WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 62: Orichalcum (1)
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After encountering a chicken nearly as large as a Saber-Toothed Tiger, I didn't run into any other major dangers.
I did spot all kinds of animals from time to time, like snakes, huge lizards, and hawks nearly the size of pterosaurs.
Fortunately, I never crossed paths with any of them.
It was thanks to the adamant-whatever shield, basically an upgraded version of the Golden Shield.
Whenever danger came up, the shield did its job.
‘At this rate, dinosaurs are going to show up too.’
I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a hawk as big as a pterosaur.
Luckily, it had already finished hunting. Otherwise, I would've been in real danger.
Even the prey it had snatched up was far from normal-sized.
‘That bird didn't take Wonmo, did it?’
Wonmo's tracks and the claw marks Fast Sloth had left behind still continued ahead.
Still, seeing that pterosaur-like hawk had made me anxious.
If their tracks suddenly stopped, that would mean they'd taken to the sky.
Fast Sloth might be strong on the ground, but it would be helpless if something carried it off through the air.
“Wonmo! Where are you?! Answer me if you're there!”
I followed the tracks, calling Wonmo's name.
Then I found a snake that seemed to be what Wonmo had left behind after eating.
Its head had been cleanly crushed, and its entire body had been torn to pieces.
It twitched now and then, so it couldn't have been killed long ago.
‘They're nearby.’
I had nearly caught up to Wonmo and Fast Sloth.
The problem was that the tracks were hard to see.
There were some claw marks from Fast Sloth, at least, but I couldn't see a single footprint.
The trees were packed tightly together, and the ground was covered in thick grass.
‘Just wait until I find you.’
I was going to give that little butt a good spanking.
I'd ask Fast Sloth why it hadn't stopped him, too. I would only let it slide if it had a good reason.
‘...Would that even mean anything if I didn't?’
It was stronger than me. That thought crossed my mind, but I forced it aside.
After painstakingly following the trail, I finally began to leave the dense forest.
Which only made things worse. Leaving the forest meant heading into another region.
I just hoped we wouldn't end up somewhere where space twisted.
“Kyuuuuuu!”
A cry reached my ears. It was a very familiar sound.
Only Wonmo made noises that cute.
“Wonmo?!”
I whipped my head toward the sound.
It was an urgent cry. Was he being chased by something?
If he sounded that desperate even with Fast Sloth around, it had to be dangerous.
“Wonmo! I'm here! Over here!”
“Kyuuuu!”
Wonmo must have heard my voice because his cries became even louder.
The brush in the direction I was facing began shaking violently too.
Swoosh!
“Kyuuuu!”
Wonmo burst out of the brush with Fast Sloth clinging to his back.
My relief at finally finding him lasted only a moment. I couldn't help being taken aback when I saw what came out after him.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
“Peep! Peep! Peep!”
“Peep! Peep peep!”
It was the black-bodied chick I'd seen earlier.
Not just one, but several chicks burst out of the brush.
Their energetic wing-flapping was pretty cute, but their size was the problem.
A whole flock of human-sized chicks rushing toward us was deeply intimidating.
“Peep? Peep?”
“Peep?”
The chicks chasing Wonmo froze as soon as they saw me.
My sudden appearance seemed to have caught them off guard as they tried to assess the situation.
“Kyuu... Kyuu...”
Wonmo clung tightly to my leg, trembling.
Apparently, the chicks scared him.
‘I'd run too.’
From Wonmo's comparatively small perspective, it probably felt like elephants were chasing him.
Fast Sloth, clinging to his back, looked perfectly relaxed.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!”
We had been facing off for a while when a clear, ringing crow rang out in the distance.
The chicks looked at one another after hearing it.
“Peep. Peep.”
“Peep.”
After exchanging a few cries, the chicks turned around.
They soon disappeared back into the brush.
That hearty crow must've been some kind of signal to return.
“Phew.”
“Kyuuuu.”
Once it was over, I let out a relieved sigh.
Wonmo, who had been clinging to my leg, slowly climbed down now that he felt safe.
“...Wonmo.”
“Kyuu?”
“Do you know what you did wrong?”
Wonmo tilted his head at my scolding. He had no idea.
Right. Talking to him now would be like talking to a brick wall.
Fast Sloth had probably only climbed onto Wonmo after seeing him leave, so I couldn't scold it either.
“Phew. Let's go back quickly. This place is dangerous.”
“Kyuu. Kyuu.”
When I said we should return, Wonmo grabbed my pants with his beak and tugged.
It felt like he was trying to lead me somewhere, so I watched him closely.
Maybe he had found something.
After thinking for a moment, I logged into the Gallery.
‘There's plenty of time.’
It had taken about two hours just to find Wonmo. That meant I still had time before lunch.
I couldn't explore for too long, though. I had to account for the trip back.
I especially couldn't forget the crabs I needed to give Passing Dwarf.
‘First, I should make a post saying I found Wonmo.’
I wedged Wonmo between my legs in case he ran away while I wrote the post.
As I firmly held Wonmo in place between my legs, Fast Sloth climbed onto my back.
[Post title] Found the little troublemaker
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of Wonmo looking up from between my legs)
[Post] I found this little troublemaker. He scared the shit out of me.
[Post] Good thing Fast Sloth went with him. Otherwise, it probably would've taken a long time.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: It's fortunate that you found him. Is he hurt?
└ [Wild Grylls]: There was a huge chicken along the way, but no one was hurt.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: A chicken? How big was it?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Just going by height, it was way bigger than me. A chick was almost at eye level with me.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Hmm. I cannot tell whether it was a spiritual treasure or simply an unusually large chicken.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Chickens can be spiritual treasures too?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Any plant or animal can evolve into a spiritual treasure if it meets the conditions.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: How about catching that chicken and eating it to build up your strength?
└ [Wild Grylls]: I think my head would get smashed before that;; It was fucking terrifying.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: The person who killed a tiger got scared of a chicken?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Yep.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: That can happen.
└ LOL
└ Look how quickly they accepted it lol
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Hey. When are you giving me my bar snacks? My friend's complaining that it's taking too long.
└ [Wild Grylls]: I'm really sorry. I'll give them to you today or tomorrow.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: I trust you'll throw in something extra for making me wait?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Are two crabs enough?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Give me some fish instead. I want to try it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: I can, but you'll have to clean it yourself.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Fine by me.
After checking the Gallery's reactions, all that remained was going back.
“Kyuu. Kyuu.”
But Wonmo kept pestering me to go somewhere.
Maybe because it had been a while since he'd gone outside, he seemed reluctant to head back already.
There was enough time, so it wasn't like I couldn't grant his request.
I would run the second things looked dangerous, though.
“Fine. But if it gets dangerous, we're running right away. Got it?”
“Kyuu!”
Wonmo beamed at my permission.
I snorted at his ridiculously cute face and patted his head.
‘First thing I need to do is put up a fence at the cave entrance.’
There was a reason pet owners put fences in front of their doors.
Installing one at the entrance was essential if I wanted to prevent future escape incidents.
If Wonmo stopped taking naps, I'd have no choice but to bring him along everywhere.
“Come on. Let's go.”
“Kyuu!”
Wonmo took the lead, and I followed behind him.
Maybe he understood this place was dangerous because he didn't stray far from me.
He even kept looking back now and then to make sure I was following.
Just as I started to understand why people kept pets, Wonmo turned around and cried out.
“Kyuu!”
He pointed ahead with his front paw, as if to say it was here.
I turned toward where Wonmo was pointing.
“A cave?”
It was a cave. A cave with a very wide entrance.
Unlike the place where the Golden Mushroom had been, there was nothing at the entrance.
Only a dark cave mouth greeted us.
The gloomy atmosphere made me reluctant to enter.
“Wonmo. Do we really have to go in here?”
“Kyuu!”
He seemed more adventurous than me. Maybe it was the curiosity unique to a young animal.
I put my questions aside, told Wonmo to wait a moment, and looked around nearby.
The inside was too dark, so a torch was necessary. Luckily, I had brought cloth and oil.
Whoosh!
With the torch lit, it seemed like we could go in now.
Wonmo led the way only as far as the torchlight reached and didn't go beyond it.
‘It slopes downward from here.’
It didn't take long for a downhill path to begin.
I told Wonmo to back up, then held the torch out in front of me.
The slope wasn't too steep, and there were places to plant my feet along the way.
Getting back up didn't seem like it would be a problem. Still, I needed to be careful.
“Wonmo, wait a second.”
“Kyuu?”
I bought two long ropes from the Gallery.
Then I securely tied them to a sturdy-looking rock.
‘This should keep us safe even if we slip.’
I tied one rope around my waist and the other around Wonmo's.
I didn't tie one around Fast Sloth. It had some excellent claws of its own.
With our safety measures in place, I slowly made my way down the slope.
Even though he was young, Wonmo was still an animal. He descended with much more agility than I did.
‘These shoes are great.’
I was really getting my money's worth from the shoes today. Maybe because they had an anti-slip effect, no accidents happened.
Still, I didn't forget to be careful.
If I twisted my ankle and broke a bone, it would be a disaster.
“Phew.”
After reaching the bottom of the slightly steep slope, I let out a breath.
I checked with the torch in case the descent continued, but it didn't. Only flat ground lay ahead.
“Wow...”
I gasped at the size of the cave's interior.
The torch was our only source of light, but it wasn't a problem.
Even in the darkness, my eyes could make out the rough terrain.
‘There don't seem to be any dangerous animals...’
Bats, bugs, snakes, and the like.
They were large, but none of them were animals I would call dangerous.
Even the snakes, the closest thing to dangerous, seemed timid. The moment we arrived, they slowly slithered away.
But perhaps Wonmo saw all of them as prey.
“Hissss!”
“Kyukyaak!”
A pathetic battle between a snake and a baby Owlbear began.
The snake was big, but it had no venomous fangs, so it posed no threat to Wonmo.
On top of that, Wonmo's reactions were remarkably quick. The snake was helpless against him.
‘An Owlbear is still an Owlbear, I guess.’
While Wonmo chewed, tore, savored, and enjoyed the snake, I explored the inside.
‘But...’
As I shone my torch around, I noticed something strange.
The cave was huge, sure, but how should I put it? It sparkled.
It wasn't just one place. The entire cave glittered like a jewel.
Even the ground beneath my feet shimmered with a faint violet glow.
‘What the hell is this?’
I picked up a stone lying on the ground.
Even the stone had a subtle violet sheen.
It was clearly no ordinary rock.
‘I should ask the Gallery. Passing Dwarf is a dwarf, so maybe they know.’
I picked up a few stones so I could confirm it properly.
Then I looked around to see if there was anything else unusual.
Other than the entire cave having a faint violet glow, there was nothing special.
‘That looks like a person.’
During my search, I came across something shaped like a person. More precisely, it looked like a giant.
I looked it over from every angle and even touched it, but it didn't react at all. It seemed to be a naturally formed structure.
After scouting the area, I got ready to head back.
“I should wash up as soon as we get back, if only because of the ticks.”
“Kyuu?”
“Yeah, you. You. Eat when we get back, then go straight to sleep.”
It didn't take long to return to the shelter.
I had diligently left markers on the way here, and we hadn't wandered onto another path.
That brought Wonmo's roughly two-and-a-half-hour adventure to an end.
The adventure was over, but I still had a mountain of work to do.
‘I need to eat, figure out what these rocks are, wash Wonmo... Busy, busy.’
First, I made a post asking what the stones were.
If they were expensive, I'd list them on the Auction House. If they needed processing, I planned to give them to Passing Dwarf.
‘I should ask them to make crossbow bolts out of these.’
Thinking that, I made the post on the Gallery.
After posting, I got to work. The first task was washing Wonmo.
After crawling through all that brush, he was bound to be covered in ticks.
“Kyuuuu...”
“Enjoying yourself?”
“Kyuu!”
“What a spoiled little prince.”
Wonmo floated in the warm bathwater with only his face sticking out.
Today had been tough, but I could count it as finally completing the exploration I had been putting off.
Afterward, I washed myself thoroughly and checked the post.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: I'm telling you, that's Orichalcum. Fuck, even if I'm a drunk, I know that much.
└ And what if it isn't? Want to bet the beer in your hand?
└ Then I'll believe you lol
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Ah, fuck; that's a little...
└ This bastard chickened out lol
└ It's Mithril, and you still won't bet your beer?
└ Honestly, a dwarf can't give up beer lol
└ [AllHailTheSun]: I think that's Orichalcum too. I'll post a picture of what I have.
└ What the hell do you do that you have Orharcon too?
└ [AllHailTheSun]: One of Setan's rich.
└ Fuck lololol
└ That's the kind of answer that makes you want a revolution lol
“?”
Something strange had been going on while I was gone.
Footnotes:
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