Realizing that even Allfather was far from normal lasted only a moment. I turned my thoughts back to the drinking water problem.
It’s not like I have a poison immunity, and the Golden Poison Frog’s venom is exceedingly deadly.
How lethal must it be for a tree to sizzle and melt upon contact? The instant I’m hit, it’s over.
I brought an antidote just in case, but I have no idea if it’ll actually work against this stuff.
That’s why I plan to make a separate request to Allfather. Not for money, but for something far more valuable.
[Wild Grylls: Hello. You are Allfather-nim, correct?]
[Allfather: Yes. I am Allfather. Thank you for initiating the trade.]
As soon as I initiated the trade with Allfather, he replied immediately. His tone was far more polite and refined than the others.
Judging by how he recognized the Golden Poison Frog right away and his usual posts on the Gallery, he seems to be an intellectual—something like a professor.
And an insanely wealthy intellectual at that. Dropping 20,000 Gold on a single frog... I couldn’t even fathom what kind of job he actually does.
Not that I have a clue who anyone here really is anyway.
[Allfather: You require the frog, correct?]
[Wild Grylls: I’ll register it right away.]
[Allfather: Thank you. As promised, I shall register the 20,000 Gold. However, are you aware that conducting a trade over 10,000 Gold transmits your location to the moderator?]
[Wild Grylls: Yes. I know.]
Because of the high potential for abuse, trades of 10,000 Gold or more send the user’s location to the moderator.
Things like laundering illicit profits cleanly or purchasing war supplies in bulk.
Even though Gallery credits can’t be cashed out back into hard currency, there are still plenty of ways the system could be exploited.
Of course, since I’m stuck in the Forest of the Four Seasons, it doesn’t mean much for me—and even if my location gets sent, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
"Before that, may I ask one more favor?"
[Wild Grylls: If you grant my favor, I’ll give you a discount—15,000 Gold instead of 20,000.]
[Allfather: Hmm? What kind of favor?]
[Wild Grylls: I need an antidote effective against the Golden Poison Frog’s venom. As you saw in my post earlier, I’m currently unable to get drinking water.]
There might be another river nearby. But that river is the closest one.
As long as that Golden Poison Frog is squatting right there, the harsh reality is that I can’t even get drinking water, let alone wash myself.
Searching for a different river risks getting lost in this place, which would be a massive headache in itself.
[Allfather: I see roughly what you mean. I accept your request. Coincidentally, I wished to research that area as well.]
[Wild Grylls: Thank you. We’ll count the 5,000 Gold discount as payment for the antidote.]
[Wild Grylls: By the way, would having more specimens make your research easier?]
[Allfather: Of course. However, the Golden Poison Frog population is extremely sparse, so please take care not to hunt them to extinction.]
Well. Honestly, I’m not so sure about that.
No matter how rare the Golden Poison Frog is, could it possibly be more important than my life?
If the antidote works, that’s one thing, but if not, I’ll have to wipe out those Golden Frogs down to the very last one.
I recently realized just how critical a stable water supply is. Not being able to wash myself is driving me crazy with discomfort.
[Allfather: If you discover any rare flora or fauna, or anything you have not seen before, please post about it. I shall answer to the best of my knowledge.]
[Wild Grylls: Thank you. See you next time.]
Allfather
"It is quite fascinating to find someone as polite as Grylls-ssi in this Gallery.
Please stay safe."
And so, the trade with Allfather concluded. As soon as it finished, I checked the funds deposited into my Gallery account.
Because of the size of the amount, a small transaction fee was deducted, but nearly 15,000 Gold had been credited.
With this, I can buy all sorts of items from the Auction House. I had already thought through what I needed beforehand.
’Before that, I should ask the Orange Badge. Where am I located?’
When a transaction exceeds 10,000 Gold, the user’s location is instantly transmitted to the Orange Badge.
Supposedly it’s to prevent abuse, but conversely, it’s a rule that the Orange Badge could easily exploit.
Though I didn’t know the exact conditions or process of how the Orange Badge is chosen, there must have been a previous Orange Badge as well.
I suddenly felt curious about the history of the Gallery, but that wasn’t something to worry about right now.
Title: Orange Badge-nim. Can you see my location?
Wild Grylls
I just traded with Allfather-nim. Can you see where I am?
↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero: Yes! It says Forest of the Four Seasons! And right in the middle, too!
↳ Wild Grylls: Ah, holy shit
↳ LMAOOOOO
↳ HAHAHAHAHA
↳ KKKKKKKKK
↳ Abandon all hope LOL
↳ Orange Badge-certified Forest of the Four Seasons kkk
I shouldn’t have asked. I suppressed the tidal wave of despair washing over me.
The Forest of the Four Seasons normally blocks Gallery usage, but I was the exception. And now my location was stated loud and clear.
Who on earth is playing this kind of twisted prank on me? I couldn’t understand it for the life of me.
↳ Wild Grylls: No bullshit, for real?
↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero: Yes! On my Holy Sword, it’s real!
↳ Grylls-ya. Just give up already...
↳ You’re destined to live out your days there.
Bastards. Is escaping not even an option in your eyes?
With even the Orange Badge confirming it, all I could manage was a heavy sigh. The faint glimmer of hope evaporated.
Escaping was already hard enough; just across the stream, the location shifted constantly minute by minute. My operational radius was severely restricted.
’Fine. Let me survive here first. But I will escape, no matter what.’
Even if it takes years, I want to set eyes on civilization again. I immediately wrote a post on the Gallery.
It wasn’t to vent my misery, but to ask what supplies I’d need going forward.
Title: Survival experts, help
Wild Grylls
Looks like I have to live in the forest for the foreseeable future. So I’m thinking of buying some supplies.
What I roughly had in mind: axe, dagger, shovel, hammer, emergency rations, water, soap, medicines, etc. Is there anything else I need?
↳ Use unscented soap if possible. A bear might catch the scent and come for you.
↳ If you know how to set traps, lay them around your shelter. Though who knows if they’ll work in the Forest of the Four Seasons.
↳ You should definitely collect charcoal. You can use it to purify water or brush your teeth.
↳ That’s good, but the heat might attract snakes.
↳ Never eat wild mushrooms. Unless it’s an absolute emergency.
Far from mocking me, they kindly shared super useful tips one by one. I didn’t even know about the charcoal thing.
As for attracting snakes, I could manage that with repellent. After all, I spent a fortune buying repelling agents specifically for that.
↳ Nobody knows what’s in the Forest of the Four Seasons, so everything is going to be dangerous.
↳ Most likely you’ll have to learn through trial and error yourself.
↳ Yep, that’s facts.
↳ Like any of us will ever step foot in the Forest of the Four Seasons anyway lol
However, those tips were ultimately the absolute basics of ’normal’ wilderness survival. Living in the Forest of the Four Seasons... I’m the first person to ever do it.
When there’s a frog the size of a dog lounging right out front, the reality is that no one knows what else might be lurking out there.
’Still, I need to buy what I need to buy.’
I bought the items recommended by the adventurers one by one. It was best to use this cave as my base of operations.
Lastly, I purchased a large sheet of paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink.
Since the compass was useless, I planned to map out the area relying entirely on my own sense of direction.
’I should focus on marking areas where the landscape shifts constantly.’
It’s highly likely that other areas besides the stream behave similarly. Knowing those zones will make moving around much easier.
It would also be wise to mark spots where dangerous beasts spawn—or more accurately, their territories.
Wasn’t the reason other beasts hadn’t invaded this place because it was originally the Mad Dog’s territory?
However, that wouldn’t hold up for long. Just recently, an Owlbear devoured the Mad Dog’s corpse with great relish.
There was no law saying that Owlbear wouldn’t wander into this cave next. So I needed to prepare.
"Hmm..."
I crossed my arms as I looked at the various goods I had purchased. What should I do first?
They say when you’re truly overwhelmed, there are so many things to do that you don’t even know where to start—and my current situation was exactly that.
Should I build a fence first to secure safety, or explore the surroundings a bit more?
The former takes too much time, while the latter leaves the future uncertain.
’Because I have no idea how long building a fence will take.’
In times like this, it’s best to ask. I wrote a post on the Gallery.
If it sounds like it’ll take too long, I plan to explore the area instead.
Title: Planning to build a fence near my place, need advice
Wild Grylls
Want to erect a fence to prevent break-ins, give me some advice please.
↳ Passing Dwarf: Do you even know how to build a fence?
↳ Wild Grylls: Just bang it together?
↳ Passing Dwarf: ;;;
↳ "Just bang it together" LMAOOO
↳ That hit smooth haha
↳ Passing Dwarf: Anyway, what you’re thinking of is probably a defensive wall rather than a fence. Didn’t you say there’s an Owlbear nearby?
↳ Wild Grylls: Yeah, right.
↳ Passing Dwarf: If so, you’d be better off setting traps near the entrance. As for a barrier wall, estimate a generous one to two months.
↳ Wild Grylls: Takes one or two months? Even if I build it out of wood?
↳ Passing Dwarf: Don’t believe me? Go make one right now and see.
↳ Wild Grylls: Ok, hold on.
Is he serious? Though eyed with skepticism, I immediately moved into action. Actions speak louder than words, after all.
Trees were everywhere nearby, so gathering materials was easy. I had also purchased an axe specifically for logging.
’This axe is surprisingly heavy.’
Even holding it with both hands, the weight was considerable. I stood in front of a reasonably sized tree.
It was a straight, upright tree—a perfectly suitable shape for constructing a wall.
Still, a whole month is way too exaggerated. I swung the axe with full confidence.
Kwak!
’Ah, a fresh axe really feels great in the hands.’
At this rate, it won’t take long at all. Passing Dwarf totally underestimated me.
"Haa... haa..."
I take it back. He didn’t underestimate me; he was being strictly objective.
Gasping for air, I stared at the tree. Even after chopping so furiously, I hadn’t even cut halfway through.
The outer surface was manageable, but towards the core, the wood felt increasingly dense and hard.
’I suddenly have immense respect for woodcutters.’
The woodcutters that pop up so casually in fairy tales were actually formidable men. No wonder having several kids was standard for them.
Wiping away the dripping sweat, I gazed at the half-chopped tree.
Felling a single tree is this exhausting, so what wall? Truly, a human as a solitary individual is exceedingly weak.
In the end, I had no choice but to put building a wall on hold. As Passing Dwarf said, it’s better to lay traps.
Title: Fuck, why is wood so hard?
Wild Grylls
(Photo of a slightly chopped tree)
I’m dying of exhaustion here
↳ Harder than it looks when you try it yourself, huh?
↳ Did you think logging was a fucking joke?
↳ Having other people do the hard labor kept you comfortable all this time, right? LOL
↳ Wild Grylls: I’m sorry. I won’t get cocky ever again.
↳ Sword Matstar: Learning a Mana Cultivation Method will make it less exhausting.
↳ Heavenly Demon: The fellow above speaks the truth. Therefore, hurry and practice sitting cross-legged first.
↳ Wild Grylls: Yeah, I’ll do that...
↳ Looks like his confidence just plummeted?
↳ That’s better, honestly. Better than dying out of reckless pride.
↳ Passing Dwarf: Don’t act tough from now on, kek.
↳ Wild Grylls: Yes, hyung-nim.
↳ Look how polite he got HAHAHA
↳ Fr LOL
Thanks to that, I was able to firmly decide on my strategy. Let’s make traps near the cave entrance that only I know about.
The wall comes after training in whatever Internal Cultivation Art or Mana Cultivation Method they talked about. Right now, the physical strain is way too severe.
’Digging a hole is going to take a long time, too.’
Having completed mandatory military service, I knew all too well how miserable shoveling was.
Even building a single fortification with three or four guys sticking to it usually took an entire day.
Furthermore, considering the size of the Owlbear I saw earlier, I’d have to dig far deeper than my own height.
’It’s truly bleak.’
Not a single thing is easy. Man in the wild is overwhelmingly powerless.
But do I give up because of that? Absolutely not.
As the saying goes, ’Many a mickle makes a muckle’—if I put in steady effort starting now, it will bear fruit someday.
’First, let’s dig deep right at the entrance. Digging around the perimeter can wait. I can get a tarp or canvas tent from the Auction House to use as camouflage.’
Thinking of traps sparked a great idea. Traps aside, let’s dig out the ground around the entrance and cave perimeter.
Like a moat dug around an ancient castle, as long as it blocks outside intrusion, that will be enough.
As for a wall, dirt mounds will suffice for now. I can slowly replace them with wooden stakes later.
’Alright. Let’s do it right now.’
Plans mean nothing if you don’t execute them. I mapped out the design of the cave entrance and its surroundings.
Where to dig the moat, where to heap dirt for temporary earthen walls, and finally, my own entry point.
Far from perfect as it was, it should still be enough to safeguard my security.
Kwak!
I began digging into the earth with the shovel. Thanks to the rain early this morning, the soil was relatively soft.
Logging was hard, but digging is comparatively easier. Even if it takes just as long.
’Let’s take it slow, step by step.’
The fortification work that started so energetically...
"Aigo... my entire body aches..."
...returned the next day as pure bodily ruin.