A new morning broke. The weather was clear and bright.
Without any strange phenomena like swarming insect hordes, sudden downpours, or mind-boggling surreal landscapes unfolding.
Given everything that had happened recently, just being ordinary felt strangely comforting.
’So what, though?’
The weather was bright, but my mind was anything but.
Because it was meaningless in the Forest of the Four Seasons anyway.
I looked up at the clear sky and sighed.
Who knew when that sky would deliver another massive backstab.
For now, since I was only going to train inside, it didn’t matter too much, but I was still a little worried.
’Isn’t there a way to predict the weather?’
I wasn’t asking to predict snow, pollen, or yellow dust storms.
All I wanted was just one thing: I wished I could at least predict when it would rain.
You might ask if there aren’t plenty of ways to predict rain, and sure, there are many, but the problem is whether they work in the Forest of the Four Seasons.
’At least I don’t see any dark clouds today.’
The most reliable sign, if anything, was dark clouds.
Right now, there wasn’t a single cloud in sight, but there was no telling when they would come creeping in.
’Let’s stick to the plan for now.’
Training in the morning, outdoor activities in the afternoon.
I began training as usual.
Cold energy control through the Mental Cultivation Method. Swordsmanship training. And exercises to build up muscle, and so on.
Title) Succession ceremony tomorrow
They’ll give out a lot of food, right?
It’s practically a festival. Commoners just get to play and drink lol
I bet there’ll be tons of booze. That’s the only reason I’m going lol
Just don’t get drunk and rowdy. Since it’s a succession ceremony, punishments might be harsher
Wasn’t there some bastard who posted a terror threat during a festival back in the day?
Yeah, Orange Badge leaked his IP immediately. Turned out he was an Academy student lol
Title) Jealous of the Messiah Empire.
Succession ceremonies rarely go smoothly. This generation seems pretty decent.
What’s the point of being decent? If he ruins everything, it means nothing anyway lmao
Honestly, Crown Prince hasn’t shown us anything.
Upvote if you think Crown Prince will beg Ash like a dog if the country gets into trouble lmao
I’m the Crown Prince and I upvoted.
Absolute Supreme Arnold Best: Stop fucking around;;
The Gallery was bustling with all sorts of discussion topics.
Starting from the Sky Whale to the Flying Magic Tower, the succession ceremony, protests in El Dorado, and so forth.
Because people from all over the world were gathered in one place, it was quite chaotic.
Well, it’s not like they could categorize them by region, so it couldn’t be helped.
The Orange Badge was a community manager, not a system administrator managing the site infrastructure.
’Come to think of it, besides the mods, shouldn’t there be an actual administrator managing the Gallery itself?’
As I got used to it, I sometimes forgot about these things.
Who was the actual administrator controlling and running the Gallery?
As of now, no one knew the origins of the Gallery in detail.
Since neither its creator nor when it was created was clear, there weren’t even any proper researchers on it.
’At least after written language was invented, right? Since illiterate people could barely use the Gallery.’
Pondering useless thoughts, I began preparing a meal.
Today’s lunch was the wild boar caught earlier, stored in the box packed with ice.
"Here. Eat up."
"Ooh-ooh! Thanks!"
"Look at him, learning how to say thanks now."
When I gave the wild boar meat to Lackey, who was now off disciplinary action (?), he expressed his gratitude.
His language skills were improving by leaps and bounds.
He was a guy who could speak in the first place, and it seemed he had a high natural talent for it.
Even though I hadn’t specifically taught him, he could understand my words and their meanings.
"You guys can’t talk, right?"
"...."
"Kkyu?"
Speed Sloth quietly stared at me, while Wonmo tilted his head.
That gorilla is the unusual one; these guys aren’t strange. That’s what I thought.
Anyway, now that lunch was completely taken care of, I prepped for exploration.
’I should store the ambergris here.’
The Sky Whale’s ambergris, which was originally stored in the Subspace Backpack.
I wanted to keep it in the Subspace Backpack, but an unexpected situation had occurred.
"Uwoooooh!"
"Huh? Huh? What?! Where are you going?!"
Lackey almost flew up into the sky.
If tied with a string like a balloon, it was fine, but if tied around his waist or worn on his back, he floated straight up.
I had no idea what principle was at work, but if he floated up by accident and the rope snapped, it would be a major disaster.
So I decided to store the ambergris in a regular backpack.
’Apply repellent thoroughly, and block the fireplace so the scent doesn’t leak out.’
Finally, cover the cave entrance with cloth and done.
If the entire cave floats up because of this... well, that would literally be an accident.
"Let’s go."You are reading on novelping(.)com, the official source.
"Kkyu!"
"...."
Thus, I set out on exploration accompanied by my trusty animal companions.
Lackey checked a few times to make sure his glasses were fine, then hurried after us.
Usually Wonmo took the lead, but today we were scouting a place we had already visited, so the order was different.
The former Owlbear Cave, suspected to be where numerous kangaroos gathered.
For Wonmo, it was his old home.
’What on earth are the kangaroos doing to have so little activity outside?’
Unlike the gorillas who divided roles and acted actively, the kangaroos hadn’t shown a hair since our first encounter.
Did they have a habit of staying strictly in their territory, or was there another reason?
Perhaps because gorillas inhabited the area nearby, they were keeping them in check.
Seeing how the gorillas hadn’t invaded my shelter since the boss gorilla incident, that seemed quite plausible.
’Being peaceful is nice, but...’
There is a saying: If you want peace, prepare for war.
Since I didn’t know when, where, who, or how someone might trespass, it was necessary to scout and check.
At least the gorilla side was okay because their boss was mild-mannered, but the kangaroos were an unknown variable.
Besides, remembering how one put Wonmo in a headlock the moment it saw him, they were far from mild-mannered.
Even knowing Wonmo was a cub, it had acted like there was no such thing as showing mercy.
’Looks like we’re almost there.’
Even though it had been a while since I visited, I knew the path.
Each area had a specific marker, and in the case of the Kangaroo Cave, it was the ’boundary’.
Since it was the boundary between the forest and the jungle, finding it wasn’t hard.
As I walked along the path, the moment I saw the familiar cave entrance, I hid myself.
"Shh."
"Kkyu?"
"...."
Wonmo tilted his head in confusion as I reached my hand back.
But fortunately, understanding my gesture, he carefully approached from behind.
Lackey also took the hint, stepping behind me to hide.
’Are there only two kangaroos guarding the entrance?’
Two kangaroos were standing guard at the cave entrance.
You might ask how beasts could be standing guard, but almost all the beasts here were exceptionally smart.
The gorillas spoke and acted like humans, so kangaroos wouldn’t be any different.
’But damn, those muscles...’
The kangaroos standing guard gave off an incredible sense of intimidation just by looking at them.
What stood out the most were their upper body muscles. Bulging and ripped, they were visible even from afar.
Of course, compared to Lackey they fell short, but considering the weight-class difference between species, it was impressive.
What on earth were those kangaroos guarding that they didn’t even step inside?
’Come to think of it, wasn’t the ceiling of that cave open?’
Just as I was thinking whether I could peek inside through the ceiling—
Chong- chong- chong-
A kangaroo came hopping up to the entrance.
Soon, that kangaroo stood still in front of the guards.
The guard kangaroos inspected it all over, as if checking for suspicious items.
The highlight was that they even thoroughly searched its pouch, a defining feature of kangaroos.
"Pueung."
"Pueueung."
After finishing the inspection, they quietly let it inside.
I stared blankly at the scene. It looked like a bouncer check at a club entrance.
What the hell was going on inside for them to search their own kin?
’Climbing up to the cave ceiling would be best, but...’
Where should I climb up from? Just as I was pondering that—
Tuk- tuk-
Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned my head back.
Lackey pointed to himself.
He had an expression that seemed to say, "Leave this to me."
"...You want me to leave it to you?"
Nod-
When I asked in a dubious voice, Lackey nodded confidently.
Was it because he pulled a massive trolling stunt with the Flame Horse last time? I could hardly trust him.
’If he does it again...’
I’ll kick him out for good.
Deciding to trust him just one last time, I stepped aside for Lackey.
Lackey moved cautiously, revealing his presence right as he stepped out.
"Pueung?!"
"Pueueung."
The moment Lackey revealed himself, the guard kangaroos went into a combat stance.
A situation where one kangaroo looked ready to dash inside to signal reinforcement at any second.
Lackey stared back at them and slowly raised both hands.
A silent gesture indicating he meant no harm.
"...."
"...."
At that sign, the guard kangaroos’ guard relaxed slightly.
I wondered if just that single gesture was really enough.
"Pueung."Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.
"Ooh-ooh. Ooh."
"Pueueung. Pueung."
"Ooh-ooh."
Can animals communicate even if they are different species?
The kangaroos and Lackey began conversing with each other. I had no idea what any of it meant.
Still, it seemed effective, because soon Lackey looked over toward me.
Hwijok- hwijok-
He waved his hand as if telling me it was okay to come out now.
With a dubious feeling, I slowly stepped out. The kangaroos’ eyes locked onto me.
"Give. That."
"What?"
"Tasty thing. Give. Proof."
Lackey spoke to me. If he meant something tasty, he must be referring to the Fasting Pills.
I always carried Fasting Pills in case of emergencies.
I didn’t know how this proved anything, but I decided to do as asked for now.
I could feel Speed Sloth’s terrifying gaze from behind, but I tried my best to ignore it.
"Pueung..."
Taking the Fasting Pill, the kangaroo looked back and forth between me and the pill with a suspicious expression.
Then it broke off about half of the Fasting Pill and passed it to its buddy.
The buddy also thoroughly inspected it, sniffing it carefully.
Nyam.
Munch munch.
Finally popping the Fasting Pills into their mouths, would it suit their palates?
Carnivores aside, most herbivores reacted positively, finding them delicious.
"Puo?! Puoooo?!"
"Puuuuu!"
And the kangaroos were no exception.
Their eyes widened in shock, bursting into excited reactions.
"Puu! Pu!"
"Pu!"
Was the bribe(?) overwhelmingly effective?
The kangaroos gestured for us to hurry inside.
It seemed we didn’t even need to disarm our weapons or gear.
Feeling complicated in many ways, I entered the Kangaroo Cave. And...
"Uwoooooh!"
"Puooo! Puoooo!"
I was greeted by a feverish atmosphere of entertainment no less intense than actual civilization.
Two kangaroos fighting in the center, surrounded by a crowd of spectator kangaroos.
Whenever the kangaroos traded blows, the cheers(?) grew louder.
Just as I was staring blankly, wondering what on earth was happening—
’...Wait a second. Are those bears?’
The spectators weren’t just kangaroos.
From a family of bears, to a deer with a somewhat familiar appearance, down to small animals like raccoons.
Though there were no gorillas yet, it was still hard to grasp what this situation was.
Uwoooooh!!!
Right then, the cheers grew far louder than before.
Turning my head toward the center, I was met with an utterly dumbfounding scene.
A kangaroo hoisted its fallen opponent off the floor and jammed its own head between the opponent’s crotch.
The forcefully lifted kangaroo looked completely panicked.
Soon, realizing what was happening, it even looked down.
Peok! Peok! Peok!
Intuiting danger, the lifted kangaroo repeatedly struck the other’s head.
At this rate the attacker might collapse, but a technique properly locked in is hard to break.
Shortly after, the bottom kangaroo slammed the opponent straight into the ground.
Kkwaaang!
A powerbomb, a move straight out of pro-wrestling, exploded onto the floor!
Pro wrestling at least has a mat to absorb impact, but this was hard stone floor.
Taking the full brunt of the impact, the slammed kangaroo was knocked unconscious with its tongue lolling out.
The moment the winner was clearly decided.
"Puoooooo!!!"
The victorious kangaroo spread its arms and roared.
As if responding to the roar, the crowd of spectators also spread their arms and roared.
Soon, the winning kangaroo stomped forward, passing right through the crowd of spectators(?).
Beyond the spectators was a group of kangaroos noticeably smaller than the others.
They were likely females; the winner led away the female standing right at the front.
"Puoooo!"
Returning to the center, the kangaroo proudly declared, "This female is mine!"
The other kangaroos roared back with wild cheers in acknowledgment.
Watching the whole sequence of events, a thought crossed my mind.
’...Is that actually how kangaroos naturally behave?’
It felt like witnessing something right on the boundary between civilization and the wild.