WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 155: Lackey (2)

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Kkobong’s vision spun. Time slowed to a crawl.

The albino gorilla who had once been named Wibaek, Kkobong.

A question arose in Kkobong’s mind amid the dizzying whirl of their vision.

‘What...?’

Whether beast or human, it was hard to comprehend a death that happened in an instant.

But Kkobong saw it clearly.

In the world spun a full 180 degrees around, Sloth was looking at them.

Blood stained Sloth’s sharply honed claws.

Only then did Kkobong realize that Sloth had cleanly severed their head.

“Wuh?!”

Kkobong jolted awake in terror, their eyes flying open. Cold sweat streamed down their body, and their heart pounded wildly.

The first thing Kkobong did after escaping the illusion was feel their neck.

Just moments ago, their head had been flying through the air. Yet now, their neck was perfectly fine.

‘W-What was that just now...?’

Though it was an illusion, it was hard to believe. It would have been the same for a human, let alone a beast.

Kkobong kept feeling their neck, then looked ahead with trembling eyes.

Sloth stood there with the usual relaxed expression.

They even tilted their head as if nothing had happened.

‘D-Don’t tell me...’

A beast’s instincts told Kkobong that it had not been an illusion.

If Sloth had fully brought that arm down, the illusion would have become reality.

As mentioned before, beasts could not think in complex ways.

But when it came to survival, in other words, death, they grasped it faster than any other creature.

Scratch, scratch.

Whether Kkobong was horrified or not, Sloth, Fast Sloth, only scratched their head.

It was as if they were saying, “If you’ve got something to say, hurry up and say it.”

But what could a beast who had just experienced a vision of their own death possibly have to say?

Kkobong slowly backed away from Fast Sloth.

‘N-Now I understand.’

Why Grylls had entrusted the key to this Sloth.

It was not some kind of trap.

The answer was simple. Fast Sloth was the strongest one here.

At the very least, Grylls was not strong enough to show someone a vision of death.

That led Kkobong to another conclusion.

‘This Sloth is stronger than the human. Which means...!’

That human was ultimately Fast Sloth’s subordinate, in other words, their slave!

It was reasoning that showed the limits of a beast’s mind, yet ironically, it captured their relationship perfectly.

In exchange for Fast Sloth protecting him, Grylls offered all kinds of food as tribute.

In other words, even if Kkobong defeated Grylls, they could never be free as long as Sloth remained.

‘The leader...’

There was always a clever subordinate by a leader’s side.

That human was probably filling that role.

The human also handled all the exhausting work.

‘Escape is... impossible.’

Kkobong was disheartened. They could sense it instinctively.

Even if they died and came back to life, they would not be able to leave a single wound on that Sloth.

Would they dare charge at someone who could show them an illusion of death?

Kkobong knew their life was precious. They could say for certain that would be madness.

‘But...’

It was not all bad. Kkobong had lived in the wild.

Even after searching every corner of the Forest of Four Seasons, animals as powerful as that Sloth were rare.

The only one Kkobong could think of was their sibling, the leader of the gorilla troop.

Which meant that if Kkobong could win that Sloth’s favor, their safety would be guaranteed.

‘Perhaps that being is the one who...’

Could defeat that wicked hypocrite.

Maybe it was because Kkobong had just seen an illusion of their head flying off. Their mind began working quickly.

Kkobong silently faced Fast Sloth, then slowly lowered their head.

“Chio cho chawo.”

It roughly meant, “Please accept me.”

Unlike with Grylls, Kkobong was showing deference to a clearly superior being.

Fast Sloth stared blankly at Kkobong, then tilted their head.

It was a reaction that said they had no idea what Kkobong was saying. But Kkobong took it differently.

‘It seems they still don’t trust me.’

That made sense. Kkobong had suddenly intruded on their territory.

By the laws of the wild, it was an act for which Kkobong would have had no right to complain even if their head had already been chopped off.

And yet, the Sloth before them had spared their life. What tremendous mercy.

‘First, I need to earn their recognition.’

Kkobong made a vow. They would prove their worth and become Fast Sloth’s subordinate.

Then they would get rid of that chattering human and earn Fast Sloth’s trust.

‘If that is the case, whether I like it or not, I’ll have to listen to that human.’

It was annoying, but Kkobong could endure it. Patience was bitter, but its fruit was sweet.

That was something the human who had taught Kkobong had said.

Having settled on a plan, Kkobong showed Fast Sloth proper respect.

But respect alone was not enough. In the wild, one had to prove oneself through action.

‘Did that human do it like this?’

Though nobody had told them to, Kkobong began doing woodworking.

They were clumsy, but they used a saw the way Grylls had taught them.

They could not use mana, but they still had a gorilla’s powerful muscles.

“Huh? What? You’re doing it on your own?”

Grylls returned at just the right moment.

Several fish flopped around inside the Fish Trap he was carrying.

Kkobong only glanced at Grylls before silently continuing their work(?).

“Well... I guess this works out. That’s enough. Eat first.”

“...”

Kkobong pretended not to hear. They did not understand what Grylls was saying anyway.

But when Fast Sloth began moving, Kkobong immediately stopped working.

Even the leader was preparing the meal, so there was no way Kkobong could keep working.

They stuck close to the slowly moving Fast Sloth and waited quietly.

As always, Grylls began cooking.

“Here. Let’s eat. You have one too.”

Before long, appetizing grilled fish was ready.

Kkobong cautiously looked around, then quietly reached out.

It was hot from being freshly grilled, but not too hot to eat.

“How is it? Good, right?”

“...”

Kkobong nodded at the question. They did not want to admit it, but it was genuinely delicious.

‘What a versatile one.’

Truly an excellent slave. Was that why Fast Sloth trusted Grylls?

Determined to surpass Grylls as soon as possible, Kkobong devoured the fish.

‘I need to work even harder.’

A slave mentality was slowly taking root in Kkobong.

“Kyuu?”

“...”

“Kyuuuu~”

At that moment, Wonmo rubbed his face against Kkobong’s leg.

It was an adorable greeting, as though welcoming Kkobong into the family.

Kkobong stared at Wonmo’s lovable behavior, then nodded.

‘They truly are merciful. They even took in a young one.’

The subtle misunderstandings continued to pile up.

* * *

Had Kkobong eaten something strange while I was at the river?

That rebellious Kkobong had become completely obedient in such a short time.

It was hard to figure out exactly why, but I had a guess.

‘Did Fast Sloth give them a thorough lesson?’

There was no other way their mind could have been so thoroughly reformed.

They must have gotten properly taught a lesson and given up.

From my perspective, it could not have been better.

Scrape! Scrape! Scrape!

“Yeah. Good job. Just keep doing that.”

“...”

I had gained an excellent worker.

Once I showed Kkobong an example, they did everything on their own.

Sometimes they did things strangely, but I could let that slide since they were an animal.

Besides, I planned to handle all the delicate work myself, like planing.

Kkobong was an ape, after all. Delicate work was not exactly their strong suit.

Even so, having one more worker had doubled our efficiency.

‘Wow. We’ve already done this much?’

The logs needed to build the bridge were almost ready.

Most of the logs Kkobong had damaged during their rampage had also been restored.

It was possible because Kkobong stubbornly focused only on sawing, while I concentrated solely on planing.

“Kkobong. Stop now and get some rest. It’ll be daylight soon.”

“...”

But Kkobong was stubborn to an absurd degree.

Maybe that slave mentality had already taken hold, or maybe they did not understand me, but they kept going.

As I watched Kkobong, one question came to mind.

‘Who taught them how to talk?’

Considering that Kkobong and the Chief Gorilla were siblings, perhaps they had learned from the same human.

Fast Sloth also seemed unfamiliar with Kkobong.

It seemed likely Kkobong had left the troop when they were young.

At some point, they had even killed my great senior, Rais Kraone.

There were far too many things I wanted to ask. I organized my questions in my head.

‘First, I need to ask who taught them to speak.’

That was what I wanted to know most.

Anyone who had taught gorillas martial arts must have been highly accomplished.

I might even be able to get a rough idea of why they entered this forest and what circumstances had led them here.

‘I should ask Heavenly Demon.’

Normally, I would not bother, but for something important, it would be better to use the Central Plains language.

We needed to communicate smoothly if I wanted to learn the details.

While Kkobong finished working, I asked Heavenly Demon to translate my questions into the Central Plains language.

[Heavenly Demon]: (Photo of a drawing with questions written on it) Will this suffice?

[Wild Grylls]: Yes. Thank you for always helping me.

[Heavenly Demon]: It is nothing. I am curious myself what answers you will receive.

Thanks to Heavenly Demon, I was able to prepare a separate questionnaire.

Just then, Kkobong finished working and came over to me.

Despite all that grueling labor, they looked perfectly fine without even a drop of sweat.

“Kkobong. Look at this.”

“?”

When I showed them the questionnaire, Kkobong looked puzzled.

It asked who had taught them language and martial arts.

They narrowed their eyes and leaned their head forward.

Their eyesight was so bad that they had no choice but to do that.

“Ho ah...”

After reading the question, Kkobong started to say something, then suddenly stopped.

It looked like they had been about to ask, “Why should I tell you?”

They even glanced nervously at Fast Sloth.

It was certain. While I had been gone, they had challenged Fast Sloth and gotten thoroughly beaten.

After hesitating for a moment, Kkobong opened their mouth.

“Wi Hochang.”

“Wi Hochang?”

When I repeated the name, Kkobong nodded.

Naturally, I had no idea who this person was. Heavenly Demon probably knew.

‘It must be Wi Hochang, right? Names usually follow the pronunciation.’

If not, I could ask Heavenly Demon.

That was why I had even recorded a video, so there was no problem.

Before asking the Gallery, I asked Heavenly Demon who Wi Hochang was.

[Heavenly Demon]: Wi Hochang? If it is the Wi Hochang I know, that is quite a surprising person.

[Wild Grylls]: Who are they?

[Heavenly Demon]: The one who caused the War of Righteousness and Evil, and a person who once bore the sobriquet Blood-Handed Overlord.

[Wild Grylls]: Oh.

Overlord. That was a pretty cool sobriquet.

[Heavenly Demon]: At the same time, they were known as the Blood Demon.

[Wild Grylls]: Are they really famous?

[Heavenly Demon]: Before I entered the Martial World, one could say they had made the greatest name for themself. If you are curious, ask the Gallery.

[Wild Grylls]: Got it.

Blood Demon. Along with Heavenly Demon, I knew it was a title that came up often in martial arts fiction.

I did not know much about martial arts fiction, but I knew the general titles.

‘Usually, I think they’re a being even more extreme than a Heavenly Demon.’

Thinking that, I made a post on the Gallery.

└ Why are you asking about that fucker?

└ Wi Hochang is alive!!!

└ Wi!

└ Ho!

└ Chang!

└ Ah. Fuck, the Blood Cult bastards caught wind and swarmed in already;;

└ Seriously, delete this quick if you don’t want the comments getting weirder;;

└ [Wild Grylls]: What’s wrong with everyone?;;

Responses far beyond my expectations started pouring in.

Footnotes:

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