I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 697

Not the house located in the Theme Park, but the place where my real home is, my eternal homeland—the Republic of Korea.

Daegu, one of the cities in the Republic of Korea, is a fairly well-known region.

If nothing else, its public transportation is something to boast about. The bus routes, in particular, are incredibly easy to memorize.

[What was your hometown like? I mean your actual hometown, not your country.]

"It’s hot."

[Is that all?]

"It’s not the end, but it gets crazy hot in the summer."

It’s not exactly a point of pride, but Daegu is counted as one of the regions with notoriously intense heat.

Because the city itself is surrounded by mountains on all sides, the wind barely blows, making it the perfect basin to trap heat and humidity.

Thanks to that, every summer, I could personally experience how dumplings feel when they are being steamed inside a pot.

To make matters worse, it grew hotter by the day due to global warming, so if it weren’t for air conditioning, I would have literally died.

I lived in this hometown for almost my entire life. I had no reason to move up to Seoul, and even if I had, I became a soldier, so it wouldn’t have meant much.

Even when my friends moved up to Seoul or the metropolitan area, they always made time to come down whenever they had a vacation.

They say the world went to the brink of ruin due to the misuse of mana, but my memories of that time are practically nonexistent.

Therefore, it was perfectly fitting to call it my eternal hometown. After so much time had passed, I had finally set foot in that hometown.

[Do you know the location of the columbarium?]

"Yes. I don’t even need a map. It’s a place I used to visit every single month."

[A filial son, indeed.]

"You’re only a filial son if you show filial piety while they’re still alive."

Now that I knew this place was Mount Palgong, all that was left was to head toward the columbarium.

The columbarium housing my parents was located in Suseong District. To be honest, it was a mystery whether it would still be standing.

Since so much time had passed, and the world had once perished before barely being resurrected.

Even if it was gone, it would be fine just to take a look and head back. It was better than not going at all.

[I can see a city over there, but the key is whether we can find it properly. We can’t exactly ask the animals for directions like we did earlier.]

"Don’t worry about that. The transportation routes are well laid out. There will be signs pointing the way here and there."

It was uncertain whether they would remain intact, but I recalled the library near my house.

To be precise, it wasn’t the library itself, but the neighborhood near it. Though it was in ruins, there were surprisingly many intact structures.

Furthermore, most buildings in the Republic of Korea were made of concrete—essentially close to stone—so they would remain intact even after being abandoned for a long time.

Unless, of course, the city had been completely obliterated by a direct nuclear strike.

’When I looked from afar, there were no signs of missile or nuclear strikes.’

When World War III broke out, the Korean Peninsula must have been swept up in the flames of war and thrown into chaos.

Thanks to the active efforts of the national armed forces and the National Intelligence Service, no nukes flew in, but it still must have suffered quite a bit of damage.

On top of that, the world perished afterward, playing out an apocalypse. It was highly doubtful if any place remained intact.

’Besides, Manatology gathered the remaining humanity to build a new civilization. The chances of this place being the starting point are slim.’

Then, where was the region where Manatology established its civilization? Was Manatology still there?

There was a lot to think about, but since it wasn’t important right now, I let it go. I descended Mount Palgong and searched for a bus stop.

As long as I could find a bus stop, finding my way to the city wouldn’t be difficult.

[Is this a bus stop?]

"Yes. If you compare it to the outside world, you can think of it as a stagecoach."

[To think such a massive lump of iron moves without horses... It is always a marvel to behold.]

Cain said, pointing at a bus abandoned on the road.

He was someone who had even seen a Ghost Ship, yet he found a mere bus fascinating, which made me chuckle slightly.

"Master. Could that bus also be a Mimic?"

"That’s possible. Let’s be careful."

Just as Lackey said, there might be a Mimic disguised as a car, so I stayed cautious.

And so, I walked along the road. Since I was starting from Mount Palgong rather than my house, I couldn’t help but wander a bit.

Fortunately, I was able to spot old, rusted signs along the road, so I didn’t get lost.

In fact, the path was so peaceful that it felt awkward. On top of that, I was constantly worried that the space might suddenly warp.

Fortunately, the space didn’t warp, and as for anything ambushing us along the way...

"Kkuiiiik!!!"

...it wasn’t entirely absent.

Perhaps because human presence had vanished, quite a few animals were roaming around.

The most prominent among them was a wild boar. Wild boars were something I had seen plenty of during my military service, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

"...Just how much leftover military food did this guy eat?"

"Kkuiiiik!!!"Visit nov​elping.com for the full chapter.

Except, the size of this wild boar was practically that of an elephant—no, it was the size of two buses put together.

I had seen a wild boar the size of a sedan in the military, but this went far beyond that.

Its charging speed was incredibly fast, and the ground shook with heavy Kung! Kung! sounds.

Seeing how the concrete ground dented every time it stomped toward us, it clearly possessed a massive weight class.

This was probably due to the influence of the Forest of the Four Seasons as well. In any case, I had to deal with this charging boar first.

"Lackey. Can you cast a barrier of fire right when the boar gets right in front of us?"

"I can, but why do you ask? You should be able to block it yourself, Master."

"Still, we should make things easy. Just do it."

"Kkuiiiik!!!"

After a brief moment of doubt, Lackey did as I instructed.

Soon, when the colossal wild boar drew right in front of us, Lackey spread his palm.

The moment he opened his palm, a wide barrier of fire spread out right in front of me.

It looked as if a giant orange umbrella was being opened.

I remembered seeing it on television a long time ago: wild boars slam on the brakes if an umbrella is opened mid-charge.

"Kkuiiiik?!"

Startled by the barrier of fire, the wild boar hurriedly tried to brake.

Because of its massive body, a terrifying pressure was felt even as it braked.

Ultimately unable to control its own momentum, the wild boar collided with the barrier of fire.

Since it was a paper-thin barrier, the boar broke right through it, but from here on, I could handle it.

I immediately drew Mistilteinn, leaped high into the air, and swung it toward the space between the wild boar’s eyes.

Kwaang!!!

The strike, imbued with the Unity of Self and Object and my signature monstrous strength, struck the boar squarely between the eyes.

Upon impact, that spot visibly caved in. Beyond a shattered skull, its brain must have turned to mush.

It was practically instant death, but perhaps due to post-mortem rigidity, the wild boar staggered for a moment before collapsing powerlessly.

Koong!

Perhaps because it was the size of a house, its collapse alone caused a massive vibration to echo.

I looked at the wild boar and checked the time through the Gallery. Timely enough, it was time to eat.

’It’s a shame there’s no water nearby.’

It seemed I had no choice but to procure water from the Gallery.

Soon, after preparing for butchering, I posted the wild boar I caught on the Gallery.

Title: Caught a wild boar

Wild Grylls

(Photo of a giant wild boar collapsed on the ground)

Today’s lunch is pork.

ㄴHeavenly Demon: That is an incredibly large fellow. You will not have to worry about food for a while.

ㄴSword Matstar: I know, right? But why aren’t you doing video broadcasts lately?

ㄴYeah. Are his eyes hurting?

ㄴHe was broadcasting for 12 hours straight not too long ago, no way they hurt lol

ㄴHe’s probably just slacking off lately lol

ㄴWild Grylls: I said I’m too lazy, what are you guys gonna do about it?

ㄴfck

Of course, the reason I didn’t turn on the broadcast was simple. It was because of Elia.

I had to hide Elia’s existence as much as possible and reveal her only when the time was absolutely right.

Since I couldn’t return home anyway, revealing her beforehand would only halve the impact.

Besides, I was recording our entire journey on video. I planned to upload it after introducing Elia.

"Do you happen to know how to butcher?"

"Of course! Do you know how many monsters attack us every time we plant trees?!"

"Then give it a try."

"Yes!"

When I handed her a well-honed Mythricon dagger, Elia began butchering.

Despite the wild boar’s massive size, she skinned it without any hesitation.

Seeing her get it done so efficiently without even hanging it up felt somewhat bizarre.

’Hmm... Why is she so competent?’

I was so impressed that I actually had that thought.

Instead, I helped her skin it. Since Elia couldn’t use mana yet, it couldn’t be helped.

Soon, we roughly butchered only the parts we needed and decided to discard the rest.

We couldn’t carry the whole thing anyway, and it wouldn’t fit in the Subspace Backpack.You are reading on nove​lping.com, the official source.

"Good job. Just wipe off the blood roughly. There should be a place to wash up once we enter the city."

"Yes!"

At least her replies are energetic. I chuckled, looking at Elia as she answered cheerfully.

Looking only at her sensual eyes and beauty, she was indeed the Elf Queen, but looking at her blood-stained hands that made it look like she was wearing red gloves, she certainly didn’t seem like one.

She had mentioned starting from the absolute bottom to rise to the position of Elf Queen, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine how grueling that journey must have been.

In any case, after finishing lunch, we set off again. Just like before, I gauged our direction by looking at the signs installed along the road.

Moving solely on foot rather than by car took a considerable amount of time, but it wasn’t a problem physically.

And so, the next morning dawned. Fortunately, unlike Tibet, the day and night cycle here was distinct.

"It looks like we’ve entered the city."

[It is desolate.]

"Because there are no people."

It was my hometown, which I was returning to after a long time, but what met my eyes was a dead city.

Unlike the City of Alund, this was a truly dead city. At least the City of Alund was maintained, but not this place.

Old, rusted signs. Green moss growing even on the roads due to lack of maintenance.

Buildings that wouldn’t be surprising to collapse at any moment lined up side by side, and towering apartments in the distance also caught my eye.

[There are many massive fortress walls.]

"Those aren’t fortress walls; they’re apartments. Didn’t you see them in the City of Alund too?"

[I did see them, but I have never seen so many of them.]

True, the Republic of Korea does have an exceptionally high number of apartments.

I chuckled and moved my feet. Now that we had entered the city, it wasn’t far from the columbarium I knew.

For reference, the columbarium was located in Gyeongbuk, not Daegu, but it actually had "Daegu" in its name.

It was the same principle as Daegu University not being in Daegu, and Kyungpook National University being in Daegu.

Other regions might be different, but Daegu had a particularly strong tendency for this. Yet, people from Daegu understood it perfectly.

"...It’s here."

[It is surprisingly well-maintained.]

And so, after walking without being disturbed by anyone.

I was able to reach the columbarium where my parents slept.

Although signs of age and wear were prominent just like other places, it didn’t mean green moss had overgrown it.

It seemed someone had made the utmost effort to prevent nature from encroaching. At this, I quietly stepped forward.

There was no need... to search my memory. If nothing else, I remembered the exact location.

Thus, I slowly walked forward to the place where my parents were enshrined. And I could see it clearly with my own two eyes.

"...Why are the other spots empty?"

Except for the niche where my parents were enshrined, all the other niches were completely empty.

And not only my parents in the center, but beneath them, the ashes of other people were carefully preserved.

I checked right below where my parents were enshrined. Unlike the two of them, numerous urns were carefully preserved.

When I wondered who on earth could be enshrined right below my parents, I was left utterly speechless.

"Master?"

"...."

[Names are written here. Park Hyun-woo, Kim Jae-hyun, Choi Dong-hyun.]

Every time Cain called out those names one by one, I felt a suffocating sensation in my chest.

There were other people besides them, and among them was an exceptionally small urn.

It was formatted as if gathering a family into one. Normally, they wouldn’t be enshrined this way.

Unless someone had done it on purpose.

[Do you know who they are?]

"...Yes."

I suppressed the emotions rising from deep within as much as possible.

But I couldn’t stop the trembling in my voice. And for good reason.

"...They are my friends."

Because the owners of these urns were my friends.

"I had a rough idea, but..."

A friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.

"...It’s bitter."

I felt as if my soul was being torn apart.