Chapter 1

Continental Integration Gallery

Sometimes in life, you find yourself in a situation you never could have anticipated.

Most of the time, you can overcome such situations by thinking on your feet or drawing upon past experience.

But what happens when something occurs that goes far beyond anything like that?

What are you supposed to do then?

What else? You search for a solution by any means necessary.

"Fuck. What the hell is this?"

A harsh curse escaped my mouth at the sight before me.

Then again, anyone who saw the situation I was in would probably react the same way.

There was a forest in front of me.

A forest behind me.

A forest to my left and right.

Nothing but forest in every direction.

The trees were so enormous that they even blocked out the sun.

Where was this place, and why was I here?

I could not make sense of the situation at all.

[Welcome to the Continental Integration Gallery.]

"Ah, shit! You scared me."

Just as my mind was going blank, a strange message appeared before my eyes.

It floated in midair like a hologram.

My surprise lasted only a moment before the message transformed into something else.

[Day 114 of Praying for a Full Recovery.][1]
[IThinkImGoingInsaneIThinkImGoingInsaneIThinkImGoingInsaneIThinkImGoingInsane][12]
[Whatever You Do, Don't Click the Post Below!!!][52]
[This Is the One for Today!][105]
[Is this... the Continental Gallery...?][8]
[I Started Dating My Childhood Friend! AMA!!][10]
[Is there no one willing to engage in a profound discussion with this lady? It is a grave matter.][2]

It had transformed into the most horrifying embodiment of chaos imaginable.

Had I drunk too much last night?

I was seeing things the moment I woke up.

Yet no matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, the window floating in the air remained.

It was enough to drive me insane.

"Am I... dreaming right now?"

I had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Half mesmerized, I moved my finger.

Could I actually open these?

It looked remarkably similar to the online galleries I had often seen on the internet.

Among the collection of chaotic posts, I selected the one with the highest number of comments.

[This post does not exist or has been deleted.]

"...?"

It left me with an even greater mystery than the chaos itself.

Had I known this would happen, I would have clicked it sooner.

Still, thanks to that, I began to understand the situation I was in.

I folded my arms and started browsing through the gallery.

I had never been a particularly devoted gallery user, but I had looked through them a few times when I needed information.

Even though this one appeared like a hologram, it was extremely simple to use.

Whether I gestured with my hand or merely moved my eyes, it responded exactly as I intended.

Title: Day 114 of Praying for a Full Recovery
Starlight Princess

Day 114 of praying for a full recovery.

└ Hang in there.

I selected the post with the fewest comments, but it contained only a short message and an equally short reply.

That alone was not enough to judge anything.

Before that, however, I needed to determine whether my current location was safe.

'I have no idea what's going on, but I should be careful.'

There was no telling what might emerge from the forest.

I would be in serious trouble if something like a bear suddenly appeared.

Fortunately, a little light filtered through the trees here and there, so I could at least see what was ahead.

I started walking.

"Hmm?"

Then I noticed a peculiar plant.

The densely packed trees concealed it from view, but they could not hide its faint glow.

I also needed somewhere to conceal myself.

Moving cautiously, I slipped between the trees and settled into place.

'That looks strange.'

At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary plant, but its petals were shaped exactly like crescent moons.

Even without any light falling upon it, it shimmered like a crescent moon in the night sky.

It was an incredibly beautiful flower.

'Beautiful things usually contain poison.'

So I did not touch it.

Things like that were exactly what you were never supposed to mess with in an unfamiliar forest.

If you do not know what it is, do not eat it.

Especially mushrooms.

You would be better off eating bugs or insects instead.

I sincerely hoped things would not deteriorate to that point, but given my current circumstances, I had to consider the possibility.

'Are there any rules?'

I raised my head and opened the gallery.

Apparently, merely thinking about it was enough to bring it up.

When I checked the post at the very top, I found a notice prominently displayed.

Title: Notice
Don'tAbandonTheHero (Head Admin)

Posts that cause discomfort or disgust to others are prohibited!Obscene photographs and videos are prohibited!Posts that create tension between nations are prohibited!Excessive socializing and hostility toward newcomers are prohibited!Violating any of the above rules will result in a ban!Let us preserve peace within the gallery!Heroes are not harmful! Please do not abandon them!
(Most important!)

└ Forget everything else. What's with the last rule? LMAO
└ What's the hero doing right now? Sleeping?
└ For real, I heard people saying the hero is useless now that the world is at peace.
└ Rumor has it the Empire sent an execution squad after them, lol.
└ Damn, that's pitiful. LMAO

The orange-colored name probably meant that person was some kind of administrator.

I remembered hearing something like that before.

The notice was fairly straightforward.

It did not seem like there would be any reason to ban someone as long as they did not cross the line.

The gallery was also extremely easy and convenient to use.

Users could take and upload photographs and videos, and they could even trade with one another.

However, direct trades between users, rather than auctions, were limited to those with registered usernames.

Apparently, it was meant to prevent illegal transactions.

More importantly, because personal relationships between users posed a risk, private conversations during trades were limited to three minutes.

'Users can trade with each other?'

Of everything I had discovered, that was the best news.

I did not even know where I was right now.

Money and everything else could go to hell.

What mattered was obtaining supplies necessary for survival.

Even finding food would be difficult.

I also needed a weapon to protect myself, tools for making fire, and countless other things.

However, trades tended to be one-sided.

That was especially true when one side was desperate.

After thinking it over again and again, I created a registered username.

Before worrying about trading, I first needed to determine where I was.

Title: Woke Up in a Forest. Where Am I?
Wild Grylls

(A photo of a forest densely packed with trees.)

I drank last night and woke up here. ;;
Does anyone know where this is?

For now, I uploaded a post to the gallery.

At the very least, I already understood that this was another world.

The problem was figuring out where in that world I had landed.

I did not even have the luxury of wondering why I had been brought here.

I needed to survive first.

Only then could I take my time thinking about everything else.

There was no point in anything if I died.

But thanks to the post, I realized one thing.

I had just done something incredibly stupid.

Obviously, if I posted nothing but a random picture of a forest, it would be difficult for anyone to identify which forest it was.

Still, the fact that they had bothered to comment at all meant they were at least somewhat helpful bastards.

So I made another post.

Title: What's the Most Famous Forest on the Continent?
Wild Grylls

└ ? What is this guy even trying to do?
└ This is like posting a picture of someone's leg and asking us to guess who it belongs to, lol.
└ Want me to upload a picture of my leg? Try guessing who I am.

└ You're a woman.
└ Correct.
└ Actually, I'm a man, lol.
└ You bastard.

Hmm.

Nothing but completely useless comments.

Assholes.

└ Let'sGrowTrees: Obviously, it's Alfheim!
└ Get lost, knife-ears.

└ Let'sGrowTrees: Knife-ears? We merely stated the truth!
└ Says the knife-ear bastards who destroyed their own forest and started invading other people's territory.

└ Let'sGrowTrees: The Mother of Nature has spoken. Every forest is Alfheim!
└ PassingDwarf: Because of those bastards, all the firewood disappeared. Fuck.
└ Knife-ears really stick their noses into everything. Nothing but trouble.
└ Didn't they invade the underground a hundred years ago because they wanted to grow the World Tree's roots? Lol.
└ These days, those bastards are worse than demons, lmao.

Guys.

Could you please leave some normal comments?

I had hoped the registered user called "Let'sGrowTrees" would be useful, but apparently not.

Every forest was Alfheim.

Alfheim was elven territory.

Therefore, every forest belonged to the elves.

They were spreading that absurd logic around.

'What is this, imperialism?'

Weren't elves supposed to be a race that loved nature?

The fact that other races existed was shocking enough, but their mentality was even more surprising.

One thing was certain.

Nothing good would come from getting involved with that race.

I asked another question.

└ Wild Grylls: Is there any forest the elves hate?
└ PassingDwarf: Yeah, there is. It's called the Forest of Four Seasons. Famous for being a goddamn nightmare.
└ Wild Grylls: What kind of place is it?
└ PassingDwarf: Is your head an anvil? Did someone hit it with a hammer?

What the hell?

This bastard started insulting me out of nowhere.

My head did hurt as though someone had smashed it with a hammer, probably because I had drunk so much last night.

But I had not actually been hit.

└ Wild Grylls: Yeah, I told you I woke up in a forest. ;; My head hurts too, so maybe you're right.
└ PassingDwarf: ;;
└ Boo! Trash!
└ Still, the OP is kind of pitiful. What the hell did you do?

└ Wild Grylls: All I did was drink. Though I did drink quite a lot.
└ PassingDwarf: Fuck, then it's your own fault. ;; What kind of idiot can't even find his way home?
└ An alcoholic getting scolded by a dwarf, damn.

Was that really the issue?

I had woken up in another world.

What was I supposed to do about that?

Fortunately, PassingDwarf went on to explain the Forest of Four Seasons in detail.

Apparently, it was the most dangerous forest on the continent.

Just as its name suggested, it contained spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

At first, I had no idea what that meant.

But it did not take long for me to understand why it was called the Forest of Four Seasons.

'Each region has its own season? What kind of bullshit is that...?'

And that was not all.

The forest was rich in mana, so all kinds of dangerous monsters lurked within it.

Worse still, anyone who entered completely lost their sense of direction and could never find their way out.

Because of that, criminals were often thrown into the Forest of Four Seasons.

Not a single person had ever emerged alive.

└ PassingDwarf: On the bright side, it has plenty of elixirs and medicinal herbs.
└ Wild Grylls: But I don't know which plants are medicinal.
└ PassingDwarf: Then I guess you die, lol. Eat a mushroom and drop dead.
└ Wild Grylls: You bastard.

"Haah..."

A frustrated sigh escaped me.

I sincerely hoped this was not the Forest of Four Seasons.

If it really was...

I had no idea what I would do.

Still, he said there were many medicinal herbs, so perhaps I could survive by using them somehow.

Thinking about returning home could wait until after I escaped the forest.

There was nothing I could accomplish by staying rooted here.

'In that case...'

I glanced between my legs.

More precisely, at the ground beneath them.

The plant with the distinctive crescent-shaped petals.

Could this be a medicinal herb as well?

Since I knew nothing about this world, asking the gallery seemed like a reasonable idea.

Online galleries had been useful whenever I posted questions before.

A Continental Integration Gallery ought to be even more useful.

Title: Anyone Know What Herb This Is?
Wild Grylls

(A picture of the crescent-shaped plant.)

I don't know what kind of herb this is. Anyone recognize it?

Less than three seconds after I uploaded the post—

└ Heavenly Demon: Would you be willing to trade it with this lady? It is an urgent matter.

Someone with the registered username Heavenly Demon immediately left a comment.

Wasn't "Heavenly Demon" the sort of title that only appeared in martial arts novels?

I immediately checked the user's post history.

I had no intention of trading with some lunatic.

[Heavenly Demon]
[Posts: 2,548] [Comments: 3,817]

[Is there no one willing to engage in a profound discussion with this lady? It is a grave matter.] — 10 minutes ago

[My body grows heavier by the moment.] — 30 minutes ago

[The heavens are the heavens, and the earth is the earth. To think I failed to comprehend such a simple truth.] — 1 hour ago

It was filled with ordinary shitposts.

Hardly any of the posts had many comments, either.

'What is this? Some role-playing freak?'

Her manner of speech was unbearably lofty, yet she spent her time browsing a gallery.

The two things did not seem to fit together.

Still, I should at least hear her out.

First, I checked the comments.

└ How much money do you need? Just name your price.
└ Sword Master: Is that thing valuable?
└ Starlight Princess: That herb is useless to me... I need something containing the energy of the sun...
└ PassingDwarf: Good sir, would you perhaps be interested in a sword personally crafted by a dwarf?

Oh my.

What was going on?

After I briefly checked Heavenly Demon's posts, an enormous number of comments had appeared.

Even PassingDwarf, who had been so abrasive until moments ago, had suddenly become polite.

Was this herb really that valuable?

└ Heavenly Demon: Silence!! This lady claimed it first, yet you are all consumed by greed!!
└ Yeah, that means nothing~
└ Claimed it first, my ass, lol. The OP will choose whoever they like.
└ Move aside, old hag~

└ Fuck, is that really a New Moon Spirit Herb? Why is one of those there?
└ GiveItToMeGiveItToMeGiveItToMeGiveItToMeGiveItToMeGiveItToMeGiveItToMeGiveItToMe

Heavenly Demon, who had left the first comment, was eventually buried beneath the flood.

Even when she repeatedly tried to make her presence known, it was useless.

Since users could trade with one another, I occasionally saw astronomical amounts being offered.

Of course, I had no idea how valuable this world's currency was.

Still, one thing was obvious.

'I should choose the person who looks the most desperate.'

And among them, one user continued stubbornly asserting her presence.

As anyone could have guessed, it was Heavenly Demon.

She must have truly been in a hurry, because she was posting comments at an astonishing speed.

Watching her made me feel a little sorry for her.

'Judging from her posts, maybe she really is sick.'

Starlight Princess also seemed ill, but she had already made it clear that the herb was useless to her.

After thinking it over again and again, I decided to choose Heavenly Demon.

Countless trade requests had already arrived, but I ignored them all and selected her.

Having something taken away from you even after you claimed it first was a filthy, despair-inducing feeling.

I knew that all too well.

Apparently, the administrators possessed more authority than I had expected.

Or perhaps they were simply that wary of illegal transactions and excessive socializing.

I was doing neither, so I sent the request without hesitation.

What I needed right now were survival supplies.

'What will she give me?'

I waited with anticipation.

[Heavenly Demon has accepted your request.]