I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 656

Buuuung-

The truck’s characteristic engine roared powerfully, and the vehicle glided along the endlessly stretching road.

The damaged asphalt passed beneath the wheels, its rhythm irregular and uncomfortable like a broken tape.

On the other hand, the wilderness stretching outside the vehicle was empty yet strangely comforting. It was infinitely orderly.

The rocks and earth reflected the sunlight, stained in shades of vermilion, and the unabsorbed heat beat down directly.

And what of the clouds drifting endlessly? They floated leisurely and slowly, just like us.

"Hwiiiing~ Hwiing~ Hwing~"

Inside the car, a lyrical atmosphere flowed along with Maengkkongi’s whistling. The sound of a small guitar put their minds at ease.

Moving forward leisurely without anyone’s interference. How long had it been since they last had a moment like this?

"Master. How much further must we go?"

A voice broke the peaceful atmosphere. But it didn’t matter.

It was better than letting one’s guard down from too much peace. I answered Lackey’s question.

"How should I know? According to Lucas, there’s another region at the end of this road."

Having answered, I questioned Lackey.

"By any chance, do you feel dizzy or anything? Since it’s your first time in a car, you might get motion sickness."

"I feel a bit dizzy, but I can endure it."

"The others are doing fine, right?"

"I am fine as well."

The truck I borrowed from Lucas wasn’t particularly large.

It was just big enough for me, Bbareumbo, the Sun Wukong brothers, and the children to ride inside.

Largo wasn’t particularly needed for this plan, so I didn’t bring him. Lastly, where was Cain?

[I truly feel like a piece of luggage.]

"Still, isn’t this better than getting motion sickness from constant rattling?"

He was being kept entirely in the truck’s cargo bed.

Cain alone took up so much space that bringing Largo was impossible.

But borrowing another truck felt a bit too shameless, so I was satisfied with this.

Besides, Lucas had also said: it didn’t matter if I abandoned this, as long as I brought back the transport ship.

He had no use for it, and since it was an old model, even maintenance was a hassle, or so he said.

’Though that "old model" runs on gasoline.’

This truck’s fuel is gasoline, while the transport ship’s fuel is mana. This alone shows the difference between the two vehicles.

Well, from my perspective, being able to leisurely pass through this vast wilderness was as good as it gets.

Because the location of the transport ship was quite far from Lucas’s vessel.

They said it would take a whopping two days just by car, so if we had gone on foot, it would have taken at least a week.

’Didn’t they say in the bunker before that this place is North America?’

I scratched my chin. The Americas is a continent famous for being ridiculously vast.

Passing through this road now, it felt exactly like that. The wilderness stretched endlessly beyond the horizon.

I couldn’t even begin to estimate how much further I had to drive to see the end. It was completely different from the Republic of Korea.

’I don’t know if the fuel will hold out.’

I glanced at the dashboard. The remaining fuel wasn’t lacking; on the contrary, it was plentiful.

But since the road stretched endlessly, I didn’t know if we could arrive before it ran dry.

Lucas said it was fine to abandon it, but I hoped to arrive before that if possible.

Walking under this scorching sun was no easy task. Without sunscreen, my skin would be completely burned.

’I heard the weather in the United States is closer to "scorching" rather than just "hot".’

I heard that if summer in the Republic of Korea feels like a dumpling in a steamer, the United States feels like being seared by a laser.

It was so hot that not only the asphalt but even the slippers touching it melted.

When I lived on Earth, global warming overlapped with it, causing all sorts of extreme weather.

"Ah. Right. Do you guys happen to know what a tornado is?"

"A tornado? Do you mean a waterspout?"

"There is something similar in magic."

"You’ve never seen one in the forest, right?"

The Sun Wukong brothers nodded. Indeed, if a tornado had occurred in the forest, it would have turned into a wasteland.

I had never actually seen one in person either, only in videos. It’s one of those natural disasters that make you understand why past humanity believed in gods.

A giant vacuum cleaner that swallows everything, and the culprit behind Americans’ houses flying away at every opportunity.

Kwaaaa-

And that is exactly what is slowly approaching right next to us.

Just like the saying "a bolt from the blue," a tornado had formed in the clear weather.

I didn’t know its path, but for now, I hurriedly stepped on the accelerator to get away as far as possible.

"Hold on tight!"

Buaaaang!!!

The moment I stepped on the pedal, the truck let out a roaring sound and shot forward.

I felt my body lean back sharply due to the instantaneous acceleration, but I forced myself to suppress it.New chapters come out on novelp⁠ing.com first.

"Eeeek!"

"Uaaah."

The inside was, of course, in complete chaos. It was already a cramped space, and with the sudden acceleration added, it rattled severely.

Was it a relief that everyone was wearing seatbelts? Since the children were being held by the companions, there were no issues.

"Kkyueng!"

Except for Maengkkongi, who had been diligently playing the guitar in between. Unable to withstand the sudden acceleration, he rolled around like a ball.

Fortunately, I caught him with my hand right before he flipped over, so he wasn’t hurt.

I roughly stuffed Maengkkongi inside my clothes and continued to accelerate.

I had the illusion that the tornado was gradually drawing closer to me, as if it were alive.

Kwaaaa!

’Is it not an illusion?’

It really seemed to be coming closer to us. I glanced at the tornado through the rearview mirror.

Although it was too large to fit entirely in the rearview mirror, I noticed something strange.

Normally, when a tornado occurs, the weather should turn overcast, yet now the weather was exceptionally clear.

Artificial... I don’t know if that’s the right expression, but it was far from natural.

’If someone really made this artificially...’

Then it should be fine to try something crazy. I looked at the tornado chasing us, then turned my gaze to Lackey.

Since Lackey was sitting in the passenger seat, he was in a good position to throw something out of the window.

"Lackey! Throw some fire at that tornado!"

"Fire? Did you say fire, not water?"

"It might sound like nonsense, but just trust me for now! That thing clearly isn’t natural!"

Hearing my words, Lackey stuck his head out of the passenger window. It was an action meant to confirm.

But who would have known that this would lead to disaster?

Kkaang!

"Kkwek!"

A structure flew from somewhere. That structure directly struck Lackey’s temple.

Judging by the clear, ringing sound, it seemed to be a structure made of iron.

Slumping down in that state, Lackey almost flew out of the window.

"Ah! You idiot, seriously!"

I barely managed to pull Lackey back and settle him into the passenger seat. Fortunately, since he was wearing a seatbelt, the worst-case scenario was avoided.

In the end, having no other choice, I asked Dolsoe in the back seat.

"Dolsoe! You have the fuel can there, right?!"

"Didn’t you say we have to save this?"

"Where is the time to worry about that now! Poke some holes in it and throw it into that tornado! Make sure the fuel gushes out!"

Dolsoe didn’t argue with my command and executed it immediately. First, he poked holes all over the fuel can with his fingers.

Then, as the fuel began to stream out, he threw it straight toward the tornado. The fuel can disappeared cleanly, as if sucked into a vacuum cleaner.

As soon as I saw the fuel scattering cleanly, I gave Dolsoe further orders.

"There are matches in my backpack, so light them and throw them in!"

"If I throw just one, it will go out, so I will throw the whole box!"

Hwareureuk!

Dolsoe sensibly didn’t throw just a single match, but set the entire matchbox on fire.

Soon, he threw it carefully so that it would be easily sucked into the tornado.

Hwareureureuk!!!

"Wow."

I let out an exclamation rather than a gasp of shock. If flames were to wrap around the world, wouldn’t it look like this?

A giant whirlwind writhing like a beast, not just a simple natural disaster. The blazing flames did not merely shoot upward.

They twisted, split, and tangled again with the air sucked in from all directions, endlessly contorting.

Red, orange, and blindingly white heat overlapped in layers, as if a spiral mountain made of fire were piercing the sky.

A disaster where natural calamity and human intervention united to manifest, something difficult to see even in movies.

-Kkiek... Kkieeeek...!

A sound, unclear whether it was the howling of the wind or the painful groan of an animal, was heard intermittently from within the whirlwind.

Along with those groans, it gradually became visible that the tornado’s power was weakening.

With every breath, heat entered my lungs, making it incredibly difficult, but enduring was the best option right now.

"Cough! Water! Wet a towel with water and put it over your mouth! Quick!"

Even in the midst of this, I tried to minimize the damage as much as possible. There was no leisure to just stand by and watch.

"Mmm..."

Meanwhile, Lackey, who had fainted and now regained consciousness, began to open his eyes.

Since he had opened his eyes, he could just cool down the air inside the car with magic.Visit novеlping.com for the full chapter.

But perhaps because he had just fainted and woken up, Lackey looked out of the window as if he hadn’t fully regained his senses.

Kuooooo!

"...Oh."

"Get back inside right now! You bastard!"

"I see a burning tornado. Did Master make that?"

"Yes, I made it, so hurry up and crawl back in!"

I couldn’t bring myself to say no, so I just roughly answered yes.

Lackey remained dazed for a while, and only after shaking his head a few times did he barely manage to hold onto consciousness.

Hwareureuk...

Meanwhile, the tornado’s power gradually weakened. The intermittent groans from inside did the same.

Since it could still make a final desperate struggle, we couldn’t let our guard down.

Hwiiiing...

Fortunately, no such thing happened. The whirlwind that had swirled as if to swallow the world gradually subsided.

As the whirlwind diminished, the truck, which had been rattling violently, also stabilized. I let out a sigh and quietly stepped on the brake.

The inside of the car was in complete disarray due to the tornado. Even though everyone was wearing seatbelts, they were all tangled up.

"Master."

"What."

"I feel like throwing up."

"Get out quickly!"

"Ugh..."

"I said, get out!"

While Lackey hurriedly ran outside to throw up, I checked on the other companions.

Fortunately, because all the windows were closed, no unfortunate incident of someone flying out occurred.

The Dullahan kept in the cargo bed was also tightly bound, so he was perfectly fine.

’It’s a relief that the only loss was a single fuel can.’

Since there were three fuel cans instead of just one, sacrificing one was well worth it.

After finishing all the checks, I moved my steps to check on the culprit that had caused the giant whirlwind.

Perhaps because it was a tornado that scattered fire everywhere, flames had caught in various places, but this was a wasteland.

Let alone a forest, there were barely any trees, and the only plants visible were tumbleweeds rolling across the ground.

So, without extinguishing the fire, I headed toward the center of the tornado.

"Kkii... Kkiiii..."

"...An owl?"

It was an owl. An owl, whose wings were completely burned away, exposing its bare body, was shivering uncontrollably.

Don’t tell me this owl, about the size of a medium dog, created such a massive tornado.

It was absurd, but this was the Forest of the Four Seasons. A place where the smaller they were, the more bizarre and extraordinary their abilities.

Moreover, this was a wasteland, not a forest rich in food. As such, the competition for food would be fierce, so its abilities had no choice but to grow stronger.

’And there’s more than just one or two of these guys...’

It certainly seemed that the harsher the environment, the more difficult the level of difficulty became.

I let out a complicated sigh and stared directly at the owl whose wings were burned.

Having all its feathers burned away to reveal its naked body was quite an eyesore, but...

Tadak- Tadak-

"Is it delicious?"

"It’s delicious! But where did you get this?"

"A good-natured angel left it for us."

"How do you call an angel?"

"Hmm... I guess you can just pray?"

"What is prayer?"

In the end, it was nothing more than a single meal—no, a snack—for our cute children.

I roasted the owl whole over the campfire and distributed it to the children.

If it was going to be eaten anyway, it should have at least been big; this wouldn’t even tickle their stomachs.

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero) I can teach you in detail what prayer is!

"Actually, I don’t think you need to pray. You can just ask Daddy."

"Wow! Daddy is the best!"

Let’s lightly ignore the Hero, who was trying to butt in at this perfect opportunity.

ㄴ Don’t Abandon the Hero) Mmm! Since Grylls-nim is the Chief God, that would indeed be fine!

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Your mind must be at ease. No matter what you say, you never lose.

"..."

Every time I saw her, I felt she had a truly good personality.