Eel (1)
I realized my writing skills had stalled at elementary school level, but that thought didn't linger long before I started digging through the Gallery. I wanted to find everything I'd posted there so far. It hit me that the Gallery had basically been my diary all this time. Still, it fell short of being a proper record—like an encyclopedia without the stories in between.
'Can't jot down every little detail, so just simple descriptions for Wonmo and Ppareumbo.'
My writing sucked, sure, but everyone has some talent. Mine? Drawing. Even my rough sketches made it obvious who they were. Wonmo looks round and easy to draw, but it's tricky. I nailed the key features. For Ppareumbo, I just went with a sloth vibe, but added its unique traits too. It had all the sloth hallmarks: short legs, long arms, a slightly hunched posture, a face that looked chill but kinda dumb. Those claws, though—vicious. And thanks to my upkeep, they looked even sharper.
'Short explanation underneath.'
For Wonmo: the owlbear cub I got after taking down its parent, now living with me. Ppareumbo: the punk kid who steals my food. If Ppareumbo ever found out, it'd probably smack me, but that's impossible. In this world, I'm the only one who knows Hangul.
'No need for anyone else to learn some other world's script.'
I didn't want to go through that hassle just to leave a mark. "There was a guy named me" was enough. Someone's death lives on in the memories of the living. That's value right there.
'At least that's what I think.'
Even after my parents passed, their memories stayed sharp, and I missed them so much I held ancestral rites every year on their death anniversaries. Even when money was tight, I'd rack my brain to recreate their favorite foods. It kept me going. I planned to keep it up until my own time came.
'Not sure if I'll be doing rites here, though.'
Survival trumped sentiment now—no money worries, just staying alive. I might end up joining them sooner than planned, death anniversary or not.
'How do they even count days here?'
Different world, different calendar maybe. Diaries use dates, but I was just curious.
'Eh, whatever. I'll stick to my Earth's year cycle.'
Their anniversary was a week before I dropped into the Four Seasons Forest. That week, I drank with friends, met up with acquaintances—rough times overall. Hard to even see buddies with job hunting.
'Hope they're doing okay.'
They were probably grinding too. Me? Insanely so. I chuckled dryly and started scribbling today's events.
Octopus tentacles from the sand, shape-shifting turtle. Weird-ass animals had me suffering today.
'But I got paid for it.'
Ostrich-egg-sized turtle eggs? Full day's reward. I closed the sketch-filled diary quietly and headed out of the cave. Dinner time—time to prep.
'Check the traps first.'
Wonmo woke up right on cue, so we went together.
Splash! Splash!
"Kyuu! Kyu-uu!"
"You like? Makes me happy too."
Three fish in the trap. Wonmo bounced with joy as we headed back. Food abundance felt great—reward for today's grind.
'How do you even prep this guy?'
I eyed not the regular fish trap, but the other one. A massive eel, thick as a python. I was getting the hang of fish, but eels? No clue—totally different structure.
'Knock it out like a fish?'
It'd tail-whip me unconscious first. Small body, but that length demanded caution. Arms crossed, I stared it down, then logged into the Gallery. This called for crowd wisdom.
Any eel prep tips? YasaengGrill (photo of eel in iron bucket)
Gonna eat this bad boy—tips?
└Eels are trickier than regular fish, careful.
└Nail the head first to pin it?
└YasaengGrill Nail it??
└Slippery fuckers thrash hard.
└YasaengGrill Just smash the head to stun?
└You'll hit your hand. Better nail it to a board.
└Worst case, sever the spine. That'll calm it.
└PassingDwarf Hey. One bite for me if you do. Craving eel.
└YasaengGrill Yep, yours.
└SunForever Me too?
└YasaengGrill Sure.
└Olfather Possible for me as well?
└YasaengGrill Yeah... sure.
└KingLeor Shameless, but me too...
└YasaengGrill Teacher?
└SmartMine Storage ready. Can I get a bite too...?
└YasaengGrill ;;;
└SwordTasteStar What, everyone's begging like beggars? Bizarre.
└Eel effect probably.
└All dudes for sure lol, look at the desperation.
└SwordTasteStar So what about eel?
└Boosts stamina.
└Real talk, great for guys lol
└From Four Seasons Forest? No way I pass lololol
└SwordTasteStar ;; Fine, guys get it. But this is my dinner, folks. I'll share once stuffed, but tone it down.
└Cheonma This lady shall boot the pushy ones. Know that.
└Wah, tyrant!
└Cheonma Threatening with sub-mod lately lololol
└Cheonma What didst thou say?
└The world's noblest!
└Cheonma Lies. Reflect facing the wall for one gak.
└Fucking bitch.
└Cheonma Half si-jin.
└lololololololol
└lolol
└What's gak/half si-jin?
└Jungwon time: gak=15min, half si-jin=1hr.
└Outdated now, right?
└Elders use it.
Cheonma shut it down quick. Polite requesters? Fine. Too big for me alone anyway.
'Prep time.'
Bought a long cutting board. Nailed the edge as advised—pointy end up on the far side.
'Nails ain't cheap.'
Next, extract the eel. World Tree gloves on—no slip. Felt dry somehow.
Thwack!
"Gurk!"
Tail-whipped me instead. Stronger than fish—loading it was a workout. But before a blade, all fish are prey. Dagger to the spine behind the head. Arm-thick, tough cut.
Twitch! Twitch!
Nearly halved the head, thrashing eased. Nailed the head down. Done raging now. Exhausting.
'Inner core?'
Size suggested yes. Past fish had them. Slowly prepped the mostly still eel: halve the body clean, debone. Sharp dagger + aura for efficiency.
'Done. Rinse, slice nice.'
Washed it clean.
Wriggly!
"Eek."
Occasional twitch startled me, but rare. Oiled a big pan, added chunks.
Oh, no inner core. Not all fish have 'em.
Sizzle!
Browning eel. I swallowed hard. Never tried on Earth—friends skipped it even buying beef.
'Supposed to be great for guys?'
Can't use it. Depressing suddenly. Gallery's a desire dump—thirst traps galore. Elf/demon beauties? Auto-save. Mods nuke the extreme ones, but it's my oasis.
'Bombs sometimes.'
Still recall first login bomb. Mods gotta see it live to ban.
'Not wrong about heart demons.'
Daydreaming, eel browned perfectly. Oil flowed—no need for extra.
'Calorie bomb.'
Grabbed tail—heard it's prime. Time to taste.
"Nom."
Crispy outside, juicy in. Perfectly cooked. Oil tasted nutty-sweet. No fishiness despite light salt. Bones soft too—no pricklies, despite rep.
Happy grin, devoured. So much, shared with Wonmo and Ppareumbo. Greasy, they loved—Wonmo especially.
PassingDwarf Hey.
Insanely good lol Give a barricade if tasty lol
PassingDwarf Ok, make one tomorrow morning, wait.
Plenty for others too. Greasy—don't overdo. Finished the epic eel mukbang, straight to internal power method.
'Eel boost? Or skull water? Feels energized.'
Stamina means base energy. Can't hurt.
'Where'd this eel come from?'
Finished method, cleaned up. Night fell. Wrote end-of-day diary, posted to Gallery.
Everyone, hi! YasaengGrill (blazing bonfire video)
See ya tomorrow! Trade folks—tomorrow!
High-nics, randos droning. Classic Gallery. I smirked.
'No rush.'
Long game now. Haste makes waste—forest forcing it anyway. Slim hope? Anything possible. Planned tomorrow slowly, closed eyes.
'Survive to the end.'
To the end.
Time passed to next morning.
"Ah. For real. You kidding."
Woke to a raging tent pole. Sky-high. Healthy guy sign, but too damn long.
'Nothing moderate here.'
Definitely the eel.