With the trade cooldown vote underway, I got to work, starting with setting the fish trap back in the river and moving on to tool maintenance.

I paid particular attention to Heavenly Demon's sword. Having this sword or not directly affected my chances of survival.

But how often did you ever have to maintain a sword in everyday life? The closest I'd come was sharpening a kitchen knife, so I was extra careful.

Dwarf, help

Wild Grylls

I want to maintain my sword. Any tips on how?

└Passing Dwarf For free?

└Wild Grylls You rotten...

└Passing Dwarf Give me my crabs first lol

└Wild Grylls Oh, right. You'll give me tips if I bring crabs?

└Passing Dwarf Not just tips. I'll throw in oiling paper and a whetstone.

└Wild Grylls Ooh...

└Passing Dwarf But no crabs, no deal.

└Wild Grylls I fought a guardian and a bunch of otters. Can't you cut me some slack?

└Passing Dwarf If you're really tired, tomorrow is fine. But then I want three.

└Wild Grylls Okay...

I'd better just go. I was a little tired, but fetching some crabs wouldn't be hard.

Running my cultivation method had quickly replenished the mana the guardian had absorbed. Maybe it was because the Forest of Four Seasons was so rich in mana, but a few breaths were enough to recharge.

'I haven't maintained the sword at all.'

I should at least start doing it regularly now. If neglect caused it to fail at a critical moment, I'd be in serious trouble.

Once I was more or less ready, I looked around the cave. Roundfur was napping, perhaps because he'd polished off an entire fish with ease. As always, the speed-sloth stared at me with a completely relaxed expression.

"I'm going out for a bit. Look after Roundfur."

"..."

After leaving the speed-sloth those instructions, I blocked the entrance with the iron fence. That would keep Roundfur from escaping outside even if he woke up while I was gone.

'Elixir, fasting pills, smoked meat, crossbow... Got everything.'

I even had the World Tree gloves from Let's Grow Trees and a backpack for the crabs. Everything was ready.

Still, I'd already fought twice today, so I intended to avoid fighting whenever possible. Especially since the injuries I'd received from the guardian hadn't quite healed yet.

Of course, if a beast cornered me, I'd have no choice.

'If things get bad, I'll distract it with the smoked meat.'

It might be salty as hell, but it was still meat. Using it as bait while I slipped away should buy me some time.

'If it spits it out because it's too salty, well... '

I didn't know. It had to be better than fasting pills, right?

I checked my equipment again and took a sip of Elixir. The faint twinges in my stomach eased a little.

Time to leave. I wasn't exploring; all I had to do was get crabs.

There was just one thing.

'Following the river downstream would be easy.'

The problem was not knowing what might jump out of it. Hadn't a pack of otters I'd never seen before shown up just earlier? There might be crocodiles or something, so I walked a little way back from the river.

'This is where I met that iguana last time, right?'

A massive iguana, at that. It had been as big as a crocodile. Luckily, it was a coward and ran as soon as it saw me, though we'd crossed paths again later. It had grabbed the mosquito I'd killed and scurried off.

I followed the familiar riverside route toward the lakeshore where the crabs lived.

RUSHHH...

The closer I got to the lake, the wider the river became. Not quite the Han River... but a sizable stretch of lower river all the same.

There would be far more fish here than upstream, where the current was strong.

WHOOSH! SPLASH!

There were even whales, which I'd thought I'd only ever see at sea. I'd seen them here before, but I still couldn't believe it.

At this rate, there'd be sharks in the river too. In the Forest of Four Seasons, that wasn't impossible.

"Huh?"

As I followed the river downstream, feeling rather deflated, I spotted a deer drinking from it. Not the spirit deer I'd seen that morning, but an ordinary deer. Judging by the antlers, it seemed to be male. Pretty big antlers, too.

'I'd better make some noise on purpose.'

Who was it that said herbivores were more dangerous than carnivores in the wild? Unlike with carnivores, people often let their guard down around herbivores and ended up dead.

Better to make my presence known without needlessly provoking it.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Despite my deliberately loud footsteps, the deer didn't budge. It merely glanced in my direction before going back to drinking.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering if the bastard was ignoring me.

WHOOOOSH!

Something enormous burst out of the river. Its wide-open maw was lined with teeth the size of my fists, and its body dwarfed the deer.

I hadn't sensed it at all and jumped in fright, but it only took a moment to recognize it.

'Holy shit. There really are sharks?!'

It was a shark. An absolutely gigantic shark, big enough to swallow a deer in one bite.

But where was I? The Forest of Four Seasons, where even a speed-sloth was strong.

As if it had anticipated this, the deer abruptly stopped drinking and spun halfway around, lashing out with its hind legs at the shark's open jaws.

CRACK!

The deer's kick struck the shark squarely on the nose. A shark's nose was one of its well-known weak spots. And it had just taken a deer's back kick?

SPLAT!

The shark sprawled on the riverbank after taking that perfect counter. It wasn't moving at all; it seemed to be unconscious.

The deer went back to gulping down river water as if nothing had happened.

"..."

A deer drinking beside an unconscious shark. What kind of combination was this?

I edged onward, keeping a wary eye on the deer. Fortunately, it seemed uninterested in me and didn't so much as glance my way.

'... Let's post this on the forum. Maybe deer are just strong in this world.'

With things like spirit deer around, it wasn't entirely impossible.

I took a picture that clearly captured both the drinking deer and the unconscious shark beside it.

A deer took down a shark

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a deer drinking beside an unconscious shark)

A shark jumped out of the river at a deer, and the deer knocked it out with a back kick.

Can deer in this world beat sharks?

└Heavenly Demon It appears to be a deer with profound internal energy. Be careful.

└Wild Grylls Like with the speed-sloth, you can sense that just from a photo?

└Heavenly Demon Are you ignoring the shark beside it?

└Wild Grylls Ohhh.

└Sword Masta Wow. Even I've never killed a shark. Fascinating. Don't sharks normally live in the sea?

└Wild Grylls This river has whales as well as sharks, you know?

└Sword Masta What an absolutely insane forest.

└Allfather A bull shark. They can travel between the ocean and rivers. Saltwater crocodiles are similar in that respect.

└Wild Grylls Then what's that deer?

└Allfather Just a deer. Apparently a fucking strong one.

└Wild Grylls ...;;

└My whole understanding of the world is falling apart. Is that for real?

└Okay, fine, sharks in the river, but what the hell is that deer lol

└First the speed-sloth, now this. Why are herbivores so strong? What even is this?

└Seriously insane forest lmaooo

So the deer was abnormal after all. There was nothing wrong with my common sense.

I closed the forum and glanced behind me, wondering what the deer was doing.

"Snort."

"..."

Oh my. When had this bastard gotten behind me?

I froze at the sight of the deer, which had approached without a sound or any hint of its presence. Its body only came up to my eye level, but those antlers made it incredibly intimidating.

'Am... am I f*ed?'

I eased backward, bracing myself. The deer gazed quietly at me, then gave a loud snort and turned away.

It padded into the forest without even making a footstep. Before long, it had vanished entirely among the trees.

"Whew..."

I let out a long breath. That had nearly scared me to death.

How could a mere deer be so intimidating? I felt like I would've lost if we'd fought. Sure, it had hit a weak spot, but even a shark had been knocked out by its back kick.

No, before that, reacting to a shark ambushing it from the river and dodging was already insane.

'When will I be able to react to something like that?'

The reality was that I could barely react to the speed-sloth's attacks. I could at least block them with my shield, but I had a long way to go.

Sighing at the Forest of Four Seasons, which felt stranger the more I learned about it, I continued walking.

BOOM! BANG!

I was almost at the lakeshore when a loud noise reached my ears. It was coming from the lake, exactly like the sound of a building being demolished.

'What's that?'

I'd never heard that sound in the forest before, and it puzzled me. Once I reached the lakeshore, I discovered its source.

CRUNCH! BOOM! CRASH!

You know those movies where giant monsters fight? Monster movies where unnaturally huge animals or enormous creatures battle each other and destroy everything around them?

I was watching one in real life. Live.

'... What's that now? A crayfish?'

I'd seen a crab the size of an apartment building before. But this was my first time seeing a crayfish that size.

And the two were trading blows with their claws. Watching a giant-monster showdown in reality instead of a movie left me dumbfounded.

CLANG!

As I watched blankly, the giant crayfish's claw slammed into the giant crab's face. A piece of shell broke off and flew straight toward me.

My eyes widened as it loomed larger and larger, and I hastily raised my shield.

CLAAANG!

"Ugh?!"

A bell-like crash rang out as I flew backward. The force was unbelievable.

My only consolation was that I'd blocked properly and broken my fall, avoiding serious injury. Groaning, I staggered to my feet.

"What the..."

That hard piece of shell might as well have been a chunk of concrete.

Did I really have to go where those things were fighting? Surely even the dwarf would cut me some slack for this.

But I should strike while the iron was hot, and it was hard to turn back empty-handed after coming all this way.

I'd squeeze everything I could out of the dwarf in return. I took a few photos and a video, all for posting on the forum later, of course. I was curious how he'd react.

'Just grab the crabs and get back.'

Even while the crab and crayfish fought, the small crabs were going about their business. In other words, eating something off the ground. I spotted broken bits of shell scattered around.

They were probably eating the shell fragments shed during the giants' fight. Here and there, I also saw crabs crushed and burst open under those fragments.

CRASH!

"Eek!"

A piece of shell landed right beside me as I picked up a crab. I hurriedly grabbed crabs in both hands and bolted.

I wanted to gather more, but there was no time. A piece of shell could land on my head at any moment. This godforsaken forest.

"Huff. Huff."

Only after running much farther away than where the shell had landed did I feel safe. The crabs in my hands were squirming desperately, as if trying to escape.

I put them in my backpack and steadied my breathing.

'Now I just have to get back.'

BOOM! CRASH!

I tried to ignore the sound of something exploding behind me. Honestly, though, that was difficult. Shell fragments could fly all the way to where I was.

I headed back to the hideout, checking behind me every time I heard a loud crash. Two fights were already enough, and now I'd starred in a disaster movie(?) too. I felt utterly drained.

"Ughhh..."

"..."

When I returned to the cave and practically collapsed onto my back, the speed-sloth patted me.

You're the only one here to comfort me in person. Thank you, really.

I gave the speed-sloth a fasting pill and opened the forum. I was going to tell everyone everything I'd been through.

Dwarf. Got your crabs.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a giant crab and giant crayfish squaring off)

(Photo of shell fragments broken off in the fight)

(Video of the giant crab and giant crayfish fighting)

I barely managed to get them through these bastards' fight. I hope you appreciate what I went through...

└Heavenly Demon You are having rare experiences even I have never known. Incidentally, what on earth is fighting that crab?

└Sword Masta Isn't it a crayfish? It looks like one, at least.

└Heavenly Demon) I have never seen a crayfish that large.

└Sword Masta It's not just you, moderator. None of us have...;;

└Passing Dwarf Wow... What the hell are those things? Is that the lake you went to last time?

└Wild Grylls Yeah. They were fighting when I got there. Territorial dispute, maybe?

└Passing Dwarf That's insane. So where are the crabs?

└Wild Grylls (Photo of crabs in the backpack) Here. Aren't you worried about me?

└Passing Dwarf Want me to be?

└Wild Grylls Forget it.

└Are there any monsters or animals in the world bigger than those?

└Right there.

└Outside the Forest of Four Seasons, dumbass.

└There probably are... but wouldn't most of them be considered legendary creatures?

└Dragons, at least, though they're even bigger than those.

└Deer that beat sharks, crabs and crayfish as big as buildings lmao. What even is that place lol

└For real, it's like an onion. Peel back another layer and more weird shit comes out lmao

As expected, the forum was full of rave reviews(?). Something about how they'd gotten to see a rare sight thanks to me.

But I'd barely survived yet another day, so I couldn't join in the excitement.

'I'm completely spent.'

I already didn't want to do anything, and now I wanted to do even less.

That was it for today's exploring. I absolutely wasn't going outside again.

'... Didn't I have some tobacco?'

Suddenly, I remembered the World Tree tobacco Let's Grow Trees had given me. I was so exhausted that I wanted something in my mouth. But I couldn't just eat my supplies. The tobacco would be perfect.

'I thought I'd never smoke in my life... '

Was this how smokers felt? I'd never even smoked in the military, and here I was about to start.

I took one out of the box and examined it. It looked like an ordinary cigar. The leaves were probably World Tree leaves.

It was supposed to be incredibly expensive tobacco. Just how good were its effects? Suddenly, I was curious.

'Light it with the ignition stone.'

CRACKLE! CLICK!

I held the ignition stone to the tip, and smoke began curling upward. As soon as it did, I hesitated briefly, then slowly drew it in.

Tobacco smoke was normally harsh, and cigar smoke was much harsher still. Yet the World Tree tobacco felt cool rather than harsh.

It was definitely something like peppermint, but so many times cooler that all I could feel was that refreshing coolness. On top of that, energy began returning to my weary body.

'... It tastes good.'

It tasted really good.