Guardian (1)
Ah, right. That was a fish carrying a Neidan.
The Heavenly Demon had explained that a fish bearing an inner core was considered a spiritual beast and a potent spiritual medicine. Having eaten such a thing, running a burning fever was hardly out of the ordinary.
Come to think of it, the guy was a dwarf. His image as a raging alcoholic was so overwhelming that I had completely forgotten. Dwarves were a race born of ale and mines; knocking back a stiff drink after a long shift in the tunnels was their sacred tradition. Their short, thickset build was tailor-made for tunneling through rock, or so the legends went.
I started my morning bathed in the sweet-and-spicy encouragement of registered users and anonymous trolls alike. A proper day in the wild began with a cup of crisp, cool water and a deep breath of the refreshing forest air. And then...
"Moo."
"..."
...it began with standing face-to-face with a stag towering far higher than my wooden barricade.
It had breathtakingly luminous azure antlers and a coat of pure, snow-white fur. Its eyes were as crystal-clear as mountain spring water. I stared at the stag in a daze, then silently took a photo to post on the Gallery.
Tap-tap! Thud!
Fortunately, the moment its gaze met mine, the blue-antlered beast turned tail. With nimble, effortless footwork, it vaulted cleanly over the tall barricade and fled into the foliage. Despite its striking appearance, the creature melted into the dense woods within seconds.
...Did I shrink or something?
An Owlbear, giant fish, Golden Poison Frogs, a saber-toothed tiger, gigantic chickens, and now a colossal stag. Every single beast I encountered was unnaturally massive, leaving me genuinely questioning my scale. I felt like Gulliver arriving alone in the land of giants.
It was terrifying. Unbelievably so.
Maybe I should have just claimed I grew up in some backwater countryside. But then they would have asked how a rural bumpkin had access to the Gallery. Saying I was from another world was far simpler in the long run.
The memory remained vivid. Leaning against a giant boulder, only for the rock itself to shudder and rise to life. It was so impossibly enormous that a single misstep would have crushed me into paste on the spot.
Trapped in a wilderness drenched in an absurd excess of mana, I was crossing paths with all sorts of bizarre creatures. On paper, it was a high-fantasy wonderland, but for a survivor like me, it was pure dark fantasy. A single wrong step meant game over. Would I ever find a way out of this place in one piece?
Before worrying about an exit, I need to stay alive right now.
Shaking my head, I headed upstream toward the riverbank to check the fish traps set overnight.
Splash! Flap!
Two massive fish were thrashing inside the net. Both were extraordinarily large. Grinning from ear to ear, I hauled the trap from the current. Free food was always the best kind.
Rustle—
"Hm?"
Midway through pulling the line, the sound of shaking bushes reached my ears. The rustling had come from right beside me, prompting me to drop the net and immediately drop into a defensive stance. Drawing my sword and raising the shield, I fixed my gaze on the dense underbrush.
"..."
Silence answered. Perhaps it had just been a harmless critter or the wind, as no further sound emerged. Still, refusing to lower my guard, I gathered the fish trap and secured the catch. In a place where a single lapse in focus meant death, paranoia was an essential survival trait.
It's near the water source, so predators are guaranteed to gather.
Countless beasts came here to drink. Activity had seemed sparse before thanks to the Golden Poison Frogs monopolizing the bank, but that deterrence was fading. After all, I had slain their chieftain along with a sizable portion of the colony. Scanning the foliage the entire way back, I safely returned to the cave without encountering any direct threats.
From now on, I should keep Fast Tree Sloth with me whenever possible.
With that resolve, I set about preparing breakfast. Right on cue, Wonmo stirred awake. I tossed one of the freshly cleaned fish to the cub, naturally having extracted its Neidan beforehand.
Wait a second... did he get bigger?
I watched Wonmo enthusiastically tear into the fish. He was still wearing the football jersey gifted by Princess Chaeng-gu. What had once been a snug fit was now stretched nearly to its seams. Either he was putting on weight, or his frame was genuinely expanding—or perhaps both. Considering he was a growing cub, there was no reason to fret.
Bigger is better anyway.
Weight classes reigned supreme in combat, after all. If he grew larger than me one day, he would become an invaluable ally. Whenever that day might come.
Assuming I don't escape the Forest of the Four Seasons before then.
Even if it sounded like wishful thinking, holding onto hope was crucial in a place like this. Once breakfast was finished and the campsite tidied up, my stomach was pleasantly full.
Time to take Allfather's medicine and circulate the Mind Cultivation Method.
I had been practicing the cultivation art steadily, focusing primarily on the foundational breathing rhythms. Expanding lung capacity was proving to be the most practical exercise. I made a mental note to ask the forum later for methods to enhance cardiovascular endurance.
With routine chores settled, only one task remained for the day: returning to the Orichalcum cave to haul back a few mineral samples. Having memorized the path yesterday, finding my way back would be a breeze.
As for Wonmo...
Usually, the cub would slip into a food coma the moment his belly was full. This time, however, was different. He stared at me with those round, blank eyes, showing no intention of taking a morning nap.
"Wonmo. You can't wander off, understand?"
"Kyu?"
"Even if you see something tasty, don't chase after it. Got it?"
"Kyu?"
"It's dangerous out there."
At every word I spoke, Wonmo tilted his head and chirped in confusion. Like Fast Tree Sloth, the little guy possessed an uncanny knack for understanding basic commands, so I trusted he would stick close.
With preparations underway, I gathered my gear. My usual equipment consisted of my sword, shield, and the Subspace Bag received from Allfather yesterday. Inside the bag were the crossbow and various tools. However, fragile items like the Elixir remained outside. The dimensional bag bypassed the constraints of physical volume, but it did not negate weight or kinetic friction; there was still a slight risk of items jostling and breaking within the space.
Consequently, delicate restoratives like the Elixir and emergency rations like Inedia Pills went into a regular leather pouch. On my left hip hung the pouch carrying food and medicine; on my right hung the Subspace Bag holding the crossbow and gear.
This should do.
Though slightly heavy, the load was well within my physical limits. The crossbow in particular provided a much-needed ranged capability that I sorely lacked. Gear secured, I hoisted Fast Tree Sloth onto my back. Wonmo, decked out in his stretched jersey, hopped impatiently, urging me to hurry. His bouncing antics were undeniably adorable.
"All right, all right. Let's move. Just stay close, okay?"
"Kyu!"
Unlike his earlier runaway escapade, our party—one human and two beasts—marched in disciplined formation toward the Orichalcum cave. I planned to use the magical orb provided by KingLeor to conduct a more thorough survey.
The cave didn't have anything dangerous yesterday.
Aside from minor pests like bats and common snakes, there were no aggressive predators. Even if an emergency arose, I had an Elixir on standby, and Wonmo was more than capable of handling petty critters. Following the trail blazed the previous day, I tracked my carved tree markers without issue.
I just hope we don't cross paths with those giant chickens and chicks.
Why oversized poultry roamed a mythical primordial forest was beyond me, but extreme caution was warranted. The chicks were already as big as adult humans, and the roosters towered like monstrosities. Mapping their territorial boundaries was a priority, but doing so without getting caught was easier said than done.
"Sniff, sniff."
"Wonmo, leave that alone. That's dirty."
Midway through our trek, Wonmo paused to inspect a strange plant. It bore striking yellow blossoms that shimmered with an iridescent sheen under the canopy light. It practically screamed, I am poisonous to the entire world. Scolding Wonmo away from the stem, I snapped a photo with the Gallery interface. Identifying flora could wait until I consulted Allfather or Lady Starlight; risking direct contact was unnecessary.
—COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOO!
A booming crow shattered the quiet from not too far away. We had inadvertently brushed against the fringes of the avian territory.
"Kyueeeng!"
The instant the shriek echoed, Wonmo panicked and scrambled behind my legs. Being chased by that pack of monstrous chicks had clearly left a lasting trauma on the poor cub. Stroking his head to soothe his trembling, I surveyed our surroundings. Nothing appeared out of place, though a few enormous black feathers lay scattered across the forest floor. Given their exceptional size, each feather was practically the length of a forearm. I scooped one up and stashed it in my bag, figuring it might serve as fletching for bolts later.
"We're here."
We arrived at the fissure leading to the Orichalcum cave without incident. Stepping into the shadowy entrance, I retrieved KingLeor's gift from my satchel—a crystal orb etched with a Light spell. Tapping its surface was supposed to trigger the magic.
Tap, tap—
Just as KingLeor had instructed, a sharp tap caused the murky interior of the orb to flare with radiant white brilliance. The light coalesced into an ethereal sphere, detaching from the glass and drifting into the air above my head. The crystal orb remained resting in my palm, yet an orb of illumination floated faithfully above my brow.
"Whoa!"
I gasped at the floating pearl of light. Experiencing genuine magic firsthand stirred a childlike wonder within me. Since the enchantment was guaranteed to last for a full hour, exploring the subterranean depths would be a breeze.
Brighter than any torch. This is incredible.
Even the deepest subterranean gloom wouldn't hinder my visibility now. In high spirits, I ventured into the cavern, Wonmo trotting close on my heels. Descending the steep slope, I found the rope I had anchored yesterday still hanging firmly in place and used it to lower myself down.
"Hm?"
The moment my boots touched the floor, an odd sensation prickled my neck. Something felt off. The positioning of the boulders seemed subtly different from how I remembered them yesterday. Without a reference photo to compare, however, I couldn't be entirely certain.
Am I just imagining things?
Tilting my head, I scanned the cavern walls. The rock faces still glittered with brilliant violet veins. Basked in the crystal's pure light, the subterranean chamber was breathtaking. I snapped several pictures and uploaded them to the Gallery.
Monsters. At Sword Master's warning, I checked our surroundings once more. Beyond small cave bats and creeping insects, there were no sizable signs of life. The cavern seemed to end at the far rock face, but staying alert was only sensible.
World Tree or whatever, surveying the area came first. Accompanied by Wonmo, I inspected the cavern's nooks and crannies. What cataclysmic event had caused an entire cave of pure Orichalcum to form here? I wasn't a scholar, let alone a native of this world. In the end, all I could do was marvel at the spectacle.
Didn't they say Orichalcum has an absurd mana absorption rate?
Curiosity getting the better of me, I placed my palm against the cave floor and circulated the internal mana within my body. Before long, a faint wisp of energy leaked through my skin.
Fzzzt!
The mana didn't disperse into the air like vapor. The purple mineral beneath my hand drank it greedily, flaring with an even more vibrant, luminous violet glow than before.
Just as my lips rounded into an impressed 'o' at the sight—
Rumble— Craaack!
Directly behind me, the grinding shriek of stone scraping against stone reverberated through the hollow chamber. Jolting in shock, I whipped my head around.
"Wh-what the...?"
The rock was moving. A massive boulder formed of solid Orichalcum was shifting on its own.
The colossal hunk of mineral groaned as if slowly waking, then pushed itself upward, rising onto two thick stone limbs. I stumbled backward step by step, my eyes wide in sheer disbelief. The crystalline mass straightened its posture until it took the unmistakable shape of a bipedal humanoid.
Kiiiiing—
A resonant hum echoed through the chamber as a 'Guardian' revealed itself before my eyes.