I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 123

A sidegrade completely unanticipated not only by me, but even by Heavenly Demon and Sword Matstar.

It wasn’t bad, but it evolved in such a weird direction that it was frustratingly ambiguous.

’If I can condense this, will it get better at least?’

In the end, I had no choice but to adjust the direction of my training.

Compressing the aura before advancing to the stage of the Aura Blade.

Grasping the feel by cramming and compressing it down, then granting it cutting power.

When I asked the Gallery about this, everyone returned answers saying that process would be tough too.

As repeatedly mentioned, from Aura Blade onward was the domain of talent, so it couldn’t be helped.

’It won’t explode, right?’

Even if I condensed it, the anxiety remained. It was a case even Sword Matstar had never seen.

What kind of aura would the future me manifest?

Would I wield an aura soaring up to the heavens, or normally (?) wield an Aura Blade?

’...Becoming retardately strong isn’t bad either.’

Since I still got stronger, after all. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Furthermore, I planned to continue consuming Inner Cores.

Just because Smart Demon gave me a preservation container didn’t mean the Inner Cores wouldn’t slowly degrade or lose power.

Ultimately, there was nothing to do but train consistently. I had to get stronger no matter what.

"Ggyuuuu..."

"Wonmo. Are you awake?"

As time passed, Wonmo staggered out of the cave. His sleepy eyes were cute.

Riding atop Wonmo’s back was Speed Sloth, wearing his usual unchanging expression.

Afterward, we enjoyed breakfast. Three fish were caught in the fish trap.

After finishing the meal, I planned to train, but handled chores first.

Namely, sending a message to Passing Dwarf.

I asked why the Mythricon—the alloy of Mithril and Orichalcum—shone so brightly.

Aside from being pretty when mana was funneled into it, prior to that, it was a dull silver substance.

I could pass it off saying good things are good, but since it was a brand-new material found nowhere else, I needed to handle it carefully.

So did you figure out why that stuff shines?

[Passing Dwarf: How am I supposed to know in one day?]

It’s not like research gets finished overnight;;

[Wild Grylls: It’s not dangerous, right?]

[Passing Dwarf: Couldn’t find anything particularly dangerous.]

The problem is that it’s too good.

Nothing dangerous, but it was so good that it posed a problem. That was Dwarf’s conclusion.

I pondered for a moment before asking for another opinion. It was related to advice he had given me earlier.

[Wild Grylls: You told me to be cautious when handing out Mythricon before, right?]

[Passing Dwarf: Yeah. Because the moment it’s known to the world, that alloy will flip everything upside down.]

Then what if we make it commonplace?

Just hand it out left and right.

[Passing Dwarf: Wow. You bastard actually know how to start a war?]

You said you were a soldier, but damn, you’re one terrifying motherfucker.

Just a joke.

Seriously.

It was just a joke, but Dwarf seemed to take it seriously.

It just showed how immense a value and power this alloy commanded.

I barely cleared up Dwarf’s misunderstanding and brought up what I wanted to say.

I want to give the alloy to someone besides you.

[Wild Grylls: You know Allfather?]

[Passing Dwarf: Ah. I know that mage.]

According to some fixed handle, the Immortal King is trapped in his fridge.

I roughly know who he is.

[Wild Grylls: I plan to give him the alloy and ask him to research it. Is that cool?]

[Passing Dwarf: Yeah, not bad. Hand it over quick.]

So I can go drink some booze.

[Wild Grylls: You were fucking lazy to research it yourself, weren’t you?]

[Passing Dwarf: I love booze more than minerals lol]

Sigh;;

Living like that, he’d eventually die of liver cancer. At any rate, I received Dwarf’s opinion loud and clear.

I felt like giving the alloy as a gift to other fixed handles besides Allfather as well.

’If I give it to Princess Chaenggu to use as a glowstick... would that be weird?’

Even I thought it was a ridiculous idea. But who could resist a glowstick?

First, it would be best to gift one piece of alloy to Allfather. For research purposes.

[Allfather: Ohhh. An alloy of Mithril and Orichalcum?]New chapters come out on novеlping.com first.

This time, rather than discovering it, you’ve crafted it yourself...!

Yes.

I gave some to another fixed handle too, but he seems busy drinking.

[Wild Grylls: Could you perhaps look into any potential dangers or side effects?]

[Allfather: Of course.]

Is there anything specific you desire in return?

Not particularly.

[Wild Grylls: I gave it to you purely for research purposes, Allfather-nim.]

[Allfather: Thank you.]

My goodness, my lower body gets stiff quite frequently these days.

[Wild Grylls: Should I give you a Mature Mandrake?;;]

[Allfather: It is fine.]

I am still hale and hearty.

Ah.

And if possible, you don’t have to post verification threads.

[Wild Grylls: It’s so unique that if you post it, there’s a high chance you’ll be identified in real life.]

[Allfather: I shall keep that in mind.]

I presented the alloy to Allfather as well. Naturally, in ingot form.

As for the glowstick for Princess Chaenggu... I left it alone. No matter how I thought about it, it sounded too stupid, so I held off.

If possible, let’s only make tools for my own use. This is enough.

’Time to eat an Inner Core.’

Afterward, through training, I consumed another Inner Core.

As I mentioned before, eating the Inner Cores as quickly as possible was beneficial.

I was worried I might pass out into sleep like yesterday, but it was an unfounded concern.

Consuming the Inner Core and reciting the incantation formula was the end of it. Nothing much happened.

’Aside from vitality coursing through my body, it seems the same?’

Could it be that my body had already adapted to the Inner Core? I hoped so.

Thus morning training passed, and lunchtime quickly approached.

As I headed up to the river to catch fish, I suddenly remembered the dream I had yesterday.

’Come to think of it, there was a gigantic tree yesterday, right?’

Like Necromancy is Love said, it wasn’t a dream, but an astral projection phenomenon.

If that phenomenon was real, there was a high probability that the giant tree I saw actually existed.

However, the distance was extremely far, so going there right away would be difficult.

It was a distance that required walking continuously for at least 6 hours or more to reach.

Given the nature of the Forest of the Four Seasons, my sense of direction would get messed up, so it could take even longer than that.

’Considering I was floating up in the sky... I might need to budget over a full day.’

I thought about it while gathering fish trapped in the net.

If so, it was far too dangerous. The reality was that even the Shelter wasn’t completely safe right now.

Besides, one wrong move and I could run into monsters like the boss gorilla.

It was better to embark on an exploration only after mastering the Aura Blade at the very least.

I didn’t know how long that period would take, but safety comes first.

Since I decided to stay here for a long time anyway, there was no need to rush.

’I just have to suppress my curiosity.’

Curiosity killed the cat, and in this forest, curiosity was equivalent to putting one’s life on the line.

Even the safety of this Shelter wasn’t fully guaranteed.

Although the possibility of the gorilla pack invading again was low, one never knew when they might suddenly change their minds.

"..."

Was it because the tree came to mind? The moment I returned to the Shelter, I glanced at the corner.

The sapling gifted by Let’s Grow Trees. That sapling was growing well.

’The problem is that it’s growing too well.’

Originally it barely reached my knees, but before I knew it, it reached chest height.

To think it had that kind of growth rate in less than a week. How much bigger would it get after a month?

Curious whether this was normal, I posted on the Gallery. I didn’t send a private message.

Unlike other fixed handles, I wasn’t very close to him. There was a bit of awkwardness.

Title: Let’s Grow Trees-nim. Please look at this.

Author: Wild Grylls

(Picture of the sapling growing rapidly)

It’s only been a few days and it’s already grown this much. Is this normal?

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: It groweth well indeed. This one would also like to raise one.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping(.)com.

ㄴ Don’t accept saplings gifted by point-ears. Those are seriously bad news.

ㄴ Wild Grylls: Why are they bad news?

ㄴ Alfheim is basically a realm overflowing with mana. Furthermore, plants growing near the World Tree are especially extreme.

ㄴ Because of those characteristics, they suck up way too much soil fertility. It’s so bad that planting a tree can trigger desertification.

ㄴ Grow Tall and Strong: An elf came to our village and planted a tree, ruining that entire year’s harvest. That was the first time I ever saw my father cry.

ㄴ Let’s Grow Trees: Hm! It’s growing far beyond my expectations! Normally it takes half a year!

ㄴ Wild Grylls: I see. But is what they said above true?

ㄴ Let’s Grow Trees: You could say it’s true. It’s an aspect even we didn’t quite anticipate! That’s why we focus on planting them in mana-rich areas!

ㄴ Hey you damn knife-ear bastard. Just stop planting them, holy shit

ㄴ Nature’s getting destroyed because of you point-ears;;

ㄴ Can’t anyone do something about these guys? What’s the government doing?

ㄴ They’re issuing official statements, but the Elf Queen is ignoring every single one. That’s why people are talking about war breaking out.

ㄴ Let’s Grow Trees: As I’ve repeatedly said, Alfheim does not desire war! We simply wish to plant trees across the world!

ㄴ That’s literally asking for war, you crazy bastard;;

ㄴ If I punch you in the face and leave a bruise, can I claim I just applied makeup for you?

ㄴ Let’s Grow Trees: That’s violence!

ㄴ That’s literally what you guys are doing;;

ㄴ These guys just lose their damn minds after the Queen ascended the throne.

ㄴ Didn’t she say Alfheim is the premier nation of the world, and the elves at its heart are the center of the world?

ㄴ Yeah, when the Queen gave that speech, all the elves got drunk on collective fanatical hype hahaha

ㄴ Honestly, she gave a damn killer speech though lolol

I couldn’t tell if he was trolling or being serious.

From the sound of it, the sapling was an invasive ecosystem-disrupting species... but since it was growing robustly, it didn’t quite sink in.

’Is it because the soil has a lot of mana?’

I touched the dirt with my hand. On the surface, it was ordinary soil.

However, it must harbor the dense mana unique to the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Naturally, a question arose. What would happen if I planted crops in this soil?

’The sapling grows in an instant, so would ordinary crops grow even faster?’

Most trees have slow growth rates. It was customary to measure them in years.

However, seeing the sapling grow like this proved the growth speed was abnormal.

’I had no intention of farming...’

Seeing the speed at which the sapling grew, considering farming once didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Instead of recklessly scattering seeds, I’d have to choose a location first.

The space was getting cramped as it was; trying to secure land for farming made things complicated.

’So this is why people in ancient times felled trees to farm!’

Realizing the intentions of ancient people anew, I nodded my head.

Either find land for farming, or transport the soil outside.

It seemed selecting one of those two options would do. As luck would have it, a fixed handle presumed to be a farmer had just left a comment.

With that thought, I planned to post a question thread to naturally establish contact, but...

[Breaking News. Holy Kingdom of El Dorado. Paladin Order urgently dispatched to the Forest of the Four Seasons lolol] [34]

A thread caught my eye that couldn’t easily be passed over.

If it were simple clickbait, that would be one thing, but despite being posted just moments ago, comments were pouring in endlessly.

’Isn’t that nation currently getting thrashed by public opinion?’

I couldn’t understand it at all. Making a blundering move in this situation was terrible.

I couldn’t understand it at all and was stunned for a moment, but first, I opened the thread.

Breaking News. Holy Kingdom of El Dorado. Paladin Order urgently dispatched to the Forest of the Four Seasons lolol

The actual ’Pope’ gave the direct order himself. Claims he will deal divine retribution to those who wag treacherous tongues hahaha

So right now, the Paladin Order is forming an investigation squad and heading to the Forest of the Four Seasons hahaha

ㄴ Is this legit? No matter how I look at it, aren’t they shooting themselves in the foot?

ㄴ Wouldn’t it be because they’re aggrieved, so they’re pulling a hardline stance?

ㄴ No way. It’s a distraction tactic. Kadir issued that official statement last time. They heard that, panicked shitless, and are buying time.

ㄴ What kind of confidence do these guys have to send a Paladin Order into the Forest of the Four Seasons?

ㄴ Pope claims that since Grylls uses the Gallery inside, they’ll be able to use it too, so he dispatched them?

ㄴ Crazy bastard;; But seriously, it wouldn’t actually work, right?

ㄴ If the Gallery works there, does that mean all Grylls’s struggles so far were for nothing? lol

Who said it? That the young suffer for the old.

I thought it was a story restricted to the world I used to live in, but nope. Everyone everywhere is identical.

’...Will Gallery access really be possible?’

However, for me, it felt close to a glimmer of ’hope’.

The fact that the bastard of a Pope committed wrong deeds remained unchanged, but at any rate, he had dispatched people.

’I just hope they come toward where I am.’

Humans truly are cunning creatures.