The sight of my yard swept clean left me feeling miserable, but I tried to think positively. I would learn from this and prepare properly next time. What wouldn't I do to survive this goddamn forest?

I'd ask the dwarf about replacing the barricade and stock up on materials for the furnace and oven first. Having already built them once, I could restore them without much trouble as long as I retained access to the forum.

'And yet that sapling survived.'

Everything else had been swept away, but the sapling Let's Grow Trees had given me stood firm. I was intensely curious about what kind of tree it was, but I let it go. Surviving was a good thing.

'Preparing for disasters should come first.'

These weren't mere changes in the weather. Each one was practically a disaster. This was a place where even avalanches happened despite the seemingly impossible terrain. As someone had said, spring might bring sandstorms rather than yellow dust.

'I'll make an emergency exit and hold off on building anything else until winter passes.'

It was my first winter, and in the Forest of Four Seasons, no less. I had a mountain of work ahead of me. Overwhelmed, I sighed and turned my head toward the grave of my esteemed predecessor.

'How on earth did that guy survive?'

He had definitely lived here longer than me. The length of his diary made that clear. It would contain his experiences up until his death following the conflict with the gorilla.

'They should have finished translating it by now, right?'

I'd entrusted the translation to Allfather and Necromancy Is Love. So far, though, I'd learned nothing beyond the stories about the Undying King and the gorilla. It was a shame. Knowing from that journal that winter would arrive early would have been nice.

'I should ask.'

I planned to hole up in the cave until the season changed anyway. I might as well take this opportunity to ask. Allfather first.

Allfather.

Are you there?

Allfather

What is it?

You know those records from the Vulcan Kingdom I gave you?

Have you finished translating them?

Allfather

Not all of them.

Some of the vocabulary was used exclusively by the Vulcan royal family, which is slowing things down.

That was understandable. I hadn't asked for real-time updates, and pestering people wasn't my style. Still, he must have uncovered a few important facts by now. I went straight to my question.

Was there anything about the seasons changing abruptly?

Allfather

There was.

He experienced winter arriving in an instant too, just as you did, Grylls.

Just as I'd expected. My esteemed predecessor had experienced the same phenomenon. That proved even this lousy forest followed some rules.

Were there any warning signs?

Allfather

Apparently, there was a mass movement of animals the day before.

He writes that he gave them a warm welcome.

That made me feel a little embarrassed. But with precedents like the raccoon the speed-sloth had sliced apart, I hadn't had a choice. Besides, the group I'd encountered had been ready to take over my shelter if it came to that.

Anyway, now that I knew a definite warning sign, all that remained was finding out how long winter lasted. Even a few months would be depressing. Years would be horrific. Praying it wouldn't be that, I asked Allfather.

Does it say how long winter lasts?

Allfather

Yes.

Winter itself doesn't last long.

He said the weather warmed up after about five days.

That's a relief.

Allfather

There's also a description saying all four seasons occur within a single month.

You should keep that in mind.

What kind of premature-ejaculation excuse for four seasons was this? Unbelievable. Still, aside from winter, the other seasons had all been livable, so I wasn't worried.

'With weather like this, no wonder dumb animals can't survive.'

They either needed exceptional innate instincts like Roundfur or brains like the raccoons. One or the other. Otherwise, they couldn't survive intact in this forest. The most dangerous thing here wasn't the predators. It was the environment itself.

Allfather

Ah.

There's also some information you should take seriously.

It's about the gorillas in the jungle.

The gorillas?

Allfather

Yes.

It seems there's an individual that broke away from the group.

The gorilla you encountered only gave you a warning, but the one that attacked this man apparently struck without preamble.

That sounds ominous.

Allfather

I don't know what the situation is now, but you should be careful.

According to the records, its fur is white, unlike the other gorillas'.

Its eyes are also said to be blood-red.

White fur and red eyes only brought albinism to mind. I'd have to consider the possibility that it really was an albino. With coloring that stood out more than other animals', an albino would have lower odds of survival. If such an animal was still alive, it would have to be tremendously powerful.

'It might have an even nastier temper than the gorilla chief.'

As a mutant, it might be particularly aggressive. If this one had learned martial arts too, I'd have a real problem. It would be a tough fight.

'The trouble is, I don't know where it might turn up.'

I hadn't seen any with white fur yet. Nodding at Allfather's information, I decided to ask if there were any other dangers.

Is there anything else I should watch out for?

Allfather

Not so much a warning as something unusual.

Apparently, this man originally couldn't use mana. He had a condition called mana insensitivity.

Mana insensitivity?

Allfather

Yes.

It's a congenital condition that prevents a person from accumulating mana.

Yet he says he gradually accumulated it while living in the Forest of Four Seasons.

Does that mean he evolved too?

Allfather

I can't say for sure.

Apparently, he ate anything he could get his hands on to survive, and at some point he became able to use mana.

Allfather explained it this way: my esteemed predecessor had been unable to accumulate mana because of a disease, whereas I, being from another world, had been unable to accept mana at all. Either way, it still meant the herbs scattered throughout the Forest of Four Seasons had frighteningly potent effects.

Do you know what herbs he ate?

That sounds like important information.

Allfather

Unfortunately, I don't.

He says he was eating indiscriminately in an attempt to kill himself, so he neither identified nor recorded them properly.

Yikes.

Allfather

He could have simply eaten mushrooms if he wanted to die. What an odd fellow.

Ho ho ho.

Sir?

Allfather

I'm joking.

In any case, even the weeds seem comparable to medicinal herbs, so it might be worth pulling up whatever you find and testing it.

Hearing that even the weeds were medicinal gave me hope. But some of them would surely be poisonous, so I'd have to be careful.

I see.

Could I ask you to analyze some weeds?

I'll send you a few.

Allfather

I'm sorry, but I'm going to be rather busy.

I have some outside activities planned.

Oh. I see.

I'll ask someone else, then.

Even without Allfather, I had Starlight Lady. If she couldn't help either, well... I'd have to figure it out myself. Once I determined their effects, I planned to give them to Heavenly Demon immediately. That should get Speedy's food ready a little sooner.

I'd ended my conversation with Allfather and was browsing the forum when it happened.

Necromancy Is Love

Save me.

Sorry?

Necromancy Is a Spirit

Keep talking to Allfather, I tell you.

Is something wrong?

It was a strange message from Necromancy Is Love. I asked what was going on but received no reply. I considered asking Allfather again, then left it alone. If it were truly urgent, he would have posted on the forum instead of messaging me.

'There really are all kinds of weirdos out there.'

I shrugged it off and focused on real life. If the seasons changed once a week, I just had to prepare accordingly. Besides, today was day two, so I only had to hold out for another three or four days.

'Would this make farming difficult?'

I'd planned to try farming if necessary, but it looked like that might be difficult. The seasons changed weekly, not even monthly. Plants would struggle to endure that. Or perhaps crops would grow rapidly too, like that sapling had before.

'Even if I stockpile crops, I'll need to store them properly...'

Storage was the biggest problem. Meat could simply be salted and smoked, but crops would rot easily if left unattended. I couldn't help worrying.

'I'd need something like a refrigerator for storage, but that's impossible. Maybe ice instead... Wait. Ice?'

The moment the word ice came to mind, I jerked my head up. I checked the time on the forum. It was only two o'clock. Plenty of time. I hurried to my feet, armed myself, and ran outside. Speedy was taking good care of Roundfur, so I didn't need to worry.

I arrived at the river, frozen solid by the sudden change in seasons. Ice, perfect for preserving food, was sitting right here. Why hadn't I realized it before?

'I can't just start hauling it back. I need to build a storage box or an icehouse first.'

My ancestors had harvested ice each winter and stored it in icehouses. I planned to do the same. With the animals less active during winter, gathering ice should be easy enough as long as I kept a careful watch.

I leaned forward to see how much the river had frozen. The abrupt temperature change had turned it into a river of transparent ice.

'I have four days at most. I need an icehouse, or at least a storage box, by then.'

However good salting was for preservation, it couldn't compare to a refrigerator. Crops and fruit would keep better somewhere cool too, so this seemed like a good opportunity to build one.

With my mind made up, I returned to the shelter and posted on the forum. I knew the historical fact that my ancestors had used stone icehouses, but nothing about how they actually worked.

Anyone know how to build a stone icehouse?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the river frozen solid)

Thinking of building one of those stone icehouses my ancestors used. Got a frozen river right out front, so it should work out.

└Sword Masta An icehouse? Would you like a well-insulated box? You could put ice in that.

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

└Sword Masta Not a bad choice. But couldn't you take your time building it?

└Wild Grylls The diary said the seasons change every week. That alone makes it worth doing whatever I can while it's winter.

└Sword Masta Those are some flimsy seasons.

└Passing Dwarf Icehouse? Haven't heard that word in fucking ages. Refrigerators were invented in my father's day.

└Wild Grylls Know how to make one?

└Passing Dwarf The principle's simple. It's just the actual construction that's hard. I'll post instructions soon.

└Wild Grylls Thanks, thanks.

└Aren't there still quite a few icehouses around?

└Plenty in rural areas that haven't urbanized. Even they're getting refrigerators these days, though.

The dwarf had promised instructions, so all that remained was waiting. This disaster had royally fucked me over, but it had also given me an opportunity. I was beginning to realize that winter wasn't just a season to brace myself against.

'The avalanche came from behind the cave, so I should put the entrance here.'

While waiting for the dwarf to explain the stone icehouse's design and construction, I got started on other chores. First, logging. Wood was an absolute necessity for getting through winter.

"Huh?"

I was hard at work cutting trees when something caught my eye behind a fallen trunk. The smaller plants were buried in snow, but this one alone stood upright. It was a blue flower, like an ice crystal that had blossomed. I wondered whether it was frozen solid or naturally looked that way.

'What's this?'

Questions were best taken to the forum, of course. I immediately snapped a photo and made a post.

Found a cool flower.

Wild Grylls

(A plant resembling an ice crystal turned into a flower)

Found this while cutting trees. Anyone know what it is?

└Starlight Lady Oh. That looks like a Snowfrost Flower.

└Wild Grylls What's that?

└Starlight Lady If you absorb it completely, you should gain resistance to cold.

└Wild Grylls Oh...!

└Starlight Lady But if you just eat it, your whole body will freeze solid.

└Wild Grylls Oh...