Got an egg.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of an enormous egg)

Stole an egg. A turtle showed up and scared the hell out of me, but I managed to bring it back somehow.

Eel for dinner tonight, and this for breakfast tomorrow.

└Heavenly Demon Did you not hunt the turtle?

└Wild Grylls I didn't have time, and it was strong, so I gave up.

└Heavenly Demon I recommend hunting turtles. I hear they are quite delicious.

└Sword Masta Have you ever eaten one?

└Heavenly Demon I have had a dish called dragon-and-phoenix soup, made with turtle.

└Sword Masta That's softshell turtle, not a regular turtle, you dolt;;

└Lmaoooo

└Unbelievable lmao

└But aren't there actually a lot of people who mix them up?

└There are, but the difference is obvious if you look at them.

└Heavenly Demon just oozes ignorance every time I see her, seriously;;

└Smart Demonic Cultist Can't be helped. She's spent her whole life focused on martial arts. They say sticking to one thing is how you achieve greatness.

└Even so, that's a bit much;;

└Passing Dwarf You gonna eat that?

└Wild Grylls Yeah, of course. I worked hard to get this food.

└Passing Dwarf I'd like to try it. Can't you trade it for some good gear?

└Wild Grylls Sorry. A shark giant stole my fish today, so I don't have food to spare.

└Passing Dwarf Damn. Can you get me one later, then?

└Wild Grylls Nope;; That wasn't a sea, it was a living hell. I barely made it out alive.

└Passing Dwarf Tsk. That's a shame. Still, send me one if you get the chance.

└Wild Grylls Do eggs go well with booze?

└Passing Dwarf Egg soup for hangovers.

└Wild Grylls ;;;;

└Lmaoooo

└Never thought of hangovers lol

└Do dwarves need hangover cures?

└Yep. Can't work otherwise.

I was back from exploring a beach that had been practically hell itself. Octopus arms had shot out of the sand and wrapped around my legs, and a turtle had transformed and fired lasers out of its mouth.

The forest was enough of a headache. With the sea just as bad, merely thinking about it made my head spin.

I probably wouldn't go back. I wasn't going to cross the sea, so there was no reason to.

*'Even a normal sea is full of things more dangerous than anything on land...'

*Just how bizarre would the sea in the Forest of Four Seasons be?

Even the shark that had come down the river had been humanoid, complete with arms and legs. And the turtle had swapped out its legs depending on the terrain.

I couldn't even begin to imagine what else might exist there.

'For starters, most of them seem pretty intelligent.'

Was that because they'd evolved, as Allfather said? Their intelligence did seem somewhat heightened. The speed-sloth and Roundfur understood me remarkably well, and the turtle's face had twisted into a fierce scowl the instant I showed it the egg. All of them had displayed intelligent behavior far removed from ordinary animals.

'... Then what does that mean for animals like monkeys or gorillas?'

Surely they hadn't become as smart as humans.

What I'd heard on the way to the sea made that an even greater concern.

'That was definitely a monkey's cry.'

An animal resembling a leopard had suddenly come flying out of the forest and fallen into the river. It had been quite large, yet it had been tossed out helplessly. And I'd heard what I suspected were monkeys calling from those trees.

"Haa..."

I let out a sigh heavy enough to sink the earth. This must have been what people meant by one mountain after another.

How was I supposed to escape this hellhole? None of the common sense I'd known applied in this forest, leaving me at a loss.

'And it's another world, so even the most basic things I know are useless.'

Essentially, I was starting from zero. The fact that I was only realizing this now suggested I'd been far too optimistic.

Did that mean I was giving up? I'd said it time and again, but absolutely not.

I'd get out of here, if only out of sheer spite at this rotten, unfair situation. Then I'd point my finger squarely at a god and demand answers. Why, of all the places in existence, had they dumped me in this shitty hellhole? What possible motive could they have had for sending someone here when he'd been living just fine, hardships and all?

'I think I need to revise my plans.'

Now that I'd realized this place was even crazier than I'd imagined, my plans needed to change.

Hoping for someone else's help? The forum was my only option there. My posts had only made people even more wary of the Forest of Four Seasons. Even powerhouses like Heavenly Demon and Sword Masta were asking how a forest like this could exist. That said it all.

In other words, I had no choice but to escape under my own power. To do that, I had to get stronger.

At first glance, that might sound no different from my original plan, but one thing had changed.

'A refuge, not a base of operations. A life beyond just adapting and surviving. And finally...'

A deadline extended almost indefinitely.

I'd intended to escape this forest as quickly as possible, but that had changed. The more I rushed, the more the Forest of Four Seasons forced me to turn back.

So I'd hang in there, even if it took a year. Even if it took longer. At the very least, I'd grow strong enough that nothing here could hurt me.

'To do that, I need to manage things so the forum keeps helping me.'

My relationship with the admin, Don't Abandon the Hero, was especially important. If I rubbed the admin the wrong way and got permabanned, I'd be completely screwed.

But that didn't mean I wanted to worship a god. I'd rather die than do that.

'I can't bring myself to lie, either, so I'll just have to talk around it.'

If the admin brought up religion, avoiding the subject as much as possible seemed best.

As I gradually sorted out my revised plans, I turned my head toward the gap in the barricades where the saber-toothed tiger had smashed through. Asking the dwarf to fix that seemed like a good place to start.

'Come to think of it, I also need to make sure my body doesn't change in some weird direction.'

If, as Allfather hypothesized, my body was gradually evolving to suit the Forest of Four Seasons, I needed to steer it toward beneficial changes. I could drastically increase the time I spent on my internal energy cultivation method to encourage a body more attuned to mana, for instance. Or work out hard to encourage a body that built muscle more easily.

'Would something like a hundred sit-ups, a hundred push-ups, and a hundred squats a day do the trick?'

The routine brought a certain bald character to mind, though mine differed in that it didn't include running.

Getting cardio here was simple. Just wander around without thinking until something ambushed you. Then you'd have no choice but to breathe like your life depended on it. I'd rather skip cardio entirely than do that.

'Now that I think about it, Starlight Lady said she was exercising.'

I ought to ask her what sort of exercise she did sometime. If she used equipment, I planned to ask whether she could help me out. The auction house sold basic exercise equipment, after all.

With that, I sent her a message right away. With my trade restriction lifted, I could have one-on-one conversations too.

Hello, Starlight Lady.

Are you there?

Starlight Lady

Hello!

What can I do for you?

She answered immediately, apparently already browsing the forum. I smiled in satisfaction at her newfound liveliness, then got straight to the point.

I'm thinking of starting to work out.

What kind of exercise do you do?

Starlight Lady

Didn't you say you didn't have time to exercise?

The Forest of Four Seasons is scarier than I expected.

I think I'll have to allow at least a year to get out.

Starlight Lady

A year... It seems you've had a change of heart.

I thought you wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

This is the only way to keep my spirits from breaking.

That wasn't an empty line. It was the truth. Rigid things were prone to snapping. You had to soften them up so they wouldn't break so easily.

In my case, I'd shaken off my impatience by extending my deadline.

Starlight Lady

I see. I know exactly how you feel.

You still have hope, don't you?

If I didn't have hope, I'd have hanged myself long ago.

Starlight Lady

You made the right choice.

Whatever happens, never lose hope.

Just as I met you and was cured, you might meet someone who can help you too, Grylls.

Thank you for the kind words.

So what kind of exercise do you usually do, and how much?

Starlight Lady

Since I only recently recovered, I'm just doing simple bodyweight exercises.

Sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and finally, running.

... Surely Starlight Lady wasn't going to turn into that bald guy?

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed it. No point entertaining useless thoughts.

I see.

So you don't use equipment?

Starlight Lady

Well, I'm new to exercising.

It's your first time too, isn't it, Grylls?

Not my first time.

I did some in the military.

The military was an organization where you had to exercise just to keep up with training. Combine that with a regular daily routine, and you couldn't help getting into good shape.

Of course, I'd gone back to my old self after my discharge. But I still remembered how to do it.

Starlight Lady

Then let's start with bodyweight exercises together.

I'll even give you protein supplements.

You really don't have to go that far;;

Starlight Lady

You don't need Elixir?

All right.

Excuse me, ma'am?

Starlight Lady

I'm not joking.

Elixir is a potion that speeds up regeneration.

And muscles...

Starlight Lady launched into a lengthy lecture. She even explained how muscles grew stronger. Apparently, the idea was to take advantage of the way muscles strengthened as they regenerated after exercise-induced damage.

Starlight Lady

So my special protein supplement drastically accelerates that recovery process.

What do you think? Isn't it amazing?

You won't even have sore muscles!

That's really impressive.

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I'd just sit here and applaud. Apparently, she'd funneled all of Elixir's restorative power into muscle recovery alone. That had to be impressive.

Starlight Lady

So please drink this after working out or doing any other training.

You'll definitely get stronger.

Thank you.

You keep helping me in so many ways.

Starlight Lady

It's still not enough compared to you saving my life.

And, Grylls.

Go ahead.

Starlight Lady

As I said earlier, please never lose hope.

I quietly read her words. She'd picked up on my change of heart from our conversation alone. Apparently, she'd sensed something.

Starlight Lady

Preparing instead of waiting endlessly isn't a bad choice.

But please, never give up hope. Promise me.

I'll take that to heart.

Starlight Lady

Oh. Why not start keeping a diary while you're at it?

Writing in mine gave me comfort too.

A diary?

Starlight Lady

Yes. Keeping a diary is a way of leaving something behind.

It also gives you time to reflect on yourself.

Couldn't I just write on the forum?

Starlight Lady

But that shows my desires, not who I am as a person, doesn't it?

I believe a diary is what truly shows who someone is.

A diary. I thought it over. It wasn't a bad suggestion at all, but one thing made me hesitate.

A little later, I bought a notebook from the auction house and wrote my name in it.

(Photo of a notebook with the name Park Jongwoo written in it)

Can you recognize this writing?

Starlight Lady

I've never seen this script before.

I know most languages, too...

What country is it from?

It's the writing from the country I lived in.

So this script doesn't exist in this world?

Starlight Lady

Not as far as I know.

Tsk. Really? That's a shame.

As expected, she didn't know Hangul. It would've been stranger if she did.

That was why I'd been reluctant to write a diary.

'Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea.'

I expected to be here a long time. A diary would certainly serve as a record saying, "I've held out this long."

In particular, I could use those records to predict what might happen in the future. Improving my odds of survival through steadily accumulated data. Not bad.

It didn't matter if no one recognized it. I had good people in my life.

I could just... think of it as a hobby to ease my boredom.

Starlight Lady

Um... Grylls.

Yes? Go ahead.

Starlight Lady

Please don't be too disheartened.

I'll remember you.

What?

What exactly had she gotten the wrong idea about?