I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 776

The shocking statement that they would cremate the Chief God’s body.

For a moment, I was flustered, unable to fathom the meaning behind those words, but soon an audiovisual record was shown to me.

Just as past-me had cremated his friends.

Placing the coffin atop a neatly stacked pile of highly flammable wood.

Hwareureuk! Hwareuk!

The record ended with everything being burnt to ashes at last.

[The playback has ended. Would you like to play it again?]

Despite Yellow’s suggestion, I couldn’t say a single word.

And understandably so, given that the final cremation scene was quite shocking.

’Was I not resurrected...?’

At first, I thought Aris had kept my body until the end and I somehow ended up resurrected.

But thinking about it, that would have been pretty dangerous, considering Aris’s faction was severely lacking in power.

Since Aragon’s side could launch a surprise attack at any moment, holding onto the Chief God’s body indefinitely was out of the question.

It would have been better to neatly cremate it into ashes, if only to cast away lingering regrets.

’Is that also why Aragon leaned toward creation rather than theft...?’

Everything clicked into place.

Of course, whether Aragon knew this truth was uncertain, but his actions clearly ruled out stealing the body.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pulled that nonsense at the Evolution Laboratory.

Let alone bringing someone from the outside to clone them.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) What a bizarre turn of events. Was a cremated body recreated anew?

ㄴSword Matstar) Does that sound realistically possible? Or maybe this recording itself is a bluff.

ㄴAllfather) Indeed, since there’s no record showing the bone ashes being collected, it warrants suspicion.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) We need to go back to the charnel house and check if the Chief God’s bone ashes are there...!

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) I personally think a real resurrection would be way cooler though.

The other fixed-nick users were equally shocked.

However, just as Sword Matstar suggested, the possibility of it being a bluff remained.

Because there was only a record of the cremation taking place, with no scene of the ashes being gathered into an urn.

Yet that raised its own questions, because the emotion Aris poured out right before the cremation was genuinely real.

ㄴSmart Demon) Sending away a parent, recording their cremation, and then secretly smuggling the body elsewhere? I don’t think that makes any sense.

ㄴSuspiciously... ) I agree. Furthermore, Aris scattered the Chief God’s memories far and wide.

ㄴStarlight Lady) There are still many parts that don’t add up.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Didn’t that guy walk away fine even after getting swallowed by a wave of flames before?

ㄴInternal Cultivation Master Robert) The situation back then was different. He used all sorts of rare restorative elixirs at that time.

Many fixed-nicks engaged in a heated debate.

Since I was actively walking around, the hypothesis of it being a bluff gained traction.

However, counter-arguments pointed out that Aris had no reason to go so far as acting out a fake scene to pull a bluff, leaving things confusing.

Especially since the record of Aris weeping tears mixed with blood was more than enough to choke anyone’s heart with sorrow.

"That was a sad story. It made me realize once again that even gods are ultimately sentient beings with emotions."

"Hearing a female like you say that feels strange."

"No matter how eccentric I am, it’s not like I don’t have feelings."

While Lackey and Elia bickered, I was fully absorbed in sorting out my thoughts.

My mind was cluttered because many pieces didn’t add up, but one thing was certain.

There would be bone ashes or keepsakes related to me at the charnel house.

As Aris had said, she would arrange for me to rest alongside my parents and dear friends.

"Mmm... let’s think about this slowly for now. You said there’s one more hidden record, right? Yellow?"

[Please speak.]

"Where is the power room?"

[The power room is located to the northwest once you exit outside.]

Setting Aris’s recording aside for now, I planned to touch the World Tree.

Contacting the World Tree was highly likely to reveal another record.

Setting aside my tangled thoughts for a moment, I headed toward the power room Yellow directed me to.

The base itself wasn’t particularly large, so it only took a few steps to get there.

’No matter how many times I look at it, I just can’t get used to that vinyl greenhouse.’

I didn’t know whether Aris built it herself or if it was built back when the Chief God was active.

I gazed at the bright yellow landscape visible beyond the vinyl greenhouse before heading into the power room.

A moment later, the firmly closed door of the power room slid open.

"...Why is this one so small too?"

"It seems even smaller than the World Tree back at our place."

The World Tree inside the power room was truly tiny.

The World Tree supplying power to the Evolution Laboratory was already on the smaller side, but this was even more extreme.

Moreover, just like the one in the Evolution Laboratory, it was hooked up to electric cables.

Wondering if my memories were stored in this one as well, I quietly reached out and placed my hand on it.

Paat!

The instant my hand touched it, a brilliant white light radiated from the World Tree.

Before long, a swarm of white light engulfed the entire power room.

Soon, that white light gradually began taking on color, transforming the surroundings into an entirely different place.

[It’s the charnel house.]

Just as Cain said, the place we were standing in was indeed the charnel house.

And in front of the main entrance to the charnel house sat a familiar man, lounging casually in a chair.

Pallak-

Reading a Bible that was now completely worn and tattered, my past self guarded the main gate of the charnel house.

Perhaps because I had continuously fought off enemies even after dealing with the cult leader pastor last time.

Near past-me, who was guarding the main gate of the charnel house, countless corpses were piled up like a mountain.

It was a far greater quantity than what I had seen before, and he didn’t seem to care even as they decomposed.

"Haah. Can’t even read a book because of this stench."

Or not. The moment that thought crossed my mind, past-me in the flashback closed the Bible and grumbled.

Well, even if it was winter and decomposition progressed slowly, flesh was bound to rot eventually.

Unable to take it any longer, past-me got up from the chair and headed somewhere.

I wondered where he was going, but it was toward a nearby car.

With the world completely ruined, cars were lying around everywhere.New chapters come out on novel‌ping.com first.

Furthermore, true to the Republic of Korea, there were plenty of cars parked along the shoulder, so finding one wasn’t difficult.

Peo-eok! Kkiii-ik!

With highly practiced hands, past-me pried open the vehicle’s rear compartment—that is, where the engine was located.

Next, the sound of something being smashed with bare hands echoed, and he pulled out a massive component.

Kwalkwalkwal!

Whether it was a fuel tank or not, leftover gasoline gushed out from the component.

And he poured that fuel over the mountain of corpses.

Tearing out a car engine with bare hands was mind-boggling enough, but it seemed he intended to use that to burn the pile of corpses.

Hwareureuk!

Moments later, the mountain of corpses began to burn furiously like firewood.

Being winter, the dry weather helped it catch fire easily, and the clothes worn by the dead were also made of flammable materials.

Regardless, past-me in the flashback sat back down on the chair and quietly began reading the Bible again.

Buseureok- buseureok-

However, since ancient times, human beings have been animals closely drawn to fire.

Being drawn to that fire was a perfectly natural reaction, and in the pitch-black night, it easily drew attention.

Furthermore, since it was a fire kindled with a massive pile of fuel, it could be seen from afar.

Why, even during a military night operation, a single cigarette spark could decide the fate of light and noise discipline.

"...Hey."

"Hiii-ik!"

"Hiek!"

As past-me, reading the Bible by the light of the blazing corpse mountain, spoke up, a sharp scream burst out from nearby.

It wasn’t just one person, but several people screaming, and by all appearances, they seemed to have come with ill intentions.

"Make it brief. Why did you come?"

"B-Because it’s cold..."

"W-We really aren’t going to do anything!"

"You expect me to believe that? Once these corpses are fully burned, aren’t you going to try and take the bone ashes?"

Perhaps because he had been fighting vagrants all this time.

Past-me in the flashback harbored a deep distrust of humans by default.

In truth, people were the most dangerous things in an apocalyptic era, so it was only natural.

"T-That might be true, but... right now we just came to warm ourselves up!"

"Don’t give me that bull. Lighters and firewood are lying around everywhere. Speak truthfully."

"A-Actually, we’ve been watching you all this time! You’re so insanely strong...!"

The vagrants’ point was as follows:

From watching me continuously up until now, they felt a sense of ’safety’ compared to other people.

Hearing those words, past-me in the flashback let out a dry chuckle and replied clearly.

"Do whatever you want. But the moment you step foot inside the charnel house, I’ll throw you onto that mountain of corpses."

"Y-Yes! O-Of course!"

"We won’t cross the line!"

Though they were the first vagrants he had welcomed like that...

"What’s your name?"

"I-I’m called Do Jun-hyeok!"

As time passed...

"Hyung-nim! We caught a cow nearby!"

"We also found some new clothes!"

They ended up doing everything themselves, playing the drum and gong all on their own.

Past-me in the flashback was merely standing guard proudly at the charnel house gate, yet before long, their numbers grew.

Clearly, only two people had approached after seeing the fire, but in no time, the group had expanded to ten.

However, I found it a bit puzzling that almost all of them were men. Even though the world had gone to ruin because of mana, Qi Deviation did not discriminate by age or gender.

"There’s nothing but guys reeking of bachelors here. Weren’t there any elderly or women nearby? I don’t see any children either."

Pure curiosity.

As if aware of this side of past-me, the rogue following him immediately spoke up.

"Ayy, don’t even ask. They’ve probably all been dragged off to Daejeon."

"Daejeon? The place where survivors gathered?"

"Yes. That’s pretty much the only place where people are living, so you won’t find women or children anywhere else."

It was completely understandable. During this period, people likely didn’t know how to use mana properly yet.

Past-me in the flashback didn’t seem to think much of it either, simply nodding and moving on.

"By the way, Hyung-nim, are you not going? Word has it that your fame is widespread even in Daejeon."

"Forget it. What fame? I’m going to guard this place for the rest of my life. What about you, looks like you want to go to Daejeon?"

"Ah, yes... well... my noona is over there."

"Then why didn’t you go? If you went, there’d be plenty of people willing to employ you."

"...The rumors about that place aren’t good."

Rumors aren’t good, huh. Coming from a rogue, that was quite a statement.

Well, with the world in this state, it wasn’t hard to guess what kind of things were happening. Past-me in the flashback didn’t seem interested in dwelling on it any further, changing the subject.

"You said you caught a cow earlier, right? Where did you find it?"

"Way over there, if you head toward Seongju, there are a few cows in the fields. It was a real pain to catch it."

"Alright. Eat up, all of you."

"What about you, Hyung-nim?"

"I’ll just grab a quick bite and be done."

Chiiiiik! Someone in the group apparently knew how to butcher meat, as the beef sizzled into a golden-brown roast.

Finding a grill plate was simple enough by entering any store nearby, so that wasn’t an issue.

Dalgeurak! Dalgeurak!

As they devoured an entire cow, a massive pile of bones accumulated.

Perhaps because animal bones weren’t effective against Qi Deviation unlike human bones, they simply tossed them aside carelessly.

"Keep a good night watch."

"Yes, sir."

Thus time passed and night approached, and past-me went inside the charnel house to sleep.

The other rogues also tidied up roughly and went to sleep inside the charnel house.

Normally, he would never have let them inside the charnel house, but after living alongside them for a while, he seemed to have opened his heart a little.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelрing.com.

However...

-W-What the?! -Kkuaaaak!

-Ambush! It’s an ambush!

The world always has a way of throwing unexpected crises at you.

In the deep dawn before sunrise, screams echoed out from the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.

At first, I thought I was mishearing things, but the screams gradually grew louder.

"?!"

Naturally, past-me, who had been resting his eyes, jolted up in shock and leapt to his feet.

The place where past-me in the flashback was sleeping was the building where the urns of his parents and friends were enshrined.

As he rushed outside, what met his eyes was absolute pandemonium.

"Kill them quickly!"

"You have to eat them alive to gain power!"

Shouts that made one frown just hearing them.

Just as there were groups hunting for bone ashes, there were also groups hunting to ’make’ those bone ashes.

It was the natural outcome of order disappearing from the world, leaving behind nothing but beastly bastards.

"Kkuaaaak!"

"You sons of bitches!"

The situation rapidly deteriorated.

Not only was it a surprise attack carried out in the dead of night, but the assailants were well-practiced at this.

Whether they had managed to secure lanterns of their own, the inside of the building was brightly lit, but that didn’t help much.

’At least the guys on night watch did a good job.’

What if the night guards had been dozing off?

Everyone’s throats would have been slit without a single sound.

Even this chaotic brawl was only possible because the night guards had alerted everyone.

Deolgeureok!

Meanwhile, past-me in the flashback surveyed the chaos and looked down at the ground.

The skull of the cow they had eaten for dinner. And the spine still attached to that skull.

Because the man skilled in butchery had picked it clean, it looked sturdy enough to ’wield’ a few times.

"There’s one over there too!"

"Kill him!"

While past-me in the flashback picked up the spine attached to the skull, an attacker shouted.

At that, an attacker who looked completely unhinged at a single glance charged toward me.

Ppagak!

Past-me in the flashback swung the cow skull connected to the spine like a ’flail.’

Colliding with the hard skull, the attacker’s head crumpled instantly.

Blood spurted from the caved-in skull, but paying it no mind, he targeted the next enemy.

"T-Target that bastard first!"

"W-What the hell? Isn’t that a skull?!"

Past-me in the flashback began rampaging across the battlefield, swinging the cow skull like a war flail.

One person per swing. He steadily thinned their numbers with clean, decisive strikes.

Ppageujaek! However, the bone didn’t last long before shattering into pieces.

As if it didn’t matter in the slightest, past-me picked up a knife used by one of the attackers and swept through them again.

Not just knives, but every single object in the vicinity was utilized effectively as a weapon.

"Seeing how he swings something like that as a weapon, he’s definitely the Master."

Having watched the entire scene, Lackey offered a commentary that wasn’t quite a commentary.

Honestly, I couldn’t even counter it because I probably would have done the exact same thing.

Since in an emergency, I really would have just grabbed whatever was in reach and swung it.

Kwajik!

Past-me in the flashback finally dispatched the remaining attacker using an axe.

Soon after retrieving the axe that had literally split the skull in half, he assessed the situation.

Due to the night raid in the dead of dawn combined with their severely lacking numbers, no one had survived.

"Cough! Cough!"

Except for exactly one person—the man who mentioned having a noona in Daejeon.

Without even wiping off the blood, past-me in the flashback walked slowly toward him.

He was already stabbed in a vital spot, beyond any hope of saving.

"...Jun-hyeok-ah."

"H-Hyung... cough! Hyung-nim..."

"...Speak. I’ll fulfill your last wishes."

"My noona... my noona..."

Even while dying, he worried about his family until the very end.

Perhaps because of that, past-me in the flashback opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

"Tell me her name."

"Do... Do Jin... ah..."

Having called out his family member’s name until the last moment, his breath finally ceased.

I stared at him blankly before quietly closing his eyes.

"...Amen."

Past-me in the flashback ended it with just a brief prayer. Who knows, maybe he recited Bible verses in his mind as well.

As time passed and the morning sun rose, he slowly cleared away the bodies.

Naturally, the attackers were discarded haphazardly like trash, but he set aside the group he had grown attached to.

Burying them in the ground with his own hands so they wouldn’t become food for crows or stray cats.

Tadadak! Tadak!

Especially for the man who had been friendly, he even cremated him personally.

He even went so far as to obtain an urn and store his ashes.

One might think he would enshrine the urn in the charnel house, but that wasn’t the case at all.

He found a usable car from somewhere and stored it in the back seat.

Not just his urn, but also the urns of his parents and friends were kept together.

"Daejeon, huh..."

Holding the steering wheel and tapping my fingers, I...

Buaaaaang!

As if determined to honor the last dying wish, slowly pressed down on the accelerator.