I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 314

The moment Cain went into the coffin, the Dullahan and its horse froze stock-still like a lie.

Since the soul of the first Paladin had entered the coffin, I expected a change.

And that expectation paid off in the best possible scenario. I had no intention of letting this moment pass while the Dullahan was stopped.

"Let’s chop that bastard into pieces!"

Seogeok! Seogeok! Seogeok!

We finely sliced up the bodies of the Dullahan and its steed.

Bbareumbo put so much emotion into it that the target was minced beyond recognition.

Seumeol- seumeol-

However, even if they didn’t move, their bodies continued to restore themselves as before.

In fact, it felt like the more we chopped them up, the faster they regenerated.

’What on earth is the principle behind this?’

I turned my head and stared at the coffin.

The entrance of the coffin was slightly open, but no wraiths came out.

It only emitted a blue energy, exuding gloominess.

Moreover, the way that energy stretched outward like tentacles was bizarre beyond measure.

’Is it okay to pull him back out?’

I looked at the World Tree thread connected to Cain.

Though I had deployed Cain as a commando via a democratic (?) procedure, I couldn’t check the situation inside.

Since it was a place swarming with wraiths, going there directly was very repulsive.

’Still, Cain is definitely doing something in there....’

Otherwise, it wouldn’t remain silent for such a long time.

However, seeing how the Dullahan hadn’t completely ceased functioning, maybe he couldn’t find the core.

’I should inspect the coffin while the situation is like this.’

I inspected the coffin that the Dullahan had used like both a weapon and a jar.

The size itself was quite large, but not to an enormous extent.

Enough for a strong person to carry around on their back, so to speak.

Also, as I drew closer, I felt an aura that went beyond cold into eerie.

Tuk- jjeojeojeok-

Just in case, I gently brought my sword against it, and it froze solid.

Both the chain binding the coffin and the coffin itself possessed insane coldness.

Yet the Dullahan handled such a coffin freely.

If so, there was likely a special feature built into the Dullahan’s armor.

’Touching the Dullahan’s armor doesn’t do anything.’

If the Gallery were working, I would have taken a picture. What a shame.

Soon, just as I was examining the steed after the Dullahan—

Umjjil!

"?!"

"Euheok?!"

The Dullahan and its steed twitched violently. Not only me, but Lackey startled and shrieked.

But as if that movement just now had been a lie, the Dullahan remained stiffly motionless.

’What was that?’

Startled, I barely calmed my thumping heart and looked over the Dullahan.

The Dullahan was frozen mid-action as if it had aborted a movement.

Umjjil!

It moved again. It slightly pulled back the arm holding the sword.

Umjjil! Umjjil! Umjjil!

As it twitched and froze repeatedly, I realized that this was a single ’motion’.

The Dullahan was currently trying to slash us with its sword.

The motion itself just looked slow and stuttered, like a computer lagging.

I had no intention of taking that attack head-on, so I dodged it easily.

’Is the situation inside okay?’

I dodged the Dullahan’s attack and closely peered inside the coffin.

I wanted to stick my hand into the slightly open entrance, but that seemed like a bad idea.

’I can’t see anything at all.’

Because of the blue energy, the inside was completely invisible.

Even if I wanted to poke my face in, I was scared I’d freeze.

’Why did it have to be a Dullahan of all things?’

What if it were an ordinary Death Knight instead of a Dullahan?

I would have immediately worn its helmet to look inside the coffin.

But since that wasn’t possible, it was a bit frustrating. Did we just have to keep waiting like this?

Deolkeok! Deolkeok! Deolkeok!

Meanwhile, the Dullahan diligently moved its lagging body.

This time, even the steed put on a rodeo performance, but the motion was so large that I lightly ignored it.

’Could the wraiths inside this coffin be a sort of energy source?’

That hypothesis made sense in its own way.

As mentioned before, Cain was a Paladin possessing a soul so powerful he achieved Ascension to Immortality.

Forcing that into the coffin naturally caused extreme lag.

’By that logic, this Dullahan is a robot... and the coffin is like the computer controlling the robot.’

This was a world where artifacts imitating ’websites’ like the Gallery existed.

Meaning objects producing similar performance, if not the computers I knew, could exist.

Therefore, the statue housing Cain’s soul was essentially a high-performance computer relative to its size.

Since outside the Forest of the Four Seasons, it turned into a giant statue displaying overwhelming majesty.

’Even if it’s not that, sweeping it under the rug as magic does the job.’

It wasn’t like I worked in tech, and even if I had, I didn’t have the brain to comprehend it anyway.

Right now, we just had to wait for Cain to successfully take over that coffin.

We’d be able to tell whether he succeeded or failed through the Dullahan’s condition.

Shaaaa-

When a certain amount of time had passed, the blue energy spilling from the coffin gradually began to increase.You are reading on n​ovelping.com, the official source.

Should that be treated as wraiths too, or simple mana?

Deolkeok! Deolkeok!

"W-What’s going on with this?"

But before long, the coffin began to shake violently.

The Dullahan and its horse were not much different.

They contorted joints all over their bodies as if dancing a bizarre dance.

Beyond lagging, it seemed like a severe computer error was making them move uncontrollably.

’Should I kick it? No, if Cain is doing something in there....’

Deolkeodeong! Deolkeok!

Even as I failed to make a proper judgment, the coffin jolted even more violently.

Watching that sight, I stepped back along with the rest of the party.

Unease turned into ominous symptoms one after another, and right around when I contemplated whether to retrieve Cain—

Deolkeong!!!

The coffin shook violently, and the entrance that had covered only a third swung wide open.

At first, it only opened without any phenomenon occurring.

It merely emitted a resplendent blue light.

It was truly a beautiful sight, but more than that, it felt bad.

Tadat!

Without hesitating, I dashed toward the coffin.

Next, I kicked the coffin that was anchored upright in the ground.

Kwaang! Jjeojeojeok!

My foot froze as I kicked it, but it was fine. Knowing this would happen, I had used Body-Protecting Gangqi.

Meanwhile, the coffin slowly tipped backward and soon shook the ground with a koong! sound.

Looking at it, the coffin itself was made of iron, so it seemed to weigh a considerable amount.

There was no need to explain how absurdly strong the Dullahan must have been to swing that around like a flail.

Kugugugu-

And then, the coffin vibrated as if it were about to spew something out.

I hastily pulled the World Tree thread.

Utteuk!

"W-What?"

But it wouldn’t pull, as if caught on something.

I asked the other companions to pull it, but it didn’t budge at all.

Sweat formed in my palms at the thought that Cain too had been swallowed by the coffin—

Kwaaaaa!!!

The shimmering blue light inside the coffin soared high into the sky.

The light was so intense that it looked not like a ray, but a massive pillar.

I winced at the blindingly bright light and turned my head away.

It was a light so intense that even I, having consumed the Pumpkin Jack’s Inner Core, couldn’t dare open my eyes.

’W-Where are my sunglasses? Wait, did I even have sunglasses in the first place?’

If the Gallery opens, I must buy sunglasses first.

While thinking such thoughts, the light continuously poured into the sky.

Kwaaaaa-

It felt like 5 minutes had passed. The light gradually diminished, allowing me to open my eyes.

The pillar of light surging into the sky vanished soon after.

The wide-open coffin lid was still radiating blue light.

And then,

Kwareureu!

A moment later, the Dullahan and its steed collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.

Though they had become sluggish, they had been standing firm. It seemed Cain had succeeded after all.

The fact that the coffin was still glowing was a minor drawback, but we could probably retrieve him now.

’It’s still like this.’

But the World Tree thread still wouldn’t yield to a pull.

Solving one problem brought another popping up.

Right around when I was pondering how to solve this—

Cheolgeureok- cheolgeureok-

The Dullahan, which had been sprawled out like a stringless doll, moved.

I wondered if even Cain had failed. Since the World Tree thread didn’t budge either, it got tricky.

Cheolgeureok- cheolgeureok-

Meanwhile, the Dullahan’s steed also rose from its spot. We immediately took up combat stances.

The Dullahan seemed to stare at us for a long time, then dismounted from the steed.

After dismounting, it even held its sword with both hands.

Just as I tilted my head at the feeling that it was like a totally different person—

Eonggeum- eonggeum-

Bbareumbo, who was riding on my back, climbed down.

Did he think that since the enemy got off their horse, he should get off his steed too?

Or did he judge that his help wouldn’t be particularly needed?

Whichever it was, it didn’t matter.

Tadat!

Because the Dullahan charged right at me.

The Dullahan rushed forward, emitting the armor’s characteristic cheolgeureok clanking noise.

Its speed was far faster than when mounted, so I hurriedly raised my shield.

Kwaang!

Since it wasn’t mounted, I blocked it without much trouble.

The issue was what happened next. Just as I was about to counter, the Dullahan vanished.

Given the impact on the shield, it should normally be right in front of me, but it vanished in an instant.

’Don’t tell me... behind?’

Hoping not, I looked back, and sure enough.

The Dullahan was delivering a sidekick right at me.

It was already extending its leg, so blocking was the best I could do, let alone dodging.Get faster updates on novelpi⁠ng.com.

Kwaang!!

"Ugh!"

Unable to overcome the recoil of the kick, my body slid backward.

But there was no time to pay attention to the pain. Even while sliding back, the Dullahan approached.

Kwaang!

The creature swung its sword while I was regaining my footing. I forcibly blocked it, but my balance was ruined completely.

Naturally, my back hit the ground, and my vision turned skyward.

Chwaang!

However, the Dullahan’s follow-up attack didn’t come.

When I barely raised my head, Ludwig and Lackey were engaging it.

Their skills were trustworthy enough, but...

Kwaang!

"Keuh...!"

"Eueoeok!"

They were pushed back helplessly.

Because the Dullahan’s physical strength was far beyond expectations.

I had anticipated it since it was mounted, but now that it took the field directly, there seemed to be no answer.

Chaang! Chaeng!

As the party was incapacitated in an instant, Bbareumbo stepped up in earnest.

He constantly pressured the Dullahan with his characteristic overwhelming speed.

But the Dullahan was no pushover either. No, it began fighting back with a momentum far more powerful than before.

It traded blows with Bbareumbo without even using Wraith Transformation.

’Did it go easy on us until now?’

Swords and claws collided in less than a second.

It was a fierce clash so fast it was daunting just to follow with the eyes.

Even Ludwig had lost to Bbareumbo in combat assessments.

Meaning that in terms of raw stats and skill, the Dullahan was a clear superior upgrade.

Seogeok!

Still, it wasn’t stronger than Bbareumbo.

For whatever reason, the Dullahan couldn’t handle its own body properly, and Bbareumbo targeted that flaw expertly.

Starting from an arm flying off to the entire armor being chopped into pieces.

Of course, even that restored itself before long, but it didn’t mean much.

Because even if restored, it would just be shredded again.

Just as I was trying to find another method—

[Ehei. Seriously absurdly strong. What kind of insane sloth is that?]

"?"

"...?"

A familiar voice came from the direction of the chopped-up Dullahan.

It had the creepy vibe characteristic of wraiths, but this voice was definitely...

[It’ll take some time to get used to this.]

"...Cain-ssi?"

[Yes. It’s me.]

It was Cain. My eyes widened round as I looked at the Dullahan.

When I couldn’t understand the situation at all, the Dullahan—presumably Cain—dragged its restored body toward the coffin.

Next, it stuck its arm inside the coffin and began rummaging as if looking for something.

[Got it. Pull the thread over there.]

"Uh... okay."

With a dubious expression, I pulled the World Tree thread.

The World Tree line, which hadn’t budged at all until a moment ago, pulled smoothly now.

Soon, Cain’s stone statue emerged from inside the coffin radiating blue light.

Remarkably, the moment Cain came out, the light of the coffin also vanished.

Ureureu!

Simultaneously, the Dullahan’s body collapsed. It was like a robot whose power was cut off.

I looked at the Dullahan that had stopped functioning once again, then turned my head to Cain.

"What happened?"

[Before that, can I punch you once?]

"You kicked me earlier."

[You blocked it with your shield.]

After bickering for a moment, Cain immediately began explaining.

[Strictly speaking, that Dullahan was similar to this statue. Only... it wasn’t an all-in-one build.]

"You mean that coffin is the main body?"

[Indeed. Furthermore, there was an original master of the Dullahan. I beat it up and took control.]

Simply put, hacking. But the method of hacking was plain brutish.

Rather than installing software to operate it, he literally ripped out the main unit.

Though slightly absurd, judging by the result, it was undeniably an extremely effective method.

"Then does that mean we can use that Dullahan from now on?"

[It should be possible for me. However, leaving it unattended like that... What is that now?]

I turned my head wondering what it was this time. And I was shocked.

Ggumeul-ggumeul-ggumeul-

’Roots’ surging from the ground were wrapping around the Dullahan’s coffin.

I realized the identity of those roots instantly without needing to check.

’The World Tree again...?’

I wondered what it was trying to do this time, but it was nothing much.

It simply seeped its roots inside the coffin, then returned back to normal.

Just as I was feeling dubiously bewildered by the incomprehensible behavior of the World Tree—

[Maintenance has concluded.]

The Gallery maintenance was over.