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Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 87: Sea (2)

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Every time I saw the sea, all I could think was how beautiful it was.

If I'd come here on vacation, I probably would've enjoyed its beauty to the fullest.

But like the forest, the sea was full of danger.

A beach that looked pristine? That was exactly what warned me it was dangerous.

Thanks to that, giant octopus tentacles hadn't dragged me away.

No matter how beautiful something looked on the surface, I could never let my guard down.

There was no telling what might attack, when, or from where. I couldn't relax for even a second.

'This beach is pretty wide.'

It really was wide. No matter how long I walked, I couldn't seem to get out of it.

What was even more surprising was the location. From how it felt, I should've been across the river, where space changed by the second.

Yet this place was nothing but beach. Nothing changed at all.

Even when I turned back, it was the same. It felt strange.

'Is only the other side of the river messed up?'

It was strange that only the far bank distorted space, and it was strange that this place was perfectly normal.

Everything was strange, so I couldn't make sense of it. At least I didn't have to worry about getting lost.

I didn't think wandering around here would get me much. Better to head back.

"Hm?"

I was about to give up searching the beach and return when something suspicious caught my eye.

The beach was mostly flat, except for one hollow depression. Very suspicious.

I wanted to dig into it and satisfy my curiosity, but I hesitated.

'What if that's a trap too?'

I'd been burned too many times to reach in without thinking.

What if I got close and something suddenly sprang out?

I was worried, but ignoring it didn't sit right with me either.

I had far too little information. Something even more dangerous might come out of there later.

Information like this piled up and improved my chances of survival. I made up my mind.

'It's a hole, so I'll just take a quick peek.'

I carefully approached. It might be something that sensed vibrations, like the octopus.

Keeping a safe distance, I stretched my neck out as far as I could.

It was close, but I managed to see what was inside the hole.

'...An egg?'

An oval egg, and a huge one at that.

It was comparable in size to an ostrich egg, never mind a chicken egg.

There wasn't just one, either. Several eggs were nestled together.

'What kind of eggs are these?'

Something had laid eggs right in the middle of the beach. What kind of animal would lay them in such a dangerous place?

I didn't know enough about this sort of thing, so I had no choice but to ask the gallery.

[Post title] Does anyone know what laid these eggs?

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] (Photo of eggs as large as ostrich eggs)

[Post] I found a hole while walking and there were eggs inside. Does anyone know what these are?

└ [Heavenly Demon]: I've never seen eggs that large before.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Why are there so many things you haven't seen?

└ She's from the Central Plains.

└ People from the Central Plains might know people, but there are a lot of animals they don't know.

└ There are too many people there, so they don't know stuff like that lol

└ Are you a racist or something?

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Calling someone racist just because they asked one question is a bit much;;

└ [Allfather]: The only sea creature I know that lays eggs on the beach is a turtle. They seem to be turtle eggs.

└ [Wild Grylls]: Turtles?

└ [Allfather]: Yes. Sea turtles usually lay their eggs like that.

└ [Wild Grylls]: It's fine if I take one, right?

└ [Allfather]: Is there any point in asking me that?

└ That's true. Who's going to stop you lol

└ Think of it like when you killed Wonmo's mother.

└ [Wild Grylls]: That's not what I meant. What if I steal one and the mother shows up? That octopus gave me hell earlier;;

└ Why an octopus? Where did an octopus come from?

└ [Wild Grylls]: It came out of the ground. Only the tentacles came out, but it was definitely an octopus.

└ Why would octopus tentacles come out of the ground lol

└ Is there a monster like that?

└ Of course not lol That place is just weird.

└ [Allfather]: Taking a normal sea turtle egg shouldn't be a major issue. Still, be careful.

They said it was fine to take one. As soon as I read that comment, I stared closely at the eggs.

There were chicken eggs at the Auction House, but I'd never bothered buying any.

I had no reason to, and they didn't particularly appeal to me.

But something found in the wild looked delicious for some reason.

'I'll just take one.'

Wouldn't one egg be enough for a meal?

I carefully picked up a turtle egg as large as an ostrich egg.

Thankfully, no trap or mother turtle appeared.

It was heavy and cumbersome because of its size, but that was fine. I had a Subspace Bag.

'Should I take one more?'

Just as I was about to get greedy,

Splash!

A violent sound of water suddenly came from behind me. It wasn't the sound of waves.

It sounded like something leaping out of the water. The moment I heard it, I quickly turned around.

"..."

"...A turtle?"

What emerged from the sea was a turtle.

Unlike a land turtle, it was a sea turtle, with legs more like flippers.

Whether it had seen me steal an egg or not, the sea turtle slowly crawled toward me.

'Doesn't it know?'

Just in case, I slowly backed away.

But the sea turtle suddenly stopped, as though it had noticed me.

Then it stretched out its long neck and stared directly at me.

Honestly, anyone looking at the situation could probably guess I was an egg thief.

'It's okay. It's just a turtle.'

I didn't know about land turtles, but sea turtles were very slow on land.

If things went wrong, I could just run away. That was what I thought.

"Woooooo."

The sea turtle made a strange sound and pulled its legs into its shell.

Its face was still sticking out, making it look ridiculous, but...

Shoook! Shoook!

What happened next was anything but ridiculous.

Instead of flipper-like legs, blunt, thick legs like those of a land turtle emerged from inside its shell.

It was like some kind of transforming robot. Seeing a turtle do that was shocking... except it wasn't.

'That's cool.'

It was so absurd that all I could do was admire it.

Wasn't that true evolution?

The Shark Giant had looked closer to an abomination, while this turtle felt practical.

Wooooong!

A round sphere began forming in the transformed turtle's mouth.

I knew exactly what that sphere was.

I'd already gotten a preview from a Guardian.

Kwooooo!

A powerful laser shot from the turtle's mouth.

Since I was standing near its eggs, it aimed straight for my head.

I barely avoided it by twisting my body.

Boom!!

The laser's power was incredible. It was definitely stronger than the Guardian's.

A huge hole had opened in the cliff where it struck. Just looking at it left me gaping.

'It'd kill me even if it hit the ground nearby.'

What kind of turtle fired cannons from its mouth? Its killing range was wide, too.

Still, a turtle was a turtle, so its movements were slow...

Tudadadada!

I take that back. It was shockingly fast.

The turtle rushed at me in an instant and jumped high into the air. Let me repeat that: it jumped.

Then it pulled all its legs and head into its shell.

In other words, a huge shell was flying straight at me.

I hurriedly raised my shield at the turtle that had turned itself into a flying rock.

Crash!!

"Urk!"

Fast running, incredible jumping power, and finally, a hard shell.

Even though I blocked the perfectly coordinated attack with my shield, I was sent tumbling backward.

That was while I was in a defensive stance. The impact was terrifying.

"Ugh..."

Wooooong!

I was dazed by the force transmitted through the shield, but the energy I sensed in front of me made me urgently raise my head.

I didn't know when it had pulled its face out again, but the turtle was gathering energy in its mouth.

Now that I was far from the eggs, it seemed determined to finish me off.

Considering the power of the laser I'd just seen, my shield wouldn't be nearly enough.

'W-what do I... Ah!'

There was a way. I rummaged through my subspace pouch as fast as I could.

The crossbow got in the way for a moment, but I had no trouble pulling out what I needed.

"L-look at this!"

I shouted and held up the turtle egg, as large as an ostrich egg. My hands were fairly big, so I could hold it in one hand.

The turtle flinched hard when I took out the egg, apparently startled.

The energy gathered in its mouth began dissipating as well.

"..."

Soon, the turtle completely withdrew the energy. Its expression was still murderous, though.

It glared at me fiercely, as if it wanted to tear someone apart.

That gentle-looking turtle making that face somehow made me feel like the bad guy.

'No. I am the bad guy.'

I wasn't just trying to steal a turtle egg. I'd boldly taken it out to threaten its mother.

Objectively speaking, there was no denying I was the bad guy.

Still, I had to survive. Unlike that turtle, I couldn't shoot lasers from my mouth.

I would do anything to stay alive.

Step... step...

Holding up the egg for the turtle to see, I slowly backed away.

Each time I took a step back, the turtle followed a little closer.

It looked ready to follow me to the ends of hell if I didn't return the egg.

'No choice.'

I'd walk downstream, hand over the egg, then run for my life.

Why not use the opportunity to kill the turtle? That would be too inefficient.

It was at least as big as a bear.

On top of that, it had agility that didn't suit something called a turtle at all.

'It's about time to head back anyway.'

If I returned now, I could make it back around dinner.

If it got dark, I would be the one at a disadvantage.

In the worst case, I might never find the cave again.

My top priority was returning safely without getting hurt.

Swooooosh!

As I backed away, I eventually reached the entrance to the upstream-flowing river.

The turtle never took its eyes off me. Its face kept getting angrier, as an added bonus.

All I had to do now was roll the egg over to it. If it showed even the slightest sign of attacking, I would throw it.

"...Huh?"

The tense standoff continued when something surprising happened behind the turtle.

It was a long way from the river entrance to the hole, but my eyesight had improved enough that I could see clearly.

Birds coming from who knew where were descending toward the hole.

"Hey! Hey! That! That!"

"Ueong?"

When I pointed behind it in surprise, the turtle turned around too.

In that moment, the birds began swallowing the eggs like pelicans. They seemed to struggle because the eggs were so large.

"Woooooaaaah!!!"

Naturally, the turtle exploded. Not just exploded, it erupted like a volcano.

It rushed toward the hole at tremendous speed, just like it had rushed at me.

The birds were startled too and flapped their wings desperately as they flew away.

'Now!'

While the turtle ran back to the hole, I turned and ran without looking back.

I even circulated mana in preparation for the turtle firing a Mana Cannon at me.

The surrounding forests flashed past in an instant, and even the fast-flowing river seemed to move slowly.

"Hehe."

Once I reached somewhere reasonably safe, I couldn't help but laugh.

An unexpected gain, an unexpected attack, and unexpected luck.

The result was the turtle egg, not an ostrich egg, inside my Subspace Bag.

Along with the eel, it looked like I would finally get to enjoy some delicacies.

'And I'm never going near the sea again.'

I would never go back to that hell.

Footnotes:

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