Chapter 113

Welcome To (5)

I barely managed to immobilize my dangling arm before returning to the cave.

When I arrived, I found Wonmo pacing back and forth.

It seemed he had been beside himself with worry while I was gone.

"Kyuu! Kyuu!"

Wonmo gave me an enthusiastic welcome when he saw me return injured.

I would have loved to hug him with both arms, but that was rather difficult with one arm in this state.

"Wonmo, wait just a moment. Let me fix my arm first."

"Kyuu!"

Wonmo answered energetically and took a small step back. Good little Wonmo was such a good listener.

I chuckled and carefully lowered my arm. First, I needed to remove the shield.

I had suffered plenty of injuries before, but this was my first time breaking an arm, so I wasn’t sure what to do.

’What if I pour the elixir on it without knowing what I’m doing and the bone heals crooked?’

That was my greatest concern.

My ribs hadn’t been shattered as badly as my arm.

It seemed best to immobilize it with a splint first.

Using my good arm, I found a suitable plank of wood.

All I had to do was cut one of the logs I had split for the campfire down to an appropriate size.

’And buy some cloth from the Gallery.’

Then I simply had to place the splint against my arm and tie it in place. The problem was that doing so with only one usable arm was difficult.

"Hey, Namu-Ppareumbo."

Hold this for me, will you? My arm’s in a bit of a state."

I asked Namu-Ppareumbo for help. He might not be able to tie it, but he should at least be able to hold the cloth.

Namu-Ppareumbo stared silently at me before holding the cloth as I had asked.

With that, I managed to fashion a splint using the piece of wood and cloth.

This was only a temporary measure, however. Pouring elixir on it would be the real treatment.

Title: My Arm Got Wrecked

Wild Grylls

(Photo of an arm in a splint)

Fought the leader gorilla and got my arm wrecked. Good thing the leader gorilla spared me. Otherwise, I’d be dead, lol.

Anyway, can I just pour elixir over my arm like this? I was worried the bone might heal out of alignment, so I only immobilized it with a splint for now.

└ Heavenly Demon: Was the monkey strong?

└ Wild Grylls: Absurdly strong. My arm broke even though I blocked it with my shield. It didn’t even punch the shield. It just placed its fist against it.

└ Heavenly Demon: Your arm broke merely from it touching the shield?

└ Wild Grylls: Yes. It literally just tapped it.

└ Heavenly Demon: To think it can even use Penetrating Force. Its cultivation must be remarkably advanced. I did not anticipate this.

└ Wild Grylls: And when I swung my sword at it, its body vanished like a mirage before it reappeared directly behind me.

└ Heavenly Demon: Even Shifting Form and Position? How astonishing. It appears the creature showed you mercy.

└ SwordMaster: You’re really lucky to be alive. If that gorilla had gone all out, you would’ve died in less than a second.

└ Wild Grylls: I even launched a surprise attack, but it stopped my sword with nothing but its fingers. That was when I knew it was over.

└ SwordMaster: How many fingers did it use?

└ Wild Grylls: Three.

└ SwordMaster: It must have used three because it was you, Mr. Grylls. It probably would’ve used only one against most people.

└ Wild Grylls: It probably also sensed the power of the sword the Heavenly Demon gave me.

└ What kind of gorilla uses Penetrating Force and Shifting Form and Position? I won’t believe it until I see it myself;;

└ It can speak a human language, so why wouldn’t it be possible?

└ Honestly, this sounds like a lie. You might as well say it can fire palm blasts.

└ Wild Grylls: I don’t know about palm blasts, but it did destroy the entire forest. I’ll show you later.

└ What the hell? Did it actually fire a palm blast? Lol.

└ Not even the monkeys from mythology were like that, lol.

└ Monkeys appear in mythology?

└ It’s a story from the Central Plains. A monkey became a mystical creature by imitating human behavior.

└ Oh. Sounds interesting.

└ Starlight Princess: Is your arm completely broken?

└ Wild Grylls: Yes. It’s dangling loosely. I can pour elixir on it as it is, right? I was worried the bone might heal incorrectly, so I immobilized it with a splint first.

└ Starlight Princess: You made the right choice. Bones actually do heal out of alignment fairly often. Parts of the torso are strongly affected just by drinking elixir, but that isn’t the case with the limbs.

└ Wild Grylls: Would it heal quickly if I cut my arm open with a knife and poured the elixir inside?

└ Starlight Princess: I’ll just give you a syringe. I used to be ill, so I had to use syringes frequently.

└ Wild Grylls: Thank you. Is there anything you want in return? I don’t think I’ll be able to go outside today, but I should be able to give it to you tomorrow.

└ Starlight Princess: Just stay alive and in one piece. You’re really starting to seem like you could drop dead at any moment.

└ Wild Grylls: Yes, ma’am.

└ But his life really is hanging by a thread, isn’t it?

└ Honestly, I don’t think he’ll last a month.

└ Hasn’t it only been exactly two weeks?

└ I wonder what’ll appear after the gorilla, lol.

└ Good thing the gorilla showed him mercy. Otherwise, everything could’ve ended today, lol.

└ PraiseTheSun: Should I try raising a gorilla too? I wonder whether I could teach it martial arts.

└ Wild Grylls: Try teaching it to speak first. I’m curious whether it’s possible too.

└ PraiseTheSun: Wouldn’t simple sign language be possible? A chimpanzee I raised before could do it.

└ Wild Grylls: You raised a chimpanzee?;;

└ PraiseTheSun: Yeah. But it eventually died because of its limited lifespan. I doted on that little guy.

└ Upvote if you think that chimp lived better than you, lol.

└ Lol, they say that even if you become a slave, you should become a nobleman’s slave~

└ I’d rather become a chimpanzee, lol.

└ My intelligence is lower than a chimp’s. Could you raise me?

└ Then share some of your intelligence with me. You’re no different from a chimpanzee or monkey anyway.

└ Instead of becoming my pet, just become my slave. I’ll take good care of you.

└ You bastards, lol.

While the people in the Gallery continued their chatter, I received the syringe from Starlight Princess.

[Starlight Princess: I gave you a new one just in case, so you can use it without worrying.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. I just fill this with elixir and inject it into my arm, right?]

[Starlight Princess: Yes. Please use it carefully.]

The syringe looked both similar to and different from the ones I knew.

Its basic shape was identical, but its material and size were completely different.

It was especially large. The barrel was thick, though the needle was relatively small.

"If even the needle had been huge... Ugh."

I filled the syringe with elixir and checked whether it flowed properly.

Golden liquid trickled from the tip of the needle. This should be enough.

I then inserted the needle into the spot where my arm had broken and slowly injected the elixir.

’I look like some drug addict shooting up.’

The elixir’s distinctive cooling sensation spread through my arm, and the pain gradually subsided.

I could even feel the bones knitting together, so it seemed to have mostly healed.

Nevertheless, I planned to keep the splint on for the rest of the day if possible.

I had heard that broken bones could leave some fairly serious aftereffects.

’At least I survived.’

I took a sip of elixir and stared up at the ceiling.

Despite the Forest of Four Seasons’ notoriety, I had thought it was surprisingly easy to survive here. That had been a grave miscalculation.

I simply hadn’t encountered an irregular existence like the leader gorilla until now.

Even the saber-toothed tiger would be nothing more than a house cat before that gorilla.

’So there are creatures as powerful as that gorilla?’

Just how strong were they?

The thought frightened me a little.

After all, I didn’t even have to travel far to find those monstrous crabs and crayfish that looked as though they had stepped straight out of a kaiju movie.

However, their habitats were different, and their enormous size made them easy to avoid.

The real problem was creatures like the leader gorilla—small enough to be difficult to spot and living nearby.

As I brooded over the situation, my gaze suddenly fell upon Namu-Ppareumbo.

He had merely watched without intervening even though I had nearly died.

Had he refrained because the gorilla’s royal guards would have joined the fight the moment he interfered?

Or had he already known that the leader gorilla would show me mercy?

I wasn’t sure of the details, but it was obvious that Namu-Ppareumbo had some sort of history with the leader gorilla.

"Namu-Ppareumbo."

"Can you use that Shifting Form and Position thing too? You know, where you disappear and then reappear somewhere else."

Nod—

Namu-Ppareumbo answered by nodding.

Seeing that, I nodded as well. Offering tribute to this guy had definitely been the right decision.

’Come to think of it...’

After Namu-Ppareumbo, my gaze fell upon the bananas.

It was the bunch of bananas the leader gorilla had thrown to me as an apology.

To be precise, it was three clusters of bananas bound together, practically an entire set.

This would be enough to keep me from worrying about food for a while. Or I could eat them as snacks.

’Let’s try one.’

I was feeling gloomy, so I might as well eat something sweet.

I plucked off a banana.

I didn’t take only one for myself. I also picked one each for Namu-Ppareumbo and Wonmo.

"Here. Eat up."

"Kyuu!"

"..."

My animal companions began eating the bananas in their own ways.

Wonmo, who had an insatiable weakness for sweets, practically buried his face in his banana, while Namu-Ppareumbo simply stared at his.

He probably felt reluctant to eat a banana given to him by his enemy. Still, judging by the way he peeled it, he didn’t seem completely opposed to the idea.

’It’s been a long time since I ate a banana.’

I struggled to peel it with one hand.

I wanted to use my left hand, but I intended to rest it just to be safe.

Munch, munch—

"...Oh?"

The moment I took a bite, a honey-like sweetness filled my mouth.

It even possessed the distinctive fragrance of a banana. It was literally a banana as sweet as honey.

No wonder Wonmo had buried his entire face in his. It was a flavor that filled you with joy.

’Can a banana really have such a high sugar content?’

These bananas had grown while absorbing an abundance of mana. Even Southeast Asian bananas probably weren’t this sweet.

They were enormous too. A single banana was as large as my forearm.

I devoured the banana ravenously, gradually calming my troubled mind.

’He really did give me something good.’

Of course, it was still far inferior to the fasting pills.

At first, I had even thought he was telling me to take these and get lost.

But considering how delicious they were, it seemed he had done his best in his own way.

How could he possibly obtain something as nutritious as a fasting pill in this place?

Simple medicinal herbs were one thing, but fasting pills were man-made food created by combining various herbs.

"Nom, nom, nom."

Wonmo even ate all the banana peels. They were delicious, but I worried they might give him diarrhea.

I leaned against the cave wall and glanced at my broken arm.

No matter how many times I thought about it, it was astonishing. The gorilla had merely placed its fist against my shield, yet my arm had broken.

Would I ever be able to perform a feat like that?

It seemed difficult to learn something like that solely through posts on the Gallery.

’Wait. Come to think of it...’

It had happened just before the leader gorilla delivered its final strike.

When my survival instincts had surged and my concentration had reached its absolute limit.

I remembered how the aura that had billowed like flames gradually condensed and began taking shape.

’I need to practice before I forget that feeling.’

The sensation still lingered within me. The impact it had left was simply that profound.

I immediately brought over the Heavenly Demon’s sword and manifested my aura.

When I infused it with a small amount of mana, aura rose from it like a heat haze.

If I infused it with just a little more power, it surged like flames.

’Let’s slowly recall what I felt back then.’

The sensation of that formless energy crushing my entire body.

How I had even bitten my tongue in my desperate attempt to escape that pressure.

Although I hadn’t completed it, merely grasping the first clue was enough.

Woooong—woong—woooong—

Nevertheless, it was still difficult. The aura refused to condense properly.

Even so, I occasionally saw parts of the flame-like aura diminish.

It wasn’t because I had stopped supplying it with mana. If anything, I was forcibly pumping more and more mana into it, yet its volume still decreased.

It hadn’t taken on a complete form, but even this alone was remarkable progress.

’The problem is that there’s so much aura that it’s difficult to control.’

I would eventually achieve results if I continued practicing slowly.

I put down the sword and accessed the Gallery.

The moment I logged in, I saw everyone talking about me.

They were saying that a talking gorilla was obviously fiction and that I had made the whole thing up.

’This is why I recorded it, you bastards.’

So I uploaded all the footage of the gorilla speaking to the Gallery.

The Heavenly Demon had translated everything it said, but far too many people still refused to believe me.

’They probably don’t have things like video editing or AI here.’

Then again, if they did, that would be fascinating in its own way.

I quietly checked the Gallery’s comments.

└ What kind of fabricated translation is this?

└ Damn.

└ Bull.

└ Shit.

"..."

Or maybe not.

Perhaps people were the same everywhere.