WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 92: Traces (1)
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I needed to revise what I’d said about eel.
Natural muscle-enhancing drug. That was the perfect description.
Of course, the side effects were severe. No, extremely severe. Still, they were bearable.
More importantly, unlike real drugs, its effects weren’t temporary. There was a good chance they were permanent.
‘Forget virility. It raises your stamina itself.’
The virility claim was only a folk belief, but eel was actually good for everyone, regardless of age or sex.
It would be strange if something good for men was bad for women.
It was easier to think of it as an energy supplement.
The eel from the Forest of Four Seasons improved not only stamina, but overall physical ability.
‘Without the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, I would’ve been in serious trouble.’
Still, anything you couldn’t digest would give you indigestion.
If Heavenly Demon hadn’t taught me the Inner Energy Cultivation Method, if she hadn’t taught me the mnemonic verses, that part of me would’ve exploded.
‘There’s no downside to training the Inner Energy Cultivation Method.’
It relieved fatigue. It increased mana. Whenever something was wrong with my body, it fixed it.
It was perfect without a single flaw. I needed to work even harder from now on.
“Hup.”
I rearranged the barricades one by one.
Since I’d gotten stronger, I saved far more time than before.
‘I can set up the barricade the dwarf gave me here.’
After rearranging them, I went into the cave and got started on something else.
First, I updated my map and marked the sea’s location.
There wasn’t just the sea. There were quite a few rivers flowing backward too.
I had no idea where those rivers led, so I left plenty of blank space around them.
‘Even that river split into two branches at the end.’
The problem was that the river flowed toward another pretty terrifying place.
I could hear cries of “Oooh! Oooh!” as if a troop of monkeys lived there.
I didn’t want to go if I could help it, but there was a high chance I’d have to.
‘What kind of evolution did monkeys go through?’
Basically, animal evolution starts with getting bigger.
The majority of animals I’d met so far were huge.
How had monkeys, known for being highly intelligent animals, changed?
I’d imagined it once before, but I hoped they hadn’t turned out as weird as that shark humanoid.
‘First, I should head upstream and come back.’
With the barricades rearranged, I checked how many fish I’d caught.
A total of three fish had been caught overnight. A plentiful haul.
I occasionally got unexpected food, like turtle eggs, so it seemed like my supplies were gradually building up.
‘I’ll have a turtle egg for breakfast.’
If I left it around for no reason, it might turn to crap. Things like this were better dealt with quickly.
The egg was as big as an ostrich egg, so it should fill me up.
‘Guess I have no choice but to eat it soft-cooked?’
Even with a spatula, I couldn’t flip it. Like I said earlier, it was too big.
After thinking it over, I decided to just eat it soft-cooked. That was good too.
I poured a little oil into a large cast-iron pan, and when it seemed sufficiently heated over the campfire, I cracked the egg.
Tap! Tap tap! Thud!
“Huh?”
Unexpectedly, it wouldn’t crack easily. It was pretty hard.
Since it was so huge, its shell seemed thicker too.
Afraid all the oil in the pan would splatter, I hurriedly brought over a hammer.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“What the hell?”
It still wouldn’t break properly, even with a hammer. The shell was as hard as iron.
I put more force into the strike and brought the hammer down again, but it was the same. There was no sign of it breaking at all.
It seemed to have evolved so that even if animals stole it while it was unattended, they wouldn’t be able to crack it.
‘Wouldn’t it be hard for the baby to get out too?’
Only the strong survived, huh. It was a brutal race from the moment they were born.
In the end, I had to use aura before I could crack the egg.
Sizzle-
Still, my efforts hadn’t gone to waste. The egg began to cook beautifully.
There was enough to fill the entire large pan. I sprinkled salt over it.
That should make the flavor richer. Salt was a god.
‘Should I have brought another one?’
Of course, if I had, I would’ve been too weighed down to move properly.
I snickered, then took the pan off the campfire once the soft-cooked egg was done.
It was too difficult to transfer it to a bowl like fish. I had no choice but to cut it up and eat it like steak.
I prepared a knife and fork, then cut into the edge first.
Even for a soft-cooked egg, the trick was to fry the edges slightly.
Crunch-
The fried edge and the clean taste unique to egg whites.
Finally, the saltiness from the sprinkled salt brought everything together.
Objectively, fish tasted better, but eggs were special.
Especially since I’d gotten this one in the wild instead of through the Auction House.
Pop!
I broke the yolk sitting neatly in the middle.
Using it as a sauce, I ate it with the egg white.
The yolk wasn’t fishy either. It had a mysterious flavor that made me want more.
“Wow. Delicious.”
I polished off the whole egg, then wiped my mouth with a tissue.
It wasn’t quite steak, but it tasted like bacon.
What an incredible flavor. Like eel, most foods in the Forest of Four Seasons tasted amazing.
‘Though having salt is the biggest reason.’
Salt was a cheat item among cheat items.
Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy food like this.
Whenever something like this happened, I felt the Gallery’s existence more deeply.
Without the Gallery, even finding salt would’ve taken an enormous amount of effort.
‘Or I might’ve died a long time ago.’
After cleaning everything up, I checked the time.
Perhaps because I’d rearranged the barricades first, it was now 9 a.m.
I usually considered 8 a.m. the start of the day.
‘There’s plenty of time, and I have something to receive, so I’ll spend the morning training.’
There was one item I hadn’t been able to receive yesterday.
The container Smart Demon said they would give me, one that made storing Inner Cores easier.
I wondered whether such a thing even existed, but they said they’d give it to me, so I intended to take it.
‘If it’s a scam, I just won’t trade with them again.’
Inner Cores were everywhere. Every time I cut open a fish’s stomach, there was an Inner Core inside.
I’d collected almost ten so far. Giving away one wouldn’t be a problem.
[Post title] Please Trade, Smart Demon
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] If you see this, please trade with me. I was busy yesterday and couldn’t.
A message arrived about five minutes after I posted it.
Since I’d been waiting for Smart Demon too, I accepted without hesitation.
[Smart Demon]: Hello, Grylls.
[Smart Demon]: First, allow me to express my gratitude for agreeing to trade with me.
[You]: Your speech is completely different from your comments, though?
[Smart Demon]: It is my personal rule that one must always show respect to one’s patron.
[You]: I don’t plan on bankrolling you.
[Smart Demon]: Considering the value of an Inner Core, you are more than qualified to be one.
What a strange shtick. Or maybe they really were trying to be polite.
All kinds of people were on the Gallery, so this was nothing. Just look at Heavenly Demon.
Honestly, this level of politeness might be more comfortable. At least they’d earned some points.
[You]: What exactly is this container for storing Inner Cores?
[Smart Demon]: It is a bottle that emits cold energy when energy is put into it.
[Smart Demon]: You may think of it as a miniature refrigerator.
[You]: If it runs on mana, wouldn’t it be better to just buy a refrigerator...?
[Smart Demon]: It requires significantly less energy.
[Smart Demon]: It is also difficult to make, so it is usually only used to store important items.
[You]: Are you sure you can give me something like that?
[Smart Demon]: This item can be obtained with money, but an Inner Core is difficult to obtain even with money.
I roughly understood. It was because of its rarity.
KingLeor had once given me a Crystal Ball imbued with Light Magic.
So it wasn’t strange for a container that emitted cold energy to exist.
This was a fantasy world, so I should just accept it. Thinking too deeply would only give me a headache.
[You]: All right.
[You]: But it won’t break or anything, right?
[Smart Demon]: The possibility is extremely low, but if it does break, please tell me immediately.
[Smart Demon]: I will repair it for you.
[You]: Thank you.
[You]: I’ll give you the Inner Core I got today, so I hope this turns out to be a good trade.
[Smart Demon]: The honor is mine.
It didn’t need to be called an honor. I finished trading with the meticulously polite Smart Demon.
Soon after, I received the bottle they had described.
‘What kind of writing is this?’
There were unfamiliar characters drawn on the bottle.
It was much smaller than an Elixir bottle, only about as long as my pinky finger.
It was thick enough to hold Inner Cores, but I couldn’t feel any cold energy coming from the bottle.
‘Did I get scammed?’
Feeling a little uneasy, I tested its performance first.
When I pulled out the stopper sealing the glass bottle, cold energy slowly seeped out.
It could’ve just been filled with cold air, so I waited for thirty seconds.
Even after thirty seconds had passed, the container was still releasing cold energy.
‘Interesting.’
This world didn’t have mini refrigerators, but it had something like this.
Even if that was because of how much mana it consumed, I didn’t really understand it.
If it worked, it worked. I put every Inner Core I’d collected into the bottle.
As soon as I did, the bottle’s surface turned white, as if frost had formed on it.
‘Did the cold energy intensify because the mana inside the Inner Cores leaked out?’
Let’s just say that was it. As long as they were stored properly, that was enough.
Now that the storage period for my Inner Cores had increased, I got up and began training.
As always, my training consisted of sword and shield practice. I planned to do it once a day from now on.
‘More specifically, while Wonmo is asleep.’
Wonmo was currently sprawled out on his back, belly exposed, sleeping soundly.
I didn’t know whether it was because I was beside him or because he still didn’t know how scary the wild was.
‘Still, he’s cute.’
Wonmo was a baby. Babies needed protecting.
Besides, hadn’t I killed Wonmo’s mother?
Wonmo’s mother had tried to kill me first, but still... Since I’d decided to raise him, I needed to take responsibility.
‘Training is one thing, but how do I improve my reaction speed?’
While training, I glanced off to the side. Toward Fast Sloth.
I wasn’t hoping for Fast Sloth’s agility, dynamic vision, or reaction speed.
Still, I wanted to improve my reaction speed enough to respond to things to some extent.
‘Snakes are the biggest problem.’
Snakes were quick. And stealthy.
They were slower than Fast Sloth, but I still needed to prepare for them.
Besides, there was no downside to having faster reaction speed. It meant I could get a chance to counterattack.
With that in mind, I asked the Gallery. What could I do to improve my reaction speed?
[Post title] Any Exercises for Improving Reaction Speed?
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] I want to improve my reaction speed. Are there any good exercises?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Do you not have Fast Sloth?
└ [Wild Grylls]: What about it?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: I thought sparring with it would naturally improve it.
└ [Wild Grylls]: If I mess up, I’ll die;;
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Exercises for improving reaction speed are simple. You just need to focus on exercises that stimulate the nerves.
└ [Wild Grylls]: I don’t know what that means.
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Throw a bouncy ball hard against a wall. Catch it, and your reaction speed will naturally improve.
└ [Wild Grylls]: What if the ball hits me?
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Then it hits you.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Excuse me?;;
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: But I’m seriously not lying, that’s one of the best methods.
└ [Starlight Princess]: I can’t think of anything else. I think that would be the best method for you, Grylls.
└ [PrincessChaenggu]: I can give you a ball~
└ [Passing Dwarf]: You have Elixir anyway, so isn’t it fine even if it hits your face?
└ [Wild Grylls]: You try getting hit.
└ [Passing Dwarf]: Ever been hit by falling rocks?
└ [Wild Grylls]: sry
In the end, I decided to throw a ball against the wall as SwordTasteMaster suggested.
I got the ball from PrincessChaenggu too. It was slightly smaller than a baseball.
‘Wait. Should I have Fast Sloth throw it instead?’
It might bounce around and hit Wonmo while he was sleeping peacefully.
With that thought, I placed the ball in Fast Sloth’s hand.
“Here, Fast Sloth. I have something for you to do.”
“......”
“You just need to throw this at me without warning. Make it a little fast, though. Got it?”
Why should I do that? Fast Sloth seemed to ask with its expression.
In response, I gave it a perfectly reasonable explanation.
“The tree that grows food will become a little sturdier. Wouldn’t that be good for you too?”
“......”
It nodded at that. I had no idea how I could communicate with this thing.
Putting that question aside, I went outside the cave and began training.
Fast Sloth was so slow that I had to carry it out myself.
“Okay. Throw it.”
“......”
At my words, Fast Sloth slowly pulled its arm back.
Slowly, unbelievably slowly. Slow enough to frustrate anyone watching.
I endured to the end. I had no idea when the ball would come flying.
“You little shi...”
But even the motion of extending its arm was so slow that I couldn’t help but curse.
The moment I moved my foot in irritation.
Whoosh!
Fast Sloth thrust its arm forward at a speed that could only be called instantaneous.
Smack!
“Argh!”
The ball hit me right in the face.
A disaster caused by my carelessness and relatively slow reaction speed.
For a moment, anger flared up, but it was partly my fault, so I didn’t take it out on Fast Sloth.
“J-just once...”
“......”
“Let’s do it one more time. Just throw it a little softer.”
What couldn’t I do to survive? To escape?
There were times in life when a person had to grit their teeth and push through.
Thud!
“Urgh!”
And this was one of those times.
Footnotes:
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