Chapter 165

Wild Horse (2)

Thanks to Kkobong, the troll of the century, things went wrong from the very beginning.

He had provoked the flame horse, which looked extraordinary at a glance.

I had assumed he had done it to make trouble for me, but—

"Oookyaaaaagh!"

"Neighhhhh!"

What kind of place was the Forest of Four Seasons?

Even the raccoons were remarkably intelligent, while the gorillas displayed intelligence comparable to that of humans.

And even where I had come from, horses were already considered exceptionally intelligent animals.

Contrary to their image, wild horses also lived in herds. Naturally, they had rules to follow and possessed strong social instincts.

We already knew perfectly well what happened when an animal that was naturally intelligent lived in the Forest of Four Seasons, didn’t we?

That’s right.

This horse was far more perceptive than I had imagined, and it grasped the situation remarkably quickly.

Fwoooosh!

The flames erupting from the horse’s mouth were directed not at me, but at Kkobong.

Unable to use mana, Kkobong could not even think about fighting back. He was too busy trying to dodge.

The flame horse focused exclusively on him.

Perhaps it knew that I was innocent(?), or perhaps it had simply caught the culprit red-handed.

Either way, I was able to watch leisurely from a short distance away. The heat was intense, but not unbearable.

"Kyihihing."

"This is delicious. Eat up."

While I was at it, I fed the flame horse’s foals.

I had wondered why it had threatened us the instant it saw Wonmo, but apparently, it had foals inside the cave.

As expected of young foals, their flames were not as large as their mother’s.

The fire in their eyes and manes merely flickered like tiny embers.

"Uagh! Kuagh! Kkueeeek!"

"Wow. Look at him spin."

At the end of the chase, the flame horse bit Kkobong and began swinging him around in circles.

Kkobong was quite large himself, but the horse apparently possessed tremendous jaw strength.

After playing with him for a while, the flame horse flung him far into the distance.

He had been battered so badly that his white fur was scorched black.

Judging by the occasional twitch, he was still alive.

That’s why you shouldn’t get too clever for your own good.

Kkobong had probably planned to ask me to remove his restraint once I was in danger.

Considering the flame horse’s strength, it certainly could have put me in such a situation.

I could tell that he had taken the fast sloth into account as well.

Kkobong knew it too.

The fast sloth was our party’s ultimate weapon, deployed only as an absolute last resort.

Did he figure it out when I asked the fast sloth to teach me before?

He had also watched me train, so he had probably begun plotting from that point onward.

I had no idea what chain of reasoning had led him to provoke another creature, but one thing was certain.

He had dug his own grave.

Idiot.

I mocked Kkobong inwardly while cautiously watching the flame horse’s reaction.

Apparently having vented all its anger, the flame horse approached its foals.

Then it glanced at me and jerked its head as though ordering me to get the hell out of its territory.

Since I had no intention of fighting, I obediently withdrew.

We were the ones who had wronged it first, after all.

"Kkyueeeeng! Kkyueng!"

"Kkuiiiing!"

The flame horse’s foals began crying when I moved away.

All I had done was feed them a few fasting pills I had brought as emergency rations and pet them several times,, yet they already seemed to have grown attached to me.

While their mother calmed them down, I headed toward Kkobong.

His mouth hung slightly open, and he looked only half-conscious.

Smoke even rose faintly from his mouth.

He actually managed to protect his glasses.

The funny part was that he had guarded the glasses until the very end.

Apparently, he was so determined not to lose his newfound sight that he had protected them with everything he had.

Using the elixir on him feels like a waste... but I have no choice.

I administered some elixir to Kkobong.

Using the whole bottle would have been wasteful, so I gave him only half.

I did not care about his fur. Healing the seriously injured areas would be enough.

Crackle!

"Uoooooogh!"

Healing him was one thing, but he still needed to be punished.

When I struck his forearm hard with my palm, the restraint activated.

Kkobong flailed as the electricity tore through him, causing pain even sharper than the flames.

Given the situation, I did not curse at him. I merely spoke a few short words.

"Just wait until we get home."

"...."

Kkobong said nothing.

More likely, he was incapable of speaking.

He might curse at me whenever he pleased, but Kkobong was still technically my "slave."

What he had done today could have endangered me, so I felt the need to approach the matter more seriously.

In other words, I had changed my mind.

I needed to think more carefully about what to do with Kkobong.

Even if it was somewhat harsh, I would have to devise an efficient and effective way to deal with him.

A carrot was important, but it seemed I would need a stick as well.

Tap, tap—

I had just finished dealing with the situation and was preparing to leave when the fast sloth, riding on my back, poked the nape of my neck with its claw.

Wondering what it wanted, I turned my head and looked at it.

Swoop.

The fast sloth pointed at itself with one claw.

It seemed to be telling me to leave Kkobong to it.

As I had mentioned earlier, Kkobong was ultimately still a beast.

Even if he could speak human language fluently, animals probably had ways of communicating among themselves.

Since the fast sloth had volunteered, leaving Kkobong to it might be a good idea.

Besides, the fast sloth has the highest rank here anyway, doesn’t it?

Even I had to watch my behavior around it whenever I ran out of fasting pills.

Moreover, I owed the fast sloth my life several times over.

It might spend every day lazing around, but it had always done what needed to be done.

I could trust it with this.

"Kkuiiiiiik!"

"Wow. Does this place have nothing but fire-element beasts?"

Before that, however, I needed to finish exploring.

I marveled at the wild boar whose mane blazed with fire.

Since it was a combination of a boar and flames, perhaps I should call it a fire boar.

I immediately understood why this entire region had turned ashen gray.

"Kkuiiiiiiiik!"

"Hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot!"

Unfortunately, it had a filthy temper too.

I barely dodged the attack of the boar as it spewed fire from its mouth.

Even if I blocked something like that with my shield, the flames would inevitably burn me.

Instead, I responded by wrapping my entire body in aura.

Even if it could not absorb all the damage, reducing it by even a little would be enough.

"Kkuiiiiiik!"

The boar snorted flames through its nostrils and scraped the ground with its forelegs.

It was an unmistakable warning that said, "I’m about to ram you."

A moment later, true to its warning, the boar charged at me.

The sight of it rushing forward with its entire body wreathed in flames was incredibly intimidating.

Swoosh—

But that was its fatal mistake.

What kind of sword was I holding?

All I did was place the blade in the boar’s path.

The charging boar passed cleanly across the Heavenly Demon’s sword before collapsing to the ground.

Ordinarily, it should have been sliced neatly in half.

Instead, because of the cold, it merely froze solid.

The ice held the severed surfaces together as though it were glue.

I won’t have to worry about it rotting, either.

Tonight’s dinner would be wild boar.

I put the boar inside the spatial backpack and headed back.

We did not encounter any other beasts on the return journey.

"Kkyuiiiiing!"

"Kkyuhiiing! Kkyuhiiing!"

The flame horse’s foals clinging to me were the only problem.

I could not tell whether they wanted more fasting pills or simply wanted me to pet them.

After considerable effort, I managed to return them to their mother and headed back to the shelter.

Come to think of it, wasn’t the reason animals enjoy being touched by humans because we can scratch places they can’t reach themselves?

If so, their reaction made sense. Since I had given them fasting pills as well, they probably regarded me as a kindly uncle.

I would have loved to tame them, but unfortunately, their manes were made of fire.

If I tried riding one, my entire body might burn to a crisp, so it was better to give up on that idea.

Absorbing some kind of fire-related essence probably wouldn’t help, either.

I had only just gained the ability to control cold, yet I possessed no resistance to low temperatures.

After returning to the shelter, I began preparing dinner.

First, I planned to butcher the boar that had been split in half and then frozen back together.

...How am I supposed to butcher this?

The tiger had not been cut in two.

This creature, however, had already been severed. Its frozen surfaces were the only thing holding the two halves together.

In other words, the moment it thawed, the membranes surrounding its organs would be gone and everything inside would spill out.

Draining the blood will be difficult too. I should just salvage the edible parts.

It was a shame. I had wanted pork belly for the first time in ages, though I did not know whether this creature even had what could be considered pork belly.

After agonizing over how to butcher it, I eventually made a post on the Gallery.

Title: I Caught a Wild Boar

Wild Grylls

(A photograph of a boar that had been split in half and frozen back together)

How do I butcher this?

It was split in half and then frozen back together, so I could use some advice.

└ Heavenly Demon) It looks like a sturdy boar. You will be eating meat for the first time in quite a while.

└ Wild Grylls) I’m looking forward to it.

└ SwordMaster) I often hunted and ate wild boars during my days as a knight. This brings back memories.

└ Wild Grylls) Did you eat snakes too, by any chance?

└ SwordMaster) Of course. Back then, no matter how much I ate, I was always hungry.

└ Damn. That’ll be a pain in the ass to butcher if it splits apart.

└ Remove the organs and drain the blood first. Cut the head off immediately too.

└ You might only be able to eat the ribs.

└ Wild boar is tough, so eat only the tender parts if possible.

└ Starlight Princess) That wild boar looks rather unusual. Were you in any danger?

└ Wild Grylls) Its mane billowed like fire, and it breathed flames from its nostrils.

└ Starlight Princess) From that description, it sounds like a fire boar.

└ Wild Grylls) Is it a rare animal?

└ Starlight Princess) Naturally. It is a beast fused with an element. However, despite its rarity, its overall anatomy is no different from an ordinary wild boar’s.

She went on to explain that fire energy permeated its hide, so clothing made from it was exceptionally warm.

Consequently, its hide was highly valued by people living in cold regions.

It has already been cut in half, so the hide isn’t intact. Harvesting it will be difficult too.

Still, I should salvage as much as possible.

Even if I did not sell it, I could use it to prepare for winter.

I carefully butchered the boar and placed its organs in a container.

Then I ordered Kkobong to take the container and dump the organs into the river.

Unlike before, he followed my instructions without complaint.

I wondered whether he had learned something from the incident with the flame horse, but—

No. He’s cunning. He might only be pretending to have changed.

I could not lower my guard until the very end.

I would not grow attached to him until I had truly made him submit.

Once I finished butchering the boar, I found that I had obtained a fairly plentiful amount of meat.

Sizzle—

"Damn."

As I always thought, meat could do no wrong.

Fish was delicious too, but meat looked and smelled different from the outset.

There was plenty of flesh as well, so we could feast to our hearts’ content today.

Besides, I can store meat frozen now. This is fucking awesome.

We would be having a meat feast for the foreseeable future.

Of course, we should still eat fish occasionally.

I handed Wonmo a huge chunk of meat.

His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!"

"Is it good?"

"Kkyuu! Yum, yum, yum!"

Wonmo buried his entire face in the meat as he ate.

I stroked his head and told him to eat more slowly.

"Do you want some too?"

"...."

Even the fast sloth, who was normally satisfied with fasting pills, was tempted by the ribs and took a bite.

Apparently liking the taste, it chewed slowly and thoroughly.

That left only Kkobong....

"Ook! Ook!"

I could not tell whether he was demanding his share because he thought he had done such a wonderful job.

I was staring at him pathetically when—

Smack!

The fast sloth shot forward like an arrow and slapped Kkobong across the face.

Since it normally moved so sluggishly, I could not help but be startled.

Even I was shocked, so imagine how Kkobong must have felt after being slapped.

His eyes went wide, and he stared blankly in utter bewilderment.

He could not simply run away because of the restraint.

More importantly, his food was at stake.

In the wilderness, food was synonymous with life itself.

He would not actually die, but this was still a terrifying punishment.

After slapping Kkobong, the fast sloth alternately pointed at the ribs and me.

It seemed to be telling him that if he wanted to eat, he first needed to show me respect.

Apparently, the fast sloth had also taken a dim view of what Kkobong had done with the flame horse.

Shoo, shoo—

It even waved its hand at Kkobong, telling him to get lost.

What could Kkobong possibly do about it?

In the end, a dejected Kkobong slowly backed away.

He occasionally glanced in our direction, but what could I do?

He had brought this upon himself.

I did not particularly pity him, either.

I could only hope this would break his rebellious spirit without driving him to cause another incident.

Anyway, let’s ignore Kkobong and enjoy these delicious ribs.

Why does this taste flame-grilled? It’s incredible.

Perhaps because it was a boar infused with fire energy, the meat naturally had a smoky, flame-grilled taste.

I was truly fortunate to have enough of it to eat for a while.

Bzzzz—

After we finished eating, a bug flew over while I was cleaning up.

A moment later, it landed on the back of my hand.

Fortunately, I quickly caught it before it could bite me. Otherwise, it might have infected me with some disease.

Come to think of it, I should get some insect repellent too.

Summer was approaching, so insects would soon become rampant.

After purchasing insect repellent, I applied it throughout the cave and shelter.

While I was at it, I also took precautions against snakes.

Bugs and snakes were creatures that absolutely had to be repelled.

I wonder what summer will bring. I just hope there won’t be swarms of mosquitoes.

And sure enough—

BZZZZZZZZZZZ!

The next morning, I was rendered speechless by the terrifying swarm visible outside the cave.

The insects formed a pitch-black mass so dense that I could not see even an inch ahead.

What would have happened if I had not applied the insect repellent?

They would have invaded the cave and gleefully devoured my flesh.

Fortunately, I had even sealed the entrance with a tarp, so we remained safe.

...Is this what they call a Dark Swarm or something?

At this rate, a Plague will probably appear before long.

"Oookyaaaaagh! Aaaaagh!"

"Oh. Right."

He was sleeping outside.

I forgot.