I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 86

The sea.

The father of all nature and the starting point of all birth.

Because the ocean exists, countless forms of life could emerge; it could be called the origin of water.

Any creature is bound to dry up and die without water, which is why the ocean is most important.

However, being the ’father’ of nature, the ocean is strict. As strict as it is, its depths are also fathomless.

As someone once said, even if humanity comes to understand the entire universe, understanding the ocean will take even more time.

Furthermore, depending on the rise and fall of sea levels, whether humans can live or not is divided.

That’s how closely related the sea is to life, yet it is complex and dangerous.

Swaaaa—

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

That it looked like a color made from melted blue sapphire crystal.

A smooth sandy beach without squishy mudflats. Waves gently wetting the sand.

On the surface, it was an ordinary and beautiful sea.

A salty breeze and seagulls flying freely in the sky.

It was truly peaceful beyond measure. But one must never be fooled by that.

Swaaaaaa!

Turning my head, the river connected to the sea came into view.

Fascinatingly, as if distinguishing the river from the sea, the colors were distinctly parted.

This too seemed like a truly beautiful scene. But the reality was different.

’...The sea flows into the river?’

The sea is the destination of rivers. It is safe to say almost all rivers flow into the sea.

At least, I knew that as ’common sense’. I had never heard of the reverse case.

And I was witnessing with my own two eyes the scene where that common sense was completely destroyed.

’Nonsense...’

When confronted with the sea, surprisingly, the despair wasn’t that great.

I had found river branches flowing in different directions along the way, and there were areas suitable for exploration.

However, the moment I saw seawater flowing backward into the river, I couldn’t help but feel dizzy.

The feeling of all common sense collapsing. I doubted whether this was truly the ’environment’ I knew.

’I should... check if it’s really the sea...’

With my mentality slightly shattered, I decided to verify whether this was genuinely the ocean.

The wind carried salt, but it might have picked it up from somewhere else. Taking a sip to check felt like the only way I’d be satisfied.

"Phooey! Ptui! Ptui! Ptui!"

Extremely salty saltwater taste. It also tasted like sand mixed in.

Seeing this, it was definitely the sea. The waves splashing occasionally backed it up.

Title) Guess what came up when I followed the river?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the vast open sea)

(Photo of the sea flowing heavily backward into the river)

It turned out to be the sea! Fascinatingly, instead of river to sea, the sea is flowing backward into the river!

Fantasy worlds are truly amazing! How can only shit like this keep popping up!

Do I have to swim across that sea to escape? Someone please tell me!

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) What a beautiful ocean. But are you alright? Despair bleeds through your writing.

ㄴ Sword Matstar) Not fine at all. Read the room, please;;

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Did this one do something wrong?

ㄴ Sword Matstar) Yes. Times like this, just shut up and cheer him on.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) You show far too clearly that you have never led a social life;;

ㄴ Fr, if she’s really a boomer, it’s severe, and if not, she’s just a kid.

ㄴㄴㄴ Surprisingly, there are many among nobility like that. Kids raised pampered without a shred of tact.

ㄴ Especially late-born kids have a strong tendency like that.

ㄴ Starlight Lady) I’ve never seen the sea flow into a river... Is it really the sea?

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Yes. Just in case, I took a sip. It was super salty.

ㄴ Starlight Lady) Hmm... Stay strong. There’s nothing I can say either.

ㄴ Wild Grylls) There’s no case of the sea flowing into a river, right?

ㄴ Starlight Lady) Case or not, such a thing is impossible in a world crafted by God. Just what kind of place is the Forest of the Four Seasons...

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Isn’t God just incompetent?

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Don’t commit blasphemy! The Goddess is flawless and perfect!

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Perfect my ass lol It makes no sense for a forest like this to exist in the first place, you know?

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Still, swearing isn’t good! There must be a reason!

ㄴ Wild Grylls) As soon as I hear the reason, I’m gonna hurl a curse storm. Or maybe I’ll just curse now.

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Just don’t swear!!!Get faster updates on novelpin⁠g.com.

ㄴ Allfather: A sea flowing into a river... Could I see a bit more footage?

ㄴ Wild Grylls) (Video 2 of the sea flowing backward into the river) Want me to show you more?

ㄴ Allfather: No. That is quite enough. This... even I am not sure about this. It completely violates the laws of nature, so I cannot make heads or tails of it.

ㄴ Didn’t the roles of the lake and sea get swapped?

ㄴ By the way Grylls. Wasn’t the river water salty?

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Nope. Not salty at all. It was just normal?

ㄴ That’s weird in its own right. Why isn’t it salty?

ㄴ It really won’t even grant permission to get close;;

The Gallery blew up. It was only natural, considering a phenomenon completely defying the laws of the world had popped out.

No matter how much it was a world mixing fantasy and Xianxia/wuxia, nature itself seemed to be similar.

Come to think of it, a world where space randomly distorts and the sea flows backward is a crazy world.

It’s absolutely not a place for humans to live. As expected, normal is best.

Title) Asking just in case

Wild Grylls

Spatial distortions or seas flowing backward aren’t a thing here, right? This place is the weird one, right?

ㄴ Nope. If shit like that were everyday life, this world would be ruined.

ㄴ Occasionally there are monsters that slice through space, but those must be treated as exceptions.

ㄴ We have common sense too, Grylls;;

ㄴ Wild Grylls) What a relief.

I asked just in case. Everyone said this was abnormal.

Supposedly, there are rare cases where immense forces collide and distort space, but those are extreme exceptions.

Furthermore, most of those were cases caused by ’artificial’ forces.

It is impossible for such phenomena to occur in ’nature’.

’That aside, it’s fucking needlessly wide.’

Only the sea was visible beyond the horizon. Unlike the wide-open horizon, my heart felt completely stifled.

What should I do going forward? The sea was damn wide, making it tough to form a plan.

’Let’s look around first. I need to find at least a trace of something.’

Thanks to the reverse-flowing river, there was no fear of getting lost.

Besides, it was a clean sandy beach, so moving around wasn’t uncomfortable.

’I need to be careful since another weird thing might be living here.’

Not that I was letting down my guard. First of all, there were far too many suspicious things.

First, it was way too quiet. Right now, the lakeside was busy beating each other up.

Not just the lakeside, but the river too. Right before coming here, didn’t some spotted beast get sent flying?

On the other hand, even for a sea, this place is too quiet.

’It’s too clean, as well.’

Second, the sandy beach was too clean. Not a single trace of any animal could be seen.

At the lakeside, there were at least small crabs, but here there wasn’t even that.

It must mean a powerful beast lives here. Every step I take makes me anxious.

Swaaaa!

’There isn’t just one river.’

Before long, I was able to find another river. As expected, the sea was flowing backward into the river.

Tracing that river with my eyes, I saw a jungle far more lush than the forest I lived in.

Not only were the trees dense, but it was a jungle filled with green everywhere.

It left nothing to be desired as a true jungle. Someday I might have to go there too.

’Not just the jungle either.’

The snowy mountains, deserts, swamps, volcanoes, etc., that were visible across the river.

To find a clue to escape, I might have to journey to places like those.

However, if I end up going to places like that, wouldn’t it be when my hope for escape has dropped significantly?

No matter how strong I become adapting to this forest, those are places difficult to endure.

’It’s just going to die...’

Dududududu!

Just as I was lost in thought staring at the jungle entrance, the ground began to shake.

Whenever the ground shook, I never saw a good outcome. I immediately assumed a posture of vigilance.

’Where is it? Where is it coming from...’

Pu-ak!

As I hurriedly searched for the source of the shaking, something burst out from the ground.

It was generally red in color and stood well over my height.

Furthermore, suction cups caught my eye here and there. Anyone could see it looked like an octopus leg.

Hwiririk!

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The octopus tentacle that burst out of the sand wrapped around my leg and dragged me outright.

It happened so fast I almost dropped my sword and shield.

Just as that leg was about to drag me into the sand, I managed to sever it with my sword.

Seogeok!

The octopus leg was easily sliced off. The leg trembled as if in pain.

In the meantime, I leaped to my feet and readied my gear.

I intended to remove the octopus leg stuck around my leg like a binding later.

Pu-ak! Pu-a-ak!

Was it considerably pissed off that one leg was sliced off?

Multiple legs erupted from inside the sand. Octopus tentacles squirming like tentacles.

Contemplating what to do, I chose a frontal breakthrough. Escaping from here was the top priority.

Shuiik!

One of the numerous octopus legs surged toward me.

Instead of binding my feet this time, it drove down from above as if trying to impale me.

Not that the other tentacles—no, legs—were slacking off either.

Stabbing attacks from above, whipping attacks, attacks trying to grab my legs, and so on.

A colorful variety of attacks rained down, making my head spin, but I maintained as much composure as possible.

’Focus on the ones coming close first!’

I dodged the top-down stabbing attack and barely blocked the whip-like swing with my shield.

Finally, I severed the tentacle trying to bind my feet with my sword, cutting it off in advance.

Seogeok!

Another octopus leg was severed in a giant chunk.

Feeling the pain, the other legs flinched.

Seizing this moment, I decided to run like hell.

If I fight like this, I’ll ultimately be at a disadvantage.

Chwaaaak!

As I ran, the legs started pursuing me.

The severed legs stopped midway due to range, but the others didn’t.

In the end, I have no choice but to fight. Still, it’s far better than having attacks pour in from all directions.

’Dodge, block with shield, slice with sword.’

What couldn’t be dodged, I blocked with my shield. Blocking with the shield also demanded rapid speed.

Blocking didn’t mean it was over. If I failed to counterattack properly, I’d fall into an endless loop.

Every single attack was crucial, but I had the Sword of the Heavenly Demon and Aura.

Especially thanks to Aura, I was able to slice areas far beyond the sword’s original reach.

Seogeok! Seogeok!

—Kuuuuuu!

As I repeated this process and kept severing legs, a strange sound echoed from inside the sand.

The main body was probably screaming in agony. Serves you right.

Chwaak! Chwaak!

Realizing it wasn’t working, the creature retreated. The octopus legs disappeared back into the sand.

I panted heavily before regulating my breath.

Because of the ambush, I almost lost my life in vain.

Thankfully, I felt suspicious and prepared beforehand.

’By the way, is it really an octopus?’

Seeing the suction cups, it resembled an octopus. But an octopus living in sand...

’No. Let’s not be bound by common sense.’

I shook my head. Either way, it was all meaningless.

How much had my common sense been denied in this place so far? I shouldn’t rely on common sense.

It wouldn’t be strange even if there were octopuses living inside sand.

’If the land is like this, what lives in the sea?’

I turned my head and looked at the ocean. The ocean is the origin of all life.

Just what kind of monster lives in that sea?

I was fearful already, but there was still work to be done.

’Since there’s an octopus over here, I should head to the opposite side.’

Finding a clue to escape.

That was my top priority.

’I will definitely get out.’

Definitely.