Traces (1)
I felt the need to revise my assessment of the giant eel.
A natural steroid. That phrasing described it to absolute perfection.
Granted, it came with side effects that weren't merely slight—they were downright brutal—yet it was manageable. Above all, unlike synthetic drugs, its effects weren't fleeting. There was a very high probability that the enhancement was permanent.
'Whatever people say about stamina and male vigor, it simply enhances overall physical vitality.'
Old wives' tales aside, eel was universally beneficial for everyone, young or old, man or woman. If something was good for men, it would be bizarre if it weren't equally good for women. It was simplest to think of it as a tonic for one's life force—only in the Forest of the Four Seasons, it boosted not just stamina, but total physical capacity across the board.
'If I hadn't learned the Internal Cultivation Art, I would've been in serious trouble.'
After all, if your body can't digest what you consume, you suffer severe indigestion. Had the Heavenly Demon not imparted her Internal Cultivation Art and taught me the mnemonic oral formula, my lower half would have violently ruptured into pieces.
'There's genuinely zero downside to training internal arts.'
It sped up recovery from exhaustion. It expanded mana reserves. Whenever something went haywire inside my body, it patched me right back together. It lacked absolutely nothing; it was flawless. I needed to practice it even more diligently going forward.
"Hup."
I began repositioning the barricades one by one. With my newly bolstered physical strength, I shaved off far more time than I had originally anticipated.
'I can set up the heavy barricades the Dwarf gave me right over here.'
Once the barricades were rearranged, I stepped back into the cave to tackle my other chores. The very first order of business was updating my map. I sketched in the coastline where the sea lay.
It wasn't merely an open ocean out there; there were also quite a few reverse-flowing rivers feeding into it. Since I had no clue where those inverted currents originated or where they drained, I left a wide perimeter of blank space on the parchment.
'Even that river out there branched into two separate streams near the end.'
The real issue was that where that river flowed led straight into an intensely eerie, terrifying place. It sounded like a troop of monkeys had made it their habitat, given the hollow, rhythmic hooting that echoed over the water: Ooh-ooh-ooh!
I wanted to avoid heading there if I could, but chances were high that circumstances would eventually force my hand.
'How would monkeys have evolved in a place like this?'
In this forest, mutation invariably started by ballooning an animal's mass. The vast majority of creatures I had run into so far were gigantic. So how would monkeys—creatures renowned across the animal kingdom for their cunning intellect—have adapted?
I had pondered this before, but I desperately prayed they hadn't mutated into some hideous freak like that shark-man.
'First, I should head up to the river traps.'
Now that the barricades were in order, I checked to see how many fish had been caught overnight. The count was three in total. A generous haul. Between consistent catches and unexpected windfalls like the turtle egg, my food reserves were steadily piling up.
'I'll settle breakfast with that turtle egg.'
Leaving fresh food sitting around was a surefire way to let it spoil. Perishables like this had to be dealt with quickly. Besides, the egg was roughly the size of an ostrich egg, more than enough to fill my belly.
'Guess sunny-side up is my only option?'
Even with a spatula, there was simply no way to flip something that enormous. After mulling it over, I decided to go with a sunny-side-up fry. Runny yolks tasted amazing anyway.
I drizzled a sheen of oil across the wide cast-iron skillet and, once it was sufficiently preheated over the campfire, prepared to crack the shell.
Tap! Tap-tap! Thump!
"Huh?"
Surprisingly, it wouldn't crack. It was extraordinarily tough. Given its colossal size, the shell appeared to be thick enough to rival stone.
Worried that the oil in the skillet would start smoking and spattering everywhere, I hurried over and grabbed a hammer.
Clang! Clang! Clink!
"What on earth...?"
Even a metal hammer barely scratched the surface. The shell was as hard as tempered iron. Just in case, I eased up on holding back my strength and brought the hammer down with real force, but the result was identical. It showed no signs of giving way.
Evidently, it had evolved so that even if predatory beasts snatched an egg while the mother was away, they wouldn't be able to crack it open with their teeth.
'Wait, if it's this tough, wouldn't the hatchling struggle to break out too?'
Survival of the fittest, was it? What a brutal rat race, right from hatching.
In the end, I had to coat my knife with aura just to crack the shell open.
Ssssssszzzz!
Fortunately, my efforts weren't in vain. The massive egg began sizzling appetizingly over the iron surface. The sheer volume of white and yolk easily blanketed the entire skillet. I dusted a generous pinch of salt across the top.
That would elevate the flavor considerably. Salt truly was a blessing from the heavens.
'If I'd known it would look this good, maybe I should've lugged back one more?'
Though if I had, the dead weight would've kept me from moving properly through the forest.
I chuckled softly, and once the egg was cooked to a perfect sunny-side-up, I lifted the skillet off the campfire. Transferring it onto a plate like a fish fillet was out of the question—it was simply too massive. My only choice was to carve it up right in the pan like a steak.
Arming myself with a knife and fork, I sliced off a piece from the outer edge. Even for a sunny-side-up egg, frying the perimeter until it was crispy and golden was crucial.
Crunch—
The fried, crispy rim blended seamlessly with the clean, savory richness of the egg white, all pulled together by the sharp touch of salt.
Objectively speaking, the fish might have tasted richer, but an egg felt special—especially one scavenged in the wild rather than bought through the Gallery auction.
Pop!
I pierced the golden yolk resting neatly in the center, letting the rich, creamy liquid flood the plate to serve as a sauce for the egg white. The yolk didn't have the slightest hint of gamey or fishy odor; instead, it carried a deep, addictive savoriness.
"Whoa... delicious."
I demolished the entire skillet. Wiping my mouth with a tissue was the final touch.
While not quite a steak, it tasted remarkably like thick-cut, savory bacon.
What a magnificent breakfast. Between this and the giant eel, most of the food native to the Forest of the Four Seasons tasted surprisingly extraordinary.
'Though having salt makes the biggest difference.'
Salt was an absolute cheat code. Without salt, I never could've enjoyed a meal like this. Moments like these made me appreciate the existence of the Gallery all the more. Without it, securing salt alone would have cost an unimaginable amount of grueling labor.
'Or I might have died long ago.'
After finishing the cleanup, I checked the time. Having rearranged the barricades first, it was now nine in the morning. My routine usually kicked off at eight.
'I've got plenty of time, and items to collect, so let's dedicate the morning to training.'
First, there was a trade I hadn't managed to complete yesterday: the specialized vessel SmartFiend had promised, supposedly designed for safely preserving Neidan.
I had wondered if such a thing even existed, but since he offered it, I intended to take it.
'If he tries to scam me, I'll just never trade with him again.'
Inner Cores were practically lying around everywhere for me. Every single time I gutted one of those giant fish, a Neidan popped right out. I had accumulated nearly ten of them by now. Giving away one wouldn't hurt in the slightest.
Roughly five minutes after posting, a message pinged on my interface. Since I had been waiting for SmartFiend, I accepted without hesitation.
'What a bizarre persona. Or maybe he's genuinely this polite.'
Given the colorful assortment of weirdos that inhabited the Gallery, this was remarkably tame. Just look at the Heavenly Demon. In fact, dealing with someone who practiced such rigid courtesy was far more convenient. At the very least, it meant I held leverage.
I grasped the general logic. It all boiled down to scarcity.
KingLeor had gifted me a crystal orb imbued with light magic in the past, so it wasn't inconceivable that a flask radiating freezing air existed. This was a fantasy setting, so I decided to take it at face value; overcomplicating things would only give me a headache.
'Calling it an honor seems a bit much.' Still, I wrapped up the barter with the impeccably mannered SmartFiend. Moments later, as promised, a small vial materialized in my grasp.
'What kind of script is this?'
The glass bottle was etched with bizarre, unfamiliar glyphs. It was substantially smaller than the elixir vials, roughly the length of my pinky finger. Though stout enough around to slip an inner core inside, there wasn't a trace of cold emanating from the surface.
'Did I get scammed?'
A flicker of anxiety creeping in, I immediately tested its performance. The moment I unplugged the stopper sealing the top, a wispy plume of frigid mist drifted out. Wondering if he had simply trapped a puff of cold air inside, I waited quietly for thirty seconds. Even after half a minute had elapsed, the tiny flask continued to breathe out a steady stream of pure frost.
'Fascinating.'
To think a world without compact refrigerators had something like this. Whether the low mana consumption was true or not, I had no complaints. Good gear was good gear. I retrieved all the Neidan I had stockpiled so far and slipped them into the bottle.
The second they fell inside, a thick layer of rime coated the exterior, turning the glass chalky white.
'Did the frost intensify because the mana held inside the Neidan leaked out?'
Let's just assume that was the case. As long as it preserved them indefinitely, that was all that mattered.
With my cores securely stored, I rose to my feet and prepared to train. As always, my regimen centered around sword and shield fundamentals. I planned to make this a daily discipline from here on out.
'More specifically, while Wonmo is sound asleep.'
Right now, Wonmo was sprawled flat on his back, belly exposed to the ceiling, snoring away in dead slumber. I wasn't sure whether he slept like that because he felt safe having me nearby, or because he was still too young to understand the terrifying brutality of the wilderness.
'Still, he's adorable.'
Wonmo was just a baby. Babies needed protection. Besides, I had killed his mother with my own hands. Even though she had attacked me first... since I had made the choice to raise him, I bore the responsibility to see it through.
'Training forms is fine, but how am I supposed to sharpen my reaction speed?'
Mid-swing, my eyes darted toward the far corner of the cavern. Toward the Fast Tree Sloth.
I didn't dare dream of matching Ppareumbo's supernatural agility, kinetic vision, or instantaneous reflexes. But I desperately needed enough responsiveness to at least react to sudden ambushes.
'Things like snakes are the worst hazard.'
Vipers were lightning-fast and dead silent. Even if they were sluggish compared to Ppareumbo, I had to prepare for them. Besides, having razor-sharp reflexes carried zero downside. It meant seizing the window to counterattack before getting torn apart.
With that in mind, I decided to consult the forum.
In the end, I resolved to follow Sword Master's advice and bounce a ball off the stone walls. Princess Chaeng-gu supplied the ball—a hard, dense sphere slightly smaller than a baseball.
'Wait a minute. What if I have Ppareumbo throw it instead?'
If I threw it against the cave walls and it ricocheted wildly, an errant bounce might strike Wonmo while he was peacefully resting. With that sudden realization, I walked over and placed the rubber ball directly into Fast Tree Sloth's claw.
"All right, Ppareumbo. I've got a critical task for you."
"......"
"Throw this at me without warning. Just make sure to throw it pretty fast. Got it?"
Why the hell should I do that? Ppareumbo's blank expression asked.
I countered with a piece of rock-solid logic.
"Because if I do this, the tree that bears your food every day will become much tougher. Wouldn't that be good for you too?"
"......"
At that, the sloth gave a solemn, deliberate nod. It baffled me how I could even hold a coherent negotiation with this creature. Regardless of my bewilderment, I carried him outside the cave to begin training; the guy was so excruciatingly sluggish at walking that carrying him was the only way we'd make it outside before sunset.
"Alright. Throw it."
"......"
At my command, Fast Tree Sloth began drawing his arm back. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly. At a pace tortuous enough to drive any onlooker insane.
I held my stance with gritted teeth. There was no telling when the projectile would actually leave his fingers.
"Oh, come on, you bastard."
Even the movement of bringing his arm forward was so glacial that an irritated curse escaped my lips. The exact microsecond I lost patience and shifted my weight—
WHOOSH!
Ppareumbo's arm whipped forward in an instantaneous blur—a snap so horrifyingly fast that calling it a 'split second' felt far too generous.
THWACK!
"GAAAAH!"
The ball nailed me square between the eyes. A catastrophic collision born from lowered guard and inferior human reflexes.
Furious heat flared behind my temples for a second, but since the blunder was entirely my own fault, I swallowed my rage.
"J-Just one more..."
"......"
"One more time. Throw it a little gentler this time."
To survive in this wilderness, to escape this nightmare, what wouldn't I endure? There were moments in a man's life where he simply had to swallow his pride, grit his teeth, and push through the venom.
SMACK!
"OOF!"
And right now, this was definitely one of those moments.