Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 93

【Bubble Mushroom】

It grows from two to five meters in length, and granular branches develop on upright stems.

A seaweed with a characteristic chewy texture.

It is harvested from seaweed that grows on rocky reefs.

A seaweed similar to sea grapes, with the leafy part becoming granular.

Surely it would be delicious eaten as is or dipped in a sauce like soy sauce.

Ah, I wonder if there are no seasonings like soy sauce in this world. With so many seafood that go well with soy sauce, it inevitably makes me long for it.

As I pondered this, a fish drifted in front of me.

“Oh, what a cute fish.”

It had round eyes and small spines on its chubby body. It looked like a round pufferfish.

It was heartwarming to see it vigorously moving its small fins left and right.

I wonder what kind of fish it is?

【Balloon Needle】

A fish with a round body and spotted patterns.

When threatened, it rapidly takes in seawater into its body and forcefully ejects the spines on its body.

The small spines contain a mild neurotoxin, causing paralysis when stung.

Upon seeing the ominous name “Balloon Needle” and its description with my identification skill, I withdrew my outstretched hand and hid behind a rock.

At the same time, the Balloon Needle rapidly took in seawater, swelling up like a balloon, and shot out its small spines.

The indiscriminately fired spines pierced the surrounding fish and rocks.

Peeking out from behind the rock, I saw that the Balloon Needle had completely deflated its body and drifted away with the current.

“That was close.”

I was lucky to find a nearby hiding spot behind a rock big enough to conceal myself.

If I were to endure such an attack, the membrane generated by the item would likely have been ruptured.

While the Balloon Needle doesn’t seem to carry lethal poison, being pierced by it would surely immobilize me for a while.

I have a detox potion with me, but I’d rather not end up in such a state in the sea, where movement is already restricted compared to usual.

Moreover, being suddenly attacked by seawater, it’s doubtful whether I could make such a calm judgment.

I got carried away with the beautiful world of the sea and the unknown materials, but this is still the ocean.

I must keep in mind that this is a harsh environment where humans cannot inhabit. The current events serve to sober up my excited mind.

I don’t have the confidence to completely avoid battles with monsters in the vast ocean.

“I should practice a bit of self-defense before gathering materials.”

First, the basic movements, which I already have a grasp of.

Although hindered by the water currents, I can move to some extent. If I can sense danger to a certain degree like earlier, I can make moves to conceal myself.

The problem lies in our side’s attacks.

Since we’re underwater, using fire magic is naturally challenging.

Perhaps, if I forcefully use my magic, I could manage to use it underwater, but it would require a considerable amount of magic power and the effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

Other options include earth magic, water magic, ice magic, wind magic, and so on.

The one I’m most accustomed to is ice magic, but how would it fare underwater?

“Ice Pillar.”

Trying to imagine freezing the seawater directly, I managed to create it without any issues, and upon firing it, it pierced through the rock.

“Yeah, it works alright.”

Rather, it feels relatively smooth, perhaps because I’m utilizing the surrounding seawater.

The efficiency might differ between creating from scratch and utilizing what’s around.

I recreated it once more and this time tried to shoot straight through the seawater, aiming to go as far as possible.

The ice pillar deviated to the left and slowed down after about twenty meters.

It seems to be influenced by the water current when it’s a long-distance shot.

To test it, I added some rotation to increase propulsion, and this time it went straighter and farther than before.

“This feels usable in actual combat.”

Some process and magic power are required, but as long as it’s this level of adjustment, it should be fine.

“Freeze.”

I can also scatter cold air around and freeze indiscriminately in the vicinity.

With this, I have sorted out temporary attacks for now.

While searching for other potentially useful magic, I found that wind magic, specifically “Air Cutter,” is usable. It’s a basic magic that shoots blades of wind, which are affected by water currents but are easy to handle.

Earth magic would be useful if I were on solid ground, but it’s difficult to use underwater.

Water magic allows manipulation of seawater to control water currents, push back opponents, and even gather seawater to create a versatile water barrier.

Generally, using ice magic and wind magic for attacks, supplemented by water magic, seems suitable for me.

In the past, I would have been satisfied with verifying these spells, but things are different now.

Recently, I’ve been attacked by a Red Dragon in the forest and encountered a Dvorak in the mines.

Despite not actively seeking to subdue them, I’ve ended up having to fight these formidable monsters.

I don’t want to think about it, but there’s a concern that I might encounter similarly dangerous creatures in the sea this time around.

Therefore, I must accumulate practical experience to be able to move precisely.

There’s a shark-like creature swimming ahead with a notably large head protrusion.

【Hammerhead Shark – Danger Level C】

A shark-like creature with a hammer-shaped head. Its developed head can crush rocks. Beware of its charges.

It has a nervous disposition and tends to eliminate those it dislikes. It’s delicious when made into surimi.

This was the monster displayed when I picked up the scales earlier.

It’s a creature that attacks with its unusually developed head.

The opponent can swim freely and would be quite troublesome if it were to charge with force.

However, that’s assuming I couldn’t use this item and magic. With my current abilities, I can confront it head-on without any issues.

I elegantly swim and release a weakened Ice Pillar at the Hammerhead Shark.

The Hammerhead Shark, noticing the attack, skillfully avoids it, checks on me, and increases its swimming speed.

It seems to have sensed provocation and decided to eliminate the threat.

The Hammerhead Shark swims freely in the water, moving in all directions.

Its speed is considerable, and I can barely keep up with my eyes.

The Hammerhead Shark circles around behind me and then charges with momentum.

If it were to hit me directly, I might be pinned to the rocks, and my bones might break.

But I’d rather avoid that, so I use water magic to create a current in front of my body.

The charging Hammerhead Shark perfectly rides the current, flowing past me diagonally to the rear.

When I looked back, it had smashed into rocks, raising a cloud of sand.

“Ice Pillar.”

I slammed an ice pillar into the spot, and the Hammerhead Shark swiftly swam away to disengage.

However, it seemed one of the ice pillars grazed its fin, causing it to clearly lose balance.

“Air Cutter.”

Anticipating the Hammerhead Shark’s swimming direction, I cast wind magic focused on speed, slicing it in half, and it sank.

At least its scales could be used as materials, and apparently, it’s delicious when made into surimi, so I retrieved the corpse.

I tried using magic that would be easy to use underwater, but the opponent’s speed surpassed it.

Initially, I intended to finish it off with the first ice magic, but the opponent displayed acceleration beyond my expectations, allowing it to escape.

Fish-like creatures are faster swimmers than I thought.

Unless they’re crustacean-like creatures, they don’t seem to have particularly high defense, so in the sea, magic focused on speed might be better.

With such thoughts in mind, I walked on, searching for the next creature.