I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 207

Fortunately, a fierce battle with the Guardian did not occur.

Just as different materials had different properties, Guardians also seemed to vary in temperament.

While the Orichalcum Guardian exhibited an aggressive reaction toward mana, the Earth Guardian showed no particular reaction.

It simply erupted, stared blankly at us, and then moved off to another location—that was it.

"Phew..."

Watching the Earth Guardian depart, I let out a sigh of relief.

Truth be told, in terms of sheer combat power, our side was far superior.

Not to mention Ludwig, I also had experience dealing with a Guardian.

But there was no need to waste strength unnecessarily, and in the worst-case scenario, it might agitate nearby creatures.

Furthermore, considering it silently walked away even though we had provoked it first, its personality didn’t seem too bad either.

"...Let’s keep going for now."

"Hmm."

With the situation resolved, we resumed our trek.

Through this incident, I learned that I shouldn’t recklessly touch things that sparkle.

Especially if it’s buried in the ground.

I headed toward the Orichalcum Cave while gathering herbs along the way.

As we advanced, a few beasts made an appearance, but they immediately fled.

’Since our numbers are far greater.’

Since ancient times, it was said that numbers always win out.

Besides, since most of our group were quite formidable, the beasts wouldn’t even want to come near.

"Ggyu! Ggyu! Ggyu!"

"Bbeeeek!"

"Oh boy. You guys."

Excluding our two weakest members, of course.

I barely managed to break up the fight between the two of them over a rabbit they had just caught.

Looking at the situation, it seemed they caught a fleeing rabbit, but fighting like this was hopeless.

"If you fight again, no snacks for you."

"Ggyuuu..."

"Bbeeing..."

After making them reconcile, we headed toward the Orichalcum Cave once more.

Whether it was because we applied insect repellent or because winter was gradually approaching, we suffered no trouble from bugs.

’Come to think of it, wasn’t this the chickens’ territory?’

I glanced around. As I recalled, this was the territory of the black chickens.

Creatures that, in height alone, were no less impressive than Largo.

I remembered Wonmo encountering them during his bizarre adventure, leading to various incidents.

’There aren’t really any traces. Did something happen?’

Or maybe they were preparing for the upcoming winter.

In that case, I thought there was no need to go out of our way to find them.

-Ggoggigi-ok!!!

Right on cue, a rooster’s crow echoed through the entire forest as if telling us not to come any closer.

They seemed insanely good at sensing when someone entered their territory.

"Ggyuu!!!"

Hearing the sound, Wonmo darted over to me in a flash.

Clinging tightly to my leg, he seemed to still be terrified of what happened back then.

Then again, he had been surrounded by chicks far larger than his own body, so it was understandable.

If it were me surrounded by chickens, I would have pissed myself too.

"It’s alright. It’s alright. There’s no one around."

"Ggyuuu... Ggyuu..."

"$%$?"

Seeing Wonmo whine, Ludwig tilted his head and asked a question.

Seeing him react to the rooster’s crow, Ludwig seemed to have noticed that something had occurred here.

"Yeah. Wonmo took a severe beating from some chicks."

"Ch... icks?"

"Cheep. The guys that go cheep-cheep."

When I made the cheep-cheep sound effect, Ludwig seemed to roughly catch on and nodded.

I patted the back of the trembling Wonmo while taking my steps.

Tyranno glanced at us with a peculiar expression, but I paid it no mind.

"Here we are."

"Hmm."

As time passed, we arrived at the Orichalcum Cave.

Ludwig closely inspected the cave entrance, which looked ordinary on the outside.

Meanwhile, I pulled out the Light Crystal Orb I had received from King Reor.

Though light came from my eyes now, there was nothing better than this for cave exploration.

Besides, there was no guarantee light would come out of my eyes every time I entered a dark space.

What if light only came out at night rather than just in dark places? I needed to test that out.

Pat!

Tapping the Light Crystal Orb a few times, light burst forth.

Soon, the crystal orb floated softly up into the air.

From behind, I could faintly hear Ludwig making a sound of admiration.

King Reor had previously mentioned that it was quite an expensive item.

"Alright. Let’s go."

"Hmm."

"We’re leaving Largo here, right?"

Due to his size, Largo was left outside the cave.

Someone might ask if he wouldn’t run away, but Ludwig didn’t seem concerned.

Still, just in case, I should attach a rein later. The Dwarf can probably forge one for me.

With all preparations complete, I stepped inside while letting the crystal orb float overhead.

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"Ggyuuu! Ggyuu!"

"Bbeeee!"

The moment I set foot in the pitch-black cave, light erupted from my eyes.

Light moving along with my line of sight. This was bizarre beyond belief.

The only consolation was that my eyes didn’t hurt.

If my eyes had hurt, I would have tried with all my might to learn how to control it.

’There might be animals sensitive to light.’

Caves are fundamentally extremely dark.

Thus, there are many animals with poor eyesight or degenerated eyes.

Well, this was a fantasy world, so there might be animals with extremely developed vision instead.

Even so, the fact that they were sensitive to light wouldn’t change.

"Let’s go down here."

The rope I had installed previously was still intact.

It wasn’t a complete vertical drop, so there were places to step along the way.

I had just set up the rope because it might be dangerous.

"Ggyuu. Ggyuu."

"Bbee. Bbee."

Wonmo and Tyranno hopped down matching their small physiques.

Me, Ludwig, and Lackey—the three of us held onto the rope and descended slowly.

If anyone slipped here, there was a high chance of getting seriously injured.

"Heave-ho."

Arriving at the Orichalcum Cave after a long time. It was as pitch-black as ever.

Though we had already defeated the Guardian, I planned to refrain from using mana as much as possible, just in case.

"$%$..."

"This is all Orichalcum. Take a look."

Looking at Ludwig, who had arrived at the Orichalcum Cave for the first time, I roughly explained.

This entire cave is made of Orichalcum, and he could take some if he wanted.

Instead, be careful when using mana. You never know what might pop out.

"Ageujak! Ageujak! Ujeok! Ujeok!"

"Ggyuu..."

Just like how he deliciously devoured Mithril last time, Tyranno began munching on the Orichalcum.

Wonmo staring at Tyranno with an incomprehensible expression was the highlight.

From Tyranno’s perspective, it must feel like delicious snacks were scattered all around him.

’I don’t really see anything sparkling.’

Orichalcum is sensitive to mana and possesses almost no energy of its own.

It seemed only things rich in mana sparkled like gold dust.

’Let’s take a quick look and head out... Huh?’

Banjjak! Banjjak!

Having completed the test, I was just about to leave.

Behind a certain Orichalcum pillar, something was sparkling.

In fact, its size was far larger than the core hidden in the ground earlier.

Even with mana-absorbing Orichalcum lining all four walls, it’s glowing to that degree?

It held a high probability of harboring truly terrifying mana.

’Ssshp... Should I not go?’

Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

Considering various factors, heading over there was a dangerous move.

Just a while ago, didn’t we almost face disaster by poking at a Guardian?

However, I couldn’t ignore that sparkle behind the pillar.

First, it would be best to gather opinions. I called out to Ludwig, who was fiddling with a stone.

"Ahjussi. Look over there for a second."

"Hmm?"

"There’s something over there. Shall we go?"

Perfect communication was still tough. But if I gestured, he understood to some extent.

When I pointed in the direction with my finger, Ludwig turned his head that way.

Realizing that something was over there, he pondered for a moment.

I intended to consider his opinion before deciding whether to go.

"@#."

Soon, Ludwig nodded, speaking with a nuance suggesting we should go.

When I asked if it wouldn’t be dangerous, he said this.

"Know. Don’t know. Difference. Big."

"..."

The difference between going into a danger knowing about it versus not knowing is huge.

That seemed to be roughly how to interpret it. It was indeed that kind of nuance.

My eyes widened at Ludwig, whose Korean skills had surged in such a short time.

Were most people or animals here exceptionally skilled at languages?

Asking him this too, he simply shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know either.

’Could it be under the influence of the Forest of the Four Seasons?’

Since he barely received physical mutations, did his intelligence get enhanced instead?

It was merely a hypothesis, but it wasn’t complete nonsense.

Right now, even I was evolving into some kind of aberration, wasn’t I?

I might need to be careful in the future. Finishing all preparations, I moved forward.

’Behind this pillar, there’s space...’

Indeed there was.

It was cleverly concealed, so I had been unaware of it until now.

Part of it was that Orichalcum was everywhere, so I hadn’t thoroughly searched every nook and cranny.

The value of Orichalcum was so high that I hadn’t felt the need to explore further, and its flashy appearance had completely stolen my gaze.

’Just in case, let’s pull the kids back.’

Armed with sword and shield, I took the lead, and Ludwig stood right behind me.This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.

Lackey would protect Wonmo and Tyranno. This was the best arrangement.

Next, I rounded the dark pillar and slowly peered ahead.

The area behind the pillar was quite spacious. I didn’t know a place like this existed.

"...A chest?"

"..."

And to top it off, a single chest sat placed right there.

Whether it was the chest projecting the light, it sparkled so brightly my eyes hurt slightly.

Why on earth was this chest here? Just as I held that doubt...

"Mimic."

"Huh?"

"Mimic."

Ludwig deduced the chest’s identity in a slightly stiffened voice.

Mimic. A name I had heard before as well.

A monster disguised as a treasure chest to deceive those who approach.

Then again, having a chest sitting isolated inside an Orichalcum cave was suspicious from the start.

"What should we do?"

"Hmm..."

At my question, Ludwig contemplated.

Normally, we would have ignored it and passed by. But it was a Mimic.

If we defeated that thing, a treasure of immense value would surely pop out.

There was no telling what treasure might drop. Gold and jewels might come out, or Spiritual Medicines might emerge.

If it was gold and jewels, I didn’t really need them, but if it was Spiritual Medicine, that was a whole different story.

’That sparkle is no joke either.’

Moreover, Spiritual Medicine was far more likely than gold and jewels.

Sensing this as well, Ludwig gave a heavy nod.

A sign to subjugate it.

Catching his meaning, I asked for advice.

"Do you know how to defeat a Mimic?"

At my question, Ludwig nodded.

Listening to his rough explanation, Mimics were fundamentally very slow in movement speed.

After all, since their true nature was essentially a ’lump of flesh’, they were really sluggish.

Instead, their tongue was exceptionally nimble, so weapon theft happened quite frequently.

Therefore, long-range attacks were essential. Especially since I could perform long-range attacks with Aura.

"So you’re saying I should strike it with Aura from afar, right?"

"Correct."

"Please step back for a moment."

Now that I knew the strategy, all that remained was execution.

After telling Ludwig and the animal friends to step back, I circulated my mana.

Uuuuung!!!

Soon, Aura surged up like a pillar. Perhaps thanks to the Pumpkin Jack’s Inner Core, the pillar had grown even larger.

When on earth will I be able to use an Aura Blade?

After a brief lament, I poked at the Mimic like fencing to provoke it.

To defeat a Mimic efficiently, thrusting inside was better than smashing the chest.

Tuk-tuk- tuk-

"Geureureureureu..."

Touching the chest a few times, a sinister growl echoed out. It really was a Mimic.

Then I should provoke it more. I poked the Mimic repeatedly.

Could it endure it no longer? A reaction burst out from the Mimic.

Chwaak! Chwak!

First, a long arm slipped out from inside the slightly opened lid.

Sssuuuuk!!!

Thick, long legs shot out from beneath the chest.

A form strikingly similar to the Mushroom Person I had seen a few weeks ago.

When I was rendered speechless by that sight, a giant tongue whipped out of the box.

Sharp teeth sprouting at the gaping box opening were a bonus.

"Kwaaaaaaaa!!!"

"..."

Roaring while spraying dirty saliva all over.

The rest of the party was fine because they were behind me, but I took that full-blast right to the face.

"...Ahjussi."

"..."

"Do Mimics originally have legs too?"

Before Ludwig could even answer that question...

"Kwaaaaaa!!!"

The Mimic equipped with two arms and two legs began crawling toward us like a beast.

Contrary to the statement that its movement speed was painfully slow, it moved at a terrifying speed no less than a cheetah’s.

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!"

"Haha... fuck."

"Ggyaaaaaaaaa!!!"

"Bbeeeeeeeek!!!"

Run for your life!

While the party was suffering inside the Orichalcum Cave...

"Bbi-ak! Bbi-ak!"

"Bbi-ak! Bbi-ak!"

"Bbi-ya-ak! Bbi-ak!"

"..."

Outside the cave, Largo was completely surrounded by chicks.