Welcome To (1)
I've been living in the Four Seasons Forest and gone through a ton of hardships. Whenever that happened, I'd collapse from exhaustion, hole up in the cave all day, or rest in my own way. Sometimes I'd even circulate my internal power method. But I don't smoke often. Only when my body was beat to hell and my mind was fried too. Right now was exactly that case.
Chiiiik!
I lit the end of my cigar with a fire starter stone. Once smoke started wafting from the tip, I put it in my mouth and took a deep, refreshing drag. A cool aroma, far from acrid, filled my lungs deep and invigorated me.
"Fuuu."
With a World Tree tobacco leaf between my lips, I exhaled the smoke. It billowed up lazily before slowly dissipating. Smoking it cleared my head a bit, at least. Things were still complicated, though.
I wanted to keep my distance from cigarettes most of the time, but that was easier said than done.
'Gotta clean up those gorilla corpses, and they might come for revenge... haa...'
Thanks to the elixir, my broken ribs had mostly healed. My stamina hadn't drained too much either, so I felt lively enough physically. But my head was a mess. That's why I'd lit up—to untangle it somehow. And there was just so much to think about regarding those gorillas.
'Who the hell taught them martial arts?'
I could overlook them using tools. Olfather had warned me about that beforehand. Plus, their obsession with tools actually made them easier to deal with in some ways. But a gorilla executing martial arts? That was a nightmare opponent. The fusion of their brute gorilla strength and fluid techniques made every attack deadly. Good thing I'd trained reactions with Ppareumbo, or my skull would've been smashed.
'Given the circumstances, the owner of that handprint on the tree must've taught them.'
I organized my thoughts with the tobacco in my mouth. To confirm the facts precisely, I'd need to venture into their territory. Catching the leader wouldn't help much anyway—he couldn't talk. They couldn't speak, but their intelligence was high. Using tools was one thing, but mastering martial arts proved it.
'How damn smart do you have to be to use martial arts?'
Who teaches matters in martial arts, but so does who learns. Talent isn't a word for nothing. Without it, you're just spinning your wheels. Maybe that gorilla even had better martial talent than me. The thought crossed my mind.
'...This forest is fucking insane.'
I couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. I took a deep drag and exhaled. Better to set gorilla thoughts aside and handle what needed doing first.
'Wonmo's... sleeping.'
Wonmo, who'd been injured for the first time ever, was getting treatment and sleeping soundly on her mat. She usually sprawled out flat, but now she curled up tight. Probably on alert after intruders invaded her turf, ready to spring into action anytime.
'Can't even feel safe at home anymore.'
Who knew when the gorillas might return? They'd even stolen my Wall Valley Pills. Not something to take lightly. Couldn't leave anyone here alone, not even Ppareumbo.
'Gotta install a door, no question.'
A really sturdy one, unbreakable by gorillas. That meant steel. I'd have to ask the dwarf. I'd assemble it myself, though.
'A few chunks of Oriharukon should do it.'
I took one last cool drag from the tobacco, then opened the log box. I tapped the ash into the ashtray and cut the end with my dagger. Still good for a few more smokes. Tobacco was scarce, so I had to ration it.
'Tastes damn good, though.'
If I ran low, I'd ask GrowTrees. No idea what they wanted, but I'd hear them out. Grabbing my shovel and tools, I headed outside.
Outside, I faced the sight of the gorilla pack's corpses. The standout was the one with its head cleanly severed—Ppareumbo's kill.
'First, snap some pics for the Gallery.'
I had a mountain of questions, so documenting the scene was essential. I photographed their tools too, then started cleanup. Their massive sizes made even that a chore.
'Just bury 'em?'
Easiest way: dig a pit and bury them. No need to haul to the river. Getting ambushed en route would suck, especially if the escaped leader brought reinforcements for revenge.
'Chopping 'em up... feels off.'
They were apes, not beasts like saber-tooth tigers. Messy enough with the damaged ones. Better to dig a pit. First, gather the bodies.
(By the way, finding the head for the decapitated one took forever.)
'Pit far from the shelter.'
No way I'd bury them near home. Somewhere distant. Deep too, in case scavengers came sniffing.
'This spot works.'
Behind the cave, a wide open area—like a backyard. I dug deep. Hauling them one by one was a pain, but necessary. About an hour later, they were buried. My boosted strength and all saved time; otherwise, it'd have taken two hours plus.
(Gorilla Pack Slaughtered by YasaengGrill)
(photo of dead gorilla)
(photo of gorilla collapsed on the ground)
(photo of gorilla dead in a pool of blood)
(photo of gorilla with neck cleverly obscured)
(tools used by gorillas photo)
(photo of gathered gorilla corpses)
Came to rescue their hostage I caught, wiped 'em all out.
Leader gorilla was there but he bolted.
And the leader used something like martial arts?? Is this even possible?;;
└Cheonma A gorilla using martial arts? Describe what techniques it showed, roughly.
└YasaengGrill Hard to explain in detail, but here's the stance: left palm forward facing out, right fist at waist.
└Cheonma Insufficient. What martial art did it demonstrate? More details, if you can.
└YasaengGrill Used palm strikes a lot. Super fast too.
└Cheonma Hm. Too many arts using long strikes. Need more distinguishing features...
└SwordTasteStar Before that, aren't you shocked a gorilla used martial arts?? This is insane.
└Cheonma True enough. I've seen countless lesser than monkeys, but a real monkey wielding martial arts...
└SwordTasteStar You know the difference between apes and monkeys, right?
└Cheonma One has a tail, one doesn't? All monkeys to this lady anyway.
└SwordTasteStar Fair enough lol. Anyway, no injuries I hope?
└YasaengGrill Took a hit to the ribs, nearly died, but survived. Broke the leader's arm too.
└Cheonma Remarkable. But it couldn't have trained alone. This lady suspects someone taught it.
└YasaengGrill (photo of tree center with gorilla palm print and human handprint) This proves someone taught them.
└Cheonma Quite inferable.
└Olfather Maybe a survivor still lives. If they taught the gorillas, they must've won fights.
└SunForever More shocked they used tools? Evolving into humans fr?
└Olfather Solid hypothesis. Abnormally high intelligence, or the Four Seasons Forest accelerating evolution.
└Hearing this is scary af whoa;;
└No wonder rare herbs everywhere. Survival's brutal.
└Grill got lucky
└Forget that, Grill ain't worse than gorillas?
└YasaengGrill Shut up. I didn't lose.
└If you lost you'd be worse than a gorilla lmao
└Fr worse than an ape lmao
└YasaengGrill Don't worry. I'm already worse than a sloth.
└Oh right lolololol
└Forgot lmao
└lolololololol
Once I posted to the Gallery, everyone chimed in their own way. A gorilla using martial arts was wild, but tools too? That's why humans top the food chain—tool use. Good they stuck to clubs; spears would've been trouble.
'And the one behind it...'
There had to be a 'master' who taught the gorillas martial arts. But was that master still alive? The gorillas saw me as an 'enemy.' If there was a human teacher, they'd at least show curiosity about me.
'Plus...'
I turned to look at Ppareumbo. Maybe because it got its Wall Valley Pills stolen despite schooling the gorillas, it looked drained today. But I couldn't whip up more pills on the spot. Plus, I was curious: what made Ppareumbo so fearsome that the gorillas dreaded it? That fear broke their morale—biggest win.
"Ppareumbo."
"......"
"How strong are you exactly that gorillas feared you?"
I was even more curious about Ppareumbo's past now. It was strong—beyond my imagination. Treated me like a 'nobody,' terrorized gorillas. What had it done before I arrived?
"......"
Instead of answering, Ppareumbo stared blankly. You wanna know? I met its gaze steadily and nodded. In our short time together, I'd gotten good at reading it.
Sweek—shk—
Ppareumbo started drawing on the ground. I focused. Sloths were slow by nature, but I waited patiently.
'Wait, drawing?'
I glanced at it. Sloth on the outside, human inside? Like the evolved gorillas, maybe other evolutions. Four Seasons Forest—nothing's weird. Whatever.
Sweek—shk—
Ten minutes in, the picture took shape. First: itself. Long arms, short legs, claw tips, serene face. Unmistakably Ppareumbo.
But not one. Two, three, four—up to ten. Like a 'family' of Ppareumbos.
Tok—tok—
It pointed a claw at the smallest sloth. Probably itself. I nodded to show I got it.
'But the others were gone...'
Then—grrrk—it slashed one sloth. Clearly dead. Grrk—grrrk—One by one, it slashed the rest except itself. Even the one beside it.
From this, hypotheses formed. Ppareumbo had a pack once. They got wiped out for some reason, leaving it alone. And the reason...
"......Gorillas?"
"......"
Ppareumbo gave no reply, just stared at the ground. But that was answer enough.
Ppareumbo's pack lost to the gorillas. Only the sole survivor remained.
'A pack this strong?'
The gorillas were stronger than I'd thought. Or...
'The teacher fought instead.'
Not hopeful news.