Chapter 93

Traces (2)

The reaction-speed training I started with Namu-Ppareumbo.

Though calling it "training" was generous. It was closer to one-sided abuse, but I endured it stubbornly.

Namu-Ppareumbo was holding back in his own way, and my reaction speed was gradually improving as well.

At the very least, as long as I stayed focused until the end, I wouldn’t get hit completely defenseless.

I could at least react fast enough to try to catch the ball, so it was good enough as training.

"Wonmo, Daddy’s having a really hard time."

"Kyuu?"

"So come here."

At lunchtime, I hugged Wonmo, who had just woken from his nap, and soothed my gloomy mood.

Wonmo had no idea what was going on, but he made a pleased, rumbling sound as if he liked it.

After calming down from the misery of training, I prepared lunch.

Lunch was one of the fish I had caught this morning.

For reference, two more fish had been caught since then.

Having plenty of food made me happy.

For the time being, I could feast on fish.

’I’ll explore in the afternoon.’

I had said I planned to stay here for a while, but that didn’t mean I was going to stop exploring entirely.

From now on, rather than blindly traveling farther and farther away, I planned to examine the surrounding area in much greater detail.

If I was lucky, I might discover medicinal herbs comparable to a fully grown mandrake.

Or perhaps I could find valuable minerals like the orichalcum cave.

’Sometimes I can’t tell whether I’m lucky or unlucky...’

After finishing lunch, I got ready with my animal companions.

The subspace bag hung at my left hip.

At my right hip were the elixir and various other bottles.

Everything was ready.

But before leaving, there was one thing I wanted to check.

’Should I try drawing the bow?’

The bow had been given to me by Grow the Trees, a fixed-nickname user I suspected was an elf.

Previously, even drawing the string had been difficult.

What about now?

Since my strength had visibly increased, there should be some meaningful improvement.

Creeeeak—

As expected, the string was far easier to draw than before.

That still didn’t mean I could use it effectively in actual combat.

Before, I had needed every ounce of my strength just to draw it.

Now, it was more like I merely had to strain a little.

Still, I would need considerably greater strength before I could draw it comfortably.

"And the dwarf isn’t answering. Is he drinking or something?"

Originally, I was supposed to receive the barricades from Passing Dwarf.

But whether he was busy or drinking, he wasn’t responding.

It would probably be better to get the barricades after I returned from exploring.

’Today, I’ll head deeper into the forest instead of following the river.’

Yesterday had taught me that simply walking along the river wasn’t particularly useful.

It would be better to explore different parts of the forest as though I were expanding the map.

Along the way, I could search for rare medicinal herbs or discover animal territories.

Just like the animals did, I would turn this general area into my own "territory."

’Though I’m not going to mark it.’

If I started marking territory like an animal, I might get ambushed while doing it.

I also had no intention of throwing away what remained of my human dignity.

I already suffered enough every time I needed to relieve myself.

I had no desire to take things that far too.

"Whoa. What the hell is this?"

I was exploring while imagining that I might discover some mysterious medicinal herb when I found something else instead.

Not an herb.

A mushroom.

To someone unfamiliar with mushrooms, it might not even have looked like one.

It resembled a set of blue deer antlers.

’Is it some kind of relative?’

There was a mushroom known as the "king" of poisonous mushrooms—the fire coral mushroom.

True to its name, it looked like red deer antlers.

Its poison was said to be so potent that severe exposure could cause damage comparable to radiation poisoning.

There was even a common claim that merely touching it could cause dermatitis.

’It’s interesting, so I should record it.’

I pulled out the book I had prepared in advance and sketched the mushroom’s appearance.

Drawing it like deer antlers should be good enough.

Then I looked around to see whether there was anything unusual nearby.

It could have been a case similar to the golden mushroom.

’Looks like it just grows normally.’

Nothing in particular stood out.

I closed my notebook and posted it on the gallery.

Title) Found a Blue Mushroom

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a blue mushroom shaped like deer antlers)

Anyone know what kind of mushroom this is?

It looks obviously poisonous, so I didn’t touch it, but I’m curious.

└ Heavenly Demon) It seems to be openly announcing that you should not eat it.

└ SwordMaster) Seriously. It looks unpleasant enough that I wouldn’t even want to touch it. Though maybe it resembles the Heavenly Demon?

└ Heavenly Demon) Are you mocking this lady’s face by comparing it to a mushroom?

└ SwordMaster) It’s blue, kek.

└ Heavenly Demon) I find myself wanting to turn you blue as well. Perhaps I should make a suggestion to the moderator.

└ SwordMaster) I’m sorry ;;

└ Guess he really doesn’t want to turn blue, kekeke.

└ How much must he hate it, kekeke.

└ Is the Heavenly Demon actually doing her sub-mod duties??

└ Yeah lol. Maybe because she’s unemployed, a lot of the disgusting posts have disappeared.

└ Starlight Princess) There’s a similar mushroom in the Central Plains called the fire coral mushroom, but I’ve never seen one like that. Could it be a mutation?

└ Wild Grylls) You have that kind of mushroom there too? There were some where I used to live as well.

└ Starlight Princess) Yes. It’s extremely famous for being highly poisonous. But this is my first time seeing a blue one.

└ Allfather) This is my first time seeing such a mushroom as well. If it isn’t too much trouble, could I ask you to obtain one for research?

└ Starlight Princess) If possible, I’d like one too.

└ Wild Grylls) Sure. Understood.

Just in case, I put on my gloves before harvesting the mushrooms.

I wasn’t planning to eat them anyway, so there was no reason I couldn’t trade them freely.

’There are so many strange mutations here that there must be plenty of things that would be new even by outside-world standards.’

I continued exploring.

Wonmo led the way, using the excellent sense of smell characteristic of animals to detect anything unusual ahead of us.

He might still be a cub, but an owlbear was still an owlbear.

His sense of smell was remarkably sharp.

Sometimes I failed to notice animal droppings along the way, but Wonmo alerted me whenever that happened.

’This is owlbear poop. And it’s old...’

I had seen it before.

Owlbear droppings.

A lot of time had passed, and there had even been rain in between, so most of it had already washed away.

Still, enough of its shape remained that identifying it wasn’t difficult.

’So this used to be an owlbear’s territory.’

I had never realized because all my previous exploration had been centered around the river.

Then, now that the owlbear was gone, who had taken over its territory?

Judging by the lack of any visible traces, no other animal seemed to have moved in yet.

’Then again, that owlbear had its territory stolen by the saber-toothed tiger in the first place.’

No matter how strong an owlbear was, there was no way it could defeat the saber-toothed tiger.

The saber-toothed tiger even regenerated quickly, making it impossible for the owlbear to compete in a battle of endurance.

"Kyuu. Kyuu."

Around the time I was looking around for any other traces, Wonmo began urging me to hurry.

The sight of him pointing ahead with his tiny forepaw was adorable.

I chuckled and followed after him.

Wonmo was better at finding traces than I was, so I could probably leave that part to him.

I just needed to keep an eye out for any unusual plants or mushrooms along the way.

And if a snake showed up, I’d kill it immediately.

"Kyuuuu!"

Then Wonmo apparently found something, because he suddenly began jumping up and down in excitement.

Curious, I pushed my way through the thick trees.

Once I passed through them, a surprisingly wide clearing greeted me.

"A cave?"

There was also a cave with an enormous entrance.

The entrance to the cave I lived in was fairly large too.

But this one was even bigger, and I could even feel a cool breeze coming from it.

’The wind is blowing inward.’

Just in case, I readied my weapons.

I had no idea what might be inside.

I didn’t bother turning on the Light crystal orb.

Light was already entering the cave, probably because part of the ceiling was open.

"All right. Let’s go."

"Kyuu!"

Once I was ready, we entered the cave.

Wonmo seemed excited, bouncing around before suddenly dashing ahead.

I wanted to tell him not to run and to go slowly, but it was already too late.

If there was something else inside, he’d probably scream.

"Kyaaaaaak!!!"

Just like that.

Wonmo disappeared behind a boulder and immediately let out a terrified shriek.

I jumped in alarm and rushed over.

What came into view was an animal.

I barely paid attention to the countless bones scattered around it.

The only thing that made my mind go blank was the animal strangling Wonmo.

An unusually long pair of legs, a body slightly hunched forward, and a strangely melancholic expression.

Above all, even from a distance, I could clearly see the bulging muscles covering its upper body.

’A-A kangaroo?’

A kangaroo was holding Wonmo in a headlock with its thick arms.

Calling it a headlock was generous. Judging by the way Wonmo was struggling, it was practically strangling him.

I had no idea why there was a kangaroo in a forest, much less inside a cave, but rescuing Wonmo came first.

I rushed toward it and swung my sword.

It was threatening Wonmo, so I fully intended to kill it.

Swish!

But true to the animals of the Forest of Four Seasons, the kangaroo dodged easily.

It released the arm around Wonmo’s neck, but I couldn’t let my guard down.

Wonmo whimpered as he ran toward me.

’What the hell? Why is its body better than mine?’

I was dumbfounded by the kangaroo’s blatantly muscular physique.

The muscle mushroom had looked grotesque because of its bizarre limbs, so it hadn’t exactly struck me as impressively built.

But the kangaroo’s muscles bulged visibly beneath its skin, making me even more wary.

"..."

Grrrk—

The kangaroo stared at me for a while before slowly lowering its upper body.

Judging by the sound of force gathering in its powerful hind legs, it looked ready to charge.

I raised my shield in preparation.

Boom!

The kangaroo kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air.

It jumped so high that it cleared my head entirely.

I kept my eyes locked on it until the very moment it passed overhead.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The kangaroo landed behind me and fled toward the cave entrance.

Fortunately, it seemed it had no intention of fighting.

To think I’d live long enough to encounter a kangaroo in the middle of a forest.

I supposed only the Forest of Four Seasons could make something like this happen.

’There really are a lot of animals that crossed over from the other side of the river.’

Namu-Ppareumbo, who normally lived in the jungle.

That kangaroo just now.

And probably plenty of others.

They had likely crossed through one of those distorted spaces and ended up unable to return.

I let out a long breath and checked Wonmo’s condition.

"Kyuu... Kyuu..."

Apparently the chokehold had hurt quite a bit, because he clung tightly to my leg.

Maybe this was the first time in his life he had ever truly been hurt.

Even during the battle against the orichalcum Protector, he probably hadn’t felt this threatened.

"It’s okay. I’m here."

"Kyuu..."

I stroked Wonmo and reassured him.

Thanks to that, he gradually recovered his spirits.

Now that the kangaroo was gone, all that remained was to investigate the cave thoroughly.

Judging by the countless animal bones scattered everywhere, some kind of beast had once lived here.

’I don’t think that kangaroo was responsible for all this.’

Kangaroos were herbivores.

They might strangle animals with those massive arms, but they were still herbivores.

Of course, the Forest of Four Seasons might have changed it into a carnivore.

But the kangaroo had fled the cave as soon as I threatened it.

At the very least, that meant it didn’t recognize this place as its own "territory."

’Is that a nest?’

The bones weren’t the only thing worth noticing.

There was also a huge bird-like nest.

What made it even more interesting was that Wonmo walked over to it and lay down comfortably as if it were his own bed.

Every now and then, he made a sad little sound.

That gave me a pretty good idea of what this place was.

’So this was an owlbear cave.’

Even the nest itself was much larger than an oversized bed.

It was exactly the right size for an owlbear to lie in.

’Come to think of it, do owlbears normally build nests?’

I didn’t know, so I searched the gallery for information about owlbears.

Owlbears were apparently famous creatures, because there were plenty of posts about them.

And from those posts, I learned that owlbears did indeed have a habit of building nests inside caves.

I briefly thought about how many strange things existed in the world before continuing to inspect the cave.

Trickle, trickle—

A shallow stream flowed through the cave.

There were even tiny fish swimming in it, so the water seemed clean.

’I kind of want to move here.’

With sufficient defenses, this place could probably serve as a natural fortress.

But since part of the ceiling was open, rain would become a problem.

And the sheer size of the cave could also be a disadvantage.

Even large animals would be able to enter and move around easily.

"...Huh?"

I was looking around the nest when one particular bone among the many scattered around caught my eye.

Compared to all the animal bones, this one stood out immediately.

"..."

It was a human bone.

’Is that... a skull?’