A faint smell of moisture and salt slipped into my nose.
After the end of the wall of trees, the ground covered in grass stretched forward before it gradually began to lessen until it disappeared completely, making way for something else.
Sand.
From the right and left, as far as our eyes could see, stretched a shore of shining yellow sand, and beyond it the calm clear waters began turning dark blue the farther we looked ahead.
And there beyond the waterline, very far on the horizon, I could see the silhouette of the other side.
But no matter how much I looked right or left, there was no end to this line of water.
Well, I already knew that because according to the map this stretched for hundreds of kilometers in both directions.
This was what remained of the Mediterranean Sea, a lake or line of water separating the two continents with a width of kilometers.
"This is truly amazing." I heard Elliot’s amazement from beside me.
But he wasn’t referring only to the water, because there far away from us in the middle of the blue waters rose the remains of a gigantic skeleton stretching forward toward the horizon.
The skeleton resembled a twisted and winding spine forming an arch above the water, with part of the rib cage exposed for us to see, while the rest of the skeleton seemed hidden below.
Even from here I could see the plants and algae growing over its white surface.
"That thing is at least three kilometers in size, without even considering what’s still beneath the water." Ellen’s voice spread out as she stepped toward the field of grass.
"I wonder what the hell killed it, it must’ve been an ancient monster at least." Izel spoke with awe.
Well, that wasn’t a difficult question to answer.
"A Great monster." So Elliot answered while his eyes remained fixed on the skeleton.
But ignoring that thing looming on the horizon, this place truly looked wonderful.
It was like those places I used to wish to visit and spend a vacation in.
I mean look, there was a forest and a sandy shore with a calm lake and clear waters.
If there was one bad thing, it was that we were surrounded by monsters... though that wasn’t anything new anyway, and they were only Rank 1 for the most part. Sometimes I sensed Rank 2s far away from us, not to mention Rank 3s.
So we were safe for now... at least it seemed that way, and I didn’t think there was a better place to rest anyway.
"Looks like we’ll spend the night here, so start making the shelter, Elliot." I said that while beginning to walk toward the water.
"And what are you going to do?"
I answered while my eyes stayed fixed on the beautiful blue water. "Isn’t it obvious... swimming."
"That’s a great idea." I heard Leona’s comment from behind as they split apart, leaving Elliot standing there alone with the work waiting for him.
I reached the hot sand while my feet sank into it, sunlight reflecting off the tiny glass-like grains between it.
It was true that the sun still hadn’t even reached midday yet, but more than a day had already passed since sunrise.
Following a day and night schedule wasn’t really possible for us, so we rested whenever the opportunity appeared.
I quickly took off my shoes and threw them somewhere, then extended my hands as I removed my shirt and tossed it onto the sand as well.
For a moment I almost took off my pants too, but I felt a pair of eyes fixed on me. When I turned my head to the side, I found Izel staring at me with slightly widened eyes and some redness on her face.
I tightened my belt again while giving her a smile. "Do you like seeing me like this?... I know my body is amazing, but if you keep staring even I’ll get embarrassed."
"Just shut your mouth... and why the hell would I be interested in you?" She shook her head in annoyance before turning and walking away from me.
Where was she going?... Who knew.
I shrugged while giving up on the idea of taking off my pants. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any swimwear with me.
Maybe next time I’d bring much better preparations than this.
I directly walked toward the water while hearing a loud sound behind me, apparently Elliot had started creating our shelter.
Soon the water soaked my feet up to my knees before I jumped and dived into it.
A refreshing and cold feeling wrapped around every part of my body.
I swam deeper and farther into the water while opening my eyes, revealing the sight of seaweed and the life living among it.
For the first time since stepping into this world, I saw something natural and different from all those monsters.
Different fish, shellfish, and various things swam among the seaweed.
It was true that even these weren’t completely normal like I remembered from my previous life, but they still weren’t bad somehow.
I stayed there staring for a few more moments before rising back to the surface.
I felt my head pierce through the water as I took a breath of fresh and refreshing air. "Haah."
Slowly I relaxed myself and let my body float and drift with the water while staring at the clear sky above.
Even with this, my senses still covered the area around us, sensing nearly everything.
Whether the thousands of lives living in these waters, the thriving creatures in the forest, or even the things flying in the sky, everything existed within my awareness.
Ever since we came here, my ability had been active almost all the time, filling my head with all this sensory information. The only moments of rest were when I fell asleep.
Even so, I had gotten somewhat used to it, and it became more than just an ability, almost like a basic sense for me.
The only problem was the essence consumption, but it regenerated again as soon as I woke up.
I soon closed my eyes and let my body float there while the sound of the calm water currents filled my ears.
...
After some time, I emerged from the water while my feet touched the sand again, dragging something in my hand.
I walked directly toward the earthen building that had risen there near the forest, which Elliot finished preparing a short while ago.
He quickly came out from inside while staring at what was in my hand. "Looks like you found something edible this time."
I looked at what resembled a large fish with nail-like teeth and a flat face. "We’ll see."
During the past days I tried cooking many monsters, but only a few were actually edible, and even those didn’t taste very good.
I left the fish near the entrance while entering. "Good work anyway."
Elliot sighed and shook his head before walking toward the shore where the others were.
Well, I didn’t see Kyle there, so it was only the girls, but I could still sense his location in the forest. It seemed he was searching for something.
Taking one last glance behind me, I saw Izel and Leona struggling inside the water apparently... I don’t know, but it seemed Izel still held a grudge from last time.
And on the shore, Ellen sat watching them with amusement.
If there was one unfortunate thing about all this, it was the lack of swimsuits. Not that I wanted to see them wearing them... it was just unfortunate.
After changing my clothes and leaving the others to dry,
I gathered some firewood and lit a fire before preparing that fish and starting to grill it.
Sitting there staring at the meat slowly roasting and the pleasant smell rising from it, while ahead the others were still enjoying the water.
From the side, Kyle emerged from the forest holding a dead bird in his hand. Who knew what he wanted to do with it, maybe make some arrows.
I ignored that while staring at the stretch of blue water. Now we had to cross this to finally reach Europe.
It was good that the distance wasn’t as huge as it used to be, otherwise that would’ve been a real problem.
But there were barely fifteen kilometers to the other side.
And with our abilities we could do that without many problems... unless the problems came to us like they always did.
Kyle approached the fire while leaving the large bird on the ground before extending his hand and pulling out one of its large feathers, turning it before his face while examining it.
I looked at him. "Are you going to use it for your arrows?"
He nodded his head. "Yeah."
Thinking about it, Kyle was good at making many things and handicrafts, so he might have experience with what I was thinking about.
"Hey, do you have any idea how to make a sturdy raft?"
He looked at me with those brown eyes that had become calmer than ever before as he answered in a moderate tone.
"Somewhat."