Chapter 145: The Investigation Request of the Islet
“Is that…?”
Rio made a face that clearly expressed her distaste, but it wasn’t set in stone just yet.
“By the way, is it getting closer to the land?”
“I can’t tell yet since we’re still too far away. And the size…”
That’s true. It must be approaching since we couldn’t see it before, but whether it’s heading toward the Imperial Capital is still uncertain. If we can avoid it, I’d prefer to do so, but even if it just passes by, we’ll need to prepare for it.
“For now, let’s get closer until we can assess it.”
“Right. It would also be helpful to know its head position…”
Now that she mentioned it, that makes sense. Since it’s coming this way, its head should be on our side, but… Regardless, we need to be cautious not to be recognized as enemies.
“Nil, keep your presence suppressed and stay quiet.”
We suppressed our presence as much as possible and slowly approached while using our appraisal skills. The creature that appeared to be a massive islet grew larger before our eyes. Just how many meters long is it? It feels like it could be several hundred meters.
—Here it comes!
As I recognized the entire massive island as a single monster and finally got a reaction, I paused for a moment.
“Did we manage to appraise it?”
Nodding in response to Rio’s question, I began sharing the appraisal results one by one.
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Name: None
Species: Sea Emperor Turtle
Description: One of the largest turtles inhabiting the sea.
Its temperament is gentle, but it is said that stopping its movement is impossible.
It often sleeps and can remain in a deep slumber for years.
It occasionally comes ashore, but the path left by the Sea Emperor Turtle is nothing but barren land.
What it aims for as it moves forward remains a mystery.
Status: Normal
HP: 136,546
MP: 16,456
Strength: 105,421
Stamina: 216,509
Agility: 743
Dexterity: 578
Mental Strength: 7,322
Magic Power: 16,345
Luck: 25
＝＝＝＝＝
“…A turtle?”
“Looks like it…”
“Still, that’s insane.”
“Yeah. It really is.”
I could only think of how ridiculous it was. What kind of stamina monster is this? I thought Nil had decent stamina, but this creature far surpasses that. What’s with that twenty thousand? And depending on its skills, it could multiply that by several times.
“Let’s try landing on its back.”
“Do you think that’s safe?”
“It seems like there are other monsters on its back, so I feel like we can land without issue.”
“Now that you mention it… Oh, and with that agility, escaping should be easy.”
“True. Even if its skills boost that by several times, we should be able to get away.”
“Then let’s go.”
As we approached the Sea Emperor Turtle once more, we cautiously landed on its back. The creature showed no signs of noticing us. The shell on its back was covered in soil, with plants growing in various spots. While there weren’t any large trees, the sprawling grasslands and rocky areas could easily be mistaken for land.
“It’s so spacious…”
“It’s enormous… I’d say it’s about five hundred meters from one end to the other.”
“Seems about right.”
From the back of the Sea Emperor Turtle, we gazed toward the land, barely able to see the tip of the cape.
“…So its head is definitely in the direction it’s moving.”
“I think so, but we didn’t see anything that looked like a head.”
“Is this turtle moving with its head submerged underwater?”
“Let’s take a look around the perimeter.”
Even though we said perimeter, it was still the turtle’s shell. Its rounded shape, much like a tortoise, meant there was no sandy beach. Thus, we flew around the turtle’s outer edge for our investigation, but we couldn’t find its head or tail at all. The water was clear, but we couldn’t see deep enough to spot its head or tail.
“Is it all underwater…?”
“I guess we’ll have to dive to check?”
“Well, that might be the case, but I don’t think we need to go that far right now. It feels like we should return with information as soon as possible.”
“Oh, right.”
“Still, how do we stop it…?”
I assume destroying its head would definitely kill it, but that seems like a high difficulty task. Just looking at its stamina makes me doubt we could even take it down.
“It’s moving slowly, but it’s definitely heading toward the harbor town.”
“Yeah. It seems to be veering away from the Imperial Capital, but it’ll likely collide directly with the harbor town.”
“I don’t think any magic we used to destroy a certain royal castle would have any effect on its shell.”
“Unless we dropped a massive meteor from the sky, that might do something.”
“Yeah, but that would probably cause a huge tsunami, wouldn’t it?”
I had used a meteor strike-like spell once, but I couldn’t summon a meteor that large. My Magic Power was drained to absurd levels. Plus, there’s the quality of the meteor falling.
“Haha…”
Even with a quick brainstorm, I couldn’t think of a way to take down the turtle without causing damage to the town.
“For now, let’s head back and report to the Guild.”
“Let’s do that.”
When it comes to situations like this, it’s best to leave it to others. Thus, we returned to the Guild.
As we stepped into the second floor of the Guild, the atmosphere was chaotic. Other adventurers had been reporting sightings of the shadow resembling an islet from the cape.
“Oh, you’re back!”
“You were quick!”
Upon closer inspection, I recognized the adventurers I had passed by at the cape.
“We came back to give a quick report, but should we head to a private room?”
“Y-Yes! Please, to the back room!”
An employee dashed out from the counter, pushing aside other adventurers who were trying to inquire about the situation, and pulled us up to the third floor. Voices of protest echoed behind us, but it was likely the Guild’s intention, so there was no helping it.
Thus, we found ourselves facing the Guild Master for the second time that day.