WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 85: Fishman (4)

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Evolution sounds like a good thing at first because of the feel of the word and how it is portrayed in media, but that is not always the case.

If evolution goes in a strange direction, it could even threaten your life.

Evolution itself takes place over generation after generation.

No one knows what effect genes changed like this will have in the future, nor is it easy to predict how they will change.

Evolution is the process by which living things change to suit their environment.

The problem is that it cannot be viewed as purely positive.

'Evolution...'

I narrowed my eyes as I listened to Allfather's hypothesis. Hearing someone else's opinion directly made it feel different.

It had been strange that I could sense mana right away, even though I was not the protagonist of some novel or comic.

Allfather's hypothesis was right. My body was changing to suit the Forest of Four Seasons.

Earth's civilization had been built on steel alone, where not even mana, much less magic, existed.

[You]: That doesn't sound entirely good.

[You]: Are you saying I could turn grotesque?

[Allfather]: You'll probably retain a human-like form.

[Allfather]: But as you saw with the Shark Giant, you could still change in bizarre ways.

[You]: What are people attuned to mana usually like?

[You]: Their bodies do not get warped or anything, right?

[Allfather]: They maintain a human form, at least.

[Allfather]: Most of them are in especially good physical condition.

[Allfather]: The vessel that holds mana needs to be good to begin with.

I was around 175 centimeters tall. Perfectly average.

After living on ramen, my body had become skinny-fat, packed with visceral fat.

Still, maybe because I had suffered so much lately, I could feel the fat gradually disappearing. That made sense. But then...

Muscles that had been buried beneath all that fat were starting to show.

That made no sense.

'Wouldn't fat normally be overwhelmingly better for survival?'

I had heard somewhere that obesity had only become a social issue within the last hundred years.

Before that, humanity survived by storing fat. It was better for survival.

And evolution was closely tied to survival.

The logic did not add up.

[You]: Could losing fat and putting on too much muscle also be part of that...?

[You]: I don't understand.

[You]: Isn't fat more important than muscle for survival?

[Allfather]: It is not that Mr. Grylls is adapting to the Forest of Four Seasons of his own free will. The Forest of Four Seasons is adapting Mr. Grylls to itself.

[You]: Is that even possible?

[You]: It feels like every bit of common sense is blowing up;;

[Allfather]: It's only a hypothesis.

[Allfather]: Nothing about the Forest of Four Seasons has been revealed.

[Allfather]: I'm only analyzing things based on what Mr. Grylls has shown me.

I rubbed my face. Everything was becoming more complicated.

One thing was certain, though.

My survival was under threat.

It was not enough to replenish food and protect myself from nearby dangers.

The forest itself was threatening my life in real time.

'Nothing's confirmed yet, but...'

The signs pointed to my body changing.

A body that had suddenly become attuned to mana.

Physical abilities that had begun to grow so strong they bordered on abnormal.

Even the time my skin had peeled away and new flesh had grown beneath it.

Nothing other than the evolution Allfather mentioned, evolution adapted to its environment, could explain those things.

'Did Fast Sloth evolve like this too?'

I glanced at Fast Sloth, still hanging from my back.

As always, it clung to me with a relaxed expression.

Could it not also be one of evolution's products?

'The Adult Mandrake is the same.'

It was not just animals. Plants were the same way.

Maybe because they absorbed enormous amounts of mana, or perhaps for another reason.

They grew at an abnormally fast rate.

[Allfather]: As I've emphasized repeatedly, nothing is certain.

[Allfather]: We'll need more evidence.

[You]: Evidence... I suppose I need to keep exploring first.

[You]: Thank you for your help.

[Allfather]: I did not help at all.

[Allfather]: Mr. Grylls did all the hard work. I hope you keep at it.

[You]: It's a lot to take in, but I'll do my best.

My conversation with Allfather ended there. The moment it did, I let out a sigh.

Maybe this was what it felt like when something made sense even though you did not want it to.

The circumstantial evidence had hardened into conviction, giving rise to anxiety.

People always feared the unknown.

I was truly afraid of how this forest might change me.

'I don't need to know the cause. I just need to escape...'

Knowing survival alone was not enough took the wind out of me.

It made all the hardship I had gone through feel meaningless.

'All the more reason not to give up.'

I steadied myself again. It was too early to despair.

At least my body had changed in good ways so far.

Allfather's hypothesis was still only a hypothesis. Nothing was certain.

'I'll be able to be sure after I find more evidence.'

There was something more important first. I turned my gaze.

An empty cast-iron pan sat forlornly before me.

The fish the Shark Giant had gobbled up. Fish I had gone to the trouble of coating with oyster sauce.

'Let's eat first.'

Koreans run on rice. There was no rice, but food was important anyway.

I used up every last bit of the little oyster sauce I had left.

It was really good. Unlike before, when I had only eaten one piece, I ate it all this time.

'It's annoyingly delicious.'

Maybe because I had heard bad news, I did not feel better even after filling my stomach.

Still, I needed to shake this feeling off quickly. Negative thoughts weakened resolve.

Like I said earlier, nothing had been confirmed yet.

For all I knew, Shark Giants like the one I killed might exist outside the forest too.

After eating, I finished practicing my cultivation method and prepared to explore.

I would not be exploring downstream this time, but upstream. I might see a lot there.

'If I'm lucky, I might find another branch of the river.'

I hoped that was the case. I hoped it would not crush every last bit of my hope.

I wiped the blood from Heavenly Demon’s Sword with oiled paper and made every preparation.

Whenever my thoughts got too complicated, physical hardship always helped. It was the perfect cure.

[Post title] Heading out to explore!

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] (A photo of me holding a sword and shield)

[Post] I'm heading upstream this time. Cheer for me, everyone!

└ [Heavenly Demon]: Take heart. Know that this lady is always cheering you on.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: You didn't forget anything, did you?

└ [Heavenly Demon]: Your conscience?

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: I was asking Mr. Grylls, though? Haha.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: I was only teasing you.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: If you're bored, why don't we discuss swordsmanship?

└ [Heavenly Demon]: Just what this lady wished for. Show me what that pitiful talent of yours can do.

└ [Starlight Princess]: It's important to always be careful. Even if your arms and legs break, it'll be fine, so please be careful.

└ [Wild Grylls]: That's encouragement, right?;;

└ [Starlight Princess]: Did I phrase that oddly? I meant you should not worry because you have Elixir.

└ [Wild Grylls]: Thank you;;

└ Look at her saying weird things because it isn't her problem lol

└ Isn't she saying that because she survived?

└ That's suspicious~

└ [Starlight Princess]: You people are really mean.

└ [AllHailTheSun]: Huh? Wait, where's the shark? Don't tell me you gave it away?

└ [Wild Grylls]: Yeah. I gave it away since I didn't have any use for it.

└ [AllHailTheSun]: Ah, damn. Something came up, so I missed it. I was going to use it as a display piece.

└ [Wild Grylls]: Why would you use something that ugly as a display piece?;;

└ [AllHailTheSun]: It's a rare animal. Perfect as a collectible.

└ [Wild Grylls]: ;;;

The moment I uploaded the post, the comments filled with half encouragement and half teasing.

I snickered to myself, thinking they had not changed, then set off with the two animals... except I did not.

"Fast Sloth. You need to keep a good eye on Wonmo, okay?"

"..."

I did not know whether Wonmo slept after breakfast, but Wonmo always fell asleep after lunch.

Wonmo was still a cub, so it could not be helped, but I was not too worried.

'I put up an iron fence, and Fast Sloth is here too. Perfect.'

It seemed safe to leave now. I looked over the cave as a whole.

'I should ask for more barricades.'

The Shark Giant had entered where the barricades were spaced farther apart.

I had left it slightly open for going to and from the river, and it had been exactly the right size.

Of course, considering its size, it would have smashed through anyway even if there had been a barricade.

'It'll be inconvenient, but I'll have to deal with it.'

I roughly picked out where to install the barricades and started walking.

Whooosh!

The river I soon reached still boasted a fierce current.

I stared at it for a moment, then lifted my head.

On the other side of the river this time was...

"Wow. Is that a volcano?"

A volcanic region.

A volcano belching lava in the distance came into view.

Fortunately, it was incredibly far away and did not affect me, but it still drew a sigh of amazement.

The ground was cracked and barren without a single blade of grass, and lava flowed through the cracks.

This forest really could not help but inspire awe. It was driving me insane.

'Let's get used to the fact that space is completely screwed up.'

I turned and headed upstream.

The sound of the powerful current, the sound of a volcano erupting far away. Wonderful.

I decided I would get used to this stuff from now on. I would just be amazed and move on.

'That bear I saw yesterday isn't going to show up, right?'

That did not mean I let my guard down.

A large animal could appear at any time, so I stayed alert.

There had to be animals that came here to drink water.

Splash!

Just like the one I was looking at now.

But... looking again, that thing had not come for water.

Something flew out of the forest and plunged straight into the river.

What on earth had flown over?

Bob-

Before long, I learned what it was.

Something surfaced in the violently flowing river.

A four-legged animal with a spotted coat and a long tail.

I did not know enough to tell whether it was a leopard or a cheetah, but it was definitely a carnivore.

'...What the hell did it get hit by to be sent flying like that?'

The animal drifted down the river without any strength left in its body. It seemed to be unconscious.

Could there be something similar in there, like the deer that had driven off the Bull Shark?

I turned my head to the side, hoping that was not the case.

One spot was especially packed with trees compared to the rest. I should not even think about going in there.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"

Some kind of monkey sound came from within. It might not have been monkeys at all.

It was not even one animal, but several making the noise.

I quietly passed by.

I had no intention of going in there. Even ordinary monkeys were much stronger than people.

"...Huh?"

After following the river for a long while, I spotted something strange on the path.

An aquatic creature with eight legs and a bulbous body rising above them. Its whole body looked slick.

"...Why is there an octopus here?"

It was an octopus. One with purple spots scattered across its body.

It looked poisonous at a glance, but there was something stranger than that.

'Don't octopuses normally live in the sea?'

Why was there an octopus here? As far as I knew, octopuses lived in the ocean.

I did not know whether freshwater octopuses existed, but as far as I knew, they didn't.

Maybe this world had freshwater octopuses.

'...No way.'

I calmed my unease and headed farther upstream.

The farther upstream I went, the stronger the scent stinging my nose became.

The scent of wind heavy with salt.

The stronger that scent became, the more anxiety filled my heart.

My steps gradually quickened, and I moved forward without paying attention to my surroundings.

At last, when I reached the end of the river and the end of the forest, what came into view was...

Whooosh-

A vast, utterly blue sea.

When I saw it...

"...Fuck. This is fucking ridiculous."

I could not help but curse.

Footnotes:

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