I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 394

"Heo-eok... heok..."

I exhaled ragged breaths while resting both hands on the ground. My heart refused to calm down.

It felt like I had peeked into the abyss. That giant just now made absolutely no sense from a common-sense standpoint.

No matter how much mana was a miraculous substance, I had never dreamed it could create such a monstrous lifeform.

I could roughly understand a Flesh Golem, but that Flesh Giant... was completely outside the realm of comprehension.

Judging by how ruined the surrounding environment was, I speculated it had relentlessly absorbed living beings.

’Manatology? What the hell did these bastards do...?’

At first, I thought they were just an ordinary (?) pseudo-religious cult. But that wasn’t it at all.

Their tyranny was severe enough to lead an entire nation to ruin.

Meaning that even if the United States set its mind to controlling them, they somehow smashed through that as well.

’No, wait. There are circumstances pointing to a nuke dropping here too. Did it absorb radiation or something?’

Mana and radiation. A shitshow collaboration beyond mere fantasy—anything was possible.

Not scientifically explainable? I had given up on that long ago.

"...Ludwig-ssi. No, Cain-ssi."

[Speak.]

"Did things like that exist in your era as well, Cain-ssi?"

[Monsters of that size were fairly common. However, even I have never seen a Flesh Golem that massive.]

"Heo..."

Hearing that even the first Paladin was seeing it for the first time left me feeling hollow.

With something like the Mechanical Kraken, I at least felt the urge to fight, but not that thing.

The moment I saw it, disgust welled up and crushed my will to fight.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) What atrociousness, not easily found even in the Gallery.

ㄴSword Matstar) Are those all... people? That’s what it looked like to me...

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Seeing people stuck all over its body made me genuinely pass out;;;

ㄴNecromancy is Love) What a magnificent combination. I would love to meet its creator at least once.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Are you crazy! Saying such terrible things!

ㄴInternal Cultivation Master Robert) It would be horrifying if something like that came outside.

The fixed-handle users were also still in shock. Even Heavenly Demon evaluated it as grotesque.

Panting, I looked back at the tunnel. Right after escaping, I fired an arrow to completely seal the entrance.

If that thing crossed over the mountain, it would be a huge problem... but I just had to pray it wouldn’t.

If I saw signs of it coming over, I planned to stop it somehow.

"...Let’s head back for now. I’ll end today’s exploration here."

Since the shock from earlier hadn’t faded, I decided to end the exploration here.

I could grab lunch while I was at it. At that, Cheongseol tore through space and returned us.

"Phew."

As soon as I returned to the Shelter, I roughly put away my gear and lay on the bed. For the record, I turned off the stream.

Though I had encountered countless monsters up until now, that thing just now was on a whole different level.

The giant crab or crayfish by the lake, or the beast at the Inverted Waterfall were far better.

Because at least those were cases where the Forest of the Four Seasons had caused mutations to turn them giant.

But that Flesh Giant... was hard to even describe.

What on earth could have given birth to such a thing? Was it really just due to mana?

’There’s no way they just left that unattended back then, right?’

Overthinking wouldn’t solve anything. I let out a sigh.

In the worst-case scenario, I might have to subjugate that monster myself.

No. To be precise, subduing even a monster like that would increase the chances of escape.

Shaaaa-

I pulled out an Inner Core from my Subspace Backpack. It was the Inner Core that held the Flesh Golem.

Compared to usual Inner Cores, its color was fine and its size was huge. Absorbing this directly was impossible.

’By the way, is it normal for it to be this big?’

Inner Cores obtained from fish and various beasts were about the size of pills.

But since this one alone was as large as a baseball, I felt doubtful.

I pondered for a bit, washed it squeaky clean with water, and even disinfected it with Elixir.

Since it had been inside a Flesh Golem until moments ago, I handled it extra sensitively.

"Ah~"

Thinking, Can’t I just hold it in my mouth like a Gastrolith?, I opened my mouth wide.

And upon popping the Inner Core into my mouth, I immediately realized what a dumbass move it was.

"Eugeugeuk! Eugeuk!"The source of this chapter is novelp⁠ing.com.

"...Master. What are you doing?"

It got stuck tightly against my teeth. My jaw was stretched open and wouldn’t close.

Seeing that, Lackey asked with an utterly baffled expression.

I barely managed to spit it back out, but feeling needlessly embarrassed, I just cleared my throat.

"Ahem. Ahem. As expected, it’s tough."

"Sometimes Master acts like a beast."

"Shut up."

"Reflect on why I tease Master for acting like a beast."

At Lackey’s scathing assault of facts, I grumbled inwardly.

I didn’t want to act like a beast either. I had role models I aspired to.

Heavenly Demon Yoo So-wol, or Sword Master Ash. I had watched both of their battle scenes through the Gallery.

Yoo So-wol displayed overwhelming power without restraint yet appeared remarkably composed, while Ash impressed me with flashy yet refined techniques.

One might point out that Ludwig and Cain were right by my side, but they each had their own restrictions.

’Maybe I too can become like them someday... nah, probably not.’

I had already half-given up. As someone once said, becoming stupidly, absurdly strong was the best way.

Besides, hadn’t I made up my mind during the Mechanical Kraken incident? To relentlessly build up my physical specs.

The moment that thought struck me, I logged onto the Gallery.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, Starlight Lady-nim. Are you available to chat by any chance?]

[Starlight Lady: Hello! Yes! I’m resting right now, so I’m free to talk.]

Fortunately, it seemed I reached out at a good time.

So I snapped a picture of the Inner Core I obtained earlier and sent it to Starlight Lady.

[Wild Grylls: (Picture of a massive Inner Core)]

[Wild Grylls: I want to absorb this Inner Core, but it’s way too big. I can’t even fit it in my mouth.]

[Starlight Lady: My goodness, how is an Inner Core that huge?]

[Wild Grylls: I guess they aren’t usually this big?]

[Starlight Lady: Usually they are only slightly larger than the fish Inner Cores Grylls-nim catches. That looks more like a Dragon Bead than an Inner Core.]

A Dragon Bead. It was just a figure of speech, not an actual Dragon Bead.

But considering the energy it harbored and its size, calling it a Dragon Bead wouldn’t be far off.

[Wild Grylls: Do you think this can be liquefied through alchemy?]

[Starlight Lady: You mean crafting it into a Spiritual Medicine? It’s not impossible, but since it’s my first time seeing something like this too... the potency might decrease.]

[Wild Grylls: I feel like that’s better than not being able to absorb it at all...]

[Starlight Lady: I disagree. It’s an Inner Core refined for over hundreds of years in the Forest of the Four Seasons. It’s better to find a way to absorb it fully.]

Starlight Lady persuaded me firmly, yet convincingly.

Hearing her words, my mind gradually swayed. It really would be a waste to degrade it like this.

Instead, since absorbing it directly as-is was practically impossible, I needed an alternative method.

[Starlight Lady: There is one way. Do you happen to know how elders brew medicinal herbs?]

[Wild Grylls: I know a Dwarf who brews infused liquor insanely well.]

[Starlight Lady: Try handing over the Empty Sky Stone Milk to him as well and make a request. Since he’s good at making infused liquor, he’ll surely be good at containing energy too.]

[Wild Grylls: Is it okay for an alchemist to say something like that?]

I couldn’t help but ask out of utter absurdity. Asking a dwarf to make infused liquor, of all things?

Of course, the dwarf had crafted all sorts of infused liquors with the ingredients I provided so far.

Didn’t he say he recently made honey wine using World Tree honey as well?

He was even a guy who used Empty Sky Stone Milk as a hangover cure. His brewing skills alone were top-notch.

[Starlight Lady: In fact, since he brews with a pure heart, he might do better. Above all, my knowledge is currently jumbled up, so I feel like I might make a mistake.]

[Wild Grylls: Your knowledge got jumbled up?]

[Starlight Lady: Yes. The divine alchemy knowledge Grylls-nim gave me. That knowledge got tangled up with the knowledge I currently possess. If I mess up, the result won’t be good for either.]

[Wild Grylls: Hmm... if you put it that way.]

How ironic that the book I handed over earlier ended up becoming a poison instead.

Still, I appreciated her honesty. If she took it out of an experimental urge and failed, it would get awkward.

After exchanging thanks with her, I sent a message to the dwarf.

[Wild Grylls: Hey. I got a favor to ask.]

[Passing Dwarf: Woah there. Is that the attitude of someone asking for a favor?]

[Wild Grylls: Did you enjoy the fried chicken?]

[Passing Dwarf: Of course I must fulfill your request.]

Since I had already treated this guy to chicken, asking for a favor was well within my rights.

Of course, separate from giving him chicken, we were already as close as could be, so we were practically just fooling around.New chapters come out on novelping . com first.

[Wild Grylls: It’s nothing much, I just wanted to ask you to make an infused liquor for me.]

[Passing Dwarf: What kind of liquor? Did you get a new ingredient?]

[Wild Grylls: Inner Core liquor. I want to make infused liquor out of the Inner Core I got earlier.]

[Passing Dwarf: Are you out of your mind? Why don’t you sharpen a blade with Mithril while you’re at it?]

Making liquor with an Inner Core seemed absurd even to the dwarf.

But the one feeling absurd here was me. I retorted in a flabbergasted tone.

[Wild Grylls: Says the guy who made infused liquor out of a Mature Mandrake and frickin’ fermented fruit wine out of World Tree fruit?]

[Passing Dwarf: Those at least taste good. Inner Core liquor sounds like it’d taste fucking awful.]

[Wild Grylls: Shut up, I’ll give you Empty Sky Stone Milk too, so just try making it.]

[Passing Dwarf: What’s the reward?]

[Wild Grylls: Anything you want?]

[Passing Dwarf: Requesting a recipe for a drinking snack other than fried chicken.]

[Wild Grylls: ;;;]

A condition so extremely typical of a dwarf made me chuckle dryly.

Still, since it was a proposal as easy as pie, I willingly accepted.

[Wild Grylls: How long does it usually take to make infused liquor?]

[Passing Dwarf: This is just an extraction process to draw out the Inner Core’s energy, so it won’t take long. You can drink it right after it’s made.]

[Wild Grylls: KK]

[Passing Dwarf: But you gotta drink it consistently.]

That much was easy. I immediately handed over the Inner Core and the Empty Sky Stone Milk.

Having solved one issue for now, I prepared lunch.

Though calling it a meal just meant utilizing whatever food was left in the storage.

"Mmm. Today’s food is rather meager."

"When the hell did you get here?"

The moment I cooked, the crow—no, the Three-Legged Crow—showed up.

After a brief moment of feeling baffled by how naturally he took a seat, I gave him some food too.

Telling him that my food warehouse got completely raided by the Mechanical Kraken, he clicked his tongue as a bonus.

"You suffered at the hands of a typhoon-like beast. How tragic."

"You know that guy too?"

"Of course. How could I not know a creature that drags the sea wherever it goes?"

Apparently, the Mechanical Kraken was a pretty famous calamity.

After contemplating briefly, I asked him.

"In that case, do you know about a Flesh Giant among the creatures near here? Looks like a monster woven from all sorts of corpses..."

"I know that abomination well too. Don’t tell me you ran into it?"

"I ran away as soon as I saw it."

"That is fortunate. It is a creature that can even endure a dragon’s breath of fire."

"..."

Just what kind of entity was it to be that strong? I was growing increasingly terrified.

Anyway. Now that I made a satisfying meal with the remaining food, all that was left was rest.

I gained modest results from today’s exploration, and I also needed to look for other routes.

’It’s about time winter comes soon...’

The time had come to temporarily return the jammer.

I used the jammer longer than expected, thanks to Princess Chaenggu sweet-talking her way through.

However, that had its limits too, so the timing to return it had arrived.

’Some strange creature will come, right? It’d be nice if whatever comes isn’t utterly hideous, even if it’s ferocious.’

Since I had built a spire while I was at it, I could just keep watch from there.

Looks like I’ll be very busy for a while. After handing the jammer back to Princess Chaenggu, the next day arrived.

"Keo-eong! Keong!!"

And as soon as morning broke, a wave rushed in.

The very start was a plain, ordinary wolf.

The problem was that the wolf had three heads attached like Cerberus.

"Master."

"What."

"Sorry, but while you don’t have the jammer, survive on your own. For our sake as well."

"..."

I’m the landlord, yet I’m about to get kicked out.