Chapter 40

Scammer (1)

I stared at the golden mushroom sparkling in front of me.

Even after I extinguished the torch, the mushroom continued emitting its own golden light.

Apparently, this was what Muscle Mushroom had been guarding.

It looks poisonous just from looking at it.

As a rule of thumb, it was safer to assume most mushrooms were poisonous.

And brightly colored plants and animals were poisonous nine times out of ten.

So there was a very high chance this golden mushroom contained poison.

It is pretty fascinating, though.

I slowly approached the golden mushroom.

Only after getting closer did I realize it was much larger than I had expected.

It was only slightly smaller than the fish I had caught before.

For a mushroom, it was enormous.

This seriously looks like something that mustached character would eat.

A certain plumber in overalls suddenly came to mind.

Would he grow bigger or stronger if he ate this mushroom?

Maybe he could just run straight into monsters and send them flying.

Even while entertaining those pointless thoughts, I didn't lower my guard.

For all I knew, this thing might suddenly start moving like Muscle Mushroom had.

Fortunately, the golden mushroom did not spring to its feet.

It merely continued sparkling.

What the hell is this thing?

Even as I examined the mushroom, I kept watch behind me.

For safety's sake, it would probably be best to pick it and return to the shelter.

I should put on gloves, just in case.

I put on the gloves I had stored in my pouch.

The mushroom was large enough that I would need both hands to carry it, but that wasn't a problem.

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

Come to think of it, I need a scabbard.

Normally, swords came with scabbards, but the Heavenly Demon's sword did not.

Either it had never had one to begin with, or she had simply forgotten to include it when she gave me the sword.

I was planning to trade fasting pills with her soon anyway, so I could ask through the one-on-one chat.

Tug!

"Hm?"

My eyes widened.

It seemed firmly embedded and wouldn't come out easily.

No, wait.

As far as I knew, mushrooms didn't have roots.

So it was simply stuck.

"GRAAAAH!"

Pop!

Only after putting almost all my strength into it did I finally manage to pull it free.

The recoil nearly made me fall backward, but I barely managed to regain my balance.

Then I looked at the spot where it had been growing and noticed a round hole in the ground.

Was it growing here for a really long time?

Apparently, it had stayed there long enough to bore a hole into solid stone.

I carefully carried the golden mushroom outside with both hands.

The moment I stepped out, a rich, savory aroma tickled my nose.

It was coming from the charred remains of Muscle Mushroom.

"Let's get out of here."

I hurried away before some beast was attracted by the smell.

Part of me wanted to poke around inside the cave with the Heavenly Demon's sword.

But any further curiosity might genuinely put my life in danger.

It was better to restrain myself.

Throb!

As I hurried along, a sudden headache struck me.

I frowned at the unexpected pain, but it wasn't something I could easily ignore.

"What is this?"

Even while grimacing, I kept moving.

The headache disappeared before long, but the uneasy feeling remained.

Maybe the golden mushroom was the cause.

I should probably get back to the shelter as quickly as possible.

At least nothing attacked me on the way back.

After arriving at the shelter, I examined the golden mushroom again.

It really was huge.

And I was curious about what exactly it was.

I took a photo of the mushroom and posted it on the gallery.

Title: Anyone know this mushroom?
Wild Grylls

(Photo of the golden mushroom compared to a hand)

Found this in the cave Muscle Mushroom was blocking.

It shines this beautiful golden color. It's poisonous, right? It's also freaking huge.

└ Starlight Princess) What a pretty mushroom. But you really shouldn't eat mushrooms.
└ Wild Grylls) I only brought it back because it looked interesting. I have absolutely no intention of eating it.
└ Eat that and I'll give you 100 billion euros lol.
└ I'll give you 100,000 gold lmao.
└ Starlight Princess) You people are terrible.
└ PraiseTheSun) Look at that brilliant glow. You found it in a cave?
└ Wild Grylls) Yeah. It was really hard to pull out too.
└ PraiseTheSun) That thing looks like it's literally advertising, "I'm poisonous."
└ Wild Grylls) That's why I'm thinking about keeping it as decoration.
└ PraiseTheSun) Wouldn't be bad as an ornament.

But everyone only commented on how pretty it was.

Apparently, none of them knew what the mushroom actually was.

That left only one person.

Allfather.

└ Allfather) Hoho. You've found another unusual thing this time.
└ Wild Grylls) Do you know what this mushroom is?
└ Allfather) Of course I do. Throw it away immediately.
└ Wild Grylls) Huh?

A comment telling me to get rid of it immediately appeared.

Naturally, I couldn't help but wonder why.

Then Allfather's following comment hit me with quite a shock.

Everyone else had simply thought the golden mushroom looked fascinating.

└ Allfather) Did you experience any headaches or dizziness while bringing it back?
└ Wild Grylls) I did get a slight headache, but it disappeared right away.
└ Allfather) It seems the medicine I gave you before was effective. Simply being near it should normally cause symptoms.
└ Wild Grylls) What kind of mushroom is this?
└ Allfather) Its name is quite ordinary. It's called the Golden Mushroom. It's one of the rarest mushrooms in existence and is sometimes called the King of Mushrooms.

As expected of the Forest of Four Seasons.

It truly was a place inhabited by all sorts of bizarre plants and animals.

This thing was even called the King of Mushrooms.

I became curious about exactly what made it a "king."

└ Wild Grylls) If it's the king, doesn't that mean it's good?
└ Allfather) With mushrooms, that title carries both positive and negative meanings. Which would you like to hear first?
└ Wild Grylls) Tell me the negative part first.
└ Allfather) A single bite will cause all your internal organs to melt. Your bones and muscles as well.
└ Wild Grylls) ;;;

That sounded horrifying just from reading it.

Not only your bones and muscles, but even your organs would melt?

Even drinking a bucket of hydrochloric acid probably wouldn't do that much damage.

That meant the mushroom contained an unimaginably potent poison.

Naturally, I wanted to stay far away from it.

└ Wild Grylls) What's the positive part?
└ Allfather) If you're lucky, those melted organs, bones, and muscles can be restored. And not merely restored—your entire body would advance several stages beyond what it was before.
└ Isn't that basically Body Reformation?
└ From the sound of it, yeah.
└ Allfather) It isn't merely Body Reformation. According to legend, one can obtain the body of a god.
└ Wild Grylls) Whoa.

So there was a reason it was called the King of Mushrooms.

High risk, high reward.

Which meant I definitely wasn't eating it.

There was absolutely no reason for me to take that gamble.

Just imagining my entire body melting was horrifying enough.

└ Allfather) It would likely be dangerous even for someone with complete immunity to poison. I recommend throwing it away.
└ Wild Grylls) So even poison immunity doesn't matter?
└ Allfather) According to legend, the odds are fifty-fifty. It makes no distinction between people.
└ Wild Grylls) Guess I should throw it away, then. Unless you want it for research?
└ Why don't you give it to us?
└ I'll eat it and tell you what happens.
└ Do you seriously not value your life?
└ My life's already ruined, so I might as well try eating that thing lol.
└ Why is your life ruined?
└ I went all-in on Kaspel Mine stock and got wiped out.
└ Why?
└ The mine collapsed.
└ Ah... damn. Hang in there.
└ Heavenly Demon) It is certainly intriguing, but it seems far too dangerous. This lady is not particularly interested either.
└ SwordMaster) Scared?
└ Heavenly Demon) Hm. I suddenly feel like bringing down the banhammer.
└ SwordMaster) Shit ;;
└ Lmaoooo, she's already getting drunk on power.
└ Isn't she going to develop bad habits like this?
└ The head mod will deal with it somehow.
└ Passing Dwarf) Can't you make alcohol out of that?
└ Wild Grylls) Probably not with mushrooms. There was a guy who died after drinking water he'd boiled mushrooms in.
└ Passing Dwarf) Who was that? What a fucking idiot.
└ Wild Grylls) My father, asshole.
└ Passing Dwarf) Ah. I'm seriously sorry ;;
└ Wild Grylls) I'm kidding lol. My dad died in an accident.
└ Passing Dwarf) You bastard.
└ Passing Dwarf) No, wait ;; sorry. I'm just sorry ;;
└ He sobered up the second he cursed at him lmaoooo.
└ That panic lmaooo.
└ PraiseTheSun) Can't you at least keep it as decoration?
└ Wild Grylls) Apparently just being near it causes headaches and dizziness.
└ PraiseTheSun) Then put it behind glass. I really like the golden color.
└ Allfather) Forgive me for saying so, but I believe researching it would be far more valuable. If you give it to me, I'll compensate you well enough that you won't feel disappointed.
└ PraiseTheSun) I can make sure you're not disappointed either. How much money do you need?
└ Wild Grylls) I don't really need money, though...

At the moment, money was the one thing I had in abundance.

The owlbear corpse alone had left me quite well-off.

The real problem was that even with plenty of money, I still couldn't buy most of the things I actually needed.

PraiseTheSun seemed to realize that too and immediately left another comment.

└ PraiseTheSun) Now that I think about it, you're right. Is there anything you want?
└ Wild Grylls) I want to get out of here.
└ PraiseTheSun) Uh... sorry. Don't think I can help with that. Just give the mushroom to that mage.
└ Allfather) I don't seem to have anything particularly suitable to give you either. Is there anything you need?

There they go fighting again.

Why are these people always so eager to tear into each other?

But as everyone knew, the Heavenly Demon was currently a sub-mod.

And sub-mods had the authority to ban people too.

I couldn't put the Golden Mushroom up on the auction house either.

I didn't want to hear the next day that someone had eaten it and died.

But selling it for money also felt awkward.

The risk was simply too high.

It was, quite literally, more trouble than it was worth.

After thinking for a while, I left another comment.

└ Wild Grylls) If anything, maybe armor? I think that'd be useful.
└ SwordMaster) That's a good idea. Since you're in a forest, leather armor would probably be better than metal armor.
└ Heavenly Demon) Rather than that, why not learn protective qi?
└ Wild Grylls) How do I use that?
└ SwordMaster) Grylls still can't even use an Aura Blade. It'll be a long time before he can use an Aura Shield.
└ Heavenly Demon) It is not an Aura Blade, but Sword Force. And it is not an Aura Shield, but protective qi.
└ SwordMaster) Same thing. Do you really have to nitpick every time?

└ Heavenly Demon) What did you say? To this lady, that sounded very much like you were asking for the banhammer.
└ SwordMaster) Ha, shit ;; That's seriously too much. Head mod, are you watching this?
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero) Sub-mod! Please restrain yourself a little!
└ Heavenly Demon) Hm. Very well. This lady shall overlook it out of her boundless generosity.
└ SwordMaster) ;;

└ Princess Chaenggu) Huh? Why do you need armor? I already gave you a uniform!
└ Wild Grylls) This thing actually provides protection?
└ Princess Chaenggu) That's hurtful! The uniforms developed by Mephisto perform even better than leather armor!
└ Wild Grylls) Seriously?
└ That's actually true. Sometimes people even wear the uniform into dungeons lol.
└ It's expensive, but it's more convenient and performs better than leather armor.
└ Wild Grylls) Why is it made like that?
└ Because there were way too many people stabbing each other.
└ It's for protecting the players. Sports are basically miniature battlefields here.
└ You'd probably be fine even after getting hit by a magic arrow lmao.
└ Wild Grylls) ;;

Apparently, no matter how advanced the culture was, the savagery of the era still showed through.

Just in case, I looked for another uniform.

I couldn't exactly test it with the Heavenly Demon's sword, so I used an ordinary dagger.

Scrape! Scrape!

"Oh."

Even after dragging the dagger firmly across the uniform several times, it remained intact.

Curious, I stretched the uniform taut and stabbed at it with the dagger.

Still nothing.

This was perfect for me.

Beasts are dangerous in the forest, but minor injuries are even more dangerous.

Even a tiny cut could cause serious trouble if poison or germs got inside.

That said, the uniform was still far too thin despite its performance.

If I wore leather armor over it, the protection would probably be even better.

└ Wild Grylls) The uniform really is good. Still, I think I should have leather armor too, just in case. This is too thin.
└ Princess Chaenggu) Then how about wearing several uniforms on top of each other?
└ Wild Grylls) Are you a genius?
└ Princess Chaenggu) Hehe. I'm pretty smart.
└ Sure. Still an idiot who cheers for Chaeyu though lol.
└ Just wear the uniforms lol. Whatever the hell you put on, you'll probably die in one hit anyway.
└ One hit and you're off to join Aragon~

In the end, even the extra armor was replaced with more uniforms.

Afterward, I tried offering the mushroom to Princess Chaenggu, but she immediately refused.

She had no interest in buying it as decoration either and simply said she'd give me a few more uniforms.

I'm receiving way too much from this person.

She said supporting her team was enough, but I still felt guilty.

If I found something good later, I was definitely giving it to her.

Anyway, I decided to postpone figuring out what to do with the Golden Mushroom.

It was such a high-risk item that its position was awkward.

Wonmo might eat it too...

I needed to store it somewhere as inconspicuous as possible.

Granted, something golden would stand out no matter where I put it, but I had somewhere in mind.

The box that had come with the items the dwarf gave me last time.

I stored the mushroom inside it.

Then, so Wonmo's sharp sense of smell wouldn't pick it up, I placed the box outside the cave.

The elixirs were stored in a different box, so there wasn't much of a problem.

If I ran low on them, I could just buy more from the auction house.

Good. That's settled.

With the Golden Mushroom dealt with, I raised my head.

The sun had already begun to sink, if only slightly.

It looked like I should start preparing for the night.

There might be spores on my clothes, so I should wash immediately.

And just like that, another day came to an end.

***

Deep in the night, when everyone was asleep, only the sounds of insects filled the forest.

Inside the cave, the faint crackling of the campfire could be heard.

Beyond that were the quiet breathing of a person, the breathing of beasts, and other gentle sounds.

Everyone was asleep in their own way.

It was an extremely peaceful scene.

Clatter! Clatter!

A rough noise suddenly broke through the silence.

It wasn't coming from inside the cave.

It came from the box outside.

The box continued rattling several times before eventually toppling onto its side.

Roll—

Its contents spilled out.

Among them was the mushroom that glowed golden even beneath the darkness of night.

Rustle—

Amazingly, the Golden Mushroom, which had fallen onto its side, pushed itself upright.

Tiny arms and legs had sprouted from its body.

They were infinitely more pitiful and adorable than the limbs of Muscle Mushroom.

But the fact that it had limbs meant one thing.

It could move.

Pitter-patter-pitter-patter—

The Golden Mushroom moved its short little legs and headed into the dark forest.

Quietly.

Secretly.

So that no one would ever find it.

Until the Golden Mushroom completely disappeared, nothing but peaceful breathing could be heard from the cave.

Time passed.

Morning came.

"What the hell? Where'd the mushroom go?"

Only then did Grylls realize the mushroom had disappeared.

He had already sensed something was wrong when he saw the box outside lying on its side.

When he immediately checked inside—

the Golden Mushroom he had stored there was gone.

"N-No way...!"

Grylls's eyes widened.

He thought he knew why the mushroom had disappeared.

He stopped rummaging through the box and hurried back into the cave.

"Wonmo! Open your mouth!"

"Kkyuu...?"

"What did you eat yesterday? You didn't eat the mushroom, did you?!"

Grylls forcibly opened poor Wonmo's beak for no reason.

Fortunately, Wonmo hadn't eaten the mushroom.

He had simply slept peacefully through the night.

After thoroughly checking him over, Grylls sighed in relief.

He didn't bother inspecting Tree Sloth separately.

That creature had absurdly sharp instincts and hadn't gone anywhere near the mushroom in the first place.

Relieved, Grylls was left with a new question.

"No, seriously. It's not like the thing had legs. Where the hell did it go?"

It actually had grown legs.

Grylls simply had no idea.

Such was the mysterious Forest of Four Seasons.