Chapter 7 - Forest of Four Seasons (2)

Anyone know who's the highest god in this world?

Wild Grylls

Title says it all.

└Why?

└Wild Grylls: So I can cuss them the fuck out

└LMAOOOO

└LMAOOO

└Damn, openly announcing blasphemy

└Don't Abandon the Hero: Blasphemy is bad!

└So that's why you ended up in the Forest of Four Seasons lmao

└You're being punished lol

└Don't Abandon the Hero: Blasphemy is bad!

It felt as though the hope I'd finally grasped had come crashing down. I folded my arms and looked at the ground.

The compasses I'd received from the registered users lay in a row. All their needles spun round and round as though broken. They couldn't all be broken. More likely, the problem was wherever I was.

'Am I really in the Forest of Four Seasons?'

I raised my head to check the forum. Word must have spread, because everyone was talking about me. Plenty of people insisted this could only happen in the Forest of Four Seasons, but just as many countered by asking how I could access the forum, then.

What if Wild Grylls faked the whole thing?

Didn't this fucker break all the compasses on porpoise?

└It's "on purpose," not "on porpoise"

└His posts are way too suspenseful for that, though?

└Mad dogs, then a guardian, then an owlbear

└Look at that lineup lmao

└They were fucking huge too. No way it's fake

└The New Moon Spirit Grass seems real too? Check Heavenly Demon's post

└At least he's not a scammer. Bit nuts, though

└Lmao

I wished I'd faked it too. A sigh of frustration escaped me. Like the spinning compass needles, my mind felt as though it was going round and round.

As in, I was going round the bend. I had no idea what to do next.

'There's still hope, though.'

There was no confirmation that this was the Forest of Four Seasons. The world was vast, with plenty of unexplored regions. Couldn't this be one of them? Everyone described the Forest of Four Seasons as an inhuman hellscape.

As someone who'd lived under civilization's protective umbrella, I needed to get out somehow. Doing something was better than sitting around doing nothing.

Tell me what the Forest of Four Seasons is like

Wild Grylls

Title says it all.

└Why do you want to know?

└Wild Grylls: To check if I'm really there

└Basically, it's got spring, summer, autumn, and winter weather

└More precisely, it has every kind of climate. Heard there's even a desert

└Wild Grylls: Why the fuck is there a desert in a forest? You said it was a forest

└We dunno either?

└FYI, the Forest of Four Seasons is the size of a small country. Keep that in mind

└Wild Grylls: What fucking useless information

└Hey, just keep it in mind lmao

What kind of fucked-up forest was this? First, I'd better check.

Going outside was dangerous, but with the compasses out of commission, staying put served no purpose. My best bet seemed to be using the cave as a base and gradually expanding my range.

'I'll need paper and a pen too.'

I planned to draw a rough map. Even with the compasses useless, that would be better than nothing. I might get lost along the way and be unable to return. I needed to prepare for the worst.

'Try everything you can.'

I'd heard that the most important thing for survival was the will to live. More often than not, doing nothing out of despair really did get you nowhere.

Dangers were everywhere, but I had to take some risks. I turned to look at a corner of the cave.

'There's nowhere safer than this cave right now, anyway...'

Since I would likely have to spend several days in this forest, I planned to find water before trying to escape. You could live three weeks without food, but three days without water would kill you. Even with the forum's help available, I intended to do whatever I could myself.

'I might not be able to get help when I'm really in danger.'

I'd realized that when the mad dog bit me. Sword Masta's kindness had gotten me through that crisis. There was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. In fact, it was very likely. If I couldn't get help when my life hung in the balance, I'd die.

'In that case, I need to get closer to the registered users...'

I had no idea what any of them did. I took stock of the registered users I'd gotten somewhat friendly with.

Heavenly Demon was someone important, Sword Masta was rich and an expert swordsman, and Passing Dwarf was a dwarf. That was all I had for now. I didn't know what the users who'd given me compasses did.

'Starlight Lady seems to be ill.'

Physically, not mentally. I didn't mean it like that. Judging by those daily prayers for a full recovery, they seemed to be ill. Some chronic condition, probably.

As for the others, well... I couldn't tell much from their posts. They were so all over the place that it was hard to be sure.

Revealing my asshole

Slutty Princess

(Photo of an emblem featuring a deer)

Here's my little asshole

└Lmaooo did Changgu lose today?

└Slutty Princess: Those motherless bitches conceded two goals in stoppage time alone hehe

└LMAOOOO

└No wonder the crazies were coming out of the woodwork

Or maybe I could. I made a face at the utterly graphic post.

This Slutty Princess was definitely sports-mad. Of their countless posts, most were about sports.

I wanna cryyy. Why am I a Changgu fan?

Hehe, fucking bastards. Conceding like total fucking morons.

That's our Evers!! Knew I could count on youuu!

This is such f***ing bullshit. You call that a team?

Re are mid-table trash! Re are mid-table trash! Re are mid-table trash!

"..."

A very familiar scent wafted through this unfamiliar forum. Most sports tended to drive people insane. This was a very familiar flavor.

I'd once been so obsessed with soccer and baseball that I'd suffered stress-induced hair loss. Then I'd seen the light and made a full recovery.

'If I want to make friends with this person...'

It would be difficult for now. Maybe if this were Earth, but here, I didn't even know what sports they played.

Enough profiling the registered users for now. Time to explore the area before sunset.

Holding Heavenly Demon's sword, I popped a few fasting pills into my mouth. Bitterness flooded my mouth the moment I chewed. I hurriedly took a sip of water to wash away the taste. How long would I have to keep eating these?

'All right. Ready to go.'

Before leaving the cave, I made a post. I also remembered to tuck a handful of fasting pills into my pants pocket, just in case.

All ready

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the cave exit)

Gonna look around and check if this is the Forest of Four Seasons

└Isn't that too dangerous?

└You ran into an owlbear earlier...

└With the compasses acting weird, exploring is probably the better option

└Heavenly Demon: Do be careful

└Sword Masta: Good luck

└Passing Dwarf: You should wait a bit. I was going to give you a used shield

└Wild Grylls: Later. I'll run straight away if there's danger anyway

└The next day, Grylls never posted again...

└Sob sob

└Wild Grylls: Shut it

Everyone seemed to be cheering me on. Of course, most of the encouragement came from registered users. The rest were closer to "Why should I give a shit?"

Some comments went way over the line, but they were deleted soon afterward.

└Don't Abandon the Hero: Excessive abuse and insults toward someone doing his best will get you banned!

└Wild Grylls: Thanks, thanks...

I wasn't sure this counted as doing my best. I'd just ended up here by accident.

Anyway, now that I'd made what might be my last forum post, I took a few heavy breaths and stepped out of the cave. A familiar view greeted me outside: a forest in warm weather.

'I guess the warm weather is a silver lining?'

Cold weather would have made this even harder. I looked around and set off, heading away from the mad dog carcass the owlbear had been enjoying. I made sure to leave marks with my sword at intervals so I wouldn't get lost.

'Focus on the sounds.'

Chirping insects. Bushes rustling in the wind. Distant animal roars.

I strained my ears, determined not to miss a thing. My heart pounded with tension. In this place, a single moment of carelessness could mean life or death. All I could rely on now was this sword.

RUSTLE

My ears, sharpened by tension, caught an ominous sound. Directly above me.

I immediately jerked my head up. There wasn't time to raise it slowly.

HISSSSS!

A gigantic snake lunged at me, jaws gaping. Its long, sharp fangs looked deadly.

Without even time to scream, I wrenched my face aside. Its jaws missed me by a hair. Without hesitation, I slashed down at its body.

THUNK!

"What..."

Something unexpected happened. This was Heavenly Demon's sword, the one that had sliced clean through mad dogs. Yet the blade only cut halfway through before lodging in place. The snake's scales were far tougher than I'd thought.

SCREEECH!

The venomous snake thrashed in pain. At the same time, it came at me with its enormous jaws open. It was as big as an anaconda. One bite and I was finished.

I hurriedly tried to move my right hand, only to freeze.

Its coils tightened!

"Gurkh?!"

The snake had wrapped its body around my right arm. When the hell had it done that?

But my shock lasted only a moment. Just before it could bite, I grabbed its neck.

Scales were usually unpleasantly slippery, but this snake was different. It felt like touching solid steel plating.

Its coils squeezed even tighter!

"Aagh!"

The pressure on my right arm intensified. But my left hand wasn't free either. The moment I let go with it, the snake would bite me. Holding this position was the best I could do.

'What do I do... Ah!'

Amid the confusion, something caught my eye: the half-severed section of the snake's body. It lay between its head and the coils around my right arm. I immediately swung both arms down as though jumping rope.

The half-severed section dropped beneath my foot. Now it was time to use some muscle.

THUD!

"Hraaaaah!"

HISSSSS!

Planting my foot on the middle of its body, I pulled, trying to tear the half-severed section apart completely. The snake shook its head from side to side, perhaps writhing in pain. Venom sprayed dangerously from its fangs.

My right arm was in trouble too. The coils squeezed harder, as though intent on crushing the bones.

It was a game of chicken: either it died or I did. And now I ran into an unexpected obstacle.

'Fuck. Why are these scales so tough?!'

Even Heavenly Demon's sword hadn't cut through it easily. Of course it was tough. But was I going to give up? Absolutely not. If I wanted to live, I had to rip this thing in half and kill it.

RRRIP! RIP!

The contest of strength was beginning to show results. Its body slowly started tearing apart. The wound where I'd driven my sword in gradually widened, and I pulled with every ounce of strength I had. Using my foot as well as my hands let me exert even more force.

RRRIP! RRRRIP!

The stubborn, drawn-out struggle was over. The snake's body tore in half.

I felt the coils rapidly lose strength, cut off from the head's commands. I immediately shook my right arm. As the snake's body fell away from it, I drove my sword in.

SHUNK!

Heavenly Demon's sword buried itself squarely in the snake's head. Even with a sword through its head, the snake kept wriggling.

Panting, I sank to the ground. I left the sword in, just in case. I'd heard somewhere that snakes were bizarre creatures that sometimes kept moving even with nothing but their heads left.

Even now, with the sword driven through its head and deep into the ground, it continued to writhe. What a tenacious creature.

My arm throbbed and throbbed.

"Oh, man..."

I looked at my aching right arm. Clear marks covered it. Not just marks, either, but deep bruises. Considering that my bones had nearly been crushed, I'd gotten off lightly.

'What are those scales made of, anyway? Why are they so tough?'

Even Heavenly Demon's sword had barely managed to pierce them. I posted photos on the forum. I'd rest for about thirty seconds before moving on. I'd used up too much strength.

Now even the snakes are fucking huge

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the snake's head)

(Photo of the snake's body, separated from its head)

Seriously thought I was gonna die. Freaked the fuck out when the sword didn't cut through in one go...

└Holy shit that's gross... Is it venomous?

└Wild Grylls: Yeah. First it tried to kill me with its fangs, then it wrapped around my right arm. Thought my bones were gonna break

└You bisected a mad dog but couldn't cut through some snake in one go? How'd you kill it?

└Wild Grylls: Tore it apart where the sword had cut it. Tough as fuck, though

└Holy shit

└Looks like a steelscale snake?

└If it is, isn't that worth a shitload?

└Yeah, the venom and scales should both be expensive

So this thing was called a steelscale snake. It lived up to its name.

I watched the comments erupt into another frenzy, then simply closed the post. It wasn't anything I needed to worry about anyway. Given its size, carrying it back to the cave would be awkward. Better to put it straight up for auction.

'I should list it, if only to avoid a repeat of the mad dog.'

Without hesitation, I opened the auction house. All sorts of items were listed. Occasionally, some truly bizarre things appeared, like an elf's panties or socks that hadn't been washed for days.

The world really was vast, with no shortage of morons and perverts. I let out a hollow laugh. This happened because anyone could list an auction, unlike direct trades.

'The fee is... Yikes. Forty percent?!'

So that was why they called the fees murderous. Still, plenty of people used it for the advantage of bypassing distribution.

I touched the body rather than the head and listed it in the auction house. The listing was titled "Snake I Just Killed," with a minimum bid of 5 gold. I'd been wondering how to dispose of the carcass, so selling it at all would be a win.

'At least the listing fee isn't much.'

The forum had given me a small amount of money when I'd created my registered account. Thanks to that, I wasn't short of the listing fee. That was something, at least.

P.S. Fees may vary depending on weight.

Didn't matter. I finished the listing and stood up.

The snake's body disappeared once it was listed in the auction house, leaving only the head. It was still alive and moving, so I couldn't list it. My best option was to cover it with dirt.

'It's already rough, and I've barely started.'

Just my luck. Why did my life have to be so hard?

I set off, rubbing my still-throbbing arm and praying nothing else would happen.

BURBLE

Before long, a sound snapped me to attention. Flowing water.

Whatever else I needed, water was vital to survival. I hurried toward it. It could solve my drinking-water problem, and following the river downstream might even lead me out of the forest.

Or so I'd thought.

"... What the hell is this?"

If only there hadn't been a "desert" on the other side of the stream. I wasn't so much flustered as dumbfounded.

No matter how hard I looked, it was a desert. A desert with striking, slightly reddish sand. I was clearly in a forest, so why was there a desert across the stream?

It felt as though all common sense had been shattered. After staring blankly for a while, I opened the forum.

Guys, check out this cool thing

Wild Grylls

(Photo showing the stream and forest)

Over here, a forest and a river!

(Photo of a vast desert stretching beyond the stream)

Across the river, a desert! Think it's fake?

(Video alternating between the forest, stream, and desert)

Wow, holy fuck! Where could this be?

Aren't. You. Just. Dying. To. Know?

└Wow. That. Is. So. Amazing.

└??? It really was the Forest of Four Seasons?

└How are you using the forum?

└Lmao this really is spectacular

└It was real lmao

└Heavenly Demon: What a lovely place

└Wild Grylls: Excuse me?

└Heavenly Demon doesn't seem to know what this is lmao

└Why such boomer taste lol

└Passing Dwarf: Are you hallucinating, by any chance?

└Wild Grylls: I've been sober for ages...

└Passing Dwarf: Drink again. That'll wake you up

└Lmaooo

└Treating poison with poison. Damn

Nothing but utterly useless comments. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Hah..."

One word summed up exactly how I felt.

"Fuck."