Chapter 84

Merman (3)

When does a person feel the greatest rage?

When they come face-to-face with the enemy who killed their parents?

When someone steals away the person they love?

When a scammer takes the money they painstakingly saved?

All of those were valid answers, and they had one thing in common.

Something precious had been taken away.

When something precious was taken without fair compensation, anyone was bound to get angry.

And right now, I was feeling rage every bit as intense.

Had something precious been taken from me?

Rather than precious, it was something directly tied to my survival—something I had gone through hell to obtain.

And it had been stolen right before my eyes.

It would’ve been stranger if I hadn’t lost it.

“You son of a bitch!!!”

I had never felt rage like this before.

Not even when my parents died, or when I saw the face of the person responsible for the accident.

At least that bastard… no, that person had apologized and even paid compensation.

But this shark-headed bastard in front of me?

He had gulped down food that someone else had worked their ass off to make.

And to make matters worse, he even looked satisfied afterward.

There was no way I couldn’t be furious.

“Grung?”

The shark giant looked puzzled as I charged fiercely toward him.

His expression said he still had absolutely no idea what was about to happen to him.

“Kaaaaaah!”

Still, apparently his intelligence didn’t resemble that of a fish.

Realizing there was something dangerous about my furious expression, the shark giant opened his maw.

Rows upon rows of densely packed teeth, just like a shark’s.

The instant those jaws closed around me, I’d be finished.

But trying to bite me was his mistake.

His posture had already been hunched, and now his body lowered even farther.

It might have been different if this thing moved on all fours like a tiger, but since it walked upright, lowering itself like that inevitably threw off its balance.

CLANG!

I easily avoided the shark giant’s bite by twisting my body to the left.

When its jaws snapped shut, it actually sounded like two pieces of metal smashing together.

But with its balance slightly broken, its entire body was wide open.

‘Big ones are easier for me.’

I was aiming for the leg planted firmly on the ground.

Once it lost a leg, its mobility would be severely restricted.

It was a strategy I frequently used whenever I fought something as large as this shark giant.

Sure, there were occasional exceptions like the saber-toothed tiger or the orichalcum Guardian, where the strategy didn’t work, but…

Slash!

“Gwooooooh!”

This shark wasn’t one of them.

The Heavenly Demon Sword, surging with aura, sliced clean through its leg.

With one leg gone, its balance had no choice but to collapse completely to one side.

Just as I expected, the shark giant lost its right leg and toppled forward.

Since it had two arms and two legs like a human, it managed to brace itself with its arms, but that was meaningless.

‘Now for the head…!’

Whoosh!

Just as I was about to drive the Heavenly Demon Sword into its head, I heard a strange sound from my left.

A bad feeling struck me, and without even looking, I hurriedly raised the shield in my left hand.

CLAAANG!!

“Urgh…!”

A tremendous impact traveled through the shield.

At the same time, my body was sent flying.

Since I had anticipated the attack well enough, I managed to break my fall even while airborne.

‘A tail?’

Wondering what the hell had hit me, I looked over and spotted a thick tail.

It was split at the end just like an actual shark’s tail.

Apparently, being a shark giant meant it possessed all the characteristics of a shark.

“Kyuaaaaa!”

“Groooooar!”

Not that it mattered.

The bastard had already lost one leg.

It was in such a helpless state that even with Wonmo clinging to its face and clawing wildly at it, the shark giant couldn’t put up any proper resistance.

Its tail couldn’t reach its face either, so all it could do was wave around pitifully.

Occasionally, it opened its enormous maw to threaten Wonmo, but unfortunately for it, Wonmo simply climbed on top of its head.

Despite its size, it seemed surprisingly easy to deal with.

Still, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

‘Or is it because there’s no water?’

That was possible too.

While the creature thrashed around, I cautiously approached.

Once I reached its head, I shouted to Wonmo, who was still perched on top of it.

“Wonmo! Move!”

“Kyuu!”

Wonmo really was smart.

The instant I shouted, he immediately jumped away.

I drove the Heavenly Demon Sword straight into the spot Wonmo had vacated—

right into the shark giant’s head.

Stab!

With aura surging around the blade, the Heavenly Demon Sword sank in easily.

The moment the sword pierced its head, the shark giant thrashed for a while before finally going completely still.

The tail it had been swinging around in a desperate attempt to escape stopped moving as well.

Bright red blood streamed down the shark giant’s head.

Stab! Stab!

Just to be safe, I stabbed it a few more times to make sure it was dead.

I didn’t know where its heart was located, so targeting the head was the safest bet.

And with that, the surprisingly easy yet dangerous subjugation of the shark giant came to an end.

I flicked the blood from the Heavenly Demon Sword and found myself wondering.

‘Why the hell is something like this here? Is there an ocean nearby?’

Previously, I had encountered a bull shark that tried to attack a deer, only to get kicked unconscious instead.

But that shark and this shark giant were fundamentally different creatures.

At least the bull shark had actually looked like a shark.

This thing was a shark in humanoid form.

I couldn’t tell whether this was simply another bizarre feature of the Forest of Four Seasons, or whether it was a “monster” like the mushroom man.

‘Come to think of it, even the bull shark was strange. There’s a lake down below.’

Bull sharks might be able to live in freshwater, but their primary habitat was still the ocean.

Considering that, there was a good chance an ocean existed somewhere beyond that enormous lake.

‘This is driving me crazy. Why the hell would there be an ocean in a forest…? Wait.’

Maybe having an ocean here wasn’t actually that strange.

The environment across the river alone changed constantly.

Sometimes it was a desert, sometimes a snowy mountain, and sometimes a swamp.

There could very well be an ocean somewhere in this forest.

Common sense could go fuck itself.

“Phew…”

I wouldn’t know for sure until I explored, but it was a fairly plausible hypothesis.

A bull shark that moved between saltwater and freshwater.

And now the sudden appearance of a shark giant.

More than anything else, I couldn’t figure out why the shark giant had appeared here in the first place.

If it had followed the smell of food, other animals should have come around too, but none had shown up.

‘I guess I’ll have to ask.’

No matter how much I racked my brain, the reality was that I lacked even the basic common knowledge of this world.

In the end, I had no choice but to ask the gallery.

I didn’t know about anyone else, but Dora-Father—

No, Allfather should be able to clear up my questions.

Title) You Said There Are Beastmen Here Too, Right?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the shark giant with blood streaming from its head)

Do mermen count as beastmen too? Fish are animals, after all.

Basically, this bastard suddenly showed up and stole my lunch.

I got pissed and killed him, but what the hell is this thing?

└ Heavenly Demon) This Lady has seen people with the faces of animals before… but never one with the face of a shark.

└ SwordMaster) It looks like some kind of merman… but even mermen don’t look like that.

└ Wild Grylls) Are mermen beastmen too?

└ SwordMaster) They’re monsters. It’s the same principle as sirens being treated as monsters even though they’re mermaids rather than mermen.

└ Suspiciously) Beastmen should at least have fur. But that thing’s a fish;;

└ Wild Grylls) True, but fish are still animals too. That’s why I asked.

└ Suspiciously) Did you try talking to it?

└ Wild Grylls) Talking, my ass. It stole the fish I worked so hard to make, so I killed it.

└ Suspiciously) Fair enough. A bastard like that deserves to die. Anyway, that thing isn’t a beastman.

└ Allfather) Even I have never encountered this species before. Even mermen aren’t such an even mixture of man and shark… What in the world is it?

└ Wild Grylls) I guess mermen don’t look like this?

└ Allfather) (Photo of a monstrous-looking merman) This is a merman.

└ Allfather) (Photo of a mermaid with the lower body of a fish) And this is a photograph of a siren, commonly known as a mermaid. Neither resembles that shark.

└ Wild Grylls) Uh… does that mean it’s a new species?

└ Allfather) It would seem so, but I cannot say for certain. I don’t know whether it is simply a mutation or something caused by the Forest of Four Seasons.

Even Allfather didn’t know.

Neither did anyone else.

Apparently, it was a completely unknown species that had never revealed itself to the world before.

That was fitting for the Forest of Four Seasons, where all kinds of bizarre animals appeared.

Wait, could that thing be a giraffe?

Don’t tell me giraffes don’t exist here.

└ Wild Grylls) Do you guys have horses with horns here?

└ If you mean unicorns, of course we do. Why are you asking?

└ Wild Grylls) Just curious.

└ Come to think of it, wasn’t Namu-Ppareumbo originally a sloth? You said sloths can’t walk, right?

└ Allfather) An excellent point. Due to the structure of their limbs, ordinary sloths are physically incapable of walking. Namu-Ppareumbo, however, is different.

└ What a fucking weird forest. I’m never going anywhere near that place.

└ What the hell is going to show up next;; At this rate, some animal with a ridiculously long neck is going to appear too.

└ Fighting with a neck like that would be hilarious lololol

└ That sounds fucking stupid lololol

Personally, I found horses with horns much stranger.

Was this what you called a cultural(?) difference?

Putting that pointless discussion aside, the real question was what to do with the shark giant.

The best option was to hand it over to Allfather.

He would probably be delighted to take it.

‘It’s not like I’m going to make shark-fin soup out of it.’

So I immediately sent it over.

Just as expected, Allfather was thrilled.

I wanted to hear the results of his research too, so I had no hesitation about trading it to him.

[Allfather: Thank you for providing me with my daily research material.]

[Wild Grylls: You don’t have to thank me. If you think about it, I’m basically just getting rid of trash.]

[Allfather: You may throw such premium-grade trash my way anytime. Hahaha.]

[Wild Grylls: “Premium-grade trash” sounds kind of weird. But you said this is your first time seeing anything like this too, right?]

[Allfather: Indeed. I have lived for quite a long time, yet this is my first encounter with such a species. Between this and the saber-toothed tiger’s heart, it is certain that the Forest of Four Seasons is altering things somehow.]

[Wild Grylls: When do you think those changes will start affecting me?]

That was actually what scared me the most.

The possibility that I might undergo changes without even realizing it.

I wanted to avoid being transformed into something bizarre at all costs, so naturally, I was worried.

[Allfather: Mr. Grylls, what do you believe mana is?]

[Wild Grylls: A power that helps people become stronger? Isn’t that basically it?]

[Allfather: Theoretically, yes. Then do you believe that every human being is capable of manipulating mana?]

[Wild Grylls: They aren’t?]

[Allfather: There is considerable debate on the matter in academic circles, but I, at least, do not believe so. People call it a difference in talent, but ultimately, it is a difference in the vessel—in other words, the body. Like every other plant and animal, humans are creatures that evolve.]

Allfather was bringing up the theory of evolution.

I listened carefully.

Every plant and animal had undergone evolution to reach its present form.

Humans were no different.

[Allfather: Come to think of it… you said you came from another world, did you not, Mr. Grylls?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. That’s right. Nobody believes me, though. Do you believe me, Allfather?]

[Allfather: Let us consider the matter under the assumption that you did. I must admit that I, too, find the story rather difficult to believe.]

It was disappointing, but understandable.

Still, the fact that he was willing to entertain the possibility wasn’t bad.

[Allfather: In the distant past, only a chosen few were capable of manipulating mana. However, as time passed, more and more people became capable of doing so.]

[Wild Grylls: That certainly fits the idea of evolution.]

[Allfather: Precisely. Nowadays, even those without talent have little difficulty merely sensing mana. Which brings me to a question. In the place where you used to live, was there anyone capable of sensing mana?]

Allfather had raised an extremely perceptive question.

The moment I read it, I answered immediately.

There was no need to think about it.

The answer was incredibly simple.

[Wild Grylls: No. Where I lived, there was no mana. Instead, science and technology were highly advanced. Advanced enough that a single bomb could annihilate an entire city.]

[Allfather: In other words, you could not use mana. And neither could you, Mr. Grylls.]

[Wild Grylls: Right. I sensed it for the first time after coming here.]

[Allfather: In that case, everything fits together perfectly.]

After considering countless possibilities, Allfather reached a conclusion.

[Allfather: Mr. Grylls. Listen carefully.]

[Wild Grylls: Go ahead.]

[Allfather: You may already be undergoing the process of “evolution.”]

His conclusion came as quite a shock to me.