Chapter 77: The Pleasure of Living (3)

Since I finished maintaining Sloth’s claws, I went to look for Wonmo.

But seeing him sleeping so deeply, I felt bad about waking him up.

Besides, he was still a baby, so he probably didn’t need claw maintenance yet.

‘I already finished everything I had to do…’

I checked the time.

It was currently 4 in the afternoon.

Before long, it would be time for dinner.

Until then, I could spend my time carefully reading Swordmaster’s posts.

If I studied them properly and practiced a little too, it would probably already be dinner time.

‘When will my fundamentals improve?’

The fight against the Guardian made me realize something very clearly.

I’m surviving purely thanks to the power of my items.

If I hadn’t had Heavenly Demon’s sword, I never would’ve been able to pierce the Guardian’s core.

I’m not one of those manga swordsmen capable of splitting rocks barehanded.

But this is a fantasy world.

Maybe some people really can cut stone without using mana.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I wrote a post in the gallery.

Title) Is it possible to cut stone with a sword without using mana?

WildGrills

Normally mana strengthens the body.

Then if you don’t have mana, are you basically just a normal person?

A normal person can’t cut stone or split metal with a sword, right?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) It depends on the situation. If the dantian is completely destroyed, then yes, you would be no different from a normal person. But as long as the dantian remains intact, it’s possible to exert great strength even in a normal state.

ㄴWildGrills) But even then, proper technique is still necessary, right?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Of course. Strength without technique only ends up dispersing. Technique exists to concentrate power into a single point.

ㄴWildGrills) Then can you do it, Heavenly Demon?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Though I still haven’t perfected it, I can cut my enemies using only intent. That is called the mental sword.

ㄴSwordmaster) Ignore that last part from that old murim woman. Anyway, someone who reaches a certain level can probably do it because even their bare body becomes a lethal weapon.

ㄴWildGrills) And what would be the standard for considering someone that strong?

ㄴSwordmaster) A level where you can use Aura Blade unconsciously. A level where mana even affects the body and slows aging.

ㄴWildGrills) Don’t tell me that’s already Swordmaster level.

ㄴSwordmaster) Excluding mass-produced Swordmasters.

ㄴWhat do you mean by “mass-produced”? Hahaha. A Swordmaster is still a Swordmaster.

ㄴThis is all Ash’s fault. That woman made people call the other Swordmasters “mass-produced” JAJA.

ㄴWe’re talking about people responsible for an entire country’s military power and they still get called mass-produced hahaha.

ㄴIf they were that common, anyone could become one;;

ㄴWildGrills) So it’s impossible with just basic fundamentals in the end?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Considering your talent, it is not impossible. However, since you have no master to guide you, it will probably take quite a long time.

ㄴSwordmaster) Even so, if you keep constantly reading my posts, you’ll at least be able to master the fundamentals. That much I can guarantee.

ㄴWildGrills) So growing rapidly in the short term is impossible after all.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Not necessarily. Martial artists become stronger the more they fight. You are trapped in a deadly land, so as long as you survive the crises, you will advance quickly.

ㄴSwordmaster) Heavenly Demon, that sounded more like “go and die” than advice;;

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Everything depends on how it’s said. I honestly believe he will survive until the end.

ㄴWildGrills) Uh… well, I guess that counts as support. Thanks.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) There’s also another way to become strong quickly!

ㄴWildGrills) Which one?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Believe in the Goddess! In Aris, the Goddess of War and Wisdom!

ㄴWildGrills) I hate gods.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) W-What!? How can you say something so blasphemous?! Why do you hate them?!

ㄴWildGrills) I was living peacefully and my parents died in an accident. After that I desperately struggled to keep living and ended up falling into the Four Seasons Forest. Obviously I want to curse them.

ㄴYou just keep on blaspheming;;

ㄴWhat a miserable life, damn. How can someone live like that? Hahaha.

ㄴModerator, are you a paladin or something?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Something like that! Though I was temporarily expelled because of a small misunderstanding!

A god.

The moderator’s words left me thinking.

I don’t follow any particular religion.

But I’m not an atheist either.

Even before suddenly falling into the Four Seasons Forest, I did believe in the existence of gods.

Because that way I could insult them freely.

If I was going to hate someone, it was better to hate a god than a person.

And if they punished me for insulting them? Then I’d insult them even more for being so sensitive.

‘If nobody’s watching, people even insult the king.’

Believing in gods so I could hate them.

It was quite an ironic idea.

But thanks to that mindset, I was still stubbornly surviving, so it wasn’t so bad.

‘For now, the only answer is training.’

I feel like my mana is constantly increasing, but I can’t grasp even the slightest clue about how to use Aura Blade.

Rather, it feels like I have too much mana and can’t control it properly.

I guess that’s because I’m someone who came from Earth.

If my origin is different, then maybe the training method should also be different.

From the beginning, the mere fact that I could feel mana was already almost a miracle.

‘…This is going to take a long time.’

If I want to escape the Four Seasons Forest, I need to become stronger.

But to reach that level, I at least need to learn how to use Aura Blade.

And learning Aura Blade could take an incredibly long time.

Therefore, I’ll have to assume that I’ll be living in the Four Seasons Forest for a very long time.

‘As long as I manage to escape someday, that’s enough.’

I made that promise to myself while closing the gallery.

It seemed the moderator was still saying something to me, but I calmly ignored it.

That blaspheming was wrong, that no matter how hard life was I shouldn’t insult the gods, and so on.

Judging by the way he spoke, he seemed like a very devout believer. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought up the topic.

‘As if the gods are going to feed me.’

Besides, in this world there are far more things to worry about before worrying about gods.

Ah, though that doesn’t mean I despise religious people.

In fact, I consider sincere believers to be some of the most admirable people there are.

They are people full of sacrifice and devotion, so how could I hate them?

‘It’s not that I hate people.’

My parents were good people, and the people helping me now are too.

Of course, every now and then some bastard appears, but I’m not someone who gets trampled on easily either.

‘Thinking about it that way, the gallery is strange too.’

I know all too well the atrocities people can commit under the veil of anonymity.

Where I used to live, you could kill people not with weapons, but with words.

And yet, even though the gallery is full of desires and personal interests, there are relatively few personal attacks.

Sometimes some strange lady appears, but the other races simply let it slide. Only the dwarves react.

It’s similar with the beastkins.

When something is that extreme, it can only be seen as a difference in tastes.

‘I want to go home.’

I discreetly looked at the cave wall.

Tomorrow would already be the tenth day.

I feel like I haven’t done much, but time flew by.

I still haven’t explored very much, and on top of that beasts keep attacking me constantly, so my head hurts.

‘Where should I go tomorrow?’

I turned my gaze to the side.

There was a large hand-drawn map spread across a white sheet.

The river that was practically my lifeline.

The lakeshore connected to that river.

The area inhabited by the adult mandrakes.

The mushroom cave.

The orichalcum cave and the rest.

Looking at it this way, I really had explored quite a lot of places.

Though I discovered one of them purely by chance while searching for Wonmo after he ran away.

‘If I follow the river downstream, it all ends at the lake, so I should probably start from the source.’

I looked at the map while thinking carefully.

It was time to explore in a more organized way.

If I was going to stay here for a long time, it would be best to examine everything thoroughly.

I would also need to place landmarks so I wouldn’t get lost.

Moving around the lake was impossible.

If one of those giant crabs appeared, I’d die.

‘Or maybe I should follow the river upstream?’

That wasn’t a bad idea either.

A river didn’t necessarily have to be a single stream.

Even in the upper part of the river, it could split into two or even several branches.

‘I should check what lies at the end of each river.’

Downstream was the lake.

But I didn’t know what was upstream.

It was better to follow a clear route rather than wandering around aimlessly.

After more or less organizing tomorrow’s plan, I checked the time.

It was almost five o’clock.

It was probably time to head up to the river and check whether any fish had fallen into the trap.

“I’m heading out for a moment.”

“…….”

I spoke to Sloth and left the cave.

As always, I placed the metal gate there just in case.

After properly equipping myself, I headed toward the river.

Just earlier today at noon, a pack of otters had appeared, so I needed to stay alert.

Splash. Splash.

“What? Three?”

When I checked the trap, it had caught no less than three fish.

One golden fish and two red fish.

It was hard to believe that was possible in such a short time.

‘Well, as long as it’s good, then better this way.’

The more food I had, the better.

Humming cheerfully, I lifted the trap.

While pulling it out, I carefully watched the surroundings in case something attacked me.

Maybe the otters had smelled the blood from the fight earlier and were coming back.

‘It’s better to return quickly.’

After collecting the trap, I ran back to the cave.

I even used mana because I was afraid something might chase me.

Once inside, I threw the fish into the metal container.

Since there were three fish, the container ended up completely full.

‘Tomorrow I can eat one for breakfast.’

If every day were like this.

No. What am I thinking?

What matters is escaping quickly.

I shook my head firmly.

‘Until I manage to escape.’

Yes. That mindset was much more appropriate.

I went back to the river to place the trap again and then started preparing dinner.

Wonmo, who had been napping, also seemed to notice that dinner time was approaching and slowly crawled out.

Watching him approach with those sleepy eyes was far too adorable.

It felt like my heart healed every time I saw him.

Sizzleee—

I gave one of the prepared fish to Wonmo and cooked the other one as usual.

Just a little salt and done, a delicious fish dish!

No matter how many times I eat it, I never get tired of it.

More than fish, it feels like eating premium beef.

‘Why does it taste better than tiger meat?’

Maybe because the tiger meat had been smoked.

After dinner, I started practicing the breathing method.

I also didn’t forget to take the medicine AllFather gave me.

“Come on, Wonmo. Catch it.”

“Kyuuu! Kyuu!”

After finishing everything, I started playing with Wonmo.

Basically, I tied a piece of cloth to a stick and moved it around.

I had seen many owners playing like this with their cats on YouTube.

Wonmo wasn’t a cat, but I heard games like this helped develop hunting skills.

Thunk!

“Kyua!”

“Ugh!”

Well, sometimes little accidents happened and we ended up crashing into each other, but I could handle it.

He was still a tiny baby.

Although he had grown since the first time I saw him, he was still a baby.

“Kyuuu! Kyuu!”

“Hehehe.”

I hugged Wonmo and rubbed against him before slowly letting him go.

I think I finally understand why people keep pets.

It felt like the loneliness became a little lighter.

‘I wonder what the gallery is doing.’

Outside, it was already beginning to get dark.

So I entered the gallery again.

As always, it was full of useless posts and nonsense.

It was probably the place where human warmth could be felt the most.

Of course, every now and then some strange lunatic appeared, but I didn’t really care anymore.

‘What do these people do in real life?’

The question appeared suddenly.

Especially the registered users I had ended up interacting with.

None of them seemed remotely “normal.”

Even HeavenlyDemon, whom they call an old murim woman, seemed like an important person to me. A real adult.

‘They’re good people.’

Of course, I’m just curious. I don’t plan to dig too deeply.

Just the fact that they help me already makes me owe them a lot.

Title) End of Day 9!

WildGrills

(Photo of the campfire)

End of an especially tough Day 9! Tomorrow begins Day 10!

See you tomorrow!

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Rest well. I’ll always be supporting you.

ㄴSwordmaster) You suffered especially a lot today. Stay strong.

ㄴStarlightPrincess) Fighting! I sincerely hope you don’t surpass my record!

ㄴLooking at it now, it really does seem like he’ll surpass it.

ㄴThere’s no point even counting them. He’ll never be able to escape anyway hahaha.

ㄴStarlightPrincess) You people really are trash ^^

ㄴLetsPlantTrees) Thank you for giving me the core today! Thanks to it, my work became much easier!

ㄴWildGrills) I’m glad it was useful to you. I’m also making very good use of the gifts you gave me.

ㄴLetsPlantTrees) What do you think of them? They are the pride of Alvenheim!

ㄴWildGrills) By any chance, are all elves smokers?

ㄴLetsPlantTrees) Ah. Right.

ㄴLol.

ㄴWhat do you mean “ah, right”? Hahaha.

ㄴI think she forgot she gifted him tobacco hahaha.

ㄴHey, pointy ears. Do you smoke too?

ㄴLetsPlantTrees) No! I use them as incense.

ㄴThat’s pretty weird too;;

ㄴWho uses tobacco as incense?

LetsPlantTrees really was a strange person.

What on earth was she doing with that core?

Still, from my perspective, it was a great trade because I managed to get rid of something troublesome.

‘Tomorrow I’ll head upstream.’

There was still time before sleep.

So I continued practicing the breathing method.

HeavenlyDemon said she wanted to teach me the next formula, but first I needed to strengthen my foundations.

I don’t know exactly what she considers “foundations,” but she said it would take at least two weeks.

‘Then I’ll start eating the internal cores after that.’

There were about four days left.

I slowly closed my eyes and began circulating mana.

I could clearly feel the mana moving through my body.

Curiously, the more days passed, the more it felt like the amount of mana increased and its circulation speed improved as well.

‘Could it be because of the fish?’

Maybe it was because I was eating fish with internal cores every single day—no, practically every meal.

Even so, I could control it.

If I couldn’t, my body would have exploded a long time ago.

Without interruption, I slowly began entering a deep state of concentration.

And the next day.

Shhhhhhhhhh!!

“Ah, damn it.”

I cursed as I looked at the torrential rain pouring down from the sky.