I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 489

A drone that took a photo of our base camp and my face before fleeing.

Because it was a sudden situation, I was flustered for a moment, but I quickly snapped out of it.

Where it came from couldn’t be determined at all, but I presumed it came from that city over there.

Otherwise, there’s no way a drone would fly all the way out here. Caution was required.

’At least it doesn’t seem to be a self-detonating type...’

The drones that threatened us when fighting the Mechanical Kraken last time.

They looked like flying fish, but in reality, they were nothing but lethal drones.

Among them, the self-detonating ones inflicted significant damage on us.

’Self-detonating ones are for war; normally, they’re used a lot for photography.’

Rather than that, where those drones headed was the main point. For now, there was a strong probability it returned to the city.

It was just bothering me that it used Teleport when returning. I asked Ludwig a question.

"Ludwig ahjussi. I heard that supply transport via Teleport is difficult. Right?"

"Correct."

"Is Teleporting small items like that easy?"

"Teleport itself is a difficult spell."

I groaned upon hearing that answer. As he said, Teleport is a high-level spell.

Lackey was able to use it easily because he had the cheat sheet from Allfather, but also because he was inherently smart.

On top of that, there was the Mythrilcon Gauntlet I crafted myself. Activating it barehanded is extremely difficult.

’For a mere reconnaissance drone to use that...’

If it could do that, it meant other functions were even more advanced, not less.

I felt disheartened already. Even so, quitting was not an option.

Hurriedly gathering my composure, I turned my gaze. The city featuring the towering spire caught my eyes.

No matter what might be in there or what might happen, even if unpredictable, we had to go.

Only then could we raise the chances of escaping this damn forest even by a little bit.

’First, let’s turn on the live stream.’

Since full-scale exploration began, I turned on the video stream accordingly.

The moment I turned it on, numerous fixed-handle users poured in with comments. Many fixed-handle users I hadn’t seen before showed up as well.

In the end, the comment section became chaotic, and a significant amount of fatigue washed over me already.

"...I’ll just turn it off."

I stopped the video stream. For me to feel tired, just how many people had entered?

Of course, from the perspective of the people outside, they had discovered a city of the gods, so it was not weird for them to be excited.

It was just hard for me to endure. For the time being, instead of real-time video streaming, I should just post text.

"Let’s follow the railway. Usually, railways are connected to cities."

There was no need to cut through the forest. Furthermore, near the railway, although there were bushes, there were almost no trees.

It was to prevent the disaster of animals leaping out and colliding with trains. There was no clearer way to track a path than this.

Even if a train ran like yesterday, it didn’t matter. As long as it wasn’t a place with no escape like a tunnel, it was fine.

[How often do the trains you mentioned yesterday usually run?]

"It depends on the country and the region. What we saw yesterday was a freight train, so it probably ran frequently."

"It must be extremely effective for supplies."

Yesterday, we were flustered so we couldn’t discuss it.

However, right now, there were no surprise attackers, and Maengkkongi was only singing an energetic marching song.

This might be our last moment of leisure. So I answered comfortably.

"Indeed. It was wonderful not just for supplies, but for passenger travel too. I used to ride it often when I was in the military."

"Were you perhaps a noble? Riding such a thing must have cost a non-trivial amount."

"I was a commoner. And the price wasn’t that expensive."

As long as it wasn’t a holiday period where traffic was insane, tickets were easy to get.

The issue was that the place I served was at the front lines. Because of that, I spent more than half a day on the train.

Even getting off at the station was the same. Taking a bus to reach home took a long time as well.

’Even when I arrived home, there was nobody to welcome me.’

Unable to overcome that loneliness, I mostly lumped my leave days together.

In the first place, since my parents had passed away, I was a person who didn’t even have to serve in the military.

Yet I had nothing to do, and when I enlisted voluntarily, the state happily welcomed me in.

’At least right now, I don’t feel lonely, so... whatever.’

Following the railway, traces of civilization became increasingly prominent over nature.

The lush forest, which at some point was reduced to mere bushes, vanished almost entirely.

All that was laid out on the ground were gravel and pebbles commonly seen on railroad tracks.

"We’re getting close now."

[As we get closer, it feels even grander.]

The city that felt endlessly distant drew near at some point.

The towering spire became so tall that one had to tilt their neck back, and the surrounding buildings displayed a formidable presence.

What kind of things exist inside, and will there be survivors?Read this novel at novelping . com for the best experience.

Full of unknowns, my heart was half filled with anticipation and half with worry.

Title) Almost Arrived

Wild Grylls

(Photo of majestic city)

Planning to enter soon.

Everyone, please cheer for my safe return.

↳ Heavenly Demon) Hearing your words, it sounds as if you are going to die. You are by no means weak.

↳ Sword Matstar) If that person is weak, what does that make everyone else?

↳ What else? Passing Goblin 1 lololol

↳ Goblins are actually kind of strong. We’re just Passing Ant 1 lol

↳ Setting the standard to that guy in the first place makes no sense;;

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Please return safely! And if possible, find lots of fascinating things too!

↳ Is she worrying, or is she just being greedy?

↳ Isn’t it both?

↳ Hey Orange Badge. Be honest. You’re more attracted to the city of the gods than Grylls, right?

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Both of them turn me on!

↳ ? I said "attracted", I didn’t say "turned on"?

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) They mean the exact same thing!

↳ Did Orange Badge not graduate elementary school? They’re completely different words?

↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Please remember that I still hold the power to forcibly appoint assistant moderators!

↳ ;;;

↳ Look at her resorting to threats when it’s disadvantageous lololol

↳ Is it about time to replace Orange Badge? She’s committing a lot of tyranny lately lol

↳ Doesn’t the Orange Badge need a long period of inactivity to change? Or die.

↳ Yeah, in the end we just have to keep our eyes down.

↳ She cursed the Papal See, but here she became the Papal See herself lololol

↳ Passing Dwarf) If there’s a brewing machine over there, can you give it to me?

↳ This guy is looking for alcohol again.

↳ Didn’t they say the brewing process is nothing different?

↳ Passing Dwarf) But it’s delicate. That single factor of precision separates a master craftsman from an amateur.

↳ You’re already receiving super expensive ingredients from Grylls;;

↳ Passing Dwarf) It’s been ages since I used all that up lol

↳ FUCK lololololol

↳ lolololol

↳ Speechless lololol

When will the dwarf’s alcoholism ever be cured? I really didn’t know.

At any rate, leaving behind the noisy atmosphere of the Gallery, I slowly moved my feet forward.

As I got closer to the city, a peculiar sense of pressure was felt, but I tried hard to ignore it and pushed forward.

Following the railway like that, we were able to reach the station—that is, the platform.

[There are an awful lot of trains.]

"Indeed."

Numerous freight trains were waiting at the platform.

Unlike the one that gave us a heart attack yesterday, it was a quiet atmosphere.

I closely scanned the trains for traces, wondering if there was anything I recognized.

’I don’t recognize any of them. Then again, I’m not a train geek, so how would I know?’

I knew there were train nerds—people among geeks who liked trains.

If it were those people, they’d know what kind of train this was, but not me.

’Still, it’s written in English. The pronunciation is...’

Fortunately, there was one commonality: the English written on the train. It was likely a company name.

I stared intently at that English text. Influenced by a dream I had recently, I was fluent in English.

However, English frequently gets read differently from how it’s written, so I wasn’t entirely certain.

Or at least, that should have been the case.

"Al... und...?"

Until I uttered the name without realizing it.

It was a name that evoked an unusually strong sense of deja vu.

[Do you know who that is?]

"No. On the contrary, I wanted to ask you?"

[It’s a name unknown to me as well.]

Considering even Cain didn’t know it, it probably wasn’t the name of a god.

I stared at the name written as Alund, then tilted my head.

The deja vu I felt a moment ago had vanished completely, but it wasn’t easily forgotten.

"First, let’s check what’s inside the train. Cain-ssi? May I borrow your shoulder?"Visit nove​lping.com for the full chapter.

Setting aside Alund’s name, I checked what was inside the cargo.

Climbing onto Cain’s shoulders, I peered inside the cargo container. As expected, it was completely empty.

In the end, without gaining any results, I stepped down from the train. After that, I checked the engine room as well.

’Nobody here either.’

Whether it operated on AI or not, nobody was visible in the engine room.

Only the complex-looking control panels unique to an engine room were laid out.

It seemed there was nothing more to gain from the train. Now it was time to leave the platform and enter the city.

"There’s nothing particularly concerning. Let’s head out from here."

The platform was extremely broad. Since freight trains themselves were extraordinarily long, the platform naturally had to be spacious.

If things went wrong, we might have had to eat a meal here, but fortunately, we were able to exit before that.

’No ticket gates. Is it because this is a place where only freight trains gather?’

Thus, crossing past the platform, we reached the city. We arrived at the city also referred to as the gray forest.

Because it wasn’t a city I knew, it was utterly unfamiliar, but there was no denying that feelings were running deep.

How long had it been since facing traces of civilization? The area where Alex’s library was located was practically ruins, making this feel even more real.

"Master. Don’t tell me you plan to explore this entire vast place?"

"Shouldn’t I?"

"It feels like it will take several days."

It might take not just several days, but more than a month. Exploring a city wasn’t even enough in a week.

Even the city I used to live in would take days upon days to explore.

I didn’t know how vast this place would be, but I had to brace myself firmly.

Jiiiiing—

"Hm?"

It was the exact moment I tried to take a single step forward. A sound reached my ears, which had become hyper-sensitive.

Turning my head toward the origin of the sound, a familiar camera was watching us.

A security device commonly called CCTV. I silently stared at that camera.

It felt as though the entity acting as the master of this city was surveillance-monitoring us.

[The feeling is strange. It is somewhat of an itchy feeling.]

"An itchy feeling?"

[Should I say it feels like dozens... no, hundreds of gazes are watching?]

"..."

Hearing Cain’s words, I turned my eyes. Another CCTV camera was staring this way.

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but one thing became certain: someone was watching us.

Whether it was a human or an AI like Alex, we would find out by checking directly.

"For now, let’s move forward. If you feel anything strange, please tell me right away."

Surveillance aside, we pushed forward.

If it were up to my heart, I’d want to meet the entity ruling this city right now.

However, the master of this city also seemed wary of us. It would be difficult to meet right away.

’By the way...’

It was when we stepped further into the city. I noticed something odd.

The ruins where the library was located were literally ruins, overflowing with all kinds of trash.

Most of them were cars. Cars controlled by mimics, at that.

However, this city was different. An extremely clean environment, with no junk cars or even trash lying around.

As if someone had meticulously maintained it continuously. Because it was too clean, a sense of uncanny strangeness arose.

’Who on earth? No, why?’

I had guessed it when the night view lit up, but this was beyond that.

Feeling complex emotions, I walked forward.

Wiiiiing—

It was around the time we were strolling down an empty street. A noise caught my ears.

Not the sound of a camera turning its head, but the sound of something with wings flapping violently.

Turning my head, a drone was staring intently at us.

I wasn’t sure if it was the same one that photographed our base camp.

Wiiiiing—

"Huh?"

"Hm?"

An astonishing thing happened. Light radiated from the drone that I thought was going to photograph us.

The light emitted from the camera lens before long began transforming into a single human figure.

An appearance resembling a hologram projected right out of a movie.

In fact, that hologram revealed the form of a woman.

Surprisingly, that woman...

[Welcome to Alund’s Fortress.]

...looked identical to Aris, whom I had seen before.