I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 204

A pumpkin monster that could be called the icon of Halloween: a Jack-o’-lantern.

It was characterized by a sharply torn mouth and gaping holes for eyes and nose.

Furthermore, fitting its title of ’lantern’, its interior was hollow yet filled with light.

According to what I knew, they rarely harmed people, usually stopping at harmless pranks.

"Kyaaaa! Kyaaaaa!"

"What is this?"

But that was only when they were small.

The pumpkin head I was currently staring at boasted a size practically as big as a house.

Threatening enough to gulp a human down in a single bite.

The shrieks were no different—screams worthy of a monster.

Fitting for a fantasy world, yes, but concern rushed in at the same time.

’How... am I supposed to kill something like this?’

Unlike a beast, this thing is a plant. It has no clear vital points.

Fire is known as the counter to all plants, but the problem was whether fire would even work on this guy.

Additionally, there was one more puzzling aspect.

’There’s no way Father Raccoon would give me something weird...’

Father Raccoon had given me highly potent medicinal herbs and mushrooms until now.

That was why I planted the seed he brought this time without much suspicion.

Yet, once planted, how did a pumpkin monster end up popping out?

Could it be that only its outer appearance looks like this, and it’s actually a good guy? I couldn’t help but wonder.

Kwoong!

It was while harboring such thoughts. Astonishingly, the Jack-o’-lantern leaped high into the sky.

I wondered how on earth a body of that bulk could leap into the sky, but that thought was brief.

"Huuuuup!"

The Jack-o’-lantern’s head tilted backward, and—

"Tudududududu!!!"

It launched something from its mouth. It was moving at considerable speed.

It wasn’t fast enough that I couldn’t dodge by sight, so I predicted its trajectory and dodged.

Pababababak!

"Kgyuuu!"

"Ppiik!"

The other animals also hurriedly began dodging.

And checking what on earth it had spat out...

"S-Seeds...?"

What the Jack-o’-lantern fired was none other than seeds.

Seeds as large as the one I had planted.

But that wasn’t all.

Seumeol- seumeol-

The seeds began burrowing into the ground on their own.

Appalled at the sight, I shouted urgently.

"L-Lackey! Pull those out fast! Quick!"

"Understood!"

"Wonmo, Tyranno, you guys too! If those sink in, we’re in huge trouble!"

"Kgyuu!"

"Ppiii!"

At my urgent command, my animal friends hastily pulled out the seeds burrowing into the soil.

Fortunately, the speed at which the seeds burrowed was slow, allowing us to barely remove them all.

Koong!

Regardless of that, however, the Jack-o’-lantern remained fully intact.

Its heavy body... or should I say structure? At any rate, the pumpkin descended back down.

Chwaak!

Simultaneously, Ludwig charged at the Jack-o’-lantern.

Holding his Mythricon sword, which I didn’t even notice him gripping.

He seemed to have prepared an attack while the animals and I were removing the seeds.

Shaaaa-

A green galaxy began flowing through the Mythricon sword in his grip.

Furthermore, a sharp aura formed around the entire blade as if coating it.

Aura Blade. A technique he had shown me a few times before.

A combination of the Mythricon sword and Aura Blade—it could easily slice through steel.

Chwajajajajak!

Ludwig swung his sword only once, yet dozens of slashes followed in succession.

A speed that even my dynamic vision could barely capture.

To achieve such speed despite being unable to properly manipulate the mana in his body...

How strong was this man on the outside? I grew increasingly curious.

Hududuk! Tududuk!

Under Ludwig’s concise and efficient onslaught, the Jack-o’-lantern was cleanly diced to pieces.

A monster as big as a house died vainly after a few swings of the sword.

Just as I was about to feel relieved, thinking it was over...

Dudungsil-

The pumpkin fragments Ludwig chopped up floated into the air.

Chaak! Chajajak! Chajak!

They began reforming into their original state.

Seeing that, not only me, but even Ludwig widened his eyes and stared blankly.Enjoying the story? Read on at novеlping.com.

Soon, the moment all fragments merged into one, the Jack-o’-lantern’s signature face revealed itself on the pumpkin.

"Kyaaaaaah!!!"

At the Jack-o’-lantern’s shriek, Ludwig backed away in flustered bewilderment.

Just as he was bewildered, I felt the exact same way.

When Ludwig tore it into pieces, I clearly saw its inside.

’It was just an ordinary pumpkin inside?’

There was nothing inside. Just a few seeds.

Nothing that could be called an Inner Core or nucleus was anywhere to be found.

If so, for what reason did the Jack-o’-lantern regenerate?

Koong!

While harboring doubts internally, the Jack-o’-lantern launched high into the sky.

Was it the same pattern as before? Just as I raised my shield to prepare—

Ppagak!

"Huuuup...! Kguek!"

The Jack-o’-lantern, which had been tilting its head back, was struck by something and plummeted straight down.

Whatever it was, it got shot down. I turned my head to find the reason.

"Kgueng."

The reason didn’t take long to find. A brick was clamped in Largo’s mouth.

Evidently, he had swung that long neck of his and hurled the brick like a catapult.

A literal biological catapult. Thanks to him, a bothersome task was spared.

"Kwooong!"

The Jack-o’-lantern crashed down upside down. There was no way I could miss this opportunity.

Without needing to say who went first, Ludwig and I charged toward where the Jack-o’-lantern crashed.

The monster was frantically trying to flip itself back over. Due to its size, controlling its body seemed difficult.

Chwajajajak! Chwajajajajak!

Ludwig executed the first strike. The Jack-o’-lantern was sliced into pieces again, just like before.

Next up was my finish. I brought my enlarged aura slamming straight down on the fragments.

Not cutting with a blade, but pulverizing them completely.

Kwaang! Kwang! Kwang!

The pumpkin pieces turned to mush.

A waste, but it couldn’t be helped. Gotta put out the fire on my feet first.

Thus, the Jack-o’-lantern was smashed beyond recognition into pure mush.

In this state, it shouldn’t even be able to regenerate. At this, I muttered softly under my breath:

"...Did we get him?"

"Hey, you crazy bastard!"

The instant I muttered it, Ludwig’s fiery roar blasted out.

Startled by the sudden roar, I looked at him—and what do you know?

He was glaring at me with a face that said I had just uttered a forbidden jinx.

Only then did I belatedly realize what mistake I had just made.

Dudungsil- dungsil-

And the price for it was disastrous.

The Jack-o’-lantern, which had been crushed beyond repair, was slowly regenerating.

Why on earth was it regenerating? If it were an animal, I could at least understand.

Because of the case with the Saber-toothed Tiger—a specimen whose regenerative abilities spiked due to possessing a heart akin to a Dragon Heart.

But this thing was a plant, not an animal. There was nowhere for it to absorb nutrients from.

’Could it be because of the dirt? No. That’s not it. It doesn’t have roots...’

The moment I recalled that the Jack-o’-lantern had no ’roots’, I snapped back to full awareness.

A feeling like lightning striking through my brain. At that, I instantly whipped my head around.

The direction my gaze headed was precisely the garden. The garden where this thing had grown.

A hypothesis that shattered conventional common sense, but this was a fantasy world.

Even more so, this was the Forest of the Four Seasons, where not even the common sense of a fantasy world applied.

Moving according to instinct rather than conventional thinking was far more appropriate.

"Ahjussi! Hold that bastard off for a sec!"

"Where are you going?"

"I just realized something! And guys! Just in case, stay behind me!"

Right after ordering, I grabbed a shovel instead of a sword and shield.

With that shovel, I began digging at the patch of garden where I planted the Jack-o’-lantern.

And then—

"Found it!"

Not long after digging with the shovel, I found the Jack-o’-lantern’s ’roots’.

I didn’t know by what mechanism it worked, but the Jack-o’-lantern’s root was continuously supplying nutrients to that pumpkin over there.

’Does this world even have Bluetooth roots?’

At this rate, who knows if a Bluetooth showerhead will pop out next.

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I grabbed the root tendrils roughly.

Chwararak!

Plants have a will too. And this thing was a monster.

The moment I grabbed the root, vines burst out and thrashed around trying to bind my body.

At first it tried to strangle my neck, but I barely managed to dodge.

"Hey! Lackey! Grab this!"

"Uwo!"

"You guys grab one too!"

I instructed my animal friends along with Lackey.

Soon, as each of them grabbed roots and vines with hands and mouths, I shouted forcefully.

"Puuuuull!!!"Read the latest chapters at novеlping.com.

"Kgyuuuuu!"

"Ppiiiiiik!"

How deep had it burrowed, or was it just holding its ground?

Despite one human and four animals pulling with all their strength, the root showed no sign of coming out.

Behind us, Ludwig was keeping the pumpkin head at bay, but even he didn’t know how long he could hold out.

Chwararak!

"Ke-ek!"

To make matters worse, one more root tendril remained.

As if sensing I was the main culprit, that vine wrapped itself around my neck.

The force strangling my neck grew stronger, and my vision gradually blurred.

But I didn’t give up.

Because through the hand gripping the root, I could feel that the other animals weren’t giving up on pulling either.

If we couldn’t uproot this thing, there was no telling what tricks it might pull.

Ududuk!

The fruits of our labor slowly manifested.

The distinct sensation felt when pulling up a root transmitted through my hands.

I could vividly feel it struggling desperately to avoid being pulled out, but it was already too late.

The dirt had already loosened from the roots. Even while being choked, I shouted out:

"Ke-k! Now! Pull!"

"Uwoooooo!!!"

Ddududududuk!

As we applied sudden force, the roots slowly dragged out.

At the same time, the pressure strangling my neck grew even tighter, but it was already too late.

Before long, the entire root was completely yanked out of the soil.

Udududuk! Ssuuk!

We uprooted the absurdly tough Jack-o’-lantern root.

It squirmed as if alive, but what was even more shocking was the root itself.

"Kieeeeeee!"

It wasn’t a root, but a mini Jack-o’-lantern.

A Jack-o’-lantern emitting a brilliant light, no less.

Was it a format where the small guy controlled the big one?

Either way, now that we found its weakness, all that remained was cleanup.

Peok!

"Kguek!"

Throwing a punch at the Jack-o’-lantern dangling underneath the root, it shrieked.

Apparently it felt pain. Similar to a Mature Mandrake.

This would make things much easier. I spoke to Lackey.

"Lackey! Beat this bastard up!"

"Uwo!"

Lackey’s martial arts skill was higher than mine. What did that mean?

Tududududududu!

"Kguek! Kgue-ek! Kgue-e-ek!"

It meant he pounded it like a punching bag.

As if venting all his accumulated stress, Lackey thrashed it joyfully.

The more Lackey hit it, the more the strangling pressure of the vine around my neck lessened.

The same went for the giant pumpkin head Ludwig was facing. As the main body took damage, it merely flinched and failed to move properly.

Chuuk-

Following Lackey’s flashy barrage of punches, the entire root went limp.

The main body’s shrieks subsided as well. It seemed to have fainted.

Looking at its face, like a lie, the mouth, nose, and eyes had completely vanished.

Right as I thought that’s enough and was about to tell Lackey to stop—

"Buwek."

Something dropped from the Jack-o’-lantern main body’s mouth.

A orb emitting an orange light. Anyone looking could tell it resembled an Inner Core.

But its size was quite large. Roughly half the size of a fist.

Swallowing this whole would definitely choke someone’s throat.

’An Inner Core is an Inner Core, but I wonder if this can be useful too?’

The Jack-o’-lantern’s main body. I wasn’t sure if this could be used.

Now that it spat out its Inner Core, it might have reverted to an ordinary pumpkin.

However, there was a very high chance it contained energy no less potent than an Inner Core.

Just like the fish had been. Things housing an Inner Core are mostly precious.

"#%@^?"

As the situation concluded, Ludwig walked over to me and spoke.

He pointed somewhere for me, so I shifted my head in the direction he indicated.

With the main body gone, the giant pumpkin head had become an ordinary pumpkin.

A pumpkin with only its size remaining intact. How should we use that?

"We eat it, I guess."

"Eat?"

"Yes."

Pumpkin had been considered a winter delicacy since ancient times.

"Shall we make steamed pumpkin later?"

Food supplies had become abundant.