I Gained a Gallery in the Wild - Eps 1. Continental Integration Gallery
Editor: Hoamzz
Sometimes in life, you find yourself in completely unexpected situations.
In most of those cases, you either relied on quick thinking or utilize past experiences to overcome the problem.
But what if something happens that goes far beyond that category? What should you do then?
What else? You just have to find a way, by any means necessary.
"Damn it. What the hell is this?"
A harsh swear word automatically spilled out at the sight before my eyes. It’s understandable, given my situation.
A forest ahead. A forest behind. Forest to the right, forest to the left. I was surrounded by trees in every direction.
These trees are so massive that they block out the sun.
Where the hell is this place, why am I here? I couldn’t make sense of the situation.
[Welcome to Continental Integration Gallery.]
"Ah, shit! That startled me."
When my mind was in a daze, a strange message floated before my eyes. Floating in midair like a hologram.
My surprise was short-lived, and the message soon transformed into a different form.
[Day 114 of wishing for a full recovery.][1]
[I'm going crazy I'm going crazy I'm going crazy I'm going crazy][12]
[Do NOT click the post below!!!][52]
[Today's choice!][105]
[Is this really... Continental… Gallery...?][8]
[I started dating my childhood friend! Ask me anything!!][10]
[Is there no one to have a deep conversation with me? This is a serious matter.][2]
Into the most horrendous form of chaos.
Did I drink too much last night? I'm seeing things as soon as I wake up.
But no matter how many times I rub my eyes, the floating message remains the same. It's enough to make someone go crazy and jump up in frustration.
“Am I… dreaming?”
I had no idea what was going on. Half in a daze, I moved my fingers.
Can I even interact with this? It looked strikingly similar to the galleries I’d often seen online.
I clicked on the post with the most comments among the chaos.
[The post does not exist or has been deleted.]
"...?"
It left me with a greater question than the chaos itself. I should have clicked faster if I knew this would happen.
But it helped me realize what kind of situation I was in. Crossing my arms, I began browsing the gallery.
I'm not someone who frequented galleries, but I browsed through them a few times to gather information.
Even though it appeared to float like a hologram, the interface was surprisingly simple. Whether I moved my hand or my eyes, it responded just as I wanted.
Title: Day 114 of wishing for a full recovery
Author: StarlightMaiden
Day 114 of wishing for a full recovery
L Stay strong.
Choosing the post with the least number of comments, I found a short post with an equally short comment.
This isn’t enough to make any judgments. But before that, I need to find out whether this place is safe first.
'I don't really know what's going on, but I better be cautious.’
Who knows what might jump out of this forest? If a bear showed up, I’d be in serious trouble.
Fortunately, enough light passed through the trees for me to see ahead. I moved my legs.
"Hm?"
That’s when I noticed a peculiar plant. The thick trees surrounding it couldn’t hide the faint glimmer it gave off.
Just in time, I also needed a place to hide, so I crept over and settled between the trees.
'It has an interesting appearance.'
On the surface, it was just an ordinary-looking flower, but its petals were shaped exactly like a crescent moon.
Even though no light was shining on it, it glimmered like a crescent moon in the night sky. It was a truly beautiful flower.
‘Beautiful things usually come with poison.’
So I left it alone. This is one of those things you shouldn't touch in a forest.
If you don’t know what it is, then don’t eat it. Especially mushrooms. If you’re that desperate, you should go for bugs or insects instead.
I hoped I wouldn’t reach such a dire situation, but given my current circumstances, I had to consider the worst.
'But are there any rules there?'
I lifted my head and accessed the gallery. It popped up just by thinking about it.
The top post was a pinned notice.
Title: Notice
Author: DontAbandonHero (Admin)
- No posts that cause discomfort or disgust to others!
- No obscene photos and videos!
- No posts that create tension between kingdoms!
- Excessive cliques and shunning of new members are prohibited!
- Violation of the above rules will result in a ban!
- Let’s maintain peace in the gallery!
- Heroes aren’t harmful! Don’t abandon them! (This is the most important!)
L I don't know about the rest, but what's with the last one? Lolololol
L What’s the hero doing right now? Sleeping?
L Dunno There’s a lot of talk about how useless they are since the world is at peace
L Rumor has it that the Empire dispatched an assassin squad
L For real, I pity them lolololol
So the one in the orange font is basically the admin. I’ve heard about such thing before.
The notice was quite straightforward, and it seemed like they wouldn’t ban anyone unless they crossed a line.
The gallery's interface was incredibly simple yet user-friendly.
It's possible to take and post photos and videos, and even trade between users are possible.
However, trading between users, not auctions, is only possible with registered nicknames. It is said to prevent illegal trading or something.
Above all, there was a risk of forming cliques, so conversations between users during active trading are limited to 3 minutes.
‘I can trade between users?’
Out of everything, this was the most useful information. I don't even know where I am right now.
Money means nothing; survival items are what I need the most right now. It's difficult to even procure food.
On top of that, I needed weapons to protect myself, tools to make fire, and so much more.
However, trades can often be one-sided. The more desperate you are, the more you’ll have to cede.
After mulling it over for quite some time, I decided to create a registered nickname. Before I start trading, I need to figure out where this place is first.
Title: Woke up in a forest. Where am I?
Author: WildGrills
(A photo of a forest densely packed with trees)
Drank last night and woke up here (ᵕ-ᴗ-) Does anyone know where this is? (Originally: “ ;; ” It’s akin to a nervous or uneasy pause, like sweating or sighing. I opted for Kaomoji since ;; is too unfamiliar. I thought about using this, too (ᵕ•_•). I will use Kaomoji instead of ;; from now on. It would be a great help if you could refer me to collections of Kaomoji hehe.)
First, I posted on the gallery. I can tell I’m in a different world.
The question is: where exactly in this world? I didn’t even have time to think about how I ended up here.
First, I need to stay alive before I can take my time thinking about what to do. If I’m dead, it's all meaningless.
L ? What the hell is this guy doing?
L Feels like one of those shitheads who just posts a picture of their legs and asks you to guess who they are lolol
L Should I post my legs too? See if anyone can guess who I am
L Lol crazy
L I’m a girl tho
L Go, go
L I’m actually a guy lol
L You son of a…
Hm. Only fucking useless comments are being posted. Bastards.
But thanks to them, I realized one thing. I did something stupid.
Obviously, just posting a picture of the forest alone won’t help anyone figure out what forest I’m in.
Still, the fact that they even bothered to comment at all shows they’re at least somewhat nice scumbag. So, I posted a different question.
Title: What’s the most famous forest on the continent?
Author: WildGrills
TSA (Title says it all. It’s a slang used when the title itself explains the post. I will use this instead.)
L Let’sGrowTrees) Obviously, it’s Alfheim!
L Fuck off Canfs (Reference to Warcraft 3 meme. It’s a font bug where the word elf was instead appeared as Canf.)
L Let’sGrowTrees) Canf? We’re just stating the facts!
L These Canf bastards are destroying their own forests and then invading other territories
L Let’sGrowTrees) Mother Nature herself said that all forests are Alfheim!
L PassingDwarf) Those sons of a beast made all the firewood disappear, fuck
L As expected, Canfs poke their noses everywhere These lump of nuisances
L I heard they tried to invade the underground to grow World Tree roots 100 years ago lol
L These days, these sick bastards are even worse than the demon tribes lololol
"...."
These deadbeats. Could they please leave some normal comments for once?
I thought the user with the nickname 'Let’sGrowTrees' would be helpful, but they’re not.
All forests are Alfheim, and Alfheim belongs to the Elves.
Therefore, all forests are the territory of the Elves. They're spreading this nonsensical logic.
"It’s not like they’re adapting imperialism or anything."
Isn't Elves supposed to be a race that loves nature? Aside from that other races exist, their mindset is a shocking fact to know.
One thing's for sure, there's nothing good about getting involved with this race. I brought up another question.
L WildGrills) Is there a forest the Elves don’t like?
L PassingDwarf) Ye ye, there is. It's called the Forest of Four Seasons, notorious for being a pain in the ass
L WildGrills) What’s it like?
L PassingDwarf) What, are you brain-dead? Did you get hit on the head by a hammer?
No. This bastard’s hurling insults out of nowhere.
Sure, my head does feel like it got whacked with a hammer, but that’s only because I drank too much last night. I wasn’t actually hit.
L WildGrills) Ye ye, I said I woke up and found myself in a forest (;° ロ°) My head hurts too, so you might be right….
L PassingDwarf) "( – ⌓ – )
L Booo! Trash!
L But OP (Original Poster) is kind of pitiful. What did the hell you even do to end up like that?
L WildGrills): All I did was drink, but yeah, I drank a lot.
L PassingDwarf) Fucking hell, it's on you then (·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ ) Can’t even find your way back home, you twat
L An alcoholic even a Dwarf curses at, damn (;;;*_*)
.....
Really? But what am I supposed to do when I wake up in a whole different world?
Fortunately, PassingDwarf kindly explained about the Forest of Four Seasons.
The Forest of Four Seasons is the most dangerous forest on the continent, and as the name suggests, it contains all four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
At first, I thought, ‘What kind of nonsense is this?’ But I soon understood why it’s called the Forest of Four Seasons.
‘Each area of the forest has a different season? What the hell?’
And that’s not all. The forest is filled with rich mana, which means all kinds of dangerous monsters are lurking around.
To make things worse, you even lose your sense of direction completely, so once you go in, there's no way out.
That’s why many criminals are often thrown into the Forest of Four Seasons as punishment. And no one has ever come out alive.
L PassingDwarf) But there are a lot of medicinal herbs and elixirs there
L WildGrills) But I didn't know herbs?
L PassingDwarf) Then you’re screwed Might as well eat a poisonous mushroom and die
L WildGrills) Damn you
“Ugh…”
A frustrated sigh came out naturally. I prayed that this wasn't the Forest of Four Seasons.
If it truly is the Forest of Four Seasons…
Getting back home will only start once I make it out of this forest. There's nothing I can do if I'm stuck here.
‘Then…’
I glanced down between my legs. Technically, even below.
There was this peculiar flower with crescent-shaped petals, glimmering faintly. Could this be one of those medicinal herbs?
Since I don't know much about this world, it might be a good idea to post it in the gallery.
The gallery had been helpful with my previous questions, so it was worth a try, especially since this is Continental Integration Gallery.
Who knows? Since they said there are many herbs around, I might be able to survive by using them.
Title: Does anyone know what this medicinal herb is?
Author: WildGrills
(Photo of the crescent-shaped flower)
I don't know what kind of medicinal herb this is Does anyone know?
It hadn’t even been three seconds after I posted it.
L HeavenlyDemon) Would you be interested to trade with this great one? It’s an urgent matter.
A person with the registered nickname HeavenlyDemon immediately commented. Isn't Heavenly Demon a title that only appears in martial arts novels?
I immediately checked that person's post history. If they turned out to be some kind of lunatic, I won't agree to trade.
[HeavenlyDemon]
[Posts: 2,548] [Comments: 3,817]
[Is there no one who wishes to have a deep conversation with this great one? This is a serious matter.] – 10 minutes ago
[This great one body feels heavier by the moment.] - 30 minutes ago
[The sky is the sky, and the earth is the earth. How could I not grasp this simple truth?] - 1 hour ago
It was just full of ordinary nonsense posts. There weren't even many comments on each post.
‘What’s this? A concept junkie?' (People who take role-playing a bit too far.)
Their manner of speaking is ridiculously lofty, yet they’re active on the gallery. It feels contradictory.
Still, I decided to hear them out first. First, I checked the comments on my post.
L Fuck, is that the Crescent Moon Spirit Herb? Why is that even here?!
L Gimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimmegimme
L How much money do you want? Name it
L SwordMaster) Is that medicinal herb really valuable?
L StarlightMaiden) It’s a useless herb for me… I need the energy of yang, not yin
L PassingDwarf) Hey. Don't you need a sword that a Dwarf personally made?
"...."
Wow. What’s going on here?
Right after I glanced at HeavenlyDemon’s post history, my post was flooded with comments.
Even PassingDwarf, who had been rude earlier, turned polite all of a sudden. Could this herb really that valuable?
L HeavenlyDemon) Silence! This great one claimed it first! Your greed knows no bounds!!
L Yeah It's meaningless~
L What do you mean ‘claimed’? lolol The one who pleases the sellers first gets it!
L Bug off old-timer~
The very first commenter, HeavenlyDemon, quickly got buried under the flood of comments. No matter how much they tried to assert their presence, it was pointless.
Since trades between users are possible, I saw some astronomical prices being thrown around.
Of course, I don't know how much the currency in this world is worth, but one thing is for sure.
‘Gotta go with the most desperate one.’
Among them, the one who kept persistently trying to make their presence known is, as expected, HeavenlyDemon.
They were so frantic that they were commenting at an insane pace. I felt a twinge of sympathy seeing that.
'Based on their posts, could they really be a sick person?'
StarlightMaiden also seems to be sick, but she already drew the line, saying it's a medicinal herb she doesn't need.
After much deliberation, I decided to go after HeavenlyDemon.
I’d already received tons of trade offers, but I ignored them all and chose to trade with HeavenlyDemon.
Having something taken away from you even though you claimed it first, I know that filthy and despairing feeling all too well.
[Do you want to request a trade to HeavenlyDemon?]
[All conversations will be monitored by an admin, and depending on the content, you may face a permanent ban.]
It seemed the admins held quite a bit of power here. Or maybe, they were just that vigilant about illegal trades and cliques.
I'm neither of those right now, so I confidently made the request. What I need now are survival supplies.
‘I wonder what they’ll offer me.’
I waited with anticipation.
[HeavenDemon has accepted your request.]
|Note
So I understand that gallery isn’t the most suited term for this. Forum or Channel (borrowing from Discord) would be the most appropriate. But I insisted on Gallery because it’s the real thing in Korean culture. There is this site called DCInside where people create posts/threads and others can comment at them. There exists a ‘Gallery’. Each gallery focuses on a specific topic, such as K-pop, gaming, technology, sports, hobbies, and even niche interests. Users can create their own galleries, allowing for a vast and varied array of discussion boards. I often left some terms unchanged. For this, I prefer to leave it at it.
Also. Yes, I deliberately do not use periods or commas in the post comments. The raw was like that so I try to be as close to it as possible. Tell me if it’s making it hard to read.
The novel uses quite a few slang words. I tried to search for the equivalent but if you have something that fits better, feel free to tell me.
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