WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 58: Tigers Die and Leave Their Stripes (5)

──────

Magic was a power with limitless potential.

It could light a fire in empty air or make water flow.

Beyond such basic uses, it had had both great and small effects on human civilization.

[Even if mana existed, humanity could never have developed this far without magic.]

[Magic is humanity's true strength.]

[Along with mana, magic is the greatest gift a god bestowed upon humanity.]

That was what scholars unanimously claimed.

Yet magic was just as difficult. No, it went beyond difficult. Only geniuses could learn it.

Even being a genius was only an entry ticket. Wherever one went, there were always people on a whole other level.

The Mage Tower was an institution only geniuses among geniuses could enter.

It was called the home and paradise of magic, a place that honored Aragon, the god of magic.

The Mage Tower's head was said to be the greatest mage in history.

People even revered him as the Wizard King.

Considering the weight the word “king” carried in this world, the Mage Tower itself might as well have been a kingdom.

Even the Iris Kingdom, where the Mage Tower stood, had no choice but to defer to it.

The Messiah Empire could not treat the Iris Kingdom carelessly for the same reason.

And the mage respected as both the head of the Mage Tower and the Wizard King was currently...

“Hm-hm~ Hmm~”

Sipping coffee while humming a tune at leisure.

Age had turned his hair snow-white, and his equally white beard was as lush as a dwarf's.

Surprisingly, though, his face had few wrinkles. He looked more middle-aged than elderly.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A heart much larger than a human head beat violently in front of the mage.

It was quite a grotesque sight, but he paid it no mind.

“Hehehe. What a lovely thing. You're beating so diligently.”

Instead, he watched it with a gaze that bordered on perverse.

The heart seemed to instinctively sense something ominous, because it stopped for a moment.

Then, as if it had imagined the whole thing, it began beating regularly again.

‘It has the same structure as a Dragon Heart. Is that truly possible?’

A Dragon Heart was, as its name suggested, the heart of a dragon, a creature regarded as the strongest living being.

It held an almost infinite amount of mana. Anyone who could consume one would never suffer from a shortage of mana for the rest of their life.

Yet the heart possessed a will of its own, making it extremely difficult to process.

One mistake could cause a huge explosion and turn the surrounding area into a wasteland.

Even such knowledge had remained unknown until recently.

Until the Wizard King had slain a dragon. Alone.

‘How can a tiger possess a Dragon Heart?’

The mage stared intently at the pulsing heart.

Even after drawing upon decades of accumulated knowledge, the question remained unanswered.

Only dragons could possess Dragon Hearts. Yet that common knowledge had been shattered today.

The amount of mana it held was woefully insufficient, but a Dragon Heart was still a Dragon Heart.

The mage stared fixedly at the heart once more, then slowly reached out and touched it.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Oh my.”

The instant he touched it, the heart thrashed as though it were about to explode.

The mage flicked a finger lightly.

Woooong-

A cube-shaped barrier formed around the heart.

Not long after, the heart released a blue flash and exploded.

Boom!

The heart had exploded inside the cube-shaped barrier.

Yet not a single part of the cube-shaped barrier remained intact.

With a casual wave of his hand, the mage made the barrier disappear.

“It's sensitive to external mana. That's another trait of a Dragon Heart. Then...”

He began conducting various experiments on the tiger's heart.

Sending mana into it without touching it to trigger an explosion.

Calming it back down with a particular method right before it exploded.

Temporarily stopping its heartbeat, and so on.

The more the experiments progressed, the more his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

“What kind of place is the Forest of Four Seasons?”

After finishing the experiments, the mage stroked his beard and muttered.

Even the Wizard King feared the Forest of Four Seasons.

No matter how strong humanity had become, it remained powerless before the greatness of nature.

The Wizard King was no exception. He had set foot there once long ago, but had never gone near it again.

‘And Grylls can even use the Gallery. Their very existence is strange.’

At first, it had been simple curiosity. He had started using the Gallery to ease his loneliness.

But the more he browsed it, the more he realized something.

The world was vast, and there were countless things worse than beasts.

For him, the Gallery was the perfect place to conduct a sort of social experiment.

Then he began trading with Grylls and gained opportunities to encounter all kinds of rare plants and animals.

To the Wizard King, who craved all the knowledge in the world, Grylls had become indispensable.

‘Dragons usually live in deep mountain ranges rich in mana. The Forest of Four Seasons is an even more extreme place. If a tiger can possess a Dragon Heart, it would not be unreasonable to say that the species itself has changed.’

One thought led to another.

Drawing upon all his knowledge, the Wizard King came up with a plausible hypothesis.

‘Did it evolve into something like a spiritual treasure? Or did it adapt over generations? If so, did dragons also evolve from another creature so they could contain abundant mana more easily? Or did a particular species change its form as it adapted? Were Dragon Hearts never exclusive to dragons in the first place?’

The questions began tangling together like threads.

Even the Wizard King found the hypotheses dizzying.

It felt as though the very concept of common sense had shattered and rained down over his head.

What kind of place was the Forest of Four Seasons? He grew even more curious.

‘There are far too few samples. The tiger could have been a mutation. To find out, I need to support Grylls fully.’

There had already been the case of the Golden Poison Frog.

Golden Frogs were normally only as large as a small fist.

Yet the frog Grylls had caught first was as large as a small to medium-sized dog.

The frogs Grylls had caught recently and given him were also much larger than a fist.

‘Even an ordinary crab was larger than a building. Is the Forest of Four Seasons a place that accelerates evolution?’

The curiosity of the mage and scholar burned even brighter.

‘There is still no certainty. If this really is a Dragon Heart, I need to see whether it reacts to blood as well.’

Exceptions that defied common sense were cases researchers did not just like, but loved.

It was only natural. The Wizard King had found material for a paper.

A smile formed on his lips.

He then headed elsewhere. The Wizard King arrived before a large freezer.

It was where various experimental materials and samples were stored.

Clunk-

Apparently, it had no separate lock. He easily opened the door.

The moment it opened, an icy chill slowly spilled out.

“Dragon Blood... Here it is.”

“...”

Inside the cold freezer were animal hearts, blood, and...

A human skull.

Of course, it was no ordinary skull.

Green light shone from its empty eye sockets.

As if it had eyes, the green light stared at the Wizard King.

Skulls could not normally speak, but there were always exceptions.

The skull spoke in a voice that sounded at death's door.

[Kill me.]

“Later.”

The mage answered coolly, then closed the freezer door again.

He returned with a container of Dragon Blood.

A scream came from the direction of the freezer, but he ignored it completely.

Swish- Swish-

The Wizard King stirred the Dragon Blood with his index finger.

The blood, which had frozen solid, gradually began to thaw.

Before long, it had returned to its original state.

Slurp-

The Wizard King happily sucked the blood from his finger.

It looked like someone licking crumbs off their fingers after eating a snack.

“Now, if I pour this in...”

He waited expectantly. If things went as expected, the heart would consume the blood and...

Pop!

...It should have grown stronger, but it did not.

It did not explode. It simply burst. Completely.

“...”

The Wizard King could not even think of removing the chunks of heart stuck to his face.

The situation was far beyond anything he had expected.

Still, it was not as though he had learned nothing. Calmly, he peeled the heart tissue from his face.

‘Even with the same structure, a different species causes a violent rejection reaction.’

That added a valuable piece of knowledge to the stack.

The price had been quite horrific, though.

Kadir, the Wizard King, calmly looked at the heart.

The heart, once much larger than a human head, had burst into pieces beyond recognition.

Only the scattered chunks of heart told of the disaster.

“Hehe. Oh, Aragon.”

A hollow laugh escaped.

Even as the Wizard King, Kadir could not turn back time.

The research material Grylls had generously provided had vanished all at once.

What should he do now?

Kadir urgently turned the matter over in his head.

‘Lie.’

What lie, though? Say the heart had burst as soon as it arrived?

If that had happened, he should have made a post on the Gallery right away. That option was out.

‘Tell the truth.’

Given Grylls's personality, they might forgive Kadir.

But it would greatly reduce Kadir's chances of getting first pick whenever Grylls found rare plants or animals. That option was out as well.

‘Say I'll buy it, then give them something else.’

That was practically the best choice.

Kadir thought deeply.

What item could match a weakened Dragon Heart?

The conditions were quite demanding. First, it had to help Grylls survive.

Trying to meet those conditions meant even Kadir could not make an easy choice.

‘...I should clean up first.’

With a sigh, Kadir cleaned the dirty laboratory while feeling guilty toward Grylls.

Even someone called the Wizard King had a shred of conscience.

‘If I handle this well, perhaps I can get even better samples?’

The problem was that Kadir's conscience had burst.

* * *

After giving the Saber-Toothed Tiger's heart to Allfather, I left to collect Adult Mandrakes.

I had no shield, and my shoes were uncomfortable, but collecting Adult Mandrakes was not difficult.

I did not encounter any dangerous beasts along the way, and gathering the Adult Mandrakes was easy.

All that remained was trading with Passing Dwarf. I decided to give them snacks next time.

[Passing Dwarf]: You have to give them to me tomorrow, okay? Otherwise I'll be a liar.

[You]: What happens if you become a liar?

[Passing Dwarf]: My infused liquor gets taken away. That can never happen.

[You]: Quit drinking already;;

[Passing Dwarf]: You want me to die? No way lol

Right. Telling dwarves to quit drinking was my mistake.

Anyway, I was able to get shoes while trading with the dwarf.

They were generally shaped like military boots.

The only difference was the color, maybe? They said they were made from the finest leather, and I could tell from the sheen alone.

‘They're comfortable and nice.’

They were not as heavy as I had expected, and they felt great. I was extremely satisfied.

They had been made by a dwarf, an artisan no less, so they were reliable too.

‘I should judge other shoes purely by their performance.’

These shoes had already won me over.

Since I had gotten new shoes for the first time in a while, I connected to the Gallery to make a post thanking the dwarf.

[Post title] Grylls! Look at this!

“Hm?”

Seeing my name whenever I entered the Gallery was not unusual.

Still, I could not help paying attention to the distinctive way of speaking, not to mention that it came from a registered user.

[Post title] Grylls! Look at this!

[Author] PrincessChaenggu

[Post] (Chaeyu uniforms lined up side by side)

[Post] I carefully picked out long-sleeved uniforms for you! Pick whichever one you like!

[Post] Personally, I recommend the uniform from three years ago! It's red, so it looks really cool!

└ Whoa;;; That's a real diehard fan, isn't it?

└ Isn't that uniform from fifty years ago? lol

└ Demonkind live a long time, I guess. But why are there so many? lol

└ Looks like they do nothing but eat and watch football;;

└ [Wild Grylls]: Thank you. I don't have anything suitable to repay you with. Is this really okay?

└ [PrincessChaenggu]: I'd be sadder to lose a Chaeyu fan! So please accept them without feeling burdened!

└ [Wild Grylls]: Thank you so much. I'll send a trade request.

└ [PrincessChaenggu]: Okay! I hope we can talk about football while we trade too! That alone would make me happy!

└ [Wild Grylls]: I may lack the proper grounding, but I'll listen carefully.

└ Proper grounding? LMAOOOO

└ Since when did kicking a ball around require proper grounding? lol

└ Don't say that to demonkind. You'll get punched.

How could I help PrincessChaenggu?

I thought about it even while we traded.

A friend had gotten me interested in football, but that was all. I had never supported any particular team.

I was supporting Chaeyu because PrincessChaenggu was helping me. It was hard to say I had any real affection for the club.

[PrincessChaenggu]: I've registered the uniforms!

[PrincessChaenggu]: By the way, you're all right, right?

[You]: Thanks to the uniforms, I was hurt less than I could have been.

[You]: I couldn't do anything about getting bitten, but they stopped the claws.

[PrincessChaenggu]: Wonderful!

[PrincessChaenggu]: There's a Chaeyu match in two days, so please cheer hard!

[You]: Of course.

[You]: I want to repay every kindness PrincessChaenggu has shown me.

[PrincessChaenggu]: Hehe, then please think about what we can do to help football develop in the future!

[PrincessChaenggu]: I'm a football fan before I'm a Chaeyu fan, and a sports fan before I'm a football fan!

PrincessChaenggu really loved sports.

Well, in a world with so little entertainment, sports probably felt like a drug.

I kept the trade window open as I thought, then carelessly offered an idea.

[You]: You said there isn't a World Cup here, right?

[PrincessChaenggu]: A World Cup?

[You]: Yes. A tournament where countries compete against each other instead of teams.

[You]: It was the biggest tournament where I came from.

[PrincessChaenggu]: How interesting.

[PrincessChaenggu]: I've heard of competitions between races, but never countries.

[PrincessChaenggu]: There aren't very many of them. Would it be popular?

As PrincessChaenggu said, there were few countries in this world.

Races had such a strong tendency to stick together.

But it was different when it came to territories. There might be few countries, but there were many territories.

Countless territories existed within the large framework of a nation.

[You]: Then make it about territories.

[You]: Not where the clubs are based, but where the players are from.

[PrincessChaenggu]: Not where they're based, but where the players are from?

[You]: Yes. Where I came from, they held a tournament like that every four years.

[You]: It was a matter of competing for the honor of representing your country.

[PrincessChaenggu]: Ooh! Every four years instead of every year?

[PrincessChaenggu]: That's a fresh idea!

[PrincessChaenggu]: Did they grant titles or something to the winners?

I almost answered that my country exempted them from military service, but stopped myself.

That was something unique to the Republic of Korea, so I did not feel the need to explain it.

[You]: No.

[You]: Status did not matter much in the world where I lived.

[You]: Rather than giving titles, they put stars on the uniforms as proof that they had won.

[You]: For Chaeyu, it would be like putting stars above the deer.

[PrincessChaenggu]: Inspiration!

[PrincessChaenggu]: I'm getting ideas!

[PrincessChaenggu]: Thank you so much!

[PrincessChaenggu]: This could apply not just to football, but to every sport!

Would it matter that the Olympics and the World Cup were different events?

I did not feel the need to explain that much. More than anything, I had not expected this to count as such a big repayment.

I had only meant that something like this existed.

Besides, I did not even know who PrincessChaenggu was.

[You]: Time is almost up.

[You]: Thank you for the uniforms.

[You]: I'll definitely repay you.

[PrincessChaenggu]: Thank you for giving me such inspiration.

[PrincessChaenggu]: If that isn't enough, please help me buy Chaeyu, hehe.

[You]: You can buy Chaeyu?

[PrincessChaenggu]: If you have enough money, hehe.

[You]: Adult Mandrakes aren't nearly enough, right?

[PrincessChaenggu]: Even if you had them, you'd need quite a lot.

[You]: If I find something expensive that I don't need, I'll give it to you.

[You]: Use that to buy it.

[PrincessChaenggu]: I'm grateful for the thought alone, hehe.

Well, I was serious.

Anything unrelated to food or equipment was a potential barter item.

I felt like I should at least pay for the uniforms with money.

PrincessChaenggu rarely accepted anything else and only kept giving me things, so this was the best I could do.

“Wait. They gave me all of them?”

PrincessChaenggu's gift had gone beyond my expectations.

They had not given me just one uniform from the picture. They had given me every single one.

A pile of clothes had appeared in an instant, which caught me off guard, but something else was even more surprising.

‘Who would wear something this small?’

There were uniforms that looked like they would fit a child.

The only kids around here were Wonmo and...

“Ah.”

I understood immediately.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried