Chapter 68
Guardian (1)
Title: A Strong and Vigorous Morning!
Wild Grylls
Day 9 starts today!
└ Heavenly Demon: You’re awake. What do you plan to do today?
└ Wild Grylls: First, I’m going back to the cave I visited yesterday. I want to check whether the entire place is an Orichalcum cave.
└ Heavenly Demon: If you find any, could you give me some? It would not hurt to have one piece.
└ Wild Grylls: If it’s a request from you, Heavenly Demon, of course I’ll do it. I’ll give you a big one.
└ Heavenly Demon: Thank you. Since we are trading anyway, I shall give you some fasting pills I prepared in advance.
└ Wild Grylls: Thank you.
└ SwordMaster: You really work hard every day. I think you’re even busier than I am.
└ Wild Grylls: SwordMaster, couldn’t you get a job if you wanted to?
└ SwordMaster: I could, but there’s no reason for me to, haha.
└ Lucky bastard. Rich and unemployed.
└ Isn’t that basically winning at life?
└ Some of us work ourselves to the bone while others… sigh.
└ He was probably born a noble with a silver spoon in his mouth lol.
└ Passing Dwarf: Huh. What the hell? Another day already passed. The thing you gave me was Orichalcum.
└ Wild Grylls: Talk about being late to the party ;; What time did you start drinking yesterday?
└ Passing Dwarf: From lunchtime until evening. But what the hell was inside that fish? I drank while eating it and my whole body started burning hot ;; I ended up sleeping the entire day because of it.
Hadn’t he said that even his short, stocky body was specialized for working in mines?
Something like that, anyway.
Ah, right.
It was a fish containing an inner core.
According to the Heavenly Demon, a fish containing an inner core was both a spiritual creature and a spiritual medicine.
It wasn’t strange for his body to heat up after eating something like that.
└ Wild Grylls: Same thing happened to me, but I felt better after getting a good day’s sleep. Are you still hurting?
└ Passing Dwarf: I’m perfectly fine except that I’m overflowing with strength. Thinking of heading to the mine for the first time in a while.
Come to think of it, this guy was a dwarf.
His image as a drunken bum was so strong that I’d completely forgotten.
Dwarves were the race of alcohol and mines.
It was tradition for them to have a drink after finishing their work in the mines.
└ Wild Grylls: I might have to swing a pickaxe too. Got any tips?
└ Passing Dwarf: Don’t put mana into the pickaxe. There could be minerals that react sensitively to mana.
└ Wild Grylls: Is Orichalcum sensitive to mana too?
└ Passing Dwarf: It’s less that it’s sensitive and more that its absorption rate is insanely high. Either way, absolutely do not use mana.
└ Wild Grylls: Just hearing that makes it sound exhausting.
└ Hell yeah it is lol. There’s a reason mining is considered one of the hardest jobs in the world.
└ If the tunnel collapses, you’re just dead.
└ Wild Grylls: Guess I’ll just pick up whatever rocks are lying around.
└ By the way, he still isn’t dead.
└ When is this bastard finally gonna die lol.
└ He is pretty damn persistent lol.
└ Watching you survive is getting boring now~
└ Wild Grylls: You bastards?
Thus began another day, accompanied by encouragement from regulars and users alike, equal parts sweet and spicy.
A day should always begin with a refreshing glass of water and the crisp air of the forest.
And—
“Muu.”
“……”
—with an encounter with a deer far larger than the barricade.
It had radiant blue antlers, snow-white hide, and eyes as clear as pristine river water.
I stared blankly at the deer for a moment, then silently took a picture for the Gallery.
Tap! Tap!
Fortunately, the blue-antlered deer immediately ran away the moment our eyes met.
With light footwork, it sprang clean over the barricade and fled.
Despite its extremely conspicuous appearance, it disappeared almost immediately once it entered the forest.
Did I somehow shrink?
The owlbear, the fish, the Golden Poison Frog, the saber-toothed tiger, the chicken, and now this deer.
Every single creature I encountered was abnormally huge.
It was starting to make me wonder.
I think I finally understood how Gulliver must have felt after entering the land of giants alone.
It was scary.
Fucking terrifying, actually.
Title: Anyone Know What This Deer Is?
Wild Grylls
(Photo of a deer with blue antlers and white hide)
This thing greeted me the moment I stepped outside the cave. Anyone know what it is?
└ Heavenly Demon: What a beautiful deer. Those blue antlers are quite radiant.
└ Cheonggu Princess: I know, right? Just like my eyes.
└ Heavenly Demon: I shall bring down the banhammer.
└ Cheonggu Princess: I’m sorrrry!!!
└ Heavenly Demon: Hmph.
└ SwordMaster: And how exactly is that not oppression?
└ Heavenly Demon: It is legitimate regulation.
└ SwordMaster: Look at how shameless she is ;;
└ Starlight Princess: I’ve seen that deer in a book before. If my guess is correct, it should be a Spirit Deer.
└ Wild Grylls: A spirit? Spirits exist too?
└ Starlight Princess: You didn’t know? Where on earth have you been living?
└ Wild Grylls: I told you I came from another world though.
Maybe I should have just said I grew up in some rural backwater.
But then she probably would have asked how I could use the Gallery.
It seemed easier to simply stick with the story that I came from another world.
└ Wild Grylls: So what about that deer?
└ Starlight Princess: It’s called a Spirit Deer because it looks like a spirit. Spirits themselves cannot physically affect living creatures. In the end, they are still mana.
└ Wild Grylls: It doesn’t fire lasers from its antlers or anything, right?
└ Starlight Princess: Getting kicked by it would probably hurt a lot more.
└ Wouldn’t that go beyond hurting and just shatter your bones?
└ Grylls, why don’t you try taking one hit? You’ve got a shield.
└ Wild Grylls: ;;
└ Starlight Princess: You can ignore those idiots.
└ Starlight Princess: The easiest way to think of spirits is as living mana. Mana that has developed a will of its own.
└ Wild Grylls: That sounds pretty abstract.
└ Starlight Princess: You remember the Guardian you first encountered, don’t you?
└ Wild Grylls: You mean that enormous rock giant?
I still remembered it vividly.
The rock I had leaned against suddenly coming alive and moving.
It had been so huge that if it had stepped on me, I would have died on the spot.
└ Starlight Princess: Nothing has been confirmed, but the prevailing theory is that naturally formed Guardians are inhabited by spirits.
I really was encountering all kinds of bizarre animals simply because this place contained an absurd concentration of mana.
It was certainly a world befitting a fantasy setting.
For me, though, it was dark fantasy.
One wrong move could cost me my life.
Would I really be able to leave this place in one piece?
More importantly, I need to stay alive first.
I shook my head and headed up toward the river.
I wanted to check how many fish had gotten caught overnight.
Splash! Splash!
Exactly two fish were caught in the trap.
And both of them were enormous.
Grinning from ear to ear, I pulled up the trap.
Now this was what you called easy gains.
Rustle—
“Hmm?”
While I was retrieving the trap, I heard the bushes shaking.
The sound came from right beside me.
I immediately stopped what I was doing and went on alert.
Sword and shield in hand, I stared intently toward the direction the sound had come from.
“……”
Perhaps it had just been my imagination, because I didn’t hear anything else after that.
Even so, I kept my guard up as I retrieved the fish trap.
One wrong move could cost me my life, so I couldn’t help being overly cautious.
I’ll just have to stay alert whenever I’m near the river.
Plenty of animals probably came here to drink.
There hadn’t seemed to be many around because of the Golden Poison Frogs, but… that might not be the case anymore.
After all, because of me, not only their leader but quite a few Golden Poison Frogs had died.
I stayed alert all the way back to the cave.
Fortunately, nothing threatening happened along the way.
I should probably keep Namu-Ppareumbo with me whenever possible.
With that thought, I prepared breakfast.
Wonmo happened to wake up at just the right time.
I gave him one of the fish.
Naturally, I removed the inner core first.
Come to think of it… hasn’t he gotten a little bigger?
I watched Wonmo happily devour the fish.
He was currently wearing the uniform Cheonggu Princess had given him.
It had originally fit him perfectly, but now it was stretched almost to its limit.
Either he’d gained weight, gotten bigger, or both.
He was still growing, so I didn’t worry about it.
Bigger is better.
Hadn’t people always said that weight class was king?
Then there was nothing to complain about.
If he eventually grew larger than me, he would be a huge help.
Who knew when that day would come, though.
Would I be out of the Forest of Four Seasons by then?
Even if it was an empty hope, that was fine.
At times like this, I needed something to hope for.
I finished breakfast and cleaned everything up afterward.
My stomach was nice and full.
I should take the medicine Allfather gave me and circulate my cultivation method.
I had been consistently practicing my internal energy cultivation method.
In particular, I focused on the breathing technique itself.
Training to increase my overall lung capacity.
That seemed to be the most effective part.
I should ask them later about ways to improve lung capacity too.
Now there was only one thing left to do.
Go to the Orichalcum cave and pick up a few pieces.
I’d memorized the entire route, so there was no chance of getting lost.
As for Wonmo…
Normally, he fell asleep immediately after eating.
This time, however, he was different.
He stared at me with those characteristic vacant eyes of his.
Apparently, he had no intention of taking a nap.
“Wonmo. You can’t wander off somewhere weird, okay?”
“Kkyu?”
“Even if you see something tasty, don’t go after it. Got it?”
“Kkyu?”
“It’s dangerous.”
Every time I spoke, Wonmo tilted his head and made an adorable little sound.
Like Namu-Ppareumbo, he somehow understood what I said, so he would probably behave.
Breakfast was over, so I started gathering my supplies.
As always, I took my sword and shield, along with the subspace bag Allfather had gifted me yesterday.
The bag contained my crossbow and various other supplies.
However, I didn’t put anything fragile like the elixir inside.
The bag ignored spatial limitations, not weight.
Apparently, although the odds were low, items inside could occasionally collide and damage one another.
So I kept the elixir and the fasting pills I carried as emergency food in a separate bag.
On my left hip was the bag containing food and the elixir.
On my right hip was the subspace bag containing the crossbow and various tools.
“This should be more than enough.”
It was a little heavy, but still manageable.
The crossbow was an extremely useful weapon for someone like me, who otherwise had no means of attacking from a distance.
Once I was fully prepared, I let Namu-Ppareumbo climb onto my back.
Wonmo, wearing his stretched-out uniform, bounced around impatiently as if telling me to hurry.
It was adorable.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go. But don’t fall behind, okay?”
“Kkyu!”
Unlike the time he’d run away, this time all three of us—no, one person and two animals—traveled together side by side.
Our destination was the Orichalcum cave I’d visited yesterday.
I planned to explore it more thoroughly.
I also had the item King Leor had given me, so I could use that.
There wasn’t anything dangerous in the cave yesterday either.
There were bats and snakes, but nothing particularly threatening.
I had brought an elixir just in case, and even if I didn’t handle something myself, Wonmo probably could.
Following my memories from yesterday, I headed toward the Orichalcum cave.
The markings I’d carved along the route were still there, so finding the way wasn’t difficult.
The chicken and chicks won’t show up again, right?
I still had no idea why there were chickens and chicks in the middle of the forest, but either way, I needed to stay careful.
Even the chicks were about my size.
The adult chicken had been much larger than me.
It would make things easier if I knew the boundaries of their territory, but figuring that out wouldn’t be simple.
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Wonmo. That’s yucky. Don’t touch it.”
Along the way, Wonmo stopped to sniff a strange-looking plant.
It was a flower with a striking yellow color, and oddly enough, it glittered whenever light reflected off it.
It practically screamed, I’m poisonous.
I scolded Wonmo and took a picture of the flower for the Gallery.
This was the kind of thing I could ask Allfather or Starlight Princess about later.
There was no reason to take an unnecessary risk right now.
“COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!!”
A thunderous rooster’s crow echoed from somewhere not too far away.
Apparently, while walking, we’d entered the chickens’ territory before I realized it.
“Kkyueng!”
The instant Wonmo heard it, he panicked and rushed over to me.
It seemed being chased by that flock of chicks before had left him traumatized.
I stroked Wonmo to calm him down, then looked around.
Nothing immediately stood out as dangerous.
There are feathers scattered around, though.
Black feathers that presumably had fallen from the chickens.
They were so enormous that even a single feather was quite large.
I picked one up and put it in the subspace bag.
It might be useful later.
“We’re here.”
We reached the Orichalcum cave without encountering any danger.
Once we arrived, I pulled an item from my regular bag.
It was the crystal orb King Leor had given me, engraved with a Light spell.
I’d been told the spell would activate if I tapped the orb a few times.
Tap, tap.
Just as King Leor had explained, something changed after I tapped the crystal orb several times.
The formerly dim crystal suddenly shone brightly, and then the light itself rose into the air.
The crystal orb remained in my hand, yet the light floated above my head.
It was a fascinating sight.
“Ooh!”
I stared in amazement at the light bobbing above me.
It was the first time I’d ever seen actual magic, and I felt like a child again.
King Leor had said it would last for an entire hour, so I had plenty of time to explore.
It’s brighter than a torch. Perfect.
With this, I wouldn’t have to struggle to explore even the darkest areas.
Feeling excited, I entered the cave.
Wonmo followed behind me, trotting along happily.
Before long, we reached the downward slope leading into the Orichalcum cave.
The rope I had installed yesterday was still there, so I carefully climbed down.
“Hm?”
The moment I reached the bottom, something felt strange.
How should I put it?
The arrangement of the rocks seemed slightly different.
If I had taken a picture yesterday, I could have compared them, but I hadn’t, so I couldn’t be sure.
Am I imagining it?
I tilted my head and looked around.
The cave was still glittering as before.
Now that I had proper light, I took several pictures and uploaded them to the Gallery.
Title: Orichalcum Cave
Wild Grylls
(Photo of a cave filled with Orichalcum)
(Photo of a rock-shaped chunk of Orichalcum)
(Photo of a piece of Orichalcum picked up from the ground)
What do you think? All that glittering stuff is Orichalcum, right?
└ Heavenly Demon: What a beautiful cave. A cavern filled entirely with true metal.
└ SwordMaster: It really is beautiful. What are you going to do now?
└ Wild Grylls: Not sure. Pick up some pieces lying around and explore, I guess? There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly dangerous here.
└ SwordMaster: Still, be careful. If this were an artificially excavated mine that would be one thing, but natural caves tend to have a lot of monsters.
Monsters.
After reading that comment, I looked around.
Aside from small creatures such as bats, there didn’t seem to be any other living things.
The visible chamber also seemed to be the full extent of the cave.
Still, I supposed there was no harm in staying cautious.
└ Passing Dwarf: Damn. Makes me want to run over there and start swinging a pickaxe right now lol.
└ Wild Grylls: Wanna come?
└ Passing Dwarf: After I finish all my booze.
└ Wild Grylls: So you’re saying you’re not coming, you bastard.
└ Passing Dwarf: Why the hell would I go somewhere like that? Am I crazy? lolol.
└ Allfather: Still, this is fascinating. An entire cave composed of Orichalcum… Just what kind of place is the Forest of Four Seasons?
└ Starlight Princess: Perhaps it experienced severe geological upheaval? Orichalcum is a mineral that can only form in areas rich in mana, after all.
└ Allfather: True, but there is definitely something more to it. Something capable of generating an extreme concentration of mana.
└ Starlight Princess: That hypothesis makes sense. If it is powerful enough to distort space itself, wouldn’t it be something beyond even the World Tree?
└ Allfather: Perhaps. It seems further investigation will be necessary.
└ Wild Grylls: Anyone else have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about?
└ Me!
└ I don’t understand either!
└ Ah lolol, it’s fine if you don’t understand lol.
└ Let’s Grow Trees: There is only one World Tree in this world. The World Tree of Alvenheim.
└ Yeah, we know. The knife-ears can go away now.
└ Aren’t you guys basically a race surviving entirely off the World Tree?~
└ Let’s Grow Trees: And have you received the World Tree’s blessing? You haven’t, which is why all you can do is mock us.
└ Ah, fuck. That seriously pisses me off lol.
└ The worst part is that it’s true, so I’ve got nothing to say lol.
World Tree or whatever, exploring came first.
Together with Wonmo, I began looking around various parts of the cave.
What in the world could have happened for an entire Orichalcum cave like this to form?
I wasn’t a scholar.
Hell, I wasn’t even someone born in this world.
All I could really do was shrug and think, Wow, that’s interesting.
They said Orichalcum has an excellent mana absorption rate, right?
I placed my hand against the ground and circulated the mana inside my body.
Before long, mana flowed out through my palm.
Flash!
But it didn’t rise like a shimmering heat haze.
Instead, the Orichalcum glittered more intensely than before.
Apparently, it really had absorbed the mana.
I rounded my lips in fascination as I stared at it.
Then—
Rumble… grrrrind…
The sound of stone scraping against stone came from directly behind me.
The moment I heard it, I flinched and whipped around.
“W-Wait…?”
A rock was moving.
A rock made entirely of Orichalcum.
The enormous mass of mineral shifted as though it were standing up, then rose proudly onto two legs.
I slowly backed away as I watched it rise.
Before long, the Orichalcum mass stood completely upright in the shape of a person.
Whiiiiine—
A Guardian revealed itself before me.