I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 185

Aris, Goddess of War, had not abandoned him.

Ludwig, a Paladin of El Dorado, thought to himself.

As expected, the Forest of the Four Seasons truly fit the description of an inhuman hellscape.

Three-headed lions jumped out, long-necked beasts were encountered—all sorts of bizarre creatures inhabited the area.

Furthermore, the martial prowess of those animals was staggeringly formidable.

The funny thing was that the herbivorous animals possessed even greater martial might than the carnivores.

Taming the long-necked beast could only be called sheer heavenly luck.

Although that luck didn’t continue non-stop, it was activated at the right moment.

"...."

Ludwig looked down at his ankle, tightly wrapped in bandages.

The foot that should have been below his ankle was completely gone.

Without a prosthetic, walking properly in the future would be difficult.

But it was vastly better than dying of sepsis.

’I am fortunate the blade’s edge was so sharp.’

Amputation surgery was a high-difficulty task. Normally, it would require sawing for a long time.

Drinking liquor for anesthesia was quite dangerous as well, but it couldn’t be helped to prevent shock.

The pain of amputation was among the greatest agony a human could experience, so even Ludwig could not have endured it while sober.

’Having additional Elixirs was another stroke of luck.’

Operations were not just about the procedure; the aftermath and closure were equally vital.

It was fortunate that Grylls possessed a large quantity of Elixirs.

In the worst-case scenario, he might have had to burn the stump with fire.

Surviving despite all these hardships was surely thanks to Lady Aris watching over him.

’By the way, what a clean cave.’

Ludwig surveyed the interior of the cave. Equipped with a fireplace, it was a fairly cozy space.

Currently, Grylls had gone up to the river to dispose of the severed foot.

With his stamina depleted and his foot in this state anyway, rest was the absolute priority.

’If I had been even a day late, it would have been fatal.’

Ludwig had also seen Grylls across the river, which allowed him to harbor hope.

But harboring hope was one thing; he never knew when the terrain across the river might shift.

That was why he kept waiting before it, eating only the minimum food required for survival.

The Kirin was at least able to endure by eating tree leaves, but Ludwig was no herbivore.

Ever since maggots began crawling over his foot, he had lost most of his mobility.

Hunting was out of the question, and fishing was impossible, so he had to push through on pure willpower.

’There was a bridge, and thanks to the signpost, I was able to find my way easily.’

Thanks to the signpost and the bridge, he quickly realized this was the area across the river where he had spotted Grylls.

Having discovered it right before passing out, he squeezed out every ounce of strength he had left to cross.

Had it not been for his long-necked friend (the Kirin), even that would have been impossible.

For the time being, that friend would serve as his feet and grant him immense support.

Until he adapted, Grylls’s assistance was essential.

’Hearing the name Grylls, I thought he was a Westerner.’

When he only knew the Gallery handle, he assumed he hailed from the West.

But meeting him in person—what do you know? Anyone could tell he was from the Central Plains.

Moreover, despite his thick beard, he looked quite young.

Even Ludwig, who had trained for long years, was hard-pressed just to survive, yet that young man was living a whole ’lifestyle’.

’He also said he could use mana.’

Mana usage was impossible within the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Ever since Ludwig entered the Forest of the Four Seasons, he had tried desperately to channel mana, only to realize it was impossible.

Had it not been for the sword Grylls provided, he would have died long ago.

Thus, Ludwig became curious. Just how on earth did this person named Grylls survive?

What piqued his curiosity even more was...

’What on earth were those animals? Pets?’

The sloth clinging to his back. The owlbear cub following him around. And finally, the albino gorilla wearing a suppressor around its neck.

He couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of combination this was.

’If I had known, I should have accessed the network earlier.’

Right before entering the Forest of the Four Seasons, Ludwig had accessed the Gallery for the very first time in his life.

Grasping the detailed situation within that short window was impossible. Receiving the sword alone was close to a miracle.

’If nothing else, that sloth was far from ordinary.’

There was a saying that the strong instinctively recognize the strong.

Though Ludwig had not reached the ultimate realm of mastery, his keen eye for power was remarkably superior.

After all, one of his disciples was the Hero herself.

In the eyes of such a man, the sloth was extraordinary.

It displayed a sense of calm leisure even in the Forest of the Four Seasons, where other beings struggled frantically just to survive.

A place where one never knew who, when, where, how, or why an attack might occur.

’Or perhaps the young man named Grylls is the powerful one.’

That was something he could figure out slowly over time. Right now, rest was top priority.

Currently, his body had barely avoided the absolute worst scenario.

Most fortunately, the fact that he could still operate his Mana Cultivation Method offered some consolation.

But even this proceeded at a sluggish pace. The dense, thick mana of the Forest of the Four Seasons pressed down on him incessantly.

It felt as though mana were painfully crawling through an extremely constricted pathway.

’Escape... will be difficult, won’t it?’

Ludwig unconsciously let out a heavy sigh.

Survival was already tough in this place, and now he had completely lost his right foot.

At this rate, he wondered if he was merely imposing an undue burden on Grylls.

’Perhaps dying would have been more beneficial...’Read the latest chapters at n​ovelping.com.

With one terrible situation compounding another, pessimistic thoughts naturally bubbled up.

Far from offering help, he had become dead weight. Pride aside, he simply felt apologetic.

Even if Grylls kicked him out into the wild, he intended to accept it obediently.

Staying here provided zero help; he was just another mouth to feed.

"I’m back."

It was right when Ludwig was drowning in complex thoughts.

Grylls returned after disposing of Ludwig’s decayed foot.

Ludwig, who was quietly leaning against the cave wall, turned his head to look at him.

He was an honest, sturdy-looking young man. Exactly that kind of appearance.

The plain, unpretentious appearance characteristic of Easterners and an approachable impression.

’Why did such a young man come to the Forest of the Four Seasons?’

That was precisely why it was even more puzzling.

The Forest of the Four Seasons was a den of monsters where only purges victims like himself or heinous criminals entered.

Judging by facial features alone, he was closer to the former than the latter.

Furthermore, since he displayed such kindness and generosity, the likelihood of him being a heavy criminal was extremely faint.

’Did he lose out in a power struggle among the nobles?’

Ludwig thought so and tried to pull himself up.

Thanks to his Mana Cultivation, he had recovered a smidgen of energy.

However, Grylls stepped in first and frantically stopped him.

"Just stay sitting down. What are you trying to get up for with a foot like that?"

"...."

Words in what might be Central Plains speech struck his ears.

How to put it? Though he clearly couldn’t understand, it felt strangely tinged with sadness.

Ludwig obediently followed his gesture for now.

Because Grylls was the master of this Shelter and the ultimate authority here.

For the inflexible Ludwig, following Grylls’s instructions to the letter was only natural.

’What should I do now?’

Meanwhile, Grylls was also contemplating how to treat Ludwig.

For starters, he had zero intention of heartlessly kicking him out.

He was a guest(?) who arrived after a whole month.

In a hellhole like this, every single human being was exceedingly precious.

Even if the man’s foot was broken, it was fine. As long as they could communicate, it would be okay.

’If I had my way, I’d like to attach a prosthetic leg for him, but...’

He had already asked Dwarf about this—whether he could craft a prosthetic leg.

The answer that returned was that while not impossible, it was close enough to be considered ’extremely difficult’.

When asked why it was so hard, Dwarf said there were too many reasons to pinpoint just one.

The biggest reason was precision. A prosthetic leg required custom fitting for the individual.

Furthermore, while hands or arms might be different, a leg was a body part that supported one’s entire weight.

If done wrong, it could cause immense pain to the patient.

Additionally, current technology could not recreate workable joints.

There was a reason people used simple stick-like prosthetics.

’Let’s take our time thinking about the foot problem; recovery comes first right now.’

Just a while ago, Ludwig was so gaunt that the term ’walking corpse’ fit him perfectly.

Now, color had returned to his face, and he had regained his vigor.

Carrying out a conversation itself shouldn’t be an issue.

Though spoken words didn’t translate directly, Grylls had the Gallery.

’What I need to ask is...’

His name and affiliation. And the circumstances behind his entry into the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Information on how he got by in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Investigating roughly those points and discussing how they’d live going forward would suffice.

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: (Photo of paper written in Holy Kingdom script) Will this do?!]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. Thank you when you’re so busy.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Not at all! Please take good care of Ludwig-ssi! I will help in whatever way I can!]

[Wild Grylls: How about coming here to help in person?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: I’ll consider that too! I’m just way too busy right now!]

Surprisingly, she didn’t outright say she wouldn’t come. Grylls found it strange, but let it pass.

After that, he wrote down the text translated by Orange Badge on a sheet of paper and showed it to Ludwig.

Reading the writing Grylls presented, Ludwig nodded.

"My name is..."

"Ah. Hold on a second."

Right as he was about to speak, Grylls held out a hand, asking him to wait a moment.

Ludwig obediently followed. As mentioned before, the absolute authority here was Grylls.

Soon, Grylls turned on the Gallery recording video and gestured for him to speak.

"My name is..."

Another bombshell was about to drop.

"Huuu...."

Selena released a heavy sigh, deep fatigue evident in her breath.

The social gathering following the succession ceremony had been as treacherous as expected.

They just weren’t holding weapons in their hands; otherwise, it was a vicious battlefield.

’I could barely bring up anything related to Grylls-ssi either.’

Above all, it was regrettable that she couldn’t achieve her ultimate goal.

Since it was intimately connected to the Gallery, everyone was reluctant to mention it.This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.

Moreover, setting the Gallery aside, real-world problems were piling up, causing attention to skew in that direction.

’At least His Majesty reacted positively, which is a relief.’

That didn’t mean there was zero gain. An unexpected figure had shown a positive response.

That person was none other than the Emperor, Arnold. An unexpected big fish had taken the bait.

Even if providing support on a national level was difficult, he deemed it well worth investing in.

Of course, he claimed to have obtained the information through non-Gallery intelligence, but Selena picked up on it.

That Arnold also frequented the Gallery regularly and was well aware of Grylls’s disposition.

’Since the Emperor reacted favorably, information will circulate before long.’

She just had to wait until then. Selena looked straight ahead.

The Gallery window unfolded within her vision. She was currently standing on the terrace.

It was a great place to be lost in thought alone, so she took advantage of a short break to log into the Gallery.

[I knew it. Those Holy Kingdom bastards lolololol]

[What are you gonna do now? What CAN you even do lololol]

[Ahhh. El Dorado is done for now. El Dorado is no longer a Holy Kingdom.]

[Upvote if El Dorado is pathetic lolol]

And the moment she logged in, she could tell chaos had erupted.

It was her first time logging in since her morning session.

Barely six hours had passed.

’What is this?’

Filled with curiosity, Selena entered the Recommended Posts.

Upon entering Recommended Posts, she found Grylls’s post proudly pinned to the page.

The upvote count was extraordinarily high as well. She opened it immediately.

Title) Video of the Paladin Riding a Kirin

Wild Grylls

(Video of Ludwig introducing himself)

(Video of Ludwig exposing corruption in the Holy Kingdom)

(Video of Ludwig talking about life in the Forest of the Four Seasons)

Can anyone translate this? I get that it’s an introduction first, but I don’t really know what comes after that.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: His face looks better than before. I thought he was a walking corpse.

ㄴ Sword Matstar: Doesn’t it sound like he said something pretty crazy, or is it just me?

ㄴ There are lots of Holy Kingdom folks here so someone will probably translate it soon.

ㄴ Yeah I’m getting my popcorn ready right now lol

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero: Rough translation goes like this! His name is Ludwig, and he was the Commander of the Holy Kingdom’s Knights! And... the contents basically say the Holy Kingdom is total trash!

ㄴ That’s way too summarized? Can you explain in more detail?

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero: I’m sorry! The content is so garbage-level horrible that I can’t even write it out in words!

ㄴ It’s that bad? Shiver shiver

ㄴ What on earth is in it?

Selena knew the language of the Holy Kingdom to a certain extent.

Only her body had been frail; her sharp intellect remained intact.

Listening to the words spoken by the paladin named Ludwig...

’...My goodness.’

It contained ugly ugliness far beyond imagination.

It went way beyond throwing a spark at El Dorado, which was already no different from a powder keg.

It wasn’t a spark; it was throwing a Molotov cocktail—no, dropping a meteor on it.

Since it had already spread across the Gallery, real-world panic had undoubtedly broken out as well.

When she hurriedly exited the Gallery and entered the audience chamber.

"...What? Where did everyone go?"

The social hall was completely empty except for a few stragglers.

So much so that there were more servants and maids than nobles.

As Selena stood bewildered, someone approached her.

"Everyone left, claiming they had urgent business."

It was Ash. At Ash’s words, Selena looked at her.

If anything, it was more fascinating that Ash was still present.

But Ash was also aware of what had just blown up.

"I don’t know what’s happening, but... shouldn’t you head back quickly as well, Ducal Lady?"

"...What about you, Count?"

"As for me..."

Ash shrugged her shoulders and replied, holding out the wine glass in her hand.

"All I need to do is go home."

Ash was boldly declaring that since she was unemployed, it didn’t matter to her.

Hearing that, Selena was slightly flabbergasted, but soon chuckled softly.

"I envy you."

Thus, a nuclear bomb dropped onto the world.

"Hey! Man! What kind of trouble did you stir up the moment you got here?!"

"I didn’t do it. This thing attached itself."

"I have no idea what you’re saying! Just pull with all your strength for now!"

Grylls was sweating bullets trying to detach Ludwig, whose ankle had stuck to a Mythril vein.

"What on earth did you do to get stuck like this?!"

"I truly do not know."

Even if they couldn’t understand words, the situation itself carried their conversation forward.