Preparations to draw in river water were all finished, but problems remained.
First of all, somehow avoiding the Golden Frogs. This is the biggest hurdle.
The moment a hand is dipped into water, they burst out instantly, so they are quite a pain.
The second is the river’s depth. It’s deep enough for more than half my arm to go in.
It means fixing it with rocks is difficult. I checked the items Dwarf gave me.
’If I put the mesh over this and connect it to the hose...’
I looked back and forth at the gleaming funnel and the mesh net to cover over it.
Connecting the funnel to the hose is the end of it, but fixing it is hard.
’Is there no choice but to dig slightly with a shovel?’
It probably has to be that way.
Setting the items near the river side, I brought a shovel.
Fortunately, I didn’t encounter any dangerous beasts while going back and forth.
The pack of Mad Dogs died long ago, and the owlbear recently went to the auction house.
For the time being, I won’t meet apex predator-level entities.
And bugs like ticks are scarier than predators.
Swaaaaaa-
With the shovel brought, all preparations were complete.
Staring at the river or stream with strong currents, I gradually moved.
First, holding the shovel, I cautiously began digging the edge portion.
Pak! Paak!
Fortunately, frogs didn’t burst out.
Still, just in case, while shoveling, I didn’t forget to look around intermittently.
Kwalkwalkwalkwal-
Finally, a space big enough to insert the funnel was created.
To increase the water current, I even set up stones around the space dug with the shovel.
Since the water current was also appropriately strong, now all that remained was connecting the hose.
After putting the mesh net over the funnel, I connected it to the hose.
The parts connected to each other were firmly fixed with iron ties, not cable ties.
Since it’s a world where plastic hasn’t been invented yet, it seemed iron substituted for it.
’But isn’t this hard to make too?’
Since the hose was made of natural rubber, it’s natural for it to be expensive.
However, from my view, these iron ties look more expensive.
’Is it because he’s a Dwarf? Whatever, it doesn’t matter.’
Checking if it was fixed properly, I moved positions.
One hose isn’t the end. Because the distance is far, I have to connect it with other hoses in between.
"Sseuueep!"
As Dwarf taught me, I sucked hard on the end of the hose with my mouth.
Next, as I lowered it carefully, water came out much stronger than before.
Connecting that hose to another hose, I firmly fixed it with iron ties.
As I kept repeating that work, before I knew it, I arrived at the shelter.
Finally, connecting the end of the hose to the valve, all the work ended.
Kwalkwalkwalkwal-
"Nice. Nice."
Water also came out very well. Just looking at it made me smile warmly.
Still, it’s not completely over yet. As emphasized repeatedly, this place is the wild.
Beasts could cut the hose, so the work of covering it with dirt was essential.
Thus, the work lasting roughly 2 hours all concluded.
It was truly gratifying that I no longer had to worry about water.
"Kyu?"
"Ah. You woke up?"
Coincidentally, it seemed Wonmo woke up from sleep too.
Wonmo stared at me with his characteristic bright, clear eyes.
In my heart, I wanted to hug him, but ticks were teeming on that body.
’Gotta give him a bath first.’
While at it, I also need to wash my own body cleanly.
I bought an iron tub from the auction house and filled it with water.
After rinsing it a few times with water and checking for impurities, I filled it to the brim.
Underneath, I even lit a fire. To heat the water warmly.
’Should I feed him deworming medicine too?’
Gotta do laundry too, I’m really busy.
Since things turned out like this, I should erect a drying rack too.
Just being able to supply water anytime increased the things I could do.
While the water in the tub was boiling, I posted a thread in the Gallery.
Title) I am rich now
Wild Grylls
(Video of hose with water gushing out)
I am a water tycoon now
ㄴ Oh. You succeeded?
ㄴ Congrats congrats
ㄴ Now you can take a bath
ㄴ Wild Grylls) First I gotta wash Wonmo. There were damn too many ticks;;
ㄴ Passing Dwarf) Surprising you did it fast? Any problems?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Not really. Should I give you a Mandrake later?
ㄴ Passing Dwarf) Oh. I’d be thankful. Instantly making steeped liquor lol
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Fuck no, not giving.
ㄴ lolololol
ㄴ lolololol
ㄴ The guy making steeped liquor out of that expensive Mandrake;;
ㄴ What kind of Dwarf is he? lolol
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) If you even got water, what do you plan to do now?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Well. If I get defensive walls from Dwarf, there’s nothing to do. At most chopping trees or exploring around?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) If it is such things, it seems fine for you to learn the Internal Cultivation Art from this seat.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Great for me. I’ll wash Wonmo first and contact you.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) I shall wait. This seat is also looking forward to it.
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Internal Cultivation Art aside, are you practicing swordsmanship?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) I’m steadily watching it. Though I only know basics yet.
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Excellent. Hurry up and get strong so you can marry me.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Teacher?
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Just kidding
ㄴ Doesn’t seem like a joke?
ㄴ There are many times when that person’s true feelings pop out
ㄴ Is she holding a grudge against marriage lolol
Um... as expected, it’s full of strange people.
Still, the fact that I’m getting stronger day by day thanks to Sword Matstar remains unchanged.
Even when fighting the owlbear, if it weren’t for the post coming to mind, I would have died.
"Mm. This much should be fine. Wonmo-ya?"
"Kyuuu?"
Before I knew it, the water in the tub was warmed up pleasantly.
Steam didn’t billow up, but considering the temperature of the forest, it was sufficient.
Dragging the tub along, I approached Wonmo.
Fitting Wonmo’s size, it was wide horizontally rather than vertically, so the size was spot on.
"Get in here. Time to wash."
"Kyuuuuu."
Does he really understand my words?
Wonmo stared at the tub with his uniquely bright eyes, then cautiously stepped a foot in.
Whether warm water was a first for him, he flinched at first.
Fortunately, recognizing that it was harmless to him, he cautiously submerged his fluffy body.
"Eukyuuuu..."
"Feels good, right?"
Now he even closed his eyes and comfortably entrusted his body.
Smirking, I began washing Wonmo’s body inside and out.
In between, meticulously applying insect repellent everywhere, I completely removed the ticks.
’Won’t this be meaningless if he wanders around again?’
I’ll just have to deal with it. I rubbed him vigorously using soap.
Wonmo also seemed to accept my touch, keeping his eyes closed.
Instead, dirty water accumulated to a tremendous degree.
This is the wild, so it can’t be helped. I have to endure it.
’But I can’t miss out on pictures.’
I posted a picture of Wonmo’s bath on the Gallery.
Because it was a shot with only his face poking out, it was truly lovely.
Title) Bathed Wonmo
Wild Grylls
(Video of Wonmo bathing)
Cute, right? Upvote if cute
ㄴ Real face is a cheat code;;
ㄴ A guy like that becomes a tyrant later?
ㄴ Just watching heals me
ㄴ Ugh dirty
ㄴ Your face is dirtier
ㄴ I’m talking about the water? Is your face dirty by any chance?
ㄴ Your mom
How can twisted bastards pop up even on such a cute post?
As for me, since I posted it to show off, I didn’t care much.
It was around the time I was scrubbing Wonmo’s body thoroughly.
"Kyuuuuuu...!"
Bureureureu-
Wonmo, who was enjoying it, suddenly started shivering.
Because it was a sudden phenomenon, I was extremely flustered.
"Wonmo-ya? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?"
"Kyuuuuu."
"No? Then..."
What could it be? Around the time I thought that.
Dudungsil-
Something rose above the dirty water.
Dark brown close to black, yet round...
"...Wonmo-ya. Did you poop?"
"Kyu!"
"Gyaaaak! Get out right now! Quick!"
It seems I’ll have to start with potty training.
After washing Wonmo, I realized it.
Washing someone else, whether human or animal, is insanely hard.
Because so much dirty water came out, I changed the bath water several times.
Thanks to that, by the time I washed myself, the sun was sinking low.
"Nyamnyamjjeobjjeob."
"Is it delicious?"
"Jjeobjjeobjjeob."
After thoroughly washing Wonmo, I wiped off as much moisture as possible with a towel.
I wish I had a hair dryer, but since I don’t have that either, I have to substitute with the campfire.
I even fed him deworming medicine here. Fitting an owlbear who eats anything well, he gulped down the deworming medicine too.
’Someone eats meat and someone eats only Fasting Pills, seriously.’
Wonmo’s meal was obtained from the auction house. Like in the morning, it’s monster meat.
Monster meat was the cheapest. Being almost useless, it didn’t even cost 10 Gold.
Putting the bitter Fasting Pill into my mouth, I grimaced. It’s always bitter no matter when I eat it.
’My stomach always hurts after eating this.’
Wonmo’s potty training is simple.
Never poop inside the cave.
Even if you poop, send me a signal. Then I’ll guard you from the side.
Surprisingly, whether the kid is smart or owlbears are naturally like that, he understood everything.
The saying that loyalty is high as long as you feed them well was by no means a lie.
’Done eating roughly, so all that’s left is the Internal Cultivation Art.’
Sitting cross-legged didn’t hurt anymore either.
Not even a week had passed, but it felt like my flexibility had increased drastically.
I wondered if this was possible, but passing it off as ’a good thing is a good thing’, I moved on.
Anyway, even if I pondered deeply, an answer wouldn’t come out.
Title) Heavenly Demon-nim. Are you there?
Wild Grylls
I want to learn the Internal Cultivation Art slowly, are you there?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) I have been waiting.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) ???
ㄴ Wow. The post was uploaded 10 seconds ago, but the comment was 2 seconds ago;;;
ㄴ At that level, isn’t she a stalker?
ㄴ Real talk, kinda scary;;
I was equally flustered.
How can someone comment immediately right after a post is uploaded?
Occasionally Heavenly Demon commented first, but for it to be this fast was a first.
’Uh... is she very bored?’
Rather than that, as she said before, it’s closer to repaying a favor.
How to say, seeing her wait like this feels like an oldbie who found a newbie?
Thinking it’s close to something like that made my mind a bit more comfortable.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) You were here. As I mentioned before, please reply in a secret comment.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Understood. First, sit cross-legged.
Following her instructions, I sat cross-legged.
Even if there’s a slight tingling feeling, it’s bearable now.
Just three days ago, I was someone who screamed like a young girl, but I developed like this.
’Can I also use mana or internal energy now?’
I’m really looking forward to it. To be able to use energy that would only appear in fantasy or martial arts.
It’d be great if I could shoot palm blasts later too.
Since long ago, palm blasts were superior for long-range poke harassment.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) By any chance, if I train, can I shoot palm blasts too?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Why do you ask that?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Long-range harassment?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Do not do it. It is something only fools do.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Okay...
ㄴ Dejected lol
ㄴ Palm blast is romance though...
ㄴ There’s a whole truckload of guys who died chasing romance.
ㄴ How can you hold back a palm blast!
ㄴ Not palm blast, palm blast you dumbass
ㄴ Then can Heavenly Demon shoot palm blasts?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) You speak of the obvious. It is not a simple palm blast, but a force where a typhoon erupts from the hand.
ㄴ lolololol real talk, the bluffing is something else
ㄴ Just call yourself a mage instead lol
An uncalled-for keyboard battle broke out, but I ignored it cleanly.
Right now, Heavenly Demon’s teaching was what mattered.
Heavenly Demon, knowing that too, posted a new comment.
Naturally, it was a secret comment.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) If you have sat cross-legged, start with dantian breathing.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) What is dantian breathing?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Ah. You said you didn’t even know sitting cross-legged. I shall teach you slowly.
Very gratefully, Teacher Heavenly Demon explained the concept of dantian breathing.
Below the navel, that is, the lower abdomen is called the dantian, and whenever breathing, you just apply strength there.
Isn’t there sometimes a saying like that? Screams or strength pulled up from the dantian.
Since she said it works with roughly that kind of feeling, the concept itself was easy.
Besides this, she even let me know that the Middle Dantian is the heart and Upper Dantian is the brain, but passed over it saying it’s not important right now.
’Focus only on the lower abdomen, not the whole stomach.’
Closing my eyes, I executed according to Heavenly Demon’s explanation.
As I said earlier, I focused only on the lower abdomen, not the whole stomach.
"Sseuuueep... Huu..."
Repeating that several times, a feeling began to arrive at the dantian, the lower abdomen.
At first it tickled, then it felt like filling up the whole lower abdomen.
I wondered if it was originally like this, but soon an unexpected event occurred.
Shaaaaa!
’Uh, uh-oh?’
Wasn’t the energy gathered in the dantian scattering in all directions?
As if the vessel couldn’t hold out and leaked to the outside.
Having only breathed a few times, I couldn’t help but be flustered at this.
’W-What do I do?’
The energy surging up from the dantian passed through the heart and brain, then spread throughout the entire body.
Dangerous. It’s really dangerous like this. My instinct screamed.
Being a novice among novices, I couldn’t even catch my bearings.
Fortunate among misfortunes, after making just one circuit, it quieted down.
"Haa... haa..."
I opened my eyes wide. It felt like my hair stood on end.
What could it have been? Even while breathing heavily, a question arose.
In the meantime, whether I broke out in a cold sweat, my body was damp.
Especially the nose area was damp, so without realizing it, I put my hand to it.
"...Blood?"
It’s blood. And jet-black dead blood at that.
Wondering if it’s originally like this, I hurriedly accessed the Gallery.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Heavenly Demon-nim. Doing as Heavenly Demon-nim said, I got a nosebleed.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) What?!
Surprise was conveyed even in the comment.
Just how surprised she was, Heavenly Demon immediately posted another comment.
It wasn’t even a secret post, so everyone could see it.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Aside from bleeding, is there no problem? Are you not dizzy or nauseous?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) There’s no feeling like that. It just ended with a nosebleed.
Moreover, that nosebleed also stopped right away before long.
I wondered if it was Heavenly Demon’s fussing, but other comments added explanations.
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Isn’t that an early symptom of Qi Deviation?
ㄴ Yeah seems like it. Almost became dangerous.
ㄴ Getting Qi Deviation just from dantian breathing?
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Very rarely there are people like that. By any chance, when breathing, did you feel like the mana accumulated in the dantian—that is, the mana hole—scattered throughout your body?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Huh. That’s right. How do you know?
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Because I was like that. It’s because the mana accumulated in the mana hole was excessively large, and a terrifying amount of mana entered whenever breathing.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) There’s no way mana would accumulate, what is it?
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Did you not eat something like Spiritual Medicine recently?
If it’s Spiritual Medicine... there’s only the Fasting Pills Heavenly Demon gave me.
Heavenly Demon also seemed to notice this, posting a comment.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) By any chance, how many Fasting Pills that this seat gave did you eat a day?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Just in case, I ate 3 per meal...
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Wait a moment. I shall ask my aide and return.
ㄴ Now isn’t his dick really gonna explode?
ㄴ Pungpung! lololol
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Truly crazy bastards;;
ㄴ But why did you eat that much? One per meal is plenty.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) In case nutrients were lacking...
ㄴ No lolol They said it’s Spiritual Medicine grade! Why would nutrients be lacking lolol
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Did you not believe this seat’s words?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) It’s not that I didn’t believe, but I don’t really know what Spiritual Medicine grade is. Isn’t it just a fucking good nutritional supplement?
ㄴ He was really just stupid lolol
ㄴ Blockhead lolol
ㄴ Starlight Lady) The Mature Mandrake given to me was also Spiritual Medicine grade. Can’t you compare it to that?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Except for Fasting Pills, I can’t eat anything. Being in the wild, calorie consumption is severe too.
ㄴ Starlight Lady) That makes sense.
ㄴ Passing Dwarf) Now. Chant "I am a fool" three times.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) What are you?
ㄴ Passing Dwarf) What?
ㄴ Wild Grylls) I’ll make an acrostic poem with "What". Please give me the cue.
ㄴ lolol
ㄴ lolol
ㄴ lolol
Since they said it was Spiritual Medicine grade, I thought it just had lots of nutrients.
But it seems that wasn’t it. I feel hollow.
At least did I find out before a major disaster erupted?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) I received an answer from my aide.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) What did they say?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) They said too much is as bad as too little.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) ...
ㄴ lolol
ㄴ Stabbing him with hard facts.
ㄴ Isn’t that what Heavenly Demon wanted to say?
Tears just flow.
Still, my dick won’t explode, and it’s because I’m an ordinary person.
If I ate more than 10 a day, beyond my dick exploding, my whole body could explode.
Here, they said doing Internal Energy Regulation is better than dantian breathing or whatever.
The problem is not knowing how to do that.
Dantian breathing is the basic of basics, and Internal Energy Regulation is the next stage, but I don’t even know the basics.
So while I was contemplating what to do, it was right then.
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Would you like to use the breathing method I use? I was similar to Grylls-nim too.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Since this seat has already decided to teach, you step aside.
ㄴ Sword Matstar) I think my breathing method would be better for that person. I was like that in the past too.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Isn’t your breathing method a Mana Cultivation Method?
ㄴ Sword Matstar) Yes. Is there a problem?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) The Western Mana Cultivation Method falls short in depth compared to the Internal Cultivation Art by far.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Excuse me?
ㄴ Sword Matstar) I view it as better than not being able to start at all?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) A well must be dug deep as well.
ㄴ Sword Matstar) While digging a well, one will die of thirst.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
ㄴ Wild Grylls) Excuse me? You guys?
Will you listen to what I have to say?