WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 32: Inner Elixir (3)
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There was something I had learned in life.
The most miserable time in the world was when you were sick.
After my parents passed away, there was a time when I spent several days groaning in bed with a fever.
I didn't know how much I cried back then. If even one of them had been there, they would have taken care of me.
Loneliness and a fever were the perfect combination for wearing a person down.
That was exactly how I felt now. I'd finally gotten to eat my fill, only to collapse with a fever right after.
“Kyuu.”
At least I had cute little Wonmo.
If he hadn't been here, my heart would have hurt even more.
Maybe Fast Sloth had some awareness too, because it climbed down from my back as soon as I got sick.
“...”
“...You can just go.”
Still, its naturally off-putting face offered no comfort at all.
Usually, it was nice that it looked so relaxed, but right now, it felt like it was mocking me.
‘It probably isn't.’
I felt bad for snapping at poor Fast Sloth.
The sudden fever made it hard to think clearly.
I panted through the heat radiating from my entire body.
Every breath sent scorching air spilling from my mouth.
At this rate, I might start breathing fire like a dragon.
‘What could be causing this?’
It was ridiculous. How could eating one fish make my body heat up like this?
For a moment, I wondered if I had parasites, but that probably wasn't it.
I'd grilled it thoroughly, just in case.
The only thing that came to mind was poison. Maybe it had been poisonous, like a pufferfish.
‘I took medicine right away, but I don't know.’
Just in case, I also swallowed one of the pills Allfather had sent over.
Normally, I should immediately practice the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, but I was in no state to do that.
It should be fine if I did it after the fever came down a little. First, I should check the gallery.
I'd made a post just before the fever hit, so there should be comments by now.
[Post title] Ah, fuck. I'm getting a fever?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (A photo of a fish picked clean down to the bones)
[Post] Why did my body start heating up as soon as I ate this? Was it poisonous or something?
└ Is there even poison that gives you a fever?
└ There is. I've heard of poisons that kill you with a fever.
└ [Allfather]: Did you take the medicine I gave you?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I took it just in case.
└ [Allfather]: If it were poison, you would have recovered immediately. How strange. It probably isn't poison.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: It would be best to regulate your Internal Energy at once. Since you consumed a spiritual treasure, your body must be filled with qi.
└ [Wild Grylls]: I didn't even eat the Inner Core, though?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: A spiritual treasure is not called a spiritual treasure for nothing. It may not have contained as much as an Inner Core, but it must have contained a sufficient amount of qi.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: There's nothing better than the Mana Cultivation Method when you're sick. It would be even better if you took a sip of Elixir beforehand.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: It is the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, not the Mana Cultivation Method.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Same difference lol. Until you teach him the mnemonic verses, aren't they all the same?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: I would dearly like to rip out that wicked tongue of yours.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Why don't you try? lol
└ [Heavenly Demon]: It is pathetic, hiding in your room and running your mouth. I can picture you doing nothing but loafing around as you grow older.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: What did you say?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Hm. This lady should start being more active as well. I would hate to become as pathetic as you.
└ Why the fuck did she suddenly come after all of us?
└ A fucking AoE taunt LOL
└ I suddenly want to help SwordTasteMaster.
Come to think of it, I had Elixir.
The sudden fever had kept me from thinking of it.
Suppressing the rising heat through sheer force of will, I crawled over to my things.
Before long, I grabbed an Elixir stored in a box.
Its brilliant golden liquid was striking.
The color varied by grade, but I was in too much pain to care and grabbed whatever came to hand.
‘I’ll just take one sip first...’
Even pulling out the cork was hard. Should I buy some fever medicine from the Auction House?
After struggling with it, I pulled out the cork and took a sip of Elixir.
A strangely bitter yet refreshing sensation slid down my throat.
All that remained was breathing. Before that, I checked the comments.
Before I closed the gallery, Heavenly Demon and SwordTasteMaster had been in the middle of a comment war.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: No matter how hard you struggle, I will be the one teaching Grylls the Inner Energy Cultivation Method. Now get lost.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: What if Mr. Grylls can't understand the mnemonic verses?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: That will not happen. I shall explain each part to him in detail.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Sorry, but that's realistically difficult. You aren't even beside him. It will be hard for him to match the Mana Cultivation Method's know-how through mnemonic verses alone.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: The same is true for you, is it not? If you can make someone understand merely by explaining it in writing, then you yourself are already a genius.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Why don't you go read my posts? Do you know how good I am at writing?
└ They are pretty good. That person raised the continent's average combat power.
└ They cover everything from basics to advanced material, so both experts and beginners can use them.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: just shits out garbage posts LOL
└ For real LOL
SwordTasteMaster's posts really were good.
Even someone like me, who knew nothing, had managed to learn the basics through them.
Maybe that was why most people were friendlier toward SwordTasteMaster than Heavenly Demon.
Thanks to that unflappable, go-at-their-own-pace disposition, SwordTasteMaster kept posting comments to the very end. An ordinary person would have had a complete mental breakdown by now.
I should stop this here. Maybe because of the Elixir, the dizziness had eased a little too.
└ [Wild Grylls]: SwordTasteMister, that's enough. It's true that your posts are helpful, but I don't want to break my promise with Heavenly Demon.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Sorry. I got carried away.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Do not heed the words of one who seeks to break faith with their wicked tongue.
└ [Wild Grylls]: SwordTasteMaster was only trying to help me, though.
Thankfully, that seemed to settle things.
If I hadn't stepped in, my post might have been filled entirely with those two fighting in the comments.
Besides, SwordTasteMaster had picked the fight first this time. Heavenly Demon had gotten worked up too, but still.
‘Time to sit up...’
Even the Elixir hadn't completely brought down my fever.
Its painkilling effect had only reduced the pain.
Forcing up my body, which felt hotter by the second, I sat cross-legged.
Before beginning my breathing, I asked Heavenly Demon for help.
└ [Wild Grylls]: I'm about to start cultivating. Could you teach me those mnemonic verses or whatever they are?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: I can, but I will teach you only the first set of verses in case something happens. You could suffer Qi Deviation if you are careless.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Okay. Please leave them in a private comment.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: The heavens are supreme, looked up to by all things. Reach out and grasp them within. Do not look up, but look below. That is the heavens'...
I had expected ordinary know-how, but poetry suddenly appeared instead.
It was archaic, and in a way, very fitting for a martial arts story.
Which meant I had absolutely no idea what it was saying.
There was a reason SwordTasteMaster had mocked the Inner Energy Cultivation Method as poetry instead of know-how.
‘How is this supposed to help?’
The mnemonic verses were also pretty long, not just one line. Heavenly Demon's comments kept coming.
My reluctance lasted only a moment. I memorized every verse she posted in the comments.
The fever made my head spin, but not so badly that I couldn't memorize them at all.
“Whew...”
First, I began breathing with the image of gathering the hot energy inside me.
I also didn't forget to recite the verses Heavenly Demon had taught me in my head.
I just had to picture it roughly, right? This was a matter of feeling rather than interpretation.
‘At least it's better than Gwandong Byeolgok, that notoriously difficult classical poem.’
It was far better than that horrible poem.
Imagining the verses Heavenly Demon had taught me, I practiced my breathing.
The hot energy scattered throughout my body seemed to gather in my lower abdomen.
‘The heavens are supreme, looked up to by all things...’
After reciting the verses and practicing the Inner Energy Cultivation Method like that...
“Ughhh...”
I fell asleep without realizing it.
* * *
I had an incredibly strange dream.
A dream where I seemed to float through an impossibly high sky.
More than simply floating, I swam freely through that sky.
I had never even been on an airplane before, so I flew around freely for a while.
That freedom didn't last long, though. My body gradually started to feel pulled downward.
I wanted to savor the sensation as long as possible. I resisted until the end.
It was pointless. Before I knew it, my body was falling.
Startled, I looked below me. A dense forest stretched out beneath me.
Whoosh!
“Gah!”
The sensation of falling from a great height made me jerk upright.
It was like dozing off in school and suddenly jolting awake.
Only several times stronger. I was completely awake now.
“...”
I blinked. What kind of dream had that been?
I remembered flying freely through the sky, but I couldn't recall what happened after that.
It was hard to explain. Almost as if my soul and body had separated.
Still, it had been a pretty good dream. I had felt real freedom for the first time in a while.
“Kyuu...”
As I sat there in a daze, a sad sound reached my ears.
I turned toward it and saw a fluffy ball of fur looking at me.
It was Wonmo, the baby Owlbear. He stared at me with mournful eyes.
Growl-
At the same time, an alarm rang out from Wonmo's stomach.
I'm hungry. Give me food because I'm hungry. I'm sad because I'm hungry.
That was roughly what he seemed to be saying. Feeling awkward for no reason, I checked the time first.
No. There was no need to check. Looking outside the cave was enough.
‘...It's already night?’
Pure darkness had filled the outside world before I knew it.
It had been around noon when I ate the fish and came down with a fever.
That meant I had rested deeply for at least six hours. There was a reason Wonmo looked so sad.
“Wonmo, sorry. I'll get you food right away.”
“Kyuu!”
“Wonmo aside, where did Fast Sloth go...?”
I turned my head, and there it was.
It looked at me with the expression I had become used to seeing.
Judging from the way it chewed, it seemed to have eaten Fasting Pills while I was asleep.
‘...It didn't eat too many, right?’
With a sense of dread, I checked how many Fasting Pills remained.
Thankfully, the number hadn't dropped much.
Then I should feed Wonmo first. I connected to the gallery.
As usual, the gallery was bustling, but Wonmo's food was more important right now.
“Here you go.”
“Kyuuuuu!”
When I bought him a chunk of meat, his eyes lit up with delight.
He liked it even more when I patted his head because he was so cute.
How could I not? Just looking at him made me happy.
‘The fever seems to be gone, and nothing feels wrong. I'm okay.’
As expected, the best thing to do when you had a fever was sleep deeply.
My body was damp from sweat, though. That couldn't be helped.
Since it was late, I should wash up at least a little.
There were fish in the steel container, so taking a bath was difficult.
“Hm?”
I had just taken off my clothes and stepped outside the cave when something puzzled me.
I could see far too well. I had always had good night vision, but this was far clearer.
It wasn't as bright as daytime, but it was enough to move around without any trouble.
‘What's this?’
I didn't dwell on it for long. I took off my clothes to wash up.
I didn't even need a campfire. Why would I need one when I could see perfectly well?
I would need it when sleeping, though. I could still feel the cold.
Crackle-
As I ran a hand over my body before washing, I heard a strange sound.
I looked down after hearing it and found something unexpected.
My skin was peeling off. Unlike the skin that peels after a burn, the skin underneath was soft and even glossy.
I frowned when I saw it. This could only mean one thing.
‘Why is there so much grime on me?’
I had thought I washed myself fairly well, but apparently not.
I should pay more attention to washing from now on.
For today, I could wash up quickly and take a proper bath tomorrow.
If I soaked the grime in warm water, it would probably come off more easily.
‘And I can have fish for breakfast while I'm at it.’
Surely I wouldn't get another fever in the meantime.
The next day dawned, and when I cleaned the fish...
“This came out again.”
Another Inner Core popped out of its guts.
Footnotes:
Gwandong Byeolgok | A famously difficult classical Korean poem commonly studied in school.
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