I Was a Small Fish When I Reincarnated, but It Seems That I Can Become a Dragon, so I Will Do My Best - Extra Chapter 56
My bad, no internet since yesterday
3-6. Upstream
With Amariaz guiding us with his skills, we were able to safely make our way upstream.
The area around here is quiet with the forest, but the river flows a bit faster, making it noisy in that vicinity.
There are three waterfalls in a row, and large rocks are scattered around.
The untouched depths of the forest had giant trees with roots extending out as if proudly displaying their presence on the ground.
Coming this far upstream, it seems we’ve ventured deep into the forest.
I wonder how many years these trees around here have been standing.
It’s quite a distance from the Oni village, so they wouldn’t come this far for wood.
Come to think of it, where do they get their wood?
The trees in the training grounds we used were large, but we didn’t touch the ones around there.
… Oh, maybe the trees around here are too big, and they don’t need to cut down many for construction materials?
“I wonder about that…?”
“Oh, maybe I’m mistaken.”
“Anyway, Oni lives for a long time, and if the wood is coniferous, it can be usable in about eighty years. Besides, it’s easier to handle young trees for construction than such huge ones.”
“Oh, I see. You know a lot.”
“Well, yeah. Trees with knots or other irregularities have complicated growth rings and are difficult to use.”
Where did he learn such things…? Well, Amariaz is someone who seems to know a lot, so I won’t worry about it now.
Alright, we’ve walked quite far up. There don’t seem to be any signs of monsters, so it should be safe.
Except for the noise around the waterfall basin, the river is generally shallow, so I don’t think there’s any risk of drowning.
Um, let me think… To find Beddrock, I need to observe the movements of fish in the river.
They’re allured by the scent, and the fish’s movements become strange.
Then, by luring the fish, I can get them to come near the immobile Beddrock for hunting.
But I’m not sure how far the scent of Beddrock reaches. It’s probably not very powerful, so it might only affect fish that come close.
I guess I’ll have to walk along the riverbank and look for fish.
“… Can’t see any.”
“Well, that’s expected. Fish have evolved to have dark back scales to avoid being targeted by birds, and their bellies are white to avoid being targeted by fish. It’s the result of evolution for survival.”
“How should we search it then?”
“Hmm, well… River fish are especially wary, so they can hide the moment they hear the sound of gravel being stepped on. That’s probably the key.”
“Hmm…”
… Ah, but if there are no fish, that means Beddrock isn’t nearby, right?
Amariaz mentioned that fish allured by the scent won’t run away even if you approach. In any case, I still need to search for fish in the water, but if they don’t flee, it should be easier.
When I ask Amariaz about this, she nods a few times.
It seems what I said was correct.
Alright, let’s walk along the riverbank and search for fish allure by the scent!
Amariaz will search from the opposite bank, so the two of us walk carefully across the river towards the upstream. While carefully observing the river, we cross the precarious riverbank to avoid stumbling.
Although there should be many fish around the waterfall basins, we search diligently, but we only occasionally see small fish swimming nearby; no large fish are visible.
Hmm, maybe they’re not here.
The small fish I saw earlier fled when they saw me, and it seems they weren’t allured by the scent.
In that case, now… Ah, I have to cross the waterfall, huh?
It’s a bit of a detour, but let’s go around.
Amariaz doesn’t seem to be able to go straight either.
Thinking so, I look at Amariaz, who has created a large ? Air Pressure Sword? in his hand.
Wondering what he’s up to, I watch as he floats gently, holding the large ? Air Pressure Sword? with both hands.
“Whaaat!!?”
“I’ll go first~”
Hey, that’s not fair!
Oh, right, Amariaz’s ? Air Pressure Sword? has the ability to be thrown without actually throwing it! I remember now!
So, he created a large ? Air Pressure Sword? using that application!
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm…
At this rate, I’ll be left behind…
Do I have any useful skills?
…Hmm… How about ? Air Pressure Barrier? ? (Pneumatic Barrier, tbh it’s the same thing with different meaning, or maybe I’m just wrong)
Can I somehow make a foothold with that?
Come to think of it, I haven’t made many of these before.
Let’s try it out and use it to create a staircase!
“Alright, ? Air Pressure Barrier?.”
Imagining a staircase, I try using ? Air Pressure Barrier? and surprisingly, I manage to create it smoothly.
It’s a translucent barrier, making it difficult to see, but it seems unlikely that I’ll step out of it.
It didn’t consume much magical power, so I can make several of these.
I quickly climb the staircase made with ? Air Pressure Barrier? and I manage to cross the waterfall.
When I reach the top, Amariaz looks at me with a surprised expression.
When I direct a “I did it” face at him, he chuckles.
“You can apply your skills. Don’t forget that.”
“…You could have told me that earlier.”
Yeah, I would have liked to know that a bit sooner.