"Ugh... what is this?!" Staring at the large, shapeless mass before her, Isis's throat tightened, and she began to dry-heave.
A heavy, fishy stench assailed everyone's nostrils, while a sharp, sour undertone made the odor even more overpowering.
Altaïr held his breath as well.
Compared to what lay before them, even the foul stench of a Dung Bomb seemed bearable.
If the humans found it this unbearable, the keen-nosed Felynes nearly passed out on the spot. Sajji and Clawdia were the first to flee, claiming they were standing guard for the group. In truth, they simply wanted to climb a tree and get some fresh air.
Altaïr spent several seconds preparing himself for the worst. After steeling himself, he took one last breath away from the source, then turned back. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he picked up a meter-long branch and approached the sticky mass.
"Let's examine it first."
He crouched and prodded the mass with the branch. The moment the wood touched the filthy green mucus coating its surface, the tip hissed and released a wisp of blue smoke.
"Strong acid?" Altaïr glanced at the withered, brownish-yellow grass around him and understood.
No wonder the surrounding plants had died. The acid might not have been strong enough to carbonize the branch on contact, but it could easily burn through plant roots. It was a good thing he had not rashly touched the substance with his bare hand.
"Morgan, take some photos. I'll collect a sample and bring it back for Ms. Meow-It-All and the others to study."
Pale-faced, Morgan took a portable camera from his pack, held his breath, and moved closer to take several close-up shots.
Meanwhile, Altaïr used a small piece of the branch to scoop up some mucus, deposited it in one of Isis's empty Potion bottles, and sealed it tightly.
The sampling method was clearly far from standard. The tiny amount of Potion residue in the bottle would contaminate the sample, but for Hunters like them, the scholars should be grateful they had even thought to bring one back.
After collecting the sample and making a simple photographic record, Altaïr turned away and took another breath. Then he picked up the branch again and drove it deep into the mass.
As he pushed aside the sour, stinking mucus and the soft, waxy substance beneath it, the foul odor in the air became several times worse.
Altaïr's eyes narrowed. Only then could he begin to identify the revolting object before him.
It was the clawed foot of a large creature, severely decomposed. More precisely, it had been partially digested and regurgitated, then left to rot in the hot, humid environment of the Mangrove Forest.
The strong acidic mucus, apparently gastric fluid, had corroded the soft tissue, flesh, and even the scales covering the foot into a waxy layer. Judging by the remaining tissue and the shape of the bones beneath it, the foot most likely belonged to a Yian Kut-Ku.
A Yian Kut-Ku might not stand at the top of the food chain, but it had no true natural predators capable of hunting it as prey.
The case for a Deviljho seemed stronger than ever.
That raised another question. Had anyone ever heard of a Deviljho regurgitating food it had already swallowed and half-digested?
According to the literature, a Deviljho's digestive and absorptive abilities were astonishingly powerful. It could easily digest even Monster shells and bones, and it rarely defecated.
"There's still a fair amount of meat on this, so why did it throw it up?" Altaïr muttered to himself without realizing it.
Isis and Morgan, standing nearby, turned pale at his words.
Altaïr carefully used the branch to scoop out a sample of the liquefied, rotting flesh and packed it into another empty bottle. Only then did he straighten up.
"Let's go. We'll check the next spot."
—--
The two sources of the stench were not far apart, and the Hunters soon reached the second location.
Just as they had expected, the awful smell came from more half-digested carcass fragments.
Unlike the earlier Yian Kut-Ku foot, these pieces were smaller and more scattered. They lay in a radial pattern, as though they had been sprayed outward.
They found no other clues, such as tracks. The sandy ground of the Mangrove Forest was too soft, and any such marks would disappear without a trace in only a few days.
Perhaps she was gradually growing accustomed to the stench, because Isis no longer looked quite as miserable as before.
She walked over to a pile wrapped in mucus, bent down, and said in surprise, "Come take a look. Don't these dark green pieces look like Rathian tail spikes?"
"Yes, they do." Altaïr stepped closer, examined them, and confirmed it at once.
He owned a Poison Element Wyvern Blade "Verde" forged with Rathian spikes. Although he rarely used it, he maintained it regularly and was quite familiar with the bone spikes.
After examining them carefully, he added with a peculiar expression, "Come to think of it, these spikes are in remarkably good condition. Maybe Rathian tail spikes are naturally steeped in venom, giving them enough corrosion resistance to withstand the stomach acid.
"If you don't mind the filth, you could clean and scrub them. They would easily sell for a few hundred z apiece."
Isis visibly hesitated, but ultimately decided it was not worth the trouble.
The main reason was that, as 5★ Hunters, they rarely had any use for Rathian materials anymore, and they were hardly short on money.
If Lambert had been there, nearly penniless as usual, she would have dug up those Rathian tail spikes even if they were buried ten meters deep. She certainly would not have cared how filthy or foul-smelling they were.
"I found some teeth and scales over here," Morgan called from beside another patch of mucus. "The teeth look like they came from a Diablos. The scales are brownish-red; I can't identify them, but they look quite tough."
Altaïr could not help laughing. "So the belly of the Monster that threw this up is a treasure trove?
"Anything its stomach acid can't digest is essentially high-quality Monster material. If we gathered all these scattered materials, they would be worth as much as the reward for a 3★ quest."
Isis played along. "If we found that Monster and followed behind it, picking up whatever it left behind, wouldn't we get rich?"
Altaïr gave her a wry smile. "A Monster with a stomach full of Yian Kut-Ku, Rathian, and even Diablos carcasses? Do you really want to trail behind something like that collecting materials? You might end up inside its stomach instead.
"That said, whatever threw this up probably isn't a Deviljho. Multiple sources clearly state that a Deviljho's digestive system can easily break down a Flying Wyvern's scales, shells, claws, and fangs.
"Whatever left this behind can't do that. From that perspective, it may be some powerful Monster beyond our understanding.
"If a Monster like that is causing the ecological disturbance in the Mangrove Forest, then everything would make sense."
He paused and furrowed his brow. "Still, I have my doubts. The Mangrove Forest is enormous; it covers almost the entire southern coastline of Tidal Island.
"Could a single, unusually powerful and gluttonous Monster really frighten every Large Monster in the forest into fleeing toward the outer edges? Even a real Deviljho couldn't manage that, could it?"
Isis nodded. "No. If every Large Monster fled whenever a Deviljho appeared, Deviljho would have starved to death long ago.
"A Deviljho destroys an ecosystem by eating everything, not by scaring it away."
"Who knows?" Morgan chimed in from where he crouched beside a puddle of slime. "Maybe there isn't just one Monster. There could be several, or even an entire pack."
Altaïr's expression froze. "...Please don't say such terrifying things."
"Just a passing thought." Morgan seemed unconcerned, his attention fixed on something else before him.
Using a twig as thick as two fingers, he fished a fragment from the stinking pool of gastric fluid. "Hey, doesn't this look like one of a Lolo Gougarf's claws?"
"It does," Isis agreed. "But it's too small, like it came from a cub."
"A cub?" Altaïr's eyes widened slightly at the remark.
"Could that be why the Lolo Gougarf came here?"
(Translated by yourtl.app)