WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 38: Fireball (1)
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Would you believe it if strange heat haze rose from a sword?
It was the sort of thing you'd see in a fantasy or martial arts novel, so even I found it hard to believe.
According to SwordTasteMaster, it was very easy once you got the feel for it.
Still, she said she'd never seen anyone start releasing energy the moment they heard her advice.
Apparently, SwordTasteMaster herself took an hour to get the hang of it.
Of course, that might have been because her advice was the result of all her accumulated know-how.
[Post title] Is this aura?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of a sword shimmering with heat haze)
[Post] I did what SwordTasteMaster told me to do. Is this aura?
[Post] It happened so easily that I'm asking.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: That's aura;; I thought there was no way, but it really is.
└ [Wild Grylls]: That's a good thing, right?
└ Quit flexing. It's annoying.
└ Some people take months, and some people do it in one day lol
└ Months, my ass. It took me three years, fuck lol
└ How the hell did SwordTasteMaster teach you? Tell me too.
└ [Wild Grylls]: She just told me to recreate the feeling of circulating mana, then imagine flowing mana into the sword. So I did exactly that.
└ Fuck;; It's unbelievable that she can give an explanation like that, and even more unbelievable that someone can actually do it.
└ If you could release aura from an explanation like that, every idiot would be using aura lol
└ [Starlight Princess]: Wow. That's amazing. What circle would that be for a mage?
└ For a mage, it's like starting out at the third circle.
└ [Starlight Princess]: I see. So it really is amazing, right?
└ What circle did you start at, then?
└ [Starlight Princess]: Fifth circle. I could have started even higher, but I couldn't because of my illness.
└ This one's full of shit too lol
└ That's like using an Aura Blade the moment you start lol
└ It's not an Aura Blade. It's Sword Force.
└ They're the same thing, idiot. Do you have to nitpick?
└ It's a matter of pride.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Anyway, if I condense this, it becomes an Aura Blade, right? Okay, I'll practice.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Practicing is good, but maintaining the sensation is the most important thing. Sometimes people forget it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Forget it?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: It's the same principle as becoming aware of your breathing.
The comment section went wild as soon as I showed them the aura.
Maybe Heavenly Demon was diligently carrying out her duties as an assistant moderator, since she didn't leave a comment.
Well, we could have one-on-one chats now, so she would probably message me herself.
‘This is really that good?’
I studied the sword shimmering with heat haze.
I could definitely feel mana leaving my body.
Yet it recharged every time I breathed, so it didn't mean much.
‘SwordTasteMaster told me to keep compressing it, right?’
She advised me to practice until the haze took on a sharp form.
From there, it was more a matter of talent, so there wasn't much she could do for me.
Even so, SwordTasteMaster said she would help as much as she could.
‘Feels like I'm only taking from her...’
I wanted to give something to SwordTasteMaster, who kept passing along all kinds of useful tips.
But she was the type to reject even rare medicinal herbs because she didn't want to get healthy.
Then what could I give her that SwordTasteMaster would gladly accept?
Would she take it if it were something material instead of herbs?
‘This is hard.’
SwordTasteMaster was especially difficult compared to Heavenly Demon.
Only receiving things like this didn't sit right with me.
She said all I had to do was marry her, but that was obviously a joke.
To begin with, I didn't even know whether I could leave this place.
‘Should I test it out for now?’
I took out an ordinary logging axe instead of Heavenly Demon’s Sword.
Wonmo was taking a nap, while Fast Sloth was perched on my back.
There was nothing better than logging for testing the power of aura, or Sword Aura.
‘Normally, it took several hits.’
I recalled the sensation of pouring mana into a sword.
First, I had to feel the mana gathered in my dantian.
SwordTasteMaster had told me to think of the mana stored in my lower abdomen as a warehouse.
Take the mana out of that warehouse and send it into the weapon. That was all.
‘She said that if the mana warehouse runs dry, I need to circulate the cultivation method to fill it again...’
SwordTasteMaster said she had never lacked mana in her life.
She had a constitution that accumulated mana whenever she breathed, so she ran like a perpetual-motion machine.
SwordTasteMaster said I might develop similarly, given my environment, but I wasn't sure.
‘I should keep circulating the Inner Energy Cultivation Method.’
I sent mana into the axe. Heat haze slowly began to rise from it.
An energy called Sword Aura in the Central Plains, and aura in other countries.
They said it could give someone several times the strength of an ordinary person.
“Hup!”
Then how strong was it? I swung the axe with all my might.
The axe was headed straight for a thick tree trunk.
A tree like this had taken several swings to fell just yesterday.
Crack!
The axe blade didn't just bite deep into the trunk. It passed straight through.
It hadn't sliced through like tofu, but the middle of the tree had been thoroughly ripped apart.
Creeeak!
Perhaps because the trunk had been completely destroyed, the enormous tree toppled over on its own.
It kept falling until it finally crashed down with a loud boom.
Good thing I had chopped from the side opposite the cave.
Otherwise, the barricade the dwarf had gone to the trouble of giving me would have been destroyed.
‘It doesn't cut. It explodes.’
I closely examined the fallen trunk.
I knew the weapon's power would increase, but I hadn't expected this much.
According to SwordTasteMaster, the haze was evidence of mana leaking out.
She had said that the weapon's inherent nature didn't change.
‘Considering the axe's characteristics, I guess it makes sense.’
An axe was a weapon specialized in smashing rather than cutting.
That made it understandable that the tree trunk had been torn to shreds.
If I had poured mana into a sword, it probably would have cut through it like tofu.
‘...Is that possible?’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I brought Heavenly Demon’s Sword out of the cave.
For the test, I put the sword against the tree trunk without sending mana into it.
Before, I hadn't even tried for fear of nicking the blade.
But I wasn't sawing wood with it now.
I was only checking whether it could cut through the trunk.
Sliiice.
“Huh?”
My eyes widened.
I had only applied a little force, but Heavenly Demon’s Sword sank deep into the wood.
Then Heavenly Demon’s Sword smoothly sliced through the tree trunk and emerged from the other side.
Rumble.
I was so busy staring at Heavenly Demon’s Sword that I barely noticed the tree falling.
I knew it was high quality, but I had never expected it to be this good.
‘What kind of ridiculously overpowered item is this?’
With something like this, there was no need to release aura at all.
Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of using Heavenly Demon’s Sword for logging.
It would be a problem if I accidentally nicked it.
‘She gave me a sword like this without hesitation?’
My respect for Heavenly Demon swelled, along with my concern.
I wondered if she had given me a sword that was too good.
Part of me wanted to return it, but Heavenly Demon would refuse.
‘When I find a good sword later, I'll give it back to her.’
This sword was excessive, even by excessive standards. One day, I had to return it to its owner.
I put all but one of the fallen trees up in the Auction House.
Since I was already there, I checked the price of the Inner Core I had listed that morning.
Inner Core: 500 nyang of silver
“Wow.”
The price was shooting up. I stared at the bid in amazement.
Five hundred nyang of silver converted to 5,000 gold.
The Owlbear corpse had sold for 250 nyang of silver, so this was twice that amount.
The price had probably gone this high because Heavenly Demon had testified that it was an Inner Core.
‘What if it turns out to be fake?’
Would I have to refund the money? I had no idea.
Still, with Heavenly Demon there, they probably wouldn't make a fuss.
Even if they did, it wouldn't be a problem if Heavenly Demon stepped forward as a witness.
‘Let's see. The time...’
I logged into the gallery and checked the time.
More than an hour had passed while I practiced the cultivation method and aura.
It was 1:30 p.m. There was still plenty of time until sunset.
‘Should I make some traps?’
It seemed like a good way to improve my handiwork and get some meat.
All I had to do was search the gallery for how to set traps.
Adventurers occasionally shared methods for making hunting traps.
There was even a featured post about it, so I should be able to make one quickly.
‘The problem is where the small animals are...’
I knew where small animals like rabbits passed through.
The problem was that the Muscle Mushroom was in that direction.
It would be fine as long as I didn't provoke it, but you never knew.
It might still be awake and wandering around nearby.
For safety's sake, it would be better to take down the Muscle Mushroom.
‘There was a cave there too, so I can check it out while I'm at it.’
I decided. I would deal with the Muscle Mushroom first.
Each of its attacks was powerful, but it was slow.
They had said it was especially weak to fire, so taking it down shouldn't be difficult.
‘Didn't they say it was weak to fire? They said fire was essential because of some spore thing.’
It looked like I would need to hold a sword in one hand and a torch in the other.
I remembered the Golden Shield that had been crumpled by a single Phoenix Smasher.
If that punch hit me properly, I would probably be utterly destroyed.
It would be better to fight from a distance.
‘It didn't look like arrows would work.’
Even ants could be divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen.
But the Muscle Mushroom couldn't. Other than its limbs, it was long and thin like a branch.
It was basically closer to a plant, so unless I smashed it to pieces or burned it, it would be difficult to kill.
‘...They said there was magic too, right?’
Something suddenly came to mind.
The ability that symbolized fantasy and appeared without fail, magic.
It was known as an ability practically only geniuses were qualified to even begin learning.
‘Maybe I could learn just a little?’
If I could learn magic, it would offer all kinds of conveniences.
It would help with ranged attacks as well as all kinds of day-to-day tasks.
The moment I had that thought, I logged into the gallery without hesitation.
[Post title] Is magic easy to learn?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] I want to learn simple fire or water magic. Is it hard?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Ahem. You only achieve greatness by devoting yourself to one path. Are you already entertaining other thoughts?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: The assistant moderator is right. Magic is so difficult that even I gave up immediately, so don't even try it.
└ You must not know how many aspiring mages there are in this gallery lol
└ Grylls, you'll get burned if you mess around with that. Don't do it.
└ For real. We're only saying this because we care.
Everyone reacted negatively. Even Heavenly Demon and SwordTasteMaster did.
I couldn't understand why they were all so against it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Didn't you say elves and demonkind can use magic just fine?
└ Their baseline is high enough to reach the third circle, but going beyond that is hard.
└ Grylls, didn't you say you were human?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Yeah, I was just curious.
└ Even demonkind and elves shudder at magic. If anything, they're worse than humans when it comes to theory.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Why?
└ Would you analyze the theory of how you breathe in detail? Humans are especially curious. Other races generally don't do that.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Oh, I get it.
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: Still, Mephisto is better at magic, you know. You can tell just by looking at Broadcasting Magic, you know.
└ I have to admit demonkind's household magic is amazing. Life got a lot better thanks to it lol
└ Praise the demonkind who invented air conditioner magic!
└ What's air conditioner magic?
└ Aircon.
└ Ah lol that's worth praising lol
└ I prefer cold-storage magic lol I can drink cold alcohol every day.
└ [LetsGrowTrees]: Elves are inventing all kinds of magic too!
└ What kind of magic are you inventing?
└ [LetsGrowTrees]: Communication and reconnaissance magic, and explosive magic!
└ Whoa, fuck;; That's a really scary thing to say.
└ Are those bastards really about to start a war?
└ [LetsGrowTrees]: Don't worry. Elves love peace.
└ [Wild Grylls]: How is that any different from saying, “If you want peace, prepare for war”?;;
└ [LetsGrowTrees]: Ooh! That's a wonderful saying. I'll remember it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Huh?
There seemed to be someone seriously wrong in the head, but it would probably be fine.
Anyway, magic seemed useful in many areas.
It was literally magic instead of science.
No. In this world, magic might actually be science.
└ [Starlight Princess]: Are you trying to learn magic? I can help you.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Weren't you busy working out?
└ [Starlight Princess]: I have plenty of free time outside my exercise hours. Excuse me, but you know arithmetic, right, Grylls?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I graduated high school;;
Was she underestimating me that much?
Or maybe there were a lot of people who couldn't even do arithmetic.
Given the era, public education wasn't something people could expect.
But since academies existed, maybe Starlight Princess was asking because I might be from an underdeveloped region.
└ [Starlight Princess]: High school graduate? I don't know what that means, but you do know arithmetic. Good. Then we can express fire mathematically.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Huh? Express what mathematically?
└ [Starlight Princess]: We formulate fire with mathematics. It's very easy. It goes like this...
Even as Starlight Princess continued explaining, I could only gape.
Symbols appeared, but there wasn't a single number.
The moment I finished the college entrance exam, every bit of math knowledge in my head had reset.
On top of that, I had been in the humanities track, so I couldn't understand any of it.
└ [Starlight Princess]: What do you think? Can you understand it?
└ [Wild Grylls]: That's the basics?
└ [Starlight Princess]: Yes. You learn it before entering an academy.
└ Anyone else feel like their brain is going to explode just looking at it?
└ Me first lol
└ Ah lol You can get by just fine without understanding it lol
Were all the mages in this world Newtons and Einsteins?
Then again, Earth's scientists were geniuses compared to ordinary people too.
I decided to completely give up on magic.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Uh... I'll just give up. Is math easy for you, Starlight Princess?
└ [Starlight Princess]: I like mathematics. You can express everything in the world with it, can't you? One day, I'll express the Forest of Four Seasons with mathematics too.
└ [Wild Grylls]: There aren't calculators here, right?
└ [Starlight Princess]: Why would I need a calculator? I can just do it in my head.
└ [Wild Grylls]: ;;;
└ What a smug asshole lol
└ There are people like that sometimes.
└ Their thought process is fundamentally different from ours.
I should give up on magic completely. If I got my hopes up for nothing, I would only get hurt.
Still, I should thank Starlight Princess. I felt sorry for disappointing her.
‘In the end, I'll have to solve this physically.’
Was there any way? I looked around the cave.
Then something caught my eye. Something I had left alone until now.
‘That's it!’
It was the liquor the dwarf had given me as a gift.
Footnotes:
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