I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 155

His vision spun round and round. Time flowed sluggishly.

Lackey, the albino gorilla who had once borne the name Wi Baek.

Amidst his dizzily spinning view, he held a question.

’What...?’

Whether beast or human, death occurring in a split second is difficult to perceive.

Yet Lackey could see it clearly.

In a world flipped 180 degrees, the sloth was staring right at him.

And on the sloth’s sharply honed claws, there was blood.

He realized belatedly that the sloth had cleanly severed his neck.

"Ueo?!"

Lackey gasped in sheer horror, his eyes widening. Cold sweat poured down, and his heart pounded violently.

Emerging from the vision, the first thing he did was grope his own neck.

Just a moment ago, his head was flying through the air. Yet now, it was perfectly fine.

’W-What on earth just...’

Though it was an illusion, it wasn’t easy to disbelieve. It would have been the same for a human, let alone a beast.

Lackey kept feeling his neck before looking forward with trembling eyes.

Standing in front of him was the sloth, wearing his usual relaxed expression.

He even tilted his head as if asking what was wrong.

’S-Surely...’

A beast’s primal instinct told him: that was no mere hallucination.

Had he brought his arm all the way down, the vision would have turned into reality instantly.

As mentioned before, beasts cannot engage in high-level reasoning.

However, when it came to survival—that is, ’death’—they accepted it faster than any creature.

Geuljeok- geuljeok-

Whether Lackey was shocked or not, the sloth, Speed Sloth, merely scratched his head.

He gave off a vibe like, ’If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.’

But what could a beast who had just experienced a vision of death possibly have to say?

Lackey slowly backed away, putting distance between himself and Speed Sloth.

’I-I see now.’

Why Grylls had entrusted the key to this sloth.

It wasn’t a trap.

Quite simply, it was because Speed Sloth was the strongest one here.

At the very least, Grylls wasn’t strong enough to project visions of death.

Therefore, Lackey reached another conclusion.

’This sloth is stronger than the human. Which means...!’

That human was ultimately the sloth’s subordinate—a slave!

It was a line of logic that showed the limits of a beast, but ironically, it pierced right through the reality of their dynamic.

For Grylls offered various foods as tribute in exchange for protection from Speed Sloth.

In other words, even if he defeated Grylls, as long as the sloth remained, he could never be free.

’The chieftain...’

Beside a chieftain, there was always a smart subordinate.

That human probably played such a role.

Besides, he was the one handling all kinds of hard labor.

’Escape is... impossible.’

Lackey was disheartened. He could feel it instinctively.

Even if he died and came back to life, he couldn’t leave a single scratch on that sloth.

Attack an opponent who could show him visions of death?

Since he valued his life, he could declare it sheer madness.

’However...’

It wasn’t all bad. Lackey had lived as a so-called ’wild man.’

Even searching all over the Forest of the Four Seasons, animals possessing strength like that sloth were rare.

If he had to pick, perhaps only his brother, the chieftain of the gorilla pack.

In other words, as long as he got on this sloth’s good side, his safety would be guaranteed.

’Perhaps this entity...’

Might be able to defeat that treacherous hypocrite.

Was it because he had just seen his head fly off? His brain was spinning quickly.

Lackey silently faced Speed Sloth and slowly bowed his head.

"Chio cho chawo."

Roughly translated, it meant ’please accept me.’

Unlike with Grylls, he was showing proper respect to a true powerhouse.

Speed Sloth stared quietly at Lackey, then tilted his head.

A reaction showing he had no idea what Lackey was saying. But Lackey interpreted it differently.

’It seems he doesn’t trust me yet.’

Naturally, considering he had intruded upon his territory out of nowhere.

According to the law of the wild, he wouldn’t have had any complaint even if his head had been severed long ago.

Yet the sloth before him had spared his life. What immense mercy!Get faster updates on novelрing.com.

’Earning recognition comes first.’

Lackey made up his mind. He would get his competence recognized and become Speed Sloth’s subordinate.

Then he would replace that chattering human and gain total trust.

’If so, like it or not, I must obey that human’s orders.’

Though dissatisfied, he could endure. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

That was what the human who taught him had said.

Having set his plan for the future, Lackey showed manners before Speed Sloth.

But showing manners was not enough. The wild required action.

’Did that human do it like this?’

Even though nobody ordered him to, Lackey took up the woodworking tasks.

Though clumsy, he used the saw according to the method Grylls demonstrated.

Although he couldn’t use mana, the immense physical strength inherent to gorillas remained.

"Huh? What? You’re doing it on your own?"

Right on cue, Grylls returned.

Several fish were flopping around inside the fish trap he brought back.

Lackey glanced at Grylls briefly before silently continuing his work(?).

"Hmm... Well, all’s well that ends well. Wrap it up and eat first."

"...."

Lackey pretended not to hear. He didn’t understand what Grylls was saying anyway.

But that lasted only a moment; as soon as he saw Speed Sloth moving slowly, he immediately halted his work.

When even the chieftain was stepping up for mealtime, he could not continue working.

He stuck right beside the slowly moving Speed Sloth and waited obediently.

Meanwhile, Grylls began cooking as he always did.

"Alright, let’s eat. You take one too."

Before long, appetizing grilled fish was ready.

Lackey carefully read the room before quietly reaching out.

Since it was freshly grilled, it was hot, but there was no issue eating it.

"How is it? Delicious, right?"

"...."

Lackey nodded at the question. Though he hated to admit it, it was truly delicious.

’A versatile fellow.’

Truly an excellent slave. Is this why Speed Sloth trusts him?

Lackey devoured the fish, resolving to replace Grylls as soon as possible.

’I must work even harder.’

The slave mindset was slowly taking root inside Lackey.

"Kkyuu?"

"...."

"Kkyuuuu~"

Just then, Wonmo rubbed his face against Lackey’s leg.

An irresistibly cute greeting, as if welcoming him to the family.

Lackey stared quietly at Wonmo’s adorable gesture and nodded.

’He truly is a merciful being, taking in even a cub.’

Subtle misunderstandings were steadily multiplying.

Did he eat something bad while I was down at the river?

The rebellious Lackey had become totally submissive in that short window of time.

It was hard to figure out the exact reason, but I had a rough guess.

’Did Speed Sloth discipline him thoroughly?’

Otherwise, there was no way his mind could have been restructured like that.

He must have received a proper reality check and given up.

From my perspective, this couldn’t be better.

Sseuk-sak! Sseuk-sak! Sseuk-sak!

"Yeah. Good job. Keep doing it just like that."

"...."

I had gained a wonderful worker.

Once I demonstrated an example, Lackey did everything on his own.

Occasionally he did things strangely, but since he was a beast, I could let that slide.

Besides, I planned to handle delicate tasks like planing all by myself.

Being an ape, delicate work was far beyond him after all.

Even so, having one extra hand doubled our efficiency.

’Wow. We’ve done this much already?’

Before I knew it, almost all the logs needed for the bridge piers were prepared.

Most of the timber damaged during Lackey’s rampage had also been salvaged.

This was possible because Lackey tirelessly sawed logs while I focused solely on planing.

"Lackey. Stop for now and rest. Dawn is breaking soon."This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.

"...."

But this guy Lackey was stubborn to a fault.

Whether the slave mindset was already ingrained or he just couldn’t understand me, he kept going.

As I stared at Lackey, a question popped into my head.

’Who did he learn to speak from?’

Considering he’s brothers with the chieftain gorilla, didn’t they learn from the same human?

Also, Speed Sloth didn’t seem to recognize Lackey.

Presumedly, he had left the pack at a young age.

Over time, he had even harmed my senior, Rice Craone.

There were far too many things to ask. I organized my questions in my head.

’First, who taught him to speak.’

That was what I was most curious about.

Given that they were even taught martial arts, that person must have been deeply knowledgeable.

Going further, I might figure out why he entered this forest and what his story was.

’I’ll ask Heavenly Demon.’

Normally it wouldn’t matter, but for important matters, using the Central Plains language was best.

Since smooth communication would allow me to get to the bottom of the details.

While Lackey finished his work, I asked Heavenly Demon to translate into Central Plains language.

[Heavenly Demon: (Image photo with written questions) Will this suffice?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. Thank you as always for your help.]

[Heavenly Demon: ’Tis nothing. This seat is curious as well to see how he answers.]

With Heavenly Demon’s help, I was able to prepare a written questionnaire.

Just then, Lackey finished all his work and approached me.

Despite doing quite strenuous labor, he looked completely fine without shedding a single drop of sweat.

"Lackey. Look at this."

"?"

When I showed him the paper, Lackey showed a puzzled expression.

The questionnaire asked who had taught him language and martial arts.

He then narrowed his eyes and thrust his head forward.

Since his eyesight was naturally poor, he had no choice but to do that.

"Ho a-eu...."

Having read the question, Lackey tried to speak, then abruptly paused.

It seemed he was about to ask why he should tell me, but stopped himself.

He even glanced nervously at Speed Sloth.

It was certain that he had attacked Speed Sloth in my absence and gotten severely punished.

Soon, Lackey hesitated slightly before opening his mouth.

"Wi Ho-chang."

"Wi Ho-chang?"

When I repeated the name Wi Ho-chang, Lackey nodded.

Naturally, I had no idea who this person was. Heavenly Demon probably knew.

’Wi Ho-chang should be right? Names usually follow the pronunciation.’

If needed, I could just ask Heavenly Demon.

Anticipating this, I had even recorded a video, so there was no problem.

Before asking the Gallery, I asked Heavenly Demon who Wi Ho-chang was.

[Heavenly Demon: Wi Ho-chang? If it is the Wi Ho-chang I know, he is quite a formidable figure.]

[Wild Grylls: Who is he?]

[Heavenly Demon: He was the instigator of the Orthodox-Demonic War and once bore the moniker Blood Hand Hegemon.]

[Wild Grylls: Oh.]

’Hegemon, huh? Quite a cool nickname.’

[Heavenly Demon: At the same time, he was famous as the ’Blood Demon.’]

[Wild Grylls: Is he really famous?]

[Heavenly Demon: It can be said he made the greatest name for himself before this seat emerged into the Jianghu. If you are curious, ask the Gallery.]

[Wild Grylls: Understood.]

Blood Demon. I knew it was a title that frequently appeared in martial arts stories alongside Heavenly Demon.

However little I knew about martial arts, I at least recognized general titles like that.

’I thought they were usually even worse than Heavenly Demon.’

With that thought, I posted on the Gallery.

ㄴWhy are you asking about that son of a bitch?

ㄴWi Ho-chang lives!!!

ㄴWI!

ㄴHO!

ㄴCHANG!

ㄴAh. Fuck, the Blood Cult caught the scent and swarmed in already;;

ㄴSeriously advising you, if you don’t want the comments section to get weird, delete this fast;;

ㄴWild Grylls) Why is everyone acting like this?;;

A flood of unexpected reactions poured out.