WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 93: Traces (2)

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Reaction-speed training with Fast Sloth had begun.

It was closer to one-sided beatings than training, but I endured it.

Fast Sloth was holding back in its own way, and my reaction speed was gradually improving too.

At least, as long as I stayed focused, I wouldn’t get hit helplessly.

I could react quickly enough to try to catch it, so it was good enough training.

“Wonmo. Dad’s having a really hard time.”

“Kyuu?”

“So come here.”

At lunchtime, I held Wonmo after he woke from his nap and soothed my gloomy mood.

Wonmo had no idea what was going on, but he purred happily anyway.

I settled my frustration from training and prepared lunch.

Lunch was the fish I’d caught that morning. Two more fish had been caught since then, by the way.

Having plenty of food made me happy. I could feast on fish for a while.

‘I should explore this afternoon.’

I’d said I would stay here for a long time, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t explore at all.

From now on, rather than blindly going farther out, I planned to get a more detailed sense of what was nearby.

If I got lucky, I might find medicinal herbs as valuable as an Adult Mandrake.

Otherwise, I could find valuable minerals like the ones in the Orichalcum cave.

‘Sometimes, I can’t tell whether I’m lucky or unlucky...’

After finishing lunch, I got ready alongside my animal companions.

A Subspace Bag hung from my left hip. Various bottles, including Elixir, hung from my right.

Everything was ready. Before I left, though, there was something I wanted to check.

‘Should I try pulling the bowstring?’

The bow given to me by LetsGrowTrees, the registered user I suspected was an elf.

Even pulling it had been difficult before. How would it be now?

My strength had noticeably increased, so there had to be some meaningful progress.

Creeeak-

As expected, I could pull the bowstring much more easily than before.

That didn’t mean I could use it in actual combat.

Before, I’d had to use every ounce of strength I had. Now, I only had to strain a little.

I still needed much greater strength to pull it with ease.

‘The dwarf isn’t answering. Maybe they’re drinking.’

Normally, I should have received the barricade from Passing Dwarf by now.

But I had no idea whether they were busy or drinking, since they weren’t answering.

It would be better to get the barricade after I returned from exploring.

‘Today, I’ll head into the forest instead of following the river.’

Yesterday, I realized there was no point in walking along the river.

It would be better to explore all over the forest, as if expanding my map.

I could find rare medicinal herbs here and there or discover animal territories.

Like animals did, I would make this area my territory.

‘Though I’m not going to mark it.’

If I marked my territory like an animal, I might get ambushed.

I didn’t want to throw away my dignity as a human, either.

I already had a hard enough time whenever I got a stomachache. I had no desire to handle it that way too.

“Wow. What’s this?”

I had been exploring in hopes of finding mysterious medicinal herbs when I found a mushroom instead.

It looked like a blue deer antler, so anyone unfamiliar with it might not even think it was a mushroom.

‘Could it be related?’

There was a Red Antler Mushroom, the so-called ‘Gallery Owner (king)’ of poisonous mushrooms.

As the name suggested, it looked like a red deer antler.

Its poison was so strong that mishandling it could cause damage comparable to radiation exposure.

There was even a rumor that touching it caused dermatitis.

‘It’s interesting, so I should document it.’

I took out the book I had prepared and sketched the mushroom. Drawing it like a deer antler would do.

Then I looked around for anything unusual. It could be another case like the Golden Mushroom.

‘Looks like it just grows normally.’

Nothing stood out. I closed my notebook and posted it on the Gallery.

[Post title] Found a blue mushroom

[Author] Wild Grylls

[Post] (A blue mushroom shaped like a deer antler)

[Post] Does anyone know what kind of mushroom this is?

[Post] It looks poisonous enough that I didn’t even touch it, but I’m curious.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: It’s practically announcing that it shouldn’t be eaten.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Yeah. It even looks unpleasant to touch. Though it might resemble Heavenly Demon.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: Are you comparing this lady’s face to a mushroom?

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: You’re blue, lol.

└ [Heavenly Demon]: So you want me to make you blue too. I should suggest it to the moderator.

└ [SwordTasteMaster]: I’m sorry;;

└ Looks like they really don’t want to turn blue lol

└ They must really hate it lol

└ But is Heavenly Demon actually working as an assistant moderator??

└ Yeah. Maybe because she’s unemployed, a lot of trash posts have been disappearing.

└ [Starlight Princess]: There’s a similar mushroom in the Central Plains called a Red Deer Antler Mushroom, but this is my first time seeing one like that. Could it be a mutant?

└ [Wild Grylls]: You have mushrooms like that there too? There were some where I used to live as well.

└ [Starlight Princess]: Yes. It’s extremely famous for being highly poisonous. But this is also my first time seeing a blue one.

└ [Allfather]: This is my first time seeing such a mushroom as well. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I request one for research purposes?

└ [Starlight Princess]: If possible, I would like one as well.

└ [Wild Grylls]: Sure. Got it.

Just in case, I put on gloves before gathering the mushroom.

Since it wasn’t something to eat anyway, the trade went through without a problem.

‘There are so many strange mutants here that there must be plenty of things new even by outside standards.’

I continued exploring as I walked.

Wonmo took the lead, using his excellent animal sense of smell to detect anything unusual in advance.

He was still a baby, but an Owlbear was an Owlbear. His sense of smell was impressive.

Sometimes I failed to notice animal droppings, but Wonmo alerted me every time.

‘This is Owlbear poop. It’s old.’

I had seen Owlbear droppings before.

A lot of time had passed, and rain had fallen in the meantime, so they had nearly disappeared.

Still, their shape remained, making them easy enough to identify.

‘This must have originally been Owlbear territory.’

I had explored based on the river until now, so I had never realized it.

Then, with the Owlbear gone, who had claimed this territory?

There were no visible signs yet, so no one had moved in.

‘The Owlbear had its territory stolen by a Saber-Toothed Tiger too.’

No matter how strong an Owlbear was, it couldn’t defeat a Saber-Toothed Tiger.

The Saber-Toothed Tiger also regenerated quickly, making it impossible to outlast in a battle of endurance.

“Kyuu. Kyuu.”

As I looked around for other traces, Wonmo urged me to hurry up.

It was adorable how he pointed ahead with his tiny front paw.

I snickered and followed Wonmo. He was better at finding traces, so I could leave that to him.

All I had to do was watch for plants or mushrooms along the way. If a snake showed up, I would deal with it immediately.

“Kyuuuu!”

Then Wonmo discovered something and began hopping around in excitement.

Curious, I pushed my way through the thick trees.

Past the trees was a surprisingly wide clearing.

“Cave?”

There was also a cave with a huge entrance.

The entrance to the cave I lived in was fairly large too.

But this one was even bigger, and it even felt cool.

‘The wind is blowing inward.’

I armed myself in preparation for the worst.

I had no idea what might be inside.

I didn’t activate the Light Crystal Ball.

Light was already entering the cave, perhaps because there were openings in the ceiling.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

“Kyuu!”

Once I had finished preparing, I entered the cave. Wonmo seemed excited, hopping around as he rushed inside.

I wanted to tell him not to run and to slow down, but it was already too late.

If something else was in there, he would scream.

“Kyuaaaack!!!”

Just like now. Wonmo, who had disappeared behind a rock, let out a terrified scream.

Startled, I rushed over. Then I saw an animal.

I didn’t pay much attention to the countless bones scattered around it.

My mind went blank at the sight of the animal strangling Wonmo.

Its legs were unusually long, its body leaned slightly forward, and it wore a wistful expression.

Most of all, the muscles on its upper body bulged visibly even from a distance.

‘A, a kangaroo?’

A kangaroo was holding Wonmo in a headlock with its massive arm.

Calling it a headlock was generous. Judging by Wonmo’s struggling, it was practically strangulation.

I had no idea why a kangaroo was in the forest, much less in a cave, but saving Wonmo came first.

I rushed at the kangaroo and swung my sword.

It was threatening Wonmo, so I fully intended to kill it.

Whoosh!

But as an animal of the Forest of Four Seasons, the kangaroo easily dodged.

It released its arm from around Wonmo’s neck, but I couldn’t let my guard down.

Wonmo whimpered as he ran toward me.

‘Wait. Why is its body better than mine?’

I was dumbfounded by the kangaroo’s clearly muscular physique.

Muscle Mushroom had bizarrely shaped limbs, so I hadn’t thought of it as particularly imposing.

But the kangaroo’s muscles bulged beneath its skin, leaving me no choice but to tense up even more.

“...”

Grrrrk-

The kangaroo stared at me for a while, then slowly lowered its upper body.

Judging from the sound of it tensing its sturdy hind legs, it was about to charge.

I held my shield in front of me just in case.

Bang!

The kangaroo launched itself high into the air.

It jumped high enough to leap over my head.

I never took my eyes off it as it jumped.

Thump! Thud! Thump!

The kangaroo passed me and fled toward the cave entrance. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to want to fight.

Of all things, I met a kangaroo in the forest. Only the Forest of Four Seasons could make that possible.

‘A lot of creatures must have crossed over from the other side of the river.’

Fast Sloth, which lived in jungles, and the kangaroo just now.

They had probably crossed over from somewhere space had warped, then never found their way back.

I let out a long breath and checked on Wonmo.

“Kyuu... Kyuu...”

The choking must have hurt badly, because he clung to my leg.

Maybe this was the first time he had been hurt since he was born.

Even when we defeated the Orichalcum Guardian, he probably hadn’t felt this threatened.

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

“Kyuu...”

I stroked Wonmo to reassure him. Soon, he regained his energy.

Now that the kangaroo was gone, all that remained was to investigate every corner of the cave.

Judging by the countless animal bones scattered everywhere, some animal must have lived here.

‘But I don’t think that kangaroo did this.’

Kangaroos were herbivores. Even if they strangled animals with those massive arms, they were still herbivores.

Of course, the Forest of Four Seasons might have changed it into a carnivore.

But when I threatened it, the kangaroo ran out of the cave.

At least that meant it didn’t consider this place its territory.

‘Is that a nest?’

The bones weren’t the only remarkable thing. There was also a large bird’s nest.

More interestingly, Wonmo went over and lay down in it comfortably, as if it were his own home.

Every so often, he wore a sad expression and made a sad little noise, giving me a rough idea of where we were.

‘This was the Owlbear’s cave.’

The nest was much bigger than even an extra-large bed.

It was exactly the kind of place an Owlbear could lie down.

‘Come to think of it, do Owlbears have a habit of building nests?’

Not knowing, I searched the Gallery for Owlbear.

Owlbears were famous animals, so there were plenty of related posts.

That was how I learned Owlbears built nests in caves.

I only had a moment to think about how fascinating the world was before I began looking around the cave.

Trickle, trickle-

A shallow stream flowed through the cave.

There were even minnows in it, so the water seemed clean.

‘I want to move here.’

With proper defenses, it could serve as a natural fortress.

But if the ceiling had openings, rain would be a headache.

Its size could also become a drawback. Large animals would be able to enter and move around easily.

‘...Huh?’

I was looking around the nest when I flinched at one of the many scattered bones.

One bone caught my eye more than the others.

‘...Could that be a skull?’

It was a human bone.

Footnotes:

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