I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 360

Living in the Forest of the Four Seasons for nearly three months taught me one thing.

Namely, that smaller beasts were far more threatening than giant ones.

Sure, there were giant, threatening creatures like the Immortal Herb Colossus, but that was just an exception.

Large beasts were manageable if you used your wits or identified their weaknesses, but small beasts weren’t like that at all.

Of course, there were entities like the Sky Whale that felt completely hopeless to deal with. That should be set aside as an exception.

Even the large ones I mentioned came with the caveat of "fightable."

’Large creatures have strange abilities, but the smaller ones are beyond strange—they’re downright extraordinary.’

Especially if you failed to dodge the attack of a small creature with a unique ability? Your life was in immediate danger.

It’s easy to understand if you recall when that raptor tried to eat the armadillo.

Spikes suddenly sprouted all over its body, slicing the raptor cleanly in half right on the spot.

Thus, smaller beasts were easier to suppress with raw weight and power, but because they also used tricks, it could easily turn into a battle of attrition.

Each of them harbored a secret trump card prepared to die with, making one wrong move potentially fatal.

In particular, if it turned into a battle of martial skill, I was at an overwhelming disadvantage.

’Bbareumbo is a prime example right there.’

The boss gorilla, Bbareumbo, the Spirit Deer, and so on.

They were bizarrely strong creatures that couldn’t even be overwhelmed by raw physical mass.

Well, examining every detail like this led to the single conclusion that every living animal in the Forest of the Four Seasons was dangerous.

Most importantly, just because they were small didn’t mean they were all enemies. There were creatures that offered considerable help through trade.

That was why, despite smacking my lips at the sight of the giant wild boar, I stayed on high alert.

If that thing possessed some special ability, taking it down would be tricky.

"Looks like this is the first time we’ve encountered something that’s just purely strong."

"There are many like this."

Yet, surprisingly, it was extremely easy to deal with. I stared down at the wild boar whose head was crushed.

A size well-suited to the phrase "as huge as a house." It was a fool acting tough based solely on its size, lacking any special abilities.

’Still, glad I caught it right before it could charge.’

I recalled the moment we took down the giant boar. The strategy was simple.

While I held the boar back with brute strength, the others finished it off.

Lackey made the ground slippery with magic, and Ludwig attacked its legs.

Finally, Cain, controlling the Dullahan’s body, smashed its head in with the iron coffin.

Re: Sword Matstar) You took it down quite cleverly. If you give a wild boar room to charge, it gets pretty tough.

Re: Passing Dwarf) Hey. That guy’s huge, can’t you give it to me as a drinking snack? Or I’ll give you a good aging wine, so give me one if you catch another later.

Re: Starlight Lady) Wild boar meat is known to be quite tough.

Re: Grow Tall and Strong) Wild boars dig up our fields every time we farm, which is a pain, but over there must be even worse.

Re: Internal Cultivation Master Robert) A wild boar. I’d like to try catching one myself someday.

I had turned on the live video stream in advance. Thanks to that, everyone watched me subjugate the wild boar.

All that was left was butchering this boar. But its size was so massive that it was troublesome.

’Carrying it as-is is way too heavy. Plus, we have to finish our exploration.’

Transporting the boar using Cheongseol’s teleportation ability would be easy.

However, there was a limit to the number of teleports. If we returned now, we’d have to end the exploration.

After pondering, an idea came to mind. Before trying it, I asked a question.

"It’s hard to move like this, so wouldn’t it be fine if we froze it with ice magic?"

Re: Starlight Lady) If it’s frozen solid, it should be fine.

Re: Smart Demon) Ideally, butchering it immediately would be best, but if circumstances don’t allow it, there’s no choice.

Re: Passing Dwarf) Don’t you have plenty of Subspace Backpacks? Why not just shove it in there?

Re: Necromancy is Love) Subspace Backpacks are not all-powerful.

Even with a Subspace Backpack, moving something of that scale was impossible.

It wasn’t like "fitting an elephant into a refrigerator"—I doubted if it was even possible.

Unless properly butchered and packed, freezing it solid was the best course of action right now.

’If I drain its blood, other beasts might catch the scent and come running.’

Jjeojeojeok! Jjeojeok!

I used cold energy to freeze the boar rock-solid.

Because it was huge, freezing it completely took quite a bit of time.

Lackey helped out here and there, making it much easier.

"Ggyuuu?!"

"Oh dear. Wonmo."

The problem was Wonmo’s appetite. He couldn’t resist and tried to gouge out pieces of the boar right then and there.

Wonmo almost got frozen rock-solid too, but I managed to pull him away just in time.

"Alright. That should do for now. We can come back before it thaws, right?"

"Can’t we just call off today’s exploration here?"

"No way. We need to explore at least until lunchtime."

It had been too long since we last explored. So we needed to push forward further.

Ignoring Lackey’s grumbling, I kept walking. The forest gradually grew denser.

It was so lush and dense that despite being morning, light barely penetrated through.

"What’s with this place? Light really isn’t coming through."

"Master. It’s pitch black."

No, in fact, because light couldn’t penetrate, it was dark as night.

Still, it wasn’t to the point where you couldn’t make out what was ahead. It was just a phenomenon caused by the dense foliage.

Re: Princess Chaenggu) It almost feels like the forest is absorbing the light.

Re: Starlight Lady) Is it simply due to the sheer number of trees, or do the trees here absorb light in a different manner?

Re: King Reor) Come to think of it, didn’t you say you lost your Light Crystal Orb?

"Yeah. I lost it last time."Follow the newest chapters on NovelPing.

Saying so, King Reor offered to give me another one, asking for a bit of Orichalcum in return.

From my perspective, there was no reason to refuse. I happened to need one right now.

Shortly after receiving the Light Crystal Orb, I tapped it a few times to activate it.

Or rather, I tried to activate it. Only then did I realize something late.

"Ah, right. Lackey. Can’t you cast Light magic too?"

"I can."

"Then why haven’t you been using it?"

"Because Master was taking care of it."

"..."

Apparently, since he only moved on my orders, he turned out like that.

Still, since he assumed a proactive stance during combat, I decided to let it slide.

Beonjjeok!

As the bright light turned on, we could at least discern what was ahead.

Honestly, using the Eye Lantern would have been fine, but its range was too narrow.

Furthermore, since I was live streaming, it placed a heavy burden on my eyes.

"This should do. Let’s move forward. Watch your step just in case."

I advised the party and continued walking. Naturally, I stayed fully armed just to be safe.

Beyond gearing up, I even draped myself in Body-Protecting Gangqi. I needed to prepare for any contingency.

’What kind of creatures inhabit this area?’

It was practically no different from entering a brand-new region.

Except for the fact that it was a forest, I had zero idea what flora and fauna lived here.

Perhaps there was a creature ruling or managing this territory like the boss gorilla.

’If it’s a guy like that, Bbareumbo will handle it somehow, but...’

As I’ve said repeatedly, relying on Bbareumbo wasn’t good.

Moreover, creatures that even Bbareumbo struggled to handle occasionally appeared.

I carved trail markers along the way so we wouldn’t lose our path as we moved forward.

Shaaaa—

Was it because the forest was so eerie? I didn’t know why, but it kept growing colder.

Even if I wanted to ignore this chill, I couldn’t. Above all, the current season was summer.

No matter how dark the forest was, for it to be completely un-humid and chillingly cold?

Unless I had unknowingly crossed into an entirely different zone, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

’I feel like I’m being haunted by a ghost or something.’

Feeling that way, I briefly halted my steps. I had something to ask Ludwig.

It was at that moment, when I turned my head to look at Ludwig.

Seueuk—

"...Huh?"

"What is the matter?"

Ludwig expressed confusion at my reaction. Instead of answering, I furrowed my brow.

The instant I turned my head, I felt like something had ’moved’.

I didn’t realize what it was at first. So I turned my head back forward.

Seueueuk—

Again. Something on the ground moved.

The other party members hadn’t noticed, but I felt it clearly.

"...Ludwig-ssi."

"Speak."

"When you shine a light in a dark place, there’s always a shadow, right?"

"Is that not obvious?"

Right. Ludwig was correct.

Light and shadow are practically one body. As long as there’s even a faint light, a shadow follows.

However, it doesn’t always follow ’identically’. If the light is stationary, the position of the shadow remains fixed.

"Look at this. It’s not the light moving, but every time I move my body, the shadow creeps closer."

But what I just witnessed was not like that.

How should I put it? It was as if every time I turned my body, the shadow positioned itself right behind me.

It felt as though the shadow was alive, creeping up behind me continuously.

As if waiting to devour me the moment I let my guard down.

"!!!"

As soon as Ludwig understood the meaning of my words, his eyes opened wide.

Without hesitation, he drew his Mythricon sword, enveloped it in aura, and took action.

Kwaak!

By stabbing his sword straight into his own shadow.

[Kgieeeeek!!!]

The moment Ludwig thrust his sword into the shadow, a horrific shriek erupted.

A shriek so ear-splitting that it induced dizziness.

The problem wasn’t the shriek.

Chwareureuk!

As if deciding there was no longer any point in hiding now that its existence was exposed.

Tentacle-like appendages spouted out from the shadow and lashed out at me.

Ting!

Of course, it wasn’t enough to pierce my Body-Protecting Gangqi. But the monster was clever.

Unable to pierce through, it tightly wrapped around my neck to strangle me instead.

However, the initiative had shifted to my side. I immediately counterattacked.Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.

Seogeok!

After severing the shadow tentacle throttling my neck, I stabbed down into the shadow just as Ludwig had done.

But the creature was smart. As soon as I thrust down, it cunningly moved its shadow.

Naturally, my blade struck only empty ground.

Ggwaaak!

"Kugh...!"

Countless tentacles burst out from the shadow, tightly coiling around my body.

Its strength was stronger than expected, but completely bearable.

’Since it’s a shadow, ice magic probably won’t work on it either...’

I rolled my eyes to check the status of the rest of the group.

Unlike Ludwig, who had quickly dispelled his shadow, the others were struggling.

Lackey in particular was right on the verge of being completely overwhelmed by his shadow, but luckily Ludwig stepped up first to free him.

Cain... was surprisingly unaffected. It seemed because his entity was closer to an undead, he was fine.

"Cain-ssi!"

[I shall rescue you!]

Seogeok! Seogeok!

And so, subjugating the shadows was accomplished easily. As Cain swung his blade, my body regained its freedom.

[The monster can only move within darkness! It has no choice but to remain trapped in shadows!]

Cain even taught us a clear strategy for defeating them.

I had briefly thought about turning off the Light Crystal Orb just in case, but immediately dropped the idea.

Blanketing our surroundings in darkness—which meant shadows—right now would be suicide.

Kwaak!

[Kgiaaaaak!]

Before long, we were able to completely exterminate all the monsters parasitizing our shadows.

Having almost been strangled to death, I stroked my neck. It was a mere shadow, yet possessed tremendous strength.

"Phew... What on earth are these things?"

"Shadow Wraiths. They are undead."

"Do these exist outside the forest as well?"

"They do not parasitize shadows outside. Originally, they possess a physical form."

"Mmm..."

True to the Forest of the Four Seasons, they seemed to have acquired bizarre mutated abilities.

Letting out a low hum, I checked my shadow, which had returned to normal.

Fortunately, this time, even when I turned my body, it stayed right where it belonged.

"We’ll have to watch our shadows carefully moving forward. There’s no telling when they might attach themselves again."

"#$%%%% ##%#@% @#%."

[As long as there is light, they are not difficult foes. The problem lies in their ability to hide within shadows.]

Ludwig replied in the language of the Holy Kingdom, as long sentences still seemed difficult for him.

Still, being able to communicate simply was extremely convenient.

’By the way, considering undead popped out right from the start...’

There was a high probability that this Black Forest was crawling with undead. I’d better hope Ludwig puts on a stellar performance.

If it looked dangerous, I planned to retreat back to camp immediately.

"Chirp chirp!"

"Huh?"

Just as we were regrouping, I heard the sound of a bird.

Turning my head, a pure white crow-tit, completely out of place in this Black Forest, flew toward me.

To be more accurate, its beak was longer than a typical crow-tit’s, giving it an appearance like a hybrid with a duck.

On the surface, it looked dainty and cute. Which made it feel all the more eerie.

’A tiny bird like this in a place like this? And pure white?’

Holding that thought, I stayed on high alert. I could never lower my guard.

Regardless, the little white bird flew round and round in circles around me.

Kok-kok! Kok!

"Ah. Ah-ah. Is this little feathered bastard...?"

Let me rephrase. It was pecking at me with its beak as it flew around.

Annoyed, I waved my shield lazily.

Tuk!

Then, the little bird got swiped by my carelessly waved shield.

"Jjoeaek!!!"

It made a cute sound as if enraged, and then—

[Jjieeeeeeaek!!!]

Jjwaaaaaak!

Its tiny beak—no, its entire head—split open wide like a lotus flower.

The beak was just a decoration; its head itself was the real ’mouth.’

Even though its head was clearly tiny, when it opened its maw, it was giant enough to cover my entire face.

"...Oh. Fu-u-uck."

What a truly gruesome sight. The Immortal Herb Colossus was miles better than this.

At least that was closer to a plant. But this was an animal, making it infinitely more grotesque.

[Kuwak! Kuwak! Kuwak! Kuwak!]

"Ge-get this fucking thing off of me!!!"

Every single bird inhabiting the Forest of the Four Seasons was terrifying.