I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 244

Looking at Grylls, who had undergone Body Metamorphosis, Ludwig could not help but think:

’What kind of crazy bastard is he?’

That was his exact thought.

Though the Forest of the Four Seasons was known to shatter all common sense, he never expected that rule to apply to a human as well.

Was it because he was truly an alien species, or had the Forest of the Four Seasons altered him?

Perhaps that was why. Fascinatingly, Ludwig felt no envy or jealousy whatsoever.

Of course, given Ludwig’s noble disposition, he wouldn’t feel jealous even if others achieved astronomical growth.

Even with the Hero, Asella, he had simply congratulated her on her rapid growth without a trace of envy.

However, Grylls was slightly different. Far from congratulating him, Ludwig only felt an endless stream of bewilderment.

He certainly had talent, but it was talent sprouting in a thoroughly bizarre direction.

Ludwig had been dwelling on this for a while, yet it still made zero sense to him.

’Rapid growth is a good thing, but...’

Ludwig had heard why Grylls suffered so much agony earlier:

his body couldn’t withstand the internal energy, forcing an involuntary Body Metamorphosis.

Such cases occasionally happened—such as when someone mistakenly ingested an Inner Core, forcing their body into Metamorphosis.

’But if that were the reason, he should have undergone Body Metamorphosis way earlier.’

Grylls was a man who consumed Inner Cores like daily meals.

A single Inner Core held immense mana, yet he had been eating them continuously.

Body Metamorphosis should have happened ages ago. For it to occur only now was truly baffling.

’He’s like an onion.’

The more you peeled him back, the more astonishing things you discovered.

Bizarre nature aside, Grylls had an upright and good heart. That was what Ludwig liked most about him.

If Grylls had been closer to an evil person, Ludwig would have severed his head right before escaping the forest.

The moment Grylls stepped out into civilization, he was bound to stir up quite a storm.

’Though escaping first takes priority.’

Ludwig held a crudely crafted wooden sword and looked forward.

In front of him stood Grylls, wielding a sword and shield. It was time for a sparring session.

Regardless of undergoing Body Metamorphosis, Grylls needed to recalibrate his sense of distance.

Even if he had mastered the Aura Blade, it meant nothing if his fundamentals fell apart.

In fact, the majority of people failed to adapt to their newly transformed bodies after undergoing Body Metamorphosis.

Hence, Grylls would undergo training for a while to get accustomed to his new body.

"Huuup!"

Grylls took the initiative and struck first. Watching him, Ludwig thought:

’He’s gotten faster.’

His speed had noticeably increased compared to before.

It meant his overflowing mana and physical body had achieved proper harmony.

Tta-ak!

"Ack!"

Of course, physical stats and proper adaptation were two entirely different things.

Ludwig took advantage of Grylls misjudging the distance and thrusting his sword out prematurely.

Because he reached out too quickly, the attack created a glaring opening.

"Sssuh... Ahh..."

Having taken Ludwig’s strike, Grylls rubbed his head.

Even if your physical specs improved, pain was never something you got used to.

He pressed down on his head, then reassumed his stance.

"Here I come."

"Mhm."

Ludwig appreciated Grylls’s determination.

He was the type to immediately act once he formed a rough plan. A personality well-suited for greatness.

Innate talent, a hardworking nature, and a leadership built on easy social rapport.

’What a shame.’

That made it all the more tragic. Why did such a man fall into the Forest of the Four Seasons to suffer like this?

Therefore, he intended to teach him with all his might. Ludwig resolved to do so.

Tta-ak! Ttak!

"Kkue-ak! Ack!"

Of course, resolve and strictness had to be kept strictly separate.

As Ludwig repeatedly poked through his openings, Grylls’s wails resounded across the clearing.

The Forest of the Four Seasons was peaceful once again today.

"Aigoo..."

It hurts like hell. I gently rubbed my throbbing body.

Thanks to my sturdy body, I didn’t get any lumps or bruises, but pain is still pain.

Ludwig ramped up the intensity the moment he realized I had undergone Body Metamorphosis.This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.

’So this is what it feels like when the closer you get, the farther away they seem.’

I thought I had finally caught up, but what a foolish thought. Catching up to Ludwig was still a long way off.

In terms of physical stats alone, I had already surpassed him, but my technique was severely lacking.

’Even if this is gradually improving too...’

I’m no genius; there’s no way I could polish my skills in a single day.

I have to take it step by step, like climbing a staircase.

There’s no need to rush. I just can’t explore for a while because of training, but that doesn’t mean I’m making zero progress.

’I guess I’ll have to stay at the cave for a while.’

This part was a bit disappointing. As much as I wanted to go out and explore, I held back.

I just need to wait until the squirrel finishes its work. Besides, I have to prepare for summer in the meantime.

’Ah. Right. The insect repellent.’

Summer was fast approaching. I checked how much insect repellent I had left.

Was it the Icon Merchant Guild? Since it was an item they continuously sponsored me with, quite a lot had accumulated.

You could call it a product sponsorship. From what I heard on the gallery, it apparently became a massive hit product or something.

’Anyway, about the dinosaur carcass...’

I logged into the Auction House to check the current price of the dinosaur carcass.

Since I set it to automatically settle after 24 hours, it should be about time for it to sell.

’...Woah.’

How many digits is this? I slowly counted the number of zeros attached.

It was an amount that would let me kick back and live comfortably for the rest of my life. Where on earth did someone get this kind of money?

’Did the rich folks from Setan jump in?’

The current bid was around 800,000 Gold. That’s equivalent to about 8 billion KRW.

Even for wealthy Setan dark elves who splurged money left and right, wouldn’t this be quite a steep price?

’Or maybe it’s just pocket change to them.’

The wealth of the desert rich I knew of was beyond imagination.

I remembered being shocked when seeing transactions involving trillions rather than billions during major deals.

Anyway, the dinosaur carcass will sell soon, and until then, all I have to do is train.

[The Heavenly Demon is a God. The Demonic Cult is invincible.]

"Huh?"

While browsing the gallery, a post suddenly caught my eye.

It was even a Recommended Post, and one with a considerable number of upvotes at that.

’This probably refers to the actual Heavenly Demon, not the Heavenly Demon I know on the gallery, right?’

Considering it mentioned the Demonic Cult afterward, that was highly likely.

Intrigued, I clicked on the post. There were a lot of comments as well.

Title) The Heavenly Demon is a God. The Demonic Cult is invincible

(Photo of a completely barren, hairless scalp)

(Photo of a head with luscious, thick hair)

To introduce myself first, I’m a Demonic Cultist living in the Demonic Cult.

And as you can see from the top picture, I had severe hair loss, so I was treated like an unfilial son.

I really showed so much filial piety to my parents and nursed them until right before they passed away.

But the world isn’t kind to people suffering from hair loss. Once my parents passed away, even more people pointed fingers at me.

Saying my parents died because of me, or that my hair fell out because I failed to practice filial piety, etc...

I was so wronged I was going crazy, but what could I do? My father also had hair loss and was treated the same way.

So I moved to the Demonic Cult. I heard it was a place that takes in the wronged, and when I arrived, there were so many comrades like me.

The Central Plains was never kind to balding people, but the Demonic Cult was completely different.

They welcomed the persecuted and the wronged, not criminals.

Thanks to that, I settled down and was living pretty well, when suddenly the Cult called me and my comrades.

And they gave us some medicinal herb and said, ’Taking this will resolve your grievances.’

What else could my grievance be? Hair, of course! My comrades and I ate it right away.

At first I doubted it, but as time passed, hair actually started growing, can you believe it?

I thought it was temporary so I pulled my hair, but even my scalp pulled along with it.

My real hair actually returned. In the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon is an object of worship, and she really possesses powers equivalent to a god.

From now on, I will offer infinite worship to the Heavenly Demon, and I plan to bow toward the direction of the Heavenly Demon once a day.

And right now, I’m out on a short leave. I’m going to visit my parents’ grave and say this:

"Your filial son has arrived, not an unfilial one."

ㄴHeavenly Demon) A fine post. You must feel as though you have been reborn.

ㄴAnonymous) Absolutely. I’m gonna personally beat up anyone who talks trash about the real-life Heavenly Demon.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Restrain yourself. This seat does not desire such things.

ㄴAnonymous) You’re not even the real Heavenly Demon, why are you bossing people around? Have YOU ever lost your hair?

ㄴAnonymous) Wait, isn’t that viral marketing? Most hair loss cures are scams anyway.

ㄴAnonymous) Fr, you can’t help but be suspicious. If it actually cures it, it’s a real miracle drug lolol

ㄴAnonymous) Isn’t this Heavenly Demon bastard running a scam? We gotta wait and see if it all falls out later.

ㄴAnonymous) Where is it? I’m going right now.This chapter is updated first at no‌velping.com.

ㄴAnonymous) Don’t be fooled. High chance it’s a scam.

ㄴAnonymous) Even if you know it’s a scam, you still want to cure hair loss.

ㄴAnonymous) Bruh... Ah, never mind. When you’re desperate, you can’t help it.

ㄴAnonymous) If that’s a scam, the Demonic Cult’s reputation will plummet, so isn’t it trustworthy?

ㄴAnonymous) Yeah, it’s given by an organization, not an individual.

ㄴAnonymous) Should I check it out?

Someone had posted that they were completely cured of hair loss.

As soon as I saw that post, I remembered the medicinal herb I gave to Heavenly Demon last time.

I was told that herb was definitely effective against hair loss.

I heard they wouldn’t distribute it right away and would focus on drug manufacturing instead.

’Was it leaked by any chance?’

If so, that could be a bit of a problem.

Just in case, I sent a message to Heavenly Demon.

I could also use this chance to send my thanks.

[Wild Grylls: Hello! Heavenly Demon-nim!]

[Heavenly Demon: Is your body well?]

As soon as I sent the message, Heavenly Demon worried about me first.

As expected, her character is truly admirable. I hope we can continue to stay in touch.

[Wild Grylls: Have you by any chance seen that post? The one by the Demonic Cultist who cured his hair loss.]

[Heavenly Demon: I have seen it. Is there a problem?]

[Wild Grylls: A little bit? The herb hasn’t been distributed yet, so I was worried someone might have leaked it.]

[Heavenly Demon: You need not worry about that. This seat commanded that it be bestowed first upon those who are desperate.]

Ah. So that’s what happened. Then it makes sense.

After nodding my head for a moment, a sudden thought struck me.

’Is she the real Heavenly Demon?’

Judging by the post, the user presumed a high-ranking figure had granted the herb.

Besides, during the Blood Cult advent incident last time, didn’t the real Heavenly Demon suddenly appear out of nowhere?

I compared the fixed-handle Heavenly Demon with the real-life Heavenly Demon for a moment before giving up.

’Whatever, who cares.’

What matters to me is Assistant Mod Heavenly Demon. And Assistant Mod Heavenly Demon is a person of excellent character.

Someone like her would surely be wonderful to her subordinates as well.

[Wild Grylls: I look forward to working with you in the future. Thank you so much for teaching me the mnemonic formula.]

[Heavenly Demon: That is what this seat should say. This seat shall wait until noble sir emerges in good health.]

My conversation with Heavenly Demon ended there.

Soon, with a heart full of warm satisfaction, I resumed browsing the gallery.

[Ah fuck, I wanna quit my job so bad.]

Among the posts, one title caught my eye.

A post complaining about wanting to quit, typical of office workers.

Normally I would have ignored it, but since it was a familiar fixed handle, I clicked it immediately.

Title) Ah fuck, I wanna quit my job so bad.

Smart Demon

My boss is driving me fucking crazy.

I begged her to just show her face once, and she says she’s too busy taking care of potted plants.

This is a golden fucking opportunity to expand the company, but she won’t go out just because she finds it annoying. I’m losing my damn mind.

ㄴAnonymous) What kind of company requires the CEO to personally show up?

ㄴSmart Demon) There’s a place like that. She’s the figurehead AND the practical muscle.

ㄴAnonymous) In that case, wouldn’t her authority be fucking massive? Is that even possible?

ㄴSmart Demon) That’s why it’s a fucking problem. I handle almost everything, but when it really matters she won’t help. She just does whatever the hell she wants.

ㄴAnonymous) Stay strong. Serving a boss like that must be tough.

ㄴAnonymous) You’re not quitting?

ㄴSmart Demon) The company’s doing really well lately, so I can’t quit. I actually enjoy working here, why would I quit...

ㄴAnonymous) lolol Being driven crazy by people is the most annoying thing.

ㄴAnonymous) Just make it your lifetime job lol.

’Poor guy.’

Such was the sorrow of an office worker.

"Heavens-isiyeo! Please grant permission for the cultists to gaze upon the heavenly countenance!"

"Not right now."

"Why can you not?!"

Despite Wi Seol-ak’s earnest pleas, Yoo So-wol was busy doing her task.

Which was watering her potted plant. The medicinal herb given to her by Grylls.

"The herb has not fully grown yet."

"Aigoo!"

Wi Seol-ak was practically dying of frustration at her utterly absurd response.