I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 543

Setan, as far as I knew, occupied a position like oil magnates—in other words, the Middle East.

As I’ve consistently mentioned, whether due to mana or Earthlings, this world maintained a subtle balance.

There were no steam locomotives, yet appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators existed, and water and sewage systems were installed for thorough hygiene management.

Although many places professed monarchy in terms of social structure, human rights themselves were good enough to rival the 21st century I used to live in.

Yet even with such a balance, there was one thing that never changed: ’resources.’

From ancient times, humanity often waged wars to covet resources or used them as leverage for extortion.

The power of resources was stronger than expected, which could be gathered from seeing even the United States—with its unmatched, cheat-like foundational land—walking on eggshells around the Middle East.

Consequently, nations lacking resources tended to fiercely elevate their technological capabilities or engage in nerve-wracking diplomacy.

’Our country was just such a case.’

The Korean Peninsula, famous for being absolute crap land. There were so damn many mountains that it was easy to defend, but that was strictly where it ended.

’Thanks to the condition of being able to play space turtle defense, we survived until the very end.’

At any rate, to see the sorrow of a country without resources, one only had to look at Korea.

The only thing we could boast about was clean water.

"Mana stones are a pretty important resource outside right now, aren’t they?"

↳ Praise the Sun) Our nation makes its living off that.

↳ Passing Dwarf) If nothing else, those guys pull power trips with resources all the time, yep.

↳ Smart Demon) Quite a lot comes out of the Central Plains as well, but it’s overwhelming enough just for us to use.

↳ Princess Chaenggu) Lately they’ve been clashing frequently with Mephisto~ They need lots of mana stones for relay magic, you see~

↳ King Reor) Not just relay magic, it is widely used in commercialized magic as well.

Mana stones were currently serving as a major pillar of this world as an energy source.

Because of this, Setan’s standing in the international community was immensely high, and even great powers had no choice but to walk on eggshells around them.

As I mentioned earlier, isn’t there a case where even the United States squirmed while watching the Middle East’s reaction?

Even though the U.S. was an oil-producing country, it couldn’t handle the volume and borrowed the power of the Middle East.

’I don’t know how severe the dependency is.’

Roughly speaking from what I heard, it was strictly the Middle East position. A resource powerhouse that controlled global oil prices.

Praise the Sun felt like he was worried that if this fact spread, Setan’s status would be shaken.

’I don’t particularly think that would happen, though.’

But I thought differently. The odds of Setan’s status taking a hit were close to zero.

Just because a resource that could replace oil appeared, would the value of oil decrease? Absolutely not.

Only countries capable of self-sufficiency like the U.S. or Russia would lose a ’bargaining chip’; for other nations, it remained identical.

Even if they were to use another energy resource, it practically meant overhauling the technology itself, making it hard to handle.

That’s how much of a cheat resources are. Unless it can be perfectly substituted, it’s a structure where one ultimately has no choice but to depend on it.

Could one completely abandon carbohydrates, fats, or proteins just to lose weight?

’Besides, this is the Forest of the Four Seasons.’

Just because mana was abundant in the ocean and there were resources that could replace mana stones, nothing would change.

Anyone with even half a brain would respond calmly.

They would first verify whether ’commercialization’ was possible and whether the theory was solid.

’It’s no different from extracting oil from the ocean.’

It practically meant developing oil rigs. Tremendous time and money would be consumed.

Therefore, it was something to just take with a grain of salt. Still, just in case, I explained it well.

"I’m telling you in advance, it might be like this because this place is the Forest of the Four Seasons. Besides, just because energy sources are abundant in the ocean doesn’t mean the value of mana stones will drop."

I did what I needed to do. If I had kept my mouth shut here, responsibility would have fallen on me as well.

What was more important was the information gained from Alpha. Before helping out, I wanted to ask one last thing.

"Before that, please ask if it knows anything about the gods—meaning the Chief God, or the siblings Aris and Aragon."

[---- ---- --- --]

Alpha was a robot that had been active for an extremely long time, rivaling Alex.

However, unlike Alex, whose knowledge was limited due to being active only in a confined space, Alpha was different.

Although its knowledge might be inferior to Alex’s, it at least had a record of being attacked by dragons of the Mythological Age.

There surely had to be knowledge regarding the Chief God, the Twin Gods, and ancient humanity.

[--- ---- ---]

[It does not know who the Chief God is, but it knows the Twin Siblings. It says this ship sent a request for reinforcements to them.]

"Seeing how they haven’t come to this day..."

Could there be a reason? I glanced at Cain and Ludwig to read their reactions.

Both Aris, and Aragon who was barely even mentioned.

Seeing how the ship was halved despite sending a reinforcement request, it was one of two things.

Either they couldn’t send it to the Twin Gods in time, or that side ignored it.

[--- ---- ----]

[It says communication was cut right before sending the request.]

Fortunately, there was no conspiracy or anything, just a tragic accident.

Furthermore, they must have been fighting tooth and nail against dragons at the time, so they wouldn’t have had time to care anyway.Enjoying the story? Read on at novеlping.com.

The only disappointing thing was the information regarding the Chief God. Even when expressed as the teacher who taught Aris and Aragon, it didn’t know.

Perhaps almost no records of the Chief God remained, or it might be because Alpha was essentially a repair robot.

"Then... let’s head off to work. What should we help with?"

[--- --- ----]

[---- ---- ---]

[It asks us to watch over it while it mines resources. If we carry them along the way, even better.]

That much was easy. Conveniently, we had the Subspace Backpack, so it would be even more efficient.

Soon Alpha went down below the shipwreck, and we followed behind it.

Since Alpha knew the geography here much better, it was better to follow meekly behind.

’There aren’t many trees here either.’

It seemed they had felled all of them to use as fuel for the power plant.

Yet because it was the Forest of the Four Seasons, trees were relentlessly regenerating. Then what were we supposed to mine now?

Alpha personally demonstrated that before long. The place it arrived at was a massive cave.

To be precise, an artificial cave—in other words, closer to a mine. It said it had drilled the place out personally using its drill.

[---- ---- ---]

[Most of the shiny things are mana stones, so gather them all.]

"That much is piece of cake."

Soon Alpha began mining, and I collected them into the empty Subspace Backpack.

If it continued smoothly like this, that would be fine, but this was the Forest of the Four Seasons.

No matter if it was a mine, this was a region where monsters could suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Kwareureuk!

"Keuaaaa!"

While Alpha was mining mana stones smoothly with its drill, something surged from beneath the ground.

Overall, it looked like a lizard, and its size was quite large, comparable to an alligator.

Since its physique was ordinary, it was impossible to know what abilities it possessed. Just as I was putting my guard up...

Kiiiiiiing!!

As if annoyed, Alpha stabbed the lizard with its furiously spinning drill.

At first, a Kagagak! noise resounded, showing it was quite a tough fellow.

Kwagwagwagwak!

"Kkieeeek!!!"

But whether the drill was also crafted from Adamantium or not, a giant hole was pierced through it immediately.

Blood and entrails splattered across the diving suit, but Alpha stabbed away with its drill without paying any mind.

Soon the lizard died with a gaping hole pierced through its body. Alpha stared blankly at the lizard, then moved its right hand.

Hwiiiiing!

Originally, Alpha’s right hand possessed the form of a harpoon.

But at some point, it transformed into a vacuum-like shape and proceeded to absorb the corpse right then and there.

Chiik!

After absorbing it cleanly, steam billowed out from the protruding vent on its right shoulder.

It seemed its body itself had an organ that converted organic matter into energy.

"Master. That guy is scary."

"Me too."

Thank goodness we didn’t fight. If we had been struck by that drill, not even our bones would remain intact.

After that, we diligently assisted Alpha, and once we mined a suitable amount of mana stones, we returned to the shipwreck.

Beyond simply returning to the shipwreck, we intended to set foot inside the power plant as well.

[--- ---- ---]

[It advises that we had better not come to the power plant.]

"Why?"

Was it a concept like ’Authorized Personnel Only’?

When I expressed doubt over this, Alpha answered.

[--- ---- ---]

[It says that if we make a wrong move, we might contract mana poisoning.]

"What’s mana poisoning now? Feels like I’ve heard it somewhere before."

Just hearing it had a rather unpleasant nuance. I requested a more detailed explanation.

But as I mentioned earlier, Alpha lacked knowledge on par with Alex.

Pondering how it should explain, it spoke to me.

[---- --- ---]

[Do you happen to know about radiation?]

"I’ll just wait."

Radiation exposure is something I politely wish to decline.

Although I endured even the fire tides of the Artificial Sun, I had no means of enduring radiation exposure.

At the very least, the Artificial Sun was close to external injuries, but radiation exposure was internal damage.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping . com.

And it was infamous for inflicting severe damage cell by cell.

’Mana poisoning is comparable to radiation exposure? Is mana that dangerous?’

If it was that dangerous, how did ancient humanity embrace mana?

Such a question suddenly occurred to me, so I sneaked a look at the fixed handles. Wondering if anyone knew.

↳ Heavenly Demon) Mana poisoning. It sounds like another way of expressing Qi Deviation.

↳ Sword Matstar) It sounds that way to me as well.

↳ Allfather) Descriptions of mana poisoning exist in ancient texts as well. The symptoms were identical to Qi Deviation.

Most considered mana poisoning to be identical to Qi Deviation.

As everyone knows, Qi Deviation is a symptom where Internal Energy isn’t properly controlled, causing it to reverse flow or run wild.

Didn’t the Heavenly Demon also say she suffered from Qi Deviation because she couldn’t withstand her overly massive Internal Energy?

Fortunately, she was fine because I sent her the Crescent Moon Spirit Herb; otherwise, she would no longer be of this world.

Kkiiik—

A moment later, Alpha, having supplied fuel to the power plant, stepped outside.

I requested a detailed explanation from Alpha regarding the symptoms of mana poisoning.

Although similar to radiation exposure, wouldn’t it differ in detailed aspects?

[--- ---- ---]

[Cell tissue destruction. Intermittent explosive disorder. Auditory hallucinations. Visual hallucinations. Bleeding from the seven orifices, and so on. There are too many to count.]

"It really is Qi Deviation."

Although similar to radiation exposure, a few parts were different.

Just listening to it, it was at a level close to Qi Deviation. Did ancient humanity manage this easily?

Of course, major accidents must have erupted midway as well. Surely an accident no less severe than Chernobyl must have occurred.

Right now, there were blatant cases like the Artificial Sun, so how much worse would mana be? Humanity’s greed could never be underestimated.

"Since this is a temporary power plant... that means there are larger power plants than this, right?"

[--- ---- ---]

[--- --- ---]

[It says the World Tree we are heading to serves such a role.]

"Huh?"

Hearing those words made me even more uneasy. Wouldn’t going there just result in falling victim to Qi Deviation for nothing?

Did it sense such anxiety? Alpha waved its hand as if telling me not to worry.

[--- --- ---]

[It said that unless it was a case of failing to adapt to mana, we are completely unaffected, so there is no need to worry.]

"I see... Wait. A case of failing to adapt?"

If they failed to adapt, it meant every single one of them suffered from mana poisoning and withered away.

I felt goosebumps suddenly creeping over me for some unknown reason. It felt as if the puzzle pieces inside my head were snapping into place perfectly.

The ancient humanity I knew possessed a population reaching as many as seven billion, living in an era that reached the pinnacle of technology.

Even if World War III had broken out midway, the fact that it was still a double-digit figure in billions wouldn’t have changed.

However, when World War IV broke out, humanity reached a level where they were completely wiped out. Except for the ’tiny minority’ of humanity currently called gods.

’...No way.’

My mind turned dizzy, but I barely suppressed it. The events from my dream came to mind.

Though I had voluntarily sacrificed myself to protect the people around me—especially my friends and their families.

Was that sacrifice completely useless for anything? Suppressing the surge of emotions rising within me, I asked with difficulty.

"...Did a lot of people die from contracting mana poisoning?"

[--]

[Many.]

"How many?"

The danger of mana poisoning was engraved into Alpha.

For it to be engraved into a mere AI, the probability was high that the devastating effects of mana poisoning were also engraved along with it.

And sure enough. Alpha possessed knowledge that even Alex did not have.

[-- --- -]

[....]

Even at Alpha’s reply, Cain did not answer immediately.

Instead, he merely paused while shooting me a quick glance. A reaction asking if it was alright to say it.

Stiffening my heart firmly at that sight, I nodded my head.

But separate from hardening my heart...

[Over 90 percent of humanity died from mana poisoning.]

"..."

[Just as Icarus flew too close to the sun, it was the result of abusing mana without knowing its dangers.]

Ominous premonitions were always spot on.