I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 404

From ancient times, there has been a saying that leaving home brings dog-like suffering. I felt that acutely through this ordeal.

I swore that I would rather hunker down at home and endure, and never again go wandering outside.

Am I not worried about my house and food storehouse getting destroyed? It’s better than losing my life.

At least when living at the Shelter, there were predictable cycles, but outside, I was ambushed constantly without rhyme or reason.

Nighttime was relatively okay, but an even bigger issue was the natural environment itself.

Not only were there living Volcano Turtles, but there were also quite a few places where the terrain itself was the problem.

"Ludwig-ssi."

"Speak."

"Have you ever been swept away by a landslide by any chance?"

"...Just what on earth did you experience?"

Ludwig showed a reaction of sheer disbelief. That was normal.

But I had explained it quite plainly. A landslide occurred and swallowed me up even though it wasn’t even raining.

If there was any saving grace, it was that it was mostly just mud. I had no idea what had actually happened.

’It’s definitely due to the Volcano Turtle, roughly speaking.’

Given that it was remarkably hot for mud, the possibility of it being pyroclastic flow couldn’t be ruled out.

After all, a walking volcano literally existed right there.

I just had to chalk it up to rotten luck. Still, it wasn’t as if I could subjugate the Volcano Turtle either.

According to Cain, in order to subjugate a Volcano Turtle, one had to go directly to its heart center.

The parasites and monsters encountered along the way to the heart were a bonus. Unless it threatened us first, leaving it alone was the best policy.

"So, did you get the disturber?"

Lackey asked me. The reason I had stepped outside was because we lacked a signal disturber.

So he must have interpreted my return as having obtained a disturber.

"No."

"Then why did you come back?"

"Because it sucked ass."

"..."

Lackey wore an understanding expression at my answer. Nothing was more suitable for expressing my feelings than that.

Traveling outside made me realize something: Hunters must have it tough in their own right.

The creatures inhabiting those regions were uniquely powerful, and the natural environment couldn’t be ignored either.

Even so, Lackey had endured it. Back in his Hunter days, Lackey was even nearly blind.

"How did you endure it? I couldn’t live out there to save my life."

"At least my location wasn’t being tracked in real time."

"Just because of that one thing?"

"I could rest when it was time to rest."

"..."

So I was the weird one. I could only sigh.

Anyway, I hadn’t returned home blindly; I had vented on the Gallery.

Title: I Can’t Live Like This

Wild Grylls

(Photo of an environment packed with pyroclastic flow)

Living like this shit will drive me insane in a few days.

I’ll give up mithril or orichalcum or whatever, I’m buying a disturber no matter what.

L Heavenly Demon) What a pity. This maiden is still attending the Martial Arts Tournament, so I cannot grant you one.

L Sword Matstar) Signal disturbers are insanely expensive and really hard to get though?

L Heavenly Demon) This maiden can obtain one easily.

L Smart Demon) There she goes again trying to boss her subordinates around. Total abusive boss right here.

L Heavenly Demon) This maiden shows minimum consideration.

L Smart Demon) What consideration?

L Heavenly Demon) I value my subordinates’ private lives.

L Smart Demon) If you pull that shit, all your subordinates will resign. Don’t do that ;;

L Aren’t there plenty of cases like that?

L Yeah, there was a case where a superior forcibly pulled up someone’s Gallery logs.

L In the past, some emperor thought a noble was committing treason and pulled up the Noble Gallery... keke

L What came out? Did actual evidence of treason pop up?

L No no no, turned out he was a furry enthusiast, so they handed down a social execution sentence.

L Ah kekeke I know that one. The Emperor was fucking sorry so didn’t he raise his peerage rank? kekeke

L The rumor spread everywhere so they even opened trade routes with the Beastfolk. I heard that domain is full of fur now.

L So what? He died socially...

L Internal Cultivation Master Robert) I don’t know who it was, but that is truly wicked. Still, knowing his error and offering compensation—isn’t that fortunate?

L Then if the Emperor commands it, could you open up your Gallery logs?

L Internal Cultivation Master Robert) My only superior was my father. He has passed away now.

L He knows what situation he’s in ;

L I Will Become a Duke) Do you perhaps intend to trade? I can provide it right away.

L Wild Grylls) One piece of mithril is enough, right?

L Don’t inflate the price ;; Even if a disturber is expensive, it’s cheaper than mithril ;;

L Wild Grylls) All I have is mithril and orichalcum. Ah, I have Empty Sky Stone Milk too.

L kekekeke Trying to crash the economy single-handedly.

L Whenever I hear stuff like that I get cognitive dissonance ;;

Whether I sell mithril or whatever, I planned to make the disturber strictly my ’ownership.’

I had asked Princess Chaenggu at first, but she said it wasn’t an easy decision.The source of this chapter is novelpin​g.com.

Apparently, as military equipment—and quite an expensive one at that—it was hard to give away recklessly.

’On Earth, it’s no different than giving away an entire radar unit.’

If possible, I wanted to trade with Princess Chaenggu. We had built up rapport, and I had given her plenty of things for free.

But even Princess Chaenggu couldn’t cross the line, only replying that giving a disturber was ambiguous.

She said it was tough because her identity might be exposed. That couldn’t be helped.

’So in the end, it’s down to I Will Become a Duke?’

Just who on earth was this person that they would readily hand over military gear?

My curiosity was brief; I asked via private message when it could be delivered.

[I Will Become a Duke: At the earliest within 6 hours, at the latest within today.]

[Wild Grylls: How’s the performance?]

[I Will Become a Duke: I can take pride that it is far superior to the one given by that demon.]

[Wild Grylls: I’ll trust you. One lump of mithril should be enough, right?]

[I Will Become a Duke: More than enough.]

[Wild Grylls: I’ll just give it to you then.]

You might ask if I’m handing it over too thoughtlessly, given that the outside economy would collapse.

Ruining the outside economy is far better than losing my own life.

Besides, saying it ruins the economy is funny. The real way to wreck it is something else.

’Listing infinite amounts on the auction house.’

Mithril regenerates anyway, and orichalcum is overflowing. Same for Empty Sky Stone Milk.

From my perspective, I was controlling it as much as possible. It was easiest to think of it as ransom for my life.

Soon, I handed over a small amount of mithril as advance payment to I Will Become a Duke.

At least this person doesn’t scam, so they’ll deliver the disturber soon enough.

’Between Princess Chaenggu and others, there are quite a few high-ranking folks.’

Princess Chaenggu even mentioned that trading would get her caught instantly. I reflected on this.

As users mentioned earlier, nobody wants to show their Gallery logs to anyone. This is privacy.

Didn’t they say nobles refrain from mentioning the Gallery as much as possible, talking down to it as a sinister artifact?

But when you actually look, people who are blatantly noble are posting on the Gallery.

Starlight Lady is one such example, and there are people whose speech alone screams nobility.

Well, though some seem to have adapted remarkably well to the Gallery.

’Mithril is a rare ore globally. To the extent that finding a vein makes front-page news.’

Even rarer than orichalcum is mithril. After that is adamantium.

Unless someone takes a tiny amount like Praise the Sun or uses it for display, giving it in whole chunks will inevitably spark rumors.

Nevertheless, I Will Become a Duke traded unbothered. An attitude of ’I don’t care if I get caught.’

’Are they collaborating with someone? Even while sharing a fixed Gallery handle?’

If so, readily trading a disturber makes sense.

An organization or faction that can handle expensive military supplies at will, has deep enough trust to share fixed Gallery accounts, and holds high status.

’...That’s the perfect setup to pull off something shifty.’

You might wonder if someone could really stage a rebellion with just one chunk of mithril.

But once you convert the value of mithril into money, the story changes.

Sell it on the black market and launder the funds using high status, and that’s it.

It’s a matter where things could get far more complex than expected. It’s not like there’s no precedent either.

’Because no matter if she’s the Orange Badge, she can’t stop real-life conversations.’

Of course, this is purely my speculation. Aren’t there examples like the Heavenly Demon?

Countless people exist in this world. There’s no need to overthink it.

Besides, if they pull anything funny over there, I’ll immediately balance the scales.

’I can just drop a subtle hint to Asella.’

Asella is a sort of insurance. Insurance that can block unexpected catastrophes.

As such, giving her various support is the best policy. I plan to give her Empty Sky Stone Milk soon as well.

’Is there anything else I can give besides Empty Sky Stone Milk?’

Thinking that, I finished preparing to wash up. For the record, I hadn’t washed yet because I was on the Gallery.

I needed time to boil water, and I was busy taking care of the kids on the side.

Eventually, time passed, and I was able to wash my body squeaky clean.

Cleaning off a body caked in mud felt refreshingly unmatched.

"I could have done it with magic."

"Say that kind of thing sooner!"

"Understood. And Master."

"What now?"

"Make food."

"..."

Shaking my head side to side, I set out to prepare the meal anyway. And then I was shocked.

"What on earth did you do while I was gone to make the pan end up like this? Did you burn honey or something?"

"I burned it."

"..."

I said it as a joke, but I didn’t expect him to actually burn it.

Obviously, he messed up the heat while making candied sweet potatoes and burned it.

Sighing, I threw the pan away. I’ll have to make a mithril frying pan later.

’I should take this chance to replace all cooking utensils.’

We also need to prepare for winter. There’s quite a lot to do.

[Passing Dwarf: Hey. Made medicinal liquor here. Take it.]New chapters come out on NovelPing first.

[Wild Grylls: thx thx Did you drink a glass?]

[Passing Dwarf: Drank it but it tasted bitter so threw it out.]

[Wild Grylls: Alcohol is originally bitter.]

[Passing Dwarf: Bitter even to my palate. It was practically medicinal wine grade?]

On the side, I also received Dragon Gastrolith steeped liquor from the dwarf.

The Dragon Gastrolith floated gently inside, and its color was rainbow-hued.

Drinking this bit by bit will gradually expand my vessel. Drinking it gradually over the winter should work.

"Master."

"Huh?"

"It seems the Hunters will come soon, so prepare."

Apart from that, however, the Hunters’ raids were not over.

As Lackey said, about an hour had passed, so Hunters would attack.

Feeling annoyed internally for a moment, a brilliant idea struck me.

"Hold on. Cheongseol?"

"Ppaeaek?"

Before I knew it, Cheongseol had climbed onto my shoulder and was licking my cheek.

I just hadn’t thought of it at first, but nothing was more brilliant than this.

"Can you tear space open for me? I think staying at the World Tree roots will work."

"Ppaeaek!"

Namely, toughing it out at the World Tree roots. That place was wide open on all sides, making it relatively safe.

If so, I shouldn’t have traded for the disturber. Still, what could I do? The trade was already done.

Riiip!

"Then I’ll be back. Eat lunch on your own."

"We can’t cook though."

"I marinated the meat, so just grill it on the pan. That’ll be enough."

Saying so, I stepped into the World Tree roots.

Let’s just hold out here for a single day. That’ll do.

Lackey grumbled inwardly at Grylls, who vanished into the World Tree roots.

Leaving immediately right after finally returning. At least prepping the meat before leaving was a consolation.

He could enjoy a delicious lunch after a long time. Furthermore, Grylls took Cheongseol with him.

[Did something happen while we were absent?]

"A lot of things happened."

Cain had even been left behind. Grylls must have judged they could hold out for about 6 hours.

However, it wasn’t as if there were no worrying aspects. Namely, very little was known about the World Tree roots.

This applied not only to Lackey, who once operated as a Hunter, but to people all over the world.

If anything, it was worse than the Forest of the Four Seasons, not better.

’Although beasts or monsters were rarely seen there.’

The issue was that just because they weren’t seen, there were plenty that could pop out from anywhere.

Right now, even the baby Nidhogg, Cheongseol, roamed around tearing spatial rifts.

Harbed in such bizarre anxiety, lunch time arrived.

Riiiiip!!!

Just as they were about to prepare lunch, the sound of space tearing echoed.

But it was a sound far louder than when Cheongseol tore it. At this, every occupant in the Shelter turned their head.

At first, nothing could be seen beyond the torn space. Of course, that was brief.

"Uwoooooh! Uwoooooh!"

Grylls, caught in a giant paw, tumbled out while screaming wildly.

Upon seeing the massive paw, the party instantly took combat stances.

But the giant foreleg soon set Grylls down on the ground.

Riiiiip!

"Kkiaaaaak!"

"Kyaaaaak!"

As soon as Grylls was put down, they could see what was transpiring beyond the rift.

Cheongseol’s mother—that is, the adult Nidhogg—was fighting some giant eagle.

A fierce battle between giant kaiju beasts. The party could not act hastily.

Naturally, they intuitively felt that getting dragged into that would leave not even a bone behind.

Riiip—

Fortunately, as the spatial rift closed, the fight between the giant beasts was no longer visible.

The party was utterly bewildered, but checked Grylls’s safety first.

Though scratches covered his body, he fortunately looked fine.

"What happened, Master!"

"Are you okay?"

At this, Grylls muttered in a heavy, depressed voice.

"I was just walking around... when that bird appeared and snatched me... It even used Teleport?"

"..."

"If not for Cheongseol’s mother, I would have died without being able to do a thing."

He realized every place was dangerous.

"As expected, outside the house is dangerous..."

It was an evaluation close to absolute truth across all times and places.