I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 318

Nidhogg, the mythical beast that appeared after the Sky Whale.

According to Allfather’s explanation, it was a entity that lived by gnawing on the roots of the World Tree.

One might ask if that didn’t make it harmful to the World Tree, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Rather, it prevented the roots of the World Tree from becoming severely tangled, making it closer to a symbiotic relationship.

Furthermore, Nidhogg had one defining characteristic: spatial teleportation.

This was a characteristic not just of Nidhogg, but of animals associated with the World Tree.

Simply put, it meant that giant lizard could pop out inside our house.

’No matter how I think about it, I’m screwed?’

If a creature of that magnitude invaded our Shelter, defending against it would be difficult.

Even if we managed to block it, my home would be blown to smithereens.

The World Tree granted all kinds of benefits, but the risks were equally enormous.

"By the way, did it understand what I said?"

└ Allfather) Yes. Whether translation magic is embedded or not, it translates automatically.

└ Truly a god-tier feature.

└ Isn’t there a crystal ball strictly for translation like the Gallery?

└ If there was, everyone would be using it.

└ Translation magic itself is practically the same as hiring an interpreter.

└ Allfather) Every nation has its own language, and slang varies wildly. There are even regional dialects.

└ And regular videos don’t have the translation feature yet.

└ Would’ve been awesome if regular videos worked too.

└ Guess that’s still too tough for now lol

Nidhogg was surprising, but the translation feature was even more astonishing.

Originally, the Gallery only supported text translation. Voice in videos had to be manually translated by others.

Because of this, users often—no, frequently—played pranks, leading to chaotic misunderstandings.

’If regular videos had it too, would the server have blown up?’

Well, real-time voice translation by itself was more than enough.

Since live streaming video would become more frequent going forward.

"Are you crazy? You just saw that monster in there and you want me to go back in?"

"..."

"Don’t just talk carelessly because it’s not your problem. I’ve got a massive headache because of that guy right now."

"Master. Are you sick somewhere?"

It was while I was muttering to myself while reading the comments.

Lackey, who was quietly watching from the side, asked with genuine concern.

Come to think of it, the rest of the group had no idea what I was looking at right now.

While Ludwig and Cain seemed to have roughly caught on, Lackey knew nothing about the Gallery.

Pondering how to explain this, I just gave a rough answer.

"Lackey. You can’t see them, but there are people right here."

"..."

At that, Lackey’s expression contorted even further.

The way he slowly backed away felt as if he were looking at a mental patient.

Only after much persuasion was I able to reassure Lackey.

When I added the explanation about purchasing items from the Gallery so far, he finally nodded in understanding.

’Let’s gloss over this for now; the World Tree root is the main issue...’

I stared at the World Tree tunnel, or more accurately, the World Tree.

Was it really okay to leave that vicious thing unattended like this?

As mentioned earlier, the risks were terrifyingly proportional to the benefits.

And right now, a threat no less dangerous than a dragon was slowly creeping upon us.

"Allfather-nim. Could you tell me a bit more about Nidhogg?"

└ Allfather) Legend has it that it is practically invincible within the roots of the World Tree.

"Ah, shit..."

└ You planted the World Tree. Bite the bullet and grit your teeth through it.

└ You shouldn’t have greedily accepted whatever those dirty point-eared bastards gave you lolol

└ As expected, elves can never be trusted lolol

Only devastating information came back one after another.

Moreover, since it was a creature straight out of myths like the Sky Whale, hardly any solid information was known.

As I scratched my head in deep thought, a sudden doubt occurred to me, and I opened my mouth.

"You said it’s a mythical entity, right? But there’s a World Tree in Alfheim too. Does it not live there?"

The moment I asked that question, a deluge of comments poured in.

To the point that the answer I wanted—namely, responses from fixed handles like Allfather—got completely buried.

It seemed the viewer count had grown significantly. It’s not like I’m doing a stream or anything.

’It’ll be troublesome if this causes an overload.’

The burden of real-time video streaming was borne purely by the streamer.

Normally, one’s eyes would throb within less than five minutes, but I was fine.

However, I couldn’t stand watching anonymous users running wild haphazardly.

"How do I configure the settings for this? I want to make it so only fixed handles can comment."

└ Then what are we supposed to do for fun?Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.

└ Grylls, do not discriminate between anonymous users and fixed handles!

└ If you discriminate, I will take a shit right here.

└ Pujik.

└ Why are you taking a shit lolol

└ He literally took a shit right away lololol

└ Lmao lolol

└ Be thankful I didn’t post a picture.

Because of idiots like that, I had no choice but to place restrictions.

I accessed the post where real-time comments were being left and edited it.

Going back and forth like this was annoying, but it couldn’t be helped. It was something I had to endure.

’They won’t do another maintenance just to fix this, right?’

I genuinely hoped not. Floating a window to the side wasn’t that hard...

"...What. A feature like this exists?"

My eyes widened. Acting as if I were using a PC, I discovered a new feature.

Just like opening multiple web pages, I could open multiple Gallery windows.

I wondered if it was like this before maintenance too, but shrugged it off. This would make checking things much easier.

"Now then. Let me ask again. So there’s no creature like that in the roots of the World Tree in Alfheim, right?"

└ Starlight Lady) From what I know, there isn’t. In the first place, the very space Grylls-nim entered is full of mysteries.

└ Allfather) It is just as Starlight Lady-nim says. It is a domain fit for myths, rather than ordinary creatures.

└ Let’s Grow Trees) I read about it in a book! The roots of the World Tree are closer to a ’dimension’!

I couldn’t understand a single word of what they meant.

Aren’t roots just something that pops out when you dig with a shovel?

’Then again, doing that might cause Nidhogg to pop out.’

I let out a sigh.

Perhaps because it gave me a shock no less than Vanir did, I hesitated to enter the tunnel.

If I carelessly wandered inside, I might get swallowed up in one bite by Nidhogg—gulp!

"Then what am I supposed to do about the monster inside..."

Pondering for a moment, I turned my head. Toward Lackey.

The moment I stared at Lackey, as if sensing an ill omen, he subtly averted his gaze.

Seeing him turn his entire body away, he was clearly expressing that he refused to go even if it killed him.

"Lackey."

"Can’t hear you."

"You just answered. Let’s get ready to go in."

"This person is here too."

Lackey pointed at Ludwig, as if declaring he wouldn’t die alone.

Naturally, Ludwig couldn’t hide his utter flabbergastion.

Everything else aside, pulling a drag-you-down-with-me tactic seemed completely absurd to him.

└ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Come to think of it, I hear gorilla meat is extremely tough!

Even the Hero Asella joined in the outrage. How on earth does she know that?

In the meantime, Ludwig stared intently at Lackey, then subtly raised his foot.

The Mythril foot, which had now become entirely familiar, came into view.

"#$%% ##%^$?"

"What is he saying?"

"He said: ’Is it right to force such a task upon a man with a disabled leg?’"

Thanks to Lackey’s superb translation, I understood Ludwig’s complaint.

It made some sense, but this was the Forest of the Four Seasons. Missing one leg was fine.

Of course, that was strictly my line of thought, not Lackey’s.

"Since you’re already missing one leg, wouldn’t it be fine if you lost one more limb?"

"..."

"Our four limbs are perfectly intact. But your leg is already impaired. Rather than a healthy person becoming impaired, it is better for an already impaired person to become slightly more impaired."

"Wow. Holy shit. Unbelievable."

Where on earth did he learn such malice-filled words?

Even his buildup logic was so flawless that admiration came out instead of sheer shock.

[It is all because of you, Grylls. Because you always spew malicious words, that gorilla picked up strange habits.]

"No, but still..."

It was so absurd that even Ludwig didn’t get angry. He only let out a hollow chuckle.

Out of sheer spite, I decided to shove Lackey inside.

"Hey. You don’t even know what’s inside anyway."

"Hearing you say that makes me even more anxious. And Master retreated immediately as well."

"If you check what’s inside, I’ll give you sweet potatoes."

"..."

Offered sweet potatoes, the guy fell into deep contemplation.You are reading on nov⁠elping.com, the official source.

He then stole a glance at me and cautiously spoke up.

"...Three?"

"Five."

"Deal."

For the record, I never said I’d give them right now.

Because when the food storehouse got destroyed, all the sweet potatoes vanished along with it.

A moment later, Lackey stood in front of the tunnel with a resolute expression.

Not knowing what was inside made it all the more terrifying.

Yet, sweet potatoes were apparently more precious than fear of the unknown, so Lackey stepped inside.

Exactly three seconds later.

"Uhoho! Uho! Uhohohoho!!!"

Lackey crawled out on all fours, utterly terrified.

From that reaction, I realized Nidhogg was still lying in wait inside.

It was absurd that it kept waiting like some gatekeeper, but what choice did I have?

’I can’t give up, but... I should wait a bit longer before checking again.’

There was still plenty of time. Besides, winter would end soon.

I spent the day live streaming video.

Whenever my eyes hurt, I paused it. Even for me, doing it for over an hour was tough.

’Except when exploring or when new creatures appear, there won’t be much reason to turn it on.’

I checked on the World Tree periodically while going about my routine, fearing Nidhogg might burst out.

According to separate research, Nidhogg was famous for having a foul temper.

It supposedly branded anyone who damaged the World Tree’s roots as a sworn arch-enemy.

Although I had no intention of doing such a thing, its foul temper wasn’t something I could easily brush off.

’Should I check out the emotes?’

According to the Orange Badge, a massive number of emotes had been submitted recently.

Even though measures were taken to restrict submissions to fixed handles, the number was still huge.

So apparently she was deliberating on appointing a new Blue Badge assistant mod recently.

’Come to think of it, Heavenly Demon wasn’t very visible during the stream.’

I heard she was traveling across the Central Plains carrying a single potted plant.

Unless she squeezed in spare time, performing her duties as a Blue Badge assistant mod would be difficult.

She sent messages occasionally, but there was nothing particularly special.

’At most, just mentioning that the Hair Growth Herb is growing well?’

I closed the Gallery and laid my body down on a plush mat.

It felt about time to get a proper bed instead of a mat. Since I had items sent by Princess Chaenggu as well.

Complicated events had unfolded like a tangled ball of yarn, but untangling them slowly wouldn’t be too late.

Of course, what needed immediate untangling was the World Tree root. In the worst-case scenario, I might even have to subdue Nidhogg.

’Though the probability is extremely slim.’

If we could lure it out of the World Tree roots onto the outside, wouldn’t we stand a chance?

According to Allfather’s explanation, Nidhogg becomes drastically weakened once it leaves the World Tree roots.

Of course, dragging a creature of that size out would be virtually impossible.

’Let’s sleep for now.’

I slowly closed my eyes.

My mind and body were weary from the battle with the Dullahan.

It was right when I was enjoying a rare, peaceful, deep sleep.

Lick-

While fast asleep, I felt something licking my cheek.

At first, I thought it was just a delusion.

Lick- Lick-

It wasn’t. A soft, moist tongue licked my cheek repeatedly.

It couldn’t be Wonmo’s tongue, so it was likely Tyranno’s.

Since Tyranno also licked my cheek occasionally to express affection.

"Oh boy. There, there."

Naturally assuming it was Tyranno, I grabbed its body.

The vivid texture of hard yet smooth scales was felt clearly. It was definitely Tyranno.

Then, barely opening my groggy eyes, I checked Tyranno’s face.

A clear, serene blue color...

’...Blue?’

Tyranno is grayish, so why was blue meeting my eyes?

I blinked my eyes repeatedly and stared forward.

While it shared the distinct lizard face, its overall appearance was different.

It was much smaller than Tyranno, being a cute, compact size.

"...Who are you?"

The lizard with only front legs stared intently at me, and then...

Lick-

Silently licked my face.