WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 206: Jack-o'-Lantern (3)
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When someone's eyes shine, it's usually a metaphor.
It doesn't mean their eyes are literally glowing, just that they're showing interest or something.
But my eyes were actually glowing. I realized it early from everyone's reactions.
Wonmo and Tyrano liked the light coming from my eyes.
Ludwig, on the other hand... looked like he was seeing something utterly bizarre.
His expression plainly asked, Is that really even human?
He'd been a holy knight for a long time, but I was probably a first for him.
[Post title] Title) Who has light coming from their eyes, nose, and mouth?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of Grylls's face in a dark cave, light shining from his eyes, nose, and mouth)
[Post] Me!
└ [Heavenly Demon]: What on earth happened? Did a wraith possess you?
└ [Wild Grylls]: No. I ate Pumpkin Jack's Inner Core, and this happened.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Did its Inner Core originally have that effect?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: I've never even seen a Pumpkin Jack with an Inner Core.
└ Everything this guy touches has an Inner Core;
└ Even ordinary fish have Inner Cores lol
└ At this point, basically every living thing must have one.
└ But just from the photo, you look fucking ghostly lolllll
└ Are you even human?
└ Looooooooool
└ Looooool
└ Fuck, why is this so funny lollllll
└ It's a genuinely fundamental question lol
└ The more I look at you, the more you seem like something other than human lol
└ [Starlight Princess]: Do you feel any urge to eat human flesh or drink blood?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Why would you say something so horrifying?;;
└ [Starlight Princess]: It's from records of yokai transformation. Some old records mentioned it. Luckily, it doesn't seem like you're becoming a yokai.
└ [Wild Grylls]: ;;;
└ [Starlight Princess]: Still, you should be careful just in case. Ancient texts don't even mention people with light coming from their eyes.
└ [Allfather]: There was one. Someone whose eyeballs had been removed and who used prosthetic eyes.
└ [Starlight Princess]: There was someone like that? Why would they do such a thing?
└ [Allfather]: The records only said, “Because it looked cool.”
└ Honestly, it does look cool lol
└ How could you resist if your eyes glowed? lolllll
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Does light come out if you cut off your head too? Then you'd really be a human lantern.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Don't say horrible things like that;;
└ [DontAbandonTheHero]: What did Sir Ludwig have to say about it?!
└ [Wild Grylls]: Other than looking like he was seeing something utterly bizarre, he's fine. He also told me to turn my head because it's blinding.
└ So you're just being a nuisance lol
└ Can you even sleep? lol
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: We demonkind have Inverted Eyes, but Grylls has Luminous Eyes! Are you perhaps a celestial, Grylls?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I don't know about any of that;; Also, what's a celestial? Is there a race like that?
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: I was just throwing it out there!
└ There are, though. Not celestials, but angels.
└ Aren't angels demigod-tier?
└ Yeah. That's why most people who ascend or undergo Feathered Ascension to Immortality become angels.
└ Oh. So did Blood Demon become an angel too?
└ I don't know about that lol It's only a myth, after all.
└ Angel Blood Demon, damn.
└ That doesn't fit at all lol
└ Even in the middle of all this, look how you can't see Grylls's face.
└ The cave is dark, what can he do?
When I made the post, the Gallery went wild.
Had any of them ever seen someone like me in their lives? Probably not.
I closed the Gallery and looked outside the cave.
The light brightly illuminated the darkness like a high-powered flashlight.
With this, moving through the dark shouldn't be a problem.
'Still, how do I turn this off?'
The issue was whether I could control it. I tried squinting, blinking, and all sorts of other things.
The light refused to go out.
There was no major change in the mana inside my body either. It was the same as before.
Was it some kind of passive ability, or could I control it at will?
'If I can't control it, that's a little awkward.'
I turned to look at Ludwig. He furrowed his brow.
Not being able to face someone properly like this was a problem.
The kids liked it, but their excitement would probably fade soon enough.
'I should practice my cultivation method first. I ate an Inner Core, so there has to be something.'
I practiced my cultivation method to see whether I could feel anything inside.
'I don't feel anything in particular?'
Other than cold energy, I couldn't feel anything in my dantian.
Was it really just a passive ability? Since my eyes hadn't glowed before sunset, that seemed likely.
Still, I couldn't give up. If I couldn't control it as I pleased, the ability would lose much of its value.
With Ludwig and the Gallery's help, I started trying all sorts of things.
└ Can't you smack the back of your head to turn it off and on? That's what you do when a lantern breaks.
└ [Wild Grylls]: That's for when it won't turn on, you lunatic.
It wasn't much help. No one had seen anything like this before, so they were all at a loss.
In the end, I decided to call it a day. As long as I closed my eyes and mouth, it was fine.
I couldn't do anything about the light coming from my nose, but it was bearable.
'It really feels like I'm turning into something other than human.'
Things like my greatly amplified aura and cold energy were still within the bounds of common sense.
Although rare, they weren't completely without precedent.
But light coming from my eyes, nose, and mouth was something even the records didn't mention.
According to Starlight Princess, people becoming yokai sometimes showed symptoms like that, but even she wasn't certain.
'So not every Inner Core is good?'
It would've been nice to know about this effect beforehand.
Unlike some novels, I had no status window or system, so I had no choice but to figure everything out myself.
At least the mana in my body had increased tremendously.
I closed my eyes and considered what I needed to do tomorrow.
'Winter will be here soon. No later than five days from now.'
The steadily cooling weather was proof enough.
After it rained a few times, the temperature dropped sharply.
It was about time I got some winter clothes for Ludwig too.
Passing Dwarf would probably be able to help with that.
'First, I'll do some logging, and since it might snow, I'll keep the fire going strong.'
After finishing all that, I planned to visit the Orichalcum Cave.
Now that my eyes glowed, I had to test out their performance.
The cave I lived in was too cramped, and the campfire made things complicated.
'I'm only going there and back anyway. I can introduce it to Ludwig while I'm at it.'
Preparations for winter were nearly complete. It would be fine if we didn't go outside for a while.
The only thing left was making an emergency exit, and that wouldn't take long.
Planning out the next day, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
Morning came the next day.
It was less chilly than yesterday.
"The light isn't coming from my eyes now that it's daytime."
"Mm."
It seemed to be a passive ability that only activated in dark places or at night, because my eyes weren't glowing.
Wonmo and Tyrano were naturally disappointed when they realized that.
I patted their heads and started preparing breakfast.
First, I needed to go up to the river and collect the Fish Trap...
"Huh?"
The moment I reached the river, I noticed something strange.
The river was normally crystal clear, so I could see everything in it.
Most things were too fast to spot, though, and their camouflage made them difficult to notice.
Sparkle! Sparkle!
Now, it was a little different. Points of light glittered throughout the river.
Those glimmers traveled along the current until they got caught in the Fish Trap with a thunk!
The area around the Fish Trap glittered like a lump of gold, drawing my attention.
'What, what is that?'
I didn't know what it was, but I collected the Fish Trap first. Kkobong, who had followed me along, helped too.
When I pulled it up, I saw fish flopping inside.
The fish's bellies, the part where their Inner Cores were, sparkled especially brightly.
'...Could it be?'
I immediately dealt with the fish and headed down to the shelter. There was no reason to delay.
Once I took out the Inner Cores inside the fish, I could confirm it.
Though the glow was faint, the Inner Cores sparkled like stars.
It seemed to be an effect of the Pumpkin Jack Inner Core I had consumed yesterday.
'Come to think of it, my Subspace Backpack and the bottle where I keep Inner Cores are sparkling too?'
I had only noticed it now. Maybe not enough time had passed since I consumed it yesterday.
This would be an enormous help to me. Finding medicinal herbs would become much easier.
Since I wasn't an expert, it had been difficult asking the Gallery about every herb one by one.
'I should still ask the Gallery about the effect.'
I gave Ludwig a rough explanation.
After hearing it, Ludwig looked slightly surprised, as if he had no idea such an ability existed.
That made me curious about something else, Mithril, which had been judged to be alive.
Would Mithril glitter like gold dust too? I headed behind the cave.
Flash! Flash!
The Mithril wasn't simply glowing. It shone brightly enough to hurt my eyes.
It was flashing from deep inside the cave, and... I didn't really want to get closer.
If I mined it for no reason, I felt like I'd be the only one to suffer. It made me even more uneasy.
'Still, it won't hurt anyone if I leave it alone...'
I felt uneasy about it, but I would probably need to keep checking around the cave from now on.
There was a limit to making Fasting Pills with only the medicinal herbs the father raccoon brought me.
To test the ability, I decided to walk around by myself.
I didn't forget to bring Fast Sloth along just in case.
'That thing is sparkling almost as much as the Mithril.'
That was the sapling LetsGrowTrees had given me.
Other plants grew quickly, but it alone was growing slowly.
Had they really given me a World Tree sapling? I was starting to seriously wonder.
'They say the World Tree is bigger than most villages. Can it really grow to full size?'
If it did, the whole shelter would be destroyed.
I pushed aside the pointless thoughts and explored the area around the cave.
Surprisingly, it was difficult to find anything that sparkled. It was probably because most of the plants were just weeds.
'What's the standard here? Does it need to be at least Inner Core-tier?'
There was a lot to think about. For now, I looked around a little more, then returned to the cave.
After getting back, I prepared to leave for the Orichalcum Cave.
I was going to find out whether the light from my eyes was a passive ability or an active one.
Of course, everyone would be going together. Leaving only some behind could be even more dangerous.
'Even if we get robbed, they'll only take food.'
And so, everyone from the shelter set out for the Orichalcum Cave.
Ludwig rode Largo and quietly followed behind me.
'I should get him a saddle later.'
Since he was using a giraffe like a horse, a saddle was essential.
As we headed to the cave, I collected every sparkling medicinal herb I found.
Then, something sparkling beneath the ground caught my eye.
Could it be an expensive mineral? Without hesitating, I took out a shovel and pickaxe.
"Ludwig, there's something here. Dig hard."
"Mm."
Ludwig followed my lead and got to work.
I broke through the hard ground with the pickaxe while Ludwig shoveled away the dirt.
After working for a while, we got closer to the sparkling spot.
Rumbleeeee!
Then, without warning, the entire ground began to shake.
Ludwig and I both stopped what we were doing.
From what I had experienced so far, earthquakes usually weren't a good omen.
And sure enough...
Craaaaaash!
Something began to rise from the ground. We hurriedly backed away from the bulging earth.
The identity of the majestic being that emerged was...
"A, a Guardian...?"
It was a Guardian, a golem made of soil.
Sparkle! Sparkle!
A Core on the Guardian's chest shone with a clear light.
"......#%%^#$?"
Ludwig was asking what on earth I had done.
I had no answer for him.
Footnotes:
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