I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 539

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Do you happen to have gills attached to you?

"What kind of nonsense is this now?"

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Cuz you said you can breathe in a place that clearly looks like the sea lol

ㄴPraise the Sun) Are you finally breaking past the limits of humanity?

ㄴStarlight Lady) Aren’t you treating a human too much like a monster?

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Lookin’ at his state, even treating him like a human feels like a generous stretch, imo

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Since he is God’s Herald, breaking past limits is only natural!

ㄴInternal Cultivation Master Robert) Even so, I wouldn’t want to grow gills.

At the dwarf’s sudden nonsense, other regular gallery members chimed in with a word or two.

Feeling dumbfounded after seeing this was short-lived; I turned my head and looked ahead.

Frankly, it was ambiguous to describe it as a sea. Only a glass wall was missing; it was closer to the form of an aquarium.

Moreover, normally if you dive into the sea or a river, you can’t breathe, but beyond this boundary was completely different.

Breathing was completely smooth, and this applied not just to me, but to the rest of the party as well.

ㄴAllfather) If a human grew gills, it would not be very pleasant. That is because if a fish’s gills dry out, it dies.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Can’t you open and close ’em?

ㄴAllfather) That sounds like asking whether one can voluntarily open and close their sweat pores at will.

The dwarf’s nonsense was suppressed by Allfather’s logic. The dwarf also took a "whatever, if not, then not" attitude.

More important than that was whether we had to cross this sea—no, this Land of Water.

In my heart, I wanted to detour around it, but no suitable path was visible.

Because it felt like stepping into the Ash Zone, as if the area itself was changing.

’At least the scenery inside looks like a forest, though...’

Although fish-like creatures were flying around inside, the landscape itself was closer to a forest submerged in the sea.

Usually, seaweed or coral grows in the sea, but in front of us, ordinary trees were growing.

However, there was a strange point. Namely, the growth of the trees was slow.

Being the Forest of the Four Seasons, trees should normally be dense, but up ahead was different.

’It looks as if logging was done just a few days ago...’

It was closer to trees that had been logged and were growing back bit by bit. I had seen this at my Shelter as well.

A tree that was logged a few days prior would suddenly regenerate at a rapid speed at some point.

Normally, it takes at least 10 years for a tree to fully grow, so it was an extremely fast speed.

Because of that, even if I logged indiscriminately, the scale of my Shelter itself rarely expanded.

’Someone might have chopped down the trees.’

After all, there was the example of the hobgoblins. Similar creatures might live in this zone as well.

More than that, the important thing right now was whether we absolutely had to pass through here. For now, I paced back and forth around the perimeter.

If possible, I didn’t want to pass through this dangerous-looking zone. How was it any different from the Ash Zone?

But before long, I realized it was meaningless.

Kwareureung! Kwareung! Kkwareureung!

Because following the boundary line brought us face to face with a ridiculous place.

It was an area where thunderbolts fell like a downpour. An area appeared where it was difficult to take even a single step, without an inch of exaggeration.

In the Ash Zone, avoiding the flames was enough, but over there, a torrential downpour of thunderbolts was pouring down from the sky.

And what about underneath that sky? Thunderbolts alone were overwhelming, but the lightning ricocheted off the ground and scattered in every direction.

’Ah. Right. This is the Forest of the Four Seasons.’

Belatedly, I realized once more that this forest was fucked up in many ways. I’d rather just pass through the Land of Water.

Just in case, I didn’t forget to make full preparations.

Unlike a general forest, that place was a region similar to a sea.

We had no idea what kind of entities might appear, and we had to pay attention to everything.

"It can’t be helped, but I think we have to go inside there. Is anyone scared?"

Seueuk— Seuk—

Except for the children, everyone raised their hands. Great, I love how honest they are.

"Why did Master raise his hand?"

"Because I’m just as scared."

For the record, I raised mine too. I hated the thought of entering even if it killed me, but it was a situation where we had no choice.

Since even a detour was impossible, a frontal breakthrough was the only answer. I exhorted the party.

"If anything happens, run away as calmly as possible. We will make this our retreat point."

After experiencing the Colossus situation, I realized: in a hopeless situation, retreat is the answer.

Back then, it was fortunate that Vanir helped us in the nick of time; otherwise, I would have died without being able to do a damn thing.

The Land of Water up ahead would likely be similar, if not worse.

"Don’t worry too much. Someone once said, a human can be destroyed but not defeated. We can succeed too."

"Master. Look behind you."

"Huh?"

I had delivered a fairly cool line, but Lackey pointed behind me.This chapter was taken from novelpi‌ng.com without permission.

Turning around at that, I encountered a very interesting sight.

Kuung! Kung!

A land tortoise almost as big as a mountain was crawling along slowly.

It was colossal enough to casually ignore perspective, and its vibrations reached all the way here.

Ageujak! Kkwadeude! Kkwadeuk!

Even the thing held in the tortoise’s mouth was extraordinary. It was crunching down on a giant crab with pure bite force.

No matter how strong I am, there’s no chance I could withstand that tortoise’s bite force.

I stared blankly at the scene, then spoke to the party.

"Actually, human arrogance naturally kneels before nature. Let’s not be arrogant."

"..."

"What."

Don’t look at me with that pathetic face. I was just trying to give some encouragement in my own way.

Regardless, if possible, it’s best not to mess with a guy like that. Our goal is to reach the World Tree.

Thus, after governing my mind once more, I stepped into the Land of Water.

I noticed it earlier when I only stuck my face in, but a peculiar sense of buoyancy was felt.

"Phew..."

Breathing was also possible without issue. I checked if there were any problematic parts.

As I mentioned earlier, except for feeling a strange buoyancy, no particular sense of foreignness was felt.

Of course, that might just be me, so I checked the status of the rest of the party.

"Is everyone doing okay?"

"None."

[None, but... I feel something strange.]

While most of the party answered that they were fine, only Cain felt a sense of incongruity.

Currently, Cain was acting in Dullahan mode. I asked him what was uncomfortable.

"What feels strange?"

[It feels as though my reaction speed has become somewhat faster. This region itself feels rich in mana.]

It seemed this region itself was rich in mana. Hearing those words, I felt puzzled, then manifested my aura.

Having mastered Unity of Self and Object, the size of my Aura Blade was no different from before. The amount of mana consumed was the same as well.

But the true essence showed after consuming mana. Simply by breathing, mana was instantly replenished.

"Huh? What’s this? It feels like mana gets replenished just by breathing?"

"Me too, Master."

"I feel a similar sensation as well."

It seemed Lackey and Ludwig were receiving similar feelings too.

As for Dolsoe, he was still wearing restraining gear so he probably couldn’t feel it.

Anyway, I realized that the mana in this region itself was abundant.

’Is it because mana is so abundant that it feels like being underwater?’

If so, where on earth is this abundant mana coming from?

Just like the Ash Zone, a device or something that consistently emits high-density mana must exist.

ㄴAllfather) Don’t tell me a second Artificial Sun is located here?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) That sounds like a story with a high possibility.

ㄴSword Matstar) Considering that tortoise earlier too, it would be best to be careful.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) But what on earth makes the mana concentration rise like this? Even though it’s the Forest of the Four Seasons?

I strongly agreed with the dwarf’s question. This is the Forest of the Four Seasons.

A place where the concentration of mana is excessively dense compared to the outside.

For ordinary people, the pressure is so severe that the moment they enter, mana is virtually cut off.

It was already at that level, yet there was a region upgraded one step further. A truly terrible place that I didn’t even want to imagine.

"Sssuh... It’ll be fine, right?"

"Where did that confidence from earlier go?"

"It was crushed before the majesty of nature."

For now, I moved forward. For mana to be rich even by the standards of the Forest of the Four Seasons, anxiety was already lingering.

But there was room to think positively. Our party’s overall firepower had also gotten stronger.

In particular, Lackey’s magic might show great potential.

"Doo- doodoodoo- doodoo- doodoo~"

Along with Maengkkongi’s music as a bonus. It was an atmosphere like being at an amusement park.

A background music that would fit in an RPG game I used to enjoy playing, so to speak.

’That game also had countlessly many regions no less than the Forest of the Four Seasons.’

The monsters were no ordinary sight either. Snails the size of a person, one-eyed lizards, and so on.

Overall, it was because it was cute and charming; if it were reality, I would have fainted.

"Master. There’s something over there."

It was then. Lackey pointed somewhere, having discovered something.

Turning my head at that, to my surprise, I encountered a bipedal being.

But walking on two legs was where the similarities ended. Its appearance was truly bizarre.This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.

"Is that a squid on its head? Or an octopus?"

ㄴAllfather) At least it is certain that it is a cephalopod.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) What is a cephalopod?

ㄴSmart Demon) Things that look like you.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Lovely creatures, then.

ㄴSword Matstar) He’s saying your face looks like an octopus;;

ㄴHeavenly Demon) I am well aware. I merely praised him thinking he said such words out of shyness.

ㄴSmart Demon) LMAO I can’t even tell a joke.

Putting a cephalopod—whether squid or octopus—on its head is something I could overlook.

But the body was the issue. I could tell it walked on two legs, but I couldn’t tell its identity.

What was certain for now was that the cephalopod acted as a sort of head. It was closer to a parasite.

’Would it be better to ignore it...’

Kwak!

While thinking for a moment, my vision suddenly went dark.

While trying to grasp what was happening, an intense pressure was felt on my head.

A pressure as if sticking my head into a hydraulic press.

"Uuup! Uup!"

It wasn’t just pressure being felt. Something slimy and disgusting forced its way into my mouth.

I didn’t know what on earth was tormenting me like this, but I had made a mistake. Holding onto my consciousness, I clamped my teeth down hard.

Kkwadeudeok!

As soon as I bit down hard, something snapped lightly. Immediately after, I forcibly tore off what was attached to my head.

Beyond peeling it off, it was almost at the level of ripping it away, and as if suction cups were attached, it was considerably tough.

"Phooey! Twee! Tweeet!"

As soon as my vision cleared, I spat out what was inside my mouth. Then I looked around.

It wasn’t just me who got caught; Lackey and Ludwig were tearing off whatever was stuck to their faces.

Fortunately, the numbers weren’t many, so other party members were helping out. Dolsoe was included in this.

Ttududeok! Ttuduk!

I hurriedly ripped off the cephalopods stuck to the party members’ heads.

The suction force of the suckers themselves was tremendous, making even pulling them off difficult.

Even for Lackey, despite having fur all over his body, it was tough.

"Phooey! Twee! Twee!"

"Ugh!"

Unlike Ludwig, did it penetrate all the way down Lackey’s throat? He was even gagging.

I thoroughly checked if any other party members were caught.

"Kkyuuu!! Kkyuu!"

"!!!"

A small entity stuck to Maengkkongi’s head. Wonmo was pecking at that entity with his beak.

That effort was rewarded, allowing Maengkkongi to escape under his own power.

"Phooey! What is this bastard!"

"I don’t know either."

I looked at the bastards that raided us without a sound or rumor.

A moon-shaped round body and tentacles squirming underneath it. Long and thin like jellyfish tentacles.

The fact that those things forced their way into my mouth was beyond disgusting. But there was no time to appreciate the view.

"Since they look like jellyfish, they might be venomous. Drink Elixir and antidote here."

I didn’t know if they were jellyfish or not, but being cautious wouldn’t hurt.

Just as I was handing out Elixirs and antidotes to each party member, a sound was heard from behind.

"BooOOoo—"

"BooOOoo—"

"BooOOoo—"

It sounded like a whale’s cry. As soon as I heard that sound, I turned my gaze.

The guys we were watching earlier were approaching in this direction.

And not just one or two, but dozens of them.

Realizing it only now, the body types were varied.

Some looked like goblins, and others were things I had never seen before.

Even four-legged animals had jellyfish attached to their heads.

"...Everyone, prepare for battle."

I gave the order quietly.

Right now, the task was to sweep all of them away.

’I’ll have to send a few specimens to Allfather.’

I became curious about the true identity of these bizarre creatures.