Chapter 12

Golden Poison Frog (2)

Normally, falling asleep in the wilderness without any protection was extremely dangerous.

Just yesterday, I had nearly died after being attacked by the Mad Dog in my sleep.

But once someone stayed awake all night, their physical condition inevitably deteriorated.

If sleep was unavoidable, the best option was to prepare as many defenses as possible.

That was why I had spent so much money on snake and insect repellent.

I had roughly blocked the cave entrance with branches and rocks, and I had left the sword right beside me just in case.

Thanks to that, I managed to spend the night safely.

***

Title: A Strong and Powerful Morning!
Wild Grylls

(Photo of the cave with faint light shining inside.)

If you ask me who I am, I am Wild Grylls!

L You survived lol.

L Last time, you got bitten by the Mad Dog.

ㄴ So this is Day 2 now?

L Wild Grylls) Yeah. But one side of my face is stiff. I’m screwed.

L That happens when you sleep on a cold floor lolol.

ㄴ Hang in there lololol.

L Wild Grylls) My whole body aches too. This is bad ;;

Maybe it was because I had slept on the hard stone floor.

Or perhaps it was because I had no pillow.

Either way, my entire body ached.

As if that were not enough, one side of my mouth had gone numb and crooked.

The dawn must have been cold enough for dew to form.

I hurriedly rekindled the firewood, which had almost completely burned out and retained only a little warmth.

Right now, warmth was essential.

It was fortunate that I had used the clothes CheongguPrincess gave me as a blanket.

Otherwise, things could have been dangerous.

Even so, isn’t it way too cold? Did it rain during the night?

The day I was bitten by the Mad Dog had not been this chilly.

After warming myself somewhat, I stepped outside the cave.

The moment I did, I realized it had indeed rained before dawn.

Does the temperature really drop this much just because it rained?

Fog had also settled over the forest, making it difficult to see.

Shivering, I went back inside the cave.

It was so cold that I even put on one of the jerseys CheongguPrincess had given me.

It was surprisingly warm.

For now, I planned to remain inside until the fog cleared.

After that, I would hunt the Golden Poison Frog.

The time is... six in the morning. I woke up way too early.

The sun set early in the forest, so naturally I had no choice but to sleep early as well.

Fortunately, the gallery prevented me from completely losing track of time.

I should eat a few Wall-Fasting Pills for breakfast and wait until the weather cleared.

Until then, I should practice sitting in the lotus position.

My body ached, but that was probably because it had stiffened during the night.

Some light stretching should make it better.

After stretching, I groaned and forced myself into the lotus position.

Strangely enough, it was much easier than yesterday.

Yesterday, it had felt as though my joints were being twisted apart.

Now, it merely hurt a little.

That’s good for me, but...

That was not all.

Despite the aches, my body felt full of energy.

Could it be because of the Wall-Fasting Pills the Heavenly Demon had given me?

She had said they were made from a variety of medicinal herbs, so it seemed likely.

Grrrrrgle!

Ah.

That aside, my stomach had been hurting often.

The worst part was the diarrhea, which made cleaning up an enormous problem.

Fortunately, I had the toilet paper PassingDwarf had given me.

Without it, I would have suffered through several crises already.

I cleaned everything up thoroughly so the smell would not spread.

I would need to build some kind of toilet later.

I should start preparing.

I had gathered most of what I needed to hunt the Golden Poison Frog.

The most important item was the crossbow.

Then there was the Heavenly Demon’s sword and the golden shield PraiseTheSun had given me.

Could I carry all of that?

Yes.

I had separated fibrous strands from trees and woven them into something resembling rope.

It’s only temporary, but it’s sturdy enough.

It was not perfect, but that was fine.

I would strap the shield to my back and hang the sword at my waist.

The crossbow was too large, so I would carry it in my hands.

With that, all preparations were complete.

I had even purchased an antidote, so I was ready for an emergency.

I need to remember to block with the shield.

Before leaving, I made a post on the gallery.

This hunt could become my final one, so I wanted to leave a record.

***

Title: Heading Out!
Wild Grylls

(Photo of me holding the crossbow.)

Twenty thousand gold.

I’m coming for you.

ㄴ Oh. He’s finally going lololol.

L What if we don’t hear from him afterward?

ㄴ Then he died, obviously lol.

L Aww, he died TT

L StarlightPrincess) Please try to encourage him, everyone.

L Heavenly Demon) If you find yourself in danger, initiate a trade with this Lady immediately.

L He probably won’t even have time to trade lololol.

ㄴ One hit and he’s finished~

L Do you seriously think AllFather will pay him twenty thousand gold? lol.

...

That last comment was surprisingly sharp.

Even if I caught the Golden Poison Frog, would AllFather really give me twenty thousand gold?

It would not matter much even if he did not.

I had to kill the Golden Poison Frog if I wanted access to clean water.

Receiving twenty thousand gold would be nice.

If he took the frog and disappeared without paying, I would simply cut ties with him afterward.

Or I could just dump the corpse on him.

Since it was poisonous, handling it would probably be as difficult as preparing pufferfish.

One mistake could kill me.

Rather than taking that risk, I would prefer roasting insects and eating those instead.

If I disposed of the corpse carelessly, I also had no idea what effect it might have on me or the water.

So giving it to AllFather would solve the disposal problem as well.

It would benefit both of us.

Safety comes first right now.

After checking the comments, I cautiously stepped out of the cave.

The time when the forest was still damp with morning dew had passed, and the sun was now somewhat higher in the sky.

Other beasts might appear, so I had no choice but to move carefully, one step at a time.

If I have enough time, I should build a fence too.

Simply blocking the cave entrance was not enough to make it safe.

If an owlbear smashed through everything, it would be over.

I needed to use the cave’s narrow passage to fight anything that entered.

If I only noticed danger after hearing the cave entrance being destroyed, it would already be too late.

So the best option was to gradually build a fence using nearby trees.

It would take a while, but that was fine.

Then I’ll need an axe and a dagger in addition to the sword.

Since I planned to use the cave as a permanent settlement, I needed all kinds of tools.

Fortunately, the gallery made purchasing things easy.

As long as I had money.

If I killed the Golden Poison Frog and received twenty thousand gold, I intended to buy everything I needed.

As for food... I should hunt for it myself whenever possible.

Because of the ridiculous fees, buying food from the auction house was a luxury.

It was also difficult to trust what was being sold.

It might have been different if they had things like fried chicken or pizza, but this world had nothing like that.

One might suggest buying ingredients instead, but very few people sold them.

Because of the auction house’s brutal fees, almost nobody bothered listing basic foodstuffs.

Even when they did, the expiration dates were extremely questionable.

But I absolutely need to buy salt.

No matter how expensive it was, salt was essential.

It was something humans needed to survive.

Hadn’t someone once said that one measure of salt was worth one measure of gold?

That was how important it was.

On Earth, most food was already seasoned, so it was easy to overlook.

That was not the case in this world.

Judging from the general level of civilization, it seemed to be somewhere between the medieval and early modern periods.

Salt would be extremely valuable.

Rooooar—

While thinking about everything I needed for settlement, I eventually arrived at the stream.

Perhaps because of the rain before dawn, or for some other reason, the current seemed stronger than it had been yesterday.

Even so, the water remained so clear that it was almost transparent, and the riverbed was plainly visible.

How am I supposed to lure out that frog?

Now that I had arrived, I realized I had no idea how to draw it out.

I could not simply wait forever.

Should I put my arm into the water like yesterday?

If I did that, bringing the crossbow would have been pointless.

I needed to attack before it noticed me.

Since it was poisonous, I had to be even more careful.

Splash!

While I was still thinking, I heard something burst out of the stream.

I turned toward the sound.

Something golden, about the size of a dog, was soaring high through the air with a fish as large as a salmon clamped in its mouth.

A moment later, the frog—its entire body covered in gleaming gold—landed on a rock in the middle of the stream.

The fish’s tail was still flapping outside its mouth, so it seemed to have just finished hunting.

Lucky me.

Just as AllFather had said, it was active in the morning.

I hid in the bushes and quietly aimed the crossbow.

I would only get one chance.

If I missed, there was no telling when another opportunity would come.

Keeping my nerves under control, I slowly lined up the shot.

The distance was greater than what I had practiced yesterday.

Still, this was a crossbow personally modified by a dwarf.

As long as I aimed properly, I should be able to hit it.

Besides, the frog was almost the size of a dog.

There was little risk of missing.

“Ribbit.”

“...”

The moment it finished its meal, I held my breath.

Fwing!

Then I pulled the trigger.

The harpoon-shaped bolt shot forward with tremendous force, dragging the attached rope behind it.

There was a slight wobble, but the harpoon flew straight toward the frog.

Thud! Splash!

The bolt struck the frog’s body.

The impact knocked it into the stream.

“Yes...! Huh?”

My celebration lasted only a moment.

I barely managed to keep hold of the crossbow as it nearly tore itself from my hands.

I could not tell whether the frog was still alive despite being impaled or whether the current was simply dragging it around, but its violent struggling nearly made me lose the weapon.

And so began an unexpected fishing session.

Instead of holding the crossbow, I grabbed the rope connected to the harpoon and pulled.

It was fortunate that I was wearing gloves.

Otherwise, the rope would have cut deeply into my bare hands.

“Grrrrraaaagh!”

Gritting my teeth, I hauled on the rope.

Fortunately, it did not take long before the frog was dragged out of the stream.

Once I confirmed that it was on dry land, I clasped my hands together.

They did not merely ache.

They burned.

Ugh. At least there aren’t any wounds.

When I removed the gloves, I found deep marks across my palms but no actual cuts.

I repeatedly massaged my hands.

Then I carefully pulled the rope closer and examined the frog pierced by the harpoon.

Its long tongue and the fish it had just swallowed were both hanging out of its mouth.

It was completely motionless.

It was definitely dead.

“Hehehe.”

This dog-sized bastard was worth twenty thousand gold.

Twenty thousand gold was equivalent to approximately two hundred million won.

No matter how absurd the auction-house fees were, there would still be more than enough I could do with that much money.

Still, I needed to handle it carefully.

I was wearing gloves, but there was no such thing as being too cautious.

“Ribbit.”

“Hm?”

What?

Was this thing still alive?

I tilted my head at the sound.

But even after checking again, the frog remained dead with its tongue hanging out.

Besides, the sound had not come from it in the first place.

If it wasn’t this one...

With a sinking feeling, I turned my head toward the stream.

“Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit.”

“Ribbit. Ribbit.”

“Ribbit.”

And then I saw them clearly.

Several Golden Poison Frogs were sitting on the rocks.

The one I had caught had been the size of a small dog.

These were only about the size of large toads.

The problem was their numbers.

There were so many that they might have been an entire family.

...First, I should take a picture.

Even as I slowly backed away, I took a photograph.

It was not because I was a gallery addict.

I was simply curious how AllFather would react when he saw it.

Would he pay twenty thousand gold for each of them?

Or would he offer less?

More importantly, how was I supposed to get water from now on?

I already felt filthy from being unable to bathe.

“Hrrraaaak!”

“Kraaak!”

The Golden Poison Frogs all tilted their heads backward at once.

It was the signal that they were about to fire poison.

One frog would have been manageable.

If several fired simultaneously, there would be nowhere to dodge.

I hurriedly pulled the golden shield from my back.

“Ptoo!”

“Ptooh!”

“Puh!”

Golden blobs of poison shot toward me at high speed.

I rapidly retreated while blocking them with the shield.

Perhaps because it was ordinary poison rather than acid, the shield did not melt.

Or maybe the shield itself was simply that good.

I should send PraiseTheSun a message of thanks later.

For now, getting back to the cave came first.

This is such bullshit.

After barely making it back to the cave, I let out a long sigh.

Every obstacle only led to another.

Still, the hunt had not been entirely fruitless.

I had caught what seemed to be the leader of the Golden Poison Frogs.

I would have to comfort myself with the twenty thousand gold.

The drinking-water problem would need to be solved gradually.

***

Title: What a Weak Little Bastard lol
Wild Grylls

(Photo of the Golden Poison Frog impaled on the harpoon.)

Frog bastard eliminated lol.

L Damn, look at the size of that thing lolol.

_ Is that really a frog? lololol.

ㄴ What’s it holding in its mouth?

ㄴ Isn’t that a fish?

_ Wild Grylls) Yeah. I caught it while it was eating the fish.

_ You attacked it while it was eating? lololol.

L That’s seriously underhanded lololol.

L Even dogs aren’t bothered while they’re eating lol.

L Wild Grylls) It’s not a dog, though lol.

_ Heavenly Demon) Were you injured anywhere?

L Wild Grylls) No. I’m fine. The hunt itself was unexpectedly easy.

_ Heavenly Demon) That is a relief. This Lady prepared an antidote in case it was needed, so tell me if you require it.

L Wild Grylls) I’m okay. I already have one antidote, and there’s something else I need to think about.

_ AllFather) Oh! You caught it. May I initiate the trade immediately?

L Wild Grylls) Before that, I’m going to make one more post. I think you’ll really like it.

_ AllFather) Something I would like? How intriguing.

He was going to love it.

I had taken the photograph in advance precisely for this reason.

The gallery had a photo-album function, allowing users to upload any picture whenever they wished.

I posted the photograph of the Golden Poison Frog family gathered peacefully together.

****

Title: AllFather, Look at This
Wild Grylls

(Photo of several Golden Poison Frogs gathered together.)

Do these things normally live in groups?

There were a lot of them.

ㄴ AllFather) Ooooooh...! Forgive my vulgarity, but I find myself becoming aroused below.

L Is this guy really a professor? That was unbelievably vulgar lololol.

As expected, there was not a single normal person on the gallery.