WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 13: Golden Poison Frog (3)

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The realization that even Allfather was practically abnormal only occupied me for a moment. I started worrying about drinking water.

It wasn't like I was immune to poison, and the Golden Poison Frog's venom was incredibly potent.

How potent did it have to be for trees to sizzle and melt? The moment it hit me, I was done for.

I'd stocked up on antidotes just in case, but I had no idea whether they would actually work.

So I planned to ask Allfather for something extra. Not money, but something more valuable.

[You]: Hello. You're Allfather, right?

[Allfather]: Yes, I am Allfather.

[Allfather]: Thank you for initiating the trade.

The reply came the instant I initiated the trade. Allfather's way of speaking was far more courteous than everyone else's.

Judging by how Allfather had immediately identified the Golden Poison Frog and from the usual gallery posts, Allfather seemed like an intellectual. Maybe even a professor.

An intellectual with a ridiculous amount of money, at that. Twenty thousand gold had been dropped on one frog. I couldn't even begin to guess what Allfather did for a living.

Not that I had any real idea who was in this gallery anyway.

[You]: You need the frog, right?

[You]: I'll add it right away.

[Allfather]: Thank you.

[Allfather]: As promised, I'll add 20,000 gold as well.

[Allfather]: By the way, are you aware that transactions over 10,000 gold send the location to a moderator?

[You]: Yes, I know.

Since it could easily be abused, whenever a transaction over 10,000 gold was made, the location was sent to a moderator.

For example, people could launder illegal profits or buy large quantities of wartime supplies.

The gold credited to the gallery account couldn't be withdrawn as cash, but there were still plenty of ways to abuse it.

Of course, being in the Forest of Four Seasons made it meaningless for me. If my location was sent, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing either.

[You]: Before that, could I ask one more favor?

[You]: If you accept it, I'll lower the price to 15,000 gold instead of 20,000.

[Allfather]: Hm? What sort of favor?

[You]: I need an antidote suited to Golden Poison Frog venom.

[You]: Like you saw in my post earlier, I'm in a situation where getting water is difficult.

There might be another river nearby. Still, the closest water source was that river.

With the Golden Poison Frog sitting there so boldly, getting drinking water was hard enough, never mind washing up.

Looking for another river could get me lost, though, so that came with its own problems.

[Allfather]: I believe I understand what you're saying.

[Allfather]: I accept your request.

[Allfather]: As it happens, I've wanted to research that myself.

[You]: Thank you. I'll count 5,000 gold as payment for the antidote.

[You]: Would more specimens make the research easier?

[Allfather]: Of course.

[Allfather]: But Golden Poison Frogs are very scarce, so please take care not to drive them extinct.

Well, I wasn't so sure about that.

No matter how precious Golden Poison Frogs were, could they possibly matter more than my life?

If the antidote worked, that would change things. If it didn't, I'd have to wipe out every last one of those Golden Frogs.

I'd recently learned just how important a stable water supply was. Not being able to wash made me feel disgusting.

[Allfather]: If you find rare flora or fauna in the future, or anything you've never seen before, please make a post.

[Allfather]: I'll answer what I can.

[You]: Thank you. See you next time.

[Allfather]: It's strange. It's difficult to find someone as polite as you in this gallery, Grylls.

[Allfather]: Please stay safe.

And with that, my trade with Allfather was over. The second it was completed, I checked the money deposited into my gallery account.

A small fee was deducted because of the amount involved, but nearly 15,000 gold had been credited to my account.

That should be enough to buy all kinds of things from the Auction House. I'd already thought about what I needed.

'Before that, I should ask the Head Mod where my location shows up.'

Once a transaction of more than 10,000 gold went through, the Head Mod immediately received the location.

The rule was meant to prevent abuse, but it also meant the Head Mod could abuse it.

I didn't know the requirements or method for electing a Head Mod, but there must have been one before this one.

For a moment, I wondered about the gallery's history, but that wasn't important right now.

[Post title] Head Mod, can you see my location?

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] I just traded with Allfather. Can you see where I am?

└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: Yep! It says Forest of Four Seasons! Right in the middle of it, too!

└ [Wild Grylls]: Ah, fuck.

└ LOLLLLL

└ LOLLLLL

└ LOLLLLL

└ Give up hope LOL

└ Forest of Four Seasons, officially certified by the Head Mod LOL

I shouldn't have asked. I held back the despair rushing over me.

Nobody could access the gallery in the Forest of Four Seasons, but I was an exception. It had even flat-out revealed my location.

Who the hell was playing this kind of joke? I couldn't understand it at all.

└ [Wild Grylls]: No bullshit, is that for real?

└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: Yep! I swear on my holy sword!

└ Grylls, let's just give up now...

└ You have to live there.

Bastards. Was escaping not even an option?

The Head Mod had confirmed it, so all I could do was let out a bitter sigh. Even my last sliver of hope had disappeared.

Escaping would be difficult anyway. Just across the creek, the terrain changed by the minute. My range of movement was extremely limited.

'Fine. I'll survive here. And I'll escape someday.'

Even if it took years, I wanted to see civilization again. I immediately made a post in the gallery.

I wasn't whining about my situation. I wanted to ask what else I would need.

[Post title] Survival experts, help

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] Looks like I'll be living in the forest from now on, so I'm thinking of buying supplies.

[Post] I've got an axe, dagger, shovel, hammer, emergency rations, water, soap, medicine, and stuff like that in mind. Anything else I need?

└ If possible, use unscented soap. A bear might smell it and come after you.

└ If you know how to set traps, make some around your place. No clue if that works in the Forest of Four Seasons, though.

└ You should definitely gather charcoal. You can use it to purify water or brush your teeth.

└ It's useful, but the warmth might attract snakes.

└ Never eat mushrooms unless it's an emergency.

They weren't being sarcastic. They were genuinely kind enough to teach me useful tips one by one. I especially hadn't known about charcoal.

I could handle snakes with repellent somehow. That was why I'd spent a fortune buying the stuff.

└ Nobody knows what's in the Forest of Four Seasons, so everything will probably be dangerous.

└ You'll probably have to learn most of it through firsthand experience.

└ Yeah, that's right.

└ Like anyone's ever had a reason to enter the Forest of Four Seasons LOL

Still, those were only the most basic basics of normal wilderness survival. I was the first person to live in the Forest of Four Seasons.

There was already a frog the size of a puppy. Nobody knew what else might be out there.

'Still, I need to buy what I can.'

I bought the items the adventurers had mentioned one by one. It would be best to use this cave as my base.

Lastly, I bought a large sheet of paper, a quill, and some ink.

Since the compass was useless, I planned to make a map based on my own sense of direction.

'I should mark the places that change by the minute.'

There was a good chance other places changed too, not just the creek. I needed to know where they were to move around more easily.

It would also be good to mark areas where dangerous beasts appeared. More accurately, their territories.

Maybe the reason other beasts hadn't come here so far was because this had originally been the Mad Dog's territory.

That probably wouldn't last long, though. The Owlbear had torn into and feasted on the Mad Dog's corpse last time.

There was no guarantee that the Owlbear wouldn't come looking for this place. I needed to prepare.

"Um..."

I crossed my arms and looked over the supplies I'd bought. What should I do first?

They said that when you were truly busy, there could be so much to do that you didn't even know where to start. That was exactly my situation.

Should I build a fence and make the area safe first, or explore the surrounding area some more?

The first would take too long, while the second made the future feel uncertain.

'I don't know how long building a fence will take.'

This was one of those times when I had to ask. I made another gallery post.

If it seemed like it would take too long, I planned to explore the area instead.

[Post title] Advice on putting up a fence near my home

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] I want to put up a fence to keep things from breaking in. Any advice?

└ [Passing Dwarf]: Do you even know how to build a fence?

└ [Wild Grylls]: Just whip it up?

└ [Passing Dwarf]: ...

└ Just whip it up LOL

└ That has a ring to it LOL

└ [Passing Dwarf]: Anyway, what you're thinking of isn't a fence, it's more of a wall. You said there was an Owlbear nearby?

└ [Wild Grylls]: Yeah, that's right.

└ [Passing Dwarf]: Then set traps near the entrance instead. Give yourself a generous month or two for the wall.

└ [Wild Grylls]: It takes one or two months? Even if I make it out of wood?

└ [Passing Dwarf]: If you don't believe me, make one right now.

└ [Wild Grylls]: Okay, wait.

Was that really true? I got moving despite eyeing the comments with deep suspicion. Actions spoke louder than words.

Trees were everywhere nearby, so getting materials would be easy. I also had an axe I'd bought for logging.

'This axe is heavier than I thought.'

Even holding it with both hands, it had serious weight to it. I stood in front of a tree that looked about the right size.

It was straight as a pole. Perfect for making a wall.

A month was ridiculous, no matter what. I swung the axe with confidence.

Thunk!

'As expected, a new axe feels great in the hand.'

At this rate, it wouldn't take long. Passing Dwarf had underestimated me.

"Huff... Huff..."

I take that back. They hadn't underestimated me. They'd been completely objective.

Panting for breath, I looked at the tree. I'd worked so hard, but I hadn't even cut through half of it.

The outer surface had been manageable, but the deeper I went, the harder the tree seemed to get.

'Loggers deserve more respect than I thought.'

Those woodcutters who showed up in every other fairy tale were actually incredible people. No wonder they always seemed to have a few kids.

I wiped away my streaming sweat and stared at the half-cut tree.

Felling one tree was this hard, and I was talking about building a wall? People were painfully weak on their own.

In the end, I had no choice but to put off building a wall. Like Passing Dwarf said, traps would be better.

[Post title] Why the fuck is this tree so hard?

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] (Photo of a slightly chopped tree)

[Post] This is killing me.

└ Now that you've tried it yourself, you get it, right?

└ Did you think logging was some fucking joke?

└ Things were comfortable because someone else did the hard work for you, huh? LOL

└ [Wild Grylls]: I'm sorry. I won't get cocky again.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Learning a Mana Cultivation Method would make it less tiring, at least.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: The one above speaks true. So hurry and practice sitting in the lotus position.

└ [Wild Grylls]: Yeah, I'll do that...

└ Looks like your confidence just crashed.

└ Better that than getting yourself killed showing off.

└ [Passing Dwarf]: Don't get cocky again, then. LOL

└ [Wild Grylls]: Yes, sir.

└ So respectful now LOL

└ For real LOL

Thanks to that, I could clearly decide on a course of action. I would make traps near the cave entrance that only I knew about.

The wall would come after I trained in an Inner Energy Cultivation Method or a Mana Cultivation Method, whichever it was. Right now, it took too much out of me.

'Digging takes a long time too, though.'

Having served in the military, I knew exactly how exhausting shoveling could be.

It usually took three or four people all day to build even one fighting position.

And considering the size of the Owlbear I'd seen before, I would have to dig much deeper than my own height.

'This is really bleak.'

Nothing was easy. Humans were so powerless in the wild.

But did that mean I would give up? Absolutely not.

A mountain is built from grains of dust. If I kept putting in effort from now on, those efforts would bear fruit someday.

'First, I'll dig deep at the entrance. I can dig around the rest later. I can get a tarp from the Auction House to camouflage the excavation too.'

Thinking about traps gave me a good idea. Besides the traps, I should dig up the ground around the entrance and cave.

Like the moat around an old castle, it would be enough if it kept out intruders.

For now, I could make the wall out of earth. I would slowly build it out of wood later.

'Good. Let's do it now.'

Plans alone didn't accomplish anything. I laid out the cave entrance and its surroundings.

Where I would dig the moat, where I would raise a temporary dirt wall, and finally, the entrance I would use.

It was far from perfect, but it should be enough to keep me safe.

Thunk!

I started digging into the ground with my shovel. The rain that had fallen at dawn made the ground a little soft.

Logging had been hard, but digging was more manageable. It still took forever, though.

'Slowly, one thing at a time.'

The fortification work I started so energetically...

"Ow... My whole body hurts..."

...left me laid up the next day.

Footnotes:

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