I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 375

After long deliberation, we decided to accept the invitation of the library—or rather, the Mimic.

Since it expressed first that it wouldn’t harm us, it was worth trusting to some extent.

’Even if it stabs us in the back, this means it possesses at least a minimum level of intelligence.’

Other Mimics were filled only with the instinct to devour.

On the other hand, the Library Mimic carried a nuance of wanting to converse first.

Well, since it wasn’t confirmed whether that library was truly a Mimic or not, checking it now would solve it.

"Still, just in case, everyone stay on guard. Lackey, take out the grimoire so you can cast Teleport at any moment."

"Understood."

"Ludwig-ssi and Cain-ssi, try not to dismount from your horses if possible."

[Understood.]

Ludwig didn’t speak aloud, but he nodded.

Even if we received a formal invitation, we were stepping into a monster’s maw.

At the slightest sign of danger, we had to escape immediately, so thorough preparations were made.

"You kids need to listen closely to the adults too, okay? If you wander off, you’re getting scolded big time."

"Kkyuu!"

"Ppiik!"

Lick.

I instructed the little ones firmly. Perhaps because they almost got severely tricked by the Mimic earlier, they understood well.

Cheongseol licked my cheek as if telling me not to worry.

With all preparations complete, I stepped onto the tongue.

Mulkeong—

"...."

Feeling a sensation far worse than expected, I subtly lifted my foot. Squishy upon stepping, sticky upon lifting.

In the end, I walked along the side path rather than the tongue laid out like a red carpet.

Fortunately, it seemed to understand, showing no sign of hurt feelings.

Doldoldoldol—

It merely rolled up its elongated tongue to retract it. Soon, the tongue retreated through the entrance.

Once the tongue was fully inside, I took a cautious step forward.

Teong! Teong! Teong!

The moment I stepped into the library, sounds echoed from above.

It was the sound of ceiling lights turning on. Not being a military bunker, I didn’t expect the noise to be so loud.

"Oh. It’s quite spacious."

"Inside is surprisingly..."

"Quiet."

"...."

At this point, it was definitely intentional. Just how long was he going to keep raising flag phrases?

After giving Lackey a earful, I scanned the library interior.

Overall, it had an ordinary appearance. Meaning it was a library with nothing particularly extraordinary.

’Still, it’s weird. How can it be this clean?’

It was immaculately maintained, with not a single broken spot anywhere.

Considering the outside was entirely wrecked and broken beyond recognition.

Lackey might have raised a death flag, but the pristine condition made it even more suspicious.

’Even if libraries are built sturdy to preserve books... the books themselves shouldn’t be this immaculate.’

I pulled out one of the countless books lined up on the bookshelves.

It was a book written in a very familiar language—English, to be precise. The others were the same.

Given the nearby bunker and this layout, this region was undoubtedly once the United States.

"If I knew this would happen, maybe I should’ve studied English back then."

L Praise the Sun) Is that really the language used by the ancients? Every time I see it, I can’t believe it.

L Starlight Lady) The ancients are practically a race of gods... so shouldn’t it be considered the language of the gods?

L Don’t Abandon the Hero) There were other languages too!

L Smart Demon) There are so many books. This would be a treasure trove for scholars.

Just as Smart Demon said, even a single book here was tantamount to a gold bar for scholars.

For it contained the knowledge of the ancients whom they revered as gods—that is, ancient humanity.

’Then for what reason did that vast population vanish all at once?’

The number of gods appearing in this world’s mythology couldn’t be called large even as a compliment.

The prominent representative gods were those two: Aris and Aragon.

Though there was the ’Chief God’ said to be their parent and creator of this world, his presence was rather faint.

’Other than that, there are only gods representing each race.’

Scanning through the books, I searched for a language familiar to me. Namely, Korean.

Fortunately, finding it wasn’t hard. True to a library, various books existed.

In fact, the author of those books was world-famous, making them even easier to find.

’They really are here—even Nobel Prize in Literature winning works.’

Even these were translated into English, but I gained certainty through the names.

That the gods of this world were indeed the humanity I knew, and that a country called the Republic of Korea distinctly existed.

One might ask if I hadn’t already recognized this through all the evidence so far.

’I wanted to deny it rather than accept it...’Read this novel at n‌ovelping.com for the best experience.

It would have been far better if it weren’t true. It would be easier on my mind to believe I had been dropped into a completely different world.

Because then at least there would be a place to return to. I could hold a firm goal.

But now, it turned out I had arrived in a distant, far-off future. Everything from Earth lost its meaning.

Although my family had vanished in an accident, there were still many things I left behind.

The realization that even those had vanished root and branch made my heart feel restless and heavy.

’There’s... nowhere left to return to.’

It wasn’t that my place of return had disappeared. I had been in the exact same spot all along.

I had merely arrived in a distant future. To be honest, I still couldn’t believe it.

Right before dropping into this forest, I had fallen asleep dead drunk.

What on earth happened in between that hurled me into the far future? I had no idea whatsoever.

[Troubles. You look full of them.]

"?!"

It was while harboring a complicated mind. A bizarre voice echoed from the side.

Like a monster forcing out speech. Instinctively, I drew my weapon.

"You are...?"

How should I properly describe this? A clump of flesh mashed together?

Yet it didn’t feel offensive; rather, it exuded a strong vibe of a sculpted artwork.

What was even funnier was the ’hat’ perched atop what was presumed to be its head.

Wherever it found it, it was wearing a baseball cap. Beyond eerie, it was bizarre.

[No need to be guard. Won’t eat you.]

"...."

[I am library librarian. Alex. Guest is?]

A lump of flesh introducing itself as Alex. I observed the fellow intently.

The lump of flesh wasn’t detached; it was connected to something long.

It didn’t take long to realize that the long connection was a tongue.

"...Grylls. Are you... by any chance a Mimic?"

[Mimic. Monster that deceives opponent with camouflage. Can transform into any form.]

"...."

[Simultaneously highest-grade security system. Parasitizes most important object. Devours all non-masters. Correct, I am.]

"Security system? Other Mimics just tried to devour me though?"

[Radiation exposure. Mutation. Subspecies.]

What a strange way of speaking. His voice, being a monster’s, was peculiar beyond measure.

Realizing there was no point dealing with him alone, I called the rest of the party.

Before long, the companions swarmed over. Everyone had flustered faces upon seeing Alex, the master of the library.

[I have never seen such a Mimic in all my days?]

"Still, he says he’s a Mimic, so let’s trust him for now."

Just in case, I warned the party to prepare so we could flee at any moment.

Meanwhile, the lump of flesh—no, the Mimic—stared intently at Cain.

It had no eyes, but I realized it through the direction the baseball cap’s visor pointed.

[That coffin. Much information. Want to inspect.]

"That’s what he says."

[He cannot be trusted yet, so no.]

[Disappointment.]

Alex drooped slightly as if genuinely disappointed. It was funny, but before that, there was a puzzling point.

"By the way, you can understand my words?"

[One of library’s knowledge. Korean. Script easy to learn. But spoken language hard to master.]

"Uh... right. Moving past that, you were the one who invited us, correct?"

[Correct.]

"Why did you invite us?"

This was the most important question. Why did this lump of flesh invite us?

While there were many other things I wanted to ask, I inquired about the root reason first.

[Intellectual lifeforms. Haven’t met in long time. So glad to see.]

"In a long time? Are you saying someone came before us?"

[There were many. Became rare after nuclear bomb hit. Since then, visited very occasionally.]

"...You somehow survived even getting hit by a nuclear bomb?"

[Library director evacuated me underground. Director died from radiation exposure. I absorbed.]

Hearing that visitors came very occasionally even after the nuclear blast, they seemed to be survivors.

Or people who crawled into the Forest of the Four Seasons. It had to be one of the two.

"Why do you keep staying here?"

[We parasitize inanimate objects. Main body speed very slow. Outside dangerous. Metaphorical expression: outside the bed is dangerous.]

"...."

L Passing Dwarf) Ask him if he uses the Gallery. His speech tone is damn familiar lolol

L Praise the Sun) There really are all kinds of weird things.

L Starlight Lady) Are there any useful books by any chance?This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.

L Necromancy is Love) Quickly give me any book you can spare. I don’t wanna eat shit again.

L Suspiciously...) Why are you eating shit;;

His character concept was truly unique. Unlike Smart Demon, his direction was... weird.

At any rate, it was clear that this fellow was showing interest in us.

Though I couldn’t tell what kind of interest it was, I voiced a question out of anxiety.

"You’re not going to eat us, right?"

[I eat knowledge. Don’t eat humans. Tastes bad.]

"How do you recharge your energy?"

[This land. Has much inherent energy. Sufficient.]

Fortunately, he didn’t seem likely to eat us. What a relief.

Aside from that, however, I needed to know his ultimate objective.

"Setting aside being glad to meet intelligent life, is there something you want from us?"

[None.]

"...For real?"

[For real. I need conversation. Was very bored.]

"Master. This fellow is pitiful."

Did he truly miss someone he could converse with?

Yet earlier, this guy said there were people who visited occasionally.

[White gorilla. Albino. Gorilla cannot speak. But speaks. Fascinating.]

"I was always smart."

[Desire to swiftly analyze brain structure. Please.]

"Get the hell away."

[Disappointment.]

Lackey freaked out at the request to analyze his brain structure.

Alex merely sounded disappointed and didn’t press further.

Looking at this, he seemed like quite a decent fellow, but I still couldn’t be sure.

’His personality seems unexpectedly gentle, but...’

As he mentioned earlier, Mimics devour unauthorized personnel who approach.

Yet Alex went out of his way to extend a direct invitation, demonstrating intelligence far superior to other Mimics.

"You seem to possess extraordinarily high intelligence compared to other Mimics."

[Was not like this originally. Ate knowledge.]

"You ate knowledge?"

[Books here. Ate them all. So am smart.]

It roughly meant he had read all the books in this library.

Expressing it as ’eating knowledge’ was... probably because he was a Mimic?

Hearing that he had read all the books in the library, I opened my mouth.

"Then let me ask a question. It’s a famous American novel about hunting a whale."

[Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.]

"Who started World War II?"

[Complex. Most famous is Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany.]

"...Then was there a World War III too?"

[There was. Country that led it was...]

"Stop."

I cut him off because I didn’t want to know that far. I was already feeling heavy, and hearing that would only make it worse.

Nevertheless, I could realize that his knowledge was remarkably vast.

"Did you really invite us just because you were bored?"

[Conversation is fun. Discussion is also fun.]

"Hmm... then can we take any of the books here?"

[Doesn’t matter. But checkout and return records must be filled out. That is principle.]

So even if the director vanished, principles had to be strictly observed.

Well, this was the same for other libraries, so I had no complaints.

[One more. Must solve quiz.]

"What? Quiz? There’s something like that too?"

[Just made it up. Thought it would be fun.]

"...."

Don’t tell me it was because I asked questions earlier? It seemed to have evolved in a weird direction.

Developing in real-time was surprising enough, but a quiz? Honestly, I wasn’t confident.

"...Hit me with the quiz first."

[Understood. Question regarding quantum mechanics—]

"Don’t ask that. Nobody here knows about that."

[Why not know? Is everyone idiot?]

"...."

Never in my life did I expect to get insulted by a Mimic.