Chapter 8 - Forest of Four Seasons (3)

The Continent-Wide Forum could be accessed anytime, anywhere, provided certain conditions were met.

The first was that the ambient mana had to be stable. Unstable ambient mana made accessing the forum difficult.

Second, users had to be able to manipulate mana at will. This was connected to the next condition.

Finally, they had to know the access formula. The calculations were so simple that even a child could do them.

Thus, if the mana was unstable, you couldn't use mana, and you didn't even know how to connect, using the forum was impossible.

What if this is all a dream?

Wild Grylls

Maybe I'm actually dreaming? The forum and all of you were just part of my dream all along. Yep.

Gotta wake up soon lol

└He's finally lost it lmao

└Hang in there, dude.

└Starlight Lady Hang in there.

└Wow, if even she's telling him to hang in there...

└Dude, you should start posting Survival Day 1 too lol

└Slutty Princess Is that really the Forest of Four Seasons? Hard to believeee.

└Believe it. That's the only place like that.

└Slutty Princess But he's on the forum all the damn time?

└We're wondering about that too lmao

└Fr, everything we know about the world is falling apart.

└Allfather May I use you as a research subject?

└Wild Grylls What for?

└Allfather I'd like to write a paper.

└Wild Grylls Do whatever you want...

└He's given up lmao

Yet someone who disregarded every one of those conditions had appeared on the forum. At first, he had seemed like just another registered user, but over time, he began attracting attention.

First he stumbled upon New Moon Spirit Grass out of nowhere, then he fought mad dogs and won, then a mad dog bit him in his sleep. As if all his compasses breaking hadn't been enough, now he'd even posted proof that he was in the Forest of Four Seasons. Most of the evidence left little choice but to believe him.

Something's weird about that snake Grylls posted.

Isn't that really a steelscale snake? Apart from being fucking huge, it's a dead ringer, right?

└What's a steelscale snake?

└Exactly what it sounds like. A snake with scales as hard as steel. Even a sword expert would barely manage to kill one, I think.

└Worth much?

└It's really good if you process it right. Think fabric with the strength of iron.

└Why's that steelscale snake so big? It's the size of an anaconda...

└How big are they normally?

└Normal snake size. That's why they're easy to catch, but I dunno about that thing.

└How much would it cost?

└About 100 gold minimum, I think?

The snake Grylls had put up for auction caused quite a stir too. The auction house had a broader user base than direct trading. While only registered users could make direct trades, anyone could list items and place bids at the auction house.

Didn't that mean people could trade drugs and other dangerous goods? It was a reasonable question. Fortunately, the murderous fees alone made such transactions uncommon. Even when they did happen, the admin immediately nipped them in the bud with a permanent ban.

└Whoa, it broke 500 gold. Holy shit.

└What if it's a scam?

└Grylls listed it at 5 gold and left, so he's not responsible.

└Besides, who are you gonna hold responsible for something you bought at auction? lol

└Considering the fees, he listed it dirt fucking cheap.

Even while Grylls wallowed in distress, excitement at the auction house showed no sign of fading. Since it was an auction rather than a fixed-price sale, a crowd of users was bound to swarm it. And factoring in the fees, the setup made fierce competition inevitable.

└Hell yeah! It broke 1,000 gold!

└Found a sucker lmao

└That's still cheap, though. Assuming it's genuine.

└But is it genuine?

└If it turns out fake, they'll go nuts trying to hunt Grylls down lol

└But Grylls is in the Forest of Four Seasons. Can they even get him?

└Good point lmao

└Pleasure without responsibility. Damn.

└Isn't this no responsibility AND no pleasure?

└True lmaooo

└Wild Grylls Huh, what? Why's it so expensive now? Uh...

└The man himself has arrived!

└Grylls. Is that really a steelscale snake?

└Wild Grylls Dunno. Thought something might eat it later, so I listed it right away.

└Don't tell me it's farm-to-table fresh?

└Wild Grylls It was still wriggling right up until I listed it lol

└Aaaaaaah!

└Gaaaaah!

Grylls had only listed it to get rid of it quickly, so he was baffled. More importantly, he couldn't care less whether it was a steelscale snake or whatever the hell else. How could he pay attention to an auction when he had no idea how he was going to survive? He felt like crying.

Upvote if you're Grylls and want to kill yourself lmaooo

I'll go first lmaooo

└Wild Grylls Upvoted lmaoooo

└?????

└Why's the OP freaking out? lmaooo

└Didn't think he'd actually show up...

└Looks like Grylls has lost it lmao

Of course he'd lost it. Every last hope of escape had vanished. Getting lost in an ordinary forest could kill you, never mind the Forest of Four Seasons, a place called a nightmare beyond human reach. Compasses broke there, and even space was twisted. His chances of survival were abysmal to begin with.

Where's Grylls from anyway?

Now that I think about it, I'm curious. What the hell did he do to end up in the Forest of Four Seasons?

└Wild Grylls I'm from Earth, but I had a drink and woke up here.

└Where's Earth supposed to be? Never heard of it.

└Wild Grylls Another world.

└...?

└You didn't wander into the forest because you're mentally ill, did you?

└Another world lmaooo

└Got forums there too?

└Wild Grylls Yeah, but they're split into more categories.

└Oh! Any interest in becoming a moderator?

└Wild Grylls What's a moderator? Same job as the admin?

└Yep, except with less power and no pay lol

└Wild Grylls Fuck that.

└Don't Abandon the Hero I can handle the hard work myself!

Apparently he'd well and truly lost it, because Grylls answered every question with the utmost sincerity(?). He told them everything from the fact that he came from another world to what that world was like. Of course, the forum users didn't seem to believe him. They just treated him like a lunatic.

└Sword Masta So that's your persona. Understood.

└Wild Grylls It's not a persona, okay?

└Sword Masta Who would believe a single bomb could wipe out an entire city?

└Wild Grylls I find a person smashing a mountain even harder to believe.

└Heavenly Demon I am quite capable of it.

└Slutty Princess Me tooo.

└Allfather I can do that as well.

└Don't Abandon the Hero I can too, if I put some effort into it!

└Wild Grylls Is this place full of nothing but monsters?

└Passing Dwarf That thing you mentioned sounds interesting. Know how to make one?

└Wild Grylls How would I know that?

└Passing Dwarf What CAN you do, then?

└Wild Grylls Eat, shit, and goof off?

└Passing Dwarf Just die and turn into fertilizer.

└Wild Grylls Yeah, guess I should...

└Passing Dwarf Ah fuck, sorry. Don't actually die. I'll send you some booze later.

└Lmaoooo

└Look at him panic now that the guy might actually kill himself lmao

Either that, or they thought he was roleplaying. A natural conclusion from their perspective. Grylls ending up in the Forest of Four Seasons and coming from another world were separate matters. The latter wasn't particularly important, either. Right now, what mattered most was the steelscale snake up for auction.

└How'd you kill that thing? Thought you were an ordinary person.

└Wild Grylls My sword wouldn't cut through it, so I just tore it apart.

└THAT'S an ordinary person?

└You're talking about ripping a steel plate apart bare-handed lmao

└Wild Grylls Nah, nothing that extreme. The sword had cut partway through, so I went for that spot. It was big, but I could still get one hand around its neck.

└And then you tore it apart like that?

└Wild Grylls Yep.

└Fuck, that still makes no sense.

└Are all the ordinary people in your world like that?

No matter how they looked at it, that didn't sound like an ordinary person's answer. Still, it wasn't completely impossible. People often exerted several times their usual strength when their lives were in danger. They could accept that explanation and move on.

└Stopped at 1,100 gold. Looks like it'll sell soon?

└How long's left?

└Ten minutes now, yep.

└Grylls only gave it six hours because he wanted to sell it off quick.

└Wild Grylls Huh? You could set the duration too?

└He didn't know lmaoooo

└He really must've been in a hurry lmao

└Still, selling fast is better for him.

└Something might go 'burp!' and eat it again like last time lol

The steelscale snake that had caused such a stir sold for around 1,100 gold. A hefty price. Even accounting for the auction house's murderous fees, he'd made a fortune in no time.

Fuck fuck fuck I shouldn't have bought this

(Video of a snake's body wriggling like fucking crazy)

First off, it IS a steelscale snake. Farm-to-table fresh, are you fucking kidding me?

└Ugh... Shouldn't you put a mild gore warning on this?

└It's cute how it wriggles lol

└?

└Excuse me?

└No head, so I don't think it's THAT fresh lmao

└Fr lol

└Just nice and fresh lol

└True, if it were alive, he couldn't have listed it lol

The item had even been proven genuine. Trust in Grylls rose along with it. A little defective in the head, perhaps, but an honest man. That was the forum's verdict.

Any survival experts here?

Wild Grylls

If so, gimme some tips. I want to live.

└Used to be loads. Not anymore.

└Wild Grylls Why?

└All ded lol

└Wild Grylls Uh...

└Those famous users went into the Forest of Four Seasons and disappeared too, right?

└Yep.

└Grylls started there lmao

└Starting on hardcore. Holy shit.

└Wild Grylls Useless bastards.

While Grylls lamented his lot through his tears, trouble was brewing elsewhere too. It was the home of the Heavenly Demon, the being who had once turned the Central Plains upside down, and a paradise for the outcast: the Demonic Cult, watched warily not only by the martial world but even by the imperial court of the Central Plains.

“Your Eminence! You absolutely must not enter the Forest of Four Seasons!”

“Why do you stand in my way when I intend to rescue my benefactor? You must truly wish to die.”

The Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol, threatened the man before her with an icy expression. Her gaze carried enough force to tear someone to death. That force was real, and it affected the man considerably. His insides didn't merely churn; they felt tightly knotted.

He felt ready to pass out at any moment, but he forced himself to endure and spoke.

“That is not my intention. It is simply that the Forest of Four Seasons is a nightmare from which even Your Eminence would struggle to escape.”

“Demonic Strategist. Surely you know what realm I have attained.”

“Of course. You have transcended the principles of martial arts and earned the right to ascend to heaven.”

He had sensed it the instant he faced her. The Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol, had entered a realm beyond all measure. Where once she had been like the sun high above, now she seemed to have become the sky itself.

Even before this, she had stormed the imperial palace alone and taken the emperor's head. Now that she had attained an even higher realm, there was no one who could stop her.

“However, the Forest of Four Seasons you speak of is nature itself, beyond even heaven. All of nature's energies have converged there, transforming the entire region into a nightmare.”

“Speak plainly.”

“Think of the entire region as being filled with formations. Even if you break one, nature's powerful ability to recover immediately restores it, and it changes into a different form.”

Once you entered the Forest of Four Seasons, you could never leave. The Demonic Strategist had just explained why. The whole region was a barrier, and even if you broke it, another barrier with a different pattern appeared. The entire forest was a living barrier, regenerating no matter how often you broke through it. Thus, however powerful Yu Sowol might be, she would not be able to force her way through the Forest of Four Seasons.

“Can even your intellect find no solution?”

“Regrettably, the truth is that my dull mind cannot even fathom Your Eminence.”

“Hmm.”

Yu Sowol stopped pressuring him and withdrew her aura. If even the Demonic Cult's chief adviser was saying that, there truly must be no way. Stubborn demands would achieve nothing. Nor could she kill an adviser she trusted. Better to work him to the bone, again and again, until he found a way to conquer the Forest of Four Seasons.

“Very well. Investigate the Forest of Four Seasons instead. My benefactor is trapped there.”

“As you command. Then what will you do now, Your Eminence?”

“I need time to put my insights in order, and I shall help my benefactor survive. Do you, by any chance...”

Yu Sowol started to ask whether he used the forum, then stopped. She remembered all the shitposts she'd dashed off without thinking. Yu Sowol the Heavenly Demon knew not a shred of shame, but Yu Sowol the person was another matter. She was embarrassed.

Of course, her so-called shitposts were closer to diary entries. She'd thrown in some insights while she was at it. Still, she couldn't risk it. After a moment's thought, she said something else.

“If you have any advice that might help with survival, offer it at any time.”

“First, I suggest you advise him not to abandon hope. The will to live is the most important part of survival.”

“I shall bear that in mind. Anything else?”

“No.”

“Then you may leave.”

At her dismissal, the Demonic Strategist bowed and withdrew. With him gone, Yu Sowol was alone in the room.

Left alone, she naturally moved to access the forum, but a sudden question gave her pause.

'Come to think of it, he never asked who my benefactor was.'

She hadn't intended to tell him, but he hadn't asked either. That struck her as odd. The question passed quickly, however, and Yu Sowol opened the forum. Thinking wasn't her style. She could leave all the brainwork to the Demonic Strategist. She'd lived that way all this time, so there should be no problem.

“Thought I was going to die. She's a disaster. An absolute disaster.”

Meanwhile, the Demonic Strategist let out something between a complaint and a lament. His organs had been shaken, and a little blood seeped from his mouth. He wiped it away carelessly and took some medicine. That made him feel a little more alive.

'There's no one who can stop the Heavenly Demon now.'

She had become far stronger than before. Already a monster in terms of strength, she'd now gained an enlightenment on top of it. At the very least, no one in the Central Plains would be able to stop her. That meant his long-cherished dream could finally be fulfilled.

'Not yet. There's still plenty to sort out.'

The Demonic Cult was a paradise for the abandoned. In other words, it had plenty of internal strife. They would need firm discipline within before they could exert influence outside. For now, he intended to lie low and wait.

'I need to keep a close eye on the western nations too.'

If the Central Plains were all there was, that would be one thing, but they had to be wary of the western nations as well. The moment the Demonic Cult made its move in earnest, it would shake the Central Plains and attract attention from outside. Since time immemorial, civil wars had naturally drawn foreign powers into the fray. Some lunatics even invited them in to preserve their own power, and it happened surprisingly often.

'The problem is how to persuade that monster...'

The Demonic Strategist looked around and confirmed that no one was nearby. Then he gazed into empty air. A very familiar window appeared before him: the same forum Yu Sowol used.

'Her benefactor must be Wild Grylls, right?'

In truth, he knew not only that Yu Sowol used the forum, but even that her registered username was Heavenly Demon. He'd been using the forum longer than she had. It would have been stranger if he hadn't known. Why did he leave her to it, then?

└Heavenly Demon If things prove too difficult, I shall come rescue you.

└Wild Grylls Really? Aren't you busy?

└Heavenly Demon I consulted my aide, who advised me to give you hope.

└Wild Grylls Excuse me...?

└Heavenly Demon Is something wrong?

└We've agreed to call that false hope.

└Heavenly Demon's kind of dumb too lmao

└Like she's sheltered?

└Not exactly. She just doesn't think like a normal person.

“...”

Because one person knowing this mortifying truth was plenty. A sigh escaped him before a laugh could. The Heavenly Demon, revered and feared by all, wasting time on the forum? Even a beggar would throw down his begging bowl at that.

He hadn't believed it at first either. Through sheer martial might alone, Yu Sowol had risen to stand supreme. The idea of such a being hanging around on the forum was unimaginable. But as both her close adviser and a man of exceptional intellect, he'd soon figured it out.

The decisive incident had been the emperor's assassination. She'd gone off without warning, taken his head, and returned. How could he not know? Although the imperial court had covered it up as a mere power struggle to conceal what had happened, the Demonic Strategist knew the truth.

'What on earth is she thinking, posting things like these...?'

Her posts were an even bigger headache. She spread the insights she'd gained without a second thought. Fortunately, her peculiar sensibilities meant she was mostly mocked as a boomer and the like. Yet her posts were littered with insights that would have turned the entire Central Plains upside down had they been written in a secret manual rather than on a forum. It was much like how something approaching genuine literature occasionally appeared on the forum.

'I have to take this secret to my grave.'

Quite apart from Yu Sowol's forum habit, the Demonic Strategist was an exemplary forum addict himself. The majority of his posts were insults aimed at her. If he was caught, his head would go flying. But would that make him quit the forum?

Now I'm curious

Smart Demonic Cultist

Some people seem dumb but are actually smart. My boss is like that.

Can't fucking tell if she's got no thoughts or just isn't thinking.

Maybe she's got a good brain and just doesn't use it?

└You run into plenty of those sometimes lol

└Lots of people just have weird standards.

└Character's what matters. Does she pay well?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Boss isn't greedy about money, so yeah lol

└What's your boss like? Man or woman?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Woman.

└Pretty?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Pretty, yeah, but kinda dumb, so not my thing...

└What's your type?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Pretty and smart.

└You're from the Central Plains, right? How about the Zhuge family?

└Smart Demonic Cultist Who? Is she pretty?

└Your qualifications first lol

└Smart Demonic Cultist They take guys from the Demonic Cult?

└Of course not, you fucking nutcase lmaoooo

└Smart Demonic Cultist Damn, shame lol

As if. A dog would give up eating shit first. The Demonic Strategist snickered. The more he used his brain, the more refreshing it was to switch it off.

Of course, he didn't switch his brain off every time he used the forum. One registered user had been causing quite a stir lately.

'I'll keep a close eye on Wild Grylls for now...'

He had no intention of helping directly. Yu Sowol might not bother thinking, but she wasn't oblivious. He would play dumb as much as possible and simply monitor Grylls's activities. Yu Sowol was already watching over him anyway.

For all the talk of the Forest of Four Seasons, the Demonic Strategist wasn't convinced. He would revise his assessment of Wild Grylls once more conclusive evidence emerged.

Please send me home

Wild Grylls

I miss my mom.

“...”

The poor fellow was rather pitiful. Should he help? The Demonic Strategist pondered it.

└Hang in there, dude... Is your mom doing okay back home?

└Wild Grylls I'm an orphan.

└???

└Uh...

└Wild Grylls Think I'll be seeing her soon, though. Gonna give her a hug when I get there lmao

└Oh...

└Ohhh...

└Ohhhhh...

└Wild Grylls What's with you all?

He really was pitiful.