I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 474

ㄴSword Matstar) With this, I’ve made up my mind.

"What mind?"

ㄴI’m definitely making Grylls-ssi my husband.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Absolute bullshit.

ㄴStarlight Lady) I think this is the first time I’ve seen Heavenly Demon-nim swear like that...?

ㄴSmart Demon) Seriously, how pissed off must she be to use such vulgar language?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Show some responsibility as a moderator!

It was around the time we were cleaning up after slaying the frilled lizard. The registered users were chatting about nonsense.

Sword Matstar was babbling about taking me as her husband taking this incident as a sign, but I brushed it off.

It wasn’t the first or second time she acted like this, and she was bickering merrily with other registered users, especially Heavenly Demon.

If it got too out of hand, Asella would step in directly to stop it, so I wasn’t particularly worried.

’More importantly, how am I going to butcher this guy...’

I gazed at the lizard crushed to death beneath the giant saw blade. I felt it during combat, but approaching it up close truly conveyed its majestic presence.

However, the Mechanical Kraken, the ruler of the Inverted Waterfall, the monsters by the lake, and finally Vanir...

This damn forest was overflowing not only with creatures far larger than this frilled lizard, but also monsters possessing bizarre, extraordinary powers.

Setting aside the Mechanical Kraken, they were entities one could hardly dare to fight. At least this guy was relatively on the smaller side.

[Looking at it like this, it reminds me of the Drake I slayed back in the day.]

"Are Drakes usually this size?"

[Indeed. However, a Drake has a form similar to a centaur, so it tends to look exceptionally large.]

"What does that mean?"

[It looks like this.]

Not understanding, I asked for a more detailed explanation, so Cain drew a picture on the ground.

While its upper body possessed arms like a human, its lower body had four legs like any ordinary beast.

True to his words about it looking like a centaur, it was shaped with a human torso attached atop a quadrupedal lower body.

’It really does look like a centaur.’

Either way, knowing Cain had faced and defeated such a monster allowed me to appreciate just how formidable his martial power was in life.

Unlike me, who used terrain features alongside party assistance, he had fought through pure physical strength.

"How did you deal with a creature like that? Since the chances of encountering one are rising, I think I need to learn some know-how."

[First off, dodging or parrying attacks is best. A head-on clash is akin to suicide.]

Except for that, the method for dealing with it was surprisingly simple. Targeting the legs to break its balance, just as I had done so far.

Giant creatures aren’t agile, true to their size. Therefore, if they lose balance, a massive opening opens up.

[The key here is that you must never jump. It’s the perfect setup to get swatted by their tail. Thus, climbing up its body to aim for a single lethal strike is best.]

"That’s a great tip. But what if it’s tough or regenerates quickly like this one?"

[Fleeing would be the wise choice, but... you must fight until the enemy tires. If not, disorient it with a powerful impact, plunge a weapon into its neck, and decapitate it right then and there.]

It was a strangely detailed method. Could I really pull off something like that?

It felt like an act only top-tier powerhouses like Cain could achieve, causing me to tilt my head instinctively.

[Don’t make that face. As I see it, you possess terrifying muscle strength capable of pulling up a mountain and hurling it.]

"Isn’t that way too exaggerated?"

[It is an exaggeration, yes. But when you held steadfast against the lizard’s downward paw slam, and furthermore when you grabbed its tail—I was truly astonished.]

Cain crossed his arms, nodded, and turned his head toward Ludwig.

[Ludwig. Is there anyone outside even remotely similar to Grylls?]

"#$%% @#%%#."

"What did he say?"

[He says not only among the people he’s met so far, but even the martial artist praised as the Fist King in the past couldn’t match you.]

"#$%% #%$%% #$%%."

[Besides, even the Fist King was deep in skill mastery, not pure strength.]

"Forget it."

It sounded like he was calling me a brainless brute relying purely on muscle power. It was actually true, so I couldn’t deny it.

Since the only skills I knew were basic swordsmanship and archery.

For now, honing just these was enough, so I brushed it off.

"Anyway, pick up the Adamantium on the ground. Every single piece of this is incredibly precious."

ㄴPraise the Sun) It’s beyond just precious... Even I can’t obtain it easily...

ㄴPassing Dwarf) His standard of ’precious’ is different, so just accept it and move on haha.

At my instruction, the party began picking up the Adamantium daggers scattered on the ground.

While doing so, we learned one fact: it wasn’t pure Adamantium.

Because it was spewed from the lizard’s neck frill, impurities were bound to be mixed in.

’Now do I have to refine ores on top of everything else?’

Orichalcum or Mithril could be mined in pure mineral form, so that was fine.

However, the Adamantium produced by the frilled lizard contained many impurities, making smelting mandatory.

It might actually be better to detach other tools, specifically the saw blade section of the excavator.

’Or should I actually build a furnace?’

Not a makeshift furnace, but a properly planned and constructed furnace.

In my heart, I wanted to ask the dwarf, but a situation like the previous Mithril incident might happen again.

There was so much internal mana contained inside that unless it was a state-operated furnace, heavy risks were involved.

For now, having lots of Adamantium couldn’t hurt, so I gathered as much as possible. If refining proved too tedious, I could just use it as raw chunks.

’Let’s pry off a piece of the excavator’s saw blade too.’This chapter was copied from nove‌lping.com without permission.

Because of the frilled lizard, I doubted whether this saw blade was pure Adamantium as well.

In the first place, it was a mineral rarer than Mithril, so hardly anyone had seen a genuine sample.

So I planned to give a small piece to the dwarf soon. This was to verify whether it was truly pure Adamantium.

No matter how advanced technology became, most pure elemental metals fell short compared to alloys.

Even ancient humanity, who had pushed technology to its absolute peak, highly likely utilized alloys.

"All that’s left is butchering this guy..."

With the Adamantium collected, it was time to dissect the frilled lizard.

However, its hide was so dense that asking for the party’s help was out of the question.

Practically, I had to do it alone, and if possible, I only wanted to extract the heart.

Apart from its hardness, there was the insane regeneration ability it demonstrated.

’It could be a lizard’s unique recovery, but there were precedents like the Saber-toothed Tiger too.’

Above all, for a creature harboring an Adamantium hide, there was no way it lacked an Inner Core.

Even if I spent the rest of today’s schedule solely on butchering, it would be worth it.

ㄴAllfather) Most lizards have their hearts located near the head.

Right on time, Allfather offered timely advice. He seemed curious about the heart as well.

The saw blade had fallen horizontally rather than vertically, so the head and chest area were relatively intact.

Only most of its lower body, excluding the tail, was crushed. We were lucky.

"I’ll sever this guy’s head, so could the rest of you please scout the surrounding area?"

"Can you manage alone?"

"It’s hard to cut this unless it’s me."

I wasn’t looking down on the party’s abilities. My traits were simply far more suitable for butchering.

Not only did the lizard possess extremely hard skin, but it was also colossal in size.

It would take Ludwig or Lackey an eternity to slice through its neck.

Kang! Kang!

I tapped its hide with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. It sounded like striking solid iron.

The silver lining was that the Sword of the Heavenly Demon could slice through it given enough time.

Since it was dead and couldn’t regenerate, as long as I put in the time, I could sever it cleanly.

’The hide has plenty of uses too.’

Its value as leather armor was extraordinary.

Until now, I had avoided armor due to mobility concerns, but leather armor was a different story.

If worn over the uniforms or clothes gifted by Princess Chaenggu and the Cheonjam Merchant Guild, our defense would skyrocket.

Since the creature was so massive, there would be more than enough material for our entire group.

"Maengkkongi. Play a song fitting for this situation."

"♩♪♪♬~ ♬♬♫♩~"

The full-scale butchering began. Ludwig and Lackey went off to scout.

Cain and the rest of the kids sat quietly in place to rest.

Since they’d get bored sitting idly, I intended to throw them chunks of lizard meat every now and then.

Seogeok- seogeok-

Infusing the Sword of the Heavenly Demon with maximum Aura, I began sawing through its neck.

Thanks to the big and beautiful aura that felt large enough to pierce the heavens, the task itself was relatively smooth.

"...By the way, Maengkkongi."

"Bbi-yoong?"

"Could you play something other than a ballad? I feel like a dismembering murderer right now."

I heard that serial dismemberers sometimes put on ballads while doing their work. This was that exact vibe.

After that, Maengkkongi switched to a different song, and I steadily carried on with the butchering.

Pusheee!

The more I sliced through the neck, the more blood occasionally erupted like a fountain.

Normally, one should drain the blood first, but its sheer size made that nearly impossible.

For now, I had no choice but to take care not to get drenched in blood.

’I’ve cut through the neck completely...’

There was no grand reason for severing the neck first. It was simply to lighten the overall load.

Because to extract the heart, I had to flip this colossal beast over.

Since the belly area had been cleanly split by the excavator’s saw blade, flipping it was all that was left.

Even if blood poured out endlessly, that wouldn’t last long either.

’I need to stay alert since other beasts might smell the blood and come.’

The distinct smell of marble might mask it, but you never know.

There were many monsters with bizarre abilities in this forest, so it was best to finish up quickly.

Thus, I dragged the lizard’s corpse, which now had only its main torso and front legs left.

Geugeugeuk- geugeuk-

Had the spell making the floor slippery worn off? Pulling it was tough.

Of course, it was just difficult, not impossible. I pried the headless lizard carcass away from the saw blade.

Now, all I had to do was flip it over, but there was a problem.

"How on earth do I flip this over..."

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Just use raw strength, why even hesitate?

ㄴSmart Demon) One big ’Heave-ho!’ should flip it right over!

"Man. What do you guys take me for..."

Even though Cain said I could pull up a mountain and hurl it, that was just a figure of speech.

Flipping this in one go was practically impossible even for me.New chapters come out on nоvelping.com first.

"Heave-ho!"

Kuuung!!!

It actually worked.

It seemed I really needed to reconsider my opinion of my own physical strength.

Thanks to that, the comment section exploded with activity, but I tried my best to ignore it. What mattered more was the heart.

I climbed atop the flipped torso and focused power into my eyes. The Eye Lantern activated, naturally illuminating the area.

’The heart... is right here.’

There was a spot that glistened unusually brightly. That must be where the heart was located.

I carefully carved into that area using the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. Incising through the skin remained a major headache.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Before long, I fully exposed the heart chamber. As expected, the heart was continuously beating.

Just like the Saber-toothed Tiger that had raided the shelter in the past, the frilled lizard’s heart refused to stop.

Furthermore, its size was extraordinary, perfectly fitting its colossal scale.

’Did they say this happens if a creature ingests a Dragon Gastrolith?’

I gained a massive haul from this lizard. It felt like I could visit this area regularly from now on.

I extracted the heart while using my Body-Protecting Gangqi to prevent blood splatters.

I was terrified it might burst, but fortunately, no such tragedy occurred.

"It’s way bigger than my head."

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) I’m sorry, but I’m turning off the stream! This is way too grotesque!

Perhaps the sight of a freshly harvested heart pulsating was a bit too gruesome. Asella forcibly shut down the stream.

From my standpoint, it didn’t really matter, so I just went with the flow.

The main issue was how to use this heart. A heart far larger than that of the Saber-toothed Tiger.

’Worst case, I’ll just give it to Allfather.’

Even if he blows it up during an experiment like last time, I don’t care. I’ll just add it to his tab.

As I dissected everything worth taking, time slipped away before I knew it.

The battle against the lizard didn’t take long, but the butchering consumed a considerable amount of time.

’Time to head back soon. Keeping the Adamantium and hide in mind.’

It was right around the moment I stowed the heart into my Subspace Backpack.

Wiiiiing-

A strange noise reached my ears. It came from the spot where the frilled lizard had been nesting.

Puzzled, I turned my head, only to come face-to-face with a absurd sight.

"...What on earth is that."

A robot that looked straight out of a certain space RTS game.

A repair worker unit was slowly approaching me.

A robot equipped with a drill on one arm and what looked like welding tools on the other.

Its size was quite massive, looking sturdy enough to go one-on-one against an Ogre.

Giiiiiing-

Before long, the robot arrived right in front of me. I stared at it blankly.

Then, a familiar gorilla popped his head out from the cockpit.

"Master. This is fun."

"...Where did you find that?"

"Found it inside there. It works."

"Where’s Ahjussi Ludwig?"

At my question, Lackey pointed inside and answered.

"He is controlling it right now."

"..."

Speechless from the absurdity for a brief moment—

"Hey. Move. Let me pilot it too."

"No way. I’m next."

"How dare you refuse when your Master orders you?"

Piloting a giant robot was impossible to resist.

While Grylls was squabbling over piloting the robot for a while—

"...What is this."

Sword Matstar, Ash blinked at the message displayed before her eyes.

[You have been appointed as Assistant Administrator.]

A notification stating she was appointed as an Assistant Manager—in other words, an unpaid Blue Badge.

As there was neither omen nor sign beforehand, Ash couldn’t help but be bewildered.

However, there was an even more absurd reason behind it: the message from the Orange Badge, Don’t Abandon the Hero.

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Stop putting people in awkward spots, and if you have free time, go manage the Gallery! If you don’t, you know what happens, right? Haha]

Could it be she was doing this just because Ash flirted with Grylls a couple of times?

The problem was that if she refused, she might get banned. Ash’s eye twitched.

’...No matter how I look at it, isn’t this Orange Badge turning corrupt?’

A Blue Badge—this was the moment the second Blue Badge was born, following Heavenly Demon.

And forcibly at that.