WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 137: Disaster (2)
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Looking at the yard that had been completely swept away left me feeling conflicted, but I decided to think positively.
I’d learn from this and prepare properly next time.
What wouldn’t I do to survive in this goddamn forest?
I’d ask the dwarf for replacement barricades and stockpile materials for a blast furnace and oven beforehand.
I’d already made them once, so as long as I could keep accessing the Gallery, rebuilding them wouldn’t be difficult.
‘That sapling survived, though.’
Everything else had been swept away, but the sapling LetsGrowTrees gave me had held firm.
I was seriously curious what kind of tree it was, but I let it go. It was good that it had survived.
‘First, I should prepare for disasters.’
These weren’t mere changes in the weather. Each was closer to a disaster.
This was a place where even avalanches happened, despite the terrain making them seem impossible.
Like someone had said, spring might bring sandstorms instead of yellow dust.
‘I need to make an emergency exit and put off crafting until winter is over.’
It was my first winter, and in the Forest of Four Seasons no less. I had a mountain of things to do.
I sighed at the daunting prospect and turned my head.
In that direction stood the grave where my esteemed predecessor was buried.
‘How the hell did they survive?’
They had clearly lived here longer than I had. I could tell from the amount they’d written in their diary.
Their experiences up until they died after clashing with the gorillas had to be written in there.
‘They should be done deciphering it by now, right?’
I’d entrusted the translation to Allfather and NecromancyIsLove.
Still, aside from information about the Undying King and gorillas, I hadn’t learned much.
It would’ve been nice to have learned from the diary that winter came early.
‘I should ask.’
I planned to hole up in the cave until the seasons changed.
This was as good a time as any. First, Allfather.
[You]: Allfather.
[You]: Are you there?
[Allfather]: What is it?
[You]: You know the Balkan Kingdom records I gave you before.
[You]: Have you translated all of them?
[Allfather]: Not all of them.
[Allfather]: The Balkan royal family used vocabulary exclusive to them, so it’s taking some time.
I could understand that.
I hadn’t asked for updates in real time, and rushing someone wasn’t my style.
Still, they must have uncovered a few important facts by now. I asked right away.
[You]: Was there anything about the seasons changing abruptly?
[Allfather]: There was.
[Allfather]: Winter once arrived suddenly, just as it did for you, Grylls.
Just as I expected. My predecessor had experienced the same phenomenon.
Even this shitty forest had rules. That much was proven now.
[You]: Were there any signs beforehand?
[Allfather]: Apparently, animals migrated in large numbers the day before.
[Allfather]: This person wrote that they welcomed the animals warmly.
That made me feel awkward for no reason. Still, I had the precedent of the raccoon dog Fast Sloth had sliced up.
Besides, the group I encountered had been ready to take my shelter if things went south.
Anyway, now that I knew there was a clear sign, all that remained was finding out how long winter lasted.
It would be bad enough if it went on for months. If it lasted years, that would be horrific.
Praying it wasn’t the case, I asked Allfather.
[You]: Does it say how long winter lasts?
[Allfather]: Yes.
[Allfather]: Winter itself did not last long.
[Allfather]: It says the weather warmed up after around five days.
[You]: That’s a relief.
[Allfather]: It also describes every season occurring within a single month.
[Allfather]: You should keep that in mind.
What kind of four seasons blow their load this fast? This was ridiculous.
Still, every season besides winter had been livable, so I wasn’t too worried.
‘With weather like this, stupid animals can’t survive.’
Either they had superior instincts like Wonmo or they were clever like the raccoon dog. It had to be one or the other.
Otherwise, they couldn’t survive in this forest unscathed.
The most dangerous thing in this forest wasn’t predators. It was the environment itself.
[Chat participant] Allfather
[Chat participant] :
[Allfather]: Ah.
[Allfather]: There is another piece of information you should take to heart.
[Allfather]: It concerns the gorillas of the jungle.
[You]: Gorillas?
[Allfather]: Yes.
[Allfather]: It seems there may be an individual separated from the troop.
[Allfather]: The gorilla you encountered only warned you, Grylls, but the one that attacked this person apparently attacked without warning.
[You]: That sounds worrying.
[Allfather]: I do not know what it is like now, but you should be careful.
[Allfather]: According to the records, unlike other gorillas, its fur was white.
[Allfather]: Its eyes were also as red as blood.
White fur and red eyes only made me think of an albino. I had to keep in mind that it really could be one.
Albinos stood out more than other animals, so their survival rate would be lower.
If an animal like that had survived until now, it had to be incredibly strong.
‘It might be nastier than the Chief Gorilla.’
Since it was a mutant, it might be unusually aggressive.
If that thing had learned martial arts too, it would be a headache. It’d be a difficult fight.
‘The problem is, I don’t know where it shows up.’
I hadn’t seen anything with white fur so far.
I nodded at the information Allfather gave me, then decided to ask whether there were any other dangers.
[You]: Are there any other precautions I should take?
[Allfather]: It is less a precaution and more a peculiarity.
[Allfather]: Apparently, this person originally had mana insensitivity, which meant they could not use mana.
[You]: Mana insensitivity?
[Allfather]: Yes.
[Allfather]: It is a congenital condition that prevents one from accumulating mana.
[Allfather]: Yet while living in the Forest of Four Seasons, they gradually began accumulating mana.
[You]: Did this person evolve too?
[Allfather]: I do not know that much.
[Allfather]: They ate anything they came across to survive, and at some point, they became able to use mana.
Allfather’s explanation was as follows.
My esteemed predecessor couldn’t accumulate mana because of an illness, while I couldn’t accept mana itself because I came from another world.
Still, one thing was the same. The medicinal herbs scattered throughout the Forest of Four Seasons were terrifyingly potent.
[You]: Do you know which herbs they ate?
[You]: It seems like important information.
[Allfather]: Unfortunately, I do not.
[Allfather]: Apparently, they ate anything to commit suicide, so they did not properly verify or record it.
[You]: Yikes.
[Allfather]: If they wanted to die, they could have eaten mushrooms. What a strange person.
[You]: Hahaha.
[You]: Sir?
[Allfather]: I am joking.
[Allfather]: Anyway, even the weeds seem comparable to medicinal herbs, so it might not be a bad idea to pick whatever you find and test it.
The thought that even weeds were medicinal herbs gave me hope.
There were probably poisonous plants mixed in, though, so I had to be careful.
[You]: I see.
[You]: Could I ask you to analyze some weeds?
[You]: I’ll send you a few.
[Allfather]: I am sorry, but I believe I will be busy for a while.
[Allfather]: I have some public engagements planned.
[You]: Ah. I see.
[You]: Then I’ll ask someone else.
Even if Allfather couldn’t do it, there was Starlight Princess.
If even Starlight Princess was too busy, well... I’d have to figure it out myself.
Once I identified their effects, I planned to give them to Heavenly Demon immediately. Then Fast Sloth’s meal would be ready a little sooner.
I ended my conversation with Allfather and was casually browsing the Gallery when it happened.
[NecromancyIsLove]: Save me.
[You]: Huh?
[NecromancyIsNecromancy]: Keep talking to Allfather.
[You]: Is something wrong?
A strange message had come from NecromancyIsLove.
No answer came when I asked what was going on.
I wondered whether I should ask Allfather again, but decided against it.
If it were truly urgent, they would’ve made a Gallery post instead of sending me a message.
‘There really are all kinds of weird people.’
I brushed it off and focused on real life.
The seasons changed once a week, so all I had to do was prepare.
Today was only the second day, which meant I only had to endure another three or four days.
‘Would farming be difficult like this?’
I’d planned to farm if the opportunity came up, but it seemed difficult.
The seasons changed every week instead of every month, so plants would have a hard time enduring it.
Then again, perhaps crops would grow quickly too, like the sapling that had rapidly grown last time.
‘Even if I stockpile crops, I need to store them properly...’
Storage was the biggest problem. Meat could simply be salted and smoked.
Crops, however, would rot easily the moment I left them unattended. It was bound to be a concern.
‘To store them, I need something like a refrigerator, but that’s impossible. Maybe ice instead... Wait. Ice?’
The moment ice came to mind, I jerked my head up.
At the same time, I checked the time through the Gallery. It was only two o’clock, so I had plenty of time.
I hurriedly stood, grabbed my gear, and ran outside.
Fast Sloth was taking good care of Wonmo, so there was nothing to worry about.
Before long, I reached the river, frozen solid by the sudden seasonal change.
There was useful ice for storage sitting right here. Why hadn’t I thought of it until now?
‘I can’t just take it. First, I need to build an icehouse, or at least a storage box.’
My ancestors gathered ice every winter and stored it in icehouses. I planned to do the same.
With it being winter, animal activity had slowed down. As long as I stayed alert, I could bring back ice easily.
I leaned forward to check how thick the ice was.
The drastic temperature change had turned the river into a clear sheet of ice.
‘At most, I have four days. I need to make an icehouse, or at least a storage box, by then.’
No matter how good salting was for preservation, it couldn’t compare to a refrigerator.
Besides, crops and fruit would keep better in a cool place, so I should make one while I had the chance.
Having made up my mind, I returned to my shelter and wrote a post on the Gallery.
[Post title] I only know that our ancestors used stone icehouses. I don’t know anything about the actual principles.
[Post title] Does anyone know how to make a stone icehouse?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of a frozen river)
[Post] Thinking of building a stone icehouse like the one our honored-ancestors-sirs supposedly used. There’s a frozen river right in front of me, so I think it should work.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: An icehouse? Want me to give you a well-insulated box? You could put ice inside it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: That could work too, but I think it’d be better to make an actual icehouse.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Not a bad choice. But couldn’t you build it slowly?
└ [Wild Grylls]: The diary said the seasons change every week. That’s why I should do what I can during winter.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: What a flimsy set of four seasons.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Damn, it’s been a long time since I heard the word icehouse. Refrigerators were invented around my father’s time.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Know how to make one?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: The principle itself is simple. It’s just difficult to build. I’ll make a post about it soon.
└ [Wild Grylls]: thx thx
└ Aren’t there still quite a few icehouses around?
└ There are plenty in rural areas that haven’t been urbanized. Though refrigerators have been spreading lately.
The dwarf said they would tell me how to make one, so all that remained was to wait.
The disaster had screwed me over badly, but it had also given me an opportunity.
I’d begun to realize that winter wasn’t just a season I had to prepare for.
‘The avalanche came from behind the cave, so I should build the entrance here.’
Until the dwarf explained the structure and construction method of a stone icehouse, I got started on what I could do.
First, logging. Since I had to survive winter, lumber was absolutely necessary.
“Huh?”
I was busily chopping trees when I spotted something beyond a fallen trunk.
The smaller plants were buried under snow, but this one stood tall on its own.
A blue flower, as though ice crystals had blossomed into one.
I couldn’t tell whether it was frozen solid or whether the plant itself looked like that.
‘What is this?’
Naturally, I had to ask the Gallery about anything I was curious about.
I immediately took a photo and made a post.
[Post title] Found a strange flower.
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (A plant resembling a flower made of ice crystals)
[Post] Found this while chopping trees. Does anyone know what it is?
└ [Starlight Princess]: Oh. I think that’s an Ice-Snow Flower?
└ [Wild Grylls]: What’s that?
└ [Starlight Princess]: If you absorb all of it, you should gain cold resistance.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Oh...!
└ [Starlight Princess]: But if you eat it as is, your whole body will freeze solid.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Oh...
└ [Starlight Princess]: It melts quickly when the weather changes, so it would be difficult to ask someone else to process it too.
What is it, made of tissue paper?
Footnotes:
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