Chapter 33: Internal Core (4)

HeavenlyDemon said it.

That the internal core is one of the most valuable treasures.

I heard that the moment even one appears on the market, the whole world is shaken.

Martial artists invest a great amount of time to reach the next level.

Unless you have extraordinary talent, it is difficult to obtain strength that transcends time.

That is why they covet internal cores.

Because with just one, they could jump to the next level.

Title) Another internal core came out

WildGrills

(photo of a red internal core)

Yesterday I got sick and rested well.

I woke up, washed, and thought about preparing another fish, but what is this?

Another internal core?

Should I put it in the auction house?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Have you woken up? Since you did not post for a while, I was worried

ㄴWildGrills) As soon as I memorized the formula, I passed out and fell asleep. Is this normal?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) It is the first time I have heard something like that. I suppose your body could not withstand the internal energy and activated an automatic defense

ㄴWildGrills) But my body is fine now, so I guess everything is fine

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) If you are fine, then you are fine. What do you plan to do with that internal core?

ㄴHow much do you want for that?

ㄴGive it to me give it to me give it to me give it to me give it to me

ㄴHow do we know it is real? I will eat it and confirm it haha

That was the problem.

Who should I give this internal core to?

If it were up to me, I would give it to the registered users.

But even that was not easy.

ㄴWildGrills) I should give it first to those who helped me

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) I am fine

ㄴWildGrills) Except SwordTasteMaster-nim

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) ?

ㄴWildGrills) It is a joke haha then should I give it to you?

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) I do not want to become stronger. You can give the mandrake to someone else, but I cannot accept this

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) You treat an internal core as if it were nothing. Are you really at that level?

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Yes

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) With that confidence I cannot say anything more

SwordTasteMaster rejected it because she did not want to become stronger.

Then, what about the others?

I waited for them to comment.

ㄴWildGrills) The registered users I can think of are DwarfPassingBy, StarlightLady, DemonPrincess, SunForEver, AllFather

ㄴStarlightLady) I have already received too much I think it is better to give it to someone else

The first to comment was StarlightLady.

One of the users who always commented consistently.

Seeing that she did not need the internal core, I replied.

ㄴWildGrills) Do you really not need it? Do you not want to improve your health?

ㄴStarlightLady) I am satisfied as I am now. More than mana, taking care of the body is more important

ㄴWildGrills) Taking care of the body?

ㄴStarlightLady) Yes. Since yesterday I started exercising. As I never did it before, I think I will get hooked

I had already thought about calling Wonmo “gym beginner”, but it seems she herself was becoming a fitness enthusiast.

She said she had spent almost her entire life in bed, so she must really want to move.

Anyway, since StarlightLady also rejected it, I waited for the others.

ㄴDemonPrincess) I am not very interested either. It is difficult to sell and also to give away

ㄴWildGrills) And do you not want to eat it yourself?

ㄴDemonPrincess) I do not need it. If I could, I would give it to my players

ㄴHey, you could get in trouble for that

ㄴDo internal cores count as doping?

ㄴNot exactly, but if there are sudden changes in mana they usually investigate it

ㄴBut internal cores are legal, right?

ㄴDemonPrincess) They are legal, but it is not morally correct. Besides, what is the use of more mana? In sports it is forbidden to use it

ㄴYes, she is right. More mana is not always good

ㄴWere there not athletes who, after gaining enlightenment, went into decline?

ㄴWhy would that happen?

ㄴBecause the body’s balance breaks. Some were even disqualified for using mana without realizing it

ㄴWildGrills) Then… could you give me clothes?

ㄴDemonPrincess) I do not have much use for it, so yes. I will give you clothes

ㄴWildGrills) Would you have long pants…?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Not right now, but I can get them. Do you want something like a uniform?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes, that would be good

ㄴDemonPrincess) Just cheer for Chayu

ㄴWildGrills) Chayu fighting! Let them win!

ㄴDemonPrincess) Very good hehe

ㄴhahahahaha

ㄴChayu winning haha

ㄴReyLeor) This is great haha

ㄴReyLeor) Excuse me, Grills-nim. Do you know what position Chayu is in?

ㄴWildGrills) Which one?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Shut up before I confront you in person

ㄴReyLeor) That is scary haha. They are in position 8

ㄴWildGrills) That is a bit low… how many matches are left?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Five are left, but it is fine ha Even if they do not enter Champions, at least they will go to the Master Cup

ㄴReyLeor) First let them qualify and then we talk haha

They started again.

Those two argue quite often.

Especially ReyLeor, who was always bothering ㄴDemonPrincess.

I did not like it.

Besides, she had helped me.

ㄴWildGrills) That is enough. Then you do not need it, right?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Yes, I cannot give it to the players

ㄴWildGrills) Understood. Chayu fighting!

ㄴDemonPrincess) Thank you hehe

ㄴReyLeor) Cheer for Leor too

ㄴWildGrills) I am not someone who changes sides haha

ㄴDemonPrincess) I like you even more. I will go get the pants

Since ㄴDemonPrincess also did not need it, I looked for others.

ㄴAllFather) As I said before, my body cannot make use of an internal core. Give it to someone else

ㄴWildGrills) Understood

ㄴAllFather) I prefer that you give me rare creatures

ㄴSunForEver) Better put it in the auction. Do not try to get money from me

ㄴWildGrills) I was not trying that…

ㄴSunForEver) It is a joke. I am not interested. The mandrake you gave me is already enough

AllFather and SunForEver also rejected it.

They only asked for what they truly needed.

In the end, only DwarfPassingBy remained.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Give me more mandrake. With that I make more liquor

ㄴWildGrills) Yeah… it was a mistake asking you. Did you finish the barrier already?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) First we do the deal at noon. If something is missing, tell me

ㄴWildGrills) Do you not want the internal core as payment?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Give me more liquor

…

The dwarf was simply a drunk.

Like a proper dwarf, he loved alcohol.

In the end, all the registered users I knew rejected the internal core.

HeavenlyDemon also said she did not need it, because I had already given her one.

That she had already received too much.

‘Ah, whatever.’

I did not think much about it.

I listed the internal core in the auction house.

More important than that was preparing the fish.

I gave the head and the viscera to Wonmo, and like yesterday, I cleaned the inside well.

Today the water flowed perfectly.

‘It tasted good.’

Eat well for breakfast and then use that energy to repair the shelter.

At noon I will install the dwarf’s barrier.

Sssss—

In the iron pan bought at the auction, the fish was slowly browning.

I removed all the scales and seasoned it with salt.

I also cut it into small pieces.

Yesterday I ate it whole and it was uncomfortable.

“Here, Wonmo. Eat.”

Of course, I did not eat alone.

I gave some pieces of fish to Wonmo.

I did not give him the pan directly, but passed them with chopsticks.

Since I am Korean, it is more comfortable for me than a fork.

“Kyuu!”

Wonmo ate happily, his eyes shining.

But considering his size, this was very little.

For a human it would barely be an appetizer.

Later I will give him meat.

“You want some too?”

I also offered well-cooked fish to the sloth.

I know he is herbivorous, but maybe he was interested.

Nod—

The sloth accepted slowly.

I thought he only ate plants, but it seems not.

Well, he had already tried to steal fish before.

It makes sense.

I took a piece of fish with the chopsticks and brought it to his mouth.

Slowly… slowly…

“……Eat a little faster.”

How is it possible that even opening his mouth takes so long?

And yet, that guy was able to threaten me at the fastest speed in the world.

Seriously, no matter how much I try, I cannot understand him.

I already gave fish to both of them, now all that’s left is to fill my own stomach.

Since I divided it well, the amount was much smaller than yesterday.

But it doesn’t matter.

Yesterday, when I had the feast all by myself, those two kept staring at me.

They had a look like “are you going to eat all that by yourself?”, so I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

‘Anyway, there’s plenty.’

It’s such a big fish that I have to hug it with both arms.

Giving them a few pieces doesn’t mean I’ll run out of food.

Maybe yesterday’s fever was because I overate.

Though probably, like HeavenlyDemon said, it was due to excess energy.

“It’s good.”

After finishing the fish, I felt satisfied.

Instead of a toothpick, I used a fish bone to remove leftovers from between my teeth.

Nothing goes to waste.

Cleaning is a bit uncomfortable, but it’s enough to bury it.

‘It’s time to move.’

I can’t relax too much either.

I’m not going to stay here forever, if I get lazy now, I’m done for.

‘Before that, the method.’

After a good breakfast, I began organizing the mana with the internal cultivation method.

I also remembered to recite the formula that HeavenlyDemon taught me.

It was somewhat poetic and hard to understand, but if you imagine the scene it becomes easier.

‘If the first one is already like this… how difficult will the second be?’

Don’t tell me that all of them together form one huge poem.

If that’s the case, memorizing it will be a nightmare.

‘Well, I have to do it anyway.’

Focusing, I regulated the mana inside my body with the method.

I don’t know if it was imagination, but I felt a stronger and more dominant energy than yesterday.

It wasn’t like a calm river, but like intense waves.

It’s not a bad thing.

Thanks to that strength, the circulation was much faster.

“……”

I finished practicing and slowly opened my eyes.

And the first thing I saw was the sloth’s relaxed face.

“Ahhh! You scared me!”

“……”

“Huff… you almost scared me to death.”

I let out a sigh.

It’s good that he doesn’t bother me, but having him right in front of me is scary.

‘And Wonmo…? He’s already asleep.’

Our little ball of fur was fast asleep.

Since he is a baby, it seems he only knows how to eat, sleep, and do his business.

Fortunately, that last part he does outside the cave.

Crawl… crawl…

When I got ready to move, the sloth climbed onto my back.

It was already a familiar situation, but suddenly I thought about his hygiene.

‘This guy hasn’t bathed.’

I’d better heat water first.

Otherwise, he might get sick.

AllFather said it.

He doesn’t have ticks, but he does have many insects.

He might even have fungi.

I need to wash him well, just like Wonmo.

‘I already finished the fish. The timing is perfect.’

I cleaned the container and filled it with water.

Now I just have to wait for it to heat up.

Then I’ll check the temperature.

Meanwhile, I started digging the place where I’ll put the barrier.

I’ll make a square shape using the cave entrance as a reference.

Thud! Thud!

‘Is it too easy to dig?’

I had already felt it when cutting trees, but digging cost me nothing.

The shovel should feel heavy, but that wasn’t the case.

It must all be thanks to the internal cultivation method.

I think I could do physical labor without any problem.

“……Am I already done?”

The problem is that it was too easy.

Not even 30 minutes had passed and I was already done.

All that was left was placing the barrier and covering it with dirt.

Some trees were in the way, but I’ll solve that by cutting them later.

Thud! Thud! Crack!

Even the tree cutting was finished in 30 minutes.

It was incredibly fast.

Before it felt like I was cutting wood, now it felt like I was destroying it.

That’s why the trees fell easily.

I just had to break the center and push with my foot.

I was surprised at how strong I had become so quickly.

‘Well, that’s better.’

I scratched my head while looking at the destroyed trees and shrugged.

I sold all the logs at the auction except one.

That one I’ll use as firewood.

And thinking about that, I remembered the hot water.

I feared it was boiling, but it was only steaming.

“Good. Now it’s your turn.”

“……”

Crawl… crawl…

The sloth got off my back, as if he understood.

I thought he would go into the water on his own.

But no.

He went toward the cave.

It seems he doesn’t want to bathe.

And that’s saying something, considering how slow he is.

“Hey, not that way. Come here.”

“……”

In the end, I had to carry him.

Or rather, I tried to.

Grab!

He clung to my arm as if he didn’t want to let go.

He was even trembling.

It seems he is scared.

That’s strange, considering he can catch arrows.

“……Hey.”

“……”

“Don’t you like bathing?”

There was no response.

He can’t speak.

But seeing that he didn’t move, it was obvious.

Even so, I can’t ignore hygiene.

I tried to put him in the water.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Every time I tried, he moved quickly over my body.

As if I were a tree, he slid everywhere.

And at an incredible speed.

As if entering the water would kill him.

“Ah, whatever! Do what you want! I’ll bathe myself!”

“……”

In the end I gave up.

And when I did, he started moving slowly.

“……Did you think I was serious?”

“?!”

It was a feint.

I took advantage of his carelessness and grabbed his arm.

I had him now.

Even if he had another free arm, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Splash!

Everything was a mistake.

With his free arm, he struck the container.

The container shattered into several pieces and the hot water spilled.

Yes, he could do something.

“……”

“……”

We stayed in silence looking at each other.

The sloth seemed to say with his eyes.

— And now what are you going to do?

Today I lost again.