Chapter 82

Merman (1)

A day had passed in which I hadn't done anything—no, couldn't do anything.

The rain had poured down almost like a torrential downpour, forcing me to stay holed up in the cave all day.

I didn't have a smartphone, and the gallery was the only thing I could use, so I felt like I'd spent the entire day browsing it.

Whenever I had some spare time, I practiced my internal energy cultivation method, did basic training, and so on.

Even though I'd trained alongside everything else, I still couldn't shake the boredom.

'But that's over now.'

I looked up at the perfectly clear sky without a single cloud and took a deep breath.

Maybe because of the rain, the smell of wet earth was stronger than usual.

It smelled wonderful.

Thanks to the drainage work I'd done yesterday, there weren't any puddles around the cave either.

If I hadn't worked on the drainage channel, this place would've been filthy.

I couldn't help feeling proud of myself.

Title) The rain stopped!

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a perfectly clear sky)

(Photo of the damp ground)

Looks like I can finally start exploring again!

But first I need to get ready to reinstall the fish trap.

└ Heavenly Demon: You have suffered much. This lady should begin sending you more fasting pills as well.

└ Wild Grylls: Thank you! Roughly how much are we talking about?

└ Heavenly Demon: Enough to last you one or two months with ease. This lady would prefer to give you a year's supply, but my close aide says we are short on ingredients.

└ Wild Grylls: Even that much is more than enough to be grateful for! Could you thank your aide on my behalf? If they'd like, I can give them an inner core too.

└ Heavenly Demon: Very well. Since it is your request, this lady shall consider it.

└ Smart Demon: You have more inner cores? When the hell did you get those?

└ Wild Grylls: They seem to come out every time I catch a fish?

└ Smart Demon: Then how many have you collected so far?

└ Wild Grylls: Around four or five, I think? But I heard their energy fades over time, so I'll probably eat them soon.

└ Smart Demon: If I give you a container that can preserve them, can you give me one inner core?

└ Wild Grylls: As long as you're not scamming me, I can spare one.

└ Smart Demon: Kek, just wait.

└ Heavenly Demon: Rather than asking that fellow, you could simply ask this lady.

└ Wild Grylls: What's wrong with that? I can think of it as expanding my connections.

└ Passing Dwarf: Are you ignoring me?

└ Wild Grylls: Fish or crab is enough for you.

└ Passing Dwarf: You know me well. So hurry up, take the fish trap, and offer me fish.

└ Wild Grylls: Ha, you're seriously pissing me off lol.

└ Passing Dwarf: ?

└ Wild Grylls: Of course I'll bring you some.

└ Every time I see these two, seriously kekeke.

└ Grylls is definitely the dwarf's slave until he escapes lol.

Even though the rain had stopped, I still had plenty to do.

Most importantly, I needed to reinstall the fish trap.

That alone would probably eat up the entire morning.

And even aside from the fish trap, there was plenty of other work.

'I need to inspect the drainage channel again too.'

Yesterday's work had only been a temporary fix.

I'd basically just cleared away some dirt and called it done.

But because the rain had poured so heavily, sections of the walls had collapsed here and there, creating puddles.

At the very least, I needed to properly reinforce the drainage channel.

I could probably get the necessary materials from the auction house.

[Wild Grylls: Kek, I'll trust you.]

I'd also received another fish trap from the dwarf.

[Passing Dwarf has registered a trade item.]

[Passing Dwarf: You know you owe me one fish, right?]

[Wild Grylls: Go squeeze blood from a stone, you bastard.]

[Passing Dwarf: Kek, make it two.]

[Wild Grylls: Spare me, brother.]

[Passing Dwarf: I'm kidding. Give me some when you have extra. I do have a conscience.]

[Wild Grylls: What's in your right hand right now?]

[Passing Dwarf: I'm at the mine right now, you bastard.]

[Heavenly Demon: If you require more fasting pills, say so. This lady will immediately tell my close aide.]

[Wild Grylls: Aren't these expensive?]

[Heavenly Demon: Most likely. But my aide handles the finances.]

[Wild Grylls: I'll give you one inner core now, so please tell them to use it toward the cost...]

[Heavenly Demon: Very well. This lady shall tell my aide immediately.]

I received fasting pills from Heavenly Demon too.

The one happiest about the new supply wasn't me.

It was Namu-Ppareumbo.

The moment a sack full of fasting pills suddenly popped into existence in midair with a pop!, his eyes opened wide.

His eyes were usually almost slits, so I could easily guess how shocked he was.

"Well? What do you think of my abilities?"

"...."

"Yeah. I'm the idiot for showing off."

Namu-Ppareumbo probably thought of me as a tree anyway.

A tree that conveniently produced food on its own.

Today's incident had probably strengthened that impression even further.

"Ppareumbo."

"Please don't cut open the belly of the goose that lays the golden eggs."

Because that goose was me.

I didn't bother adding that last part.

There was no way Namu-Ppareumbo would understand what I was saying anyway.

It was closer to me grumbling to myself.

In any case, I'd received everything I needed from the fixed-nickname users.

Now all that remained was work.

"Chew, chew. Salty. So salty."

Before that, breakfast.

Today's meal was smoked meat.

All I had to do was lightly grill it over the campfire until it warmed through.

All the meat I'd previously salted had already finished smoking.

I had enough food to last roughly a month, along with the fasting pills.

'But no people.'

What could I do?

I'd just have to escape from here myself.

After finishing breakfast, I went back to working on the drainage channel.

I shoveled out the soil to drain the standing water and reshaped the walls as much as possible so they wouldn't collapse.

'I can line the bottom with processed stone, right?'

Naturally, I'd either find those stones in the auction house or ask the dwarf for them.

I wasn't going to do that right away, though.

I'd install the fish trap first, then work on the drainage channel afterward.

Installing the fish trap alone would take at least thirty minutes, so it was better to get started early.

'I should catch some frogs again too.'

I hadn't bothered the Golden Poison Frogs lately, so I had no idea whether they were even still around.

Allfather had already given me the medicine I needed, so I hadn't felt much reason to hunt them.

'I could use another pair of work shoes too.'

The shoes made by the dwarf's friend were waterproof, but their design meant water could still get in through the opening at the top.

It wasn't like I could take them off before stepping into the water, so I'd just have to endure it for today.

If necessary, I could dry them thoroughly by the campfire afterward.

"All right. Let's go."

"Kyuu!"

I carried Namu-Ppareumbo on my back and headed toward the river with Wonmo.

Wonmo seemed to be in especially good condition today, because he kept bouncing excitedly around me.

How could he be this cute?

I walked along with a satisfied smile.

SHAAAAAAA—!!

When we arrived, the river was clearly much calmer than it had been during the rain.

But regardless of the reduced current, something else caught my eye.

Flop! Flop!

"Huh?"

"Kyuuuuu!"

While I stood there confused, Wonmo's eyes lit up and he scampered forward.

He moved so quickly that I didn't have time to stop him.

But it didn't matter.

Because the riverbank was littered with fish.

Apparently, they had been swept along by yesterday's swollen river and hadn't managed to make it back into the water.

'What a windfall.'

There were more than five fish flopping weakly around near the river.

Three of them were the Forest of Four Seasons' extra-large fish. The others were somewhat smaller.

But among them, one specimen stood out completely from the rest.

"Do eels live in rivers too?"

I muttered to myself.

Among all the flopping fish, exactly one was an eel.

And true to the Forest of Four Seasons, it was enormous.

It was well over a meter long.

'That's a little gross.'

Its snake-like appearance was slightly unsettling.

But what kind of fish was an eel?

It was famously considered good for "stamina," something men tended to get excited about.

Of course, being stranded in the Forest of Four Seasons meant I had nowhere to put that stamina to use, but still.

I could always use the extra energy somewhere else.

"Nom nom nom."

Wonmo apparently didn't want to eat the larger fish, so he started with the smaller ones scattered around.

He'd just eaten breakfast, so he seemed to be treating them as snacks.

Meanwhile, I put on my World Tree Gloves and tossed the fish into the trap.

This unexpected little windfall put me in a good mood.

FWAP!

"Uwp?! Pwah!"

But the eel caused an unexpected problem.

The moment I grabbed it, it shoved its head toward my mouth.

Good thing I reacted quickly, or it would've gone beyond a kiss and turned into a full-on make-out session.

Still, I couldn't shake the gross feeling.

I hurriedly stuffed the eel into the fish trap.

Its body was slick, but thanks to the World Tree Gloves, handling it was easy.

"Phew! Ptoo!"

Ugh. Gross.

I wiped my mouth and glared at the eel.

You're dead tonight.

I'm only sparing you for now because I don't know how to clean an eel yet.

Now that I'd picked up all the fish lying on the ground, I decided to head back first.

I needed to put them in metal containers to keep them fresh.

I placed the eel in a separate container just in case.

It was a wide metal container.

Considering how it had tried to force its way into my mouth, there was no guarantee it wouldn't do the same thing to the other fish.

Title) Got an eel.

Wild Grylls

Went up to the river and found an eel on the riverbed. Aren't these things supposed to live in the ocean?

└ Heavenly Demon: An enormous restorative delicacy. This lady has heard that eels are very precious.

└ SwordMaster: Isn't that a snake? What kind of eel gets that big?

└ Wild Grylls: It's the Forest of Four Seasons. But don't eels live in the sea?

└ Allfather: There are freshwater eels as well. They normally do not grow anywhere near that large, however.

└ Farmed eels are usually freshwater eels anyway. Sea eels can't really be farmed.

└ Damn, though, one that big really is amazing. Think it has an inner core too?

└ Grylls is gonna be all fired up tonight lol.

└ What's the point? He can't use it anyway kekeke.

└ He'll substitute with stuff from the gallery.

└ All right, that's it. I'm posting those pictures tonight kekeke.

└ Stop.

└ Moderator! Over here! We have someone threatening a terror attack!

└ Passing Dwarf: Is eel good? It's stupidly expensive where I live, so I've never eaten it.

└ Wild Grylls: I'll give you a bite later. I want to try this one myself, so I probably can't give you much.

└ Passing Dwarf: Kek, I'm curious what it tastes like.

└ Wild Grylls: Oh, right. Allfather. When I grabbed this bastard, it tried to ram its head into my mouth. Is that normal?

└ Allfather: That was extremely dangerous. Eels have a habit of forcing themselves into dark, narrow spaces. There have been cases of people suffocating after eels entered their mouths.

└ Wild Grylls: H-holy shit;;

└ That's why they sometimes get used for torture too. They make them crawl into the lower opening.

└ Ugh;; that's fucking horrifying.

└ Starlight Princess: I've heard eels are good for stamina. Is that actually true?

└ Wild Grylls: Yeah. Want me to give you a little later?

└ Starlight Princess: If it wouldn't be rude, could I have just one bite...? I'll give you ice cream later!

└ Wild Grylls: Deal.

└ Look at him saying "deal" kekekekeke.

└ Trading eel for ice cream, what even is this lol.

The eel's appearance made the gallery noisy.

Most people said they'd never seen an eel that big, or that it looked more like some huge snake than an eel.

I felt oddly proud for a moment, but figuring out how to prepare it came first.

'I'll deal with that tonight.'

For now, reinstalling the fish trap was the priority.

Before long, I returned to the river with my animal companions and got ready to install it.

"Ribbit. Ribbit."

"Ribbit-ribbit."

Before that, though, I needed to clear out the Golden Poison Frogs.

Even after the river had swollen, they stubbornly remained in their territory.

I stepped back with Wonmo.

It was Namu-Ppareumbo's turn to shine.

"Ptoo!"

"Ptoo!"

"Pwooh!"

Thick purple venom shot toward Namu-Ppareumbo.

But as if the attacks were beneath his notice, he deftly dodged each one.

Eventually, once the frogs ran out of venom, they leaped into the river with a splash.

This was my chance to install the trap.

THWACK!

"Ow!"

Just as I was nearly finished, a fish suddenly jumped out of the water and slammed into my face.

I grabbed my nose as a sharp pain shot through it.

It hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Drip—

Drip—

But something worse followed.

My nose had started bleeding.

I'd injured plenty of other parts of my body before, but this was the first time I'd gotten a nosebleed here.

However, something happened that made me forget about the blood entirely.

PATTER-PATTER-PATTER!

Apparently drawn by the smell of blood, dozens of fish rushed toward me all at once.

Come to think of it, something similar had happened when I'd thrown away the tiger's entrails before.

Worried that I might get swarmed by the school of fish, I hurried out of the water.

"Phew."

I let out a sigh of relief.

At least the nosebleed had started right around the time I finished installing the trap.

Now that the fish trap was set up, I could head back to the cave.

I'd get straight to work on the drainage channel.

But first, I needed to stuff some tissue into my nose.

'Do I need to use an elixir for this too?'

I hesitated.

Well, if the bleeding didn't stop, I'd use one.

Drip—

Drip—

Even with my nose plugged, blood still seeped out little by little and fell onto the ground.

***

Some time after Grylls left—

SPLASH!

A hand emerged from the river.

It had webbing between the fingers like a frog's.

Yet the structure of the hand itself closely resembled a human's.

Sssshhh.

Before long, the owner of the hand revealed its face.

That face looked remarkably similar to—

"Grrrr..."

A great white shark.