Slave (2)
Hello there! A strong and mighty morning to you! If you're asking me, I'm YasaengGrill! Shlick! Shlick! Shlick! And right after waking up, I'm slaving away like the workhorse of my own damn life!
"Ugh. Shit."
I spat curses every time the sawdust flew up during my cutting. Processing work started from the crack of dawn. Sure, I was swearing up a storm, but the pile of cut logs was steadily growing.
Should've just asked the dwarf...
I'd figured doing it myself was better since I had to account for the width. But that decision was pure madness. Working solo, the efficiency was shockingly bad. What pissed me off even more was that things were going exactly as I wanted. You might wonder why I'd be mad if it was going to plan—well, if it went wrong, I could've used that as an excuse to quit, but since it was succeeding, I couldn't even do that. In the end, I pushed past stubbornness into outright resignation, mechanically processing the wood like a machine.
"Kyuu! Kwyu!"
"Kkiiing!"
While I toiled away, Wonmo and Saekki Raccoon were busy playing in the yard. Wonmo seemed to have figured out the raccoon by now and was playing nicely without causing trouble. Sure, part of me thought, here I am busting my ass while the kids goof off, but...
They're just kids, after all.
It'd be weird to gripe about children playing. Besides, I'd chosen to do this job myself. If I snapped at them for no reason, I'd just look like the weirdo. Better to grit my teeth and bear it.
Being able to work without interruptions is plenty good enough.
This kind of task was only possible because I had some leisure time. If I had to fight tooth and nail for survival every single day, forget processing wood—I wouldn't have time for anything. Plus, winter had fully ended yesterday, so I needed to check on the local wildlife. The raccoon family had just fended off a massive snake attack right before winter wrapped up.
This leisure might only last until today.
The Four Seasons Forest was a place where you could never fully map out what animals lurked. I'd seen plenty so far, but new ones could pop up anytime. Hell, a unicorn could show up—or something even weirder. I hoped that wouldn't happen, but that was wishful thinking. I'd just do my work and prepare if a bad vibe hit—like right now, with that ominous crack of a twig underfoot sounding way too loud.
Not just that—the whole forest atmosphere had gone dead quiet. There should've been at least faint rustles, but a heavy silence blanketed everything.
"......"
I stopped working and focused on the sounds. To check if I'd misheard, I glanced at the others' reactions.
"Kyuu?"
Wonmo, who had been romping happily, froze and started looking around warily. She'd sensed something and was even pulling back a bit—full alert mode.
"Kkiing?"
"Kking. Kkiing."
Saekki Raccoon, being young, just tilted its head in confusion. But Eomma Raccoon scooped it up quick, confirming the danger.
Who's there?
I stealthily backed toward the shelter cave, scanning the surroundings. It knew we were here but wasn't showing itself right away—probably watching our reactions. Meanwhile, I slipped inside, geared up with weapons. Ppareumbo must've picked up on the tension too, because it climbed onto my back.
Rustle— Rustle—
By the time I was fully armed, the bushes toward the river shook violently.
Then, slowly, the intruder revealed itself. No intention of hiding, apparently.
Crunch—
"......"
"......"
The intruder's form came fully into view. The first thing that jumped out was its fur—pure white, standing in stark contrast to the surroundings. Not the fluffy white of a cub, just straight-up white. Already eye-catching, but even stranger were its eyes. Blood-red eyes that felt murderous just by looking at them.
...A gorilla?
This beast with its unique traits was a gorilla—an albino one, with white fur and red eyes. A mutation that showed up in beasts and humans alike. I was briefly stunned by its appearance, then remembered what Olfather had told me.
Rice Kraone was killed by an albino gorilla.
I didn't know why, but this gorilla had a history of attacking humans. No choice but to stay on high alert. One more thing to check: Ppareumbo's reaction. It had scowled fiercely at Leader Gorilla, but not this one. More like, what the hell is that thing?
Had they never met?
It showed itself openly without attacking... maybe it's lost? Or just scouting?
If it was lost, I'd threaten it off. Meanwhile, the albino gorilla—Wi Baek—scanned my shelter thoroughly before locking eyes with me.
"Ha piria pazua."
"......"
"Ni YasaengGrill iya? Wo bini Wi Baek."
Just like Leader Gorilla, it spoke in Jungwon tongue. I'd seen Leader Gorilla talk before, but it wasn't something I was used to. I couldn't help but be flustered.
...Should I learn Jungwon language separately?
That's how out of left field it was. While I processed, Wi Baek kept talking in fluid Jungwon speech. I couldn't understand a word, so I asked Cheonma to translate.
Cheonma happily obliged with a friendly interpretation(?).
[Cheonma: What a fine abode. You're YasaengGrill, are you not? This one's name is Wi Baek.]
[YasaengGrill: ??? It was introducing itself?]
[Cheonma: So it seems. Like Leader Gorilla, it has quite the archaic manner of speech.]
The albino gorilla calling itself Wi Baek. The fact it even had a name was absurd. Which implied Leader Gorilla had one too... but things had been too tense back then to ask.
Wi Baek kept rambling in elegant Jungwon. I asked Cheonma to translate again.
[Cheonma: It says it saw the notice and came. It offers its strength if you lend yours in turn.]
Did it mistake my notice for a help-wanted ad? A stranger—hell, an animal—could easily misread it. But who knew there were more literate beasts besides Leader Gorilla? I was floored for a second, then asked Cheonma for help.
[YasaengGrill: Could you write back asking what kind of help it wants?]
[Cheonma: Hold on.]
Just like with Leader Gorilla, I had Cheonma's help to write what I wanted on the ground. Wi Baek stared hard at the words.
"......"
It squinted for a good long while, even craning its neck forward. I worried it was illiterate, but thankfully not—it opened its mouth. Cheonma translated again. This back-and-forth repeated.
[Cheonma: Its hypocritical brother leads the troop, it seems. Looks like Leader Gorilla is its sibling.]
[YasaengGrill: Oh... and?]
[Cheonma: If you help it, it'll crush Leader Gorilla. If not, it'll crush you and make this place its base.]
Black-furred beasts aren't worth adopting, and apparently white ones are the same. I'd thought it was a relief it could talk, but a beast is a beast. Leader Gorilla was better, at least—it respected my turf.
I snorted and messaged Cheonma.
[YasaengGrill: Thanks. Could you teach me how to write 'fuck off'?]
[Cheonma: I can write the worst curse in Jungwon, if you'd like?]
[YasaengGrill: What is it? I wanna say it myself.]
Ideally with my own mouth, not writing. It took a bit, but I got the pronunciation down. What came out was...
"Cao ni ma."
"......"
Jungwon's ultimate fat drip—the strongest one. Sounds just like Chinese every time you hear it. I could've endured most things, but I hated the idea of being steamrolled by brute force. Sure, what do you expect from a beast? But that's exactly why I could curse it freely.
And it's already killed a human before.
That sealed it. A beast with human blood on its hands? No deals. And picking a fight with the gorilla troop? The thing had no grip on reality. Status quo was my best bet right now—why shatter the balance?
Sniff— Sniff—
Wi Baek's nostrils flared wide after the heavy insult. It looked ready to charge. Yeah, fat drips are hard to take. But it crossed the line first. You gotta keep shit-talk moderate, or it's just shit.
Wi Baek's "offer"—more like threat or intimidation—went way overboard.
"Tsui sinseu bu."
It assumed a fighting stance and growled. Probably something like "you're asking for death." I snorted, thrusting my sword and shield forward, eyes locked on it.
I hadn't noticed with its fists on the ground earlier, but in stance, I saw its palms—blood-red, just like its eyes. Ominous as hell.
Stance, palms... it might be on Leader Gorilla's level.
Couldn't let my guard down. Rushing in blindly would be dangerous. My edge? Information. I'd already gotten wrecked by Leader Gorilla once, so I knew how to counter. This thing knew zilch about me.
Thud!
While I thought, Wi Baek lunged. We were pretty far, but one leap closed the gap instantly. Then a massive palm hurtled at my face—blood-red.
Can't block!
Blocking would've failed to deflect all the force—I'd topple or eat the follow-up. Lesson from Leader Gorilla. As the palm neared my nose, I ducked low to evade, then thrust cleanly at its exposed torso.
Kwajik! Puk!
Something cracked, and Cheonma's sword tip barely pierced its belly. Normally, it should've gone clean through. But its hide was tougher than expected.
Shaaa—
Blue energy dispersed from the wound. I'd predicted mana use; looked like a defensive technique. Cheonma's sword was so OP it got through—any other blade wouldn't have scratched it.
"Wooo!!!"
Did Wi Baek not expect to get pierced? It yelped in shock and leaped back. Not a deep wound, but getting hurt at all seemed like a huge shock.
But that shock faded quick—it charged again, even angrier. Same palm strike. Surprisingly one-note attacks. But...
Ku-ku-ku-ku-kwa!
"Ah. Fuck."
The destruction was insane relative to the simplicity. I barely dodged, but the shockwave wrecked my morning's logs, sending them splintering everywhere.
Whoosh! Hwoong!
Wild swings followed the opener. Hit rate sucked after the first—using martial arts, but all misses. Like it was just flailing "hit once, damn it," kinda lackluster.
What the hell? Why's it like this?
Even funnier when I widened the distance. Time passed, it'd leap in for a big swing—and those had scary accuracy, chilling me. Follow-ups? Trash.
Like a blind guy swinging wild...
The phrase "blind as a bat" hit me, so I looked closer. It was squinting hard—not mad, just can't see shit.
If that first hit's precision was hyper-focused... and the misses are from fearing counters? Plus, it's an albino.
White fur, red eyes. Albinos have one key trait...
Shit eyesight.
I'd found the key to taking it down.
I'll make you my slave personally.
Worse than death. I slowly accelerated the mana in my body. The cold energy, balled up like a bead, fully merged into mana.
Shaaa—
Time to subdue it.