A day of doing nothing—no, being unable to do anything—had passed. A day spent holed up in the cave because the rain had come down in near-torrents.

With no smartphone and only the forum to keep me entertained, I felt like I had spent the entire day browsing. I had squeezed in cultivation practice, basic drills, and other training whenever I had a spare moment, but I couldn't shake the boredom.

'But that's over now.'

I looked up at the clear, cloudless sky and took a deep breath. Perhaps because of the rain, the scent of earth was stronger than usual. It smelled wonderful.

Thanks to yesterday's drainage work, there weren't any puddles around the cave, either. Without that drainage channel, it would have been a filthy mess. I couldn't help feeling proud.

The rain stopped!

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a clear, cloudless sky)

(Photo of wet ground)

Looks like I can explore again!

First, though, I need to get ready to set up the fish trap...

└Heavenly Demon You've been through much. It is about time I gave you your fasting pills as well.

└Wild Grylls Thank you! About how many are there?

└Heavenly Demon Enough to last you a month or two with ease. I would like to give you a year's supply, but my aide tells me we lack the ingredients.

└Wild Grylls That's more than enough to be grateful for! Could you thank your aide for me? I can give them an inner core if they'd like.

└Heavenly Demon Very well. Since it is your request, my honored friend, I shall consider it.

└Smart Demonic Cultist You've got another inner core? When did you catch something?

└Wild Grylls I find one every time I catch a fish.

└Smart Demonic Cultist So how many cores have you collected so far?

└Wild Grylls About four or five, I think? But I heard their energy fades over time, so I'll probably eat them soon.

└Smart Demonic Cultist If I give you a container to preserve them, can you give me one core?

└Wild Grylls As long as you don't scam me, I can spare one.

└Smart Demonic Cultist Okay, sit tight.

└Heavenly Demon You could simply ask me rather than that fellow.

└Wild Grylls What's the harm? Think of it as expanding my network.

└Passing Dwarf Are you ignoring me?

└Wild Grylls Fish or crabs are enough for you, though.

└Passing Dwarf You know me well. Now hurry up and take this trap so you can offer me fish.

└Wild Grylls God, you're so damn annoying lol.

└Passing Dwarf ?

└Wild Grylls Naturally, sir. I'll bring them right over.

└Every single time lmao.

└Grylls is definitely the dwarf's slave until he escapes lol.

Even with the rain over, there was plenty to do. Most importantly, I had to reinstall the fish trap. That would probably eat up the entire morning. Even aside from the trap, I had plenty of work.

'I need to check the drainage channel again, too.'

Yesterday's work had only been a temporary fix. I'd cleared away some dirt and called it a day. But the downpour had collapsed sections of the sides, leaving pools of water here and there. At the very least, I needed to shore up the drainage channel properly. I could pick up the materials at the auction house.

Passing Dwarf has listed an item for trade.

Passing Dwarf

One fish. You know the deal, right?

You'd squeeze blood from a stone, you bastard.

Passing Dwarf

Okay, two fish.

Have mercy, boss.

Passing Dwarf

Kidding. Send one when you can spare it.

I have a conscience, too.

What's in your right hand right now?

Passing Dwarf

I'm at the mine, you asshole.

Okay, I'll believe you.

That took care of getting a replacement fish trap from the dwarf.

Heavenly Demon

Tell me if you need more fasting pills.

I shall inform my aide at once.

Doesn't this cost a lot of money?

Heavenly Demon

I imagine so.

But my aide will handle the finances.

I'll send you an inner core now, so please tell them to put it toward the cost...

Heavenly Demon

Understood. I shall tell my aide right away.

And that took care of getting fasting pills from Heavenly Demon. No one was happier about the new supply than the speed-sloth. Its eyes went round when a sack full of fasting pills suddenly popped out of thin air. Considering its eyes were usually little more than slits, I could guess how it felt.

"Well? What do you think of my power?"

"..."

"... Right. I'm an idiot for showing off."

The speed-sloth obviously thought of me as a tree anyway. A tree that spontaneously produced food, at that. Today must have cemented that impression.

"Speedy."

"..."

"Please don't cut open the goose that lays the golden eggs."

Because I was that goose. I left that part unsaid. There was no way the speed-sloth would understand the saying, anyway; I was mostly just grumbling. In any case, I had everything I needed from the registered users. Now it was time to work.

"Mm, mm. Salty. So salty."

"Nom, nom, nom, nom."

First, though, I needed breakfast. Smoked meat was on the menu this morning. All I had to do was toast it over the campfire until it warmed through. All the meat I'd salted had finished smoking now. I had enough food to last roughly a month, plus the fasting pills.

'But no people.'

What could I do? My only option was to escape. Once I'd eaten, I got back to work on the drainage channel. I shoveled out dirt to drain the standing water and shaped the sides as carefully as I could to keep them from collapsing.

'I could line the bottom with cut stone, right?'

Naturally, I planned to find the stone at the auction house or ask the dwarf for it. I wouldn't be doing that right away, though. The fish trap came first. Setting it up would take at least thirty minutes, so it was better to get an early start.

'I'll have to hunt frogs for the first time in a while, too.'

I hadn't provoked the golden frogs lately, so I didn't even know how they were doing. Having received all my medicine from Allfather, I hadn't felt much need to hunt them.

'I think I need a pair of work boots, too.'

The shoes the dwarf's friend had made were waterproof, but there was no way to stop water from getting in through the openings. I couldn't exactly take them off before wading in, so I decided to put up with it for today. If necessary, I could dry them thoroughly by the campfire. Not a bad plan.

"All right. Let's go."

"Kyuu!"

With the speed-sloth on my back, I headed to the river with Roundfur. He must have been feeling good today, because he kept bouncing around me. How could he be so cute? I walked on with a fond smile.

ROOOOOSH!

When we arrived, the river's flow had visibly diminished compared to during the rain. But aside from the lower water, something else caught my eye: fish flopping about.

"Huh?"

"Kyuuuu!"

While I stood there in surprise, Roundfur scampered off with shining eyes. He was too fast for me to stop, but that didn't matter. Fish were scattered all around the river. Apparently, they'd ridden yesterday's floodwaters out and failed to make it back.

'What a windfall!'

There were more than five fish lying near the river, flopping weakly. Three were the Forest of Four Seasons' extra-large variety. The others were a bit smaller. But one stood out as particularly unusual.

"Do eels live in rivers, too?" I muttered to myself. Among all the flopping fish, there was exactly one eel. True to the Forest of Four Seasons, it was enormous—well over a meter long.

'It's a little creepy.'

Its snakelike appearance was a little unsettling. But this was eel we were talking about. Wasn't it famous for boosting that sexual stamina men were so obsessed with? ... Not that I had anywhere to put that stamina to use, stranded in the Forest of Four Seasons, but still. I could just channel that energy elsewhere.

"Nom, nom, nom."

Roundfur apparently wasn't interested in the big fish, since he started with the smaller ones lying about. He'd only just eaten, so he seemed to be treating them as snacks. Meanwhile, I put on my World Tree gloves and loaded the fish into the trap. This unexpected little bit of good fortune was just the thing to lift my spirits.

WHAP!

"Mmph?! Pwah!"

But the eel caused an unexpected problem. The instant I grabbed it, it thrust its head into my mouth. Good thing I reacted quickly, or that would've gone beyond a peck to a full-on deep kiss.

I still couldn't shake the gross feeling. I hurriedly stuffed it into the trap. Its body was slippery, but the World Tree gloves made getting it inside easy.

"Ptoo! Ptoo!"

Ugh. Gross. Wiping my mouth, I glared at the eel. You're dead tonight. I'm only sparing you for now because I don't know how to clean you.

With the stranded fish collected, I decided to head back for the moment. I needed to get them into the metal drum to keep them fresh. Just in case, though, I put the eel in a different container—a wide one. Considering how it had tried to squeeze into my mouth, there was no guarantee it wouldn't try the same thing with the other fish.

Got an eel.

Wild Grylls

Went up to the river and found an eel on the riverbed. Don't these normally live in the ocean?

└Heavenly Demon A truly magnificent restorative meal. I understand eels are very precious.

└Sword Masta Isn't that a snake? How can an eel be that big?

└Wild Grylls It's the Forest of Four Seasons, remember. But don't eels live in the ocean?

└Allfather There are freshwater eels as well. They don't grow that large, though.

└Farmed eels are freshwater eels, too. You can't farm saltwater eels.

└Wow, but one that big is seriously amazing. Wonder if it has an inner core, too?

└Grylls is gonna be rock-hard tonight lmao.

└What's the point? He can't use it anyway lol.

└He'll make do with stuff on the forum.

└That settles it. I'm posting those pictures today lmao.

└Fucking stop, asshole.

└Admin! Over here! Someone's threatening a terror attack!

└Passing Dwarf Is eel good? It's so damn expensive where I live that I've never tried it.

└Wild Grylls I'll give you a bite later. I want to try this one myself, so I can't give you the whole thing.

└Passing Dwarf Okay. I'm curious how it tastes.

└Wild Grylls Oh, right. Allfather, this bastard headbutted my mouth when I grabbed it. Is that normal?

└Allfather That is an extremely dangerous situation. Eels instinctively burrow into dark, narrow spaces. People have suffocated after eels forced their way into their mouths.

└Wild Grylls Holy shit...;

└That's why they're used for torture, too. Making them burrow into the hole down below.

└Ugh;; That's fucking horrifying.

└Starlight Lady I hear eel is good for stamina. Is that true?

└Wild Grylls Yes. Would you like some later?

└Starlight Lady Could I have just a bite, if it's not too much trouble...? I'll give you ice cream later!

└Wild Grylls Sweet.

└"Sweet," he says lmaooo.

└Trading it for ice cream, seriously lol.

The eel's arrival had the forum buzzing. Most said they'd never seen one that big, or that it looked more like a huge snake than an eel, and so on. My brief swell of pride aside, figuring out how to clean it had to come first.

'That can wait until evening.'

For now, my priority was heading up to set the fish trap. Before long, I was back at the river with my animal friends, ready to install it.

"Ribbit. Ribbit."

"Ribbit-bit."

First, though, we needed to clear out the golden frogs. The little bastards had stubbornly held their territory even through the flood. I backed away with Roundfur. It was the speed-sloth's time to shine.

"Ptoo!"

"Ptuh!"

"Pfoo!"

Thick purple venom shot toward the speed-sloth. But it dodged nimbly from side to side, as if the attacks weren't even worth its time. Eventually, the frogs ran out of venom and splashed back into the river. This was my chance to set up the trap.

WHACK!

"Ow!"

Just as I was nearly finished installing the trap, a fish leaped out and slammed into my face. I clutched my nose at the stinging pain. It hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

DRIP. DRIP.

Worse still, my nose had started bleeding. I'd injured plenty of other places, but this was my first nosebleed. Before I could attend to it, though, something else happened.

SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH!

Dozens of fish swarmed over, apparently having caught the scent of blood. Come to think of it, something similar had happened when I'd dumped the tiger's guts into the river. Afraid I might get swept up in the school, I scrambled out of the water.

"Phew..."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the nosebleed had started when I was just about done setting up the trap.

With the trap in place, I could head back to the cave. I'd get straight to work on the drainage channel. After plugging my nose with some tissue, of course.

'Do I need to use Elixir for this, too?'

I wasn't quite sure. Well, if the bleeding didn't stop, I'd use it.

DRIP. DRIP.

Even with my nose plugged, blood kept seeping out and dripping onto the ground.

* * *

A little while after Grylls left...

SPLAAASH!

A hand broke through the surface of the river. It was webbed like a frog's, but the structure of the hand itself was humanlike.

SHHHHH...

Before long, the hand's owner revealed its face. A face that looked...

"Grrrr..."

Very much like that of an ocean-dwelling great white shark.