Chapter 149

Countermeasures (1)

My confusion over the existence of a knight riding a giraffe lasted only briefly. He had already vanished, and there was nothing I could do about it, so I decided to focus on the task at hand.

First, I broke through the ice covering the river and plunged my hand into the water to provoke the golden frog.

Of course, it would be better if the golden frog was still hibernating and did not appear.

Then I would not have to waste any time dealing with it.

Splash—

"Gaaah!"

The moment I put my hand in, a strange cry escaped my lips. The water was far too cold.

I had gotten a rough idea of its temperature from the water coming through the hose, but feeling it directly against my skin made it seem even colder.

Still, it was something I had to endure to secure food.

Fortunately, the golden frog must have still been hibernating, because it did not appear.

"Brrrrr. S-so cold."

There was nothing I could do about the cold, though. This was exactly why I had wanted to acquire cold resistance.

Shivering violently from the chill that surged through me the moment I stepped into the river, I installed the fish traps.

All the shoes I had traded for until now were waterproof, but the river was too deep.

That left me no choice but to enter it wearing sneakers.

’Just ten minutes. I only have to endure it for ten minutes...!’

There was a risk of frostbite, but I should be fine. I might not possess cold resistance, but I could wield cold energy.

That should provide a certain degree of protection, so I was not worried about frostbite.

The water was simply mind-numbingly cold.

After installing both traps, I hurried back to the cave.

The first thing I did upon returning was heat some water and soak my feet in it.

I probably would not suffer frostbite, but this was merely a precaution.

As I sat there with my feet submerged, I recalled the scene I had witnessed earlier.

’Was the person I saw across the river really there?’

Not only had he been riding a giraffe, but he had also been wielding a sword like a knight.

Even the predators surrounding him—lions, to be precise—had been unable been unable to approach him easily.

’Wait. Come to think of it, wasn’t his sword glowing?’

The sword the knight had been holding had definitely emitted a green light.

Although the glow had been rather faint, it was unmistakably green.

Only the mythricon I had given away should glow green.

’Then was that Ludwig?’

Ludwig—the holy knight renowned for his upright character.

And the man who posted exceptionally middle-aged-sounding messages in the Gallery.

It was entirely possible that he had been the one swinging a sword from a giraffe’s back.

’Seriously, the timing couldn’t have been worse.’

I thought about it while warming my feet in the heated water.

No matter how I looked at it, the timing was incredibly unfortunate. Why did the region have to change at that exact moment?

If I had been given one more minute—or even just thirty seconds—I could have examined him more closely.

’I really have the worst luck.’

The knight I suspected was Ludwig probably had not noticed me.

He had been locked in a fierce battle with a pride of lions. How could he possibly have spared any attention for the opposite side of the river?

’Come to think of it, didn’t they say giraffes don’t exist in this world?’

I was not completely certain, but that was how I remembered it.

Just in case, I searched the Gallery for "giraffe."

Nothing appeared. There were posts containing the individual syllables, but there was no animal called a giraffe.

Unicorns and pegasi, by contrast, clearly existed. They were apparently regarded as ordinary knowledge.

Of course, giraffes might simply have been known by another name, so I even drew one to confirm.

Title: Does an Animal Like This Exist?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of my giraffe drawing)

Is there an animal with a long neck and legs like the one in this drawing? Where I came from, we called it a giraffe.

└ Heavenly Demon: It is not even a spirit beast. This is my first time seeing such a bizarre animal.

└ SwordMaster: Mine too. I’ve never seen or even heard of such an animal in my life.

└ Cheonggu Princess: Its long neck makes it look kind of sad.

└ Starlight Duchess: How does it eat with such a long neck?

└ Praise the Sun: There’s something... strangely fascinating about it. I want one.

└ Clever Demon: It’s seriously ugly as hell, lololol.

└ Do they use their necks like whips when they fight? Kekeke.

└ Wild Grylls: How did you know? I heard they really do swing their necks to wreck their opponents. Otherwise, they kick with their hind legs.

└ What the hell kind of animal is that? You’ve got one hell of an imagination, lol.

└ What if it breaks its neck while attacking?;;

└ That body is the pinnacle of inefficiency, lol.

Since I was technically an animal as well, my existence probably served as another piece of evidence supporting the hypothesis.

However, while I knew the result, I still could not determine the cause.

’I suppose I’ll have to examine everything carefully.’

The conclusion was that I needed to learn more about this forest.

I had begun to suspect that my arrival here had not been a coincidence either.

Survival was important, but so was exploration. I needed to find clues if I wanted to improve my chances of escaping.

’I’ve been keeping a journal consistently, so only time will tell.’

Now that I had realized the seasons changed every week, I planned to devote more time to exploration.

Originally, I intended to remain in my shelter until I became stronger, but allowing that period to drag on for too long would not be wise.

Besides, winter would force me to rest anyway.

Of course, now that I had discovered evidence of another survivor, I first needed to devise countermeasures.

’I should provide them with something useful for survival.’

└ All-Father: Oh. What a fascinating animal. Something similar existed in the distant past.

└ Wild Grylls: Really?

└ All-Father: Yes. They were monsters called dinosaurs—the ancestors of dragons and drakes. Some dinosaurs had extremely long necks.

└ Did those dinosaurs fight with their necks too?

└ All-Father: According to one theory, they used their long tails like whips. Wyverns are also descendants of dinosaurs.

Was he talking about brachiosauruses?

It was fascinating that dinosaurs had existed in this world too.

No. Before that, it was even more fascinating that these people could not accept the existence of giraffes.

’Then what was the giraffe I saw?’

Had giraffes perhaps lost the struggle for survival and gone extinct?

The Forest of Four Seasons was a place where even herbivores were absurdly powerful, so perhaps they had survived here.

It was a reasonably convincing hypothesis.

If not, then—

’Could they be... connected to Earth?’

Just as I had suddenly fallen into the Forest of Four Seasons, animals from Earth might also have been brought here.

And was Ludwig, the knight riding the giraffe, truly the only person who had entered the Forest of Four Seasons?

I had heard that other people had been forcibly dragged in along with Ludwig.

If they were fortunate, they might still be alive somewhere in the forest, just like him.

However, from my own experience, the Forest of Four Seasons was an exceedingly difficult place to survive without a secure base.

Furthermore, without suitable tools, one’s chances of survival were practically nonexistent.

’Just as the Gallery helped me, I should help them.’

Unless they were me, anyone brought into the Forest of Four Seasons would be unable to access the Gallery.

There was no way to determine their locations either. Even asking the administrator would be useless.

The only thing I could do was throw survival supplies across the river.

Since I had no idea where they were, this was my best option.

’Food is the most important survival resource, but...’

Unfortunately, food was the one thing I could not spare.

Now that I knew winter would return, I needed to begin steadily building up my own reserves.

Conversely, that meant I could provide most things other than food.

’Weapons, for example.’

Weapons were extremely important in the Forest of Four Seasons.

Had I not survived countless crises after receiving the Heavenly Demon’s sword?

I did not know Ludwig’s exact circumstances, but he also seemed to have survived somehow with the mythricon sword.

’I’ll forge swords and throw them across the river. That should work.’

This was the best countermeasure I could devise. Nothing else came to mind.

Actually, there was one other possibility.

The signposts I had erected near the cave.

I could build an enormous sign visible from across the river.

It would be similar to the defector guidance signs installed along the front lines.

’I should have done this from the beginning...’

I had not installed any signposts near the river. That had been a major mistake.

For some reason, I had complacently assumed Ludwig would appear on my side.

Because of that, it had never occurred to me that the sign needed to be visible from across the river.

If I had erected one earlier, Ludwig might already have crossed over.

What a shame.

Learning from that mistake, I planned to write the message in multiple languages.

That way, it would be useful not only to Ludwig but to anyone who entered the forest, regardless of when or where they came from.

’I can ask the Gallery about each country’s language.’

Languages differed by race and nation, but I had the Gallery.

Since the registered users came from various backgrounds, I could simply ask them.

’The sign absolutely has to be large.’

I could construct it in much the same way as I had made the signposts.

However, its sheer size meant it would require a great deal of work. Joining all the pieces of timber together would be particularly difficult.

I constructed an enormous sign by fitting wooden boards one at a time onto long poles.

One might wonder whether that would make it difficult to write on, but there was no need to worry.

’I’ll attach a large sheet of paper to it.’

Attaching paper would make things easy. I would not have to write directly on the sign.

Smiling in satisfaction at the sign, which was clearly visible even from a distance, I accessed the Gallery.

I then purchased a sheet of paper to attach to it and asked the registered users for assistance.

[Heavenly Demon: Shall I write exactly what you told me?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. Please do.]

[Heavenly Demon: It is not difficult. Wait a moment.]

[Wild Grylls: Understood.]

[Heavenly Demon: (Photo of the notice written in the language of the Central Plains) Will this suffice?]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you! I think this every time I see it, but your handwriting is truly beautiful.]

[Heavenly Demon: Thank you.]

First, I received the Central Plains version from the Heavenly Demon.

Then SwordMaster, who had briefly decided to play a prank, provided the Messiah Empire’s language.

[SwordMaster: (Photo of an explanation written in the language of the Messiah Empire) Will this do?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes! Thank you so much!]

[SwordMaster: Wait. Let me send you another one...!]

[Wild Grylls: Huh?]

[SwordMaster: (Photo of the notice written in the language of the Messiah Empire) Here’s the new one, haha.]

[Wild Grylls: What did you write the first time?]

[SwordMaster: I wrote, "Become stronger and marry me."]

[Wild Grylls: ;;;]

[Passing Dwarf: Good grief. I never imagined I’d do something like this in my entire life, lol.]

[Wild Grylls: Try to understand how I feel. I’m desperate too.]

[Passing Dwarf: Fine. Wait a moment.]

I received the dwarven language from the dwarf.

I also asked Cheonggu Princess, All-Father, Praise the Sun, Planting Trees, Suspiciously, and several others.

Through them, I obtained the languages of various countries and races.

Someone might wonder why I did not simply make a public Gallery post asking everyone at once. I went through the extra trouble because the replies would probably have become too chaotic.

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: (Photo of the notice written in El Dorado’s language) Will this work?!]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. I sincerely hope Ludwig sees it.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Have you seen Mr. Ludwig?!]

[Wild Grylls: I think I did, but I’m not certain. He was riding a giraffe and swinging the sword I gave him.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: A giraffe... Do you mean that bizarre animal from your post?!]

[Wild Grylls: Yes.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: I see! It may be strange, but I’m relieved to hear that he’s alive! Please contact me immediately if you confirm his survival!]

[Wild Grylls: Understood.]

Finally, I received the El Dorado version from the administrator, who was originally from there.

I copied all the languages I had received from the various nations and races onto the paper.

I used black paint so that the words would contrast sharply against the white background.

’There are so many languages. This is exhausting.’

The paper itself was enormous, and copying foreign languages onto it was difficult work.

I had to use the available space efficiently, so maintaining my concentration was especially important.

Eventually, I finished writing the message in every language.

Smiling, I looked over the completed notice.

Its contents were roughly as follows:

[Gallery registered user Wild Grylls welcomes all survivors!]

[If you can read this, follow the signposts downhill! You will eventually see a cave!]

[We are stronger together than we are alone! Let’s overcome this together!]

How should I put it?

It did not exactly feel like a survival notice.

’It almost sounds like a government advertisement encouraging people to immigrate...’

Anyway, now that the notice was complete, all that remained was to produce the survival supplies.

’Let’s get moving.’

There was no point in constructing the sign if those who saw it could not survive long enough to reach me.

I gripped my pickaxe and began mining the mithril buried within the cave.

And as I did—

’Please survive.’

I desperately prayed that someone would survive long enough to reach me.