I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 142

I was flabbergasted by the news that only naturally physical monsters could obtain cold resistance, but it was still too early to give up.

What Starlight Lady-nim just told me was the bad news, which meant there was still good news left.

I prayed that the good news would give me hope.

[Wild Grylls: What’s the good news?]

[Starlight Lady: You won’t be at risk of developing Blocked Meridian Syndrome.]

And the ability is permanent, too.

Plus, one more thing.

You won’t ever freeze to death.

[Wild Grylls: Didn’t you say I wouldn’t get cold resistance?]

[Starlight Lady: That’s a completely separate matter.]

When you are on the brink of freezing to death beyond mere hypothermia, your body will react.

It will probably plunge itself into hibernation on its own, and resurrect when the weather warms up again.

Wonmo is hibernating right now; is it the same principle as that?

[Starlight Lady: It’s slightly different from that.]

Grylls-nim’s case is, how should I put it... strictly focused on survival.

Normally, you should die of hypothermia, but instead you endure without dying.

[Wild Grylls: I should... consider that a good thing, right?]

[Starlight Lady: Isn’t it better than having nothing?]

However, if you collapse in a place like a snowy mountain where the weather or seasons never change, you’ll sleep forever while still alive, so please be careful.

That case would be pretty hopeless. You wouldn’t be truly alive or truly dead.

Still, just as Starlight Lady-nim said, it was undeniably an excellent ability for survival.

For someone like me who constantly had to prepare for the worst-case scenario, I couldn’t ask for more.

Although it was a shame I didn’t get cold resistance, I was still deeply grateful.

[Wild Grylls: What would have happened if I had eaten the Mandrake that turned blue?]

[Starlight Lady: There is a high probability you would have become an Ice Human.]

Just like that Mandrake, your body would have turned beyond pale into blue, and your hair would have turned white, too. You wouldn’t look much different from an undead.

[Wild Grylls: Shudder Good thing I put in the Elixir.]

[Starlight Lady: :]

I was just telling you the way to stay safe, after all.

[Wild Grylls: Thank you so much for letting me know.]

[Starlight Lady: Not at all.]

Thanks to you, I’ve expanded my knowledge as well.

If there’s anything else you’re curious about, feel free to ask anytime.

[Wild Grylls: What is the effect of a normal Mandrake essence?]

[Starlight Lady: Since it holds Yang energy, it has the effect of warming up the body.]

In particular, since it boosts the body’s regenerative power, it’s an unmatched ingredient for Elixirs.

[Wild Grylls: Then can I brew liquor with the blue Mandrake?]

[Starlight Lady: It’s not impossible, but...]

Before that, there’s a high chance the liquor itself would freeze solid.

And it’s dangerous, too.

I see.

While we were at it, Starlight Lady-nim gifted me Elixirs. Two of them, no less.

I thanked her and started wrapping things up.

’Now that I’ve roughly organized things...’

Time to do the remaining work. Since building a Stone Ice Storage had become meaningless, I started by designing the Shelter.

Designing it sturdily so it could easily withstand any natural disaster.

Of course, it was no easy task. A disaster even worse than an avalanche might sweep through.

’Should I coat the drainage channels with cement too?’

Now that I realized I had cement, various places to use it popped into my mind.

But I had never done manual construction work before.

At most, I had used cement a few times during my military service.

Even the actual application was mostly done by the officers; I just assisted on the side.

’Come to think of it, I did all kinds of random stuff in the military.’

Chuckling to myself, I browsed through the Auction House to search for cement.

Since cement is frequently used in various fields, especially construction, quite a large amount of it was listed.

Because I had assumed there wouldn’t be any cement at all, it felt a bit anticlimactic.

If I had known this just a little earlier, or even bothered to search, the oven and furnace wouldn’t have been swept away.

’I also need to set up barricades... There’s so much to do.’

That avalanche really swept away so much. The situation brought out nothing but sighs.

If nothing else, barricades were definitely necessary; having them versus not having them made a massive difference.

Even during the Saber-toothed Tiger attack, I was able to buy time thanks to the barricades.

’I should ask the dwarf for this. Though I won’t be able to give him liquor.’

Since Starlight Lady-nim said it could be dangerous, I intended to push that plan back.

After designing the Shelter to make it sturdier, I immediately equipped my gear.

It was to fetch sand, which I planned to mix with cement. I recalled there was sand down river.

"Bbareumbo. Keep a close eye on Wonmo."

"..."

I left Bbareumbo at the Shelter to guard Wonmo, who was hibernating.

As if Bbareumbo didn’t want to move either, he just zoned out staring at the fireplace.

It seemed humans and beasts alike shared the sentiment of not wanting to go outside on cold days.

For me, this was an ideal opportunity.

Seeing that Wonmo fell asleep, other animals must have reduced their activities or entered hibernation as well.

The hazard level must have dropped, including those snakes that used to pop out at every opportunity and drive me nuts.

’Things to bring: a shovel and sacks. Since the ground might be frozen, let’s bring Ignition Stones and firewood too.’

How wonderful it was to fit all of this into a Subspace Bag!

Even heavy loads weren’t an issue, because saving spatial bulk made the perceived weight significantly lighter.

I double-checked several times to see if I missed anything, then headed to the river.

’Feels like it’s been a while since I went down river.’Visit novеlping.com for the full chapter.

I thought to myself while following the frozen-solid river all the way down.

Since things turned out like this, going all the way to the lake to get something to eat wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Not that I hated smoked food. It was because of Bbareumbo’s food supply.

’Munching strictly on Inner Cores is getting risky.’

Because he ate Inner Cores every meal, the stockpile was gradually dwindling.

The biggest issue was that winter arrived out of nowhere, leaving no time to store proper food for Bbareumbo.

Thank goodness we had stored a large amount until now, otherwise we would have run out already.

’Plus, who knows when Heavenly Demon will give me Fasting Pills.’

Not to mention those gorillas stole every single Fasting Pill last time.

I would have to endure somehow until Heavenly Demon supplied more Fasting Pills.

’The sand... Wow. It’s frozen solid.’

Arriving downstream, I found that the sand was indeed frozen solid.

Since it was a spot in direct contact with water, it couldn’t be helped.

Left with no choice, I took out the firewood I prepared in advance from the Subspace Bag.

I just needed to light a fire until the sand thawed.

Tadak! Tadadak!

With a cozy campfire warming me up while thawing the sand, my mind relaxed.

As I stared blankly into the fire for a moment, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

’Wait a second. Couldn’t I have just mined it with a pickaxe and thawed it later?’

Thinking about it, that was actually the better way.

Since I was going to mix it with cement anyway, there was no need to thaw it beforehand.

I could have just mixed it with heated water instead.

They say human intelligence often manifests in hindsight, and I was the textbook definition of that.

’Sigh. Let’s just consider it a learning experience.’

Grumbling inwardly, I inspected the condition of the sand. Still rock hard.

Seems I could just pop over to the lake for a bit while waiting for the sand to melt.

Still, just in case, I kept alert to my surroundings since there was no telling what might pop out.

’Nothing in sight, really.’

No giant crabs were visible, and the regular crabs were completely frozen solid.

If asked whether they were edible, my only answer would be "naturally flash-frozen."

I scooped a few crabs into a sack and looked around.

The entire lake was frozen over, taking on the appearance of a paved road.

’I could probably scout further if needed, but...’

No need to push my luck. I gathered the crabs and headed back downstream.

And as soon as I returned downstream, I stumbled upon a rare sight.

"Pheureuk."

"..."

A deer. A deer was resting near the campfire I lit.

Was this the same deer that knocked out a Bull Shark with a single hind-leg kick last time?

I stared quietly at the deer, then moved slowly.

If I messed up, that kick could target me, so I had to be careful.

’Seriously, what a bully.’

I never imagined it would hijack my campfire the moment I turned my back.

Outwardly exuding the aura of a total thug, it looked like messing with it would get me severely wrecked.

But I needed sand. So, intending to show I meant no harm, I moved slowly.

Even as I drew closer, the creature merely sat by the campfire without making any move.

Paak! Pak!

It stayed still even while I dug up sand with my shovel.

I couldn’t tell whether it refused to move due to the warmth of the fire, or because it recognized I wasn’t a threat.

’Is this the leeway of the mighty?’

This forest was one where herbivores were unnaturally strong.

Sloths, gorillas, and deer.

If carnivores were predators, these guys were straight-up bullies.

’I’ve filled most of the sand sacks, but...’

Just how long is this guy planning to squat here?

It was even staring intently at me, making it incredibly uncomfortable.

Still, it didn’t attack, so I guess it was fine. I already accomplished my goal.

Dalgeurak! Tadak!

Before leaving, I added a few more pieces of firewood.

It was my way of showing goodwill: "I have zero intention of fighting you."

Did the fire flare up stronger, making the creature realize my intentions?

The creature, which had been staring at me till the end, finally turned its head away.

’This should be enough, right?’

I threw all the remaining firewood onto the campfire and returned to the Shelter.

The deer showed no intention of leaving the campfire’s side until the very end.

Though a minor incident occurred, I was able to return after achieving my desired results.

’I’ll leave the sand in sacks and put the crabs into the icebox.’

"Icebox" was what I called the insulated box filled with ice. I just decided to refer to it like that for convenience.

The moment I stepped inside the Shelter, I noticed something off.

Speed Sloth was still zoning out by the fire, and Wonmo was hibernating.

Then who was this creature snuggled up next to Speed Sloth?

’What the? I definitely put up iron fences and tents though?’

There were no signs of the tent or fences being removed. Meaning it got in through another way.

But seeing as Speed Sloth wasn’t on guard, it didn’t seem to be a hostile entity.

Still, one could never let down their guard. I slowly approached to check its identity.Get faster updates on nоvelping.com.

"Keeeng..."

"..."

Getting closer, I recognized its identity. A familiar guy.

It was the raccoon that approached me when I lit a campfire in the yard before.

The raccoon that put its hand into the fire, then stuck its burning hand into its mouth.

’Why is this guy here?’

Wondering what was going on, I stared blankly at the raccoon.

Next, I noticed injuries on the raccoon’s legs and back.

To say it ran here while escaping a predator, there were no traces of it entering through the front entrance.

"Hey. Where did you come from?"

"Keeng...?"

Completely unable to figure it out, I quietly approached and asked.

As I approached, the raccoon wore a puzzled expression for a brief moment, then slowly stood up from its spot.

I wondered if it was trying to fight, but it demonstrated behavior completely outside my expectations.

"Keeng... Keung..."

It actually gathered its two paws neatly together with an expression of profound apology. Anyone could see it was "apologizing."

Combined with its thoroughly cute appearance and hand gestures, sympathy naturally welled up inside me.

A far more polite and gentle demeanor than those gorilla punks somewhere out there.

"Keung... Keeng..."

Following that, the raccoon pointed toward the fireplace. Its deeply aggrieved expression remained intact.

Well, thanks to that, I could roughly grasp the situation.

It seemed it had entered through the chimney and fallen straight down.

It was miraculous that its body was only scraped up without any burns.

’That must have been pretty rough.’

Now that it even apologized, I couldn’t possibly kill it.

If it had acted brazenly like a stray dog, I would have treated it harshly.

Furthermore, Speed Sloth also understood the raccoon’s predicament and stayed put.

Thus, as if to tell the raccoon not to worry, I patted its head.

Relieved by my display of goodwill, the raccoon wore a relaxed expression.

"Hold on a sec."

"Keeng?"

Since it was hurt, I had to apply some Elixir. I used the animal-grade Elixir to treat the raccoon’s wounds.

As its wounds healed in an instant, the raccoon touched its body here and there in utter shock. It was cute in a different sense from Wonmo.

"How is it? Are you okay?"

"Keeng! Keung-keung!"

Bringing its paws together, the raccoon repeatedly expressed its gratitude.

How is it that every animal in the Forest of the Four Seasons seems so damn smart? Truly fascinating.

As I watched that scene with a warm smile, the raccoon looked around and headed toward the fireplace.

Just as I began to wonder what it was doing, the raccoon’s bizarre stunt began.

Seueuk-

It thrust its paws directly into the blazing fireplace.

Not just one hand like last time, but both paws held neatly together.

Watching that, I wondered what on earth it was doing.

"Keeng!"

"...What is this?"

Presently, the raccoon extended its two neatly gathered paws toward me.

The raccoon’s paws were blazing with fire, yet they didn’t seem hot at all.

Just as I was at a loss on how to react to this...

Noticing my bewildered state, the raccoon dropped the fire gathered in its paws downward.

Hwacheok!

The fire, falling down like water, extinguished itself before long.

I focused on the part where the fire fell like "water."

If fire could fall like water, couldn’t it be stored in a bottle?

With that thought, I prepared an empty bottle this time.

As before, the raccoon gathered the fire in its paws and poured it into the empty bottle I held out.

Hwareureuk! Hwareuk!

The fire dropped into the empty bottle did not go out; it maintained its shape.

Even after I sealed the bottle with a cork to cut off oxygen, it kept burning.

Observing closely, I could confirm it was burning around a spherical core.

’What is this?’

A fire burning without fuel or oxygen, shattering conventional scientific logic. What could this possibly mean?

Struggling to figure it out, I looked at the raccoon.

Understanding the meaning behind my gaze, the raccoon stuck its paws into the fireplace once again.

"Gulp."

Next, it popped its burning paws into its mouth...

"Huuuuuu!"

Hwaaaaaak!!!

And just like that, it spewed a massive stream of flames from its mouth.

Flames bright enough to illuminate the inside of the cave in an instant.

I had no choice but to gawk with my mouth wide open.

’No, seriously. Why is there a ninja living in this forest?’

While I was frozen in shock...

Smack!

"Ke-geng!"

The raccoon caught a sharp smack to the back from Speed Sloth.

It was a stern demeanor, as if telling it not to play with fire.