I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 116

What is life? It’s a truly profound question.

An existence granted life while simultaneously being promised death.

An existence that struggles to leave behind biological or spiritual descendants because it is rushing toward death.

A topic worthy of deep study both philosophically and scientifically, a creation of God.

Life itself is the embodiment of mystery.

Then here is a question. What is the criteria for defining life?

Scholars have established various criteria to categorize life, but those are purely ’subjective’.

Differentiating life in an objective sense is practically close to impossible.

This would be no different for the Gallery system. Surely the creator’s subjective views were embedded in it.

The problem was that up until now, other objects had been traded just fine.

The Mithril currently showing off its brilliant splendor right before my eyes...

For whatever reason, the Gallery judged this Mithril as ’life’.

"..."

I sank into thought while looking at the Mithril.

The question ’Why on earth?’ filled my mind.

Minerals broken off from this vein could be traded.

However, the entire vein could not be traded. Because it was judged to be a living entity.

’Could there be a core inside like a Guardian?’

If that was the case, it was dangerous. It meant this Mithril vein could potentially act like a Guardian.

Although it was buried underground so nothing was certain, I couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Since the Gallery judged it to be a living entity, I needed to be cautious.

’Seeing how it stayed still even after I hit it so much...’

The Guardian reacted immediately as soon as mana was used, but this thing didn’t react at all even when struck with mana.

Just what kind of ecology did this mineral vein have? It was hard to understand.

In the end, I knew nothing other than the fact that the vein was alive.

What if, instead of taking shape like a Guardian, it maintained an amorphous form like a slime from a certain game?

What if one day, while I was sleeping, it suddenly shot up in the form of spikes, ta-da!

Then what? At minimum, a fatal injury. The human body is fragile.

The moment my head got pierced, I would be departing from this world.

As long as such a danger existed, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to a vein that was alive.

’Should I ask the dwarf first?’

A living mineral vein. The only one I could ask about this was the dwarf.

If even the dwarf didn’t know, I planned to post a question in the Gallery.

Hey. Emergency. Emergency.

Let me ask one question.

[Passing Dwarf: What is it?]

[Wild Grylls: By any chance... are there living... mineral veins too?]

[Passing Dwarf: What kind of nonsense is that?]

What was your reading comprehension grade back in school?

My parents passed away, so I focused on work rather than school.

I barely met the attendance requirements.

[Passing Dwarf: Ah, fck, if you say it like that, it makes me look like an asshole;;]

So answer me seriously.

[Passing Dwarf: What do you mean a mineral is alive?]

Are you talking about Mithril?

Yep, I observed it after listening to you, and the fragments fallen nearby wriggled around and attached back to it.

[Wild Grylls: Just in case, I tried to trade it, and a window popped up saying living things can’t be traded.]

[Passing Dwarf: Beats me.]

Just ask the Gallery. I know it’s not nonsense, but I really just don’t know lol

Even the expert dwarf gave up thinking.

In the end, I decided to ask the Gallery. Someone bound to know.

Just in case, I filmed the whole process on video. Cutting off a few fragments was a bonus.

It was possible because even the Gallery window could be captured via photos or videos.

Title) Can life reside in minerals too?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of Mithril vein)

(Video showing a window stating trading is impossible when trying to trade Mithril)

(Video showing fragments wriggling and attaching back to the vein)

It’s just as you see in the video. Passing Dwarf told me it’s Mithril.

But he said Mithril isn’t alive, has anyone seen something like this?

What the hell is it that causes something like this to happen?

↳ Heavenly Demon) It crawls like an earthworm. It looks as if it is struggling to survive.

↳ Sword Matstar) It seems like it’s trying to bulk up its body size?

↳ What am I even looking at?

↳ Living to see the day Mithril fragments crawl like earthworms;;

↳ Even if it’s the Forest of the Four Seasons, does that even make sense?

↳ Could there be a core embedded inside or something?

↳ Forget that, Grylls-ah. Give me some Mithril. I’ll use it well.

↳ Come to think of it, that really was Mithril lolol

↳ Everyone was so shocked they focused on the video rather than the Mithril lolol

↳ Look at that bastard quick to assess the situation lolVisit nоvelping.com for the full chapter.

↳ Allfather) The Gallery determining it to be life... means this mineral possesses a ’self’ or ’ego’.

↳ Wild Grylls) An ego?

↳ Allfather) Yes. The Gallery seems unable to trade things if it judges them to possess an ego. This is the result proven through my long research.

↳ Then does that mean plants don’t have an ego? Herbs and trees are traded just fine.

↳ Allfather) Possessing an ego means having thoughts. Learning through thought, and further, evolving.

↳ Spouting bullshit like cancer is life too. Why doesn’t cancer work then?

↳ Allfather) Who said that?

↳ Saw it in an old book.

↳ Allfather) It seems you lack an ego yourself. Seeing how you don’t think on your own and entrust your ego to others. Since I can trade, would you like to entrust that head to me? I happen to have a friend as well.

↳ Sry;;

↳ Wild Grylls) Anyway, this mineral vein has an ego, right? An ego capable of thinking and judging on its own.

↳ Allfather) Yes. Furthermore, it’s not entirely unheard of for an ego to reside in inanimate objects. Have you heard of Ego Weapons? It’s when an ego resides in a weapon.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Ah! I know about that too! The Hero’s Holy Sword is also a weapon imbued with an ego!

↳ Allfather) A very excellent example. However, an ego residing in an uncrafted mineral is a first even for me... It would be wise to be careful. A Guardian might be born.

↳ A Mithril Guardian, that’s insane lolol

↳ Can that even be defeated?

↳ Just Mithril alone is overwhelming, if a Guardian comes out Grylls will straight up die

↳ That’s truly terrifying;;

↳ Wild Grylls) There must be a part responsible for this Mithril’s ego, right?

↳ Allfather) That is highly likely.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) In the case of the Holy Sword, it’s a jewel embedded in the center of the hilt!

↳ Wild Grylls) Didn’t ask.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Okay...!

↳ Wild Grylls) Sorry. I was flustered so I spoke a bit harshly.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) It’s okay! I’ve heard much worse things before! In the past, someone even called me a fcking bitch!

↳ Wild Grylls) ;;

Suddenly I felt pity for Orange Badge, but let’s move on. Such were the hardships of management.

I looked at the Mithril vein presumed to be imbued with an ego.

How could I clear this guy out?

I was terrified an accident might happen while I was mining.

"Ahem. Friend?"

"..."

"If you can hear me, could you move out of the way?"

And so I made a very polite suggestion. Even if I looked like an idiot, I was serious.

Of course, there was no way the mineral vein moved.

It didn’t have ears. Just because something was alive didn’t mean it had ears attached.

If you spoke human language to a jellyfish, would it listen? Absolutely not.

"Tsk. This won’t do."

I couldn’t leave it neglected like this. I made a grand decision for the sake of survival.

Even if the entire back of the cave got carved away, let’s mine out all the Mithril.

Rather than sleeping with a bomb underneath me, I’d disarm it myself.

’If we didn’t know each other’s existence in the first place, this guy would have stayed quiet too.’

Ignorance is bliss; I felt like I had poked a sleeping dog for no reason.

Still, what could be done? It was an event that had already occurred.

Just in case, I mounted Bbareumbo on my back and began mining.

Pa-ak! Pak!

Instead of mining the Mithril directly, it was a method of gently shaving away its surroundings.

I needed to see with my own eyes just how large this Mithril was.

Fortunately, it seemed to inhabit only the inside of the cave.

’Games and reality are really way too different.’

In a certain blocky world, they dug all the way down to where lava was using just an iron pickaxe.

As expected, being a protagonist seemed to be something only superhumans could do.

I was just a human dropped into the Forest of the Four Seasons by a prank of God.

A sigh came out, but right now, mining took priority.

Pa-ak! Pak!

How much time had passed?

As I dug down to my height, the overall outline gradually began to enter my sight.

"Ah, damn it. Seriously."

I stand corrected. What I had seen was just the tip of the iceberg.

No matter how much I dug, there was no end in sight.

Just how far did this vein extend? It was hard to gauge.

’I’m gonna lose my mind.’

At this rate, forget just the back of the cave, I’d have to overturn the entire cave.

Even so, I had to sleep inside, but the desire to rest took precedence.

With a heavy heart, I looked at the sparkling Mithril vein.

’Was it Gyeongju? They say in that region, artifacts come out even if you just dig the front yard of your house.’

In my case, Mithril came out and gave me a headache.

It was even a mineral that might give birth to a Guardian.This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.

Orichalcum alone was nightmarish, but a Mithril Guardian?

’It can’t be helped. The only way is to dig it all out.’

I changed my plan: mine the Mithril to find the source of its life.

I didn’t know if this would truly become a Guardian, but I couldn’t pretend not to see the worst-case scenario.

Kka-ang! Kkang! Kkang!

So I mined passionately. I felt my hands gradually grow numb, but I endured it.

Anyway, if I failed to dispose of this guy, my life was at risk.

It was truly a life-risking mining session. Opportunely, I had the pickaxe given by the dwarf.

I stored the fallen Mithril chips or lumps into the Subspace Bag.

"Hah... Hah..."

As a result of swinging the pickaxe for an hour, I was the one who collapsed from exhaustion first.

And the Mithril vein was still showing off its steadfast shape.

Strangely, the more I swung the pickaxe, the harder it felt.

To be precise, it got stronger every time I dug deeper inside.

’I definitely have to ask the dwarf to make me a Mithril pickaxe.’

Or I needed to complete the Aura Blade. I wasn’t making any progress at all.

Still, I had to do as much as I could. Didn’t they say every little bit counts?

Heavenly Demon-nim.

I’ll give you a lump of Mithril, so please obtain a weapon with this.

[Wild Grylls: This is repayment for the sword you gave me before.]

[Heavenly Demon: There is no need for this, noble youth.]

You are too kind for your own good.

I’ve owed my life several times over to the sword you gave me.

If not for this sword, I would have died a long time ago.

[Wild Grylls: So please accept it.]

[Heavenly Demon: Rejecting it would also be impolite.]

I shall accept it with gratitude.

Taking advantage of my break time, I gave a lump of Mithril to Heavenly Demon, and...

[Wild Grylls: Mithril isn’t small change, so you’ll accept it, right?]

[Praise the Sun: Saying Mithril isn’t small change is something even the king of a country couldn’t say lightly;;]

[Wild Grylls: Then please accept it. It’s repayment for the shields you gave me.]

[Praise the Sun: Didn’t you give me a Mature Mandrake?]

I think that was more than enough?

So you don’t want it?

[Praise the Sun: Nobody dislikes free stuff.]

Thanks.

I should make some accessories with this.

Thank you.

I also gifted a lump of Mithril to Praise the Sun, who had gifted me shields.

After that, I started mining again. It was a never-ending battle.

However, I wasn’t able to mine it all out by evening.

’When I sleep, I’ll just have to sleep as far away as possible.’

Having swung the pickaxe all day long, my hands felt numb.

I massaged my tingling hands while logging onto the Gallery.

There was about 30 minutes left until dinner, so I planned to browse the Gallery until then.

’A message came from the dwarf.’

Every time I mined Mithril, I gave it to the dwarf.

The request to unconditionally make a solid Mithril pickaxe was a bonus.

Seeing that a message had arrived now, it seemed he had finished making it or was in the middle of crafting it.

[Passing Dwarf: Hey. We’re fucked.]

However, a message arrived that was far detached from my expectations.

A short and concise message that accurately summarized the situation he faced.

As soon as I saw that message, rather than anxiety, I felt doubt as I replied.

[Wild Grylls: Why? What’s wrong?]

[Passing Dwarf: The Mithril won’t melt.]

[Wild Grylls: ? What do you mean?]

[Passing Dwarf: No matter what I do, it won’t melt, so I can’t pour it into a mold.]

It didn’t even break.

The words the dwarf brought up next were...

[Passing Dwarf: Upon investigation, there’s an excessive amount of mana inside.]

To melt it, a specially made furnace is required.

So I think I have to give it back to you?

[Wild Grylls: You don’t mean that I have to melt it down and craft the equipment myself, right?]

[Passing Dwarf: Yep, exactly.]

Fck.

Passing Dwarf

Still, the performance will be insanely good lol

It was synonymous with the fact that my workload had increased.