Chapter 8
The Forest of Four Seasons (3)
The Continental Integrated Gallery could be accessed anytime and anywhere as long as certain conditions were met.
The first condition was that the mana in the atmosphere had to be stable.
If the atmospheric mana was unstable, accessing the gallery became difficult.
The second condition was that the user had to be capable of controlling mana at will.
This was connected to the next requirement.
The final condition was knowing the access formula.
The calculations were so simple that even a child could perform them.
Therefore, if the mana was unstable, the user couldn't control mana, and they didn't even know the access method, using the gallery should have been impossible.
***
Title: What If All of This Is Actually a Dream?
Wild Grylls
What if I'm actually dreaming?
Maybe the gallery and all of you are nothing more than parts of my dream.
I need to wake up soon. Lmao.
└ He's finally lost his mind. Lmaoooo.
└ Hang in there, dude.
└ StarlightPrincess) Stay strong.
└ Damn, things must be bad if even that person is telling him to stay strong.
└ Bro, you should start over from day one of survival. Lmao.
└ SpeargirlPrincess) Are you really inside the Forest of Four Seasons? I still can't believe it.
└ You have to believe it. There's nowhere else like that except the Forest of Four Seasons.
└ SpeargirlPrincess) But he's been using the gallery nonstop.
└ That's what we're wondering too. Lmao.
└ The common sense of this world is collapsing in real time.
└ All-Father) May I use you as research material?
└ Wild Grylls) What are you planning to do with it?
└ All-Father) I intend to write a paper.
└ Wild Grylls) Do whatever you want.
└ He's given up. Lmaoooo.
Wild Grylls.
Every compass had malfunctioned, and now he had even provided undeniable proof that he was inside the Forest of Four Seasons.
Most of the evidence was impossible to dispute.
And yet, someone who ignored every condition required to access the gallery had appeared.
At first, everyone had assumed he was merely another ordinary registered user.
But as time passed, he gradually began attracting the gallery's attention.
He had suddenly discovered a Moonlight Spirit Herb.
He had fought and defeated a Mad Dog.
He had even been bitten by another Mad Dog while sleeping—
***
Title: Isn't There Something Strange About the Snake Grylls Uploaded?
Isn't that thing actually a Steel-Scaled Serpent?
Aside from the fact that it's fucking enormous, it looks exactly like one.
└ What's a Steel-Scaled Serpent?
└ Exactly what the name says. It's a snake with scales as hard as steel. Even a Sword Expert would barely be able to kill one.
└ Is it expensive?
└ If processed properly, it's extremely useful. Think of it as fabric with the durability of iron.
└ Why is that Steel-Scaled Serpent so huge? It's as big as an anaconda. ;;
└ How large are they normally?
└ About the size of an ordinary snake. That's why they're usually relatively easy to kill, but I don't know about that monster.
└ How much would it be worth?
└ The minimum price would probably be around one hundred gold.
The snake Wild Grylls had listed in the auction house caused another major stir.
Unlike direct trading, the auction house was open to a much wider range of users.
Direct trades were restricted to registered users, but anyone could register items or place bids in the auction house.
One might ask whether that meant drugs and other dangerous goods could also be sold.
Fortunately, such trades rarely occurred, if only because of the murderous fees.
Even if someone attempted it, the head admin immediately issued a permanent ban and stopped the problem before it could spread.
└ Whoa, it passed five hundred gold.
└ What happens if it's a scam?
└ Grylls listed it for only five gold and left, so he isn't responsible for the bidding war.
└ Besides, who takes responsibility for something bought through an auction house? Lmao.
└ Considering the fees, he listed it absurdly cheaply.
Even while Wild Grylls was drowning in despair, the excitement surrounding the auction didn't fade.
Since it used a bidding system rather than an instant-purchase option, it was only natural that countless users would flock to it.
The structure also encouraged fierce competition once the fees were taken into consideration.
└ Damn! It passed one thousand gold!
└ A sucker has appeared. Lmao.
└ Even that price is cheap, though. Assuming it's genuine.
└ But is it really genuine?
└ If it turns out to be fake, people will probably go insane trying to hunt Grylls down. Lmao.
└ But Grylls is in the Forest of Four Seasons. Can anyone even catch him?
└ Good point. Lmaoooo.
└ Pleasure without responsibility. Lmao.
└ Doesn't he have neither responsibility nor pleasure?
└ True. Lmaoooo.
└ Wild Grylls) Huh? What the hell? Why did it become so expensive? ;;
└ The man himself has appeared!
└ Grylls, is that really a Steel-Scaled Serpent?
└ Wild Grylls) How would I know? I listed it immediately because I was worried something else would eat it later.
└ Don't tell me it was delivered straight from the wild.
└ Wild Grylls) It was still twitching until right before I put it in the auction house. Lmao.
└ Kyaaaaaaagh!
└ Gyaaaaaaagh!
From Wild Grylls' perspective, he had only listed the snake because he wanted to dispose of it quickly.
The reaction left him bewildered.
More importantly, he couldn't care less whether it was a Steel-Scaled Serpent or anything else.
How could he pay attention to the auction house when he didn't even know how he was going to survive?
He felt like crying.
***
Title: Upvote If Grylls Makes You Want to Kill Yourself
I'll start. Lmaoooo.
└ Wild Grylls) Upvoted. Lmaoooo.
└ Why is the original poster joining in? Lmaoooo.
└ I didn't think he'd actually appear.
└ Grylls must be completely broken. Lmao.
Of course his mind was breaking.
Every hope he had of escaping had vanished.
Getting lost in an ordinary forest was already life-threatening.
This was the Forest of Four Seasons, a place described as a hellscape beyond human limits.
Compasses didn't work, and even space itself was distorted.
His chances of survival were already extremely low.
***
Title: Where Is Grylls Originally From?
Now that I think about it, I'm curious.
What the hell did he do to end up inside the Forest of Four Seasons?
└ Wild Grylls) I'm originally from Earth. I drank alcohol, woke up, and found myself here.
└ Where is Earth? I've never heard of it.
└ Wild Grylls) Another world.
└ ...?
└ You didn't enter the forest because you developed a mental illness, did you?
└ Another world. Lmaoooo.
└ Does that world have a gallery too?
└ Wild Grylls) It does. The galleries are more specialized, though.
└ Oh! Are you interested in becoming a deputy admin?
└ Wild Grylls) What's a deputy admin? Do they do the same work as the head admin?
└ Yeah, except they have less authority and don't get paid. Lmao.
└ Wild Grylls) Fuck no.
└ Don'tAbandonTheHero) I can handle all the difficult work by myself!
Perhaps his mind had truly snapped, because Wild Grylls answered every question with complete sincerity.
He began with the claim that he came from another world, then proceeded to talk about that world.
Of course, the gallery users didn't seem to believe him.
They simply treated him like a lunatic.
└ SwordMaster) So that was your character concept. Understood.
└ Wild Grylls) It's not a character concept. ;;
└ SwordMaster) Who would believe that a single bomb could destroy an entire city?
└ Wild Grylls) I find it harder to believe that a person can destroy a mountain.
└ Heavenly Demon) This lady is capable of doing so.
└ SpeargirlPrincess) I can do it too!
└ All-Father) I am also capable of it.
└ Don'tAbandonTheHero) I could do it if I really exerted myself!
└ Wild Grylls) Is everyone here a monster or something? ;;
└ PassingDwarf) What you said sounds interesting. Do you know how to make one?
└ Wild Grylls) How the hell would I know that?
└ PassingDwarf) Then what can you do?
└ Wild Grylls) Eat, shit, and laze around?
└ PassingDwarf) Then just die and become fertilizer.
└ Wild Grylls) Yeah... I guess I should...
└ PassingDwarf) Ah, fuck. Sorry. Don't actually die. I'll send you some alcohol later.
└ Look how he panicked when Grylls sounded like he might really kill himself. Lmaoooo.
Or they assumed it was simply an elaborate character act.
From their perspective, that was only natural.
The fact that Wild Grylls had fallen into the Forest of Four Seasons and the claim that he came from another world were separate matters.
It wasn't especially important either.
The most important issue at the moment was the Steel-Scaled Serpent listed in the auction house.
└ How did you kill that? You said you were an ordinary person.
└ Wild Grylls) The sword couldn't cut through it, so I just tore it apart.
└ And you call that an ordinary person?
└ He's saying he tore through a steel plate with his bare hands. Lmaoooo.
└ Wild Grylls) No, it wasn't that extreme. The sword had already cut partway through it, so I targeted that section. It was huge, but I could still grip its neck with one hand.
└ And then you ripped it apart in that state?
└ Wild Grylls) Yeah.
└ Fuck, that still doesn't make sense.
└ Are all ordinary people in your world like that?
No matter how anyone looked at it, his answer didn't sound like something an ordinary person could do.
Still, it wasn't entirely impossible.
People often displayed several times their normal strength when their lives were in danger.
The gallery users could accept it as something along those lines and move on.
└ The bidding stopped at eleven hundred gold. Looks like it'll be sold soon.
└ How much time is left?
└ Ten minutes.
└ Grylls set the duration to six hours because he wanted to sell it quickly.
└ Wild Grylls) Huh? You could set the auction duration?
└ He didn't know. Lmaoooo.
└ He must have been in a real hurry. Lmao.
└ Still, selling it quickly is better for Grylls.
└ Otherwise, something might eat it again like last time. Lmaoooo.
***
Title: Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. I Shouldn't Have Bought This
(Video of a headless snake body violently twitching)
First of all, it really is a Steel-Scaled Serpent.
Did this thing seriously come straight from the source? Fuck.
└ Ugh... You should add a gore warning.
└ The twitching is kind of cute. Lmao.
└ ?
└ Sir?
└ Since it doesn't have a head, it probably wasn't delivered completely fresh. Lmaoooo.
└ It was just extremely fresh. Lmao.
└ If it had still been alive, the auction house wouldn't have accepted it. Lmao.
The Steel-Scaled Serpent that had caused such an uproar was eventually sold for approximately eleven hundred gold.
It was an extraordinarily high price.
Even after accounting for the auction house's murderous fees, Wild Grylls had earned a large amount of money in an instant.
The item had also been confirmed as genuine.
At the same time, the gallery's trust in Wild Grylls increased.
He seemed to have something slightly wrong with his head, but he was honest.
That became the general opinion of him.
***
Title: Are There Any Survival Experts Here?
Wild Grylls
Title: Are There Any Survival Experts Here?
Wild Grylls
If there are, please give me some tips.
I want to live.
└ There used to be a lot of them, but there aren't any these days.
└ Wild Grylls) Why?
└ They all died. Lmao.
└ Wild Grylls) ;;
└ Several famous users entered the Forest of Four Seasons and then disappeared, right?
└ Yeah.
└ Grylls started inside it from the very beginning. Lmaoooo.
└ Hardcore mode from the start.
└ Wild Grylls) None of you bastards are helpful.
While Wild Grylls lamented through tear-filled eyes, another commotion was unfolding elsewhere.
It was the home of the being who had once shaken the entire Central Plains—the Heavenly Demon—and a paradise for those rejected by society.
The Demonic Cult.
Even the imperial family of the Central Plains watched it closely.
"Heavenly One! You absolutely must not enter the Forest of Four Seasons!"
"This lady intends to rescue her benefactor. Why do you stand in her way? Do you truly wish to die?"
The Heavenly Demon, Yu So-wol, threatened the man before her with an icy expression.
Her gaze alone carried enough force to make it seem as though she could tear a person apart.
That pressure was no mere illusion.
It affected the man before her considerably, making his insides feel not only overturned but tightly twisted.
He felt as though he might lose consciousness at any moment, yet he forced himself to endure and spoke.
"That is not my intention. It is simply that the Forest of Four Seasons is a forbidden realm from which even the Heavenly One would struggle to escape."
"Demonic Brain. You know well what realm this lady has reached."
"Of course. You have transcended the principles of martial arts and earned the qualification to ascend."
He had noticed it the moment he faced her.
The Heavenly Demon, Yu So-wol, had entered a realm beyond all conventional standards.
Previously, she had been like the sun suspended high in the sky.
Now, she seemed to have become the sky itself.
Even before this breakthrough, Yu So-wol had stormed the imperial palace alone and taken the Emperor's head.
Now that she had reached an even greater realm, no one could stop her.
"However, the Forest of Four Seasons mentioned by the Heavenly One is nature itself, something that surpasses even the heavens. Every force of nature has converged there, transforming the entire region into a forbidden realm."
"Explain it simply."
"It would be easiest to think of the entire region as being filled with formations. Even if one breaks a formation, nature's powerful regenerative force restores it almost immediately, and it returns in a different form."
Once someone entered the Forest of Four Seasons, they could never leave.
The Demonic Brain had just explained why.
The entire region was a barrier.
Even if one formation was destroyed, another formation with a different pattern appeared.
The forest itself was a living barrier.
No matter how many times it was broken through, it regenerated.
Therefore, no matter how powerful Yu So-wol had become, she would likely be unable to conquer the Forest of Four Seasons.
"Can even your mind find no solution?"
"Regrettably, the reality is that this foolish mind of mine cannot comprehend something even the heavens themselves cannot read."
"Hmm."
Yu So-wol withdrew her pressure and stopped threatening him.
If the Demonic Brain, the Demonic Cult's greatest strategist, spoke so firmly, there truly was no current solution.
Forcing the issue would produce nothing.
Nor could she kill a trusted adviser over it.
It would be better to work the Demonic Brain to the bone until he found a way to conquer the Forest of Four Seasons.
"Very well. Investigate the Forest of Four Seasons. This lady's benefactor is trapped there."
"I shall obey. Then what will the Heavenly One do from this point onward?"
"This lady requires time to organize her enlightenment, and she shall also help her benefactor survive. By any chance..."
Yu So-wol almost asked whether the Demonic Brain used the gallery, but stopped herself.
She remembered all the thoughtless garbage posts she had written.
The Heavenly Demon, Yu So-wol, felt not even the slightest shame.
The human Yu So-wol, however, did.
She was embarrassed.
Of course, her garbage posts were closer to diary entries than anything else.
She had also included various realizations she had attained.
Even so, she couldn't ask.
After hesitating, Yu So-wol changed the subject.
"If anything may aid his survival, provide advice at any time."
"For now, I believe it would be best to advise him not to abandon hope. The will to live is the most important thing in survival."
"This lady shall remember it. Is there anything else?"
"No."
"Then leave."
At the order dismissing him, the Demonic Brain bowed and withdrew.
Once he left, Yu So-wol was alone in the room.
She was about to naturally access the gallery when a sudden question occurred to her.
'Come to think of it, he did not ask who this lady's benefactor was.'
She hadn't intended to tell him, but the Demonic Brain hadn't asked either.
That struck her as strange.
The question only occupied her mind for a moment before Yu So-wol accessed the gallery.
Thinking did not suit her.
She could simply leave all matters requiring thought to the Demonic Brain.
She had lived that way until now, and there had never been a problem.
"I almost died. She's a genuine calamity. A walking disaster."
Meanwhile, the Demonic Brain muttered something close to a lament.
His internal organs had been shaken so badly that a small amount of blood leaked from his mouth.
He roughly wiped the blood away and swallowed some medicine.
Only then did he feel slightly better.
'There is no longer anyone capable of stopping the Heavenly Demon.'
The Heavenly Demon had become far stronger than before.
She had already possessed monstrous power, and now she had attained another enlightenment on top of it.
At the very least, no one in the Central Plains could stop her.
That meant the Demonic Cult could finally achieve the long-awaited ambition of its dreams.
'Not yet. There is still too much to organize.'
The Demonic Cult was a paradise for the abandoned.
Put another way, it also suffered from a great deal of internal discord.
Only after firmly establishing discipline within could it exert influence outside.
For that reason, they would continue waiting quietly for now.
'We must also keep a close watch on the Western Nations.'
If the Central Plains were the only concern, things would be simple.
However, the Western Nations also required caution.
The moment the Demonic Cult acted openly, the Central Plains would be thrown into turmoil, and outside forces would naturally take an interest.
Since ancient times, whenever civil war broke out, external powers had inevitably become involved.
Some madmen even invited them in merely to preserve their own authority.
Surprisingly, such things happened often.
'The problem is how to persuade that monster...'
The Demonic Brain looked around and confirmed that no one was nearby.
Then he stared into empty space.
A familiar-looking window appeared before him.
It was the same gallery Yu So-wol used.
'When she said benefactor, she must have meant Wild Grylls.'
In truth, the Demonic Brain knew Yu So-wol used the gallery.
He even knew that her registered username was Heavenly Demon.
His own gallery history was longer than hers.
It would have been stranger if he hadn't noticed.
Then why had he remained silent?
└ Heavenly Demon) If matters become impossible, this lady shall go and rescue you herself.
└ Wild Grylls) Really? Aren't you an extremely busy person?
└ Heavenly Demon) This lady asked an aide, and he said it would be best to give you hope.
└ Wild Grylls) Ma'am? ;;
└ Heavenly Demon) Is there a problem?
└ We've decided to call that giving someone false hope.
└ The Heavenly Demon is surprisingly stupid. Lmaoooo.
└ Does she just have no understanding of how the world works?
└ It's not exactly that. Her thought process is simply different from an ordinary person's.
"..."
Because it was enough for him alone to know this embarrassing truth.
The Demonic Brain sighed before he could laugh.
The Heavenly Demon, revered by countless people, was a gallery addict?
Even a beggar asking for alms would throw away his bowl in disbelief.
At first, he hadn't believed it either.
Yu So-wol had risen to the highest position through sheer martial power alone.
It was impossible to imagine someone like that wasting time in an online gallery.
However, the Demonic Brain was one of the Heavenly Demon's closest aides.
He was also exceptionally intelligent, so it hadn't taken him long to figure it out.
The decisive incident had been the Emperor's assassination.
She had suddenly gone to the imperial palace, beheaded the Emperor, and returned.
How could he possibly fail to connect the events?
The imperial family had concealed the truth by presenting it as an ordinary power struggle, but the Demonic Brain knew what had really happened.
'What in the world was she thinking when she wrote all these posts...?'
An even greater problem was the content of the Heavenly Demon's posts.
She carelessly scattered the realizations she had attained without thinking.
Fortunately, her peculiar old-fashioned style caused users to mock her as an old fossil instead of taking her seriously.
However, if those same words had been written in a secret martial arts manual instead of the gallery, the entire Central Plains would have been overturned.
It was similar to how something approaching true literature occasionally appeared among ordinary gallery posts.
'This is something I must carry to my grave.'
Separate from Yu So-wol's gallery use, the Demonic Brain was also an outstanding gallery addict.
Judging by his posts, more than half of them were devoted to insulting her.
If she ever discovered his identity, his head would fly.
Did that mean he would quit the gallery?
***
Title: I've Been Wondering About Something
SmartDemon
There are people in this world who seem stupid and intelligent at the same time.
My superior is like that.
I can't tell whether she has no thoughts or simply refuses to think.
Maybe she's intelligent but just doesn't use her brain.
└ There are quite a few people like that. Lmao.
└ A lot of people simply have strange standards.
└ The important thing is their personality. Does she pay well?
└ SmartDemon) The boss isn't greedy for money, so she pays well. Lmao.
└ What's your boss like? A man or a woman?
└ SmartDemon) A woman.
└ Is she pretty?
└ SmartDemon) She is pretty, but she's a little stupid, so she's not my type. ;;
└ What is your type?
└ SmartDemon) A beautiful and intelligent woman.
└ You were from the Central Plains, right? What about the Zhuge Clan?
└ SmartDemon) Who are they? Are their women beautiful?
└ Tell us your qualifications first. Lmao.
└ SmartDemon) Is being from the Demonic Cult acceptable?
└ Of course not, you crazy bastard. Lmaoooo.
└ SmartDemon) Damn. Lmao.
Of course not.
A dog was more likely to stop eating its own filth.
The Demonic Brain chuckled.
After using his mind so intensely every day, emptying it always felt refreshing.
Of course, he didn't completely stop thinking whenever he used the gallery.
There had recently been one registered user causing considerable commotion.
'For now, I should keep a close watch on Wild Grylls...'
He had no intention of helping directly.
Yu So-wol might not think often, but she wasn't oblivious.
He intended to pretend ignorance as much as possible while merely observing Wild Grylls' actions.
Yu So-wol was already watching him anyway.
Despite all the talk about the Forest of Four Seasons, the Demonic Brain remained unconvinced.
He would revise his assessment of Wild Grylls only after more definitive evidence appeared.
***
Title: Please Send Me Home
Wild Grylls
I miss my mom.
He was somewhat pitiful.
Should he help?
└ Is your mother doing well at home?
└ Wild Grylls) I'm an orphan.
└ ...
└ Wild Grylls) But I think I'll be seeing her soon. I should give her a hug when I get there. Lmaoooo.
└ Ah.
└ Aah...
└ Aaaaaah...
└ Wild Grylls) Why is everyone reacting like that?
└ Stay strong, dude...
He truly was pitiful.