WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 44: Con Artist (5)
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“What a ridiculous bastard.”
The Inner Core scam flared up like gasoline, then died down just as quickly.
With help from Heavenly Demon and SwordTasteMaster, plus the Head Mod landing the finishing blow, it ended without much trouble.
It might have gotten complicated without their help, but thankfully, most registered users were on my side.
‘Even in another world, Galleries are all the same.’
For the record, posting that explanation was entirely my own decision.
Instead of calmly explaining myself, I declared war while throwing in profanity.
The people determined to tear me apart would do it no matter what explanation I gave, so I went with that approach.
In the end, I won the Gallery users’ goodwill and the battle for public opinion, so it worked out.
Honestly, the fire burned out too quickly to call it a battle for public opinion. It was just another ordinary day on the Gallery.
‘Heavenly Demon seemed a little flustered, but it ended well.’
Most people on the Gallery were raising hell about catching the scammer.
The Head Mod even revealed the address, so that scammer’s real life would probably get difficult.
I never expected the Head Mod to go so far as to post their address.
This was only my guess, but I figured Heavenly Demon had persuaded the Head Mod.
To be honest, my life was practically on the line while theirs was not, so she must have thought it was unfair.
‘I should thank her first.’
Either way, thanking her was a must. I sent her a private message.
[You]: Thanks to you, this ended easily.
[You]: Thank you so much.
[Heavenly Demon]: It was nothing.
[Heavenly Demon]: If I had my way, I would go there myself and tear out their tongue.
[You]: Damn... You’re terrifying.
[You]: You’re from the Central Plains, right, Heavenly Demon?
[Heavenly Demon]: That is correct.
[You]: Is it far from the address the Head Mod provided?
[Heavenly Demon]: Quite far.
[Heavenly Demon]: But I can arrive there quickly.
Of course she could. I wasn’t being sarcastic. I genuinely believed it.
She was probably as strong as SwordTasteMaster, if not stronger.
After thanking Heavenly Demon some more, I asked about something I’d been wondering.
[You]: Heavenly Demon.
[You]: Even as an assistant moderator, you can’t make another one-on-one trade for twenty-four hours after completing one, right?
[Heavenly Demon]: Correct. Do you wish to trade with me frequently?
The way she put it made it sound like I desperately wanted to.
It didn’t really bother me. That was simply how she spoke, so I let it go.
[You]: Yes. I think it would be better to get important items authenticated before selling them from now on.
[You]: Someone might go completely silent right after receiving something, like that bastard did.
[Heavenly Demon]: I understand what you mean.
[Heavenly Demon]: I will permit it. I shall try persuading the Head Mod about the trade cooldown.
[You]: Thank you. Seriously, thank you.
[You]: You’re always helping me.
[Heavenly Demon]: Could it possibly compare to you saving my life?
[Heavenly Demon]: If you need help, speak to me whenever you wish.
[You]: I appreciate the thought.
[You]: I need to build the strength to stand on my own too.
As I’d said over and over, relying on others wasn’t good.
I would only rely on Heavenly Demon’s help to authenticate important items.
For everything else, Allfather usually gave me advice whenever I made a post. It was like insurance.
[You]: I should get going, then.
[You]: I’ll contact you again.
[Heavenly Demon]: I will await your messages whenever they come.
[Heavenly Demon]: Ah. I can prepare the Fasting Pills within a week.
[You]: Thank you.
[Heavenly Demon]: Very well. If you need strength, contact me without hesitation. I will help whenever I can.
Was I imagining the satisfaction and disappointment I felt in her messages?
She was lonely, so it would probably be good to talk with her often.
First, I needed to deal with lunch. On the off chance, I turned on the hose.
Unfortunately, water poured out of the hose in an uninterrupted stream. Nothing was clogging it.
‘Looks like I have no choice but to make do with a Fasting Pill.’
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t fish in the river.
Fishing was out of the question unless I wanted to wipe out every last Golden Frog.
Chewing on the bitter Fasting Pill, I thought about my plans for after lunch.
‘The trap... I’ll check it tomorrow. It’s too soon now.’
It was better not to expect too much from the trap.
That left one thing: making a post on the Gallery.
After what I’d been through this time, I planned to let everyone know what I would do from now on.
[Post title] It’s Grylls.
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] Hello, everyone. I’m Wild Grylls, the person who fell into the Forest of Four Seasons.
[Post] Because of some scumbag today, I’ll have important items authenticated before posting them from now on.
[Post] I probably won’t list high-value items on the Auction House. I’ll sell to registered users whenever possible and only list them there if I have no other choice.
[Post] The Gallery is scary. For one person, something can be a matter of life and death, while another can ruin them with a single click.
[Post] I ended up rambling. Anyway, I’ll do everything I can to get out of the forest. The Gallery will be essential for that, so please cheer me on.
[Post] Oh! And thank you so much, SwordTasteMaster, for helping me. Please just eat the Inner Core.
[Post] Three-line summary.
[Post] 1. I’ll prioritize trading with registered users from now on.
[Post] 2. The Gallery is scary, but I’ll keep logging in so I can escape.
[Post] 3. Thank you, SwordTasteMaster.
└ The three-line summary is the best part LOL
└ For real LOL You only need to read the bottom line LOL
└ Keep your chin up, Grylls. Just think of it as stepping in shit.
└ Weren’t you one of the people badmouthing Grylls?
└ [Starlight Princess]: What a relief. I was disappointed because there were nothing but awful people. Grylls helps even complete strangers.
└ We agreed to call that being a sucker.
└ Maybe they’re just kind, not a sucker?
└ And Grylls already traded with Starlight Princess, right? Grylls is a good person to trade with.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Wait, what? You’re dumping your unwanted stuff on me already. I don’t need this.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Are you going to return it? You can just sell it.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: I have plenty of money. Besides, eating an Inner Core wouldn’t do much for me anyway;;
└ [Wild Grylls]: I dunno. Just take ittt.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: ;;;
└ What is this now LOL
└ Not pickpocketing, pocket-stuffing LOL
└ They really said “I dunno” LOL
Just as expected, SwordTasteMaster was completely flustered. I had no idea why she didn’t want to get healthier.
Starlight Princess was desperate to get healthy, yet SwordTasteMaster didn’t even want it. The world really was unfair.
‘They use that military slang for dumping unwanted stuff on someone here too? Is she a soldier?’
If she was a soldier, that would explain why she shared all kinds of swordsmanship know-how. It made sense.
Since I was thinking about swordsmanship, this seemed like a good opportunity to carefully read her posts again.
I trained hard while looking over SwordTasteMaster’s beginner swordsmanship guide.
‘I’ll keep going down the Sword-and-Shield Warrior path.’
I’d felt it clearly with the Owlbear and the Muscle Mushroom.
Having a shield was far more reliable than relying on a sword alone.
The Gallery users made fun of me for getting one-shot anyway, but a shield was what blocked that one shot.
The clear fist mark on the Golden Shield was proof enough.
If I’d taken that attack with my body, my organs would have burst.
‘The proficiency issue can’t be helped, though.’
My swordsmanship was bound to hit a wall eventually.
The difference between using one hand and two was as vast as heaven and earth.
In my case, I had no choice but to sacrifice technique for stability.
That was the only way my chances of survival could become much higher than before. It wasn’t a choice. It was necessary.
‘Is there anyone good with a shield?’
SwordTasteMaster focused on swordsmanship, so there was almost nothing about shields.
Basically, block and hit. It couldn’t be helped.
Well, I was still a complete beginner, so there was no need to rush.
‘Let’s see. Time the block well, then slash right away?’
I improved my skills by carefully studying SwordTasteMaster’s posts until dinner.
Of course, I didn’t expect my skills to rise dramatically after only a few days.
It had only been a few days since I first held a sword and shield. Getting used to them came first.
“Whew.”
I slowly steadied my breathing. Beads of sweat ran down my cheeks.
I was practicing while reading her posts, but I couldn’t help feeling uncertain.
It wasn’t that I doubted SwordTasteMaster. Her posts were said to have raised the continent’s average combat ability.
I just didn’t know if I was doing things right. No one was beside me to watch, so I felt a little uneasy.
‘They say martial arts are difficult without a teacher’s help.’
Martial arts were techniques humans had devised for combat.
Techniques that studied how to fuck up an opponent more cleanly.
There was a clear difference between a punch thrown by an ordinary person and one thrown by a fighter.
Some random brawler beating a combat athlete? That was complete bullshit.
The gap between having martial arts training and not having it was huge. Improving without a teacher’s help was nearly impossible.
That was why I couldn’t help wondering if I was just swinging wildly.
‘For now, all I can do is study SwordTasteMaster’s posts and achieve the goals she set.’
SwordTasteMaster’s posts provided goals along with simple advice.
The idea was that once you achieved a goal, you could move on to the next stage.
Drawing a straight line with the sword, slashing a certain number of times without breathing, thrusting into a long hollow tube, and so on.
Some of the goals seemed helpful, while others were strange.
‘Achieve each goal twice, three times, or more.’
Without a teacher, this was the best I could do. I had to make up for it with effort.
I steadily practiced sword-and-shield combat until dinner.
I even imagined how I could subdue an opponent more efficiently.
“Huah!”
I kept at it until my whole body was drenched in sweat.
This should be enough. I put down my sword and shield before heading into the cave.
I planned to rest for a while in the cool cave, then eat dinner.
‘Come to think of it, what happened to that scammer? Someone said they lived in the next town over.’
Curious, I logged into the Gallery right away. Nothing was better for relaxing than the Gallery.
As always, the Gallery was a gathering place for idiots. I decided to check the featured posts.
The moment I entered, one post with an unusually high number of recommendations caught my eye. It was about me.
Naturally, I clicked on it.
[Post title] This really is an Inner Core LOL
[Post] The scammer lived in the next town over, so I raided them and ate the Inner Core.
[Post] Other people came too, but I somehow ended up eating it to confirm it. I went from a second-rate nobody to Peak Realm right away.
[Post] Grylls was not a scammer. The merchant bastard was the scammer. Do not slander Grylls from now on.
└ I’m so damn jealous. You didn’t kill each other, right?
└ Yeah. The authorities could have shown up, so we settled it with rock-paper-scissors.
└ Rock-paper-scissors LOL
└ Don’t underestimate rock-paper-scissors. Dynamic visual acuity is really important in that game LOL
└ Did no one hear the merchant’s side?
└ Why would anyone listen to a scammer?
└ Guess we have to buy everything Grylls lists on the Auction House from now on.
└ Fuck, they used to list things without going through registered users. This suddenly sucks.
└ What is the scammer doing now? They must be furious.
└ What can they do if they’re mad? We fled right away LOL
└ Serves them right LOL
It seemed to have been resolved somehow(?). I probably wouldn’t be mistaken for a scammer again.
That didn’t mean I would immediately start listing things on the Auction House. Like I said earlier, I intended to give registered users priority.
After browsing the Gallery for a while, I got up once my sweat had dried.
The sun was beginning to set, so I planned to check the trap.
‘It would be nice if something got caught.’
Not even one day had passed yet. It was greedy of me.
Still, greed was what made dinner more plentiful.
After making a few simple preparations, I headed for where I had set the trap.
Before leaving, I didn’t forget to ask Fast Sloth to watch the house.
“Oh?”
The moment I reached the area near the trap, the change was obvious.
Every bit of grass that had been placed on top of the board was gone.
On top of that, I could faintly sense something underneath the board.
‘Something got caught!’
It looked like I might finally get some meat again.
Excited, I slowly lifted the board.
“La-la-la~ la-la-la~ boom-chak-chak~ boom-chak...”
Clunk-
“Boom-chak...”
There was no rabbit in the trap.
There was something else instead.
It was large enough to fill the entire trap, and its pitch-black fur was striking.
It wasn’t an ordinary animal, either. It had eight legs.
Even smaller versions of it clung all around it. They seemed to be its babies.
“...”
Clunk-
I carefully lowered the board.
It looked like I had dug up a spider nest instead of a trap.
‘...Should I grill those anyway?’
I gave up immediately, since I might die if one bit me.
Footnotes:
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