Chapter 58: The Worm Observation Squad
A week had passed since the observation of the creature believed to be a worm had begun.
“There hasn’t been any movement, has there…?”
The surrounding situation had mostly been investigated.
Within a radius of approximately 2 kilometers, including the planned site for the fortress construction, numerous cavities thought to belong to the worm had been discovered. Beyond a certain boundary, the number of cavities sharply decreased, and to the west of the planned construction site, there were hardly any cavities found even after advancing about 100 meters.
“Well, it seems we just had bad luck,” said Ichigo.
“Yes, Commander,” replied the AI Assistant, RINGO. “It would be wise to shift the construction site over here. We have been conducting focused investigations since yesterday, and there seem to be no geological issues.”
“Right. If it looks good, let’s go ahead and move it. This way, we can still use the current pier as is.”
While the details about the worm remained unknown, time was of the essence. Since a nearby area appeared to be free of worms, they decided to continue with the plan to relocate the construction site there.
By the way, the pier had been completed four days ago. For now, a temporary bridge had been extended to connect with the coast, but material transportation had not yet begun. At most, the multi-legged heavy machinery, the Walker, had been making trips back and forth. It was a shame to let the structure sit idle after all the effort put into its construction.
“Yes, Commander. I will dispatch additional units of Walker Prototype 1 to expedite the investigation.”
The WP1 had proven surprisingly useful due to its high off-road capabilities. Unlike wheeled vehicles, it was less affected by punctures and other wheel failures. Especially in the rugged terrain of the Afrasia United Kingdom, which was characterized by volcanic rock, the advantages of its multi-legged design were fully utilized.
Thus, it seemed that a certain number of multi-legged vehicles would be included in the ground vehicle lineup for the Afrasia United Kingdom. Commander Eve had muttered, “It’s not just a dream; multi-legged machines are useful,” but RINGO chose to ignore her. It wouldn’t do to let her get carried away.
That aside, they had detected the worm. It seemed to have ceased moving about 1 meter underground at a location designated as Sinkhole 43. And it had remained that way for a week.
“Could it have escaped without us noticing?” Ichigo wondered.
“We are continuing to scan using ultrasonic waves. There is still a mass detected at the designated location that appears to be the worm, so it’s unlikely that it has left,” RINGO responded.
“In that case… is it just waiting patiently for prey?” Ichigo speculated.
“That possibility cannot be ruled out,” RINGO confirmed.
The worm’s ecology remained a mystery. They didn’t even know what it fed on to survive. Just being able to observe its movements was a stroke of luck. However, they had a valuable sample in front of them, and they wanted to gather some useful information.
“Should we try placing some fish nearby?” Ichigo suggested.
“…Yes, Commander. If it is carnivorous, there might be some action. It is lurking in a place with traces of living creatures, so if we provide it with something to prey upon, perhaps…”
With that, they decided to toss some fish they had caught into the worm’s burrow.
“Let’s have WP1 catch them.”
The all-terrain model was living up to its reputation. It dove into the water, using its manipulators to catch the fish by hand. Thanks to its internal air tank, the gas turbine engine could operate underwater for about ten minutes. If equipped with a snorkel, it could continue functioning a few meters below the surface.
“…Using a multi-legged machine for fishing…”
“Yes, Commander. Unfortunately, we didn’t prepare any fishing gear.”
Immediately, one of the WP1 units that had been on standby with the construction ship plunged into the water. The fish in this area, as expected, had very little wariness. If they were a curious species, they would even approach the machine eagerly. Once they got close enough, it could simply use its speed and power to grab them with its manipulator.
“Ugh…”
Watching the boisterous hand-fishing, Ichigo sighed, her expression complicated.
“…Well, I guess it’s fine.”
After some internal conflict, she decided to let it go.
She tossed the caught fish into the burrow. Since there was no significant reaction even when it made some noise, she didn’t act as cautiously as before. In fact, she had deliberately turned off the silent mode, hoping for a reaction to the footsteps, but it turned out to be a miscalculation.
“It seems there’s still no response,” RINGO noted.
“Hmm… What could it be waiting for?” Ichigo pondered.
The worm remained still beneath Sinkhole 43. Given the circumstances, it seemed that it had been waiting motionlessly all this time. Perhaps that was just its nature.
“Originally, it might be expected to be more active,” RINGO suggested.
“True. If it were just waiting around, I wouldn’t expect so many holes to be dug,” Ichigo replied.
“Commander, the fish’s movements have nearly stopped.”
Ichigo, who had been intently watching the monitor, reported back.
“Hmm? Oh, it was just flopping around a moment ago.”
The fish had ceased moving. Had the worm sensed the vibrations?
“Commander. I detected a weak vibration. It appears the worm has begun to move.”
“Hmm…?”
The worm, which had shown no reaction until now, seemed to finally be stirring.
“Beginning coordinate plotting. It’s moving… towards the surface.”
“Wait, it’s coming out?”
The WP1 quietly observed the sinkhole as the bottom began to bulge, and then the worm revealed itself.
“Whoa!”
At the tip was a mouth, surrounded by spiny teeth. Its body had a rough, rock-like texture, likely as hard as it appeared. There were no visible eyes at first glance. As it wriggled its body, it slowly crawled out from the ground.
“…It’s smaller than I expected, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Commander. Its diameter is approximately 7 cm, and its total length appears to be around 80 to 90 cm based on our scans. Considering the size of the hole left underground, this individual is quite small. Larger specimens have exceeded 30 cm in thickness.”
“Hmm. It looks rather rocky… but its movements are surprisingly smooth.”
The worm stretched its body as if searching for something, likely the motionless fish. It was just a few centimeters away from reaching it.
“It seems reluctant to fully emerge from the hole.”
“Indeed. It’s not exactly cute… its appearance is a bit…”
“If we assume it moves by peristalsis, once its body is completely out of the hole, it would face significant restrictions on its movement. It likely dislikes that.”
For a while, the worm continued to wriggle around, and after a moment of slackening, it began to extend its body out of the hole. It crawled along the bottom of the sinkhole until it finally bumped into the fish that had been thrown in.
“It has begun its feeding behavior.”
Upon reaching the fresh fish, the worm moved its head and bit into its prey.
“…It’s surprisingly gentle, isn’t it?”
“I thought it would be more aggressive.”
From its movements, it appeared to be sucking on the fish rather than tearing into it. There were no acrobatic movements of biting and ripping.
“It seems to have a stronger suction than we anticipated, or perhaps its teeth are sharp. It smoothly pierced into the fish,” RINGO reported after analyzing the footage.
“It appears to be moving its teeth and gouging while swallowing. Some animals thrash about to tear off meat using the recoil, but this worm doesn’t seem to do that.”
“Huh… It really is gentle, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Commander. The ferocity we heard about seems to be nonexistent. It doesn’t appear to attack living targets at all.”
Was this simply a matter of unreliable rumors, or was this individual particularly docile? Regardless, at this point, the sample size was far too small to make any judgments. They would continue observing for a while, but the worm was solely focused on eating the fish, leading to a rather uneventful development.
“Commander, what should we do next?”
“…Well, it’s a valuable sample, and it would be a waste to let it die if we capture it… I suppose it’s best to continue observing for now…?”
“Yes, Commander. Since the ecology of magical creatures is fundamentally unknown, we should proceed as such. When multiple individuals are found, we can secure samples then.”