I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 302

Mage King Kadir.

His fame was so renowned throughout the world that explaining it would only wear out one’s tongue.

Most famous of all was his past as a companion to the previous Hero, a saga virtually indistinguishable from a fairytale.

A righteous, mighty Hero, the mage who supported his side, and their vanquishing of evil spreading across the world.

Though the inner truth behind it was bleak, Kadir’s renown had never faded.

If anything, he had risked danger to pressure the Papal See out of loyalty to the previous Hero.

Though rife with rumors of being an eccentric, most agreed his character was more than fitting for a companion of the Hero.

"Now, now. Don’t be shy, drink up. It is a brew of herbs I steeped myself."

Was it because of that? Despite his fame, Kadir possessed a rather modest side.

Even now, he was serving tea to his guests, claiming it was an herbal tea he personally steeped.

Ash and Selena looked at the tea, unsure of what to say.

It possessed a deep green hue, yet was transparent enough to see the bottom of the cup.

Ash read the room, then quietly took a sip.

"Mmm...? The taste is..."

"Unique."

A subtle yet deep flavor resonated. The aroma was unique as well.

Though opinions might differ depending on the person, for Ash, it leaned generally toward ’like’.

"It is green tea, one of the specialty goods of Zhongyuan. Quite good for the body."

Kadir spoke with a benign smile.

Thanks to that, Ash and Selena were able to ease their tension to some extent.

"Now, that aside... May I ask why such beautiful ladies have come seeking this old man? One of whom is even a famed Sword Master."

"For someone calling himself an old man, you look very young."

Selena spoke with genuine sincerity.

In truth, Kadir looked remarkably young for his age.

"Thank you for the compliment. I recently received a fine gift from a friend."

"I see. First of all, as I informed you in advance via letter... Count Menethil has merely lent me her name. The purpose lies solely with me."

"Indeed. And that purpose is..."

"A joint research into the Forest of the Four Seasons."

Was it because the Forest of the Four Seasons was brought up by Selena?

Kadir’s persistent smile vanished for a brief moment before returning.

There was no way Ash would miss that tiny opening.

’He’s hiding something.’

It felt less like hiding something and more like an uncomfortable reaction.

She didn’t know what it was, but it seemed best to watch the situation for now.

"The Forest of the Four Seasons, is it... Come to think of it, I heard there’s a survivor inside recently?"

"You have heard. Yes, that is correct. His handle is Grylls, a very famous person on the Gallery as well."

"I have heard much about him as well. It is a place overflowing with bizarre creatures. If only I could research such creatures, I would die with no regrets."

Kadir gently stroked his beard, speaking as if enchanted.

To one who had devoted his entire life to academics, the creatures of the Forest of the Four Seasons were the absolute dream research subject.

Selena, as a fellow mage and scholar, understood that sentiment all too well.

’If negotiations drag on, I should offer him one mature mandrake.’

Selena thought to herself and continued speaking.

"That is why I dare to say this: I wish to pull that survivor out."

"Hmm? What nonsense is that?"

Kadir widened his eyes and questioned Selena’s request.

Anyone else would have thought:

Ah. As expected, even Mage King Kadir is reluctant to deal with research regarding the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Selena actually thought that way, but Ash felt a bit differently.

’He claims to be a scholar, right? Why is he treating it as bullshit? Shouldn’t he display intrigue instead?’

The nuance was subtly off, causing her to tilt her head.

But since a proper exchange hadn’t fully taken place yet, she quietly waited for Selena’s remaining words.

"It is difficult to explain in detail, but I received a great favor from him. And he desperately wishes to escape from the Forest of the Four Seasons."

"Hmm. Continue."

"However, mana usage is impossible inside the Forest of the Four Seasons, and its space shifts continuously. Stepping foot into such a place would mean nothing short of a pointless death."

"I have heard of it. The pressure in the Forest of the Four Seasons is far more intense than elsewhere, rendering mana unusable."

Fitting for Kadir, he seemed to know at least the basics about the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Furthermore, possessing such boundless curiosity, he undoubtedly enjoyed using the Gallery.

Since everyone knew the general information, they could cut to the main point.

"That is why I am requesting aid from you, Kadir-nim. The knowledge of someone hailed as the Mage King surely exceeds my own."

"I, too, do not know what I do not know. Especially regarding the Forest of the Four Seasons."

"Even so, I believe you must know countless formulas."

Selena’s persuasion continued relentlessly.

From offering that Kadir could keep everything yielded by the research, to promising all possible support and even borrowing her house’s name if necessary.

Did this persuasion work, or had he been interested in the Forest of the Four Seasons all along?Find the original chapter at novеlping.com.

"Very passionate. But it is insufficient. Can you present a theory that would actually work in the Forest of the Four Seasons?"

"I anticipated as much and prepared in advance."

Selena pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket and handed it to Kadir.

Kadir unfolded the paper to check what theory was written on it.

"This is..."

"It is a formula I devised to raise the probability even by a tiny margin."

"Extricating him from the outside, rather than going inside directly... I hadn’t thought of this."

"Because being the Forest of the Four Seasons does not mean magic usage itself is impossible."

Mana usage was difficult, but casting magic was still possible.

Realizing this was thanks to Vanir, the ancient dragon from the Mythological Age.

Polymorph was top-tier magic, and its difficulty scaled with its degree of detail.

Though the fact that Vanir was a dragon was a factor, it showed that magic itself could still be manifested.

"However, isn’t the certainty far too low with just this formula? The only precision lies in specificity."

Kadir pointed to a section of the paper and pointed out, a dissatisfied look on his face as a bonus.

Selena, having anticipated this as well, explained calmly.

"That is precisely why it will work. Unless we step inside directly, establishing the spatial formula of the Forest of the Four Seasons is impossible."

"It feels like fishing. Throwing out a special bait and..."

"Persisting continuously until a big fish is caught. That is why I crafted the specificity so meticulously."

The crux of it was this: craft detailed specificity to coax Grylls into taking the bait.

Not knowing what might get hooked was dangerous, but it was far better than going inside directly.

Crucially, Grylls’s distinct traits were things no one else could easily replicate.

"A entity possessing a human body yet harboring a monstrous amount of mana. With just this, specificity will easily hold."

"Aha."

Ash gasped as if she finally understood.

Indeed, while all sorts of bizarre animals existed in the Forest of the Four Seasons, creatures as abnormal as Grylls were rare.

Similar to how even with countless fish in the ocean, a Kraken was extremely rare.

It would serve as a means to cut down time and drastically boost safety.

"What system of magic will you use? Summoning?"

"Yes."

"Originally, summoning magic requires specifying a range, but since space shifts in real time in the Forest of the Four Seasons, that is meaningless. Rather, leaving it unspecified would be better."

"Precisely. We utilize the uncertainty."

"And here I thought it was an absurd theory... Haha."

Kadir gave a hollow laugh, then quickly assumed a serious expression.

"Extremely impressive. Normally this would only look decent if specificity holds, but everything fits like a glove."

"Thank you..."

"However, there is a fatal flaw."

"...you. Pardon?"

Kadir suddenly began criticizing mid-compliment.

As Selena froze in bewilderment, Kadir disclosed a certain law.

"Do you know the Law of Conservation of Mass-Energy? It is one of the laws forming the foundation of the world, discovered by an ancient scholar."

"I am aware of it. However..."

"I know what you are thinking. Ancient relics like Subspace Backpacks exist that comfortably disregard that law."

Kadir seemed lost in thought for a moment before continuing.

"Yet through research, I have faintly realized: it does not ignore the law, but merely ’compresses’ space. The mass and energy inside remain identical to the uncompressed space."

"Compressed space? What on earth..."

"You think it absurd. But it is the truth. We simply have not found that formula yet."

"..."

"In the eyes of the gods, we are likely nothing more than toddlers who haven’t even learned to walk."

It had been mentioned once before.

Religion in this world, unlike Earth, maintained a very close relationship with science.

Typically, as science develops, religious influence fades, but here it was the exact opposite.

The more science advanced and diverse theories were proven, the higher the status of the gods rose.

Phenomena that humans couldn’t dare explain were things the gods already knew inside out.

Indeed, it was frequent for humans to fail to understand knowledge handed down by gods, only realizing it much later.

"Therefore, to utilize this summoning magic, mana equivalent to the amount harbored by the person named Grylls is required. The amount of mana consumed by the summoning magic itself will be substantial as well. The silver lining is that distance need not be taken into account."

"..."

"Furthermore, as time goes on, his mana will also increase exponentially. Right now, it is estimated to be so vast that even I click my tongue—can you handle that?"

Ash could understand Kadir’s words.

Having participated in various military operations as a soldier in the past, she realized one thing acutely.

’Supply’ was one of the most ruthless aspects that even magic struggled to solve.

’The larger the supply volume and the greater the distance, the mana consumed by Teleport increases exponentially.’

Unless it was extraordinarily urgent, supplies were never transported via Teleport. In the worst-case scenario, the supplies might be lost.

No matter how powerful magic was, it could not bypass the foundational laws of the world.

’It’s the Gallery that’s abnormal.’

The Gallery, which could trade any item while ignoring logistics.

Though restrictions existed, it wasn’t considered one of the divine legacies for nothing.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelpin‌g.com.

"Besides, even if specificity is established, the Forest of the Four Seasons will likely skew even that. Rather than a two-legged human, you might summon a two-legged monster."

She could understand those words as well. Like the handstand walking analogy Selena mentioned earlier.

Even if one deployed formulas meticulously, the Forest of the Four Seasons could warp even that.

"So we might as well give it a try for now."

"...Pardon?"

"...?"

Ash and Selena expressed confusion.

Kadir had been expressing negative views just moments ago.

Yet suddenly showing a positive reaction naturally raised questions.

"Why so surprised? I meant there is a flaw in extracting that Grylls fellow; the formula itself is not bad. Proving it through simple experiments should be fine."

"Does that mean..."

"I will assist you. However, pulling that survivor out is up to you. Securing such a vast amount of mana will be difficult as well."

"T-Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Selena beamed with joy and bowed her head deeply.

Indeed, undergoing trial and error to tweak the formula was far better than being unable to start at all.

Of course, if things went wrong, the formula might get tangled like spaghetti, but Selena was hailed as a genius.

Furthermore, with Kadir’s help, she would surely be able to resolve it without issue.

"How long do you plan to stay at the Magic Tower? Completing this formula should take at least a week."

"Three days will be enough. You just need to instruct me on what I do not know."

"That much is fine. Just be careful since it’s creatures of the Forest of the Four Seasons. Ah, while we’re at it, I should set coordinates at the entrance to the Forest of the Four Seasons, as we will need to travel back and forth often."

"Then as for me..."

Ash asked tentatively. Deep down, she wanted to stay together.

Going home meant having nothing to do anyway, and being connected to the Forest of the Four Seasons naturally piqued her curiosity.

"It would be best for you to stay as well. Do you happen to have any busy matters?"

"No, I don’t."

"Thank you. Since the two of us are mages, it would be disastrous if an accident occurred. Hahaha."

Ash cracked a bitter smile inside. Honestly speaking, Kadir felt stronger than herself.

"It is almost lunchtime. Have you eaten?"

"No, not yet..."

"Then let us meet again after lunch. I shall look for the books until then."

Time passed, and lunchtime arrived.

Selena greeted Kadir with a joyful face and walked outside.

Ash glanced at Kadir before following behind Selena.

"I’m glad the conversation went well."

"Indeed. It’s clear he was interested in the Forest of the Four Seasons, just as the rumors said."

"Interest, huh..."

Rather than simple interest, it felt like there was something more.

Ash recalled the nuances embedded in Kadir’s words, but soon shook her head.

Dwelling on this now wouldn’t reveal a single thing. Rather than harboring doubts, she ought to respect him as a joint researcher.

"By the way, learning that rescuing Grylls-ssi is difficult... makes me a bit sad."

Selena spoke with a voice heavy with deep regret.

The most crucial part she had put effort into was blocked by a fatal flaw.

Had it been the past, it might have been different, but now Grylls’s mana had grown far too immense.

Even now, it was steadily rising, which meant it would cause even greater headaches in the future.

"Is it just a matter of having enough mana?"

"Yes, that’s right."

"Then couldn’t we ask Grylls-ssi for inner cores? He probably has a pile of them accumulated right now."

"It’s not as if I haven’t considered that. But I wonder if Grylls-ssi would trust us."

Indeed, suddenly telling him to hand over his stockpiled inner cores in exchange for rescuing him?

It was no different from a friend asking you to co-sign a loan. For Grylls, it was bound to be uncomfortable.

For now, establishing the formula and inventing new magic was the priority.

’I hope nothing weird pops out.’

Ash worried slightly, but soon brushed it aside.

No matter what came out, as long as she was by her side, there would be no danger.

"Instead of inner cores, what about mana stones? Contacting Setan’s side might not be a bad choice either."

"Mana stones... That’s not a bad option. Coincidentally, my family is interacting with Setan, so I should ask."

Step by step, ever so slowly, they were approaching the solution.

At the time when Ash, Selena, and Kadir were gathered together...

"Mmm... Why are these three gathered together?"

Asella realized that three named handles deeply entangled with Grylls were in the same location and harbored doubts.

The location was none other than the Magic Tower. It could be coincidence piled upon coincidence, but it was bizarre.

’I must send someone to find out what they’re up to. Could it be a discussion related to Grylls-ssi?’

It was a reasonable suspicion.