I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 568

Allfather had told me once in the past.

The Forest of the Four Seasons is a region that accelerates evolution regardless of flora or fauna.

The beings proving this were scattered all around, without even needing to mention them.

There were even cases where the direction of evolution twisted grotesquely, such as the shark giant discovered in the shipwreck.

A creature with the face of a shark but human limbs. Though its limbs called to mind withered ancient trees, its muscle strength was immensely powerful.

Because all sorts of crazy things happen in the Forest of the Four Seasons like this, I had gotten to the point where I rarely lost my composure.

Even if the gorilla brothers had evolved into Sun Wukong today.

"Dad."

"...Yeah?"

"I’m hungry."

However, Wonmo’s case was a different story.

Evolving was one thing, but the fact that he was speaking was utterly shocking.

I didn’t know what kind of effect the Dragon Heart had brought about, but it could not be ignored.

’There were plenty of beasts with high intelligence. But most of them couldn’t speak.’

Of course, it might have been that they simply never picked up speech because they had no need for ’language.’

Didn’t Lackey and Dolsoe pick up speech after Wi Ho-chang arrived as well?

Not only that, but the Hobgoblins had also built their own independent language system.

In the end, even beasts were divided into species that could speak and species that couldn’t, depending on their kind.

Owlbears would normally have been closer to the latter. The Dragon Heart had merely exerted its influence.

"Wonmo-ya."

"Oowung?"

When I called his name, Wonmo, who was clinging to my leg, tilted his head.

Because that sight was so dangerously cute, my heart nearly stopped.

’Right. What if he speaks a bit? As long as he’s cute.’

I pulled Wonmo into a tight hug and kneaded his chubby, squishy cheeks to my heart’s content.

Only during times like this did Wonmo make his signature Kkyuu! Kkyuu! sounds. It seemed he only spoke when he needed to.

’Are the other kids not speaking? No, wait. I don’t really need to worry about Tyranno.’

Because Tyranno would speak like Vanir someday.

Though it would be a concept closer to telepathy rather than vocalization like Wonmo.

I didn’t know when that day would come, but according to Vanir, it wouldn’t take long.

Supposedly, her daughter was a genius even among dragons or something like that. It might just be the typical overdoting parent behavior.

"Cheongseol is..."

"Haljjak?"

"No. It’s nothing."

Since she’s a Nidhogg, she’ll probably do something akin to telepathy later too.

Right now, it was right to focus on Wonmo, who was speaking. I set Wonmo down and stared intently at him.

"...."

"...."

"Why?"

Sigh. I couldn’t get over how cute he was.

This feeling of my heart warming up just by looking at him quietly.

I stroked Wonmo’s head and brought up what I wanted to say.

"Wonmo-ya. By any chance, is any part of your body feeling uncomfortable, or do you feel anything strange compared to yesterday?"

There is a saying that most people who dearly love pets often repeat.

If my pet could speak, the one phrase I would want to teach them above all else is ’It hurts.’

In reality, pets cannot speak, making it difficult for them to express their pain.

Even if the owner catches a hint of it and takes them to the vet, in most cases it’s already too late.

That was why I also gave Wonmo focused care every time. As for the other two kids, they were tied to ’mythology,’ so there was no need to worry.

’Though he probably has a body that wouldn’t budge against parasites.’

Wonmo wasn’t a normal Owlbear either. He was an Owlbear born and raised in the Forest of the Four Seasons, of all places.

It was certain that he was easily several times tougher than an ordinary Owlbear. Still, as his owner, I couldn’t help but worry.

"Uncomfortable stuff? I have one."

"You do?"

"I’m hungry."

"...."

This fat pig. I let out a deep sigh as Wonmo licked his lips.

Checking the time on the Gallery right after, there wasn’t much time left until lunchtime.

I had definitely fed him as usual, but it seemed his stomach capacity had expanded as well due to the frame increase brought by the Dragon Heart.

Thanks to the Meat Forest and Wine Pool, obtaining food wasn’t particularly difficult, but even so, I couldn’t just feed him indiscriminately.

"Be patient for a little bit. If you eat now, you won’t be able to eat much at lunch."

"Ah! I see. As expected, Dad is a genius."

"...."

Wonmo praised me while beaming brightly. My hand reflexively went limp and stroked Wonmo’s head.

Calling me a genius for just this. Even though he could speak fluently, his intelligence still seemed like that of a young child.

Well, he really was still a child, so that was only natural. Rather than that, I asked if he had any other discomforts.

"There was something I’ve been curious about all this time."

"What is it?"

"Where did Mom go?"

"...."

Out of all the things to be curious about, it had to be that? I was suddenly completely struck speechless.Follow the newest chapters on novelрing.com.

Wonmo’s mom? As everyone knew, I stabbed her skull with a spear and killed her.

And when I put it on the auction house, someone from Zhongyuan bought it for a fortune. I wondered if that person had become filthy rich by now.

’How the hell do I say this?’

No matter how much this was the wild, it was too harsh a reality for a child.

The dad who raised him was actually the killer who murdered his mom. That’s prime material for an instant thriller novel.

I hesitated and read the room before deciding to bring up something else to protect Wonmo’s childhood innocence.

"Uh... do you remember your mom?"

"Yeah. Mom gave me food."

Looks like our Wonmo loves the person who feeds him the most. Cute little fat pig.

However, this was a serious situation right now. Just then, a good idea occurred to me, so I said to Wonmo,

"R-Right! Mom went away to a very far~ away place to get food for Wonmo."

It wasn’t a lie. She really did go to a very far away place (Zhongyuan).

"She went away?"

"Yeah! So she won’t be back for a while."

"Is the place she went away to inside Dad’s stomach?"

"Yeah."

Wait. What?

"No. No. No. It’s not inside Dad’s stomach."

"Was my mom tasty?"

Oh shit. That classic kid trait of only hearing what he wants to hear has come out.

A question like ’Where do babies come from?’ would have been ten times better. My eyes rolled frantically.

My brain, which worked so smoothly in battle, had frozen right now as if turned to stone.

You could say my brain short-circuited because he asked such an innocent question.

’What should I do?’

I looked around to ask for help.

However, whether they sensed the heavy atmosphere or not, everyone was pretending to be hard at work.

Just as a subtle sense of betrayal washed over me upon seeing this, Wonmo said vigorously,

"As long as Dad was full, that’s all that matters!"

"...."

I really underestimated the sheer brutality of the ’wild.’

I was swept up in indescribable emotions as an answer beyond all imagination came out of Wonmo’s mouth.

Owlbears have the habit of eating anything when hungry. Even if it happens to be the owner who raised them.

How severe must it be in the wild? There are even academic reports of them devouring their own offspring.

"...By any chance, will Wonmo eat Dad too if you get hungry?"

"I won’t eat Dad."

"What a relie—"

"Bbareumbo hyung told me. Dad is a tree that grows food. Even if no fruit bears now, it will grow eventually."

"...."

The moment I heard Wonmo’s words, I immediately looked back at Bbareumbo, who was hanging onto my back.

As always, Bbareumbo wore his signature relaxed facial expression.

"Hey."

"...."

"Be honest with me. You can speak now too, right?"

Nod-

Bbareumbo nodded at my words. Frankly, it was only natural.

Even back when he couldn’t speak, he had understood everything I said extraordinarily well.

Since Wonmo could speak fluently, it wasn’t like Bbareumbo wouldn’t be able to speak either.

He was simply keeping his mouth shut tightly out of sheer slowness or laziness.

’Communication won’t be a problem going forward, at least.’

I let out a deep sigh. I expected something to happen, but this surpassed my expectations by a long shot.

Still, while it was confusing, it wasn’t bad; on the contrary, it was great.

Above all, my goal remained unchanged. Namely, reaching the World Tree.

"Lackey. Dolsoe. Have your bodies gotten used to it?"

"It is fine now."

"No problems."

Fortunately, the brothers who had struggled with their altered physical structures adapted quickly.

Though out of habit they occasionally rested both fists on the ground, even this was replaced by squatting down.

Thus, having thoroughly assessed the state of the party, preparations to set out on the expedition once more were complete.

Having defeated the formidable opponent Bone Dragon, there was nothing left blocking the path toward the World Tree.

"Dad. I’m hungry."

"Alright, alright. My little pig."

"Is my name Pig?"

"It’s like a pet name."

Before that, I had to fill the stomach of Wonmo, who was whining about being hungry. There were still plenty of heart skewers left.

Although they were kept frozen, if left for a long time, their efficacy would naturally degrade.

If possible, I intended to fill our bellies with heart skewers and tteokbokki for the time being. Fortunately, with a large group, we took care of them right away.

"The path to the World Tree is safe, right?"

"I cannot state with complete certainty that it is safe. Still, they should be weaker than that lizard."Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.

Since we even had Heukgu’s testimony, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

Of course, unexpected situations could always arise, so I had to exercise caution in everything.

After completing thorough preparations, I arrived at the Bone Dragon’s nest together with the party.

The Bone Dragon’s bones still maintained their shape, and there was no one around.

’Come to think of it, I recall this area originally being a forest.’

In the memories of Lazar the Tyrant Dragon King, it certainly was.

Although it was blasted to smithereens by the fight with Aris and, furthermore, his own spectacular laser show, the forest itself had remained intact.

Even after the man presumed to be the Chief God threw a mountain later, it was the same. It seemed it had absorbed all surrounding nutrients in order to recover.

"By the way, what about the birds that used to feed that guy?"

"With the dissipation of the Dragon Heart, their bindings must have dissolved. They are likely free now."

"Is that so?"

With no chance of the birds that were essentially its minions interfering, I turned my head.

In the direction I turned, the colossal World Tree proudly displayed its grand presence.

A golden glow catching the eye even from afar. A majesty that wouldn’t be out of place if called the Golden Tree.

"Did he never think about absorbing the energy of the World Tree?"

"Something must have blocked him."

"Blocked it, huh..."

Indeed, there must have been a reason he stayed still despite the World Tree sitting right next to him.

It might be that a defense mechanism existed within the World Tree itself.

Didn’t the World Tree growing rapidly in our shelter possess a self of its own right now?

"Speaking of the World Tree brings something to mind. Is that tree in the shelter also a World Tree?"

"So what if it is?"

"Fascinating. Only Those Beings should be capable of growing a World Tree."

"I’m telling you, I really am an Earthling."

Heukgu reacted with disbelief no matter how many times I told him. At this point, I was too lazy to explain anymore.

More important than that was the World Tree. Taking in the World Tree with my eyes, I slowly took steps forward.

I had worried whether there might be guardians protecting the World Tree, but that was entirely a delusion.

Jjaek-jjaek! Jjaek!

Only small bird chirps could be heard or animals seen; there were no monsters ambushing us.

Perhaps it was treated as a neutral zone like the Meat Forest and Wine Pool. Suits us just fine.

Thus, after walking unimpeded for an hour, we were able to reach the long-awaited World Tree.

"Woah..."

"It’s huge."

"It is larger than the one I saw in Alfheim."

Just as Lackey and Ludwig noted, facing the World Tree in person was jaw-dropping.

Even the buildings of highly developed Earth civilization would have to yield several steps compared to this World Tree.

I deeply doubted whether this was truly a size that could grow naturally.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) What a beautiful tree. Such a sight does not exist even in Zhongyuan.

ㄴSword Matstar) I’ve seen a World Tree before too, but this looks way bigger?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) It truly is magnificent...!

ㄴLet’s Grow Trees) Mmm! Quite marvelous! Alfheim cannot lose either!

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Why the hell are you trying to beat something like that?;;

ㄴPraise the Sun) That sounds fucking concerning lolol

Because I was broadcasting video, fixed-handle users could see this majestic sight.

Approaching the World Tree little by little, I checked if there was anything unusual in the surroundings.

Aside from the gigantic trunk, no particular distinct features were visible.

However...

Sreureuk-

As if welcoming long-absent visitors, vine-like tendrils reached out from the branches of the World Tree.

I was flustered for a moment, but there was a World Tree at our shelter too. So I quietly extended my hand.

Soon, the vine wrapped around my finger. That vine embraced my index finger for a while.

Hwaaaak!

Then an astonishing event occurred. The golden light radiated by the World Tree grew even more intense.

Before long, that light grew powerful enough to envelop not only me, but our entire party.

Just when I wondered if it was an attack, I braved the blinding glare and opened my eyes, only to see a completely unexpected scene.

"-Wahahaha!"

"-Hey! Where are you going!"

A sand playground where children were running around and playing.

Towering apartments surrounding the area like a mountain fortress.

"This place is...?"

"Master. Where is this place?"

"What on earth are those buildings..."

The now lost civilization of Earth.

And.

"Kkuguk!"

"Caught it! I caught a pigeon!"

"Woah! How did you catch it?!"

"I copied what I saw in a cartoon!"

It was me back in my ignorant childhood.