Chapter 88

Diary (1)

Title) Got an egg.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of an enormous egg)

Stole an egg. A turtle showed up halfway through and scared the hell out of me, but I somehow managed to bring it back.

I'm having eel for dinner tonight and eating this tomorrow morning.

└ Heavenly Demon) Did you not catch the turtle?

└ Wild Grylls) I didn't have time, and it was strong, so I gave up.

└ Heavenly Demon) I recommend catching the turtle. I hear turtle is quite delicious.

└ SwordMaster) Have you ever eaten it?

└ Heavenly Demon) There is a dish called yongbongtang. I have eaten one made with turtle before.

└ SwordMaster) Yongbongtang uses softshell turtle, not sea turtle, for crying out loud ;;

└ That's ridiculous lolololol

└ But don't quite a few people get those mixed up?

└ A lot do, but the differences are pretty obvious when you actually look at them.

└ Every time I see Heavenly Demon, her ignorance just oozes out of her, seriously ;;

└ Smart Demon) Can't be helped. She's spent her whole life focused solely on martial arts. They say you achieve greatness by devoting yourself to one thing, after all.

└ Even so, that's a bit much ;;

└ Passing Dwarf) You gonna eat that?

└ Wild Grylls) Yeah. Of course I'm eating it. It's food I went through hell to get.

└ Passing Dwarf) I wanna try it. Can't you trade me some for good equipment?

└ Wild Grylls) Sorry. That shark giant stole my fish today, so I don't have any to spare.

└ Passing Dwarf) Then can you get me one later?

└ Wild Grylls) Hell no ;; That wasn't a sea. It was a living hell. I barely escaped with my life.

└ Passing Dwarf) Tsk. That's too bad. Still, give me one if you ever get the chance.

└ Wild Grylls) Do eggs even go well with alcohol?

└ Passing Dwarf) Egg soup for a hangover.

└ Wild Grylls) ;;;;

└ Didn't even think about hangovers lololol

└ Do dwarves even need hangover cures?

└ Of course. Otherwise they can't work.

I returned after exploring the seaside beach that had been practically indistinguishable from hell.

An octopus tentacle burst out of the sand and wrapped itself around my leg, a turtle transformed, and then it started shooting lasers out of its mouth.

The forest alone was enough of a headache, but knowing the sea was just as insane made me shudder merely thinking about it.

I probably wouldn't ever go back.

It wasn't like I needed to cross the sea, so there was no reason to.

The sea itself is full of things even more dangerous than what's on land....

Just how bizarre was the sea around the Forest of Four Seasons?

Even the shark that had followed the river upstream was a humanoid creature with arms and legs.

The turtle could swap out its legs depending on the terrain too.

I couldn't even begin to imagine what else might be out there.

For starters, most of them seem pretty intelligent.

Was it because they had evolved, like Allfather said?

It felt as though their intelligence had increased to some degree.

The Sloth and Wonmo were both remarkably good at understanding what I said.

Then there was the turtle, whose expression had instantly turned murderous the moment I showed it the egg.

Overall, they displayed intelligent behavior far removed from that of ordinary animals.

... Then what happens to animals like monkeys or gorillas?

Surely they hadn't become as intelligent as humans, right?

Something I'd heard on my way to the sea made me even more worried.

That was definitely the sound of monkeys.

A leopard-like animal had suddenly come flying out of the forest and fallen into the river.

It had been a pretty large creature, yet something had sent it flying as if it were nothing.

And from that forest, I'd heard noises that sounded like the cries of monkeys.

"Haah...."

I let out a deep sigh.

I suppose this was exactly what people meant when they said there was always another mountain beyond the mountain.

How was I supposed to escape this hellhole?

None of the common sense I'd known before applied in this forest, leaving me completely at a loss.

And since this is another world, even basic common knowledge is meaningless.

I was essentially starting from zero.

The fact that I was only realizing that now meant I'd probably been far too optimistic until this point.

So was I going to give up?

As I've emphasized countless times, absolutely not.

Even if it was only out of sheer spite, I was getting out of here no matter what.

And once I did, I'd point a finger straight at God and demand an answer.

Why, out of all the countless places I could have been sent, had He dropped me into this godforsaken hellhole?

What possible reason did He have for sending someone who'd been living a perfectly decent life despite his hardships to a place like this?

Looks like I'll have to revise my plans.

Now that I'd realized this place was even crazier than I'd imagined, my plans needed to change as well.

Could I hope for someone to come help me?

The gallery was my only option there.

The more I posted about the Forest of Four Seasons, the more everyone wanted nothing to do with it.

Even powerhouses like Heavenly Demon and SwordMaster were asking what kind of insane forest this was.

That said everything.

In other words, I had no choice but to escape entirely through my own efforts, and to do that, I needed to become stronger.

At first glance, that might not sound any different from my original plan.

But one thing had changed.

Not a base, but a shelter. Not merely adapting and surviving, but actually living here. And finally...

A deadline that had become practically unlimited.

Originally, I'd intended to escape this forest as quickly as possible.

But I'd changed my mind.

The Forest of Four Seasons had repeatedly taught me that the more I rushed, the more it forced me backward.

So even if it took a year—or even longer—I would endure.

I would become strong enough that, at the very least, nothing here could threaten me anymore.

And to make that possible, I'll have to manage things carefully so the gallery never cuts off its support.

My relationship with the head mod, Don't Abandon the Hero, was especially important.

If I got on their bad side and ended up permanently banned, I'd be completely screwed.

But that didn't mean I was willing to worship God.

I'd rather die than do that.

I can't bring myself to lie about it either, so I'll just have to dodge the subject somehow.

If the head mod ever brought up anything related to faith, it would probably be best to avoid the topic as much as possible.

As I gradually organized my revised plans in my head, I turned to look to the side.

My gaze fell on the barricade, where a gap had been left after the saber-toothed tiger smashed through it.

I should probably ask the dwarf to fix that first.

Come to think of it, I need to be careful that my body doesn't start changing in some weird direction.

If my body really was gradually evolving to adapt to the Forest of Four Seasons, as Allfather hypothesized, then I needed to steer that evolution in a beneficial direction.

For example, I could greatly increase the amount of time I spent practicing the internal energy cultivation method, guiding my body toward becoming more attuned to mana.

Or I could exercise hard and encourage it to become a body that built muscle more easily.

Maybe a hundred sit-ups, a hundred push-ups, and a hundred squats every day?

It was a workout that reminded me of a certain bald-headed character, except there was no running involved.

Getting cardio around here was simple.

All I had to do was wander around without a care in the world until something attacked me.

Then I'd have no choice but to run for my life, gasping for breath.

I'd rather not do cardio at all if that was the alternative.

Come to think of it, Starlight Princess said she exercises.

I should ask her about it later.

I wanted to know what kind of exercises she did.

If she used equipment, I could ask whether she could help me out.

Simple exercise equipment was sold in the auction house too.

With that thought, I immediately sent Starlight Princess a message.

Now that the trading restriction had been lifted, one-on-one conversations were available again.

She must have been browsing the gallery at the time because she replied immediately.

I smiled with satisfaction at how much livelier she'd become, but only for a moment before getting straight to the point.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, Starlight Princess. Are you there?]

[Starlight Princess: Hello! What can I do for you?]

[Wild Grylls: I was thinking about starting to exercise. What kind of exercises do you usually do?]

[Starlight Princess: Didn't you say you didn't have time to exercise?]

[Wild Grylls: The Forest of Four Seasons is more terrifying than I expected. I think I need to assume it'll take at least a year to escape.]

[Starlight Princess: A year... It sounds like you've had a change of heart. I thought you wanted to get out as quickly as possible.]

[Wild Grylls: I don't think I can keep myself from breaking otherwise.]

That wasn't an empty remark. It was the truth.

Hard things were prone to breaking.

So I was making myself flexible enough that I wouldn't snap.

In my case, I'd extended my deadline to rid myself of impatience.

[Starlight Princess: I see. I understand how you feel. You haven't given up hope, have you?]

[Wild Grylls: If I'd lost hope, I would've hanged myself a long time ago.]

[Starlight Princess: That's good. No matter what happens, never give up hope. Just as I met you and was completely cured, you might meet someone who changes your fate too.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you for saying that. By the way, how much exercise do you usually do?]

[Starlight Princess: It hasn't been long since I fully recovered, so I'm only doing simple bodyweight exercises. Sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and finally, running.]

...Surely Starlight Princess wasn't going to turn into that bald guy too, right?

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I immediately discarded it.

Let's not waste time thinking about pointless things.

[Wild Grylls: I see. So you don't use any equipment?]

[Starlight Princess: This is my first time exercising, after all. It's your first time too, isn't it?]

[Wild Grylls: Not exactly. I did some in the military.]

The military was an organization where you had to exercise just to properly carry out your training.

Combine that with a regimented lifestyle, and it was practically inevitable that you'd end up in good shape.

Of course, I'd gone back to my old self after leaving the military.

Still, I retained the memories of it.

[Starlight Princess: Then let's start with bodyweight exercises together. I'll even give you some protein supplements.]

[Wild Grylls: You really don't need to go that far ;;]

[Starlight Princess: You don't need an elixir? All right.]

[Wild Grylls: Ma'am?]

[Starlight Princess: I'm not joking. An elixir is a potion that accelerates regeneration. And muscles are...]

Starlight Princess launched into a lengthy explanation.

She even explained the principle behind how muscles became stronger.

Apparently, exercise damaged the muscles, and the body took advantage of the recovery process to rebuild them stronger than before.

[Starlight Princess: Therefore, my specially made protein supplement drastically speeds up that recovery process. What do you think? Isn't it amazing? You won't even get sore muscles!]

[Wild Grylls: That's really impressive.]

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I decided to just sit there and applaud.

Apparently, she'd taken the regenerative power of an elixir and focused all of it solely on muscle recovery, so I supposed it really was impressive.

[Starlight Princess: So drink this after exercising or doing any other kind of training. I'm sure it'll make you stronger.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. I feel like I'm always the one receiving help from you.]

[Starlight Princess: It's still nowhere near enough compared to you saving my life. And, Mr. Grylls.]

[Wild Grylls: Yes?]

[Starlight Princess: Like I said earlier, never give up hope.]

She had noticed the change in my state of mind from nothing more than our conversation.

She must have sensed something.

[Starlight Princess: Preparing yourself isn't a bad choice compared to simply waiting endlessly. But even so, never give up hope. Please.]

[Wild Grylls: I'll take that to heart.]

[Starlight Princess: Ah. While we're at it, why don't you start keeping a diary? Writing one helped comfort me too.]

[Wild Grylls: A diary?]

[Starlight Princess: Yes. A diary is a way of leaving something behind. It also gives you time to reflect on yourself.]

[Wild Grylls: Couldn't I just write in the gallery?]

[Starlight Princess: But that's your desires, not who you are as a person, right? I think a diary is what truly reveals a person.]

I quietly stared at Starlight Princess's message.

A diary.

I fell into thought.

It wasn't a bad suggestion, but there was something that made me hesitate.

A little while later, I bought a notebook from the auction house and wrote my name in it.

[Wild Grylls: (Photo of a notebook with the name "Park Jong-hyeok" written in it) Do you recognize these letters?]

[Starlight Princess: I've never seen that writing before. I know most languages, but... what country's script is it?]

[Wild Grylls: It's the writing system from the country where I used to live. So it doesn't exist in this world, right?]

[Starlight Princess: At least as far as I know, it doesn't.]

[Wild Grylls: Tsk. Is that so? That's a shame.]

As expected, she didn't know Hangul.

It would have been stranger if she did.

That was why I'd hesitated to keep a diary.

Still, it might not be a bad idea.

I expected to be staying here for a long time.

A diary would undoubtedly become a record proving, I've survived this long.

More importantly, I might even be able to use the records in it to predict future events.

Accumulating data one entry at a time and using it to improve my chances of survival.

Not a bad idea.

It didn't matter if no one else ever knew about it.

I had good people around me, after all.

I could simply think of it as... a hobby to ease my loneliness.

[Starlight Princess: Um... Mr. Grylls.]

[Wild Grylls: Yes? Go ahead.]

[Starlight Princess: Don't be too heartbroken. I'll remember you.]

[Wild Grylls: Huh?]

Wait, what exactly was this woman misunderstanding?