I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 258

One only realizes the inconvenience after experiencing comfort.

This saying hits home even harder for someone like me who lived in civilization and was suddenly dropped into the wild.

Even though the Gallery exists, most tasks have to be performed by manual labor, and if you don’t work, nothing comes out of nowhere.

You can’t order delivery food with a single tap of a smartphone, nor can you buy various machines.

Why am I saying this?

Kkaang!

"Ah hot hot hot hot!"

Because I am feeling the importance of machinery in real time.

As soon as I hammered, sparks flew toward my face, causing me to make a fuss.

I thought I had adjusted the power properly, but sparks flew up high.

’Just how much force control do I really need to do?’

I gazed at the bright yellow-heated Mythricon ingot.

I had to hit this diligently with a hammer to rough out the shape.

’Medieval people did this with bare hands?’

There was a reason blacksmiths were treated as high-skilled personnel.

When seen from afar, it was a profession that stirred romance, but actually trying it was anything but.

Romance my ass, it’s an absurdly difficult job. Especially the heat—it’s no joke.

Sweat poured down like rain, yet because of flying sparks, wearing an apron was mandatory.

’There was a reason they got angry whenever someone talked to them.’

The so-called routine. If you didn’t follow the routine, the desired shape wouldn’t take form.

Even simple hammering to shape it required essential force control, so how much worse would the other processes up to completion be?

Of course, others wouldn’t have metal exploding like me, but it was still hard.

’That dwarf guy must do it easily, right?’

The more I hammered, the more I respected Passing Dwarf.

At the same time, I felt empty inside. Protagonists in novels or webtoons learned things so quickly.

Only my physical stats rose exponentially; skills had to be developed by myself without any perks whatsoever.

Maybe that’s why. I looked up at the sky and muttered softly.

"...Status window?"

[Hmm? What did you say?]

"...No."

Figures. I let out a deflated laugh and continued hammering.

Kkaang! Kkang! Kkang!

"Safety rules are written in blood"—I was personally experiencing that famous quote.

Including the first explosion, there were quite a few dangerous moments.

The moment I struck down with the hammer, metal launched off somewhere like syung!

Or it shot up into the sky like a missile, fell to the ground, and exploded right there.

As if that weren’t enough, massive sparks flew up and threatened my face.

Thanks to that, I even wore a gas mask to pay attention to safety.

Fortunately, after getting used to it to some degree, things improved.

’The reaction force is severe.’

Putting aura into the hammer was fine. But the moment it passed the threshold, it exploded.

That said, removing aura meant the metal didn’t take the shape I wanted.

’I really have to do it raw.’

Controlling aura is still difficult. If I reduce it to the minimum, it turns into a missile.

Therefore, I used mana solely for physical reinforcement while beating with the hammer.

The shape I wanted was a cylinder shape. That was the base.

Once crafted into a cylindrical shape, I lightly sharpened the back portion.

"Ahjussi. Hold this tight."

"Mm."

Once the rough shape was formed, it was time to pierce the center.

After asking Ludwig to hold it firmly, I placed a large stake in the center.

A stake suitable for creating a hole. I pounded hard on top of that stake with the hammer.

Kkaang! Kkang! Kkang!

Hammering it before it cooled, a hole gradually formed in the center.

No matter how tough Mythricon was, it couldn’t win against heat.

Of course, apart from that, the stake was almost completely ruined.

After punching a large hole in the center like that, I refined it a few times and plunged it into the oil bucket.

Chiiiiiiiiik!

After about 2 hours, the hammer head was complete. Inserting wood into the hole would finish it.

If asked why I made a hammer, the answer was simple.

’It’s not like the dwarf gave me a disposable tool, though...’

The hammer Passing Dwarf gave me had flattened out.

Because I forcibly used brute strength without aura, the front part of the hammer had crushed.

Steel couldn’t beat Mythricon, so it got damaged.

I should make another one later and gift it to him.

’For the handle, wood around here should be fine.’

Lastly, I crafted the handle using the abundant wood lying all around.

Before long, I wedged it tightly into the hole and secured it firmly.

In about 2 hours and 30 minutes, I completed the Mythricon hammer.

’Time to eat.’

It really took forever. However, time wasn’t spent solely on hammering.

The task that consumed the most time was heating.

Since I only had a makeshift furnace, heating naturally took a long time.

It seemed I would need a proper forge after all.

’It’s a relief I don’t have to smelt the iron directly myself.’Read this novel at novel⁠ping.com for the best experience.

If I had to consider that too, I would have quit long ago.

I took a photo of the dull gray-glowing Mythricon hammer and posted it to the Gallery.

Title) First Handcraft

Wild Grylls

(Photo holding the Mythricon hammer)

Thanks to Passing Dwarf’s help, this is my first handcrafted tool.

I plan to craft countless tools with this hammer from now on.

└ Heavenly Demon) Decent for a first attempt.

└ Sword Matstar) You haven’t sharpened it on a whetstone yet, right? Well, it’s a hammer so it shouldn’t matter, right?

└ Starlight Lady) Do you happen to have any intention of learning Alchemy as well?

└ Wild Grylls) If I did alchemy on top of everything, I wouldn’t have enough time.

└ Starlight Lady) That’s a pity. If you ever change your mind, feel free to tell me anytime. I’ll support you!

└ But if he learns alchemy, who will he test his experiments on?

└ Lackey?

└ Poor Lackey;;

└ Wild Grylls) I’m not that big of a piece of trash, you guys.

└ Starlight Lady) Exactly. What do you take Grylls-nim for!

└ Wild Grylls) Not the whole thing, I’ll just feed him about one bite.

└ Starlight Lady) ...

└ lololololol

└ lololol

└ Is he a royal food taster lololol

└ Passing Dwarf) Surely if you have a conscience, you’ll give me one hammer, right?

└ Wild Grylls) Saying that makes me want to give it to you even less.

└ Passing Dwarf) Ah. Dude. Please give me just one.

└ Wild Grylls) Ok, but before that, I need to craft a furnace. It’s for heating, can you draw up a blueprint for me?

└ Passing Dwarf) Ok wait up.

└ Jealous of the dwarf.

└ On the outside it looks like an ordinary piece of iron so no one would even notice lol

└ Truly the pinnacle of inefficiency lol

└ A hammer crafted from Mithril and Orichalcum. That’s literally every blacksmith’s dream hammer...

└ People would rush in with fiery eyes just to find one of those lol

└ And besides, that guy Passing Dwarf is a Dwarf.

"Uh. Is that so?"

I paused, seeing some slightly dangerous comments.

Just as I was thinking, ’Should I not give it to him?’, Passing Dwarf posted a comment.

└ Passing Dwarf) Let them try to find it if they want lololol I’ll just throw it up on the auction house right away.

└ lolololol

└ If I can’t have it, I’ll destroy it!!!

└ Quite the lunatic himself lol

Truly an idea fitting of the dwarf. I chuckled seeing it.

Anyway, since there was nothing to do until I received the World Tree sapling, honing my skill was a good idea.

’Before that, I should wash up.’

Because of the terrifying heat, my whole body was drenched in sweat.

I washed my body clean and set about preparing dinner.

’I wonder what will happen tomorrow.’

Holding that thought, a day passed.

[Breaking News. Alfheim reveals new weapon]

[They say it’s a pilotable Guardian, what is that?]

[Apparently you can even ride inside it?]

[What the hell did those point-eared bastard elves make;;]

The Queen of Alfheim dropped a massive discussion topic.

’...A pilotable Guardian?’

Now this is somewhat enticing.

Gu-chil, an executive remnant of the Blood Cult.

After being swallowed into the whale’s belly, the last thing he remembered was a squelchy, sticky sensation.

In the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, he fought a desperate struggle against huge fish and struggled wildly to escape the stomach acid.

Fortunately, thanks to his eyes adapting to the dark and his training in External Arts, he was able to endure to some extent.

However, the Sky Whale’s belly was far too vast. And tough.

If he had been able to use internal energy, he could have pierced its internal organs, but since that was impossible...

Ultimately, Gu-chil endured and endured, having no choice but to pass beyond the stomach into other organs.

Of course, it wasn’t of his own free will; he was effectively washed away. That was the last thing Gu-chil remembered.

"Ummm..."

Gu-chil let out a groan and barely opened his eyes that resisted opening.

When he opened them, his vision was dim, but blinking a few times restored it to normal.

As his sight returned completely, what met his eyes was none other than some fur.

Right in the middle of pitch-black fur, a human-like face was squarely embedded.

"Uu!"

"..."

It was a gorilla. The moment Gu-chil saw the gorilla’s face, he blanked out for a second.

He wondered if he was dreaming, but his vivid physical senses told him it was no dream.

While Gu-chil was coming to his senses, the gorilla stepped out somewhere. Thanks to that, Gu-chil was left alone in the room.

’Where... is this?’

Gu-chil rolled only his eyes, taking in the current situation.

The very first thing he needed to do was gauge his body’s condition.

He barely managed to lift his head or raise his arms, executing whatever actions he could to the maximum.

’My skin...’Read the latest chapters at novelpin⁠g.com.

His skin was in a condition that could not be called okay even out of politeness.

Some parts were swollen and burst, while many areas had been peeled raw.

Furthermore, although there were traces of something applied here and there, it didn’t mean much.

’If I hadn’t trained in External Arts...’

His entire body would have melted away inside that belly. Just imagining it made him dizzy.

Gu-chil checked if there were any other injuries. Thanks to that, he realized one thing.

"Kkeu-eeee..."

Many parts of his body were broken. He hadn’t realized when waking up, but as feeling slowly returned, so did the pain.

By the looks of it, he seemed to have fallen bare-bodied from a high place. Thanks to someone providing emergency first aid, he had escaped the worst-case scenario.

’Don’t tell me that Great Ape earlier did this? It even made splints like these?’

Splints applied to his left arm and left leg. Gu-chil harbored doubts.

Did that gorilla he saw just now give him first aid? He couldn’t tell for sure.

’Wait a minute. Great Ape?’

Belatedly realizing his original objective, Gu-chil’s eyes glinted sharply.

Why had he come to this damned forest in the first place? Carrying a mission, he came to find the Blood Demon’s successor.

That the successor was a gorilla was absurd and utterly ridiculous, but it seemed he had found one for now.

’No. Just how many Great Apes are there in the forest? Verification comes first.’

The problem was that with his limbs in this state, he couldn’t move properly.

Gu-chil barely lifted his upper body to look around.

The place he was in was a cave, but it wasn’t a natural cave.

Rather, it felt like someone painstakingly stacked stones to build a sturdy shelter.

’Did a Great Ape even build something like this?’

He knew gorillas had high intelligence, but to think it was to this extent.

Considering there was even an individual that could speak, it shouldn’t be strange.

’Anyway, it hurts like hell. I have to circulate internal energy even if I force it.’

Just as Gu-chil was about to circulate his sluggish internal energy—

Seueuk—

Gorillas made their appearance. One large individual and two guarding its sides.

Gu-chil flinched at the arrival of a gorilla that was distinctly different from the others.

Not only was its build impressive, but it wore tattered clothes, giving off a subtle atmosphere.

In the meantime, the gorilla stared intently at Gu-chil, then opened its mouth heavily.

"Have you regained your senses?"

"...Huh?"

The gorilla’s words entered his ears clearly. It wasn’t even a foreign language.

It was the language of Zhongyuan, in which he had been born and raised his whole life. Though close to an archaic speech tone, it was undeniably his native tongue.

’I thought it was the white one... Ah, this guy was also taught by the Blood Demon!’

Gu-chil was thrown into temporary confusion, but quickly gathered his thoughts.

What was shown on the Gallery was Lackey—the white gorilla—but he had also overheard rumors about gorillas besides him.

Lackey had a brother, and that brother had also received instruction from Wi Ho-chang.

He was on the verge of completing his goal. Gu-chil calmed his excited heart and answered.

"I survived thanks to you. Thank you."

"Hmm?"

When Gu-chil responded in the Zhongyuan language, the boss gorilla’s eyes filled with surprise.

A reaction of having never expected a response in the same tongue. But that wasn’t the only surprise.

"Are you the Great Ape taught by Wi Ho-chang—no, the Blood Demon?"

"How do you know Master’s name?"

Hearing the term ’Master’, Gu-chil let out a hollow laugh inside.

What kind of existence was a Master? In Zhongyuan, was a master not at least equal to one’s father?

For a mere gorilla to call the great Blood Demon ’Master’—he wanted to teach it a lesson right this instance.

However, with his limbs broken, it was out of the question. He had no choice but to bide his time and seek an opportunity.

"I am Gu-chil, a member of the Blood Cult founded by the Blood Demon."

"Call me Wiheuk. It is the name Master bestowed upon me."

"Where is the Blood Demon?"

"Regrettably, he has ascended to the heavens."

As the boss gorilla conversed with Gu-chil, its expression grew increasingly curious.

At first, it wondered why some guy covered in poop fell from the sky, but as it turned out, he was connected to Master.

He is definitely different from that guy over there accompanied by the sloth.

"Then are there no items left behind by the Blood Demon? There should be recorded materials like books."

"Wait. I will bring it."

It spoke as if it didn’t mind at all and left to fetch the heirloom.

A short moment later, the boss gorilla brought back a scroll.

Not paper, but a scroll made of rectangular wooden slats.

Well, since paper couldn’t be obtained here, it seemed to have been substituted with that.

"Read it. I will watch and hand over the rest later."

"Hmm."

Even if it was a gorilla, caution was unavoidable after all, huh?

While understanding, Gu-chil carefully accepted the scroll.

’This is...!’

The last legacy left by the Blood Demon. High probability it’s a secret martial arts manual.

Barely calming his pounding heart, he unrolled the scroll.

A scroll made of wood. Records were carved into it with a sharp object.

And the first sentence of that record was:

[If you are reading this, abandon all hope.]

"..."

It was truly literary.