I needed to revise what I’d said about the eel.

A natural strength-enhancing drug. That description fit perfectly.

Sure, the side effects were a little—no, extremely severe, but I could handle them. More importantly, unlike an actual drug, its effects weren’t temporary. There was a good chance they were permanent.

'All that talk about virility aside, it boosts your stamina itself.'

Despite the popular belief, eel was actually good for everyone, regardless of age or sex. It would be strange if something good for men wasn’t good for women too. It was easier to think of it as an energy supplement. The Forest of Four Seasons version simply improved overall physical abilities, not just energy levels.

'I would’ve been in serious trouble without my internal energy cultivation method.'

Still, anything you couldn’t digest would give you indigestion. If Heavenly Demon hadn’t taught me her internal energy cultivation method, if she hadn’t taught me those formulas, my equipment down there would’ve exploded.

'There’s absolutely no downside to practicing internal energy cultivation.'

It relieved fatigue. Increased my mana. Fixed my body whenever something went wrong. It was perfect, without a single shortcoming. I’d have to work even harder at it.

“Heave-ho.”

I repositioned the barricades one by one. My increased strength saved me far more time than I’d originally expected.

'I can put the barricades from the dwarf here.'

Once I finished rearranging them, I went into the cave to take care of other tasks. First, I updated my map, drawing in the sea’s location. There wasn’t just a sea, but quite a few backward-flowing rivers too. Since I didn’t yet know where those rivers went, I left as much blank space as possible.

'Even that river splits in two at the end.'

The problem was that the river flowed into another rather frightening place. I’d heard hooting there, as though a troop of monkeys lived nearby. I wanted to avoid going if possible, but there was a good chance I’d have no choice.

'How would monkeys have evolved?'

For starters, the animals generally grew larger. Most of the animals I’d encountered so far had been huge. How would monkeys, famous for their high intelligence among animals, have changed? I’d imagined it before, but I just hoped they hadn’t turned into something bizarre like that shark-man.

'First, I should go up to the river.'

With the barricades repositioned, I checked how many fish I’d caught. Three in total overnight. A plentiful haul. My food seemed to be gradually accumulating, thanks to the unexpected finds I sometimes came across (like the turtle egg).

'I’ll have the turtle egg for breakfast.'

Leaving it too long might let it go to waste. Better to polish off things like this quickly. It was the size of an ostrich egg, so it should make a filling meal.

'Guess I have to leave the yolk runny?'

Even with a spatula, I couldn’t flip it. As I’d said, it was too big. After some thought, I decided to just have it sunny-side up. Runny yolks tasted good too.

I drizzled a little oil into the large cast-iron pan, waited until it seemed sufficiently preheated over the campfire, then tried cracking the egg.

TAP! TAP TAP! THUNK!

“Huh?”

Unexpectedly, it wouldn’t crack easily. It was pretty hard. Apparently, the shell was thick to match its size. Worried that the oil would all splatter out of the pan, I hurried to fetch a hammer.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANK!

“What the hell?”

Even the hammer wouldn’t break it easily. The shell was as hard as iron. I’d been holding back just in case, but even hitting it a little harder made no difference. It showed no sign of breaking.

It seemed to have evolved so that animals couldn’t crack it even if they stole it while the turtle was away.

'Wouldn’t this make hatching difficult too?'

Only the strong survived, huh? A brutal race right from infancy. In the end, I had to use aura just to crack the egg.

SIZZLE!

Still, my efforts hadn’t been wasted. The egg started cooking up beautifully. There was enough to fill the entire large pan. I sprinkled salt over it. That would bring out the flavor. Salt was a godsend.

'If I’d known, maybe I should’ve brought another one.'

Of course, if I had, the weight would’ve kept me from moving properly. I chuckled, then moved the pan off the campfire once the egg was ready with its yolk still runny. Unlike fish, it would be hard to transfer to a plate. I’d just have to cut it up like a steak.

I got a knife and fork and cut off a piece from the edge. Even with a runny yolk, the trick was to fry the edges until slightly crisp.

CRUNCH!

The crisp-fried edge, the mild flavor of the white, and finally the saltiness from the seasoning all came together perfectly. Objectively speaking, the fish tasted better, but this egg was special. All the more so because I’d found it in the wild, not bought it at the auction house.

POP!

I pierced the yolk sitting neatly in the center and used it as a sauce for the white. It had no unpleasant smell either, just an intriguing flavor that threatened to get me even more hooked.

“Wow. That’s good.”

I polished off the entire pan of egg, then wiped my mouth with a tissue for good measure. It wasn’t quite steak, but it tasted like eating bacon. What a wonderful flavor. Like the eel, most food from the Forest of Four Seasons tasted amazing.

'Though having salt makes the biggest difference.'

Really, salt was the ultimate cheat code. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy myself like this. Moments like these really drove home how much the forum meant to me. Without it, even finding salt would’ve taken tremendous effort.

'Or I might’ve died long ago.'

After cleaning everything up, I checked the time. It was nine in the morning, probably because I’d rearranged the barricades first. I usually considered eight the start of my day.

'There’s plenty of time left, and I have things to receive, so I’ll spend the morning training.'

First, there was something I hadn’t gotten around to receiving yesterday: the container Smart Demonic Cultist had offered for storing inner cores. I wondered whether such a thing existed, but since he’d offered, I intended to accept.

'If he scams me, I just won’t trade with him again.'

Inner cores were a dime a dozen. I found one every time I cut open a fish. I’d collected almost ten already. Giving him one shouldn’t be a problem.

Smart Demonic Cultist, I’d like to trade

Wild Grylls

If you see this, please trade with me. I was too busy yesterday.

A message finally arrived about five minutes after I posted. I’d been waiting for Smart Demonic Cultist too, so I accepted without hesitation.

Smart Demonic Cultist

Greetings, Grylls.

Allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude for agreeing to this trade.

You sound completely different from your comments.

Smart Demonic Cultist

It is my firm principle to always show respect to a patron.

I have no intention of becoming your patron.

Smart Demonic Cultist

Considering the value of an inner core, you more than qualify.

What a strange persona. Or maybe he genuinely meant to be polite. The forum was home to all kinds of people, so this was mild. Just look at Heavenly Demon. Actually, this politeness might make things easier. He’d at least earned some points with me.

Anyway, what exactly is this container for storing inner cores?

Smart Demonic Cultist

It is a bottle that produces cold when supplied with qi.

You may think of it as a miniature refrigerator.

If it runs on mana, wouldn’t I be better off just buying a refrigerator...?

Smart Demonic Cultist

It requires significantly less qi.

It is also difficult to manufacture, so we generally use it only for important items.

Are you sure you can give me something like that?

Smart Demonic Cultist

This item can be purchased with money, whereas inner cores are difficult to obtain even with money.

I more or less understood. It was because of their rarity. King Leor had once given me a crystal orb imbued with a Light spell. So a container that produced cold wasn’t all that strange. This was a fantasy world; I should just accept it and move on. Overthinking it would only give me a headache.

All right.

But it won’t break down or anything, will it?

Smart Demonic Cultist

The likelihood is very low, but if it does break down, please let me know immediately.

I will repair it myself.

Thank you.

I’ll give you a core I found today. I hope this turns out to be a good trade.

Smart Demonic Cultist

The honor is mine.

Calling it an honor was a bit much. I finished my trade with the unfailingly courteous Smart Demonic Cultist and received a bottle, just as he’d said.

'What’s this writing?'

The bottle bore characters I’d never seen before. It was much smaller than an Elixir bottle, roughly as long as my pinky. It looked wide enough to hold the cores, but I couldn’t feel any cold coming from it.

'Did I get scammed?'

A little worried, I tested it first. When I pulled the stopper out of the glass bottle, cold air began drifting out. In case he’d simply filled it with cold air, I waited for thirty seconds. Even after thirty seconds, the container was still emitting cold.

'Neat.'

They didn’t have mini fridges, yet they had something like this. Even if mana consumption was the reason, I didn’t really get it. Still, a good thing was a good thing. I put all the cores I’d collected into the bottle. As soon as I did, its surface turned white as though covered in frost.

'Did the mana leaking out of the cores make it colder?'

Let’s say it was something like that. As long as it kept them fresh, that was enough. Now that my cores would keep longer, I got up and began training. As always, it was sword and shield practice. I planned to do it once a day from now on.

'Specifically, while Roundfur’s asleep.'

Roundfur was currently fast asleep on his back, belly exposed. I didn’t know whether that was because I was nearby or because he still didn’t understand the dangers of the wild.

'Still, he’s cute.'

Roundfur was a baby. Babies needed protecting. Besides, hadn’t I killed his mother? Granted, his mother had tried to kill me first... But since I’d decided to raise him, I needed to take responsibility.

'Training’s all well and good, but how do I improve my reflexes?'

As I trained, I glanced off to the side, toward the speed-sloth. I wasn’t even hoping for its agility, ability to track movement, or reaction speed. I just wanted reflexes good enough to respond reasonably well.

'Things like snakes are the biggest problem.'

Snakes were quick. And stealthy. They might be slower than the speed-sloth, but I needed to be prepared. Besides, there was absolutely no downside to faster reflexes. They could give me a chance to counterattack.

On that note, I should ask the forum. How could I improve my reaction speed?

Any exercises for improving reflexes?

Wild Grylls

I want to improve my reaction speed. Any good exercises?

└Heavenly Demon Don’t you have the speed-sloth?

└Wild Grylls What about it?

└Heavenly Demon I thought sparring with it would naturally improve your reflexes.

└Wild Grylls One wrong move and I could die doing that;;

└Sword Masta Exercises for improving reflexes are simple. Just focus on exercises that stimulate your nerves.

└Wild Grylls I don’t know what those are.

└Sword Masta Throw a bouncy ball hard against a wall. Catching it will naturally improve your reflexes.

└Wild Grylls What if the ball hits me?

└Sword Masta Then it hits you. What can you do?

└Wild Grylls Sir?;;

└Sword Masta But seriously, no lie, that’s one of the best methods.

└Starlight Lady I can’t think of anything else. For your situation, Grylls, that seems like the best method.

└Slutty Princess I can give you a ball~

└Passing Dwarf You’ve got Elixir anyway. Isn’t getting hit in the face fine?

└Wild Grylls You try getting hit.

└Passing Dwarf Ever been hit by a falling rock?

└Wild Grylls Sorry.

In the end, I decided to throw a ball against the wall, as Sword Masta suggested. Slutty Princess supplied the ball. It was slightly smaller than a baseball.

'Wait. Should I have Speedy throw it instead?'

If it bounced all over the place, it might hit Roundfur while he slept peacefully. With that thought, I put the ball in the speed-sloth’s hand.

“Okay, Speedy. I’ve got a job for you.”

“...”

“Throw this at me without warning. Make it a little fast, okay?”

Why should I do that? the speed-sloth’s expression asked.

I responded with a rather reasonable argument.

“It’ll make your food-growing tree sturdier. Wouldn’t that be good for you too?”

“...”

It nodded. How I could hold a conversation with this creature was a mystery. Questions aside, though, I went outside the cave and began training. The speed-sloth was so painfully slow even getting outside that I carried it myself.

“Okay. Throw it.”

“...”

At my words, the speed-sloth slowly drew its arm back. Slowly. Very, very slowly. Frustratingly slowly to watch. I stayed patient to the end. I didn’t know when the ball would come flying.

“You little shi—”

But even its forward motion was so sluggish that I couldn’t help swearing. Then, the moment I moved my foot in frustration...

WHOOSH!

Speedy thrust its arm forward so fast that “instantaneous” was almost the right word.

SMACK!

“Aargh!”

I had no chance to avoid the ball hitting my face. A disaster born of letting my guard down and having comparatively slow reflexes. Anger flared for a moment, but it was partly my fault, so I didn’t lash out.

“O-one more...”

“...”

“Let’s try once more. Just throw it a little softer.”

What wouldn’t I do to survive, to escape? There were times in life when you had to grit your teeth and push through.

THWACK!

“Oof!”

And this was one of them.