I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 549

Cerberus, the gatekeeper guarding the gates of hell and a demonic hound possessing three heads.

Famous in mythology as an entity guarding the entrance to hell, its three heads were practically its symbol.

However, whenever an opportunity arose, it was beaten or toyed with by heroes. Every time it appeared, it wasn’t treated particularly well.

Heracles had even subdued it with pure ’strength’ to pass through. It was a somewhat sad treatment.

Keureureuk...

And now. I newly came to realize just how incredible those heroes’ spirit and nerve truly were.

The monster before my eyes did not look like a simple Cerberus. It looked as if Fenrir from Norse mythology had been fused into it as well.

Passing legs larger than pillars to reach its heads, the sense of pressure was no joke.

Would you believe it if I said a single eye or razor-sharp tooth rivaled the size of an adult male?

’Is that... fire? Black fire?’

Cerberus’s anomaly wasn’t just its size.

Its mane surging like flames implied that its body itself wasn’t made of tangible matter.

However, when it crushed the undead dinosaur underfoot earlier, it had clearly used physical force.

I carefully stepped back and joined my party. Fortunately, Cerberus had not attacked up to that point.

Keureureung...

An unusual aura. Words didn’t easily come out under the tremendous pressure.

Up until now, I had faced countless animals, and among them, I had encountered all sorts of bizarre things.

Furthermore, a three-headed animal was nothing special in the Forest of the Four Seasons, closer to a simple mutation.

But the Cerberus before my eyes was different. Its black mane surging like fire, and its blood-red eyes.

My instinct was shouting. It wasn’t just large in size, but possessed terrifying abilities.

If it were merely large in size, I would have subdued it immediately... but this guy wasn’t just someone with a large weight class.

’Is it the ruler of this sector?’

So far, I had encountered many rulers of the forest. Starting from Bbareumbo to the master of the Inverted Waterfall.

A characteristic could be found here: cases where an individual, not a pack, ruled a sector were extremely strong.

Didn’t we run away frantically the moment we met the master of the Inverted Waterfall?

Right now, although I only stepped back because I had become stronger than back then, it wasn’t much different.

’Characteristics. I need to find more characteristics.’

Rolling my eyes, I examined Cerberus.

Aside from the fact that three heads were glaring at me in unison and projecting hostility, nothing more special was visible.

Ultimately, it meant having to fight it directly, but frankly speaking, it didn’t look like it would be an easy fight.

Since it cleanly crushed the undead dinosaur we struggled against earlier with just a single stomp.

’But why...’

Why isn’t it attacking? Cerberus only threatened us, but didn’t lay a hand on us.

Was it telling us to scram from its territory, or was there something else? I looked behind me.

If there was nothing behind, I intended to at least talk to it.

Turning around in a situation like this was dangerous, but it couldn’t be helped.

’Nothing there though?’

Fortunately, no one was at the back of the party line. Instead, I could observe the party’s reactions.

The young ones were shivering, frozen in terror. Even the dragon and Nidhogg were no different.

They were kids who usually fought vigorously, so seeing them terrified confirmed this guy was extraordinary.

Not only them, but Lackey and Dolsoe were the same. I could see them trying hard to stop trembling.

"M-Master."

"What."

"That thing... is talking."

Still, Lackey said what needed to be said. A very important piece of information.

Hearing Lackey’s words, I looked back at Cerberus. It was only letting out low growls.

Being a fellow beast, Lackey must be able to understand it.

"What is it saying?"

"It says to get out of here."

Is it threatening us simply because of territorial intrusion? It’s surprisingly gentlemanly.

Since most rulers usually attacked right off the bat, I pondered.

If it’s a guy who can be reasoned with, ’persuasion’ will surely be possible. Meaning there’s no need to fight.

It’s already a powerful entity, so fighting it carries a high probability of us suffering losses.

"Then tell it we won’t do anything and just want to pass through."

"Keuang!"

Huuuung!

Could it have understood my words? Cerberus’s center head let out a loud roar.

Even though it was a simple roar, a powerful gust blew, and my knees trembled.

That feeling from the past when I faced the Saber-toothed Tiger that raided our Shelter.

That feeling of facing a true predator resurfaced vividly.

"I-It says no. You can never pass beyond here...!"

Even while terrified, Lackey did not forget his duty.

From past experiences up to the Colossus incident. Having experienced horror, he could pull himself together.

On the other hand, Dolsoe wasn’t. Perhaps overwhelming horror was a first for him, as he stood with his entire coat of fur standing on end, eyes wide open.This chapter was taken from novel​ping.com without permission.

"W-Why? I really won’t do anything! See over~ there? That giant tree."

I pointed with my finger toward the World Tree visible in the distance.

At that, Cerberus’s left head turned to look in the direction I pointed.

Toward the World Tree glowing with golden hue. If things went well, it might guide us like Alpha did.

But the world is not always so kind. Did this backfire into poison instead?

"Keureureureuk!!!"

Hwareureuk!

Its black mane, which flared like flames, surged even more intensely.

’Did I step on a landmine?’

It really seemed to be serving a gatekeeper role like Cerberus.

From behind, Lackey translated while shaking violently, but I didn’t even need to listen.

Far from persuasion, the situation was provoked to the absolute limit. There was no choice but to fight.

The issue was the trembling kids. With the young ones like that, fighting recklessly was tough.

Thus, just as I was about to tell Lackey to prepare a Teleport to secure the young ones’ safety first...

Seureureuk—

"Kkyuu?!"

"Pbiik! Pbeeik!"

"Pbeaaeak!"

Darkness resembling shadows crept up from the floor, beginning to engulf the young ones one by one.

Everyone in the party panicked at that situation, and Lackey and Ludwig hurriedly responded.

"M-Master! This can’t be touched!"

"Is it a shadow?"

As if intangible, the party’s hands couldn’t make contact. In the end, all the young ones were trapped in shadows.

I thought we were losing them so fruitlessly, but that wasn’t it. The shadows didn’t kill the kids, but trapped them like a birdcage.

It looked as if telling the kids to stay out of adult fights, but at the same time, it was a threat.

A threat that if we fought like this, the kids’ safety would not be guaranteed.

Keureureung...

"There is also a descendant of an ancient enemy. Have you come to retrieve the remains?"

"Remains? What on earth does that mean?"

Both the Colossus and Cerberus. All of them are hostile toward dragons.

The Colossus was unavoidable due to command prompts, but Cerberus is different.

Although close to an intangible existence like shadows, it is undeniably a living creature. What on earth did it experience to harbor such hostility toward dragons?

’By the way, remains? Does that mean there’s a dragon carcass from the mythical age up ahead?’

Around the time I harbored such doubts, a transformation occurred from Cerberus.

Its body, which flared like black fire, gradually began to split apart.

Based on the heads, the body divided, and a new entity emerged for each head.

Although their sizes decreased compared to before, a total of three beasts appeared before us. It had split.

Keureureu...

"I-I warn you again. Turn back as you are. Otherwise, I will kill you."

The leader among the three wolves—that is, the largest one—threatened us.

Hearing that threat, I turned my head back. A situation where the kids were trapped.

Fighting like this put us at an overwhelming disadvantage. Above all, since it stepped forward so gentlemanly, there was no need to fight unnecessarily.

"...We will fall back for now."

I lowered my sword as a sign of acceptance.

The situation was far too bad. The kids were in too much danger.

Accepting my request, the wolves’ manes calmed down as well.

Seureureuk—

"Kkyuuuu! Kkyuu!"

"Pbeeik!"

Along with that, the shadows trapping the kids vanished. As soon as they broke free from the shadow prison, the kids clung to me.

Apparently, they instinctively felt the terror of death. I stroked them to reassure them.

’I should plan to leave the kids at the Shelter before confronting it.’

Thinking so, I finished withdrawal preparations. Right now, escaping was the top priority.

Jjwaaak!

Cheongseol also wanted to flee immediately, so she ripped space wide open.

Even while escaping, I kept an eye on the wolves. Just in case they attacked us from behind.

Fortunately, as if truly intending to let us go, they took no action whatsoever.

Literally performing only the role of gatekeeper and sentinel. That made me even more curious.

’What on earth are they guarding?’

Were they guarding the World Tree, or guarding the remains mentioned earlier?

Then, something suddenly struck my mind. Namely, its territory.

’Wait a minute.’

I turned my head and looked back toward the Meat Forest and Wine Pool.

This sector whose boundary was distinctly separated from the Meat Forest and Wine Pool.

The Meat Forest and Wine Pool was bright, but this place was dark and dreary as could be.

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’What time is it right now?’

I hastily turned on the Gallery. Though obscured by comments, I could check the time.

The current time was slightly past noon. Bright sunshine was normal for this time.

Indeed, the Meat Forest and Wine Pool was bathed in bright sun, but this place was gloomy as if heavy storm clouds hung overhead.

’The sun is definitely out, though...’

The sky was completely clear without a single storm cloud.

Similar yet different from the Shadow Forest we visited last time. The Shadow Forest was truly packed with total darkness.

Because it was filled with shadows, even sunlight couldn’t penetrate, but here was completely different.

To think it felt like dark storm clouds despite nothing blocking the view.

’Then could it be...’

Would my Eye Lantern beam work too? Such a thought crossed my mind, but now wasn’t the time to use it.

After stepping inside Nidhogg’s ripped space, I immediately spoke to the party.

"I will fight that thing."

"What?"

"Master. Are you in your right mind?"

[Will you be fine alone?]

Unlike the panicked party, Cain seemed to have anticipated it.

Everyone looked worried, but it couldn’t be helped. Unless we passed that thing, reaching the World Tree would be impossible.

One could ask why not detour via another route, but even that was uncertain.

Even if it seemed too hasty, considering the characteristics of this forest, this might be the safest option.

Isn’t it better than space constantly shifting like across the river?

’Rather, breaking through that guy might be the easiest.’

Since it was a surprisingly gentlemanly fellow, if we just subdued it, it might step aside quietly.

Of course, it was strictly speculation, and the fact that it was extremely dangerous remained unchanged.

"Ludwig-ahjussi, Cain-ssi, and Dolsoe, please return to the Shelter with the kids. Only Lackey, Bbareumbo, and I will fight."

"Master. What about my opinion?"

"Your role is essential, so it can’t be helped."

Like putting out a cigarette butt earlier, when it stomped on the blazing undead dinosaur, I roughly felt it.

A stance that, while ordinary light might be fine, ’intense light’ could not be tolerated.

One might ask how we’d get back, but I had kept that in mind too.

Worst-case scenario, we could flee with Lackey’s Teleport. Lackey’s magic skills would level up dramatically.

[Be careful. Looking at it, it’s close to an intangible entity like a Banshee.]

"Does aura not work on intangible entities?"

[Holy power should work.]

"Then I should splash Holy Water."

I had fought an intangible entity exactly once. The Dullahan that raided our Shelter.

Moreover, even that Dullahan possessed no physical presence while in an ethereal state.

By cleverly exploiting this, a solution would emerge. Thus, I sent the rest of the party back.

Keureureuk.

And I reappeared before Cerberus once more. Cerberus hadn’t left either, as if having roughly anticipated this.

Lackey followed out of the torn space as well. Shivering violently, he looked terrified.

"Hey. We faced the Colossus too; this guy will be less. Get a grip."

"M-M-Master is the weird one. You’re definitely insane."

ㄴHeavenly Demon) So cowardly.

ㄴSword Matstar) He’s not cowardly, he’s normal.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Hey. I’ll give you a bottle of liquor, tell him to drink it.

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) What kind of liquor is it-yong?

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Delicious liquor. Drink it and you can become 100 times stronger.

ㄴPraise the Sun) You won’t get stronger, you’ll just think you got stronger, lol.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Whatever, lol.

Countless comments were posted. I smirked.

Meanwhile, shadows began creeping up from the ground, eroding around my ankles.

Looking to subdue me just as it had grabbed the kids earlier. I caught my breath and focused power into my eyes.

Paat!

Activating the Eye Lantern for the first time in a while. For some reason, I felt the delusion that the light had grown even stronger.

Shadows exist only when there is light, but before an intense flash, they vanish.

Chieeeke!

It was the same right now. The shadow that tried to grab my ankles vanished.

As if burned by the light of the Eye Lantern, the shadows crumbled into dust and scattered.

"Keureureuk!!!"

At that sight, Cerberus bared its teeth and raised its guard sharply.

Seeing that reaction, I cheered inwardly.

’There’s a chance to win.’

My prediction had hit the bullseye.