Chapter 13

Golden Poison Frog (3)

It took me only a moment to realize that even Allfather was borderline abnormal. Then I turned my attention to the drinking-water problem.

It wasn’t as though I had any resistance to poison, and the golden poison frog’s venom was especially deadly.

How deadly did it have to be to make a tree sizzle and melt? If it hit me, I would be finished instantly.

I had bought an antidote just in case, but I had no idea whether it would actually work.

So I planned to make a separate request of Allfather—something more valuable than money.

[Wild Grylls: Hello. You’re Allfather, correct?]

[Allfather: Yes, I am. Thank you for initiating the trade.]

The moment I sent Allfather a trade request, he replied. His manner of speaking was far more refined than that of the others.

Judging by how he had immediately identified the golden poison frog and by the posts he normally wrote in the Gallery, he seemed to be some kind of academic, perhaps a professor.

An extremely wealthy academic, at that. He had been willing to burn twenty thousand gold on a single frog, so I couldn’t even begin to guess what he did for a living.

Then again, I barely knew who anyone here really was.

[Wild Grylls: You need the frog, right? I’ll register it immediately.]

[Allfather: Thank you. As promised, I will register twenty thousand gold. However, are you aware that trades exceeding ten thousand gold transmit your location to the moderators?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. I know.]

Trades worth more than ten thousand gold automatically transmitted the participants’ locations to the moderators because there were too many ways such transactions could be abused.

They could be used to launder illegally acquired profits or purchase war supplies in bulk.

Gold charged into the Gallery could not be converted back into cash, but there were still plenty of opportunities for misuse.

Of course, since I was in the Forest of Four Seasons, it hardly mattered. In fact, having my location transmitted might not be entirely bad.

[Wild Grylls: Before that, may I ask one more favor? If you agree, I’ll lower the price from twenty thousand gold to fifteen thousand.]

[Allfather: Hmm? What kind of favor?]

[Wild Grylls: I need an antidote suitable for the golden poison frog’s venom. As you saw in my earlier post, I’m having trouble securing water.]

There might have been another river nearby. However, that stream was the closest source of water.

As long as the golden poison frog remained there, I could neither wash myself nor obtain drinking water.

Searching for another river would also be extremely difficult, since I might get lost.

[Allfather: I believe I understand your situation. I accept your request. As it happens, I was interested in researching that aspect as well.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. We can consider the remaining five thousand gold payment for the antidote. Would having more specimens make your research easier?]

[Allfather: Naturally. However, golden poison frogs are extremely rare, so please take care not to drive them to extinction.]

I wasn’t so sure about that.

No matter how precious the golden poison frog was, could it possibly be more valuable than my life?

If the antidote worked, that would be a different story. But if it didn’t, I might have to wipe out every golden poison frog in the area.

I had recently learned just how important a stable water supply was. Not being able to wash was driving me insane.

Whenever a transaction exceeded ten thousand gold, the user’s location was immediately sent to the head moderator.

The rule was supposedly meant to prevent abuse, but the head moderator could also abuse it.

I didn’t know the exact conditions or method by which a head moderator was selected, but there must have been previous head moderators as well.

I suddenly became curious about the Gallery’s history, but that wasn’t something I needed to worry about right now.

[Allfather: If you discover any rare plants or animals in the future, or anything you have never seen before, please make a post about it. I will answer to the best of my knowledge.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. I’ll see you next time.]

[Allfather: It is rare to find someone as polite as you in the Gallery, Mr. Grylls. How remarkable. Please stay safe.]

And with that, my trade with Allfather came to an end.

As soon as the transaction was completed, I checked the money deposited into my Gallery account.

A small fee had been deducted because of the size of the transaction, but nearly fifteen thousand gold had still been credited to my account.

I could use it to purchase various supplies from the auction house. I had already considered what I needed.

‘Before that, I should ask the head moderator where my location shows up.’

Title: Head Mod, Can You See My Location?
Wild Grylls

I just traded with Allfather. Can you see where I am?

_DontAbandontheHero: Yes! It says you’re in the Forest of Four Seasons! Right in the middle of it, too!
└ Wild Grylls: Ah, f—
└ LMAOOOOO
└ LMAOOOOO
└ Abandon all hope kekekekeke
_ Officially confirmed by the head mod: Forest of Four Seasons, LOL.

I shouldn’t have asked.

I suppressed the despair surging through me.

The Gallery was supposed to be inaccessible from the Forest of Four Seasons, yet I was an exception. It had even clearly revealed my location.

Who the hell was playing this kind of prank on me?

I couldn’t understand it at all.

└ Wild Grylls: You’re seriously not lying?
_DontAbandontheHero: Yes! I swear on my holy sword that it’s true!
_ Grylls, let’s just give up already...
└ You’re going to have to live there.

Those bastards.

Was escaping not even considered an option?

Now that even the head moderator had confirmed it, all I could do was let out a bitter sigh. Even the last shred of hope had vanished.

Escaping would be difficult anyway. The landscape changed constantly even just beyond the stream, severely limiting the area in which I could move.

‘Fine. I’ll survive here. But I’m definitely going to escape.’

Even if it took years, I wanted to see civilization again someday.

I immediately wrote another post in the Gallery.

This time, it wasn’t to complain about my situation. I wanted to ask what supplies I would need from now on.

Title: Survival Experts, Help
Wild Grylls

Looks like I’ll have to live in the forest from now on, so I’m planning to buy some supplies.

So far, I’ve thought of an axe, dagger, shovel, hammer, emergency rations, water, soap, medicine, and stuff like that. Is there anything else I need?

└ Use unscented soap if possible. The smell might attract bears.
_ If you know how to set traps, make some around your shelter. No idea whether they’ll work in the Forest of Four Seasons, though.
└ You should definitely gather charcoal. You can use it to filter water or even brush your teeth.
└ That’s useful, but the warmth might attract snakes.
_ Never eat mushrooms unless it’s an emergency.

They weren’t being sarcastic. They sincerely taught me useful survival tips one by one.

I hadn’t known about the charcoal in particular.

As for snakes, I could probably deal with them using repellent. That was why I had spent so much money buying it.

└ Nobody knows what’s in the Forest of Four Seasons, so everything will probably be dangerous.
└ You’ll likely have to learn most things through personal experience.
└ Yeah, that’s probably right.
└ When would anyone ever have a reason to enter the Forest of Four Seasons? Kek.

But those were ultimately only the most basic principles of ordinary wilderness survival.

I was the first person to actually live in the Forest of Four Seasons.

There was already a frog the size of a dog wandering around. The truth was that no one knew what else might be out there.

‘Still, I should buy whatever I can.’

One by one, I purchased the items recommended by the adventurers.

It would be best to use this cave as my base.

Finally, I bought a large sheet of paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink.

Since the compass didn’t work, I planned to create a map using nothing but my own sense of direction.

‘I should mainly mark the places where the terrain changes constantly.’

There was a good chance places other than the stream changed in the same way. Knowing which areas did so would make it easier to move around.

It would also be wise to mark the zones where dangerous beasts appeared. More precisely, their territories.

Perhaps the reason no other beasts had approached this place until now was because it had originally been the mad dog’s territory.

But that protection would not last forever. The owlbear had already devoured the mad dog’s corpse with great enthusiasm.

There was no guarantee that the owlbear would not come here next. I needed to prepare for that possibility.

“Hmm...”

I crossed my arms as I looked at the various supplies I had purchased.

What should I do first?

People said that when you were truly busy, you had so many things to do that you couldn’t even decide where to begin. That described my situation perfectly.

Should I build a fence and secure the area first, or explore the surroundings a little more?

The former would take far too long, while the latter would leave me vulnerable in the future.

‘I don’t even know how long building a fence will take.’

This was the kind of situation where I should ask for advice.

I wrote another post in the Gallery.

If it looked like the work would take too long, I would explore the area instead.

Title: I’m Planning to Build a Fence Around My Home. Any Advice?
Wild Grylls

I want to build a fence to prevent intruders from getting in. Any advice?

_Passing Dwarf: Do you even know how to build a fence?
└ Wild Grylls: You just hammer it together, right?

└ Passing Dwarf: ;;;
└ “Just hammer it together,” LMAO.
_ That phrasing is killing me, kekekeke.

└ Passing Dwarf: Anyway, what you’re imagining is probably closer to a defensive wall than a fence. You said there’s an owlbear nearby, right?
└ Wild Grylls: Y-Yeah.
└ Passing Dwarf: In that case, you’d be better off setting traps near the entrance. Give yourself at least one or two months to build a wall properly.
└ Wild Grylls: One or two months? I’m making it out of wood.
_ Passing Dwarf: If you don’t believe me, go make one right now.
└ Wild Grylls: Fine, I will.

Thud!

Was he serious?

Even as I looked at the post with suspicion, I got to work. Actions spoke louder than words.

Trees were everywhere nearby, so acquiring materials would be easy. I had also bought an axe specifically for logging.

‘This axe is heavier than I expected.’

Even holding it with both hands, I could feel its considerable weight.

I stood in front of a moderately sized tree.

It grew straight upward without bending, making it ideal for building a defensive wall.

Still, one month was ridiculous.

Confidently, I swung the axe.

‘As expected of a new axe. It feels great in the hands.’

At this rate, it wouldn’t take long at all.

Passing Dwarf had seriously underestimated me.

“Huff... Huff...”

I take that back.

He hadn’t underestimated me. His assessment had been extremely objective.

Panting heavily, I stared at the tree.

Despite chopping at it with all my strength, I hadn’t even cut halfway through.

The outer layers had been manageable, but the closer I got to the center, the harder the wood seemed to become.

‘I have a newfound respect for lumberjacks.’

The woodcutters who appeared all the time in fairy tales had actually been incredible people.

No wonder so many of them had several children to support.

I wiped away the sweat pouring down my face and stared at the half-cut tree.

If cutting down a single tree was this difficult, there was no way I could build an entire defensive wall.

Humans truly were helpless when working alone.

In the end, I had no choice but to postpone building the wall.

Just as Passing Dwarf had said, setting traps would be better.

Title: F—, Why Is This Tree So Hard?
Wild Grylls

(Photo of a slightly chopped tree)

This is killing me.

└ It’s hard now that you’ve actually tried it, isn’t it?
_ Did you think logging was a joke?
└ You had it easy all this time because other people did the hard work for you, huh? LMAO.
└ Wild Grylls: I’m sorry. I’ll never act cocky again.

└ SwordMaster: Learning a mana cultivation technique would make it somewhat easier.
_ Heavenly Demon: The one above speaks the truth. Hurry and begin by practising the lotus position.
_ Wild Grylls: O-Okay. I will.
_ Did all his confidence just disappear?
_ That’s better than acting recklessly and getting himself killed.

_ Passing Dwarf: See that you do not get cocky again.
└ Wild Grylls: Yes, brother.
└ He suddenly became so respectful, LMAO.

Thanks to them, I was able to settle on a clear course of action.

I would create traps near the cave entrance that only I knew about.

The defensive wall could wait until after I trained in whatever internal-energy or mana cultivation technique they were talking about.

At my current level, it consumed far too much stamina.

‘Digging will take a long time too.’

Having completed military service, I knew all too well how exhausting it was to shovel dirt.

It usually took three or four people working together an entire day to construct a single defensive position.

Moreover, considering the size of the owlbear I had seen, I would have to dig much deeper than my own height.

‘This is seriously hopeless.’

Nothing was easy.

Humans were far too powerless in the wilderness.

But did that mean I would give up?

Absolutely not.

Little strokes fell great oaks. If I kept working steadily, my efforts would eventually bear fruit.

‘First, I’ll dig deeply around the entrance. I can work on the surrounding area later. I can also buy some fabric from the auction house to use as camouflage.’

Thinking about traps gave me another good idea.

Rather than relying only on traps, I could dig up the ground around the entrance and the cave itself.

Like the moats that surrounded castles in the old days, it would be enough as long as it prevented outside intruders from approaching.

For now, I could also use the excavated soil to form a temporary wall.

Later, I could slowly replace it with a wooden one.

‘Good. Let’s start immediately.’

Nothing would happen if I only made plans.

I began designing the area around the cave entrance.

I marked where I would dig the moat, where I would pile the earth to make a temporary defensive wall, and finally, where I would leave an entrance for myself.

It was far from perfect, but it should at least help protect me.

Thud!

I drove the shovel into the ground.

Thanks to the rain early that morning, the soil was somewhat soft.

Logging had been difficult, but digging was at least manageable.

It would still take a long time, though.

‘Let’s take it slowly, one step at a time.’

The fortress-building project that I had begun with such enthusiasm...

“Owww... My whole body aches...”

...rewarded me with crippling muscle pain the following day.