WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 45: Con Artist (6)

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[Post title] Fuck, I’m giving up on pitfall traps.

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] I just checked my pitfall trap, and there was a spider living in it instead of a rabbit.

[Post] It had jet-black fur too, and it was ugly as hell. Just looking at it scared me, so I left it alone.

[Post] From now on, I should use snares instead of pitfall traps.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: Stay strong. If necessary, I shall send you meat.

└ [Wild Grylls]: It’s okay. I can still hold out.

└ How big was the spider?

└ [Wild Grylls]: At least a meter, I think? I almost passed out the moment I saw it;;

└ Agh;; What kind of spider gets that big?

└ [Wild Grylls]: I was too scared to even take a picture. I think it’d be best to just ignore it lol

└ Why not grill it and eat it?

└ [Wild Grylls]: I considered it, but what if it has babies? I can’t kill a mother.

└ Fuck lmao, look at this goddamn saint lmao

└ And this guy killed Wonmo’s mom?

└ [Wild Grylls]: Wonmo’s mom was going to kill me;;

└ Lmao, fair enough.

└ What must Wonmo think? The person who raised him was actually the murderer who killed his mother... and his mother was trying to kill that person...

└ Recommend me a novel like that. Sounds fun.

└ That’s an instant plot idea lol. Time to go write it.

└ [Allfather]: What did it look like overall?

└ [Wild Grylls]: I ran the second I saw it, so I don’t know much either. It was just a spider with black fur.

└ [Allfather]: Hm. That alone makes it difficult to identify. It sounds like a type of tarantula, so I recommend not trying to catch it.

└ [Wild Grylls]: I was already considering just burning it.

Since it was living in a pit, oil and fire would probably kill it quickly.

Still, I had no intention of going through all that trouble. I didn’t even want to look at it again.

Imagine lifting the cover and finding a swarm of hideous spiders crawling around. It’d be no surprise if that traumatized you.

‘Where the hell did that spider come from?’

Not even a few hours had passed, yet the spider had made my pitfall trap its home.

It was one of nature’s mysteries that somehow made sense and didn’t at the same time.

In the end, I had no choice but to make do with a Fasting Pill for dinner again.

I could only hope I’d catch a fish by morning.

‘Maybe I should smoke it instead?’

That wasn’t a bad idea. If I smoked it, bugs would be less likely to swarm around it too.

Animals were the only concern, but if beasts were going to come, they would’ve come already.

The fact that no dangerous beasts had appeared so far had to mean something.

‘At least finding Owlbear droppings is encouraging...’

Wonmo’s mother, an Owlbear, might have come here to explore just like I had.

After all, the Owlbear had chewed it up, ripped it apart, tasted it, and enjoyed it, all in one go, when it came to the Mad Dog corpse.[1]

With the rival it had been sharing territory with gone, the Owlbear had probably visited the rival’s base at least once.

‘I just have to keep exploring.’

The Forest of Four Seasons was the kind of place where anything could happen.

Preparing for every possibility wasn’t optional. It was necessary.

As it began to get dark, I carried several logs into the cave.

Wonmo had woken up and was sitting there blankly.

“You’re awake? Want some food?”

“Kyuu!”

Cute little guy. I bought a huge chunk of meat from the Auction House.

I wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while. Selling the Inner Core had earned me an absurd amount.

The funny part was that the con artist hadn’t even gotten to eat the Inner Core. Serves them right.

‘Allfather will probably need frogs tomorrow too, right?’

This was my plan for tomorrow. Explore in the morning, then return before lunchtime.

Then I’d hunt Golden Frogs and trade with Allfather, and if possible, get a Fish Trap from Passing Dwarf.

If I could get a Fish Trap from a dwarf, I wouldn’t have to worry about food anymore.

Since dwarves made them, there was no reason to doubt their durability.

‘The question is whether I should head upstream or downstream...’

The easiest way to escape when stranded was to follow a river downstream.

Since ancient times, civilizations had often begun near rivers.

Even if there wasn’t a country, there might at least be a small village.

‘The problem is that space is so warped that the river could suddenly end.’

Space was warped. It sounded like a strange way to put it, but I wasn’t wrong.

The land across the river kept changing in real time, from snowy mountains to desert and back again.

Once, it even became an area filled with fog. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that.

If the river ever seemed to end unnaturally, I’d turn back without hesitation.

‘Nothing is ever easy.’

I sighed. That was why I’d made adapting my priority instead of escaping.

Space changed constantly, so even if I wanted to escape, it was difficult.

‘At least the map keeps getting bigger little by little.’

I turned to look at the wall. A map had been drawn on a large sheet of paper.

With the cave at its center, landmarks had been marked in every direction.

The river where Golden Frogs appeared. The Adult Mandrake colony. The Golden Mushroom cave I’d discovered recently.

It wasn’t entirely reliable since compasses didn’t work here, but it was still a huge help.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll head downstream.’

If I followed the river, I wouldn’t get lost.

Once the sun had fully set, I lit the campfire.

Warmth began spreading through the cave, which had gradually turned chilly.

“Nom nom.”

Wonmo ate the meat eagerly. I patted his head.

He flinched at first, then calmly continued eating. He seemed completely used to my touch now.

‘I just wish he’d grow out of being a baby soon.’

Apparently, it took several years for an Owlbear to become an adult. That was what the gallery had told me.

Still, it could hunt independently before becoming an adult.

I thought I’d heard it would get much bigger within about a year.

I looked away from Wonmo, who was happily eating the neatly prepared raw meat.

Fast Sloth was staring at me with its usual stupid expression.

“You’re fully grown, right?”

“...”

“Yeah. I thought so.”

It looked like it was saying, “Can’t you tell?”

Of course, that was only my guess.

After having a simple meal with a Fasting Pill, I went outside for a while.

It was better to wash up before bed. Hygiene mattered.

‘Why does this guy hate being washed so much?’

Thankfully, it hadn’t shown any symptoms yet, but you never knew.

Until I could wash it, all I could do was keep myself clean.

After a quick wash, I returned to the cave.

‘Oh, right. A scabbard.’

The moment I saw Heavenly Demon’s Sword standing against one side of the cave, I remembered.

I’d be going all over the place from now on. I couldn’t keep carrying it around like this.

I connected to the gallery and opened a private chat with Heavenly Demon.

[You]: Heavenly Demon, are you there?

[Heavenly Demon]: Speak.

She replied in less than a second. It caught me a little off guard.

[You]: It’s nothing major, but doesn’t the sword you gave me have a scabbard?

[Heavenly Demon]: It did.

[Heavenly Demon]: But the blade was so sharp that the scabbard was reduced to tatters.

[You]: Hm. That makes sense.

To be honest, a scabbard might not matter much.

Heavenly Demon’s Sword had cleanly cut a Mad Dog in half.

Still, carrying it around in my hand all the time would be inconvenient.

[Heavenly Demon]: If you desire a scabbard, I shall order one of my retainers to make it.

[You]: No, that won’t be necessary.

[You]: Do you know Passing Dwarf, by any chance?

[Heavenly Demon]: Do you mean that drunken dwarf?

[Heavenly Demon]: Though I have never spoken with them directly, I know of them.

[You]: I’m thinking of asking them.

[You]: They seem like a skilled blacksmith.

[Heavenly Demon]: It is not a bad idea, but could you not simply carry the sword?

[You]: I could, but I think I’ll need a scabbard.

There would be plenty of times when I needed both hands to investigate things or do other work.

Something was better than nothing. That was what living here had taught me.

[Heavenly Demon]: Our ways of life differ, so I shall respect your choice.

[Heavenly Demon]: But I can assure you that it will not be easy.

[You]: You said it was made from ten-thousand-year cold iron, right?

[You]: Is it a good metal?

[Heavenly Demon]: It is, but it was also made by an excellent blacksmith.

[You]: Ah.

So it was one of the finest swords. And Heavenly Demon had given it to me.

Every time I tried to return it, she stubbornly refused.

[Heavenly Demon]: If you intend to return it, I shall not permit it.

[Heavenly Demon]: I am no longer someone attached to weapons.

[You]: Is there anything you want?

[Heavenly Demon]: If you find an Inner Core, could you give it to me?

[Heavenly Demon]: It is not for me, but for one of my retainers.

[You]: Ah. Right, okay.

[You]: Could you pass along my thanks in return?

[Heavenly Demon]: Of course.

My conversation with Heavenly Demon ended there. Only one thing remained.

Asking Passing Dwarf to make a scabbard. Whether they would accept was another question.

They were making the Fish Trap in exchange for snacks, but a scabbard was a different matter.

Unless I found high-quality ore, there was a good chance they would refuse.

‘In the end, I need something valuable.’

I would have to expand the area I explored.

The best places would be areas where space was tangled and distorted, like the land across the river.

‘Though finding places like that won’t be easy.’

I had to try. Reckless challenges were necessary if I wanted to escape.

I took a picture of the campfire and made a post on the gallery.

[Post title] Day 4 complete!

[Post] (Campfire photo)

[Post] Good night, everyone! See you tomorrow!

└ [Heavenly Demon]: You have worked hard.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Great work.

└ [Starlight Princess]: See you again tomorrow!

└ [AllHailTheSun]: You had a rough time because of that worthless bastard.

└ [PrincessChaenggu]: Byeee! Don’t dieee! I’ll send you pants tomorrow!

With encouragement from registered users and bullshit from Anonymous Users arriving at the same time, I closed the gallery.

Now I planned to practice the Inner Energy Cultivation Method before going to bed.

‘Every time I use the cultivation method, it feels like my fatigue disappears.’

I was practically forcing myself to sleep, but there was no helping it.

Going out in the pitch-black night was practically suicide.

I could still see, but the forest was completely different at night.

‘Then...’

A good idea came to mind. Every time I used the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, my fatigue vanished?

Then all I had to do was keep using it until I got tired.

I had nothing else to do anyway, so this was the best option.

‘Maybe I’ll get sleepy while doing it?’

With that simple thought in mind, I began practicing the cultivation method.

The mana within my body began circulating little by little, speeding up with every breath as though it were being pumped.

‘Slowly, starting from the basics...’

I had time to kill.

During that time, I slowly refined the foundation Heavenly Demon had taught me.

“...”

Little by little, I sank into stillness.

* * *

By the time Grylls had become completely immersed in the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, the gallery was still bustling.

One registered user disappearing wasn’t enough to bring the entire gallery to a stop.

Still, most of the gallery’s discussions were related to Grylls.

[Post] From now on, I’m buying anything Grylls puts up for auction.

[Post] There’s nothing bad about buying the stuff this bastard posts lol

[Post] Maybe something like Mithril will pop up soon, not just Inner Cores? lol

└ Mithril my ass lol. It’s not like Mithril is some random pebble.

└ Then is an Inner Core some random marble?

└ It’s not like it has that huge an effect.

└ An Inner Core is still an Inner Core. Someone jumped straight from Second Rate to Peak Realm.

└ I’m saying there’s no downside to buying it.

└ Having an Adult Mandrake colony in the first place is basically cheating, yeah.

└ Fuck, if it wasn’t for that con artist bastard, we could’ve gotten it cheaper.

└ We’re basically having to go through registered users because of that bastard. I’m suddenly pissed as hell.

[Post title] A gallery user is getting fucked in real time.

[Post] My boss told me to somehow get close to Grylls. I said no, and they told me to leave the merchant company if I didn’t want to.

[Post] Can’t I do something about this legally? This is closely tied to my private life;;

└ [Smart Demon]: Do you normally talk shit about your boss?

└ Don’t you?

└ [Smart Demon]: I do too. Recently, my boss told me to reveal my gallery username, and I almost got fucked lol

└ How’d you survive?

└ [Smart Demon]: I just talked my way out of it. You should tell your boss to reveal their gallery username too. They’ll probably let it slide.

└ Okay okay, thanks for the pro tip.

└ I think I’ll believe it no matter what Grylls finds now. What’ll it be next?

└ I told you. It’ll definitely be ore. That’s what I believe.

[Post title] Honestly, this is difficult.

[Post] What does Grylls need? Things closely related to survival. Money doesn’t really matter.

[Post] It’s practically a barter system, so isn’t trading difficult? Unless it’s a legendary weapon.

└ The fact that threats don’t work anymore is huge too. It’s gotten really hard to make a trade;;

└ Even Inner Cores and elixirs, he can just eat whatever’s there lol

└ Hasn’t Grylls already gotten most of the weapons needed? What else could there be?

└ Porn pics?

└ Oh.

└ Why are you saying “oh” lmao

└ That’s what you need lol

└ No, it might actually be necessary. I’m not lying, seriously.

The gallery heated up over a not-quite-debate for a while.

Unlike last time, people were much more proactive.

Footnotes:

[1] A reference to the Korean Iga-Tan commercial jingle, “chew it, rip it, taste it, enjoy it.”

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