I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 69

Staring at the Guardian that stood tall, I wore a bewildered expression.

The Guardian’s shape was similar to a golem that typically appears in fantasy.

Very similar to a human shape, but a creature several times larger in build.

According to Starlight Lady’s explanation, it was a being inhabited by a Spirit.

’Why did that suddenly...?’

However, more than that, the problem was that the Guardian had appeared out of nowhere.

No. Rather than appeared, the expression ’awakened from sleep’ was more fitting.

Things that were mere rock piles until a moment ago snapped together and stood up.

Kiiiiing-

The Guardian made of Orichalcum looked straight at me.

Though it had no eyes, judging by how it tilted its head slightly, it was certain.

’By the way, that thing...’

Slinking backward, I looked at the center of the Guardian’s chest.

In the center of its chest, something exceptionally vibrant blue was embedded compared to other areas.

It looked like a ball, or at least something eye-catching.

’Is that a core?’

I remembered vaguely. When I defeated the Mad Dog and faced the Guardian before.

Sword Matstar had mentioned targeting the core in its chest.

To do that, cutting its legs off would be necessary. Its massive build gave me an advantage.

’If worst comes to worst, targeting that core directly...’

Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok!

...would be nice, but is life ever that easy?

As if putting on armor, the Guardian’s chest was covered by another layer of Orichalcum.

Thanks to that, the Guardian’s body became far thicker than before. It wasn’t like it was bulking up or anything.

I felt dizzy already, but barely gathered my senses.

’No. I can do this. I beat the saber-toothed tiger too.’

The Guardian didn’t seem to have defined me as an enemy yet.

However, it was preparing to attack at any moment.

Considering it tightly covered the core it had openly revealed, it was likely on guard.

"Kyuuuuu..."

Wonmo also bristled his fur in vigilance. It seemed he knew it was dangerous.

While he trembled like a leaf when chased by chicks, now he was showing his wild beast side.

Did he judge it was worth trying because there was only one monster?

Still, since avoiding combat was better whenever possible, I tried to step back bit by bit.

At that moment,

[Gigigigik-]

Kung!

Making a mechanical noise, the fellow took a step forward.

At the same time, Orichalcum pieces in the vicinity attached to it like magnets.

From the looks of it, the core acted like a magnet, drawing nearby Orichalcum toward itself.

Kuung! Kung! Kung!

The Guardian made of Orichalcum strode toward me.

Just considering eye level, it was far larger than the tiger, so I couldn’t help but be slightly tense.

Observing every single abnormal behavior of the creature, I evened out my breath.

As my breathing stabilized, the mana inside my body also circulated smoothly.

[Gigigik-]

The creature produced a bizarre noise the moment I circulated mana.

Right after, it raised a heavy leg and slammed it down.

Kuung! A noise accompanied by tremors that shook the earth.

However, the situation that unfolded next shocked me.

Kwaduk!

The ground, rising in the shape of spikes, surged toward me.

It wasn’t particularly fast, but caught off guard by the shock, I froze for a moment.

"W-What?!"

Forcing my stiffened body to move, I dodged. A spike grazed past me by a hair’s breadth.

For the Guardian to possess long-range attacks... This was different from the saber-toothed tiger.

This wouldn’t be an easy fight.

’I have to close the distance anyway.’

I gripped my sword and shield tightly. First, I planned to attack using the tip Sword Matstar had given.

Bipedal movement—the advantage and disadvantage of humanoid monsters.

Even if just one leg was cut off, it would lose mobility significantly.

"Kyuaa!"

While I briefly organized my thoughts, Wonmo charged bravely.

However, considering the difference in build, that wasn’t bravery—it was reckless foolhardiness.

Before I could reach out in shock, Wonmo’s attack was faster.

Kkoong!

An utterly adorable body slam. It didn’t even register to the Guardian.

I felt dizzy watching it, but the Guardian’s reaction was strange.

As if someone like Wonmo wasn’t even in its sight, it simply walked silently toward me.

’Does it not bother with weaklings?’

I couldn’t know for sure, but it seemed to have no intention of attacking Wonmo.The source of this chapter is novelping . com.

Even if each blow was powerful, its movements were so sluggish that Wonmo wouldn’t get stepped on either.

Geugeugeugeuk-

The Guardian, walking relentlessly, slowly raised both arms.

Feeling a sense of crisis at that action, I hastily moved to the right.

Gigigik-

However, the fellow’s movement following me was strange.

Its waist twisted at a grotesque angle.

When swinging both arms down, it was twisted nearly 180 degrees.

Kwagwagwang!

Both heavy arms slammed into the ground.

Simultaneously, just like before, the ground spiked upward and surged toward me.

The creature’s actions were sluggish, but the speed of the unleashed attack was extremely fast.

I couldn’t let my guard down.

’Now!’

To reiterate, the creature’s actions themselves were sluggish.

Right up until the moment it prepped an attack was the timing I could aim for.

Woong-

Mana shimmered like heat haze on the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

I would sever the Guardian’s leg in a single strike.

If that happened, the Guardian would lose balance, allowing for a much easier approach.

Geugeugeuk-

The sound of rocks rubbing together pierced my ears.

The Guardian began to lift a heavy leg.

"Kyuuu?!"

Wonmo, who was busily attacking that leg, clung to it in shock. Still, the Guardian showed no sign of perceiving Wonmo.

Before the Guardian’s foot slammed down, I decided to attack the other leg.

Thanks to its sluggish movements, reaching the leg planted on the ground wasn’t difficult.

’Up close, it’s way bigger.’

It was so large that my head barely reached the Guardian’s crotch.

However, being large meant there were many openings. I circulated the mana in my body even faster.

The aura shimmering on the Sword of the Heavenly Demon grew much more intense. Now, cutting the leg with this would end it.

Right before the Guardian’s foot with Wonmo attached hit the ground, I slashed with the sword.

Swinging from inside to outside as seen in the Gallery to ensure full force.

’Great. It work...!’

Shuuuuuuk!

Just as a triumphant smile was about to form, an entirely unexpected situation unfolded.

The aura shimmering like heat haze was instantly absorbed into the Guardian’s leg.

Like water touching a sponge, it was absorbed and vanished in an instant.

Kwaak!

To make matters worse, even the Sword of the Heavenly Demon failed to cut through the Guardian’s leg.

It got stuck halfway through.

Even if the aura vanished completely, it was a masterwork blade that sliced through hard wood like tofu.

’Right, Orichalcum absorbs mana...!’

Unless it was that, there was no explanation.

One of Orichalcum’s characteristics: temporarily hardening when absorbing mana.

Because I thought it was merely ’temporary’ and assumed it had nothing to do with me, I had overlooked it.

Focusing on strengthening the sword, forgetting such an important point was an unexpected blunder and a crisis.

Kuung!!

The Guardian’s foot slammed hard into the ground.

The moment I saw that, I immediately raised my shield to prepare for the next attack.

Even while doing so, I quickly retrieved the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

Kwagwagwang!

The ground around the Guardian’s foot erupted, accompanying a massive shockwave.

Thank goodness I pushed my shield toward the foot; otherwise, it would have been really dangerous.

"Keuak!"

Even so, that didn’t mean I absorbed all the damage.

My body was blasted backward by the shock transmitted through the shield.

Even in midair, I lifted my neck to avoid hitting my head.

Sword Matstar had advised in a post: even if breakfalling is difficult, keep your head up no matter what.

That way, secondary damage can be reduced as much as possible.

Teob!

Right before crashing into the ground, I felt someone gently catch my head.

Before long, intense pain shot through my back, but since my head was intact, it was tolerable.

"Uuu... Thanks."

"..."

The one supporting my head was none other than Speed Sloth. He responded with his trademark expressionless face.

I caught my breath, which was struggling to settle after the impact to my back.

’Where’s Wonmo? Where did Wonmo go?’

Getting up, I searched for Wonmo. It was a powerful attack, so I hoped he was safe.

"Kyuuu! Kyukyu!"This chapter was taken from nоvelping.com without permission.

Before long, I was able to find Wonmo. I didn’t know when he climbed up, but he was riding right on top of the Guardian’s head.

He unleashed a very cute claw attack, but the Guardian didn’t budge at all.

It didn’t perceive Wonmo at all.

’What on earth?’

No matter how weak he was, failing to perceive something attached to its head was a bit strange.

As I tilted my head at this, the Guardian turned its body toward me.

Geugeugeuk-

The Guardian’s chest opened up, exposing the bright blue core.

Just as I doubted its action of essentially exposing its heart,

Wuuuuung-

The core’s light grew even stronger. The moment I saw it, I felt the blood throughout my entire body turn cold.

I had to dodge. Otherwise, I would die.

As I hurriedly threw my body from the spot,

Wuuuuung!

The light of the core became more intense than the Light magic floating in midair, and then—

Kwaaaa!

It unleashed a laser reminiscent of something out of a comic book.

Kwagwagwang!!

The laser narrowly missed me. The destruction left in its wake was plainly visible.

The ground was hollowed out as if an artillery shell had detonated.

It seemed that no matter how much Orichalcum absorbed, it couldn’t absorb something with such high destructive power.

"Haaah... haaah..."

Panting heavily, I stared blankly at the hollowed ground.

If I took a direct hit from that, there was no way I’d survive.

Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok!

The Guardian’s core was covered up like armor again.

It seemed it couldn’t fire it recklessly at will.

’Could it be that it released the mana it absorbed from me?’

That was the only hypothesis I could form right now. Letting out a low groan, I got up.

This was the first time my mana usage faced a restriction.

The silver lining was that it only absorbed mana released externally.

’That means only physical body reinforcement works...’

Still, I had the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. There were still plenty of chances.

As I slowly chipped away at it, a weakness would reveal itself.

"Bbareumbo. Can you slice that thing?"

"..."

At my question, Bbareumbo shook his head.

Even though he was a guy who sliced iron buckets with his claws shyuk-shyuk, Orichalcum seemed tough.

Indeed, considering the thickness of the Guardian, only Speed Sloth’s claws might get damaged.

[Gigigigik-]

Kuung! Kung!

Making bizarre noises again, the creature approached me.

It didn’t even have eyes, so how did it know my exact location?

Yet it failed to sense Wonmo clinging to its head at all.

It felt less like seeing with human eyes and more like ’detecting’ with senses.

’It’s not certain yet.’

I would need to clash more to find out. I quietly controlled my breathing.

Then, the Guardian slowly raised its arm.

Now, when it was about to unleash an attack similar to earlier, was my chance.

’Don’t use aura, only with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon...!’

Right before the Guardian slammed its arm down, I arrived between its legs.

Immediately after, I swung the Sword of the Heavenly Demon from inside to outside with all my strength. Target: the right leg.

Perhaps because I accelerated my mana, every single muscle movement felt vivid.

Seogeok!

As a result, one of the Guardian’s legs was severed. As expected of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

Losing one leg, the Guardian’s balance completely collapsed.

Kuung!

The moment it lost its leg, the Guardian toppled forward. Wonmo, who had been clinging to its head, was startled.

Not enough yet. Unless I crushed the core embedded in the center of its chest, the Guardian wouldn’t stop moving.

Happily, since it was in a kneeling posture, climbing onto its back was easy.

Tadat!

Leaping high, I landed nimbly on its back. I immediately held the sword in a reverse grip and raised it high.

Driving the sword through to where the core was would finish everything.

If I used aura, it might fail to penetrate, so I only accelerated the mana within my body.

"Hraaaah!"

With a spirited shout, I plunged the sword down, and—

Kwaang!!

My abdomen took a direct hit from a rock surging from the Guardian’s back.

’...Huh?’