I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 802

There are animals that are considered endangered species globally, but are so common in certain countries that they cause a major headache.

Australia’s koalas or kangaroos are prime examples, which often leads to differing opinions between organizations and nations.

In particular, the water deer of the Republic of Korea is a rather extreme case of this.

While it is certainly an endangered species, it has been designated as a harmful pest due to the terrible damage it inflicts on crops.

Because of this, hunting them was legal as long as one obtained a permit, and quite a large number of water deer were culled every year.

And, of course, one cannot forget roadkill, which is the decisive reason why ’water deer’ itself became synonymous with roadkill.

Even though their population was being steadily reduced, water deer were still a common sight.

[I, too, ate many wild animals during my active duty days. But isn’t your army quite far removed from that sort of thing?]

"I don’t know about the rear, but since I served on the front lines, it wasn’t all that different."

[Were the front lines poorly supplied? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had to eat wild animals.]

"It’s just like I said. An officer found a water deer caught in the barbed wire fence, and we ate it out of curiosity."

In truth, the first sergeant had subtly suggested it.

He coaxed us, saying he had eaten it before and that it was a delicacy.

Of course, the moment I took a bite, the gamey stench spread like crazy, and I threw up immediately.

It tasted so awful that I lost my appetite for a while, losing a chunk of weight in just a week.

Of course, the first sergeant claimed it was edible if butchered properly, but that only applied if it was prepared perfectly.

Eating it in a field situation like this was something best avoided if possible.

"Dinosaur meat has a gamey smell too, but it doesn’t even compare to water deer."

[Then what on earth is it good for?

]"Absolutely nothing. It might be a different story if it were good for stamina, but there’s never been any talk of that."

There are two things that people of the Republic of Korea absolutely go crazy for.

One is food that is good for stamina. The other is food that is good for children’s brain development.

The latter is because the Republic of Korea’s passion for education is so intense, while the former... well, for some reason, those kinds of rumors just always spread.

Yet, you almost never heard such things about water deer. At best, the only thing worth taking was its hide.

"Besides, we don’t know how it might have mutated due to mana, so there’s no need to take the risk."

[That sounds like the most logical point. Is the water deer quite strong?]

"Well, they look like deer, so their hind kick is incredibly powerful."

Quite a few people who haven’t served in the military think that soldiers mostly get injured during training.

This is only half true. While about half of the injuries do occur during training,

the other half are various accidents stemming from the impulsive behavior typical of young men.

There are those who had their cheekbones fractured due to a goalkeeper charge while playing soccer in their final months of service, and others who were hospitalized because a microwave exploded.

There are also quite a few people who were carried off after being rammed by wild animals.

As everyone might have guessed, the prime culprit for ramming people is the water deer.

The story of someone who got medically discharged after being kicked by a water deer while trying to feed it was famous.

’There were many jokes about it being the "Water Deer Repaying a Favor."’

In any case, since this was a water deer belonging to the Forest of the Four Seasons, it was best not to mess with it carelessly.

Furthermore, we had no idea what other animals might be living here besides the water deer.

Though Lackey looked disappointed, he seemed to agree that my reasoning was sound and quietly backed down.

"By the way, what was it like when you were a soldier, Grylls-nim?"

Perhaps because I had mentioned my past,

Elia asked as we walked forward in silence.

Turning my head toward her, I met eyes that were sparkling with curiosity.

"It probably won’t be a very interesting story, you know?"

"Oh, come on. You don’t have to be so humble. It was the era when the gods lived, wasn’t it?"

"Well, people’s lives are pretty much the same everywhere, but..."

This was something I had bonded over with Ash.

Like the miracle of even the smartest people turning into idiots the moment they enlist.

Or how exhausting it gets the moment you end up with someone who has a shitty personality, whether they’re your senior or junior.

It made me realize that no matter how much eras and cultures change, human life is the same wherever people gather.

-Wau!

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the water deer shrieked once again.

No matter how many times I heard that, I could never get used to it.

"It’s the army you served in, Grylls-nim! I’m sure it will be fascinating."

"I heard that the stories women find the most boring are military stories and stories about playing soccer in the military, though?"

ㄴSword Matstar) I find it interesting, though?

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu) I think soccer stories would be fun too!

ㄴHeavenly Demon) This lady would gladly listen to any tale of yours, young master.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Me too!

ㄴPassing Dwarf) You guys are kissing up to him so much it’s going to wear out;;

ㄴSmart Demon) Act like you wouldn’t listen eagerly if it were about alcohol, lol

Hmm. Is this what it feels like when a grandfather tells old stories to his grandchildren?

From their perspective, I was a living witness to the most glorious golden age of the gods, so I could understand.

"An interesting story... Well, there was a time I got into a scuffle with a wild boar..."

"A wild boar? How big was it?"

"It was pretty huge. Roughly the size of that car over there?"

I replied, pointing to a scrapped car nearby.

At the same time, the group’s gaze shifted to the abandoned car.New chapters come out on nоvelping.com first.

"It was the size of that car?"

"Yeah."

"Didn’t you say the country you lived in didn’t have many large animals, Grylls-nim?"

"Well, the wild boars were massive."

It wasn’t a lie; it was the truth.

I remembered how terrified I was when a wild boar the size of a car appeared while I was on duty.

I was able to experience firsthand the saying that your body freezes when you’re too scared.

"Did you fight and win?"

"It’s a bit vague to call it a fight. I just dodged the charging boar, jumped on its back, and beat it with my rifle butt. That was it."

Does it sound like bullshit? It’s actually what happened.

"It was the size of that car?"

"Yeah."

"Didn’t you say the country you lived in didn’t have many large animals, Grylls-nim?"

"Well, the wild boars were massive.

"It wasn’t a lie; it was the truth.

I remembered how terrified I was when a wild boar the size of a car appeared while I was on duty.

I was able to experience firsthand the saying that your body freezes when you’re too scared.

"Did you fight and win?"

"It’s a bit vague to call it a fight. I just dodged the charging boar, jumped on its back, and beat it with my rifle butt. That was it."

Does it sound like bullshit? It’s actually what happened.

In the military, the things that sound the most like bullshit are always the absolute truth.

Anyway, thanks to beating it diligently with the rifle butt, I managed to knock the wild boar unconscious.

"What happened to the wild boar? Did you eat that one too?"

"No. As it turned out, some hunters had messed up their drive, which is why it ended up coming our way.

So we handed it over to them.

"Thanks to that, I was nicknamed ’Hog Rider’ within the unit for a while.

The battalion commander pleading with me not to cause such accidents was a bonus.

I had mentioned this to Ash before, but once out of boredom, I threw a bayonet at a bird, and it got stuck right in it.

To make matters worse, the bird flew far away in shock, resulting in a loss of military property.

’Thinking back, it was a miracle that only my leave got canceled.’

It made me realize once again what a kind person the battalion commander was back then.

Or maybe his own promotion was too important, so he just let these minor (?) incidents slide.

"As expected of Master. The things that happened while living here are nothing compared to that."

"What are you talking about? The things that happened here are far more ridiculous."

[The very fact that you accomplished that with a bare body without any mana means you have already transcended humanity.]

Is that so? I’ve never really thought about it that way.

Even when I talked about this with my friends, they just laughed it off, calling me a dumbass lol.

"Anyway, let’s get some sleep. Cain-ssi?"

[I will stand guard, so rest without worry.]

"But just in case, I’ll set up some security magic too."

After finishing all the preparations for sleep, I lay down in my pre-prepared sleeping bag and looked up at the sky.

Normally, only a few stars were visible in the night sky of the Republic of Korea, but now, the Milky Way was vividly clear.

Just like how the weather had been relatively cool when we walked during the day, the complete disappearance of civilization allowed me to witness such a spectacular sight.

"Master. Master."

"Yeah?"

It was while I was staring blankly at the sky.

Lackey, who hadn’t gone to sleep yet, called out to me.

As I looked at him with a puzzled expression, Lackey said,

"Look over there. There are so many fireflies."

"Fireflies?"

Skeptical of the mention of fireflies, I turned my head.

When I turned my head, indeed, countless lights were embroidered in the empty air.

I thought to myself that since the world had ended, I was even getting to see fireflies that one would normally only see in the countryside.

’But the sense of perspective is a bit strange...’

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the fireflies more closely.

I had only ever seen fireflies on the Gallery, not in reality, but even so, something felt off.

While fireflies usually glowed, what I was seeing now looked more like mere dots of light.

’Is it because we’re inside the Forest of the Four Seasons?’

Seeing their positions change in real-time, they were definitely alive.

I stared intently at the fireflies for a moment, but soon brushed it off and went to sleep.

-Kkau!

-Uwauuu!

I wanted to sleep in peace, but the water deer kept crying outside. If I had known it would be like this, I would have asked her to set up a soundproofing magic too. What a waste.

’No. If anything, I need to get used to these kinds of sounds.’

I had heard somewhere before.

Mammals have a habit of sleeping well even when their surroundings are noisy.

However, if that noisy sound suddenly disappears completely, they instinctively feel a sense of crisis and wake up.

It was a so-called sense of incongruity, a feeling I had experienced countless times while living in this damn forest.

Therefore, if the cries of the water deer were to stop, it would mean a dangerous situation had arisen, so it was better to adapt.

"Deureoreong...!"You are reading on novеlping.com, the official source.

"...."

"Deureoreong...! Keo-eok...! Keung!"

Lackey has already gotten used to it. Seeing him snore so heartily, there was no doubt.

I let out a hollow laugh as his snoring even blocked out the cries of the water deer.

The rest of the group had also adapted to Lackey’s snoring, so they were sleeping comfortably.

And so, after spending an uneventful first day, we set off once again.

"The road is completely blocked here."

Along the way, there were times when the road was blocked because there were too many cars.

Normally we would have detoured, but not us.

"Let’s just clear it out of the way. Can you float them with magic?"

"I will try."

We could just lift them ourselves or float them with magic and throw them off the highway.

Honestly, as long as we secured a path for us to pass through, that was enough.

Kuuung! Kung!

Loud noises echoed continuously as we threw the cars down from the highway.

There was no one down there to get hit, and even if there were animals, they would probably dodge easily, so I didn’t pay attention to what was below.

’Surely there wouldn’t be a water deer down there?’

A water deer getting hit by a car is one thing, but getting crushed by a scrapped car falling from above?

Just imagining it was so ridiculous that it made me laugh.

Still, just in case, I peeked down below the road.

"Kueooo..."

"...Oops."

Against all odds, there really was one. I stared at the water deer struggling, its torso pinned under a scrapped car.

The creature, having met with a sudden disaster, flailed around before raising its head to look straight at me.

"Uooo...!"

I will never forget you. Even in death, I will curse you.

For some reason, that was what it sounded like.

"Master. That guy is cursing Master."

So it was true. I scratched my head. I wondered if I should help it, but blood was already pooling heavily around it.

Seeing blood streaming from its mouth, its internal organs must have been completely ruptured. Even an Elixir wouldn’t save it.

’I’m starting to feel a bit guilty.’

There was only one thing I could do here.

Kwak!

Piercing its head with an arrow in one shot to send it off without pain.

The water deer, which had been staring at me and cursing me until the very end, collapsed the moment the arrow pierced its head.

"If you’re done, let’s go."

"Got it."

I immediately moved on.

What’s the worst that could happen?

A long time after Grylls’s group had departed.

The massive pile of scrapped cars that Grylls had thrown down.

On the surface, there seemed to be no change, but as time passed, the story changed.

Jureureuk-

Crimson blood began to slowly trickle out from beneath the heap of scrapped cars.

The scent of blood gradually spread far and wide, more than enough to summon animals with a keen sense of smell.

Seueuk-

In the midst of this, a water deer made its appearance.

The creature stared blankly at the blood pooling on the ground, then leaned its head close and licked it with its tongue.

"...!"

An intense reaction came from the water deer that licked the blood.

Starting with snapping its head up, its entire body began to shudder.

It was a reaction as if something had been directly injected into its mind.

In fact, the final memory of its dead companion was playing inside the water deer’s head.

Grazing on the grass on the ground, when suddenly a scrapped car fell from above.

Unable to dodge the sudden disaster and getting crushed beneath it.

And finally, a strange face appearing and shooting something sharp.

Dangerous. A new threat had appeared in their peaceful (?) daily lives.

"Kkyaoooo!!!"

At the deafening roar of the water deer,

-Kkyaooo!!!

-Uooooo!!!

loud roars echoed from the mountain, which was their habitat.

"Ah, shit. What is that sound now?"

"Now, the companions of the water deer Master killed will come to kill us."

"Don’t make useless jokes."

"You caught me."