Chapter 109

Welcome To (1)

I had been through a lot of hardships while living in the Forest of Four Seasons.

Whenever that happened, I would rest in my own way—collapsing from exhaustion and spending the entire day holed up in the cave, or occasionally practicing my breathing technique.

However, I rarely smoked.

I had decided only to smoke when both my body and mind were utterly exhausted.

And that perfectly described my current condition.

Sizzle!

I lit the tip of a cigar with a fire-starting stone.

Once smoke began curling from its tip, I placed it between my lips and took a long, refreshing drag.

The cool fragrance—without the slightest trace of harshness—filled my lungs and invigorated me.

"Phew."

With the World Tree tobacco still between my lips, I exhaled. The smoke rose in wisps before gradually dispersing.

Smoking seemed to clear my head, at least a little.

Though my thoughts were still complicated.

I wanted to keep my distance from tobacco whenever possible, but that was difficult right now.

’I have to dispose of the gorilla corpses, and they might come back for revenge... Haah...’

Thanks to the elixir, my broken ribs had mostly healed.

My stamina hadn’t been depleted too severely either, so I still felt relatively energetic. My head, however, was a mess.

I had started smoking because I wanted to untangle those complicated thoughts somehow.

After all, there was simply far too much to consider regarding the gorillas.

’Who the hell taught them martial arts?’

I could overlook the gorillas using tools. Allfather had warned me about that in advance.

Besides, their obsession with using tools had actually made them easier to deal with in some respects.

But the gorilla that had used martial arts was a different matter. It had been an extremely difficult opponent.

The combination of a gorilla’s naturally powerful body and fluid techniques had made every one of its attacks dangerous.

If I hadn’t trained my reaction speed with Namu-Ppareumbo, my skull would have been smashed open.

’Considering the circumstances, the person who left that palm print on the tree must have taught them.’

With the cigar still between my lips, I organized my thoughts.

If I wanted to uncover the truth more precisely, I would need to enter their territory.

Even if I captured the leader gorilla, it wasn’t as though it could speak.

They might be incapable of speech, but they were remarkably intelligent creatures.

The fact that they had gone beyond using tools and learned martial arts was proof enough.

’Just how intelligent do they have to be to use martial arts?’

When it came to martial arts, the person being taught was just as important as the person doing the teaching.

There was a reason the word talent existed. Without talent, a person would simply remain stuck in place.

Perhaps that gorilla possessed more talent for martial arts than I did.

The thought suddenly occurred to me.

’...This forest is seriously insane.’

I couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.

I took another deep drag of the cigar and exhaled the smoke.

For now, it seemed best to put the gorillas out of my mind and deal with the work in front of me.

"Wonmo is... asleep."

Wonmo had been injured for the first time in his life. After receiving treatment, he was now sleeping soundly on the mat.

He normally slept sprawled out with all four limbs extended, but now he had curled himself into a ball.

Since intruders had entered his territory, he was probably remaining alert so that he could spring into action at any moment.

’Even our home isn’t safe anymore.’

There was no telling when the gorillas might return.

They had even raided our fasting pills. This wasn’t something I could take lightly.

Nor could I leave someone behind to guard this place. Even Namu-Ppareumbo would be in danger.

’In the end, I definitely need to install a door.’

And it would have to be an extremely sturdy one.

A door that even the gorillas couldn’t easily break down.

For that, it would have to be made of steel.

I had no choice but to ask the dwarf to make it. I would assemble it myself afterward.

’Wouldn’t a few lumps of orichalcon be enough?’

I took one final, refreshing drag before opening the wooden box.

Then I tapped the ash into the ashtray and cut off the burnt tip with my dagger.

I could still smoke it several more times. I didn’t have much tobacco left, so I needed to conserve it.

’It really is delicious, though.’

If I started running low later, I would have to ask Let’s Grow Trees for more.

I didn’t know what that person wanted in return, but I could at least hear them out.

I gathered a shovel and various other tools before heading outside.

The moment I stepped out, I was greeted by the sight of the dead gorilla troop.

The most gruesome of them all was the gorilla whose head had been severed—the one Namu-Ppareumbo had killed.

’First, I should take a few pictures to upload to the Gallery.’

I had a mountain of questions to ask, so documenting the scene was essential.

After photographing the tools the gorillas had used, I began cleaning everything up.

Considering the gorillas’ massive size, even disposing of them was inevitably difficult.

’Should I just bury them?’

The easiest method was to dig a hole, throw them inside, and bury them.

There was no need to carry every corpse all the way to the river and dump them there.

If I was attacked while heading toward the river, I would be in serious trouble.

In particular, the leader gorilla that had escaped might return with another troop to take revenge.

’Cutting them... into pieces would feel a little wrong.’

They were primates rather than ordinary beasts like the saber-toothed tiger, so I felt uncomfortable dismembering them.

Besides, some of the corpses were already badly mutilated.

It would be better to simply dig a pit.

I started by gathering all the corpses in one place. Incidentally, I had a hard time finding the severed head belonging to the decapitated corpse.

’I should dig the pit far away from here.’

I wasn’t insane enough to bury them inside my shelter.

I would bury them somewhere reasonably far away.

There was also a chance that other animals might come and dig them up, so I intended to bury them as deeply as possible.

’This should be good enough.’

It was behind the cave, in a reasonably spacious clearing.

The place could easily have been called my backyard, and I dug a deep pit there.

Moving each gorilla individually was tedious, but there was no avoiding it.

It was only after roughly an hour had passed that I finally managed to bury all the gorilla corpses.

If my strength and other physical abilities hadn’t improved, it would have taken me at least two hours.

Title: Gorilla Troop Eliminated

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a dead gorilla)

(Photo of a gorilla lying on the ground)

(Photo of a gorilla lying dead in a spray of blood)

(Photo of a gorilla cleverly positioned so its severed neck isn’t visible)

(Photo of the tools used by the gorillas)

(Photo of the gorilla corpses gathered together)

I wiped out all the gorillas that came to rescue the hostage I captured.

There was a leader gorilla, but it escaped.

Also, the leader gorilla used something resembling martial arts. Is that even possible? ;;

└ Heavenly Demon: A gorilla used martial arts? What kind of martial art did it display?

└ Wild Grylls: It’s difficult to explain in detail, but I’ll start with its stance. It extended its left hand forward with the palm facing outward, while its right hand was clenched into a fist and held beside its waist.

└ Heavenly Demon: That alone is insufficient. Could you describe the martial art it demonstrated in a little more detail?

└ Wild Grylls: It used palm strikes frequently. They were incredibly fast too.

└ Heavenly Demon: Hmm. There are far too many martial arts that employ palm strikes. We need a more distinctive feature...

└ SwordMaster: Before that, aren’t you surprised that a gorilla used martial arts? Something completely absurd just happened, you know? ;;

└ Heavenly Demon: That is true. This lady has seen countless fools inferior to monkeys, but never imagined that an actual ape could practice martial arts.

└ SwordMaster: You do know the difference between apes and monkeys, right?

└ Heavenly Demon: Is it not simply the presence or absence of a tail? They are all the same monkeys to this lady.

└ SwordMaster: Fair enough. Anyway, were you injured anywhere?

└ Wild Grylls: I was struck in the ribs and nearly died, but fortunately, I survived. The leader gorilla broke its arm too.

└ Heavenly Demon: What a remarkable occurrence. However, it could not have cultivated martial arts on its own. This lady suspects that someone taught it.

└ Wild Grylls: (Photo of the center of the tree bearing both a gorilla’s palm print and a human palm print) Looking at this, I’m certain someone taught it.

└ Heavenly Demon: That is a reasonable inference.

└ Allfather: There may still be another survivor alive. If someone taught martial arts to an entire gorilla troop, they must have defeated them in battle first.

└ Praise the Sun: I’m more surprised that they used tools. Aren’t they genuinely evolving into humans?

└ Allfather: That is a highly plausible hypothesis. Either they possess abnormally high intelligence, or the Forest of Four Seasons is accelerating their evolution.

└ That sounds terrifying just hearing about it. Shudder ;;

└ So that’s why the place is overflowing with miraculous herbs. Surviving there is just as difficult.

└ Grylls got lucky.

└ Forget all that. Doesn’t this mean Grylls is weaker than a gorilla?

└ Wild Grylls: Shut up. I didn’t lose.

└ If you lose, you’re officially worse than a gorilla. Lmao.

└ Lmao. A bastard inferior to an ape.

└ Wild Grylls: Don’t worry. I’m already a bastard inferior to a sloth.

└ Oh, right. Lmaoooo.

└ I forgot about that. Lmao.

Once I uploaded the post to the Gallery, everyone began chattering in their own way.

It was surprising enough that the gorilla had displayed martial arts, yet they had even used tools.

Why had humans risen to the top of the food chain?

It was precisely because they made extensive use of tools.

Fortunately, the gorillas had only used clubs. I would have struggled if they had wielded spears.

’And the person behind them...’

The "master" who had taught martial arts to the gorillas undoubtedly existed.

The question was whether that master was still alive.

The gorillas now recognized me as an enemy.

If they had a human master, that person should have shown at least some curiosity about me.

’Besides...’

I turned my head and looked at Namu-Ppareumbo.

Perhaps it was because his fasting pills had been stolen despite teaching the gorillas a proper lesson, but he seemed unusually dispirited today.

However, I couldn’t immediately produce fasting pills that I didn’t have.

There was also something I wanted to know.

Just what kind of creature was Namu-Ppareumbo for the gorilla troop to fear him?

That fear had allowed us to undermine the gorillas’ morale. That had been the greatest advantage of all.

"Ppareumbo."

"..."

"Just how strong are you for the gorillas to be so afraid of you?"

I had become curious about Namu-Ppareumbo’s past.

Namu-Ppareumbo was strong—far stronger than I could imagine.

He had treated someone like me as insignificant, and even among the gorillas, he reigned as an object of terror.

What in the world had this creature done before I arrived?

I found myself more curious about it than usual today.

"..."

Instead of answering, Namu-Ppareumbo stared intently at me.

His expression seemed to ask whether I truly wanted to know.

I stared back at him for a moment before nodding.

Although it hadn’t even been a month, I could understand Namu-Ppareumbo’s intentions to some extent.

Scritch—scritch—

He began drawing on the ground.

I focused on the picture.

True to the nature of a sloth, he moved painfully slowly, but I waited patiently.

’No. Wait a minute. He’s drawing?’

I glanced at Namu-Ppareumbo.

He only looked like a sloth on the outside. I was beginning to suspect that there might be a human inside him.

Of course, like the evolved gorillas, perhaps he had simply evolved in a different direction.

Nothing that happened in the Forest of Four Seasons could be considered strange.

So I decided to let it go.

Thinking too deeply about every little thing would only give me a headache.

Scritch—scritch—

After ten minutes, the drawing gradually began to take shape.

The first thing Namu-Ppareumbo drew was himself.

Short legs compared to his long arms. Claws at the ends of his hands. Finally, even his perpetually peaceful expression.

Anyone could tell that it was Namu-Ppareumbo.

However, there wasn’t just one.

There were two, then three, then four, eventually reaching ten.

It looked like a picture of Namu-Ppareumbo’s "family."

He pointed with one claw at the smallest Namu-Ppareumbo—or rather, the smallest sloth—among them.

Apparently, that one represented him.

I nodded to show that I understood.

’But there weren’t any other members of his family...’

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

Scrape—

He dragged his claw across one of the sloths in the group.

Anyone could tell that it meant the sloth had died.

Scrape—scrrrape—

One by one, Namu-Ppareumbo crossed out every member of the group except himself.

He didn’t stop until he had scratched out even the sloth standing directly beside him.

Based on this, I could form several hypotheses.

First, Namu-Ppareumbo had once belonged to a group of his own.

Second, that group had been massacred for some reason, leaving him as the sole survivor.

And lastly, the reason they had been massacred was...

"Was it because of the gorillas?"

Namu-Ppareumbo gave no answer.

He merely stared at the ground.

But that alone was answer enough.

Namu-Ppareumbo’s group had been defeated by the gorilla troop.

Only Namu-Ppareumbo, the sole survivor, had lived.

’They wiped out the entire group of someone this strong?’

It seemed that the gorilla troop was far stronger than I had imagined.

Either that, or—

’The person who taught them martial arts fought on their behalf.’

Neither possibility was particularly encouraging.