Chapter 6

The Forest of Four Seasons (1)

Human Park Jong-hyeok.

He had overcome the greatest crisis of his life.

Thanks to PassingDwarf, I had managed to survive the emergency, but the problem still wasn't completely resolved.

I had no idea what effect those Cocoa Puffs had on me, but my stomach kept hurting.

And it was definitely the kind of stomachache that meant I needed to take a dump.

'There's no way the Heavenly Demon gave me something spoiled.'

It might have tasted bitter, but there had been no sour or rotten smell, so it definitely hadn't gone bad.

My body probably just couldn't handle it.

Besides, feces were nothing more than bodily waste, so it didn't mean there was anything seriously wrong with me.

The real problem would be if nothing came out at all.

That would mean I hadn't eaten anything.

It wasn't diarrhea either, so there was no immediate danger of dehydration.

For now, I could dismiss it as a minor incident.

'I guess I should wait until the Heavenly Demon gives me the other supplies.'

I stored the toilet paper I had received from PassingDwarf in a corner.

Even the toilet paper was different from what I knew.

Its texture was somewhat rough, and it wasn't very absorbent, so cleaning myself had been difficult.

Still, having some was far better than having none.

Toilet paper could be used for all kinds of things.

'More importantly, where the hell am I?'

I didn't mean the forest.

I meant this world.

There was no internet, yet somehow the gallery existed.

It even floated in front of me like a status window, so I had countless questions.

After wondering what I should investigate first, I decided to begin with the structure of this world.

There seemed to be many different races, so it would be best to learn about them in advance.

'The races are roughly divided into humans, elves, dark elves, beastfolk, demons, and dwarves.'

There were four human nations, one nation where the races were evenly mixed, and one nation belonging to each of the remaining races.

There were also regions that weren't recognized as proper nations.

Most of those were inhabited by humans.

I wondered why humans were the most numerous, but I could learn that gradually.

For now, obtaining basic common knowledge was more urgent than learning every detail.

That way, people wouldn't treat me like a lunatic when I finally went outside.

***

Title: Listen Up, Knife-Ears

Fucking stop cutting down trees and planting new ones wherever you want. You're only making things harder for the rest of us.

└ LetUsGrowTrees) Why? If there are more trees in the world, wouldn't that mean more resources for everyone?

└ You bastards dig up all our trees and then plant your own.

└ Then you claim those trees belong to you and insist the land is yours too—

└ Average knife-ear behavior. Lmao.

└ LetUsGrowTrees) We don't plant them indiscriminately. We only plant them on suitable land! It's even depicted in the World Tree's watermelon diagram.

└ Won't someone kill this knife-ear bastard? Is persuasion impossible?

└ Nope. The Elf Queen is insane too, so there's no reasoning with her.

└ Isn't this going to cause an actual war eventually?

└ The Elf Queen may be insane, but she still has enough sense to know exactly how far she can push things. Lmao.

What surprised me was how elves were treated.

The elves I knew were a proud race that loved nature.

But judging by how the gallery viewed them...

They had practically been branded as the most hated race in the world.

***

Title: Typical Knife-Ears

In the past, they kept bragging about being superior until the other races beat the shit out of them.

After losing, they tried scheming behind everyone's backs and got beaten again.

Now they secretly plant trees on other people's land, get caught, and get beaten again.

Do these bastards have no ability to learn?

└ Watch your mouth. We once fought against the entire world.

└ And you lost to the humans, didn't you? Want to lose again?

└ LetUsGrowTrees) We have no intention of fighting. We are a race that loves peace.

└ Bullshit. Then why do you throw tantrums over territory?

└ LetUsGrowTrees) Because those lands originally belonged to us elves. Isn't it only natural that we reclaim them?

└ Hahaha. Lmao.

└ From their perspective, that actually makes sense. They're a long-lived race.

└ For humans, it would probably be the equivalent of something that happened ten years ago.

└ The young ones these days... keep causing trouble... I am truly sorry...

└ Goodness, elder. You must be having a hard time.

└ I heard the Grand Council suffers because of the Elf Queen. Lmaoooo.

└ Shouldn't it normally be the other way around?

└ The Queen is just that much of a lunatic. ;;

└ Ordinary madness is meaningless before true madness.

Hmm...

I decided to move on.

Even after leaving the forest, I should avoid getting involved with elves whenever possible.

The registered user named LetUsGrowTrees appeared frequently in posts related to elves.

Judging by how many people recognized them, they seemed to be a famous user like the Heavenly Demon or SwordMaster.

However, because they had accumulated so much dislike, they rarely received a positive response.

'That should be enough for now. Should I check the swordsmanship posts?'

Since survival was my priority, I should only spend a little time studying common knowledge.

However, I couldn't wander around recklessly before obtaining a compass either.

I opened the post written by SwordMaster.

It was the introductory section on basic swordsmanship.

***

Title: You Can Do It Too! Basic Swordsmanship Lecture 1

SwordMaster

Before getting to the main point, anyone who still doesn't know how to fight properly should carry a shield along with their sword.

I recommend learning how to fight first before devoting yourself to swordsmanship.

You think a shield looks uncool?

Keep acting recklessly and you might end up dying a stupid death.

Right now, you're a pathetic weakling who doesn't know anything, so shut up and carry a shield.

Also, anyone who cannot use mana should first learn a mana cultivation method.

***

One good thing about the gallery was that I could use it to tell the time.

Since new posts constantly appeared, it was easy to estimate how much time had passed.

There were simply far too many of them.

Even while posts came flooding in like a tidal wave, it was strange that my own posts never seemed to get buried.

Everything was fine, except for one problem.

How the hell was I supposed to learn a mana cultivation method?

I blinked.

I already knew that mana existed in this world and that people could become stronger through it.

But that was all.

I had no idea where I could obtain a mana cultivation method.

'Even the popular posts are filled with nothing but weird garbage...'

I scratched my head.

The gallery was useful, but it was far too disorganized.

Other than popular posts, the auction house, and the marketplace, nothing was properly categorized.

It seemed I would have to find someone like SwordMaster and ask directly.

Searching through the gallery myself was far too inefficient.

'There are about thirty minutes left before I can trade with the Heavenly Demon again.'

***

Title: Does Anyone Know How Mana Cultivation Works?

Wild Grylls

'Maybe it's because I'm a registered user?'

That thought occurred to me after posting the question.

Anonymous users vastly outnumbered registered users.

Registered users were an insignificant minority.

Then again, anonymity was important in a gallery.

By using a fixed username, they had already abandoned half of that anonymity.

If their true identity were ever exposed, they would instantly create enough embarrassing history to last a lifetime.

While I was distracted by those thoughts, an alert sounded.

Someone had left a comment.

I checked it immediately.

It was the Heavenly Demon.

└ Heavenly Demon) A mana cultivation method would be the same as an internal energy cultivation technique in the Central Plains, would it not?

└ Yeah, that's right.

└ Heavenly Demon) In that case, this lady shall teach you.

└ How good is the mana cultivation method you know?

└ Heavenly Demon) It is a cultivation technique capable of shattering the heavens and making the earth tremble.

└ Lmaoooo. Look how grandiose that sounds.

└ This reeks of a scam. Lmao.

I wasn't so sure.

At the very least, I didn't think she was lying.

The reason was the sword.

Before coming here, the only sword I had ever held was a bamboo sword during kendo practice.

Even so, I could tell that the sword given to me by the Heavenly Demon was terrifyingly powerful.

There was a high chance that the Heavenly Demon was also a superhuman worthy of possessing such a weapon.

Ironically, that was precisely why I hesitated to learn from her.

└ Wild Grylls) I feel like I'm receiving too much from you already, so it's okay.

└ Heavenly Demon) You are this lady's benefactor and a fortuitous encounter. Please allow this lady to repay the favor.

└ Wild Grylls) I only need a compass and something to start a fire...

└ Heavenly Demon) That will not be nearly enough.

Now I felt even more guilty.

I had only found that Moonlight Spirit Herb or whatever it was by coincidence.

I hadn't even known whether the Heavenly Demon had truly been in danger.

One coincidence had simply piled on top of another, so I couldn't help hesitating.

'...No. What am I thinking in my current situation?'

I should accept her kindness as far as my conscience allowed.

Still, I shouldn't take advantage of her generosity.

I had a conscience, and I planned to repay her however I could.

I typed an affirmative response.

└ Wild Grylls) All right. But please write it in a private post. It might attract unnecessary attention otherwise.

└ Heavenly Demon) Very well. First, assume the lotus position.

The lotus position?

I tilted my head.

I vaguely recognized it as a term that might appear in a martial arts novel.

That was the extent of my knowledge.

└ Wild Grylls) What's the lotus position?

└ Heavenly Demon) ?

└ Lmaoooo. She's flustered.

└ Isn't this the first time we've ever seen that old fossil get confused? Lmao.

In the end, we decided that I would learn the mana cultivation method later.

Even the Heavenly Demon seemed too bewildered to continue.

I asked in the comments whether the lotus position was absolutely necessary for mana cultivation.

Most of the replies only made fun of me.

After a moment of confusion, I searched for it in the gallery.

Apparently, the posture was common enough that there were even photographs demonstrating it.

I opened a random post and tried to imitate the position.

I was supposed to place my feet on top of my thighs.

"Aaaaaagh!"

A girlish scream burst from my mouth.

I hurriedly tried to untangle my legs, but only twisted them further and nearly burst into tears.

It felt as though every joint in my legs was being wrenched out of place.

Collapsed on the ground, I trembled violently.

Was the lotus position truly mandatory?

I would have to ask the Heavenly Demon.

└ It's just the standard procedure.

└ Wild Grylls) Standard procedure?

└ You do it even if you don't know why. Lmao.

└ Wild Grylls) ;;

└ Wild Grylls) Heavenly Demon, do I really have to sit in the lotus position? It hurts like hell. ;;

└ Heavenly Demon) Why would it hurt? This lady cannot understand.

└ It does hurt when you try it for the first time. Lmao.

└ Work on your flexibility, dude. Lmao.

Either way, it seemed I would have to practice the lotus position gradually.

Improving my flexibility in my current situation would be difficult.

Instead, I continued reading SwordMaster's post.

Rather than wielding only a sword, I should use a shield as well.

The explanation was convincing, and it was well suited to my current circumstances, so I accepted the advice without much resistance.

'The problem is where I'm supposed to find a shield.'

Cutting down a tree and making one myself wasn't necessarily a bad choice.

The sword was exceptionally sharp, after all.

However, with no immediate source of water, using my energy to cut down a tree would be inefficient.

'Oh, right. I should ask the Heavenly Demon whether she can give me water too. Asking for a shield would be shameless.'

At times like this, I wished the gallery had private one-on-one messages.

Apparently, the feature had once existed, but I didn't know why it had been removed.

It was probably because users had formed cliques.

For now, I placed several of the bitter pellets on my palm.

I wanted to identify their purpose first.

└ So she really was an old fossil. Lmao.

It seemed I should speak to her more respectfully.

At the very least, she appeared to be older than me.

The Heavenly Demon herself didn't seem particularly bothered, but there was no harm in earning her goodwill.

***

Title: Heavenly Demon, What Are These Things You Gave Me Earlier?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of several pellets resting on a palm)

Putting aside how terrible they taste, I hope this isn't rude, but they haven't gone bad, right?

└ Heavenly Demon) They are fasting pills. They are somewhat bitter, but they have not spoiled.

└ Wild Grylls) They're way more than somewhat bitter.

└ Heavenly Demon) Hmm. They suited this lady's palate.

└ Grandma taste buds. ;;

└ Excuse me, but how old are you?

└ Heavenly Demon) I do not know. Age is unimportant anyway, is it not?

└ Old people always answer like that.

└ Wild Grylls) How many of these should I eat each day?

└ Heavenly Demon) As far as this lady knows, one is normally consumed per meal.

"Eh?"

I had eaten an entire handful at once.

There wouldn't be any side effects, would there?

└ Wild Grylls) I ate a lot of them... There aren't any side effects, right?

└ Heavenly Demon) This lady shall ask and return.

└ Your dick is going to explode now. Lmao.

└ Boom. Lmao.

└ Wild Grylls) Don't say things like that, even as a joke.

I was genuinely afraid it might happen.

My body had already begun to feel strangely energized.

You might think having more strength was a good thing, but the problem was that it was excessive.

My body felt hot enough for me to notice.

If I became sick in this situation, it would be disastrous.

I desperately prayed that nothing would happen.

After some time passed, the Heavenly Demon returned.

└ Heavenly Demon) I asked one of my close aides. There are no side effects. On the contrary, they are beneficial to the body. In particular, they are said to remove accumulated impurities.

└ Wild Grylls) Impurities?

└ Heavenly Demon) In ordinary people such as yourself, they are usually expelled as feces.

└ Wild Grylls) What about the sudden surge of strength?

└ Heavenly Demon) They possess effects similar to a medicinal elixir, so that is only natural.

What a relief.

So there was no chance of my Big Johnson exploding.

I breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed my chest. Apparently, the heat spreading through my body was also a sign that I was absorbing the energy.

The fasting pills were a type of emergency ration, but they were extremely suitable for my current situation.

'She said one was the minimum, so I'll have to eat more if I want enough nutrients.'

Either way, I had no choice but to keep eating these horribly bitter pellets.

I wasn't in any condition to hunt right now.

Even if I successfully hunted something, meat alone wouldn't provide every nutrient I needed.

└ You expect us to believe those tiny pellets have effects comparable to an elixir? What a joke. Lmao.

└ Heavenly Demon) They were specially made for this lady's training, so that is only natural.

└ Then make one for me too.

└ Heavenly Demon) This lady shall make you a strangely shaped fasting pill. 凸

Considering the sword and the quality of the food she ate, the Heavenly Demon was clearly someone of high status.

Then why was someone like her using the gallery?

Well, regardless of the reason, she had helped me enormously.

Without her, I would probably have died already.

While browsing the gallery, a good idea suddenly occurred to me, so I posted another question.

***

Title: How Much Is a Mad Dog Corpse Worth?

Wild Grylls

Could I buy at least one crappy shield with it?

└ You could probably get a used shield.

└ Wild Grylls) A new one would be too much, right?

└ Yeah. Mad Dog hide isn't particularly valuable.

└ Wild Grylls) Roughly how much is it worth? I want to trade it for something.

└ Just put it up at the auction house.

└ Wild Grylls) I don't need money. It's annoying to carry around.

└ Ah, right. You're a newbie. You don't need to carry it. Items can be stored directly inside the gallery.

Still, considering the gallery had saved one person's life and allowed them to form a valuable connection, the flaws were understandable.

Besides, because of the terrifying transaction fees, plenty of users preferred direct trades over the auction house.

Stored inside the gallery?

After reading the reply, I investigated the system in more detail.

Apparently, users could deposit physical currency directly into the gallery, and it would be categorized according to each nation's currency.

Exchange rates were applied automatically.

The greatest drawback, however, was the transaction fee.

The fees were far more brutal than those of an ordinary auction house, so the system wasn't entirely convenient.

Nevertheless, its overwhelming advantage was that it completely ignored normal distribution and transportation.

That was why so many people used it.

'Wait. Then I could've just listed the Moonlight Spirit Herb in the auction house?'

This was why information was important.

└ Wild Grylls) Then where do all the transaction fees go? To the head admin?

└ Yeah. The auction house and everything else are managed by the head admin. But for some reason, the head admin is always broke.

└ Don'tAbandonTheHero) The fees are donated to the underprivileged or used to improve the gallery!

The head admin, who had remained silent until then, suddenly appeared.

Their answer practically radiated kindness.

└ Head admin... I'm underprivileged too... Could you give me ten thousand gold...?

└ Don'tAbandonTheHero) Ah...! I don't have any money right now...!

└ Don't fucking give it to him.

└ This is exactly why we need a deputy admin. Why won't the mod appoint one?

└ Don'tAbandonTheHero) It's better if I handle all the difficult work myself! Deputy admins don't get paid!

Just how many times had the head admin been stabbed in the back for even the anonymous users to stop them?

Most replies to the anonymous user pretending to be poor warned the head admin not to give them anything, even as a joke.

It was clear that public opinion toward the head admin was extremely positive.

More importantly, how was a head admin chosen in the first place?

'I can figure that out later.'

For now, I needed to put the Mad Dog corpse up for auction.

I left the cave.

I had dumped the corpse a considerable distance away.

Since I had memorized the route, there shouldn't have been any problems.

"Chomp. Chomp. Munch, munch."

"..."

"Crunch! Crack!"

Correction.

There was a problem.

Something was enjoying the Mad Dog corpse as though it were filming a gourmet eating show.

A bear.

No, an owl.

Its face clearly belonged to an owl, but its body was larger than a bear's.

I hurriedly took a picture and uploaded it.

***

Title: What the Hell Is This Thing?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of something happily devouring the Mad Dog corpse)

I came back to retrieve the Mad Dog's corpse, but this fat bastard is eating it.

Does anyone know what this thing is?

└ Fuck, that's an owlbear.

└ Forget that it's an owlbear. Why is it so huge?

└ Fucking hell. That house is walking around. Lmaoooo.

└ One hit from those claws and you're dead.

So that was an owlbear.

The moment I learned what it was, I slowly began backing away.

Was this what people meant by doing all the work only for someone else to reap the reward?

At least I had survived, so I supposed I should be grateful.

'Fuck. I need to get out of here quickly.'

Wild dogs were one thing.

A bear was something else entirely.

And its size was absurd.

I slowly retreated until I had put enough distance between us, then sprinted back toward the cave.

What would have happened if I had arrived a little earlier?

Just imagining it made my blood run cold.

'What should I do? Should I defend myself from inside the cave?'

Unknown dangers lurked outside, but remaining inside the cave was also frightening because of the owlbear.

I had barely escaped the greatest crisis of my life, only for another one to appear.

The only thing I could rely on was the Heavenly Demon's sword.

[The Heavenly Demon has requested a trade. Would you like to accept?]

While I was trembling with anxiety, the Heavenly Demon sent me a trade request.

Considering the time, it made sense.

I hurriedly accepted her proposal.

At the same time, the familiar empty trade window appeared.

[The Heavenly Demon has registered items for trade.]

[Heavenly Demon: These are the compass and ignition stone you requested. The ignition stone can be recharged using internal energy.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. But I don't know how to use internal energy. Do you have anything else?]

[Heavenly Demon: Hmm? If you cannot use internal energy, how are you accessing the gallery? The matter of the lotus position was strange as well.]

Judging by what she said, one apparently needed to know how to use internal energy—or mana—to access the gallery.

I couldn't explain it properly either.

The moment I opened my eyes in this world, all kinds of bizarre phenomena had simply started happening.

Explaining every detail would be difficult, so I answered as briefly as possible.

[Wild Grylls: It's difficult to explain my circumstances in detail. I'm also short on time.]

[Heavenly Demon: Hmm. Very well. In any case, pressing the button on the ignition stone will produce a flame, so you should still be able to use it. Do you require anything else?]

[Wild Grylls: I'm sorry to ask, but could you give me a little water as well...?]

[Heavenly Demon: If it is your request, then gladly.]

[Wild Grylls: Oh! Thank you!]

I thanked the Heavenly Demon and accepted the trade items.

The relief supplies appeared on the ground.

There was a compass, an ignition stone, and a large water bottle.

Every item had a distinctly Eastern design.

I examined the ignition stone first.

"The button is... here."

Whoosh!

When I pressed it, a small flame appeared along its edge.

This was more than enough.

Next came the compass.

With a compass, escaping the forest would become much easier.

The reason people became lost in forests was because they couldn't maintain a sense of direction.

With this one item, everything would be—

"Huh?"

Before I could finish the thought, confusion escaped my mouth.

My eyes widened.

A compass needle should normally settle in one fixed direction.

This one didn't.

It spun around and around without stopping.

Had the Heavenly Demon given me a broken compass?

Slightly flustered, I posted on the gallery.

***

Title: Heavenly Demon, I Think the Compass Is Broken

Wild Grylls

(Video of a compass needle spinning helplessly after losing all sense of direction)

The needle keeps spinning around. Why is it doing this...?

I think you gave me a broken one.

└ Heavenly Demon) Hmm? That should not be possible. It was functioning properly when this lady sent it.

Why had a perfectly functional compass suddenly started behaving like this?

This only made my situation more difficult.

└ Maybe something went wrong during the trade?

└ No, that probably isn't it. Trading works more like teleportation.

└ Compasses don't normally break without warning.

└ It's spinning pretty well.

└ Just like your life?

└ Lmao.

The other users were equally confused.

Why would a compass that had been working perfectly suddenly behave like that?

Of course, it was possible that an unlikely coincidence had caused it to break immediately after the trade.

I needed another one to confirm it.

└ Wild Grylls) Can someone lend me a compass? I'll return it as soon as the trade cooldown ends.

└ StarlightPrincess) I'll give you one.

└ SpeargirlPrincess) I'll give you one too!

└ PraiseTheSun) Me too.

└ Don'tAbandonTheHero) I'd like to give you one as well, but I'm sad to say I don't have any.

Perhaps they sensed that something unusual was happening.

Several registered users who rarely commented appeared all at once.

It seemed I had captured their interest in only a short time.

The Moonlight Spirit Herb had probably played a large role in that.

Thanks to them, I obtained compasses of all kinds.

They were surprisingly varied.

***

Title: Fuck, They're All Doing the Same Thing

Wild Grylls

(Video of several compass needles spinning in circles)

They've all completely lost their sense of direction like a bunch of outsiders.

Why the hell is this happening?

└ Heavenly Demon) How strange.

└ SwordMaster) That is strange.

└ SpeargirlPrincess) That's strange.

└ PassingDwarf) What's wrong with those things? Did you pour alcohol on the compasses?

└ Wild Grylls) Fuck off.

└ There is exactly one situation where something like this can happen.

└ What is it?

└ When you enter the Forest of Four Seasons. I heard both magnetism and mana are distorted there, so compasses don't work.

└ Bullshit. If that were true, he wouldn't be able to access the gallery either.

└ Still, the Forest of Four Seasons is the only explanation, isn't it?

└ There's no way every compass suddenly broke.

└ Where the hell is the original poster? Lmaoooo.

└ Got drunk and wandered into the Forest of Four Seasons. Lmaoooo.

Every compass behaved exactly the same way.

They all spun endlessly.

While everyone was trying to understand what was happening, several users began exchanging theories in the comments.

None of them sounded entirely certain.

There were two main possibilities.

The compasses were malfunctioning because I was inside the Forest of Four Seasons.

Or that was impossible, because entering the Forest of Four Seasons should have made it impossible to access the gallery.

Either way, my feelings could be summarized in a single thought.

'...I think I might be completely fucked.'

The situation was taking a very strange turn.