The next morning came in a blink of an eye. Unlike the previous day, Laurel didn't split them up. Today, they were going to search the southern forest. The faster they met civilization, the better. With all the primitive tools they could craft, the group marched toward the south. After climbing the hill and heading toward the crystal watermelon grove, they reached the river.
"So here is the river, huh," Xiaolang said. "I wonder if they are connected. If we follow this river, shouldn't we return to the lake?"
"We aren't here for the lake, though," Lexus snorted. "And there is no way it is connected. The lake would be empty long ago if this much water came out of it. Unlike fountains or pools, this world doesn't have pumps!"
"Just in case you guys get lost, Lexus. The forest here is different. The trees are somewhat denser," Xiaolang sighed. He didn't know why the lake wasn't drying up either, but he knew for sure that the rivers were connected. But that wasn't important. "So, where should we go from here? Laurel, where did you find that nameplate?"
"We found it there." Laurel and Bob pointed toward a cliff. Below the cliff was the reef where they had found the nameplate.
"Yeah, it is possible it came from the river," Xiaolang nodded. Laurel also nodded.
"Ah, but be careful. There was a scarab the last time we went there. It hunted a cloud reaper," Laurel said.
"Don't get too close to the river. Bob will watch the river at all times. Meanwhile, the others should watch the forest as we travel along the river. If anything comes near, stab your spear into it. That should be safer."
"Understood," Laurel nodded.
The forest was thick. Trees and shrubs were so densely packed that their pace slowed down into a crawl. Xiaolang chopped the shrubs with his knife, but it took them forever to traverse the jungle. He wondered whether they should just forget about clearing the shrubs, but some of this overgrowth was sharp. Moreover, animals might be hiding inside. He couldn't take any chances. A single attack from a venomous animal was all it would take to kill.
"Can't we go a bit faster?" Lexus complained.
"If you want to take the lead, go ahead," Xiaolang said.
"Tch!" Lexus stopped complaining. Even he felt the oppressive aura this forest had. This was their first time here. The sound was different. The air was different. The smell was different. He could feel that he was being watched from all sides. He felt so exposed, so vulnerable.
After hours of walking, they arrived at a spire. It towered over them like a lighthouse. Xiaolang remembered this spire. It was visible from the top of the mountain.
"Alright. This spire was in the photo. Shingo, you remember it? That means the river connects from the southern cliff to the tower. I could see it formed a small pool around the spire."
"Yeah. I will add it to the mapping program later. I could also see the river extend to another side of the pool. I wonder if that river is connected to the lake," Shingo muttered.
"This tower…" Xiaolang muttered.
"Ah, look! Something is shining there!" Lazarus pointed toward one part of the wall.
"Was that metal?" Laurel muttered as she inched closer, trying to get a closer look.
"Stop! Don't get any closer!" Bob yelled as he shoved her aside. He then brandished the spear and lunged toward the black shadow that emerged from the pond. The wooden spear smashed through the black, scaly head of the scarab.
Xiaolang flanked from the side as the scarab switched its target to Bob. Anna screamed and fell onto her butt; her spear fell with a thunk, while Lexus took a leap back, his hand trembling. His eyes darted, looking for a way to flee.
Laurel stood up moments later. With Lazarus beside her, they circled the scarab. The group inched further from the pond, where the scarab had the advantage. With how Bob's spear had broken earlier, they knew attacking it from the top was futile.
"The stomach! Hit it from below!" Shingo said as he inched toward Anna, helping her up.
"Easy for you to say…" Xiaolang muttered. He knew what he had to do. He just had to do it like before. While it was occupied with others, he had to mount it and stab its belly with a knife. But who would be the bait? There was no way he could ask others to do such dangerous tasks; moreover, who would follow him?
"Xiaolang! Do it!" Lazarus shouted as she lunged toward the scarab. The scarab, seeing a much smaller girl beside Bob, lunged at her. Its forelimb pinned Lazarus and Bob to the ground. Bob grunted as he held the scarab's mouth from reaching Lazarus.
"Now!" Xiaolang dashed. His eyes were laser-focused as his adrenaline took over. His spear found its mark on the scarab's flank. This time, not only did it pierce the beast, it also flipped it over.
"Now! Attack it together!" Laurel followed suit. She lunged at it. Her spear slammed into the scarab's belly. Shingo followed suit; his steps and war cry were fueled by desperation and willpower. Xiaolang yanked the spear out of its guts, ready for another stab before Anna yelled.
"Watch out! There's another one!" Anna yelled, her finger pointing toward the pond. Another scarab emerged. Xiaolang took a stance, his spear pointed toward the new threat. The scarab flailed behind him before it stopped moving.
The new scarab glared at Xiaolang. Its eyes switched between him and its dead teammates. The atmosphere grew tense. After what felt like an eternity, the scarab stepped back. Its eyes were glued to Xiaolang, who poised his spear at it. Then, it disappeared back into the blue river.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief as the tension finally dissipated.
"Um… guys. Can you help me?" Lazarus said.
"Yes. On it. Ugh… it's already dead, but it still holds you guys in a grip." Laurel came over and tried to pry the forelimb open, but to no avail.
"Hold still. I will break the arm. Bob, where is the stone axe you made?" Xiaolang observed his surroundings, trying to find a rock to break the forelimb.
"Ah, it's there, Shingo?"
"On it." Shingo gave Xiaolang the stone axe. With a few thuds, careful not to hit Lazarus and Bob, Xiaolang broke the four forelimbs' bones. The crab-like arm that had been pinching them finally loosened.
"Ugh. This one didn't hold back like the previous one." Lazarus rubbed her arm. Thanks to her uniform, it wasn't bleeding. But it was definitely bruised. Her uniform was stained red as blood spurted from the stump of the scarab's forelimb.
"Thank goodness you are okay. That was a close one. We should get that checked when we get back," Laurel said. "You aren't hurt, right?"
"Woo-hoo! We killed this monster! We are scarab hunters! Eat that, you monster!" Lexus hopped around the dead scarab, sometimes kicking it.
"You didn't even do anything!" Laurel rolled her eyes at Lexus' outburst, but everyone smiled seeing his antics.
"It's our kill, alright! It's a cooperative play! It doesn't matter. We are all in this together, right?"
"So, what now?" Xiaolang asked.
"Ugh… I want to inspect that spire, but with that scarab guarding it, I don't think it would be wise…" Laurel said.
"What's so special about this rock?" Lexus asked. His eyes roamed around the tall spire in the center of a pond. The pond was small, only a dozen meters separated the group from the spire, but with that beast guarding it, it felt so long.
"Are you suggesting the nameplate might have come from here?" Xiaolang asked.
"We don't know," Laurel said. "Anyway, should we continue on?"
"Hey, I'm tired. Can't we rest for a bit?" Lexus complained.
"You didn't even do anything!" Laurel roared. But when she glanced at Lazarus, she relented. "Well, I guess we could rest here for a while."
"Should we get a fire going?" Bob said as he gathered a few branches to make a fire plough.
"No. You are tired too, right? Just rest up. We should bring an ember next time so we could get a fire going easier," Laurel sighed. They were really unprepared for this journey. All they had were water and weapons.
"What should we do with the dead scarab?" Anna looked at the dead beast. Even after it was dead, she was still intimidated. Its serrated teeth were bared in its mouth, threatening to chew her whole last time.
"We should bring it to our lifepod! We can display its head! It's an achievement!" Lexus shouted.
"That's cruel! We should bury it properly!" Lazarus retorted. "It might be evil, but it attacked us because it was hungry, right?"
"I think we can use its teeth and claws for something else."
"Couldn't we eat this? It has red blood; it's probably edible…" Xiaolang observed the scarab. Its body was large, reaching over three meters in length. Even Bob, the tallest member of the group, barely reached one and a half meters. Its body was thick; there should be a lot of meat inside this thick scale—enough for at least two days.
"Eh? That's cruel… You said we didn't need to do this," Lazarus protested.
"It's already dead. Burying it would be a waste," Xiaolang countered her argument. Lazarus could only pout in silence. She was against animal killing. But here, there was no such thing as a meat culture plant; there was no other way to obtain meat except by killing animals.
"I agree! Let's eat this scarab!" Lexus was on board.
"Only after we check whether it is safe," Laurel reminded the group. Lazarus sat in silence. Even with such scary animals, she felt pity looking at it.
"Should we continue, or should we return?" Anna asked. Her eyes gazed toward the river.
"I think we should continue following the river. We already walked so far," Xiaolang said. "Moreover, we are most likely returning to the lake at this rate."
"Huh? How do you know?" Lexus said.
"The compass on my phone says so. The river has some curves, but we are roughly walking north. That means the lake," Xiaolang said.
"I see. From the photo, it does appear so," Laurel said, inspecting the photo they got from the top of the mountain.
"Alright, Bob! Carry this scarab! This is our spoil for today!" Lexus cocked his hands on his hips.
"Why don't you carry it? You did nothing! Bob did so much. He was the first to react when the scarab attacked me!" Laurel countered.
"But it's heavy!"
"That's why we should carry it together! You can take the left side at the back. Anna will take the right side at the back. Shingo and Lazarus will take the front! I will carry the tail." Laurel barked, commanding the group with authority.
"Don't worry, I can—" "No. You and Xiaolang must watch our surroundings. You are the strongest in our group! What if other monsters attack?" Laurel interjected as Bob tried to offer help.
"Tch! So bossy!" Lexus grunted. After they caught their breath, the group moved along the river.
After a few hours, just as Xiaolang had predicted, the river led back to the lake. No hint of civilization could be seen on their path. Laurel sighed, holding back her disappointment. She clenched the nameplate.
"Gah! This is impossible. It's too heavy. Are you saying we should bring this to our lifepod?" Lexus collapsed beside the river.
"Wasn't this your idea to begin with? Come now! At least follow up with your plan!" Laurel said.
It took them a few more hours, but when they returned to the lifepod, the sun was already low on the horizon. Using Xiaolang's knife, they cut apart the scarab. Just as he predicted, the scarab's scales were thicker at the top; they had triple the thickness. Each scale was as hard as iron. Meanwhile, its belly was soft—more like leather instead of scales.
"So, do any of you know which part to eat and which one is not?" Laurel asked. "Mistral?"
[For fish, you normally throw away the intestines and digestive tract. This process is called gutting. In ancient Earth, the process is similar. But you need to drain the blood first. This process is called draining. You cut its artery and then hang the body so all the blood can flow out.]
"I see. So you throw away the stomach and the intestines and eat the rest? I assume you would also need to throw away the bones and scales."
[You can discard the scales, but the bones can be used as soup stock. So they are edible, though not directly.]
"Oh, that's new," Laurel said. She didn't know bones could be used in cooking.
After Xiaolang and Bob cut apart the scarab and washed the meat with seawater, Lazarus hesitantly brought the water spectrometer to the meat dipped in water. The result was safe. The meat was safe to eat after boiling.
"Alright. Bob will boil some water, and then we can have a stew after this."
"Gah… I am tired," Lexus complained. But his complaints were ignored.
Tonight, they were going to have some meat.
I am the son of the Blackdiamond Group! If I say I didn't do it, that means I didn't do it. Understand? It's fine, my father will replace everything. ~Lexus