The Ascent to the Upper Tier
"Before we head up the waterfall, we need to make some preparations."
"Preparations?"
"Yeah. We don't know what kind of trouble we'll run into up there, so the first thing we need is this." Chester pointed to the Chili Powder Bomb in his hand. While Chester had been unable to move, Monia had crafted it herself using his advice and the notes he had kept on baking clay.
"You packed them all safely?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Next, that." Chester pointed to the river flowing beside them.
"The river?"
"Yep. Our escape route. It'll be trouble if we get lost, so we'll follow the river once we're up there. We'll also use the water to escape if we need to run from wild beasts."
"Use the water to escape?"
"The river's current is faster than it looks. You know that, right?"
"Yes." She felt the current with her own hands every time she set and retrieved the fish traps. The river they used appeared calm on the surface, but that was only because of its width. Once you actually stepped into it, you could feel just how powerful and swift the current truly was.
"When we run, we'll ride this current. It'll carry us faster than almost any beast can run."
"...Wait, by riding the current, do you mean..."
"Exactly. We're going to build a boat."
"A boat!" A boat, of all things!
"..." Monia's gaze instinctively drifted toward the open ocean beyond the island. Seeing this, Chester gave a bitter smile.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I can't build a ship sturdy enough to survive a long voyage. I don't have any seafaring skills, either."
"Ugh, I suppose not."
"But once we spot a continent nearby, it might be a good idea to keep a raft at the Beach Villa so we can escape. Let's do that next time."
"Yes! But how are we going to build a boat right now?"
"Well." Chester showed her the hide he had brought from their shelter. It was the hide of the beast they used to make their claw knives—the largest creature they had found on the Floating Island, excluding the bear. Unlike the bear, it was incredibly slow-witted, making it easy prey for the island's other predators.
"This is going to be our raft."
"What? This?"
"Yeah. My father and I called it a Cushion Raft."
"Why?"
"Because once it's finished, it looks exactly like a cushion. It was just a name my father and I used, so hunters from other regions never understood what we meant. I'll show you how to make it. It's not that hard."
As Chester started to move, Monia stopped him. "Just tell me what you need, and I'll get it!"
Chester's eyes widened slightly in surprise at her eagerness, but a warm smile soon spread across his face. "In that case, could you gather some branches? Ideally, thick enough to be carved into sturdy pegs."
"Understood! Ant, guard Chester well!" Monia skipped off into the forest and returned a short while later carrying a bundle of branches.
"How are these?"
"Yeah, not bad."
Chester chopped the branches into equal lengths. Seeing this, Monia grabbed a branch and began chopping it just like him. While a machete would have been easier, swinging it against the ground could damage the blade, so they used a stone axe that they didn't mind ruining.
After cutting all the branches and sharpening one end of each to make pegs, Chester drove them into the ground at intervals to form a circle. Once the large circle of pegs was set, he drove more pegs inside it to create a slightly smaller concentric circle.
"...?"
"This will serve as the frame for our raft."
"What? These pegs?"
"Yeah. Well, technically, it's a mold to help us build the actual frame."
Saying so, Chester began pulling up the surrounding grass. Instead of common leafy weeds, he targeted tall, stalky plants like reeds, pulling them up in bunches.
He stuffed handfuls of the grass into the gap between the two circles of pegs, repeating the process until the space was packed tight. After weaving the grass together and pressing it down firmly to secure it, he pulled the structure out. The grass held its shape perfectly, forming a thick, circular ring.
"Now that it's made, it looks pretty big."
"A person has to sit on it, after all. This is the absolute maximum size we can cover with this hide. Now that the frame is done, we just need to wrap the hide around it."
Chester stretched the hide over the ring and lashed it tightly with cord. Wrapped in leather, it truly did resemble a round cushion, making the name Cushion Raft perfectly fitting. However, Monia still had one lingering doubt.
"...Will that really float like a raft?"
It wasn't that she doubted Chester. It was just that the shape of this Cushion Raft was so far removed from any "boat" she had ever known.
"Curious? Want to see?" Chester tossed the completed Cushion Raft into the river.
"See? Floats perfectly, doesn't it?"
"...Can it actually support a person's weight?"
"Easily. It won't last forever, but it'll hold up long enough for a quick escape. Plus, if we attach bamboo to the bottom..."
Chester brought over several hollow bamboo segments that were sealed at both ends. He lashed them to the underside of the Cushion Raft, packing smaller bamboo pieces tightly into the gaps.
"Things filled with air float well, so adding all this bamboo will give the raft extra buoyancy."
Finally, Chester tied a rope to one of the bamboo poles, grabbed the end, and slung the raft over his shoulder.
"It's too big to fit in our baskets, so we'll have to carry it like this. Oh, and don't drag it on the ground. The main frame is made of grass, remember? It'll fall apart easily if you drag it."
Nodding at Chester's advice, Monia began crafting her own Cushion Raft using the grass she had gathered while he was working. The process was simple, and with her crafting skills having improved significantly from making various survival tools, assembling a raft of this size was child's play.
"Finished!"
"Nice. Oh, do you have a bamboo pole in your basket?"
"Yes. You insisted I bring one."
"Yeah. We're going to use it as a paddle."
"...Ah, so we push off the riverbed with it?"
"Exactly. Paddling through the water would work, but since the river isn't that deep, pushing off the bottom will be much faster."
Equipped with their Cushion Rafts, bamboo paddles, and Chili Powder Bombs, the two were fully prepared to flee from any danger they might encounter. Thus, they began their ascent up the waterfall.
Chester grabbed the rope he had left hanging when building the water channel. To avoid straining his injured thigh, he relied solely on his left leg against the cliffside. Reaching up hand over hand, he kicked off the rock face with his left foot, hoisting himself upward.
He would hold his weight with his arms, find a new foothold with his left foot to stabilize himself, and then reach up again. Repeating this rhythmic motion, Chester steadily scaled the cliff.
Once Chester reached the top, Monia grabbed the rope to follow him.
"Ngh...!" Even with the rope's help, climbing the cliff was grueling work. It was only because of her rigorous training climbing up and down trees that she could manage it at all; otherwise, she wouldn't have stood a chance.
How on earth did Chester climb this cliff without a rope before?!
How had he managed it in the past? She had watched him do it, so she knew the technique, but experiencing the cliff firsthand made her realize just how utterly insane of a feat it had been.
"Phew!" As Monia pulled herself over the edge, Chester handed her a waterskin and praised her effort. Gulping down the water, Monia caught her breath and looked down the cliff she had just scaled.
"...It's so high."
"Right? Just so you know, we'll be using that way to go back down." Chester smiled, pointing to the side of the cliff. Following his finger, Monia saw the roaring waterfall plunging violently into the lake far below.
"...Down that?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"That lake is practically bottomless. You don't have to worry about hitting the bottom or crashing into rocks, so you can just jump right in."
"Eek!"
"Oh, and when you fall, keep your arms crossed tightly over your chest and keep your body and legs perfectly straight."
"Y-you can't just spring that on me now!"
"Don't forget it."
"No! Hey! Let's call a spade a spade! That's not 'going down,' that's falling to our deaths! L-let's just build a ladder to get down!"
"To think I'd live to hear Monia tell me to speak properly!"
"A normal person doesn't go hunting a bear with their bare hands, you lunatic!"
Exhausted from the climb and with lunchtime upon them, Chester and Monia used the embers they had carefully brought in their basket to start a campfire. They roasted and ate the snake Monia had caught, followed by some wild fruit for dessert, all while taking in the view from the top of the waterfall.
"Well, it doesn't look much different from down below. It's just trees as far as the eye can see."
"Hmm. And for some reason, there are no signs of any living creatures near the waterfall."
"What? How is that possible?"
"I don't know either. There are no birds nesting on the cliffs, and look at the plants. Not a single broken stem from being stepped on, and zero footprints."
There were no signs of life nearby. Yet, if they strained their ears, they could clearly hear the faint, distant breathing of living things deeper inside.
Why are there no animals around here?
Though she couldn't fathom the reason, she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling of this unnatural silence. Tensing slightly, Monia tossed a piece of roasted snake into her mouth.