I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 230

Though we almost suffered a total wipeout right from the start, we managed to pass through safely thanks to quick judgment.

If I had sensed something strange and still headed inward, things would have gotten severe.

And thanks to that, I gained an enlightenment: basic information.

That while I knew the animals of where I used to live—Earth—I barely knew the flora and fauna of this world.

Take Wonmo for instance, isn’t he the Owlbear commonly found in fantasy?

Tyranno, a dragon, went without saying.

’I don’t know what kind of creatures live here.’

This was a region where even herbivores became insanely powerful.

In such a situation, encountering an inherently strong animal, or even a creature I was meeting for the first time?

Unless we got lucky like just now, chances were high we’d be helplessly taken down.

’To gain information, I have no choice but to scout more frequently.’

That was why there was an even greater need to search thoroughly.

As the saying goes, knock on stone bridges before crossing; there was a need to be cautious about everything.

"In that spirit, Cain-ssi, I will carry you around like a lantern."

[Must it really be like this?]

"Or would you prefer dangling from my butt?"

[A lantern doesn’t sound so bad after all.]

So I bound Cain with rope and carried him like a lantern.

So that if we spotted anything unusual or encountered an unfamiliar animal, we could respond immediately.

Since I couldn’t put Ludwig at the vanguard, I couldn’t leave it to him.

And since my information was severely lacking, this was the best course of action.

"By the way, I think I know the cause behind the territorial conflict in the Mandrake Habitat."

I looked around where the colossal Bush Hell had been.

A creature that originally should have been the size of a bush as its name implied, but had grown as large as a forest.

Because it devoured everything regardless of flora or fauna, only a desolate land remained.

To be more precise, only the spot where the Bush Hell had rested was empty.

"$%%%?"

[He asks if we are going to keep going.]

"We should go. The Bush Hell is gone anyway."

Only the spot where the Bush Hell was located was empty; the rest was a fine forest.

Just in case, I handed Ludwig a torch.

It was just good luck earlier; otherwise, I might have entered someone’s mouth without realizing it.

’Let’s tie the thread firmly here.’

I tightly tied the World Tree thread to a tree right next to where the Bush Hell had been.

Subsequently, after handing the spool of thread to Lackey, I repeatedly checked the surroundings.

Unlike before, no strange signs were detected. It seemed safe to depart.

"Let’s go."

[Please walk slowly. The ride comfort is terrible.]

"If it’s really uncomfortable, shall I stuff you between my legs? It’ll be comfortable there."

[O Aris! Anything but that!]

Silencing the complaining Cain, I moved my feet.

As I said earlier, only the spot where the Bush Hell had been was desolate; beyond that was completely normal.

Meaning the forest stretched endlessly. Unlike before, the sounds of grass insects and birds were lively.

[Come to think of it, it’s strange. A forest of this scale should harbor monsters.]

"Monsters?"

It was while walking cautiously. Cain, tied to my chest, spoke in a puzzled voice.

[Have you ever encountered monsters like Goblins, Orcs, or Gnolls until now?]

"Mmm..."

Hearing those words, I pondered deeply.

I had met plenty of four-legged animals so far, but almost none of the kinds Cain mentioned.

"What’s the criteria for distinguishing monsters from beasts?"

[It varies depending on the era, but back in my day, it was distinguished by whether it attacked humans or not.]

"Then were wolves classified as monsters back then?"

[They were classified as monsters after they ate a human. Surprisingly, beasts rarely eat humans.]

Hearing that, I nodded.

The Mad Dog I fought to the death right when I first dropped into the forest.

When I asked the Gallery, they said Mad Dogs were classified as monsters.

Furthermore, this place was a wild land far removed from civilization.

However, there was a part I slightly didn’t get.

"Then are Mushroom Persons with arms and legs treated as monsters too? They’re even ripped with muscle."

[Usually, yes. Even if they don’t harm humans, their spores cause great harm.]

"What about a gorilla that uses martial arts? It even committed robbery."

[At that point, shouldn’t it be treated as half-human rather than a beast?]

"And dragons that lived since the Mythological Age?"

[Come to think of it, it’s probably easier to treat everything here as a monster.]

Cain seemed to realize that classifications were meaningless here.

But things classified as monsters outside were highly likely to be even more dangerous here.

Even gorillas possessed intelligence no less than humans, so entities that were originally intelligent would be even more so.

[If intelligence has increased, Goblins should be considered the most dangerous. They are the craftiest among monsters.]

"Goblins? I thought they were weaklings."

[The problem is they know it themselves. They are creatures that realize their weakness and evolve to overcome it.]

Terrifying just to imagine. Furthermore, this had persisted not only in Cain’s era but up to the present day.

Listening to Ludwig, over half of all monster subjugations were Goblins.New chapters come out on novelpi‌ng.com first.

In farming terms, creatures close to a swarm of locusts.

"But I haven’t seen any Goblins so far? The only creatures forming packs were gorillas and kangaroos."

[They might inhabit somewhere else. If I see any traces, I’ll let you know immediately, so be careful.]

The way highly intelligent monsters like Goblins or Orcs marked their territory was simple.

Driving stakes into the ground and mounting animal skulls atop them.

Or hanging up animal corpses.

’Still, I don’t think there are any here.’

Whether monster or beast, drinking water was essential. But there was no river nearby.

Since he said they were smart creatures, they would inhabit somewhere water was supplied.

I advanced while listening intently to sounds.

[It’s quiet.]

"Still, bird sounds are heard frequently."

[That’s true, but I’m saying it out of boredom.]

"This guy, really."

[Don’t curse. It’s better to make noise as we travel.]

"Won’t we get spotted then?"

[It’s better than startling something into pouncing on us.]

Cain also offered helpful advice every now and then.

We weren’t conducting a military operation, so making loud noises during exploration was better.

Bears in particular were sensitive to sounds, and many explorers had suffered harm from bumping into bears unexpectedly.

"What if a monster or beast figures this out and attacks?"

"#%^%%%^. ##@%$%. #$%."

[Since our numbers are large, beasts won’t mess with us easily. Same for monsters. At most, it would be a scout. ...Is what he says.]

Seeing even Ludwig chime in, it seemed safe to trust.

Even so, no droppings or marks carved on trees were found.

Judging by that, it seemed closer to a kind of thoroughfare rather than a territory.

Thanks to that, we were able to enjoy a fairly safe exploration until lunchtime.

’Harvesting medicinal herbs along the way, too.’

I gathered all glowing medicinal herbs. I’ll send them to Heavenly Demon later.

As lunchtime gradually approached, I called for a brief break.

In my heart I wanted to go hunting, but gave up because there were too few traces.

’Seriously, there’s way too little. Is there really something here?’

Lighting a fire, I surveyed the surroundings. The rest of the party was preparing to rest.

Seeing no reaction even after lighting a fire, we probably didn’t enter a Bush Hell; should we consider it a kind of neutral zone?

The Shelter where I live is also pretty quiet for the most part.

"Here. Eat up."

"Kkyu!"

"Ppi-ik!"

I gave Wonmo and Tyranno meat purchased from the Gallery.

Since both ate like pigs, I had no choice but to overspend slightly.

As for what the rest ate: Ludwig and I caught and ate lizards.

Even if there were no big animals, small animals like lizards existed. Fortunately, no poison either.

Bbareumbo and Lackey substituted with Fasting Pills. With Bbareumbo throwing side-eyes when Lackey ate Fasting Pills as a bonus.

Lastly, Largo... well, weeds were scattered everywhere around, so he feasted to his heart’s content.

’Mark this spot, too.’

Though we had the World Tree thread, I didn’t forget to leave markers along the way.

Having filled our bellies roughly, we set out again. No particular objective was designated.

We’d just head back to the Shelter before it got dark. If push came to shove, we could camp overnight.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa...

"Hmm?"

It was while walking in the lead. A sound reached my ears.

When I stopped in my tracks at this, the rest of the group showed confusion.

[What’s wrong?]

"Hold on a second."

I brought my index finger to my lips in a gesture for quiet.

Then I focused fully on the sound. Piercing through grass insects and bird calls, an alien sound began to echo.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa...!

It’s the sound of water. This is definitely the sound of running water.

The moment I heard that sound, I turned my head. I caught the rough direction.

"I think there’s a river nearby."

"A river?"

[A river?]

"Yes. Follow carefully. There might be beasts around."

Leading the group, I headed toward the river.

Soon, stone fragments gradually began to multiply on the leaf-strewn ground.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!

Now it was clear. The party also wore expressions indicating they got the idea after hearing the noise.

Meanwhile, I pictured the geography in my mind. That river was definitely different from the river near the Shelter.

’Wasn’t there a place connected near the sea?’

A river originating from the sea rather than flowing into it.

High probability that river was of that sort, too. Merely flowing in a different direction.

Practically running parallel.

’Which means, the end of that river is also highly likely connected to the sea.’Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.

By extension, high chance a beast or monster territory existed there too.

I gripped my sword and shield just in case.

As I assumed a guarded stance, Ludwig also drew his Mythricon sword.

Seeing him mounted atop Largo gave off the vibe of a cavalryman.

’Though the catch is that it’s a giraffe.’

Anyhow, putting that aside, walking vigilantly allowed us to reach the river.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!

Like the river near the Shelter, its fierce current was impressive.

Seeing how clearly visible the bottom was, it was clean enough to drink.

’Across the river is... just a plain forest.’

For beasts, there was none other than a deer drinking water and a wolf stalking behind it.

Ppa-ak!

"Kkegeng!"

Correction. Taking a direct hit from the deer’s hind leg, the wolf flew beyond the sky. Now there was only the deer.

I don’t know why every single deer around here is so absurdly strong. Better not mess with them.

[What will you do now?]

"Mmm..."

Hearing Cain’s question, I pondered.

Though the type differed, if we traveled upriver, probability of hitting the sea was extremely high.

Conversely, if we followed downriver, a lakeside would appear. While pondering this.

’...Mmm? Hold on.’

I drew on my palm with my index finger. To calculate directions.

Although I had no compass, I could roughly calculate direction.

’This river flows in the opposite direction, doesn’t it?’

If it ran parallel, it should definitely flow from left to right.

Yet this river flows from right to left. The direction is completely reversed.

No matter how many times I racked my brain, similar results came out.

That is to say, high probability this river was connected somewhere other than the sea.

"For now, let’s follow downriver. Stay alert since we don’t know what might be there."

"Mm."

"Lackey. The string is properly connected, right?"

"It is."

Then I must carve a mark here too. Getting lost would be a disaster.

Still, following downriver meant no fear of losing our way.

Chambang! Chambang!

While descending along the river, several fish leaped high into the air.

The moment I was about to wonder if they were salmon—

Chwararak!

Some tongue shot out from inside the river and snatched the salmon outright.

The length of the tongue alone easily exceeded 1 meter.

Chambang!

The flailing salmon was dragged down just like that.

It probably became someone’s meal.

[Seems there’s a frog.]

"...."

I know that too.

Swallowing my unsaid words, I backed away slightly from the river.

One wrong move, and the moment you get caught by that, it’s over.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!

Almost 30 minutes had passed since we started downriver.

Though the river width grew far wider than before, the current itself became even stronger.

’Strange. It should decrease as we head downstream?’

The rest of the party also tilted their heads, seemingly finding this part weird.

It’s not like an answer would present itself anyway, so we decided to keep walking for now.

Eventually, reaching the end of the river, we realized why the force had remained relentlessly fierce.

Kukwakwakwakwaka!!!

A waterfall.

And an Inverted Waterfall rising upward at that.

You might ask what nonsense this is, but it really looked like a waterfall flipped upside down.

A sight treating gravity itself as nothing, transcending the laws of nature.

The top of the waterfall was barely visible due to the water mist.

I gasped, looking at the jaw-dropping scenery.

"Wow... what a spectacle."

[Don’t you mean a magnificent sight?]

"If this isn’t a ridiculous spectacle, what is it?"

[That makes sense as well.]

Again, it wasn’t a poor choice of words. It really was an absurd sight.

After a brief chuckle, I approached the side of the waterfall.

First, to check what was up there.

Ssu-uk!

"Huh?"

But the moment I approached the waterfall, my body flipped over—

"Jjwaaaaak?!"

And ’fell’ straight toward the sky.