I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 34

After chalking up another loss to Speed Sloth, I finished clearing up the aftermath.

Though losing the iron barrel was a shame, the auction house was overflowing with them, so resupplying wouldn’t be difficult.

On top of that, having sold the owlbear carcass and the raw timber, my finances were quite comfortable.

Since I had just put up the Inner Core as well, my pockets would be even fatter by tomorrow.

’I wonder how much the Inner Core will fetch?’

Heavenly Demon had mentioned it was hard to put a price on it.

That meant there was a high chance its value might actually be underestimated.

Because an Inner Core was a rare Spiritual Medicine.

When posts about getting scammed on the auction house pop up all the time, how much worse would it be for an Inner Core?

It was fortunate I had built up trust until now; otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to complain if people called me a scammer.

’It’s not like I experienced the effects directly myself, either.’

I gained benefits from eating the fish, not the Inner Core.

Even that wasn’t completely certain, since I barely had one foot in the door when it came to mana or Internal Energy.

The fixed-nicks like Heavenly Demon had real expertise, but they weren’t by my side.

Phenomena that even they didn’t know about were happening to my body, making it hard to come to a firm conclusion.

’Still, the fact that there’s an effect is indisputable.’

In less than a single day, my muscle strength and stamina had increased dramatically.

Hadn’t I easily wrapped up simple manual labor like logging and shoveling?

Even if I didn’t know the detailed reason, I had grown stronger through that process. That much I could guarantee.

’Since I have time left over, should I start exploring the surroundings?’

Fortifying the base was done, and all that was left was receiving the defensive wall from Passing Dwarf.

Before that, I planned to decide where to explore first. I stepped inside the cave.

Stepping inside, I saw Wonmo fast asleep, taking a nap.

How could even his sleeping figure be so ridiculously cute and adorable?

This definitely needed a photo post.

Title) A Round Ball of Fur

Wild Grylls

(Photo of Wonmo sleeping curled up into a ball)

(Video of Wonmo sleeping peacefully)

Seriously, whenever I look at him my mind feels so at peace. How can he be this cute?

└ Heeyah. He really is cute though;;

└ I’ll acknowledge it if you still say he’s cute when he grows big lol

└ Don’t beasts grow up super fast?

└ Usually they’re fully grown within a year, right?

└ Wild Grylls) Hey, you bastards. You telling me to stay stuck here for a year?

└ It’s the Forest of the Four Seasons, can you even get out? lol

└ Wild Grylls) I gotta try. I’m planning to go exploring now.

└ You planning to leave Wonmo all alone? What if he gets attacked?

Come to think of it, they were right. Leaving Wonmo alone to explore carried too much risk.

As much as I wanted to take him with me, Wonmo’s combat capability was weaker than mine.

Hadn’t Speed Sloth jumped out when I went to the river last time?

It turned out fine because I came back quickly and Speed Sloth wasn’t a bad guy, but still.

’Should I take Wonmo along?’

Or there was another method. Having Speed Sloth stay in the cave.

In truth, this was the best option. Though it would mean increasing my own danger.

Last time, when I was almost struck by the chameleon pit viper, Speed Sloth blocked it for me.

Possessing overwhelming dynamic vision and agility, he would be very useful for exploration.

’It’s a tough call.’

Whether to leave Wonmo behind and go explore.

Or leave Speed Sloth here instead.

After pondering for who knows how long, I spoke to the fellow clinging to my back.

"Bbareumbo-ya."

"?"

At my question, Speed Sloth tilted his head in a sluggish motion.

"You’ll have to guard the cave."

"...."

"If you guard it well until I get back, I’ll give you a Fasting Pill."

Hearing those words, Speed Sloth slowly crawled down from my back.

He definitely understood what I said. It was truly mysterious.

I definitely wasn’t the weird one; Speed Sloth was clearly the extraordinary one.

Wonmo understood me too, but let’s gloss over that.

Doubts and their solutions are things to be sorted out when one has leisure.

When survival is what matters most like right now, those are all just meaningless idle thoughts.

"When Wonmo wakes up, tell him where I went. Got it?"

Kkodeok- kkodeok-

At my request, Speed Sloth nodded his head in agreement.

Now that I had stationed a reliable bodyguard, all that remained was preparing for exploration.

As always, the Sword of the Heavenly Demon and the Golden Shield were everything.

I also put on clean clothes—ones I had washed earlier when giving Wonmo a bath.

’Princess Chaenggu said she’d give me long clothes later, right?’

I didn’t know how long it would take until then, but it would probably be soon.

Considering she willingly offered even a top-grade sports uniform.

Having packed an Elixir and Fasting Pills just in case, all that was left was to set off.

’Should I check out this direction today?’

I was gradually exploring in all directions—north, south, east, and west—centered around the cave.

To the northeast was the river where Golden Frogs appeared, and to the northwest was the habitat of the Mature Mandrake.

Of course, without a compass, there was no way to know if these were exact directions. It was purely based on my intuition.

So this time, I planned to head toward what I presumed to be the west.

’I should return before lunch.’

After exploring, I planned to receive the defensive wall from Passing Dwarf and repair the base.

In under a week, my overall physical capabilities had surged dramatically.

Manual labor was no longer that difficult. Before long, exploration would become my primary routine.

"I’m heading out. Keep a good eye on the house."

"...."

As I spoke while stepping outside the cave, Speed Sloth gave me a slow wave.

A gesture telling me to have a safe trip. No matter how I looked at him, he felt less like an animal and more like a human.

Jjirrrr- jjirrrr-

A direction I had never taken, neither toward the river nor the mandrake habitat.

The boisterous chirping of grass insects pierced my ears, heightening my sense of tension.

I forged ahead, leaving markers along the way so I wouldn’t get lost.

’I can’t trust what my eyes see at face value.’

Because of that chameleon viper, I couldn’t lower my guard even for a second.

Periodically striking trees with the back of my blade, parting the bushes, and so on. I exercised maximum caution.

Even if progress was slow this way, it would be safe. Even if I had Elixirs, I had to save them.

"Huh?"

It was as I was pressing forward little by little. An object caught my eyes.

Since it was pitch black, at first I thought it was charcoal.

But seeing flies swarming around it, it was definitely not charcoal.

’It’s poop.’

Animal poop. I had no idea whose it was.

In the civilized world, it would be mere excrement to be brushed off as gross.This chapter is updated first at NovelPing.

In the wild, it was entirely different. Animals tend to mark their ’territory’ through excrement.

A warning signal along the lines of: This is my territory, so enter and prepare to die.

’Judging by the flies buzzing around, it looks a bit old... Is it from an owlbear?’

I wasn’t an expert, so I couldn’t tell whose it was.

For now, I presumed it belonged to the owlbear that had departed for the United States.

Because what Wonmo pooped out looked identical, only differing in size.

Still, asking the Gallery was the best way.

’I should probably tag it as gross, right?’

Getting banned was a possibility, so I needed to be careful.

Without lowering my guard, I wrote a post on the Gallery.

Title) Slightly Gross: Whose is this?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of animal excrement)

Found this while exploring today. Anyone know whose poop this is?

If it’s an owlbear, I’ll keep exploring; if it’s another animal, I’ll rethink things.

└ Ah fuck, that’s disgusting.

└ Damn, they took a huge shit lol

└ Mix some rice in there and you could devour a whole bowl in one go lol

└ Ah shit, blocking you. So fucking gross.

└ Wild Grylls) Cut the bullshit, is it an owlbear’s or not?

└ Looks like it? Only owlbears have poop that pitch black.

└ Isn’t it regular bears too, not just owlbears?

└ Allfather) It is indeed the excrement of an owlbear. Considering its large size, I presume it belonged to the specimen you killed previously.

As expected of Father-emon. The sole intellectual standing amongst dumbasses.

Since it came from Allfather and nobody else, I could trust it.

I expressed my gratitude to Allfather and moved on.

Just in case, I deleted the post. Orange Badge might see it and slap me with a ban.

If she were flexible, it would be one thing, but Orange Badge was surprisingly a stickler for rules, so it was a precaution.

’Surprisingly, it’s strange that Heavenly Demon didn’t leave a comment.’

Even Heavenly Demon must dislike dirty stuff. I could understand that.

Either way, now that it was confirmed to be owlbear excrement, it should be fine to explore further.

’Oh. Wild strawberries?’

During the search, I discovered some delicious-looking berries.

Red and plump-looking, anyone would take them for wild strawberries.

But this was the Forest of the Four Seasons. A demonic realm in itself where even grass contained poison.

Since I used to get severe grass rashes before coming here, I decided to ask the Gallery before harvesting.

Mindlessly eating them and dying a lonely death in the wild was something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Title) Can I eat this?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of berries resembling wild strawberries)

They look delicious, can I eat them?

└ Aren’t those wild strawberries?

└ Do wild strawberries even grow in the forest?

└ Usually wild strawberries are round, right? Why are those so long?

└ Give it a try. Eat them and give us a review on the taste.

└ Wild Grylls) I don’t trust a word you guys say.

└ Then why ask?

└ Wild Grylls) Give me a proper explanation.

└ Allfather) Do not eat them. It is called Arisaema, a fruit historically used for suicide. It harbors deadly poison.

└ Wild Grylls) Thank you;;

└ Allfather) Wild strawberries are round in shape, so it should be easy to distinguish them.

└ That was seriously close lol

└ Too bad lol

└ You really deserve to get banned.

This was why I trusted Allfather. He provided detailed information like a walking encyclopedia.

Staring at the fruit that looked like wild strawberries—Arisaema—I crushed it finely under my boot. It served as a landmark direction marker.

A sign that I had passed through this path. Every little thing like this was crucial.

’Should I buy paint?’

Not a bad idea. It could come in handy when I ventured far out like right now.

I steadily pushed through the forest and trees. I didn’t forget to take care not to lose my way.

How long had I been roaming around? Before long, I came across something that truly qualified as a ’landmark’.

"Whoa. It’s really massive."

I marveled, tilting my head up. It was a sight that caused my jaw to drop involuntarily.

Because of the mushroom standing right before my eyes.

It wasn’t an ordinary mushroom. Just in size alone, it towered far above me.

A colossal mushroom for which even the word ’gigantic’ fell short. What on earth was this?

’It looks like a pine mushroom in shape, though.’

Looks like I should use this mushroom as a landmark from now on.

I could explore the surroundings with this mushroom as the central reference point.

’The area around the mushroom is pretty wide open? What’s going on?’

Before approaching the mushroom, I checked the surrounding environment first.

No matter how big the mushroom was, standing all ’alone’ in the open was questionable.

Maybe it was because this mushroom sucked up all the nutrients from the surrounding plants?

First, I needed to identify this mushroom, so I posted a thread on the Gallery.

Title) Found a fucking giant mushroom.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the colossal mushroom)

It’s bigger than me. You can get an idea by comparing it to the tree next to it.

Anyone know what this thing is?

└ Wow. It’s as big as my dick.

└ Bullshit lolol

└ Want me to show you?

└ Fuck off, you lunatic.

└ Allfather) That mushroom is... It would be wise to be cautious. It might be a Mushroom Person.

└ Wild Grylls) A Mushroom Person?

└ Allfather) Yes. An entity where monster and mushroom have fused. Normally they do not grow to such size, but being the Forest of the Four Seasons, it seems to be an exception.

└ Wild Grylls) Is it very strong?

└ Allfather) Frankly, it is not particularly strong. However, since it scatters spores, fire will be necessary.

Fire, huh. I nodded my head.

Even though I had the Ignition Stone received from Heavenly Demon, there was no need to provoke it intentionally.

It wasn’t as if I was going to eat that thing, so wasting energy was unnecessary.

Just as I was about to bypass the mushroom and walk around it—

"Huh?"

I realized there was a cave behind the mushroom.

The mushroom blocked the cave entrance tightly, making entry impossible.

What could be inside? Suddenly, curiosity took hold.

’It’s not like a gatekeeper guarding a dungeon or something.’

Curiosity aside, my life was precious.

Having faced life-threatening crises multiple times already, I could easily give up on it.Read this novel at novelрing.com for the best experience.

Dd-dd-dd-dd-dd!

But the world would not leave me in peace.

Flustered by the sudden rumble of vibrations, I soon realized the source.

The colossal mushroom was shaking violently. As if it were about to uproot itself right this instance.

’Ah, fucking hell.’

It always happens like this. I backed away step by step.

I didn’t have fire, but I planned to just ’gauge’ how strong it was before fleeing.

Fighting here would only get me a look inside that cave, after all.

Kwadeuk! Kwadeudeuk!

Soon, the ground split open, revealing the mushroom’s true form.

Allfather had described the Mushroom Person’s form like this:

Exceptionally short limbs disproportionate to an obese body.

Even if it grew larger, the proportions themselves wouldn’t differ.

"Kuwuk."

Not at all. Its arms and legs were long and slender just like a human’s.

If it were merely long, that would be fine. But it was packed with bulging muscle like a bodybuilder.

While its body was long because it was a mushroom, its limbs were eerily similar to a human’s.

It was bizarre beyond measure. Beyond grotesque, it was downright hideous.

’...Is that a face?’

At top, even narrow eyes were attached.

Truly a shape fitting for a Mushroom ’Person’.

Once again, I felt the stark reality that I had been dropped into a fantasy world setting.

Except the genre was dark fantasy. What a shitty situation.

"Kuwuk!"

The Mushroom Person slowly approached me. An atmosphere dripping with hostility radiated from it.

Just as Allfather said, honestly it didn’t look very strong... No. It looked strong.

Insanely strong.

Looking at those burly limbs, who could possibly think it was weak?

Kung!

It was right when I was momentarily distracted. The Mushroom Person accelerated.

Pushing off the ground, the Mushroom Person closed in on me in an instant.

It felt like it only took a single step, yet in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of my nose.

Up to this point, it was fine. Its speed wasn’t particularly great.

I could track it visually and react. It was way slower than Speed Sloth.

’Let’s block just one strike.’

Immediately after, the Mushroom Person’s right fist shot toward my abdomen.

Seeing that, I raised the Golden Shield.

Considering the stats of the Golden Shield and my recently enhanced strength, I should easily handle this.

"Kueoeo!"

The Mushroom Person unleashed a thunderous shout, and—

Kwaaaang!

"Keu-heup?!"

Along with the powerful shock wave felt through the shield, my body flew backward.

’Wow. Seriously, living long enough, you see everything...’

Having fled back to the cave, I lamented inwardly. Then I stared at the front face of the Golden Shield.

A distinct fist imprint was stamped clearly onto it.

I was fine thanks to the shield, but if not for it, one blow would have killed me on the spot.

After that, I ran without looking back. Fortunately, the Mushroom Person didn’t pursue me either.

’What kind of Mushroom Person uses a Deathfist?’

I roughly guessed after seeing those muscle-bound limbs, but I never expected it to be to this extent.

If I had taken that hit bare-bodied, my stomach would have been punched clean through.

Or everything inside me would have exploded out of my mouth.

I let out a sigh of relief and posted on the Gallery.

Title) Got hit by a Mushroom Person’s Deathfist.

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the shield left with a vivid fist mark)

This bastard hit me with a Deathfist and my shield ended up looking like shit.

Lucky I had the shield, otherwise I would’ve been totally fucked;;

└ Wow. Look at how clear that print is;; If you took that bare-bodied your stomach would’ve been pierced.

└ A Mushroom Person is that strong? What the hell does it even look like?

└ Wild Grylls) The arm and leg muscles were no joke. Bulging with muscle.

└ Can’t picture it. Post a pic.

└ Wild Grylls) (Photo of muscular Mushroom Person)

└ Lmao what the hell is that lmao

└ Wow lol he’s in better shape than me lol

└ Looks fuckin’ strong lol

└ Is that truly a Mushroom Person?

└ Praise the Sun) Why is my shield like that? That thing actually has great performance stats;;

└ Wild Grylls) If not for this, I’d be dead, right? Thank you so much, hyung-nim.

└ Praise the Sun) No need to thank me. By the way, I’m a bit surprised. What on earth did you face?

└ Wild Grylls) A mushroom.

└ Praise the Sun) The world sure is fascinating.

└ Allfather) How curious. Were there no other peculiarities?

└ Wild Grylls) None. Other than it being stupidly strong, I don’t know much else.

└ Allfather) Hmm... I do not know. I truly do not know. Just what kind of place is that?

Even Allfather didn’t know. The other users could only marvel.

It seemed to be beyond common sense even by the standards of people from other realms.

That was how much of an unearthly demon realm the Forest of the Four Seasons was, defying all common sense.

Well, a sloth catching a shot arrow out of midair didn’t make sense either.

’Why was that bastard blocking the front of the cave?’

Thinking about how it was guarding it like a guardian deity made me even more curious.

But the Mushroom Person was far too strong.

A head-on clash was impossible; I’d have to use trickery to get past it.

Just as I was sorting out my thoughts, there was a comment that caught my eye.

└ Heavenly Demon) An intriguing tale. A fist strong enough to dent a shield, even if it is golden. It bears no shame even when compared to this queen’s prowess.

It was Heavenly Demon. The fixed-nick who normally left the very first comment every time.

Seeing as she was a bit late today, she must have been busy with something.

But more than that, there was something else that caught my attention.

└ Wild Grylls) Hello, Heavenly Demon-nim. But you are Heavenly Demon-nim, right?

└ Heavenly Demon) If you are asking of this queen, it is correct. Why do you ask?

└ ?? Why’d she suddenly turn blue??

└ Why did that person suddenly turn blue?

└ Uh, uh. Why is that bastard turning blue?

Users who noticed even before me showered the post with comments.

Most reactions were bewildered. Naturally so.

Because next to Heavenly Demon’s nickname was a ’blue badge’ that had never been seen before.

└ Heavenly Demon) Ah. I forgot. From now on, call this queen Blue Badge.

Heavenly Demon had appeared as a Blue Badge.