Gallery 32 - Dumpster

I Gained a Gallery in the Wild - Eps 32 Inner Core (2)

There’s something I’ve realized in life.

The most pitiful time in the world is when you're sick.

Back when my parents passed away, I spent days writhing in pain.

I don't know how much I cried then. If even one of them had been there, they would have nursed me.

The combination of loneliness and a fever is perfect for making a person ragged.

My feeling right now is the same as back then. I finally had a feast, but then immediately collapsed with a fever.

"Kyuu."

At least I have this Round Fluff.

If even he weren’t here, my heart would’ve hurt even more.

DizSpeed seems to have some sense too, as it got off my back as soon as I get sick.

"....."

"…Just go away."

But due to his innate appearance, it doesn't provide any comfort at all.

The relaxed expression is nice, but now it feels like it's mocking me.

'No way.'

I felt sorry for blaming the innocent DizSpeed.

This sudden fever is messing with my judgment.

I panted in the heat that enveloped my whole body.

Every time I breathed, hot air escaped from my mouth.

It feels like I might breathe fire like a dragon later.

'I don't know why.'

That my body heats up from eating one fish is absurd.

I wondered if I got infected by some parasite, but that can’t be it.

Just in case, I grilled it thoroughly.

The only thing that comes to mind is poison. Could it have had poison like a pufferfish?

‘I did take the medicine right away, but I’m not sure.’

Just in case, I also swallowed one of the pills AllFather gave me.

Normally I should go through the internal energy cultivation technique right away, but it's difficult with my condition like this.

I can do it after the fever comes down to some extent. Let's take a look at the gallery first.

I posted right before the fever hit, so there should be replies by now.

---

Title: Ah. Fuck, my body’s burning up?

Author: WildGrills

(Photo of a fish with even the thorns eaten off)

My body heated up as soon as I eat this. What’s this? Was it poisonous?

---

ㄴ Is there a poison in the world that makes your temperature rise?

ㄴ Not that there isn't one. Heard there’s poison that kills through fever.

ㄴ AllFather) Did you ingest the medicine I gave you?

ㄴ WildGrills) Took it just in case.

ㄴ AllFather) If it were poison, you would recover immediately, but this is strange. It's probably not poison.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) It would be good to regulate thy internal energy at once. Since thou ate a spiritual creature, the qi inside thou must be full.

ㄴ WildGrills) But I didn't even eat the inner core?

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Spirit creatures aren’t called such for nothing. Even no, its flesh holds ample energy.

ㄴ SwordMaster) There's nothing better than the mana cultivation method when you're sick. And it's even better if you drink a sip of elixir before.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) It's not a mana cultivation method, but an internal energy cultivation method.

ㄴ SwordMaster) Same difference? Haha. Until you teach the mantra they are all the same, no?

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) How I long to rip out that insolent tongue of thy.

ㄴ SwordMaster) Try ripping it out lol

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) The sight of being stuck in a room corner just blabbering is truly ugly. I could see an aging layabout with nothing better to do.

ㄴ SwordMaster) What did you just say?

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Hmph. It seems This One too should become active soon. I do not wish to become a person as unsightly as thou.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon this kid suddenly why is he hitting us?

ㄴ AoE provocation, damn it lmaooo

(AoE refer to a type of skill that affect a designated are. Area of Effect.)

ㄴ Suddenly I want to help SwordMaster.

Come to think of it, I had elixirs.

This is something I hadn't thought about because of the sudden fever.

I moved as if crawling while forcibly enduring the rising fever.

Finally I picked up one elixir stored in the box.

The elixir with impressively brilliant shining golden liquid.

Though each grade has a different color, I was too sick so I grabbed whichever.

'Just one sip for now...'

Even pulling out the cork was a struggle. Should I buy a fever reducer from the auction house?

I painfully opened the cork and took a sip of the elixir.

A strangely bitter yet refreshing sensation was felt beyond my throat.

Now what’s left is the breathing technique. Before that I checked the comments.

I knew up to where HeavenlyDemon and SwordMaster had a keyboard battle right before closing the gallery.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) No matter how much thou struggle, it will be This One who teaches the benefactor the internal energy cultivation method. Now begone.

ㄴ SwordMaster) What if Grills can't understand the verse?

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) That won't happen. This One will explain every single detail.

ㄴ SwordMaster) I’m sorry, but that’s realistically difficult. Grills isn’t beside you, and with just the mantra verses it’s hard to catch up to the know-how of a mana cultivation method.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Is it not the same for thou as well? If they can understand from mere writing, the benefactor would already be a genius.

ㄴ SwordMaster) Would you like to read my writings first? How good am I at writing

ㄴ Their writing is good. Thanks to that guy the continent’s average martial skill went up.

ㄴ Has from basics to advanced, so possible for both expert and beginners

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon just keeps shitting out shit posts lol

ㄴ Fr tho lolol

SwordMaster's writings are indeed good.

Even someone ignorant like me was able to do the basics.

Maybe that's why most people were more friendly to SwordMaster than HeavenlyDemon.

Thanks to the my-pace temperament, they continue to leave comments; if it were a normal person, their mental would have broken.

I think it’s time to stop here. The elixir’s eased my dizziness a bit.

ㄴ WildGrills) SwordMaster-nim. Stop it. It’s true SwordMaster-nim posts help, but I don’t want to break my promise with HeavenlyDemon.

ㄴ SwordMaster) I'm sorry. I was hasty.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Pay no heed to those who seek to shatter trust with vicious tongues.

ㄴ WildGrills) But SwordMaster was also trying to help me, so what.

Luckily, it seems to have settled.

If I hadn't intervened, wouldn't my post have been filled with those two people's keyboard battle?

Moreover, this time SwordMaster picked the fight first. Though HeavenlyDemon did get upset.

'Time to sit down...'

Even with the elixir the fever hasn’t completely subsided.

There’s at least a pain-killer effect, so only the pain went down.

I forced my increasingly hot body up and sat cross-legged.

Then, before beginning the breathing technique, I asked HeavenlyDemon.

ㄴ WildGrills) About to start training, can you tell me the verse or whatever?

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) I can teach you, but as a precaution, I’ll only share the first verses. Lest you risk qi deviation.

ㄴ WildGrills) Got it. Please post it as a secret comment.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Heaven is the supreme that all things revere. Reach out and grasp what lies within. Gaze not upward, but downward. That is Heaven’s….

I thought it would be ordinary know-how, but suddenly a poem popped out.

It is an old-fashioned yet properly martial art-style poem.

It means I don't understand it at all.

It’s not for nothing that SwordMaster criticized the internal energy cultivation method as a poem rather than a know-how.

'How is this supposed to help?'

Moreover, the verse wasn't just one but quite long. HeavenlyDemon’s comments kept coming.

My reluctance lasted only a moment, and I memorized all the verses Heavenlydemon in their comments.

Though my head is dizzy from the fever, it's not to the extent that I can't memorize at all.

"Huuu...”

First, I focused on breathing, imagining scorching energy being gathered.

I didn’t forget to recite in my mind the verses HeavenlyDemon had taught.

I should just think about the image roughly. It’s more about emotion than interpretation.

‘It’s better than Gwandong Byeolgok.’

(D: Famous Korean poem. It's a travelogue-style poem that beautifully describes the scenic regions of Gwandong (Gangwon Province) in Korea.)

Much better than that terrible poem.

I cultivated my breathing while imagining the verse that HeavenlyDemon taught.

It feels like the hot energy that was spread throughout my body is gathering in my lower abdomen.

'Heaven is the supreme that all things revere....'

As I recied the mantra verses and practicing the internal energy cultivation method,

"Kuhh...."

I fell asleep without realizing it.

*****

I had a very strange dream.

A dream in which I seemed to float high, higher than anything, in the sky.

Beyond floating, I swam freely through that sky.

Since I had never even ridden an airplane, I flew around freely for a while.

But that freedom didn't last long. A sinking sensation dragged me downward.

I want to feel this sensation as much as possible. I resisted until the end.

But the resistance was meaningless. My body was already falling downward.

I looked down in surprise. Below was a dense forest.

Swooook!

"Uwagh!"

The sensation of falling from a great height jolted me awake.

It's like waking up with a jolt when dozing off during school days.

Only many times stronge. My mind became wide awake.

"...."

I blinked. What kind of dream did I just have?

I know I flew freely in the sky, but after that I cannot recall.

It's ambiguous to explain. It's like my soul and body were separated.

Still, it was quite a pleasant dream. Because I felt true freedom for once.

"Kyuu..."

While I was still dazed, a sad sound reached my ears.

I turned my head toward the sound and saw Round Fluff staring at me.

It was the Owlbear cub, Round Fluff. Round Fluff was staring with sorrowful eyes.

Growl—

At the same moment an alarm rumbled in my stomach.

I’m hungry. I’m hungry, so feed me. I’m hungry, so I’m sad.

Something like that. Feeling needlessly embarrassed, I checked the time first.

No. There's no need to specifically check the time. Just looking outside the cave was enough.

'....It's already night?'

Outside was already filled with pure darkness.

The time when I ate the fish and got a fever was around noon.

Meaning I had slept soundly for at least six hours. There was a reason Round Fluff wore that sad expression.

"Round Fluff. Sorry. I’ll feed you right away."

"Kyu!"

"Round Fluff is one thing, but where did DizSpeed go...."

I turned my head and DizSpeed was there.

This one looking at me with a now-familiar expression.

Judging by its chewing jaws, it must have eaten Byeokgokdan pills while I was sleeping.

'....He didn't eat much, did he?'

Just in case, I checked the number of Byeokgokdan left with a sinking feeling.

Fortunately, they hadn’t decreased much.

Then feeding Round Fluff came first. I logged into the gallery.

As always the gallery was noisy, but what mattered now was Round Fluff’s meal.

"Here. Here."

"Kyuuuuu!"

His eyes sparkled with joy as I bought him a piece of meat.

It was so cute that I stroked his head, and he liked it even more.

How could anyone not like this? Just looking at him made me pleased.

'The fever seems to have gone down, and there's no discomfort in my body so it's fine.'

As expected, sleeping deeply when you have a fever is the best remedy.

But my body was damp because of the sweat. Nothing I can do about it.

Since it was already late, a quick wash seemed best.

The fish is in the iron tub, so taking a bath would be difficult.

"Hm?"

It was just when I took off my clothes and went out of the cave. I had a question.

I could see far too well. I’ve always had good night vision, but this was much clearer.

Not as clear as daytime, but enough to move around without trouble.

'What’s this?'

But question was brief. I took off my clothes first to wash.

I didn’t even need a campfire. Why bother when I could see so well?

But I'll need it when sleeping. I still feel cold.

Crrrk—

As I brushed a hand over my body before washing, a strange sound came.

When I heard that sound and lowered my head, I was met with an unexpected sight.

My skin was peeling. Unlike when skin peels after a sunburn, the new skin underneath was soft and even slightly glossy.

I frowned at that. There's only one thing this means.

‘Why is there so much dead skin?'

I thought I had washed well, but it seems not.

I’ll have to pay more attention from now on.

For today, a quick wash will do. I can take a proper bath tomorrow.

Soaking in warm water should help loosen the dead skin.

'While at it, I'll eat fish for breakfast too.'

Hopefully, I won't get a fever again.

And so when the next day dawned and I was handling the fish.

"This comes out again."

Another inner core popped out from inside the guts.

---

Consider supporting me by subscribing on Patreon for 5$. 

Advance chapters of Magic Realm Convenience Store Worker : 10 Chapters

Also, consider visiting my patreon to check out my other projects