I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 208

Contrary to Ludwig’s words, the mimic was insanely fast.

Not content with having arms and legs, it was even crawling, making it pure horror.

Even Ludwig let out a hollow laugh, as if seeing something like this for the first time.

"Why! Why are you only chasing me?!"

"Kuaaaaak!"

It didn’t even spare a glance at the rest of the group and doggedly pursued only me.

Was it because I interrupted its peaceful sleep, or because I was the only one overflowing with mana?

Maybe both were true. I shouted to Ludwig:

"Ahjussi! Do something!"

He had been running away with me at first, but was now taking a breather since the mimic was exclusively pursuing me.

At my urge, Ludwig stared blankly at the mimic with four limbs.

Then, he grabbed a piece of Orichalcum from the ground and hurled it right at it.

Peu-eok!

The Orichalcum Ludwig threw hit the mimic squarely in the leg.

Thanks to that, the mimic lost its balance and stumbled. This was my chance.

Seogeok!

While the mimic stumbled, I turned back and slashed my sword horizontally.

As I mentioned earlier, the mimic was crawling like a beast.

Slicing horizontally cleanly severed both of its arms, causing it to collapse onto the ground.

All that was left was the finishing blow. In case that massive tongue tried to snag me, I used Aura for the final blow as well.

Kwa-ak!

I thrust my Aura-infused sword into the slightly opened mouth of the chest.

Thereupon, the mimic raised its tongue high as if startled out of its mind.

Unlike its terrifying appearance, I thought it would end easily, but....

"...Gulp."

"Huh?"

"Gulp. Gulp."

This crazy bastard was actually gulping down my Aura!

It didn’t suck it up like a Guardian or a sponge, but it was quite flabbergasting.

However, having experienced something similar before, I didn’t hesitate and used cold energy.

Jjeo-jeo-jeok! Jjeo-jeok!

The mimic began to freeze from the inside. Its speed of consuming Aura gradually slowed down as well.

Before long, its entire body froze solid, and the mimic’s activity came to a complete halt.

"Phew...."

I was nervous in case even cold energy wouldn’t work, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Noticing that the situation was entirely resolved, the rest of the group gathered around one by one.

Everyone seemed to find a mimic with arms and legs quite fascinating, examining it from this angle and that.

Deol-kong!

"Ggyu-ak!"

"Bbi-ik!"

Even though it was frozen to the core, the mimic gave a violent jolt.

It seemed it was still alive after all. It needed to be disposed of properly.

Also, I needed to figure out why the mimic was glowing.

To do that, I would have to probe its insides with a real sword, not Aura.

"Tyranno. Can you shoot a Breath?"

"Bbi!"

"Ahjussi. You know what to do when the ice melts, right?"

Instead of words, Ludwig answered by gripping his Mythricon sword.

With this, all preparations were complete. I told Lackey to fix the mimic’s mouth in place.

This was to prevent it from going wild the moment the ice melted.

"Tyranno. Shoot now!"

"Bbi!"

Hwureureureuk!

A small Breath spewed out from Tyranno’s mouth.

Sometimes when playing with Wonmo, sparks would come out of his mouth, and seeing that made me realize it.

Even if he’s a hatchling, a dragon is a dragon. He would be able to shoot Breath from a young age.

Chiiii-ik-

As the ice melted, the mimic’s squirming gradually increased.

It was fortunate that Lackey was holding it down tightly; otherwise, it would have gone rampant.

"Now!"

Once the inside thawed to a certain extent, Ludwig and I thrust our swords in unison at my signal.

Beyond simple thrusting, we thoroughly churned up its inside.

"Gueeeee...."

Only then did the mimic stop moving completely.

Seeing its tongue limp and drooped, it must have breathed its last breath.

Although it pulled us into an unexpected situation and took some time, the subjugation itself was relatively easy.

"So what do we do now?"

"#%?"

"Weren’t you supposed to spit it out on your own?"

Mimicking the action of pulling something out of my mouth, I asked Ludwig.

Wouldn’t a mimic vomit up all the items inside when it dies?

Realizing what I meant, Ludwig explained very kindly.

"#%#$%."

Unlike me, he mimicked putting his hand into his mouth.

Meaning I had to pull it out myself. I immediately turned my head back to the mimic.

The limply hanging tongue was covered in sticky drool.

The inside would be even worse, not any less.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.

Disgusting just to imagine. At this, I turned my head to Ludwig.

"...Rock-paper-scissors?"

I asked while subtly sticking out my fist. I wondered if rock-paper-scissors existed here too.

Did Ludwig also realize what I wanted?

He stared at me intently, then pointed to his own eyes.

Meaning he didn’t have detection abilities, while I did.

Above all, I was the one who suggested coming here. Fulfill your assigned responsibility.

"...."

Left speechless, I ultimately decided to pull it out myself.

Grimacing with all my might, I thrust my hand into the mimic’s mouth.

A sticky, unpleasant sensation transmitted up my hand. The slimy tongue of the mimic was a bonus.

’Please let it be something good....’

If something weird popped out, I would destroy it right away.

Fervently praying inside, I wished to be rewarded for my hard work (suffering?).

As a result of rummaging around like that, my hand caught onto something.

As soon as I realized my hand grabbed an object, I pulled it out without delay.

"Heave-ho!"

"...."

The moment I pulled it out forcefully, the mimic’s drool splashed all over Ludwig’s face.

Let me say this in advance, it was definitely not intentional. It just happened to end up like that.

After offering him an apology, I checked the item the mimic had harbored.

"...What is this? A stone statue?"

What was inside the mimic was some kind of stone statue. And a remarkably finely carved one at that.

Though drenched in drool, its form was distinct. Quite a baffling sight.

Banjjak! Banjjak!

Moreover, that stone statue was glowing. What I saw was correct.

The problem was, what on earth was this small stone statue that it contained such powerful mana?

’First, I need to wipe off the drool.’

Coincidentally, I had brought water with me, so let’s wash off the drool first.

Next, I poured water over the stone statue to grasp its proper appearance.

The first thing visible was thick armor. Just by its appearance, one could tell it was a knight.

Furthermore, wings were attached to its back, and it even stoically stood a massive shield upright.

Wearing a helmet, its face couldn’t be seen, but even that helmet was quite intricately carved.

Both the wings on its back and the shield gave off an extraordinary atmosphere.

"...Cain?"

While I was inspecting the stone statue from various angles, Ludwig muttered softly.

Looking at him, his eyes were wide open in surprise.

Seeing his reaction, he seemed to know who the statue depicted.

"Who did you say?"

"Cain."

"Cain?"

As I double-checked, Ludwig nodded.

It seemed the protagonist of the stone statue was Cain.

Naturally, I didn’t know who that was. I’d have to ask the Gallery.

’By the way, what is this stone statue that it glimmers like this?’

The one in the Orichalcum Cave was like that, and the one inside the mimic was too.

In many ways, it was an unusual statue. It would be best to take it with me.

I put the stone statue into my Subspace Backpack and set off. I had done everything needed in this cave.

All that remained was returning to the shelter. I didn’t bother taking the mimic.

The chest could just be purchased from the Gallery, and I had already squeezed everything out of the mimic.

Before long, when we stepped outside the cave, we were met with a rare sight.

"Ggogogok!"

"Bbi-yak! Bbi-yak!"

"...."

There was a chicken. The very chicken I had encountered before.

Behind it, numerous chicks were huddling together, chirping Bbi-yak bbi-yak.

This alone was a ridiculous enough situation, but it went one step further.

"Ggogogok! Ggogok!"

"Ggueong."

"Ggogok! Ggogogok!"

A giant black rooster was circling around Largo as if performing a ’courtship ritual’.

Yet Largo had a sullen expression. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded.

’Looking at the comb, it’s a male, right? Don’t tell me Largo was female?’

They were even different species.

Does it mean that as long as it likes the partner, species doesn’t matter?

Isn’t that being a bit too open-minded? I was left speechless.

"...Ahjussi."

"Mm."

"Let’s leave quickly."

We hurriedly fled.

Fortunately, Largo listened to us better than to the chicken.

Thus, we left the Orichalcum Cave.

-Ggogi-ok!!!

The sorrowful crowing of the chicken echoed throughout the entire forest.

After returning to the shelter, I examined the stone statue in detail first.

Its overall size was similar to a plastic model or a figure.

It exhibited a level of detail that made it look ready to spring to life at any moment.

Moreover, this thing must have been inside the mimic’s belly for a long time.New chapters come out on NovelPing first.

Yet it was completely intact without a single scratch. There was definitely something to it.

’It’s certain that it harbors powerful mana, but....’

After a moment of thought, I took a picture of the stone statue and posted it on the Gallery.

Ludwig said it was Cain, so someone is bound to know about him.

Title) Anyone know who Cain is?

Wild Grylls

(Picture of the Cain stone statue)

Defeated a mimic and this came out, but Ludwig says it’s Cain.

Does anyone know who Cain is?

↳ Heavenly Demon) It is a stone statue that gives off a peculiar feeling. It looks as though it might move at any moment.

↳ Sword Matstar) A mimic? Are there mimics in the Forest of the Four Seasons too?

↳ Wild Grylls) It was in the Orichalcum Cave. But do mimics normally have arms and legs? It was even crawling around.

↳ Sword Matstar) I’ve never heard of such a hideous mimic;;

↳ Why would a mimic have arms and legs? Is that structurally possible?

↳ Is it like a mature mimic or something?

↳ ↳ ↳ If it were a mature mimic, it would live in a place much larger than a box.

↳ Where?

↳ There have been cases where an entire cave was a mimic. Very rare though.

↳ Then we won’t even be able to roam caves freely in the future lolol

↳ Turns out the house Grylls lives in is actually a mimic?

↳ Wild Grylls) Don’t say such unsettling things;;

↳ Starlight Lady) If it’s Cain, isn’t he the very first paladin? That’s what I know.

↳ Wild Grylls) The first paladin?

↳ Starlight Lady) Yes. He was someone who acted as Goddess Aris’s shield. He was a figure who went beyond legend and reached the realm of myth.

↳ Wild Grylls) Then there must be many statues of him?

↳ Starlight Lady) Yes. There should be a statue of Cain right in the capital of Eldorado.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) I’ve read about him too! Cain-nim was also the first to hold the title of Guardian! Most recently, it was Ludwig-nim!

↳ But Ludwig is in the Forest of the Four Seasons right now, isn’t he?

↳ Who is the Guardian now?

↳ No one. That’s why Eldorado went to hell.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) A Guardian will appear again someday!

To roughly summarize, he was the first paladin and Guardian.

Since Ludwig once held the title of Guardian of Eldorado, one could infer how prestigious that title was.

’This ahjussi was an amazingly incredible person?’

To hold the exact same title as a person who went beyond legend into the realm of myth.

Well, if it weren’t for that, a single exposure wouldn’t have turned Eldorado upside down.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) By any chance, if you have no use for it, could you give it to me!

↳ Wild Grylls) Let me check first. It might be a slightly dangerous object.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) What do you mean dangerous! It’s a stone statue carved in the image of Cain-nim, so there’s no way it would harm anyone!

↳ Wild Grylls) The fact that this was inside the Forest of the Four Seasons is weird in itself;;

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Ah! That’s true too! Then could you give it to me when you feel it’s safe!

↳ Wild Grylls) No. I’m going to sell it.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Please don’t do that!!!

↳ A stone statue of that caliber could be sold for a high price lol

↳ It would probably be popular among collectors too, right?

↳ But who crafted that? I’m getting a bit curious.

↳ Especially since it was lodged inside the Orichalcum Cave.

Well, if the opportunity arises, I might give it to Orange Badge.

Leaving it rotting here didn’t seem like it would be of any help....

"...".

Wait, or would it be helpful? I looked at Ludwig.

Currently, he was kneeling reverently in front of the statue, praying.

I didn’t know what he was praying for, but it was probably along the lines of asking to protect Eldorado.

’I should just leave it be.’

Faith is essential for a religious person. And Ludwig had a very strong faith.

Furthermore, since faith has the effect of keeping one’s resolve steadfast, it would also be of great help for survival.

Not that I had any intention of praying myself, though.

Because I didn’t want to hate people, so I was hating God instead.

’Hey. Your country is in shambles, so give them a hand.’

Still, I could say a word for Ludwig’s sake.

Right now, there were countless people who wanted Eldorado to return to normal.

After Ludwig’s prayer ended, I said to him:

"Ahjussi. Let’s go to work."

"...."

Work needs to be done.

Grylls set out from the cave together with Ludwig and all the animals.

It was about time to prepare meals, and there were things that needed to be checked thoroughly.

Therefore, inside the cave, only the Cain statue was left sitting alone.

The Cain statue had shown no reaction whatsoever until now, but....

Seueuk-

Surprisingly, light began to emanate from the eye area hidden behind the helmet.

[...In response to... the calling....]

It began to murmur something.

[I shall... answer....]

Dduk-

The moment the statue finished its words, the light vanished as well.