I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 348

Having finished the missile launch, I decided to rest at the Shelter for the rest of today.

I had ancient ruins to think about, and I was curious about how things would unfold.

First off, as expected, the Gallery fell into chaos because of the missiles dropped on the Balkan Kingdom.

Some said they were stronger than Meteor, others called it divine power, and so on. Quite a variety of reactions popped up.

Among them were posts asking if I had dropped the missiles, which I naturally denied flat out.

’Affirming it needlessly could make things annoying.’

Even if some people noticed, confirming it with my own mouth was a different story.

I was already exerting small and large influences, but being able to launch missiles too?

Numerous countries could become hostile toward me, and total mayhem could break out.

Or they might offer items I need and commission a missile strike...

Of course, even if they became hostile, nothing would change for me, and the Orange Badge would block such requests anyway.

’It’s not like there are only one or two people using the Gallery.’

Still, the Gallery wouldn’t get shut down. If someone tried that, they’d get hit with a tempest of insults or spark a full-blown riot.

In fact, didn’t the previous Emperor of Zhongyuan get his head chopped off after announcing he would block Gallery access?

Therefore, right now, it was better to minimize the spread of chaos and wait until things settled down.

’That doesn’t mean I can just sit idly by, though.’

So what did I do? I drew massive aggro using mint chocolate.

With everyone’s attention already focused on me, starting a flame war had them entertaining themselves effortlessly.

They even fought over dipping versus pouring sauce, not just mint chocolate. For the record, that was the Zhongyuan side.

’Sweet and sour pork... well, even if they don’t have that exact dish, they must have something similar.’

I watched the flame wars unfolding on the Gallery before quietly closing it.

Then I turned my head to see what the rest of the group was doing.

"Kkyuu! Kkyu!"

"Pbi-eek!"

"Ppae-aek!"

Wonmo, Tyranno, and Cheongseol were playing nicely with the soccer ball gifted by Princess Chaenggu.

By nature, play is more fun with two than one, and three is more fun than two.

Since they were inherently smart kids, they were playing well with just a few basic rules I set up.

’Just having one as the goalkeeper and switching whenever a goal is scored must be fun enough.’

For the record, the current goalkeeper was Cheongseol. Cheongseol had a different physical structure from the other two.

Lacking hind legs and possessing only front limbs, her movement was restricted in many ways.

So I was worried whether she could play well, but...

Paaat!

"Ppae-aek!"

"Kkyuuuu! Kkyuu!"

"Pbi-eek!"

Turns out I was wrong. She was playing just fine by Teleporting.

Apparently, for very short distances, she could move without tearing space open.

Of course, Wonmo and Tyranno protested that it was a foul, but Cheongseol didn’t budge an inch.

"Ppae-aeek! Pbaek!"

"..."

"..."

Instead, she showed off her missing hind legs while saying this:

I’m using Teleport in exchange for sacrificing my hind legs, so what’s your complaint?

Wonmo and Tyranno also shut their mouths tight, as if it was a point they could accept.

Still, seeing them play well put my mind at ease. I hoped they would keep building their friendship going forward.

’As for the rest...’

Having launched the missile in the morning and agreed to a group rest in the afternoon...

I looked around to see what the others were up to. First was Ludwig.

Ludwig was silently maintaining his Mythricon sword. He was in charge of overall equipment inspections.

Lackey was supervising Ggansu and the other hobgoblins, and Cain was...

"Cain-ssi."

[Speak.]

"How about you stop playing statue and do some work?"

[Unfortunately, I am recharging.]

He was doing absolutely nothing under the excuse of charging.

It sounded like nonsense, but it actually made quite a bit of sense, since we fired the missile this morning.

Something about the missile launch alone consuming a tremendous amount of mana.

He said it was fortunate we were in the Forest of the Four Seasons; otherwise, it would have taken a long time.

’Good thing it recharges automatically.’

If not for that, I would have used him as a heel callouse remover.

[It feels as though you just had a most sacrilegious thought?]

"No way."

As expected of the first paladin. He hadn’t learned mind reading, yet he picked up on people’s thoughts astoundingly well.

I shrugged, played dumb, and turned my head. In the direction I turned, Bbareumbo was there.

Today, as usual, he was standing still, spacing out. On rest days, he preferred to do absolutely nothing.

Still, since he was the strongest combat power in our Shelter, he was allowed to be like that. That much was undeniable.

’As for me... I guess I’m the financial provider.’

Being the financial provider, I didn’t have much to do either. Since I entrusted the physical labor to Lackey and the other hobgoblins.

Training External Arts through the method taught by the Heavenly Demon, browsing the Gallery, and so forth.

Even just doing these things, time flew by, and it was already past 3 p.m.

’Even so, I still have a bit of time left over.’

In my heart, I wanted to read a book, but that was tough. Everything was written in languages I didn’t know.

Ludwig also refused, saying he’d rather adapt to his Mithril ankle than read a book.

Cain also avoided it because, unless he was in Dullahan mode, turning the pages of a book one by one was difficult for him.

"Master. Give book."Read the latest chapters at novelpin‌g.com.

"Here."

The only person (?) who actually read books was Lackey.

Ever since he read a book once last time, it seemed he had acquired a taste for it, constantly demanding books.

Naturally, the language was the Zhongyuan script, and the financiers were two people.

The Heavenly Demon and Smart Demon. Since these two were from Zhongyuan, books could easily be acquired.

"By the way, what book is that?"

"Even if I tell you, you won’t know."

"..."

As days went by, there was one thing I began to feel. Lackey implicitly exuded an air of looking down on me.

Of course, he respected the ’authority’ itself of being the master of the Shelter.

In fact, he strictly obeyed everything related to survival, including meals.

Instead, the days where he treated me as a beast like himself rather than a human increased. What’s funny is that he respected Ludwig as a human.

"Hey. Lackey-ya."

"Speak."

"You don’t want to eat dinner today, right?"

"The content of this book is about the past..."

Look at this guy. The moment I said I wouldn’t feed him, he answered dutifully.

Of course, I usually let it slide. Why? Because we were close.

He was teasing because we got close; if we weren’t close, he wouldn’t even have spoken.

However, I couldn’t stand my dignity as a ’human’ being disregarded. So what did I do?

"Master. What is this again?"

"It’s Gomoku. If five stones of the same color align in a row, you win."

I decided to play Gomoku. Turns out there were Baduk boards and stones on the Gallery.

Perhaps because it was a rare form of entertainment, not just Lackey, but the rest of the party showed interest as well.

"Ludwig-ssi, you know about Gomoku too, right?"

"I know it. I enjoyed it when I was bored."

It seemed the game of Gomoku itself existed in this world too.

Well, since the rules were simple, it would actually be strange if it didn’t exist.

’Setting aside how easy it is, it’s also good for developing concentration.’

Gomoku itself is simple. But if you dig deep, it’s a different story.

If you fail to grasp both concentration and vision across the board, defeat is all too common.

In fact, the biggest reason beginners lose at Gomoku is a lack of concentration.

"Alright. I’ll explain the rules. It’s called double-three (3-3)—Black isn’t allowed to use it."

"Why can’t Black use it?"

"Because it’s way too advantageous."

I roughly explained the rules. It was the rule where Black isn’t allowed to use double-threes.

And so began the Gomoku duel with Lackey. Naturally, I won at first.

Since this was Lackey’s very first time playing a game like this, he seemed quite lost.

"See? A beast just can’t do it after all."

"I let you win. Let’s do another round."

"Ludwig-ssi and Cain-ssi need a turn too."

As we took turns playing Gomoku, time flew by in a flash.

For the record, the win rate was in the order of Cain, Ludwig, me, and Lackey. It was in order of their realms of mastery.

Then where was Bbareumbo, you ask?

"..."

"Hey. Don’t play. I’m going to burst from frustration."

Even playing a stone was so excruciatingly slow that I gave up on him. Still, I decided to treat him as an exception.

Afterward, as time passed, only Lackey and I played Gomoku.

"Ahem, ahem."

"No, why are you clearing your throat?"

[Kheheum! Ahem!]

"These guys, seriously."

Was it because watching the match between me and Lackey frustrated them? Ludwig and Cain kept dropping hints.

It was painfully obvious that their mouths were itching to speak. Even so, I stayed my course.

"Master. I won."

"...You’re good?"

And I got utterly, pathetically crushed. I thought it was just sheer luck.

However, the next match too. The match after that too. And the match after that as well.

Losing repeatedly, I was met with complete humiliation. How did this happen?

"Master."

"...What."

"If a human lives like a beast, they become a beast, and if a beast lives like a human, they become a human."

Look at the way he talks. Anyone listening would think he’s a philosopher.

Speechless, I let out a hollow laugh.

"We decided to call that a Spiritual Beast. You know that?"

"Then I must be a Spiritual Beast. Hmph."

"..."

Wow, fucking obnoxious. He’s a gorilla, but seriously obnoxious.

I stared mouth agape at Lackey, who had become triumphant.

I wanted to knock that guy down a peg, but the regret was that I couldn’t.

"Hey. Wait right there for a sec."

"I shall always accept your challenge. Loser."

"You fucking..."

I almost let curse words fly out of my mouth, but managed to hold back just barely.Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.

However, getting my revenge didn’t end here. I gritted my teeth and logged into the Gallery.

The thing I did as soon as I logged into the Gallery was none other than real-time video streaming—in other words, broadcasting.

And I wrote the title like this:

[Need back-seat gaming advice for Gomoku, please.]

What I chose was receiving back-seat advice from other fixed handles.

Is it pathetic, you ask? Sure, it’s pathetic, but there was something I wanted to check once and for all.

"Ooh. Now I am the strongest!"

[It appears he is evolving in real time.]

Whether Lackey was genuinely smart, or if I was worse than a beast.

What proved it was Lackey’s winning streak. After overwhelmingly defeating me, he went on to beat everyone else.

Seeing that, it was certain he was smarter than most average humans. That was why I wanted to check.

└ Heavenly Demon) Are you playing Gomoku instead of Baduk?

└ Smart Demon) Huh? You know how to play Baduk?

└ Heavenly Demon) This seat played with a close aide before, but quit because it was boring.

└ Smart Demon) Wasn’t it boring because you kept losing?

└ Heavenly Demon) Rather than play something like Baduk, it is better to flip it with raw power.

└ Smart Demon) ;;;

└ Sword Matstar) Excuse me, but did you really start a stream just because you lost at Gomoku to a gorilla?

└ Wild Grylls) You don’t need to add "excuse me." Because it’s a fact.

└ Sword Matstar) Uh... hang in there?

└ Wild Grylls) No, seriously, this bastard plays insanely well, alright? Sword Matstar-nim, you try it once.

└ Sword Matstar) Sure, whatever. How smart could a gorilla really be?

└ Wild Grylls) For the record, he beat Ludwig-ssi too.

└ Sword Matstar) Is he really a gorilla?

└ Starlight Lady) I want to join too. It looks fun.

└ Praise the Sun) I’ll just watch.

└ Princess Chaenggu) There weren’t any matches today anyway, so perfect! Something fun to watch has appeared!

└ King Reor) I put my vote on the gorilla lol

└ Passing Dwarf) Hold on, grabbing alcohol. How could I miss such top-tier entertainment lol

Fixed handles poured in like bamboo shoots after rain. The first person to offer back-seat coaching was Sword Matstar.

I called over Lackey, who was gloating after securing victory.

"Lackey-ya. Let’s go again."

"Master, you suck so bad."

"..."

The urge of "Should I seriously punch him once?" swelled up rapidly.

Even worse, maybe because he was a gorilla, his facial expression provoked anger.

After barely suppressing my anger, I made a proposal to Lackey.

"One sweet potato for every win."

"I’ll be eating sweet potatoes till my belly bursts today."

Would he really? There were plenty of people smarter than me right here.

Before playing Gomoku, I placed a restriction on the Gallery chat.

Because if everyone else offered advice all at once, it would be a headache.

└ Wild Grylls) Now only Sword Matstar-nim will be able to leave comments.

└ Sword Matstar) To think such a function exists, it’s really fascinating.

I took Sword Matstar’s advice with high expectations, and...

"Nice. One sweet potato."

"..."

After barely playing a few moves, we got utterly annihilated.

└ Wild Grylls) Teacher? What just happened?

└ Wild Grylls) Say something, please.

└ Wild Grylls) Hello? Where did you go?

My comments merely echoed endlessly in solitude.

I wondered if it was because she was embarrassed.

└ Sword Matstar) Honestly, Black has the advantage in Gomoku.

└ Wild Grylls) We were Black though?

└ Sword Matstar) Isn’t best-of-three the global standard?

└ Wild Grylls) ;;;

Is it just me, or is she getting increasingly pathetic?

└ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Sword Matstar-nim! You’re being pathetic! You must accept defeat humbly!

I wasn’t the only one thinking that.

Apparently, Asella was watching this match too.

└ Sword Matstar) Then why don’t you try it yourself, Orange Badge-nim?

└ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Of course! I shall claim an effortless victory!

One minute later.

"Wow. You really suck, Master."

"I wasn’t the one playing."

She was eliminated far faster than Sword Matstar.

└ Sword Matstar) Orange Badge-nim?

└ Sword Matstar) Orange Badge-nim, where did you go?

└ Sword Matstar) Surely you didn’t pathetically run away, right?

└ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Quiet down before I ban you!!

└ Sword Matstar) You’re really pathetic haha

It seems she really was embarrassed.