Ethereal Life, Chapter 22: Underground Land Dragon — Browny

Just in case it really did happen while he was asleep. Nai decided to check the walls for any rough paths.

"..."

Looking at the worm-like river pattern on his walls that looked like it had been eaten by some razor-sharp teeth Nai suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Damn it! 

There really is one!

He suddenly felt a chill crawling from the soles of his feet to the spine of his back.

It's making him shudder uncontrollably at the thought of something eerie having just passed him by.

I need to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he forcefully held it as he waited for his heartbeat to slow down before he exhaled deeply.

Now that he has cooled down somewhat, he knows that he has work to do from now on.

"How did I dream of that?" He shook his head as he moved. He'll find that out later.

"...Found it." He found another pattern on the walls where the pond is located. Although he already had a guess and more or less believed it.

His heart still can't help but palpitate with nervousness.

"My biggest worry...has come true." Nai knows that he won't be able to take a bath in the pond anymore.

There would be danger of ambushes from that creature in the pond every time he'll scoop up water in the future if left unsolved.

Standing on top of the wall, he looked down to search for anything unnatural or unfamiliar in the clear lake.

And just a few seconds later, he found a creepy-looking snake-like creature underwater. Due to the water being so clear and the sun's rays coincidentally not blurring his view.

He can have a clear picture of what kind of snake that is. In order to avoid attracting its attention, Nai ducked down with only his head and eyes peering through the water.

It looked like a mini dragon snake; it had fins that looked like wings on its ears, a fierce dragon-like head, and a scaled snake body that was half a meter long.

Just looking at its spiky back, like those found on an aligator's tail, "...as expected of this world. I met my first fantasy creature."

As for those animals he had eaten before? Those don't have any impact on his view of the world.

Only something like this small wyrm like a dragon can be considered a fantasy creature in his eyes.

What should I do? Should I fish it out?

He immediately climbed down the wall and took a long wooden pole from the shelter before he returned to the pond's wall to start fishing the snake creature out of the water.

Gripping the wooden pole tightly, he made sure to always be on guard for any kind of situation.

Gulp.

Nervous, Nai breathe in and out.

He immediately went straight to concentration.

All his focus was on the target and his body. His body would remind him of any danger outside his focus range.

It's one of the benefits of being nurtured by the moon's blessing every day for a whole three years and still continuing.

The Moon's Blessing, the proof of Nai's passing the acceptance phenomenon. He hoped it would give him some luck here.

"I hope the overall capabilities of this creature aren't that great. I still want to live a long life." Nai thought, and his arms moved. The wooden pool has entered the water.

The movement of the water seems not to have attracted the snake creature's attention.

Cold sweat started dripping down from his forehead, sliding downward to his cheeks until it reached his jaw, ready for his downfall.

Come on, what am I dilly-dallying about? Curse it. I'll go all out!

With a wave of his hand, the long wooden pole with a little hook branch at the edge that is one-third submerged in the water immediately touched the snake creature.

Ugh, so heavy.

This is the first time he has felt this weight since he started getting stronger three years ago.

What is this creature made of? Metal? 

Just from the heaviness coming from his arms when he lifted the wooden pole that was already bending from the sheer weight of the snake creature.

He felt a beat skip in his heart.

Should he retreat and let it be? This creature didn't seem to be bothered when I poked it and tried to lift it out of the water.

Nai gritted his teeth as he thought, "So be it. He had already come this far. He might as well continue. It's not like the snake creature can crawl quickly towards him.

If not, then what were those patterns on the walls? Like a snake, he can just use the snake-avoiding methods mentioned by some website he used in the past.

Here I go. Heave-ho! 

With a lift, the wooden pole was lifted. The snake-like creature hanging on the pole's edge was so damn heavy.

He immediately threw it into an opened jar on the other side of the pond.

Seeing that the snake creature didn't even move He even thought that it might be dead. But who is he? How could he take a risk just because it wasn't moving?

There are intelligent creatures everywhere; it might be their way of taking down their prey and predators— playing dead.

Nai immediately climbed down and put a lid on the jar. He found some ropes and immediately sealed them tight, which made him more secure.

When everything was over, he leaned down on the walls and huffed out some hot air in the wind. "That was dangerously exciting."

Though he was saying that, his mind was actually wandering. Why would the snake creature not move?

Did it die? A possibility, but in that place?

There are other possibilities that it might have gotten poisoned by its poison and the miracle water combination.

The possibilities that it might have gotten poisoned by its poison and the miracle water combination. This is nonsense, but what if?

Its not like there's no chances.

Another thing is that it might have drowned on its own. It didn't know how to swim. Bah, that's impossible. The pond is shallow, and it has wide enough space on its shore.

Only an idiot would dived down on the pond knowing it would die.

It might have slept, might be evolving, or something like that. In any case, Nai didn't want to get mixed up with this dangerous and deadly snake creature.

"I hate and fear snakes."

When he had enough rest, he took out a small wooden shovel and the jar where the snake creature was sealed. Then walked outside his territory.

If I want to kill this snake creature, it is unknown who will kill whom. It might be an auspicious creature who carries fortune and luck.

Killing it might invite misfortune. It's still better to avoid anything that might cause trouble. But the danger of letting it out alive would surely be immense.

All I can do now is prevent it from targeting me. I'll build a wall specially made for you, my dragon snake friend. A shelter like mine too.

Your under observation for now.

Then two hours later. After hard work, he built a meter high pyramid-shaped mud house for the little snake. A meter away from it are four one-meter-tall mud walls.

Nai placed the sealed jar inside the mud house before unsealing it. The cap remains on top, as he was afraid of opening it. "Open it yourself, dragon snake."

However, calling it a dragon snake seems lousy. "Let's call you the Underground Land Dragon from now on."

"It's a long name that is meant for your species, so I'll just call you... hmmm... Browny."

Clack. Clack.

Eyes widened, and Nai's whole body, as though being jolted by an electric shock, suddenly stepped back as he hurriedly climbed up the walls without care for his image.

The heck! 

The jar just moved! Don't tell me it heard me. It can understand me. "Browny?"

Clack!  Clack!

Damn you!  Run!

He didn't care if that creature understood him or not.

What he understood right now is that he was in a precarious situation where that underground land dragon he had just named Browny might take revenge on him for giving him such a lousy name.

It doesn't matter if you can talk or not, understand or not. But please don't hunt me, friend! I still have unconfirmed threats from far away coming this way.

I don't want to suddenly...wait...

Nai suddenly realized something. What if he can use this underground land dragon to scare those threats far away?

It won't be long before they come back here. As for how he knows, hunch.

Even if he got it wrong, it wouldn't change the fact that those Garut fellows would be coming back for another exchange.

"I can use it, perhaps." Indeed, the heaviness he felt from that creature, which he experienced personally, shows that it has some danger.

As for him, it would be very dangerous. The first thing he would do was to run as far awat possible.

"Browny, from now on. I'll appoint you as the security guard of the territory. The rest is up to you." He can only muttered that on himself.

Fearing that Browny might really jump out of its jar and hunt him in anger. "I hope you don't understand..."

Nai prayed in his heart.