I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 319

I stared blankly at a lizard that glowed blue all over.

Scales gleaming strangely with a mix of grey and blue. Fur fluttering like seaweed along its head and back.

Sharp, protruding fangs—even with its mouth closed—and crimson eyes left a striking impression.

Also, unlike other lizards, it only had front legs, which were exceptionally thick, and the tip of its tail was split into two prongs.

Seueuk-

I carefully placed the lizard down on the ground.

The lizard then moved its thick front legs, waddling and crawling toward me.

It showed no sign of discomfort and didn’t seem to care even as its belly dragged along the ground.

Haljjak- haljjak-

Just as I was wondering, ’Who are you, and where did you come from?’

The creature crawling toward me began climbing up my body.

It then licked me with its tongue as if I were a piece of candy covered in honey.

On the surface, it might look like it was acting cute, but that was far from the case.

’...My mana is draining?’

Every time this fellow licked me with its tongue, my mana was consumed bit by bit.

Of course, the speed at which it replenished was much faster, but it was enough to be noticeable.

Anyone else would have freaked out and acted hostile. But not me.

"Bbareumbo. Did you not even know this guy came in?"

"..."

I asked Bbareumbo while leaving the lizard to continuously lick my cheek.

It seemed this guy had just woken up as well, scratching his butt vigorously.

Looking at him, he seemed to have not noticed the lizard’s arrival at all.

He’s a creature that senses almost any presence, so this lizard must be extraordinary.

’Plus, there was the distrupter that Princess Chaenggu gave me.’

It only looks harmless and cute on the outside; in reality, it could be extremely dangerous.

In the Forest of the Four Seasons, small things are often more dangerous than big ones.

It could be dangerous like that armadillo that chopped the raptor in half last time.

[It’s not a dra...gon this time either. What is this creature?]

"I just woke up and it was here too."

Due to the slight commotion, the other people slowly woke up as well.

Everyone reacted with bewilderment to the lizard that had randomly appeared.

And understandably so, since ordinary animals couldn’t intrude into this place.

They would at least need an extraordinary ability like the spirit deer. In other words, this little guy is highly likely to be extraordinary too.

’Come to think of it, it looks similar to the Nidhogg I saw yesterday...’

I stared intently at the lizard.

An appearance similar to Tyranno yet different. Strangely cute.

Tyranno was characterized by a sharp, cat-like impression, but this one looked completely gentle.

Still, its gentleness couldn’t beat Wonmo. Wonmo was lethally cute, after all.

Haljjak- haljjak-

When I gently brought my face closer, the fellow flicked its tongue.

Normally, spit should feel gross, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Mana drained enough to be felt, but not enough to worry about.

’No matter how I look at it, it really resembles Nidhogg.’

I accessed the Gallery. Naturally, it was to post a picture of the fellow.

There didn’t seem to be a need to film a video.

Title) What is this guy?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a cute blue lizard)

(Photo of the lizard flicking its tongue)

I woke up and it was continuously licking my face.

Don’t tell me it’s Nidhogg’s hatchling or something like that?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) I like those red eyes. Things with red eyes generally possess ferocity.

ㄴWild Grylls) That ferocity won’t be directed at me, right?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) That will depend on your choices. Still, it appears very favorable toward you.

ㄴSword Matstar) A lizard with only front legs. Usually things like that are closer to monsters, but this one feels like a spiritual beast.

ㄴWild Grylls) There are monsters like that too?

ㄴSword Matstar) There are even ones whose mouths split open like lotus flowers.

ㄴWild Grylls) Ugh;;;

ㄴIsn’t that a famous monster in some village lake? Heard it was created due to a genetic mutation.

ㄴAnonymous) Yeah, a mage dumped experimental waste into the river.

ㄴBecause of that incident, if you secretly dump experimental waste, your mage license is permanently revoked.

ㄴAllfather) It is speculated to be Nidhogg’s offspring... but I am not certain either.

ㄴWild Grylls) Why don’t you know?

ㄴAllfather) Because it is a creature from myth. I only know that it lives in symbiosis with the roots of the World Tree.

ㄴGuess the mother will come looking for it soon lol

ㄴHeard their temper is worse than a dragon’s lol

ㄴBut Tyranno’s mom was the weird one; if I were a parent, I’d be angry if a stranger had my baby too lol

Wow, saying such anxiety-inducing things so nonchalantly.

But it was a clear fact. Any animal raises its young like precious gold and jade.

Since it had an appearance that anyone could see was a hatchling, I felt I should ask it at least once.

"Hey. Where is your mommy?"

Haljjak-

"Stop licking my face. You shouldn’t come here recklessly."Read the latest chapters at nove‌lping.com.

Haljjak-

Regardless of what I said, the lizard earnestly licked my face.

Fearing my face would wear away at this rate, I quickly pulled it off. Then the fellow looked at me with its eyes wide and round.

’Since they said it’s Nidhogg’s baby...’

For now, I should go into the World Tree cave.

After eating first, that is. Going outside, the weather had softened much more than before.

Meaning winter was gradually coming to an end. By tomorrow, Wonmo and Tyranno would probably awaken from hibernation.

’First, eat.’

Even while I was eating, the lizard kept licking my face.

Strangely, it wasn’t a hindrance; I was just indifferent to it.

I wondered if its tongue had an anesthetic function so I wouldn’t notice even if my skin peeled off, but that wasn’t it either.

Its true worth could be confirmed during cooking.

"Ah!"

It was when I accidentally hurt my hand while cooking.

The tip of my index finger was lightly cut, and droplets of blood welled up.

It was too minor to use an Elixir, so I planned to just wrap it roughly with a cloth.

Haljjak-

As soon as the lizard licked the wounded area, it surprisingly healed completely clean.

Its saliva possessed a healing function.

Usually, lizard saliva is swarming with bacteria.

But fitting for a mythical beast, this fellow possessed a curative effect.

"What on earth are you?"

"Haljjak."

As if its work was done as soon as it healed the wound, the fellow licked my cheek.

I should probably give up on asking. I’ll probably find out later when I enter the World Tree roots.

After finishing all preparations, it was around the time I reached the World Tree cave.

Hudadak-

"Huh? Hey! Hey!"

As soon as we stood in front of the World Tree cave, the lizard scampered right inside.

I quickly called out, but it had already gone inside.

Contemplating what to do, I turned my head back.

I could see Lackey trying desperately to avoid eye contact with me.

"Lackey."

"Ah. Today. As well. Must. Work. Hard."

As soon as I called his name, Lackey chopped firewood.

Seeing him read like a textbook robot, it seemed like he was protesting, begging me not to call him.

He looked pitiful, so I should go alone. Besides, I needed to figure out its identity anyway.

’If I see that monster from yesterday, I’ll run away immediately.’

Piggybacking Bbareumbo on my back, I let out a breath.

Just in case, I turned on the real-time video stream. The fixed-nicks swarmed in as soon as the broadcast started.

There were familiar names and fixed-nicks I was seeing for the first time. Everyone probably came because they were curious.

"You know that lizard I posted this morning? It went inside here."

If it looked like I was about to be eaten as soon as I entered, my plan was to flee right away.

After catching my breath once more, I activated my Body-Protecting Gangqi just in case.

Thick Gangqi covered my entire body, and feeling reassured, I stepped inside.

And....

"Keureuk."

"..."

The giant lizard I saw yesterday, Nidhogg, was staring intently at me.

I almost screamed, but barely suppressed it.

More important than that was the lizard that had entered in here earlier.

"Um... Did you see a guy smaller than you? It came in here?"

ㄴHeavenly Demon) The courage to attempt conversation with a spiritual beast is admirable. Provided, of course, that said spiritual beast understands your words.

ㄴSword Matstar) But it doesn’t look like it has a hostile expression, does it?

Well, thank you very much for those words. I tried hard to ignore the comments.

Right now, communing (?) with Nidhogg was the top priority.

Whether I definitely became friendly with that fellow or turned hostile, I had to decide on a direction.

Only then could I lay out my future plans more meticulously.

Seureuk-

Nidhogg looked at me, swished its tail, and approached.

Whether that was a sign of simple curiosity or meant it had found prey...

I stumbled backward so I could run away at any time.

Soon, it was when Nidhogg’s face approached right in front of mine.

Nalleum-

Nidhogg licked my entire body with its tongue.

Then, an astounding thing occurred.

Udeudeuk!

"?!"

My Body-Protecting Gangqi tore away in shreds like a piece of paper.

As if Nidhogg’s tongue were sandpaper, I became defenseless in an instant.

Fortunately, it recovered quickly, but Body-Protecting Gangqi severely consumes mana.

As a chunk of mana large enough to feel intensely was shaved off, my head spun.

’No, more than that...’

I stared at Nidhogg who had licked my body.

After licking me just once, the fellow stared intently at me.Follow the newest chapters on nov‌elping.com.

It was too massive to easily recognize, but looking closely, it looked familiar.

"Are you... that little guy from earlier?"

Gdeok-

Nidhogg then nodded its head. Its two-pronged tail also swished gently.

For a lizard much smaller than Tyranno to grow this huge—I was speechless with astonishment.

ㄴAllfather) Perhaps when it is inside the roots of the World Tree, its size expands.

"Is that even possible?"

ㄴAllfather) The roots of the World Tree are the same. What appears from the outside is infinitely small. It is simply that this space is unique.

"Mmm..."

I could roughly understand what he meant. Cain was the clearest example.

Right now he was a shabby, tiny stone statue, but going outside changed the story.

Because he transformed into a stone statue of terrifying size, worthy of the title of the First Paladin.

The World Tree root I was treading on now wouldn’t be much different.

I don’t know how it worked, but size stretched and bounced around like taffy.

’Then why am I the same as before?’

I tilted my head. I didn’t know the reason, but it was fine.

More important was Nidhogg in front of me.

Aside from it being favorable to me, there was something I had to consider.

"My friend. I need to go up ahead, can you step aside?"

Seueuk-

Being a spiritual beast, it seemed to understand my words as it stepped aside.

Lucky it was favorable toward me. Though I still didn’t know why.

Still, since it showed goodwill, shouldn’t I give it something to eat?

"Do you want to eat this? It came from the World Tree."

"!"

When I held out the World Tree fruit, saliva dripped from the fellow.

I heard they gnaw on the World Tree roots, so it seemed anything related to the World Tree was good to it.

After throwing the World Tree fruit to Nidhogg, I walked straight ahead.

The inside of the World Tree roots was vastly broad, but as long as I didn’t step off the root I was treading on, it should be fine.

"Ah. Here it is."

Not too far away, I discovered the entrance heading toward the squirrel territory.

It was a pitch-black space just like the entrance I passed through.

’It really feels like space was compressed.’

A format where space was compressed like the Earth-Shrinking Art so that one step became ten steps.

After feeling amazed for a moment, I decided to head back for now.

"Do you want to come too?"

"Keureung."

While I was at it, I invited Nidhogg too. There was no harm in getting friendly.

Plus, wouldn’t it be nice if Wonmo and Tyranno had another friend?

And so, after returning to the Shelter, Nidhogg shrank back down as expected.

Haljjak- haljjak-

The fellow very naturally climbed onto me and licked my face.

It looked like it was acting cute, so I only felt it was adorable.

"By the way, you’re not a hatchling, right? You’re an adult?"

"Haljjak."

Regardless of my question, it licked away earnestly.

Treating me like an unmelting candy made me feel peculiar.

’Well, with that size, it’d be stranger if it wasn’t an adult.’

Having gained a non-family family member, I was about to go about my daily routine.

Jjwaaak!

A sound of something tearing entered my ears. It was close to the sound of paper ripping.

Wondering what that noise was, just as I looked around, I discovered something strange.

"Lackey?"

"..."

Lackey had froze stiff with his mouth wide open.

Ludwig was the same. A face as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have seen.

In common, everyone was staring at a single spot.

Wondering what was going on, I turned my head toward the direction of their gaze.

-Keureureu...

"..."

Beyond the midair torn like paper, a huge eye was staring directly at me.

Simply describing it as huge was insufficient; judging by eye size alone, it was much larger than Vanir’s.

Furthermore, sharp claws were protruding through that torn space.

It expressed at a single glance: "I am this kid’s mother."

"Umm..."

Is this déjà vu?

I feel like it was like this during Tyranno’s mom’s time too.

Be that as it may.

"...You really are a hatchling, huh?"

"Haljjak?"

Say something.

Parent-teacher conferences are burdensome enough as it is.