Repaying Kindness (3)
While Tyrano was settling into his new life at Grylls's shelter, a brutal clash raged elsewhere in the wild.
Boom! Crash!
All through the day and into the night, the grey dragon had been locked in a bloody struggle against the giant white serpent.
True to its monstrous scale and commanding aura, the serpent proved a lethal adversary. Its gaping maw was cavernous enough to swallow even a full-grown dragon whole; its venom hissed with an acidity potent enough to liquefy solid bedrock; and its layered, shimmering scales shrugged off the vast majority of physical blows. On top of that sheer bulk, it possessed a freakish, deceptive agility that defied its gargantuan size.
Combined, these deadly traits turned the duel into an all-out clash of apex titans.
A fight between the undisputed sovereign of the land and a mythical beast rivaling its might. For hours on end, neither predator yielded an inch in their life-or-death struggle, showing no sign of an impending conclusion, until—
CRRRR-AAASH!
With more than half its neck torn to shreds, the giant white serpent collapsed into the dirt, bringing the agonizingly long confrontation to an end at last.
The battle had dragged on for well over half a day.
The serpent's gruesome state was not confined to its ruptured neck. One of its yellow eyes dangled loosely from a shattered socket, and its massive jaw hung broken and askew. In the split second the serpent had unhinged its maw to deliver a lethal bite, the dragon had seized the opening and crushed its jawbone to splinters.
"Grrrr... Chrrr..."
Yet the dragon's own condition was hardly any better.
Having engaged in such a savage brawl of attrition, countless wounds, both shallow and deep, scored her colossal frame. Most grievous of all was her forelimb: her front right paw had been completely ripped away, leaving a jagged stump that gushed thick torrents of crimson. Her wings were no better off, tattered into useless ribbons that made flight an utter impossibility.
Worse than the physical trauma, however, was the venom.
Even for an ancient dragon possessing supreme physiological resistance, the serpent's virulent toxin was borderline fatal. It took every shred of her remaining fortitude merely to keep from blacking out.
"Grrr..."
After checking several times to confirm that the white serpent was truly dead, the dragon slowly turned her head.
Her gaze drifted toward the distant horizon where her precious offspring—the hatchling she would gladly lay down her life to protect—was waiting.
Yet if she attempted to trek all the way back there in this state, her depleted stamina would give out entirely, welcoming death before she could arrive. Though every instinct screamed at her to fly straight to her child, she ruthlessly suppressed the urge. Her hatchling was safe.
...Please, be safe.
The dragon closed her golden eyes to initiate deep hibernation and biological regeneration.
In this unforgiving wilderness, no newborn creature could survive without parental care. That was why she had temporarily entrusted her hatchling to Grylls. Whatever his motives, that strange human had shielded and tended to her baby. If he dared to harm her young... she would simply exact vengeance once she awakened.
Possessing an intellect rivaling any human scholar, the dragon had made a calculated gamble on the higher probability of her child's survival.
Shhh—
Her heavy lids sealed shut. Slowly, the severed flesh at her stump and the shredded wing membranes began to knit together cell by cell. Complete recovery would take several days at the very least.
Praying silently that her little hatchling would remain unharmed until then, the dragon surrendered to the encroaching dark.
Come to think of it... that human...
Just before her consciousness sank into the abyss of slumber, she recalled his presence.
A truly bizarre, alien creature. She could not comprehend why such an entity was surviving inside this forbidden forest.
Once I awaken... we shall have... words...
With that final thought, her awareness completely drifted away.
Yet even as her mind fell into deep stasis, her flesh hummed with relentless power.
Cr-crack! Crackle!
Her immense body continued to mend itself in the silence of the woods.
Day 33 of survival.
Having spent the entire day engrossed in nonstop labor, the hours flew by before I even noticed. In the evening, the Heavenly Demon traded me some rice seeds, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
When I woke up this morning, I checked around the camp to see if Tyrano's mother had returned, but the surrounding glade was utterly deserted. In her place, a crisp, slightly chilly breeze greeted us instead.
"Kyuuu~ kyuu~"
"Ppiii! Ppi!"
Despite the autumn nip in the air, the little ones were far too busy playing to mind the cold.
There was, however, one noticeable difference from yesterday: the ball. Wonmo and Tyrano were currently having the time of their lives kicking around an object that looked remarkably like a soccer ball.
I tossed it to them just to see what would happen, but they took to it instantly.
Naturally, I had asked Princess Chaeng-gu for the ball. She ended up sending over a surprisingly high-end soccer ball, and her condition for the gift was disarmingly simple: post photos or video clips of the two of them playing together.
I had every intention of capturing their antics anyway.
Before that, I should probably build them a couple of goalposts.
I hastily hammered a pair of makeshift wooden posts into the ground. There was no need for elaborate carpentry. Then, I explained the fundamentals to Wonmo and Tyrano: kick the ball between the two posts, and you score. Simple as that.
"Kyuuu!"
"Ppiiiik! Ppiik!"
The two cubs threw themselves into the match with gusto. I raised my interface camera and snapped candid photos and short video clips of the action. It was the kind of heartwarming scene that naturally made you smile, which made me all the more curious about how the gallery would react.
[Photo: Wonmo kicking the ball with all his might]
[Photo: Tyrano dribbling furiously with his snout and claws]
[Video: Wonmo performing an absurd zigzag dribble and tucking the ball into the net]
[Video: Tyrano slamming both front claws against the turf in pure toddler rage]
Thank you so much for the ball, Princess Chaeng-gu!
The kids are having an absolute blast with it!
Just as expected, the thread blew up. A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I skimmed through the replies before glancing back over at the two little troublemakers.
"Kyu-aaaaack!"
"Ppi-aaaaak!"
In the few seconds I had looked away, they were already locked in a full-blown wrestling match, tangled into a rolling ball of fur and scales as they tumbled across the grass. Startled, I sprinted over and forcibly pried them apart.
"Hey! What did I say about fighting?! Friends don't fight!"
"Kyu! Kyu-kyu-kyu! Kyu!"
"Ppi! Ppi-ppi-ppi! Ppiii!"
Neither side's screech made a lick of sense to me. Judging by the steam practically pouring from their ears, however, both were thoroughly enraged. In the end, I summoned our shelter's official beast translator, Ggobongi, to interpret.
First came Wonmo's defense.
"His turn to shoot. But Tyrano stole ball."
"And Tyrano's defense?"
"If stolen, belongs to stealer. Obviously."
"...Right."
It was my fault for keeping the rules too vague. Having figured out the root of the scuffle, I knelt down and gently reasoned with them, admitting that my explanation had been lacking and instructing them to report to me first whenever an argument broke out.
"That said! Pecking with beaks and biting with teeth is completely out of line. No snacks for either of you for the rest of the day."
"Kyuuu?!"
"Ppiiik?!"
"Why look so shocked? Punishment is punishment."
The sudden revocation of snack privileges struck both Wonmo and Tyrano like a physical blow, plastering identical looks of absolute despair across their faces. But occasional tough love was necessary; spoil them endlessly, and they would grow up completely undisciplined.
"Keeeng!"
"Oh, you're here?"
Right as the two cubs were wallowing in shared misery, Father Raccoon ambled into the clearing. I knew he had been run ragged lately preparing his burrow for the approaching winter.
"What did you find this time?"
"Ke-ee..."
Father Raccoon started to squeak, only to freeze dead in his tracks. I immediately knew what had petrified him—his beady eyes were locked straight onto Tyrano. Well, since the chance had presented itself, introducing the hatchling to the raccoon family seemed like a solid idea.
"Ah, let me introduce you. His name is Tyrano. As you can see, he's a baby dragon—a hatchling."
"Ke... ke-eeng...?"
Father Raccoon looked up at me with an expression that screamed: A-A dragon?! Are you insane?!
I gently stroked his head to calm his frayed nerves. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you. Didn't you see the adult dragon visit the camp the other day?"
"Keeeng..."
"So you did see her. Well, for reasons I don't fully understand, she entrusted her baby to me for a while."
Bit by bit, I managed to soothe Father Raccoon's panic. Though a lingering layer of caution remained in his posture, the stark terror had faded. Still, bringing the rest of his family over to meet the hatchling would have to wait for later; there was far too much work left to do today. At the very least, giving him a heads-up would prevent future panic attacks.
It'd be nice if the little baby raccoon could play along with these two eventually.
Shaking off the thought, I turned my attention to what Father Raccoon had brought. Cradled in his paws was a massive seed. At a glance, it looked somewhat like a brown coconut, but its texture and stem confirmed it was indeed a plant seed. It was easily three times the size of my fist—heavy enough to double as a blunt weapon in a brawl.
"What's this? A seed?"
"Keeeng!"
Father Raccoon beamed brightly and nodded. What manner of crop it would produce was anyone's guess, but planting it couldn't hurt. Coming from Father Raccoon, it was unlikely to sprout anything catastrophic.
I rewarded him with an Inedia Pill and carried the seed over to the garden plot. There, Ludwig was humming a low tune while working the mechanical thresher, flanked by Ggobongi, who was enthusiastically helping out. I had bought Ggobongi a wide-brimmed woven farmer's hat just for fun, and to my amusement, it suited him remarkably well.
"Hey, Ludwig. I'm going to try planting this."
"#%%?"
"No idea. Father Raccoon brought it over."
Given that the seed was vastly larger than a fist, I needed to dig a considerably deeper hole. Sinking a spade into the earth, I carved out a trench, settled the massive seed into the pit, piled the loose loam back on top, and doused it thoroughly with water from a bucket. All that remained was the waiting game.
Rumble...
"Huh?"
The moment the water soaked through, a subtle tremor vibrated through the soil. The shudder was pronounced enough that Ludwig, Ggobongi, and the nearby animals all paused their chores and turned their eyes toward the freshly turned earth.
"...$%##$?"
"D-Don't look at me like that, I just planted the thing...!"
I offered Ludwig a helpless shrug as he stared at me as if demanding to know what demon I had just buried. Then, right before our eyes, the patch of dirt began to warp.
A pale sprout pierced the topsoil. At first, it was a tiny, harmless little shoot.
WHOOOOOSH!
Within seconds, the stalk swelled outward at a terrifying rate, thickening until its vine matched the trunk of a mature tree. That alone was alarming enough, but the real shocker came next.
A bulging bulb formed along the vine, ballooning outward until it reached the dimensions of an entire small house. It was plump, vibrant orange, and ribbed with distinct vertical ridges.
"...A pumpkin?"
It was unmistakably a pumpkin. A titanic, monstrously oversized pumpkin. When Cinderella rode a pumpkin carriage to the royal castle, this must have been the exact variety her fairy godmother used.
Except the Forest of the Four Seasons had never once adhered to fairy-tale logic.
CRACK!
A fissure split straight across the center of the colossal gourd, revealing a jagged maw lined with rows of razor-sharp, triangular shark teeth. Above the gaping mouth, sunken cavities twisted into hollowed eyes and an angular snout, completing a grotesque, living visage.
"KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"..."
This wasn't a fairy tale. It was a damn Halloween nightmare.
What on earth did that raccoon just feed to our soil...?!
First, we needed to beat it into submission—we could figure out the rest later.