Chapter 52: Night Raid (1)

The crabs I brought, I ate them together with my animal companions.

Maybe because we didn’t steam them but grilled them, even with the shell they tasted good.

Especially thanks to Wonmo acting as a “cleaner,” almost nothing was left to throw away.

And even if something had been left over, I would have crushed it and thrown it into the river.

“Ahh… I’m full.”

“Kyuu.”

“……”

With full stomachs, both I and they lay completely sprawled out.

Wonmo touched his swollen belly while lying on his back, and the sloth lay face down.

One human and two animals, we all ate just enough, so moving wasn’t impossible but it felt bothersome.

‘Wonmo really ate a lot.’

I looked at Wonmo lying on the ground. His puffed-up belly was adorable.

I poked his stomach and he squirmed slightly.

Really, every one of his movements was adorable.

“Wonmo, don’t fall asleep here. Go inside the cave.”

“Kyuu…”

He says he’s so full he can’t move.

Well, he even ate the shell, so it’s understandable.

I carefully picked him up and carried him inside the cave.

As soon as I laid him on the mat, he stretched out like a star and started taking a nap.

What a comfortable life.

‘Won’t he turn into a pig at this rate?’

He’s in a growth stage, so everything he eats will go to his body, but it still worries me.

Maybe not full exploration, but having him start moving around with me nearby wouldn’t be a bad idea.

I also need to teach him that outside is dangerous.

‘Though maybe he already knows from following his mother?’

It’s strange to think that I myself sent that mother to the other world.

If Wonmo finds out someday, will he see me as his mother’s enemy?

“Mom’s killer?!” and attack me—I hope not.

I stopped thinking nonsense and finished cleaning up.

I planned to use the charcoal left from the firewood to wash the clothes.

‘Charcoal is incredible.’

It works as soap.

It works as deodorant.

It even gives aroma when cooking.

It lacks nothing.

If I had to name a downside, it’s that heat can attract snakes.

But since I’m already using repellent, it’s not a problem.

Thump! Thump!

I opened the hose and started washing the clothes.

After rolling around so much, muddy water came out.

The washing stick I bought at the auction. It’s perfect for beating clothes.

When I finished, I hung them on an improvised clothesline.

Two branches stuck into the ground and a rope between them, and done.

‘I even feel adapted now.’

I never thought about living in nature, but here I am, surviving quite well.

With the gallery, I don’t get bored, and with Wonmo and the sloth, I don’t feel lonely.

When I have free time, I practice the internal circulation method.

Ironically, it’s quite a busy life.

‘I’m getting too comfortable.’

But that doesn’t mean I want to stay here.

This place is too dangerous.

You never know when a dangerous creature will appear.

Especially that giant crab from the lake.

Even though it was far away, it made me feel completely helpless.

‘Better not go to the lake for a while. And if I go, just take crabs and return.’

It’s a place full of giant crabs.

It’s best to gather what I’ll give the dwarf and come back.

If several appear well, I’ll have to run for my life.

‘I should mark reference points along the way. Like where the lower course of the river begins.’

The best thing is to use the river as a guide.

The compass doesn’t work in this forest.

Or I could make my own markers.

It’ll be extra work, but getting lost here is a death sentence.

If I get lost, the probability of survival drops into the abyss.

I found this cave by pure luck, and it had an owner.

Only after killing it did it become mine.

Finding another like it would be difficult.

‘First, mark the map.’

I drew the river and marked the lake at the end.

I don’t know how big it is, but I drew it as small as possible.

After all, the Forest of Four Seasons is as large as a small country.

‘Map ready, now the internal circulation method.’

Before starting, I checked HeavenlyDemon’s messages.

They weren’t greetings, but teachings.

The fundamentals of the method.

I reread them every time I practice.

‘Even if it’s in the gallery, it’s better to learn from someone reliable.’

The basics are everywhere, but they’re not objective.

Everyone adds their own tricks.

On the other hand, HeavenlyDemon’s teachings are simple and direct.

They have difficult terms, but they are correct.

‘The important thing is to feel how mana, or internal energy, flows through the main meridians.’

It’s not enough to circulate energy without thinking.

I began to practice slowly.

Understanding the principle of the method.

Accepting the flow naturally.

Breathing without forcing the circulation.

And achieving that even normal breathing has the same effect.

HeavenlyDemon recommended progressing little by little through those three stages.

And it makes sense.

‘The second stage is already difficult.’

I still feel breathing and circulation as separate things.

She said I had to achieve doing both at the same time, and unconsciously.

That with enough effort, even someone like me could achieve it.

So as not to disappoint her, I focused completely every time I practiced.

“Fuuu…”

But I’m not a genius.

I’m not even from this world.

No matter how much I control my breathing, I don’t progress much.

‘Would breathing improve if I increase lung capacity?’

It makes sense.

But here I can only do physical exercise, and even that is limited.

Aerobic exercise?

Going out to run here is basically getting lost.

So I can only breathe deeply and release the air slowly.

‘That’s what Swordmaster said.’

That kind of useful advice mostly comes from Swordmaster.

Lengthening the breath instead of making it short.

Use of aura, etc.

Thanks to HeavenlyDemon and Swordmaster, I’m improving little by little.

Slow like a turtle, but there’s no rush.

‘I have to go install the trap. And also catch golden frogs.’

Since I had already finished the breathing method, it was time to work.

I slung the crossbow on my back and called the sloth.

“Hey. Stop lying around and get on.”

“……”

At my command, he slowly climbed onto my back.

He adjusted himself so as not to interfere with the crossbow.

All that was left was to carry the trap.

“Why is this so big?”

Every time I see it I think—it’s huge.

Two or three of the fish I had caught before could easily fit inside.

Just thinking about installing it gave me a headache, but there was no other option.

This way I can secure food without worrying in the future.

From now on, the pills will be only for the sloth.

Shhhhhh—

Upon reaching the river, a heavy feeling came over me.

How long will it take me to install this?

And on top of that, there’s the threat of the golden frogs.

First, I had to eliminate that danger.

“Hey, get down. Let’s get ready.”

“……”

The sloth slowly got down.

I put my hand in the water to lure the golden frogs.

Splash! Splash!

“Ribbit.”

“Ribbit, ribbit.”

Just as expected, a group of golden frogs jumped out of the water.

There was only one thing left to do.

Thud!

While the sloth drew their attention, I fired the crossbow.

The first time was difficult, but after that it became easy.

The hunt was simple.

‘He really is incredible.’

The sloth’s evasion is absurd.

The poison of those frogs kills with a single hit, and he still dodges it head-on.

I’m too much of a coward to do something like that.

Only he can.

Splash! Splash!

Shortly after, the frogs returned to the river.

Unlike before, they no longer fired poison continuously.

It seems it’s not infinite, but works on a recharge basis.

‘They say those animals absorb poison from other beings.’

If they don’t eat poisonous creatures, they would just be normal frogs.

Anyway, with the frogs out of the way, all that remained was to install the trap.

I had to widen the hose area a bit and place it there.

I had hunted beforehand because I was definitely going to have to put my feet in the water.

Since I was wearing sandal-type footwear, I had no problem stepping in.

‘I hope a giant fish doesn’t come and swallow me…’

I kept nervously looking around.

This place is far too dangerous to lower my guard.

Even so, no giant fish came to devour me.

Once the trap was installed, I immediately initiated a trade with AllFather.

He was online, so he replied instantly.

[WildGrills: Hello, AllFather. I caught frogs, do you want them? The poison sac is intact.]

[AllFather: Oh. Thank you very much. I think I can give you the medicine tomorrow.]

[WildGrills: Thank you. But I wanted to ask something, may I?]

[AllFather: Ask whenever you like. What do you want to know?]

[WildGrills: The golden frogs shoot poison and then retreat. Does it work on a recharge system?]

[AllFather: Yes. When the poison sac is emptied, they lose their attack method. To recharge, they must consume something poisonous.]

Just as I thought.

That means there is something around here with quite dangerous venom.

Probably poisonous insects.

‘I have to keep using repellent.’

I finished the exchange with AllFather and returned to the cave.

Nothing else happened along the way.

When I got back, I entered the gallery to check the time.

It had taken quite a while to install the trap, so it was already past 3.

‘I’ll train with the sword until night, and dinner will be another pill.’

I should have brought another crab.

A bit of regret, but it’s done.

And I don’t want to go back to the lake either.

I won’t return until I have new shoes.

That way I’ll avoid accidents.

[Please help me. I opened my eyes and I’m in the Forest of Four Seasons.]

“Huh?”

While browsing the gallery, I saw a title impossible to ignore.

Someone claimed to have fallen into the forest.

I entered quickly.

Title) Please help me. I opened my eyes and I’m in the Forest of Four Seasons.

Public bath on Menesil Street, Duchy of Danos, third men’s stall. Please. There’s no paper.

ㄴLMAO what bait, I rushed in as soon as I saw it

ㄴMe too lol I thought it was the second Grills

ㄴNormally I’d ignore it, but because of Grills I came in

ㄴAh right, in the Forest of Four Seasons the gallery doesn’t even work lol

ㄴThanks to that unknown hero I survived. For me, that bathroom was the Forest of Four Seasons

ㄴConfirmed, that really is the forest lol

ㄴNo way to deny it fr

ㄴNot even Grills could argue that lol

“……”

Yeah.

As long as you’ve gotten out of the Forest of Four Seasons, everything’s fine.

***

The night in the forest is silent.

The sound of insects chirping and the distant howling of wolves aside from that, it is perfect for closing your eyes.

At the same time, the night in the forest is extremely dangerous.

A darkness where you can’t see even a step ahead, and beasts that can appear from anywhere.

In nature, herbivores can’t even sleep properly.

They desperately cling to life to avoid the death that lurks.

Crack—

The sound of a branch being stepped on.

And with that sound, the constant chirping of insects stopped abruptly.

It was a very subtle change, but even the insects knew.

A dangerous predator was walking.

And that predator was heading toward a cave where the campfire was about to go out.

Even a small campfire, in the middle of that absolute darkness, was like sunlight.

That it would attract the attention of a beast was nothing strange.

“Grr…”

The growl of a beast that had entered its territory.

It was low, almost imperceptible but there was a creature that reacted immediately.

It was not the human deeply asleep.

Nor the small owlbear that still needed protection.

“……”

It was the sloth, a creature that could be devoured at any moment.

The sloth slowly opened his eyes.

He had sensed a presence outside and it was not normal.

The sloth not the slow sloth slowly got up.

Crack—

“……”

This time he heard it clearly.

The sound of a branch breaking.

The sloth turned his head.

The human was still sleeping deeply.

Without any sign of alertness.

He found it pathetic, but still he was his companion.

So he raised his arm to wake him.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Grills woke up startled after receiving a direct hit to the face.

Even if he was deeply asleep, the pain woke him up.

He sat up with his mind still hazy.

“W-what? What happened?”

“……”

The sloth silently pointed toward the cave entrance.

Following that direction, Grills turned his head, still confused.

“Grrr…”

“……”

What was that sound?

Grills was stunned.

But it didn’t take long for him to realize.

It was a beast and a dangerous one.

‘Damn it…!’

He cursed inwardly as he quickly equipped himself.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

That was the only thought in his mind.

Once half-prepared, he slowly stepped out of the cave.

The sloth climbed onto his back, ready to fight at any moment.

And then, something appeared in his field of vision.

Flash—

In the middle of the absolute darkness, a pair of lights shone with a sinister intent.