I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 398

To say that having my sense of direction completely reversed was unpleasant would be an understatement.

It was on a completely different level from the typical debuffs you see in games. At least with those, you could adjust through ’thinking.’

But right now, my actual ’senses’ were so fried that thinking didn’t really mean much.

It was like my body was my own, yet I couldn’t move it. What was even more shocking was the sound.

At first, only my sense of touch felt off, but now, even my hearing was reversed.

Even though the dinosaur-riding Ogre was right in front of me, the beastly growls sounded like they were coming from behind.

It meant I was gradually losing my mind. I was terrified that my vision might be the next to flip.

’The absolute worst-case scenario is if this state never cures itself...’

Since it was a hallucination—meaning it directly affected my brain function—I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Even the antidote had only delayed the effects; it hadn’t provided a proper recovery.

’It feels like having a mouth but being unable to scream.’

Clinging to that thought, I somehow managed to back away.

The dinosaur-riding Ogre just stared blankly at me, hesitant to make a move.

But that only lasted a moment. The dinosaur flared its nostrils and locked its eyes straight onto me.

Jul-jul-jul—

Along with that, saliva was dripping heavily from its mouth. Anyone could see it was salivating at the prospect of a meal.

Its master, the Ogre, was no different. As if he had finally found something delicious to eat, his already ugly face contorted into an even uglier expression.

I cursed inwardly and turned my head back.

Let me correct myself. I turned it forward to look at Cain.

"...What are you doing?"

"..."

Before I knew it, Bbareumbo had climbed onto Cain’s neck. It seemed he had found himself a new mount.

It was absurd, but considering my own state was a total mess, I could understand.

"Keuaaaa!"

Meanwhile, the dinosaur charged forward, opening its massive maw wide.

The battle had begun in earnest. I gritted my teeth and tried to move backward.

The problem was that due to the confusion symptom, my body lunged forward instead. I tried to correct myself in a panic, but it was already too late.

My face was already inside the dinosaur’s maw. I hurriedly ramped up the intensity of my Body-Protecting Gangqi.

Kwaak!

Fortunately, I didn’t end up getting bitten by the dinosaur’s giant jaws.

Just before it clamped down, someone grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and pulled me back.

[Are you alright?]

"Yes. Thanks to you."

[It seems that flower is making it difficult for you to fight properly. I shall step in.]

That seemed for the best. I nodded.

If I tried to force myself to fight, I would only get in the way, which was worse than doing nothing at all.

I decided to watch Cain’s fight as I stumbled backward.

"Keuwoooo!"

"Keuaaaaa!"

The clash between the Dullahan and the Ogre Rider was truly a spectacle to behold.

Cain swung his coffin like a flail, bung-bung, while the Ogre lightly deflected his blows.

Their respective mounts also moved their legs furiously, determined not to yield the upper hand.

’Though that horse is practically being moved by Cain alone.’

More importantly, calming down this confusion symptom was my top priority.

I forced my body, which felt exceptionally stiff, to move.

Then, I pulled out an Elixir from my medicine-only backpack.

Deol-deol-deol-deol—

My hands shook so violently I looked like a dying man. I almost dropped the Elixir.

Fortunately, without dropping it, I barely managed to guide the Elixir into my mouth.

’Even if your body is fine, you’re in deep trouble if your mind is compromised. If I had known this would happen, I would have brought some Empty Sky Stone Milk with me.’

At times like this, the Empty Sky Stone Milk naturally came to mind. A miracle drug capable of cleanly curing even dementia.

My judgment that an antidote would suffice was foolish. There was still so much I didn’t know about the Forest of the Four Seasons.

’Just in case, I should ask Asella.’

I had been consistently providing Asella with Empty Sky Stone Milk. I planned to ask her to return any leftovers she might have.

But my thoughts were cut short as Cain, who had been trading blows, came flying toward me.

It seemed he had been struck by the Ogre’s big, beautiful club.

Kkwang!

"Keueok?!"

[Oh dear.]

My body refused to move, completely contrary to my thought that I needed to dodge.

In that split second, I had no choice but to be crushed underneath Cain.

It was a relief I had enveloped myself in Body-Protecting Gangqi; otherwise, my bones would have shattered.

"Ugh... W-what was that? Don’t tell me you lost?"

[It is not that. Look over there.]

Cain replied as he quickly scrambled off me. Rubbing my aching spots, I looked ahead.

The Ogre was still mounted on the dinosaur. On the other hand, Cain’s horse was fighting all on its own.Follow the newest chapters on n⁠ovelping.com.

It meant Cain had lost the clash between the riders, which frankly felt hard to believe.

Not only was the coffin Cain swung formidable, but his sword also boasted incredibly high performance.

’But why... Huh?’

Just when I couldn’t figure out the reason, the club the Ogre was swinging caught my eye.

A blue energy was shimmering around it. Squinting my eyes in disbelief, it became even clearer.

It was aura. Moreover, it was starting to take shape here and there, a stage just prior to an Aura Blade.

No wonder they weren’t traveling separately but together. This guy was exceptionally strong.

[He is an individual far stronger than those Hobgoblins. It seems fighting him alone will be difficult.]

"You’re the legendary first Paladin, and you can’t beat him?"

[Can you beat a bear to death with your bare hands without any mana?]

Humanity—that is, humans—are so weak without mana that they would lose even to a large dog.

They only rose to the top of the food chain through superior intelligence, reason, and discernment.

Furthermore, without excellent tools, it is hard to secure victory. But Cain possessed such a tool.

"Try using the frost contained in the chains. If you can just bind him with that, you can subdue him."

[Ah! There was such a method! Thank you.]

"..."

I tilted my head, wondering how the legendary first Paladin hadn’t even thought to try that.

Still, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. Cain was closer to an AI than a living creature.

Even if his learning ability was outstanding, he would still have many shortcomings compared to humanity.

’I need to quickly ask Asella.’

As Cain plunged back into battle, I gained a brief moment of breathing room. I immediately accessed the Gallery.

ㄴ#$: #$%%#?

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ㄴ##$$: #%$%%# %%#@^

ㄴ#$$%: @#$$ $%%$#$!

"What the..."

The moment I logged into the Gallery, I couldn’t help but panic.

Although I could connect, I couldn’t read a single character.

Everything was blurry, as if covered in static, making it virtually impossible to decipher.

’No matter how I look at it, it’s because of that flower. The pollen must have dealt a severe blow to my brain.’

’My eyes are perfectly fine, though? What on earth is this?’

Perhaps this was happening because my senses had been scrambled.

After all, mana and senses were deeply intertwined. And the Gallery was operated using mana.

It meant I couldn’t look for help. It was a completely unexpected situation, leaving me utterly flustered.

Kkwang!

[Keu-euk! My friend! Can you still not move!]

Just as I was frozen in panic, unable to take any action, Cain called out to me for help.

I hurriedly closed the Gallery and looked at Cain.

The Ogre’s Aura Blade had become even more distinct than before.

Because of this, Cain was busy just defending. It wasn’t that he was a poor fighter.

’Just how massive is that bastard’s weight class?’

It was just that the Ogre’s physical size and skill level were absurdly high.

Cain was only holding out because he was capable of regeneration; any other living creature would have died long ago.

’It’s not that the Dullahan’s true body is weak. It’s just...’

Mana. Because of a single thing—mana—Cain was being pushed back helplessly.

If one knew how to use an Aura Blade, they could easily instakill most monsters.

Wasn’t I the living proof of that? If Cain could use mana, he would have won easily.

"Keuaaaa!"

Kwajik!

The dinosaur bit off the horse’s head. Of course, since it wasn’t a living creature, there was no actual damage.

However, the dinosaur’s bite force was not to be underestimated. A sharp udeuk! sound rang out clearly.

Even the battle between the mounts was disadvantageous. But it wasn’t as if the rider had the upper hand either.

Kkwang!

As the Ogre swung his club, Cain hastily blocked it with his coffin.

Since the coffin was incredibly sturdy, it didn’t break. However, his body was pushed backward.

With the Ogre’s natural physical size combined with mana, a highly disadvantageous battle continued.

If only he could summon wraiths, but he no longer possessed that ability.

’And Bbareumbo won’t help unless it’s an absolute life-or-death crisis...’

Even if Cain’s body was broken or destroyed, it would quickly recover.

As long as the stone statue inside the coffin wasn’t directly damaged, he was practically a perpetual motion machine.

He was only being pushed back due to mana; if it turned into a war of attrition, our side would have the advantage.

’But the longer this drags on, the more other Hunters will arrive.’

This was the biggest problem. Would I recover first, or would other Hunters arrive first?

I judged that the latter would be much faster. After all, even this Ogre had come here to devour me.This story is hosted at n​ovelping.com.

’What Cain lacks is mana. Since he’s being pushed back because of mana...’

Should I infuse the Sword of the Heavenly Demon with mana and give it to him? That was impossible.

Unless mana was continuously supplied, it would rapidly dissipate.

In the end, we needed a weapon that could steadily maintain its form without dissipating.

’That’s just a lightsaber.’

If we had one of those, I wouldn’t be worrying about this. Even the Mythricon sword required the user’s mana.

That left only one option. Clenching the Sword of the Heavenly Demon tightly with both hands, I spoke.

"Cain-ssi! You just need a sword imbued with mana, right!"

[Of course! It is just difficult to pierce this fellow’s defense!]

"Then wield me!"

[...What?]

Kkwang!

Cain hesitated for a moment at my words. Consequently, he took a direct hit from the club and went flying spectacularly.

Fortunately, he managed to regain his balance mid-air and avoided crashing into a tree.

He had been unhorsed once again, but that was closer to a moment of carelessness.

[What did you just say? Use you as a weapon?]

"Yes. I’ll envelop myself in Body-Protecting Gangqi and continuously channel aura into the sword."

[Do you realize how absolutely insane that is?]

He was so dumbfounded that he even resorted to harsh language. But I was dead serious.

With no way of knowing when other Hunters might appear, dragging out the time was a bad idea.

Helping Cain unleash his full potential by any means necessary was our best bet.

"I know it’s crazy too. But we don’t have any other viable options, do we?"

[There is also the option of running away.]

"Only if we can outrun that dinosaur."

No matter how fast a horse was, it was meaningless before the dinosaur’s overwhelming physical size.

Furthermore, this is a forest. The dinosaur can smash through trees as it runs, but a horse cannot.

Ultimately, we were destined to be caught.

If we made a wrong move, we would only end up provoking other beasts.

"Keuaaaa!"

"Wowoooo!"

Having easily brushed the horse aside, the Ogre Rider charged toward us.

I looked at Cain with an expression that screamed we had no time. After contemplating for a brief moment, Cain...

[O Goddess Aris. Please forgive my foolishness.]

After offering a solemn prayer to Aris, he gripped the hilt of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

I clung to his arm and channeled aura into the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

It was a bizarre sight: Cain holding the hilt of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, with me clinging onto him right above it.

Though it was incredibly grotesque, it was highly practical in our current situation.

Woo-woo-woong!

As I channeled mana into the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, I manifested the Aura Blade.

Perhaps sensing that flow of mana, Cain marveled even as the Ogre Rider charged toward them.

[Ah... This cool, heavy sensation. It has been a long time.]

Muttering as if enraptured, Cain gripped the sword with both hands.

I wasn’t sure if he could grip it properly due to his hand size, but fortunately, it fit perfectly.

I wriggled, kkumul-kkumul, to accommodate his two-handed grip, and then clung tightly to him once more.

"Keuoooooo!"

"Keuaaaaa!"

The dinosaur charged with its jaws wide open, while the Ogre raised his club high into the sky with both hands.

A distinct Aura Blade was wrapped around the Ogre’s club.

If we took that hit head-on, our bodies wouldn’t survive.

Hoo-oong!

Before long, the Ogre’s club swung down, and the dinosaur’s massive maw loomed right before our eyes.

Seogeok—

A single swing. That was all it took.

A simple upward slash from bottom to top.

Yet, let alone the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, even I, who was hanging onto it, felt absolutely no impact.

To be honest, I wondered if he had just sliced empty air. But that was an illusion.

Hudu-duk—

Not only the club wrapped in the Aura Blade, but even the dinosaur that had its jaws wide open...

They were split cleanly in half and collapsed to either side.

Before long, the Ogre and the dinosaur became corpses, spilling their warm entrails onto the ground.

I barely managed to turn my head in that direction to grasp what had just happened.

[A truly magnificent weapon. I think I could use you often.]

"Being treated like a horse was sorrowful enough, so please don’t treat me like a tool."

I’m not some kind of dealporter, so what is this even?