I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 169

Jewel of the sea, ambergris.

It’s a stone formed when sperm whale excretion or gastroliths undergo a transformation.

Though it looks like an ordinary rock on the outside, it boasts astronomical value, true to its nickname as the jewel of the sea.

Roughly 1 kg commands 40 to 50 million won, and since most pieces are quite large, they are said to go for hundreds of millions.

Even ordinary ambergris from the world I lived in commanded such value, so what about ambergris from a mythical Sky Whale?

Actually, it’s something that can’t be sold.

Not only is it a precious asset that scholars ought to research, but it’s also something fundamentally ’mythical.’

Priceless aside, it’s impossible to predict the sheer intensity of backlash if I sold it.

↳ Wild Grylls) Setting the priceless part aside, its use is just as a fragrance, right?

↳ Allfather) Further research is required to be sure, but for now, yes. As it is the ambergris of a Sky Whale, a special power must surely dwell within it.

↳ Wild Grylls) The ability to attract ants?

↳ Allfather) Rather than such a trait, we should consider the Sky Whale itself. Perhaps it possesses an extraordinary purification ability.

His comment that it might have a purification ability made me deliberate.

Even if it possessed purification powers, where on earth would I use it?

There might be other abilities, but discovering them would take a long time.

’I can’t just leave it neglected like this either.’

Though I have a Subspace Bag, it still has weight, and the bag’s capacity isn’t infinite.

It’s undeniably a valuable and wonderful item, but it’s utterly useless to me.

I gave a dry laugh at the deeply ironic situation, then decided to handle it first.

↳ Wild Grylls) I’ll think about it slowly for now. Since I’m actually trying to dispose of it, it’s pretty tricky where to offload it anyway.

↳ Praise the Sun) Can’t you give me just a little bit?

↳ Wild Grylls) Do you even know how to use it?

↳ Praise the Sun) I wanna use it as incense. I’m really curious. Is there anything you want in return?

↳ Wild Grylls) Not really. I’ll just break off a small piece for you. Instead, make sure bugs don’t swarm you.

↳ Grylls. Can’t you just break it into pieces and post them on the Auction House?

↳ Sounds good, doesn’t it? You have no use for it anyway.

↳ Wild Grylls) Not right away. There’s something I want to test out first.

There’s plenty of time, so there’s no need to rush.

Besides, there’s something I want to do—an idea spawned from watching the swarm of ants attracted to the ambergris.

If a swarm of ants was attracted, wouldn’t a school of fish be similarly drawn to it?

I wondered if there was any correlation... but isn’t there always a ’what if’?

If Allfather saw this, he would pound the floor and lament, but who cares.

↳ Allfather) Using ambergris as fishing bait? That is fucking dumb, yet intriguing.

↳ Wild Grylls) Surprisingly, you’re not angry? I thought you’d think it was a waste.

↳ Allfather) I’ve already received a sample, haven’t I? Besides, I am curious too—wondering what kind of fish will be caught. I imagine others feel the same way?

↳ Yeah, who the hell fishes with whale shit? Hahaha

↳ It’s not even ordinary whale shit. It’s legendary whale shit from mythology, lol

↳ What kind of life does Grylls even live?

↳ A fly-like life?

↳ Youuuuu are seriously evil, lol

↳ Why? A fly’s life, right on the line, lol

Surprisingly, they seemed curious. Well, I suppose I’m the only one who would ever pull off a stunt like this.

I carefully inspected the fishing rod gifted to me.

It was a rod crafted seemingly from bamboo, lacking a reel to adjust the line length.

Given the era, technological limitations were unavoidable. Still, it looked sturdy enough, which was plenty.

Title) Going fishing

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the fishing rod and a photo using ambergris as bait)

Gonna use this as bait to fish for a bit. Wonder what’ll be caught?

↳ Heavenly Demon) This seat predicts that thou shall catch a remarkably gigantic fish.

↳ Sword Matstar) Grylls-nim is probably the only person who would use whale shit as bait.

↳ Wild Grylls) That’s a compliment, right?

↳ Sword Matstar) It’s nice to see your positive mindset.

↳ Because he can’t survive unless he stays positive...

↳ If it were me, I would’ve lost my mind long ago...

↳ Thinking about it like that, Grylls is really pitiful.

No matter when I look, I can never understand the flow of the Gallery.

One moment they’re busy mocking me, and the next they’re looking at me with pitying eyes.

I closed the Gallery and headed to the river with my animal friends.

After first pulling out the fish traps, I checked the condition of the river.Get faster updates on novelpin‌g.com.

Swaaaa!

It was no different from usual. Across the river lay the vast desert.

Noticing nothing peculiar, I immediately prepared to fish.

Just in case bugs swarmed, I didn’t forget to spray repellent around the area.

So, what were the others doing?

"Wonmo-ya. Play with this."

"Kkyuu!"

I gave Wonmo a stuffed puppy toy. One might wonder why a puppy plushie, but that too was sponsored.

Supposedly, it was made with a fabric that animals prefer, or something like that.

Seeing him play with it happily made me thoroughly satisfied.

"Lackey, when a fish bites, you pull the rod with me. Got it?"

"...."

"Answer me."

"Yes."

It was decided that Lackey would pull the rod alongside me.

All preparations were complete. I attached a piece of ambergris to the hook.

A pleasant fragrance was already wafting gently, making me understand why it was used as incense.

’To think shit could smell this fragrant. That’s hilarious in itself.’

Smirking, I swung the fishing rod vigorously.

Soon, the hook plunged into the river with a splash!

Because the current was so fierce, I worried it might get swept away, but that was an unfounded worry.

Pudadadada!

An unbelievable number of fish swarmed toward it. At the same time, the rod grew heavy.

Startled, I yelled at Lackey to pull. Lackey pulled with all his might following my command.

Whether because multiple fish were tangled or because they were naturally powerful creatures, it didn’t budge easily.

"Gaaaaah!"

"Uwoooooh!"

However, when Lackey and I combined our forces, it was a different story.

The two of us exerted every ounce of strength to pull the fishing rod up.

Chwaaaak!

As a result, a massive fish soared above the water’s surface.

I rejoiced over landing a big catch, but my joy was short-lived as disappointment immediately followed.

"Huh. Is that it?"

Because the fish I reeled in was no different from the ones caught in the fish traps.

It seemed better to use ambergris as a lure rather than fishing bait.

Still, gaining a day’s worth of food was better than nothing. Setting my disappointment aside, I packed up.

’It’s not entirely bad since it works as bait, but...’

How to put it? It felt like an extreme waste.

Even without bait, fish would get caught on their own if I set fish traps.

I questioned whether there was any point in using ambergris as bait.

Well, as Allfather researches it, he’ll probably find other effects.

Handing the flopping fish over to Lackey, I returned to the Shelter.

’Must be summer, given how long daylight lasts.’

Normally, it should be getting dark by now, but the sun was still shining brightly.

Still, the extended daylight hours during summer were a welcome bonus.

It would be a different story if a rainy season hit, though.

’When will the research on the ambergris be finished?’

Even Allfather was witnessing it for the first time—an excretion left behind by a mythical entity.

There surely had to be something extraordinary about it.

To find out what that was, I had no choice but to wait quietly.

’By the way, why did the ants try to carry this off? Was it purely because of the scent?’

There are plenty of insects besides ants that love sweet things.

Perhaps because the ants claimed it first, other insects or animals didn’t dare approach.

Entertaining such idle thoughts, I turned my head.

Where I turned my head was the cave wall—specifically, the wall marking my survival days so far.

’Is today the 26th day?’

Three days later would make it exactly one month. Time had flown by surprisingly fast.Read the latest chapters at NovelPing.

I could still only monitor the outside world through the Gallery, but things were hardly peaceful.

El Dorado had entered a state of semi-civil war, and the Blood Cult was showing unusual movements as well.

From my perspective, I just hoped to meet Ludwig, who should be somewhere in the Forest of the Four Seasons, as soon as possible.

’Come to think of it, is the football match today?’

Having nothing particular to do, I logged into the Gallery.

Just in time, Princess Chaenggu posted announcing the start of the match.

I opened the post and left a brief greeting.

↳ Wild Grylls) Who exactly is today’s opponent?

↳ Princess Chaenggu) Saint-nim has arrived! Today’s opponent is a mid-table team! What scoreline do you predict?!

↳ Wild Grylls) Their defense is still complete garbage, so I predict 3-2.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) That sounds nerve-wracking...! But as long as we win, I’m relieved!

↳ King Reor) Hey man. What about our Reor? They’re playing a weak team today.

↳ Wild Grylls) You’ll lead 1-0, then concede an equalizer near the end due to lack of stamina.

↳ King Reor) Ah, damn it. That damn stamina issue;; They rested for a week, shouldn’t their stamina be fully recovered?

↳ Wild Grylls) Speaking from experience with hard labor, recovering from accumulated fatigue takes over a month, not a week. Plus, football players fill their downtime with training, right?

↳ King Reor) Hearing you say that, it really feels like it’ll happen. Gotta sign someone next time for sure;

↳ Does Reor even have money?

↳ Rather than money, the manager changes next season. Gotta see then.

↳ Practically zero signings expected lol

↳ What about Chaeyu then?

↳ Honestly looking forward to Chaeyu because the team has changed. The manager properly understands tactics.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) Next season we just need to reinforce defensive tactics! And throw out that 100-billion-Eura trash!

↳ Isn’t that too harsh lol

↳ But seeing him suck even now... he just lacks skill.

↳ Real, even Kone was resurrected, so what’s up with that guy?

↳ Defense line being too high is one thing, but that motherfucker...

I quietly waited while making rough predictions.

Since the match would take a while to finish, practicing my Mental Cultivation Method was a better use of time.

’The cold energy has shrunk to the size of a fist now.’

As time passed, my control over the cold energy improved by leaps and bounds.

What started out the size of a sesame seed had now transformed into the size of a fist.

Moreover, seeing how its growth rate was gradually slowing down, it seemed it would reach perfection soon.

’Once I master controlling the cold energy, I should ask Heavenly Demon for the next formula.’

I thought asking when it reached exactly 30 days would be ideal.

I worked on my Mental Cultivation Method and other chores until the football match ended, then logged back into the Gallery.

It was getting close to dinner time, so I squeezed in a moment.

[Chaeyu vs Cadroll: Match Ended! Chaeyu finishes 3-2 as predicted by the Saint!]

[Reor vs Hunin: Both teams end in a draw thanks to an injury-time equalizer.]

"Oh?"

I got it right again. Every single detail, down to the scoreline and how it played out.

Once or twice could be brushed off, but predicting it correctly a third time gave me an eerie feeling.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) Everyone shout it out! Grylls-nim is a Saint!

↳ Please let me marry my girlfriend.

↳ Please let me get 100 points on my Academy practical exam.

↳ Please make the remaining half of the year a huge hit.

↳ King Reor) Please make Chaeyu get relegated.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) What the fuck are you? Get lost! You pathetic drawing team lol

↳ King Reor) So are you guys going to Chals? Lol

↳ Princess Chaenggu) If we win all our remaining matches, we can go~

Naturally, the ritual pilgrimage of making wishes followed.

Chuckling at the Gallery going wild over the match results, I closed it.

There was a post saying someone hit the jackpot after gambling, but I lightly ignored it.

After all, regardless of money, my own survival was what mattered. But when I stepped outside—

Ppeogeum— ppeogeum—

The fish I had just caught with my rod.

I witnessed the sight of that very fish swimming freely through thin air.

’...What? Is this a bug?’

The world truly is coming to an end.