I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 746

Since the United States is incredibly vast, the scale of its farms is jaw-dropping.

The most famous among them is the cornfield, which alone is almost three times the size of the Republic of Korea’s territory.

Because of this size, pesticides have to be sprayed from airplanes rather than cars.

’It’s also amazing that corn drains soil nutrients like crazy.’

Corn depletes soil nutrients so heavily that ordinary land can barely support it.

Even nitrogen fertilizers have their limits, so planting too much of it can devastate the land.

There are even rumors that even the United States, hailed as a legendary cheat land, couldn’t withstand that nutrient depletion and had to scale back.

And there is a very famous ghost story related to cornfields: they are so vast that once you enter, you can never get out.

Since the cornfields are several times the size of the Korean Peninsula, such stories tend to pop up, but in reality, it’s close to a myth.

’They are people who live and die by efficiency, so it would be weird if it were actually like that.’

Cornfields are divided into sectors and well-paved with roads, so all you have to do is find them.

If they were so vast that even real farmers would die of exposure, the government would have taken action.

It’s just that because they are so wide, such rumors arose; actual incidents are extremely rare.

Of course, rare doesn’t mean non-existent, so caution was essential.

Passing Dwarf: That’s corn? Isn’t it just a tree?

Grow Big and Tall: I grew corn with the soil Grylls-nim gave me before, but it didn’t grow that big.

Praise the Sun: At that size, it looks as big as the palm trees we grow in our country?

However, just as Praise the Sun said, the size of each individual corn stalk was so massive that they just looked like trees.

Before I realized these were corn, I had thought I had entered a forest.

"By the way, Praise the Sun hyung, are you not going to speak casually to me anymore?"

Praise the Sun: How could I speak casually to the Chief God-nim?

It seemed unavoidable since he was someone who had revealed his real identity behind the fixed handle.

[Praise the Sun: I’ll speak casually in private messages. It’s awkward for me too, man.]

[Wild Grylls: Go ahead, haha.]

[Praise the Sun: Surely the Orange Badge won’t see this and ban me, right?]

Given Asella’s personality, she would likely turn a blind eye.

Since Praise the Sun had always helped me in ways big and small.

I chuckled and looked up at the corn stretching high like palm trees.

As soon as I entered the field, the blazing sunlight barely penetrated, making the surroundings dark.

Seogeok! Seogeok!

So I sliced through them one by one with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, clearing a space around me.

I even extended my Aura Blade to sweep them all away.

I wasn’t going to eat this corn anyway, and it was only blocking my view.

’If it were a real forest, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.’

This was only possible because it was corn.

If I had done this in a forest, the owners of the trees would have come out and protested violently.

I looked around the cleared area, which now looked like harvest season, and cast my gaze downward.

Perfectly ripe ears of corn were rolling around on the ground. I picked one up to check.

’The size is truly massive.’

It was about twice the size of an ordinary ear of corn.

I knew that no matter how big super corn grew, it wouldn’t reach this size. Just how rich was the soil’s nutrients?

I slowly peeled back the husk covering the corn to check the contents inside.

An ear of corn with tightly packed kernels, showing almost no signs of pests or disease, was revealed.

Passing Dwarf: Whoa. Look at that color. It’s perfect as a side dish for drinks.

Grow Big and Tall: It’s really well-grown corn. No signs of bug bites either. Did someone manage this?

Let’s Grow Trees: If you plant it in Alfheim, that size is basic!

Allfather: That is only possible because of the World Tree. Perhaps there is a World Tree nearby.

Ignoring Elia, who was subtly bragging, I focused on the words of Grow Big and Tall and Allfather.

Since both of their words made sense, I couldn’t let my guard down.

In particular, if there was an entity ’managing’ this cornfield, it was crucial to distinguish whether they were friend or foe.

’Given the nature of America, I wouldn’t have any right to complain even if I got shot for trespassing on private property...’

Even if it weren’t America, this was the Forest of the Four Seasons, so I needed to be even more careful.

I made my way through the cornfield, which was comparable to a dense jungle, using the coordinate tracker.

Surprisingly, there were no grotesque monsters or annoying bug raids.

’Which makes me even more anxious.’This chapter was copied from no‌velping.com without permission.

Who on earth managed this farm that not even bugs, let alone small animals, could be seen?

This was the Forest of the Four Seasons. A place overflowing with flora and fauna that adapted to terrible environments in real-time.

Maybe the corn had evolved to become resistant to bugs, or maybe it was poisonous despite its appearance.

[Wild Grylls: So, I’ll give you a few ears of corn, please check if they are poisonous.]

[Allfather: Understood. Thank you for always providing research material.]

So I handed them over to Allfather, the researcher.

In my heart, I wanted to give some to Starlight Lady, Selena, as well, but she was currently on her way back.

I couldn’t just suddenly give her corn and make things difficult for her.

Afterward, I kept checking the coordinate tracker and moved forward.

Perhaps because it boasted such a vast territory fitting of the ghost stories, it seemed to stretch on endlessly.

’I wonder if there are roads or tractors?’

The lack of ambushes was a great thing, but in a way, it was close to foreshadowing.

It meant that something so dangerous might be lurking that small creatures ’like them’ didn’t dare to live here.

Once that thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t let my guard down at all. Thus, as I was moving forward bit by bit.

Dududududu-

Sure enough, as expected, the ground began to shake faintly.

I was used to the ground shaking by now, but with the change in region, I couldn’t let my guard down.

Above all, the direction from which the vibration was traveling. It was exactly behind me.

’It’s coming very slowly. It’s not that snake-like thing, but it feels like it has many legs...’

I turned around and looked back.

Having stayed in the Forest of the Four Seasons for so long, I could roughly figure out what it was through the vibrations of the ground.

If the frequency of the vibration was this short, it was highly likely to be a pack or a giant beast with a ton of legs.

Conversely, if the frequency of the vibration was long, it was highly likely to be something walking on two legs, like a giant.

Whatever it was, the fact that it was approaching me remained unchanged. Fortunately, it was slow.

’It wouldn’t hurt to check in advance.’

If I were a master of martial arts like Yoo So-wol or Ash, I would have lightly perched on top of the corn stalks.

But if I tried that, instead of perching, they would just collapse with a crash, making it a pointless endeavor.

Koong!

So I decided to leap high to check in advance.

A large crack formed on the ground, and the sound of wind cutting through pierced my ears.

Just as I was about to think that getting used to this made it comfortable, I could see clearly with my own two eyes.

"...What is that?"

A machine slowly approaching over the vast, sprawling cornfield.

A machine so massive that it covered the entire cornfield was haphazardly tearing through the corn.

Rather than an excavator... it felt like a harvesting tractor grown big and beautiful.

As could be seen from the excavator I saw in the giant frilled lizard habitat before, humanity had a knack for creating massive machinery.

Passing Dwarf: Wow holy shit is that harvesting crops? That’s fucking awesome.

Grow Big and Tall: If we had just one of those machines, harvesting would be so easy!

Even though he was a drunkard, the Dwarf, who was a Dwarf by nature, and the farmer Grow Big and Tall marveled.

Certainly, with just that one machine, there would be no worries about harvest.

The problem was that the machine was approaching to ’harvest’ even me.

If I got sucked into that harvester, it was obvious what would happen, so I had to run away quickly.

’No, wait. Is there any reason to run away?’

That tractor wasn’t trying to attack me; it was just harvesting corn.

There was no reason to fight, nor any reason to run. I could just climb onto the tractor and see who was driving it.

’I need to check who is driving that.’

I thought as I landed on the ground. A so-called free ride was possible.

Instead of walking, if I just climbed onto the tractor’s massive body and stayed still, it would move forward on its own.

One might say I was playing tricks, but in a place like this, you had to use your wits.

Dududududu!

As the tractor approached right before my eyes, the shaking of the ground became extremely intense.Read this novel at novelp​ing.com for the best experience.

Without panicking at all, I stared at the tractor, put strength into both legs, and leaped.

I cleared the harvester that was reaping the corn and landed safely on top of it, reaching a safe zone.

Of course, since I had to check the entity driving this tractor, I didn’t stop climbing.

’Anyway, seeing them make machines like this is truly fascinating.’

Giant excavators existed even before the discovery of mana, so I could just accept that.

But this was the first time I had seen a tractor that harvested such a vast cornfield all at once.

’There must be a reason why they didn’t make them.’

Maybe the fuel efficiency was terribly bad, or maybe there was another reason.

Therefore, it was highly likely that this machine was manufactured after the invention of mana.

I gradually climbed up toward the top, which I assumed was the driver’s cabin, while looking around at the scenery.

The cornfield was so wide that it was corn here and corn there.

Kugugugugu!

Also, looking around, there wasn’t just one tractor.

A truck that stored the harvested corn was following behind, and even its size was terrifying.

Becoming even more curious about who on earth was driving these machines, I moved toward the driver’s cabin.

’Is this the driver’s cabin?’

Seeing that it was enclosed in glass, it was indeed the driver’s cabin.

Since it could be a dangerous entity, I didn’t let my guard down and hid my presence as much as possible.

Soon, I peeked into the cabin to check the inside.

Chiiik!

[Friend. Someone is heading your way.]

A conversation caught my ears just in time. It was English, which I was now more than familiar with and could fully understand.

And who was speaking that English?

[Who?]

"..."

It was none other than a Mimic wearing a straw hat and overalls like a human.

Just like Alex of the library wore a baseball cap, the Mimic in the driver’s seat was dressed in typical farmer’s attire.

[...]

"..."

The Mimic, who had been on the radio, stared at me blankly for a while.

How did I know when it had no facial features? I figured it out through the direction of its straw hat, just like with Alex.

In the oddly awkward situation, I spoke to the farmer-looking Mimic.

"Um... hello?"

[...]

Even though I greeted it awkwardly, the Mimic said nothing.

I had heard from Alex before that Mimics are close to biological AIs.

He said that as long as they learn, they boast intelligence not much different from humans, but right now, I wasn’t so sure.

"Can we talk for a bit?"

To my question, the farmer Mimic...

Bmodeuk! Bmodeuk! Bmodeuk!

Responded instead by pressing the windshield wiper button to shake me off.

I couldn’t help but be flabbergasted by the sudden wiper face-slapping.

And the fellow spoke into the radio dangling over the steering wheel.

[There is a big bug here.]

[Bug? If it’s a bug, I already sprayed all the pesticide.]

[It seems bugs are evolving big time lately.]

These bastards are treating a human like a bug.

Bmodeuk! Bmodeuk!

Regardless, the wipers kept operating.

Jiiiik!

And to top it off, it even sprayed windshield washer fluid in my face.

Passing Dwarf: LMAO

Laughing, are you, you damn Dwarf.