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Chapter 374: Exploring the River Es

I climbed upstream in a good mood by repeatedly【Teleport】and named the spirits while listening to their stories.

Crocodiles and soft shell-turtles were waiting whenever I came too close to the riverbank. The crocodiles were a given, and I also tried fighting against the turtles multiple times, but I ended up plunging into the mud so I had to 【Teleport】back to my 『House』 to change clothes.

Now, I limit my battles to monsters that can fight on land like hippos and cows.

The cow monster has four horns… Ah, no, maybe the other pair are normal ones? The horns that are bigger than its face are magnificently sticking out of its head.

The hippos behaved like, well, typical hippos and they are also strong enough to attack the crocodile monsters. They possess explosive power, they’re pretty quick on their feet, sharp fangs line their gums in a circle deep in their wide-opened mouths, and they even spray poison which I thought was blood at first even though I hadn’t cut them yet. They also go on a rampage as a herd; dealing with them has been a pain in the neck.

But wait, aren’t these monsters the type to devour their fellow monsters too? They all stopped fighting and attacked me the moment I, a human, entered their field of vision, though. The choice to attack animals that are under the same class as themselves seem to depend on the species.

X-Stick was currently napping. He must’ve felt refreshed and comfortable after I washed him post fight with the turtles that he fell asleep, so I used 『Zanzenken』to slash my opponents for now. The land near the river was slippery, but the sludge spirits and the water spirits supported my feet so I didn’t have any problems with that.

Still, I properly fought against the monsters without any help from the spirits until I got used to it, and the places I 【Teleport】are beyond the area where the spirits are active, so I’ve been fighting on my own, really.

I have to train so that I’ll be strong enough to somehow escape with my own power if I end up accidentally meeting the heroes.

Setting that aside, the feel of the hippo skin as I cut through it made me think that it’d be good material for making shoe soles. As of now, the best hide comes from the stingray-like monsters that burrow underneath the desert sand, but I’ll try experimenting with the hippo hide once we’re back home.

And so, I prioritized dealing with the hippos as I trudged on, that is until I reached a place where the previously tranquil waters of the River Es began to gently flow. It had been difficult to tell whether the river was flowing or if it’s just the wind making waves before, but now it’s very obvious that the water is moving.

The rocks were also visible on both sides of the river unlike before, and several eyot dotted the streams. The spirits invited me to explore the biggest and longest ait among them. By the way, aits are those bigger islets you find in wide rivers. According to them, it’s the ait of the God of 『Moist Seeds』’s…calf.

Mighty spirits existed here in the olden days. The God of 『Moist Seeds』 fought against his younger brother and as a result, he had been chopped into 14 pieces and scattered all over the place by that brother of his. This particular eyot was the God of 『Moist Seeds』’s leg calf, apparently.

Well, myths about the deities getting chopped into pieces and life springing out of those are pretty common…

Anyway, the spirits said that the temple of the 『Goddess of Chairs』is found on this eyot, and the reliefs in the temple are said to have motifs of the source of the Es River.

..Chairs?* I couldn’t help but feel a little perplexed, but I decided to accept their invitation and chat with them on the way. The spirits happily squealed in delight as they guided me towards that place.

Many of the spirits here had the form of a human and animal merged together. The spirits guiding me had different colors and shapes, but they had wings that looked like wide sleeves growing under their arms.

With X-Stick, who was now awake, on one hand, I stepped onto the eyot. We passed through ruins of buildings buried in the soil with parts of them jutting out of the ground. They were probably splashed multiple times with water because part of the ruins were exposed in the air with white soil sticking to them. The eyot seemed relatively huge for a river island, but then, Es River is so wide that you can’t even see the opposite bank.

Although the spirits guided me, the information they give is biased. More often than not, I can’t get the main point or gist out of them, so I have to confirm for myself as we travel.

I finally found the abandoned stone temple. Parched soil piled up in front of the building, but the door can still be opened.

I conjured a light ball the size of a softball and stuck it to X-Stick’s leafy end.

『Please guide me to the relief depicting Es River’s birth. 』
The spirit that had been guiding me up to this point gathered other spirits here, so I made the request while giving them some mana in advance.

Some of the spirits gathered together to discuss my request first. Hmm, did I relay the ‘Es River’s birth’ part right? But I don’t know how else to phrase it. Well, the feathered spirits also joined the discussion, so it’d probably be okay.

The spirits nodded in acknowledgement and they moved forward. The winged spirits are parting ways with me here, so I gave them mana as thanks.

The spirits leading the way floated serenely as they moved forward and the others also gently hovered around them. I named them all as I walked behind them.

As we marched on, the soil gradually lessened, revealing the stone pavement underneath. Even the feel of the ground under my feet felt harder.

Three-dimensional carvings that looked similar to embossments lined the walls, depicting humans and spirits. The pitch-black stones were painted with gold. Although the color had slightly faded, it must’ve shone magnificently under the lights in the olden days.

The light magic and the faint glow of the spirits floating in front of me illuminated the walls, and I gazed at the reliefs as I walked. They seem to depict the story and history of the ancient spirits.

I could easily understand if words were written thanks to 【Language】, but I could only intuitively decipher the meaning when expressed in art. Well, it’s also fun this way.

The spirits stopped when we reached the corner of the wall. I walked in front of the spirits and checked the wall.

The wall depicted a picture of water from two vases being poured onto a snake. Hmm? Does that mean River Es has two headwaters?

As I stared at the relief, the walls suddenly swell, and a huge log appeared — ah, no, a decorated pillar?

『Take me out of here. 』

Er…Pillar Spirit-san?