WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 20: Owlbear (1)
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[Post title] Good morning, bright and energetic!
[Post] (Photo giving a thumbs-up)
[Post] If anyone asks, I’m Grylls!
└ [Heavenly Demon]: You’re up. Did anything happen overnight?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Nope. Slept like a baby. Did you sleep well too, Heavenly Demon?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: At my level, I have no need for sleep.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Ah. Right...
Even if something interesting happened while I slept, what I had to do remained the same.
That was my survival check-in, a post announcing the start of another day.
Heavenly Demon and the familiar registered users all left greetings.
Quite a few Anonymous Users commented too.
└ Grylls, did you see the posts that went up at dawn?
└ [Wild Grylls]: What posts?
└ The ones saying they want to buy an Adult Mandrake from you. There were a ton of them.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Ah, yeah, I saw those. I already got a bunch of trade requests too.
└ You selling?
Well, like I said earlier, I didn’t have the room for that right now.
It wasn’t like I was short on money, and there wasn’t anything I especially needed.
I could buy most things at the Auction House anyway.
The people I’d traded with so far had done so out of pure goodwill, so I’d gladly traded with them.
[System] xxx has requested a trade.
[System] @@@ has requested a trade.
[System] Anon has requested a trade.
Before long, countless trade requests flooded in.
I looked over them, then searched their usernames.
Most were accounts with no posts, and even their creation dates were recent.
They seemed determined to get an Adult Mandrake from me.
‘First, reject them all.’
I needed to make a post first.
If I kept ignoring them, it might become even more annoying later.
I also wanted Head Mod to see what was going on.
[Post title] To everyone who sent trade requests
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] It looks like you’re trying to get an Adult Mandrake, but I’m not planning to trade one right now.
[Post] My situation is what it is, and I don’t know what kind of items you’d offer either.
[Post] So make a post saying what you want to trade instead.
[Post] I’ll look it over and decide whether to send a trade request.
[Post] And please don’t ask to make regular trades.
[Post] I could die tomorrow.
└ What? The rumors were true?
└ If the Adult Mandrake was real, that makes sense.
└ But “I could die tomorrow” LMAOOOOOO
└ Seriously self-aware lol
└ Everyone would understand after hearing that.
└ [AllHailTheSun]: If you’re selling for money, tell me. I’ll pay a higher price than that lol
└ Damn, rich bastard.
└ Look at that disposable income lol
└ The rich Dark Elf boss is something else.
└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: Hmm! I think I get what’s going on! I’ll keep an eye on it!
└ [Wild Grylls]: Thanks. Head Mod, do you happen to need an Adult Mandrake too?
└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: Eek! I’ve never helped you, Grylls!
└ [Wild Grylls]: Bribe lol
└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: Nooo!
└ LMAOOOOOO
└ They’re just openly calling it a bribe lol
With that roughly sorted out, I started my daily routine.
First, I sat cross-legged to improve my flexibility.
Just three days ago, it felt like my whole body was twisting itself apart, but I was gradually getting used to it.
‘Soon, I should be able to learn from Heavenly Demon.’
An Inner Energy Cultivation Method or Mana Cultivation Method.
If I could learn one of those, things would improve.
Heavenly Demon wouldn’t teach me anything strange.
‘Chopping wood and digging should get easier too, right?’
The most important thing for me right now was repairing my shelter.
Honestly, I wanted to cut down trees with Heavenly Demon’s Sword instead of an axe.
But if the blade got chipped, I’d be in trouble, so I had no choice but to use an axe.
The same went for the shovel. Nothing but hard labor everywhere I looked.
‘Nothing much is being posted, either.’
Nothing especially eye-catching had appeared after I made my post.
As usual, I had a Fasting Pill for breakfast.
‘Today, I’ll dig a trap first.’
After deciding to adapt and live in the Forest of Four Seasons, my routine had become simple.
In the morning and afternoon, I either explored the surrounding area or repaired my shelter.
Yesterday had mostly been exploration because of the Adult Mandrake incident, so today was for repairs.
Though calling it repairs was generous. All I did was chop at nearby trees with an axe or dig holes with a shovel.
I felt like I was being worked to the bone after just ten minutes, but it was necessary for my safety.
‘Maybe I’m lucky. There isn’t even a trace of an Owlbear.’
Every time I heard rustling, I flinched, but nothing happened.
The place where the Owlbear had appeared was far from here, but I couldn’t relax.
The Gallery said Owlbears were extremely territorial creatures.
If anything, beast or person, entered their territory, they’d rip it apart.
Considering they were as big as houses, encountering one basically meant death.
‘Or I could lure one into the cave.’
I stopped digging and looked toward the cave entrance.
It was only large enough for something like a Mad Dog to pass through.
An Owlbear as big as a mountain wouldn’t fit easily.
There was also the trap I’d set at the entrance, so with some luck, I might be able to take one down.
‘It’d be better to learn their range of activity first, though.’
I dug diligently, then checked the depth of the pit.
This should be enough. Now all I had left was camouflage.
Why not plant sharp, pointed weapons inside the pit?
Because I might end up falling into it myself.
This wasn’t somewhere near the cave. A trap directly at the entrance was a last resort.
‘Something that can substitute for a tarp at the Auction House...’
I bought a tarp from the Auction House to cover the top.
Then I pulled the edges taut with rocks and camouflaged it with dirt.
That completed one trap. I felt oddly proud.
‘...Why am I so proud of this?’
Not long afterward, I sighed at my own situation.
Still, it was too early to celebrate just because I’d finished one thing.
The hardest part, logging, remained.
Just thinking about it made the future look bleak.
Rustle.
Then I heard bushes rustling near my ear.
The sound made me jump, and I hunched down.
I stared toward where the sound had come from, keeping my guard up.
“...”
Had I imagined it? Nothing happened even when I glared at the bushes.
I sighed in relief and went into the cave.
Before entering, I also had to jump over the trap so I wouldn’t fall into it.
‘Should I put down a plank?’
Jumping over it every time could cause an accident when I was in a hurry.
I’d slowly get used to things after going through enough trial and error.
I slung the logging axe over my shoulder and went outside.
‘Lumberjacks deserve a lot more respect.’
How had people felled so many trees in an era without chainsaws?
They even used those felled trees to make wooden buildings and ships.
Every day, I came to appreciate the greatness of civilization a little more.
That feeling would only grow as time passed.
‘Could I ask the dwarf to make me a chainsaw?’
The useless thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dropped it.
They’d been drinking yesterday, so they were probably still hungover.
Besides, I was more curious about Starlight Princess than the dwarf.
Thud! Thud!
I started with the tree I hadn’t finished chopping yesterday.
It was too thick to saw through.
Still, no tree stayed standing after enough chops. If I kept at it, it would fall eventually.
‘It needs to fall toward the cave, right?’
To do that, I needed to chop at the other side too.
After catching my breath, I walked around to the opposite side.
Rustle.
That grass-rustling sound hit my ears again.
This time, I heard it clearly. I tensed up and slowly turned around.
Rustle. Rustle.
It wasn’t my imagination. The bushes were definitely shaking.
The sound was getting louder too. Something was clearly coming this way.
I backed away inch by inch, ready to run into the cave at any moment.
Sliiide.
At last, the owner of the sound crawled out of the thick bushes.
The moment I saw its face, I couldn’t help but suck in a breath.
Sharp, fierce golden eyes. A vicious beak unique to birds.
And finally, a body as large as a house.
“Grrr?”
“...”
An Owlbear. My body stiffened with tension.
Fortunately, the Owlbear didn’t attack right away.
Was it because this was the first time it had encountered a person in the Forest of Four Seasons?
It seemed to be checking me out first. I slowly backed away.
“Grrrr...”
“Hoo...”
I glanced behind me, estimating the distance to the cave.
If I provoked the Owlbear for no reason, I might do more than bleed. I might die.
Fortunately, this Owlbear was too big to enter the cave.
‘Something to draw its attention elsewhere...’
I rummaged through my pockets. My fingers closed around something round.
A Fasting Pill I had packed as emergency food.
Could this draw its attention?
Carefully, I threw the Fasting Pill beneath the Owlbear.
“Sniff. Sniff.”
“...”
The Owlbear began sniffing the Fasting Pill that had fallen to the ground.
Using that opening, I reached the area near the entrance.
Then, apparently deciding there was nothing wrong with the smell, the Owlbear picked up the Fasting Pill in its mouth.
“Nom.”
“...”
“Chew. Chew chew.”
The Owlbear savored the flavor for a while.
“Gack! Gaaack! Kyaaaah!”
Then it let out a horrible scream at the Fasting Pill’s distinctive bitterness.
The instant I heard that scream, I realized one thing.
If I didn’t enter the cave now, my limbs would be ripped apart.
‘Couldn’t it tell from the smell? Bears are supposed to have great noses!’
As I ran, I felt a murderous presence behind me.
Was this killing intent? It made the backs of my knees go weak.
Tap!
Recognizing the trap I’d set at the cave entrance, I dove forward.
My legs and knees would get pretty badly scraped, but it was dangerous if I didn’t do this.
Boom!
“Kyaaaaaah!”
A massive sound rang out behind me, proving it.
The Owlbear’s savage roar came with it.
With every hair on my body standing on end, I hurriedly got up.
“Pant... Pant...”
“Kyaah! Kyaah!”
Scrape! Scrape!
The Owlbear’s sharp claws raked against the ground. I watched it while gasping for breath.
Its huge body had made it halfway through the cave entrance.
In other words, it was stuck.
If the entrance had been even a little bigger, it would have gotten through.
Thanks to the trap, the bear’s short legs didn’t seem able to reach the ground either.
‘N-now’s my chance.’
There was no time to watch. I grabbed a weapon other than my axe.
The crossbow I’d received from Passing Dwarf.
I loaded a regular bolt instead of a harpoon.
Even a regular bolt was Dwarf-made, so it should be effective enough.
Twang! Thud!
There was no need to aim precisely. I fired, and it hit the Owlbear in the face.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
The Owlbear thrashed wildly with a bolt lodged in its eye.
How strong was it for the cave to shake like this?
My brief relief vanished when I saw the Owlbear’s monstrous strength gradually collapsing the cave entrance.
‘I’m screwed...!’
The moment the entrance collapsed, my life would be over.
Thud! Thud! Thwack!
Without hesitation, I fired the crossbow repeatedly.
The more bolts embedded in the Owlbear’s face, the more wildly it rampaged. There was no sign of it calming down.
‘Does that bastard not have a brain?’
I fired not only bolts, but also a harpoon attached to a line.
The last harpoon lodged in its remaining eye. The Owlbear had now lost its sight.
Still, it was rampaging so violently that I couldn’t approach easily.
‘A spear! Right, I’ll buy a spear!’
I hurriedly connected to the Gallery and bought a spear from the Auction House.
I didn’t consider the reviews or price. As long as I had a spear, that was enough.
I watched the Owlbear continue rampaging, then gripped the spear with both hands.
“Hyaa!”
Thrust!
I drove the spear into the Owlbear’s head.
Perhaps I was lucky, because the spearhead pierced straight through the center of its forehead.
Before the Owlbear could go even more berserk, I pressed down with all the strength I had.
“Keeeeek!”
Crack!
But a spear was still a spear. The spearhead might have been metal, but the shaft was wood.
The shaft snapped under a swipe from the Owlbear’s claws.
I nearly lost my balance, but somehow managed to hold on.
Rumble!
“Uh, uh?”
What I’d feared happened. The cave entrance had almost completely collapsed.
As I panicked at the sight, the Owlbear forced its way inside.
I’m screwed. I’m seriously screwed.
Even with that thought running through my head, I grabbed Heavenly Demon’s Sword and the Golden Shield.
The worst situation had arrived, but the Owlbear was close to death.
If I waited for an opening, I had a chance.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Boom!
The Owlbear, its face embedded with bolts and a spearhead, charged at me.
Startled, I hurriedly protected myself with the shield.
A post SwordTasteMaster had written flashed through my mind, letting me prepare.
Bang!
“Ghk!”
Still, completely blocking an Owlbear’s charge with a shield was impossible.
The difference in size was huge. I was a weak human, while the Owlbear was a bear.
Thump!
Both my feet lifted off the ground as I was sent flying.
Fortunately, I only fell over and didn’t slam into the cave wall.
But it was too soon for relief. I didn’t take my eyes off the Owlbear.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
The Owlbear charged toward me as I lay on the ground.
Even though it couldn’t see, it could roughly determine my position through sound.
Its attacks would inevitably be less accurate. I concentrated until the very end.
‘...Left paw!’
The Owlbear raised its left paw high.
All that remained was figuring out where it would strike.
I opened my eyes wide and watched its attack.
The raised left paw came straight toward my left shoulder.
Boom!
I twisted my body slightly and barely avoided it.
The thunderous noise ringing in my ears gave me a mild case of tinnitus, but there was nothing I could do about that.
I had tinnitus already, so I didn’t care much.
What mattered was the counterattack that followed.
“Uaaaaah!”
With a shout, I thrust Heavenly Demon’s Sword toward the Owlbear’s jaw.
I desperately hoped this would be the last attack.
Stab!
As expected of Heavenly Demon’s Sword. It pierced through the Owlbear’s jaw and all the way into its brain.
After its brain was struck directly, the Owlbear’s body only trembled. It didn’t struggle at all.
Its brain was too damaged to send signals to its body.
Boom!
“Urgh!”
The Owlbear’s massive body collapsed on top of me. It was fucking heavy.
I groaned and wriggled free from beneath it.
While getting out, I was able to check on my legs.
‘They’re scraped to hell.’
Was it because of that survival dive? My knees were badly scraped.
Even “scraped” didn’t begin to cover it.
The wounds were deep enough that the muscle was nearly exposed.
If they had gone any deeper, I probably would have seen something white.
“Ow, ow...”
As the adrenaline slowly faded, pain began spreading throughout my body.
That single dive had left wounds all over me, including my knees.
If I hadn’t been wearing clothes, I would have suffered serious injuries on my upper body too.
‘First, an Elixir... I don’t have one.’
I’d buy a Potion instead. Normally, I would have traded for an Elixir with Starlight Princess.
But Starlight Princess hadn’t even posted a survival check-in today.
The trade request cooldown remained too, so it wasn’t possible.
Trickle...
“Ugh...”
I bought a reasonably priced Potion from the Auction House and applied it to my wounds.
Like any Potion, it was distinctly red. It should at least disinfect them.
After that, I wrapped some separately purchased cloth around the wounds as bandages.
There were so many injuries that I ended up wrapping cloth around each arm and leg.
‘All that’s left is dealing with the Owlbear.’
The Owlbear had countless bolts embedded in its face, with a bolt in one eye and a harpoon in the other.
It looked a little pitiful as a corpse, but it had tried to kill me.
[Post title] I got an Owlbear
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of an Owlbear corpse)
[Post] I seriously thought I was going to die taking this thing down;;
[Post] I’ll list it on the Auction House soon, so do whatever you want.
└ Whoa. How’d you take it down?
└ [Wild Grylls]: The cave entrance was narrow, so I lured it there. Then I fucked up its face with a crossbow.
└ LMAOOOOOO Look at its face. It has bolts and a harpoon in its eyes instead of eyeballs.
└ Are you really an ordinary person?
└ An ordinary person who killed an Owlbear. Damn.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Are you injured anywhere?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Other than a lot of scrapes, I’m not hurt.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: That is a relief. Every time I read one of your posts, I feel your basic combat ability is remarkable. Am I mistaken?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I wouldn’t have been able to finish it without the sword you gave me, Heavenly Demon.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Hearing that pleases me. Is there any weapon you need?
A weapon I needed. I definitely thought I could use a spear.
But I had no intention of asking Heavenly Demon for one.
As I’d said many times, relying too heavily on someone wasn’t good.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Not yet. Ah! I’m getting used to sitting cross-legged, so could you teach me an Inner Energy Cultivation Method?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: That is wonderful to hear. I will organize it in a way you can easily understand.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Thank you.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: That’s impressive. You said you lured it to the cave entrance, right?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Yep.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: It seems you’re more clever than expected.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Hehe, thanks.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Someday, you’ll be able to face one confidently in a one-on-one fight.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Is there a way to fight Owlbears?
└ [SwordTasteMister]: It’s pretty easy. An Owlbear’s claws are its main weapon, so you cut off its legs. Cut them while it raises a front paw and brings it down. Easy, right?
└ [Wild Grylls]: ;;;
It was probably easy for someone like them. How could an ordinary person understand a genius?
I skimmed through the Gallery’s reactions, then dealt with the Owlbear first.
The moment I listed it on the Auction House, the Owlbear corpse disappeared.
Bidding soon began. The auction period was twenty-four hours.
‘Will it sell for a lot?’
I had no idea. What I needed now was rest.
Before that, I had to inspect the trap. The Owlbear had damaged it, so repairs were essential.
“Hm?”
“?”
But the moment I stepped outside the cave, I came face-to-face with something strange.
Bright, round golden eyes. A beak unique to birds.
A body the size of a medium dog, and a face full of curiosity.
“Kyu?”
A baby Owlbear tilted its head at me.
Footnotes:
“If anyone asks, I’m Grylls!” is a playful Korean parody of Waldo’s self-introduction, with Grylls substituted for the name.
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