Chapter 33 - Inner Core (4)

Heavenly Demon had told me that inner cores were precious treasures. Apparently, even one appearing on the market was enough to set the world buzzing.

Martial artists invested vast amounts of time in reaching the next realm. Without extraordinary talent, it was hard to acquire mana beyond what those years of training could provide. That was why they coveted inner cores. With one, they could leap into the next realm.

Found another inner core

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a red inner core)

Was sick yesterday, so I got plenty of rest. Washed up as soon as I woke, then cleaned the fish to finish it off today, and guess what?

Another inner core popped out. Should I just list this on the auction house?

└Heavenly Demon You're awake. I was worried when you stopped posting for so long yesterday.

└Wild Grylls As soon as I recited the formula, I fell asleep like I'd passed out. Is that normal?

└Heavenly Demon I have never heard of such a thing. I would guess your body acted to protect itself when it could not withstand your internal energy.

└Wild Grylls Well, I feel fine now, so I guess it's okay.

└Heavenly Demon If you feel well, my honored friend, then I suppose it is. What do you intend to do with that inner core?

└Name your price.

└Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme

└How do we know it's real lol I'll eat it and check

That was the problem. Who should I give this inner core to? I wanted to give it to one of the registered users, but even that wasn't easy.

└Wild Grylls People who've helped me should get first dibs.

└Sword Masta I'm fine, thanks.

└Wild Grylls Except Sword Masta.

└Sword Masta ?

└Wild Grylls Just kidding lol. So, want it?

└Sword Masta I don't want to get any healthier. I can give mandrakes to someone else, but I can't even give that away, so please don't send it.

└Heavenly Demon You treat an inner core like a trifle. Have you truly reached such a realm?

└Sword Masta Yes.

└Heavenly Demon You're so confident that I have nothing more to say.

Sword Masta refused because she didn't want to get healthier. What about the others? I waited for their comments.

└Wild Grylls Off the top of my head, there's Passing Dwarf, Starlight Lady, Slutty Princess, All Hail the Sun, and Allfather?

└Starlight Lady I've already received so much... I think you should give it to someone else.

Starlight Lady was the first to comment. She was one of the registered users who regularly replied, though not as often as Heavenly Demon. I replied to her comment saying she didn't need the inner core.

└Wild Grylls Are you sure you don't need it? Don't you want to improve your health some more?

└Starlight Lady I'm perfectly happy as I am. Working on my body is more important than mana.

└Wild Grylls Working on your body?

└Starlight Lady Yes. I started exercising yesterday. It's something I couldn't do before, and I think I'm going to get hooked.

First she'd wanted to name Roundfur Gymlet, and now she was becoming a gym rat herself? She'd said she'd spent most of her life in bed, so she must have a strong desire to exercise. Anyway, with Starlight Lady turning me down too, I waited to hear from the other registered users.

└Slutty Princess I'm not particularly tempted either. It'd be awkward to sell or give away.

└Wild Grylls You wouldn't eat it yourself, Slutty?

└Slutty Princess I don't really need to. I'd love to give it to the Chae U players, though.

└You could actually get arrested for that

└Inner cores count as drugs too?

└Not drugs, but they tend to investigate sudden changes in mana.

└But aren't inner cores legal? They're inner cores.

└Slutty Princess It's legal, but ethically wrong. Besides, what's the point of more mana? Using mana in sports is banned.

└Yeah, Slutty Princess is right. More mana isn't always a good thing.

└Haven't some players gone into serious slumps after gaining enlightenment?

└Why would enlightenment put you in a slump?

└It throws your body's balance off. Some have even been sent off for using mana without realizing it.

└Wild Grylls Could you give me clothes in exchange, then?

└Slutty Princess Sorry, I really don't have any use for it. I'll just give you the clothes.

└Wild Grylls Do you happen to have long pants...?

└Slutty Princess Not right now, but I can get some if you want. Would you like the same material as the uniforms?

└Wild Grylls Yes. Let's trade for those, then.

└Slutty Princess One "Go Chae U!" is enough.

└Wild Grylls Go Chae U! Here's hoping you win the championship!

└Slutty Princess That's perfect hehe

└LMAOOOO

└Chae U winning the championship lmaooo

└King Leor That's fucking hilarious lmao

└King Leor Hahaha, excuse me, Grylls. Do you know where Chae U is in the standings?

└Wild Grylls Where?

└Slutty Princess Shut up. Before I come fight you in person.

└King Leor Oooh, scary haha. So where's Chae U? A whopping eighth place!

└Wild Grylls That's a little low. How many matches are left?

└Slutty Princess Five, but it's fine hehe. The Champions League might be a stretch, but we'll make the Master Cup.

└King Leor Qualify for the Champions League first, then talk lol

Here we go again. Those two seemed to fight pretty often. King Leor, in particular, picked a fight every time Slutty Princess showed up. I didn't much like seeing it, especially since Slutty Princess had helped me.

└Wild Grylls That's enough. Anyway, you don't need it, Slutty Princess?

└Slutty Princess Nope. I can't give it to the players, either.

└Wild Grylls Understood. Go Slutty!

└Slutty Princess Thank you hehe

└King Leor Cheer for Leor too.

└Wild Grylls I'm not the type to play both sides hehe

└Slutty Princess I like you even more now. I'll hurry and get those pants.

With Slutty Princess saying she didn't need the inner core either, I looked for someone else.

└Allfather As I mentioned before, my body isn't in a state where an inner core could do anything for me. Give it to someone else.

└Wild Grylls Understood.

└Allfather I'd prefer a rare creature instead.

└All Hail the Sun Just put it on the auction house. Don't try to squeeze money out of me.

└Wild Grylls Wasn't trying to squeeze money out of you, though...

└All Hail the Sun Kidding. I'm not especially interested. The mature mandrake you gave me before was plenty.

Allfather and All Hail the Sun refused too. They were also the type to ask only for what they needed. That left just Passing Dwarf...

└Passing Dwarf Just gimme more mandrakes. I'll make more booze with them.

└Wild Grylls Right. My mistake for asking you. Is the wall nearly done?

└Passing Dwarf Let's trade at lunch, and tell me if you need more.

└Wild Grylls Any interest in taking the inner core as payment?

└Passing Dwarf I said give me booze.

└Wild Grylls [sweating]

Dwarf was just a drunk. Maybe it was because he was a dwarf, but he really loved his booze. In the end, every registered user I knew turned me down. Heavenly Demon said she didn't need it either, perhaps because I'd already given her one. Something about receiving too much.

'Ah, screw it.'

I didn't agonize over it for long. I listed the inner core on the auction house. Inner core or not, cleaning the fish was more important.

I gave the head and innards to Roundfur and washed out the inside thoroughly, just as I had yesterday. The hose must not have been clogged today, because water came gushing out.

'It did taste good.'

I'd have a hearty breakfast and use that energy to fix up the hideout. At lunchtime, I could put up the wall from Dwarf.

SIZZLE...

The fish was turning golden brown on the cast-iron pan I'd bought at the auction house. I'd removed all the scales and seasoned it with salt. I'd also cut the flesh into small pieces. Eating it whole yesterday had been too much of a hassle.

"Here, Roundfur. Have some."

I wasn't eating alone this time. I gave Roundfur a few cooked pieces, offering them with chopsticks rather than handing over the whole pan. Being Korean, I found chopsticks more comfortable than a fork.

"Kyuu!"

Roundfur's eyes sparkled as the cub gobbled up the fish with relish. Given Roundfur's size, this wouldn't be nearly enough. In human terms, it was more of an appetizer. I planned to give the cub meat later.

"Want some too?"

I offered the speed-sloth a piece of well-cooked fish. I knew it was an herbivore, but it might be interested.

The speed-sloth slowly nodded its acceptance. I'd thought it only ate plants. Apparently not. Well, it had originally tried to steal the fish, so it wasn't incomprehensible.

I picked up a cooked piece with my chopsticks and held it to its mouth. It moved ever so slowly.

"... Hurry up and eat."

How could even opening its mouth take so damn long?

And this was the creature that had threatened me at the fastest speed in the world. I couldn't understand it even if I wanted to.

Now that I'd given both of them some fish, all that remained was filling my own stomach. With everyone getting a share, I had far less than yesterday. But that was fine. Yesterday, those two had stared at me while I feasted alone. Their eyes seemed to say, "You're hogging all that delicious shit?" I couldn't help feeling guilty.

'There's plenty anyway.'

The fish was so big I needed both arms to carry it. Giving away a few pieces wouldn't leave me short. I wondered whether yesterday's fever might have been indigestion. Though of course, as Heavenly Demon said, it was probably from too much energy rushing in.

"Delicious."

After polishing off the fish, I felt comfortably full. I used a fish bone instead of a toothpick to pick food out from between my teeth. Not a bit went to waste. Disposing of the remains was a slight hassle, but burying them would take care of that.

'Time to get moving.'

I couldn't afford to take things too easy. I wasn't settling down here for good, so getting lazy already would be a problem.

'But first, some cultivation.'

Having eaten a hearty breakfast, I gathered my mana using the internal energy cultivation method. I didn't forget to recite the formula Heavenly Demon had taught me yesterday. Its rather poetic phrasing was difficult to follow, but picturing the imagery made it a little easier.

'If the first formula is this bad, how hard will the second be?'

Surely they wouldn't combine into a poem on the scale of Song of Gwandong. If they did, even memorizing it would be an ordeal.

'Still, I'll have to memorize it.'

I concentrated, controlling the mana inside me through the cultivation method. Maybe I was imagining it, but the energy felt stronger and more domineering than yesterday. Rather than a calm river, it surged like waves. That wasn't a bad thing. Thanks to that power, it circulated much faster.

"..."

After finishing my cultivation, I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was the speed-sloth's languid face.

"Agh! You scared me!"

"..."

"Ha... You're giving me a fright."

My heart had nearly jumped out of my chest. I sighed. It was nice that it didn't interrupt, but seeing it right in front of me was bound to startle me.

'Roundfur is... already asleep.'

Our adorable ball of fluff was deep into a nap. Being a baby, all the cub seemed to know was eating, sleeping, and shitting. Fortunately, the shitting happened outside the cave, so that wasn't a problem.

As I prepared to get moving, the speed-sloth slowly clambered onto my back. I was getting used to this now, but suddenly I remembered its hygiene situation.

'I haven't washed this thing, have I?'

I'd better heat some bathwater right away. Otherwise, I might catch something. Allfather had said that although it had no ticks, all sorts of other bugs lived on it. He'd even said it was likely to have fungi growing on it, so I needed to scrub it just as thoroughly as Roundfur.

'The fish is all gone now. Perfect timing.'

I immediately cleaned out the iron tub and filled it with water. Now all I had to do was wait for it to heat up. I'd worry about adjusting the temperature later.

Meanwhile, I dug out a place to install the wall. I planned to build it in a rectangle around the cave entrance.

THUNK! THUNK!

'This is ridiculously easy to dig.'

I'd noticed it while logging too, but shoveling wasn't hard at all. Normally, even the shovel would feel a little heavy, but not anymore. It must all be thanks to the internal energy cultivation method. Manual labor should be easy now.

"... Done already?"

The problem was, it had become too easy. The groundwork was finished in less than thirty minutes. All that remained was to set the wall into the neatly dug trench and fill it back in. A few trees were in the way here and there, but I could cut those down as I went.

BANG! BANG! CRACK!

Even the logging was done in thirty minutes. It was incredibly fast. Before, it had felt like chopping trees. Now, it was closer to smashing them. That made it easy to knock them off balance and topple them. I only had to smash through the center and push with my foot. I'd grown so much stronger so suddenly that it was actually disconcerting.

'Well, a good thing's a good thing.'

I scratched my head at the mangled, fallen trees, then shrugged. I listed all but one on the auction house. The remaining tree would be firewood.

Thinking of firewood reminded me of the bathwater I'd put on to heat. I worried it might be boiling furiously, but fortunately, only gentle wisps of steam were rising from it.

"Right. Your turn to wash."

"..."

The speed-sloth slowly crawled down from my back, as if it understood. At first, I thought it would climb into the bath by itself. Instead, it headed into the cave. It seemed to be running away because it didn't want a bath. As slow as it was.

"Ah-ah. Not that way. Come here."

"..."

In the end, I picked it up myself and put it in the tub. No, more precisely, I tried to—until it clamped tightly onto my arm as though refusing to be dropped.

It was even trembling. It seemed scared. That was all the more puzzling for a creature that could catch arrows on sight.

"... Hey."

"..."

"Do you hate baths?"

No answer came. It couldn't speak in the first place. But its refusal to budge made its dislike of baths obvious.

That didn't mean I could give up on hygiene. I tried to put the speed-sloth into the tub.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Every time I tried, it darted to another part of my body. It slipped this way and that as though I were a tree, moving at an incredible speed. You'd think getting into the tub would kill it.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Have it your way! I'll take the bath myself!"

"..."

I finally gave up. Only after I declared my surrender did the speed-sloth resume moving slowly.

"... You thought I'd say that and mean it?!"

"?!"

It was a feint, you little punk. Taking advantage of its lowered guard, I grabbed its arm. With its arm restrained, it would have no choice but to go in quietly. Sure, it still had one free arm, but it couldn't do anything with that.

SLASH!

I was completely wrong. The speed-sloth swung its remaining arm at the iron tub. The tub split cleanly into several pieces, scattering the warm water everywhere. It wasn't that it couldn't do anything. It absolutely could.

"..."

"..."

In the ensuing silence, I stared at the speed-sloth. It stared back. Its expression seemed to say:

—What are you going to do about it?

Another day, another loss for me.