I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 769

Thanks to timely support from Dolsoe and Bbareumbo, the tide of battle turned in our favor.

Though the physical stature and skills of the retrieval team clones were remarkably high, they lacked even a shred of ’caution’ because they acted like machines.

They blindly rushed forward solely to achieve their objective, leaving themselves riddled with openings.

My skills were perfectly optimized for exploiting those exact openings, and the rest of our party was no different.

Especially to Bbareumbo, their openings must have looked like gaping craters.

Chwa-ak!

While I was dealing with one of them, Bbareumbo cleanly sliced through a clone approaching from behind.

Looking around briskly, I saw Cain riding his horse and rampaging across the field in all directions, while Dolsoe was protecting the injured Lackey.

Elia also cast magic at just the right moments, driving the situation completely in our favor.

That wasn’t all.

Peo-eok!

Every time I shot an arrow toward the land floating in the sky, the clones flinched.

It seemed they hesitated out of fear that their primary ’retrieval’ target might be damaged.

Thanks to that, targeting it whenever things got dangerous ended up opening major opportunities for us quite a few times.

’Still, it feels like I’m cutting down real people, not machines.’

Seogeok!

I cleaved the clone in front of me cleanly at the waist.

Not only was the sensation of slicing through flesh and muscle transmitted directly through my hands, but what followed was stomach-turning.

Internal organs squelched and spilled out from the bisected torso. They belonged to a human, not an animal.

I grimaced at the sight for only a fleeting second before immediately engaging another clone.

’By the way, these clones... it’s a real pain because they’re all using techniques I’ve never seen before.’

According to the fixed handles, every single technique they used looked familiar to them.

Whether it was the Mount Hua Sect’s famous Plum Blossom Sword Technique from the Central Plains, the Messiah Empire’s Imperial Sword Technique, or paradigm-shifting magic, and so on.

The faces were identical, yet the techniques they used were all different, making it feel even more jarring.

’What’s strange is that this eerie mismatch doesn’t weaken their overall power at all.’

Every individual has martial arts tailored to their specific body, talent, and skill level.

This holds true whether it’s Mana Cultivation Methods or Internal Cultivation Arts.

There’s a reason for the old saying that you have to dig a single well deep to achieve greatness.

Yet even though the clones each used completely different techniques, no glaring flaws were visible.

’I guess it’s like how a top-tier high-end computer runs any software smoothly.’

Seogeok!

I finished off the last remaining clone by severing his neck.

My breath hitched in my chest, but I scanned our surroundings just in case.

Dozens of corpses bled crimson blood, pooling together into small crimson ponds.

Even though I hadn’t killed real humans, the lingering sensation in my hands felt thoroughly uncomfortable.

Zzzzzing-

Just then, an unfamiliar noise echoed in my ears.

Turning my head toward the sound, I saw a change occurring across the entire floating landmass.

As if wrapping it in a cloth, a blue barrier gradually defined itself around the land.

Flash!

Then, an intense burst of light erupted from the barrier shrouding the land, and...

"...?"

As if its presence there had been a lie, nothing remained except the vast, empty sky.

I rubbed my eyes and opened them again, wondering if this was truly real.

Crimson blood stained my hands, but I didn’t care. The situation was simply that surreal.

"...Ha."

No matter how thoroughly I searched, the insect zone we had been standing on just moments ago had cleanly vanished.

It hadn’t simply floated up into the sky; they had teleported the entire piece of land wholesale.

Even if it took quite a bit of time, moving a landmass of that scale was inherently absurd.

’Then again, they did tear holes through dimensions to connect planets.’

Now, no matter what happens, I can just brush it off as, "Well, it’s Earth technology~."

More important than that were the corpses strewn across the ground.

The key issue was how to handle these corpses lying around in various states.

Re: Heavenly Demon) A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. A familiar sight to this seat.

Re: Sword Matstar) It brings back old memories for me too.

Re: Passing Dwarf) Stop bluffing;;

The dwarf told them to stop bluffing, but I wasn’t so sure about that.

Coming from none other than Yoo So-wol and Ash, their words felt all the more believable.

From her very debut in the Jianghu, Yoo So-wol laid countless masters beneath her feet, and her assassination of the Emperor himself was a famous tale.

Ash had personally eliminated threats to the Empire back in her prime, so she needed no further explanation either.

Re: Allfather) Would it be possible to send me one of those corpses?

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) You aren’t trying to revive them with necromancy, are you?!

Re: Necromancy is Love) We are inclined to grant permission.

Allfather made a casual request, but it gave me pause.

Part of me wanted to send him a body and ask him to study it.

However, unlike before, this was an issue on an entirely different scale, leaving me no choice but to hesitate.Read this novel at nov​elping.com for the best experience.

If it were an ordinary person’s body, that might be one thing, but this man was once the Sword Saint.

’It’s not that I distrust Allfather. I wouldn’t even care if he revived it with necromancy.’

What bothered me most was that I couldn’t predict what kind of disaster might occur during the process.

Unlike the Chief God’s clone we saw at the Theme Park, these were officially a ’retrieval team.’

In other words, there was no telling what kind of fail-safes or measures the gods had applied to these clones.

"...I don’t think I can send one to you. It seems like it might cause too many issues."

Re: Allfather) That is unfortunate. Very well.

Fortunately, Allfather merely smacked his lips in regret and didn’t push further.

More importantly, there was something I needed to check: whether these clones actually possessed ’brains.’

Didn’t Lucas mention it before? That the biggest difference between a human and a machine is programming—that is, the presence or absence of a brain.

The reason was simple: a human brain cannot be duplicated.

So instead of the ones that were decapitated, I looked around for corpses whose heads had completely exploded.

Popping open a lid (?) myself would be too stomach-churning, so finding one already exposed was better.

"Ugh... so they do have brains."

"I did that one."

"Good job."

There were a few corpses with shattered heads that clearly revealed their brains.

Every single one of them had died from taking a powerful Palm Strike to the head from Dolsoe.

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Grylls-nim! I’m terribly sorry, but I’m pausing the broadcast stream for a moment! There are way too many grotesque things!

Re: Heavenly Demon) This seat does not particularly mind.

Re: Sword Matstar) Making a fuss over mere corpses? He’s shown us plenty of animal corpses until now.

Re: Princess Chaenggu) It’s spicy and nice though.

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) A flood of graphic images that you guys will have to delete is going to get mass-produced, so fine, I’ll just sit still!

Re: Heavenly Demon) Young children frequent the Gallery as well, so things that ought to be deleted certainly must be.

Re: Sword Matstar) Those are wise words.

Re: Princess Chaenggu) Then I’ll take a few screenshots in advance.

Re: Don’t Abandon the Hero) Why are YOU taking screenshots?!!

The fixed handles engaged in banter for a moment while the video stream was paused.

If anything important happened, it would be better to record it separately on video.

More than that, finding out the clones actually possessed brains was quite shocking.

I wondered if Lucas had lied when he said replicating a brain was impossible.

’Or maybe duplicating a brain is impossible, but if they’re constructing a human being entirely from scratch...’

After all, the original template for these clones was the Sword Saint—Friedrich.

Even though his death occurred 300 years ago, here he was, actively moving around (?).

Of course, lacking any sense of self and using entirely different techniques, he could hardly be called the original person.

’They mentioned it earlier at the lab. That the research was being conducted under the philosophy that memories and experiences are identical.’

In other words, they might be cloning a person whole and then transferring memories into them.

Considering how the retrieval team was used as expendable assets, these guys might actually be on the weaker side.

’When I get back, I should look into this person named Friedrich. How did he end up as the original template? Was he kidnapped at some point?’

Friedrich’s era of activity was 300 years ago.

An era when the Hero and the Demon King fought fiercely to kill one another.

"First, let’s gather all the corpses in one place."

"What will you do once they are gathered?"

"Burn them, of course. What if wild beasts eat them and grow stronger?"

We started by thoroughly burning the corpses.

As a bonus, we salvaged the armor and weapons they were using.

The sheer number of corpses made just piling them up a huge chore.

"Lackey. Are you alright now?"

"I am fine thanks to the Elixir."

"Good. You worked hard. When we get back home, I’ll make you candied sweet potatoes."

"..."

At my words, Lackey was pleased for a brief moment before falling into deep thought.

Anyone could tell he was trying to scheme, so I shut him down instantly.

"If you get hurt on purpose next time, forget candied sweet potatoes—you won’t even get dinner."

"Tch. How did you figure it out?"

"It’s written all over your face, you rascal."

Tuk-tuk-

Just as I was scolding Lackey...

Bbareumbo, hanging onto my back, tapped my shoulder.

When I turned my head, Bbareumbo pointed at himself, demanding something.

I chuckled at his gesture asking if there wasn’t anything in it for him.

"Alright, alright. When we get home, I’ll give you Fasting Pills too. But I have to ask someone for them, so it might take a bit of time."

"..."

He had a look that asked if I could tell him who I was asking.

Of course, as usual, his expression was completely blank, but having spent so much time together, I knew what he meant.

"Who am I getting them from? Hmm..."

I pondered after grasping Bbareumbo’s intention.Find the original chapter at novel‌ping.com.

As everyone knew, Fasting Pills were supplied through the Heavenly Demon.

I wondered if it was okay to connect Heavenly Demon and Bbareumbo directly.

’Well, Heavenly Demon is a sub-mod too, so 1-on-1 messaging is available...’

If it’s just for receiving Fasting Pills, introducing them shouldn’t be a problem.

Bbareumbo isn’t rude, and Yoo So-wol would likely treat him favorably anyway.

"I’ll tell you once we get home. Let me finish what we have to do first."

Hwareureuk!

As time passed, the gathered corpses were burned completely into ash.

The smell of burning protein slammed into my nostrils as pungent smoke billowed upward.

’Now the wild beasts won’t be able to feed on them...’

All that remained was returning home. I checked the time.

Remarkably enough, barely a single day had passed since we set out on this expedition.

It felt like days had gone by, likely because so many grueling events had unfolded in rapid succession.

’Still, it’s not like we came back empty-handed.’

The World Tree roots cultivated directly by the gods.

The equipment worn by the clones.

And finally, Aragon’s ultimate objective and his research process.

We had gained quite a lot, which I planned to sort through gradually once we got back home.

’It’d also be good to meet with Lucas while I’m at it to discuss all this.’

I stared at the mountain of corpses burning down to ash before turning around to leave.

’There’s a mountain of stuff to organize.’

My plan was to return home, wrap up basic cleanup, and get some sleep.

Time passed, and it wasn’t until dark night fell that we finally made it back home.

"Koooo..."

"Grrrr..."

We found the little ones sprawled on the bed, sleeping peacefully.

I had expected them to cause chaos left to themselves, but surprisingly, they were sleeping soundly.

I wondered if the Hobgoblins guarding the house had taken good care of them...

"...You’re back."

"What the hell happened to you?"

Heukgu was an absolute wreck.

His well-groomed black fur was a disheveled mess, and his eyes were heavy with deep exhaustion.

It was enough to make me wonder if there had been an unexpected raid.

"The kids tried to bolt, so I had a hell of a time stopping them."

"..."

"That Wonmo kid almost went wandering off, saying he caught a strange scent."

Heukgu really went through a lot in his own way.

His fur was literally made of shadows, so seeing it ruined like that was almost impressive.

I let out a smirk and checked the time. Late as it was, we absolutely needed to wash up for hygiene’s sake.

Not to mention we had been covered in all sorts of filth from a place crawling with insects today.

"Do I really have to wash?"

"Are you really the Elf Queen? Don’t you care about maintaining dignity?"

"I’ve adapted."

"..."

Adapting too fast was the problem.

I shoved Elia into the bathroom, telling her to hurry and wash up.

Though she grumbled about being tired, she still came out squeaky clean.

Meanwhile, I logged onto the Gallery to check the current state of affairs.

Along with that, I was planning to receive Fasting Pills from Yoo So-wol, but...

[The reason the Plum Blossom Sword Technique degenerated.]

[Was the Imperial Sword Technique always that hard?]

[Wasn’t that Tai Chi Sword earlier?]

Looks like something entertaining was brewing.

I quietly clicked into one of the posts.

Title) The reason the Plum Blossom Sword Technique degenerated

Because the Mount Hua Sect is sooooo fucking weak right now lol

Look at Friedrich fighting Grylls.

Since his base stats were lacking, he was just cobbling the Plum Blossom Sword Technique together haphazardly, so it degenerated lol

Re: What the f*ck did you just say?

Re: Look at you blabbering just because you have a mouth;’

Hmm.

A very familiar scent wafts in.

’The aroma of pure trolling.’

The problem was that the troll was me.