LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 29
The sweet vacation ended, and we immediately began serious preparations for exploration of the dungeon.
We salted the hydra meat to make salted meat, dried fish to make fish jerky, and picked every edible fruit to dry them.
It was a continuous process of drying, soaking, smoking, and storing.
And then…
“Isn’t it amazing? This really turns into alcohol?”
“Maybe.”
I remembered watching something on xTube a long time ago and tried making it myself, so I wasn’t sure if it would actually work. Still, I carefully cut the fruits and soaked them in water, using the precious honey I had gathered from the forest instead of sugar. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if this would truly make liquor.
I hadn’t brewed alcohol before; I was just putting things together as I remembered.
But if it succeeds, it would be a huge help.
The existence of a drink that can be preserved long-term is essential in situations where hydration isn’t possible.
We didn’t even know if there was a place to replenish our hydration inside the dungeon, so we had to bring a lot of water. But water has a shorter shelf life than you might think.
There’s a saying that stagnant water inevitably sours.
If we’re lucky, it might last for 2-3 days, but depending on the environment of the dungeon, it could spoil even faster. Sure, those monsters popping out over there are slow, but there are a horrifying number of zombies. How zombies come about when there are no people is beyond me, but maybe it’s like the dungeon systems from those old web novels I’d read.
Since we have a status window, we can’t completely deny that such a system might exist.
Like the way they regenerate inside the dungeon.
“How long will it take?”
“At least a week to test it.”
It could take longer, but I think I heard somewhere that fruit-based alcohol can be ready in a week, so it should be fine. After all, the smell will give it away long before then.
“I see.”
“There are also liquors that age for decades, so in retrospect, a week isn’t long.”
Leni’s voice, which kept talking to me, revealed her undeniable excitement.
Does she really like alcohol?
I… liked it?
It’s been ten years since I last drank.
I can’t even remember if I liked alcohol or not.
I have faint memories of drinking with friends, but they’re vague enough that the colors have faded.
What color was the soju bottle?
Blue? Green? Clear?
I can’t recall.
What did alcohol taste like?
If it’s really made, I’ll find out.
I stopped my thoughts and tightly sealed the barrel with a cloth I had prepared.
While brewing alcohol wasn’t bad, I couldn’t just stick to that forever.
I had to check if the fruits strewn under the sun were drying well, luxuriously making tools from the hydra bones, and soon I would have to snap the necks of the rabbits that were multiplying like rats. It’s tedious work, but if I want to eat, I have to do it.
There are no welfare options here.
“Johann, if we do end up opening the alcohol…”
“I get it, so go get to work.”
How thirsty for alcohol can she be?
Watching Leni’s bubbly steps made me grin. It looks like she’ll get to be the first to taste it. She’s tough, so nothing will happen even if it goes wrong. And even if she faints from it, we have someone like Karina, who can bring the almost-dead back to normal, like a healer.
This is why I needed to go to med school.
There’s no profession as universally welcomed as a doctor.
…My mind is starting to wander, and strange thoughts come to me.
Enough daydreaming; let’s move quickly.
It’s time to check the condition of the dried fruits and go to snap the necks of the lovely, cute rabbits.
I left the warehouse and moved towards the forest, glancing at the drying fruits in the front yard.
———————-
Ah, what a rewarding day it was.
I poured the broth from the stew simmering with the well-prepped rabbit into my mouth. It was light and moderately salty, warmly embracing me as it flowed down my throat. And as I scooped up some meat with a spoon and took a bite, all the fatigue of the day vanished in an instant. Meals are the best.
Especially when someone else makes them.
“Would you like some more?”
I couldn’t answer with my mouth full, so I nodded. Karina smiled softly as she took my bowl and refilled it to the brim before handing it back to me.
“What about Leni?”
“I’ll serve her.”
“No, I’ll do it. Leni.”
It’s so amusing to see Leni struggle to decide every time.
She’s surprisingly strong in an attack, but weak when it comes to receiving one. I watched as Leni embarrassedly accepted the bowl and used that as a side dish to finish my second serving.
“I’m done eating, so I’ll just run to the workshop for a bit.”
“Okay! See you later!”
Why does her cheerful goodbye sound so pleasant?
Surely, humans shouldn’t live alone. Even if it’s just a volleyball with a face drawn on it, I should make one to talk to. Anyone claiming “I prefer being alone!” while living on a deserted island must be crazy. You either go insane from living alone or die before going insane; those are the only two outcomes.
At least I made a friend to chat with in my head.
“Although it’s just me talking to myself.”
Yeah, in the end, it’s just me talking to myself.
Questioning and answering myself. Making jokes that don’t really work. If I didn’t throw out some unfunny jokes to myself, I wouldn’t be able to endure the loneliness. I’d thought about suicide several times over the past ten years.
Before growing old and sick, I often thought it would be better to end my life before I lose the strength to do it myself.
“…I’m glad I’ve been alive for ten years…”
Tears welled up uncontrollably. Considering all the hardships I’ve faced, I could say I was living in paradise now. I have no regrets if I die now… No, I should definitely get off this deserted island first before dying. I need to see the outside world. If I get out of here, I could see the Survival Academy world I’ve thought about from time to time.
…Though the problem is that it’s a world on the verge of destruction.
“Shall I start working soon?”
I looked down at the hydra bone lying on my workbench. The hydra’s fang. I’m not sure if it really is a fang, but I’m calling it that for convenience. I’m going to make a weapon out of this.
“Crafting.”
The gigantic fang, as long as my arm, changed shape like clay as it transformed. Since it was such a massive tooth, it would likely take a considerable time to shape. I crossed my arms and leisurely watched the fang as it transformed.
I need to control it precisely to mold it into the shape I want.
After about five minutes, the fang had turned into something resembling a rather clumsy shovel.
The handle was lumpy, and the shovel blade wasn’t even. By the time it reached the handle, it had sharp edges that looked like they could rip my hands apart if I held it.
Completing it in one go seems tough.
“Crafting.”
A little bit more…
“Crafting.”
Just a bit more…
After using my skill a total of five times, the shape that came out looked somewhat similar to the shovel I used before. It’s a bit larger than before, but… this is still within acceptable limits.
“…Shall I test it out?”
Now that I’ve made a new weapon, how can I not test it? I immediately left the workshop and walked to the boundaries of my territory, where I could only play the role of a defensive line.
“…I should probably clean up the zombies wandering in the forest before diving into the dungeon.”
I clearly blocked the entrance to the dungeon with acidic poison before, yet they’re still knocking on the outer wall. How do those things even know? How can they find their way here?
Come to think of it, these zombies are surprisingly good at finding their way here and knocking on the wall.
The dungeon is no close distance from here, and I’m not making noise, so why are they knocking and causing a ruckus? It’s not like zombies have dog-like noses. I couldn’t understand the reasoning. It felt as if they somehow knew I was here and came to get me…
…Wait a second.
Those zombies… Now that I think about it, they all seemed somewhat similar.
Like monsters spawned from a game. I hadn’t realized this oddity for the last ten years while busy surviving. I halted and sunk into thought.
Bear Leader.
Baby Hydra.
Zombies inside the dungeon.
Could it be there’s an intelligent being inside that dungeon, comparable to a hydra? Is it the one continually sending zombies over here? If that’s the case, understanding the situation would make sense—the zombies walking for nearly an hour from a distance and knocking on the wall after surviving a trap.
It was a question I had never considered before.
“…I could grab one or two of those noisy creatures at night and dissect them.”
Maybe dissecting them would lead to some clues.
It feels uneasy to dissect something that was once a person rather than an animal, but still, I have to do what has to be done. After all, I’ve been slicing corpses into pieces for so long. Thinking of it as an extension of that shouldn’t be too strange.
“New things keep rolling in on this island no matter how many waves I wash over it.”
I sighed deeply and tightened my grip on the shovel.