Rain (2)
The squirrel—no, the flying squirrel—that tried to steal and eat the Wall Valley Pill was taken care of by Ppareumbo. Usually, it'd be Wonmo handling something like that, but a sloth taking it down instead? That's bizarre.
"Here, Wonmo. Drink this too."
"Kyuu?"
"The moment you get rabies, this owner's screwed."
Wonmo chowed down on the flying squirrel that Ppareumbo had neatly sliced up for her. I gently pried open her beak and poured in the elixir. It was the animal-grade one that StarlightPrincess had given me before. At first, she flailed around, but after one drop, she started lapping it up eagerly. She got so greedy for more that I had to hold her back.
Elixirs are precious... but is this one sweet?
Elixirs are basically medicine, so they're bitter by default. But this animal version must taste different. Just look at how crazy Wonmo was going for it.
I cleaned up the flying squirrel corpse I hadn't gotten to yet and checked outside. The rain had pretty much stopped, so it seemed safe to start moving around.
But first, gotta check the river.
With all this rain, the river would've swelled massively. Even if it hadn't, I'd just peek and bail right away. The river doesn't rise gradually here—it comes like a tsunami.
Not bad for rain that poured all morning. The ground's holding up okay.
Around my cave—especially the work areas—it's just mud, but elsewhere it's fine. Still, some repairs were needed, namely the pit I'd dug under the barricade. It had done a great job as a drainage ditch, but now it needed tidying.
This'll take forever to dry out...
I'd have to redirect the water somewhere else. Stagnant water would stink and attract bugs. Drainage was essential to prevent that.
I got right to work. The river could wait—shelter cleanup first.
Dig! Thunk!
I shoveled away, shaping the drainage ditch. It led to the back of the cave, toward the dense trees. If the water pooled there, the tree roots would soak it up naturally.
Block it off with dirt for now so the water doesn't flow freely.
Letting it run unchecked would just cause headaches later. I threw up a temporary dirt wall and kept digging.
Dig! Thunk!
Digging sometimes led to weird surprises. Like earthworms. This one was huge—rivaling the king earthworms I'd eaten as a kid in elementary school.
"Kiyaaaaang!!!"
I yelped in shock and fell flat on my ass. Who knew a worm buried in the dirt saying hi could be that terrifying? I almost never scream here, but one earthworm pulled it off.
"Kyuuu?"
Wonmo came rushing over at my scream, looking all "What happened?!" I calmed my pounding heart by petting her head. Yeah, that helped settle it. Feeling my heart thump confirmed I was still alive, at least.
"Omnomnom."
The friendly worm got nommed up by Wonmo. High-protein food, so I didn't stop her.
"Hoo..."
Once my heart settled, I let out a deep sigh. That earthworm might've just given me a lifelong trauma. What if I couldn't even dig anymore?
Shaking off the thought, I got back to the unfinished work. With Wonmo guarding me like a bodyguard, it felt solid.
"This should do it."
Drainage ditch complete. No more puddle worries. Next up: river check.
I geared up lightly and headed out, bringing Ppareumbo since Wonmo was up and about too.
And...
Kwaaang!!
"...Goddammit."
I couldn't help muttering a curse at the sight of the insanely swollen river. It wasn't just high—it was tsunami-level raging. The current was way faster than before, and the water level had visibly spiked.
But the real problem was my traps. The rocks anchoring them couldn't hold against the flow and got swept away. Naturally, the traps between them went too.
All that hard work turned to bubbles in an instant thanks to the rain.
No, fuck, my traps!!!
YasaengGrill (video of the river rushing at breakneck speed)
This goddamn rain swept away all my food sources. It doesn't happen every rain, right? I'd be so sad if it did.
└Cheonma The current's fierce. Best to stay clear.
└SwordTasteStar Terrifying even just watching. You're not hurt, right?
└YasaengGrill Heart hurts, but otherwise fine.
└PassingDwarf The traps I gave you aren't that flimsy;; Did they all go?
└YasaengGrill It's not the traps— the anchoring rocks all crumbled.
└PassingDwarf Just a natural disaster, then. I'll hook you up with another later, no worries.
└YasaengGrill Thx thx;; Want some fish?
└PassingDwarf Aren't those what I give you per trade?
└YasaengGrill Wtf;;
└PassingDwarf Tempted?
└YasaengGrill No way. What color this time?
└This is straight-up slavery, no?
└Beyond slavery.
└More like a sugar daddy than the owner lol
└Grill, wanna go swimming there? Surfing at least.
└Looks fun.
└YasaengGrill You try it, assholes.
Most pitied the swept-away traps. My sole food supply was gone, so yeah, I was frustrated too. If this happens every rain, I'll be busier than ever.
I was sighing in dismay when—
"Kkwoooong! Kkuung!"
"...Huh?"
A weird noise from the river. I turned and saw a pitch-black bear flailing in the water. Looked like it got caught off-guard while hanging out by the river.
Poor thing.
Big size meant it was a decent specimen, but even experience couldn't predict this flash flood.
...A bear, though?
I glanced upstream. The bear had floated down from there. That meant bears and all sorts of animals lived upriver. How dangerous could it get?
Already worrying.
At least it was normal-sized, so...
Thud! Boom! Boom!
"Kkwooooaaar!!"
Right on cue, a house-sized bear blasted past me. Rivaling the owlbear I'd seen before—must've been the mom, with the first one as the cub.
Heading upstream might mean running into her—or worse, fighting.
Just die downstream, why don't you.
There's whales and sharks down there—good luck.
Still, it taught me a few things. Upstream held worse than I imagined. Even around here, giant chickens ruled territories.
Rain brings out every damn thing.
Flying squirrels invading caves, traps washing away, massive bears... I shook off the worries and headed back. Lunch from yesterday's fish.
Vote should be wrapping up soon, right?
The trading cooldown vote from yesterday. Time was almost up. That thought made me decide: lunch after the results. If the 24-hour cooldown lifted, I'd share a bit of fish with folks. It was my lunch, but a little wouldn't hurt—plenty in one fish anyway.
Hope for good news.
Don'tAbandonHero was stubborn, rigid, a stickler for rules. Flexible sometimes, but hated bending principles.
Might be for the best in a place like the Gallery.
Rumors about past head mods: all abused the Gallery for shady stuff. One wrecked a whole territory by exploiting trades. Another stalked using location tracking. Insane power.
What if this head mod was a disaster?
Trading ban to starve me out, or perma-ban. Good thing they don't change unless specific conditions hit.
Hope this one lasts. Makes my survival easier.
If cooldown lifts, share fish with head mod too.
Seemed like a tough life—wouldn't hurt. Heard she's chased sometimes, but with that personality, doubt it's crime. Whatever, world's full of weirdos.
Just repaying kindness, not personal.
Only real request was lifting the cooldown.
1-on-1 chat was nice, but secret posts worked too. Minor hassle, but hey, grateful.
"Wonmo. Eat up."
"Kyuu!"
Fed Wonmo and waited for the vote. Internal power method? Nah, low efficiency. Time for Gallery browsing. Worried my post got buried since yesterday.
It's in notices?
Nope, needless worry. Pinned big in notices. Rule-breaking stuff, so they promoted it.
High-nics only voting... how many are there?
Most are floaters, but high-nics plentiful. Anyone with conditions can access. World's population? Ratio says tons.
Just post refreshes are insane.
One refresh pushes a full page back. Sometimes two, three.
Who even made this Gallery?
Often wondered. Magic structure, they say. But I'm no mage, and I got it on arrival. Must be other ways.
Two Morons (video of two human guys being total idiots)
These idiots are my friends' kids lololol
└lolololol
└lololololol
└lolololololol
└Wtf is this lolololol
"Kuhuhuhu."
Perfect stress relief either way. I chuckled at funny vids, then checked notices. Vote ending in ~3 minutes. Was chill before, but now palms sweaty.
Cheonma Sir. Are you there?
Cheonma messaged while I waited patiently. Guessing she was waiting too. Replied quick.
Yes. Waiting on vote results.
Cheonma Same as this lady. No need to worry. This lady voted yes personally.
Thank you. If good outcome, some fish?
Cheonma Didn't your traps all wash away? Got one fish left from yesterday. A chunk's fine.
Cheonma This lady's good. No interest in fleecing flea livers.
That liver's huge. One chunk fills you up.
Cheonma Still flea liver. Not all of it—just a taste.
Bantering with Cheonma, vote ended. Dove in full of hope.
YasaengGrill's 24-Hour Trading Restriction Lift Vote!
Don'tAbandonHero YasaengGrill is struggling to survive in the Four Seasons Forest!
Normally, no special treatment! But YasaengGrill authenticated and has high trust, so vote time!
And YasaengGrill promised to drop privileges upon escape—note that!
1. Yes: 95%
2. No: 5%
"Yesss!!"
I pumped my fist in victory. Overwhelming win. Curious about the 5% no-votes, but nicks hidden. Yes landslide was enough.
Cheonma Congratulations. Wish granted.
Cheonma-nim's vote was huge. Thanks!
Cheonma Knows to thank even small things. Growing on this lady.
Dust makes mountains, right? Anyway, fish chunk as promised once lifted!
Now just wait quietly for head mod. Kinda worried something'd go wrong.
Don'tAbandonHero requests 1-on-1 chat! Accept?
Worry unfounded—head mod messaged. Accepted gladly.
Don'tAbandonHero Hi!! YasaengGrill, right?!
Yes!
Don'tAbandonHero Overwhelming yes votes! Lifting restriction as promised!
But if abuse shows, instant revoke—be careful!!
Of course. Just focusing on survival.
Don'tAbandonHero Yay!! Stay safe!!
But head mod-nim first. Got a gift—trade possible?
Don'tAbandonHero Huh?! What gift! Bribe?!
Don'tAbandonHero Nooo!!
Joking—a thank-you inner core for future favors. You're doing me the favor, right?
Basically a bribe, but doubted it'd sway her. Stubborn rule-stickler, as said.
Pure goodwill. Nothing else to give anyway.
Don'tAbandonHero Isn't that a bribe?!
Full of 'goodwill'.
Don'tAbandonHero Why emphasize goodwill like that?!
Misunderstanding. Take one at least. Sounds like tough times.
Don'tAbandonHero Hmm...! Okay!
Register trade item here!
Head mod can do that?
Don'tAbandonHero 'Cause I'm head mod! And your restriction's lifted, so 1-on-1 trades work too!
True—cooldown gone meant unlimited 1-on-1s. Nodded, pulled an inner core from elixir vial.
YasaengGrill registered trade item.
Eat this and stay strong. Truly grateful for the favor.
Don'tAbandonHero No need! And 'favor'—it's fair!!
Fair's 'just', but thanks anyway.
Don'tAbandonHero Yes! May the goddess bless your journey!
Right, religion job. Ended chat on her farewell.
Finally...!
The stifling trading restriction was gone.