I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 168

Re: Allfather) By Aragon! What a video to make my lower body throb! To think the mythical Sky Whale actually exists...!

Re: Wild Grylls) What kind of myth is it? I don’t know much about myths...

Re: Allfather) During the era when the gods descended upon the mortal realm, it was a creature that purified the energy of heaven and earth. It is said to purify foul mana.

Re: Wild Grylls) That whale was sucking up bugs, are bugs its staple diet?

Re: Allfather) Ohhh! It ate insects?! I have gained new knowledge! In mythology, it was said to consume mana.

Re: What kind of place is the Forest of the Four Seasons? At this rate, won’t other mythical beasts show up too?

Re: For example?

Re: A girlfriend?

Re: Fucking hell ROFL

Re: Burst out laughing because it came out of nowhere LOL

Re: Why is a girlfriend a legendary creature? ROFL

Re: So you’re saying you have a girlfriend? Banned

Re: ROFL

Re: Look at the instant razor-sharp response ROFL

The fallout from the Sky Whale video was far beyond what I had imagined.

First off, Allfather was openly thrilled, and people doubted their own eyes rather than cracking jokes.

From my perspective, my reaction was just "Wow, there are all sorts of fascinating animals," but to the people of this world, it wasn’t a casual matter.

Maybe it’s similar to discovering a unicorn, a creature of legend, on Earth.

Re: Wild Grylls) I have a question, are there cases where mammals lay eggs here too?

Re: Allfather) Ho-ho. What amusing nonsense. If such an animal existed, the foundations of academia would shake. Ah, though they are already shaking from the existence of the Sky Whale.

Re: Why not just say mammals have beaks? LOL

Re: Grylls said the world he used to live in had long-necked animals too LOL

Re: What fantasy wonderland did that guy come from?

Even such a fantasy world thoroughly denied the existence of the platypus.

It might be that they haven’t discovered it yet, or it might simply not exist at all.

It was a world without giraffes either, so it wouldn’t be weird if a few animals I knew didn’t exist.

Buoooooooo—

The cry of the Sky Whale resounded throughout the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Hearing a whale cry not from the ocean, but from the sky... This was truly a bizarre situation.

Tuk—

Right then. Something dropped from behind the receding Sky Whale.

The object that came out near its tail soon plummeted to the ground.

Considering perspective, it was quite far, but not to the extent of being impossible to reach.

Watching the Sky Whale gradually recede, a sudden question occurred to me, so I asked Allfather.

Re: Wild Grylls) By the way, was there no mention of the Sky Whale in the journal?

Re: Allfather) Yes. There was none. Strange sounds were occasionally heard from the sky, but the trees obstructed the view. One could consider that an omen.

Re: Wild Grylls) Ah. True. The jungle was right in front over there, so the trees were quite big. Is there anything else?

Re: Allfather) There was nothing else of note. Strictly speaking, a talking gorilla could also be considered a mythical creature.

Re: Wild Grylls) Ah.

Re: Come to think of it, that’s true too?

Re: A talking gorilla... Are you talking about Zhongyuan’s Sun Wukong?

Re: Sun Wukong is a monkey, not an ape. He has a tail.

Re: Then is the Blood Demon Tang Sanzang? LOL

Re: At this rate a talking pig-man will show up too ROFL

Putting discussions of the Sky Whale aside for now, I drafted my future plans.

Thanks to the Sky Whale inhaling the entire insect swarm before leaving, the view was clear.

With no bugs clinging to my body, daily life was possible again.

’I guess I can think of it as insect swarms raging periodically, and the Sky Whale coming to clean them up?’

Experiencing the beginning of each season one by one taught me that at the start of a season, no activity whatsoever is possible.

Winter brought blizzards, spring brought pollen yellow dust storms, and summer brought insect swarms.

I didn’t know what autumn would bring, but wouldn’t it at least be relatively mild?

’Now that I’ve gained time to move around, I should put it to good use.’

Raising my head to look up, the sky glowing with a blue light entered my sight.

But what comes to mind when thinking of summer? There’s the terribly long "monsoon season."

Before that monsoon season arrived, I planned to do as much as I possibly could.

’First, I need to find whatever the Sky Whale dropped.’

I roughly knew the direction.

The problem was not knowing what dropped, and the fact that other animals would likely be interested in it as well.

It would be best to go thoroughly prepared. Conveniently, Lackey—who had been out of it after being bitten by bugs—was completely healed.This story is hosted at no‌velping.com.

The special medicine given by Starlight Lady had a huge effect, so it seemed I’d be using it often in the future.

’The Icon Merchant Guild also agreed to keep providing repellents.’

They said the Icon Merchant Guild would continuously support me with the sold-out repellents.

Posting it as a public thread rather than a private message made it a bit suspicious, but with various verifications, it was trustworthy.

After that, various merchant guilds sent sponsorships, though performance hadn’t actually been verified.

Well... I’ll just put them to good use somehow.

’I should try out the fishing rod soon.’

Among them, the thing I was most curious about was the fishing rod.

Perhaps seeing that I ate a lot of fish, a merchant guild sent a fishing rod over.

Looking at it, it seemed to be a merchant guild related to fishing, and its reputation was quite good.

The expensive fishing rods here boasted astronomical prices just like on Earth, yet they willingly gave me a top-grade product.

Even to a novice like me when it comes to fishing, it looked so magnificent that I was determined to try it out no matter what.

If possible, I had wanted a fish trap, but perhaps because they often got washed away, they gave me a fishing rod instead.

"Kkyu-ek. Kkyu-e-ek."

"Now, now. Wonmo. Endure it. There might be bugs outside."

I meticulously slathered repellent on Wonmo.

Wonmo, who had a good sense of smell, thrashed around at the strange scent of the repellent, but he was still just a cub.

After Wonmo, I applied it to Speed Sloth and Lackey, finishing preparations to leave.

’It might rain on the way, so let’s put inside what needs to go inside.’

Because it was summer, there was no telling when rain would pour. It was intuition drawn from past experience.

Finishing every single precaution I could take, I walked in the direction where the Sky Whale had vanished.

The direction wasn’t toward the river, but deeper into the forest. Where the Orichalcum Cave was located.

Focusing on that area, if I looked around, wouldn’t I be able to find it? If I can’t find it, I plan to just abandon the search.

Chuchuchuchuk—

"Huh?"

It was when I was moving smoothly without receiving any hindrance whatsoever.

It wasn’t strange for there to be many insects since it was summer. And those insects included "ants" as well.

What this meant was that an army of ants was diligently marching somewhere.

The kind of scene you’d only see in a documentary. Ants advancing in a single file without breaking formation.

’The direction itself is similar... Should I follow them?’

I didn’t know what the ants had discovered, but following them seemed like a good idea.

The direction was roughly similar, so they either found the Sky Whale’s object or found something else.

Seeing such a staggering number moving together, it had to be something extraordinary.

’These guys react to the repellent too.’

Approaching stealthily just in case, the ants quietly steered clear.

Thanks to that, only Wonmo, who had tried to eat the ants, wore a tearful face. That’s gross, Wonmo, gross.

Barely calming Wonmo down, I walked toward where the ants were heading.

Moving along, I arrived at an unfamiliar area.

Chuchuchuchuk!

I had no choice but to be terrified by the terrifying ant swarm.

Without exaggeration, ants were completely covering an entire area.

If I stepped in there, it wouldn’t just be a matter of being bitten, chewed, tasted, and savored; I’d be gnawed down to a skeleton.

There’s a saying that the true apex predator of the forest is neither the tiger nor the wolf, but the ant.

No matter how strong those two are, they are helpless before overwhelming numbers.

The same applied to me. I couldn’t even dream of setting foot in there.

’What is that?’

...Until I saw what the ants were diligently carrying.

The ant swarm blanketed the entire area, but there was exactly one exception.

The object the ants were carrying so diligently.

Thanks to that, I could clearly see the appearance of the object the ants were moving.

’A golden... stone?’

It was a stone sparkling with a golden hue. At a glance, it almost looked more precious than real gold.

I wondered why on earth the ants were moving that stone, but it seemed worth inspecting.

Trusting that the repellent would come through again, I approached.

Chujujujujuk!

The ants quickly scattered as I approached. Thanks to that, I could inspect the golden stone up close.

As soon as I got close, a pleasant fragrance wafted softly.

A sweet scent wafted off it as well, enough to make me think the ants hadn’t gathered for no reason.This chapter was taken from novelpin​g.com without permission.

’Did the whale make this stone?’

I didn’t know about that for sure, but I put it inside my Subspace Backpack for now.

The ants also scattered immediately once the golden stone vanished inside the Subspace Backpack.

Shasasasak!

And insanely fast, too. It looked like a well-trained army retreating.

If I had welcomed summer without applying repellent... I didn’t even want to imagine it.

To begin with, maintaining such numbers in a region where seasons shift frequently is a feat in itself.

Though said half-jokingly, at this point, aren’t they the true apex predators?

In the wild, it isn’t the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong.

"Sniff, sniff. Sniff. The smell’s already soaked into my hands."

I had touched the golden stone while moving it into the Subspace Backpack, and the scent clung to my hands.

Truth be told, the texture wasn’t particularly great.

I thought it was a stone, but it squished around like a slime and was slightly sticky.

Thanks to that, I became even more curious about the true identity of this golden stone (?). I should ask Allfather or Starlight Lady.

Upon returning to the shelter soon after, I... didn’t pull out the golden stone.

Pulling it out might attract ant swarms, so I had no choice but to be cautious.

Fortunately, I had taken a picture in advance. I immediately posted a thread.

Title) Found something fascinating

Wild Grylls

(Picture of golden stone being carried by ants)

Saw something weird drop from the Sky Whale so I went over. But an ant swarm was moving along with it too.

Stole what the ants were carrying and brought it back. Its key feature is a pleasant scent wafting off it.

Going to ask what this is first before deciding what to do with it.

Re: Heavenly Demon) It glitters brighter than gold. Pretty.

Re: Sword Matstar) It came from the Sky Whale? At a glance, it looks extraordinarily precious, doesn’t it?

Re: Beyond precious, if it came out into the world, it’d cause a complete uproar;

Re: The Sky Whale alone is a mythical creature, so if it dropped from THAT creature ROFL

Re: What on earth is it? What could it be for gold like that to come out of a whale?

Re: What if it turns out to be poop? LOL

Re: Fucking gross ROFL

Re: Praise the Sun) Can you give that to me? If it gives off a scent, I feel like it could be used as spice/incense.

Re: Wild Grylls) Seems like it’ll attract a lot of bugs, will you be okay?

Re: Praise the Sun) What bugs are there in a desert LOL At most, scorpions and spiders.

Re: Wild Grylls) That sounds even more dangerous;; I’ll think about it after I properly figure out what this is first.

Re: Praise the Sun) Since it’s big, can you give me even a little bit if possible?

Re: Wild Grylls) I’ll see what kind of thing it is first.

Re: Allfather) Ho-ho. Dear me. My excitement had just settled down, but now I’m throbbing again.

Re: This old guy seems to be throbbing a lot lately;

Re: Isn’t he gonna croak from high blood pressure at this rate? ROFL

Re: Necromancy is Love) Looking at that guy’s age, it’s not impossible.

Re: But you can’t even get throbbing yourself LOL

Re: Necromancy is Love) Silence! You scoundrel!!!

Re: ROFL look at him throwing a fit

Re: Having a throbbing reaction is way better than having no response at all ROFL

Re: Starlight Lady) I’m currently outside so I don’t think I can check it out.

Re: Wild Grylls) Is there anything that comes to mind?

Re: Starlight Lady) If it dropped from a whale, Ambergris is the only thing I know of. Besides, I know almost nothing about the Sky Whale.

Re: Wild Grylls) Understood.

In the end, I had no choice but to ask Allfather.

Allfather also willingly agreed and took the golden stone to investigate.

Both sides agreed on cutting off just a small piece to give him. Giving him the whole thing might attract bug swarms.

And before long, Allfather revealed a shocking fact to me.

Re: Allfather) This is poop, though?

Re: Wild Grylls) ...Pardon?

Re: Allfather) It is poop. Whale poop.

Speechless for a moment at the word "poop"...

Re: Allfather) Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho. This old man is truly happy. Going beyond knowing of the Sky Whale’s existence to seeing Sky Whale poop! You really have to live long to see everything.

Allfather was ascending straight to paradise.