Chapter 34: Sub-moderator (1)

After adding another defeat against the sloth, I finished putting everything in order.

Although the iron pot is a pity, there is plenty in the auction house, so restocking is not difficult.

Besides, I sold the owlbear corpse and the logs, so financially I am doing quite well.

On top of that, I recently listed the internal core, so tomorrow I should be even more loaded.

‘How much will the internal core be worth?’

HeavenlyDemon said that it is difficult to put a price on it.

For that same reason, there is a possibility that they value it lower than it should be.

After all, the internal core is a rare elixir.

If there are already posts saying they get scammed in the auction house, imagine with something like this.

Luckily, I have built up a certain reputation so far, otherwise they could accuse me of being a scammer and I would have no way to defend myself.

‘Besides, I haven’t even checked the effect directly.’

I did not get the effect from the internal core, but from eating the fish.

And not even that is certain, because I am just starting with mana and internal power.

HeavenlyDemon and other users with fixed nicknames have knowledge, but they are not here with me.

And since phenomena are happening in my body that even they do not know, it is difficult to draw a conclusion.

‘But that it has an effect, that much is certain.’

In less than a day, my strength and endurance increased enormously.

Even simple physical work like cutting or digging I finished with ease.

I do not know the exact reason, but I became stronger in that process. Of that I am sure.

‘I still have time, so I should start exploring the surroundings.’

The base is already repaired, all that remains is to receive the barrier from DwarfPassingBy.

Before that, I will decide where to start exploring.

I entered the cave.

Inside, I saw Wonmo fast asleep in his nap.

How can he be so adorable even while sleeping?

I have to upload this as a photo.

Title) Round fluff ball

WildGrills

(Photo of Wonmo curled up sleeping)

(Video of Wonmo sleeping deeply)

Seriously, every time I look at him I feel my mind calm down. How can he be so cute?

ㄴHey… he really is adorable;;

ㄴIf he stays cute when he grows up, I admit it haha

ㄴDon’t animals grow fast?

ㄴNormally in a year they are already fully grown

ㄴWildGrills) Hey, bastards. Do you want me to stay here for a year?

ㄴAnd do you think you can get out of the Forest of the Four Seasons? Haha

ㄴWildGrills) I will have to try. I am going to start exploring.

ㄴAre you going to leave Wonmo alone? What if he gets attacked?

That is true too.

It is very dangerous to leave Wonmo alone and go exploring.

I would like to take him with me, but his combat ability is lower than mine.

Last time at the river the sloth also appeared suddenly.

Luckily I returned quickly and the sloth was not hostile either.

‘Should I take Wonmo?’

Or there is another option.

Leave the sloth living in the cave.

In fact, that is the best option.

Although that would mean I would be in greater danger.

Last time, when I almost died because of the chameleon snake, it was the sloth that saved me.

It has overwhelming visual sharpness and agility, so it would also be useful for exploring.

‘What a dilemma…’

Do I leave Wonmo and go out to explore?

Or do I leave the sloth here?

After thinking for a while, I spoke to the one hanging on my back.

“Sloth.”

“….?”

He tilts his head slowly.

“You are going to guard the cave.”

“……”

“If you guard it well until I come back, I will give you fasting pills.”

Hearing that, he slowly got off my back.

He definitely understands what I say.

It is incredible.

It is not that I am weird, clearly the weird one is the sloth.

Wonmo also understands me, but better to ignore that for now.

These doubts get solved when there is time, not when what matters is surviving.

“When Wonmo wakes up, tell him I went out. Understood?”

Nod.

With such a reliable guardian, all that remains is to prepare for exploring.

As always, HeavenlyDemon’s sword and the golden shield.

I also put on clean clothes, the ones I washed when I bathed Wonmo.

‘The long clothes DemonPrincess said she would give me later.’

I do not know how long it will take, but surely it will be fast.

She even offered me high-quality uniform-type clothes without hesitation.

Just in case, I brought elixir and fasting pills.

Ready to leave.

‘Today I will go this way.’

I have been exploring little by little in all directions from the cave.

To the northeast there is a river with golden frogs.

To the northwest, an area of adult mandrakes.

I do not have a compass, so it is only intuition.

So this time I will go toward what seems to be the west.

‘I must return before noon.’

After exploring, I will receive the barrier from DwarfPassingBy and reinforce the base.

My physical ability has increased brutally in less than a week.

Physical work is no longer difficult.

Soon, exploring will be my main activity.

“I’m leaving. Guard the house well.”

“……”

When I went out, the sloth slowly waved his hand.

As if saying “come back safe.”

He looks less and less like an animal and more like a person.

Chirp chirp—

An unknown path, different from the river or the mandrakes.

The sound of insects filled the atmosphere and increased the tension.

So as not to get lost, I left marks as I moved forward.

‘I cannot trust only what I see.’

Because of the chameleon snake, I cannot lower my guard.

I struck trees with the back of the sword, moved bushes, all carefully.

Moving forward is slow, but safe.

And even if I have elixir, I must save it.

“Hm?”

As I moved forward, I stepped on something.

It was black, I thought it was charcoal.

But there were flies.

‘It is shit.’

Animal excrement.

In civilization it would just be something dirty.

In nature it is different.

Animals mark territory with that.

“This is my territory. Enter and die.”

‘From the flies, it seems old, could it be from an owlbear?’

I am not an expert, but I guessed so.

Wonmo’s is the same, only the size changes.

Even so, better to ask in the gallery.

‘I should put a warning…’

They could ban me.

Title) Something graphic, whose is this?

WildGrills

(Photo of the excrement)

I found it while exploring. Does anyone know what animal it is from?

If it is from an owlbear I keep going, if not, I will think about it.

ㄴThat’s disgusting, damn

ㄴHe really dropped a huge shit haha

ㄴYou make rice with that and that’s it haha

ㄴBlocked, disgusting

ㄴWildGrills) Forget the shit, is it from an owlbear?

ㄴI think so, only they make something that black

ㄴBears in general do that

ㄴAllFather) It is owlbear excrement. From the size, probably from the one you hunted before.

As always, AllFather, the only intelligent one among idiots.

If he says so, I can trust it.

I thanked him and continued.

Just in case, I deleted the post.

The moderator might ban me.

He is the type who follows strict rules.

‘Curious that HeavenlyDemon did not comment…’

She must find it disgusting too.

With that confirmed, I can continue exploring.

‘Oh, are those raspberries?’

I found some red fruits that look delicious.

But this is the Forest of the Four Seasons.

A place where even grass can be poisonous.

I already suffered before because of toxic plants, so better to ask.

I do not want to die from eating something without thinking.

Title) Can this be eaten?

WildGrills

(Photo of raspberry-like fruit)

It looks delicious, but can it be eaten?

ㄴAren’t those raspberries?

ㄴDo raspberries also grow in the forest?

ㄴNormally raspberries are round, why are those so elongated?

ㄴLet’s test them. Eat them and give us your opinion.

ㄴWildGrills) I do not trust what you people say.

ㄴThen why do you ask?

ㄴWildGrills) Give a proper explanation.

ㄴAllFather) Do not eat it. It is poisonous aro, a fruit that is even used for suicide. It contains a potent poison.

ㄴWildGrills) Thank you…

ㄴAllFather) Raspberries are rounded, so it will be easy to tell them apart.

ㄴYou almost really died lol

ㄴWhat a waste

ㄴThey should ban you seriously

That is why I trust AllFather.

He explains everything in detail, as if he were an expert in everything.

I looked at the fruit that looked like raspberry, the poisonous aro, and crushed it into pieces.

It was a kind of mark.

A sign that I had already passed that way.

Every little detail like that is important.

‘Should I buy paint?’

It is not a bad idea.

It could be useful when I go farther away.

I kept moving through the forest, pushing aside trees and undergrowth.

Without forgetting to be careful not to get lost.

After walking for quite a while, I found something that could serve as a reference.

“Wow… it’s huge.”

I raised my head, surprised.

It was a view that left you speechless.

Because of the mushroom in front of me.

It was not a normal mushroom.

It was much bigger than me.

Not even giant was enough.

It was a colossal mushroom.

‘It looks like a matsutake…’

From now on, I should use this mushroom as a reference point.

Explore the surroundings taking this as the center.

‘Why is there so much space around it?’

Before approaching, I observed the environment.

It is strange that it is completely alone.

Maybe it absorbs nutrients from other plants.

First I had to identify it, so I uploaded a post.

Title) I found a huge mushroom

WildGrills

(Photo of the giant mushroom)

It is bigger than me. Compare it with the tree next to it.

Does anyone know what it is?

ㄴWow, it is the size of mine

ㄴWhat the hell are you saying, show it

ㄴShut up, you sick freak

ㄴAllFather) That mushroom… it would be better if you are careful. It could be a mushroom man.

ㄴWildGrills) Mushroom man?

ㄴAllFather) Yes. A creature that combines monster and mushroom. Normally they do not grow that big, but this is the Forest of the Four Seasons.

ㄴWildGrills) Is it strong?

ㄴAllFather) Not particularly. But it releases spores, so you will need fire.

Fire?

I nodded.

I have an ignition stone that HeavenlyDemon gave me, but there is no need to provoke it.

I am not going to eat it, so it is not worth spending energy.

Just when I was about to go around it…

“Hm?”

Behind the mushroom there was a cave.

The mushroom completely blocked the entrance.

What could be inside?

‘It is not like it is the guardian of a dungeon…’

Although I was curious, my life is worth more.

So I decided to ignore it.

Rumble—

But the world did not leave me alone.

The mushroom began to vibrate violently.

As if it was about to pull itself out of the ground.

‘Ah… damn it.’

I stepped back little by little.

I do not have fire, but at least I will measure its strength before running away.

Crack! Crack!

The ground split open and showed its true form.

AllFather said that mushroom men have large bodies and short limbs.

“Kuuk.”

But this was not like that.

It had long arms and legs like a human.

And also, muscular like a bodybuilder.

The body was a mushroom, but the limbs were human.

It was grotesque.

More than strange, it was repulsive.

‘…Is that a face?’

It even had narrow eyes.

It definitely looked like a mushroom man.

It reminded me that I am in a fantasy world.

But a dark fantasy one.

“Kuuk!”

The mushroom man approached slowly.

It did not look strong…

No.

It looked incredibly strong.

Who would see those muscles and say otherwise?

Boom!

Suddenly it accelerated.

It closed the distance in an instant.

That was fine.

I could react.

It was slower than the sloth.

‘I will block one hit.’

Its right fist came straight to my abdomen.

I raised the golden shield.

With my current strength, I should be able to withstand it.

“Kuooh!”

BOOOOM!

“Guh?!”

The impact sent me flying backward.

***

‘Damn… seriously…’

I took refuge in the cave.

I looked at the shield.

It had a perfectly marked fist imprint.

Good thing I had the shield.

If not, I would have died in one hit.

I ran without looking back.

‘What kind of mushroom man throws punches like that?’

I knew it was strong, but not that much.

Without a shield, it would have pierced my abdomen.

I uploaded a post.

Title) A mushroom man hit me

WildGrills

(Photo of the shield with the mark)

That bastard threw a punch and left the shield like this.

Good thing I had it, otherwise I would be dead;;

ㄴLook at that mark;; without a shield it would have opened your stomach

ㄴIs it that strong? What does it look like?

ㄴWildGrills) It has ridiculous muscles

ㄴI cannot imagine it, upload photo

ㄴWildGrills) (Photo of the muscular mushroom man)

ㄴHaha what is that

ㄴIt is more buff than me

ㄴIt looks brutal

ㄴIs that a mushroom man?

ㄴSunForEver) What did you do to my shield? That is high quality

ㄴWildGrills) Without that I would be dead. Thank you, really

ㄴSunForEver) It is nothing. But it is surprising. What did you face?

ㄴWildGrills) A mushroom

ㄴSunForEver) What a strange world

ㄴAllFather) Interesting. Any other characteristic?

ㄴWildGrills) No. Only that it is very strong

ㄴAllFather) Hmm I do not know. I have no idea what this is

Not even AllFather knew.

For everyone, this was out of the ordinary.

That is how absurd the Forest of the Four Seasons is.

‘Why was it blocking the cave?’

It seemed like a guardian.

But it was too strong.

I cannot face it directly.

I will need another method.

Then I saw a comment.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Interesting. A blow capable of deforming a golden shield. Even comparable to me.

It was HeavenlyDemon.

But something was different.

ㄴWildGrills) Hello. HeavenlyDemon… is that really you?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Yes it is. Why do you ask?

ㄴWhy is she blue?

ㄴDid she turn blue?

ㄴHey, why is she blue?

Everyone noticed it.

Next to her name there was a blue badge.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Ah, I forgot. From now on, call me sub-moderator.

HeavenlyDemon had become a sub-moderator.