I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 165

Thanks to Lackey, the troller of the century, things went sideways right from the start.

He had provoked the temper of the Flame Horse, which looked extraordinary even at a glance.

I thought he might have done this shitty move just to prank me, but—

"Ukkiaaaak!"

"Hiiiiiiiighin!"

What kind of place was the Forest of the Four Seasons?

A place where even raccoons were brilliant, and gorillas displayed intelligence rivaling humans.

Even back where I used to live, horses were inherently among the most intelligent creatures.

Contrary to their wild image, wild horses also live in herds. Since they naturally had to follow set rules, their social intelligence was also superb.

Don’t we already know all too well what happens when an animal that originally possessed high intelligence inhabits the Forest of the Four Seasons?

Yeah. This horse was extraordinarily quick-witted and assessed situations faster than expected.

Fwaaruk!

The flames spewed from the Flame Horse’s mouth aimed not at me, but at Lackey.

Lackey, unable to even use mana, was hard-pressed just trying to dodge, let alone counterattack.

The Flame Horse concentrated its attacks solely on Lackey instead of me.

Whether it recognized my innocence(?) or simply caught the culprit red-handed at the scene.

Thanks to that, I was standing a short distance away, watching comfortably. Though the heat was scorching, it wasn’t unbearable.

"Kkiking-hing."

"This is delicious. Eat up."

While at it, I was feeding the Flame Horse’s foals.

I wondered why it had threatened Wonmo the moment it saw him, and it turned out to be because its foals were in the cave.

Being foals, their flames weren’t as large as their mother’s.

Their eyes and manes merely flickered like small embers.

"Uagh! Kuagh! Kkueeeek!"

"Wow. He’s spinning real good."

After a pursuit, the Flame Horse bit Lackey and started spinning him round and round.

Lackey has quite a large physique, but the horse’s bite force must be absurdly powerful.

The Flame Horse toyed with Lackey for a while before hurling him far into the distance.

The guy was turned into a complete wreck, his white fur scorched pitch-black.

Seeing him twitch occasionally, he was apparently still breathing.

Serves him right, he shouldn’t have been so cunning.

He probably intended to ask me to remove the suppressor when I got into trouble.

Considering the Flame Horse’s power, it was a plausible scenario.

I could feel that he had also used his brain regarding Speed Sloth.

Lackey knew it too.

That Speed Sloth was our party’s ultimate weapon, appearing only as a last resort.

Did he roughly figure it out back when I asked him to teach me?

He had seen me train too, so he must have been plotting since then.

I don’t know what thought process led him to choose provoking another creature, but one thing is certain:

Hoisted by his own petard. Caught in his own trap.

Dumbass.

Sneering at Lackey in my mind, I quietly gauged the Flame Horse’s mood.

Having vented all its anger, the Flame Horse approached its foals.

It glanced at me, then tilted its head as if telling me to get the hell out.

Having no intention to fight, I backed away obediently.

After all, it was our side that committed the wrongdoing first.

"Kkyueeeeng! Kkyueng!"

"Kkuiiiiing!"

As I moved away, the Flame Horse’s foals began to whine.

All I did was feed them some Fasting Pills I brought as emergency rations and pet them a few times, but they had already grown attached.

While the mother Flame Horse calmed her foals, I headed over to Lackey.

His mouth slightly agape, he looked half-out of his mind.

To make matters worse, smoke was even wafting gently from his mouth.

He managed to protect his glasses through all that.

The funny thing was that he had protected his glasses to the bitter end.

He seemed to have guarded them desperately, unwilling to lose his new eyes.

It’s a waste of an Elixir, but... it can’t be helped.

I administered the Elixir to Lackey.

Using a full bottle was a waste, so just half of it.

I didn’t care about his fur, figuring it was enough to heal just the severely damaged parts.

Bzzzzzt!

"Uwooooong!"

Healing aside, punishment must be delivered.

When I struck his forearm hard with my palm, the Suppressor activated.

Lackey flapped around in agony from the electrical shock, which stung worse than fire.

Since the situation was what it was, I said just one short line instead of swearing.

"I’ll deal with you at home."

"..."

Lackey said nothing. Not that he didn’t want to, but that he couldn’t.

Though he swore at me casually, Lackey was currently an outright ’slave.’

Today’s incident could have threatened my safety, so I felt the need to approach this more seriously. Meaning my mind had changed.

I’ll have to think a bit more... about what to do with Lackey.

Even if it’s somewhat harsh on him, I must find an efficient and effective method.

Carrots are fine, but a whip seems necessary as well.

Tok-tok—

It was right around the time I wrapped up the situation and was about to set off.This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.

Speed Sloth, sitting on my back, poked the nape of my neck with his claws.

Wondering what was up, I turned my head to look at him.

Sweek—

Then Bbareumbo pointed at himself with his claws.

As if asking me to leave the matter with Lackey to him.

As mentioned earlier, Lackey is ultimately a beast.

Even if he speaks human language fluently, beasts must have their own way of communicating with each other.

Since Bbareumbo took the initiative like this, leaving it to him would be a good idea.

Besides, the one highest in the pecking order here is Bbareumbo anyway.

Right now, even I walk on eggshells around Bbareumbo if I don’t have Fasting Pills.

Not to mention I’ve owed my life to Bbareumbo several times.

He might be a lazy guy every day, but he does what needs to be done, so I can trust him.

"Kkuiiiiik!"

"Whoa. Are there only fire-element beasts here?"

Before that, I must finish exploring.

I marveled at the wild boar whose mane blazed with flames instead of hair.

A wild boar combined with fire—should I call it a Fire Boar?

I realized in an instant why this area had turned to ash.

"Kkuiiiiik!"

"Hot hot hot hot hot!!!"

Aside from that, its temper was as nasty as could be.

I barely dodged the attack of the boar breathing fire from its mouth.

Even if I blocked something like that with a shield, the fire would inevitably cause burns.

So I responded by wrapping my entire body in aura.

Even if it couldn’t absorb all the damage, blocking even a little bit was enough.

"Kkuiiiiik!!!"

The boar spewed fire from its snout and scraped the ground with its forelegs.

A warning that clearly read: "I’m gonna ram you."

Before long, true to its warning, the boar charged at me.

Charging forward engulfed in fire, it presented a tremendous sense of pressure.

Sweek—

But that was its fatal mistake. What kind of sword was I holding?

I simply positioned the blade in the path of the charging boar.

The boar, charging at full throttle, cleanly passed through the Sword of the Heavenly Demon before collapsing with a thud.

Normally, it should have been split in two, but thanks to the frost energy, it ended up merely frozen solid.

As if the ice acted like glue, holding the bisected surfaces together.

No need to worry about decay either.

Tonight’s dinner is decided: wild boar. I put the wild boar into the Subspace Backpack.

After that, return. On the way back, I didn’t encounter any other beasts.

"Kkuiiiiing!"

"Kkyuhiiing! Kkyuhiiing!"

The issue was the Flame Horse’s foals clinging to me.

I didn’t know if they wanted Fasting Pills or if they wanted to be petted.

I managed to send them back to their mother and returned to the Shelter.

Come to think of it, did someone say animals like human touch because we scratch places they can’t reach?

If so, that makes sense. Plus I gave them Fasting Pills, so they probably recognized me as a nice mister.

In my heart, I wanted to tame them, but sadly, their manes were made of flames.

Attempting horseback riding would burn my entire body, so it was better to give up.

Even if I absorbed an essence related to fire, it probably wouldn’t help.

Although I became able to wield frost energy right now, I didn’t possess immunity to cold.

After returning to the Shelter, I set about preparing dinner.

First, I planned to butcher the wild boar that was bisected and then frozen together.

...How do I butcher this?

The tiger hadn’t been split in half.

But this guy’s cross-section was merely frozen together; it was already split.

In other words, the moment it thaws, the membranes holding the internal organs will fail, spilling the contents everywhere.

Draining the blood is tricky too. Let’s just pick out the edible parts.

It’s a shame, I wanted to eat pork belly after a long time. Not sure if they consider pork belly a distinct cut here, though.

At a loss for how to butcher it, I deliberated before finally posting on the Gallery.

Title) Caught a wild boar

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the wild boar split in half and frozen back together)

How do I butcher this? It split in half and froze back together, so need advice.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Looks like a sturdy wild boar. You get to eat meat after a long time.

ㄴ Wild Grylls) I am looking forward to it.

ㄴ Sword Matstar) I often caught and ate wild boars back in my knight days. Such memories.

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Did you happen to eat snakes too?

ㄴ Sword Matstar) Of course. Back then, I was hungry no matter what I ate.

ㄴ Ah man. Splitting in half like that makes butchering a pain.

ㄴ Better pull out the organs first and drain the blood. Slit the throat immediately.

ㄴ Looks like only the rib section will be edible?

ㄴ Wild boar meat is tough, so if possible, stick to the tender parts.

ㄴ Starlight Lady) The wild boar looks a bit strange. Were you not in danger?

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Its mane fluttered like fire and it spat fire from its nose.

ㄴ Starlight Lady) From the sound of it, that sounds like a Fire Boar?

ㄴ Wild Grylls) Is it a rare animal?

ㄴ Starlight Lady) Since it’s a beast combined with an element, it is naturally rare. However, apart from being rare, its overall structure is no different from a wild boar.

She explained that instead, the essence of fire was infused into the hide, so making clothes out of it yielded exceptional warmth.

As such, she added that the pelt held high value for people in cold regions.The source of this chapter is novelping(.)com.

It’s already cut in half, not whole, and harvesting it is tough.

Still, I should do as much as I can.

Even if I don’t sell it, I can use it to prepare for winter.

I butchered the wild boar piece by piece and put the innards into a bucket.

I instructed Lackey to dump the bucketed innards into the river.

Unlike before, he followed my orders without a word of complaint.

I wondered if he had learned something from the Flame Horse incident, but—

No way. He’s a crafty bastard, so he might just be pretending to behave.

I can’t let my guard down until the very end. Giving him affection comes only after truly subjugating him.

After butchering the wild boar like that, I managed to obtain a fairly generous amount of meat.

Sizzzzzle—

"Keah."

As I always think, meat is always right.

Fish is delicious too, but meat has a whole different luster and aroma.

There was plenty of flesh, so I could eat sumptuously today.

Besides, now I can even freeze and store it, right? Fucking awesome.

It’s a meat party for the time being. I’ll eat fish now and then too.

I handed Wonmo a hefty chunk of meat.

Wonmo also sparkled his eyes expectantly.

"Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!"

"Is it good?"

"Kkyuu! Yum yum yum!!!"

Wonmo was eating the meat while burying his entire face in it.

I patted his head, telling him to eat slowly.

"Do you want some too?"

"..."

Bbareumbo, who was normally content with Fasting Pills, was lured by the ribs and took a bite.

Whether it suited his palate, Bbareumbo chewed slowly and thoroughly.

Now all that was left was Lackey, but...

"Ooo!"

I didn’t know what he did so right to make such a fuss demanding food.

It was right as I put on a pathetic expression while watching him.

Slap!

Speed Sloth darted forward like an arrow and slapped Lackey across the cheek.

Since he usually moved so sluggishly, I couldn’t help but be startled.

Even I was surprised, so imagine Lackey who got slapped.

His eyes widened round, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

"..."

Bbareumbo, who slapped Lackey’s cheek, pointed back and forth between the ribs and me.

It seemed to carry the meaning that if he wanted to eat, he should respect me first.

What he did with the Flame Horse didn’t sit well with Bbareumbo either.

Shoo— Shoo—

To top it off, he even motioned with his hand for him to scram. What could Lackey do here?

Because of the Suppressor, he couldn’t run away. Above all, ’food’ was on the line.

In the wild, food equates directly to life. He wouldn’t actually die, but it was a horrifying punishment.

"..."

In the end, a dejected Lackey slunk backward.

He looked over this way now and then, but what could be done? He brought it upon himself.

I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him. I just hoped his spirit would break like this so he wouldn’t cause any more trouble.

Anyway, ignore Lackey and let’s eat delicious ribs.

Wait, why does this taste like smoky charcoal fire? It’s seriously delicious.

Perhaps because it was a wild boar infused with fire energy, it naturally had a smoky fire taste.

I’m so glad I get to eat things like this for a while.

Bzzzzzz—

Just as I finished eating and was tidying up, an insect flew over.

Before long, that insect landed on the back of my hand.

Good thing I caught it quickly before getting bitten, otherwise I might have caught some disease.

Come to think of it, I should get some insect repellent too.

Summer was approaching, so bugs would soon be rampant.

After buying insect repellent, I applied it all over the cave and Shelter.

While at it, I also took countermeasures against snakes. Bugs and snakes are absolute targets for extermination.

What will happen in summer? I just hope there are no swarms of mosquitoes.

And sure enough.

Bzzzzzzzz!!!

The next morning.

I was rendered speechless by the terrifying swarm of insects visible outside the cave.

Pitch black as far as the eye couldn’t see, literally packed with swarms of bugs.

What would have happened if I hadn’t applied the insect repellent?

They would have come all the way inside this cave and gaily devoured my flesh.

Thanks to setting up the tent and applying repellent, I managed to remain safe.

...Is this what they call Dark Swarm or something?

At this rate, Plague will probably show up soon too.

"Ukkiaaaak! Aaaaak!"

"Ah. Right."

He was sleeping outside. I totally forgot.