I managed to leave behind the grassland, or rather, I stumbled upon a river cutting through it. There were a modest amount of trees growing along the water, snaking their way through the area. I came to a rest next to the water, estimating whether I would be able to cross with a well-executed leap, or if I would need to resort to a void jump.

After some careful deliberation, I came to the conclusion that I’d probably have to void jump, just to be safe. I didn’t want to chance to fall into the river since the water was clear and I could see various aquatic monsters swimming around and fighting each other inside. Maybe I should consider getting some mutations that would help me breathe underwater and swim better. Or maybe I should get some pseudo-wings that I could use to glide. Or I could just get real wings, I was small, so I could probably get the required lift pretty easily.

I played around with the thought of becoming an alien monster ATV for a while before deciding to just move on. It would be nice to be ready for situations like that, but I wouldn’t be getting a chance to mutate anytime soon anyway… Actually, come to think of it, I would be able to purchase four mutation points from the shop soon. Well, I’ll see how many points I needed to make these changes, and then decide.

For now, I could see that the river curved towards the floating island further downstream, so for now I could just follow along the bank of the river. The trees, sparse as they may be, would provide me with adequate hiding space if I ever needed a break, and if I got attacked by anything too dangerous, I could just void jump over the river to lose them. Provided they had no way of crossing, of course.

I rushed along the flowing water, occasionally dodging a tree, and just enjoyed the wind blowing in my face. This layer was really quite pleasant. I occasionally glanced into the water to make sure that nothing was about to jump at me, wondering if I should engage in some recreational bomb fishing. Unlike the lake in the oasis, the river wasn’t that deep and I could see all of the fishies swimming around, or at least their rough outline if they moved along the bottom.

I didn’t have the luxury of being able to one-shot monsters anymore, but if I launched an accurate volley at a monster, I should probably be able to take it out. Provided it wasn’t too high-level, or defensively built, of course.

There was still the problem of the commotion, which would no doubt attract other monsters, but with the open field right next to me, I would see them coming early enough to bail. Alright, so fish was back on the menu. But for now, I just wanted to gain some ground, the floating island was beckoning in the distance.

I kept following the river, rather enjoying the slight respite I had from the fighting. A peculiar feeling, to be sure, since I occasionally almost craved a good fight. I was thinking about the implications of this rather new emotional state I found myself in more often recently when I spotted something in the distance. Something that didn’t belong.

I couldn’t quite make out what it was at first, but it felt out of place. The contour was too straight, not natural.

It took a few more minutes of travel until I finally realized what I was looking at. It was a house! Or, well, what was left of it, at least. Right next to the river, with a small dock for a boat, stood the ruins of a modest house.

I gradually slowed down as I approached, taking in the sight. The humble abode was made out of wood, but time hadn’t been gentle with it. There were holes in the walls and the roof, the outside covered in moss, mushrooms, and grime. It honestly looked like it could collapse at any moment. So why hadn’t it?

The house looked like it had been abandoned for ages. Which explained why it looked so ready to fall apart at a moment's notice. But this wasn’t just some random river in the middle of nowhere, this was a random river in a world that was riddled with monsters. Fights broke out on the regular and the environment suffered for it, my recent fight with the lava gorilla was a prime example.

So how come, amidst all the fighting, this small house was still intact, left to rot and succumb to time?

I didn’t see any movement coming from inside, so I carefully approached the hole in the wall closest to me. I peered inside, seeing rotted furniture, plants that had grown through holes in the floor, and broken fishing equipment on the far wall. I suddenly felt nervous, like I wasn’t supposed to be there, but guided by curiosity, I made my way inside almost subconsciously.

My eyes traveled along every detail, the holes in the roof providing solemn lighting, dust particles swirling around in an unseen breeze. I looked at the furniture, a table, chairs, cupboards, shelves, and storage chests, all broken, assaulted by time. There was something off about them, though, they seemed to big for human use. There was an almost intact chair that felt off somehow like it was made for an alien. There was a couch, chiseled from stone, but with large holes in the backrest.

I spotted two doors leading into other rooms and went to investigate the left one first. A kitchen. Just like in the living room, everything was broken, giving it an eerie feel. I observed the rather… primitive technology that was still barely recognizable in the debris. It looked primitive, but it was designed like a modern kitchen that I was familiar with. Just, instead of metal and plastic, it was fashioned out of stone.

I left the kitchen, went through the other door, and was faced with five bedframes. The bedroom then. I could almost feel the history of this place. A happy family living next to a river, making a modest living with their fishing trade. A husband, wife, and kids used to live here. On this alien planet filled with monsters, there used to be someone that lived in this hellscape and raised kids.

I spotted what looked to be a small wooden boat, a toy no doubt.

There was no way that they lived here on the fourth layer and lived a happy life like this, the river was filled with murderous monsters, for crying out loud! So… was there a time before Suigoss became the monster-infested hellscape it was today? Was this a trace of the ancient civilization that the system wanted me to find?

I went around the house again, even carefully inspecting the dock outside, but the system didn’t progress the bonus objective, no matter what I did. I sat outside the house for a while, staring at what was left of a family long gone. There was something odd about thinking that there were living, breathing people here at some point. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it, but there was something deeply wrong here.

I spent some time contemplating, wondering what kind of race the family used to be. I could assume that elves and dwarves were a thing since I’d seen statues of them in the oasis, so who’s to say there weren’t any other funky races out there that I didn’t know about?

A fascinating thought, to be sure, but I wasn’t planning on sticking around here forever. The floating island beckoned, and it wasn’t too far off now. Time to go.