This Hellish Place (3)
The Mithoricon sword that PassingDwarf had told me to hand over as carefully as possible. I'd originally planned to give it after verifying them at the entrance to the Four Seasons Forest. But some random middle-aged dude verified himself in this weird way. And he was apparently pretty famous—people even recognized him. The hero's teacher, currently being treated like a traitor on the run. The news that a guy like that had been dispatched with the investigation team set the Gallery ablaze.
Judaek seemed to know about it too.
What stuck with me most was how shocked Judaek looked. So much so that even her usual exclamation points vanished from the ends of her sentences. And on top of that, she made a special request to me.
Don'tAbandonHero: Um... Grills-nim! Can I ask one favor?!
What favor?
Don'tAbandonHero: That gift you said you'd give if Ludwig-nim verifies as part of the investigation team—the one from your post just now! Could you give it to him?! I guarantee it!
Do you know him?
Don'tAbandonHero: Yes! I know him well!
If it's a request from Judaek-nim...
Don'tAbandonHero: Thank you! Next time there's a reason you'd get banned, I'll give you a pardon!
A deal that wasn't quite a deal went down like that. For me, I could just forge a new sword, so no real loss. More importantly, the key was whether the investigation team could survive after entering the forest... and actually reach me. Sure, you could argue I should toss in an elixir too, but that's a different story. The elixirs that StarlightPrincess painstakingly made. Even if I got them through trades, they carried her goodwill. Handing that off to just anyone could make her uncomfortable. That's how people are.
Since they're an investigation team, they've probably got all sorts of treatments stocked up.
They'd have excellent remedies, even if not quite up to elixir level. So now, all that's left is waiting for them to show. No one knows how long it'll take. Space is all wonky in here. Plus, the forest is about the size of a small country, so if luck's not on their side, we might never cross paths.
They could settle down somewhere decent like I did.
If they could use the Gallery, pinpointing locations would be dozens of times easier. But common knowledge is that you can't access the Gallery inside the Four Seasons Forest. I was sure El Dorado allowed it, but who knows. Maybe I'm special.
They've probably entered by now, right?
I checked the post from that middle-aged guy who'd introduced himself as Ludwig. No new posts since I handed over the sword. Like he'd grabbed it and ghosted. At least post a verification that you're entering the Four Seasons Forest or something. Nothing. Maybe the old man really just snagged the gift and hasn't gone in yet.
If he could access the Gallery, he'd have posted... disappointing.
It'd been a full hour, not even five minutes. Still no posts. The Gallery was buzzing with curiosity about Ludwig's whereabouts, but no one had a solid way to check. There was one indirect method, though: ask Judaek. As head mod, she could track not just high-nics but even floaters' real-time locations. A privilege and right unique to her. That could give some intel.
Guess I should ask.
She seemed to know him, and it mattered to me too. I fired off a message to Judaek right away. Hoping she was online.
Judaek-nim. Do you know where the high-nic Ludwig van Errolt is? Still outside the Four Seasons Forest?
Don'tAbandonHero: Still right at the entrance to the Four Seasons Forest! But he sent the message and hasn't replied! Is something wrong?!
Don'tAbandonHero: No idea on my end! We'll have to wait and see!
Something must be up. That's what I thought after hearing Judaek's explanation. The Gallery was calling it an "investigation team," but it was basically a purge. Sending them into the Four Seasons Forest meant a high chance of being labeled "missing."
Or maybe the old man's clueless about how to reply to messages?
Not impossible. But nothing was certain. We couldn't make real plans until the investigation team actually entered the Four Seasons Forest.
No. Plans? What plans?
This place warps space on its own whims—what could you trust besides luck? Good luck, they drop near me; bad luck, the opposite side. And according to Judaek, I'm smack in the center. Odds of running into each other were abysmal, but I had to hope.
First things first, time to make some charcoal.
Until they actually entered, there wasn't much I could do. I had my own tasks anyway, so I'd focus on those for now.
Let's see... the charcoal kiln...
Until now, the charcoal I'd gotten from campfires was a pitiful amount. Not even enough to fill a small barrel. Forging swords and tools required massive quantities every time. I needed a way to produce it in bulk. I was a total newbie at this, but luckily, someone who knew her stuff was around.
StarlightPrincess: Oxygen deprivation is key for making charcoal.
Oxygen deprivation?
StarlightPrincess: Yes. Charcoal comes from incomplete combustion, and the main condition is cutting off oxygen. Want a detailed explanation?
No, that's fine. Thanks anyway.
StarlightPrincess: No problem. Ask anytime about alchemy-related stuff.
That was StarlightPrincess, alchemy prodigy. The high-nic who'd shared smoking techniques before. I could've asked Olfather too, but their fields seemed different, so I went with her. PassingDwarf was metallurgy—metals—so no point there.
Cut off oxygen...
Deprive oxygen for incomplete combustion, leading to charcoal. As I mulled it over slowly, my oven caught my eye. Specifically, the mud smeared between its gaps. It'd hardened now, acting like glue.
That's it!
Inspiration struck. I immediately gathered some wood. The path that Big Forge Gorilla had cleared with one punch—fallen trees lined it, so supply was easy.
I'll clear that path later.
I picked them up, stacked them campfire-style. Now, light a fire... but no. For oxygen cutoff, I'd need to seal it with mud. Just slapping mud on wood wouldn't stick well and might drip.
Shape it roughly with branches first.
So I wrapped it with branches—especially ones with dry leaves. Once covered, I slathered on mud thickly to form a kiln shape. Not done yet. It needed to burn hot at first, so I poked holes midway up. Same for the top—that's where I'd feed the fire.
Whoosh!
Finally, shoved in a lit branch at the top and checked the burn. Top blazed fine, of course, but the bottom mattered. That's why the holes. Once it seemed to reach the base, I sealed all vents to cut oxygen.
"Cough! Cough! Ugh, spicy... smoky. Shouldn't have checked."
I'd peeked midway to confirm and just inhaled smoke. Anyway, it was burning well, so time for other work.
How's the situation now?
I logged into the Gallery to check for changes. No posts from Ludwig. Just rumors about the investigation team swirling. Infighting among the team now, the gift from Grills was too OP and caused issues, etc. Wild speculation everywhere, zero credibility.
Infighting? Why? Survival rates are already shit here.
Please don't fight. Come in peacefully and meet me. Honestly, no guarantee they'd even enter. Better to keep expectations low. I scrolled the Gallery a bit then logged off. Nothing noteworthy.
Hold up. Even if they enter the forest, can they make it to me? Smoke rises lazily sometimes, but not nearly enough. This damn forest screws compasses, terrain's hard to gauge—easy to get lost. I've got experience and stick to safe spots, but newbies? No way.
Need signposts.
So, lay out signposts to mark my location. A bit psycho, but effective. I prepped tools right away. No signposts on auction, so DIY it was.
Saw! Saw! Saw!
Trees everywhere nearby. I made signposts from dry wood chunks. Grooved planks and stakes, slotted together.
Paint white for visibility?
Got paint from auction—pricey stuff. Drew a house on the arrow-shaped plank: square base, trapezoid roof, windows inside. Clear sign: someone lives here!
Looked good enough. Height from my chest to neck level. Eye-catching for sure.
Made signposts.
YasaengGrill: Just in case the investigation team passes by, made signposts. Heading out to plant them now.
Investigation team folks! Follow the arrows here! It's where I am!
└Cheonma: Nicely done. Like the sword, your craftsmanship is exceptional.
└YasaengGrill: Thanks haha
└Aren't you expecting too much? lmao
└This guy's joking, right? Thought so, but he's serious lmao
└What if no one comes to the Four Seasons Forest? Then what? lol
└YasaengGrill: Grab Wonmo and sob my heart out.
└lmao
└lmao
└Kinda cute lmao
└What's Wonmo's crime? lmao
└YasaengGrill: My one healing touch.
└That lonely? Want me to come? lol
└YasaengGrill: For real?
└Obviously bullshit lol
└YasaengGrill: You asshole lol
└Don'tAbandonHero: If you really meet, treat them warmly! Ludwig's a really good guy!
└YasaengGrill: They gotta enter the forest first, right? No word on that yet...
└Don'tAbandonHero: True! Honestly, I hope they don't enter!
└YasaengGrill: Crushing my hopes.
└Don'tAbandonHero: Sorry, but better shattered hopes than pointless sacrifice!
└YasaengGrill: Fuck T_T Got nothing to say.
└Poor Grills... But Judaek's right.
└You're the weird one. Four Seasons Forest? Most die in days...
└YasaengGrill: If they've got skills, survival odds go up. My senior did.
└Senior? That skeleton?
└Finally calling him senior? lol Even Judaek indirectly said ditch the hope!
Judaek had basically told me to give up hope too! But I wasn't quitting. Not like I wanted them throwing their lives away to come. Just... keeping in mind they might end up as "stranded."
Still hanging out at the entrance?
I made even more signposts with that thought. Planning to plant them along every path I'd taken so far.
I wanna talk to people too.
Two weeks in, loneliness was creeping up.
*****
While Grills was kindly making and planting signposts.
Splat!
"Gaaahhh!!!"
A paladin flew into the entrance of the Four Seasons Forest. Arms flailing like he really didn't want to go in. The paladin was visible for a moment—then, the instant he passed the Four Seasons Forest "entrance," he vanished without a trace.
"Hoo..."
Ludwig, the paladin who'd kicked him in, caught his breath. He slowly turned, facing the watchful squad radiating hostility.
Shing—
Ludwig aimed his sword, green galaxies seeming to flow along its blade. Aura blazed brilliantly as he declared,
"Anyone else wanna go in deeper?"
As Grills hoped, Ludwig was kindly "supplying" survivors.