I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 280

Ludwig, as the Guardian of the Holy Kingdom and instructor to paladins, had observed various kinds of ’talent.’

Talents that bloomed rapidly with just a passing hint, and talents that failed to grow despite pouring effort upon effort.

Talents that realized ten upon being taught one, and talents that forgot even that one upon being taught.

Talents naturally receptive to mana, and talents unable to feel mana itself.

Watching all these diverse talents, he had realized one thing: talent was strictly compartmentalized into distinct domains.

Even if someone had a constitution that absorbed mana well, they might struggle to master techniques, while others were the exact opposite.

It was similar to how those gifted in swordsmanship were separate from those gifted in archery.

Because of that, Ludwig had been able to raise countless paladins by strictly classifying those areas.

"-This? It just kind of happened?"

"-I just did what you taught me, Teacher, and it all worked!"

That was, until he met a talent that truly deserved to be called a realm beyond realms.

Regardless of any classification, a disciple whose talent was nothing short of divine grace.

Currently praised as the Hero, she was reconstructing the Holy Kingdom according to Ludwig’s will.

"-Hmm? Mana just accumulates on its own whenever I breathe."

"-Swordsmanship? Is there really anything more to swordsmanship than cutting, stabbing, and striking at its core?"

There was even another being similar to her in this world.

Sword Master Ash, with whom he had sparred for diplomatic exchange.

She went a step further. Her constitution accumulated mana simply by breathing.

Moreover, what had appeared to be an original sword style was actually basic swordsmanship. Her terrifying talent had fooled everyone.

Ludwig had realized it: something fitting one’s body was different from true talent.

While easily absorbing something was true talent, those two possessed a depth of absorption that was simply overwhelming.

He wasn’t particularly jealous. He was merely amazed.

At the time, Ludwig had already stepped down from the front lines to foster successors.

’So that is the peak of humanity. So talents like that can emerge simultaneously in one era,’ and so forth.

He had simply been entertaining such thoughts.

And yet,

’What on earth is that guy?’

Even those thoughts had been shattered by a single existence.

Grylls, who was currently facing off against the hobgoblin.

Both of them didn’t know the first thing about martial arts, so they were making amateurish mistakes.

What was even more absurd was that, regardless of skill, both of them knew exactly what to do to win.

It was a fight that threw process to the dogs and prioritized only the result—a fight focused solely on completing the goal.

’It’s not necessarily bad, but...’.

While as an ’instructor’ he disliked it, as a ’knight’ he quite appreciated the approach.

Because as long as the mission was accomplished, whatever the process was didn’t matter.

Furthermore, this was the wild. A place pursuing the absolute goal of survival.

As such, fighting like that was understandable, but—

’Why did it turn out like that?’

Grylls’s talent was still grotesqueness itself.

It certainly wasn’t talent like Asella’s or Ash’s. His martial talent fell far short compared to theirs.

In Ludwig’s judgment, it was inferior even when compared to Lackey. Just an ordinary level.

’Of course, considering that this gorilla is also at a genius level...’

Ludwig glanced to his side. The albino gorilla was watching the match with interest.

Just his linguistic ability alone was enough to warrant being called a genius. It naturally aroused curiosity about what he would have been like had he been born human.

Kwa-ang!!!

In the meantime, Grylls’s shield collided with Couque D’Asse’s stone hammer.

The moment Couque D’Asse’s stone hammer struck Grylls’s shield, it rapidly froze over.

Kwadeudeuk!

However, Couque D’Asse instantly shattered the ice consuming his stone hammer.

His application of Aura was eye-catching. Was this the result of devoting himself entirely to Aura application instead of martial arts?

’He has quite a bit of experience.’

Usually, when struck by an unconventional attack, one gets flustered.

Didn’t Lackey get flustered by that very ability and get subdued right away?

However, though the hobgoblin was slightly taken aback, he immediately found a breakthrough using his superior Aura application.

U-u-u-ung!

Yet, the fact that Grylls had the upper hand did not change. The Aura embedded in the Sword of the Heavenly Demon swelled even further.

Seeing that, Couque D’Asse couldn’t hide his utter dumbfoundedness, looking completely astounded.

His expression was close to, ’What the hell is with that guy?’

As the chieftain of hobgoblins who must have encountered countless monsters in the Forest of the Four Seasons,

even an entity like him seemed to feel that Grylls’s ability was bizarre.

’No matter how I look at it, it’s flabbergasting.’

In all his life, he had never seen a being with such a ’talent.’

Was it because he lived in the Forest of the Four Seasons?

He himself had lived in the Forest of the Four Seasons for almost a month now, yet there was no sign of him changing like Grylls.

’Should I view that as a god-given talent as well...?’

Ludwig quietly observed and compared Grylls, who was gradually pushing forward through sheer ’weight class.’

The talent of Asella and Ash could be described as a giant with extra limbs and heads.

An intimidating form that one wouldn’t dare consider human—a form that frequently appeared in mythologies.

A talent that even evoked awe. They were clearly human, yet felt like witnessing a fragment of myth.

On the other hand, Grylls’s talent was different. First of all, his limbs themselves were just like an ordinary human’s.

The problem was the muscle and flesh covering his body. Because the muscle and flesh grew absurdly bloated, they buried his limbs entirely.Find the original chapter at novelp‌ing.com.

As a result, he turned into a perfect spherical shape, becoming unable to control even himself.

What was even more ridiculous was that even if he just rolled around like that, he was far more destructive than most battering rams.

If Asella and Ash were mythical heroes, then Grylls possessed a talent fit for a mythical ’monstrosity.’

Kwagagang! Kwa-ang!

While Ludwig made comparisons in his head, the fierce battle between Grylls and Couque D’Asse continued.

Couque D’Asse’s strategy changed; he kept his distance outside Grylls’s attack range and threw rocks.

Judging that mid-range and close-quarters combat were dead ends, he decided to attack from long range instead.

Currently, Grylls hadn’t brought a bow and arrow. He couldn’t control his destructive output yet.

Even if he shot normal arrows, they wouldn’t have done a damn thing against Couque D’Asse anyway.

Tadat!

However, Grylls had a shield. And an Adamantium shield, at that.

Grylls easily blocked the rocks Couque D’Asse threw with his shield and charged straight in.

And,

Puk!

He finally succeeded in landing a clean, effective blow.

The tip of Grylls’s Aura pierced Couque D’Asse’s calf.

Ludwig had previously advised him not to target legs, but Grylls seemed to have no intention of adhering to such rules.

Besides, given the overwhelming reach advantage from the difference in Aura length, such rules were meaningless anyway.

’What kind of martial art should I actually teach him?’

Just as Ludwig was recalculating in his head,

Couque D’Asse, whose leg was starting to freeze, hurriedly applied Aura, but it was too late.

Puk! Puk! Puk!

Just as he had done with Lackey, Grylls stabbed his sword once into each of Couque D’Asse’s limbs.

No matter how tough Couque D’Asse was, once his limbs were frozen, it took time to recover.

Grylls did not miss this golden opportunity. It was a dirty tactic, but it was the best way.

"Hup!"

Grylls reached right in front of Couque D’Asse.

Couque D’Asse hurriedly shattered the ice binding his limbs, but it was already too late.

Jjeojeojeok!

The moment Grylls placed his hand on Couque D’Asse’s abdomen, frost began to rapidly spread.

Just as Couque D’Asse tried to shout something, his mouth froze shut.

Unreasonable reach advantage, unreasonable attack style.

Yet, because this was the Forest of the Four Seasons, it was an understandable ability.

’On top of that ability, he has formidable firepower... The more I look at him, the more he’s like an onion.’

The match concluded with Grylls pointing his blade at Couque D’Asse’s neck.

Couque D’Asse accepted his defeat without a word, seemingly acknowledging his loss.

Surprisingly, unlike when Ggambu yelled "Kill each other!", he was quite gentlemanly.

"Phew... How was it?"

"Not bad."

Grylls asked for an evaluation after the duel ended. Ludwig assessed him objectively.

Since Grylls had only recently started learning martial arts, it was hard to grade him on technical skill.

However, because he kept to the fundamentals, Ludwig could give him a generous score.

The basic principle of martial arts is to subdue the opponent without getting hurt oneself.

Grylls had almost no external injuries. He could give bonus points for that.

’His situational judgment itself is decent.’

The opponent also knew how to use his head. He wasn’t called the goblin settlement’s strongest warrior for nothing.

He was just unlucky. Grylls’s weight class was absurdly high.

Starting out at a disadvantage in basic reach warfare, Couque D’Asse had put up a good fight.

"Did you gain anything from it?"

What was more important was what he had gained through this spar.

Normally, he would have offered advice, but Grylls was a first-time experience even for Ludwig.

While he could give advice regarding martial skills, advice on ’growth’ was tricky.

Since he couldn’t even grasp how Grylls would grow.

"Yeah. Those hobgoblins are insanely strong. It might be because of their Aura, but... anyway, they’re strong."

"And so?"

"You said it yourself, ahjussi. That I’m better off building up my weight class. So I thought of something."

"Hmm."

Learning something through sparring—quite commendable.

Of course, if it was absurd logic, he intended to refute it. As an instructor, shouldn’t he prevent his student from straying off course?

"Speak."

"Honestly, if I could use body reinforcement without limits, I would’ve won easily."

"Mmm."

That was true. Ludwig nodded.

However, ironically, that monstrous Aura couldn’t be easily controlled even by its master, Grylls.

Whenever he tried to control it, didn’t a flashy fireworks show erupt? Disasters broke out every time.

Forcing body reinforcement could result in an internal explosion.

"So I thought about it. If I can’t control the Aura, let’s invest that Aura somewhere else."

"Where will you invest it?"

"External Arts."Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.

"External Arts?"

Ludwig tilted his head at the mention of investing in External Arts.

Grylls had mentioned before that the Blood Cult used a martial technique that converted internal energy into external arts.

Right when they tried to enter the Forest of the Four Seasons using it, most of them were suppressed by Heavenly Demon.

One of them had drifted all the way here and merged into the gorilla troupe.

Ludwig asked Cain for translation before opening his mouth.

"Unholy power is forbidden."

[Unholy power is forbidden.]

"I know. And I have someone I can ask."

"Even so, wouldn’t External Arts take a long time?"

[Even so, wouldn’t External Arts take a long time?]

"Would it take as long as learning to control my Aura? I know it too. That I don’t have much talent when it comes to technical skill."

"..."

Ludwig remained silent. The boy was right.

No matter how hard he tried to master Aura control, there was barely any progress.

Worse, day by day, the sheer amount of mana was increasing.

"But it’s my own body, isn’t it? I might as well bulk up my body to increase its maintenance cost."

"So you’re saying you’ll invest mana to raise your natural weight class."

[So you’re saying you’ll invest mana to raise your natural weight class.]

"Yeah. Even if achieving the Vajra Indestructible Body is tough, I have to try. Fixing this chronic issue will make my future much easier."

Ludwig stroked his chin.

At first he wondered what he meant, but unexpectedly, it made sense.

The more he trained External Arts, the more mana would naturally be invested into his muscles.

Then the Aura manifesting externally would naturally diminish.

’There’s certainly nothing bad about raising his own weight class.’

Ludwig agreed with the growth method Grylls proposed. There was no reason to reject it.

The part about it being a martial art invented by the Blood Cult was uncomfortable, but it could be properly modified through his acquaintance on the Gallery.

Seueuk- seuk-

It was while the two were conversing.

Someone slowly ambled into the center of the clearing. It was Bbareumbo.

Bbareumbo’s opponent was already standing in the center. A subtle silence settled over the scene.

"Ah. He’s doing that again."

In the end, preparations finished when Grylls picked him up himself and set him down in front of the hobgoblin.

Ludwig crossed his arms and watched Bbareumbo’s match. Honestly, he didn’t expect much excitement.

Because Bbareumbo winning was a foregone conclusion anyway.

"Ku-ooooor!"

The hobgoblin wielding a stone axe and shield roared and charged at Bbareumbo.

A single warrior and a single beast, with the former easily twice as tall.

Moreover, since it was a sloth famous for the art of slowness, to an outsider, it would look like animal cruelty.

Kwa-ang!!

The hobgoblin swung his stone axe down at Bbareumbo. But Bbareumbo was no longer there.

In the blink of an eye, he had already passed the hobgoblin and stood proudly behind him.

Watching that split second, Ludwig narrowed his eyes.

Chwa-ak!!

Before long, three claw lacerations carved across the hobgoblin’s chest.

The hobgoblin panicked at the sudden wounds, but it was already too late.

"Kgeu-eueuk..."

The hobgoblin collapsed with his eyes rolling back. Blood seeped out heavily, soaking the ground.

On the other hand, not a single drop of blood stained Bbareumbo’s claws.

There were only neatly groomed claws reflecting the light.

’That creature...’

The match ended anti-climactically fast. An overwhelming victory for Grylls’s party.

Regardless of the surrounding commotion, Ludwig stared at Bbareumbo, whom Grylls brought back over.

’He’s gotten far faster than before. Furthermore...’

The alpha and omega of all martial arts: footwork.

In the Central Plains, it was a skill called ’footwork step.’

The technique that intensively developed this was ’Lightness Arts,’ possessing diverse capabilities.

’In terms of speed alone, it’s close to Form-Shifting Displacement.’

Strictly speaking, only in terms of pure speed. The technique itself was not Form-Shifting Displacement.

It merely felt that way because of his insanely brute speed. Here lay a weight class in its truest sense.

If he had that speed without learning a single technique, what if he actually learned techniques?

’And what he coated on his claws just now. That was Aura. When on earth did he learn that?’

Ludwig stared at Bbareumbo, whom Grylls was carrying back on his back.

Thank goodness this creature was docile; if he were ferocious, the group at the Shelter would have been wiped out.

"Good job. Here’s your Fasting Pill."

"..."

Be that as it may, Bbareumbo merely munched slowly on the Fasting Pill Grylls gave him.

Fortunately, Bbareumbo knew how to be content with modest happiness.