Disaster (2)

My heart sank as I stared at the yard, which had been wiped completely bare, but I forced myself to look on the bright side.

Treat this as a learning experience, I told myself. Next time, I'll be thoroughly prepared.

What wouldn't I do if it meant surviving in this godforsaken forest?

I could ask Passing Dwarf for replacements for the shattered barricades, and I could stockpile raw materials for the furnace and the oven beforehand. Better yet, since I had already built them once before, reconstructing them wouldn't pose much trouble so long as my connection to the Gallery held.

Though I have to admit, it's pretty wild that sapling actually survived.

Everything else had been cleanly swept away, yet the sapling gifted by Let's Grow Trees stood fast, deeply rooted and unshaken. While I was intensely curious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about what kind of tree it actually was, I decided to let it slide. Hey, standing strong was all that mattered.

For now, I'd better prepare for future disasters.

These weren't simple shifts in the weather; each one was practically a full-blown cataclysm. This was a place where even an avalanche could manifest despite the topography making it structurally impossible. Just as someone had previously remarked, spring might roll in not with a polite dusting of yellow dust, but with a roaring sandstorm.

I need to dig an emergency escape tunnel, and I should hold off on any major crafting projects until winter blows over.

Facing my first winter here, and in the Forest of the Four Seasons no less, meant I had an absolute mountain of chores ahead of me. Sighing at the sheer vastness of the task, I turned my head.

There, resting quietly in the direction of my gaze, was the grave where my grand predecessor lay buried.

Just how on earth did that man manage to survive here?

He had definitely lived in this wilderness longer than I had; the sheer volume of his diary entries left no doubt about that. Everything he had experienced up until the moment he clashed with that gorilla and died had to be recorded within those pages.

They've probably finished deciphering it by now, right?

I had entrusted the translation to both Allfather and NecromancyIsLove. Aside from the bits concerning the Undying King and the gorillas, however, I hadn't gained much useful intel yet. It was a shame. If only I had learned from that log that winter arrived this abruptly, I could have saved myself a lot of grief.

Guess I'll go ask.

I was already planning to stay holed up inside the cave until the season shifted anyway. Taking this downtime to check in was the sensible play. First up was Allfather.

That was entirely understandable. It wasn't as if I had demanded real-time updates, and hounding someone doing me a favor went against my nature anyway.

Still, he had surely gleaned a few critical details by this point. I immediately fired off my next question.

Just as I suspected. My senior had weathered the exact same phenomenon. That confirmed it: even this wretched, chaotic forest operated under some semblance of rules.

Hearing that made me feel a sudden pang of awkward guilt. Then again, considering how Ppareumbo had minced that scheming raccoon, I hadn't really had much choice. Besides, the pack that showed up at my doorstep had every intention of violently evicting me from my shelter if given half a chance.

At any rate, now that I knew the definitive warning sign, the only remaining question was how long this winter would drag on. Several continuous months would be pure despair, and a year-round freeze would be an outright nightmare.

Praying fervently that it wouldn't be anything so grim, I typed back.

What kind of absurdly premature seasonal cycle was this? The sheer ridiculousness left me speechless.

Still, aside from winter, the other seasons had all been reasonably tolerable, so I wasn't overly concerned.

With climate shifts this volatile, dim-witted animals wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance out here.

You either needed peerless, supernatural instincts like Wonmo, or sharp, calculating cunning like that raccoon. If you didn't possess at least one of those traits, surviving intact in this forest was an impossible pipe dream.

In this ecosystem, the greatest predator wasn't a rampaging beast—it was the environment itself.

White fur and red eyes... the only thing that came to mind was albinism. I had to keep the real possibility of an albino beast in mind.

Given that an albino's coloration stood out like a sore thumb compared to ordinary fauna, its survival rate in the wild ought to have been abysmally low. For such a creature to survive this long meant it had to possess truly staggering combat prowess.

Its temperament might be even nastier than the Chief Gorilla's.

Mutations often went hand-in-hand with unnaturally heightened aggression. If that beast had also managed to master martial arts like the others, it was going to be a colossal headache. Clashing with it would be a brutal, bloody affair.

The real problem is that I have no idea where it roams.

Up until now, I hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of anything sporting pure white fur.

Nodding thoughtfully at Allfather's briefing, I decided to ask if there were any other hazards I needed to look out for.

Allfather's interpretation was clear: while my predecessor couldn't harness mana due to an illness, my own inability stemmed from originating from an entirely different realm where mana simply didn't exist in human biology. Even so, one unassailable fact remained—the herbs blanketing the Forest of the Four Seasons possessed truly preposterous potency.

The suggestion that even the everyday weeds were practically medicinal herbs sparked a sudden surge of hope. Then again, plenty of deadly poisonous plants were bound to be mixed in, so I had to tread carefully.

Even without Allfather, I still had Starlight Princess to turn to. And if she proved too busy as well... well, I'd just have to figure it out on my own. Once I verified their properties, I planned to hand them straight over to the Heavenly Demon. That would help expedite the completion of Bbarmbo's special rations.

Just as I wrapped up my conversation with Allfather and began casually browsing the Gallery, a sudden direct message popped up.

What a bizarre message. I asked what was going on, but no reply came back.

I briefly wondered if I should check in with Allfather again, but ultimately decided against it. If it were truly a life-or-death crisis, he would have made a public post on the forum rather than sending frantic whispers.

Takes all kinds to make a world, I guess.

Shrugging off the odd exchange, I turned my attention back to the harsh reality of survival.

Now that I knew the seasons rotated on a weekly cycle, all I had to do was prepare accordingly. Today marked day two, meaning I only needed to endure for another three or four days.

Does this mean farming is out of the question?

I had entertained notions of planting crops if the opportunity arose, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but that seemed practically impossible now. With seasons changing every single week rather than every month, ordinary flora wouldn't be able to survive the shifts. Then again, maybe edible crops would experience hyper-accelerated growth just like that World Tree sapling had.

Even if I managed to stockpile a harvest, preserving it would be the real nightmare...

Storage was the greatest hurdle. Meat could easily be preserved through smoking and salting, but fresh produce would rot in no time if left unattended. It was a proper conundrum.

To keep it fresh, I'd need something like a refrigerator, but that's impossible. If only I had some ice... Wait a second. Ice?

The moment the word flashed across my mind, my head snapped up. I instantly checked the time on the Gallery interface. It was barely two in the afternoon, meaning I had plenty of daylight left.

Scrambling to my feet, I quickly strapped on my gear and sprinted outside. Bbarmbo was keeping a watchful eye on Wonmo, so I had no reason to worry about the shelter.

Before long, I reached the riverbank. There lay the river, completely frozen solid by the flash freeze.

The ultimate natural preservative was sitting right here in massive quantities! How on earth hadn't I thought of this until now?

I can't just haul it back haphazardly, though. First, I need to build an insulated storage container, or better yet, a proper icehouse.

Throughout history, my ancestors had gathered river ice every winter and stored it inside subterranean icehouses known as seokbinggo. I could do the exact same thing. With the local wildlife largely inactive in the dead of winter, harvesting the ice would be a breeze so long as I remained vigilant.

Peering over the bank, I checked the thickness of the sheet. Thanks to the sheer velocity of the temperature drop, the river had transformed into a crystal-clear expanse of solid glass.

I've got four days at most. By then, I need to construct a seokbinggo—or at the very least, an insulated storage chest.

No matter how effective salting was for preservation, it couldn't hold a candle to a proper refrigerator. Storing harvested produce and wild fruits in a chilly subterranean cellar would be leagues better, making this an opportunity I couldn't afford to pass up.

Having made up my mind, I hurried back to the shelter and drafted a post on the Gallery. While I knew the historical fact that my ancestors had utilized stone icehouses, I didn't have the faintest clue about the underlying architectural principles.

Now that Passing Dwarf had promised to deliver the blueprint, all I had to do was wait.

While this sudden disaster had royally screwed me over, it had handed me an unexpected opportunity in return. It made me realize that winter wasn't merely a season to endure through sheer grit—it had its own practical advantages.

The avalanche hit from behind the cave, so I should place the entrance right around here.

Before the dwarf uploaded the architectural layout, I tackled the immediate groundwork: logging. Surviving the biting cold demanded an enormous reserve of firewood regardless.

"Hm?"

Right as I was diligently felling timber, something caught my eye from behind a toppled trunk.

While all the surrounding undergrowth lay smothered beneath thick blankets of snow, a single plant stood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠proudly upright, completely uncovered.

It was a striking flower whose petals glowed with a luminous azure hue, looking for all the world as if delicate frost crystals had bloomed into botanical form.

Was it frozen solid, or was this simply its natural state? I couldn't tell.

What on earth is this?

When in doubt, consult the Gallery.

Snapping a quick photo, I promptly uploaded a new post.

What was this delicate little thing, an ocean sunfish?