Chapter 13: Golden Poison Frog (3)

Realizing that even Allfather was close to being abnormal was only momentary.

Soon I went back to worrying about the problem of drinking water.

It’s not like I have resistance to poison, much less when the venom of the golden poison frog is so brutal.

So brutal that it melts wood while crackling.

If it hits me, it’s over.

I bought an antidote just in case, but I didn’t know if it would really work.

That’s why I thought about asking Allfather for something else.

Not money, but something more valuable.

[WildGrills: Hello. You are Allfather, right?]

[Allfather: Yes. I am Allfather. Thank you for requesting the transaction.]

As soon as I sent him the trade request, he responded immediately.

His way of speaking was much more polite than the others.

From how he immediately recognized the golden poison frog and from his usual posts in the gallery, he seemed like an academic, almost like a professor.

And on top of that, an absurdly rich one.

Spending 20,000 gold on a single frog—I couldn’t even imagine what he did for a living.

[WildGrills: You need the frog, correct? I’ll register it right now.]

[Allfather: Thank you. I will also register the 20,000 gold as promised. By the way, do you know that when trading more than 10,000 gold your location is sent to the moderator?]

[WildGrills: Yes. I know.]

To prevent abuse, when trading an amount greater than 10,000 gold, the location is automatically sent to the moderator.

Illegal money laundering, mass purchasing of war supplies, that kind of thing.

Although gold loaded in the gallery cannot be withdrawn as cash, there are still many ways to abuse the system.

In my case, being in the Forest of Four Seasons, it didn’t matter much either.

And if my location was sent, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

[WildGrills: Before that, could I ask you one more favor? If you agree, I’ll lower the price to 15,000 gold.]

[Allfather: Hm? What kind of favor is it?]

[WildGrills: I need a proper antidote for the venom of the golden poison frog. As you may have seen in my posts, it’s very difficult for me to obtain water.]

There might be other rivers nearby.

But the closest one is that stream.

As long as the golden poison frog remains there, forget about bathing—even getting drinking water is a problem.

Searching for another river could make me lose my bearings, and that would be hell.

[Allfather: I more or less understand what you mean. I accept the favor. I actually wanted to investigate that as well.]

[WildGrills: Thank you very much. Then we’ll deduct 5,000 gold for the antidote. Would having more samples make the research easier?]

[Allfather: Of course. But the golden poison frog is a very scarce species, so be careful not to drive it to extinction.]

Honestly, that didn’t matter to me much anymore.

No matter how valuable the species was, was it more important than my life?

If the antidote worked, good.

If not, I would have to exterminate them.

I had just realized how crucial a stable water supply was.

Besides, not being able to bathe was driving me to the brink of madness.

[Allfather: If you discover rare plants or animals, or something you have not seen before, please post about it. I will respond within the limits of my knowledge.]

[WildGrills: Thank you. We will see each other again.]

[Allfather: It is rare to find someone in the gallery as polite as you, Mr. Grills. Please stay safe.]

Thus ended the transaction with Allfather.

As soon as it finished, I checked the gold loaded in the gallery.

After deducting a small commission, I had almost 15,000 gold.

With that, I could buy all kinds of things at the auction house.

I already knew what I needed.

‘Before that, I should ask the moderator exactly where I am.’

When trading more than 10,000 gold, the location is sent to the moderator.

It is a rule to prevent abuse, but it could also be used the other way around.

I didn’t know how the moderator was chosen or under what criteria, but surely there had been others before.

For a moment I became curious about the history of the gallery, but that wasn’t important now.

Title) Moderator, can you see my location?

WildGrills

I just traded with Allfather. Can you see where I am?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Yes! It shows up as the Forest of Four Seasons. Right in the center!

ㄴWildGrills) Ah, fuck

ㄴHaha

ㄴHahaha

ㄴLol

ㄴAbandon all hope hahaha

ㄴForest of Four Seasons certified by the moderator hahaha

I shouldn’t have asked.

I suppressed the wave of despair that washed over me.

The Forest of Four Seasons was supposed to block access to the gallery, but I was an exception.

On top of that, my location was clearly marked.

Who the hell had made such a cruel joke?

I didn’t understand it at all.

ㄴWildGrills) No lying, is it serious?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Yes! I swear it on my holy sword!

ㄴGrills… it’s time to give up…

ㄴYou’ll have to live there

Bastards.

Wasn’t escaping even an option?

If even the moderator confirmed it, all I could do was sigh bitterly.

Even the slightest hope had vanished.

Escaping was also difficult because, even crossing the stream, the terrain kept constantly changing.

My range of movement was extremely limited.

‘Fine. I’ll survive here. And someday I’ll escape.’

Even if it takes years, I want to see civilization again.

I opened the gallery and wrote a new post.

Not to complain, but to ask what I would need from now on.

Title) Survival experts, help

WildGrills

It seems I’ll have to live in the forest.

I plan to buy things.

For now I thought of an axe, knife, shovel, hammer, emergency rations, water, soap, medicines… Anything else I should get?

ㄴIf you can, use unscented soap. The smell can attract bears.

ㄴIf you know how to set traps, place them around. Although I don’t know if that will work in the Forest of Four Seasons.

ㄴIt’s important to collect charcoal. It can be used to purify water or even to brush your teeth.

ㄴIt’s useful, but because of the temperature it could attract snakes.

ㄴDo not eat mushrooms under any circumstances, unless it’s an emergency.

They weren’t saying it sarcastically; surprisingly, they were giving me very useful advice.

Especially the part about charcoal—I didn’t know that.

The snake issue could be solved with the repellent.

That’s what I had spent so much money on.

ㄴNo one knows what’s in the Forest of Four Seasons, so anything could be dangerous

ㄴIn that place, the best thing is to learn everything through direct experience, right?

ㄴYes, that’s correct

ㄴWhen else are you going to have the chance to enter the Forest of Four Seasons? hahaha

But in the end, all of that was still just the most basic of the basics for normal wilderness living.

Living in the Forest of Four Seasons is something I am doing for the first time.

Just thinking about frogs the size of dogs makes it impossible to know what else might be out there.

That is the reality.

‘Even so, first I have to buy what I need.’

I began buying the items the adventurers recommended one by one.

It’s best to use this cave as a base point.

Lastly, I bought large sheets of paper, a quill, and ink.

Since the compass doesn’t work, I plan to create a map using only my sense of direction.

‘I especially need to mark the areas where the terrain constantly changes.’

It’s very likely that not only the stream behaves that way.

Knowing those zones will make moving around easier.

It’s also wise to mark areas where dangerous beasts appear.

More precisely, their territories.

Maybe the reason other beasts hadn’t appeared until now was because this place was Mad Dogs territory.

But that won’t last long.

Last time, an Owlbear calmly ate the corpse of a Mad Dog.

There’s no guarantee that Owlbear won’t appear again.

So I have to prepare.

“Hmm……”

I crossed my arms while looking at the items I had bought.

What should I do first?

They say when you’re truly busy, there are so many things to do that you don’t even know where to start.

That was exactly my case.

Should I build a fence first to secure the area, or explore the surroundings a bit more?

The first option takes too much time.

The second is unsettling.

‘I don’t know how long it would take to build a fence.’

In situations like this, the best thing is to ask.

I opened the gallery and wrote a post.

If it turned out it would take too long, then I would explore around.

Title) I’m going to put up a fence near my house, give me advice

WildGrills

I want to build a fence to keep out intruders, any advice?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Do you know how to build a fence?

ㄴWildGrills) Like, just boom boom?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) …

ㄴBoom boom hahaha

ㄴWhat a great answer hahaha

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Actually, what you’re thinking of isn’t a fence, but a wall. You said there’s an Owlbear nearby, right?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes, that’s right

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Then it’s better to place traps near the entrance. For a wall, calculate at least one or two months

ㄴWildGrills) One or two months? Even if it’s made of wood?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) If you don’t believe me, try building one right now

ㄴWildGrills) OK, wait

Really?

Even though I looked at it suspiciously, I took action.

In the end, more than words, facts matter.

There are trees everywhere here, so getting materials is easy.

I had also bought an axe for chopping.

‘The axe is heavier than I thought.’

Even holding it with both hands, it feels heavy.

I stood in front of a suitably sized tree.

It was a straight tree, perfectly vertical.

Ideal for building a wall.

Even so, a month sounded exaggerated.

Confidently, I swung the axe.

Crack!

‘You can tell it’s a new axe, it cuts well.’

With this, it shouldn’t take long.

DwarfPassingBy was underestimating me.

“Pant… pant…”

Correction.

He wasn’t underestimating me. He was being completely objective.

I looked at the tree while breathing heavily.

Despite striking it with all my strength, I hadn’t even cut halfway through.

The surface was manageable, but the closer I got to the center, the harder the trunk felt.

‘Now I understand why lumberjacks are so respectable.’

Those lumberjacks who constantly appear in stories were truly incredible people.

No wonder many of them had several children.

I wiped the sweat off and looked at the half-cut tree.

If cutting just one tree was already this exhausting, building a wall was out of the question.

In the end, a human being, as an individual, is extremely weak.

I had no choice but to postpone building the wall.

Just as DwarfPassingBy said, it’s better to set traps.

Title) Damn, why is the tree so hard?

WildGrills

(Photo of a slightly cut tree)

I’m dead tired

ㄴNow that you tried it, do you see how hard it is?

ㄴDid you think logging was a joke?

ㄴThanks to others doing the hard work, you lived comfortably, right? hahaha

ㄴWildGrills) Sorry. I won’t act smart again

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) If you learn the mana training method, it will be a bit less tiring

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) The one above is right. So start by practicing the meditation posture

ㄴWildGrills) Yes… I will

ㄴLooks like he lost all confidence

ㄴBetter that than dying from trying to act brave

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Don’t act smart again haha

ㄴWildGrills) Yes, brother

ㄴHe became respectful hahaha

ㄴTotally hahaha

Thanks to this, I was able to clearly decide the plan.

I’ll place traps near the entrance of the cave; only I will know where they are.

The wall will come later, once I’ve trained in that internal method or whatever it is.

Right now, the energy consumption is too high.

‘Digging also takes a huge amount of time.’

Having done military service, I know very well how exhausting digging is.

For a single trench, it takes three or four people working all day.

And considering the size of the Owlbear I saw before, I would have to dig a ditch much deeper than my own height.

‘This is really discouraging.’

Nothing is easy.

In nature, human beings are far too powerless.

But give up?

Never.

Grain by grain, a mountain is formed.

If I keep putting in effort little by little, someday I’ll see results.

‘First I’ll dig deeply only near the entrance. The rest later. I can also buy a tarp at the auction to camouflage it.’

While thinking about traps, a good idea came to me.

Not just traps, but digging around the entrance and the cave.

Like the moats that surrounded ancient castles.

If I can prevent external intrusions, that will be enough.

For now, the wall can just be made of earth.

Later, with time, I’ll reinforce it with wood.

‘Good. Let’s do it now.’

Planning is useless if you don’t act.

I designed the area around the cave entrance.

Where to dig the ditch, where to raise a temporary earthen wall, and finally, the access point where I would enter.

It won’t be perfect, but at least it will protect me.

Clack!

I began digging the soil with the shovel.

Thanks to the rain at dawn, the ground was somewhat soft.

Maybe logging is hard, but digging is a bit easier.

Although it still takes a lot of time.

‘Let’s go little by little.’

The construction of the shelter, which I began with so much enthusiasm.

“My whole body hurts…”

Ended the next day leaving me completely worn out.