Chapter 45 - The Swindler (6)

Fuck, I've abandoned the trap.

Wild Grylls

Just checked my pit trap, and there was a spider living in it instead of a rabbit.

It even had pitch-black hair. Ugly as fuck. Just looking at it scared me, so I left it alone.

From now on I'm using animal traps instead of pits.

└Heavenly Demon Take heart. If things become difficult, I shall send you meat.

└Wild Grylls It's okay. I can still hold out.

└How big was the spider?

└Wild Grylls At least a meter, I think? Nearly passed out when I saw it;;

└Agh;; What kind of spider is that huge?

└Wild Grylls Too scared to even take a picture. Think I'm better off ignoring it lol

└Why not at least roast and eat that?

└Wild Grylls It's not like I didn't consider it, but it had babies. Can't kill their mother.

└Fucking lol, look at Saint Grylls over here lmao

└And yet you killed Roundfur's mom?

└Wild Grylls That's because Roundfur's mom tried to kill me;;

└Lmaooo fair point

└How would Roundfur feel? The person who raised you is actually the murderer who killed your mother... And your mother was someone who tried to kill that person...

└Anyone got a novel like that to recommend? Sounds fun.

└Instant novel premise lol. Off to write it right now.

└Allfather What did it look like overall?

└Wild Grylls I ran as soon as I saw it, so I'm not sure either. Just a spider with pitch-black hair?

└Allfather Hmm. That's not much to go on. It sounds like a kind of tarantula, so I recommend not trying to catch it.

└Wild Grylls I was actually thinking of just burning it.

Since it lived in a pit, some oil and fire would burn it to death in no time.

But I had no intention of going to all that trouble for no reason. I didn't even want to look at it.

Imagine lifting the panel to find a whole swarm of hideous spiders. It wouldn't be surprising if that left you traumatized.

'Where the hell did that spider even come from?'

It had turned my pit trap into its home in just a few hours.

One of nature's mysteries that almost made sense, yet somehow didn't.

In the end, I had no choice but to make do with a fasting pill for dinner too.

I hoped desperately that a fish would be caught the next morning.

'Maybe I should smoke it instead?'

Not a bad idea. Smoking it should keep the bugs away too.

Animals were the concern, though honestly, if they were going to come, they would have come long ago.

There had to be a reason no dangerous animals had shown up so far.

'Finding owlbear droppings was at least an encouraging sign...'

Roundfur's mother, the owlbear, might have come exploring just like me.

After all, it had been chewing, tearing into, savoring, and enjoying the mad dog carcass.

With the enemy that shared its territory gone, it had paid a visit to their home base.

'All I can do is keep exploring.'

In the Forest of Four Seasons, nothing was too strange to happen.

Preparing for even the remotest possibility wasn't optional. It was essential.

As it began to get dark, I took a few pieces of firewood into the cave.

Inside, Roundfur had woken up and was sitting there blankly.

"You're up? Want some food?"

"Kyoo!"

Cute little guy. I bought a large chunk of meat from the auction house.

I wouldn't have to worry about money for a while. Selling the inner core had earned me a staggering sum.

The funny part was that the swindler hadn't even gotten to eat it. Served him right.

'Allfather should need a frog tomorrow, right?'

Tomorrow's plan was this: explore in the morning and return before lunchtime.

Then hunt a golden frog to trade with Allfather and, if possible, get the fish trap from the dwarf.

If I could just get that fish trap from him, I'd no longer need to worry about food.

Since it was dwarf-made, there was no need to question its durability either.

'The question is whether to go upstream or downstream...'

There was an easy way to escape when stranded: follow a river downstream.

Since ancient times, civilizations had often begun near rivers.

Even if there wasn't a country, there should at least be a small village.

'The problem is that space keeps shifting, so the river might cut off halfway.'

Space kept shifting. It might sound strange, but it was an accurate description.

Even the far side of the river kept changing in real time from snowy mountains to desert.

Last time it had even turned into a region filled with fog. I couldn't believe my eyes.

So if at any point it seemed to cut off unnaturally, I'd turn back without hesitation.

'Nothing's ever easy, is it?'

I sighed. That was why I'd prioritized adapting over escaping.

With space changing constantly, escaping was difficult even if I wanted to.

'I guess it's some consolation that my map keeps getting a little bigger.'

I turned to look at the wall. A map was drawn on a large sheet of paper.

With this cave at its center, it marked notable features in each of the four directions.

The river where golden frogs appeared. The colony of mature mandrakes. The recently discovered golden mushroom cave, and so on.

It wasn't precise, since even a compass didn't work here, but it was a big help.

'I'll head downstream tomorrow.'

If I followed the river, I wouldn't get lost.

Once the sun had fully set, I lit the campfire.

Warmth began to spread through the steadily cooling cave.

"Om nom nom."

Roundfur happily devoured the meat I gave him. I stroked his head.

He flinched at first, then calmly went back to eating. He seemed completely used to my touch now.

'I just wish he'd grow past the baby stage.'

It took several years for an owlbear to reach adulthood. That was what the forum had told me.

But they didn't have to be adults to hunt independently.

I thought I'd heard that they grew fairly large within a year.

After watching Roundfur happily eat the neatly trimmed raw meat, I turned my head.

The speed-sloth was staring at me with that trademark stupid face.

"You're fully grown, right?"

"..."

"Yeah. Thought so."

It seemed to be saying, Can't you tell by looking?

Of course, that was just my guess.

After a simple meal of a fasting pill, I stepped outside for a moment.

It was best to wash up briefly before bed. For hygiene.

'Why does that speed-sloth hate washing so much?'

Fortunately, I hadn't developed any symptoms yet, but you never knew.

Until I could wash the little guy, all I could do was keep myself clean.

After a quick wash, I went back inside.

'Oh, right. A scabbard.'

The thought came to me as soon as I saw Heavenly Demon's sword propped up on one side of the cave.

I'd be traveling all over the place, and I couldn't carry it around like this.

I logged onto the forum and opened a one-on-one conversation with Heavenly Demon.

Heavenly Demon, are you there?

Heavenly Demon

Speak.

She replied in less than a second. It caught me a little off guard.

I just wanted to ask: does the sword you gave me not have a scabbard?

Heavenly Demon

It did.

But the blade was so sharp that it shredded it.

Hmm. That makes sense.

Really, a scabbard might not mean much.

Heavenly Demon's sword had cleanly sliced a mad dog in half, after all.

But just carrying it in my hand would inevitably make getting around awkward.

Heavenly Demon

If you want a scabbard, I shall order one of my close aides to provide one.

No, there's no need.

Do you happen to know Passing Dwarf?

Heavenly Demon

You mean that drunken dwarf?

We have never spoken directly, but I know of him.

I thought I'd try asking him.

He seems to be a very skilled smith.

Heavenly Demon

Not a bad idea, but couldn't you simply carry the sword?

I could, but I think I'll need a scabbard.

For when I was investigating something or needed my hands. That happened often.

Better to have it than not. That was a judgment I'd arrived at from living here.

Heavenly Demon

Our lives are different, my honored friend, so I shall respect your wishes.

But I can assure you it will not be easy.

You said it was made of ten-thousand-year cold iron or something, right?

Is that a good metal?

Heavenly Demon

It is, but it was also made by an excellent smith.

Aha.

So it was a masterpiece among masterpieces. And Heavenly Demon had given it to me.

Every time I offered to return it, she adamantly refused.

Heavenly Demon

If you are thinking of returning it, I will not permit it.

I have already moved beyond attachment to weapons.

Is there anything you want?

Heavenly Demon

If you find an inner core, could you give it to me?

It would be for a close aide, not myself.

Oh. Right. Understood.

Could you pass along my thanks in return?

Heavenly Demon

Of course.

My conversation with Heavenly Demon ended there. Only one thing remained.

Asking Passing Dwarf to make a scabbard. But there was no telling whether he'd agree.

He was making the fish trap in exchange for drinking snacks, but a scabbard was a different matter.

Unless I found some high-quality ore, he would probably refuse.

'In the end, I need something good.'

I'd have to expand my exploration range.

The best landmarks would be places where space tangled into a jumble, like the far side of the river.

'Though places like that are hard to find.'

I'd have to try. Escaping sometimes required reckless ventures.

I took a picture of the campfire and posted on the forum.

Day 4 complete!

(Photo of a campfire)

Bye, everyone! See you tomorrow!

└Heavenly Demon Well done today.

└Sword Masta You've had a hard day.

└Starlight Lady See you tomorrow!

└All Hail the Sun Some worthless bastard sure put you through a lot.

└Slutty Princess Bye-bye! Don't die! I'll send you pants tomorrow!

With registered users cheering me on and anonymous users talking shit, I closed the forum.

Now I planned to practice my internal energy cultivation method and get ready for bed.

'It feels like my fatigue disappears every time I practice the method.'

I practically had to force myself to sleep, but there was no helping it.

Going out in the pitch-black night was as good as suicide.

Even if I could see, the forest was completely different by day and by night.

'Then...'

A good idea struck me. My fatigue disappeared whenever I practiced my internal energy cultivation method?

Then I'd just keep practicing until I got tired.

I had nothing else to do anyway. This was my best option.

'I'll get sleepy eventually, right?'

With that simple thought, I began practicing the method.

The mana inside me gradually began to circulate, speeding up with every breath as though being pumped.

'Slowly, starting with the basics...'

I had time to spare.

I spent that time slowly tending the roots Heavenly Demon had taught me to establish.

"..."

Little by little, I slipped into stillness.

* * *

By the time Grylls was completely absorbed in his internal energy cultivation method, the forum was still bustling.

One registered user leaving was hardly enough to bring the entire forum to a halt.

But most of its discussions were about Grylls.

From now on I'm buying anything Grylls puts up for auction

You can't go wrong buying anything this guy lists lmao

Maybe next time it'll be mithril instead of an inner core? lol

└Mithril, my ass lol. It's not some rock you pick up off the street.

└And inner cores are just marbles you find lying around?

└It's not like they're that effective.

└An inner core is still an inner core. It took someone straight from Second-Rate to Peak, remember?

└I'm telling you, buying it can't hurt.

└Having a whole colony of mature mandrakes is broken to begin with, yeah.

└Ugh, fuck. Could've gotten stuff cheaper if not for that scamming bastard.

└He's basically the reason we have to go through registered users now. Suddenly I'm fucking pissed.

Local forum user is fucked as we speak.

Boss told me to get in with Grylls somehow. Fuck. Said I didn't want to, and he told me to leave the merchant company if I didn't like it.

Can I do anything about this legally? This is closely tied to my private life;;

└Smart Demonic Cultist Do you normally talk shit about your boss?

└Don't you?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Of course. Boss recently asked for my forum username. Nearly got fucked lol

└How'd you get through it?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Just bullshitted my way out. Ask your boss to reveal their username too. They'll probably let it slide.

└Okay okay, thanks for the tip

└At this point I'd believe anything Grylls discovers. What's next?

└Told you. Definitely some kind of ore, yeah. That's what I'm betting on.

Honestly, it's tricky

What does Grylls need? Stuff directly related to survival. Not really money.

It's basically bartering. Doesn't that make trading with him tricky? Unless you give him a legendary weapon or something.

└The fact that threats no longer work is a big deal too. Making even one trade has gotten seriously difficult;;

└For inner cores and spiritual elixirs, he can just eat what's there lmaooo

└Hasn't he already gotten most of the weapons he needs? What could he want?

└Porn pics?

└Oh.

└"Oh," this fucking guy lmaoooo

└That's what YOU need lol

└Nah, he might actually need them. No joke, seriously.

For a while, the forum blazed with something that almost passed for a debate.

Unlike last time, people were taking a more active interest.