WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 81: Rain (4)
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The first thing I did once the trade restriction was lifted was give the registered users a few small bribes, no, gifts.
Calling them gifts was generous, though. All I could offer were chunks of fish on skewers.
The fish was so huge that even after handing those out, I still had plenty left for myself.
[You]: How does it taste?
[Heavenly Demon]: It’s truly excellent.
[Heavenly Demon]: A delicacy among delicacies.
[Heavenly Demon]: It was the best food I’ve ever eaten.
[You]: You flatter me.
[You]: I’m really glad you enjoyed it lol.
[Heavenly Demon]: That isn’t flattery.
[Heavenly Demon]: To think such a simple recipe could produce this kind of flavor.
[Heavenly Demon]: I wonder what it would taste like if you cooked it properly.
[You]: I’ll send you some when I have time.
[You]: When I have time.
[Heavenly Demon]: There’s no knowing how long you’ll have that leisure.
[Heavenly Demon]: I don’t mind.
As expected, Heavenly Demon gave it high praise.
No matter what I gave her, she would probably accept it gladly.
Still, her kind words put me in a good mood.
[SwordTasteMaster]: It tastes like meat even though it’s fish?
[SwordTasteMaster]: I’m jealous you get to eat this every day.
[You]: Want to come over?
[SwordTasteMaster]: But my mom’s cooking is still the best.
[You]: I haven’t had my mom’s cooking in so long, I don’t really remember.
[SwordTasteMaster]: Ah... I’m sorry. I’m seriously sorry.
[You]: I’m kidding lol. Still, it must be really good.
SwordTasteMaster praised it too. That made me feel genuinely proud.
All I did was salt the fish and grill it, but it still tasted amazing.
[Passing Dwarf]: Hey. Give me more. It’s not enough to go with my booze.
[You]: You shameless bastard.
[Passing Dwarf]: Jus’ one more, pwease.
[You]: I can smell the booze through your posts, so go to sleep already;;
The dwarf was saying some truly shameless things. Judging by the alcohol smell coming off those posts, they might have been drunk.
Even the dwarf seemed to have some conscience, since they did not press the issue further.
Then there were Starlight Princess, PrincessChaenggu, Allfather, AllHailTheSun, and the rest.
I handed out a little to every registered user who had shown me kindness.
Most of them loved it, so I felt proud all over again.
Finally, I even gave some to the Head Mod.
That concluded the giveaway event(?).
‘So the Head Mod really is religious.’
I had a brief chat with the Head Mod, and they asked whether I had any intention of believing in a god.
They came across like someone trying to proselytize, which rubbed me the wrong way, but they did not push the issue, so I did not say anything harsh.
They were simply curious why I cursed the gods. So I answered everything.
Krrrrooooom!
And now it seemed the consequences were coming.
The result of cursing the gods.
I could only groan as the rain grew far heavier than before.
Exploring was probably out of the question today. The weather had gotten worse.
With thunder and lightning on top of it all, it was as if the skies were holding a ritual to keep me from leaving altogether.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
At least I had plenty of food stored away.
And I had worked on the drainage channel when the rain had briefly stopped.
If I had not done that, the moat would definitely have filled up or overflowed.
Working in that state would have been a much bigger pain.
‘I should put up a metal fence too, just in case.’
Just this morning, when it started raining, a raccoon dog had broken in.
As if warming itself by my campfire was not enough, it even stole a Fasting Pill.
The little bastard had been punished by Fast Sloth and turned into Wonmo’s snack, but I still needed to watch out for other intruders.
‘It was only a raccoon dog. Something else could be dangerous.’
Raccoon dogs were not safe, either. If it had come in with rabies, it would have been dangerous.
By that logic, Fast Sloth was dangerous too, but what could I do? The little thing hated baths.
I stared at the curtain of rain filling my view and shook my head.
Losing an entire day made me feel gloomy.
“Wonmo, c’mere.”
“Kyuu?”
I would soothe my gloomy mood by hugging plump little Wonmo.
He was like a round ball of fur, and every time I hugged him, I felt at peace.
Wonmo did not resist. He quietly accepted the hug.
‘He’ll grow much bigger than me someday, won’t he?’
Wonmo’s mother had been sold through the Auction House.
It sounded a little strange when I put it that way, but she had been sold, so it was true.
Anyway, that Owlbear had been as big as a truck.
In other words, Wonmo would grow to that size with time.
‘At least I hope that day doesn’t come while we’re in this forest.’
I had heard that an Owlbear needed at least three years to fully mature.
Considering it took a normal bear ten years to grow up, that was a terrifying growth rate.
‘Though they eat a lot to make up for it.’
An Owlbear was what you got when you put all the points into growth and accepted an insane appetite in exchange.
Still, the Forest of Four Seasons was full of food, and I had plenty of money loaded into the Gallery.
Shhhhhhh!
The rain was the problem. If it kept pouring like this, survival itself would become difficult.
The river would overflow, of course, and I could run into unexpected situations, like the raccoon dog that had invaded my cave.
Even with a fence up, there were probably creatures here that could smash through something like that.
Scurry, scurry, scurry-
Like that lizard trying to climb over the fence right now.
Whether they broke the fence or climbed over it, anyone trying to get in had to be punished.
“Wonmo, do you want to eat that too?”
“Kyuu!”
The lizard trying to climb over the fence became Wonmo’s snack.
With the rain pouring down, all kinds of animals were trying to get into the cave.
Exploring was impossible, and there was nothing to do. That did not mean I could let my guard down.
‘Rather than sleep... I should just circulate the Inner Energy Cultivation Method.’
A cultivation method was perfect when there was nothing to do. It also wiped away fatigue, so nothing could be better.
As I sat cross-legged and was about to begin breathing, I noticed Fast Sloth standing in front of me.
It was staring straight at me with that usual relaxed expression.
I watched it for a moment when a brilliant thought suddenly came to me.
‘This thing seems to understand what I say. Could I teach it the Inner Energy Cultivation Method?’
People would probably hear that and think I was an idiot.
Which was exactly why it was worth trying. It was also a chance for Fast Sloth to grow stronger.
It was already strong, but what if the Inner Energy Cultivation Method made it even stronger? I could not resist that.
First, I should ask the Gallery. It was worth checking.
[Post title] Can animals use a cultivation method too?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of Fast Sloth staring intently)
[Post] I want to teach the Inner Energy Cultivation Method to this idiot. Is that possible with animals too?
[Post] It’s already faster than me, so I don’t see any downside to making it even stronger.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Surely you do not mean to teach it the cultivation method I taught you?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Even if I teach it the verses, it won’t understand them, right?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Hmm. That is true. Still, is it not an intelligent creature?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Intelligence and wisdom are different things, teacher.
└ [Heavenly Demon]: I understand. Still, I have never heard of an animal circulating a cultivation method.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: I don’t know about the Mana Cultivation Method, but there are similar cases. Among monsters, orcs, goblins, and gnolls are relatively intelligent. Liches are exceptions since they were once living humans.
└ [Wild Grylls]: They can handle mana?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Yes. Though it’s more like a mutation than specialized training. Still, the important part is that they can use mana.
└ [Wild Grylls]: So there are no animals?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Not among the monsters I’ve encountered. If there were, it would be a huge deal, wouldn’t it?
└ [Allfather]: There are old records of people teaching the Mana Cultivation Method to monkeys and apes. However, it seems there was never a single successful case.
└ [Wild Grylls]: So it would be wasted effort?
└ [Allfather]: I cannot say for certain. As SwordTasteMaster said, a “mutation” may be different. Since Fast Sloth could also be considered a mutant, there is still a possibility.
└ Hey. If that thing gets any stronger, won’t it kill you?
└ It’ll kill you and take all your Fasting Pills.
└ Honestly, that sounds likely.
That last comment was a little creepy. The moment I read it, I looked at Fast Sloth.
It wore the expression of an animal advertising, ‘I’m completely harmless~.’
But behind that face were terrifying claws.
“Speedy.”
“...”
“Even if you get stronger, you won’t kill me, right?”
Nod-
Somehow, it understood and nodded.
Its expression seemed to say, ‘Why would I? Killing you would only be a loss for me.’
└ [Wild Grylls]: I asked, and it said it won’t kill me.
└ How do you know that?
└ [Wild Grylls]: It nodded. I saw it.
└ It’s obviously lying lol
└ It’s ready to stab you in the back at any moment lol
└ You trust an animal? You’re gonna get betrayed lol
└ [Wild Grylls]: It’s already stronger than me, so what kind of betrayal are we talking about;;
└ It’ll kill you once you get stronger. Isn’t it obvious?
└ [Wild Grylls]: Don’t badmouth our Speedy;;;
Even if that happened, I owed my life to Fast Sloth several times over.
I would just keep offering Fasting Pills so it had nothing to complain about.
Either way, I decided to try teaching Fast Sloth the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, no, the Mana Cultivation Method.
They all said it was idiotic, but that it sounded fun.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Why would anyone do something like that;;
└ Are you a woman?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Why are you asking that?
└ Then you wouldn’t understand lol
└ That’s why you have to do weird things!
└ Exactly. Exactly.
I put the Gallery aside and faced Fast Sloth.
Fast Sloth only looked at me with that relaxed expression, without making a move.
“Okay, Speedy. Follow me.”
“...”
As I sat cross-legged, Fast Sloth slowly changed position too.
Its legs were so short compared to its long arms that I wondered if sitting cross-legged was even possible, but apparently it was.
It moved ridiculously slowly, but eventually sat cross-legged. I was surprised by how flexible it was.
And judging by the fact that it did not fall backward, its core strength was impressive too.
‘Well, it climbs trees.’
When I straightened my back, it straightened its back too.
Now all that remained was breathing. I told it exactly what Heavenly Demon had taught me.
“Okay. Now you just have to breathe. If you tense your lower abdomen while you do it, you’ll feel something.”
“...”
“I’ll show you how.”
I began using the Inner Energy Cultivation Method to demonstrate.
I was not doing it seriously, so I only did it briefly.
When I finished the cultivation method and opened my eyes, Fast Sloth was still watching me.
“Give it a try. The important things are your breathing and lower abdomen. Got it?”
“...”
“You know where your lower abdomen is, right?”
Just in case, I kindly explained everything step by step.
Fast Sloth seemed to understand what I said and managed to copy everything I had done.
It had not taken me long to sense mana.
I had eaten three Fasting Pills per meal, and the Forest of Four Seasons itself was overflowing with mana.
If that was the case, would Fast Sloth sense mana as quickly as I had?
With that strange hope in mind, I waited quietly.
“...”
“...”
“...Hoo.”
“...”
Only after about three minutes did Fast Sloth finally inhale.
The way it slowly opened its mouth was ridiculous, but I waited patiently.
It had inhaled, so now all that remained was to exhale and complete the breathing cycle.
“Hoooo...”
“Forget it.”
That was also the end of my patience.
Now I understood why animal researchers gave up studying sloths.
Even their ordinary movements were so unbelievably slow that it drove me insane.
‘It’s strong enough without me, anyway.’
I sighed and sat cross-legged.
Rather than wait an eternity, it was better for me to circulate my cultivation method first.
‘As long as I keep giving it Fasting Pills, it’ll be fine.’
With that thought, I began circulating the cultivation method.
* * *
While Grylls sat with their eyes closed, concentrating on the Inner Energy Cultivation Method.
“Hoo...”
Fast Sloth continued to “breathe,” slowly but surely.
“Hoooo...”
Though it was slow enough to drive anyone mad.
“Hooooo...”
It was undeniably improving, little by little.
Footnotes:
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