Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 176: "Fishing Bait"

"What are we doing here if we're going to investigate?"

"That town, that country, they did a pretty good geological survey when he became the current king."

For some reason, we were outside the city when I decided to cooperate with Yonomori and her friends.

The sand underfoot makes a slight sound as we walk, and it is often light or flutters in the air, creating a cloud of dust.

I heard Aspizal talking somewhat glibly, but the more I listened, the more I wanted to poke into it.

I wanted to say something like, "How did you find out about this?" or "You actually understand the language, don't you?" but I shut up and urged him on.

"It's the basics of construction. Especially the section that was built a while ago and is under the direct control of the king, they even did some boring to check it out."

Boring? Rolling a ball?

The king's government is also looking into the matter.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. Boring means digging a hole. ... and then you examine the soil you dig out to see the geology, it's called a borehole survey."

All you've got to look into is sand.

"Why would they do that?"

"Look at this sand. If you build a big building on this stuff, it's not a good idea. If the ground is weak, there is a fear of subsidence. So we remove the soil that is not suitable for building and bring in good soil from elsewhere to fill it in. This will harden the ground and make it easier to build a building. Now all you need to do is put some stakes in the ground and you're good to go."

He added that at least near the king's residence, they are doing that much.

...Hmmm. So the point is to fortify the footing.

I don't know about stakes and stuff, but I kind of get what you're saying.

"So you're saying that underneath here, to some extent, it's been dug up and checked?"

"Yes, I think so. The arena has been there for a long time, so they wouldn't have dug it up, but they would have investigated it easily. If there's such a big guy moving around, it wouldn't be surprising if there was something at the investigation stage, but there isn't either. ...Does that mean?"

"You mean they're from out of town?"

Yonomori takes back Aspizal's words.

"That's what I mean. That's why we're looking outside, not inside the city. If there's a nest, it's not far from here, is it?

"How can you be so sure?"

"You saw how they move, right? They're animals that are pulling in their prey."

So you're saying it's an extension of predation?

"You mean they're hungry?"

As I say this, the aspizal nods broadly.

"That's right. They were hungry. And from here on out, I'm guessing that they saw us as very attractive prey. That's why they came to this unpopular and easy-to-attack place."

The location is a few hours east of Torkulu Sarv.

The east side is just the canyon, where no monsters appear, and people don't come close to it.

It is probably the best place to do something without worrying about being seen.

"I think if we wait a while we'll catch it."

I shrug my shoulders and look around.

All I see is sand.

Just in case, I watch the two of them while keeping an eye on my feet with my Ground Search, which hasn't been in action recently.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the two of them are not only the same people, but they are also very close to each other.

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"You know. By the way, the sand here is very unusual, isn't it?"

Aspizal grabs the sand at his feet and throws it away.

"I don't think so. At least, you don't see that much of it in Urs Laguna."

I listen to their conversation in silence.

"Azusa, have you ever seen sand like this?"

"Hmmm. Yeah, right?"

Yonomori bends down and plays with the sand at her feet.

"......... beach sand? It kind of looks like sand you'd touch on a beach near the sea."

The beach? It certainly feels that way when you look at it that way.

The sand in the desert might have a similar feeling, but unfortunately I've never touched it, so I don't know.

"I think you're right. I think this area used to be a sea, didn't it? Looking at the surrounding terrain, doesn't it look like that?"

I am convinced that I see what you mean.

Perhaps it means that this area was formed when the sea receded or something.

When we first came here, I thought there was something strange about it.

The area after the hillside, it was a strange drop that stuck with me, but when I heard it like that, it made sense.

"Well, the breakaway coastline... was it? Hmmm. But it doesn't look like the ground has risen, so technically it's not?"

I get what you're saying, that it might have been the sea originally, but what's that got to do with anything?

"I get that, but what does it have to do with those monsters?"

"Azusa is not very perceptive."

Aspizal's exasperation makes Yonomori a little peeved.

"You saw some of those guys, right? They look like they could be living in the sea, don't you think? There's not much reason for something like that to be hanging around here."

I thought for a moment... and then it occurred to me.

"Were they asleep for some reason or other...?"

I interrupted, and Aspizal nodded happily.

"I think that's the right answer too. I'm a bit confused as to why it came out at this time of year, though."

"Well, the identity of that voice, too -"

The response came just as he was about to say ing.

Detecting an object moving in the ground.

It's big.

"...I think it's coming."

A little later, Aspizal also notices. How did this guy notice?

Yonomori postures herself with a somewhat puzzled feeling.

They don't seem to understand this one.

The number is two. The direction they came from is east. From the canyon?

The reactions split to the left and right, moving between us.

Vibrations can be felt on the ground when they reach this point, so Yonomori also seems to have a rough idea of where they are.

"The number is two. We are sandwiched between them."

"I understand. Then, Azusa, can I leave one side to you?"

"Yes. You'll cover me when you're done?"

"Okay, okay. All right, Roe, can you take the vanguard then?"

"Roger that."

I pull out the halberd on my back and hold it ready.

I keep my eyes on the opponent's movements without switching off my [Geomantic Search].

The enemy splits up as Yonomori takes some distance from us.

"They're coming."

At that moment, several tentacles appear as if piercing through the sand.

After striking first with [Explosion II], we rush in.

The target is a tentacle close at hand.

Aiming at the burned spot where the tentacle has been hit by magic, I swing full force.

The blade of the halberd bites halfway into the tentacle, but it does not advance any further due to strong resistance.

The feeling in my hand was elastic, something I had not experienced before.

Is it a serpentine monster that is close?

Not hard, but soft. It is the feel of a mollusc that I remember.

...but.

Forcefully swing it with all i might.

The fibres are cut and the hand feels a snapping sensation, and it is severed.

What looks like bluish blood spurts out. I didn't want to get caught, so I immediately backstep to avoid the liquid.

"Oh. That's great. Keep it up, can I have the rest?"

I look back and see Aspizal squatting down and touching the ground.

When I looked at the other tentacles to see what they were doing, I saw numerous chain-like objects made of sand extending out and entangling the remaining tentacles.

The tentacles are trying to shake off the chains, but it seems they are not succeeding.

"Sorry, but it would be nice if you could make it quicker? It's a bit hard on these numbers, isn't it?"

I give a small nod and cut off the remaining tentacles from one end to the other.

As soon as I cut off the last one, the aspizal puts both palms on the ground.

"Okay, I've got it. I've got it."

At the same time, the ground caved in.

"I'll take it out, please finish it off."

Instead of replying, i re-positioned my halberd.

Aspizal pulls his hand up as if to pull something, the sunken place rises and something breaks through the sand and comes out.

What came out was - what was that?

An octopus, a squid and - an anemone? A grotesque creature that looked like a combination of an octopus, a squid and a - sea anemone came out.

The whitish surface of its body is covered with tentacles full of suckers, and there is a huge hole in what appears to be a cylindrical body.

Behind it, there was an octopus-like face and countless thin tentacles wriggling around it.

"Wow. Something more amazing than I thought came out!"

I was a little surprised too, but as long as you can see it, you can kill it.

The weak point is ...... well, an easy-to-understand head?

The first thing I did was to take aim and jump into the hole in the torso, because I had some things I wanted to do.

"Hey, hey!?"

Aspizal was saying something behind me, but I ignored it.

It's hard to do a lot of things when you guys are watching.

The moment I enter, the face? The fine tentacles around what looks like a face come wrapping around my whole body.

OK. Now I'm completely invisible from the outside.

I take out a root from my whole body and invade the tentacles in the opposite direction.

Well, let's have a peek into its memory and see if it can tell me where the nest is.

I take over the tentacles, take control of them and extend the roots directly into the main body.

The monster tries to strangle me with its own free tentacles to resist.

My whole body creaks slightly under the pressure, but with my current strengthened body, I won't be crushed easily.

The monster was resisting as hard as it could, but when I discovered its brain-like organ and took it over, it became docile.

So... What about the vital information...?

To be honest, I had a bad feeling when I heard that mysterious language, but as expected, there was no information as far as I was concerned.

It's the same as with the High Elves.

Only the core information is completely missing.

All that can be seen is memory and sensory information.

The thoughts and memories that can be read are also limited, mostly 'hunger' and 'presence'.

Apparently, this is a small fry monster, and it seems to be moving for the purpose of procuring food because its master is hungry, and it was crawling around in the ground looking for someone who seemed to have high nutritional value from their perspective.

And these guys' sense of smell? The three of us and the king were caught by their sense of smell.

It seems that they were definitely targeting reincarnated people, and after they found us, they were relentlessly searching for us.

Apparently, it seems that they can share a certain amount of information with other members of their tribe, and the one that found us - the one that attacked the arena - seems to have been killed after that.

...You beastmen do it, don't you?

I give my compliments inwardly.

The only reason they were able to track us down was because they have a good nose.

As a result, they lost track of us because they lost the monster that had tracked us down.

So they had to look for us again.

I understand the situation. Now all I need is the location of the nest. ......

That one didn't turn up.

Apparently, these guys were originally asleep and went straight to work after being woken up, so they didn't stop at that kind of place.

Is that about all the information you have?

I wanted to learn the mystery language, but there was no information on that either.

...Well, that's about it.

Now, it's a bit of a waste, but now we have to get rid of this thing.

I've got the blueprints. If I need it, I can make it.

I give the order to Root as it is.

--Die as you are.

The part of me that understood the order exploded, taking only the monster's brain and vital organs with it.

The monster, whose centre had been destroyed, trembled greatly and soon stopped moving.

At the same time, the tentacles that were restraining me also lost their power and hung down helplessly.