I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 488

It wasn’t strange for a city to exist in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Nor was it unusual for that city’s functions to still be operational.

Without going far, doesn’t the library managed by Alex exist?

Meaning a biological AI far superior to Alex could be running that city.

That was the thought that struck me upon seeing the train that had charged at us moments ago.

↳ Allfather) Ohhhh! A city containing the civilization of the gods intact! This is a monumental discovery unprecedented in history!

↳ Sword Matstar) He’s already been doing that, why act surprised now lol

↳ Heavenly Demon) I am curious as to what might be inside there.

↳ Starlight Lady) Is it a city of the gods? Just hearing about it raises my expectations.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) There must be traces of Lady Aris too, right?! Right?!

Numerous fixed-handle users erupted in excitement upon seeing the panoramic view of the metropolis.

The settlement where the library was located was hard to even call a village; it was practically close to ruins.

However, the metropolis before our eyes was different. Starting from towering buildings to sky-high towers.

In particular, my gaze was drawn most to the single tower standing distinctly above the rest. Usually, such towers are treated as landmarks.

’Though it’s not like I know much about towers...’

Besides, human civilization here was far more prosperous than what I knew.

They might have built another tower to commemorate that achievement.

As I pondered what to do, I subtly checked the time.

’It’s about time to head back anyway...’

It would be dinner time soon. Passing through the tunnel—or rather, waiting for the train to pass—took too long.

Therefore, entering the city right now was difficult time-wise. In a worst-case scenario, we might have to spend the night there.

Curiosity burned in my heart, but I suppressed it tightly. Curiosity could be resolved tomorrow.

"First, let’s find a suitable spot. I think today’s exploration ends here."

[Why try to find a spot? Can’t we just return immediately?]

"If you want to get hit by a train the moment you come back here, go ahead."

[I wouldn’t mind getting hit, though.]

"Are we really doing a foot callus removal today?"

Exchanging jokes that were half-serious, we stepped off the railway. For reference, there was a specific kind of spot I wanted.

A place where I could see the overall view of the city like right now. I’ll explain the reason for this later.

Before long, after securing a suitable site, I set up base camp to wait until the sun set.

As everyone knows, waiting until nightfall outside of the shelter is an extremely dangerous act.

Above all, while the shelter had a disruptor, this place didn’t. Because of that, guards were necessary.

’Guards are guards, but there might also be sneaky bastards approaching.’

It was time to use the item I had received from King Reor previously.

A crime prevention magic orb frequently used by adventurers as well as the military.

An item that emits a loud warning sound when someone approaches within a certain radius.

If I buried this in the ground, I could feel somewhat at ease. Now, all that was left was to wait until night.

"Is there a reason to wait until night?"

"To see the night view."

"Night view?"

When I said we were waiting to see the night view, Ludwig tilted his head.

A night view was a scene easily accessible from my—that is, a modern person’s—perspective.

The sight of artificial lights shining brilliantly was something not easily forgotten.

"Does this place not have the concept of a night view?"

"It is not that it does not exist. It is usually a landscape where the stars or moonlight shine beautifully."

"Not that, but the entire city glowing with lights?"

"The entire city glowing? Those are words I cannot comprehend."

It seemed the night view I knew did not exist in this place. It wasn’t surprising.

In a world without even trains, light bulbs wouldn’t exist either.

At best, there were Light Crystal Orbs, but even those were hard to call ’popularized’.

I heard most people used lamps, having only received theirs from good acquaintances.

↳ Starlight Lady) Important institutions like the Academy or the Imperial Palace sparkle at night too.

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) The statue of Lady Aris located in the Holy Kingdom always shines light!

↳ Let’s Grow Trees) The World Tree is famous for always shining! It radiates the most beautiful light in the world!

↳ Praise the Sun) It’s ridiculously inefficient, but someone I know illuminated their house with crystal orbs too.

Just as Praise the Sun said, crystal orbs were atrocious in terms of efficiency.This chapter was copied from NovelPing without permission.

Using them individually was one thing, but creating a night view with them was extremely difficult.

’There wouldn’t be technology to turn on multiple light bulbs with a single switch, either.’

I chatted casually with the fixed-handle users for a bit, then quietly ended the video stream.

My eyes were starting to throb. It wasn’t because I had kept the stream on for a long time.

It was because far more people than usual had flooded in. Eye strain was only natural.

Though they couldn’t type in chat, anyone could watch. At least tens of thousands of people must be watching.

’Even a high-performance computer would have a hard time handling this.’

Indeed, as soon as I stopped streaming, countless posts flooded into the Gallery.

Demanding to turn the stream back on immediately, threatening to post gross pictures or shitposts if I didn’t.

It was typical for a Gallery where all sorts of strange people surfaced. And those people were promptly banned by the assistant moderators.

’By the way, if a night view unfolds...’

It means power is being supplied to the city. It means someone is maintaining that function.

Whether a biological AI like Alex exists inside, or if actual people live there, there’s no way to know for sure.

’It’s not like there are zero survivors.’

The Forest of the Four Seasons makes escape impossible, but as long as a few conditions are met, survival is possible.

Although the inability to use mana is a hindrance, if lucky, one could eke out an existence using high-performance tools.

Or, like me, desperately survive and evolve in a weird direction.

Of course, like the Butcher Ogre, there are cases where one evolves into a monstrosity that can hardly be called human.

It meant that despite the extreme difficulty, people who survived might be living in that city.

’Whether they’ll be friendly to me or hostile, I don’t know.’

As time passed, the sun gradually began to set. The sky changed from orange to navy, and further into complete blackness.

Because we lit a campfire at the base camp, it wasn’t pitch black. No beasts attacked us either.

The city visible far in the distance only revealed a tiny silhouette. No night view existed at all.

’Was it just my pointless anxiety...?’

Having checked the night view (or lack thereof), it seemed fine to head back. Just as that thought crossed my mind—

Flash! Flash!

The city’s buildings, which had barely reflected a silhouette, began emitting light one by one.

Starting from the top of the towering spire to the surrounding buildings.

The city, which hadn’t let a single speck of light through, transformed into the most brilliantly glowing place.

"..."

"Master. That looks cool."

"Remarkable."

[It is certainly a place fit for the gods to reside.]

While I silently closed my mouth, the rest of the group marvelled at the night view.

From the group’s perspective—especially Ludwig or Cain—it must feel like a futuristic atmosphere.

Even though I personally envisioned a majestic realm like ancient Greece when thinking of a city of gods.

’Still, not just the tower, but other buildings are sparkling too...’

If only one or two buildings had lit up, that would be one thing, but I didn’t expect the entire city to reveal a night view.

It meant a massive amount of power was being supplied to the city. Suddenly, the Artificial Sun came to mind.

Does an Artificial Sun exist in that city as well? Or is it receiving power from the World Tree?

Unless confirmed directly, there was no way to know.

Title) City Night View

Wild Grylls

(Photo 1 of beautifully glowing city night view)

(Photo 2 of beautifully glowing city night view)

(Video of beautifully glowing city night view)

My eyes hurt so I stopped streaming, but I uploaded photos and a video instead.

As expected, there’s definitely something in that city.

Otherwise it wouldn’t be sparkling like that.

Not sure if it’s a case like the library or if actual people are living there.

Between the train and the night view, my mind is feeling complicated.

↳ Heavenly Demon) What a beautiful place. It feels like looking at the Demonic Cult in the middle of a festival.

↳ Sword Matstar) I heard the night markets in Central Plains are quite lovely?

↳ Heavenly Demon) If you wish, you may visit in person. Once this matter is resolved, I plan to throw a grand festival.

↳ Smart Demon) Hey now;;

↳ Dragging someone from another country in during a war, lololol

↳ But isn’t that clique behavior? What is Orange Badge doing?The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.

↳ Orange Badge is probably out of her mind looking at the photos and video right now lol

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) No, I’m not! I was just distracted looking somewhere else for a second! Anyway, real-life meetups are forbidden! I’m watching all of you!

↳ Praise the Sun) Wow. How much money is that? To light up an entire city, you’d need money rotting in piles.

↳ Allfather) Surprisingly, it might be relatively cheap. The gods have a tendency to emphasize efficiency.

↳ Professor. The gods made pickaxes out of Adamantium.

↳ An entire cave was made of Orichalcum.

↳ They even made statues endowed with wills, so...

↳ Hearing it like this, it feels even more mind-boggling lol

As I posted on the Gallery, an explosive reaction erupted. In an instant, comments passed over 100.

Having received countless upvotes, rising to the Recommended Posts was a given.

I just listened to the fixed-handle users’ chat and quietly closed the Gallery.

Now that I had confirmed the night view, returning to the shelter to rest was top priority.

"Today’s exploration ends here. We’ll head into that city tomorrow."

[We must make thorough preparations.]

Just as Cain said. Since we didn’t know what might happen in that city, thorough preparations were necessary.

In the off chance a situation arose where we couldn’t escape that city for a while.

Afterward, we returned to the shelter using Cheongseol’s spatial movement ability.

Perhaps because quite a lot happened today, everyone just did basic maintenance and fell fast asleep.

I was different. I neatly relieved fatigue through Internal Energy Regulation and became lost in thought.

’A city...’

The city’s night view that I faced today lingered in my mind.

Back when living on Earth—specifically in the Republic of Korea—I didn’t place much significance on night views.

However, dropping into the wild and confronting it directly changed my perspective. I realized how extraordinary modern civilization truly was.

Furthermore, I wondered what kind of history it went through for that entire civilization to collapse.

Although there were weapons capable of destroying entire civilizations—especially nuclear weapons—that alone felt insufficient.

’They said the United States collapsed quickly... so I don’t know.’

The only plausible guess was disease. The assumption that an epidemic worse than the pandemic I experienced broke out.

Otherwise, I didn’t really know. The only way was to search for answers directly.

’Come to think of it, it’s a miracle I didn’t fall sick while living here.’

Is my body tough? Or is my luck ridiculously good?

Even Ludwig, whose ankle was severed, only suffered a fever and became sturdy afterward.

I wasn’t sure if mana helped fight off diseases.

’For now, let’s sleep.’

Without turning on the Gallery, I closed my eyes. To enter the city tomorrow, I needed to get sufficient rest.

Thus a day passed, and just as Cain mentioned, thorough preparations were made.

Elixirs kept for emergencies, emergency rations, spare weapons, and so on.

Among these, emergency rations were the most crucial. A city is not the wild.

Unless animals were roaming inside, self-sufficiency was impossible.

"If everyone is ready, we’ll head out."

Jjwaaak!

With my words, Cheongseol tore space open.

Following that, we entered inside and reached the base camp set up yesterday.

And...

Chal-kak! Chal-kak!

"...What the."

The moment we arrived at base camp, we faced an absurd sight.

Something looking like a drone—no, an actual drone—was photographing our base camp.

Wiiiiing—

The drone photographing the base camp noticed our presence.

The camera embedded right in the center felt rather menacing.

Just in case, I drew my weapon, and the rest of the group assumed combat stances as well.

Chal-kak!

Regardless, the drone snapped a picture of my face once, and then—

Paaat!

Vanished on the spot.