Chapter 100: Fuel to the Flames (3)

The drama topic I had carelessly tossed out—the one I had assumed would flicker out after a single day—had not only spilled into reality, but had morphed into a catastrophic conflagration.

Virtually every single post on the forum tore into the Holy Kingdom with rabid enthusiasm. Not a single soul had a kind word to say.

"Damn."

They weren't just bad—they were rotten straight to the core. Stagnant water eventually rots, but this went far beyond rot; it had sat undisturbed long enough to liquefy into crude oil. No, crude oil at least possessed practical utility. This was just foul, unadulterated toxic sludge.

Every nation has its dark underbelly, but this is on another level entirely.

Reading through that satirical post laid bare why the Holy Kingdom's continental reputation was so thoroughly destroyed. Barring foreigners from ever advancing beyond Archbishop was particularly telling. It was blatant, unapologetic nepotism designed to keep absolute authority concentrated in their own insular clique. Utterly corrupt.

Can an entire religious hierarchy really become this rancid?

I harbor no affection for gods, but I hold no innate grudge against religion or the faithful. While I generally avoid religious zealots, back when I hit rock bottom on Earth, the one who extended a helping hand was a person of faith. But these people... these weren't men of God. They were dirty, decrepit politicians hiding behind clerical robes.

Unless time marched on and that generation died out, or unless the people rose in an armed uprising as that commenter predicted, systemic reform was a pipe dream.

People really are identical everywhere.

Different worlds, yet human nature remained remarkably predictable.

I watched the Gallery flood with an unending tide of memes and satirical banter before quietly closing the interface. Whatever information I was actually hoping to uncover about the wider world would take ages to surface through this sea of drama. If all else failed, I could always consult Allfather directly.

Though declaring the Gallery an entity of evil? Give me a break.

What kind of bureaucratic military-style deflection was that? At the very least, they hadn't issued a proclamation vowing to hunt me down, so perhaps a sliver of practical sense remained in their heads. Even if they wanted to, locating me in the impenetrable depths of the Forest of the Four Seasons was utterly impossible. I had far more immediate survival tasks to focus on.

"Cough! Hack! Ugh..."

A cloud of acrid smoke caught my throat, forcing a harsh cough from my chest. The morning campfire had dwindled, so I had tossed on fresh kindling, but I had overdone it. Snatching the burning logs back out was impossible, leaving me in an uncomfortable haze.

I really need to diversify my cooking setup.

Roasting food directly over an open flame or searing meat on a cast-iron skillet was more than adequate for keeping myself alive, but it carried an obvious drawback: the fish I relied on for my primary sustenance were absurdly gargantuan. Even after discarding the heads, flipping those monstrous fillets was an ordeal in itself. The meat inevitably ended up scorched on the outside while remaining half-raw near the bone.

Would an oven solve this?

An enclosed stone kiln—an oven—would distribute radiant heat evenly, drastically minimizing uneven cooking and burnt edges. Better yet, once food was tucked inside to roast, it would free my hands to attend to other chores around camp. Since I had resolved to establish a long-term homestead here, an oven was practically a non-negotiable necessity.

Time to build one.

Asking the general forum in the middle of a flame war was out of the question, but I knew the exact registered user who could help. Conveniently enough, he could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠also provide the necessary heavy hardware, killing two birds with one stone.

That gave me time to prepare the foundation while the dwarf worked at his forge.

I had woken up at six in the morning, and browsing the forum had eaten thirty minutes. Since I usually had breakfast around seven or seven-thirty, I could dedicate the remaining time toward laying the groundwork. If I couldn't finish it by then, I would simply sear fish over the iron skillet as usual. No rush.

Splash! Thwack!

Three fish were thrashing inside the riverside traps today. Consistently, every time I woke up from a full night's sleep, there were three waiting; during daytime checks, it was usually two.

No octopuses, right?

Even if it wasn't an octopus, I intended to react with immediate hostility the moment any other aquatic creature surfaced. Fortunately, nothing besides our usual fish wriggled in the mesh. Humming under my breath, I hauled the weighted trap up the bank.

Rustle!

A sharp scraping sound echoed through the undergrowth behind me.

The instant the noise struck my ears, my grip tightened on my weapon, sinking into a coiled combat crouch. After everything the wilderness had thrown at me, the reaction was purely instinctual.

"..."

Only the gentle rustling of foliage met my ears. Lowering my stance slightly, I scrutinized the thick canopy overhead.

The sound came from above the ground... A bird?

Yet if it were a bird, there hadn't been the slightest flutter of wings. Unease lingering in the back of my mind, I carried the catch back to the cave camp. Nothing followed me.

Splash! Splash!

Supply was steadily outstripping demand. I would need to buy a much larger metal drum from the auction house soon. Unless another storm hit, any fish I couldn't keep swimming in fresh water would rapidly spoil.

Abundance brings its own headaches.

The fish were simply too massive. When food had been scarce, their colossal size had been a godsend; now that my basic needs were met, storing that volume of meat posed a logistical nightmare. Even so, the luxury of eating until my belly bulged at every single meal was far too valuable to surrender.

Stockpiling is never a bad idea.

Nature was unpredictable. When supplies might vanish was anyone's guess, so stockpiling rations remained the golden rule of survival. Leaving the freshly caught fish splashing inside the water drum, I shifted my focus to the construction site.

Now... where should I build the oven?

A new dilemma presented itself. Erecting it inside the cave risked filling our cramped living space with smoke and heat, while assembling it outside left it vulnerable to unpredictable downpours. After weighing the options, I decided to place it right against the cave entrance, sheltered beneath the stone overhang.

I factored potential rain into the blueprint.

Once the masonry is set, I'll rig a heavy-duty waterproof tarp above it. Angling the tarp downward will channel rainwater straight into the drainage trench.

Accommodating entire monster-sized fish meant the oven had to be remarkably deep. I pulled up the Gallery's auction house and browsed through listings for uniform masonry bricks. Since bricks had been a fundamental building material across various civilizations for centuries, there was no shortage of sturdy, fire-resistant varieties.

First step: level the dirt foundation.

Even a basic stone oven demanded a surprising amount of preparatory groundwork. It became obvious that breakfast would have to follow the old routine.

Let's just get the raw materials stacked up first.

Piles of heat-treated bricks, the waterproof tarp, timber stakes to anchor the canvas—I hauled the supplies near the cave entrance. Just as I finished, Wonmo let out a sleepy yawn, his eyelids fluttering open.

I can repurpose this iron plate inside the oven once it's done.

I quickly devoured breakfast—pan-seared fish shared with the little cub—and immediately threw myself into the masonry work. First, I tamped down the dirt until the base was flat and solid. Then, estimating the length of the fish fillets, I laid the bricks in interlocking courses. The most critical component was the exhaust flue. Since this was an oven meant for baking rather than a smokehouse for curing, heat needed to circulate while smoke vented cleanly out of a flue designed to keep rain from trickling down.

What else... what did the interior geometry look like again?

Every few minutes, I pulled up the Gallery interface to consult historical masonry blueprints. Ready-made magical ovens existed on the auction house, but they were outrageously expensive and unlikely to match the awkward dimensions I required. A simple rectangular kiln was far more practical to assemble than a curved domed oven anyway.

It doesn't need to be exceptionally tall, but it needs deep clearance.

I raised the walls low and elongated, capping the structure with a capped chimney at the rear. Everything lined up cleanly.

Perfect.

The heavy stone slab serving as the inner base was purchased straight off the auction house, guaranteeing fireproof durability. But the assembly wasn't complete without the custom metal fittings from the dwarf. While he had promised to forge them to scale, it was safer to send exact measurements.

Acting on the dwarf's advice, I scooped up damp clay from near the riverbank and kneaded it into a thick mortar. Getting my hands coated in sticky mud was messy work, but a properly insulated oven was worth the elbow grease.

"Kkyuu?"

"Daddy's busy working, buddy."

Wonmo waddled over, tilting his round head with wide, curious eyes. Finding my labor fascinating, the baby owlbear plopped down on his fluffy rump right beside me to watch. He looked so unbearably adorable that I nearly dropped my trowel to scoop him into a hug, but I forced my focus back to the stone.

By the time every seam had been sealed with thick clay mortar, the sun hung high in the sky. Rigging the overhead tarp could wait for later.

Flawless. Absolutely flawless.

Looking over the sturdy, rustic oven, a broad, proud grin spread across my face. Naturally, an achievement like this demanded to be shown off on the forum. But the moment I opened the Gallery's main feed, a prominent, gold-bordered Hall of Fame post caught my eye.

I blinked at the screen.

What was this? Were they generously sending more survivors into the Forest of the Four Seasons just to restock my supply line?