Chapter 137

Disaster (2)

The sight of my completely devastated yard left me disheartened, but I tried to think positively.

I would treat this as a learning experience and prepare more thoroughly next time.

There was nothing I wouldn’t do to survive in this damned forest.

I could ask the dwarf to replace the barricade, and I could begin by gathering the materials needed to rebuild the furnace and oven.

I had already built them once, so as long as I retained access to the Gallery, restoring them should not be difficult.

Yet that sapling survived.

Everything else had been swept away, but the sapling given to me by Let’s Grow a Tree remained firmly rooted.

I was extremely curious about what kind of tree it was, but I decided not to dwell on it. Its survival was a good thing.

I should focus on preparing for disasters first.

These could not be called mere changes in climate. Each one was closer to a full-fledged natural disaster.

This was a place where an avalanche could occur despite the terrain seemingly making one impossible.

As someone had said, spring might bring not yellow dust, but an outright sandstorm.

I need to build an emergency exit too, and postpone any crafting projects until winter ends.

This was my first winter, and it was taking place in the Forest of Four Seasons. I had a mountain of work ahead of me.

I sighed at the overwhelming prospect and turned my head.

In that direction stood the grave where my senior had been buried.

How did that man survive here?

He had clearly lived here longer than I had. The sheer length of his diary made that obvious.

The diary should contain everything he experienced before his conflict with the gorillas led to his death.

They must have finished translating it by now, right?

I had entrusted the translation to All-Father and Necromancy Is Love.

Yet aside from information about the Immortal King and the gorillas, I had learned nothing from it.

It would have been nice if the diary had warned me that winter could arrive early.

I should ask.

I planned to remain holed up in the cave until the season changed.

This was as good an opportunity as any to ask about it.

I contacted All-Father first.

[Wild Grylls: All-Father, are you there?]

[All-Father: What is it?]

[Wild Grylls: Do you remember those records from the Balkan Kingdom that I sent you? Have you finished translating them?]

[All-Father: Not all of them. The Balkan royal family used certain unique expressions, so the translation is taking longer than expected.]

That was understandable.

I had never asked him to report his progress in real time, and rushing people was not in my nature.

Still, he should have uncovered some important facts by now.

I immediately asked my question.

[Wild Grylls: Did the records mention the seasons changing abruptly?]

[All-Father: They did. It appears winter arrived in an instant for him as well, just as it did for you.]

Just as I had expected.

My senior had experienced the same phenomenon.

This proved that even this godforsaken forest followed certain rules.

[Wild Grylls: Were there any warning signs?]

[All-Father: The diary says that large numbers of animals migrated the day before. He wrote that he warmly welcomed them.]

[Wild Grylls: Does it say how long winter lasted?]

[All-Father: Yes. Winter itself did not last long. The weather warmed after approximately five days.]

[Wild Grylls: That’s a relief.]

[All-Father: It also contains a description suggesting that all four seasons occur within a single month. You should keep that in mind.]

I felt strangely embarrassed.

Still, after what had happened with the raccoons slaughtered by the fast sloth, I could hardly be blamed.

Besides, the group I had encountered had been prepared to seize my shelter if the opportunity arose.

At any rate, I now knew the warning sign.

All that remained was to learn how long this winter would last.

Several months would already have been despair-inducing. If it lasted for years, it would have been horrifying.

Thankfully, that did not seem to be the case.

What kind of premature four-season cycle was this?

It was absurd.

Still, every season except winter had been relatively livable, so I was not too worried.

So this weather is why unintelligent animals can’t survive here.

They either possessed exceptional instincts like Wonmo or were intelligent like the raccoons.

It had to be one or the other.

Otherwise, surviving in this forest would be impossible.

The greatest danger here was not its predators, but the environment itself.

[All-Father: Ah, there is also some information you should take to heart. It concerns the gorillas in the jungle.]

[Wild Grylls: The gorillas?]

[All-Father: Yes. It appears one of them has separated from the group. The gorilla you encountered merely warned you, but the one that attacked this man did so without any provocation.]

[Wild Grylls: That sounds ominous.]

[All-Father: I do not know where it is now, but you should remain cautious. According to the records, unlike the other gorillas, its fur is white. Its eyes are also said to be as red as blood.]

White fur and red eyes immediately brought albinism to mind.

I should consider the possibility that it was an albino.

Albino animals stood out more than others, so their survival rates were likely lower.

If such an animal had survived until now, it must possess incredible strength.

It might have an even worse temper than the gorilla leader.

As a mutant, it might have developed unusually high aggression.

If this one had also learned martial arts, I would be in serious trouble.

It would be a difficult fight.

The problem is that I have no idea where it might appear.

So far, I had not seen anything with white fur.

I nodded as I processed the information All-Father had provided, then decided to ask whether there were any other dangers.

[Wild Grylls: Is there anything else I should be wary of?]

[All-Father: It is less a warning than an unusual detail. This man originally suffered from mana insensitivity and was incapable of using mana.]

[Wild Grylls: Mana insensitivity?]

[All-Father: Yes. It is a congenital condition that prevents a person from accumulating mana. However, while living in the Forest of Four Seasons, he gradually began accumulating it.]

[Wild Grylls: Does that mean he evolved too?]

[All-Father: I cannot say for certain. Apparently, he ate anything he could find in order to survive, and at some point discovered that he could use mana.]

All-Father’s explanation was as follows.

My senior had been unable to accumulate mana because of a medical condition, whereas I had been unable to accept mana in the first place because I came from another world.

Regardless, it proved that the medicinal plants scattered throughout the Forest of Four Seasons possessed astonishing effects.

Of course, poisonous plants were probably mixed among them, so I would have to proceed cautiously.

[Wild Grylls: Does the diary say which medicinal plant he ate? That seems like important information.]

[All-Father: Unfortunately, I do not know. He ate random plants in an attempt to kill himself, so he neither identified nor properly recorded them.]

[Wild Grylls: Yikes.]

[All-Father: If he wanted to die, he could simply have eaten a mushroom. What a peculiar man. Hohoho.]

[Wild Grylls: Sir?]

[All-Father: It was a joke. In any event, even the weeds appear comparable to medicinal herbs. Pulling up a few at random and testing them might not be a bad idea.]

The possibility that even ordinary weeds might be medicinal filled me with hope.

[Wild Grylls: I see. Could I ask you to analyze some weeds? I’ll send you several varieties.]

[All-Father: My apologies, but I expect to become rather busy from now on. I intend to begin participating in external affairs.]

[Wild Grylls: Oh, I see. Then I’ll ask someone else.]

Even if All-Father was unavailable, I still had the Starlight Princess.

If she was too busy as well, then...

I would have to figure it out myself.

Once I identified their effects, I intended to send them directly to the Heavenly Demon.

That should help him finish the fast sloth’s food sooner.

After ending my conversation with All-Father, I was casually browsing the Gallery when—

[Necromancy Is Love: Save me.]

[Wild Grylls: What?]

[Necromancy Is Love: Keep talking to All-Father.]

[Wild Grylls: Did something happen?]

I received that strange message from Necromancy Is Love.

Even when I asked what was wrong, I received no response.

I wondered whether I should contact All-Father again, but ultimately decided against it.

If it were truly urgent, he would have made a public post on the Gallery instead of sending me a message.

There really are all kinds of strange people here.

I brushed it aside and focused on my own situation.

The seasons changed approximately once a week, so I merely had to prepare accordingly.

Besides, this was already the second day of winter.

I should only have to endure another three or four days.

Does this mean farming will be difficult?

I had planned to begin farming if necessary, but it seemed impractical.

The seasons did not change monthly, but weekly. Ordinary plants would have difficulty surviving that.

Then again, perhaps crops would grow rapidly, like the sapling that had undergone a sudden growth spurt before.

Even if I stockpile crops, I’ll need to preserve them properly...

Storage was the greatest problem.

Meat could simply be salted and smoked.

Crops, however, would rot easily if left unattended.

I could not help worrying about it.

I’d need something like a refrigerator, but that’s impossible. Maybe I could use ice instead...

The instant the word ice crossed my mind, my head snapped up.

At the same time, I checked the time through the Gallery.

It was only two o’clock, so I still had plenty of time.

I hurriedly rose, armed myself, and rushed outside.

The fast sloth was taking good care of Wonmo, so there was no need to worry about him.

My destination was the river.

The abrupt change of season had frozen it solid.

Why had I failed to realize that there was a convenient source of ice right in front of me?

I can’t just collect it without preparing first. I need to build a storage container—or an icehouse.

Wait. Ice?

My ancestors had collected ice every winter and stored it inside icehouses.

I intended to do the same.

The animals were less active during winter, so as long as I remained vigilant, I should be able to gather the ice without much difficulty.

I leaned forward to check how thickly the river had frozen.

The abrupt drop in temperature had transformed it into a river of transparent ice.

At most, I have four days. I need to build an icehouse—or at least a storage container—before then.

No matter how effective salting was for preservation, it could not compare to refrigeration.

Crops and fruit would also keep better in a cool place, so this was the perfect opportunity to build one.

With my decision made, I returned to the shelter and wrote a post on the Gallery.

I knew that my ancestors had used stone icehouses, but I knew nothing about how they actually worked.

Title: Does anyone know how to build a stone icehouse?

Wild Grylls

(A photo of the frozen river)

I’m thinking about building one of those stone icehouses our ancestors used. There’s a frozen river right in front of me, so it seems like a good idea.

└ SwordMaster: An icehouse? Would you like me to give you a well-insulated box? You could probably fill it with ice.

└ Wild Grylls: That would work too, but I think building an actual icehouse would be better.

└ SwordMaster: It is not a bad choice, but could you not build it slowly?

└ Wild Grylls: The diary said the seasons change every week. That’s why I should make the most of what I can only do during winter.

└ SwordMaster: What a half-baked cycle of seasons.

└ Passing Dwarf: Damn, it’s been ages since I heard anyone mention an icehouse. Refrigerators were invented around my father’s time.

└ Wild Grylls: Do you know how to build one?

└ Passing Dwarf: The principle itself is simple. It’s just difficult to construct. I’ll make a post about it soon.

└ Wild Grylls: Thanks, thanks.

└ Aren’t icehouses still fairly common?

└ There are plenty in rural areas that haven’t been urbanized. Refrigerators have been spreading there recently, though.

The dwarf had promised to explain how to build one, so all I could do now was wait.

The disaster had dealt me a tremendous blow, but it had also presented me with an opportunity.

I was beginning to understand that winter was not merely a season to endure.

The avalanche came from behind the cave, so I should build the entrance on this side.

Until the dwarf explained the structure and construction process of a stone icehouse, I began working on what I could.

First came logging.

If I wanted to survive the winter, firewood was indispensable.

"Hm?"

It happened while I was diligently cutting down trees.

Something behind a fallen tree caught my eye.

All the smaller plants had been buried beneath the snow, yet this one stood upright by itself.

It was a blue flower that looked as though ice crystals had blossomed into petals.

I could not tell whether it had frozen solid or simply looked that way naturally.

What is this?

Whenever I was curious, the Gallery was the obvious place to ask.

I immediately took a picture and uploaded a post.

Title: Found a strange flower.

Wild Grylls

(A plant resembling a flower made from ice crystals)

Found this while cutting down trees. Does anyone know what it is?

└ Starlight Princess: Oh! I think that’s a Frostbloom.

└ Wild Grylls: What’s that?

└ Starlight Princess: If you absorb all of it, you should gain resistance to cold.

└ Wild Grylls: Oh...!

└ Starlight Princess: But if you eat it as it is, your entire body will freeze solid.

└ Wild Grylls: Oh.

└ Starlight Princess: And it melts almost immediately once the weather changes, so it would be difficult to ask someone else to process it.

What is it, a goddamned sunfish?

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