WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 167: Premium (2)
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For merchants selling goods, advertising wasn't optional. It was essential.
They had to let people know what they were selling if they wanted to encourage purchases.
And this world had the Gallery, a community that connected not just nations, but entire worlds.
Not everyone used it, but countless people did. That was undeniable.
That was why merchants promoted their products diligently, not only in real life but on the Gallery too.
[Post title] That thing the Anonymous User advertised just now.
[Post] I tried it, and it fucking sucks lol Don't use it
└ What do we say when there's no proof?
└ No, no, no. I've used it too, and you're better off not using it lol
└ Can't tell if these assholes are lying or being serious lol
But what kind of place was the Gallery?
A place where you could encounter every kind of person and witness humanity's pure malice.
A poorly planned advertisement could get caught up in fabricated rumors and take a huge hit.
There were occasionally items with excellent performance, but most of those were already selling well.
So anyone hoping to advertise on the Gallery had to prepare thoroughly.
They could ask a famous adventurer for help, invest in a sports team, and so on.
[Post title] Didn't the Head Mod used to post ads personally?
[Post] I heard the Head Mod from three generations ago did that, but you don't see it much these days.
└ It's just a matter of personal preference. The Head Mod from three generations ago got assassinated while running a scam.
└ Holy shit. What kind of scam?
└ Said they'd advertise for people, then didn't. They went into hiding and got killed lol
└ They just took the money and ran lol
The Gallery had its own framework for official advertising like this.
You might ask how effective it was, but honestly, the upper limit wasn't all that high.
Cases where something spread through word of mouth, had its performance proven, and exploded in popularity?
They were almost nonexistent.
As mentioned before, the Gallery was something everyone could use.
Whenever a post got some attention, people frequently used anonymity to muddy the waters.
Turns out the product was bad for your health. It was lethal to a specific species. It was highly addictive. Things like that.
All kinds of rumors could spread and make the advertisement pointless.
[Post title] So where's the proof?
[Post] Do you have proof that we did that? lol
[Post] I'm saying show us physical evidence, not your damn suspicions lol
└ What if it really does have side effects?
└ How could everyone possibly be the same~
└ For real lol
So people had to determine whether something was malicious advertising or genuine advertising, whether it was a real complaint or a retaliatory complaint.
That was why Grylls's product reviews caused such a huge stir.
I tried it, and it was good.
From Grylls's perspective, he had only stated the truth, but it was proof that the product worked even in the Forest of Four Seasons.
It was no different from receiving a seal of approval no one could dispute.
[Post title] I don't know about anything else,
[Post] but "Forest of Four Seasons" is just insane lol
[Post] If you want to survive there, you have to use good stuff. If Grylls used something defective?
[Post] With his personality, he would've cursed the ever-loving shit out of it lol He'd be like, "What the fuck is this?"
└ You really can't argue with that lol
└ Lol then go into the Forest of Four Seasons if you don't like it lol
└ He hasn't actually trashed any products yet, has he?
└ Yeah. He only praised the bug repellent this time. He hardly ever talks shit about products.
└ There weren't many defective products among the ones he reviewed favorably in the first place.
└ Then why aren't they selling out?
└ Because they're expensive as fuck. Also, unless you're an adventurer, you don't usually use repellent.
[Post title] I'm not an adventurer, I'm a farmer.
[Post] I had an idea after watching the video Grylls posted.
[Post] Wouldn't bugs avoid it if I applied it to stones? I live somewhere warm, so there are lots of bugs.
[Post] I set them up between my crops, and now no bugs gather there at all lol
[Post] After seeing this, I think it's a must-have for farmers. Buy it no matter what. At the very least, you won't suffer because of pests.
└ Was repellent originally used for that?
└ I thought adventurers were the ones who mostly used it.
└ Farmers use stuff like that too. There are pesticides, after all.
└ Aren't most pesticides bad for crops?
└ That's why this repellent is fucking broken.
└ What the hell did Icon Trading Company even make?;;;
For that reason, the repellent quickly sold out.
Not just on the Gallery either. Every bit of stock in Icon Trading Company's warehouses had been wiped out.
This had happened once before, during the Saber-Toothed Tiger attack.
[Post title] Grylls was wearing a uniform, right?
[Post] That uniform stayed intact even against tiger claws. Was there no news about that?
└ Chaeyu uniforms already sold well to begin with.
└ Probably because he wasn't well-known enough? Back then, it was more like, "Huh, that's neat."
└ His fame exploded after the Undying King incident lol
└ Wouldn't this sell well if people dug it up later?
└ A uniform that can withstand the claws of tigers living in the Forest of Four Seasons!
└ But teeth can pierce it, right?
└ Fuck, surviving that at all was already a miracle lol
└ Besides, uniforms are more about design than performance, so it doesn't mean much.
Since uniforms focused more on design than performance, they hadn't seen much of an effect.
Still, sales had risen, so it wasn't as though it had done nothing.
More than anything, Grylls's recognition had risen dramatically after exposing the Undying King.
The results before and after that couldn't be the same.
Just a simple review from him could create terrifying advertising effects, so people couldn't help drooling over the prospect.
[Post title] Hey, assholes.
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] Give me back my repellent, fuck.
└ Why the fuck is it yours? lol
└ Lol we're using it well, so you use something else lol
└ You got to enjoy it by yourself already lol
└ Burp~!
└ Grylls. Is there anything else you need? I can recommend something amazing.
└ [Wild Grylls]: What's that?
└ There's something called XXX Repellent at the Auction House. Give it a try.
└ [Wild Grylls]: K, wait a sec.
└ [Wild Grylls]: (Video of bugs swarming onto the repellent) You wanna die? Did you smear honey on this?
└ LMAOOOO
└ The opposite effect is insane lol
└ It wasn't repellent, it was actual honey lol
└ Isn't that a scam at that point? lol
└ Breaking news. That repellent just got taken down from the Auction House lol
It did require some strict conditions.
First and foremost, the performance had to be good. If someone recommended a product and it failed to work, Grylls would likely curse them out.
└ Do we have to assume the thing is defective? It's the Forest of Four Seasons, you know?
└ Exactly. Honestly, I think Icon Trading Company's repellent is the weird one.
└ If it works even in the Forest of Four Seasons, that's what's amazing;;
└ When you put it that way, you're right?
But what was important?
Even if it didn't work very well, they could brush it off by saying it was the Forest of Four Seasons.
What was amazing was a product working in the Forest of Four Seasons. Failing to work there didn't mean there was anything wrong with it.
For advertisers, it was practically low risk, high return.
It was an incredible opportunity, especially for people confident in their products' performance but unable to get noticed.
[Post title] Grylls. Could you try this just once?
[Post] (Photo of a window screen)
[Post] Our trading company invented it, and I thought it'd be useful in places with lots of bugs.
[Post] We'll give it to you for free, so please just try it once. I don't care if you curse it out. Just test it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: K, wait a bit. Are you putting this up on the Auction House?
└ Yeah, we'll put it up soon.
└ [Wild Grylls]: (Video of a window screen installed over a container holding fish) This is good stuff. I could make a mosquito net with this too lol
└ Thanks;;; Going to sell it right away
└ I'm jealous.
└ Hey, Grylls. Let me ask you for just one thing too.
Grylls could receive all sorts of products for free, so it was a win-win arrangement.
Sometimes people sent strange things, but that was simply part of the Gallery, so he laughed it off.
Many people were satisfied after sending Grylls sponsored goods and promotional offers like this, but there would always be those who weren't.
“We can't just stand by and watch! At this rate, sales of our flagship products will take a hit!”
“...”
That was especially true of the trading company competing with Icon Trading Company.
Business was inherently a game of chicken where victory only came once the competition had completely disappeared.
In an era like this, the concept of a monopoly barely existed.
It was a world where only the winner took everything. Naturally, they had no choice but to keep an eye on their highly competitive rival’s products.
“Fortunately, Icon Trading Company's repellent isn't a flagship product. Even now, they've sold out of everything and can't properly keep selling it.”
“...”
“So we should use this opportunity to find a way to-”
“Let me ask you one thing.”
The trading company head quietly stopped the secretary's passionate argument.
The secretary closed their mouth and waited for what the head would say next.
A heavy silence settled over the room before the trading company head spoke.
“What can we do?”
“...Pardon?”
“I asked what we can do.”
What came from the trading company head's mouth wasn't a solution, but acceptance.
Who was the head of a trading company? The owner, the person who set its direction.
It was the last thing one would expect to hear from someone like that, so the secretary couldn't help being confused.
But the trading company head hadn't said it because they were stupid. If anything, they had grasped reality faster than anyone else.
“Are we going to drag someone out of the Forest of Four Seasons by force? Or spread propaganda that the product's effectiveness is a lie?”
“Can you guarantee that person has absolutely no connection to Icon Trading Company? No, even if they don't, we could still somehow-”
“As if someone who can harvest Adult Mandrakes like corn would be connected to Icon Trading Company.”
“...”
“There's nothing we can do. Go grab some popcorn and watch.”
In the end, the secretary found no fault in those words and had no choice but to withdraw.
That didn't mean the trading company head had given up. They assessed the current situation.
‘Would our products work even in the Forest of Four Seasons?’
That was the heart of the matter. Were the products overwhelmingly effective enough to work in the Forest of Four Seasons?
Honestly, the trading company head could say with certainty that they weren't. If they were, Icon Trading Company would have treated its own repellent as a flagship product.
This situation had only happened because coincidence piled on coincidence.
‘Unless Icon Trading Company's head is an idiot, they'll start treating the repellent as a flagship product. Once that happens, our products will be judged as inferior by comparison.’
It was already too late to ask Grylls for help.
The belief that Icon Trading Company's bug repellent was the best had already begun to spread.
This was the moment the Gallery's full potential became clear. It wasn't something a single trading company could stop.
They had to find another solution. The trading company head thought hard.
‘I should reach an agreement with Icon Trading Company.’
The victor of this battle had practically already been decided.
The trading company head sighed. They didn't like having to yield, but money still had to be made.
Trading companies existed to make money, not to fight over pride.
As one trading company head cleanly conceded defeat...
“B-Boss! Purchase orders are still skyrocketing!”
“Goddammit! Didn't I tell you to wait? This stuff is made from crops grown on my father's land!”
“But they're telling us to get it somehow! People say it's good for the skin too...!”
“Good for the skin, my ass! Does it even make sense for repellent to be good for your skin?!”
Icon Trading Company was thrown into chaos by the flood of work pouring in.
They had already expected repellent to sell even better from now on.
But wasn't this far too extreme?
“Why the hell is it selling this well?!”
It wasn't as if every buyer was in the Forest of Four Seasons like Grylls.
* * *
Grylls had unintentionally caused a massive wave in the world of commerce.
He was still staying in the cave because of the swarms of bugs raging outside.
As an added bonus, he was checking the items he had received as sponsorships and promotional offers.
“No, why the hell did someone send me women's underwear?”
He occasionally received strange items, but there were plenty of useful ones too.
He had decided not to write reviews because a favorable review from him added a premium, but he couldn't just take the stuff and run.
He would test the performance and speak honestly. Just as he was thinking that...
Bwoooooo-
An unfamiliar sound came from outside the cave.
It easily drowned out the bugs, burrowing straight into his ears.
Grylls stopped organizing the items and stuck his head out of the entrance.
He had applied bug repellent in advance, so no bugs came near him.
Bwoooooo-
“...What the hell is that?”
Grylls saw it clearly.
A whale freely swimming through the sky despite there being no sea.
A creature that looked exactly like a blue whale, known as the largest mammal in the world.
The Forest of Four Seasons had always been a place that casually twisted common sense, but that was just...
It went beyond common sense or anything else. It made no sense at all.
Bwoooooo-
The whale swimming freely through the sky came to a halt right above Grylls's head.
Then it looked toward the buzzing swarm of bugs and opened its mouth.
A massive mouth befitting its enormous body.
Whoooooosh!
Soon, its mouth began sucking in bugs like a vacuum cleaner.
The suction itself wasn't particularly strong, but even that was enough for such feeble insects.
They were numerous, but utterly weak. The bugs were sucked straight into the whale's mouth.
And so, the Sky Whale swallowed the entire swarm in an instant.
Bwoooooo-
As though satisfied with its meal, the whale leisurely swam through the sky and disappeared.
“...”
He was speechless for a moment.
‘Hm... It's fantasy, so I guess there can be whales that fly through the sky?’
They said unicorns existed too, so perhaps Sky Whales weren't strange either.
[Post title] Do flying whales exist too, by any chance?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Video of a whale flying through the sky)
[Post] That whale is flying through the sky. Are whales here normally able to fly through the sky too?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: What a creature worthy of appearing only in legends.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: No. Sky Whales are creatures worthy of appearing only in myths;;
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Myths? Do you mean beings like the Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Not legends. Myths;;
└ A legendary creature, and he's seeing one in real life;;
└ This is insane;;
Hm. Maybe not.
It seemed Sky Whales were treated like Earth's unicorns.
Footnotes:
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