Chapter 151 - Slave (1)

A bridge that would let survivors cross the river easily.

To properly understand its structure and principles, I made a miniature out of twigs. Seeing something once beats hearing about it a hundred times, and doing it once beats seeing it a hundred times. Once I more or less had the hang of it, I started building the actual bridge.

"... How am I supposed to do this?"

I hit a wall right out of the gate. Or rather, I felt overwhelmed. Making the model and understanding the structure and principles had gone fine. But once I actually started, everything became a problem. There was more to it than just planing the wood.

Not only did I have to cut the felled trees to uniform dimensions, even planing was difficult since I'd never done it before.

'Not being able to use aura freely is a problem, too.'

I still couldn't control the cold very well, so I was avoiding aura as much as possible. Instead, I used mana only to reinforce my body and worked the wood without aura wherever I could.

SCRITCH! SCRITCH! SCRITCH!

I cut a felled tree exactly in half, then split it lengthwise again. The trunk was so thick that sawing took an incredible amount of labor. If I hadn't even had a saw, I would've thrown in the towel ages ago.

'Seriously, every time I do something like this, I respect people from the old days even more.'

If it had only been the sawing, I could have gritted my teeth and pushed through, but the flying sawdust was even worse. It made breathing so difficult that I ended up having to put on the face covering I'd received for dust storms.

Cutting up a single tree, trimming the pieces to length, then planing away every little uneven spot...

"Ugh. When am I ever going to finish all this?"

I'd barely finished one tree, and I almost swore. The sawing was exhausting, the dust went everywhere, and there was so much to do.

I considered asking the raccoon family for help, then decided against it. They only had a raccoon's strength, after all, and what if they accidentally started a fire?

'Isn't there anyone around who can work?'

Doing everything alone was harder than I'd ever imagined. I'd barely started, and I was already thinking like that.

I leaned back against the stacked timber and drank a cup of water. Even though the spring air was still chilly, I was dripping with sweat.

'Never mind shaping the wood. Can I actually put the bridge up?'

Worry was already creeping in. What if I finished all the timber, only to run into another problem that made it impossible to erect the bridge? Everything I'd done so far might go to waste.

Title) Please, just one person. Anyone.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the finished timber)

Working this wood is fucking exhausting. Somebody please come help me.

└Heavenly Demon) Is sword energy still difficult for you to use?

└Wild Grylls) Yes. It'll be a pain if the wood freezes.

└Sword Masta) Doing it with physical strength alone must be exhausting. Still, wouldn't it be good exercise?

└Wild Grylls) My back muscles are twitching.

└Sword Masta) Splitting firewood is excellent for training your back muscles. You should take this opportunity to develop your raw physical abilities instead of relying solely on aura.

└Wild Grylls) Understood.

└Every time I see this guy, he's making more work for himself;;;

└He says he misses people. Cut him some slack.

└Isn't he looking for slaves, not survivors?

└You're right lmaooo. He's been sneakily recruiting slaves lol.

└What do you get for working there?

└What do you think? lol. It's just being a moderator in real life.

└Heavenly Demon) Hmm. Even I am not particularly tempted. That would not even serve as a diversion.

└Being Grylls's slave: a job even a moderator won't take. Scary stuff.

└Passing Dwarf) Is woodworking that hard? My friend makes it look easy. Guess it's not.

└Wild Grylls) Does your friend use machines?

└Passing Dwarf) Isn't that a given these days? Who does it by hand? lol.

└Wild Grylls) Fuck, I want a machine too.

└Passing Dwarf) Do you even know how to use one? Or could you even operate it if I gave you one? lol.

└Wild Grylls) Sigh. Can't a decent slave just fall into my lap?

└Look how shameless he is lmaooo. Weren't you going full throttle because you'd spotted a survivor? lol.

└Reality must've hit him hard. No other explanation for that change lol.

└Wild Grylls) If it's this hard for me, how much harder is it for ordinary people? I've got a whole new respect for them.

└At least those people don't do it alone, Grylls...

└Yeah, it's because you're alone.

└Who cares how high humanity's fucking power ceiling is? They're only strong in a group lol.

└Doesn't that go for other races too?

└Aren't you putting the raccoon family to work?

└Papa Raccoon's already working. Gathering herbs.

└What about Mama Raccoon or Baby Raccoon? Try asking them.

└You'll get arrested for that, asshole;;

└There's nobody there to arrest him lol.

└Oh, right! Grylls, make the raccoon family your slaves. Problem solved.

└Starlight Lady) You people aren't even human. How could you think of such a thing?

└Wild Grylls) I did consider it, actually, but dropped the idea because they might get hurt.

└Starlight Lady) ... Well, I'm glad you have a conscience, at least.

└A pretty thick-skinned conscience, but it's there lol.

└Grylls has some seriously ridiculous moments too lol.

I was sort of venting, but everyone just said their piece and left it at that. I didn't mind. I'd only logged on for a break anyway.

└Try asking the gorillas. Who knows? They might help if you give them fasting pills.

└They're not migrant laborers lmaooo.

└Not migrant laborers. Animal laborers lol.

└I hear beastfolk are great workers.

└Should we even call those guys beastfolk? The way they act, they're closer to cavemen.

└That's what beastfolk are. What else?

└Suspiciously) They're not beastfolk, you assholes...

└They have fur and limbs and speak like people. That's beastfolk lol.

└Exactly lol.

It wasn't as if I'd never considered paying the gorillas in fasting pills to work for me. But the gorillas were the speed-sloth's enemies. With all that bad blood, like hell that would go over well.

'I'll just have to do it myself.'

Grumbling inwardly, I went back to working the wood. I cut the logs crosswise, then lengthwise, and finished them with the plane. Little by little, it added up, and the pile of lumber steadily grew.

'It'll grow mold if I don't dry it, but... '

I'd have to fill it in with cement later, or gradually replace it with a stone bridge. For now, I should focus on getting the bridge built.

"Whew."

Time flew by, and I had a decent pile of finished timber. Though it still wasn't nearly enough.

I carried the lumber into the cave in case it rained. It suddenly occurred to me that I might be using a lot of timber in the future, so perhaps I should build a separate drying room. Naturally, I soon dismissed the idea.

'That would mean more expansion work.'

There would be no expanding the place unless some survivors showed up. And even if someone did, they might know nothing about productive work. This Ludwig fellow was a paladin—in other words, a soldier. Soldiers were famously far removed from production.

'At least it's dry inside the cave.'

The weather was chilly, so I had the fireplace going too. A hot, dry environment. Of course, one or two days wouldn't dry the wood completely. The dwarf said it took at least several months.

It was easiest to think of the wood as nothing more than a framework.

"Wow. There goes an entire day."

My exclamation was closer to a lament as I checked the time. I'd done nothing but work since lunch, and evening was already approaching. The sun was sinking, as though urging me to hurry up and finish with work already.

The whole day had vanished into work, and I wasn't even finished. I wondered when I'd ever get it done, but if I kept at it, the end would eventually come into sight.

Before the sun set completely, I headed up to the river to collect the traps and check the other side while I was there.

'Hmm. An even shittier region.'

The landscape was worse than the foggy area. The entire ground was green, as though it had been drenched in radiation. And I didn't mean grass. The ground itself was literally glowing green.

'What on earth happened to leave it looking like that?'

I really hoped that radioactive-looking stuff wouldn't affect this side. I carefully retrieved the fish from the traps. Thanks to having set a whole two traps, I'd caught an impressive five fish.

"Keng!"

Papa Raccoon came by not long after I returned. He was holding some sort of herb that looked like wild ginseng.

I asked Heavenly Demon, and she said it was wild ginseng brimming with internal energy. I decided to use it as an ingredient for fasting pills. Incidentally, the current batch was almost done, and she said she could give it to me tomorrow morning.

I was happy, but the speed-sloth was the most delighted of all. He really loved eating.

'He sure has a knack for finding wild ginseng.'

He'd delivered results, so he deserved a reward. I cooked up an appetizing fish and gave it to the raccoon family. They must have liked the grilled fish, because they polished it off.

"Keeeng."

"Kiiing! King!"

The first thing Mama Raccoon did was put a piece of fish into Baby Raccoon's mouth. Seeing her feed her baby before herself reminded me that a family was a family.

'I'm a little envious.'

Until just a few years ago, my family and I had all eaten together at the same table too. A bitter smile crept onto my face. It still hurt, but I could cherish it as a memory now. Otherwise, I'd only make things harder for myself.

After finishing dinner with the raccoon family, I relaxed in the warm cave.

SHHHHH...

I didn't forget to practice my cultivation method to control the cold. It hadn't been long, but my efforts were already making the cold easier to control. The condensed cold, only the size of a millet grain that morning, had grown to the size of a ping-pong ball.

The beginning was always the hardest part. Once I gained momentum, my progress accelerated sharply.

'Condensing the cold isn't the end of it.'

My goal was to use the cold whenever I wanted, not simply separate it out. Still, progress itself wasn't bad, so it was only a matter of time.

I finished cultivating and logged on to the forum.

'Same as ever.'

The forum was ablaze over the Eldorado controversy. People were saying the country was halfway into a civil war or something, but I didn't pay much attention. Unless Ludwig and I met and he dropped some enormous revelation, this would probably be as far as it went.

'There's no real rallying point, either.'

Most importantly, there was no one to take charge and lead a civil war—no central figure. Things might be different if the Hero were there, but... well, what did it matter?

I closed the forum and got ready for bed. Roundfur was already sprawled out asleep, and the speed-sloth was staring into the fire yet again.

'Just thinking about working again tomorrow makes me miserable.'

Couldn't a good worker fall out of the sky somewhere? With yet another pointless thought, I slowly closed my eyes.

* * *

Time passed, until just before daybreak.

A rooster crowed in the distance, and most of the animals began getting ready to move about. Given the season, however, the sun wasn't fully up yet. The animals were each preparing for their day.

"..."

But as someone once said, the early bird catches the worm. While everyone else was getting ready, someone was already on the move.

Like the animal currently staring intently at the notice posted by the river.

"Grrr."

Of the many languages on the notice, the one holding the animal's attention was none other than the language of the Central Plains. It silently studied the writing with vivid red eyes.

Then it turned its head toward the rising wisps of smoke. They came from the chimney, thanks to the speed-sloth feeding the fire throughout the predawn hours.

"..."

The red-eyed animal slowly walked toward the source of the smoke. Its appearance, and the way it moved with its massive arms planted on the ground, marked it unmistakably as a gorilla.

Unlike other gorillas, however, it had white fur and red eyes. And its eyes were not the only red things about it.

"Ooh...!"

The gorilla's palms were also blood-red.