I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 402

Seeing even a six-armed Asura Mantis unleashing sword qi made me think:

Ah. I’ve been living comfortably all this time. The outside is crawling with all kinds of monsters.

Even if I boost my specs, there are plenty of bastards that counter them.

Especially when I ran into mosquitoes that sucked up mana like crazy, I almost fainted.

Since the source of my strength was mana, if they absorbed it, it would become a massive problem.

’Though I didn’t leave myself entirely unprepared since there was that incident with the Immortal Herb...’

I thought it was a trait unique to the Immortal Herb, but no. This was the Forest of the Four Seasons, overflowing with rot and excess mana.

Numerous beasts and monsters basically knew how to use mana.

In particular, the Hunters wandering here and there could be considered to have it equipped as a basic standard.

’It’s not like someone taught them... I have to assume they learned it on their own.’

Who would teach a Mental Cultivation Method to a six-armed mantis? It must have mastered it by itself.

Besides, operating a Mental Cultivation Method required intelligence comparable to a human’s.

One must consider that every single Hunter possessed intelligence on par with humans.

’Did they collectively ingest radiation to undergo mutations? Just what mechanism causes them to evolve like this?’

I really doubted what on earth the gods had done to leave the forest in such a state.

I knew that a nuclear war had occurred, but this was far beyond the normally expected scope.

’Maybe it’s because radiation and mana formed a fantastic harmony.’

I didn’t know. Right now, I just had to focus on survival.

Now that I had slain the Asura Mantis, it was time to find a shelter.

If I really couldn’t find one, I could just prop up some tree branches roughly and use it temporarily.

"My eyes are starting to hurt, so I’ll turn it off."

Keeping the stream on for a long time made my eyes sore. Saying that, I ended the broadcast.

Ending the broadcast made my eyes much more comfortable. As expected, keeping it on all day was tough.

’Come to think of it, didn’t they say vision uses up 40% of the brain?’

Perhaps because of this, simply closing my eyes and operating the Mental Cultivation Method rapidly reduced my fatigue.

However, even that had clear limits. In particular, the fatigue built up throughout the day required sleep.

In that sense, deciding on a makeshift shelter was extremely important. Since evening was slowly approaching, I had to build it starting now.

"This spot should do. Since there’s a tree behind... let’s gather tree branches first."

[Can’t you just build it with bricks?]

"I thought so too at first, but I don’t have cement. It might collapse while I sleep and crush my face."

It was a situation where I couldn’t even wash properly. Relaxing to take a wash in a place like this would be advertising for someone to come kill me.

Thank goodness I had high-performance bug repellent; if I didn’t even have this, it would have been horrifying.

"I’ll weave the branches together and cover them with large leaves. There might be bugs, so smoke them with campfire smoke."

[You’re surprisingly knowledgeable?]

"It’s common sense."

That was a lie; it was just something I had heard somewhere before. The story that bugs hate campfire smoke.

Aside from the smoke, I intended to meticulously apply bug repellent to each material.

’It might rain in between... I should cover it with some cloth.’

I purchased a large piece of cloth from the Auction House. This was the final touch.

Wiiiiing—

It was right around when I was wrapping up.

A terrible mosquito charged at me. A huge bastard like the one I saw before.

Flinching the moment I saw it, I quickly grabbed a torch.

Once I raised the torch, the mosquitoes couldn’t easily approach. As expected, fire is the answer for bugs.

But bugs aside, beasts were the problem.

If a beast ambushed me while sleeping, it would be troublesome in many ways.

"Cain-ssi. You don’t need to sleep, right?"

[This body doesn’t particularly feel fatigue. However, I also need to recharge mana.]

"How much longer can you move with that body?"

[It should easily last another week.]

"..."

Then again, he was someone who supplied power to the entire base single-handedly.

How beloved by the gods must he have been for them to craft him with such high performance?

I gave a faint smirk and looked up at the sky. The beautiful moon and the Milky Way flowing beside it were impressive.

Setting up a temporary shelter like this and building a campfire gave me a feeling of... camping, so to speak.

"Kiiiik..."

"..."

I stand corrected. It wasn’t camping; it was survival.

I let out a sigh at the beastly sound piercing my ears and turned my head.

As I turned my head, some large lizard was gazing at us.

Flicking its tongue as it approached, anyone could tell it perceived us as prey.

It was just as I slyly picked up my weapon. The lizard read my expression and gradually drew closer.

Naturally, I thought it would target me, but what do you know.

Ujeok!

"...?"Follow the newest chapters on novelping(.)com.

It swallowed the blazing campfire in a single bite.

Then, without looking back, it ran off on its short legs.

It was so fast that it vanished into the forest in an instant.

I was so flabbergasted that words failed me. What was that lizard’s identity?

[It’s a Salamander.]

"...A Salamander? Isn’t that a Spirit?"

[In my day, it was just an ordinary beast.]

A response in the style of "Back in my day~" came back.

Stunned for a moment, I quickly lit the campfire again before bugs could swarm in.

Soon, I asked the Gallery about the Salamander’s identity.

Title) What’s a Salamander?

Wild Grylls

(Hastily taken picture of the lizard)

Cain saw this and called it a Salamander, what is this?

Re: Starlight Lady) That’s an endangered species.

Re: Wild Grylls) An endangered species?

Re: Starlight Lady) Yes. They usually live in volcanic regions, so why is it there? Is there a volcano nearby?

Re: Wild Grylls) No...?

Hearing Starlight Lady’s words gave me a chill. There was a mountain nearby, but surely it wasn’t a volcano, right?

Anxiety spiked, but moving locations right now felt risky too.

In the end, I had no choice but to spend the night harboring an uneasy feeling.

It was practically staying up with eyes wide open, but operating the Mental Cultivation Method made it somewhat better.

Ujeok!

"Hey!"

"Kiiiiik!"

But every damn time I lit a campfire, this wretched lizard would eat it and bolt.

I had no choice but to light campfires because of the bugs, so I was slowly getting annoyed.

’Should I just catch and eat it?’

Just as I harbored that thought, the Salamander visited again.

But this time it wasn’t one, but two of them. Did these bastards come determined for a fight?

"Kiik! Kiik!"

"Kiing..."

They hadn’t.

The Salamander assumed to be the parent gave its offspring a harsh scolding right in front of me.

The baby Salamander even bowed its head repeatedly as if reflecting on its mistake.

How high was its intelligence for it to recognize its child’s wrongdoings and even offer an apology?

After marveling briefly at the incomprehensible ecosystem of the Forest of the Four Seasons, I accepted the apology.

"A kid can make mistakes. Here, take another one."

"Kiik!"

When I tossed a torch, the Salamander beamed with joy and snapped it up.

The mother Salamander bowed repeatedly before disappearing with her offspring.

I wished every living creature in the Forest of the Four Seasons was as kind as those guys.

’Though the chances of that converge to 0.’

It was already full of things going crazy trying to devour me.

Right now, maybe because it was night, things had calmed down, but when morning came, it would be wild again.

I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes. It was time to operate my Internal Cultivation Art.

While I operated the Mental Cultivation Method, Cain and Bbareumbo would guard me.

’By the way, not being able to wash feels really gross.’

I heard people of high realms maintain cleanliness even without washing, and I was curious.

Supposedly, waste products aren’t excreted at all, so there’s almost no need to wash.

But surely they don’t never wash. No matter what, they’d wash at least once a day, right?

’...Right?’

Suddenly curious, I paused my Internal Cultivation Art and logged into the Gallery.

After wondering who to ask, I decided to just write a post.

Title) Question for people of high realms

Wild Grylls

They say waste doesn’t build up when your realm is high, so do you not even wash?

Asking because I can’t wash due to survival, but I’m really curious.

Re: Heavenly Demon) Even if one does not discharge waste, engaging in outdoor activities naturally gets dirt on oneself. Thus, I tend to wash three times a day.

Re: Sword Matstar) You wash that much? If I have no reason to go out, I just wash in the evening and that’s it.

Re: Heavenly Demon) Wash yourself, child. I can feel your dirty energy all the way over here.

Re: Sword Matstar) Excuse me, but washing too much isn’t good either, you know?

Re: Washing three times a day is something I wouldn’t do out of pure laziness;

Re: Even nobles wouldn’t do that lmao

Re: I’m envious. Being able to wash.

Re: You don’t wash?

Re: I’m from the slums.Follow the newest chapters on novelp​ing.com.

Re: Sorry

Re: Praise the Sun) Water is precious in our country, so unless you’re rich, it’s hard to wash more than 3 times.

Re: Then how many times do you wash a day?

Re: Praise the Sun) At least twice for me. I wash together with my wives.

Re: Fuck

Re: Booo. Go die. Booo.

Re: Suspiciously...) Us Beastfolk have to wash three times a day just because of our fur. Especially if blood gets on us from harsh battles... horrific.

Re: Do cat beastfolk hate washing by any chance?

Re: Suspiciously...) That is prejudice. All Beastfolk value cleanliness.

Re: Then show us you washing. Can’t believe it until I see it with my eyes.

Re: Peak average Gallery user lmao

Re: Please get banned lmao

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Don’t worry about not being able to wash for a day or so! The first time is hard, but as time goes on, it’s manageable!

Re: How does the Mod know that?

Re: Don’t tell me the Mod too...?

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Yes! When I was being hunted down, I couldn’t wash for several days! I even got ticks on my body!

Re: Uh... hang in there?

Re: You just stay strong;;

Even if others didn’t, the Hero Asella offered vivid testimony.

The statement that she got ticks from not being able to wash for a week couldn’t easily be dismissed.

Furthermore, ticks here were guessed to be extremely venomous. One bite and I’d probably kick the bucket.

’Thank goodness I only need to endure three days.’

If I couldn’t wash at the Shelter either, I would have wept.

I closed the Gallery and shut my eyes. I planned to operate my Mental Cultivation Method all through the dawn.

Fortunately, perhaps because it was night, no one launched an ambush.

Even if someone attacked, Cain and Bbareumbo were keeping guard, so it would have been fine.

Thus began Day 2 of real survival, and I assessed my current location.

Because I meticulously carved trail markers, there was no fear of getting lost.

’No space shifting or anything like that either.’

As expected, across the river was what was strange. I felt relieved internally.

If space had shifted, it would have been a disaster. My mental state would be half-gone.

With that, I turned on the stream and proceeded with my exploration. I hadn’t escaped this insect paradise yet.

It seemed best to at least get out of this annoying zone first.

[There’s a mountain over there.]

"You’re saying we should go there?"

[It’s not like we have anywhere else to go, do we?]

As I walked, I drew close to a mountain standing tall all on its own. It was a place I had noted yesterday.

However, the shape of that mountain was somewhat suspicious; even outwardly, it was very featureless and smooth.

With scattered scorched marks, it felt quite ominous, so to speak.

"No thanks. If we go there for no reason, what if..."

Deudeudeudeudeu!

Just as I was adamantly refusing, an earthquake suddenly struck.

Usually an earthquake occurring is an ill omen. I’ve never seen any good come of it.

As I panicked and barely managed to hold my balance—

Kwoong! Kwoong! Kung!

The mountain began to move.

Not a simple figure of speech, but literally the mountain began to move.

What was even more astonishing was the ’legs’ supporting the mountain.

Giant legs moved the entire mountain, and at the front attached a head.

"...Isn’t that a turtle?"

[It is... indeed. But isn’t that a Mountain Turtle? That thing still exists?]

A turtle carrying an entire mountain. I was so flabbergasted I lost my words.

But the problem was...

[Wooooooong.]

Kukwagwang!!!

The moment the Mountain Turtle stretched out long!, a massive explosion erupted from the mountain.

Surprisingly, it was a real volcano. No wonder I thought it looked bare.

What with yesterday’s Salamander, there had been a few omens of a volcano.

Hwiiiiing!

Simultaneous with the volcanic eruption, it shot meteors in all directions.

And one of those meteors was falling directly toward me.

"D-Dodge!!!"

There’s a saying: "If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it." That’s all a lie.

"To the corner!!!"

If I can’t avoid it, I die.