Diary (1)
YasaengGrill
(Photo of a ridiculously huge egg)
Snagged an egg. A turtle showed up midway and scared the crap outta me, but I managed to bring it back somehow. Eel for dinner tonight, and this bad boy for breakfast tomorrow.
└Cheonma Didn't you catch the turtle?
└YasaengGrill No time, and it was too strong anyway, so I gave up.
└Cheonma I recommend catching the turtle. They say it's delicious.
└SwordTasteStar Have you ever tried it?
└Cheonma I've had yongbongtang, the one with turtle in it.
└SwordTasteStar Yongbongtang is softshell turtle, not hard-shell, dude;;
└lolololol
└Unbelievable lololol
└But don't a ton of people mix them up?
└Yeah, but you can tell the difference if you look.
└Cheonma This guy's ignorance just pours out every time;;
└SmartMine Can't be helped. She's been obsessed with martial arts forever. They say masters of one craft reach the pinnacle.
└Even so, that's a bit much;;
└PassingDwarf You gonna eat that?
└YasaengGrill Yeah, obviously. It's food I went through hell to get.
└PassingDwarf Wish I could try it. Can I trade good gear for some?
└YasaengGrill Sorry. Shark giant stole my fish today, no wiggle room.
└PassingDwarf ㅎㅎ Fine, can you get some later?
└YasaengGrill Nah;; The ocean's not an ocean—it's living hell. Barely survived with my life.
└PassingDwarf Dang. Too bad. Hook me up if you get the chance.
└YasaengGrill Does egg go with booze as a snack?
└PassingDwarf Egg soup for hangover cure.
└YasaengGrill ;;;;
└lolololol
└Hangover cure never crossed my mind lolol
└Dwarves need hangover cures?
└We do. Otherwise can't work. Explored that hellish beach by the sea and came back. Octopus tentacles popping from the sand and wrapping my leg, turtles shapeshifting, shooting lasers from their mouths. Forest's headache enough, but ocean like that? Dizzy just thinking about it. Probably never going back. No reason to cross the sea anyway.
'The ocean itself is packed with stuff more dangerous than land……'
How insane is the Four Seasons Forest's ocean? Even the shark that floated down the river had arms and legs like a humanoid. The turtle swapped leg shapes based on terrain. Couldn't even guess what else is out there.
'Most seem pretty intelligent, at least.'
Like Olfather said, maybe from evolution. They feel smarter overall. Ppareumbo and Wonmo understand me freakishly well. And that turtle grimacing the second I showed the egg. All showing behavior way beyond normal animals.
'……So what about monkeys or gorillas?'
No way they've gotten human-smart. Heard something on the way to the sea that worried me more.
'That was definitely monkey noises.'
Suddenly a leopard-like beast flew out of the forest and splashed into the river. Big one, but tossed like nothing. And the forest echoed with what sounded like monkey howls.
"Haa……"
I let out a massive sigh. "Mountains beyond mountains" fits this perfectly. How do I escape this hellhole? None of my old common sense works here—total dead end.
'Plus it's another world, so even basic knowledge is useless.'
Basically starting from zero. Realizing it now—maybe I've been too optimistic till this point.
So give up? Hell no, like I've said a million times. Dirty or sneaky, I'll get out no matter what. Then point at God and demand answers. Why drop me in this shithole out of everywhere? What's the divine plan dragging a guy who was living fine into this?
'Gotta revise the plan.'
Realized this place is crazier than I thought, so plans need tweaking. Hoping for outside help? Gallery's the only answer. My posts made everyone fear the Four Seasons Forest more. Even powerhouses like Cheonma and SwordTasteStar were like, "What kinda forest is that?"
Bottom line: self-reliant escape only, which means getting stronger. Sounds same as start, but one change.
'Not a deadline—settled shelter. Past adaptation and survival into routine life. And finally……'
Nearly unlimited timeline. Planned quick exit, but no more. Forest forces you back harder if you rush. So even if a year, or more—endure. Get strong enough nothing here threatens me.
'Gotta manage Gallery help without cutoff.'
Especially relations with Judaek and Don'tAbandonHero. Piss them off and get perma-banned? Game over. But worshipping their god? No way. Die before that.
'Can't lie, so dodge vaguely.'
If Judaek brings up faith, steer clear best I can. I mulled the revised plan, then turned. Barricade gap from that sword-tooth tiger smash. Ask the dwarf to fix that first.
'Oh yeah, gotta watch my body not evolving weird.'
If Olfather's hypothesis is right and my body's slowly adapting to the Four Seasons Forest, steer it positive. Like crank up internal power method time to mana-friendly body. Or grind exercise for better muscle gain.
'Maybe 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats daily?'
Reminds me of some bald gym rat character, minus the running. Cardio here's simple: Walk clueless, get ambushed—done. Forces life-or-death breathing. Better skip.
'StarlightPrincess mentioned exercising.'
Ask her later what. If equipment, offer help. Simple gear's auctioned plenty. Messaged her right away. Trading unlocked 1-on-1 chat.
Hello, StarlightPrincess. You there?
StarlightPrincess Hello! What's up?
She replied fast—online. Grinned proudly at her energy, then cut to chase.
Just thinking of starting exercise. What do you do, StarlightPrincess?
StarlightPrincess Didn't you say no time for that?
Four Seasons Forest scarier than expected. Escape might take at least a year.
StarlightPrincess A year…… Sounds like a mindset shift. You wanted out ASAP before.
To not break, gotta bend. Not empty words—truth. Rigid things snap easy. So soften up, adjust not to shatter. Extended timeline killed my impatience.
StarlightPrincess I get it. Still holding hope, right?
No hope? I'd have hanged myself ages ago.
StarlightPrincess Good job. Never ditch hope, whatever happens. Like I met you and got cured—you might meet your benefactor too.
Thanks for the kind words. So, usual routine? How much?
StarlightPrincess Not long since cured, so basic bodyweight: sit-ups, push-ups, squats, then running.
……No way StarlightPrincess turns bald from that? Shook off the dumb thought.
No equipment, huh?
StarlightPrincess First time exercising. You too, right Grills?
Not first. Did some in military. Army forces exercise for training, plus routine life—builds good body. Reverted post-discharge, but memories stick.
StarlightPrincess Then bodyweight together. I'll toss in protein supplements.
No need;;
StarlightPrincess No elixirs? Got it. Teacher?
StarlightPrincess No joke. Elixirs speed regen. Muscles……
She lectured on muscle growth: Damaged fibers rebuild stronger post-workout.
StarlightPrincess My special protein amps recovery big time. Great, right? No soreness even!
Impressive. Clapped cluelessly. Sounds like dumping elixir regen solely into muscles—genius.
StarlightPrincess Drink after workouts or training. You'll get strong for sure.
Thanks. Always helped.
StarlightPrincess Compared to saving my life? Still owe ya. And Grills—say it.
StarlightPrincess Like I said, never lose hope.
I watched quietly. She clocked my mood shift from chat alone. Felt something, probably.
StarlightPrincess Prepping beats endless waiting. But absolutely keep hope. Promise.
Got it.
StarlightPrincess Oh, how 'bout a diary? Helped me cope.
Diary?
StarlightPrincess Yeah. Leaves a record, time for reflection.
Can't Gallery do that?
StarlightPrincess That's desires, not you. Diary shows the real person.
Diary. I pondered. Not bad, but hesitant.
Bought a notebook at auction, wrote my name. (Photo of notebook with "Park Jong-hyuk" written)
Recognize these letters?
StarlightPrincess Never seen 'em. Know most languages…… Which country's?
From my world. Doesn't exist here.
StarlightPrincess Far as I know, yeah.
Dang. Too bad. Figured Hangul's unknown. Knew it'd be weird if recognized. That's why diary hesitation.
'Still, not bad.'
Stuck here long-term now. Diary tracks "Survived this far." Predict future from records. Data piles boost survival odds. Solid. Don't need recognition—got good folks. Just…… hobby to kill boredom.
StarlightPrincess Um…… Grills.
Yeah?
StarlightPrincess Don't get too down. I'll remember you.
Huh? What misunderstanding is this?