Reincarnated as a Land Shark???

Chapter 15: Abandoned Road

Now that I've left the ocean, I should head towards the nearest source of freshwater. Lucky for me, I've not only located it, but I've also cleared out the threat lurking in its depths. For now it should act as a temporary shelter while I test some things. I still have a few hours before the sun sets, so it's safe to dally there a bit before I continue on my way.

Well, I certainly hope it is. I really don't want to be here when the Nanaue decide to swarm to the surface.

The most important thing I need to test, of course, is how fast my water bar regenerates in freshwater. It went up pretty rapidly in saltwater, but considering the title skill that allows me to live in freshwater has a level on it, it's highly likely that regeneration in freshwater will be slower than saltwater until I can level it up. I'm guessing it's something that'll just level up more the longer I stay in freshwater so I doubt it'll be that hard to raise its level, but it'll be nice to know just what I'm working with here.

It's not long before I've made it through the woods and to the river. As usual, I approach the river with caution; I may have evolved, but that also set me back to level one and I've already been in a previous fight. My HP has not recovered from that yet and likely won't until the wounds on my arms heal, however long that will take.

I approach the river again, looking around. I was here only about an hour ago, but it feels like it's been a while. Hell, the croc's body is even still here!

Come to think of it, I went through all that work to kill it then I didn't even eat it. That... that seems really disrespectful to the thing. I know it's the one that hunted me, but in terms of ability to end that fight I could have always run away rather than fought to the death.

I walk over to the body and take a bite out of it. Salty.

I continue to eat the croc, knowing it's the only meal I'll get for at least today. I polish off more of it than I thought I would faster than I thought I could.

The rest I'll leave for the scavengers and the hungry Nanaue swarm. Who knows, maybe Little Shark will get to have some.

I walk into the river. First test... I dunk my head and inhale with my gills. The water feels... different to breathe, somehow, like I'm getting less air out of it. It's almost like breathing at a really high altitude, but I'm still able to breathe. That's a win there I suppose.

I open my status window and check my water level. 96/100... Let's time how long it takes to get to 97.

I sit and wait, watching the water bar sit there at 96 and waiting for a change. Soon, I start to get worried. Is it not going to go up? Does Omniaquae mean I can breathe in freshwater, but my water bar doesn't go up in response to it? A ding sounds and I notice the skill 'Timing lv 1' has been added to the list of skills.

I keep count for a bit longer, waiting anxiously for the results of the test. Just as I'm sure it's about to go down, the water bar ticks up.

I give a bubbly sigh of relief. That really had me worried there for a minute.

I take a moment to look over my other skills and abilities. There's Glide, of course. I definitely have to test that out later. Tracking seems like it'll be useful too. That's definitely the skill Little Shark was using to find me all the time, except it probably got it on its own effort instead of through an evolution. That kind of makes me feel like a cheating loser.

In any case, it's probably best to move on.

I need to get as far inland as possible, far enough that the tracks of the Nanaue no longer reach me.

Looking at the river, I come to a decision. It's too shallow for me to swim in at full speed, and there may be other things lurking in or near it like that croc. I'll travel over land next to it.

I keep a safe distance from the water and keep on moving farther up towards the hills. Again, I see the footprints around me start to thin out. Not enough yet, though. There are still too many coming this far in for me to be safe quite yet.

The undergrowth starts to reappear the farther in I go, and soon the footprints can't even be seen. I slow my jog to a walk again, listening for the sound of the river I'd accidentally distanced myself from. The water's sound has turned from a happy little gurgle to a steady roar, meaning it's bigger now. Maybe there are a few rivers stemming off of it heading into the sea that I wasn't aware of. This must be a bigger river than I had first assumed.

The sounds of life have mostly resumed too, though the area around myself is rather quiet. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why that is, so I just ignore it and keep moving. I come out into a strange sort of clearing and pause, examining it more closely.

No, to call it a clearing would be wrong. It's too narrow, but at the same time it's long. I can't see the end of it. It's almost as if...

I look down at the ground more closely, noticing that although it's covered in a lot of weeds and roots, the ground here is coated in stone.

Bingo. There was a road here once.

I step out onto the road, considering my options. Part of it heads down the coast. It looks like it just hugs the shoreline, from what I can tell. The other side heads in the direction of the river, meaning there might be some bridge ruins nearby.

I might as well check it out. A glance to the sky tells me that while the dangerous hours are approaching, they're not here yet. I have a bit more time I can afford to waste before the Nanaue come to shore.

Walking along the path leads me to, as I had imagined, a very old bridge over the river. And said river...

My eyes widen at just how much larger it is now. What the heck, did I really travel far enough for it to get that narrow? No, probably not... It's likely that what I traveled along was just a branch of this river that headed off into the sea a bit early. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a delta not far from here.

The bridge itself is not maintained, but clearly still intact. It's made of carved stone and seems to have very firm foundations even after all this time. It will probably be here for quite a few years to come.

It's not just the bridge that catches my attention, though. On this side of the river there is a path along the river's edge, elevated from the water. A rotting wooden sign stands tall on the crossroads, though it looks like it'll fall at any moment.

Signs of human civilization... is it possible that I can find writing on it?

I examine it more closely. There's definitely something carved into the wood, but whatever it is is concealed by the rot of the wood. I can't make it out, and it doesn't look like it was in English anyways. Those characters... perhaps some kind of language from Asia? I'm not too well-versed in foreign languages. I did struggle through two years of Spanish in order to clear my graduation requirement, but I forgot all of it the day I walked out of that class for the last time.

In any case, no need to mull it over any longer. I won't be able to read it even if I do identify what language was used, so it's not exactly helpful. All it does is signify that there is, in fact, a road heading up in what seems to be the direction of the mountains.

That leaves me with three options if I want to follow the paths, I decide, I can cross the bridge and head down that path, but it looks like it'll probably head in the direction of Garuda town. I can go back the way I came and follow the other path, but it looks like it just hugs the coastline and may or may not get me any distance from the Nanaue. Option three is this path heading upwards in the direction of the mountains.

It's an easy choice. Heading towards the mountains was my goal from the start, and that hasn't changed.

I turn in the direction of the upward-heading path and walk forwards. It looks like I'm finally making headway on that exploration I had intended on for so long.