I had started reflex training with the speed-sloth. It was closer to a one-sided beating than training, but I doggedly endured it. The speed-sloth was holding back in his own way, and my reactions were gradually getting faster, too.

At least if I stayed focused the whole time, I wouldn't get hit completely unprepared. I could react and try to catch the ball, which made it good enough as training.

“Roundfur, Daddy's having a rough time.”

“Squeak?”

“So come here.”

Lunchtime. I hugged Roundfur, who had just woken from his nap, to soothe my gloomy mood. He didn't know what was going on, but purred happily anyway. With my training-induced funk easing, I prepared lunch.

Lunch was fish caught that morning. Two more fish had been caught since then, incidentally. Having plenty of food made me happy. I could feast on fish for a while.

'I'll explore this afternoon.'

I'd said I would stay here for a long time, but that didn't mean I wouldn't explore at all. From now on, instead of blindly heading farther afield, I planned to get a more detailed picture of my surroundings.

With any luck, I might discover an herb every bit as good as a mature mandrake. Failing that, I could find valuable minerals, like the orichalcum cave.

'Sometimes I really can't tell whether my luck is good or bad...'

I finished lunch and got ready with my animal friends. My extradimensional bag hung at my left hip, with Elixir and various other bottles on my right. Everything was ready, but there was something I wanted to check first.

'Should I try drawing the bow?'

The bow was a gift from Let's Grow Trees, a registered user I suspected was an elf. Just drawing it had been a struggle before. How about now? My strength had increased noticeably, so there ought to be some meaningful progress.

CREEEAK

As expected, the string drew much more easily than before. That didn't mean I could use it in a real fight, though. Before, it had taken every ounce of strength I had; now I just had to grunt and strain, I guess? I would need even more strength to draw it comfortably.

'The dwarf isn't answering, either. Off drinking, maybe.'

I was supposed to get barricades from the dwarf, but whether he was busy or drinking, he wasn't responding. I figured I'd be better off collecting them after I got back from exploring.

'Today I'll head into the forest instead of along the river.'

Yesterday had taught me there was no point in following the river. Better to explore different parts of the forest and expand my map, finding rare herbs or discovering animals' territories along the way. I would make this vicinity my own “territory,” just like the animals did.

'Not that I'll be scent-marking it.'

If I tried marking my territory like an animal, I could get ambushed for my trouble. I didn't want to throw away my human dignity, either. Having to go was already an ordeal whenever my stomach hurt. I had no desire to come all the way out here to do my business.

“Whoa. What's this now?”

While exploring in hopes of finding mysterious herbs, I found a mushroom instead. It looked like blue deer antlers—someone unfamiliar with it might not think it was a mushroom at all.

'Is it some kind of relative?'

Poison fire coral, the so-called “forum mascot”—the king—of poisonous mushrooms. Its Korean name meant red deer-antler mushroom, and it looked exactly like that. It was supposedly so toxic that, in the worst cases, the damage could be comparable to radiation exposure. There was even a popular claim that merely touching it caused dermatitis.

'That's interesting. I should record it.'

I took out the notebook I'd brought and sketched the mushroom. Drawing deer antlers would do. Then I looked around for anything unusual. This could be another case like the golden mushroom.

'Looks like it just grows normally.'

Nothing in particular stood out. I closed my notebook and posted on the forum.

Found a Blue Mushroom

Wild Grylls

(A blue mushroom shaped like deer antlers)

Anyone know what kind of mushroom this is?

It looks obviously poisonous, so I haven't even touched it, but I'm curious.

└Heavenly Demon It seems to be advertising that it should not be eaten.

└Sword Masta Agreed. I wouldn't even want to touch that. Though maybe it's like you, Heavenly Demon?

└Heavenly Demon Are you mocking my face by calling it a mushroom?

└Sword Masta It's blue, just like your username lol

└Heavenly Demon I would like to turn yours blue as well. I should suggest it to the moderators.

└Sword Masta Sorry...

└Guess he doesn't want to turn blue lmao

└Man, he REALLY doesn't want it lol

└But is Heavenly Demon actually doing mod work??

└Yeah. Must be because she's unemployed. A lot of the filthy posts have disappeared.

└Starlight Lady There's a similar mushroom in the Central Plains called poison fire coral, but I've never seen this one. Could it be a variant?

└Wild Grylls You have those here too? We had them where I lived.

└Starlight Lady Yes. It's very famous for its extremely potent poison. But this is my first time seeing a blue one.

└Allfather I've never seen a mushroom like that either. If it's not too much trouble, could I ask for one to research?

└Starlight Lady I'd like one too, if possible.

└Wild Grylls Sure. Will do.

I put on gloves before harvesting the mushrooms, just in case. Since they weren't for eating anyway, the trades went through without a hitch.

'With all these different variants, I guess there's plenty that's new even by the outside world's standards.'

I moved on and continued exploring. Roundfur led the way, using his keen animal nose to detect anything unusual ahead of time. A cub or not, an owlbear was still an owlbear: his sense of smell was excellent. Now and then I missed some animal droppings, and he pointed them out every time.

'Owlbear poop. Old, too.'

I'd seen owlbear droppings before. These had nearly disappeared with age and the rain that had fallen in the meantime, but enough of their shape remained to identify them easily.

'So this used to be the owlbear's territory.'

I'd had no idea, since all my exploration so far had centered on the river. Who had taken over now that the owlbear was gone, then? With no visible signs yet, it didn't seem anyone had.

'The owlbear itself had its territory stolen by the saber-toothed tiger, after all.'

Strong as an owlbear was, it couldn't possibly beat a saber-toothed tiger. With the tiger's rapid regeneration, it wouldn't stand a chance in a battle of endurance, either.

“Squeak. Squeak.”

As I looked around for other signs, Roundfur urged me to hurry along. He looked adorable pointing ahead with his little forepaw. I chuckled and followed him. He was better at finding traces than I was, so I could leave that to him. All I had to do was keep an eye out for plants and mushrooms along the way—and immediately kill any snakes that showed up.

“Squeeeak!”

Then Roundfur spotted something and started bouncing excitedly. Puzzled, I pushed through the thick trees. Beyond them, a surprisingly spacious clearing opened before me.

“A cave?”

There was also a cave with an enormous entrance. The entrance to my own cave was fairly large, but this one was even bigger. It even felt cool.

'The wind's blowing inside.'

I readied my weapons just in case. I had no idea what was in there. I didn't turn on the Light crystal orb, though. Light was already streaming into the cave, perhaps through an opening in the ceiling.

“All right. Let's go.”

“Squeak!”

Once everything was ready, I entered the cave. Roundfur bounded ahead in excitement and scurried inside. I wanted to tell him to slow down and stop running, but it was already too late. If there was something else inside, he'd scream.

“SQUEEEEEAK!!!”

Just like that. Roundfur had disappeared behind a rock, and now he let out a terrified shriek. Startled, I rushed over. An animal came into view.

I paid little attention to the countless bones scattered around. My mind was reeling at the sight of the animal choking Roundfur. Unusually long legs, a body leaning slightly forward, and a melancholy expression. Above all, bulging upper-body muscles that were visible even from a distance.

'A k-kangaroo?'

Some kangaroo had Roundfur in a headlock with its brawny arm. I called it a headlock, but judging by Roundfur's struggles, it was practically strangling him.

I had no idea why a kangaroo was in the forest, much less a cave, but rescuing him came first. I rushed at the kangaroo and swung my sword. It was threatening Roundfur, so I fully intended to kill it.

SWISH!

But, true to an animal of the Forest of Four Seasons, the kangaroo dodged with ease. It released the arm choking Roundfur, but I couldn't let my guard down. Roundfur ran toward me, whimpering.

'Seriously? Why's it more ripped than me?'

I stared incredulously at the kangaroo's clearly muscular physique. The muscle mushroom's limbs had looked so bizarre that “brawny” hadn't really come to mind. But the muscles bulging beneath this kangaroo's skin only put me more on edge.

“...”

SCRAAAPE

The kangaroo watched me for a while, then slowly lowered its upper body. From the sound of its sturdy hind feet bracing against the ground, it seemed about to charge. I thrust my shield out just in case.

BANG!

Pushing off with its hind legs, the kangaroo leaped high into the air—high enough to sail over my head. I kept my eyes on it right up until it jumped.

THUD! THOOM! THUD!

The kangaroo bounded past me and fled toward the cave entrance. Thankfully, it hadn't intended to fight. Never in my life had I expected to meet a kangaroo in a forest. Another thing only possible in the Forest of Four Seasons, I supposed.

'A lot of animals have come over from across the river.'

The jungle-dwelling speed-sloth, that kangaroo just now, and so on. It seemed they'd crossed over from places with warped space and never been able to return.

I let out a long breath and checked on Roundfur.

“Squeak... squeak...”

He clung to my leg; the chokehold must have really hurt. Could this have been the first time he'd felt pain in his life? Even when we'd taken down the orichalcum guardian, he probably hadn't felt this threatened.

“It's okay. I'm here.”

“Squeak...”

I stroked Roundfur to reassure him, and he perked up again.

With the kangaroo gone, all that remained was to search every corner of the cave. Judging by the countless animal bones strewn about, something had lived here.

'I don't think that kangaroo did this.'

Kangaroos were herbivores. They might choke animals with those brawny arms, but they were still herbivores. Of course, the Forest of Four Seasons could have changed this one into a carnivore. But it had fled the cave when I threatened it. At the very least, that meant it didn't consider this its “territory.”

'Is that a nest?'

The bones weren't the only thing worth noting. There was a huge bird's nest, too. More interestingly, Roundfur went over and settled comfortably into it as if he were at home. His occasional sad looks and cries gave me a rough idea of what this place was.

'So this was the owlbear's cave.'

Even the nest was far bigger than your average king-size bed. Just the right size for an owlbear to lie down in.

'Do owlbears actually build nests, though?'

I didn't know, so I searched for owlbears on the forum. They must have been well-known animals, because there were plenty of posts about them. Those taught me that owlbears did indeed have a habit of building nests inside caves.

After briefly marveling at how many strange things this world held, I inspected the rest of the cave.

BURBLE, BURBLE

A shallow stream ran through the cave, too. It even had little rice fish in it, so the water seemed clean.

'I'd like to move here.'

With suitable defenses, it could make a natural fortress. But the hole in the ceiling would be a headache when it rained. Being too spacious could also work against it: even large animals could easily enter and move around.

'... Huh?'

I was looking around the nest when one of the many bones made me flinch. Among all those animal bones, one in particular caught my eye.

'... Is that a skull?'

It was a human bone.