I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 552

The sky was clear.

The moment my blocked view brightened up, that thought crossed my mind.

Signaling afternoon, the sun stood straight above my head, and even clouds couldn’t obscure its presence.

Fitting that bright weather, a warm energy seeped into my body. To think sunlight felt this warm.

’Dazzling.’

Was it because I stared at the sun for too long? My eyes dazzled, making me squint.

Thanks to that, I snapped out of my reverie. What mattered now were the shadows.

Ever since I shattered whatever blocked the space between the sun and the ground, the shadows had completely vanished.

Thanks to that, I could look at the gloomy zone in greater detail.

’There really were a lot of bones.’

Like the undead dinosaur that ambushed us at the very start, bones were strewn all around.

Usually, unless buried underground, bones decomposed easily.

Judging by how they maintained their shape, they seemed to be receiving energy from somewhere.

’Still, I’m glad I got past the most troublesome thing.’

Unbending my knees, I moved forward.

But was it because I had been devoured by shadows? Or because my tension relaxed in a single moment?

Stumble-

Power wouldn’t return properly to my legs, forcing me to kneel back down.

I operated my mana as best as I could, but strangely no strength returned to my legs.

’Is it the shadow’s ability?’

It seemed to possess an ability that made it hard to use physical strength itself, beyond just mana.

Eyes aside, my legs had been swallowed for a long time, so it made sense. More concerning than that was Lackey.

"Master! Are you okay!"

"Looks like you’re fine."

Fortunately, Lackey had only been swallowed for a brief moment, appearing fine on the surface.

Though he wobbled as if losing strength while approaching me, there seemed to be no issue with his actions.

Supported by Lackey, I checked my leg condition. It looked worse than expected.

Should I say it looked pale blue, as if blood wasn’t circulating?

Sting! Sting!

"Ouch...."

"Master. Are you in pain?"

"It stings like being shocked with electricity."

A sensation as if my arm went numb from sleeping wrong.

A feeling of blood gradually returning after being cut off. The problem was it stung so much I could barely walk.

I had no choice but to stand up supported by Lackey. Now that the shadow wolf was gone, there was no telling when the undead would awaken.

Reaching the Meat Forest and Wine Pool was necessary for safety. Right as Lackey supported me...

[Are you alright!]

"Kkyu-u! Kkyu!"

Our party ran over from the Meat Forest and Wine Pool. They were supposed to go to the Shelter, so why were they coming from there?

Pondering that briefly, Ludwig, riding Largo, dismounted and helped support me.

The young ones gathered around me, gazing with anxious eyes. My legs hurt, but my heart felt healed.

"Didn’t I clearly tell you to go to the Shelter?"

[Still, we couldn’t just leave you alone. Conveniently, that forest over there was a safe zone, so we watched.]

"The shadows on the ground stopped right in front of that forest, too."

Responses from Cain and Ludwig respectively. It seemed they intended to jump in if we faced danger.

However, barging in wouldn’t have been much help. They likely would have been consumed by shadows.

Well, I understood their intentions nonetheless. Grimacing at my still-tingling legs, I turned my head.

Lick. Lick.

"Cheongseol. We can return to the Shelter, right?"

"Ppaeek."

It seemed she still had stamina left for spatial teleportation. Fortunately enough.

Just as I was about to return with the party’s help, Wonmo, who was in front of us just a moment ago, vanished.

"Wonmo?"

"...."

Turning my head, I saw Wonmo staring blankly at something.

Hidden behind his chubby back, I couldn’t tell what he was looking at.

"Wonmo! No!"

"Kkyu-u?"

"You can’t just eat anything."

Shouting ’no’ urgently just in case, Wonmo turned around.

Those round eyes were cute no matter when I saw them. I gestured for Wonmo to come here.

Only then did Wonmo hop on over.

’I don’t know what he was looking at.’

There was nothing in the direction Wonmo was gazing at. Maybe he was watching an ant.

Just as we were about to head straight back to the Shelter, Wonmo turned his head elsewhere.

"Wonmo?"

Sniff sniff. Sniff.

Suddenly sniffing and heading somewhere. Not where he stared closely earlier, but toward a mound of accumulated bones.

Since he could be attacked by the undead if careless, Ludwig hurriedly approached.

But Wonmo had already reached the bone pile. Right as Ludwig tried to draw his sword just in case...

"Kkyu-u! Kkyu!"

"Hmm? This is..."

Ludwig, who went to fetch Wonmo, also seemed to have found something.

Ludwig rummaged through the pile of bones and pulled something out.

It was an herb stained black all over. Stem, root, and flower were all pitch-black.

Soon, Ludwig returned hugging Wonmo with one arm and handed the herb to me.

Even from afar it looked entirely black, but up close it was truly pitch-black.

"Did someone spill ink on this?"

[It looks precious at a glance.]

Having seen countless herbs in the Forest of the Four Seasons so far, I had never seen one this mystifying.

Comparable to or exceeding the Ice Snow Flower that could only be harvested in winter.

’During the Crescent Moon Spirit Herb incident, I didn’t know mana, but....’

Not anymore. I distinctly felt an extraordinary energy.

Of course, eating this recklessly was out of the question. I decided to head to the Shelter first.

"Kkyu-u-u! Kkyu-u!"

"Wonmo, what is it now?"

But as if this wasn’t the end, Wonmo broke free from Ludwig’s arms and headed somewhere else again.

Consequently, Ludwig had no choice but to follow wherever Wonmo led....

"What. There are more?"

"Kkyu-u!"

The shadow-like flowers were not just one, but several. Could they bloom every season like Ice Snow Flowers?This chapter was copied from no‌velping.com without permission.

Harvesting as many as we could, before I knew it we gathered three of them.

Re: Heavenly Demon) A flower pitch-black root to stem, as if painted with ink. From my deduction, it appears to be the Dark Shadow Herb.

Re: Allfather) I share that opinion. Only the Dark Shadow Herb looks like that.

Re: Starlight Lady) I’ve read about it in a book as well. I recall the conditions for its blooming are extremely strict.

Re: Smart Demon) A space with virtually no light, abundant energy, and lastly, corpses nearby. It’s an herb that draws out yin energy to its ultimate extreme.

Re: Sword Matstar) What effect does consuming that have?

Re: Smart Demon) Being a flower brimful of yin energy, it’s beneficial for women. Provided they can handle it, of course.

Hearing this, the flower’s name was Dark Shadow Herb. An herb abundant in yin energy.

Hearing it was good for women made it a bit disappointing, but I asked anyway.

"Is it bad for men?"

Re: Smart Demon) Your penis will shrink or your testicular function will decline.

Re: Praise the Sun) For guys, it’s literally just poison herb then fr fr.

Re: Princess Chaenggu) If you consume a lot of that, can you turn into a girl?

Re: Allfather) According to legend, a eunuch consumed it and changed sexes.

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Grylls-nim, please never eat it!

Eating it would have been disaster. Yin energy going rampant and changing someone into a woman.

No matter if I ate eel from the Forest of the Four Seasons and overflowed with stamina, that was a step too far.

’I’d rather chew on a Mature Mandrake....’

Speaking of Mature Mandrakes, a brilliant idea hit me.

Usually, if yin energy is excessive, injecting yang energy neutralizes it.

Wasn’t the Nine Yin Severed Meridians that Starlight Lady suffered from treated in that way?

Thus, I wondered if neutralizing it using a Mature Mandrake would make it fine.

"If I have a Mature Mandrake, wouldn’t it be okay?"

Re: Starlight Lady) Sound logic, but it would require considerable effort. Furthermore, with Grylls-nim’s current skill, extracting even 10% would be difficult.

Re: Allfather) Starlight Lady-nim is correct. This isn’t merely boiling it in a medicinal pot, but a process of extracting the essence.

Disappointing feedback arrived. The Dark Shadow Herb wasn’t something I could tame.

I looked around. Is there anyone in our party who can accept yin energy....

"Ah. Right here."

"Pbiik?"

Tyranno, the lone female(?) of our Shelter, was right there.

Being a dragon from the Mythological Age, digesting a Dark Shadow Herb would be a breeze.

I sorted one out, so the remaining two stems were the key.

’Among the registered users, who are female....’

The confirmed ones were Heavenly Demon, Starlight Lady, and Don’t Abandon the Hero.

A few other regular users were speculated to be female, but unlike those three, I wasn’t certain.

After all, who’s to say Passing Dwarf couldn’t be a woman?

A truly shocking assumption, but that’s just how the Gallery is.

’Sword Matstar seems female as well, though.’

Seeing how she occasionally dropped half-confessions to me, probability was high.

Well, even if she wasn’t female, I treated her as a close friend anyway, so it didn’t matter.

"Here, Tyranno. Eat this and grow big and strong."

"Pbiik!"

Upon returning to the Shelter, I handed one stem over to Tyranno.

Perhaps because it was a rare special treat(?), Tyranno gobbled it up thoroughly.

Thus today’s schedule concluded here, and the remaining time was spent resting.

However, the little ones needed to run around more actively, so I passed them a ball.

"Oof, my legs."

Taking off my shoes, I flopped onto the bed. My paralyzed legs were slowly loosening up.

The tingling was still there, but I could walk at least. More than that, I pondered where to use the Dark Shadow Herbs.

’Things like this need to be given quickly to reap the full effect.’

Herbs, unless dried, had to be consumed immediately for maximum potency.

But drying such precious items was a waste, so giving them to someone else was better.

Just eat it myself? Sorry, but I didn’t want to turn into a woman or a eunuch.

"Lackey, wanna eat this?"

"Since Master is offering it, I refuse."

"Why?"

"Look at Master’s face. That is the face of wanting to play a prank."

Quick on the uptake for useless things. Setting my disappointment aside, I logged into the Gallery.

Real-time video streaming had been turned off long ago. Entering the Gallery after a while was... how should I put it?

Title) Grylls, give me the Dark Shadow Herb.

(A photo of a hairy man wearing a pretty dress)

I’m already prepared.

Re: Ah, fuck, put a bloody trigger warning;;

Re: Why are there so many crazy bastards in the world?

Re: It’s the Gallery. Just scroll past.

Re: Fuck, that dress is bloody expensive too lololol

Re: Which fief’s noble are you? The world’s truly end-times, end-times.

Re: Don’t worry. Some noble got caught digging Beastfolk.

Title) I’m actually a girl fr fr

(A photo of a hairy man’s legs)

Confident I can handle the Dark Shadow Herb.

Re: Goddess Aris, please, seriously.

Re: Sigh;; Why did the Gallery suddenly end up like this?

Re: Because of the herb Grylls found. Word is eating it can turn you into a girl.

Re: Is that real? I’m kinda tempted though?

Re: Why the fuck are you tempted lol

Title) The legitimate reason why I should receive the Dark Shadow Herb

Because my heart is already a girl’s.

Re: You’re the most rational one here.

Re: The fact this is the most wholesome post means the Gallery is ruined.

Re: The Gallery was always ruined fr fr

Re: You only realized now?

Title) Honestly I like the current situation

Men naturally possess a ’female instinct’ deep in their hearts.

Exposing that without shame is true manhood.

So let’s all give a round of applause to the man who receives the Dark Shadow Herb.

Re: What kind of copypasta template is this again?

Re: There is no template.

Re: Note: In ancient times, male homosexuality was considered a culture exhibiting true masculinity.Read the latest chapters at NovelPing.

Re: Then what about women?

Re: Tell them to go fetch water.

In more ways than one, a phenomenon close to ’chaos’ unfolded. I had no choice but to stare blankly at this near-madness.

Even on Earth, there were people who went beyond pretending to be girls.

Under the hypothetical ’What if I was born a beautiful girl?’, a breed of people performing all sorts of antics.

’Why is human nature identical even across different eras?’

Even though this world had distinctly divided gender roles and was conservative in many aspects.

Yet hairy guys wishing to reincarnate as beautiful elf maidens, or wanting to become female demons, and so on.

Performing all kinds of eccentricities, it left me completely dumbfounded.

’Only the moderators are suffering.’

Tsk-tsking, I browsed through the Gallery nonetheless.

To think I personally brewed this insanity and chaos. I couldn’t stop reading.

Most posts I passed with a laugh, but there was one I couldn’t ignore.

Title) Orange Badge, let me ask one thing.

Are you perchance a girl?

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Why are you asking that!

Re: Just a bit envious if you are.

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Why are you envious!

Re: Well, when seducing men you’re the only opposite sex. It’s unfair.

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Sh*t! Goddess Aris! Please!

Re: lololololol

Re: lololololol

Re: She’s crying, crying lololol

Even Asella, strong-minded as she was, found it tough to endure this madness.

Before this crappy thread bait exploded further, I needed to dispose of the Dark Shadow Herbs quickly.

[Heavenly Demon: So you are giving this Dark Shadow Herb to this humble self?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. I can’t cultivate it, and I thought it’s better if Heavenly Demon-nim consumes it.]

[Heavenly Demon: I am truly grateful that you willingly give such a precious item. Even though I have nothing to offer you immediately.]

[Wild Grylls: It’s fine. I’ll just look forward to the newly refined Heavenly Demon Divine Art soon.]

[Heavenly Demon: This humble self shall put forth all effort to edit it.]

After Heavenly Demon.

[Wild Grylls: Sword Matstar-nim. You’re a woman, right?]

[Sword Matstar: Why? Are you going to propose marriage to me?]

[Wild Grylls: If you verify lol]

[Sword Matstar: Sec]

[Wild Grylls: Huh?]

I meant it as a joke, but did she take it seriously?

That short and punchy "Sec" filled me with a strange anxiety.

I sent several messages after that, but no response. Just as anxiety mounted over what on earth she was trying to do...

[Sword Matstar: (Photo of a female body with a note reading ’Sword Matstar’ stuck on the center of the chest)]

[Sword Matstar: Is this enough?]

[Wild Grylls: Uh;;]

I hadn’t expected this at all. Flustered, I couldn’t say a thing.

Part of it was having my eyes stolen by the photo Sword Matstar sent. Naturally, because it was so bewitching.

Skin soaked in sweat as if she’d been working out until moments ago. A figure with curves in all the right places.

Bust emphasizing her womanhood exceptionally, alongside crisp eleven-line abs.

Though I had seen photos of countless beauties in the Gallery, nothing was this destructive.

Even her face barely showed up to the jawline, but that alone made one guess she was a beauty.

’So a body like this can exist even without filtering.’

It was even more shocking that she snapped and sent it on the spot.

As I stood in pseudo-admiration, Sword Matstar sent a message.

[Sword Matstar: How is it? Do you feel like marrying me?]

[Wild Grylls: Whoa. You should have told me earlier.]

[Sword Matstar: My, aren’t you quite the gentleman lolol]

[Wild Grylls: I’m just being honest. Anyway, I’ll give you the Dark Shadow Herb, so see you next time.]

I hurriedly handed over the Dark Shadow Herb. It felt like Sword Matstar’s photo would haunt my mind all night long.

Sword Matstar probably sent that photo as a joke as well. The problem was she hit me out of nowhere.

She might pull a prank like this next time, so I felt it best to be ’prepared’.

’By the way, Asella won’t feel hurt, right?’

Next time I got something good, I’d definitely give it to her. She was low-key the type to get sulky over things like this.

Thus, winding down an exhausting day, we finished dinner as well.

The little ones were excitedly playing ball even after dinner finished. Same after bath time.

"It hasn’t even been an hour since you bathed...."

"...."

"Why did you get so dirty? My cuties."

Perhaps because of that, they were covered in dirt all over right up until bedtime.

I couldn’t let them inside the house like this, so I planned to scold them a bit.

"Hmm? Speak up, children."

"...."

"I asked why you got so dirty."

A reprimand containing both affection and sternness.

At that reprimand, Wonmo, Tyranno, and Cheongseol were busy gauging my mood.

Nudging each other with arms or bumping bodies as if telling the other to speak first.

I couldn’t believe how cute they were. I should scold them moderately and move on.

"Didn’t I tell you before? Don’t play around after bathing...."

Chyap-chyap-chyap-chyap!

Right as I was giving them a firm lecture, something leisurelessly strolled behind the kids.

A beast made entirely of black, roughly similar in size to the young ones.

A pup. A wolf pup painted pitch-black all over, no less.

When did that guy get here again?

"...Wh-What is that thing?"

Stuttering because I was so baffled.

At that, the young ones turned around simultaneously. Judging by their expressions, they looked like they knew something.

How to put it? Like bringing a friend over first and asking for permission to play at home.

"What is that thing?!"

Even more shocking was...

"Bbiyung~ bbiyung~"

The fact that Maengkkongi was singing atop that wolf pup.

"I asked who that is!"

An unexpected family member had just joined us.