WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 68: Guardian (1)
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[Post title] A Strong, Sturdy Morning!
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] Day 9 starts today!
└ [Heavenly Demon]: You're awake. What are you planning to do today?
└ [Wild Grylls]: First, I'm going to check the cave I visited yesterday. I want to see if the whole thing is an Orichalcum cave.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: If you find some, could you spare me a little? Having even one would be nice.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Of course I'll grant Heavenly Demon's request. I'll give you a big one.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Thank you. Since we're trading anyway, I'll give you some Fasting Pills I prepared in advance.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Thank you.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: You're working hard again today. You seem busier than me.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Couldn't you get a job if you wanted one, SwordTasteMaster?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: I could, but I don't really need to haha.
└ Lucky bastard. A rich jobless bum.
└ Isn't that the real winner in life?
└ Some people work themselves to the bone while others... sigh.
└ Bet they're some noble born with a silver spoon in their mouth lol.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Oh. What? Another day passed. The thing you gave me really was Orichalcum.
└ [Wild Grylls]: You're really quick with the late reply;; Since when were you chugging booze yesterday?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: From lunch until evening. But what was in that fish? When I had it with booze, my body got blazing hot;; I slept all day because of it.
Ah, right. It had an Inner Core.
Heavenly Demon had explained that a fish carrying an Inner Core was both a spiritual treasure and an elixir.
It wasn't strange for their body to heat up after eating one.
└ [Wild Grylls]: The same thing happened to me, but I felt better after sleeping soundly for a full day. Still hurting?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Other than feeling like I'm overflowing with energy, I'm fine. I think I'll head to the mines for the first time in a while.
Come to think of it, Passing Dwarf was a dwarf. I'd forgotten because the drunkard image was so strong.
Dwarves were a race of booze and mines. It was tradition to have a drink after finishing work in the mines.
Their short, stocky builds were supposedly specialized for mining work. Something like that, anyway.
└ [Wild Grylls]: I might end up swinging a pickaxe too. Got any tips?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Don't put mana into the pickaxe. There could be minerals that are sensitive to mana.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Is Orichalcum sensitive to mana too?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: It's not so much sensitive as it has an insanely high absorption rate. Anyway, never use mana.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Sounds exhausting just hearing about it.
└ Fucking exhausting lol. It's called one of the hardest jobs in the world for a reason.
└ If the mine shaft collapses, you just die.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Guess I'll just pick up rocks lying around.
└ Anyway, you're still not dead.
└ When's this bastard gonna die lol
└ Wild Grylls is pretty tough though lol
└ I'm getting tired of you staying alive too~
└ [Wild Grylls]: You little shits?
With encouragement from registered users and commenters, equal parts sweet and savage, I began the day.
There was nothing like a cold glass of water and the fresh forest air to start the morning.
And then...
“Moo.”
“...”
I came face-to-face with a deer much larger than my barricade.
It had brilliantly gleaming blue antlers and pure white fur. Its eyes were as clear as a pristine river.
I stared blankly at the deer, then silently took a photo through the gallery.
Tap! Tap!
Thankfully, the blue-antlered deer fled as soon as our eyes met.
It lightly leaped over the barricade and ran off.
Despite its striking appearance, it quickly vanished into the forest.
‘...Did I get smaller or something?’
Owlbears, fish, Golden Frogs, Saber-Toothed Tigers, chickens, and now a deer.
Every creature I'd encountered had been abnormally huge, so I couldn't help wondering.
I could understand how Gulliver must have felt after entering the land of giants alone.
It was scary. Fucking terrifying, actually.
[Post title] Does anyone know what this deer is?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (A photo of a deer with blue antlers and white fur)
[Post] It greeted me the moment I stepped out of the cave. Anyone know what it is?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: What a beautiful deer. Its blue antlers gleam brilliantly.
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: Yupp, just like my eyesies.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: I shall bring down the hammer.
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: Sowwyyy!!!
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Hmph.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: What else would you call that but oppression?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: It is legitimate regulation.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: The nerve of her;;
└ [Starlight Princess]: I've seen that deer in a book before. If my guess is right, it's a Spirit Deer.
└ [Wild Grylls]: A spirit? Spirits exist too?
└ [Starlight Princess]: You didn't know? Where in the world did you live?
└ [Wild Grylls]: But I told you I came from another world though...
Maybe I should have just said I grew up in some remote country village.
But then they would've asked how I could use the gallery.
It was probably better to just say I came from another world.
└ [Starlight Princess]: It's easiest to think of spirits as living mana. Mana with a will of its own.
└ [Wild Grylls]: That's pretty abstract.
└ [Starlight Princess]: You know the Guardian you met first, right?
└ [Wild Grylls]: You mean that enormous rock giant?
I still remembered it clearly. The rock I'd leaned against had come to life and moved.
It was so huge that if it had stepped on me, I would've died on the spot.
└ [Starlight Princess]: Nothing is certain, but people believe spirits inhabit naturally occurring Guardians.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Then what about that deer?
└ [Starlight Princess]: It's called a Spirit Deer because it looks like a spirit. Spirits can't affect living creatures. At the end of the day, they're mana.
└ [Wild Grylls]: It won't shoot lasers from its antlers or anything, right?
└ [Starlight Princess]: A single kick would probably hurt more than that.
└ Forget hurting, wouldn't it shatter your bones?
└ Grylls, why don't you get kicked once? You have a shield too.
└ [Wild Grylls]: ;;;
└ [Starlight Princess]: You can ignore those idiots.
Being somewhere with an excessive amount of mana meant encountering all kinds of animals.
It was a fantasy-like world, but for me, it was dark fantasy.
One wrong move could cost me my life. Would I even make it out of here in one piece?
‘No, I need to worry about staying alive first.’
I shook my head and headed up to the river. I wanted to check the fish caught overnight.
Splash! Splash!
Exactly two fish had been caught in the Fish Trap. Both were enormous.
Grinning from ear to ear, I pulled it in. This was basically free loot.
Rustle-
“Hmm?”
As I was retrieving the Fish Trap, I heard bushes rustling.
The sound came from right beside me, so I stopped and immediately went on guard.
Holding my sword and shield, I watched the direction the noise had come from.
“...”
Maybe it had been my imagination. I didn't hear anything else.
Still, I retrieved the Fish Trap without lowering my guard.
I couldn't help being on edge. One mistake could cost me my life.
‘All I can do is stay alert around the river.’
Lots of animals would come here to drink.
There had seemed to be few because of the Golden Frogs... but now, who knew?
Because of me, not only their leader but a good number of Golden Frogs had died.
I stayed alert the whole way back to the cave. Nothing threatening happened along the way.
‘I’d better always bring Fast Sloth with me if I can.’
Thinking that, I prepared breakfast. Wonmo happened to wake up just then.
I gave Wonmo one fish. Naturally, I took out the Inner Core first.
‘By the way... doesn't he seem bigger?’
I watched Wonmo happily eat his fish. He was wearing the uniform PrincessChaenggu had given him.
It had originally fit him perfectly, but now it had stretched as far as it could.
Either he'd put on weight or gotten bigger.
Maybe both. He was still growing, so I didn't worry about it.
‘Getting bigger is good.’
Size is king, as they say. That was enough for me.
If he grew bigger than me someday, he would be a huge help. I had no idea when that day would come, though.
‘Will I get out of the Forest of Four Seasons before then?’
Even if it was false hope, that was fine. Times like these were when I needed hope most.
I finished my meal and cleaned up. My stomach was pleasantly full.
‘I’ll take the medicine Allfather gave me and practice my cultivation method.’
I had been steadily practicing my cultivation method, especially focusing on the breathing technique.
Practicing to increase my overall lung capacity. That was the most effective approach.
‘I’ll ask how to increase lung capacity later too.’
Now only one task remained: going to the Orichalcum cave and picking up a few pieces.
I had memorized the whole route, so there was no chance of getting lost.
‘Wonmo...’
Normally, he would fall asleep right after eating.
This time was different.
He stared at me with his usual vacant eyes. It didn't look like he planned to take a nap.
“Wonmo. Don't go anywhere strange, okay?”
“Kyuu?”
“Don't go even if you see something tasty. Got it?”
“Kyuu?”
“It's dangerous.”
Wonmo made cute noises and tilted his head every time I spoke.
Like Fast Sloth, he somehow understood what I said, so he would probably listen.
Breakfast was over, so I started getting my things ready.
As usual, I packed my sword and shield, along with the Subspace Bag Allfather had gifted me yesterday.
The bag held the crossbow and all kinds of other items.
I didn't put anything fragile, like Elixir, inside.
It was a bag that ignored spatial limits, not one that ignored weight.
There was only a tiny chance of items knocking into each other and getting damaged, but it could happen.
So I put the Elixir and the Fasting Pills I'd use as emergency rations in another bag.
On my left hip was a bag holding food, including Elixir.
On my right hip was the Subspace Bag containing the crossbow and other tools.
‘This should be enough.’
It was a little heavy, but I could manage it.
The crossbow was an extremely useful weapon since I had no other means of ranged attack.
With my preparations complete, I put Fast Sloth on my back.
Wearing his stretched-out uniform, Wonmo bounced around impatiently, urging me to hurry up. It was adorable.
“Okay, okay. Let's go. But don't get separated, all right?”
“Kyuu!”
Unlike the runaway incident, this time the three of us... no, one person and two animals traveled together side by side.
Our destination was the Orichalcum cave from yesterday. I planned to explore it more thoroughly.
I also had the item KingLeor had gifted me, so I could use that.
‘There wasn't anything dangerous in the cave yesterday.’
There had been bats and snakes, but they weren't threatening.
I had Elixir in case of emergencies, and even if I didn't act, Wonmo would probably take care of anything.
Following my memories of yesterday, I headed for the Orichalcum cave.
The marks I'd made yesterday were still there, so finding the way wasn't difficult.
‘There won't be chickens and chicks this time, right?’
I had no idea why there were chickens and chicks in this forest, but I still had to be careful.
Even the chicks were about my size. The chickens were much bigger than me.
Knowing the extent of their territory would make it easier to move around, but that wouldn't be easy.
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Wonmo. That's bad, bad.”
Along the way, Wonmo sniffed at a strange-looking plant.
It was a yellow flower that stood out, and strangely, it glittered in the reflected light.
It looked like it was advertising, ‘I'm poisonous!’
I scolded Wonmo and took a picture of the flower for the gallery.
I would ask Allfather or Starlight Princess about things like this. There was no need to take risks right now.
-Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!
A thunderous rooster's crow rang out from not too far away.
It seemed we had entered the chickens' territory without realizing it.
“Kyueeng!”
The moment Wonmo heard it, he ran to me in terror.
Getting chased by that flock of chicks before had apparently left him traumatized.
I petted Wonmo to reassure him, then looked around. Nothing particularly concerned me.
‘There are feathers here and there.’
Black feathers, presumably fallen from the chickens.
They were so huge that even a single feather was quite large.
I picked one up and placed it in the Subspace Bag. It might be useful later.
“We're here.”
We reached the Orichalcum cave without encountering any threats.
Once there, I took an item from my ordinary bag.
The Light Magic Crystal Ball KingLeor had gifted me.
I had heard that tapping it a few times would activate the magic.
Tap, tap-
Just as KingLeor explained, something happened when I tapped the crystal ball a few times.
The dim crystal ball shone brightly, and then that light floated into the air.
The crystal ball itself remained in my hand, yet the light was above my head. It was a strange sight.
“Ooh!”
I stared in amazement at the light bobbing above my head.
It was my first time seeing magic in person, and I felt like a child again.
It was supposed to last for a full hour, so exploring wouldn't be a problem.
‘It's brighter than a torch. Perfect.’
Even in dark places, I would be able to explore without any trouble.
Excited, I stepped into the cave. Wonmo followed behind, prancing along.
A little later, we reached the downward slope leading to the Orichalcum cave.
The rope I'd set up yesterday was still there, so I carefully climbed down.
“Hmm?”
The moment I got down into the cave, something felt strange.
How should I put it? The arrangement of the rocks seemed a little different.
If I had a photo, I could compare them, but I didn't, so it was hard to say.
‘Am I imagining it?’
Tilting my head, I looked around. The cave was still glittering.
Now that I had light, I took pictures and posted them to the gallery.
[Post title] Orichalcum Cave
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (A photo of a cave filled with Orichalcum)
[Post] (A photo of Orichalcum in the shape of rocks)
[Post] (A photo of Orichalcum picked up from the floor)
[Post] What do you think? All those glittering things really are Orichalcum, right?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: What a beautiful cave. A cave full of true gold.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: It's really pretty. What are you going to do now?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Not sure. Pick up some things from the floor and explore? There isn't anything dangerous.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Still, be careful. An artificially dug mine is one thing, but natural caves have lots of monsters.
Monsters. Hearing that, I looked around.
Other than bats and small animals, there were no obvious living creatures.
The cave didn't seem to extend beyond what I could see, either. Still, I needed to stay alert.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Damn. I want to rush over and start swinging a pickaxe right now lol.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Wanna come?
└ [Passing Dwarf]: After I finish all my booze.
└ [Wild Grylls]: So you're not coming, fuck.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Why would I go there? Am I crazy? lol
└ [Allfather]: Still, this is fascinating. The entire cave is made of Orichalcum. What kind of place is the Forest of Four Seasons?
└ [Starlight Princess]: Maybe it underwent severe tectonic shifts? Orichalcum is a mineral that forms where mana is abundant.
└ [Allfather]: That is true, but there must be something else. Something that produces an extreme amount of mana.
└ [Starlight Princess]: That's a plausible theory. If it can warp even space, wouldn't it surpass the World Tree?
└ [Allfather]: Perhaps. I think we need to explore further.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Anyone else have no clue what they're talking about?
└ Me!
└ I dunno either!
└ Ah lol, it's fine if you don't know lol.
└ [LetsGrowTrees]: There is only one World Tree in this world. The World Tree of Alvenheim.
└ We know, so the knife-ears can get lost.
└ You're the race barely hanging on thanks to the World Tree~
└ [LetsGrowTrees]: Have you received the World Tree's blessing? You haven't, so all you can do is sneer.
└ Ha. Fuck, that's seriously irritating lol.
└ Can't say anything because it's true lol.
Screw the World Tree. Exploring came first.
Together with Wonmo, I looked around every corner of the cave.
What on earth had happened for an Orichalcum cave to be sitting there so conspicuously?
I wasn't a scholar, nor was I even born in this world.
All I could do was think, ‘Wow, that's strange,’ and move on.
‘Passing Dwarf said Orichalcum had a good mana absorption rate, right?’
I placed my hand on the floor and circulated the mana in my body.
Soon, mana flowed out through my hand.
Flash!
But it didn't rise like a heat haze.
It must have been absorbed, because the Orichalcum glowed more strongly than before.
Just as I pursed my lips in amazement at the sight...
Rumble- Rrrumble.
I heard rocks grinding together directly behind me.
The instant I heard it, I spun around in shock.
“Uh, uh?”
A rock was moving. A rock made of Orichalcum.
The huge mass of mineral moved as though it were standing up, then rose proudly onto two legs.
I staggered backward as I watched it rise.
At last, the mass of Orichalcum stood upright in the shape of a person.
Vwoooong-
A Guardian appeared before me.
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