I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 440

A day passed, and the time to head toward the Ash Zone approached.

Unlike other areas, the Ash Zone was a place where the environment itself was unstable.

Trees that looked half-burnt, and fallen leaves and ash piled high beneath them.

At least it had the advantage of an open view compared to other areas, but it was anxiety-inducing all the same.

[♩♩♫~ ♬♬♪♩♩]

As scheduled, I woke up early in the morning and prepared breakfast.

Playing a sweet wake-up song was a bonus. Truly, bringing along the Jukebox Mimic felt like a great decision.

"Heeey~ Heeey~ What’s the matter bada~"

The Jukebox Mimic also played a tune suitable for the morning.

Since it was a track from a once-famous movie, it was even more joyful.

Like that, one by one, everyone began waking up and staggering out of bed.

"Master. What is breakfast?"

It was right when I was busy preparing the meal. Lackey came over to me while scratching his belly.

He looked just like a student asking their parents what’s for breakfast. That just showed how accustomed he was to me feeding him.

Pointing at the meat sizzling to a golden brown on the mithril grill plate, I replied.

"A hearty serving of meat. Today we might be exploring a tough location."

"Oh."

"Want me to make candied sweet potatoes too?"

At my suggestion, Lackey nodded his head fervently.

Since I had to make some for the little ones anyway, doing both at once would be fine.

Eating a substantial breakfast was the only way exploration could proceed smoothly.

"Mmm. Smells delicious."

Was it because of the savory meat aroma drifting since morning? The Three-Legged Crow descended as if completely accustomed to this.

Grasped in its sharp talons was a large goat.

Though still alive, its belly was pierced by sharp talons, so it would die before long.

"What’s with this guy?"

"He was on the cliff. I caught him right away."

Come to think of it, I had heard about that before. For whatever reason, goats liked climbing cliffs.

I appropriately butchered the goat brought by the Three-Legged Crow and stored it in the cold storage.

I didn’t know what kind of special abilities it possessed, but since the Three-Legged Crow brought it personally, it had to be good stuff.

"Breakfast is hearty today. Are you heading somewhere?"

"Yeah. The Ash Zone right nearby. As for what kind of place it is..."

I explained the Ash Zone. It would be great if I could glean some info from him.

The Three-Legged Crow ate the golden-brown grilled meat, then shifted his gaze as if lost in thought for a moment.

Subsequently, as if remembering, he spoke to me.

"I know where that is."

"Is there a dangerous guy there?"

"There is a troublesome fellow. A bird whose whole body is cloaked in fire."

"...."

A bird whose entire body is cloaked in fire. Hearing that description, one creature immediately came to mind.

A legendary creature said to resurrect even after death—the Firebird, the Phoenix.

If that entity was the ruler, it explained why the Ash Zone was in such a state.

"Does it have a nasty personality?"

"Any entity gets angry when its territory is invaded."

So as long as we don’t trespass into its territory, it’ll be fine. I groaned inwardly.

I didn’t know how strong the Phoenix was, but even the Three-Legged Crow dubbed it a troublesome guy.

At the very least, it would cause us non-negligible damage. Not to mention it was an aerial type, making it tricky to overpower with sheer physical weight.

"I enjoyed the meal. I’ll rely on you next time as well."

The Three-Legged Crow offered its thanks and soared high into the sky.

It flew so fast that by the time I raised my head, it had already flown far into the distance.

"What did you talk about?"

As soon as my conversation with the Three-Legged Crow ended, Ludwig approached.

Satisfied with the rich breakfast spread, he was picking his teeth with a toothpick.

"I was curious about who lives where we’re going."

"Who is there?"

"A Phoenix."

"...."

Hearing that there was a Phoenix, Ludwig paused. A reaction of wondering if he heard wrong was an added bonus.

But judging by the description, it was definitely a Phoenix. Thus, I shared opinions with the rest of the party.

[Just because it’s a bird on fire doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a Phoenix.]

"What else could it be then?"

[It could be the Vermilion Bird mentioned in the Central Plains. There are tales that the Vermilion Bird also cloaks its body in flame.]

Aren’t the Vermilion Bird and Phoenix basically the same mythical beast? I wore an incredulous expression.

"It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other. Cain-ssi, have you ever caught a Phoenix?"

[Of course not.]

"Then among flying things, what did you hunt?"

[A dragon.]

"...."

I shut my mouth. Quite an achievement worthy of the first holy knight.

Of course, that dragon was likely from an era after the Mythological Age, not during it.

Still, considering the sheer physical weight class of a dragon, it was undeniably a remarkable feat.

[Besides, this is the Forest of the Four Seasons. Even if it’s not a Phoenix or a Vermilion Bird, there could simply be a bird whose body burns.]

"Mmm..."

Hearing Cain’s words, it made sense. In fact, it was a plausible story precisely because it was the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Even if some bizarre creature popped out, saying "Forest of the Four Seasons" explained everything.

Still, thorough preparation couldn’t hurt. I also received fire resistance potions from Starlight Lady.

"Drink this when you feel it’s dangerous. The duration is only 2 hours."

"What about Master?"

"I can endure with cold energy."

I just needed to manifest frost energy alongside Body-Protecting Gangqi. It was something I had already tested before.

The downside was that the chill was transmitted directly back to me as well.

Because of this, I barely used cold energy when activating Body-Protecting Gangqi. In the first place, there weren’t many situations to use it.

However, thanks to the herbal medicine (?) I took myself during this winter, I gained resistance to cold.

Being able to use both Body-Protecting Gangqi and frost energy to my heart’s content, there was no inconvenience.

"Let’s head out now."

With all preparations set, I announced our departure to the group.

"...."

"What."

"No. Nothing."New chapters come out on NovelPing first.

Seeing Lackey slinging a guitar on his back, I felt my mind blank out from absurdity.

But since I was the one who said he could do that, I turned a blind eye and let it pass.

He was faithfully carrying the most important luggage too, so I couldn’t scold him.

Before long, following the path created by the Gorilla Leader, we entered the Ash Zone.

The deeper we entered, the more gnarled and bare the trees became, and the ground was full of ash.

’No matter how I look at it, it’s strange.’

I stroked a tree that looked withered to bones and, moreover, scorched by fire.

It wasn’t an environment for trees to grow in the first place, yet it was standing stubbornly.

Furthermore, though covered in ash, dry fallen leaves had dropped onto the ground.

This was evidence of self-sustaining biological activity. Traces of leaves growing and falling again.

I didn’t know what factor caused it, but under normal circumstances, it should have rotted away long ago.

’Do trees in the Forest of the Four Seasons just have incredible grit?’

Or maybe they adapted to this environment. I passed by the trees.

Aside from the bare, towering trees, the surroundings were wide open.

Since securing sightlines was easy, blocking unexpected variables was simple.

"Shaaaa!"

Except for the snake slithering while blended into the ground.

As the squirming thing sprang from the ground, I quickly snatched it.

In the past, I would have only noticed after getting bitten, but not anymore.

"Whoa, startled me."

[You sound awfully calm.]

"Well, I was startled."

Replying like that, I looked at the snake I caught. It was a creature displaying an overall grey hue.

Thick venom dripped from its sharp fangs. Here lay a peculiar detail.

Hwareureuk! Hwareuk!

As soon as the venom touched the ground, it didn’t melt things—it burst into flame.

Moreover, the fire didn’t spread across dry leaves; it quickly fizzled out.

I didn’t know what mechanism was at play, but extracting it couldn’t hurt.

Jureureuk-

I extracted the venom into an empty bottle. Luckily, it didn’t melt the glass.

After filling it to a decent degree, I placed it in my backpack. Tightly sealing the opening so it wouldn’t leak was an added measure.

"Does anyone happen to know what this venom is?"

[Allfather: It is an extremely dangerous poison. A venom where, once envenomated, one feels the agony of burning alive from that spot.]

Allfather replied right away. It sounded brutal just listening to it.

It was fortunate it ambushed me; if it had targeted another member of the group, it would have been exceedingly dangerous.

Jjeojeojeok!

I yanked the snake’s head and body straight apart. The snake’s body stretched like taffy before ripping in two.

Even like this, a severed snake head was dangerous. Therefore, burying it in the ground was best.

"Allfather-nim. Would you like this?"

[Allfather: Haaa... Absolutely wonderful...]

[Passing Dwarf: Seriously what a total pervert reaction;;]

[Praise the Sun: Are all professors like that?]

[Smart Demon: People brimming with scholarly zeal are naturally all perverts, yep.]

However, there was Allfather, who went crazy for creatures of the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Emphasizing a few times for him to be careful, I transferred it over.

After that, I thoroughly scanned the ground to check for any more snakes.

Snakes were cold-blooded animals, so they tended to be drawn to warm things.

Yet the fact that it targeted me meant there was a high chance it viewed me as a threat.

’Did it have the mindset of getting rid of cold things beforehand?’

Just because the surroundings were clear didn’t mean the ground was safe.

My group and I shifted our steps while preparing for any unforeseen situations.

And before long, we arrived at a familiar spot.

"Pureuk?"

"Oh."

As soon as we reached the familiar location, we came face to face with a familiar beast.

A horse possessing an overall jet-black body, fluttering flames instead of a mane.

The Flame Horse was nibbling on something. Judging by the wriggling, it seemed to be a snake.

[Truly a magnificent horse. Don’t you think so, Ludwig?]

Cain marveled at the splendid appearance of the Flame Horse. Ludwig nodded as if agreeing with his opinion.

Surprisingly interested in horses, Ludwig’s eyes sparkled.

If Largo saw that face, wouldn’t he feel disappointed?

"...Hi? Do you remember me?"

"...."

Dispelling my Body-Protecting Gangqi, I greeted the Flame Horse.

The Flame Horse was wary at first, but upon seeing my face, its eyes widened.

Next, it crept up to me and began looking around here and there.

"...."

"Pureureuk..."

From Bbareumbo clinging to my back to Lackey next. In particular, the moment it saw Lackey, its face crumpled into a frown.

Even if it forgot the others, Lackey stood out so much he couldn’t be easily forgotten.

Besides, since the Flame Horse itself had high intelligence, it probably recognized him.

"Heeeeyng."

"It says: Long time no see."

"Yeah, yeah. You recognize me. Where are the kids?"

When I asked about the foals, the Flame Horse headed somewhere. It meant for us to follow.

I followed behind the Flame Horse. Before long, a cave appeared.

In front of that cave, two Flame Horse foals were chewing on dry leaves.

Having clearly grown during that time, they were slightly bigger than when I saw them before.

"Ggi-ing?"

"Hee-ing?"

Noticing our approach, the young ones turned their heads. Whatever animal it might be, offspring were cute when young.

The Flame Horse foals stared intently at me, then abruptly sprinted over in a hurry.

"Ggiiiing!! Ggiing!!"

"Ggyuiiiing!!"

"Yeah, yeah. You remember me."

Coming up to me, the little ones acted cute to their heart’s content.

Starting from rubbing their faces against me to licking my cheek.

"Ppeaaek! Ppeaaek!"

"Ggi-ing?"

"Ppeaaek!"Get faster updates on novelрing.com.

However, Cheongseol stopped them from licking my cheek. For a kid usually quiet to act like that was a bit surprising.

Anyway, since we met after a long time, I had to give them something delicious. I pulled out Fasting Pills from my pocket.

As I brought out the Fasting Pills, the foals went wild with excitement. Looking at them, it seemed they couldn’t forget the taste.

"Want one too?"

"...."

When I held out a Fasting Pill, the adult Flame Horse hesitated before accepting it.

Ending our long-awaited reunion like that, I asked what had happened during the interim.

Seeing how well the foals were doing, there was a high probability nothing major occurred.

"Nothing much happened in the meantime, right?"

"Pureuk."

"It says: Always the same. Eliminating threats, raising kids."

"Ggyuiiiing! Ggyuing!"

"Ggiiiiing!"

Middle of the conversation, the two foals began bickering with each other.

Thereupon, the Flame Horse let out a heavy sigh and separated the two young ones.

The agony of parenting resonated all the way here. Then a question occurred to me.

"Was there originally no dad for these kids?"

The question was strange, but nature was like that. Just look at bears.

Raising offspring was entirely the mother’s role. Usually, males roamed alone.

"Pureuk."

"Eaten."

"Um..."

It was worse than that. I felt needlessly apologetic.

The Flame Horse itself seemed to take it casually, as if it was unavoidable.

Moving past this topic, obtaining information from the Flame Horse was what mattered.

The reason I sought them out deliberately was for information.

"Are there any alien or unusual buildings around here by any chance? I mean, something like..."

I explained in as much detail as possible so the Flame Horse could comprehend.

Even drawing on the ground to explain, the Flame Horse was able to roughly understand.

"Heeeyng. Heeeyng."

"It says: As far as I remember, there is none."

"That’s a shame. Then what about the bird whose entire body is on fire?"

"Pureureuk!"

At the mention of the bird on fire, the Flame Horse grimaced.

It knew about it, but their relationship didn’t seem great.

"Heeeeeyng!"

"That damn bastard ate my mate."

"Mmm..."

Ah, so that kind of story was behind it. As expected, it would be wise to be careful.

I listened to the info regarding the firebird from the Flame Horse.

The deeper into the forest we penetrated, the closer we would get to its territory.

Furthermore, it stated that once its domain was violated, it would pursue us to the death.

’Is it a petty creature?’

I deliberated whether to wrap up the exploration and return, or press deeper.

Originally, I intended to just test the waters, but hearing the Flame Horse’s info, I couldn’t help but be torn.

"Heeeyng. Heeeyng."

"Ah. Come to think of it, its nest was strange."

"Huh? Its nest was strange?"

"Heeeyng. Heeeyng."

"It was originally weak. But after making something weird into its nest, it grew strong."

"...."

Yet the Flame Horse passed along information that could never be ignored.

Whatever that strange nest was, it had to be something out of the ordinary.

Nodding that I understood for now, I thought checking out that nest first would be best.

"Take care then. See you later."

"Pureuk."

"Ggiiiiing! Ggiing!"

"Ggyuiiiing!"

As I left, the foals clung to me and begged frantically.

Naturally, the adult Flame Horse bit them by the scruff one by one and set them back down.

’I really want to take one home.’

Of course, to do that, it’d be better to bring the whole Flame Horse family, just like the Raccoon family.

Recalling the Flame Horse’s advice, I advanced inside step by step.

Because the forest was so vast, there weren’t many standout landmarks.

"Ouch, hot!"

"What happened?"

As we were walking, Lackey leaped up in shock.

At that reaction, not only I but the rest of the party expressed confusion.

"S-Something fell from above. It is super hot."

"From above?"

Hearing those words, I immediately looked up.

Looking up, the clear sky had vanished, replaced by heavy, gloomy clouds.

A climate where anyone could see rain was coming. This raised a question.

’Just a moment ago, it wasn’t weather for rain at all?’

Dduk! Ddu-uk!

Right as I thought that, something fell. It was a small raindrop.

If it fell normally, that would be one thing, but the aftermath right after it fell was bizarre.

Hwareuk!

Because as soon as the raindrop touched the ground, a faint flame sparked.

It was closer to an ember than a flame, but the omen felt bad.

Ddu-uk! Ddududuk! Ddu-uk!

"Ouch-hot-hot-hot-hot-hot!"

"Ggyuu! Ggyuuuu!"

The raindrops gradually thickened, and the frequency of hitting our bodies increased.

The moment the party members were struck by raindrops, they jumped high and reacted dramatically.

The moment I saw this, I looked up.

Tududuk- Tuduk-

These weren’t simple raindrops.

Hudududuk! Hududuk!

It was rain carrying ’fire’.