WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 188: Variant (1)
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Ludwig was exactly forty-nine years old. He would turn fifty soon.
For a human in this world, especially a soldier, he had lived quite a long life.
The experience and reputation accumulated over those years were more than enough to earn the respect of others.
Ludwig knew that himself. He considered himself someone who had lived a fairly long time.
He had witnessed the births of both the previous Hero and the current Hero, and he was a veteran with all kinds of combat experience.
People, beasts, undead, monsters, and more.
He had fought countless enemies to protect El Dorado, the Holy Kingdom.
Though age had pushed him back from the front lines, his skills had not declined in the slightest.
People who could use mana tended to grow stronger as they aged.
Even when their physical abilities weakened, they made up for it with a well-honed Mana Cultivation Method or Inner Energy Cultivation Method.
In that sense, Ludwig could be called the finest teacher.
Still, even he had things he could never expect.
‘What the hell is this person?’
It went beyond astonishing. It was bizarre.
That was Ludwig's conclusion after assessing Grylls's abilities.
Just as everyone needed clothes that fit their size, martial arts were no different.
Everyone had a weapon that suited their hand, and a different way of using it.
Ludwig could handle every weapon with ease, but he used a sword because it suited him best.
‘I would have an easier time teaching martial arts to a gorilla.’
At least a gorilla had one pair of arms and one pair of legs.
Its build might be absurdly huge, but it could still wear human clothes.
Grylls was different. It was like trying to dress someone with one extra arm and one extra leg.
The reason Grylls had such a bizarre build could be explained like this.
‘It is not that he cannot fight. He has decent talent.’
First, judging by his visible talent alone, he was close to a genius.
If he were not compared to exceptions like the Hero and Ash, the sort of “geniuses” better called natural disasters, he would have made a name for himself as a promising prospect.
Ludwig would need to inspect him properly to know the depths of that talent, but he was clearly an unpolished gem.
‘There are some rough edges, but correction alone should be enough.’
The fact that it was so obvious he had learned on his own was another reason Ludwig rated him highly.
He moved his sword and shield based on what he had heard or seen somewhere.
What Ludwig liked most were his eyes. They were constantly moving.
Even while assessing his surroundings, he never stopped watching his target.
‘The problem is his aura.’
Yet the second point revealed a problem that contradicted the first.
Mana, or aura. Grylls's aura was abnormal in size.
He was like the Sword Saint from the past, famous for being stupidly strong.
‘What the hell did he do for his aura to become this large?’
Asella had not strayed from the proper path, nor had Ash, whom Ludwig had once fought.
Train martial arts, control mana, refine aura. That was the standard.
But this freak had skipped the entire process.
It was like a plant that never bore fruit and only kept growing its stem.
And that stem was unbelievably thick and sturdy. It defied common sense.
Could it be possible because the Forest of Four Seasons was filled with countless medicinal herbs?
‘If that were possible, every rich person and noble would be like this man.’
Ludwig had watched countless talented people over nearly fifty years.
Some had consumed countless elixirs since childhood.
Yet even for them, only their aura's duration increased. Its size never grew like this.
‘Should I say he has talent for aura, or that he does not...?’
If it had been unclear or lacking, he could have supplemented it.
This was a problem because it was excessive.
The bigger issue was that this was not the end. Something even worse remained.
Crack!
“How was that? It's a good ability, right?”
“......”
The final and decisive reason was Grylls's cold energy.
At first, Ludwig wondered what it was.
He had known Grylls's aura had an unusual color, but the moment something touched that aura, it froze solid.
Everything before had defied common sense. This was an ability Ludwig had never expected.
Even Asella and Ash had not surpassed the limits of martial arts. Grylls had.
‘This is... magic?’
It was an ability close to magic, but it was not actual magic.
Until now, nobody had been able to imbue aura with an elemental ability.
At most, perhaps some weapons from legend possessed similar abilities.
Even then, those abilities had been contained in weapons. No person had ever displayed them directly.
A person unlike any Ludwig had ever seen, someone who could truly be called a ‘variant.’
Had living in the Forest of Four Seasons made him stronger in a way suited to the forest?
‘First... haa...’
Ludwig rubbed his face.
He could not think straight because he had no idea what kind of clothes to put on Grylls, or what size to choose.
Was this how a scholar felt after discovering a creature unknown to academia?
At least Grylls did not actually have extra limbs.
There was nothing Ludwig could do about the aura right now, so it would be better to teach martial arts first.
‘Sword-and-shield fighters have good balance, but they can end up being good at neither.’
A sword-and-shield fighter had excellent balance between offense and defense.
But other than balance, there was nothing they particularly excelled at.
It was a combat class suited to infantry or beginners.
‘Still, a shield is better until he learns Aura Shield.’
Aura Shield was a high-level aura technique called Protective Aura in the Central Plains.
It was also a technique that could only be learned after mastering Aura Blade.
Until then, using a shield was far more efficient.
Things might have been different outside, but this was the Forest of Four Seasons. Grylls seemed to have considered his odds of survival.
‘I should start by teaching him the basics. Just enough for him to understand the principles.’
Ludwig made his decision. First, he would help Grylls grasp the principles.
Grylls could figure out how to use those new limbs himself.
There was plenty of time. Ludwig would begin a proper analysis after he had fully recovered.
‘...But how am I supposed to communicate?’
There was another, much bigger problem. The language barrier.
Teaching would be much easier if they could speak to each other, but that was not possible right now.
Ludwig wanted to learn Grylls's language, but that was not something he could solve overnight.
‘I will have to write instead of speak.’
Ludwig asked Grylls for paper and a pen.
Then he quickly wrote down the problems and variables he had observed.
[Your abilities are too bizarre. That does not mean they are bad. But it feels like teaching martial arts to someone with an extra arm. I will do my best, but making it your own is up to you.]
As expected of the rigid and steadfast Ludwig, it was thoroughly objective.
Grylls posted the message exactly as written to the Gallery.
After reading the Gallery's translation, he blinked.
‘Does that mean I am so stupidly strong that he has no idea how to teach me?’
He was not sure whether he should be happy or not.
Being strong was good, but that description in front of it bothered him quite a bit.
Still... it was not bad. Whatever the case, it meant he was not completely hopeless.
‘He said he would teach me, so I guess I should wait until he fully recovers.’
Ludwig's recovery came first, no matter what.
To help Ludwig recover more quickly, Grylls regularly fed him honey.
It was high in calories, and this honey even had minor restorative effects.
It was perfect for Ludwig, who could only eat porridge for now.
“It's too sweet.”
“It's tasty, right? You have to keep eating.”
The lack of communication caused a disaster along the way, but Ludwig forced himself to keep eating the honey.
After making sure Ludwig could rest, Grylls headed outside.
Evening was approaching, so it was time to head to the river.
“Kyuuuu~!”
“Keeng!”
“Prrr.”
The giraffe was awake when Grylls went outside. It looked healthier than Ludwig.
Wonmo and the baby raccoon were using the giraffe's neck as a slide.
The giraffe did not look too unhappy about it either. It was smiling as if it found them adorable.
It was nice seeing the animals already becoming friends.
‘There are a lot more mouths to feed now.’
The raccoon family could take care of themselves, but Grylls was worried about the rest.
He had been able to stockpile some fish before, but now they ate everything at once.
And that would become difficult once winter arrived. They would have to prepare for a real winter.
“Hmm?”
“......”
Grylls had just returned after catching fish when he saw Ludwig clearly.
Ludwig was sweating profusely, as though suffering from some unknown illness.
Ludwig was pretending to be fine, but he could not hide his reaction.
Startled, Grylls rushed over to Ludwig.
“What is it? Are you hurting anywhere?”
Grylls urgently placed a hand on Ludwig's forehead, but he did not have a fever.
Still, there was something to worry about. The amputation surgery.
The surgery was one thing, but Ludwig's foot had rotted black beforehand.
The infection from then might have progressed now.
‘Even Elixir cannot cure disease...’
That was when it happened.
Grrrrrrrrumble!!!
An enormous sound came from Ludwig's stomach.
“Uuugh...!”
“......”
He clutched his stomach and bent forward.
Then Grylls realized. More accurately, he remembered.
He had spent a while constantly running to the bathroom after taking a Fasting Pill.
Grylls thought Ludwig would be fine because he was a knight, but apparently not.
‘...All he has eaten so far is fish porridge and honey, right?’
No wonder he was suffering. Grylls hurriedly led Ludwig outside.
At the very least, they needed to preserve his human dignity.
You might wonder how someone who had barely eaten anything could need to shit so badly, but Grylls had thought the same thing at first.
Grrrrumble!
“Guh...! Ugh...!”
“Please hold it in!”
Grylls felt like crying.
* * *
Fortunately, the disaster I had feared did not happen.
It might have been the greatest crisis of Ludwig's life.
His stomach had hurt so suddenly that he probably could not even think about moving.
Still, the crisis had passed. I would need to make a separate bathroom from now on.
“Can you move now?”
“%^#%”
There was another surprising fact.
Ludwig recovered in a single day.
Maybe it was because he had kept eating honey yesterday, or maybe it was the fish.
The color had returned to his haggard face, and he could walk on his own.
He limped because of the prosthetic leg, but he was no longer staggering.
‘There was the Elixir too.’
Maybe he could eat fish instead of porridge from today on.
I thought that for only a moment before getting straight to the point.
“Here. A sword.”
“......”
“We aren't fighting right away. Just loosen up a little.”
After I gestured with my hands and feet, Ludwig nodded like he understood.
Even after recovering, exercise was necessary. He also needed to adjust to his new foot.
More importantly, I had to build houses for the animals. Time was short.
I was working on the house I had started designing yesterday when it happened.
“Grylls.”
“Hmm?”
Whoosh!
Ludwig seemed to call me, then threw something.
First came Heavenly Demon’s Sword, then the shield.
I caught them and looked at him as if asking what he was doing.
Then, to my surprise, Ludwig beckoned with the hand holding his sword, as if telling me to come at him.
Was he saying he was fully recovered and would teach me a lesson?
Fighting someone who had just recovered, especially someone with a prosthetic leg, felt a little wrong...
‘But he says he is fine.’
Trying a fight once would not be bad. I readied the sword and shield.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, this is a real sword...’
While I was letting my guard down.
Whoosh!
Ludwig, who had been far away, reached me in an instant.
‘No. Wait...!’
This person has a prosthetic leg on one side?!
Footnotes:
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