Chapter 7: The Forest of the Four Seasons (2)

Title) Does anyone know who the most powerful god in this world is?
WildGrills

ㄴAnd why do you ask?

ㄴWildGrills) So I can curse him properly

ㄴHahaha

ㄴHahahaha

ㄴOpen declaration of divine blasphemy hahaha

ㄴNo wonder you fell into the Forest of the Four Seasons hahaha

ㄴThat’s divine punishment hahaha

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Blasphemy is bad!

I felt as if the little hope I was clinging to collapsed all at once.

I crossed my arms and lowered my gaze.

On the ground, all the compasses I had received from fixed-nick users were lined up.

The needles kept spinning nonstop, as if they were all broken.

They cannot all be defective.

Most likely, the problem is the place where I am.

‘Am I really in the Forest of the Four Seasons?’

I looked up and checked the gallery.

The rumor had already spread everything was full of stories about me.

Many said that if it were not the Forest of the Four Seasons, this phenomenon would be impossible, but others replied that then it would not make sense for the gallery to work.

Title) What if in the end WildGrills manipulated everything?

Could it be that this bastard broke all the compasses on purpose?

ㄴNot on purpose, deliberately

ㄴBut for it to be fake, the posts are way too tense

ㄴMad Dog, then the Guardian, then the Owlbear

ㄴLook at that lineup hahaha

ㄴOn top of that, the size was absurd, impossible that it’s staged

ㄴThe New Moon Spiritual Herb also looks real, check Heavenly Demon’s post

ㄴAt least he is not a scammer, even if he is half crazy

ㄴHaha

I wish it were all manipulation.

I sighed in frustration.

My mind was spinning, just like the compass needles.

I felt like I was going to go crazy.

I had no idea what to do now.

‘Even so, there is still hope.’

It is not one hundred percent confirmed that this is the Forest of the Four Seasons.

The world is enormous and there are many unknown regions.

It could be one of them.

Everyone describes the Forest of the Four Seasons as an inhuman hell.

But as someone who has always lived protected by civilization, I need to get out of here no matter what.

Standing still and doing nothing is worse than acting.

Title) Can someone explain the characteristics of the Forest of the Four Seasons?

WildGrills

What the title says

ㄴWhy do you want to know that?

ㄴWildGrills) To confirm if I am really there

ㄴBasically it has spring, summer, autumn and winter

ㄴMore precisely, all climates exist, they say even desert

ㄴWildGrills) What the hell is a desert doing in a forest? Wasn’t it a forest?

ㄴNo idea

ㄴExtra fact the Forest of the Four Seasons is the size of a small country

ㄴWildGrills) Totally useless information

ㄴI told you it was for reference hahaha

What a ridiculously absurd forest.

For now, the best thing is to verify it myself.

Going out is dangerous, but with the compass useless, staying also makes no sense.

I will use the cave as a base point and gradually expand the radius little by little.

‘I will also need paper and something to write with.’

I plan to draw a basic map.

Even if the compass does not work, it is better than nothing.

If I get lost along the way, I might never return.

I have to prepare for any scenario.

‘I will do everything that is in my hands.’

They say the most important thing for survival is the will to live.

There are too many people who, by falling into despair, end up doing nothing and die.

Even if danger is everywhere, you have to face it.

I looked toward the corner of the cave.

‘For now, there is no safer place than this…’

It is very likely that I will have to spend several days in this forest, so before thinking about escaping, I need to find water.

You can live three weeks without food, but without water you die in three days.

Even if the gallery can help, whatever is in my hands, I will do it myself.

‘It may be that when I am truly in danger, there will be no one to help me.’

I felt it when Mad Dog bit me.

That time I survived thanks to SwordTasteMaster’s goodwill.

Nothing guarantees that it will not happen again.

More likely, it probably will.

If I do not receive help in a critical situation, I will die.

‘Then I should build bonds with the fixed nicknames.’

But I do not know who they really are.

I reviewed the few I already had some connection with.

Heavenly Demon: clearly someone important

SwordTasteMaster: rich and a Swordmaster

DwarfPassingBy: a dwarf

For now, only that.

The ones who gave me a compass no idea who they are.

‘StarlightLady seems to be sick.’

Not mentally, but physically.

I say it because of her daily posts asking for full recovery.

She probably has some chronic illness.

The others I do not know.

The posts are too chaotic to draw clear conclusions.

Title) Butt revelation

PrincessChangu

(Photo of an emblem with a deer)

This is my butt

Haha did Changu lose today?

ㄴPrincessChangu) Ah, those sons of bitches scored two goals in extra time

ㄴHahaha

ㄴNo wonder so many mental cases appear

No.

This is too much.

I made an uncomfortable expression.

PrincessChangu is clearly obsessed with sports.

Most of her posts are about that.

[I want to cry. Why am I a fan of Changu?]

[Hehe, sons of bitches. They got eaten like idiots ]

[As always, Evers! I trusted you!]

[This is bullshit. Is that a team?]

[Ref bought! Ref bought! Ref bought!]

“……”

In an unknown gallery, there floated a terribly familiar scent.

Most sports tend to cause mental illness.

A flavor I know very well.

I myself was obsessed with soccer and baseball

until I developed stress-induced alopecia.

Then I reached enlightenment and cured myself.

‘If I want to become friends with this person…’

It is still too early.

I do not even know what sports exist in this world.

For now, I will leave the analysis of nicknames here and go out to explore before night falls.

Holding Heavenly Demon’s sword, I put several fasting pills into my mouth.

The bitterness exploded in my mouth as I chewed them.

To wash down the taste, I took a sip of water.

I do not know how long I will have to keep eating this.

‘Good. Preparations complete.’

Before leaving the cave, I made a post.

And just in case, I stored a handful of fasting pills in my pants pocket.

Title) Preparations ready

WildGrills

(Photo of the cave exit)

I am going to move to confirm whether this is the Forest of the Four Seasons.

ㄴIsn’t that too dangerous?

ㄴA little while ago you ran into an owlbear, right?;;

ㄴAnd besides the compass is weird, but exploring still seems like the best option

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Be careful.

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Good luck.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Wait a bit. I was going to give you a used shield.

ㄴWildGrills) Later, later. If it gets ugly, I will just run away anyway.

ㄴThe next day, there was no post from WildGrills……

ㄴㅠㅠ

ㄴWildGrills) Shh.

Everyone seemed to be cheering me on.

Well, most of those supporting me were fixed users; the rest were closer to not caring.

Some comments even crossed the line quite a bit, but they did not take long to be deleted.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Serious insults and humiliation toward someone who is giving their best are grounds for a ban.

ㄴWildGrills) Thanks, thanks;;

I do not know if this can be called “living while giving it your all.”

In the end, I just ended up here by accident.

Anyway, I had already posted what might be my last publication in the gallery, so I took a deep breath and stepped out of the cave.

As soon as I crossed the exit, a familiar landscape greeted me.

A forest with a warm climate.

‘I suppose that, all things considered, it is good luck that it is warm.’

If the climate were cold, the difficulty would have increased even more.

I looked around and started moving forward.

Not toward where the owlbear had been devouring the Mad Dog’s corpse, but in the exact opposite direction.

To avoid getting lost, I also made sure to mark the path from time to time with the sword.

‘Focus on the sounds.’

The chirping of insects.

The rustling of bushes moved by the wind.

The distant roar of some animal.

I sharpened my hearing so as not to miss anything.

The tension made my chest pound hard.

An environment where a single second of carelessness is enough to lose your life.

Right now, the only thing I could rely on was this sword.

Tszzzz—

An unsettling sound reached my ears, sharpened by tension.

It came from above.

I instantly raised my head.

I did not even have time to do it calmly.

“Ssshaaaaaa!”

A gigantic snake lunged at me with its jaws wide open.

Its venomous fangs gleamed menacingly.

I did not even have time to scream. I turned my face by reflex, and the jaws barely grazed past me.

Without hesitation, I brought the sword down against its body.

Thud!

“What…?”

Something unexpected happened.

It was HeavenlyDemon’s sword, the same one that had cleanly cut the Mad Dog.

But this time it only sank halfway in and got stuck.

That could mean only one thing.

That snake’s scales were absurdly hard.

“Kyaaaa!”

The viper writhed in pain and lunged at me again with its mouth open.

It was as big as an anaconda. If it bit me, it would be over.

I tried to move my right arm, but I froze.

Crunch!

“Guh?!”

The snake had wrapped its body around my right arm.

When did that happen?

Even so, just before it bit me, I managed to grab it by the neck with my hand.

Normally scales are slippery and unpleasant, but this one was different.

It felt like touching a steel plate.

Crunch!

“Aaagh!”

The pressure on my right arm increased brutally.

And my left hand was not free either.

If I let go, it would bite me without hesitation.

Holding this position was the best I could do.

‘What do I do…? Ah!’

In the middle of the chaos, something entered my field of vision.

The snake’s body, half cut.

Between the part that wrapped my arm and the head.

Without thinking, I lowered both arms as if I were skipping rope.

The half-cut section fell at my feet.

Now.

Crunch!

“Hraaaah!”

“Ssshaaaa!”

Stepping hard on the middle of the body, I pulled the cut part as if I were going to tear it apart completely.

The snake writhed in pain, shaking its head from side to side.

Venom splattered dangerously from its fangs.

My right arm could not hold out much longer either.

The pressure was so strong it felt like it wanted to crush my bones.

A game of who dies first.

And then I ran into an unexpected obstacle.

‘Damn it! Why are these scales so tough?!’

Not even Heavenly Demon’s sword could cut them easily.

It made sense that they were that hard.

But was I going to give up?

Not a chance.

If I wanted to live, I had to split this thing in two.

Criiik— Crriiik—

Little by little, the result of the struggle began to show.

The snake’s body started to tear from the point where the sword was embedded.

I used all the strength I had left, even bracing myself with my feet.

Criiik— Craaack—

Finally, the fight ended.

The snake’s body split in two.

Upon losing connection with the head, the strength of the body that held me disappeared at once.

I shook my right arm and, without wasting time, stabbed the head.

Splat!

Heavenly Demon’s sword sank fully into its head.

Even so, the snake kept writhing.

I collapsed onto the ground, panting, without pulling out the sword just in case.

I had heard that some snakes keep moving even after dying.

And it was true.

Even with the sword piercing its head and pinned to the ground, it kept convulsing.

Monstrous resilience.

Ugh… ugh…

I looked at my right arm, which throbbed with pain.

The mark from the constriction was clearly visible, along with a dark bruise.

If the bone was not broken, it could be considered a minor injury.

‘But… what the hell are those scales made of?’

If even Heavenly Demon’s sword could barely pierce them.

I took a photo and uploaded it to the gallery.

I planned to rest about thirty seconds before moving on.

Title) Even the snakes here are fucking huge

WildGrills (photo of the snake’s head) (photo of the separated body)

I almost died. It did not cut in one strike and it scared the hell out of me.

ㄴThat’s fucking disgusting;;; is that thing venomous?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes. It tried to kill me with its fangs and then wrapped around my arm. I thought it was going to break it.

ㄴYou split the Mad Dog in two and this thing did not cut in one? How did you kill it?

ㄴWildGrills) I tore off the part that was already cut. But it was extremely tough.

ㄴThat’s scary…

ㄴIt looks like a steel-scale snake.

ㄴIf it’s real, that’s worth a fortune, right?

ㄴYes, the venom and the scales must be very expensive.

So it was called a steel-scale snake.

A name that suited it perfectly.

I closed the gallery. It was no longer worth reading more.

Because of its size, taking it back to the cave was impossible.

It was better to upload it directly to the auction house.

Thinking about the Mad Dog, I did not hesitate.

I entered the auction.

There was everything from normal items to completely absurd things, like elf underwear or used socks.

The world is big, and it is full of idiots and perverts.

I chuckled quietly.

The auction allowed you to upload items freely, unlike direct trade.

‘The commission… 40%?!’

No wonder they said it was murderous.

Even so, because of the advantage of ignoring intermediaries, people used it a lot.

I registered the snake’s body under the name “Freshly hunted snake” with a minimum price of 5 gold.

As long as it sold, it was already profit.

‘Fortunately, the registration fee is not that high.’

Thanks to a small initial boost from the gallery, I did not lack money for that.

[Postscript: The commission may vary depending on the weight.]

I did not care.

After completing the registration, the body disappeared.

Only the head remained, still moving, so I could not sell it.

The best option was to cover it with dirt.

‘What a harsh start.’

While rubbing my aching arm, I kept walking, praying nothing else would happen.

Then.

Splash—

The sound of flowing water.

A river.

Water was vital for survival.

I hurried toward the sound.

With water I could drink and by following the river, maybe get out of the forest.

That was what I thought.

“…What is this?”

On the other side of the stream there was a desert.

A reddish desert stretching as far as the eye could see.

I was in a forest.

And across the stream there was a desert?

I felt common sense shatter.

I stood blank for a moment before entering the gallery.

Title) Hey, look at this

WildGrills (photo of the forest and the stream)

On this side there is forest and river.

(photo of the desert on the other side)

And on the other side desert. Does that seem normal to you?

(video showing forest, stream and desert)

Where the hell am I?

Are you really not curious?

ㄴWow. This is incredible.

ㄴSo it really was the Forest of the Four Seasons?

ㄴHow are you still using the gallery?

ㄴHahaha this is pure cinema

ㄴSo it was true then

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) It is a beautiful place.

ㄴWildGrills) Master?

ㄴIt seems Heavenly Demon does not understand anything hahaha

ㄴSuch an old-man vibe

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Could it be that you are hallucinating?

ㄴWildGrills) I have not drunk alcohol in a while.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Drink again. That way it will pass.

ㄴHahahaha

ㄴThey say poison is fought with poison.

None of the comments were helpful.

I sighed, exhausted.

“Ha…”

My current state could be summed up in one word.

“Shit.”