Chapter 30 - Inner Core (1)

Thanks to the speed-sloth, I made it safely to the riverbank. The first thing I did was check the hose. I wondered if another fish had gotten caught, and sure enough, I was right.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

"Caught another one."

Another fish had gotten stuck in that short time. This one was red too, and about the same size as the earlier one. Apparently, that was the average for the fish living in this river.

'I'll catch this one later.'

The golden frogs were what mattered right now. My trade with Allfather came first. Which meant I needed to get the speed-sloth off my back. I patted its back and asked it a favor.

"Can you get off for a second? This is urgent."

"..."

It clambered slowly down, as if it understood me. Then it stared at me with that dopey face. It felt like it was telling me to get on with it. Surely I was imagining that.

'Time to call out the golden frogs.'

The one that seemed to be their leader had leaped out before just from me dipping a hand in the river. Would the others do the same? I carefully put my hand in the water. About three seconds later, I heard a splash from the middle of the river.

CROAK.

A golden frog. It had climbed onto a rock in the middle of the river. Smaller than the one I'd seen before, but still pretty big. The instant it appeared, I backed away fast without a moment's hesitation. I didn't forget to raise my shield, just in case.

HAAACK!

The golden frog tipped its head back, accompanied by a sound like someone hawking up phlegm. It looked ready to fire its venom. But I was already long gone.

Unlike the speed-sloth, which was still sitting there blankly.

"Hey! What are you—!"

PTOO!

Before I could finish shouting, the golden frog spat its venom. The purple mucus hurtled straight at the speed-sloth. It gazed calmly at the purple venom, then tilted its head.

HISSSS!

The venom skimmed right past its face, hit a tree, and began melting the bark. I'd more or less expected it, but that agility was incredible.

'Now.'

While the speed-sloth held its aggro, I readied my crossbow. I loaded a harpoon bolt and aimed at the golden frog.

HAAACK!

HACK!

GROAAK!

Meanwhile, more golden frogs climbed onto the rocks. I was already hidden, but the speed-sloth was still sitting out there brazenly. Even it would have trouble dodging so many attacks in a row—

PTOO!

PTUI!

PTOO!

With a few quick twists... no, it wouldn't. It dodged every last one with effortless turns of its body, without even leaving its seat. Even its expression was relaxed. It was like watching a reclusive martial arts master.

'Does this bastard have Observation Haki or something?'

Otherwise, this made no sense. I inwardly gasped in disbelief. But that was that, and this was this. I had everything ready. I aimed at one of the golden frogs and pulled the trigger.

TWANG! THUNK!

The harpoon pierced the golden frog dead-on, and it fell straight into the rushing river. I immediately pulled on the rope. The other golden frogs didn't attack me while I did. They seemed quite taken aback by what had happened to their companion.

Of course, their being taken aback was only my guess. But judging by how they all stopped attacking the instant it was hit, they seemed aware of what had happened. Every creature living in the Forest of Four Seasons was extraordinary.

SPLASH!

Apparently deciding to retreat, the golden frogs jumped into the river. There shouldn't be anything threatening me for a while now. All that remained was cleaning up. I kept hauling in the rope attached to the harpoon. Before, this had been practically a wrestling match. Now it only took a little effort.

"Heave-ho."

The golden frog I pulled out of the water was fairly large. Not as big as the last one, but about the size of a small-breed puppy? All that remained was trading with Allfather, but I needed to deal with the fish first.

'I'll hang this from my waist for now.'

Allfather had taught me that if purple liquid came pouring out, it meant the venom sac had ruptured. None was leaking now. That meant it was safe.

With the frog hunt over, only the fish remained. I had no idea what it had been eating to grow so huge.

'Quite the bounty today.'

That took care of lunch and dinner. I lifted the frantically flopping fish.

'No way I'd catch this with a fishing rod.'

The thing was so ridiculously strong it was still trying to slap my face with its fins. I gripped it tightly in both arms, afraid I'd lose it. If I hadn't gotten stronger, it would have slipped away long ago.

The speed-sloth slowly clambered onto my back, and I was ready to head home.

'I hope it tastes good, but that's probably asking too much.'

I didn't concern myself with flavor. In my situation, flavor was a luxury. Besides, I could buy seasonings at the auction house, so it should be fine.

SPLASH!

Back at the cave, I put the fish in the iron tub. It was still so strong that it made the tub shake slightly. Better forget about catching these things with a rod. One wrong move and I'd be the one getting reeled in. A trap or a fish pot seemed safer. Having two fish that looked so filling made me happy.

'Time to trade with Allfather.'

After putting my gear away, I posted on the forum asking Allfather to send a trade request if he was around.

Allfather has sent you a trade request. Would you like to accept?

It wasn't long before Allfather sent a request. I gave the speed-sloth a fasting pill and accepted.

Allfather

Hello.

I saw your post and sent a trade request.

Hello.

I'll put the item up right away. The venom sac hasn't ruptured.

Allfather

Thank you.

This should make my research much easier.

Glad to hear it.

Oh, there's something I'd like to ask.

Allfather

Go ahead.

The speed-sloth climbed onto me and won't get off. Do you know why?

Allfather

You mean the sloth that you said even caught a bolt?

Yes. Hard as it is to believe, that's the one.

Allfather

Frankly, I don't know either.

No specimen like that has ever been reported to the academic community.

A species not even Father-emon knew about. Just what kind of place was the Forest of Four Seasons? As I sighed inwardly, Allfather offered his hypothesis.

Allfather

But I can speculate.

Your post said it extorted money from you?

It took fasting pills, not money.

Allfather

Perhaps it thinks you're a tree, Grylls.

A tree?

Allfather

Yes. A tree that supplies food, as it were.

That sounds kind of...

Allfather

Like a dumbass theory that actually makes sense?

I think so too.

Allfather wasn't mincing words. Apparently, even he thought it was ridiculous. Still, it was reasonably logical, and there wasn't any other way to explain it.

Allfather

Is it still clinging to you?

Yes. It has no intention of getting off.

Allfather

Since it isn't hostile, keeping it might not be a bad idea.

I'm not entirely against it either.

I almost got bitten by a snake today, and it helped me.

After chatting about this and that, we traded our items. I gave him the golden frog's corpse, and Allfather gave me pills that would grant poison resistance.

Allfather

It's best to take these after meals if possible.

They need to be digested thoroughly.

Would it help to absorb these with the breathing method too?

Allfather

Yes. You can think of them as a kind of inner core.

An inner core. I recalled Heavenly Demon's explanation: a crystallization of accumulated qi inside a spiritual creature. The mention of inner cores brought a question to mind, so I asked Allfather.

Have you ever eaten an inner core, Allfather?

Allfather

I've never eaten an inner core, but I have consumed a dragon heart.

What's that?

Allfather

Exactly what it sounds like. The heart of a dragon.

It contains abundant mana.

I had a rough idea of what dragons were. They came up on the forum occasionally. They were powerful enough to regard humanity as insignificant, but that didn't make them unrivaled. More importantly, I'd heard they were an endangered species because there were so few of them.

'Are there any in the Forest of Four Seasons?'

If so, that would be a disaster. I was a pitifully weak human. How was I supposed to kill something that flew freely through the sky and breathed fire?

Allfather

Thank you for another excellent trade.

If you find any interesting animals, feel free to ask me about them.

I saw something like a cross between a chameleon and a snake.

Allfather

What might that be?

I thought it was a branch, but it turned out to be a snake.

It changed its body color in an instant.

Allfather

Oh! That place really is full of fascinating things!

Want to come over?

Allfather

This old man's knees aren't what they used to be.

I'll have to decline.

T_T

That was how our conversation ended. Apparently, even Allfather wanted nothing to do with the Forest of Four Seasons. Well, who would come to a hellhole like this? At least I'd been lucky. Other people couldn't even use the forum.

"Hmm."

I looked at the pill resting on my palm. Round, with a distinctive pale purple color. It was the medicine I'd gotten in my trade with Allfather. According to his explanation, taking it would give me poison resistance.

'Lunch first.'

I pocketed the pill and walked over to the iron tub holding the fish. Just two fish, and the tub was full.

'How am I going to cook these?'

I'd lived alone back home too, so I knew how to cook. But that had been with prepared ingredients. I'd never done the cleaning myself. There was only one thing to do at a time like this: ask the forum. Better to learn a little than blunder in blindly.

Help! About to clean a fish!

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the fish in the iron tub)

Anyone got advice? It's fucking huge too.

└Pros stab the brain with a knife or awl to kill it instantly. If you're a beginner, just cut the head clean off.

└Whack its head with the back of the knife before cutting. That'll stun it. Best to do it then.

└Gutting is easy. Just slit the belly open.

Since I was a beginner, I decided to go with smacking it on the head. I was going to grill it right away anyway, so I didn't need to age it or anything.

KYUU.

"Just a moment, Roundfur."

Roundfur woke up right on the dot at lunchtime. Just look at those big, pleading eyes demanding food. I wanted to toss him a piece of meat, but cleaning the fish came first.

I scooped a fish out of the tub with both arms wrapped around it. It thrashed furiously as if demanding I let go, but fat chance of that. I laid it on the stone slab I'd prepared. It was so big that even the broad slab looked small.

'They said to hit its head hard, right?'

It was too large for an ordinary knife to do the job. This called for Heavenly Demon's sword. Since I wasn't using the edge, I brought it down hard without worry.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

After about three consecutive blows, I got a reaction. Its mouth and gills opened wide, just as the forum comments had said. The blows had done their job. I immediately began cleaning it. To avoid accidentally hurting myself, I used an ordinary dagger rather than Heavenly Demon's sword. The dagger was fairly sharp and sliced through the flesh with ease.

"Roundfur. Want this?"

KYU!

I cut off the head and gave it to Roundfur. He devoured it with relish. I'd been told owlbears even ate rotting corpses, so a fish head should be no problem. The speed-sloth was interested in fasting pills rather than fish, so I didn't need to worry about it.

'Now to cut open the belly.'

I rinsed away the blood with water as I went. With its head removed, the fish lay still as I slowly slit its belly. The sensation at my fingertips wasn't pleasant, but I'd have to get used to it.

'Would he eat the guts too?'

Opening the belly exposed the organs packed inside. I just needed to remove all of them and rinse it out. That was when I reached in to pull out the guts.

"Hm?"

My hand closed around something. At first, I thought it was the heart. But it was rather hard for a heart. I wiggled my fingers and finally managed to extract it. It was a pellet about the size of one segment of a finger, and red like the fish.

'What's this? Could it really be an inner core?'

Surely not. Spiritual creatures with inner cores weren't that common. But considering the mature mandrakes growing everywhere, I had to wonder. On top of that, hadn't I found New Moon Spirit Grass right at the start?

'Hmm...'

I gazed at the red pellet and made my decision. Better to ask the forum about this—an expert, specifically. Naturally, that expert was Heavenly Demon, who'd brought up inner cores in the first place. She wasn't the sort to steal it along the way, either, so I could ask without worrying.

Heavenly Demon, I have a question.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the red pellet)

I found this while cleaning the fish. It looks like the inner core you mentioned before. Can you tell what it is?

If you aren't sure, I'll send it through a trade.

└Heavenly Demon You found it inside the fish?

She replied within three seconds of my posting it. Truly terrifying speed.

└Wild Grylls Yes. I found it while gutting it.

└Heavenly Demon Hmm. I cannot be sure from the photograph. It may simply be a pearl.

└Wild Grylls Fish can make pearls too?

└Heavenly Demon That is my understanding. Is it not?

└Sword Masta Don't pearls come from shellfish, not fish?

└Exactly. So confidently ignorant lmao.

└Even for a fossil, that's a bit much...

└Maybe she's just stupid?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Sigh... I'm embarrassed just watching this.

This unexpected exposure of Heavenly Demon's lack of general knowledge left me a little uneasy. Still, she'd taught me the breathing method. I could trust her with this.

└Wild Grylls I'll send a trade request. All you need to do is check whether it's an inner core.

└Heavenly Demon What do you intend to do if it truly is one?

└Wild Grylls Eat it, of course. You said they're good for you, right?

└Heavenly Demon I would not recommend it. As I said before, my honored friend, your internal energy is oversaturated. One misstep could lead to disaster.

I nodded at Heavenly Demon's advice. Too much really was as bad as too little. Eating an inner core in my current state could get me into serious trouble. That left one option: give it to Heavenly Demon. Sword Masta would most likely refuse, saying she didn't want to get any healthier.

└Wild Grylls Would you like to eat it, then?

└Heavenly Demon Inner cores no longer advance my realm. I passed that stage long ago.

└Wild Grylls Then what should I do?

└Heavenly Demon) Simple.

Heavenly Demon's answer was straightforward.

└Heavenly Demon Why not list it at the auction house?

What a carefree suggestion.

'Should I?'

And I found myself slightly tempted by that carefree suggestion.