Second Dimension Wave – Conclusion –

Following Santa Hat Peckle’s words, we arrived at the forest in the middle of development.

The other Peckles had already evacuated, leaving the forest quiet.

I scouted around to see what was there and found a large penguin with a vicious face.

It is purple in color. Its flipper parts had turned into wings, and it was perched on a tree.

I won’t comment on how it could fly at that size or if the tree would break.

After all, this is a game world, so such supernatural things can happen.

「Let’s take that thing down first.」

I gripped the Cerberus Slaughter in my right hand, taking a combat stance after a long time.

It seemed like an event monster, so it probably wouldn’t be too strong.

Kukuku… I will punish those who defile my paradise.

It breathed out those words.

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「There’s no way I could beat something like that!」

Five minutes later, I was running for my life from the monster, Karma Pengu.

What is that thing? A single hit dealt 2000 damage to me.

Just based on the sheer damage output, it rivals Cerberus.

Come to think of it, this island is actually meant for a bit later in the game.

With the drill’s existence, that possibility was very likely. I had just forgotten since there were no monsters here before.

To be honest, I can’t defeat such an opponent alone. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for me.

「If only Shouko was here…」

In my mind, Shouko is the strongest.

Having fought tough enemies together so many times, she has a track record of hardly taking any damage.

But there’s no point relying on someone not here.

It may still be impossible now, but if I accumulate energy, I can try to overpower it later.

For now, I’ll keep logging and constructing to improve the facilities.

I’m definitely not a sore loser.

Anyway, it doesn’t seem to come out of the forest, so I’ll leave Karma Pengu alone for now.

Remember this. Someday I’ll definitely slit its belly and eat it as material.

With no other choice, I reassigned the Peckles I had put on clearing work to other tasks.

Though, to be honest, I’ve just been giving orders recently without actually doing anything myself.

However, there’s an issue with food consumption.

There are over 50 of them. I’ve left fishing to the Peckles themselves, but they can’t secure enough food for 50.

That’s why I’ve been living off fishing lately.

…I occasionally catch Peckles too.

「Fishing…is my soul life…」

It’s become an excuse at this point, but it’s fine.

In exchange, I confiscate any meat, berries, vegetables, eggs, and milk from cows and sheep.
These guys only eat fish and shellfish.

Needless to say, the Peckles’ consumption was so high that they depleted the squid supply long ago.

For this lifestyle to run smoothly, I have no choice but to fish.

Haha! This is the best…

My fishing rod had reached level 7 by now.

The fishing spot I’ve been using since coming to Kalmira Island is a rocky shore.

I cast the rod into the sea and wait leisurely until I get a bite.

By the way, the fish I catch are.

Sea bream, scorpionfish, conger eel, and tilefish.

Those are the fish I can catch.

Most are white fish that I didn’t eat much of in reality.

But they tasted good, so I keep some for myself every morning besides the Peckles feed.

The tilefish in particular was incredibly delicious, despite its appearance.

I don’t know if it’s the real flavor since this is a game, but if it is, I might try eating it after returning.

To be honest, I don’t want to give the Peckles any tilefish because it’s so tasty.

Personally, I think it’s even better than tuna.

It’s not a very well-known fish, but I should look it up next time.

「Ah~ I hope I can catch some tilefish~」

Thinking about tilefish made me want to eat it.

Should I have it as sashimi or in a hot pot?

Those were the two most delicious ways, so I basically rotated between them.

It’s even better when combined with ingredients from the Peckle farm and ranch.

If I had to point out an issue, tilefish are difficult and have a high skill requirement. Even though I’ve focused on raising my Fishing Mastery, I still let some get away occasionally.

It’s hard to give an example, but the difficulty is very high, like Nushi.

Unlike Nushi, it doesn’t put up a strong fight when hooked, but the timing is strict.

That’s why, at first, I could only catch one out of ten.

「Hmm…?」

While the sea often has strong winds, a sudden gust came up.

It wasn’t too severe, but it felt nostalgic in a way.

It reminded me of when I first experienced the Dimension Wave, that was really bad.

Come to think of it, I wonder what Shouko and the others are up to now.

It’s been quite a while, but there’s still no sign of them coming.

My life on Kalmira Island has been busy day by day, so I have forgotten, but I am curious.

「…Huh?」

When I suddenly looked up at the eastern sky instead of the sea, it had turned wine-red, the same as the Dimension Wave we had fought together before.

Now that I think about it, I had forgotten due to being preoccupied with living, but it’s been about two months since the game started.

Could that be… the second Dimension Wave?

「No way…」

The first Dimension Wave was enjoyable despite everything.

There was the issue of losing some energy, but the rewards were great, like obtaining the Energy Blade.

I had decided to participate in the second wave as well, but…

「I can’t participate…?」

That’s ridiculous.

Well, from the game company’s perspective, the real problem is probably me being here.

The strength of Karma Pengu shows this place isn’t meant for me.

It’s my own fault, but not being able to participate…

「Let me ooooouuuuut! I’m participating no matter what!」

I shouted towards the sea.

I held a slight hope that I could leave during the event, but trying with the wooden ship didn’t work either.

As I resigned myself and sat on the beach gazing at the waves, the Santa Hat Peckle came over and said

「The development has progressed quite a bit-pen.」

「I suppose.」

「Is there anyone you want to see-pen?」

「Yeah…I want to see Shouko.」

「Is that person’s name『Shouko』-pen?」

「Huh?」

For some reason, the support character Peckle wanted to know Shouko’s name.

Why would they ask that?

…I’ll tell them.

「Her full name is Hakoniwa Shouko」

「Please enter the exact spelling-pen.」

Saying that, the Peckle displayed a system window with a text input screen.

With a glimmer of hope, I entered『Hakoniwa Shouko』.

「Got it-pen. I hope you can meet them soon-pen.」

The Santa Hat Peckle said that, then turned around and went back to work.

What was that about?

While I don’t fully understand, it seems like I can’t participate in the second Dimension Wave.

In the end, that day passed with me fishing for Peckles food and tilefish for myself until the sun set.