I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 804

Countless fireflies glowing outside the light illuminating the campsite.

When I realized that those lights were actually the glowing eyes of water deer, I couldn’t help but get goosebumps.

Just before falling asleep yesterday, I had seen a cluster of lights flickering on the distant mountain and assumed there were just a lot of fireflies.

To think those were actually the eyes of water deer—I couldn’t even begin to fathom how massive their population was.

"Kkau!!!"

As we took our combat stances, one of the water deer roared.

The roar sounded almost like a warning to us, so I glanced at Lackey.

If it was Lackey, he would have understood what that guy was saying.

"Revenge... is what it says."

"Revenge?"

"It seems they are seeking revenge for the water deer Master ran over yesterday."

Before I could make sense of that answer, a question popped into my mind.

Since yesterday’s incident was an accident, I did feel a bit sorry about it. Though I was the one who personally ended its life.

But above all, there were no other water deer around at the time, so how did they know it was me?

If they had been watching from afar, I’d have nothing to say, but the very fact that they possess the concept of revenge is mind-boggling.

’They’re not even crows...’

Most animals, when a companion dies, usually just shrug it off like, ’Oh? It’s dead?’ and move on.

On the other hand, I’ve heard that highly intelligent animals like crows will actually hold a meeting to discuss who killed their companion and what they looked like.

It might be due to the influence of the Forest of the Four Seasons, but these water deer were exceptionally extreme.

For creatures that originally lived solitary lives to start pack behavior and even gain superior intelligence...

"Kyaoo!!"

"Kyahoo!!"

While I was racking my brain, the water deer cried out one after another.

Perhaps because it was night, their roars sounded even more clamorous.

"They are shouting, ’Blood revenge.’"

"I don’t want to fight. Ask them if there’s something they want."

With the wide-open highway all around us and their overwhelming numbers, we were at a severe disadvantage.

If possible, settling this through dialogue would be the best course of action.

"Kuoo!"

"Kuo!"

"Kyaoo!"

As Lackey translated, one of the water deer cried out loudly.

Then, another one followed suit.

Waoooo!!!

Finally, the entire horde of water deer roared in unison, threatening us.

I didn’t get a translation from Lackey, but I could guess what it meant.

’They’re not some kind of hive mind, so why are multiple beasts speaking the same words in turns?’

Between their abnormal numbers and Lackey getting bitten under the highway earlier...

There were more than a few suspicious things, but right now, clues were sorely lacking.

Moreover, they were about to charge at us, leaving no time for analysis.

"Lackey. Elia. Can you guys erect a wall big enough to block off one side of the highway?"

"You want us to make a temporary wall, right? I can do that."

"I can do it."

"Do it."

The plan was to raise a wall on one side first, then slowly block them off.

It would be much better to block them like this than to have them swarm us from all directions.

Besides, the water deer were only a problem because of their numbers; individually, their strength was rather average.

At most, they could only bite with their sharp teeth, kick with their hind legs, or charge.

ㄴAllfather) They really look like vampires. Every single one of them has vicious-looking teeth.

ㄴStarlight Lady) Do they really suck blood with those?

ㄴSuspiciously...) Long fangs usually mean they’re venomous.

Perhaps because there aren’t many animals with long fangs, the registered users also found it fascinating.

They didn’t seem to think I was in any danger at all.

I wondered what on earth they thought of me, but then a sudden thought struck me.

’Wait a minute. I’m pretty sure water deer with fangs that long are all male. Where are the females?’

Since I encountered plenty of water deer during my military service, I had looked them up on XX Wiki before.

Only male water deer grow those vicious-looking fangs.

And those fangs are used for hierarchy disputes, winning females, showing off, and so on.

Since they served various purposes, they were practically a symbol of status.

"It might be tough in the middle of a fight, but if you spot any individuals without fangs, please let me know."

[Is that one the leader?]

"I’m not sure, but there’s a high possibility."

Seeing how there were no females in sight and only males with menacing fangs, it was highly likely.

While we whispered and formulated our plan, the water deer began to move.

Cheok- cheok- cheok-

As if the entire pack had become one, they approached us with disciplined movements.

No matter how I looked at it, this was far from normal.

Even a well-trained army wouldn’t be able to act like that.

Waooooo!!!

From the back of the pack, a rough roar of a water deer echoed out.

It was as if signaling the start of a war.Follow the newest chapters on novelping dot com.

Moreover, it was far too loud to be called a mere roar; it vibrated in my ears like an echoing boom.

Dududududu!

As if that roar was the signal flare, countless water deer charged forward.

I immediately ordered Lackey and Elia to cast a shield.

Kugugugugu!

Before long, a massive wall surged up behind us through the power of the two mages.

A wall so long and tall that it completely blocked the left and right sides of the wide highway.

It was a spell with a substantial mana cost, but with the two of them combining their strength, it was no problem.

Now, the only thing left was to slaughter the horde of water deer approaching from the front.

Kkigigik-

I nocked a pre-prepared arrow onto my bowstring.

Paang!

And loosed it straight at the head of the leading water deer.

Peok!

Along with the sound of a head being easily pierced.

Peo-eok! Peok! Peok!

It consecutively penetrated the heads of the other water deer following behind, leaving a trail of corpses.

Yet, the water deer charged blindly, completely unfazed.

Piing! Ping!

I didn’t stop firing even as Cain and Dolsoe, standing on the front line, blocked the water deer’s charge.

With each arrow, nearly ten water deer collapsed onto the cold asphalt.

Furthermore, there was the mystical phenomenon of the arrows that had vanished into the darkness returning to my quiver.

This was a technique applying the subtle principles of the Unity of Self and Object—specifically, the flying sword control that Ash had demonstrated.

It was similar to telekinesis, but the difference lay in whether one used their hands or not.

While telekinesis required extending a hand to retrieve a weapon, this technique required no such thing.

[The left side is open!]

"I will step in!"

The balance of our party was quite good, so we had no real trouble handling a battle of attrition.

Cain and Dolsoe formed a reliable front line, while Elia and Lackey unleashed powerful firepower as mages.

In particular, Lackey was versatility itself, capable of filling any position.

Since the other kids, especially Wonmo, had started pulling their own weight, there was less for me to worry about.

Chwareureuk!

"Watch out."

"Ah! Thank you!"

On top of that, there was Heukgu’s timely assistance.

Since he emerged from the shadows to cover all our blind spots, the battle flowed smoothly.

"Taddaddaddaddadda- tta- da! Taddaddadda- ttatta! Ttatta!"

Along with Maengkkongi’s splendid performance.

It was a skill that had received rave reviews as he consistently uploaded his music to the Gallery.

The guitar he played was clearly an ordinary acoustic guitar, yet amazingly, he was able to play it like an electric guitar.

I had absolutely no idea what the principle behind it was, but since it was a huge help to us, it didn’t really matter.

Kwajik!

How much time had passed?

Cain struck the head of the last remaining water deer with his iron mace.

The water deer’s head literally exploded, killing it instantly.

I stared at the mountain of water deer corpses strewn across the ground, then turned my head.

The fireflies that had been visible beyond the darkness were no longer in sight.

I couldn’t even remember how many water deer we had killed.

Their numbers were just ridiculously high, but the individual combat power of the water deer was weak.

’This is strange.’

I kicked a fallen water deer on the ground, harboring doubts.

These water deer not only live in packs, but they also possess high intelligence.

Normally, highly intelligent creatures will flee if they find themselves at a disadvantage.

Even predators usually run away if they sense they are in danger.

Yet, these beasts charged like madmen, completely disregarding their own lives.

"Argh!"

"What’s wrong?"

"This bastard bit my foot!"

They even launched attacks when they were on the verge of death.

I watched Lackey stomping furiously on a water deer, then turned my head.

The countless fireflies had long since vanished.

[You look like you’ve noticed something strange.]

"Yes. Don’t you feel it too, Cain-ssi?"

[The entire group showed no fear of death, as if they were drugged. It was like looking at berserkers.]

An apt comparison. The water deer did not fear death.

To be honest, it was quite terrifying how they charged with the sole, single-minded obsession of killing us.

ㄴAllfather) There are many cases where goblins or orcs have used a shaman’s power to induce collective madness.

ㄴSmart Demon) You’re saying there’s a shaman among those deer-looking bastards? Does that even make sense?

ㄴAllfather) It is the Forest of the Four Seasons, after all.

ㄴSmart Demon) That actually makes sense.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) Foolish fellow. It is about time you adapted.

ㄴSmart Demon) Fuck;;This story is hosted at novelping dot com.

ㄴSword Matstar) It’s rare to see that guy gloat like that. Just how much has she teased him all this time? Lmao

Just as Allfather said, this was the Forest of the Four Seasons.

It was a region where the abnormal was normal and common sense, so applying standard logic was futile.

Even I, who had lived here for over a year, hadn’t fully adapted and was still left bewildered.

"So to sum it up, is it this? Only males are visible, and no females are in sight. And the males are all acting as if they’ve fallen victim to a hypnosis app."

"...A hypnosis app? Where on earth did you hear about that?"

"I saw it on the Gallery before. They said it’s an ability that completely paralyzes common sense and reason?"

"Who said that?"

"I saw it in a discussion among the users."

"...."

Indeed, just as Starlight Lady’s words implied, it was a massive relief that adult content hadn’t been unlocked yet.

The problem was that Starlight Lady was constantly looking for countermeasures, which honestly worried me a lot.

’I couldn’t show her our embarrassing self-portrait, but it couldn’t be helped.’

For now, clearing the piled-up water deer carcasses was the priority.

I wanted to burn them all to ashes, but since the quantity was so vast, I decided to just pile them up in one place.

After all, if we left these corpses alone, other beasts would eventually scavenge them.

"Keungkeung. Keung."

"Ehey. Wonmo-ya. That’s dirty, dirty."

Since Wonmo was trying to tear into a water deer carcass, I adamantly stopped him.

If he really wanted to eat it, it would be better to cook it over a fire to avoid worrying about parasites.

Coincidentally, Lackey was also curious about water deer meat, so he could help out.

Just as we were taking a breather like that...

Waooooo!

The darkness outside the light projected by the Light Crystal Orb.

From deep within that distant darkness, a chillingly familiar roar echoed resoundingly.

At that roar, everyone stopped what they were doing. I did the same.

Then, as we turned our heads, countless fireflies began to appear one by one in the darkness.

As if multiplying, their numbers gradually swelled, just like when they first ambushed us.

"...Master. What is that?"

"I don’t know either."

Whatever it was, one thing was certain.

Kyahoooo!!!

We had to fend off that terrifying onslaught of numbers once again.

With the cries of the water deer echoing from afar, a massive horde of them swarmed us just like before.

Just when I thought we could finally rest, even that was denied to us.

"Master! Just how long do we have to hold out?!"

"I don’t know!"

I shouted loudly while releasing an arrow.

I didn’t know who the leader controlling these bastards was, but they were definitely quite clever.

For starters, they chose to ambush us at night when visibility was limited, rather than in the morning.

If they had ambushed us like this in the morning, I would have personally taken the leader’s head.

For now, we had no choice but to silently hold off the wave.

Cheolpeok!

"Hmm?"

Then, a strange sound came from behind.

The place where Lackey and Elia had joined forces to erect the massive wall—that is, the rear.

Turning my head, I saw a water deer flailing around.

Its head was crushed and its legs were broken, looking as if it would die at any moment, but...

Cheolpeok! Peo-eok!

But what do you know?

Several more water deer were ’falling’ right next to it.

The moment I saw that, I blankly raised my head and stared at the top of the wall.

"Master! What are you looking..."

Lackey, who was casting magic beside me, also looked up.

And he must have seen it clearly. The water deer falling one after another from the top of the wall.

Peo-eok! Peok!

The water deer that fell first collided with the hard asphalt and turned into mush.

However, those corpses piled up and up, forming a sort of cushion.

"Kyahooo!!!"

"W-Why are these bastards coming from behind?!"

They had rendered the wall we worked so hard to build completely useless.

Out of nowhere, we were forced to defend our rear as well.

After asking my companions to hold out for just a moment, I leaped high and reached the top of the wall.

I kicked away the flailing water deer there, then looked down.

Since it was out of the range of the Light Crystal Orb, I had no choice but to activate my Eye Lantern.

"...Oh my god."

The moment I looked down through the Eye Lantern, I gasped in horror.

And for good reason.

Ureureureu!

"Kyah!"

"Uoooo!"

Because countless water deer were stacking their own bodies to build a tower.