I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 227

Maybe I was overreacting.

Because coincidences could overlap, leading all three named users to need Orichalcum at the same time.

The reason I said three was because I excluded the dwarf. He had stated a clear purpose.

[Wild Grylls: You can put Orichalcum in a brewing vat?]

[Passing Dwarf: Not like that, but I wanted to see if I could artificially adjust the fermentation time. Combining it with Orichalcum enhances the magic effect, after all.]

[Wild Grylls: You didn’t need special smelting like Mithril, right?]

[Passing Dwarf: Yeah. It absorbs mana well, but it hardly holds any mana of its own.]

[Wild Grylls: So there must be quite a few useful applications?]

[Passing Dwarf: Well, that depends on the person. Didn’t that fixed user Princess Chaenggu say she jammed it into a relay device?]

It was as the dwarf said. Everyone must be using it because it was useful.

Especially since Princess Chaenggu used it for relay magic, getting a few more wasn’t strange.

’It really might just be a coincidence.’

Even if it felt a bit suspicious, as long as they paid a fair price, I intended to trade.

If worse came to worst, I could just ask Orange Badge to find out who those people were.

Once I confirmed where they were, I could roughly guess.

’Since I’ll be starting full-scale exploration soon, let’s ask if they can give me items related to that.’

I left a message to the named users who requested it, saying I would give it to them soon.

Following that, taking only Speed Sloth and Lackey along, I headed to the Orichalcum Cave.

Since Orichalcum was lying all over the place anyway, mining some was no problem.

’This much should roughly be enough, right?’

Just in case some named user asked for more later, I mined a huge pile.

If that happened, I planned to post a thread asking what was up with Orichalcum.

[Wild Grylls: I brought the Orichalcum. What will you give me?]

[Let’s Grow Trees: As I mentioned earlier, I will give you a World Tree sapling, underwear woven from World Tree silk, and cigars!]

[Wild Grylls: I don’t need a World Tree sapling. Instead, is there anything that would help with exploration?]

[Let’s Grow Trees: Hold on a second!]

First was Let’s Grow Trees. An elf, specifically one presumed to revere the queen.

Just yesterday, the Gallery had gone wild over the speech by the Elf Queen, Elia.

Saying Alfheim would wage a war of conquest from now on, or that the elves had revealed their true colors, and so on.

Given their track record so far, everyone except the elves reacted negatively.

’They aren’t really going to turn into imperial Britain or that mustache guy, are they?’

Even if I was a bit worried, I intended to keep trading steadily.

What if Alfheim really kept acting like a bunch of toxic jerks? I’d still do it.

Because even if a nation blocked trade, it wouldn’t tarnish the value of the resources I possessed.

Even back where I used to live, despite talks of severing trade due to war, everything was exchanged through the back door anyway.

Since ancient times, the nation with resources was the bully. This was an unchangeable law.

Of course, if they upgraded from a toxic nation to Nazi Germany, that would be a different story.

’In the first place, isn’t evolving to that mustache guy’s level insanely difficult?’

While I lost myself in thought for a moment, Let’s Grow Trees returned.

[Let’s Grow Trees: (Photo of a white ball of thread) How about this!]

[Wild Grylls: Isn’t that just a ball of thread?]

[Let’s Grow Trees: Strictly speaking, it’s World Tree thread. You mentioned going on a long-distance exploration, right? This will be a huge help. It never snaps, and even if it does snap, it regenerates and sticks back together.]

[Wild Grylls: Oh?]

It was an incredibly good item for exploration.

It was like the thread from Greek and Roman mythology. The thread Ariadne used when exploring the labyrinth.

Since there would be many days of traveling far in the future, having this would make it easy to return.

Especially in this forest, maps were almost useless, and even determining direction was difficult.

Because this was a place where the position of the rising sun changed every passing day.

[Wild Grylls: Great. I’ll trade. How much do you need?]

[Let’s Grow Trees: For now, a fist-sized piece should be enough!]

[Wild Grylls: Okay. Got it.]

The trade with Let’s Grow Trees ended like that.

I checked the item received from that named user. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary ball of thread.

But its durability was beyond imagination. It couldn’t be cut with an ordinary dagger.

At best, it could be sliced with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. But even then, it quickly recovered.

’Is it really like shape-memory alloy?’

Either way, I got a good item. Next was Princess Chaenggu.

[Wild Grylls: Do you happen to have any items that might help with exploration? I think I’ll be traveling long distances in the future.]

[Princess Chaenggu: Of course I do! Would a water canteen with a purification function be enough?]

[Wild Grylls: That’s exactly what I need.]

A water canteen with a purification function. An unexpected harvest.

Right now, there’s a river right nearby to get water, but once I set out on an exploration, there’s no telling what will happen.

After trading items with Princess Chaenggu, I chatted with I Will Become a Duke.

I asked him the same thing, requesting if he had any items useful for exploration.

[I Will Become a Duke: Would a waterproof cover be alright? It will be useful whenever it rains.]This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.

[Wild Grylls: Isn’t that something I can buy in the Auction House? Is there anything else?]

[I Will Become a Duke: Then how about a security orb? If anyone approaches, it immediately makes a sound so it’s easy to notice.]

[Wild Grylls: How do you use it?]

I heard how to use the security orb from I Will Become a Duke.

He said once you activate it and bury it in the ground, the effect triggers immediately.

I’d have to try it myself, but since he said an alarm sounds as soon as someone approaches, I could look forward to its effectiveness.

’I should have gotten something like this much earlier.’

I didn’t know such a thing existed. It could be useful not only for exploration but also at the Shelter.

However, it seemed it couldn’t detect small animals. It detected through vibrations rather than life signs.

Since small animals rarely approach anyway, it should be fine.

Having traded for all the appropriate items like this, the only one left was the dwarf.

Actually, I had something separate to request from the dwarf.

[Wild Grylls: By any chance, do you have a dagger mold? I need to forge a dagger to give to the mister.]

[Passing Dwarf: I do have one. Want it?]

[Wild Grylls: Yeah. I’ll give you Orichalcum.]

[Passing Dwarf: K. But handle sharpening the blade yourself. Practice on the dagger to get a feel for it.]

[Wild Grylls: You’re not just being lazy, are you?]

[Passing Dwarf: Just thinking about upgrading my brewing vat makes my nuts shiver.]

[Wild Grylls: Crazy lololol]

The trade with the dwarf went smoothly. It was really convenient.

After examining the mold received from the dwarf, I immediately lit the forge.

Since I had Mythricon ingots forged previously, I could just make it out of those.

Hwareureureuk!

[What do you intend to do?]

"I’m going to make a dagger. Mister Ludwig is going to use it."

As I lit the makeshift forge, Cain and Ludwig showed curiosity.

They must have seen me cook in the oven often, but a forge was likely a first for them.

I added coal to boost the heat and placed a large crucible inside.

Putting the ingot into the large crucible and cranking up the heat was all it took.

Now all that was left was furiously stepping on the bellows until the ingot melted.

"Mister. You step on it too."

"...."

"Since you have a Mithril foot, it’ll be even easier for you."

At my request, Ludwig stared blankly at me.

A gaze looking at me like I was subhuman, asking if I really had to make an injured man do such a thing.

"One of your feet is perfectly fine. Just one foot is more than enough for this."

[That is a statement of human garbage going beyond mere trash.]

"Or would Sir Cain like to hop up and down on top of it? This is a place where everyone is equal."

[Goddess Aris. Please redeem this hopeless human.]

"Even if you say that, she won’t even care, you know?"

If she cared, she wouldn’t have brought me here in the first place.

No, wait. Maybe she put me here because she cared. In that case, I should curse her even more.

Joljoljoljol-

As time passed, I poured the fully melted molten metal into the mold.

Soon, after waiting a bit, the dagger would take shape. In the meantime, I prepared the oil for quenching.

Just as the dwarf said, it must be pretty good oil, considering I left it untouched for days and it was still perfectly fine.

Chieeek!!!

Finally, with the quenching complete, the Mythricon dagger was finished.

Ludwig watched this process with a fascinated expression.

On the surface, it looked like something incredible, but it wasn’t much.

’I should start making tools myself pretty soon.’

For instance, pickaxes. To easily mine the Mithril behind the cave.

Even if I didn’t feel the urgent need yet, I should start preparing.

I checked if there were any issues with the Mythricon dagger and started sharpening the edge.

"Mister. You know how to sharpen a blade, right?"

"I do."

Ludwig helped me sharpen the edge.

As someone who wielded swords, especially a soldier, he was far better at it than I was.

Thanks to that, the dagger attained a sharpness no less inferior to famous swords.

’Since we’ll set off on the exploration tomorrow, I should start preparing.’

I checked various things. Among them, the most important was food.

Putting aside the canteen from Princess Chaenggu, I checked the Fasting Pills first.The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.

The amount of Fasting Pills left was still plenty, but not completely sufficient.

’Once we leave for exploration, these will diminish quickly too.’

Thus, I immediately contacted Heavenly Demon. She was the only source for supplying Fasting Pills.

Fortunately, Heavenly Demon replied right away not long after I sent the message.

[Heavenly Demon: I can grant thee the Fasting Pills this evening. According to my confidant, our finances have grown abundant thanks to the gift thou gave.]

[Wild Grylls: A gift? Did I give you a gift?]

[Heavenly Demon: Didst thou not give the Snow Ginseng last time?]

[Wild Grylls: Ah. That?]

I had exchanged so many things with Heavenly Demon that I had completely forgotten.

Still, knowing I could receive the Fasting Pills tonight relieved my mind.

If it were difficult, I would have had to wait several more days before exploring.

I probably would have ended up making jerkies, which were easy to store.

[Heavenly Demon: Ah, indeed. Come to think of it, I possess news that may pique thy interest.]

[Wild Grylls: What news is it? Since you’re in Central Plains, could it be about the Blood Cult?]

[Heavenly Demon: Thou art quick-witted. Intelligence hath arrived that the Blood Cult is slowly making its entry into the Forest of the Four Seasons.]

The priority had dropped due to Alfheim, specifically Elia, but the Blood Cult was also something I needed to pay attention to periodically.

Because if they got lucky, they might head straight to where I was located.

’I really hope those bastards don’t come.’

They were such sinister bastards that I truly detested them.

Their minds were broken, so there was no telling what thoughts they harbored.

Moreover, it had become so famous through Ludwig that even ordinary people obtained information about the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Based on that, they must have made full preparations, which would have bumped up their survival rate.

[Wild Grylls: That’s not very welcome news. They seem like bastards who wouldn’t even listen to reason.]

[Heavenly Demon: If thou findeth it bothersome, I can resolve it for thee.]

[Wild Grylls: Really?]

[Heavenly Demon: If it is thy request.]

Resolving the Blood Cult problem in one go. It was an attractive offer, but there were also puzzling parts.

Last time I just brushed it off, but whenever I heard things like this, I got confused about whether she was really the Heavenly Demon.

Well, ambiguity didn’t matter. If she was the real Heavenly Demon, that was good in its own way. I willingly accepted and made the request.

Because every single one of the Blood Cult’s deeds was akin to that of terrorists.

[Wild Grylls: Then I’ll leave it to you. I’m sorry for bothering you unnecessarily.]

[Heavenly Demon: There is naught to be sorry for. Rather, it is I who should be enraged.]

[Wild Grylls: Why is that?]

[Heavenly Demon: Those fools of the Blood Cult were saying they would dispose of thee and install the gorilla as their successor. Truly sacrilegious fools.]

[Wild Grylls: They really were a mentally unstable organization.]

I knew they were out of their minds, but to think they would actually try to execute what I thought was impossible.

I was rendered speechless by the absurdity, but now I had a definitive reason to deal with them thoroughly.

Even if the probability of them reaching where I was was only 1%, it was better to nip it in the bud.

[Wild Grylls: Thank you. Is there anything you would like?]

[Heavenly Demon: Whatever thou offerest, I shall gratefully accept.]

[Wild Grylls: Then I’ll give you Orichalcum. Do you call it True Gold in the Central Plains?]

[Heavenly Demon: My confidant shall be delighted. I accept with gratitude.]

Talking with Heavenly Demon put my mind at ease. A fixed user who had shown me goodwill from the very beginning.

Seeing her consistently help me even now made me want to consistently return the favor as well.

’Let’s not ask how she’ll handle it.’

She’ll take care of it herself. I resolved not to worry about it.

Right now, preparing for exploration was the priority. Just as I was about to turn off the Gallery—

Ttiring!

Another message chimed. Who could it be this time?

Puzzled by this, I checked the named user who sent the message.

[King Reor: Hello. This is King Reor. Are you around by any chance?]

It was King Reor. The fixed user who bickered with Princess Chaenggu practically every single day.

Since it had been quite a while since I exchanged messages with him, I wondered why he suddenly reached out.

[Wild Grylls: Hello. What’s up?]

[King Reor: Um... excuse me, but could you spare a little bit of Orichalcum?]

[Wild Grylls: Orichalcum?]

[King Reor: Yes. I donated my Orichalcum somewhere else due to work. So I ran out of stuff to use for relay magic....]

[Wild Grylls: ...?]

Just what kind of person was he to donate Orichalcum?

Above all, there was a question I was even more curious about.

’Did the market price of Orichalcum really skyrocket?’

I should make a post on the Gallery.