Got a Gallery in the Wild

Ludwig was exactly forty-nine years old.

He would soon turn fifty.

For a human in this world, and especially for a soldier, he had lived quite a long time.

The experience and prestige he had accumulated over all those years were enough to earn anyone’s respect.

Ludwig himself was aware of that.

He considered himself a man who had lived a long life.

He had witnessed with his own eyes the birth of both the previous Hero and the current one.

Moreover, he had gone through countless real battles.

He had fought humans, beasts, undead, monsters, and all kinds of enemies.

He had protected the Holy Kingdom, Eldorado, by facing innumerable threats.

Although he had already retired from the front lines due to his age, his skills had not declined in the slightest.

After all, those who knew how to use mana tended to grow stronger with age.

Even if their physical abilities declined, they could compensate through refined mana circulation techniques or an internal energy cultivation method.

In that sense, Ludwig could be considered an exceptional master.

However.

Even someone like him always encountered situations that were impossible to foresee.

‘What the hell is this man?’

It was no longer merely astonishing.

It was grotesque.

That was the conclusion Ludwig reached after evaluating Grills’ abilities.

Just as every person needs clothes that fit their size, martial arts worked the same way.

Every individual had a weapon that suited them best, and a different way of using it.

Ludwig himself had mastered virtually every weapon.

But he preferred the sword because it suited him the best.

‘It would be easier to teach martial arts to a gorilla.’

After all, even a gorilla only had one pair of arms and one pair of legs.

The only extraordinary thing about it was its size.

As long as you made clothes that fit, there wouldn’t be a problem.

But Grills was different.

It was as if he had an extra arm and an extra leg, to the point where he couldn’t even “wear human clothes.”

If he had to explain why Grills possessed such an absurd build, it would be something like this.

‘It’s not that he fights poorly. In fact, he’s quite talented.’

First.

Judging solely by his natural talent, he could be considered close to a genius.

Of course, that was as long as he wasn’t compared to monsters beyond all logic like the Heroine or Ash.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been known as an outstanding prodigy.

He would have to examine him more thoroughly to determine the true extent of his talent.

But it was obvious that he was an unpolished gem.

‘He has a few flaws, but a handful of corrections would be enough.’

The very fact that he had taught himself made Ludwig value him even more.

He moved his sword and shield by imitating what he had seen or heard.

And above all.

What Ludwig liked the most were his eyes.

They never stopped moving.

They constantly observed the surroundings without ever losing sight of the target.

‘The problem is his aura.’

However.

The second problem directly contradicted the first.

It was mana.

Or, more precisely, aura.

The size of Grills’ aura was completely abnormal.

It resembled that of the legendary Sword Saint, who had been famous in the past for being absurdly powerful.

‘What in the world did he do to make his aura grow this much?’

Neither Asella nor even Ash, with whom he had crossed swords in the past, had ever strayed from the basic principles.

They trained their martial arts.

They mastered mana.

They refined their aura.

That was the proper path.

But that monster.

He had ignored the entire process.

He was like a plant that never bore fruit and only kept growing its stalk without ever stopping.

And on top of that.

That stalk was absurdly thick and sturdy.

He was breaking common sense.

Could it be because of the countless medicinal herbs in the Forest of the Four Seasons?

‘If that were possible, every noble and millionaire would be like this man.’

Ludwig had observed countless prodigies over nearly fifty years.

Among them were people who had consumed countless spiritual medicines since childhood.

But even they had only managed to increase the duration of their aura.

Never its size.

‘I don’t know whether to say he has talent for aura or none at all…’

If he were simply mediocre or untalented, Ludwig could still teach him.

But this was excessive.

And that wasn’t even the biggest problem.

Because there was still something even worse.

Crack!

“What do you think? It’s a pretty good skill, isn’t it?”

“……”

The final reason.

And the decisive one.

Grills’ ice.

The first time he saw it, Ludwig thought.

‘What in the world is that?’

He already knew the color of his aura was unusual.

But the moment the aura touched an object.

It became completely frozen.

If everything before had already defied common sense.

This went far beyond that.

Neither Asella nor Ash had ever surpassed the limits of martial arts.

But Grills had.

‘That looks like magic.’

It was an ability closer to magic.

Though it wasn’t actually magic.

To this day, no one had ever succeeded in imbuing an aura with an element.

The closest examples were certain legendary weapons from ancient tales.

But even in those cases.

The power belonged to the weapon.

Never to the person.

An individual impossible to find anywhere else.

A true.

Mutant.

Could it be that living in the Forest of the Four Seasons had caused him to evolve in a way suited to that place?

‘For now… Huff…’

Ludwig ran a hand across his face.

He had no idea what kind of clothes he should put on him.

He didn’t even know what size to choose.

Was this how a researcher felt after discovering a creature completely unknown to science?

At least it was a relief that he hadn’t actually grown extra arms or legs.

Since the aura problem had no immediate solution, it would be better to set it aside and begin by teaching him martial arts.

‘A sword-and-shield warrior possesses excellent balance, but can also end up excelling at nothing.’

The greatest strength of that style was precisely its balance between offense and defense.

However, aside from that, it didn’t stand out in any particular area.

It was a style well suited for infantry or beginners.

‘Even so, until he learns Aura Shield, he’d better keep using the shield.’

An extremely advanced aura technique.

On the Central Continent, it was known as Protective Aura.

And it could only be learned after first mastering Aura Blade.

Until then.

Using a shield was far more efficient.

It might be different outside.

But they were in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

Survival came first.

‘I’d better teach him the fundamentals first. Make him understand the principles.’

That was Ludwig’s conclusion.

First, he had to make him understand the fundamentals.

As for those ‘new arms and legs’ he seemed to have developed.

Grills would have to learn how to use them on his own.

After all, they had plenty of time.

Once his body had fully recovered.

A much deeper analysis would begin.

‘…Though first I’ll have to solve one problem.’

How the hell was he supposed to communicate with him?

Moreover, there was an even bigger problem.

The language barrier.

Only if they could communicate would it be possible to teach him properly, but for the moment, that was impossible.

He would have liked to learn Grills’ language, but that wasn’t something that could be solved overnight either.

‘It’ll be better to communicate in writing rather than by speaking.’

Ludwig asked Grills for paper and a pen.

Then he quickly wrote down the problems and variables he had identified.

[Your abilities are far too abnormal. I don’t mean that as something bad. But it’s like trying to teach martial arts to someone with an extra arm. I’ll do everything I can to teach you, but making it your own will depend on you.]

Very much like Ludwig—serious, upright, and completely objective.

Grills posted exactly what he had written on the Gallery.

When he finished reading the translation they provided there, he blinked several times.

‘Is he saying I’m so absurdly strong that he doesn’t even know how to teach me?’

He wasn’t sure whether he should be happy or worried.

It was true that he was strong, but the description that came before it bothered him quite a bit.

Still.

It wasn’t so bad.

After all, it meant his case wasn’t completely hopeless yet.

‘Since he said he’ll teach me, I’ll have to wait until he’s fully recovered.’

No matter what, Ludwig’s recovery came first.

Grills continued giving him honey so he would heal faster.

Besides being very high in calories, the honey also had a slight regenerative effect.

It was perfect for someone like Ludwig, who could still only eat porridge.

“It’s too sweet.”

“It’s delicious, isn’t it? You have to keep eating it.”

Although the lack of communication caused a small tragedy halfway through, Ludwig eventually swallowed all the honey.

After making sure he could rest peacefully, Grills left the cave.

It was almost time to head up to the river to prepare dinner.

“Kyuuuuu~!”

“Kiee!”

“Snort.”

As he stepped outside, he saw that the giraffe was already awake.

She seemed to be doing much better than Ludwig.

Meanwhile, Wonmo and the little raccoon were sliding down the giraffe’s long neck as if it were a playground slide.

And apparently, the giraffe didn’t seem bothered at all.

Rather, she smiled with an affectionate expression.

It was nice to see that the animals had already started getting along with one another.

‘The number of mouths I have to feed has increased quite a bit.’

The raccoon family could manage on their own, but he was worried about the others.

Before, he had been able to store a good amount of fish.

Now, however, they finished everything in a single sitting.

And when winter came, it would be even more difficult.

He would have to prepare for a real winter.

“Huh?”

“……”

He was on his way back after fishing.

Then Grills saw it clearly.

Ludwig was drenched in cold sweat, as if he had suddenly fallen ill.

Outwardly, he tried to act normal.

But his reaction was impossible to hide.

Alarmed, Grills ran over to him.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

He even placed a hand on his forehead to check for a fever, but he didn’t feel anything.

However, there was something that did worry him.

The amputation.

Not just the operation itself.

Even before that, his foot had already completely rotted away.

It was possible that the infection he had suffered back then was progressing now.

‘…And the elixir can’t cure diseases.’

Just as that concern began to grow.

Grrrrrrr.

A tremendous rumble erupted from Ludwig’s stomach.

“Ughhh…”

“……”

Clutching his abdomen, he bent forward.

Seeing that, Grills remembered.

He remembered the countless times he himself had run to the bathroom after eating fasting pills.

He had thought Ludwig, being a knight, would be fine.

But that clearly wasn’t the case.

‘…Up until now, he’s only eaten fish porridge and honey, right?’

No wonder he was suffering.

Grills hurriedly led Ludwig outside.

After all.

A human being’s dignity had to be preserved, at the very least.

Someone might wonder how it was possible for him to have such a sudden emergency when he had barely eaten.

But the exact same thing had happened to Grills.

Grrrrrr…

“Ugh…! Urgh…!”

“Please, hang in there!”

Grills felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

***

Fortunately, the tragedy he had feared the most did not happen.

That had probably been the most critical moment in Ludwig’s entire life.

The stomach pain had come so suddenly that he hadn’t even been able to think about moving.

Even so, the crisis had passed.

He would definitely have to build a bathroom later.

“Can you move now?”

“%^#%”

And there was another surprising thing.

Ludwig recovered in just a single day.

Perhaps it was thanks to all the honey he had eaten the previous day.

Or perhaps the fish.

His face, which had previously been gaunt, had regained much of its color, and he could even walk on his own.

Although he still limped because of the prosthetic, he no longer staggered.

‘He also received the elixir.’

Perhaps starting today, he could eat fish instead of porridge.

That thought had barely crossed his mind before he got straight to the point.

“Here. Take the sword.”

“……”

“We’re not going to fight right now. I just want you to start warming up.”

After several hand gestures, Ludwig seemed to understand and nodded.

Even though he had recovered, he still needed to exercise.

Besides, he had to get used to his new prosthetic.

And above all, he still had to build the house for the animals.

There was no time to waste.

So he went back to working on the construction he had left unfinished the previous day.

Then.

“Grills.”

“Huh?”

Whoosh!

It seemed Ludwig was calling him.

Suddenly, he threw something at him.

First came HeavenlyDemon’s sword.

Then the shield.

Grills caught them and looked at him with an expression that said.

‘What exactly am I supposed to do with these?’

Then.

Ludwig made a small gesture with the hand holding the sword.

As if inviting him to attack.

Did he intend to teach him a few things now that he had recovered?

Honestly, facing someone who had just come out of recovery, and who was also wearing a prosthetic, felt a little…

‘Well, if he says he’s fine.’

Crossing swords a few times wouldn’t be so bad.

Grills equipped the sword and shield.

‘Wait… now that I think about it, this is a real sword…’

Just as he let his guard down.

Slash!

Ludwig, who had been several meters away, appeared right in front of him in the blink of an eye.

‘N-no, wait a second…!’

‘Isn’t that man wearing a prosthetic on one of his legs?!’