Chapter 142

Combination (5)

I was dumbfounded to hear that only naturally born powerhouses could gain cold resistance, but it was still too early to give up.

What the Starlight Princess had just told me was the bad news.

There was still good news left.

I sincerely hoped it would give me some hope.

[Wild Grylls: What’s the good news?]

[Starlight Princess: There’s no risk of you developing Severed Meridian Syndrome. The ability is permanent too. And one more thing—you probably won’t ever freeze to death.]

[Wild Grylls: Didn’t you say I hadn’t gained cold resistance?]

[Starlight Princess: This is separate from that. If you progress beyond hypothermia and reach the point where you’re about to freeze to death, your body will react. You’ll probably enter hibernation on your own, then revive once the weather becomes warmer.]

[Wild Grylls: Wonmo is hibernating right now. Does it work on the same principle?]

[Starlight Princess: It’s slightly different. In your case, how should I put this...? The ability is focused entirely on survival. Ordinarily, you would die from hypothermia, but instead, you’ll continue surviving.]

[Wild Grylls: I should consider that... a good thing, right?]

[Starlight Princess: It’s better than having nothing, isn’t it? But be careful. If you collapse somewhere the weather or seasons never change, such as a snowy mountain, you could remain alive but asleep forever.]

That would be a hopeless situation.

I wouldn’t be alive or dead.

Still, as the Starlight Princess had said, it was an extremely useful survival ability.

For someone like me, who always had to consider the worst-case scenario, it couldn’t have been more suitable.

It was disappointing that I hadn’t gained cold resistance, but I was grateful nonetheless.

[Wild Grylls: What would have happened if I’d eaten the blue mandrake?]

[Starlight Princess: You most likely would’ve become an ice human. Like that mandrake, your skin would’ve turned blue rather than merely pale, and your hair would’ve turned white. You would’ve looked no different from an undead.]

[Wild Grylls: Sh-Sh-Shiver me timbers. Good thing I added the elixir.]

[Starlight Princess: I gave you the safest method available, after all.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you so much for teaching me.]

[Starlight Princess: It’s all right. My knowledge increased thanks to you too. If there’s anything else you’re curious about, you can ask me anytime.]

[Wild Grylls: What does ordinary mandrake essence do?]

[Starlight Princess: Since it contains yang energy, it warms the body. In particular, it increases the body’s regenerative abilities, making it an ideal ingredient for elixirs.]

[Wild Grylls: Then can liquor be made using the blue mandrake?]

[Starlight Princess: It wouldn’t be impossible... but the liquor would probably freeze first. It would also be dangerous.]

[Wild Grylls: Understood.]

Since the subject had come up, the Starlight Princess gifted me some elixirs.

Two of them, no less.

I thanked her and began cleaning up.

"Now that I’ve more or less finished here..."

It was time to handle the remaining work.

Building an ice storage house had become pointless, so I started designing improvements to the shelter instead.

I wanted to make it sturdy enough to withstand any natural disaster.

Of course, that wouldn’t be easy.

A disaster even worse than the avalanche might strike in the future.

’Should I reinforce the drainage channel with cement too?’

Now that I knew cement existed, I could think of all kinds of places to use it.

However, I had never worked in construction.

I had only used cement a few times during my military service.

Even then, the officers had handled most of the actual application. I had merely assisted them.

’Come to think of it, I did all sorts of things in the military.’

I chuckled as I searched through the auction house for cement.

Since cement was commonly used in various fields—particularly construction—quite a large amount had been listed.

After assuming cement didn’t exist at all, discovering so much of it felt strangely anticlimactic.

If I had learned about it just a little sooner—or had at least tried searching for it—my oven and furnace might never have been swept away.

’I need to erect another barricade too... I have a lot to do.’

The avalanche had swept away an enormous amount.

The situation made me sigh.

Whatever else I did, I definitely needed a barricade. The difference between having one and not having one was immense.

Even during the saber-toothed tiger attack, the barricade had bought me valuable time.

’I should ask the dwarf to make it. Although I can’t give him any liquor.’

The Starlight Princess had warned that the liquor could be dangerous, so I intended to postpone that idea.

After designing the shelter’s reinforcements, I immediately prepared my equipment.

I needed to gather sand to mix with the cement.

If I remembered correctly, there was sand downstream.

"Fast Sloth, look after Wonmo."

"..."

I left Fast Sloth at the shelter to watch over the hibernating Wonmo.

Perhaps he didn’t want to move either, because he was simply zoning out in front of the fireplace.

It seemed neither humans nor animals wanted to go outside in cold weather.

For me, however, this was an excellent opportunity.

Considering that Wonmo had fallen asleep, other animals were probably less active or hibernating too.

Even the snakes that had always appeared at the worst possible moments to irritate me should pose less of a threat.

’I need a shovel and some sacks. The ground might be frozen, so I should take the ignition stone and firewood too.’

How wonderful it was that I could fit all of this into the subspace backpack.

Even the weight wasn’t much of an issue. Since everything took up so little space, it felt considerably lighter to carry.

After checking several times to ensure I hadn’t forgotten anything, I headed for the river.

’It feels like it’s been a long time since I went downstream.’

I followed the frozen river downstream.

Since I was already heading in that direction, it might not be a bad idea to continue to the lake and gather some food.

It wasn’t that I disliked smoked food.

The problem was Fast Sloth’s food supply.

’It’s becoming dangerous to keep feeding him nothing but inner cores.’

He ate inner cores at every meal, so my supply was steadily dwindling.

The sudden arrival of winter had prevented me from storing food that Fast Sloth could eat.

Fortunately, I had accumulated a considerable stockpile beforehand. Otherwise, I would have run out already.

’And I have no idea when the Heavenly Demon will give me more fasting pills.’

On top of that, the gorillas kept stealing every fasting pill she sent.

I would have to endure somehow until the Heavenly Demon gave me more.

’The sand is... Wow. It’s frozen solid.’

When I reached the lower reaches of the river, I discovered that even the sand had frozen.

That was unavoidable, considering it was constantly exposed to the water.

With no other option, I took out the firewood I had prepared in advance.

I only needed to keep a fire burning until the sand thawed.

Crackle! Pop!

The warm campfire, which I had lit to melt the sand, made me feel pleasantly drowsy.

I stared idly into the flames for a while before a thought suddenly occurred to me.

’Wait. Couldn’t I just break it apart with a pickaxe and thaw it later?’

Now that I thought about it, that would be a much better method.

I was going to mix it with cement anyway, so there was no need to thaw it first.

I could simply mix it with heated water later.

People said human intelligence often kicked in too late.

I was the perfect example.

’Sigh. Let’s just consider this a learning experience.’

Grumbling inwardly, I checked the sand.

It was still hard.

I could probably make a quick trip to the lake while I waited for it to thaw.

Still, I remained alert to my surroundings just in case.

There was no telling what might appear.

’I don’t see anything in particular.’

There were no giant crabs in sight, while the ordinary crabs were frozen solid.

If anyone asked whether they were still edible, I would simply call it natural frozen storage.

I placed several crabs in a sack and looked around.

The entire lake had frozen over, forming what looked like a vast road.

’I suppose I could scout the area if necessary...’

There was no reason to take an unnecessary risk.

I collected the crabs and returned downstream.

The moment I arrived, I encountered an extraordinary sight.

"Prrr."

"..."

It was a deer.

A deer was resting beside the campfire I had built.

Could it be the same deer that had knocked out the bull shark with a single kick?

I silently stared at the deer before slowly beginning to move.

That kick could have been aimed at me if I made a wrong move, so I needed to be careful.

’What is it, some kind of gangster?’

I never imagined it would take over my campfire while I was briefly away.

Even its appearance gave off the distinct aura of a thug. If I messed with it, I would probably regret it.

However, I needed the sand.

To show that I meant it no harm, I approached slowly.

Even when I came closer, the deer merely sat beside the campfire and did nothing.

Scrape! Scrape!

It didn’t react even when I began digging up the sand with my shovel.

I couldn’t tell whether the warmth of the campfire made it unwilling to move or if it had realized I wasn’t a threat.

’Is this the composure of the strong?’

Herbivores were unusually powerful in this forest.

Sloths, gorillas, and now deer.

If carnivores were predators, then these creatures were simply gangsters.

’I’ve collected about enough sand...’

Just how long was this thing planning to stay here?

It was staring straight through me too, which made me extremely uncomfortable.

Still, it hadn’t attacked me, so everything was probably fine.

I had already accomplished my objective.

Clatter! Crackle!

Before leaving, I added a few more pieces of firewood.

It was my way of signaling that I had absolutely no intention of fighting it.

The campfire grew stronger.

Perhaps the deer understood what I meant, because although it had been watching me the entire time, it finally turned its head away.

’This should be enough, right?’

I threw the remaining firewood onto the campfire and returned to the shelter.

The deer showed no intention of leaving the fire until the very end.

Despite that minor incident, I managed to return with what I needed.

’I’ll leave the sand in the sacks and put the crabs in the icebox.’

The "icebox" was simply the insulated box containing the ice.

I had decided to call it that for convenience.

The moment I stepped inside the shelter, however, I noticed something strange.

Fast Sloth was still staring idly into the fire, and Wonmo was still hibernating.

Then who was the creature sitting beside Fast Sloth?

’What? I’m sure I put up the metal fence and the tarp.’

There were no signs that either the tarp or the fence had been disturbed.

That meant it had entered through another route.

However, considering that Fast Sloth wasn’t on guard, it probably wasn’t dangerous.

Still, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

I slowly approached and checked its identity.

"Keeeng..."

"..."

Once I came closer, I recognized it.

It was a familiar creature.

This was the raccoon that had approached me when I lit a campfire in the yard before.

The raccoon that had stuck its hand into the fire, then put the flames clinging to its hand into its mouth.

’Why is this thing here?’

I stared at the raccoon in confusion.

Then I noticed wounds on its legs and back.

There were no signs that it had entered through the entrance, so it couldn’t have arrived here while fleeing from a predator.

"Hey. Where did you come from?"

"Keeeng...?"

Unable to figure it out, I quietly approached and asked.

The raccoon looked puzzled when I came closer, then slowly rose from its seat.

I briefly wondered whether it intended to fight me, but it did something completely unexpected.

"Keeeng... Keng..."

It clasped its hands neatly together with a truly apologetic expression.

Anyone could tell that it was apologizing.

Its already adorable appearance, combined with that gesture, naturally stirred my sympathy.

It was far more polite and well-behaved than a certain bunch of gorilla bastards.

"Keng... Keeeng..."

The raccoon then pointed toward the fireplace, still wearing an extremely aggrieved expression.

Thanks to that, I could roughly understand what had happened.

Apparently, it had crawled into the chimney and fallen straight down.

It was a miracle that it had only suffered scrapes and hadn’t been burned.

’That really is unfair.’

It had even apologized, so I couldn’t bring myself to kill it.

If it had acted shamelessly like that raccoon dog, I would have treated it coldly.

Moreover, Fast Sloth appeared to understand the raccoon’s predicament, which was why he had remained still.

I patted the raccoon’s head to assure it that there was nothing to worry about.

Once I showed it some kindness, the raccoon seemed relieved and relaxed.

"Wait here for a moment."

"Keeeng?"

It was injured, so I should at least apply some elixir.

I used the animal-grade elixir to treat the raccoon’s wounds.

When they healed in an instant, the startled raccoon began touching different parts of its body.

It was cute in a completely different way from Wonmo.

"How is it? Feeling better?"

"Keeeng! Keng, keng!"

The raccoon repeatedly clasped its hands together to express its gratitude.

Why did the Forest of the Four Seasons seem to contain nothing but intelligent animals?

It was truly fascinating.

As I watched it with a satisfied smile, the raccoon looked around and then headed toward the fireplace.

Just as I began wondering what it was doing, its bizarre behavior started.

Swoosh—

It thrust its hands directly into the blazing fire.

Unlike last time, it didn’t insert only one hand.

It clasped both hands together and placed them into the flames.

I stared, wondering what on earth it was doing.

"Keeeng!"

"...What is this?"

The raccoon eventually held out its cupped hands toward me.

Both hands were blazing with fire, yet the flames didn’t appear to be hot.

I had no idea how I was supposed to react.

Perhaps sensing my confusion, the raccoon let the fire gathered in its hands fall to the ground.

Fwoosh!

The flames fell like water and soon faded away.

I focused on the fact that the fire had fallen like "water."

If fire could fall like water, couldn’t it be stored in a bottle?

With that thought, I prepared an empty bottle.

As before, the raccoon gathered fire in its cupped hands and poured it into the bottle I held out.

Fwoosh! Flicker!

The fire inside the empty bottle didn’t go out. It maintained its shape.

It continued burning even after I sealed the bottle with a stopper and cut off its oxygen supply.

When I examined it closely, I discovered that the flames were burning around a small spherical core.

’What is this?’

It was a fire that burned without fuel or oxygen, completely defying conventional scientific knowledge.

What could that mean?

Unable to figure it out, I looked at the raccoon.

Understanding the meaning behind my gaze, the raccoon placed its hands in the campfire again.

"Nom."

It then put its burning hands into its mouth.

"Fwooooo!"

Whoooosh!

A massive torrent of fire erupted from its mouth.

The flames were bright enough to illuminate the entire cave in an instant.

My jaw dropped at the sight.

’Why the hell is there a ninja living in this forest?’

While I stood there in shock—

Smack!

"Kegeng!"

Fast Sloth slapped the raccoon across the back.

His stern attitude seemed to say that it shouldn’t play with fire.

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