Reincarnated as a Land Shark???

Chapter 30: The Cyclops Ray

As I return to the shore, I take a look around the area. It's quiet, the wildlife clearly having classified me as a threat by now, and even though it's around noon the shadows still look deeper than they should. As a human, the wildlife didn't go silent while I was around unless some predator was also lurking in the area. It's more than a little unnerving to notice it now, but it's something I'll just have to get used to; I highly doubt I'll ever get any less threatening in the future.

Shaking those thoughts aside, I remember the plants I'm looking for. Jumanga herbs... they're going to come in handy now that I'm seemingly at the point where I won't level up as easily. I'll probably need them to recover from injuries I take in fights.

It doesn't take me long to start finding them now that I'm actually searching for them. They seem to grow like weeds in this area, as if nothing is eating them at all. You'd think this would be prime food for herbivores, but I haven't seen any of those since the deer a while back.

...Well, considering how everything's been avoiding me like the plague lately it makes sense, and with the spider, sasquatch, and other monsters that must live here it's probably not a good place for a peaceful family of deer or something. I probably couldn't catch one, but the sasquatch could have. That giant dragonfly I stole from the spider could have probably eaten one too.

I'm surprised the plant life hasn't gone completely out of control yet with so few things eating it. Sure there are dense portions of forest, but...

Is it the slime population? Come to think of it, that butterfly just flew right up to that one. Maybe they're eating plants somehow?

I pluck some more of the herbs from the ground and plop them in my mouth. I can't say I'm too fond of the flavor but it's not exactly like I have a basket or something to put them in, and no way am I going to be able to make one of those with these weird three-clawed fins and no thumbs. Basket-weaving takes a surprising amount of dexterity.

I move through the forest, plucking out several patches of Jumanga herb. I need to be careful how much I take; they'll grow back but it'll take time, so I only take a bit from each patch I find.

The search begins to drag on, and the sun starts its descent to the other side of the horizon. With my mouthful of herbs collected, I consider turning back before a familiar squishing sound catches my attention.

I turn and, sure enough, a few more slimes are trailing after me. I recognize the one called Ladra in the lead, but there are three of them with him instead of two and they're all different from the ones I've encountered before. One of them is purple, one yellow, and the other an opaque white color that looks a lot more like pudding than jello. They stop when they see me staring at them, as if waiting for my verdict.

Uh... again, I don't want to eat you, the EXP isn't worth it, and neither is the moral dilemma that comes with chowing down on sapient(?) creatures.

I turn around and consider what to do next. I could just return to the lake, make my herb bundles, and leave it at that... Or I could just explore a bit and see if anything happens with the slimes.

Speaking of the slimes, what do they even want from me? More webs? Food? For me to sing a carol and dance them a jig?

Uh... You know what? I'm just going to ignore them and go back to the beach. Hopefully they can't follow me into the lake and if they can... I didn't see swimming in their skills so I can definitely just lose them without much of an issue.

A flash of something darting through the trees suddenly catches my eyes and I still. For a moment I'm afraid I've seen the head of some kind of huge monster, but then I realize it didn't have a body.