I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 486

Repelling Howl’s—no, Ant’s Moving Castle was surprisingly easy.

As mentioned repeatedly, most insects like those were terrified of fire.

And not only Lackey, who used magic, but Tyranno too could shoot a powerful Breath.

Of course, simply blasting fire wouldn’t have collapsed a castle made of earth.

Setting the exterior aside, the interior could have been far denser than it appeared.

Fwhroosh!

"Whoa. Burns really well."

"The smell of oil is severe."

"Bear with it for just a bit."

So I poured a generous amount of oil on it. With this single attack, the castle collapsed.

Unless they dove into a deep body of water like a lake, they couldn’t extinguish fire fueled by oil.

Or, burrowing back into the ground like they did initially would have been another method.

But since this kind of attack was a first for the ants too, they panicked frantically and fell apart.

"Master. The surrounding trees caught fire."

"Put that out quickly!"

Thanks to Lackey’s magic, we prevented the hazard of a forest fire, and now there were no ants blocking our path.

The ants burned to a crisp along with the castle were rather pitiful, but we moved on immediately.

Such occurrences weren’t new, and we had a clear goal in mind.

[By the way, I am curious. What do you intend to do once we reach the World Tree?]

"We have to check what’s there, right?"

[Check... what are you going to check?]

"This and that."

It might seem like an irresponsible answer, but there was a reason for it.

There wasn’t much information known about the World Tree even outside.

One might ask what that meant, but literally almost nothing was known ’scientifically’ about the World Tree.

Asking on the Gallery yielded the same result, even when asking fixed handles suspected to be Elves.

The only known fact was that it discharged high-density mana through photosynthesis.

"Cain-ssi, you don’t know much about the World Tree either, do you?"

[It is a sacred giant tree.]

"Besides that?"

[A tree that has existed in this world for a long time?]

The World Tree had lived in its spot for such an immense age that even Cain described it as ’a long time’.

And this was the story of the World Tree located outside the Forest of the Four Seasons, in Alfheim.

How much older the one in the Forest of the Four Seasons was remains unknown, and there was a high possibility that even the information gathered so far would be useless.

"The World Tree we will face is highly likely to be even older than that. After all, this place was land where gods resided."

[That is true. And?]

"Just as the Artificial Sun in the neighboring region emits infinite energy, I believe the World Tree is similar."

My guess was that the World Tree served as a sort of ’power plant’.

Energy creation utilizing photosynthesis, one of the primary traits of plants.

Essentially an ultimate upgrade over a solar power plant.

’Though I don’t know why they built the Artificial Sun despite having that.’

The Artificial Sun might have served as a generator rather than a power plant.

Either way, approaching the World Tree would allow us to grasp a few truths.

’The problem is that power plants usually come with strict security.’

The World Tree outside was handed down by the gods almost as a ’you guys go ahead and use it’ gesture. But here was different.

As Tyranno’s mom, Vanir, had warned before, formidable monsters were bound to be lurking.

Even so, we couldn’t just not go, considering ancient humanity’s level of technology.

"If they could create the Forest of the Four Seasons, they must have also devised a way to dismantle it or escape it. It makes no sense for creators to be unable to escape a labyrinth they designed."

"When Master speaks like that, you sound smart."

"I’m not that stupid, you know?"

"You were acknowledging that you’re stupid yourself. That is even more surprising."

Why doesn’t this bastard back down for even a single word? I glared at the sarcastic Lackey.

At that, Lackey subtly averted his eyes, checking my reaction.

I had heard before that monkeys or apes take eye contact as a challenge to fight.

Those instincts must remain intact, so avoiding eye contact meant he recognized me as a superior.

"Just so you know, there’s no candied sweet potato for you for a while when we get back."

"I am sorry."

Quick to apologize, as always. To think a guy like this once tried to kill me—life really is unpredictable.

Bickering with Lackey, I took a break midway. That was because no enemies crossed our path along the way, and we found a suitable spot.

"Hmm..."

"What’s wrong?"

It was when we were eating lunch with the rations brought beforehand. Ludwig stared intently at a certain spot.Read this novel at NovelPing for the best experience.

At first, I thought he was looking at a strange-looking herb or mushroom. But that wasn’t it at all.

He was meticulously observing the tree right in front of him.

"Big."

"Big? What is?"

"The trees. And the other plants."

"?"

Hearing those words, I looked at the trees. Indeed, they were much larger than the ones at our Shelter.

At first, I wondered if there was any need to question trees being large.

’Wait a minute. Come to think of it, were there ever plants that were oversized instead of animals?’

Thinking deeply, there were hardly any.

Occasionally things like the Immortal Herb, or the Shadow Tree in the Black Forest, etc.

Abnormally grown plants existed, but those were closer to monstrous anomalies.

Having every single tree grow huge like the ones Ludwig was looking at was almost non-existent.

Allfather) It doesn’t seem like one side devoured nutrients excessively either. Caution is advised.

Let’s Grow Trees) It’s proof that the World Tree is nearby! Plants around the World Tree grow massive!

Starlight Lady) Just in case, you didn’t plant those tree seeds along the border, did you?

Let’s Grow Trees) I am doing just that?

Starlight Lady) ;;;

Let’s Grow Trees—or rather, the Elf’s toxic personality—surfaced, but I ignored it.

After all, it wasn’t my concern, and Allfather’s hypothesis bugged me.

’If it were just one tree towering, sure, but if they’ve all grown uniformly massive like this...’

It meant the land itself was rich. It meant we were getting closer to the World Tree.

It was time to start tensing up. I hadn’t forgotten Vanir’s warning either.

Since she said even she found monsters here troublesome, we had to exercise caution in everything.

Plus, we had insurance. If a severe problem occurred, the plan was to escape immediately using Cheongseol’s ability.

’If even Cheongseol’s ability gets blocked...’

I turned my head to look at Cheongseol. Perched on my shoulder, she was licking my cheek.

When I tapped Cheongseol’s head a couple of times, she shook her head as if telling me to stop.

If anything, that gesture made Cheongseol look even cuter.

"Alright, alright. Let’s move again. Nothing unusual, right?"

"Nothing in particular was spotted."

Even during our break, there were no notable ambushes.

Afterwards, we continuously headed toward the World Tree, constantly checking if anything caught our eyes.

Occasionally, droppings left by beasts or fur caught on trees, and so on.

We were able to discover several traces, but none were to the extent of raising alarms.

"Ssshaaak!"

Ah. Snakes were the exception. These damn snakes attacked us whenever they got the chance.

Most animals kept their distance due to our numbers, but with snakes, that meant nothing.

If there was any silver lining, it was that most of the snakes targeted me.

Having been ambushed by snakes so often, responding to them had become second nature.

Snap!

No. To be precise, there wasn’t even a need to react much.

A snake’s fangs could almost never pierce my Body-Protecting Gangqi.

I’d just stand there overtly like ’go ahead and bite me~’, wait, and grab it when it bit. End of story.

After that, well... thorough retribution.

"This one is pretty tough. Lackey, hold him for a sec."

"Can’t you just slash it with a sword?"

"Drawing my sword is too bothersome."

"Truly beastly, Master."

Having heard that expression so often, I didn’t feel much anymore. I was already fighting like a beast anyway.

Proceeding smoothly without hindrance like that, we drew closer and closer to the World Tree.

Even after walking for a long time, all that appeared was forest, forest, and more forest.

"Na-na~ na-na-na~ la-la-la~"

Just how relaxed were we that Maengkkongi was softly singing a song? It was flabbergasting.

But there was something even more surprising. Currently, Maengkkongi’s song was echoing softly.

[Na-na~ na-na-na~ la-la-la~]

There were birds singing along to Maengkkongi’s song line for line.

Whether they were parrots or something else was uncertain.

What mattered was whether it posed harm to us, or if this was a trap.

Fortunately, it was presumed not to be a trap, and this too was thanks to Maengkkongi.

’Because Maengkkongi is exceptionally good at reading the room.’

Singing urgent tunes during crisis or combat, and peaceful songs like now during calm moments.Visit novelping(.)com for the full chapter.

In a way, he could be called the one best at maintaining vigilance among us.

Perhaps that was the reason he survived in the Forest of the Four Seasons with that tiny body.

"Maengkkongi-ya. Can you be quiet for now? Singing is nice, but I’m worried it might attract danger."

"La-la-la~ la-la-la~ la-la~"

"Maengkkongi-ya?"

Despite my request, Maengkkongi did not stop singing.

He wouldn’t ignore my words. Because Maengkkongi had an upright character.

He was the guy who carried tree branches himself to prove his usefulness during winter.

For such a guy to ignore my words made no sense.

’...Could it be?’

I ground to a sudden halt. As I stopped, my companions naturally stopped in their tracks as well.

Looking at them, their faces appeared somewhat dazed.

It wasn’t that their souls had left their bodies, nor were their pupils hazy.

How should I put it? It was as if they had zoned out while soaking in warm water.

"...Is everyone okay?"

"Is something wrong, Master?"

"..."

Unlike Lackey who acted as if nothing was wrong, Ludwig blinked a few times and then narrowed his brows.

Apparently, he felt a sense of incongruity in his own state. With that, I looked at Cain.

Cain, being close to an inanimate object, wouldn’t have been affected at all.

Hence, he didn’t seem to grasp the present situation.

"La-la-la~ lal-la~ la-la-la~"

[La-la-la~ lal-la~ la-la-la~]

Even after stopping in our tracks, Maengkkongi’s passionate singing didn’t cease. The singing echoing from the forest was the same.

Only then did I belatedly realize. It wasn’t that there were no animals attacking us.

We were already caught in a trap they had laid out for us.

"...We’ll exit this forest at a brisk pace. Running pointlessly might only disrupt Maengkkongi’s singing."

[They seem to be creatures like Sirens.]

Cain brought up an apt metaphor. Sirens were monsters famous for luring sailors with beautiful singing.

In Greco-Roman mythology, Orpheus played his lyre to drown out the Sirens’ song.

Maengkkongi was displaying a similar ability. The issue was that we only had one Maengkkongi.

Furthermore, none of us could sing as well as Maengkkongi, so it was best to hurry out.

"Anywhere is fine, so let’s head to a place where we can’t hear the song."

Passing Dwarf) Wasn’t there a similar bastard before?

Smart Demon) If you mean the Phonograph Bug, it’s similar. But that wouldn’t be stopped even with a Lion’s Roar, right?

Heavenly Demon) As I see it, this one’s Lion’s Roar focuses on physical force rather than attacking sensory perceptions.

Heavenly Demon was right. If I followed my heart, I wanted to belt out a song too.

But mine was focused on ’physical force’, so a single mistake could trigger a massive disaster.

Beyond completely drowning out Maengkkongi’s song, it would destroy everyone else’s eardrums as well.

"...Can’t hear it anymore, right?"

"I hear nothing."

Thankfully, escaping the forest wasn’t difficult.

We came close to getting wiped out, but thanks to Maengkkongi, I breathed a sigh of relief.

’I really need to look after Maengkkongi well.’

I carefully checked if anyone had fallen behind or if there was anything wrong.

Since it was mental rather than physical, extra caution was needed.

"I have a problem, Master."

"What problem?"

"A symptom where I get dizzy if I don’t eat candied sweet potato."

"Even narcotics aren’t like that."

Hearing him spout nonsense, I immediately knew he was perfectly fine.

After that, I meticulously checked the state of the rest of the party, especially the kids, and set off once more.

Even as we walked, Maengkkongi remained quiet. Standing upright atop Wonmo’s head, he looked pretty cute.

He rendered a massive contribution this time, so giving him something delicious when we return to the Shelter would be well-deserved. Just as I thought that—

"This is..."

[A tunnel. Though it is different from the one we saw last time.]

Just as Cain said, a passageway existed.

Unlike the passageway we saw before, light was streaming in from beyond this one.

Most of all...

"...Railroad tracks?"

Laid across the ground were railroad tracks, a symbol of civilization.

And in a pristine condition, as if newly laid down.