I was tired of even saying, “Now I’ve seen everything.” Everything in the Forest of Four Seasons was an unsolved mystery.

The best thing to do was accept it quickly and move on. Hadn’t I met a talking gorilla just recently?

I should just... just go with the flow. And keep thorough records.

‘Why is everything I find so useless?’

What I needed was survival gear. Not these damn resources.

Sure, I could use them to make armor and all sorts of tools. But that would take far too long, and I didn’t even have a furnace.

They were too valuable to throw away, but of little use to me. Chipping tools out of them like some Paleolithic caveman wasn’t much of an option either.

‘It’s not like I can sell this stuff, either.’

I sighed. Apparently, mining all this mithril out wasn’t going to be possible.

Unless I literally cut out the entire floor, I would have to leave it alone.

Well, on the bright side, I had an unlimited supply of resources.

Once I had a furnace and the skills of a blacksmith, I couldn’t ask for more.

‘The problem is that we’re talking years, at a minimum.’

I sighed again and turned away. Either way, I had work to do.

My daily routine started in the morning. It was familiar by now: head up to the river, catch fish, and eat my fill.

For some reason, I only caught one fish today, which was a little disappointing.

‘Good thing I’ve got fish saved up.’

I still had plenty to spare. But if I kept catching only one at a time, that would become a problem.

After breakfast with my animal friends, I got to work.

First, I needed to give Gonna Be a Duke a mature mandrake.

After getting the mandrake, I would visit the orichalcum cave to collect some orichalcum as well.

I’d originally planned to use it for the door, but with that plan scrapped, I no longer needed it.

Still, having a few pieces couldn’t hurt, so I intended to keep some in reserve.

‘I’ll build the furnace after lunch.’

It looked like a job that would require both brains and muscle, so I was better off taking my time.

The dwarf had said molten metal was about as hot as lava. Mithril had a higher melting point, so it would be hotter still.

‘He said I’d need... charcoal too, right?’

Charcoal was essential for reaching higher temperatures. I needed a much hotter fire if I wanted to actually melt metal.

That alone made the task seem daunting, but there was one saving grace: the furnace’s size. Since all it needed to do was melt the material, it didn’t have to be large.

That didn’t mean I could let my guard down, though. I would be working with fire, the very definition of a double-edged sword.

‘Good thing I’ve been steadily collecting charcoal.’

I’d only used it for things like laundry and deodorizing. Who knew I’d end up using it in a furnace?

Charcoal truly was god-tier. It could do anything. I would have to work on making more.

Once I had everything ready, I set out to get a mature mandrake and some orichalcum.

As always, I had the speed-sloth hanging from my back and Roundfur, my adorable bodyguard, by my side.

THWACK! THUD! THWACK!

“Gweh! Gweeeh! Gwek!”

First up was the mature mandrake. I was well used to catching these now.

Calling it a capture method was generous when all I did was beat it up, but whatever.

After capturing the mature mandrake, I headed to the orichalcum cave.

Fortunately, I encountered no dangerous beasts along the way. It helped that I was following a familiar route and keeping a careful watch.

‘Orichalcum acquired. Does this stuff not need smelting either?’

The thought occurred to me as I picked up a few chunks lying on the ground.

Maybe it didn’t need any additional processing. Slutty Princess and King Leor had used theirs as soon as they received it.

Or maybe that was a property of orichalcum. I’d have to ask the dwarf.

Wild Grylls has registered an item for trade.

Here you go.

I hope things work out for you.

Gonna Be a Duke

Thank you so much!

May the goddess bless you!

After returning to the cave, I exchanged items with Gonna Be a Duke.

The mention of the goddess’s blessing made me wonder if they were from the Holy Kingdom.

‘Come to think of it, mature mandrakes trade just fine, don’t they?’

Did the system judge them to have no minds of their own?

These things didn’t just let out terrifying battle cries—they even acted as a group.

It was truly bizarre, but I decided not to question a good thing. Overthinking it would only give me a headache.

‘Not bad. Nice and sturdy.’

The shoes from Gonna Be a Duke emphasized durability, just as the video had shown.

They were so sturdy that they outperformed the shoes made by the dwarf’s friend. The trade-off was that they were less comfortable to use.

‘Still, they’re just what I need.’

I would wear the dwarf’s shoes in places I’d already explored and Gonna Be a Duke’s shoes when exploring somewhere new.

That seemed like a good way to divide their uses. I could wear sneakers inside the cave.

‘I should get one more pair.’

Since the two pairs served different purposes, I needed a spare as well.

I immediately posted on the forum. People might think I was done looking.

Looking for one more pair of shoes

Wild Grylls

I’ve received the shoes from Passing Dwarf and Gonna Be a Duke, and they’re great.

But I’ll be using them for different purposes, so I think I need another pair as a spare.

As before, I’ll give a mature mandrake to whoever provides a suitable spare pair.

└Heavenly Demon When do you intend to give me my sword?

└Wild Grylls I-I’ll get it to you soon!

└Heavenly Demon I jest. There is no need to hurry. Take your time.

└Sword Masta What are you giving her?

└Heavenly Demon He says he will personally forge me a sword of true silver.

└Sword Masta Ha, shit. That actually makes me jealous. Even I’ve never used a mithril sword...

└Heavenly Demon Hmph. Perhaps you ought to have been more generous?

└Sword Masta I gave him Elixir too, you know!

└Wild Grylls Heavenly Demon gave me her own sword, so I’m giving her one in return. Would you like one too, Sword Masta?

└Heavenly Demon You shameless fool. You said that knowing he would offer.

└Sword Masta Honestly, it’s tempting, but I’m good. Unlike someone, I’m plenty strong with a cheap sword lol

└Heavenly Demon I have a ban hammer in my hand.

└Sword Masta You fucking bitch.

└Wait, Grylls is making it himself? Wasn’t he asking the dwarf?

└Passing Dwarf That was the plan, but the mana concentration in the mithril was too high, so I gave it back. It’ll explode the moment it melts.

└Is the orichalcum okay?

└Passing Dwarf Yeah. Orichalcum’s fine because it absorbs mana. But only orichalcum.

└So Grylls was handing out bombs?

└Looks like he was plotting an assassination

└Wild Grylls I didn’t know either... That’s why I have to make it myself

└Slutty Princess I’m getting good use out of the orichalcum you gave me! The security recording orb I mentioned yesterday is ready, so just let me know whenever you want it.

└Wild Grylls Will do.

The moment I saw Slutty Princess’s comment, I sent a message.

I planned to give her orichalcum in return. The more she had, the better.

Slutty Princess

Tap the orb twice, and it’ll open like an eye.

Just think of it as watching in that direction.

Thank you.

How do I watch the recordings?

Slutty Princess

Tap it twice again to close the eye, then tap it three times.

Press and hold to watch what it recorded.

Be careful, though! Recordings are automatically deleted once you watch them!

I’ll be careful.

And thank you.

Slutty Princess

And what do you say if you’re grateful?

Here’s hoping Chae U wins next season!

Slutty Princess

Hehe, very good.

I examined the CCTV orb Slutty Princess had given me.

It was mostly a dark, almost black purple, and about the size of my face.

‘Should I hang it up like a block of fermenting soybeans?’

Installing this thing would be a job in itself. Still, I would be staying in the cave all day, so I had no immediate need for it.

After looking it over, I tapped the CCTV orb twice.

It snapped open.

“Whoa.”

Just as Slutty Princess had explained, it opened like an eye. A reptile’s eye.

Just looking at it was frightening. It gave off a powerful sense of, “I’m watching you closely.”

TAP, TAP, TAP.

When I tapped it three times, the eye quietly closed. Then I pressed down firmly with a finger.

FWIP!

A holographic window appeared with a sound.

The hologram showed my face, viewed from above.

“Wow.”

My skin really had improved. There wasn’t a single blemish to be found.

I stared at the hologram for a while, then shut it off.

Now that I knew how the CCTV worked, it was time to train. I couldn’t skip even a single day.

‘I’m going to start eating inner cores today too.’

I intended to get the second formula from Heavenly Demon.

Roughly speaking, it was about reading the flow rather than entrusting my body to heaven.

I was worried the wording would be harder to understand than the first formula’s, but that was fine.

If I didn’t understand, I could just keep working at it. I hadn’t expected it to be easy.

‘I’ll eat the inner core after lunch, once I’ve had time to digest.’

The fish had effects similar to spiritual elixirs too.

Taking an inner core immediately after lunch might result in an overdose.

I needed to avoid danger wherever possible, so it was better to wait until I’d digested my food.

‘I also need to get a crab for the dwarf.’

It was a busy day in every respect. I couldn’t put anything off.

In that case, I should get to work now. Once I’d eaten lunch, I planned to start on the furnace right away.

It didn’t have to be large. All it had to do was melt the mithril.

I would need to get the various materials from the dwarf, though.

The most important was heat-resistant stone. It would have to withstand temperatures above 1,000 degrees.

‘He said he’d give me that.’

He’d also said he would provide bellows to pump in air. He really was supplying all the materials.

When I asked if he was sure about this, he said getting to sharpen a mithril sword was enough for him.

Every time he did something like this, I thought how very dwarflike he was.

Two fish flopped about in the trap when I went up to the river. That was a relief, at least.

Afterward, I cooked them in the oven, ate, and began getting ready.

But first, there was something I needed to check: the mithril at the back of the cave.

Infinitely regenerating mithril was nice, but there was something I wanted to know.

‘How exactly does it restore itself?’

Its regenerative abilities were incredible, like a planarian’s.

What’s more, it had regenerated only as far as the section I had mined yesterday.

I also wondered where its heart was. I was afraid it might wake up like a guardian.

‘Let’s stay on our toes.’

I had quite a few chunks of mithril from yesterday’s mining.

Now I just needed to melt them down and pour the metal into a mold.

Satisfied that everything was ready, I messaged the dwarf.

Hey. You there?

Passing Dwarf

I’m here.

Did you catch a crab?

I’ll build the furnace first, then go catch one.

Also, I want some advice.

Passing Dwarf

What kind of advice?

Mithril’s an incredibly rare mineral, right?

Passing Dwarf

Rare doesn’t begin to cover it.

With all the mines in the world, why else would finding it make the papers?

Orichalcum too?

Passing Dwarf

Yeah. Most of it ends up at the Mage Tower, but it’s on par with mithril.

For the record, the papers went nuts when you discovered that orichalcum cave.

So that was how big a deal it was. Stuck here, I knew nothing about what was happening outside.

Occasionally, people mentioned something being in the papers, but I hadn’t paid attention. I’d assumed they were shitposting.

Passing Dwarf

So why are you asking?

Trying to rub it in?

Nah, I want an expert’s opinion.

Passing Dwarf

Hmm. You know what’s what.

What would you ask of me, ignorant mortal?

Fuck...

Maybe I should find another dwarf.

Passing Dwarf

You won’t find many metallurgy specialists among the dwarves who browse this forum lol

Ugh.

So, you know how I’ve got mithril and orichalcum right now?

Passing Dwarf

Are you bragging?

Let me finish.

What do you think would happen if I melted them together and made a sword?

An alloy of one rare mineral and another. That was what I wanted.

There was so much of the stuff around me that I could practically trip over it, so it didn’t do much for me.

But someone outside—especially a dwarf—would have a very different reaction.

Passing Dwarf

An alloy?

You’re going to combine mithril and orichalcum?

Yeah. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Passing Dwarf

Holy shit, that’s like making fried rice with caviar lmao

The dwarf laughed as though the idea was absurd, but...

Passing Dwarf

Let’s try it right now.

Do you need anything?

Tell me what you need.

I’ll get it all for you.

Good idea, right?

Passing Dwarf

My balls are quivering right now.

That’s fucking disgusting...

He was a dwarf through and through.