I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 278

The proof of strength Gganmar mentioned was simple: contest superiority through spars against the warriors.

If we defeated the warriors, he would take us to the location of the flower, the Ark.

"Hold on. Warriors?"

Surprised by the word coming out in plural rather than singular, I hastily asked back.

A doubt arose: did we really have to defeat all the warriors?

"Ka kuna. Buwakeu rak aneu-ua."

[That is not so. You only need to face them one-on-one.]

Since it ultimately meant one-on-one, I counted our numbers.

Currently available fighting forces were me, Ludwig, Lackey, and finally Bbareumbo. Largo was treated as a mount, so he was excluded.

Thus there were four of us, whereas the number of hobgoblins was five.

Ultimately, it meant one person had to face two opponents.

"Ppikkeuru. Knikuto makkeura."

[The numbers should match. For the newly born warrior is an exception.]

"An exception?"

[An exception?]

"Chuka baneu-a ppinakro."

[He has just become a warrior, so he must rest for a few days.]

Indeed, beyond simply obtaining an Aura Blade, he had undergone Body Metamorphosis, so even controlling his own body would be difficult.

Humans usually overflowed with power right after Body Metamorphosis, but goblins seemed to be different.

Since they achieved a forced Body Metamorphosis through external power rather than enlightenment.

One might argue that I was the same, but for me, at least the process itself was natural.

My Body Metamorphosis was forcibly triggered because my body couldn’t handle internal power, not because I drank potions like the goblins.

"Then the numbers match perfectly... What’s the match format?"

[What is the match format?]

This part was explained directly by Ggambu rather than Gganmar.

The match format was simple. Whoever it was, if they wanted to see the Ark, they just had to defeat a warrior.

If I were the only one going, me defeating a warrior alone would settle it. That was the method of proof.

It was a very simple rule, and it seemed I’d need to discuss it with my companions soon.

’There’s almost no chance the others will lose.’

Frankly speaking, the probability of our party losing was low.

As long as Lackey didn’t lose his glasses, he had almost no weaknesses. His level of martial arts was quite deep as well.

Ludwig was the Guardian of the Holy Kingdom, needing no further explanation.

Finally, Bbareumbo was the strongest fighter in our camp and the master of the Shelter.

’Am I the biggest problem?’

Considering technical skill alone, I was the weakest link itself.

Though my physical stats were decent and my aura quantity was transcendent, that was the problem.

Because I couldn’t control aura. The moment I tried to control it, it erupted, making it quite a headache.

"Can we use aura too? I mean, the Blessing."

[Can we use the Blessing as well?]

"Chuka kneak borokaneu."

[The Blessing matters not.]

"What about weapons?"

Aura is aura, but weapons are also important.

They say a master craftsman doesn’t blame his tools, but that’s strictly when one is a master craftsman.

Just looking at me, I’ve extended my life several times thanks to the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. It possesses such cheat-like performance.

"Okak rakno jabeuna-eu. Bukona chuka arkaneuko nabaneu."

[Weapons matter not. Before a strong Blessing, a weapon is merely a tool.]

But the difference between these tools is as vast as a gun versus a bow.

I was about to speak up out of conscience when I realized he had already recognized the performance of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

Were the hobgoblins so strong that he didn’t care even after seeing that? I became a little curious.

"Understood for now. When will the matches take place?"

Ggambu informed me of this. The matches were scheduled to take place one hour after lunch.

He left us with instructions to look around his settlement until then.

I did as he said, both to rest and to take photos to post on the Gallery.

"...So, that’s what happened. That’s why we’re going to hold matches."

"Sounds fun."

"Hrm."

Of course, I didn’t forget to apprise the party of the situation.

Though it was my unilateral decision, surprisingly, there were no negative reactions.

Since they were all essentially martial artists at heart, they seemed curious about how strong the hobgoblins were.

Indeed, monsters wielding Aura Blades! Just sighting them would cause an uproar, so there was no way they’d turn down a chance to clash.

"Ludwig ahjussi will go first, then Lackey, I’ll go third, and Bbareumbo goes last."

"...."

Bbareumbo looked at me with an expression that said, ’I never said I’d enter the match.’

I wanted to retort, ’You never talk in the first place,’ but I held it back.

"You won’t get off my back anyway."

"...."

"I’ll give you more Fasting Pills."

"...."

Nod—

After all, he was a guy who was always satisfied as long as he received extra Fasting Pills.

Having roughly set the match order, I took photos of various parts of the settlement until lunchtime.

Title) Arrived at Goblin Settlement

Wild Grylls

(Goblin Settlement Photo 1)

(Goblin Settlement Photo 2)

(Goblin Settlement Photo 3)

(Goblin Life Video 1)

(Goblin Life Video 2)

Ggansu’s friends came to our Shelter this morning, so I came along with them.

Everyone treated us surprisingly kindly. Saving Ggansu instead of killing him seems to have played a huge role.

What’s even more shocking here are the hobgoblins.

(Video of Hobgoblin drinking potion and undergoing Body Metamorphosis)

(Video of Hobgoblin unleashing Aura Blade)

Look at this, wouldn’t you disbelieve your own eyes even seeing it?

I don’t know what kind of potion it is, but he evolved into a hobgoblin and even uses Sword Gang.

And there’s not just one of them, but several.

We’re supposed to spar with them soon, and I’m a bit scared but also looking forward to it lolol

L Heavenly Demon) For a lowly creature to undergo Body Metamorphosis and even wield Sword Gang... It is truly a matter of shock.

L Wild Grylls) Is there a potion that lets you skip steps?

L Heavenly Demon) Usually, such medicines are Spiritual Medicines. However, that resembles the effects of Demonic Arts more than Spiritual Medicine.

L Wild Grylls) They said if you can’t endure it, you die.

L Sword Matstar) Wow. If that potion exists, mass-produced Sword Masters will literally pop up like mushrooms after rain.

L Isn’t that already happening?

L Do you think Sword Masters are a joke? lolol

L It’s just because Ash is absurdly strong; people at the Sword Master level are national-power-tier lololol

L When a Sword Master retires, that nation’s overall military power drops...

L But with that potion, wouldn’t military power get insanely jacked up?

L They said you die if you can’t endure it. Then you’d get blasted with endless curses and backlash, right?

L Using that to enhance private soldiers and launch a rebellion is totally possible too lol

L Wild Grylls) Why are all of your comments so full of dangerous talk?

L Starlight Lady) Were there no goblins using magic by any chance?

L Wild Grylls) There was a Goblin Shaman, but I’m not sure about magic.

L Starlight Lady) Seems it hasn’t reached that point yet.You are reading on no⁠velping.com, the official source.

L Allfather) Magic is a divine gift personally bestowed by Lord Aragon. There is no way for a monster to acquire it.

L Then what is the shamanic magic that monster shamans use?

L I saw a Goblin Shaman buffing goblins before.

L Allfather) That is a type of concoction. Particularly intelligent goblins mix herbs and disperse them.

L Passing Dwarf) But dying from drinking that? Isn’t that basically an unlucky pufferfish?

L Thinking about it, that’s so true lololol

L "I will drink until I get strong!" lololol

L They definitely saw people die, but the guys still drinking it are unbelievable lolololol

L Good thing they figured out the method now, otherwise a crapload of them must have died before this lololol

"Pfft..."

Give me back my solemn awe, you guys.

I almost burst out laughing at the phrase ’unlucky pufferfish’.

He certainly said it was power built upon death, but looking at it closely, it was similar to preparing pufferfish so it could be eaten safely.

For what reason did the goblins come to ingest the ’Ark’ in the first place?

And what on earth was the Ark’s true identity that required passing a trial?

’It’s a flower, but is it like a man-eating plant?’

Maybe it can only be obtained by killing that man-eating plant. That’s why martial power was necessary.

At any rate, even if we won the matches, it wouldn’t be simple.

’What kind of food do goblins eat?’

As the sun reached mid-sky, I grew hungry, naturally looking forward to lunch.

Since this place was close to the Stone Age, there would usually be a culture of rejecting outsiders.

Yet the goblins welcomed us beyond expectations. It didn’t seem to be solely because I saved Ggansu.

’They seem to understand the connection between hospitality and goodwill. No wonder they can form a settlement and live together.’

Showing goodwill that requires developed social intelligence, along with offering more than enough of what the other party would want...

Leaving the former aside, the latter was something only ’humanity’ in my world was capable of. Here, it seemed the goblins had reached that conclusion too.

"Kua!"

[He says to enjoy your meal.]

"...."

I realized another thing: the food we used to eat was practically a lavish feast.

I stared at the green something inside the stone bowl.

I didn’t know what ingredients were used, but the thick, sticky liquid made an impression.

The giant bug sitting inside it was the same. It looked like a grub worm magnified several times over.

’We’re... eating this?’

I subtly glanced around, checking if the other goblins were eating the same thing.

"Kawak!"

"Kawarakeu!"

"Kuak!"

The ordinary goblins were all eating bug dishes. Yet they had expressions of eating something delicious.

The hobgoblins, being the warrior class, had fish or meat as their staple food.

’I-It just looks like this on the outside, right?’

Seeing the goblins eat with relish, it must just be the appearance; the taste should be fine.

Gulping back spit, I carefully picked up the utensil. The utensil was a crudely made wooden spoon.

St-ick-y—

"...Oh, shit."

As soon as I scooped up a spoonful, the sticky green liquid stretched out long.

However, it was food prepared to entertain guests, so I couldn’t throw it away.

Throwing it out recklessly might incur their disfavor.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and put it in my mouth.

Crun-ch— Crunch—

"...Hrm?"

Considering I prepared for the absolute worst, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

The green liquid was close to a medicinal herb; it was merely bitter without smelling nauseating.

The bug wasn’t added raw either; it seemed to have been roasted over fire, making it quite palatable.

’Now that I think about it, these guys use fire too.’

I stared at the campfire burning brightly in the center of the settlement.

’Fire’, arguably the greatest invention in human history.

No matter what food it is, roasting it over fire makes it edible enough.

Squirt!

"...."

Well, except for the internal organs.

I squeezed my eyes shut again at the sound, which was worse than the texture itself.

The uniquely disgusting flavor of innards crept up, violating my sense of smell.

Still, I forced it down. I hypnotized myself into thinking it wasn’t guts, but blood sausage fillings unraveling.

"Burp..."

In the end, I finished it all. An urge to rinse my mouth with Elixir welled up inside me.

’So I was eating and living well all this time.’

I glanced at my companions.

Surprisingly, everyone except me had serene expressions.

As for Lackey, he had been wandering before breaking into my Shelter, so he must have eaten all kinds of things.

Ludwig had fought numerous field battles, so he must have eaten bugs for survival too.

Bbareumbo... didn’t eat. He just made do with a Fasting Pill and called it a day.

Largo just ate tree leaves, so I was the only one suffering.

"Tastes bad."

Lackey, having scraped his bowl clean, gave his evaluation as he set down his utensil.

His indifferent expression formed a strange synergy.

"You ate it so eagerly and now you say it tastes bad?"

"Tastes bad compared to the Shelter. Like bug dish from Twisted Nether."

"...."

Where on earth is that guy learning those words? I never said anything like that.

Rather than awe, absurdness dominated my feelings toward Lackey’s language skills that improved day by day.

Thus lunch ended, and we waited for the upcoming matches.

The first companion to step forward was Ludwig. He was inspecting his Mythricon sword.

"Ahjussi, have you ever fought a monster that uses aura before?"

"Not monsters, but humans."

"Ah. Right."

Come to think of it, he must have fought people often.

That sparked my curiosity about who was the strongest among the people he had fought so far, so I asked:

"Who was the strongest among those you fought?"

"Ash."

"Ash? Sword Master Ash?"

Ludwig nodded as if it wasn’t even worth reconsidering.

If even he asserted it so firmly, I wondered just what kind of monster she was.

’Would she be equal to Heavenly Demon?’

Putting the thought aside for a moment, when the time came, we followed behind Ggambu.

Knowing there were matches, the other goblins swarmed over in crowds.

Even in the Stone Age, it seems people can’t resist watching a fight.

"It’s remarkably spacious."

"Hrm."

The place we followed Ggambu to was an open field located behind the settlement.

The scale of the vacant lot was quite large, seemingly prepared in anticipation of the village expanding in the future.

Ttak! Ttak!

A few goblins were engaging in pseudo-training in that open field.

Aura shimmered like heat haze on their crudely crafted weapons.

’It’s not really that strange.’

In the Stone Age, every single individual is a combatant. Therefore, training itself was not an oddity.

It was closer to parents teaching their children ’how to survive’.

If that developed and shifted systematically, they would become true soldiers in the real sense.Get faster updates on novelping . com.

"Kuwarak! Kwaku!"

At Ggambu’s shout, the training goblins all backed away. The open space was left empty.

Now they would hold the matches there. Even without me saying anything, Ludwig stepped into the open ground directly.

The one who stepped in next was a hobgoblin. His armaments were a reasonably well-crafted stone axe.

"Kwareuraka aneura! Kuna-a janeura!"

[From now on, kill each other.]

"...Isn’t that a bit too disregardful of life?"

I was rather taken aback by the command to kill each other. A single misstep could cause serious issues for both sides.

However, the retort to this came from Cain, not Ggambu.

[In a place where losing equals death, what did you expect? Just accept it and move on.]

"Still..."

[They are beings who could become enemies someday; trimming their fighting strength in advance isn’t a bad thing.]

"Kuuuooooh!!!"

The resonant roar pierced sharply into my ears. I turned my head toward that shout.

The hobgoblin, imbuing his stone axe with an Aura Blade, was charging furiously at Ludwig.

Though there was a gap in equipment, it was an Aura Blade. Equipment might not hold much significance.

What’s more, Ludwig was currently unable to exert his full strength, so I couldn’t help but worry slightly.

[However, Ludwig is...]

Huuuung!

As Cain trailed off, the stone axe aimed directly for Ludwig’s head.

At this rate, his skull would be split wide open.

In that perilous moment, Cain finished the sentence he hadn’t completed.

[Not the type to commit unnecessary slaughter.]

Tap!

Simultaneously, Ludwig acted.

Lightly tapping the descending stone axe with his sword to deflect its trajectory—

Thwack!

He landed a clean body blow right into the hobgoblin’s flank, which had been left exposed by the heavy motion.

Crack!

That wasn’t all.

While the hobgoblin staggered from the shock, he slammed the pommel of his sword straight into its face.

Movements flowing as smoothly as water. It elicited admiration from anyone watching.

"Keuak!"

Looking at the force in Ludwig’s movements and the goblin’s reaction, it was obvious: that was an attack sequence designed to knock out the target completely.

But the hobgoblin held firm. He demonstrated that he wasn’t an Aura Blade user for nothing.

Ludwig also seemed surprised, not expecting him to endure it.

Ah. Of course, surprise was one thing, but action was another.

Thwack! Bam! Bang!

The hobgoblin was toyed with by Ludwig, unable to land a single solid blow.

Martial arts: I dodge, and the opponent cannot block.

No matter if goblins obtained Aura Blades, they could not overcome martial arts built up by humanity over millennia.

"Kueooo..."

Thud—

Ultimately, after getting relentlessly beaten by Ludwig, the hobgoblin collapsed to the ground.

Ludwig hadn’t been hit even once. He achieved victory purely through evasions followed by counterattacks.

Clap clap clap clap!

I applauded with heartfelt sincerity. When facing him directly I hadn’t realized it, but seeing him from a distance, he looked incredibly cool.

As expected of the master who raised the Hero. He wasn’t called a Guardian for nothing.

"Bakuka! Knaraneu-u aka!"

Ggambu didn’t react with fluster either. It felt like he had anticipated at least this much.

Subsequently, the hobgoblin was carried off and Ludwig returned.

"Great job."

"Grylls."

"Yes?"

As soon as I greeted him, Ludwig called my name. Did he have something to say?

Meanwhile, Ludwig stared blankly at me and silently placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You will have a tough time."

"???"

Words I couldn’t tell were advice or a warning. Did it mean the hobgoblins were that strong?

On the surface, it looked like Ludwig had playfully toyed with him.

’He means don’t be careless, right?’

Since time immemorial, arrogance devours oneself. I accepted it as such.

The next contender was Lackey. Lackey’s martial arts skills were acknowledged by Ludwig himself.

"Oo-ho-ho! Oo-ho!"

"Ggueeeee..."

As expected, he claimed an overwhelming victory. The gorilla-typical chest thumping was a bonus.

By this point, Ggambu’s expression grimaced slightly, as if his pride was hurt.

"Master. Will you use internal energy?"

As soon as Lackey returned, he asked me. A question asking if I would use aura.

I nodded at the question. If you hoard things, they go to waste.

Since I also planned to use the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, winning wouldn’t be difficult.

As I said earlier, hoarding makes things rot, and carelessness was strictly forbidden.

"Then you win."

"That sounds like I’ll lose if I don’t use it?"

"You will lose."

"This motherfucker?"

I have things I’ve learned all this time. Isn’t he underestimating me too much?

Hearing both Ludwig and Lackey say that made my pride hurt quite a bit.

Still, both of them were expert martial artists, so it wasn’t baseless nonsense.

Grumbling, I grasped the Sword of the Heavenly Demon and headed to the center. And...

"Krak."

"...Where did you come from?"

I faced a hobgoblin two heads taller than me. There was no guy like this until a moment ago?!

I turned my head to glare at Ggambu. Are you telling me to win against ’this thing’ right now?

"Kakuwa juka! Couque D’Asse!"

[The strongest warrior, Couque D’Asse!]

Cain’s translation reached my ears from afar. He was the tribe’s strongest warrior.

Judging by appearance alone, he looked like he could clash evenly even against the chieftain gorilla.

’No way. If it was a guy like this, I would’ve sent Bbareumbo!’

Did they misunderstand just because my aura was big and beautiful?

What’s funnier was his name. Unlike a name that sounded easily breakable (Couque D’Asse), his whole body was packed with rock-solid muscles.

And what about his weapon? He held a stone hammer as big as my torso with both hands.

’S-Still, I’ll be fine, right? Fighting with martial techniques should work, right?’

Although my martial arts skills were endlessly inferior compared to the others!

Although I was the weakest without aura!

I still thought it would be fine.

’I learned things from Ludwig, so I just need to utilize them well.’

In a way, it was my first real combat. As long as I didn’t get careless, I’d be fine.

But before long, I realized. When a person makes something look easy...

KWA-AAA-ANG!!!

"Kuuuooooh!"

"Aaagh!"

...It’s because that person is ridiculously good at it.