Chapter 164 - Wild Horse (1)

I had even poured cement over the bridge. With that reinforcement, it was sturdy enough to crawl across.

The forum's offline fight was over, so there was nothing left to keep an eye on. Apart from teaching Lackey Korean and training, I had finished everything I could and needed to do for now.

'I'm starting to get the hang of the cold energy.'

Here was the method I'd figured out: keep the cold energy separated normally, then use it only when I needed it. Gathering it back together took time, but that would get faster with practice.

'What now?'

Waiting indefinitely for the terrain across the river to change and someone to arrive wasn't a bad option, but it would waste far too much time. This was the wilderness of the ever-changing Forest of Four Seasons. Doing nothing here and simply waiting for something to happen was tantamount to having a death wish.

'Should I get Lackey to train me?'

You might wonder what kind of training a gorilla could offer, but what I wanted was martial arts. Lackey was exceptionally skilled. Although he hadn't reached the gorilla chief's level, he had a solid foundation.

Me, on the other hand? Forget throwing a proper punch—I didn't even have the basics down. As someone had put it, I was getting stronger like a dumbass. That was the only reason I was doing fine; underneath, I was hollow. I'd only beaten Lackey because he hadn't known about my cold energy.

'Didn't they say technique was by far my weakest point out of mind, technique, and body?'

Even Heavenly Demon and Sword Masta hadn't been able to teach me technique. To stress the point again, it wasn't that they wouldn't—they couldn't. Sword Masta's posts would only be fully effective if I had a foundation to build on.

So I asked Lackey if he could teach me just a few simple things, but...

"No."

"Why?"

"You. Don't like."

"..."

I gave up the moment I heard his prim reply. Threatening him wouldn't help. If he taught me something wrong, the damage might be irreversible.

In short, finishing the bridge had left me with plenty of free time. I thought I might take the opportunity to go exploring.

'In that case, taking off Lackey's suppressor would be better...'

But he'd run away immediately. That much was obvious. I had no intention of removing it until we could trust each other completely, at the very least.

'Or should I just use him as a porter?'

That was the best option available. Even the extradimensional backpack couldn't reduce mass, so everything still weighed the same. Having Lackey carry it all would make exploring much easier. He was a gorilla, too, so he could handle heavy loads.

'The more I think about it, the better it sounds.'

Who knew one extra worker would make such a difference? Fantastic. After spending a little time planning things out in my head, I checked the map.

If I took Lackey along, the gorillas' territory was naturally the place to avoid at all costs. Who knew what trouble we'd get into if we went there? Running into the gorilla chief in particular might send Lackey into a fit.

"Hmm..."

Come to think of it, dinnertime wasn't far off. I could explore for an hour or two and come back. Revisiting somewhere I'd already been was fine, since the season had changed. I needed to check how the terrain changed with each season, too.

'And I need to check out that place with the enormous tree.'

That giant tree standing all alone. Did Lackey know about it? Asking Papa Raccoon as well might be a good idea.

"Lackey, do you know a place with a tree much bigger than all the others?"

"Don't know."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I'd barely started teaching him Korean, and he was already answering fluently. If even Lackey, who must have lived as a wanderer, didn't know, I'd ask Papa Raccoon.

"Krr?"

"Looks like you don't know either. Thanks for the herbs."

Since none of them knew, I'd have to go there myself. But reaching it would take at least a day, possibly longer. Compasses didn't work in that area, either, so one wrong move could leave me lost forever.

'Just leaving cuts on trees probably won't be enough to mark the way.'

I ought to keep making signposts and put them up whenever I went somewhere new. Without a compass, that was my best option. I had a worker now, anyway, so carrying them wouldn't be a problem.

"Kyuu?"

As I was pondering where to explore, Roundfur cautiously approached my side. He must have seen my expression and wondered if something was wrong. I gazed at his face, adorable just to look at, then scooped him up.

He'd lost some weight over the winter, going from chubby to pleasantly plump.

'He shed his fur in no time, too.'

It wasn't just weight—his fur had come out in clumps. Cleaning it up had been quite a chore. Still, his overall frame was steadily growing.

"All right, Roundfur. Pick somewhere you want to go."

"Kyuu?"

"Anywhere you like."

Since I couldn't choose, I'd leave it to Roundfur's luck. It would be easier to think of this as taking him for a walk and getting some fresh air rather than exploring.

Clever as he was, he seemed to understand and stared intently at the map. Then he wiggled his adorably short front legs before pointing somewhere.

"Kyu!"

"Here? That's..."

A blank area. Somewhere I hadn't even explored. It was toward the path the gorilla chief had personally cleared for me. I'd meant to go there sometime, but one thing after another had kept me from it.

After a moment's thought, I nodded. We'd be back soon, so it should be fine.

"Okay, let's go. But we're coming straight back, all right?"

"Kyuu!"

Roundfur beamed at being allowed to go out. How could he be so cute? I rubbed my cheek against his adorable face, then gently set him down. The moment his feet touched the ground, he started bouncing around everywhere. He really must have loved going out.

"Here, Lackey. Carry this."

"Ooh."

I gave Lackey the tools and other odds and ends, while carrying important things like the Elixir myself. Then I put the speed-sloth on my back, and we were ready to go. I didn't forget to install a surveillance camera, either, since someone might break into our home while we were away.

Title) Exploring for the first time in ages

Wild Grylls

(Photo of Lackey turned porter)

Going exploring for the first time in ages. Only checking out the immediate area, so I should be back soon.

That's Lackey in the photo, now working as a porter. Having an extra pair of hands makes everything ridiculously easy.

└Heavenly Demon) He certainly looks more docile with glasses.

└Sword Masta) He looks full of complaints to me. lol

└What's he gonna do about it if he's unhappy? lol

└fr what can he do except grumble? lol

└Wild Grylls) Lackey swears in my language now. Says he learned it from me.

└Look how fast he learns;; Isn't he smarter than most people?

└The more I see, the more I think so lol

└Allfather) Going on an outing, are you? What do you think you'll discover this time?

└Wild Grylls) If I find a unicorn or something, I'll post a photo right away.

└Allfather) I'd prefer a unicorn horn, if possible. Ho ho.

└Wild Grylls) Are those expensive?

└Someone needs to get gored by a unicorn to come to their senses;;

└Loads of hunters have died getting impaled while hunting unicorns. Just ignore him.

└They've got nasty tempers, too. Best not to get involved.

I'd only been joking, but comments trying to stop me poured in. Apparently, their tempers were worse than I'd imagined. I should have known when I heard all that stuff about them only letting pure maidens ride them. You'd have to be a real piece of sh*t to act like that.

'Well, that only matters if I actually run into a unicorn.'

I headed toward the path the gorilla chief had personally made for me. Roundfur led the way, with Lackey bringing up the rear. I figured we'd keep that formation for a while.

'Nothing's all that differ—'

I'd assumed the area beyond the path the chief had cleared would be perfectly ordinary forest. But I was wrong. It felt more desolate than lush. A gray zone, you might call it. The fallen leaves on the ground, the trees—everything.

Scorch marks were scattered everywhere. Had there been a recent forest fire?

'No. A forest fire would have burned everything away.'

It looked more as though all the moisture had been sucked out, turning everything gray. Something wasn't right. I moved on cautiously.

"Hey, Lackey. Do you know why it's like this?"

"Fire."

"Fire?"

"Fire."

All he would say when I asked was "fire." Apparently, fire was why the forest had turned gray, but I couldn't be sure. Thank goodness it was far from the shelter. Otherwise, I would have suffered serious damage too.

'What on earth could be connected to fire and turn this place into this?'

It wasn't that the space had changed like the area across the river. I simply had the feeling that "fire" had claimed this entire region as its "territory." I walked on, carefully checking for venomous bugs among the fallen leaves.

WHOOOO...

"..."

Then I came upon a cave that filled me with foreboding the moment I saw it. My instincts were telling me someone was inside. I had a feeling I shouldn't disturb its owner.

Just as I was about to quietly turn back...

"Kyuu!"

Roundfur dashed straight toward it, as though he'd found a new animal. In an instant, he'd vanished into the darkness of the cave. Startled, I was just about to rush after him when...

WHOOSH!

"KYAAAAH!!!"

An enormous blaze lit up the entire dark cave. As soon as Roundfur realized those flames meant trouble, he scampered out and huddled behind my legs, trembling. He was normally so bold. Whatever had frightened him this badly couldn't be ordinary.

CLOP, CLOP, CLOP.

Before long, the flames rising inside the cave began to slowly approach. The staggering heat forced me to stumble back. Now I understood why the forest was entirely gray, why there wasn't a drop of moisture left.

SHHHHH!

I stirred the energy within me, ready to unleash cold at any moment. At last, the territory's owner emerged from the cave.

'... A horse?'

The animal wreathed in flames was a horse—a very large one. It was tall enough that I had to tilt my head back a little to look up at it. Flames flickered in place of a mane, and its eyes blazed as though engulfed in fire as well. Its entire body was pitch-black, making it incredibly intimidating.

"... Prrrh."

The flame horse snorted as though demanding to know why we'd interrupted its nap. I slowly edged backward, showing it I had no intention of fighting. Wild horses generally had nasty tempers. There was no point provoking it further.

'Slowly. Just back away slowly...'

TAP!

As I was backing away, a small stone flew over the flame horse's head. A moment later, it dropped squarely onto its head with a little tap.

WHOOOOSH!!

At once, its flames burned far more fiercely than before. As if to prove its fury, even the flames gradually changed from red to blue.

"Fucking great, huh?"

"..."

And the culprit who had thrown the stone was grinning. Apparently, he'd done it deliberately to screw me over. He seemed to figure that if I died, all the better, and he could run away if things went south.

"You son of a b*tch!"

Just you wait. I'm putting a padlock on those glasses later.

* * *

On the grassland, just before Grylls's battle with the flame horse...

Ludwig was still riding the giraffe. His foot was so badly injured that even walking was difficult. He'd found whatever useful herbs he could and administered first aid, but even that wasn't enough.

'Will I have no choice but to amputate?'

He could clearly feel the injured area turning necrotic. When he circulated his mana, that part alone felt as if it had vanished.

Keeping the worst-case scenario in mind, Ludwig looked across the river. At present, the opposite bank was a barren expanse of rock.

BWOOOOO!

ROOOOOAR!

Two enormous creatures were fighting there. Their tough hides made them look like elephants clad in armor. Their legs were far thicker than an elephant's, giving them a stable stance. Add to that their blade-like tusks, and they were terrifying just to look at.

'Is this what they mean by watching a fire from across the river?'

Ludwig quietly watched the two creatures fight.

"Hot, hot, hot, HOT!!!"

Someone else, meanwhile, had fallen straight into the fire.