending 4K footage.
A somewhat desolate winter scene.
Yet countless lives breathed along the shore.
"White sand beaches, rocky shores... it's got everything."
Any angler would itch to fish a pristine spot like that.
Me too.
Quit fishing due to circumstances, but my rods still slept in storage.
Any monsters?
Scanned the coastline with the drone—no sign.
Battery died, recovered it, sent another—no monsters.
Safe enough.
Recovered the drone while calculating distance.
"Let's see... drone's max speed..."
Obviously no GPS satellites here.
Grateful the drone flew fine.
Cave to coast: about 900 meters.
"Not too far."
Recovered drone, set altitude to 2.5m.
The faithful drone flew at eye level, filming surroundings.
In short, no dangerous terrain between cave and coast.
I shouldered my backpack, prepped weapons.
Turned off infrared detector via remote, left entrance, turned back on.
"Alright, let's go."
Modern tech is so convenient.
22 days left...
Maximize infrared detectors, drones for safety.
Checked map, sprayed white marker on trees.
Kept alert for presences.
"Ears feel wide open."
Perception stat up 2?
Bush rustles, insect cries louder than usual.
Pre-scouted path made steps quick.
Watch for sudden dangerous animals or monsters.
Swish―
It came.
I reflexively nocked an arrow.
Practice paid off.
The bushes parted to reveal a massive wart boar.
"What the hell did it eat to get that big?"
Prepared to flee.
Hunting that thing would get me caught.
The huge boar with a forehead wart glanced around, then made an odd call behind it.
Several family members emerged, scraping the ground.
Piglets too.
"So cute..."
Like most mammal young, they were adorable.
Fluffy furballs toddling after mom.
No, snap out of it.
Shook my head, steeled myself.
Living in this forest, boars were just prey.
Can't keep burning stockpiled food forever.
Boars, deer, rabbits...
Plenty of animals to sustain me.
Hunt with bows, traps—all means necessary.
"That's my path to survival."
Luckily, the boar family hadn't spotted me.
Carefully marked nearby trees, updated map.
―Wart Boar Family Appeared.
Animal groups stick to regular paths.
Gathering info like this helps eventually.
Hurried on.
Finally, view cleared to reveal the winter sea.
.
.
.
"Whoa..."
Perfect.
Couldn't be better.
Forgot fatigue, dashed to the rocks.
Untouched rugged sea sprawled before me.
"Damn, it's cold here."
No shelter like the forest?
Winter coastal wind cut like a blade.
Layered clothes over vest, wrapped scarf, donned hat.
"Better now."
Waves crashed against rocks, shattering.
Intense urge to drop a line.
But dangerous.
No monsters on shore maybe, but forest nearby full of them.
Didn't want ambush while fishing.
"Prep right, and it'd be fine."
Scanned surroundings slowly.
Large tidepool: small octopus battling a crab.
Watching fights is fun.
More if uninvolved.
Fierce battle ended in octopus victory.
Ignored crab's futile resistance, tentacles wrapped tight.
Crunch as it bit somewhere.
"Survival of the fittest."
Watched, pondered coming apocalypse.
Zombies, monsters overwhelming survivors.
Far fiercer, harsher than octopus vs. crab.
To survive, become the predator.
Trample others to rise.
"Otherwise, you're culled."
Culled means death in apocalypse.
Just like this.
Thrust jungle knife at the crab-munching octopus.
Sensed threat, but nowhere to flee.
Fist-sized octopus snagged, dragged out.
Slipped slimy thing into side dish container.
Pondered how to use this sea.
"Doesn't seem much different from Earth's oceans."
Bring rods, traps—secure seafood for myself at least.
Rubber boat for serious fishing?
...But potential sea monsters worried me.
Escape via dimension gate, return to no boat? Bad vibe.
"Stick to shore fishing for now."
No complaints for lots of traps—toss freely.
Harvest seafood here.
Stockpile processed foods later.
Forest provisions combined—no starvation.
"Still a bit short..."
Want a farm for crops.
Long-term, chickens ideal...
Imagined rooster crowing at dawn—heart raced.
"Local monsters would love that."
Skip chickens.
Wandered rocks, scooped hefty shellfish from pools.
"Seafood ramen tonight."
Day darkening, headed back.
Cave: prepped seafood, boiled ramen, ate.
Slurp.
"Ahh, that's seafood ramen."
Packed with fresh stuff—broth hit different.
Craved booze, but no way.
One day, safe shelter, drinks with veterans?
"To that day."
Toasted air, finished ramen.
They say lie down after eating = cow, guess that's me.
Hit the bed—melted away.
"Ah... bliss..."
Please no groans waking tomorrow.
< Terrain Reconnaissance > End