By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 4

Chapter 6 Episode 4: Mad Salamander Hunt

We left the house after breakfast. The sky was still dark and the air a bit foggy, which made for poor visibility. At least it wasn’t completely dark, and I was shown the way yesterday. Moreover, I definitely wouldn’t be lost with Kai and Kei with me. Their father had finished breakfast first and gone without us. We made our way through our commute, constantly moving our fingers and raising our knees high to keep warm.

As we neared the lake, more and more people emerged onto the street for their commute and exchanged greetings with each other.

“Whoa...” I muttered in amazement as we reached the shore where hundreds of well-built men were separated into two groups, watching over the lake in anticipation. Near each group blazed a bonfire in lieu of torches, and numerous dots of light floated above the lake, indicating a fleet of boats. There were eight additional bonfires and adjoining piles of firewood on the beach; men with harpoons I initially mistook for spears stood near them. The rising flames reflected on the dark water of the lake, creating a mystic atmosphere as the fog blurred the outline of the light sources. Flutes and drums seemed to be the chosen method of communication between boats, which gave me the impression of a Japanese summer festival.

“This way, Ryoma. Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

I had no time to be awestruck by the view. I first reported to the manager of our adventurer group, and joined the members of Sikum’s Pier. It was customary for mad salamander hunting to be done in teams, so I was going to join the Pier.

“Good morning!” I called.

“Morning.”

“Hey. Looks like you didn’t have any trouble getting up.”

Shin, Thane, and Peyron each answered me; the whole team was now assembled, but we still seemed to have some time before the hunt commenced.

“If you don’t mind, how exactly does one hunt mad salamanders?” Even though I had researched the basics and had been told how to hunt them from the other adventurers I had met last night, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for any tips or pointers from those who had experience.

“Uh... You’ll get the idea when you see them, but they’re big and black. And there’s lots of them,” Kai said.

Uh oh. All I could think of were accursed cockroaches.

“They’re after the fish on the boats and in the collection site here, so protecting the fish is more important than actually taking down the salamanders. There are lots of them in our village, so we take turns dealing with them. We do have veteran adventurers who take the quest every year, so you should be able to follow their lead at first. Even though we’ll be taking shifts, you will be dealing with monsters, and the whole thing will last until lunch. Get some rest while you can, or you’ll crash too early,” Kei added.

All right. Stamina and pacing was going to be important.

“Aside from that... A monster called the pocket eagle might come down from the sky, so watch out for them too.”

“Yeah... Those guys will sometimes steal fish while we’re fighting the salamanders. They might be worse than the mad salamanders.”

This was news to me. According to Shin and Thane, the pocket eagle was a kind of monster that reaped what another sowed. Furthermore, they dive-bombed from very high altitudes, making them difficult to see and anticipate.

If they’re going to attack from the sky, perhaps I should send the limour birds on patrol. The pocket eagle was clever but not too strong, and apparently preferred attacking alone. Taking them on with a team of limour birds seemed safe enough... Though I figured I’d keep an eye on how things went today first before making the suggestion.

Someone tapped me on my shoulder. “Peyron? What is it?”

“Look over there,” he said, pointing to a handful of men who were butt-naked in the frigid air. I had been told that we would take turns hunting the salamanders, starting with the team closest to the bonfires by the lake, so they must have been the first team. I looked out at the lake to find the boats forming a half-circle, indicating the fast-approaching hunt... Were they really going to hunt monsters naked?

“Mad salamanders have two methods of attack—tackling and biting. Depending on how big they are, they wouldn’t give you anything worse than a broken bone. But they will try to drag you into the water... Drowning is the real danger of this hunt.”

In other words, some people prioritized mobility underwater over protection on land by removing their clothing.

“Not that you need to be naked. Those are just the young ones trying to show off.”

“Just taking off your pants would do. The water wouldn’t be much deeper than your waist anyway.”

I decided to change into my long water boots and jumpsuit.

“And don’t forget to warm up by the fire. Wouldn’t want you to catch your death.”

I continued to ask questions and prepare myself for the hunt. Five minutes later, a few boats docked on the shore. Fishermen ran out of them, heaving and hoeing a pair of ropes that were laid out, sloping into the water. A seine, perhaps? The men began slowly pulling the net out of the lake, causing ripples throughout the water. Just as I began to see the top of the net emerge from the water, the light above one of the boats rose higher, and began to draw a circle.

“Here they come, boys!” a seasoned-looking elderly man shouted, echoed by cheers from the men on the beach.

Multiple shadows were cast onto the rippling water by the light, moving towards the same boat.

“Go!”

“Don’t let them through!”

The fishermen aboard the boats picked up their sticks and harpoons, beginning their attack on the ripples. The boat that sent the light signal led the attack, which spread through the semi-circle fleet.

A few mad salamanders were already being dragged onto boats, with more and more being caught every second. Meanwhile, some of the fishermen on the beach pulled the net in tighter to collect the fish, while the others poised their harpoons.

“I know we’re supposed to take turns, but there’s nothing for the adventurers to do... Those fishermen know what they’re doing!”

“Damn straight, kid! We don’t know much about monsters on land, but we deal with monsters in the water every day!”

“We may be fighting them for fish, or fighting them to fish them.”

“You adventurers might have an edge on land, but no one’s better than us when it comes to fighting near water!”

Some of the fishermen sharing a bonfire with me called back upon hearing my comment. Then it hit me... Fishermen in this world fight monsters too.

Then, the naked fishermen sprinted into the lake; a mad salamander must have gotten past the fleet. The ripple on the water that indicated the salamander’s location headed straight to the net, but the fishermen saw it coming and went to block its way. With a shout, one of them struck the ripple with his harpoon.

“Whoa!”

“Got a big one today!”

“I can’t get it alone, give me a hand!”

The wounded salamander thrashed, causing splashes in the water and revealing its body. It was a giant, newt-like creature no less than fifteen feet long; it also resembled a lizard or a tadpole with webbed feet. Three naked fishermen all struck at it with their harpoons, dragging it out to shore with brute force. The enormous carcass hit the beach, and cheers erupted.

“Mad salamanders don’t die on land, but they’re much slower, and we don’t have to worry about drowning. Once you get it out of the water, then you can take your time putting it out of its misery.”

As Kei explained the process, I visualized doing it myself.

Soon, it was our turn.

“All right, Ryoma, give it a shot! We’ll cover you.”

“Yes, sir...! Here I go!”

At this moment, I was standing towards the right end of the seine. A mad salamander slipped through the right hand side of the fleet. I hoisted my own harpoon I’d borrowed like a javelin, energy rushing through me, and charged at the salamander.

The water was freezing, but my jumpsuit kept me dry. Ignoring the icy sensation, I waited in a spot where the water was knee-high. Waiting for the right moment, I shoved my harpoon deep into the mad salamander’s body. Naturally, the monster, about ten feet long, went berserk. I used all of my weight to lean into the harpoon.

I was a child (at least in body) standing in a pool of water; one wrong move could send me flying. I could hardly move my feet for fear of slipping on the sandy bottom. I bent my knees, my feet firmly planted into the ground, then focused on keeping my weight centered...and with a howl, I hoisted the salamander right onto the beach.

“Yeah! Great job!”

“Keep it pinned down!”

Thane and Kei rushed over. The mad salamander I had caught was beaten to death with the handles of their harpoons. At the same time, Kai ran past us, charging at another mad salamander.

No time to celebrate my first kill.

I quickly carried the mad salamander’s carcass to a designated spot, and rushed back into position. As Kai dragged another one out of the water, Thane went into the lake. Splitting our group of six into two teams of three, we took turns capturing the salamanders and taking care of the carcasses. We did have breaks in between, but this whole routine of running to the lake, catching a thrashing deadweight, and carrying it back to shore was all well and good the first few dozen times, but we would be repeating this process until lunch...

Well, I can’t say it doesn’t make for some good training!