I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 121

After gifting a sword to Heavenly Demon, I crafted a separate sword for myself. As I mentioned before, it’s a spare.

Since Passing Dwarf also enjoyed the task, both of us were able to work pleasantly.

Syaaah!

"It’s pretty."

I briefly assessed the sword, which glittered like glow-in-the-dark stars. It really was a pretty sword.

Moreover, its practical utility was high. It would be especially useful at night.

With this sword, I’d be able to secure a decent field of vision around me.

Although I had the Light Crystal Orb, the glow-in-the-dark sword could achieve even better efficiency than that.

’Even if I channel just a little mana, the aura flows out nicely.’

Above all, what I liked most was the mana aspect. As expected, even with a minimal amount of mana, the aura rolled and surged like fire.

For me, whose stamina was a weakness, this performance was like a welcome rain during a drought.

Of course, since Heavenly Demon’s sword was far too overpowered, I’d only keep this as a spare, but it was still excellent.

’It’ll be helpful for training too.’

Since it used little mana, controlling it wasn’t difficult either. It was a beginner-friendly sword.

It would be a waste to leave it like this. I immediately went to post it on the Gallery... or rather, I didn’t.

’Come to think of it, wouldn’t Heavenly Demon’s identity get exposed?’

A sword that glowed in the dark. Heavenly Demon had that sword too.

Heavenly Demon wouldn’t post verification photos, but the moment I posted mine, her identity would be exposed.

If you put even a tiny bit of mana into it, it sparkles brightly, so there’s no way people wouldn’t notice.

If Heavenly Demon’s identity got exposed and she quit the Gallery, it would be a huge loss for me.

Especially since she was one of my saviors, the regret would be even greater. It was an irreplaceable loss beyond mere damage.

’That almost turned into a disaster.’

Because of my complacency, I almost drove away a precious connection.

If possible, it seemed best to conceal the sword’s existence as much as possible.

If worst came to worst, I could make it out of pure Mithril instead of the alloy, Mythricon.

’The time is... getting close to evening.’

The time spent getting crabs plus the time spent crafting tools.

All combined, dinner time had quietly approached.

Originally, I intended to consume an Inner Core, but crafting various tools made it far too late.

On top of that, Heavenly Demon said she’d be going out for the first time in a while to test out the sword’s performance.

Hearing that made me wonder if she really did nothing but scroll through the Gallery in her room all day, but I glossed over it.

’Whatever the case, I hope she likes it.’

If she didn’t like it, I was willing to return the Sword of the Heavenly Demon to her.

Even if it wasn’t on the level of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, the glow-in-the-dark sword was sufficiently magnificent.

Thus, with a mix of anticipation and anxiety, I waited for Heavenly Demon’s message.

[Heavenly Demon: Honorable friend.]

Art thou present?

This one hath returned from wielding the sword thou bestowed.

I was just about to check if anything was recorded on the CCTV.

Since I had the Gallery window open, I was able to check Heavenly Demon’s message right away.

As the message from Heavenly Demon arrived, I let out a breath. It was a slightly tense moment.

She was the original owner of the sword she gave me, so her swordsmanship must be extraordinary.

Therefore, she would objectively evaluate the sword I gave her. That was why I was nervous.

How is it?

Is it pretty good?

[Heavenly Demon: Wouldst thou have me speak sweet words,]

or wouldst thou have me speak with candor?

Speak frankly, please.

[Heavenly Demon: A sword, by nature, can only be called a sword when it cuts that which its master desires.]

However, this blade is overly excessive.

The phrase ’too much is as bad as too little’ fits it well.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad, right?

[Heavenly Demon: Quite the opposite.]

It is so exceptionally magnificent that it may bring about unwanted collateral damage.

I roughly understood what she meant. When prepping ingredients for cooking, one should only cut the ingredients on the cutting board.

However, the Mythricon sword I gave her would slice apart not only the ingredients, but the cutting board itself!

It was a problem stemming from performance being too good.

Is it difficult to handle?

[Heavenly Demon: It is a weapon that those unable to control themselves must never wield.]

Yet this one is not such a person.

Something of this measure, I can wield with ease.

That’s a relief.

So it’s not like you dislike it or anything...?

[Heavenly Demon: Far from it.]

On the contrary, this one feels deep gratitude for thy willingness to grant such a blade.This chapter is updated first at nov⁠elping.com.

It was only natural for me to repay you.

If the sword breaks, I’ll give you a new one.

[Heavenly Demon: Such an occurrence shall never come to pass.]

Every martial artist deems a broken sword to be a mark of shame.

And this one detests shame.

A response supremely characteristic of Heavenly Demon. Her self-esteem was certainly high.

Furthermore, those words didn’t sound like hot air at all; considering the teachings Heavenly Demon usually gave me, her skills were top-tier.

Although she bickered with Sword Matstar on a daily basis... both of them were probably formidable figures.

I understand.

In that case, may I contact you after dinner?

I plan to consume the Inner Core and recite the incantation formula then.

[Heavenly Demon: I shall await thee.]

After promising each other, I finished up my tasks first. Starting with the CCTV.

Upon checking, luckily there were no intruders while I was away fetching crabs.

I was worried some of the gorilla pack might seek revenge, but it was an unnecessary concern.

’And three fish were caught, too.’

After wrapping up dinner, time ticked by until it became late into the night.

I sent a message to Heavenly Demon to let her know I was ready.

As luck would have it, Heavenly Demon was online and replied right away.

[Heavenly Demon: As I mentioned before, this incantation formula is about entrusting thy body to the flow of the heavens.]

It is not absorbing the Inner Core into thy body, but surrendering thy body to the flow of the Inner Core.

I will take that to heart.

[Heavenly Demon: Art thou prepared?]

Hold on a moment.

The moment I saw the question asking if I was ready, I looked at my hand. Resting on my palm was a small Inner Core.

Thanks to the storage box traded from Smart Demon, the Inner Core retained almost its original form.

’Inside this rests far more mana than in the fish.’

Moreover, the fish at least had nutrition mixed in, whereas this was a lump of pure mana.

If I failed to absorb it properly, I might end up suffering through a severe fever like last time.

The saving grace was that my body was already familiarized with mana.

If I had consumed it bare without prior adaptation, just as Heavenly Demon said, my body might have exploded.

’If I consume the Inner Core properly, I can become stronger.’

And I had more than one—several, in fact. However, I planned to set aside a few of them as emergency rations for Speed Sloth.

As they say, the first step is always the hardest; I barely managed to soothe my pounding heart.

I was worried things might go wrong, but I had no choice but to trust Heavenly Demon’s incantation formula.

I’m ready.

Please teach me now.

[Heavenly Demon: Thou who seekest to stand in the heavens.]

Feel those heavens in their entirety.

Whither the heavens head, and what the heavens point toward. Thou who hast felt the heavens.

Entrust thy body to those heavens.

Then...

The second incantation formula, just as Heavenly Demon described, was about entrusting one’s body to the flow of the heavens.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

It was no different even if the opponent was the heavens. If you understand everything the heavens hold, you can secure victory.

Gulp-

Swallowing the Inner Core, I entered the state of the Internal Cultivation Art. At first, it was the breathing technique I always practiced.

However, perhaps because I consumed a colossal mass of mana, the flow of mana—which was already fierce—began to turn wilder and rougher.

I wanted to forcibly restrain that wild current, but failed time after time.

It felt like putting a hand against a rapidly spinning disc and getting painfully chafed.

’I shouldn’t force it to stop. I have to surrender completely to the flow.’

I recited the formula Heavenly Demon taught me inside my head.

Don’t try to stop the flow by grabbing it with hands. Just catch hold of it.

Flow along with it as you grab it to familiarize yourself with the current. To understand what this desires.

Instead of calming the energy with your body, match your body to the energy surging like tidal waves.

’Like entrusting your body to drifting clouds. Like entrusting your body to flowing water.’

And so, around the time my body gradually adapted to the internal energy—

"Deureureong..."

Without even realizing it, I fell fast asleep.

I had a dream.

A dream of swimming freely through the sky high above. I had dreamed this before.Visit nove⁠lping.com for the full chapter.

Back when I suffered from that high fever, after reciting the formula Heavenly Demon taught me. Back then too, I fell asleep as if passing out.

If there was a difference between then and now, it was my reaction. Rather than feeling amazed, a lukewarm, dubious sentiment took precedence.

’Don’t tell me I have a dream every single time I learn a new incantation formula?’

The timing was so coincidental that I couldn’t help thinking that way.

I’d only be able to be sure if the exact same thing happened next time.

For now, it was best to make good use of this rare opportunity.

’Let’s see. Since over there is the ocean...’

I looked around various spots in the forest. Floating in the sky made scouting absurdly easy.

Guarantee that this place was the Forest of the Four Seasons? The Shelter was sitting right beneath my feet, so I recognized it immediately.

Seeing that it was pitch black night, it roughly matched the time frame when I fell asleep.

’I can even move around freely...’

Unlike last time, a strange sensation washed over me.

A feeling as if something was moving me even though I was staying still.

Suddenly remembering the formula Heavenly Demon taught me, I closed my eyes and focused.

I wondered if I should breathe here as well, but that was only for a moment.

’...Something is moving.’

Even while staying still, an extremely subtle movement was felt.

Not the clouds, nor the wind, nor the animals below.

It was the very sky itself, in which I was proudly floating.

I could feel the movement of the sky, however faintly.

’However...’

The problem was that the movement was tangled up in utter chaos.

It wasn’t moving in the direction of planetary rotation, but moving completely as it pleased.

I wondered if such a thing was truly possible, but this place was the Forest of the Four Seasons.

It was a realm where even space got distorted, so it was something I just had to accept and move past.

’Still... it seems to flow somewhat consistently section by section.’

Across the river versus the Shelter. Comparing the two, it was chaotic.

However, separating them individually revealed that they flowed in fixed directions.

Yet what good did knowing this do me? There was still a long way to go.

Banjjak!

Not much time had passed, yet the sun was already starting to rise.

It felt like time was flowing abnormally fast, which left me quite flustered.

At the same time, my body slowly began pulling downward.

A kind of alarm indicating that since the physical body was waking up, the soul must wake up as well.

After flailing briefly at the feeling of someone yanking my body—

"...Huh?"

I could clearly see it.

That single ’tree’ towering alone in the far distance.

An unhideable presence that stood out even within the vast forest.

I wanted to feel that presence more clearly, but unfortunately, time ran short.

And just like that, my body plummeted back toward the Shelter.

"Ah."

The moment I opened my eyes, I couldn’t help letting out a stunned sound.

I felt like I had just seen something, but I couldn’t remember it clearly. It seemed to be roughly a tree.

It was hard to tell whether it was a dream or reality, leaving me thoroughly confused.

’...Why did time feel like it flowed so fast?’

There were many aspects to ponder. I let out a breath and surveyed my surroundings.

Since it was still early, Speed Sloth and Wonmo were sleeping soundly.

I tip-toed quietly so as not to wake them, heading outside.

I had things to test, so I didn’t forget to take the Sword of the Heavenly Demon with me.

’Shall I see what changed?’

All the energy from the Inner Core was absorbed. And very cleanly at that.

Furthermore, since the content of the dream was unusual, significant changes must have occurred.

Feeling slightly nervous, I slowly funneled mana into the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

Hwareureuk!

An aura of flame, far larger than before, billowed over the sword.

Originally, it was enough to cover the entire sword, but now it was nearly twice that size.

Consuming the Inner Core and reciting the incantation formula had worked. The only problem was...

’Didn’t she say just growing in size was useless?’

It was something Sword Matstar had scathingly criticized: expanding the size of an aura was the pinnacle of inefficiency.

Yet I had funneled an amount of mana no different from before.

Efficiency had definitely increased, but it only increased in a weird aspect.

’...This is a literal sidegrade.’

Should I just be satisfied with the increased attack range?