I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 472

Adamantium.

Along with Orichalcum and Mithril, it was famous as one of the world’s three great minerals.

While Mithril was practically synonymous with rare minerals, Orichalcum was near-omnipotent when it came to magic.

Adamantium, unlike the mana-sensitive Orichalcum and Mithril, was closer to an ordinary metal, but it was famous for being a metal that never breaks.

Of course, it didn’t mean it was truly indestructible, but rather that its durability was at an absurd, ridiculous level.

The Golden Shield I received from Praise the Sun also contained a small amount of Adamantium, and it had served me extremely well.

Though it ended up slightly dented because I treated it so roughly, it was safe to say there was almost no actual structural damage.

That wasn’t all. Beyond its sheer durability, its shock absorption was also exceptionally outstanding.

If Orichalcum and Mithril had strong "software power" thanks to various added attributes, Adamantium was strong in terms of pure hardware.

Perhaps that was why. Compared to other minerals, it was exceptionally rare and difficult to handle. Smelting it was hard enough, let alone crafting with it.

From what I heard from the dwarf, skill or whatever didn’t matter—you needed sheer physical force just to craft it.

"But both this pickaxe and that excavator... you said their blades are Adamantium? How did they even do this?"

ㄴPassing Dwarf) That’s why it’s even more ridiculous. Normally, you can’t even coat Adamantium like that.

ㄴPraise the Sun) The Adamantium in the shield I gave you before was only added in a tiny amount. It was just adjusted to prevent it from breaking.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) This humble maiden hath heard of True Steel. They say it is even harder than my sword forged from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.

ㄴSword Matstar) You’re saying they made a pickaxe out of that? Where on earth did they get it;;

The registered users were astonished by the fact that most of the tools scattered around the marble mine were made of Adamantium.

And understandably so, given that Adamantium was known to be far rarer than Orichalcum and Mithril.

Making a sword out of solid Mithril was already close to "impossible", but Adamantium took it a step further.

I checked one of the pickaxes rolling around on the ground. Looking closely, it had a somewhat dull color.

’At a glance, it looks similar to Mythricon... but this one actually shines.’

Mythricon was close to matte, but this reflected the light and sparkled. On top of that, it was heavy.

It was safe to say Adamantium was the exact polar opposite of Mithril. This weightiness proved it.

’Adamantium, huh...’

I raised my head. Directly above me stood a terrifyingly massive excavator.

Honestly speaking, it would be better to use relatively lightweight Mithril rather than heavy Adamantium.

Because the heavier the weight, the more powerful force is required to support it. And force equals energy.

No matter how much of a miraculous energy source mana was, the humanity I knew were creatures utterly obsessed with "efficiency".

One of the reasons for that was money. As far as I knew, launching a spaceship cost 100 million won per kilogram.

If only to save money, they would have no choice but to prioritize efficiency.

’Even tanks that focus on performance sometimes give up defense depending on the situation.’

Which meant that using Adamantium was actually more efficient here.

Perhaps this marble mine was built for that exact reason. Even if it looked like ordinary marble, something else might be hidden within.

Like minerals or gems that could only be mined using Adamantium.

"Let’s not carry them right now, but we’ll take a few handles back when we return."

"Master."

"Hm?"

Just as I was about to suggest leaving the Adamantium for now and continuing our exploration, Lackey carefully called out to me.

Unusually, he seemed hesitant. Seeing this, I tilted my head.

"What’s wrong? If you have something to say, go ahead."

"Th-That..."

Lackey pointed at the excavator—specifically at its main body, not the blade part.

Meaning, the cockpit. Just as I was internally thinking ’No way,’ Lackey spoke.

"Can I ride in that...?"

"Haah."

I let out a sigh. It was about time for lunch, so I was planning to take a break.

And yet he dangerously wanted to get into the cockpit. This guy still hadn’t grown up.

"I get to ride it first, then you."

"Ooh...!"

[Could I perhaps ride it too?]

Of course, I hadn’t grown up either. Neither had Cain, who had already ascended to immortality only to be reborn as an AI.

They say men remain boys even when they grow up. How could anyone resist the chance to ride that big and beautiful excavator?

Still, just in case, I thoroughly scanned the surroundings. One must always be wary of unexpected ambushes.

Furthermore, since a mild earthquake had occurred earlier, I paid extra attention.

’Nothing wrong so far.’

After checking thoroughly, I even set down a mat to quickly grab lunch.

After laying down the mat, I unpacked the rations I brought along and filled my stomach.

"Hey. Move. I’m going up first."

"Finders keepers."

"You’re not even a human."

"That’s species discrimination, Master."This chapter was copied from novelp​ing.com without permission.

Bickering back and forth with Lackey, I slowly climbed up the big and beautiful excavator.

Perhaps because it was large enough that the word "ignorant" suited it, the cockpit was quite spacious.

What was also surprising was that the control panel wasn’t very complex. It was similar to an excavator you’d commonly see at a construction site.

"There’s a red button here."

"Pressing that..."

Click!

I only wanted to check out the inside of the cockpit; I had no intention of actually operating it.

However, Lackey, being the gorilla he was, couldn’t suppress his curiosity and slammed the red button.

Since countless ages had passed, there shouldn’t be any fuel left. So I assumed it wouldn’t work.

Wiiiiing!

It was a miscalculation on my part. A distinct mechanical hum echoed from the panel, amplifying my anxiety.

While Lackey panicked with an "Uh, uh," realizing what he did, I hurriedly smashed the red button down again!

I thought it might work similarly to forcibly shutting down a computer power button.

Giiiiiing...

Fortunately, my guess was right. I let out a sigh of relief and glared at Lackey.

Lackey also seemed to realize his mistake, timidly glancing at my reaction.

"...Master."

"Speak."

"This thing works though..."

"Keep talking if you want to get crushed under that big and beautiful thing."

"..."

At my warning, Lackey took the hint and gave up. More than that, a question arose.

An excavator that was still trying to function despite countless years having passed. If things had gone wrong, that big and beautiful saw blade section would have moved.

’Strange. Usually, heavy equipment like this goes out of order immediately if you don’t maintain it even a little.’

Machines are bound to rust as time passes.

Even a car’s engine goes bad if it’s left unmaintained for about a month.

Heavy equipment of this size hardly needed any further explanation.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Was that thing seriously trying to turn on just now?

ㄴSmart Demon) Aw man. You should’ve just let it keep running.

ㄴPraise the Sun) Right? Such a shame, my friend.

ㄴAllfather) I wanted to see a spectacular scene, what a true pity.

ㄴI Will Become a Duke) To think such a massive thing moved, truly amazing. Why did you stop it?

"You guys are all men, aren’t you?"

When I abruptly stopped the excavator, disappointed voices broke out. These registered users were definitely men.

Still, not everyone expressed mere disappointment. There were also registered users who thought somewhat rationally.

ㄴStarlight Lady) Both the Ghost Ship and that machine are truly amazing. It makes no sense that they can move after being abandoned for so long.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Heck, one of the Ghost Ships was in the ocean. And they said there wasn’t even a single barnacle on it?

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) Even the various weapon systems worked, right? Though we gotta consider that an ’Ego’ was dwelling within the Ghost Ship itself~

They were on the side of finding it fascinating that this excavator functioned just like the Ghost Ship.

I wondered if there was an AI or a Mimic inside the excavator too, but nothing of the sort was visible.

My quickly stopping its operation was one of the reasons for that as well. If possible, I intended to ignore it.

’They say ordinary products are supposed to break easily.’

In fact, if durability is too strong, the company goes bankrupt easily. Why?

Because there’s no need to buy a new product. I heard a story like this somewhere.

A guy tried to buy a replacement after a product he used for 20 years finally broke, only to find out the company had gone bankrupt.

Of course, since this was heavy machinery, high durability was better.

However, I couldn’t figure out what on earth the Ghost Ships were made of to remain completely intact across all those years.

’More importantly...’

How did ancient humanity find Adamantium? This was also a question.

It was highly likely they found a new mineral, but Earth’s technology back then had already reached its absolute ceiling.

I didn’t know whether they discovered a new smelting technique upon finding mana, or if it was an ore whose usefulness was recognized late.

’Ssshh... I don’t know. Well, the more the merrier.’

It was best to brush off complicated thoughts. What mattered right now was exploration.

I climbed down from the cockpit with Lackey.

"..."

[...]

"...What?"

[...It’s nothing.]Get faster updates on novelping . com.

And as soon as I came down, I ran into Cain, who was hesitating just like Lackey had.

It seemed the urge to board the cockpit was welling up inside him as well.

Suddenly, I recalled the time I usefully used Cain as the power source for the base.

Maybe I could operate the excavator just like back then, but there was no need to do that right now.

"I have discovered a cave."

"A cave?"

It was around the time I returned to where the children and party were. Ludwig spoke to me.

Ludwig said he had found a massive cave while scouting the surroundings.

When I asked where he found such a cave, Ludwig pointed toward the excavator.

"Behind that machine."

"Where... Ah."

Looking in the direction Ludwig pointed, there really was a huge cave.

It had just been hidden behind the excavator, but once I noticed it, it was quite eye-catching.

"You want to go in there?"

"I merely discovered it. The choice is yours."

"Hmm..."

Hearing that, I stared at the large cave. It looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it.

The problem was that it was on the path leading toward the World Tree. Perhaps there might be something good at the end of that cave.

’Besides, it doesn’t look like a natural cave, but rather artificially carved out...’

The entrance itself was neat and rectangular. It looked as if it had been forcibly bored through by heavy machinery.

In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if there were equipment that crushed rocks like the excavator.

Going inside to explore while we were at it wasn’t a bad option either.

"Alright. Let’s go inside."

[What if there is a monster inside?]

"We’ll have to fight. We’re practically stranded here anyway."

Cliffs carved out by heavy machinery surrounded us on all sides, and that cave was the only pathway.

There was no choice. Cain nodded in understanding, respecting my decision.

With all choices finalized, I gathered up the mat we had set down and took our steps forward.

"Alright. Maengkkongi, sing us a song."

"Ooooh~ Ooo~"

Listening to Lackey’s exciting vocal BGM, we entered the interior of the cave.

As expected of a cave, it was pitch black all around, so I activated the Light Crystal Orb.

Flash!

"Grrrrk..."

"...Oops."

And the instant I turned on the light, I came face-to-face with a massive lizard.

It was almost the size of Cheongseol’s mother. To give an idea of how big it was, the creature was handling heavy machinery with one hand.

Just like how human babies play with toys.

"Kuaaaah!!!"

The moment the white lizard shrieked, we hurriedly bolted outside.

However, even though we ran outside, we had provoked the master of the territory.

Because of this, the lizard also burst out of the cave. However, its form was quite bizarre.

Inside the cave, its body sparkled like marble, but coming out into the open, it took on a somewhat dull hue.

Not to mention the frilled collar around its neck. It was just like a frilled lizard.

’Not just like one, it’s an actual frilled lizard!’

Flap!

The frilled lizard flared open the frill around its neck wide like an umbrella.

Had it simply flared it open, that would be one thing, but an attack was unleashed right from that frill.

Pabababat!!!

The moment it flared its frill like an umbrella, shards rained down like a storm.

Given its gigantic size, each shard was as big as a human torso. The bigger problem was...

"Holy shit?! Those are all Adamantium!"

Every single one of those small shards was made of Adamantium.

Still, Adamantium could be blocked easily enough. The real question was how to break through it.

Above all...

"La! Nanara! Zaunara! Aaaah~!"

Maengkkongi began singing in Latin.

It really seemed like we were utterly fucked.