Chapter 162 - The World Is Vast (1)

Thanks to Heavenly Demon's non-explanation of an explanation, the users realized something.

Title) Who cares if she's the real Heavenly Demon

What does it matter if our mod is the Heavenly Demon~

We can just keep calling her a martial-arts boomer~

└So we just keep shit-talking Heavenly Demon like before?

└Yep. Whether we're insulting the real Heavenly Demon or the mod Heavenly Demon, same difference lol

└So what if she's the real one? What are you gonna do about it, Heavenly Demon? LMAO

└Ban you?

└Oh fuck

└She's got power both IRL and on the forum lol

It didn't matter whether Heavenly Demon was real or fake. All they had to do was gleefully roast her as they always had.

Of course, she was a registered user with the mental fortitude to shrug off most insults and provocations. The users settled on keeping real life and the forum strictly(?) separate.

'She even had me fooled for a second. This is where her experience really shows.'

Heavenly Demon had been a registered user on the forum for a long time. Her way of talking might be old-fashioned, but that experience wasn't going anywhere. Hadn't I led with a brazen string of insults myself when a scammer nearly got me?

On a forum where desire masquerading as honesty was par for the course, it was a fitting response.

'Now I just need to keep an eye on the Blood Cult's antics.'

I watched the upvote count on Heavenly Demon's post climb in real time, then went back. Everyone was going wild over her explanation post.

I wanted to see how the Blood Cult was reacting, but unfortunately, picking out the relevant posts was difficult. And even if I found a Blood Cult-related post, I had no way of knowing whether it was genuine.

'If they're all nutjobs like Geum Jang, they'll post again eventually.'

Until then, I could get on with my own work. Let the outside world deal with outside problems.

I browsed the forum a little more, then quietly closed...

Title) While everyone's distracted

(Photo of a female elf with an incredible figure)

Dropping this here

...it after saving that, obviously.

I glanced around, saved the photo, and closed the forum. It was about time to get back to work. Lackey had been sawing away, so I needed to smooth out the timber.

'Once this is done, we should be ready to build the bridge.'

It had already been two days since Lackey joined the company(?). He had proved to be an excellent worker, with astonishing efficiency. Even with his mana sealed, his raw physical abilities made him great at manual labor.

As a result, the timber preparation I'd expected to take several days was finished in less than three.

"Lackey. We're going to use this to build a bridge now. Understand?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes. Here, look at this."

With the timber ready, it was time to build the bridge. I explained the structure of a da Vinci bridge to Lackey, showing him the completed model I'd made.

Honestly, it was simple enough to understand just by looking, without any verbal explanation. I was a little concerned about him being a gorilla, but he was intelligent enough to learn human speech.

"If you've got it, try building one yourself."

I handed him some twigs for the demonstration. Pushing up his glasses, he followed my instructions and slowly stacked them. At first, he seemed unsure, but gradually he got going. In the end, he finished far faster than I had on my first attempt.

"All done."

"Oh..."

"Got the general idea? Now we're going to build this over the river."

"..."

"The river's up that way. Where I bring the fish from. You know the place, right?"

"If you understand, grab the timber and let's head up." With that, I started moving the timber with Lackey.

Anyone who's ever lifted a log knows just how incredibly heavy wood is all on its own. Even sawn and planed down to a smaller size, wood was still wood. Thanks to the eel I'd eaten and my mana, I could carry several pieces at once, but that was my limit.

'Lackey really is... ridiculously strong.'

Meanwhile, he was carrying about as many as I was through sheer muscle, without being able to use any mana. I knew he was built well, but I hadn't expected him to outclass me even after I'd eaten that eel.

His physical abilities must have developed to help him survive in the Forest of Four Seasons. Being a gorilla probably helped too.

After moving most of the timber near the river, I searched for a suitable spot. Naturally, I wanted somewhere as narrow as possible with a weak current. I'd measured the width beforehand and prepared the timber accordingly, but you never knew.

'Come to think of it, it's mountains across the river today.'

A mountain with a clearly visible cliff, no less. Beyond the drop stood more mountains shrouded in a haze that might have been mist or clouds. It was a magnificent sight, but I had no desire to go there. I'd just finish this up quickly.

'First, let's check for golden frogs.'

I put my hand in the river. Normally, the frogs should have come leaping out. But none appeared. The weather had warmed up ages ago—were they still hibernating?

Or maybe they'd moved somewhere else. Either way, it was great news for me.

I told Lackey we should start building the bridge, then began stacking the timber one piece at a time.

"No, not there. Put it here."

"Ooh?"

"Yeah. That's it, that's it. There. Put it there."

Thanks to Lackey's knack for understanding what I wanted, we made quick progress. Doing this alone would have taken at least several days.

There was a reason I even gave him fasting pills. The animals of the Forest of Four Seasons went crazy for them, as though they were chocolate.

"Let's see. The length... Just one more section to fit together. We're almost done."

"Whew."

"Hang in there, even if it's a pain. Eat this, and then we'll have a snack."

And so, the bridge was complete. But finishing it and moving it were two separate matters. We had to hold opposite ends and move it across the river.

'Better tie a rope around myself, just in case.'

With a current this strong, precautions were essential.

After tying the rope securely around a tree, I grabbed the end of the bridge and slowly began moving. Lackey held it firmly in place to keep it from collapsing.

'Oh. Should I have tied all the joints together with rope?'

Even pouring on a little cement would have worked. Why did these ideas always come to me too late?

After a brief bout of inward lamentation, I kept my balance all the way across the river. The shoes the dwarf had given me worked so well that I never fell along the way.

"Whew!"

The moment I'd settled the bridge on the opposite bank, I hurried straight back.

The da Vinci bridge was finally complete. All that remained was to lay planks over it. It might be a makeshift bridge, but its design excelled at bearing weight, so it only needed a little more work.

Since I had cement too, I could even turn it into a proper bridge rather than a temporary one.

Title) Bridge complete!

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the da Vinci bridge reaching the opposite bank)

Lackey and I built this together. Just need to lay planks over it now.

Everyone out there, you're always welcome! Cross this bridge to heaven and come visit me!

└Heavenly Demon) It feels more like a bridge to hell than to heaven. Am I the only one under that impression?

└Sword Masta) How surprising. I felt the same way.

└Passing Dwarf) That's actually pretty well built. Is that gorilla a good worker?

└Wild Grylls) Yeah, he's sooooo fucking good lol. Might promote him from laborer to assistant later.

└Passing Dwarf) Why not forge swords together while you're at it? lol

└Wild Grylls) Is that possible?

└Passing Dwarf) Can't explain it in words, so figure it out yourself. Try whacking it with a hammer or something.

Passing Dwarf explained it like this: blacksmithing was an inherently difficult job to do alone. You needed to at least earn the title of "master craftsman" before you could make tools by yourself. Until then, blacksmiths always worked in teams of two or more.

'Maybe someday.'

It wasn't urgent, so I took it as nothing more than advice. If I did make my own tools, I'd probably start with a pickaxe. Besides, we couldn't even communicate with each other, so it would take a long time.

'I really do need to teach Lackey to speak.'

As I'd thought earlier, the frustration of being unable to communicate was incredible. It would be one thing if he were an animal incapable of speech, but knowing he could talk made it all the worse.

Originally, I'd planned to just keep talking at him until he understood...

'But he's just too damn capable.'

Over the past three days, I'd come to realize how capable he was. His talent(?) was too valuable to waste on mere labor. I was beginning to think the Blood Demon hadn't taught him martial arts for nothing.

He might not be a genius who could infer ten things from one lesson, but he thoroughly understood the one thing he was taught. Considering how many people couldn't grasp even that much, he had excellent potential.

"All right, Lackey. Look at me."

"?"

"For us to live together smoothly, I need to know what's bothering you too. That means we need to be able to communicate."

The moment I mentioned things bothering him, the suppressor around his neck caught my eye.

Was I feeling guilty? Don't be ridiculous. He was the one who tried to kill me first.

Without the slightest pang of conscience, I spoke.

"You've heard what I've been saying all this time, right? Try saying any of those words."

"..."

I wasn't sure he'd understand even that, but I had to try. I worked at it, mixing gestures with my words. Eventually, he realized what I wanted and nodded.

After thinking long and hard, the word he finally uttered was:

"F*ck."

"...?"

"Ooh-ooh. F*ck."

"Hey. Hold on."

It was a wonderfully earthy curse. I was utterly flustered. Out of all the words he could have learned, why that one? Was it because the intonation was so emphatic?

Granted, they did say swear words were the first thing you picked up in a foreign language. And I had often muttered curses while grumbling.

"What am I supposed to do with you learning that? Anything else?"

"Lackey."

"That's your name. From now on, when I ask you something, answer with 'Yes, sir.' Got it?"

I'd have to teach him manners first. No sooner had I decided that than...

"F*ck off."

"You crazy fucking monkey. When did you learn that one?"

"You."

"You're driving me insane. Seriously."

We had a long, long way to go.

* * *

Around the time Grylls began teaching Lackey Korean, the forum and the Central Plains were in an uproar over the Blood Cult.

The Heavenly Demon, who had "happened" to be passing by, had killed one of their elders, but that didn't change the fact that they had resumed their activities. The older generation, who remembered the Blood Cult's former might, trembled in fear, while the younger generation grew wary as well.

In particular, Geum Jang's display of martial prowess had proved him so powerful that even the older generation wouldn't dare try to stop him. It was fortunate that the Heavenly Demon had killed him, but the general consensus was that there would be more experts like him.

└Can't the Heavenly Demon just kill them all?

└On what grounds would the Demonic Cult intervene? She only came to catch someone impersonating her.

└Honestly, the Demonic Cult's better off staying out of it. They've already sent the message not to mess with them.

└The Heavenly Demon is what lets the Demonic Cult stay neutral. Only the Martial Alliance is fucked.

└The Martial Alliance isn't what it used to be... It's gotten seriously weak compared to the old days.

└So it's the Martial Dunce Alliance now...

└Martial Dunce Alliance LMAO

└That name lol

Thus, quite apart from the Heavenly Demon's soaring fame, wariness toward the Blood Cult grew stronger.

Amid all this, the Blood Cult members gathered at the "sacred grounds" Geum Jang had mentioned were...

"Obviously, we should make the black gorilla our successor!"

"Ridiculous! How would we manage that when he already has his own troop? We'd be better off choosing the white one!"

"Wait. A gorilla as our successor...?"

"Shut your mouth! We're serious!"

"..."

...holding an unexpected competition in idiocy.