Cherreads

Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: The Skeletons of the Dead Soul Beasts

Chapter 6: The Skeletons of the Dead Soul Beasts

A little over two hours later, the sun reached its zenith, radiating its light and heat. It was noon. Uchiha Uranium wiped his sweat off his face, surveying the tree trunks standing in their designated locations.

He nodded with a hint of satisfaction. Sure enough, in just ten days or half a month, this simple house would be finished. But there was one major problem: he was short on tools.

The previous felling had already given him considerable trouble. His knife was blunt, and he had no tools to cut or handle them.

This put him in an awkward position. If he had come to the forest with a bunch of tools, it would have been much easier, and he wouldn't be so lost.

"Well, let's take a break and eat something."

There was no other way; he hadn't brought a system with him.

The wood was already laid out. He'd peel the bark this afternoon and air it for a few days to dry out the moisture. Then he could start laying the foundation. Starting tomorrow, he'd explore other areas and try to find some tools.

As he thought about this, the day passed quickly. Peeling the bark wasn't difficult; he had a dagger that was just the right length, and the bark was easy to handle. But he was still stinking from the sweat after working all day.

Luckily, there was a nearby forest lake, so he took a bath in the evening just downstream. If the water hadn't flowed naturally, he wouldn't have dared bathe in the very spot he'd drink from in the future.

Night fell.

He was still in the same spot as yesterday. Although the tree was almost dead, it still provided a good place to sleep. Even with the heat, sleeping outside wasn't a problem. Using the sky as a blanket and the ground as a mat was an interesting thought.

But that was all he could think of.

Every night, when everyone was quiet, he began to reminisce about his life in his tribe.

Perhaps it was because humans are social animals, with their rich language, body movements, and individual thoughts, that when they were alone, without interaction or communication, they were more likely to lose themselves in memories.

It was true that living alone without any living creatures was a bit boring, but it was precisely to stay away from other creatures, to prevent himself from unintentionally harming others, that he had come here, wasn't it?

Questioning himself this way, Uchiha Uran felt a sliver of peace. Indeed, he was doing this to prevent those he cared about from being unintentionally harmed, so that others could live in peace.

"Tsk, tsk, how could I not realize how noble I was?"

Uchiha Uran scoffed, then fell back into deep thought.

"Never mind, time for bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow. Early to bed, early to rise." With this thought, Uchiha Uran closed his eyes, no longer pondering his own nobility. He didn't have the time for such idleness. Such questions would be better left to them once he was settled.

At the crack of dawn, Uchiha Uran was already up, or rather, up from the ground, since he didn't have a bed.

His goal today was to explore the surrounding area, which would probably only take the entire morning. He would primarily collect wild fruits, fungi, and other edibles from the forest. With a bit of luck, he might even find the remains of hunted spirit beasts.

Of course, he also envisioned exploring the surrounding terrain to see if there were any bird nests, perhaps even a few eggs to eat.

He chose his own forest lake as the center point, with four directions surrounding it. South was the direction he had come from.

This meant the south was a rainforest, with few animals or plants, not even mosquitoes. The paucity of resources was heartbreaking.

However, there were plenty of vines, and he'd definitely visit sometime. After all, some of the thin vines could be used as sturdy ropes, and even when they aged, they could be made into rattan chairs. There were many uses, depending on how they were used.

The remaining directions were north, west, and east. The east was the easiest, being very close. The west was more difficult, requiring a detour around the entire forest lake. The north was not too far off, but it wasn't close either.

After much deliberation, he decided to head east to investigate. After understanding his own radiation exposure, Uchiha Uranium felt completely reassured, as if he had taken a reassurance. For now, he could roam freely in this area of ten- to hundred-year-old soul beasts.

As for the more terrifying thousand- and ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, he decided against it. It was better not to put his delicate body to the test against the soul beasts.

The wilderness survival version was over, it was now the Minecraft version!

Without further ado, Uchiha Uranium set out, carrying nothing but the necessary machete and an empty bag, leaving everything else in the open to avoid burdening himself.

Splitting branches and crossing rocks, the young man gradually entered the forest.

Uchiha Uranium's primary goal was food, so he focused his attention on the treetops, scanning for bird nests.

He ignored the soul beasts, running so fast that they could smell his radiation from kilometers away and then flee, just like before, without a single beast in sight.   

The trees stood tall and straight. Uran noticed that the deeper he went into the forest, the taller and thicker they grew. Some, he estimated, reached fifty or sixty meters, practically reaching the sky.

Sunlight here didn't filter down like pillars. A light mist had suddenly begun to permeate the forest, making the sunlight seem fainter.

The mist was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees. Although there were no birds or animals, the crisp sound of flowing water and the crackling of leaves on the ground only heightened the forest's tranquility.

Before long, the young man was completely deep in the forest, surrounded by trees on all sides.

Uran paused and looked around. Although there was some fog, it wasn't a significant problem, and he wouldn't get lost. He needed to make some marks, so he wouldn't get lost if he left.

He cut a mark with his dagger into a tree trunk close to the ground. Then, looking around, he brought a few stones and arranged them into an arrow shape, marking the way back.

This was to prevent him from getting lost. He'd actually considered drawing a map, but he lacked tools like paper and pen, nor did he have animal hides or charcoal. He couldn't memorize the terrain in his head.

After about eight attempts at placing signposts, something unusual finally appeared in the monotonous forest.

He'd given up on collecting bird eggs because the treetops were too high, and now his walk through the forest was more like a leisurely stroll. Unexpectedly, he tripped and fell.

As he brushed off the dirt and stood up, he realized something was wrong: a white tree root lay right at his feet.

"White?

"Confused, Uran began digging, first on both sides, then grasping the "root." After silently pumping his strength for a moment, he pulled the offending "root" completely out in one go.

It was a pale, skeletal bone, about two meters long, curved and semicircular, with a sharp end and a slightly rounded top.

Uran suspected it was the rib of an unknown spirit beast. If there was one, were there others?

With this suspicion, Uran began to survey the area, trying to determine the situation.

The surroundings were ordinary woodlands, but the landforms seemed to have been altered to create this type of landscape.

Uranium observed the surroundings and noticed a distinct discontinuity in the soil. It wasn't a huge difference, but rather a difference between new and old soil. If you didn't look closely, you'd miss such details. But Uranium possessed the Sharingan spirit.

In terms of vision alone, he'd never seen anyone with a stronger eye.

After observing for a while, Uranium came to a conclusion.

This was the hunting ground of a high-level spirit beast. Once, an unlucky spirit beast had been caught and eaten. It was large, but not necessarily a powerful fighter. After devouring the spirit beast, the predator dug up the dirt and covered the remains.

This reminded him of a domestic cat, which covers its poop with cat litter. Or perhaps a domestic dog, which also poops outdoors, first plowing a shallow pit with its hind legs, then plowing up some dirt to cover its poop.

While it might not bury it very deeply, it was a habit nonetheless.

This speculation made Uranium nod, thinking he was quite clever, but then he froze. This was about eating the body and then burying it, which was completely different from the example he had given.

In this day and age, are there still high-caliber spirit beasts that eat a person and then bury the body?

  (End of this chapter)

More Chapters