I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 271

Goblins.

A race depicted as weak monsters in countless forms of media.

Occasionally, they were categorized as a ’race of people’ rather than a monster species, but that didn’t seem to be the case here.

Even if they possessed high intelligence, they were undeniably monsters, infamous for causing all kinds of damage.

Goblins were especially notorious among commoners, who suffered direct harm from them far more often than from other monsters.

Strictly speaking, if a dragon was akin to an unavoidable ’natural disaster,’ a goblin was more like a ’swarm of locusts.’

In fact, at every given opportunity, they raided farmlands or looted village goods, inflicting immense damage.

Sometimes they even formed massive ’legions’ to occupy entire granaries.

Of course, in such cases, before long, humanity’s ultimate armed force—the ’army’—would step in directly to deal with them.

Well, occasionally someone with power rivaling an army would step up for the sake of efficiency, but that was an extremely rare exception.

At any rate, in this world too, goblins mostly carried a negative image and were targets for subjugation.

Furthermore, in a situation like mine where ’survival’ was paramount, goblins posed a significant threat.

"Ahjussi."

"Speak."

"Is this guy really a goblin?"

"Except for his face."

So at first, I intended to kill him without hesitation.

The justification was solid: he was caught red-handed secretly trying to steal an arrow embedded in a tree.

I didn’t know what this fellow planned to do with the stolen arrow, but committing a crime meant receiving appropriate punishment.

"Kkyu?"

"Pbiik. Pbiik."

"..."

And that goblin was currently bound tight in ropes, trembling all over.

Whether Wonmo and Tyranno considered him a new friend(?), they were circling around him or lightly poking him with their feet.

It was a simple expression of curiosity, but from the goblin’s perspective, it was pure horror.

After all, a bear and a lizard his own size were prodding at him.

"Aren’t goblins usually ugly?"

"Hideous."

[Beyond hideous, they evoke sheer repulsion.]

Though everyone expressed it differently, it boiled down to goblins being hideous.

Occasionally, posts appeared on the Gallery saying someone looked like an orc, or was uglier than a goblin.

’There was even a post telling a dwarf who looked like a goblin not to go into the forest.’

Saying he’d be mistaken for a goblin and get subjugated or something like that.

At any rate, the baseline appearance of a goblin was ’hideousness’—a face that repelled anyone at first sight.

Moreover, I heard they rarely washed, leaving their ragged bodies stinking horribly. However...

’This guy is completely different.’

The bound goblin was nothing like that. For starters, his face looked remarkably human.

A reasonably average face and crude yet fully functional clothing.

Lastly, aside from his green skin, he was actually clean.

He was a million light-years away from the goblins described by Ludwig, Cain, and the Gallery.

’The only similarities are his short stature, green skin, and pointed ears?’

His short height actually had decent proportions, so he didn’t look uncanny. His arms were just a bit long.

At a glance, he shared traits with dwarfs. None of the ferocity characteristic of goblins could be seen in him either.

’This forest evolved even gorillas, so goblins shouldn’t be any different.’

I thought it highly probable, but cross-verification was still necessary.

After all, I heard there were evolved goblin variants like hobgoblins.

I took a photo of the goblin, who was receiving an overwhelming amount of attention from Wonmo and Tyranno, and posted it.

Title) Is this guy really a goblin?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a bound goblin trembling in fear)

Woke up this morning and caught this guy trying to steal an arrow stuck in a tree, so I tied him up.

He looks way too different from what I know. Is he really a goblin?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) He looks quite plain. Different from the ones this noble self knows.

ㄴSword Matstar) Back when I was a low-ranking knight, I hunted goblins endlessly. There were hobgoblins among them, but I’ve never seen one that looks like that.

ㄴDoesn’t he just look like a small human instead of a goblin?

ㄴYeah, except for the green skin, he just looks like a dwarf.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Dwarf my ass. He has no beard, no muscles, and is skinny as a rail.

ㄴHow could that be a goblin lol. It’s probably just mutated weirdly because of the Forest of the Four Seasons.

ㄴFr, if goblins on the outside looked like that, why would sex offenders exist?

ㄴ?

ㄴ?

ㄴDude. Please just go die.

ㄴTo think I’m breathing the same air as a guy like that;;

ㄴAllfather) Interestingly, records exist showing that ancient humans violated goblins. It wasn’t just goblins, but most small-sized monsters as well.

ㄴIs this for real?

ㄴPlease tell me only humans did stuff like that.

ㄴAllfather) As you said, only humans did so. According to records, violating a monster was treated as bestiality.

ㄴIs it still considered bestiality now?

ㄴThat’s just being a psychopath;;

ㄴI heard ancient people viewed bestiality in a religious context.

ㄴIs it you again, f*cking humans?

ㄴMan, humanity’s rock bottom really is disastrous, hahaha

ㄴBeastfolk aren’t far behind either. There are records saying they killed women and only violated men lol

ㄴSuspiciously...) Humans did that bullshit first, so don’t slander us.

ㄴFr, humans don’t discriminate between genders, or even species lol

ㄴWho can surpass human nature!

ㄴBeastfolk are funny too, I heard they utterly detest doing it with hairless races lol

ㄴHuh? Aren’t beastfolk categorized into beast-types and human-types? They’re the race with the most human blood mixed in.

ㄴYeah. The human-looking ones are human-type, and the beast-looking ones are beast-type. That’s how they’re categorized.

ㄴBecause of that, there’s a lot of talk in Wydd too. They face a shit ton of discrimination or something.

ㄴThey’re not a small minority either, so they have huge influence on votes, I heard.

The comments quickly devolved into a clash of weird fetishes. Truly, the world was full of strange people.

’The Beastfolk nation really is similar to the United States. All sorts of races are mixed together.’

Anyway, the bottom line was that this guy was different from an ordinary goblin.

Even higher-tier hobgoblins didn’t stray far from the general appearance of goblins.

ㄴ(Rough photo of an ugly goblin) Here. Compare with this.

ㄴWild Grylls) Holy shit, that’s ugly as fuck. Did you take a photo of your mirror?

ㄴSon of a bitch

Comparing it with the photo that popped up in the comments made it even clearer.New chapters come out on novelpin​g.com first.

To find out more details, I would need to extract information from this guy.

"Guys. Step back for a moment."

"Kkyu?"

"Pbiik?"

After sending Wonmo and Tyranno away, I faced the goblin.

As I approached, the goblin slowly raised his bowed head.

Looking strictly at his face, he really didn’t look much different from a human. There was almost no sense of strangeness.

Only his signature green skin, round head, and pointed fangs were faintly noticeable.

"Kki... kkirik...?"

The goblin spoke in a voice consumed by terror.

I asked Lackey to translate, but unfortunately, it was impossible.

"I only understand beast talk. This guy isn’t a beast."

"Are you saying he has his own unique language?"

"That is so."

Fascinating. I thought they only made kkirik-kkirik noises, but to have their own language?

The boss gorilla and Lackey learned human language from Wi Ho-chang, so that made sense, but not this goblin.

"Ahjussi. Do goblins normally use a language?"

"They do. However, they have no written script."

’So they use spoken speech but lack a written language. That I can understand.’

In reality, the invention of writing was the catalyst for human civilization’s rapid advancement.

Through written script, records were kept, and as those records accumulated, technological progress was achieved.

If goblins had been capable of that, they wouldn’t have been treated as monsters in the first place.

’Anyway, since I can’t understand his speech...’

I decided to draw pictures on paper for clearer communication.

If nothing else, drawings should be enough to get my point across.

First off was his stronghold. Goblins were famous for living in tribes.

The likelihood of him being alone was extremely low, especially given how weak he was individually.

"Want to take a look at this?"

"Kkiik...?"

I drew a picture on the paper and showed it to the goblin.

It was roughly a picture asking if he had a group besides himself. I wasn’t sure if he’d understand, though.

’Since they don’t have a written language, he probably won’t understand a question mark either.’

Even if they had their own script, it would likely be completely different.

So I depicted it strictly through drawings. It was essentially a drawing asking whether he belonged to a group.

The goblin stared intently at my drawing, then began timidly reading my expression.

It was a reaction debating whether he should answer or not.

"Sigh."

Knowing this would happen, I drew another picture.

A drawing depicting his head being chopped off if he refused to answer.

The moment the goblin saw that picture, his face turned pale.

"Kki... kkieek! Kkiririk! Iek!"

I had no idea what he was saying. He was probably begging for his life.

Regardless of his panicked cries, I flipped back to the previous page. The picture asking if he belonged to a group.

The goblin seemed to get the message and nodded frantically. With this, I confirmed that he had a tribe.

’Asking where they are won’t mean much...’

Going there directly would be extremely dangerous.

Even if they differed from typical goblins, the wild was a place extremely sensitive to intruders.

Leaving him alive right now was already a form of mercy.

’I should draw a picture asking how he found this place.’

I needed to check whether he had tailed me or was acting as a scout.

I drew a relevant picture on the paper.

Did you tail me, or did you stumble upon it while scouting?

For once, I was glad I had a talent for drawing.

"Alright. Pick one of the two. Is it this? Or this?"

"Kkiiii..."

I showed him the paper split into top and bottom sections while speaking.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then gestured toward the top with his chin. It meant he had stalked me.

"Then is this arrow yours?"

"Kki, kkiekt."

The goblin nodded again. He had arrows but no bow. That was weird.

Given that he was alone, there must have been others nearby.

"Lackey. Search around the Shelter and check if there are others. It’s suspicious for him to be alone."

"Understood."

"Take a shield just in case."

Just in case, I handed a shield over to Lackey. Blocking arrows was more efficient than dodging them.

Since Lackey was a gorilla, he was good at climbing trees. He’d inspect the surroundings for tracks in no time.

"There are. Marks on tree."

"As expected."

A short while later, Lackey reported back with the expected results.

It seemed this goblin got greedy and got caught by me.

The rest of his party likely retreated after witnessing him get dragged off.

’Which means I don’t know when they’ll come back.’

Looks like I’ll need to set up security devices all over the place for the time being.

Since Lackey found tracks in the trees, I should install some there as well.

If I run short on security devices, laying snare traps should suffice.

They trespassed on my Shelter anyway, so traps are completely fair game.

"Now, all that remains is deciding what to do with this guy..."

Regardless of whether the goblin tribe comes peacefully or launches a raid, I needed to determine his fate.

Feeding him to Wonmo and Tyranno was absolutely out of the question. Eating him would upset their stomachs.

After pondering over it, an idea struck me, and I drew a picture on paper.

Namely, whether this guy understood his own ’wrongdoing.’

"Hey. Look at this."

"Kkiik...?"

The content of the drawing was roughly as follows:

A person trespassing and attempting to steal, only to face divine punishment for his crime.

And that punishment was gruesome—drawings of having his wrists chopped off or being hanged.

"Kkyaaaaaaa!"

The moment the goblin saw the picture, he screamed. He clearly understood the crime he had committed.Get faster updates on novelpin​g.com.

"Kkeuuuuh! Kkeuuuuung!"

"Ah, shut up."

It would be one thing if he was just screaming, but he was bawling and wailing like crazy.

He seemed to be begging for mercy, but I just wanted him to be quiet.

Kkwang!

"Kkkuek!"

"Quiet."

Fortunately, quick-witted Lackey walloped the guy right over the head.

Only then did he stop crying. Seeing that, a great idea came to mind.

Since he clearly recognized his wrongdoing, the justification was rock-solid.

Seuk-seuk-seuk— seuk-seuk—

As I sketched, the goblin watched me with fearful eyes.

He really was terrified of dying. The fear of death was rooted deep within every living creature.

I showed the completed drawing to the goblin.

"How about it? Fair enough, right?"

"Kkiiii..."

The drawing was exceedingly simple: a person swinging a pickaxe.

Since you committed a crime, you must pay the proper price for it.

And that price will be paid not with your life, but with manual labor.

Since I happened to be short-handed, he would make excellent labor.

’Whether his tribe raids us or comes looking for him is a separate matter.’

If they actually came to rescue him, that would be impressive in its own right.

Meanwhile, the goblin studied the picture intently, then nervously sneaked glances at me.

A look that asked, "Is this really enough?" Then again, expecting to lose his life only to have it replaced with manual labor would naturally leave him bewildered.

"If you don’t want to, then forget it."

"Kkiririk!"

When I acted cold, the goblin prostrated himself on the ground and begged.

Seeing him slam his head down with a thud, he seemed truly desperate.

Now that I had acquired a new worker, all that was left was preparation.

Since there was a chance he might escape, a ’supervisor’ was needed.

Clack!

First, I put a suppressor around the goblin’s neck.

The suppressor originally worn by Lackey was now fitted onto the goblin.

’Come to think of it, I put one on that Zhongyuan guy too.’

He’ll manage on his own. He’s not here anyway, so it’s none of my business.

Anyway, as for the bracelet that acted as the suppressor’s key—I didn’t wear it myself.

"Lackey. Use this."

"What’s this?"

"It’s the key to that suppressor. You know how it gives a zapping shock if he steps out of line, right?"

"Oh..."

I handed it over to Lackey. He was now the goblin’s supervisor.

I had my own work to do, so managing labor myself was difficult.

I felt a bit bad leaving it to Ludwig. Being a Paladin, he’d likely find it uncomfortable.

Lackey looked at the ’armband’ fastened around his arm with deep emotion, then shifted his gaze to the goblin.

"Hey."

"Kki, kkirik?"

"From now on, call me master."

"..."

I can already see where this is going.

In any case, I planned to set him free once the goblin tribe came for him.

’Assuming they approach peacefully, that is.’

First of all, this was more like a ’message.’

An intruder who not only trespassed into the Shelter, but even tried to steal items.

Normally, he should be executed and his head displayed on a pike, but instead, I was putting him to hard labor.

If they failed to understand this message and launched an attack, I fully intended to track down their tribe and wipe them all out.

’Before that, I gotta post this on the Gallery.’

How could I resist sharing such a rare sight? Chuckling to myself, I posted it on the Gallery.

Title) Lackey’s status upgrade

Wild Grylls

(Photo of Lackey wearing an armband and the goblin locked in a suppressor)

Lackey got promoted lol

Lackey loved it when I gave him the armband. If he gets too harsh, I’ll step in.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) A rise in status from laborer to manager.

ㄴSword Matstar) Now this is something I’ve never seen before.

ㄴAren’t goblins usually too ferocious to tame?

ㄴYeah, I heard people tried in the past, but it didn’t work out.

ㄴBut how is Grylls pulling it off?

ㄴDunno? Maybe because they got smarter?

ㄴAllfather) Becoming easier to tame due to higher intelligence... This is worthy of research in its own right.

ㄴStarlight Lady) Since it’s a goblin, I don’t really feel sorry for it.

ㄴRegardless of that, there’s literally a hatchling in his house lol

ㄴHe’d obey out of sheer terror from that alone, hahaha

ㄴAh. Come to think of it, you’re right?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) An armband! Lackey has become a Blue Badge! Is Grylls-nim the Orange Badge?

ㄴWild Grylls) I’m a Blue Badge too though?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Huh? Then who is the Orange Badge!

ㄴWild Grylls) Bbareumbo.

ㄴHahaha

ㄴLmao

ㄴROFL

ㄴAh lol I’m in the exact same boat lol

ㄴThe real Orange Badge is right there lol

I glanced at the true Orange Badge, Bbareumbo.

He still wore an unreadable expression, as usual.

"Bbareumbo."

"?"

"Please don’t ban me."

Getting banned in real life was the one thing I wanted to avoid.

Of course, Bbareumbo couldn’t understand and simply tilted his head.