Chapter 195

Cultivar (2)

I realized that farming would become much easier thanks to Grow Big and Strong.

If all I had to do was sow the seeds and they grew on their own, it could hardly even be called farming.

I would simply have to tend the field, scatter the seeds over it, and harvest the crops once they were fully grown.

At this rate, it might be better to obtain crops other than wheat as well.

Thud! Thump!

"That’s enough. Let’s head back now."

"@=%$"

But first, we had to finish what we had come here to do. I gave instructions to Ludwig, who was shoveling away.

We were currently downstream, where there was plenty of sand.

We had come to collect more because I needed it to make additional cement.

Perhaps because he was a soldier, I didn’t know about anything else, but he sure was good with a shovel.

Thanks to him, we quickly gathered as much as we needed.

Sploosh! Splash!

We were about to load the sand into sacks and return when a whale large enough to inspire awe leaped above the water.

However, I had only recently realized that it wasn’t actually a whale.

It was an abnormally large fish.

This is a fantasy world, so I wonder if there are more fish that big.

I checked Ludwig’s reaction.

He stood motionless, staring at the river as though he couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

Well, I had never dreamed that a whale could live in a river either. Technically, it was only a fish the size of a whale, though.

"Mister, you need to start getting used to things like that. This is that kind of place, after all."

"..."

"No matter what appears, you’re only going to keep being surprised, so let’s get going."

My persuasion(?) brought Ludwig back to his senses.

Then again, there was already a talking gorilla right beside him. What else was there to be surprised about?

I handed Kkobong a sack filled to the brim with sand.

Kkobong now obediently followed my instructions, so it seemed he was gradually getting used to things.

I wonder how this man would react if he saw the giant crab and crayfish by the lake.

The thought suddenly occurred to me, but I had no plans to go that far.

If I couldn’t finish the shelter now, I would have to squeeze both Kkobong and Largo into the cramped cave.

Time was money—and our lifeline.

Kkobong would be fine, but Largo would be really uncomfortable.

Without wasting any time, we returned to the shelter.

Maybe it was because we had formed something of a group now, or perhaps we were simply lucky.

Either way, no other animals attacked us on the way back.

Come to think of it, we haven’t been attacked much lately, have we?

Creatures like Kkobong and Ludwig had either come looking for me or simply crossed paths with me. None had actually attacked recently.

Perhaps the animals of the Forest of Four Seasons had begun to recognize this place as my territory.

If not, they might all be preparing for winter.

I just hoped some random raccoon wouldn’t lead a bunch of beasts here again like last time.

"All right. Let’s get to work."

"@%%o#"

"We’ll farm after we finish all this."

Building a house out of bricks.

It had looked fairly easy in the videos, but it was actually quite difficult.

Someone might ask why I had managed to build the makeshift oven and furnace without trouble, but those had been small.

A house, however, was large enough that even a slight mistake might force us to tear everything down and start over.

I need to keep everything level, and the amount of cement between the bricks has to be consistent too. This is really difficult.

I even had to leave a separate opening for a door.

Why wasn’t I making windows? Because accounting for those would extend the construction time even more.

Besides, this was only a shelter and refuge, not a proper house. There was no need to go that far.

However, there was one major problem.

How am I supposed to build the ceiling?

That was the issue.

I tilted my head back and looked up at the sky.

The ceiling needed to be sturdy enough to withstand future natural disasters.

The problem was that I had no idea how to build one.

One might think I could just make it rectangular, but—

Even if I build the ceiling that way, the roof needs to be triangular.

That way, the snow would naturally slide off.

If I made the roof flat, there was a high chance it would collapse.

I had only recently realized just how unimaginably heavy snow could be.

I had learned that in the military too, but clearing it all by myself had driven the lesson home even more forcefully.

First, I should decide where to install the fireplace.

For now, I set aside the ceiling issue and focused on building the brick structure.

With not only Ludwig but Kkobong helping as well, the work progressed incredibly quickly.

After roughly an hour, we managed to finish all the walls.

They would need further reinforcement to withstand an avalanche, but I planned to deal with that gradually.

It really is tall.

Since I had accounted for Largo’s height, the walls were about as tall as a two-story apartment building.

The thought of putting a ceiling and roof on top of them was daunting.

Still, it had to be done. I immediately logged into the gallery.

***

[Wild Grylls: Hey, dwarf mister. You there?]

[Passing Dwarf: What is it this time?]

[Wild Grylls: (Photo of the wide-open ceiling) I need to put a ceiling over this. Got any tips?]

[Passing Dwarf: ? Why the hell did you build the ceiling so high?]

[Wild Grylls: Kkobong and the giraffe both need to fit inside.]

[Passing Dwarf: Giraffe? That long-necked thing?]

[Wild Grylls: Yep.]

[Passing Dwarf: Good grief... Even we wouldn’t build an animal enclosure that tall. Just looking at it makes me feel overwhelmed.]

[Wild Grylls: Can you help? For the record, I need to put a roof on it too.]

[Passing Dwarf: I’ll teach you the basics, so you’d better pray it doesn’t collapse. This isn’t something a beginner should be doing in the first place.]

[Wild Grylls: If it collapses, well... Kkobong will take care of it somehow.]

***

I said that, but I intended to ensure that absolutely nothing of the sort happened.

I had no intention of cutting corners. Shoddy construction was practically a sin.

I should reinforce the walls further, just in case.

I added layer upon layer to the walls to prepare for avalanches.

That took another hour or so. In the meantime, the dwarf uploaded a post.

***

Title: How to Build a Well-Frame Ceiling

Passing Dwarf

(Illustration 1 showing how to build a well-frame ceiling)

(Illustration 2 showing how to build a well-frame ceiling)

(Illustration of the final stage)

Just build it roughly like this. If you need it, I can also send you something to cover the top with.

└ Wild Grylls: There’s a condition, right? Let’s hear it.

└ Passing Dwarf: I saw some registered user mention in your last post that crops grew really well after they scattered the soil over them.

└ Wild Grylls: Yeah, I heard that too. So?

└ Passing Dwarf: I’ll send you some barley seeds later. Once they grow, can you send me some? I want to drink beer brewed with barley grown in the Forest of Four Seasons.

└ Wild Grylls: You and your damned alcohol... Fine, got it.

└ Passing Dwarf: Go for it.

***

I carefully studied the dwarf’s post.

A well-frame ceiling was, as the name suggested, constructed in a lattice resembling the Chinese character for "well" (井).

What I needed were wooden logs cut to the proper lengths.

And what did that mean?

It meant more work for Kkobong.

"Hey, Kkobong. I’ll measure the width and length, so you handle the rest. Got it?"

"Unfair. Difficult."

"Quit complaining and do it."

"Bad man."

"No food for you today. I’m building you a house, and that’s how you talk to me?"

"Actually, I want to work. My body is itching for it."

"Good. Then let’s eat first."

You had to eat a hearty snack if you wanted to work well.

Afterward, Kkobong processed the timber while Ludwig and I tilled the field.

Perhaps my explanations until bedtime yesterday had paid off, because Ludwig worked well without needing any further corrections.

Once the wheat grows, will I be able to make bread?

I might finally get to eat processed food again after so long.

Now, someone might ask: Why not simply buy it from the auction house?

The auction house was overflowing with food, so why insist on making it myself? Wasn’t it a waste of time?

All perfectly valid points.

However, I was doing this to improve myself.

What was that saying? If you want to become rich, start by making your own bed.

This followed a similar principle.

Achieving something through my own efforts.

Using that sense of accomplishment to improve myself little by little.

Personal growth unrelated to combat strength.

It felt strange to put it that way.

"What? Is there something over there?"

"@#%%"

"Oh, there’s a big rock? Hold on."

For now, it was time to focus on tilling the field.

***

A paladin.

A knight who possessed faith and grew stronger through that belief.

"Dig over there."

"Understood."

Sometimes, he was also used as manual labor.

Ludwig diligently tilled the field alongside Grylls.

When he first heard they would be farming, he had been genuinely excited, but the actual work proved rather complicated.

First of all, picking stones out of the soil was extremely troublesome. They were the main culprits making it difficult even to turn the earth.

If they found a rock too large to remove, they had no choice but to find another plot of land.

After repeating that process, they somehow managed to till the field, but their work wasn’t over yet.

Will it really grow immediately?

Grylls had already told him what he knew.

According to the person who had received soil from the Forest of Four Seasons, crops had grown in an instant.

They hadn’t even planted seeds in it. They had merely scattered the soil like fertilizer.

Hearing that had left Ludwig slightly disappointed.

The reason he wanted to farm was to watch the crops grow before his very eyes.

But if they grew instantly, wouldn’t it all be over before he had time to feel any sense of pride?

It can’t be helped.

Survival was the immediate concern, so how could something like that matter?

He could start farming properly after escaping from the Forest of Four Seasons.

He had no idea how long that would take, but surely it would be possible within ten years.

As long as he remained alive, escape would not be impossible.

"Here are the seeds. Just scatter these."

"Thank you."

Ludwig accepted the seeds from Grylls.

Tiny wheat seeds.

Once he scattered them across the field, golden wheat would grow.

Whoosh! Swish!

Ludwig and Grylls scattered the seeds throughout the field.

Soon, those seeds would sprout and turn into fully grown wheat.

Just in case, they also watered them thoroughly with the hose.

And then—

Swoooooosh!!!

Just as Grow Big and Strong had claimed, the wheat grew in an instant.

Grylls and Ludwig marveled at the sight for a moment, then tilted their heads in confusion.

"Why is it so..."

"It is far too large."

The wheat was simply too big.

Not only were the stalks thick, but they were also incredibly tall.

They had to crane their necks to see the tops. The wheat was nearly as tall as Largo the giraffe.

The seeds had clearly come from outside the forest, so why had they grown so enormous?

"Nom, nom, nom."

"Hey! That’s not for you to eat. Get away."

"Go away."

It was so tall that Largo could eat it with complete ease.

After barely managing to stop Largo, Grylls and Ludwig stared at the wheat.

Its increased size was certainly a good thing, but the most important factor was its taste.

Whether they turned it into bread or noodles, it needed to taste good.

They were just about to harvest it with swords in place of sickles when—

Flutter!

A small sparrow flew toward them.

It looked like an ordinary sparrow from the outside world, tiny in size.

"What the? Where did this thing come from?"

"Hmm..."

As the two men wondered about it—

Flap-flap-flap-flap-flap!!!

An utterly ominous noise reached their ears.

It sounded almost like a swarm of locusts approaching.

Upon hearing it, Grylls quickly realized that this wasn’t a swarm of insects.

A swarm of insects would produce a high-pitched buzzing sound, but this was...

Yes.

It was the sound of wings.

The sound of birds furiously flapping their wings.

But why, all of a sudden...?

Just as Grylls was about to reach a conclusion, the source of the noise came into view.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

"Chiiirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

A flock of sparrows resembling a swarm of locusts descended upon them.

The sparrows charged straight toward the freshly grown wheat.

Grylls and Ludwig stared blankly at the sight.

Flap-flap-flap! Flap-flap!

The sparrows finished their feast and returned to the forest.

All that remained were the wheat’s bare, skeletal stalks.

It hadn’t been an invasion of locusts.

It had been an invasion of sparrows.

"...Fuck."

"...Fucking birds."

The two men muttered under their breath as they surveyed the devastation.

Their homelands, races, and languages might have been entirely different, but for once, their hearts and minds were perfectly united.

Those birds were pests.