I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 374

Sometimes, people harbored doubts.

Why did people get caught when Mimics were sitting in places that were blatantly ’suspicious’?

Couldn’t they just suppress their curiosity and ignore or pass right by them?

I, too, when first exposed to countless fantasy media, wondered why anyone fell for them.

Even if a rare item was inside a Mimic, the risk was far too severe.

But actually falling for it myself, I could understand their mindset. You couldn’t just walk past it.

It sat in a place so blatantly out of context that it sparked curiosity, and after conducting every kind of check, I finally touched it.

On top of that, this claw machine Mimic took it a step further by actually ’functioning’, making it a setup impossible not to fall for.

"Haaah... haaah..."

"Kkeeeek..."

I stared down at the claw machine Mimic lying defeated, its giant tongue lashing out inertly.

Because I had struggled so wildly to break free from that thing, ragged gasps continuously escaped my lips.

’No wonder I snagged a plushie on the first try...’

There was no claw machine in the world where you could win on the very first attempt.

They were famous as cash-draining scams to begin with; could anyone really get a prize in one go?

Moreover, the claw had moved even though I hadn’t inserted a single coin.

It had practically laid out every possible foreshadowing saying ’I am a trap’, but curiosity made me ignore all of it.

’So this is why people fall for Mimics.’

The Mimic’s actual combat ability wasn’t that high.

While the Mimic that appeared back in the Orichalcum Cave had limbs attached, this one was relatively ordinary.

Furthermore, I had companions now. Even though my head got bitten, my allies dealt with it swiftly.

"Master."

"I’m fine. But..."

"No. Not that. Let’s take that plushie."

"...."

So this gorilla bastard wasn’t worrying about me at all? I stared at Lackey with an utterly dumbfounded expression.

But it wasn’t just Lackey; the rest of the party was the exact same.

Whether my head was being chewed on by a Mimic or not, they were pulling out plushies.

The little ones went a step further, already playing around with the plushies.

"...Not a single person worries about me."

L Sword Matstar) Don’t worry. We weren’t particularly worried either.

L Starlight Lady) How tough is your body if you can survive getting your head chewed on by a Mimic?

L Passing Dwarf) It’s not like this is the first or second time, so everyone’s just letting it slide lol

L Smart Demon) I believe the teeth of a Camouflage Beast are extremely hard, though...

L Praise the Sun) Wait, isn’t that Mimic’s teeth broken? Were they broken originally?

L Suspiciously...) A true warrior must escape on their own even if eaten by a Mimic.

L King Reor) That thing broke its teeth trying to bite down on him;;

In an atmosphere where no one offered encouragement, I grumbled internally.

Still, since we took down the Mimic, I had to inspect it. I checked the plushies inside first.

’The plushies are nothing special... wait, no. Why is THIS here?’

There were several plushies of world-famous characters from Earth. Including a mouse plushie famed as the tyrant of copyright.

Aside from that, there was a plushie that looked like it lived deep under the sea, a harp seal plushie, and so forth.

It held plushies that were intimately familiar to my eyes. Where on earth did it get these?

"Kkyuuuu~"

Wonmo clung dangling onto the harp seal plushie. He seemed to love its fluffy texture.

The other kids were no different. Each picked out their favorite plushies.

L Starlight Lady) Could I perhaps get one too...? That seal is so cute...

L Princess Chaenggu) Me too please...!

"Hold on a moment."

I could spare one or two. However, the harp seal plushie belonged to Wonmo.

Still, when I said I would give them others, everyone cheered. As I attempted to initiate the trade—

[Living organisms cannot be traded.]

"...?"

At the prompt that suddenly popped up, I couldn’t help but be bewildered.

But my confusion lasted only a second; every hair on my body stood on end.

These weren’t ordinary plushies. Goosebumps erupted, and on instinct, I hurled the plushie far away.

The same went for the other plushies. I punted them away or snatched them right out of the kids’ hands.

"Kkyuuuk?!"

"Wonmo! This isn’t the time to be stubborn! Hurry and let go of—...!"

"Kuaaaak!"

Just as everyone was bewildered by my bizarre behavior, a transformation occurred in the harp seal plushie Wonmo was hugging.

Just like how the claw machine flap opened earlier, the belly of the plushie split wide open.

The split maw was so huge it could swallow Wonmo in a single bite.

Kwajik!

Fortunately, before that could happen, I thrust my sword into it first.

The Mimic pretending to be a harp seal quivered violently before slumping limp. It was dead.

"Kkiaaaak!"

"Keeeeek!"

Realizing they were exposed, the other plushies—no, Mimics—revealed their true nature.

Merged with plushies, each paraded its own grotesque form.

"All those plushies are Mimics! Lackey! Burn them with fire!"

"Understood!"

Even though they showed their true colors, Mimics inherently possessed low combat capabilities.

On top of that, these guys lacked limbs, making them easy to deal with.

Tadadak! Tadak!This chapter is updated first at NovelPing.

A moment later, after burning all the plushies to ashes, the belated battle came to an end.

Gasping for breath, I watched the pile of plushies burning fiercely in the flames.

Thank goodness I noticed while trying to trade them; if I had just carried them along, disaster would have struck.

’If there’s anything suspicious, I should try trading it first.’

Even if it wasn’t a Mimic, it could be another monster disguised as an object.

There were quite a few monsters in this world that transformed like Mimics.

Finishing the cleanup, I looked around the area.

Nothing but desolate ruins met the eye, yet traces of a city remained scattered throughout.

Most were collapsed and shattered beyond recognition, making it impossible to tell what kind of city it had been.

’Given that Mimics are sitting right out in the open, there’s a high chance something else is around here too...’

Mimics were monsters capable of surviving long periods without consuming energy.

What’s more, there were countless varieties, and some bastards even performed photosynthesis.

These Mimics might also be a species that derived energy through photosynthesis.

"If we see anything weird from now on, don’t touch it and let’s check it thoroughly first."

"Master was the one who touched it first."

"Be quiet."

Snapping at Lackey, I began examining the ruins.

Because the buildings had all collapsed, there wasn’t much worth finding.

’Still, traces of the roads remain.’

I swept my palm across the concrete ground.

Seeing faint lines drawn upon it, it seemed to be a road.

Flanking both sides of this road, numerous buildings must have once stood.

Though everything was now collapsed, I gradually grasped the layout.

Seuk-seuk— seuk—

I sketched the roughly mapped layout into my notebook. With this, I could get a rough idea of the city’s outline.

Thanks to the traces of the roads being relatively distinct, it was quite convenient.

’Over here, the road splits four ways.’

This was all I could figure out. Everything else was complete ruin.

Even entering buildings that looked relatively intact yielded nothing to find.

"Master! There is an underground burrow here!"

"What?"

Then Lackey found something. I rushed over immediately.

Rather than a burrow, it was an entrance leading underground. Blocked by a thick iron plate, it looked like a shelter or a storage cellar.

Kung-kung! Kung!

Just in case, I tapped it a few times with my fist and listened for sounds, checking meticulously.

After finishing all checks, I pried open the heavy iron door with all my strength.

Cheucheucheucheuk—

The moment it opened, insects lurking inside poured out in swarms.

Having already grown accustomed to bugs, I merely flinched without making a fuss.

"Slurp. Slurp. Slurp."

"Cheongseol-ah. That’s gross, gross."

Seeing Cheongseol eating the bugs with her long tongue, I barely managed to stop her.

Having forced it open, the pitch-black basement stood revealed.

It was so dark that nothing could be seen, but I had the Light Crystal Orb.

Pat!

Relying on the light emanating from the crystal orb, I stepped inside.

Perhaps because it had been abandoned for so long, a musty odor rather than a foul stench filled the air.

Ventilation seemed surprisingly decent, as there was no suffocating sensation.

"Master. That..."

"I see it too."

The basement was a shelter. The skeletons scattered inside proved it.

There were four skeletons in total. Probably a single family.

Wondering if there were other traces, I searched thoroughly.

However, perhaps because far too much time had passed, most items were destroyed or worn away to nothing.

’Seeing that an entire family evacuated underground...’

It was one of two things: either a horrifying catastrophe broke out, or a war erupted.

Among wars, a nuclear war held the highest probability.

Hadn’t the ancient ruins discovered previously spoken in a similar nuance?

They even had tactical nuclear warheads in their armory, so that said everything.

"Hm?"

Just then, I spotted a single book lying on the floor.

While the ancient ruin relied on video recordings, this family seemed to have kept a book.

Such minor records were exceedingly crucial. I carefully picked up the book.

Pasuseuseu—

"Ah."

But perhaps it was far too old; the moment I grasped it, it crumbled away like sand.

Books were notoriously difficult to preserve over long spans. This was only normal.

Regrettable as it was, this book had reached the end of its lifespan; collecting it was meaningless.

"Tsk. What a shame."

Regrettable, but nothing could be done. Clicking my tongue, I scanned the rest of the room.

A rusty, worn-out radio. A tattered, frayed bag. A spent gas mask whose lifespan had long expired. And...

"Master. What is this?"

"That’s plastic. This stuff survived all the way to the end."

Surprisingly, various plastic items retained their original shapes.Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.

Plastic took hundreds of years to decompose even buried under soil.

Still, there was no reason to carry it along. It had no practical use.

"Dwarf. This is a machine, so I’ll give it to you."

L Passing Dwarf) What’s this?

"An object that replaced relay magic entirely with machinery? Except it doesn’t output video, only audio."

L Passing Dwarf) Not interested.

L Princess Chaenggu) Could you give it to me please? Ancient relay magic sounds so intriguing!

"Sure, well..."

I handed the dead radio over to Princess Chaenggu. I didn’t know if she could analyze it properly.

After searching every corner of the basement, I stepped back outside.

The rest of the group emerged from the basement one by one.

"There might be other basements. Let’s look around some more."

Indeed, every location presumed to be a house had a basement. Most were shelters.

Some had skeletons, others had none. They varied greatly.

Yet despite searching like this, there was barely anything to gain.

"What’s this?"

"It’s a kick scooter."

Occasionally, bicycles, kick scooters, or even cars popped up.

All sorts of things showed up, but they weren’t particularly useful.

Why was there a car?

"Kyaaaak!"

"Woah, shit. Is that a Lambor*ni Mimic?"

It was a Mimic. Having a car underground was comical enough, but even that was a Mimic.

Given how unusually spacious the underground shelter was, the owner must have been rich.

Well, wealth meant nothing in the face of food shortages, leaving only skeletons behind.

At any rate, after slaying the car Mimic, we steadily explored the city.

"This is also similar to that car from earlier."

"This is a bus."

The deeper we ventured inside, the clearer the traces became.

Among them were buses, and there were even tanks.

From the looks of it, this region had been a full-blown warzone.

Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!

"Kuaaaak!"

"M-Master! Something weird is coming over there!"

"Is that a Mimic... too?"

The problem was that the area was crawling with Mimics. Moreover, unlike the earlier ones, these had limbs.

The absolute highlight was the fellow disguised as a bus. Crawling over with arms and legs sticking out of both sides of the bus, it was beyond grotesque.

Still, despite its massive size, knocking it down wasn’t difficult.

Sslip!

"Kuek?!"

Lackey made the floor slippery, so it ended up tripping all on its own.

It looked terrifying on the outside, but the Mimic’s actual combat prowess was abysmal.

’Why is it a Mimic infestation everywhere? They aren’t hermit crabs.’

Hermit crabs would have been far better. Grumbling, I pushed forward.

Continuing straight ahead, we came across a truly astonishing structure.

"Is that... a library?"

A structure that looked like a library welcomed us.

This alone was suspicious enough, but—

Kkiiik—

As if welcoming us, the door opened all on its own.

"Master. What shall we do?"

"Hmm..."

After pondering, I reached a conclusion.

"Let’s ignore it."

I felt uneasy as it was, so why go out of our way to step inside?

The rest of the party seemed to share the same thought, so ignoring it became our consensus.

However, the library’s master seemed to have a different opinion.

Was it upset that its invitation was ignored after going through the trouble of extending it?

Chrareureuk!

A massive tongue shot out from the newly opened entrance.

We immediately assumed battle stances, but...

Tuk— degureureu—

The tongue laid itself out flat across the floor, resembling a ’red carpet’.

Begging us not to leave. Saying it was rude to ignore an invitation extended like this.

It had the posture of pleading with us to please enter, promising not to eat us.

"...."

"...Master."

"Speak."

"It seems it would be hurt if we ignored it."

I was genuinely conflicted. Was accepting this invitation really the right thing to do?

It didn’t particularly feel dangerous, and since the other party extended a polite invitation, ignoring it felt a bit much.

Guk-guk—

"Ppiik? Ppik?"

"Tyranno-yah. You shouldn’t knead that like a cat."

However, whatever else might be said, rolling out a tongue like a red carpet was hideous.