I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 814

A thick plume of mist billowed from the hole in the pale woman’s head.

The plume seemed to merge with the surrounding fog, displaying a scene like a movie.

However, the perspective was first-person from the woman’s point of view rather than third-person, but this alone was more than enough.

"Why must I be exiled to the Forest of the Four Seasons?! I cannot understand this!"

The woman’s voice drifted out from the mist.

It was a voice filled with immense grievance and disbelief.

Despite her desperate cry, the man facing her maintained a solemn expression.

"The evidence has already been presented. The witness statements, and even the murder weapon you used."

"A murder weapon? I have never used such a thing!"

Listening to her voice alone, she sounded so incredibly wronged that she might go mad.

Judging by her use of the Holy Kingdom’s language and the man’s attire, they were undoubtedly from the Holy Kingdom.

And as everyone knew, before Asella completely overhauled it, the Holy Kingdom had been corrupt to a rather severe degree.

The Pope and all the Cardinals had been banished to the Forest of the Four Seasons, so that said it all.

Thus, I wondered if this woman was also a victim of that corruption, but...

"Bloodstains were detected on the dagger you used. Do you still intend to deny it?"

"This is not a murder weapon, but a tool for eternal rest. I merely helped the patients go to Goddess Aris’s side!"

"That is what we call murder. Goddess Aris may embrace them out of pity, but it is our duty to soothe the grievances of the bereaved families."

It wasn’t that at all. The woman was a literal serial killer.

From the sound of it, she had murdered patients with mobility issues, yet she shamelessly argued that she was merely granting them ’eternal rest.’

Since this was a scenario that could actually happen in real life, my face grimaced, and I naturally checked the Gallery comments.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) That’s a pretty famous case! It’s a serial murder case that broke out in the Holy Kingdom 300 years ago!

ㄴStarlight Lady) I’ve heard of it. Was the killer’s name Elise?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero) Yes! Even the biological younger sibling of the Hero of that era was one of the victims!

She was a truly hopeless psychopathic killer.

But to think such a killer had been living until now, and in the Forest of the Four Seasons of all places, was absolutely horrifying.

’Well, it’s not that strange. The Butcher Ogre was the same.’

In this world, when a heinous criminal is cornered, the only thing they can do is flee.

On Earth, it would be normal for information transmission to be slow depending on the era, but here, they can be ’immortalized’ on the Gallery.

Even if the Orange Badge or assistant admins delete the posts to troll, the rumors are bound to spread uncontrollably.

Therefore, the final destination for heinous criminals can be said to be the Forest of the Four Seasons.

"Elise Lowe. As the worst killer in the Holy Kingdom, you should be executed, but by the mercy of the Hero, your sentence will be limited to exile."

"Exile..."

"The Hero said: ’Go to God’s side yourself.’ Since she cannot bring herself to forgive you, she wants you to seek forgiveness directly from God."

Thus, the serial killer Elise, whose exile to the Forest of the Four Seasons was finalized.

The scene that followed was Elise’s struggle for survival.

By sheer luck, she landed in a relatively livable area, chewing on bugs, catching snakes, and so on.

Furthermore, scenes of her constantly utilizing her medical skills as a cleric to overcome numerous crises passed by like a highlight reel.

"Heuuuk... Heuk..."

Of course, she must have truly believed she was wronged, as the days she didn’t cry could be counted on one hand.

It was absurd that a heinous killer was crying.

"Please... save me... anyone..."

What was even more absurd was how desperately she wanted to live.

With that emotion gradually amplifying, she stubbornly survived, and at some point, entered the City of Mist.

"Who... are you?"

"Do not worry. We can help you."

Amazingly, a group of survivors remained inside the City of Mist.

This alone was surprising enough to make one’s eyes go wide, but that wasn’t the end.

"We are exiling you."

"W-Why?!"

"Don’t you know that best yourself? You selfish bitch."

She had behaved so selfishly that she was kicked out of even the survivor group. Though it was unclear what exactly she had done, given that she was a heinous killer, it was easy to guess.

"Heuk... Heuuuk..."

Thus, Elise wandered around the City of Mist, weeping endlessly.

The flashback ended there, but thanks to it, I obtained valuable information.

Namely, that there was a group of survivors inside the City of Mist.

And that this survivor group possessed their own sense of ’common sense.’

’Then how did that woman become a Manatology?’

Leaving behind the still unresolved question, there was something more important left.

The very person who had put a wind hole in Elise’s head.

Though hiding their presence and shrouded in the mist, I could gradually sense them.

"Why don’t you come out?"

I spoke toward the mist as soon as the flashback ended.

My companions also snapped out of it and turned their heads in that direction.

Jeobeok- jeobeok- jeobeok-

Footsteps began to echo from beyond the thick mist.

Tadak- tadak-Visit novelрing.com for the full chapter.

There wasn’t just one person.

The sound of a beast walking lightly could also be heard.

Soon, cutting through the mist, the first thing to reveal itself was...

"Hek-hek-hek..."

A dog.

A majestic-looking German Shepherd, at that.

The Shepherd looked at us with its tongue hanging out, then turned back.

"Master! These people are perfectly fine!"

"A dog is talking...?"

"Our Wonmo talks too."

Come to think of it, our Wonmo also spoke fluently.

Except, unlike Wonmo who used Korean, that Shepherd spoke English.

Meanwhile, the figure behind the Shepherd, the one called ’Master,’ slowly revealed himself.

"Huuu-uk..."

The first thing to catch my eye was a gas mask.

He wore a thick gas mask, and his attire looked as if he had draped a burlap sack over himself.

Finally, as if to show he hadn’t let his guard down, he held a big, beautiful sniper rifle.

An anti-materiel sniper rifle so massive it could pierce through almost any wall, let alone a human.

’Who on earth is this?’

Who could it be, accompanied by a talking dog and using weapons from Earth?

I quietly faced him, keeping my guard up.

The gas-masked man also seemed to keep his tension high as he examined each of our faces.

"Kyuu?"

"Hello. Who are you?"

"I’m Wonmo. Who are you?"

Regardless of the tension, the Shepherd and Wonmo were busy greeting each other.

They were clearly conversing in English and Korean, yet they understood each other surprisingly well.

I knew that German Shepherds, despite their majestic appearance, were gentle and friendly.

Of course, if their master ordered it, they would bite someone’s throat right away, but there was no sign of that for now.

Cheolkeok-

At that moment, the gas-masked man took a different action.

Perhaps realizing we weren’t dangerous, he slung the massive sniper rifle onto his back.

Seuuuk- seuk-

Next, he pulled a large sketchbook from his chest and began scribbling something with a pen.

I didn’t know if he couldn’t speak or if there was some other reason, but I waited quietly.

[State your name.]

[State your name.]

What the gas-masked man showed was a simple question.

Asking for a name, which was, in a way, a brief greeting.

However, there was a peculiar detail: it wasn’t written in just one language.

It was written in numerous languages, seemingly trying to determine our origin.

"My name is Grylls. These are my companions. Lackey, Elia, and lastly, Cain."

"..."

"Ah. And this cute little friend is the owlbear Wonmo."

The gas-masked man flinched slightly when I spoke English fluently.

It wasn’t certain yet whether he was an enemy or an ally, but seeing how he had put a bullet through Elise’s head, I leaned toward the latter.

Seuk- seeuk

[Do you speak English?]

"A little."

[Where did you get it?]

"Hmm?"

The question was strange.

Not where did you ’learn’ it, but where did you ’get’ it.

At a glance, it might sound similar, but it was clearly different to anyone, so I voiced my doubt.

"Not ’learned,’ but ’got’? What does that mean? Can you ’get’ a language?"

Of course, as I recovered my lost memories, I had obtained many things like languages and skills.

But that was closer to recovering what was lost, far from ’obtaining’ it like in a game.

Seuk- seukseuk-

[Do you remember the faces of your parents or friends?]

"I do. You guys remember too, right?"

"I’m an orphan."

"What about friends?"

"I didn’t have any on the outside."

"Uh... right."The source of this chapter is novelрing.com.

Flustered by Elia’s bold reply, I glanced at the gas-masked man.

But the gas-masked man seemed satisfied with the mere fact that we clearly ’remembered,’ brushing it off.

Most of the questions that followed were truly trivial.

Do you remember what skills you learned? Do you remember your most memorable food?

Lastly, what was your most intense memory, and so on.

Since most of them were connected to ’memory,’ by this point, I had a vague inkling.

"I guess memory is the most important thing to survive here?"

Meomchit-

The gas-masked man froze at that question.

He then hurriedly scribbled something and showed it to us.

[Abandon the desire to live in this place. Otherwise, you will lose yourself.]

A chilling warning that only a survivor could give.

Advice that it wasn’t simply about dying, but losing ’myself.’

Though it was hard to understand, my gaze naturally drifted downward.

Elise’s cold corpse, bleeding brain fluid and blood.

It was the fundamental desire of Elise, as well as the Manatology we had encountered so far.

The desire to live grew and grew until they forcibly absorbed others.

Perhaps the oddly shaped bones scattered here and there also belonged to the victims.

"Are you talking about Manatology?"

Kkeodeok-

The gas-masked man nodded as if to say ’exactly.’

Thanks to him, I learned many truths, but a crucial question remained.

"Then who are you?"

The identity of the gas-masked man.

The attire that looked like draped rags, and the gas mask completely covering his face.

The gas mask could be explained by the mist, but I didn’t know why he covered his body so thoroughly.

Seuuk- seukseuk-

[I have been stripped of my name and memories.]

I flinched the moment I read that answer.

’Is this guy a Manatology too?’ I wondered, but quickly suppressed the thought.

There were too many suspicious parts.

Not only was he active and perfectly fine, but he also hadn’t attacked us.

[Instead, I remember one thing. Follow the will.]

"Without knowing whose will it is?"

[That is what maintains me.]

What would happen if he couldn’t maintain it?

There was no reason to pry further, so I put it aside.

"Then can we travel together? It would be reassuring to have you with us."

[No. Attachment makes one lose their will. Then I will cease to exist.]

A firm refusal came back.

It was a pity, but if that was his stance, there was nothing I could do.

"In that case, what must we do to escape from here?"

[As long as the mist does not clear, you cannot leave.]

So we’re completely stuck here for the time being.

Our food supply was sufficient, and with the Gallery at our disposal, we could survive the worst-case scenario.

The problem was the aftereffects of staying in this city for a long time...

[I will leave now.]

"Already?"

[I must fulfill the will.]

Taktak-

The gas-masked man snapped his fingers.

At that, the Shepherd, who had been rolling around with Wonmo, perked its ears and returned to his side.

Jeobeok- jeobeok-

The gas-masked man departed without even a goodbye.

I watched his back fade into the mist before speaking to my companions.

"Shall we get going too?"

There was still a lot of work to do.

Several hours passed like that.

"Uwoooooh!"

"Did a zombie apocalypse break out here or something?"

We came face-to-face with a massive flesh giant.

"Is that person also angry because they couldn’t eat bread?"

"How could that be the case?"