I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 92

I ought to revise my evaluation of the eel.

A natural muscle-enhancing steroid. This phrasing suited it perfectly.

Of course, it had the drawback of side effects being a little—no, heavily—severe, but it was bearable.

Above all, unlike real drugs, it wasn’t temporary. There was a high probability it was permanent.

’Virility or whatever aside, stamina itself went up.’

There were popular rumors, but in truth, eel was good for anyone regardless of age or gender.

It would be weird if something good for men wasn’t also good for women.

It was easiest to think of it as a vigor supplement.

And the Forest of the Four Seasons boosted overall physical capabilities on top of vigor.

’If not for the Internal Cultivation Art, I would have been in huge trouble.’

However, if you can’t digest something, you’re bound to get indigestion.

If Heavenly Demon hadn’t taught me the Internal Cultivation Art and its secret mantra, my thing down there would have exploded.

’There’s nothing bad about practicing the Internal Cultivation Art.’

It restores fatigue. It increases mana. It repairs my body whenever something goes wrong.

It was flawless without lacking a single thing. I should work even harder on it from now on.

"Heave-ho."

I repositioned the barricades one by one.

Since my strength had increased, I saved far more time than initially expected.

’I can install the barricade Dwarf gives me right here.’

After repositioning them, I went inside the cave and moved on to other tasks.

The very first thing I did was update the map. I drew the location of the sea.

It wasn’t just the sea; there were quite a few rivers flowing backward as well.

Since I currently had no way of knowing where those rivers flowed, I left a wide blank space.

’Even that river over there split into two branches at the end.’

The problem was that the place where the river flowed was quite a terrifying area.

Whether a pack of monkeys inhabited it or not, I could hear noises like Ooh-ooh-ooh! coming from there.

If possible, I didn’t want to go, but chances were high I’d have no choice.

’How did monkeys evolve here?’

It basically starts with animals growing larger in size.

Most of the animals I had encountered so far were massive.

How had monkeys, famous for their extremely high intelligence among animals, transformed?

I had imagined it once before, but I just hoped they hadn’t mutated into something weird like that shark-man from last time.

’First, I should head up to the river and back.’

Now that the barricade repositioning was finished, I checked how many fish had been caught.

The number of fish caught overnight was three in total. An abundant yield.

Since I could occasionally obtain unexpected food (turtle eggs), my supplies seemed to be building up little by little.

’I should settle breakfast with a turtle egg.’

Leaving it around for no reason might just let it spoil. It was better to clear these things out quickly.

The egg was the size of an ostrich egg, so it would fill me up.

’Do I have no choice but to eat it soft-boiled?’

Even with a spatula, I couldn’t flip it. As I said earlier, it was just too big.

After deliberating, I decided to just eat it sunny-side up. Sunny-side up was delicious anyway.

Thus, I drizzled a little oil onto a large cast-iron pan, and once it preheated over the campfire, I cracked the egg.

Tok! Tok-tok! Took!

"Huh?"

Surprisingly, however, it wouldn’t crack easily. It was pretty hard.

Given its huge size, the shell seemed quite thick as well.

Fearing the oil on the pan would splatter everywhere, I hurriedly grabbed a hammer.

Kkaang! Kkaang! Kkang!

"No way. What is this?"

It didn’t break easily even with a hammer. The shell was hard as iron.

Just in case, I held back less strength and struck it, but the result was the same. It showed no sign of breaking.

Apparently, it had evolved so that even if beasts stole it while the mother was away, they couldn’t crack it open.

’Wouldn’t it be hard for the hatchlings to come out too?’

Did only the strong survive? What a terrifying rat race right from birth.

In the end, I was only able to crack the egg after imbuing it with Aura.

Chiiiiiik!

Still, as if proving my efforts weren’t in vain, the egg began to cook appetizingly.

The portion was so generous that it filled the entire giant pan. I sprinkled salt over it.

This would enhance the flavor even more. Salt was a godsend.

’Had I known this, should I have brought one more?’

Of course, if I had, it would have been so heavy I couldn’t move properly.

I let out a smirk, and seeing the egg cooked sunny-side up, removed the pan from the campfire.

It was difficult to transfer to a plate like fish. I had no choice but to slice and eat it like a steak.

Soon, after preparing a knife and fork, I sliced the edges.

Even for sunny-side up, the key point was frying the edges slightly crispy.

Basasak-

The crispily fried edges combined with the plain savoriness unique to egg whites.

And finally, the salty flavor from the sprinkled salt tied it all together in harmony.

Objectively speaking, fish tasted better, but eggs were special.

All the more so because I had gathered it in the wild rather than buying it from the auction house.

Tok!

I popped the yolk sitting neatly in the center.

Using it as a sauce, I devoured it alongside the egg whites.This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.

The yolk wasn’t fishy at all and possessed a subtle, mysterious flavor that felt even more addictive.

"Woah. Delicious."

I polished off the entire pan of egg. Wiping my mouth with tissue paper was a bonus.

While not quite a steak, it tasted somewhat like bacon.

What a wonderful flavor. Like the eel, most foods in the Forest of the Four Seasons tasted superb.

’Having salt is the biggest factor, though.’

In truth, salt was the ultimate cheat item among cheats.

Without salt, I couldn’t even have enjoyed a mood like this.

Times like this made me deeply appreciate the existence of the Gallery.

Without the Gallery, even finding salt would have taken an overwhelming amount of effort.

’Or I might have died long ago.’

I finished cleaning up everything and checked the time.

Perhaps because I did the barricade repositioning first, the current time was 9:00 AM.

I usually considered 8:00 AM as the start of my day.

’I have plenty of time left and items to receive, so let’s fill the morning with training.’

First, there was one item I hadn’t managed to receive yesterday.

The container for easy storage of Inner Cores that Smart Demon offered to give.

I wondered if such a thing existed, but since he said he’d give it, I intended to take it.

’If he scammed me, I just wouldn’t trade with him next time.’

Inner Cores were scattered everywhere anyway. They popped out every time I gutted a fish.

Just the ones I had collected so far were nearing ten. Giving away one wouldn’t be a problem.

[Wild Grylls: Smart Demon-nim, let’s trade please.]

[Wild Grylls: If you see this post, please trade. I was busy yesterday so I couldn’t.]

About five minutes after posting, a message arrived.

Since I was waiting for Smart Demon anyway, I accepted without hesitation.

[Smart Demon: Hello, Grylls-ssi.]

Allow me to offer my gratitude first for agreeing to the trade.

[Wild Grylls: Your comment tone and your chat tone are completely different?]

[Smart Demon: Showing courtesy to a patron is my absolute iron rule.]

What a strange persona. Or maybe he was genuinely being polite.

Since all kinds of people inhabited the Gallery, this was mild. Just look at Heavenly Demon.

In fact, having someone be polite like this might be more comfortable. At least he scored points with me.

[Wild Grylls: By the way, what is this container for storing Inner Cores?]

[Smart Demon: It is a bottle that emits cold air when qi is inserted into it.]

You can think of it as a miniature version of a refrigerator.

[Wild Grylls: If it’s maintained by mana, wouldn’t it be better to just buy a refrigerator...?]

[Smart Demon: The amount of qi required is significantly small.]

It is also difficult to craft, so it is generally used only when storing important items.

[Wild Grylls: Is it okay to give me something like that?]

[Smart Demon: This item can be obtained with money, but Inner Cores are difficult to acquire even with money.]

I roughly understood. It was because of rarity.

Previously, King Reor had gifted me a crystal orb embedded with Light magic.

Therefore, it wasn’t weird even if a container emitting cold air existed.

Since this was fantasy, I should just roll with it. Thinking too hard about it would only give me a headache.

[Wild Grylls: Understood.]

[Wild Grylls: By the way, it won’t break down or anything, right?]

[Smart Demon: The possibility is extremely low, but if it breaks, please tell me immediately.]

I will repair everything myself.

[Wild Grylls: Thank you.]

[Wild Grylls: I’ll give you today’s Inner Core, so I hope it’s a good trade.]

[Smart Demon: It is my honor.]

Calling it an honor felt like an exaggeration. I concluded the trade with the strictly polite Smart Demon.

Soon, just as he said, I received a small bottle.

’What kind of lettering is this?’

It was a bottle inscribed with characters I had never seen before.

Its size was much smaller than an Elixir bottle, roughly the length of my pinky finger.

It had some thickness so it looked like an Inner Core could fit, but no cold air was felt above the bottle.

’Don’t tell me I got scammed?’

Feeling slightly anxious, I verified its performance first.

When I pulled out the stopper blocking the glass bottle, a cold energy crept out.

Just in case it was merely trapped cold air, I waited quietly for thirty seconds.

Even after thirty seconds passed, the container was still outputting cold frost.

’Fascinating.’

To think something like this existed when mini refrigerators didn’t.

Even if it was due to the consumed amount of mana, I couldn’t really tell.

A good thing was a good thing. I placed all the Inner Cores I had gathered so far into the bottle.

The moment I put them in, the surface of the bottle turned white as if frosted over.

’Did the mana contained in the Inner Cores seep out and intensify the cold energy?’

Let’s just assume it was something like that. As long as it preserved them well, that was enough.

Now that the storage duration of the Inner Cores had been extended, I stood up and began training.

As always, the training content consisted of swordsmanship and shield drills. I planned to do it once a day from now on.

’To be exact, while Wonmo is sleeping.’Get faster updates on n​ovelping.com.

Right now, Wonmo was lying belly-up, fast asleep in deep slumber.

I didn’t know if it was because I was by his side, or because he didn’t know the terrors of the wild yet.

’Still, he’s cute.’

Wonmo is a baby. A baby must be protected.

Besides, hadn’t I killed Wonmo’s mother?

Even though Wonmo’s mother had tried to kill me first... since I decided to raise him, I needed to take responsibility.

’Training is training, but how do I increase my reaction speed?’

While training, I glanced over to the side. Toward Speed Sloth.

I didn’t even wish for agility, dynamic vision, or reaction speed on par with Speed Sloth.

Instead, I wanted to cultivate reaction speed enough to respond to threats to a certain extent.

’Bastards like snakes are the biggest problem.’

Snakes were nimble. And stealthy.

Although slow compared to Speed Sloth, I needed to be prepared.

Besides, there was zero downside to having fast reaction speed. It meant gaining the opportunity to counterattack.

In that sense, let’s ask the Gallery. How can one increase reaction speed?

Title) Is there an exercise to boost reaction speed?

Wild Grylls

I want to boost my reaction speed, are there any good exercises?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Do you not have Speed Sloth?

ㄴWild Grylls) What about him?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) I thought it would rise naturally if you sparred with him.

ㄴWild Grylls) If I mess up doing that, I’ll die;;

ㄴSword Matstar) Exercises to raise reaction speed are simple. You just have to focus on exercises that stimulate your nerves.

ㄴWild Grylls) I don’t know what that is.

ㄴSword Matstar) Throw a bouncy ball hard against a wall. Catching it will naturally raise your reflexes.

ㄴWild Grylls) What if that ball hits me?

ㄴSword Matstar) If it hits you, then you get hit.

ㄴWild Grylls) Teacher?;;

ㄴSword Matstar) But without a lie, that really is one of the best methods.

ㄴStarlight Lady) Nothing comes to mind for me. From Grylls-ssi’s perspective, that seems like the best method.

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) I can give you a ball.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) You have Elixirs anyway, isn’t it fine if you get hit in the face?

ㄴWild Grylls) You try getting hit.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Ever been hit by a rockslide?

ㄴWild Grylls) Sorry

In the end, as Sword Matstar suggested, I decided to throw a ball against the wall.

I also obtained the ball from Princess Chaenggu. It was a ball slightly smaller than a baseball.

’Wait a second. Should I just ask Bbareumbo to throw it instead?’

If it bounced around recklessly, it might hit sleeping Wonmo.

That thought struck me, so I handed the ball to Speed Sloth.

"Here, Bbareumbo. I have a task to entrust to you."

"..."

"You just throw this at me without warning. But a bit fast. Got it?"

’Why do I have to do that?’ Speed Sloth asked with his facial expression.

To this, I brought up a remarkably logical argument.

"The tree that grows food will become a bit sturdier. Wouldn’t that be good for you too?"

"..."

Whereupon the guy nodded his head. It was a mystery how communication was even possible with him.

Regardless of my doubts, I stepped outside the cave and commenced training.

Speed Sloth was so sluggish even when stepping outside that I moved him out myself.

"Alright. Throw it."

"..."

At my words, Speed Sloth slowly pulled his arm back.

Slowly—excruciatingly slowly, enough to frustrate anyone watching.

I endured patiently until the end. There was no telling when the ball would fly.

"Hey, damn it."

However, even the motion of extending his arm forward was so painfully slow that I couldn’t help cursing.

The moment I shifted my foot out of sheer annoyance—

Hwoong!

Bbareumbo extended his arm so fast that the word ’instant’ suited it best,

Ppaak!

"Ghah!"

And I had no choice but to take the ball straight to the face.

A disaster forged by carelessness and my relatively slow reaction speed.

I flared up with rage for a moment, but since it was partly my fault, I didn’t get angry.

"O-Once more..."

"..."

"Let’s do it once more. But throw a bit lighter."

To survive, to escape, what couldn’t I do?

There are times when a person must live with grim determination.

Peuck!

"Ugh!"

And right now was that time.