Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 101

The Beginning of the Disaster 2

2022.02.09.

“Weren’t you a mountain ranger or something in your previous job…? No, even mountain rangers would think twice in this kind of weather…” A local staff member asked, clearly bewildered. “Yeon-woo is amazing, though. He got us all the way here. Whew. If it weren’t for Yeon-woo…” “He’s not just amazing!” “Huh?” “Finding this shelter in this situation is practically a miracle. It’s not just about having a good sense of direction. Honestly, that guide was useless; he got lost every time he came here, can you believe it?” “Yeon-woo didn’t have any trouble…” “That’s what’s so amazing. Unless he’s some kind of nature druid, this level of wayfinding is really… He even managed it just now in this downpour. Even we were struggling to keep up.” The local staff members, despite their strong builds, looked dejected, as if recalling how they were too busy following Yeon-woo to be of any help. “Is it that bad?” “Maybe he has some kind of satellite tracker…?” “No way he’d have something like that. He would have told us if he did.” “But if not, this is just absurd. I think we should offer him a prayer.” The local staff members closed their eyes, and the others whispered. “I already knew it, but we really survived thanks to Yeon-woo.” “How should we thank him…?” “Last time I checked, Yeon-woo really hated receiving things. Remember when he complained to the investors and the agency about the food truck coming to our set?” “That’s right. He did. What should we do? He doesn’t even seem to have any material desires.” “Ugh… Let’s think about how to repay him when we get out of here.” Even while shivering from the cold, the remaining people seriously put their heads together. They were sincere, and they needed something to focus on to maintain their sanity.

-Ding!

[Congratulations! You have secured a large amount of lifespan.]

[Would you like to harvest the lifespan?]

“…?” Yeon-woo had no idea that a sudden notification had popped up for him.

* The rain didn’t stop easily. It had been pouring for two days straight, trapping the cast and crew inside the cave. The only fortunate thing was that Adrian was here. It had been three days since they were stranded. The staff members had been able to endure it thanks to Yeon-woo’s actions, or more precisely, Yeon-woo, who was coached by Adrian.

[It seems like we can collect rainwater for drinking. We’ve solved the water problem for now.]

[Ah, we’ll need food too. Let’s see… what’s edible around here…]

Water and food were important, but there was something even more crucial: fire.

[First, let’s make a fire. Without fire, body temperature drops, which consumes calories, which leads to weakness, which leads to a loss of stamina, which eventually leads to death…]

“Okay. I get it, so let’s not say such ominous things. How do we make a fire?” On the first day of being stranded, Yeon-woo’s first task was to make a fire. He diligently followed the instructions of the skilled instructor… no, the survival expert.

[Look carefully under the large rocks. Those places are gold mines.]

[Oh my. What a windfall! Benefactor. Let’s go there.]

[Let’s move diligently. Survival requires diligence!]

Yeon-woo was able to gather a considerable amount of kindling.

“But how are you going to start a fire with that?” He wasn’t going to rub branches together by hand, was he? When he asked, Adrian said as if it were obvious:

[Just light it with a lighter.]

“…?”

[What’s with that surprised expression? Don’t tell me you don’t even have that convenience of civilization? Good heavens. Has it been 50 years since I died?]

Strictly speaking, this island was an isolated backwater, a place far removed from civilization, with pristine nature untouched by people. But just because the people who set foot on this backwater were disconnected from civilization. Adrian was also a person who lived in modern civilization.

“…”

The very simple answer was to light it with a lighter. It wasn’t even wrong; it was just unexpected to hear it in this situation. Fortunately, there was a smoker among the staff members.

“Well… I don’t really like electronic cigarettes… But I didn’t smoke here. I only smoke in designated smoking areas.” The avid smoker, who had bought a lighter as soon as he arrived, desperately defended himself. In any case, he was able to avoid receiving a pitiful look from the survival expert.

[How to light wet firewood?]

Adrian crossed his arms.

[There’s no way.]

“…?”

[If you burn wet wood, you could suffocate in a place like this cave.]

Then what was he having him collect so diligently? When Yeon-woo’s displeased gaze reached him, Adrian raised his chin.

[We’re not going to use the whole thing, just the inside.]

The inside?

[It was a downpour, but the time it was exposed to the rain was relatively short, so the inside shouldn’t be wet yet at that thickness. If you split it and scrape the inside to make sawdust, it will be very good for starting a fire.]

“…”

[Use that to make a spark, and then burn the dry things you brought from under the rock, and it will last quite a while. Looking at the amount you’ve collected… you should be able to last about half a day.]

Adrian’s words were clear and concise. The method was also straightforward. He wondered what he was going to do with the wet logs. Surprisingly, the method of starting a fire was very simple.

‘…The words are simple, the words are.’ The method itself wasn’t complicated and was very simple: split it, dig it out, and light it. The end. But in reality, it was an impossible level of difficulty.

‘Split that?’ Yeon-woo glared at the log, which seemed thicker than his thigh.

[Oh. Don’t tell me you don’t even have a hatchet? Good heavens. How could that be?]

The professional survival expert said.

[I thought you were well prepared since you had a lighter, but to think you don’t have a hatchet…]

‘Isn’t it weirder to carry that around?’ Who carries such a weapon around these days? You’d get caught at the airport. You’d have to get a separate import permit. If there were people who carried that around on a daily basis, as Adrian said, they’d probably be psychopaths, excluding those in related professions or potential murderers.

‘I can’t split this with my bare hands…’ Honestly, it was possible. If he concentrated the energy of iron into his spiritual power, he could exert a sufficiently sharp physical force without blades. But…

“Ugh…”

“Hee…”

The people who came with him were trembling, unable to say anything, their faces pale. The medical staff who came with them hurriedly handed out Tylenol, but that wasn’t a fundamental solution.

‘I have no choice.’ Yeon-woo scanned his surroundings.

“Does anyone have a sharp tool?”

“Something sharp?”

“Anything is fine. The best thing would be a knife…”

“Oh, wait a minute. I have one. It’s a Swiss Army knife… Is this okay?”

A ‘Swiss Army knife’ [a multi-tool pocketknife] was a tool that fit in the palm of your hand and contained various tools such as a small knife, screwdriver, bottle opener, and tweezers. It’s usually called a Swiss Army knife, but it’s originally a Swiss Army knife.

“Good.”

“What about an eyebrow razor?!”

“That’s a bit…”

“Ah, it’s a makeup tool, but I have a sharp spatula!” The stylist rummaged through her bag and took out several tools in the form of art knives.

‘Not bad?’ It wasn’t sharpened, but if he used it well with the Swiss Army knife, he could roughly manage.

“But you’re not going to cut the tree with that, are you…?” One of the staff members who was watching asked. It was obviously a log thicker than his thigh. It was so thick and long that it was almost too much to call it a log.

“Isn’t there anything we can do to help…?” The local staff members, who were supposed to be helping but hadn’t been able to do anything, also joined in.

“It requires some skill, so I’ll start the fire first, and then you can help me.”

“Are you really going to be able to do it alone…?”

“Yes. Don’t worry and just wait a moment. I’ll start a fire for you soon.” All Yeon-woo had was a small blade the length of his finger. How was he going to cut that thick log with that? The surprising thing happened next.

“Huh…?”

Crack!

The thick log in front of him made a sound and fell apart on both sides. The pupils of the staff members who were watching widened in shock. Didn’t you need an ax for that kind of log? It was hard to believe that it had been split without him doing anything.

“It’s not wet. Now we just need to scrape out the inside, so please wait a little longer.” A kind explanation followed, pointing to the inside of the split log.

“Um… Yeon-woo? How did you do that…?” No matter how he looked at it, he was holding a small blade, not an ax. But that thick log was split?

“Ah. It’s simple.”

“…?”

“Dry logs usually have gaps. If you find that gap, insert something thin, and use the principle of leverage to apply force, it will split along the already twisted grain.”

‘It’s easy, right?’ That’s how the staff members heard it. But since the person who actually made it was in front of them, it was hard to argue. Regardless of what the staff members were doing. Swish! Swish!

Yeon-woo’s hands moved quickly. As soon as the blade flashed, the round, rolled sawdust began to pile up like white snow. The question was only temporary because the expectations in the hearts of the staff members who were watching it were growing.

The thought that they would soon be warm. Yeon-woo’s actions had the power to show that he was actually putting his words into action. The expectation that they would be able to drive out the subtle chill that was seeping into their bones gradually swelled.

However, there was something else that stirred the hearts of the staff members more than expectation. Swish! Swish!

Not only was he quickly digging out the inside of the split log, but also, Crack! Snap!

Yeon-woo was splitting logs that were twice as thick as an adult man’s thigh, one after another.

* ‘I’m going crazy.’ The spiritual power he had gathered was being depleted again.

[Oh. Spiritual power is quite useful. It’s more useful than any blade.] Adrian admired. The reason why Yeon-woo was able to cut the thick log like tofu wasn’t because he had extraordinary strength, nor was it because he really used the principle of leverage.

‘It’s unfair to compare it to a knife because it’s a concretization of spiritual power.’ He condensed and concretized spiritual power and gave it the property of metal. It was natural that it had a cutting force that would make any ax pale in comparison.

The problem was that the amount of energy required for that was enormous. It was natural. It couldn’t be easy to materialize the intangible power of spiritual power. It was something that most shamans wouldn’t even dare to attempt. It was something that even someone who had been holed up in the mountains for decades and accumulated the purest energy could barely do. In other words, it was definitely not something that everyone could do.

The reason why he used a knife was a kind of trick. He couldn’t just say, “I’m going to cut the tree with my bare hands from now on, so don’t be surprised.”

‘It’s a waste, but I have no choice. I’ll just have to build it up again. It’s a relief that the accumulation of energy is fast here.’ The spiritual power he had built up was reduced, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘I can’t let anything happen after guiding them all the way here.’ Spiritual power is important, but human life is also important. They won’t die right away just because they’re a little cold, but it’s best to avoid danger as much as possible. You never know when and where it will try to reveal its evil intentions. Besides, he had unintentionally obtained lifespan from those people, hadn’t he?

‘I received it by accident, but I have to take responsibility for what I received.’ Of course, they wouldn’t even be aware that they had given it. But it wasn’t Yeon-woo’s style to receive something and wipe his mouth clean.

“Oh… Oh…!”

“It’s fire…! It’s real fire…!”

When Yeon-woo lit the fire with the dry sawdust he had scraped together, exclamations erupted from all sides. And at the same time,

-Ding!

[You have perfectly fulfilled the request of the deceased!]

[Congratulations! You have acquired additional acquirable stats as a reward.]

Once again, a familiar notification window popped up.

[Reward: Making fire with limited resources][A+]