I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 237

’First time seeing Heavenly Demon get triggered.’

I felt a novel sensation reading the post Heavenly Demon uploaded.

Heavenly Demon’s post was about cultivating the herb I gave her—that is, the herb effective against balding.

I wasn’t sure just how effective it was, but her aide had personally dubbed it a ’miracle’.

As a cure for hair loss, famously known as an ’incurable condition’, calling it a miracle was certainly fitting.

’They have magic and divine power, yet they can’t cure balding. What kind of nonsense is this.’

It could truly be called the most horrific disease next to dementia.

Supposedly, it was even genetic, so some people foresaw their future just by looking at their father’s hair volume.

What was worse was that balding could manifest through atavism across generations.

’At least I’m fine, but...’

After entering the Forest of the Four Seasons, my hair shed much more frequently.

Even if it grew back just as fast, hair strands carpeted the floor.

It was surely stress-induced balding brought on by extreme tension.

If Wonmo hadn’t been here, the symptoms would have worsened further.

’Even if I go bald here, it doesn’t mean much anyway.’

Processing that herb in earnest would take a long time regardless.

Although the efficacy itself was recognized quickly, nobody knew what side effects it might carry.

That was the exact reason I handed over distribution to Heavenly Demon.

In my heart, I wanted to post it on the Gallery and draw in as many people as possible.

However, if unknown side effects emerged, it would backfire horribly.

’Things like this are best spread as widely as possible.’

Right now, focusing on escape is my priority.

Heavenly Demon will also subtly leak that the source of the herb is the Forest of the Four Seasons.

I just need to hang on until then while exploring various parts of the forest.

Tadadak- tadak-

Returning to the present, I shifted my gaze away from the campfire.

Looking away, I saw the party huddled together drying their bodies.

Setting Ludwig and me aside, the rest of the crew bound to take a long time to dry due to their fur.

’Wait, Bbareumbo isn’t just fluffy fur?’

Bbareumbo bathed for the first time. Drenched in water, his exposed frame was impressive in more ways than one.

His upper body was a broad-shouldered inverted triangle. His lower body was un-sloth-likely thick.

No wonder he could pull off such insane speed. Good thing I didn’t mess with him.

’Tomorrow I’ll head back to where the squirrel is.’

Before sleeping, I mapped out tomorrow’s plan. First, I intended to visit the squirrel’s location again.

I was curious how work was progressing, and I planned to use that place as my front yard.

Using it as a front yard meant we might have to eat and sleep there.

So building up an outpost(?) bit by bit starting now would make the future much smoother.

’Normally I’d have to hear the squirrel’s input too, but...’

Handing over a Fasting Pill quietly would settle it. Besides, it liked the World Tree sapling too.

Of course, persuasion was necessary. We were practically renting space in someone else’s house.

’Still, safety is the most important thing.’

I realized it yesterday after encountering the Inverted Waterfall and the monster dwelling inside it.

A bizarre phenomenon unfolds before your eyes? First, throw a stone.

Not just once, but testing in various ways to secure safety first was essential.

’The problem is that even doing this, dangers are scattered everywhere...’

It couldn’t be helped. I just had to learn it step by step.

As days went by, my diary gradually filled up.

After writing the entry marking the end of the day, I logged into the Gallery.

Browsing the Gallery before bed acted as a sort of sleeping pill.

[Surprisingly Harmless Animal to Humanity]

Just in time, an interesting post hit the Recommended Posts.

I tapped in immediately to check what kind of post it was.

Title) Surprisingly Harmless Animal to Humanity

(Photo of a roaring Tyrannosaurus)

That would be the ’dinosaur’.

Not descendants like drakes or wyverns, but pure dinosaurs have never harmed humanity.

This is just ancestors getting unfairly blamed because their descendants messed up.

└ Fact is, the number of humans killed by dinosaurs is 0.

└ Lmao then what about dragons? Are dragons descendants of dinosaurs too?

└ Strictly speaking, dinosaurs are the ancestors of all living creatures. Just that they’re all extinct rofl

└ Why did they go extinct? Is there a reason?

└ Dunno, probably took a few natural disasters to the face and died off?

└ Some went extinct, but others evolved into different things.

So dinosaurs exist here too. Well, dragons, which could be called winged dinosaurs, exist right here after all.

Heck, dragons even spit Breath, making them a strictly superior upgrade.

Besides that, drakes, basilisks, wyverns, and so on.

Most creatures resembling dinosaurs were descendants.

’On Earth, were birds genetically the closest relative?’

I didn’t remember clearly, but that’s roughly how I understood it.

I watched self-proclaimed archaeologists or biologists bicker before dropping a comment.

└ Wild Grylls) Do you include someone who spotted a Sky Whale?

└ WTF who are you lmfaoYou are reading on NovelPing, the official source.

└ If you butt in, the balance collapses;;

└ Nah nah nah, pre-Mythic Era was the Dinosaur Era, so it doesn’t matter.

└ How does that not matter rofl

└ Aren’t dinosaurs living in the Forest of the Four Seasons too?

└ Could be. With Sky Whales around and all.

└ Grylls-yah. Tell us if you find a dinosaur, they’re harmless so if you ask to take a pic, it’ll allow it.

└ Wild Grylls) What kind of bullshit is that supposed to be;

└ Didn’t you read the post? Dinosaurs have never killed a human.

└ Yeah, it basically means most are docile.

└ Bullshitters rofl

Typical Gallery. Spouting off stream-of-consciousness non-sequiturs brought a smile to my face.

After browsing a few other posts, I prepared for bed.

The rest of the party had just finished drying their bodies and fur, so the timing was perfect.

’Not a bad start. I wish every day was like this.’

Of course, excluding encountering monster-like things like the one at the waterfall.

Or things with bizarre abilities like the squirrel.

I’d much prefer a brute that relies purely on weight class.

Because I wouldn’t lose when it comes to weight class. Even Ludwig verified that fact.

’...Excluding the waterfall monster.’

That was an untouchable realm. And not just that creature.

The giant crab and giant crayfish by the lakeside. Those guys were filming a full-blown kaiju movie.

’Mmm. Hopeless.’

Weight class or whatever, lying low is the absolute best.

Casting aside all arrogance, I concluded a tough day.

Before long, the morning sun rose, kicking off a new day.

"Alright. Today we’re heading back to where the squirrel is. We’ll make it an expansion... no, front yard... no."

"#%%%."

[A forward base, he says.]

"Yes. A forward base. We’re going to make it our forward base."

I informed the party of the rough plan.

Ludwig, a veteran soldier, pondered briefly before nodding. He seemed to conclude it was acceptable.

Now all that remained was heading there. I packed various tools into the Subspace Backpack.

Then, by handing the backpack over to Lackey, exploration prep was complete.

"Alright. Let’s move."

[Must we really do it this way?]

Lightly ignoring Cain’s words hanging from my chest, I set off.

Thanks to carving markers yesterday, finding the way wasn’t too difficult.

However, feeling that it looped around a bit, I made minor route corrections along the way.

Just as we reached the river we saw yesterday—

Gaegul.

Gaegul. Gaegul.

"What is that now?"

We could see frogs clustered together along the riverbank.

They looked like ordinary frogs on the surface, but their size was far from normal.

The largest Golden Frog individual was only about the size of a small dog.

However, the ones before us right now were the size of a ’bull’.

Not exaggerating; they were literally as big as bulls. At first, I thought my perspective was playing tricks on me.

"What on earth is that?"

[Frogs, it seems.]

"I know that much. Do you know what kind they are?"

[I am no biologist, how would I know frog species? Unless it were at least a monster.]

Anyone looking at that would think it’s a monster. I was dumbfounded.

I was reluctant to get close, but fortunately, we had a secret weapon.

"Tyranno. It’s your turn to step up."

"Ppyi!"

That would be the offspring of a dragon, feared by all land animals.

At my order, Tyranno strode magnificently toward the frogs.

Gaegul.

Gaegul-gaegul.

Chwaak! Chwareureuk! Chwak!

"Ppyeeeeee!"

In an instant, he was bound by the frogs’ long tongues and dragged away.

Apparently, land animals didn’t include amphibians like frogs.

Or maybe their intelligence was lower compared to other animals.

"Hey, you bastards! Let go of our kid!"

The moment Tyranno was bound, I rushed over urgently to threaten them.

Fortunately, when I stepped in, they instinctively felt endangered and leapt into the river.

I almost lost Tyranno pointlessly. Who knew there were creatures that didn’t fear a hatchling?

"Tyranno. Are you okay? Any injuries?"

"Ppyeeeeeng!"

Tyranno cried and threw himself at me.

He was drenched in saliva from being tied up by tongues, but I didn’t care.

Soothing Tyranno was the priority right now. Meanwhile, I checked the river.This story is hosted at NovelPing.

’As I thought, it’s better not to go near rivers.’

Barely comforting Tyranno, I headed toward the squirrel’s territory.

Not encountering any other animals along the way suggested the squirrel’s domain was quite vast.

Jjijik!

"Hello?"

Eventually arriving at the squirrel’s domain.

Whether it managed the World Tree sapling well over the past day, it felt like it had grown slightly.

I quietly handed a Fasting Pill over to the squirrel and spoke.

"Hey squirrel. Sorry, but would it be okay if we fixed up this place a bit?"

Jjijik?

"Actually..."

I explained the general situation to the squirrel.

That since we’d be visiting frequently in the future, if it’d be alright to remodel it so we could rest comfortably.

Even if sleeping quarters were tough, a setup allowing meals would be enough.

At first, the squirrel seemed quite suspicious, but...

"I’ll give you tasty food."

Jjiik!

The moment I promised tasty stuff like Fasting Pills, it granted permission right away.

Indeed, in the Forest of the Four Seasons, food—especially tasty food—was the ultimate currency.

Furthermore, the squirrel only needed the World Tree sapling, so it couldn’t be better.

"Alright, everyone. Let’s start preparing to build here."

"What about you?"

"I’m going to explore the immediate surroundings. You never know what dangers might lurk nearby."

Even if it’s the squirrel’s territory, there’s no telling what might be here.

Ludwig seemed to agree it made sense, nodding in approval.

As construction of the forward base began, I set off on my exploration.

Hoping there’d be another herb with outstanding effects like yesterday.

’If something dangerous comes up, Bbareumbo will warn me.’

Tense with vigilance, I pushed through the bushes.

Walking a bit further, I could grasp a few characteristics of this place.

’The trees are pretty big.’

Compared to trees near the Shelter, both thickness and height were much greater.

The leaves were so lush they blotted out the sunlight.

Since that meant keeping guard above as well as behind, I had to be cautious.

Buseureok-

Right then, I heard the sound of movement beside me. Hearing it, I froze in my tracks.

Following up, I turned my head toward the noise and heightened my battle alert.

Covering my body with my shield to brace for a potential surprise attack was a given.

Buseureok- buseureok-

The sound grew louder and louder. I didn’t let my guard down for a moment.

As the bushes rustled more intensely, before long...

Ssueok!

Someone poked their head out from within the bushes.

Lizard-like appearance with overall greyish scales.

In contrast, it had tiny, tiny eyes.

"...Tyranno? Why are you here?"

It was just as my vigilance loosened slightly at Tyranno’s sudden appearance.

Paseuseu-

Tyranno slowly stepped out of the bushes. But something was off.

Tyranno’s eye level rose gradually, soon surpassing my own height.

And what about the body? A massive torso far larger than Tyranno’s, featuring short forelimbs.

On the other hand, its hind legs were thick enough to resemble tree trunks.

"...?"

What the.

When did Tyranno lose his wings and grow up like this?

No. Wait, it doesn’t even look like a dragon in the first place?

It was while my brain failed to process the current situation for a moment.

Haljjak-

The Tyranno-like creature licked its lips with its tongue.

Anyone looking could tell it viewed me as prey.

Only then was I able to grasp the situation.

"Holy shit..."

The thing in front of me wasn’t Tyranno.

It was a real-deal Tyrannosaurus.

Though much smaller in size, it was nonetheless a Tyrannosaurus.

Or maybe some other dinosaur. Either way, one thing was certain.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!!!"

This bastard is a ’dinosaur’.

The real Tyrannosaurus opened its maw wide and charged at me.

I hastily raised my shield to brace for the attack.

’A harmless animal? What a joke.’

I’m gonna personally experience it (forced) and refute it.

Or this bastard takes home a glorious first kill.