I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 315

The Gallery maintenance, which felt exceptionally long, was finally over.

As soon as the maintenance ended, I logged in... actually, no, I held off for a moment.

Because right now, investigating the Dullahan was more important.

In particular, the coffin needed a thorough examination. Since Cain might use it from time to time in the future.

’The sky has already brightened up again.’

The Dullahan that brought the darkness. Since that Dullahan had completely stopped functioning, the sky had cleared up as well.

Conversely, this meant there was a high probability that it would bring the night every time the Dullahan was activated.

"You said earlier that there was an entity inside the coffin controlling the Dullahan, right? What kind of entity was it?"

[It is a bit ambiguous for me to explain precisely. Rather than a person with emotions, it was more like an entity that only does its job...]

Is it a concept close to a high-performance AI? It wasn’t certain, but it seemed safe to think of it that way.

More than that, what I wanted to hear was what kind of structure the inside of the coffin had.

"What do you think about me entering the coffin myself?"

[I do not highly recommend it. Even with this body, I felt a chill.]

"Then does that mean you defeated the original owner with the body of a stone statue?"

[That is not the case. In this coffin, the body and soul are separated.]

"But Cain-ssi, you are a stone statue."

[It is a body.]

Surely he isn’t reacting like that because of the life joke from earlier, right?

In any case, entering the coffin would have to be postponed.

It’s not like I can perform astral projection at will, and if things go wrong, I might never be able to return.

Crucially, since I could conduct various experiments through Cain, there was no need for me to step forward myself.

[It seems you are having a very dangerous thought?]

"It’s just your imagination. By the way, were there any other unusual points?"

[If I had to say, there were a few. When I drove out the original owner and gained control, a strange voice echoed in my head.]

"A strange voice?"

[Something about gaining control, or exceeding the capacity limit.]

Is the coffin itself really like a computer? I turned my head and stared at the coffin.

Currently, the coffin was covered with its lid. For the record, I covered it with my bare hands.

Since it wasn’t operating, the cold that had even frozen aura had completely vanished.

It seemed the chains functioned like a computer’s cooling fan.

’Which means...’

I channeled aura into the Sword of the Heavenly Demon and brought it close to the chains.

At first, nothing happened, but then it very slowly began to freeze.

As expected, the effect seemed to be activated by using aura, or more precisely mana, as a sort of energy source.

’Which means there’s no problem touching it with bare hands...’

I touched the chains with my bare hands. Perhaps because it was filled with frost, it felt extremely cold.

The length of the chains was quite long, so I would just need to cut off a small piece to investigate.

"Come to think of it, were you unable to control the horse?"

[It seems possible, but it was too complicated, so I gave up.]

"So you can do it, right?"

[The moment you treat me like a horse, I will run away with the coffin, so keep that in mind.]

"Aw, come on. There will be plenty of times we’ll have to walk for a long distance in the future, so cut me some slack."

We had Largo, but he was exclusively for Ludwig.

Besides, because his neck was too long, it was difficult to utilize him for combat.

[Do you not know that you are also a horse?]

"Me?"

[You are Bbareumbo’s excellent steed. I saw it clearly with my own eyes earlier.]

"..."

[Realize who you are. You are not a cavalryman, but a warhorse.]

The clear, hard-hitting truth hurt too much.

Indeed, since I had been acting as Bbareumbo’s means of transportation all this time, I couldn’t even refute it.

I scratched my head, having nothing to say, and first sorted out the Dullahan and the coffin.

Even though they were a bit heavy, I moved them to the blacksmith forge without any trouble.

’I’m glad we finished this without anyone getting hurt.’

Partly because this guy persistently targeted only the World Tree instead of us, and partly because a hard counter existed.

Especially if Cain hadn’t been here, we would have probably fought for a long time. The biggest contributor is Cain.

"You said you drove out the original owner, right? Is that original owner completely dead?"

[I remember beating him up. He was not a strong fellow.]

"Can you beat up a wraith without holy power?"

[Despite my appearance, I am someone who has achieved Ascension to Immortality. Giving a shock to a wraith is child’s play.]

I wondered if that was truly possible, but since this was a fantasy world, I decided to let it slide.

In a situation where holy power already exists, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to beat up a ghost.

’Then where did that original owner go?’

I looked up at the sky.

A pillar of light shot up into the sky, and once the Dullahan stopped functioning, the darkness completely cleared from the sky.

I was slightly worried that something problematic might happen.

If something strange happened, it would surely be posted on the Gallery.

Perhaps the problem wouldn’t be on the outside, but on the inside.

"Can you go back inside and control the Dullahan again?"

[I shall try.]

I decided to experiment with various things through Cain. First, whether reconnecting was possible.

Also, whether he could operate not only the Dullahan but also the steed at the same time.

Above all, I planned to slowly investigate what the identity of that coffin was.

Sreureuk—

It was when Cain, bound by World Tree thread, entered the coffin.

The sky dyed in darkness once again, and the Dullahan began to move with a clanking sound.

Apparently, it seemed certain that day and night switched every time the Dullahan was controlled.

"Can you move the horse too?"

[Mmm... It is possible, but difficult. It feels like I have gained an extra set of arms and legs.]

So it’s multitasking. Still, it wasn’t impossible, so he could just practice.

Afterward, we tested whether frost gathered on the chains, what would happen if the coffin was left running for a while, and so on.

Through various experiments, I learned several facts.

’Ah, this thing overheats.’

First of all, the chains indeed acted as a cooler.

After leaving it for about ten minutes, an immense amount of heat radiated from the coffin.This chapter was taken from n​ovelping.com without permission.

That heat was subsided by wrapping the chains around it.

’For now, I want to cut a bit of the chain...’

I had to cut it physically without using any aura.

But it wouldn’t even be cut by the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. Meaning it was at least Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.

Maybe it would be cut if I sawed it with a saw made of Mythricon? I felt like my to-do list was constantly piling up.

’Let’s wrap up the Dullahan stuff here for now...’

I gazed at the World Tree, which the Dullahan had persistently kept in check.

I don’t know how it did it, but as soon as its roots wrapped around the coffin, the Gallery maintenance ended.

The timing was too coincidental, serving as evidence that the Forest of the Four Seasons was connected to the Gallery.

’Could the Forest of the Four Seasons itself be the server that maintains the Gallery?’

If we assume the World Tree is the computer maintaining the server, the hypothesis becomes quite plausible.

That was how all the circumstances pointed so far.

Of course, to properly grasp it, I would have to approach the World Tree of this region.

"Lackey. You can’t understand the language of plants, right?"

"I am not omnipotent, Master."

Unfortunately, Lackey only understood the language of animals, not plants.

The only one who might understand was the squirrel that managed the World Tree.

Since that squirrel had returned to its own territory, it might be hibernating.

’I should go check first.’

There was a tunnel, so I could go and come back quickly.

If it was awake, I planned to bring it back. I could look at the Gallery after that.

"I’ll head over to the squirrel’s territory first. I think I need to investigate the World Tree a bit more."

"Underst—"

Puck!

Just as Ludwig was about to answer, he was struck squarely by the steed’s kick.

Because it was a sudden surprise attack, Ludwig’s body flew far away.

Soon, Ludwig crashed into a tree and went limp. He was definitely knocked unconscious.

[Lu-Ludwig! Are you alright!?]

Startled, Cain hurriedly rushed over to Ludwig.

It seemed to be a disaster caused by trying to move two bodies at the same time.

Only after giving Ludwig an Elixir was I able to enter the tunnel.

Normally, I should have emerged directly from the tunnel in the squirrel’s territory, but...

"...Where on earth is this?"

I had entered a space I had never seen before in my life.

A background glowing in blue. Clusters of light moving busily.

A massive stem that seemed tangled like a skein of thread, yet was strangely distinct.

And there was a place where those stems connected into one. Even from afar, it felt colossal.

I looked down at the unexpected scenery. The place where I stepped was thin compared to the other stems.

’Wait. Where is the entrance?’

It was a bewildering situation, but I checked the way back first.

Fortunately, behind me, there was an exit glowing in white.

After breathing a sigh of relief, I looked around once more.

"...What am I supposed to do?"

This is driving me crazy. Seriously.

The Gallery maintenance was over.

At the news that the Gallery maintenance had ended, everyone, without exception, logged in immediately.

For some unknown reason, the maintenance had gone on for quite a long time.

Everyone was speculating that there must be a reason for that maintenance.

[What’s up with the emoticons?]

[There’s a live broadcast feature now too?]

[Don’t use the live broadcast. I thought my eyeballs were going to burn, fuck.]

[Can we draw whatever we want for these emoticons?]

[Wait, don’t you have to buy these emoticons with points?]

What people showed the greatest interest in were the newly added features.

Emoticons were a new invention that allowed them to usefully spend points, which had been nothing but surplus resources.

Live video streaming could be highly useful, provided one’s eyeballs could endure it.

Title) Honestly, the live video streaming feature

Isn’t it basically for Grylls? I don’t think anyone else can really use it.

Isn’t it the same for him?

Grylls shoots beams from his eyes.

Oh. Then maybe it’s possible?

Why are you saying it’s possible lol

Since he can even shoot beams, streaming should be a piece of cake lol

So when is Grylls turning on his stream?

Did he seriously die while the Gallery was undergoing maintenance?

No, no, seeing that his posts haven’t disappeared, he seems to be alive.

Title) Hey. A video editing feature was added?

We can do a lot of fun stuff with this, hahaha

For example?

Like cutting and posting only the necessary parts?

Until now, we had to upload the whole video, but now we don’t need to do that.

Oh lol

The users commented that they wouldn’t be bored for the time being, saying that a new toy had appeared in the Gallery.

And in this situation, the busiest person was none other than the Orange Badge, Asella.

’Although no fixed nick has officially registered an emoticon yet...’

They would start popping up soon. Especially with the editing feature, they would pull all kinds of stunts.

Since that was the case, she needed to recruit new moderators. The Heavenly Demon alone would not be enough.

She wanted to resolve it by herself if possible, but this was physically impossible.

Moreover, with issues arising in her real life recently, she had no room to spare for this.

’Who is a fixed nick that is close to being unemployed? Hmm.’

She would post an announcement for now, but selecting talent(?) was the priority.

While she was meticulously rummaging through the Gallery to find a suitable candidate,

Wwoooooong!Find the original chapter at nov‌elping.com.

"Huh?"

The Holy Sword, Revolution, which had been leaning against the wall, began to vibrate violently.

"Why is the Holy Sword acting like this?"

Her eyes widened as she drew the Holy Sword.

Aside from emitting a divine light, it was shaking violently.

She had felt a similar sensation when summoning the first holy knight, Cain.

But unlike then, it felt strongly as if it were giving a ’warning’.

’A warning? What is it warning against?’

She didn’t know for sure, but this must also be the will of the Goddess.

Before she could even resolve her doubts, she hurriedly summoned Reyna.

"Eonni. Please gather the troops immediately."

"The troops? Why all of a sudden?"

"The Holy Sword is warning us. That something is about to happen."

Reyna was taken aback by the sudden command, but she decided to carry it out anyway.

Partly because it was the Hero’s order, and partly because she had confirmed the Holy Sword was vibrating noisily.

"I understand for now. However, since they were reorganized not long ago, it will be hard to expect much organizational cohesion."

"I will stand at the vanguard. First..."

"Hero-nim!!! Hero-nim!!!"

Just as Asella was about to speak, another knight rushed into the room, shouting urgently.

Although it was a highly impolite action, the shout was so urgent that it could not be easily ignored.

"I’ll handle this. What is the matter?"

"T-That, you must look outside!"

"Outside?"

"Yes, yes! An incredibly massive pillar of light is outside...!"

At those words, Asella did not hesitate and rushed outside.

When she stepped outside, other people were already staring at a certain spot.

Soon, the moment Asella also turned her head, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

"That is..."

A pillar of light, so intense it was dazzling, was soaring toward the sky.

The pillar of light surged fiercely toward the heavens, piercing even the clouds.

What was even more surprising was the natural phenomenon.

The longer that pillar of light persisted, the more the sky was dyed in darkness.

Even though the sun was clearly up, the sky was turning dark—a bizarre phenomenon had occurred.

’That is where the Forest of the Four Seasons is... Did something happen to Grylls-ssi?’

The Holy Kingdom was close to the Forest of the Four Seasons. Therefore, they could detect the changes as well.

While Asella harbored doubts, the pillar of light gradually faded.

However, the sky was still dyed in darkness, and the people were greatly shaken.

Wwoooooong!!!

At the same time the pillar of light disappeared, the Holy Sword began to cry out loudly.

Asella glanced at the Holy Sword, filled with questions. Just what was causing it to cry like this?

[ ]

[ ]

It was then. A certain noise reached the sensitive ears of Asella.

At first, she couldn’t identify the source of the noise, but that was only for a moment.

"Huh? What are those?"

"Are they clouds?"

Something presumed to be clouds was moving fiercely in one direction.

There was such an immense quantity that it left behind a massive afterimage.

At first, they simply assumed they were clouds, but the people gradually realized.

"Are those... by any chance..."

"Wraiths...?"

That the things running and leaving behind grayish-white afterimages were indeed wraiths.

The people were dumbfounded by the sheer quantity, enough to cover half the sky.

Since wraiths do not inflict physical harm but cause great mental damage,

"Everyone, get inside your houses!"

"You must absolutely not make eye contact!"

Realizing that nothing good would come from getting involved with the wraiths, the people shouted urgently.

At this, the people also hurriedly went inside their homes.

As citizens of the Holy Kingdom, their vigilance against the undead was at its peak.

In particular, the generation that had experienced the crisis of the Immortal King was on the verge of having fits.

"The Wild Hunt..."

Asella muttered as she watched the fierce march of the wraiths.

A march of that scale was presumed to be the Wild Hunt phenomenon.

However, seeing the Holy Sword vibrating in warning, something felt off.

’Wait. Come to think of it, that direction is...’

Asella deduced where the wraiths were heading.

Then, after realizing the destination of that direction, she cried out with a pale face.

"E-Eonni! Assemble the army right now! Hurry!"

"H-Huh? That’s the Wild Hunt phenomenon. Won’t it be fine if we just leave it alone?"

Reyna harbored doubts.

The Wild Hunt was famous as a surreal phenomenon, but it was safe as long as one followed the rules.

But Asella thought differently. That those were different.

"There is no Dullahan! Not even a banshee!"

"What?"

Even though it was just a fleeting moment, Asella could see clearly.

That the Dullahan, who should be standing at the vanguard, did not exist.

This meant, in other words, that there was no entity to lead them.

To put it another way, there was a high probability that those immense numbers of wraiths were searching for ’bodies’.

And not bodies with souls, but empty bodies like skeletal remains.

And there was only one place that could accommodate that amount of wraiths.

"They are all heading toward the Balkan Kingdom!"

There was nowhere else but the Balkan Kingdom, where the crisis of the Immortal King had taken place.