I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 47

While walking down along the river, I didn’t encounter any dangerous animals.

Normally, various animals gathered by rivers, but whether due to the strong current or the Golden Frogs, none were in sight.

However, it wasn’t that I didn’t encounter animals at all. Occasionally, I ran into small ones.

Title) This is a lizard, right?

Wild Grylls

(Picture of a fucking giant lizard)

What species is this anyway? Its size is no joke?

Mind you, this was a "small animal" strictly by the standards of the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Even the lizard scampered off as soon as it saw me.

Avoiding a fight was great, but curiosity got the better of me, so I asked the Gallery.

L Heavenly Demon) That is quite a huge lizard. How about catching and eating it?

L Wild Grylls) That’s a good idea, but it ran away.

L Heavenly Demon) Hm. It seems to have fled instinctively upon sensing your strength, noble sir.

L Wild Grylls) I don’t think that’s it lol;;

L Allfather) Judging by its appearance, it is an iguana. Its size seems to have grown significantly due to the Forest of the Four Seasons.

L Wild Grylls) Is it a herbivore?

L Allfather) Yes. It is a herbivore, so there is no need to be on guard. However, given its massive size, do exercise caution.

L Wild Grylls) How does it taste?

L Allfather) It should taste like ordinary meat.

What a waste. I should have caught it instead of taking a picture.

But regret is always too late, no matter how early it comes. Leaving my lingering regret behind, I moved forward.

Joljoljoljol-

As I walked downstream, the current gradually slowed.

The width of the river also widened significantly; this seemed to be the downstream section.

There were no incidents of space distorting or environments abruptly shifting along the way.

Aeaeaeaeaeng-

Instead, the problem was giant mosquitoes flying around.

At first, I wondered if my perspective was messed up.

But only after it threatened me with its sharp proboscis did I realize it was a monster.

Ting!

In my urgency, I barely managed to block it with the shield.

Although the Golden Shield was crumpled because of the Muscle Mushroom, it had plenty of uses.

As soon as I blocked with the shield, I immediately drew the sword hanging at my left hip.

Chwa-ak!

Soon after, I swung my sword toward the mosquito as large as my head.

Given its size, the mosquito was neatly bisected.

Watching it fall to the ground, twitching helplessly, I was dumbfounded.

’Did I drop into a dark fantasy world or what?’

I shook my head side to side. It was better to believe that this forest was just abnormal.

But there was a concerning part. This giant mosquito.

Then what about bees? How big would bees be when they form massive swarms?

Just imagining head-sized bees attacking in swarms was terrifying.

’Thank goodness there are no beehives near my cave.’

Holding such thoughts, I stepped past the mosquito carcass.

After taking a few steps past it, a Shashashak! sound came from behind me.

Since I had no choice but to react sensitively to even tiny noises, I spun around in startlement.

I didn’t forget to raise my shield as I turned around.

Hudadadak!

The iguana I saw earlier was running off with the mosquito carcass in its mouth.

I stared blankly at the guy dashing away at high speed.

This place was truly impossible to get used to.

’There are probably things even more bizarre than that, right?’

Just how many more absurdly weird things will I end up seeing? I’m so looking forward to it.

I silently walked downstream along the river. By now, I even held my sword out to counter immediately.

How long had I been following the river? It felt like I had walked for about an hour, but nothing particularly notable caught my eye.

Cheolseok!

The only thing catching my attention was fish. Every now and then, a huge fish would leap out with a splash.

It might be my imagination, but they seemed way bigger than the ones I had caught.

Since this was downstream rather than the strong-current upstream, more fish ought to inhabit the waters.

’Even if I set up the fish trap here...’

Chwa-a-a-ak!

...it wouldn’t be bad. That was right when I was thinking that.

Something slightly too small to be called a whale, yet far too huge to be called a fish, burst out from the downstream river.

Its body was jet-black, exuding an imposing, terrifying pressure just by sight.

Cheombeong!

As its colossal body plunged back into the river, a huge pillar of water shot into the air.

I had no choice but to stare at the sight dumbfounded.

’...Do whales live in rivers too?’

The urge to retreat back to my base surged inside me.

I could handle ordinary beasts, but I could never catch that.

But since I wanted to check the end of the river at the very least, I couldn’t give up.

So with a tense heart, when I silently followed the river down to its mouth...Read this novel at novelping dot com for the best experience.

"Ha. Fuck."

A curse welled up from deep within my chest.

It was closer to a sigh forced out by sheer absurdity.

"Is this an ocean, or a lake?"

At the end of the river, a vast lake unfolded.

A lake so shallow it was ambiguous to even call it a lake.

The water was so crystal clear that the bottom was vividly visible.

’It’s stamping a big seal saying: "You can’t get out."’

I felt my heart breaking bit by bit. I let out a sigh and posted on the Gallery.

Feeling gloomy, I wanted to post on the Gallery and check the reactions.

Title) Found a pretty lake

Wild Grylls

(Picture of a broad, sprawling lake)

Followed the river down and found a lake. Isn’t it pretty?

How should I escape though? hahaha

L Heavenly Demon) That is a beautiful landscape. I would love to row a small boat out there and recite a poem.

L Wild Grylls) Teacher?

L Heavenly Demon) Is there any problem?

L Sword Matstar) Read the room please. Do you think Grylls-ssi has the luxury of rowing a boat around?

L Heavenly Demon) Hm. That is also true. This lady apologizes. It seems I was momentarily enchanted by the beautiful scenery.

L Wild Grylls) No, it’s fine. Things happen...

L But it really is pretty lol

L I’m gonna draw a picture using that~

L There are quite a lot of rocks in the lake.

L The water depth looks super shallow too?

L Hey. What’s that faint thing at the far end? Looks fucking huge?

L Isn’t it just a rock?

L Grylls-ya. The weather is hot, go for a refreshing dive go go

L Wild Grylls) It’s shallow, so diving will split my head open;;

L It’s a lake but it’s shallow? Are you sure it’s a lake?

L Wild Grylls) Beats me. Too wide to be a pond, too shallow to be a lake.

L Usually something like that is a marshland.

L Wild Grylls) Lots of gravel too, so it’s not a swamp.

L Passing Dwarf) Are your shoes any good? Combat boots would be essential to cross that place.

L Wild Grylls) That’s why I’m debating it. Even if I want to ask you, I feel like I’m relying on you too much, so I’m thinking of asking someone else.

L Passing Dwarf) Yeah, I’m not confident with shoes either. Dwarves aside, humans probably have plenty of craftsmen better than me at making shoes.

L Wild Grylls) I’ll have to get myself a pair of shoes later then.

Thinking back, while I looked for clothes, I had neglected getting proper footwear.

For me, who had to walk for long durations, footwear was crucial.

I wanted to ask the Dwarf, but as I said myself, relying on him too much felt wrong, so I passed.

The Dwarf also advised that it was better to ask someone else when it came to shoes.

’I thought I’d never wear combat boots again unless it was for reserve military training.’

Looking for combat boots after coming all the way here, life really is unpredictable.

However, combat boots were fine and all, but in a situation like this, waterproofing was far more important.

Wearing waterlogged shoes for long periods would cause illnesses, not to mention swollen, soggy skin.

’Rubber in the auction house... none. Should I endure just for today?’

I wrestled with whether to endure today or head back to base.

Going back as is was fine, but I felt a lingering sense of disappointment.

It wasn’t like I hit a dead end, so giving up right away wasn’t an option.

’Right. Since I might build a boat to cross, let’s investigate just a little more.’

If the water depth got even slightly deeper, I intended to turn back immediately.

Nodding to myself, I trod through the shallowest areas possible.

It felt like looping around the lake’s edge, but I was able to gain results even from this.

’If I go like this, I might actually bypass the lake?’

It seemed possible to reach the opposite side of the lake without even taking a boat.

However, there were puddles here and there, so getting my shoes soaked was unavoidable.

Right as I was walking while remaining vigilant of my surroundings...

"Kkururuk."

"Kkuruk. Kkuruk."

"Huh?"

A strange sound could be heard. Right in front of me.

Looking ahead, I saw a cluster of large stones huddled together.

It didn’t take long to realize those weren’t stones, but living creatures.

’Crabs? Why are there crabs here?’

They were crabs. Crabs walking sideways.

What’s more, they boasted a size far larger than lobsters. Roughly the size of my upper torso.

The crabs flicked their antenna-like eyes and moved their claws. I cautiously approached.

Even as I approached, whether they lacked vigilance or not, they were busy moving their claws.

"...Fish?"Follow the newest chapters on novelp⁠ing.com.

It was a fish. The crabs were feasting on a fish carcass.

I had vaguely heard that crabs acted as scavengers.

But regardless of that, I didn’t know why a fish carcass was lying here.

’The water depth is shallow so swimming must be hard. Was it just unlucky?’

Let’s take a picture first to identify what species this is.

I snapped a photo of the crabs enjoying their meal and posted it on the Gallery.

Does anyone know what species this is?

(Picture of crabs enjoying their meal)

Was walking around the lakeside and saw crabs eating food.

Size is roughly as big as my torso, anyone know what species?

L Do crabs live in lakes too?

L Yeah, those guys are masters of adaptation. Anywhere there’s water, they live.

L I heard crab is super delicious.

L Seeing as they look ordinary, grilling and eating them should be fine?

L Allfather) They are edible Gappers Crabs. Normally, their size is about as big as a fist.

L Wild Grylls) Are there parasites or anything like that inside?

L Allfather) No creature doesn’t die when cooked over fire.

So as long as I don’t eat it raw, it’s fine. Very satisfying.

It seemed fine to bring one of these guys back when returning.

’It shouldn’t be too hard, right?’

Just in case, I stabbed it with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

Kwajik!

With a satisfying crunching sound, the carapace was pierced straight through.

The crab, its shell impaled by the sword, flailed its claws and legs.

The other crabs couldn’t care less whether their kin died or not, remaining engrossed in eating the fish.

’As expected of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. Never doubt it.’

I shook the sword and shook off the crab.

The crab with the pierced shell flipped onto its back and quivered for a while.

Feeling a slight sense of guilt was only momentary.

"Kkururuk."

"Kkuruk. Kkuruk."

Crabs from elsewhere slowly gathered over. Right toward the crab with the impaled shell.

Wondering what these guys were up to, I watched silently.

Soon, the other crabs surrounding the fallen crab raised their large pincers.

Kwajik! Kwajijik!

The crabs slammed their pincers down on their flipped kin.

Every time a pincer slammed down, the shell shattered into pieces.

In the end, the crab stopped even its quivering. It was dead.

The dead crab was reduced to a meal for its own kin.

"..."

Nature truly is cruel. I shook my head and moved my legs.

Countless crabs inhabited the lakeside. Almost all of them were identical crabs.

Normally a lake would harbor diverse forms of life, making me inevitably harbor doubts.

’How did crabs come to dominate the lakeside?’

Although the power of their pincers was strong, in the end, these guys were weak specimens.

Harboring such doubts, I ran straight into a boulder. A rock far bigger than me.

Having a boulder randomly tower out of nowhere was a bit weird, but walking around it was easy enough.

"Kkuruk."

"Huh?"

But a strange noise came from the boulder. And it was the exact same sound the crabs made earlier.

Puzzled, I stared intently at the boulder.

Kugugugugu-

Accompanied by a subtle vibration, multiple legs protruded sharply from beneath the boulder.

Furthermore, massive pincers revealed themselves on both sides.

It was already a huge boulder, but now it looked vastly larger than before.

To the point where I had to tilt my head all the way up.

"Kkuruk. Kkururuk."

"..."

Eyes resembling antennae stared directly right at me.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but falter back step by step.

The boulder—no, the giant crab—gazed at me for a moment, then scurried its legs ododo.

Fortunately, instead of coming toward me, it turned its body around. It seemed to have lost interest.

’...Wait a second.’

Don’t crabs walk sideways when they move?

Right as that thought crossed my mind.

Huwung!

A colossal pincer slammed down right above my head.

As stated before, crabs were beings that served as ’scavengers.’

Kwa-ang!

"Ack!"

Meaning they are omnivores.