I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 392

Before entering, I inspected various spots around the tunnel.

Covered thick in moss, it looked like an ordinary cave at first glance.

However, my thoughts changed once I realized it was an artificially constructed tunnel.

"A new location should lie beyond this point. The problem is..."

"The problem is?"

"We have absolutely no idea what’s inside?"

Engulfed in pitch darkness, the tunnel exuded every bit of gloominess imaginable.

The darkness was far deeper than when we had entered the Shadow Forest previously.

An ominous aura oozed out creepily; if it were up to my feelings alone, I wouldn’t want to step a foot inside.

’But it’s not like we have anywhere else to go.’

I wanted to explore the surrounding area, but the forest was too dense. Ideally, I wanted to stick to a proper path.

After wrapping up a quick gear check, I pulled out the Light Crystal Orb from my Subspace Backpack.

Pat!

A bright light flared out from the Light Crystal Orb.

Now all that was left was to head inside, but there was something I had to check first.

"Lackey-a. Prepare a fireball and launch it in there."

"Understood."

It was to check what was inside the tunnel, as well as to figure out where it ended.

If the end seemed nowhere in sight, I intended to find another way.

I had no desire to explore a place without an exit out of mere curiosity.

Hwareureuk!

Following my instructions, Lackey created a decently sized ball of fire in his palm.

He then pulled back his long arm and hurled it forcefully.

Hwi-i-i-ing!

The sphere made of fire swiftly zipped through the inside of the tunnel.

As it zoomed past, I could get a rough idea of what lay inside.

Abandoned automobiles. Hummers and trucks likely used by soldiers. On top of those, even armored personnel carriers.

’Abandoning vehicles means things must have been that urgent.’

The vehicles were hardly intact. Most of them were crumpled or half-wrecked.

Even those sturdy trucks had their front ends severely crushed. There were too many suspicious aspects for this to be a simple traffic accident.

"Let’s head inside for now. Stay on high alert just in case."

There was no telling what might be inside. Still, we couldn’t just ignore the tunnel either.

I was curious about what lay at the end of this tunnel, and what kind of environment would unfold before us.

’I wonder if there’s anything useful?’

I inspected the cars that had been neglected for so long that they rusted over. Most were rusted and covered in moss.

While the vehicle targeted by the Mimic had preserved its original shape, these cars were a completely different story.

Kkiiiik!

I yanked open one of the heavily rusted car doors with a sharp creak.

The moment it opened, all sorts of bugs swarmed out, flinching me for a second, but I barely managed to pull myself together.

All that was visible inside were seats and structures whose original forms were unrecognizable.

There was nothing worth taking. The same went for the other vehicles.

’Have even the skeletons completely decomposed?’

Even after searching the interiors of the cars, not a single skeleton was to be seen.

That cult group somehow managed to endure through Necromancy, but that wasn’t the case here.

Military vehicles were no different. The insides were completely empty.

’That’s strange. Firearms aside—since people would carry those on them—how come there isn’t even any ammunition?’

Of course, there was a possibility that the ammo had rusted and degraded just like the cars.

However, with the cars still maintaining their basic frame, the fact that only the items inside had vanished into thin air was suspicious.

Did something so urgent happen that they left only the cars behind, or was there another reason?

’Then again, I’m no archaeologist, so how would I know?’

Even if an archaeologist were here, this would be an exception.

Well, to people from the outside world, even a single one of these cars would boast tremendous value.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Every time I see it, ’tis a mysterious carriage indeed. No, since it is made of iron, should it be called an iron carriage?

ㄴSword Matstar) It’s amazing that a car rusted like that can move without horses.

ㄴStarlight Lady) That motorcycle Mimic from before? That fellow was intriguing too.

ㄴSuspiciously...) That motorcycle thing was pretty cool.

ㄴPraise the Sun) I preferred those sleek-looking cars. I was going to ask for one even if it was scrap metal, but it broke my heart when you smashed it all up.

"You have good taste. Even back where I used to live, only the truly rich drove those."

ㄴPraise the Sun) What can I say, I’ve got great taste haha

Praise the Sun puffed up his chest as I handed him a backhanded compliment.

He seemed pleased by the words that he was wealthy and had good taste.

If I found an intact one later, it wouldn’t be bad to give it to him.

Of course, the chances of that were absurdly low.

"...What’s this? Did someone step on it?"

As we moved deeper inside, even more cars were lined up than before.

They weren’t in normal shapes, but squished flat. Traces of someone stepping over them.

The footprint marks were extraordinarily distinct, clear proof that a gigantic entity had passed through.

It seemed this tunnel wasn’t just a simple tunnel, but someone’s ’cave’.

No matter how rusted the cars were, seeing how easily they were crushed suggested its size was massive.

"Master. It’s blocked here."

"So it seems."

Before long, we reached the end of the tunnel. The problem was that the end of the tunnel had collapsed.

Furthermore, scattered across the ground were skeletons as well as the corpses of beasts.

Judging from the congealed blood, these were signs of recent meals.

"Master. Can we not breach through here?"

"The moment we break through, the whole place will collapse. It’s a miracle that only that section collapsed."The source of this chapter is novеlping.com.

Tunnels are structured so that if one part collapses, the entire thing caves in.

Yet, whatever construction method was used, this tunnel had easily endured for hundreds of years.

Not to mention maintenance was out of the question, and the exit on the opposite side was entirely caved in.

"Let’s go outside for now. We’ll look for another path."

I looked around to see if there was another exit before deciding to head back out.

Since this tunnel wasn’t the only available path, it was better to give up cleanly.

Just as we were about to leave the tunnel without much gain—

Ku-ung! Kung! Kung!

As we reached near the entrance, a heavy tremor rattled the ground.

The moment I felt the tremor, I knitted my brows. I had a rough idea of who was coming.

No doubt it was the master of this tunnel—no, this cave. I immediately readied my gear.

[It appears to be something like an Ogre.]

"An Ogre? Like the one we saw in the Shadow Forest last time?"

[Indeed. Tremors of this magnitude usually indicate a high probability of an Ogre.]

An Ogre. When we fought one back in the Shadow Forest, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

However, we needed to consider that that one had been consumed by shadows.

This was the Forest of the Four Seasons. The likelihood of it undergoing bizarre mutations was extremely high.

’The size of the beasts it preyed on was pretty large too. Besides, beasts that establish a lair usually...’

...reign high on the food chain in most cases. Meaning, it’s strong.

If I were facing it alone, it would be extremely tricky. A moment’s carelessness could get me wiped out instantly.

Ku-ung! Kung!

While we stood tensely near the entrance, the forest off to the side shook violently.

It seemed to be emerging from over there. The tremors were growing increasingly severe.

And then, what emerged from the forest was—

[...?]

"Wh-What on earth is that..."

It was a monster beyond description, looking as if humans had been smashed together into a giant meatball.

All across its meatball-like torso, human faces sprouted out like mushrooms.

At the center of its torso was a vertically torn mouth, and its limbs were abnormally bloated.

The problem was that it didn’t just have one set of limbs. Countless arms sprouted from its shoulders, and the same went for its legs.

Even one of its legs looked as though dozens of smaller legs had been woven together.

Holy fuck, I’ve never seen anything so repulsive in my life. Even chugging a bucket of radiation wouldn’t turn someone into this abominable mess.

"...It’s a Flesh Golem."

"A Flesh Golem?"

[It is a golem formed from the fusion of numerous corpses. Necromancers usually employ them as escorts. However, that thing...]

Cain stared at the Flesh Golem, which tilted its head, before muttering softly under his breath.

[...Judging by the absence of stitch marks, it seems to be a naturally occurring entity.]

"Can a hideous thing like that naturally occur?"

[Nothing is impossible. There might be a core host inside.]

Either way, the fact that it was hideous remained unchanged. I scowled at the Flesh Golem.

It stared blankly at us for a moment before reacting.

Jul-jul-jul-jul—

Drool drooled steadily from the mouth in the center of its torso—that is, its vertically torn mouth.

The already grotesque monster became twice as hideous.

[Ah... Meat! Dealicious meat!]

It could even talk. The faces sprouted like mushrooms were actually articulating words.

Without needing any translation, it clearly viewed us as prey.

I immediately raised my shield and waited for it to attack.

Fighting after learning at least its attack pattern would be...

Kwa-ang!

Before I could even finish that thought, the meatball—no, the Flesh Golem—charged at me.

Its massive body reached right in front of me in an instant. My eyes widened.

’How does a body that huge move at this speed?!’ I thought, but my body moved before my brain could process it.

Chwa-ak!

With the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, I easily severed the giant arm trying to grab me.

No. I was certain I had sliced it off, but it wasn’t. The arm was still attached, perfectly fine.

’What kind of recovery speed is...!’

An abnormal regeneration rate. Is this guy’s body made of Elixirs?

Still, perhaps because its nerves were severed for that split second, it failed to snatch me.

Kwak!

And in that brief window, Bbareumbo tugged hard on the back of my neck.

The moment my body jolted backward, the golem’s massive hand clamped shut empty air.

Had I not moved, I would have been crushed in that burly hand.

Kwa-ang! Kwajik!

The moment the golem’s attack missed, the rest of the group retaliated.

Lackey unleashed a straight punch using his Orichalcum Gauntlets, while Ludwig executed his signature lightning-fast rush.

Lastly, Cain smashed the Flesh Golem’s head using his coffin mace.

[Hurt.]

Kwajijijik!

Contrary to its word claiming it was hurt, the Flesh Golem looked completely fine.

It even sprouted thorns all over its body, effortlessly launching a counterattack.

Fortunately, everyone dodged in time, so no one was injured. This guy was ridiculously troublesome.

"Bbareumbo-ya. You guard the kids."

"..."

I entrusted the protection of the children to Bbareumbo.

Since the golem possessed speed unbecoming of its immense size, Bbareumbo’s protection was essential.

Meanwhile, the Flesh Golem hunched over. A bad feeling washed over me.This chapter was taken from NovelPing without permission.

"Holy Water! Don’t we have Holy Water?!"

"I splashed it! It’s useless!"

"That thing is an undead!!"

"It carries out biological activities, so it is not an undead!"

Not an undead because it carries out biological activities. That was so soundly logical that I had nothing to say back.

While Ludwig and I bickered, a change occurred in the hunched body of the Flesh Golem.

Pu-ak! Pu-ak!

The faces sprouting like mushrooms all over its torso—those faces were tearing themselves out!

Emerging like viscous slime, the faces gradually grew until they reshaped into human forms.

The issue was that these human figures didn’t look normal. They looked like lumpy meatballs, just like the Flesh Golem.

And crucially...

[Errrrr...]

They held ’guns’ in both hands. Looking closely, they resembled soldiers—specifically, US soldiers.

The second I saw the guns, my heart sank, and I raised my shield.

Seogeok!

However, contrary to my worries, Ludwig moved first.

Having suffered from firearms so many times before, he leaped into action the moment he laid eyes on them.

Still, plenty of those ragged flesh abominations remained. Even excluding the ones armed with guns, there was sheer strength in numbers.

[Help...]

[Kill me...]

[Oh. Please...]

Whether they still possessed a shred of sanity or were repeating their dying words—

—the zombie-like creatures approached us while uttering bizarre voices.

Nothing good was bound to happen if we came into contact with those hideous lumps of flesh.

Seogeok! Chwa-ak!

I dispatched the flesh lumps one by one while keeping an eye on the Flesh Golem.

Currently, its attention was fully fixed on Lackey. I deemed this my window of opportunity.

If Holy Water won’t cut it, then we’ll just have to deal with it through raw firepower.

Taking a long step back, I drew my bow and fired directly at it.

Puk!

The flying arrow struck squarely into the golem’s back.

The bastard actually felt pain as it turned around, but it was too late.

Kwagwang!

A massive explosion erupted, scattering chunks of flesh in every direction.

No matter how powerful its regenerative ability was, surviving that level of firepower should be impossible.

Kkumul-kkumul-kkumul!

Yet it was regenerating. I could do nothing but gape in shock.

More than half of its torso had clearly been blown away, yet it stubbornly pieced itself back together. It didn’t even take a single second.

It effortlessly brushed off laws like the Law of Conservation of Mass. Still, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t spotted a weakness at all.

Banjjak!

Because right before it regenerated, I noticed something glowing inside its body.

It was highly likely an Inner Core or a central nucleus. I’d have to pierce through that absurd regeneration and target that spot.

[Hurt!!!]

Kwa-ang! Kwang!

Was the recent burst of firepower the trigger? The monster flew into a fury.

The green monster slammed its two burly arms onto the ground.

Its size expanded even further than before, giving off the feeling that it grew stronger as it grew angrier.

’Did I poke a beehive...’

Kwa-ang!

Just as I sensed that things were spiraling out of control—

Deciding to obliterate the root cause first, the golem charged right at me.

Startled, I tried to leap backward, but I was already too late.

Kwa-ak!

Its arm had already seized my ankle. An immense pressure crushed down on me.

Had I not activated Body-Protecting Gangqi, my bones would have been shattered long ago.

And then, holding my ankle, the monster...

Kwa-ang! Kwang! Kwang!

"Hey! You son of a—ack!"

[Pound! Pound! Pound!!!]

It thrashed me back and forth against the ground like someone shaking out laundry.

And despite being covered in moss, the surface was asphalt, delivering a far-from-negligible impact.

[Dead?]

After pounding me into the asphalt for a good while, the monster peeked down to check on me.

In my dazed, dizzy state, our eyes happened to lock right then.

[No?]

Kwa-ang! Kwang! Kwang!

And with that, it started slamming me against the ground all over again.

Aside from the pain, the motion sickness was making my head spin terribly.

Seogeok!

Fortunately, the thrashing didn’t last much longer. Ludwig, having cleared out the zombies, came to my rescue.

With its arm severed, the golem naturally targeted Ludwig, but Cain did his best to cover for him.

"Master. Are you alright?"

"...No."

Rather than the pain, I was struggling because I felt like throwing up.