Chapter 186

The Paladin Riding a Giraffe (4)

Title: Here’s What Ludwig Said

“My name is Ludwig van Erolt. I am a paladin who serves the goddess Ares.

“I cannot claim to have lived an entirely righteous life, but I believe I have at least lived without shame.

“That is why I must speak out. The current Pope does not serve Lady Ares. He is exploiting the papal throne bestowed by Lady Ares to pursue strength and power.

“They have established an independent faction and are purging people under the pretext of heresy... (omitted)

“Furthermore, bishops are appointed according to their power and wealth rather than their devotion... (omitted)

“They deliberately ostracize other races under the pretext of preventing conflict between the races... (omitted)

“The Holy Kingdom I once knew no longer exists. The entire nation has been tainted by the Pope’s selfishness.

“As I am currently trapped in the Forest of Four Seasons, I cannot offer my assistance in person. Nevertheless, I implore you to help my beloved homeland recover its original faith.”

└ Uh... So all the things that have only circulated as conspiracy theories until now were true?
　└ Yeah, all of it was true. I don’t know about the rest, but the discrimination against other races really is severe.
　└ The racial discrimination alone would be enough to throw the country into turmoil, but its politics are corrupt too.
└ So there was another rock bottom beneath rock bottom, lol.

└ What happens to El Dorado now?
　└ What do you think? They’ll start throwing Molotov cocktails again. At this point, they need to drop the title of “Holy Kingdom” altogether.
　└ The people of El Dorado take pride in their country because it was chosen by the goddess Ares. But the Pope is wielding that authority however he pleases? They’ll never tolerate it.

***

Title: Why Ludwig’s Revelations Are Highly Credible

Because he is in the “Forest of Four Seasons.”

That alone settles the question of credibility.

└ I’m too dumb to understand. What does his being in the Forest of Four Seasons have to do with it?
　└ The Papacy practically shoved him in there to die.
└ From Ludwig’s perspective, he has no reason to lie. If he entered the Forest of Four Seasons just to tell a lie, then why would he go in there at all?
　└ If they don’t like it, they can send someone else in, lol.
　└ Ah, lol. If you’re serious, come into the Forest of Four Seasons yourself, lol.

***

Title: Surprising Fact

According to Ludwig, mana cannot be used inside the Forest of Four Seasons. The mana density is so high that it feels as though the mana inside his body is being completely crushed.

Even circulating mana is difficult. If he had not possessed the sword Grylls gave him, he would have died in less than a day.

His foot has now been amputated through surgery, and he is currently resting.

He does not know whether he will be able to escape, but he intends to try his best.

Wait. I had no idea mana was completely unusable in the Forest of Four Seasons.

How the hell is anyone supposed to survive there?

└ Forget everything else—the inability to use mana is absolutely brutal. That means you have to survive using nothing but your bare body, doesn’t it?
└ But doesn’t Grylls use mana just fine?
　└ Yeah. It’s not even because of some special tool. He could use it from the very beginning, lol.
　　└ Is he some kind of new breed of human?
└ Who knows? Grylls’s very existence has been strange from the start.
└ On top of that, he accessed the gallery without even knowing that mana could be used.

***

Title: As of Today

The strangest animal in the Forest of Four Seasons is Wild Grylls.

If you disagree, you’re wrong.

└ Wild Grylls: What do you mean, “agreed,” you bastards? I can’t escape from here either.
└ But you can still use mana.
└ Wild Grylls: What good does that do me? I’m surviving by mooching off the fast sloth.
└ Ah. That’s true.
　└ Lmaooo. What good is mana when you’re still weak? Lol.
└ Everyone, just laugh at him, lol.

***

Title: Upvote if the Pope is Shitting Himself Right Now, Lmao

He’ll step down on his own at this point, right?

└ Louis, resign!
└ Louis, resign!
　└ Louis, resign!
　└ But what if he refuses?
└ What else? We’ll have to let him taste the mace.
└ I’m feeling a little uneasy about this.

It had not been long since I uploaded Ludwig’s videos, yet the gallery was already going up in flames.

It seemed he had exposed practically everything happening inside El Dorado, but he had also revealed information about the Forest of Four Seasons.

Specifically, anyone who entered the forest from outside became unable to use mana.

I had never realized that because I had been throwing mana around freely, but it was extremely important information.

This was a place where one’s chances of survival fluctuated drastically depending on whether one could use mana.

‘Even the animals here use mana.’

I had survived thanks to the gallery, but other people did not have that advantage.

Unless they entered carrying an incredible weapon like the Heavenly Demon’s sword, conquering this place was practically impossible.

Ludwig was apparently an incredibly powerful man outside the forest, yet even he had suffered this badly.

And that was despite having the weapon I had given him.

‘I’ll leave the outside world to handle its own problems for now.’

I looked at Ludwig, who was resting against the wall.

His eyes were closed. I could not tell whether he was meditating or sleeping.

From now on, I would have to survive and live in the forest with this man, but... honestly, it would not be easy.

He had lost his foot. In effect, I would have to provide for him.

‘Still, the administrator told me he’s a good man.’

And it was not only the administrator. Almost everyone who knew Ludwig said the same thing.

He was rigid and the most old-fashioned of old men, but he had a good heart.

Apparently, he had entered the Forest of Four Seasons for the sake of his honor in the first place.

He had confronted the danger head-on to demonstrate the sincerity of his convictions.

‘It’s good that he’s diligent, but his leg is in terrible shape.’

Even if making a prosthetic was too difficult, I thought it would be better to make him a pair of crutches.

That should at least allow him to move short distances.

Of course, restoring his health and strength took priority before that.

“.....”

‘He should recover if I keep feeding him fish porridge and honey, right?’

Ludwig said he had barely slept at all over the past several days.

Since he had been stranded on the plains, carnivorous animals had attacked him at all hours.

Fortunately, he had survived thanks to the mythrilcon sword and the giraffe’s efforts.

‘If we’re only considering survival, the plains are probably harsher than this forest.’

As I had mentioned before, food was extremely difficult to obtain on the plains.

Water aside, hunting was practically essential if you wanted anything to eat.

‘Communication is another problem... but I can take my time figuring that out.’

For now, I would wait until Ludwig had fully recovered. That came first.

Before that, I needed to boil some water. I could tolerate many things, but the stench was not one of them.

I went outside and began boiling water.

“Hah!”

“Gguu!”

While I was at it, I watched Kkobong and Wonmo training.

Come to think of it, I had heard that Ludwig was a master who had trained countless disciples, including the Hero.

In other words, he might be able to teach me all kinds of techniques as well.

‘Of course he’ll teach me. I saved his life, and I’m feeding him.’

If he tried to act prideful even after all that, I intended to throw him out without mercy. He could go live happily ever after with the giraffe.

Well, the possibility of that happening seemed extremely low.

While waiting for the bathwater to finish heating, I surveyed the surrounding area.

Nothing in particular caught my eye. We would probably remain at the shelter for the foreseeable future.

With that thought, I entered the cave again.

“Hmm?”

Ludwig was no longer where he had been before. Originally, he had been leaning against the cave wall.

Now, however, he was at the very back of the cave—where the mithril vein was located.

I briefly wondered how he had gotten there in such a short time, then walked over to him.

“Why are you over—”

The moment I saw what had happened to Ludwig, I could only stare in horror.

The mithril vein regenerated on its own. I had left it alone because I had no idea what to do with it.

Would you believe me if I said that the mithril vein was now fused to Ludwig’s ankle?

I could hardly believe it myself. Unfortunately, it was undeniably real.

“What the hell?”

What could possibly have happened to cause this?

The mithril vein was firmly attached to him, almost as though it had become Ludwig’s new foot.

“Come on, man! How did you cause an accident the moment you got here?!”

“$@%#. @%$%$#.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying! Just put some strength into it!”

Separating him from the vein came first. I grabbed Ludwig’s leg and pulled hard.

Ludwig seemed to understand what I intended and pulled his leg with every last ounce of strength he possessed.

“Urghhh!”

“....”

“Graaaargh!”

“Ah. Ah. Ah.”

As we pulled, a strange sound came from Ludwig.

I turned my head and saw sweat pouring down his face.

His expression remained perfectly blank.

Was he trying to say that it hurt?

When I quietly released his leg, he fell silent.

“...If it hurts, say that it hurts.”

“#%@%$%.”

“Ah, goddammit. Seriously.”

Not understanding a single word he said was frustrating me to death.

The situation was too urgent to stop and ask the gallery for help.

‘What the hell happened here?’

Since his leg showed no sign of coming loose, I decided to assess the situation first.

Why had Ludwig come over here in the first place? I should begin by checking the traces he had left behind.

I soon found marks showing that something had dragged him across the ground.

It appeared that the mithril vein had pulled him toward it like a magnet.

‘But why? And more importantly, why didn’t he scream?’

The mithril vein had always remained perfectly still.

I had no idea what could have caused this.

The Forest of Four Seasons was a place where things routinely defied explanation, but this was bizarre even by its standards.

‘Should I ask All-Father?’

The whole situation made me sigh.

Still, dealing with the immediate problem came first.

Somehow, I had to separate his leg from the mithril vein.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Leaving him with those words, I went and gathered several tools.

If I could not detach his leg from the mithril vein, I would simply mine the vein itself.

It was a crude solution, but it was the best one available to me.

Clang! Clang!

Before I started mining, I struck the mithril vein with a hammer.

Since it had fused to Ludwig without warning, I needed to check whether he could feel pain through it.

“Does it hurt?”

Ludwig shook his head.

That apparently meant he could not feel anything.

Even though we could not understand each other’s words, he had probably inferred what I was asking.

That left only the mining.

I gripped my pickaxe.

Claaang! Clang! Clang!

It had been a long time since I last mined anything.

I had never imagined I would return to it under circumstances like these.

The work took time because I was being extremely careful not to hit Ludwig’s leg, but I gradually began to see results.

Twitch. Twitch.

The mithril attached to Ludwig’s ankle slowly began to shift.

If I kept striking it, it felt as though the entire thing would eventually pop free.

Claaang! Claaang! Clang!

Mithril fragments flew in every direction, and broken pieces scattered across the ground.

Then—

Shlup!

Ludwig’s leg popped free.

And I saw it clearly.

“...?”

A foot made entirely of mithril.

It possessed a subtle green hue, but anyone could see that it was shaped like a human foot.

‘What the fuck is that supposed to be?’

I was too dumbfounded to speak.

Even Tny Strk could not have made something like that.

Of course, Ludwig himself was probably the most bewildered of all.

Hardly any time had passed since his amputation, yet he had already acquired a new prosthetic—and one made of mithril at that.

Ludwig stared blankly at the mithril foot before his expression hardened.

“#%$%?”

“...You want me to help you?”

“#$%!@.”

I had no idea what he was saying, but he seemed to be asking me to support him.

I did not understand how any of this had happened, but now that he had a new foot, he would naturally want to test whether he could walk.

Although he had only just begun regaining his strength, walking a little should not be too strenuous.

“Be careful.”

“#%@.”

That was probably his way of thanking me.

I carefully supported Ludwig and helped him walk.

Whatever the mithril vein had done, it had even adjusted the foot to the perfect height.

The weight distribution was also remarkably balanced. Mithril was known for being lightweight.

Thanks to that, although Ludwig walked with a limp, his balance was not completely ruined.

“@=$%.”

Ludwig gently pushed me away, apparently wanting to walk by himself.

I let him do as he wished, but watched quietly in case he fell.

Step. Limp. Step. Limp.

It seemed that even mithril could not reproduce a functioning joint.

In effect, he merely had a foot-shaped prosthetic attached to his ankle.

Nevertheless, the fact that he could walk at all was an enormous advantage.

Although I had no idea why this had happened, I decided not to question good fortune.

‘What is he trying to do now?’

Ludwig eventually stopped in front of a tree—one I had been planning to cut down soon.

I had barely begun wondering what he intended to do when something unbelievable unfolded before my eyes.

Shwaaaaa—

Although it was not as brilliant as the mythrilcon sword, radiant light began gathering within Ludwig’s mithril foot.

It was faint at first, but grew increasingly intense as time passed.

The energy contained within it was anything but ordinary.

I blinked repeatedly as I watched the scene.

Swoosh!

Ludwig then swung his leg like a whip.

Since he had only just begun recovering his strength, the kick itself was not particularly fast.

Crack—BOOM!

But the important part was the mithril foot.

A crescent-shaped wave of energy erupted from it.

The energy struck the massive tree and shattered its entire midsection.

The tree was by no means small, yet the attack had displayed tremendous destructive power.

Apparently satisfied, Ludwig nodded.

I, however, could not bring myself to do the same.

‘That isn’t average, is it?’

He was using a technique straight out of some pirate manga.

‘So the entire world is just insane.’

In a village of one-eyed people, the person with two eyes would be considered abnormal.

But this was a world of three-eyed people.

‘Or maybe I’m just fucking weak.’

I was a two-eyed man who had fallen into a world of three-eyed people.