Owl Bear (3)
I'd even picked out a name for her. All that was left was bonding with Wonmo.
Feeding her honey had skyrocketed her affection toward me, but a cub was still a cub. She couldn't tell right from wrong yet, and with her mother gone, it was up to me to look after her.
But then the biggest problem hit me. How the hell do I raise her?
I'd never even had a pet back home. My own nose was barely above water—pets were the last thing on my mind. Sure, dogs and cats I kinda knew from seeing them around, but an owl bear? No clue.
All I knew was that they had insane appetites and were vicious as hell. Everything else? Blank slate.
Getting her to see me as her owner is key...
I watched Wonmo scampering around the cave like a maniac. Being a newborn, her curiosity was off the charts.
"Sniff. Sniff sniff."
She lingered around the spot where I'd killed her mom, sniffing the ground. Looked like she remembered her scent.
But Momma Owl Bear had already shipped off to... well, America—er, the auction house. Bids were still rolling in steadily, so a fat stack of cash was coming my way soon.
And this little furball grows into that?
Momma had been the size of a damn house (with a bit of exaggeration). But look at Wonmo—a round, roly-poly thing the size of a medium dog. Her pale fur confirmed what the Gallery said: fresh out of the egg, basically.
"Queeeek!"
"Aigoo."
Her curiosity was through the roof. No wonder she went straight for the sack of Wall Valley Pills. Her nose should've picked up the bitter stench—why'd she do that?
"Kwaaak!"
Riiip!
Even as a cub, her savage side shone through. One swipe of her claws shredded the sack.
I freaked when the pills rained out. "Hey! Park Won-mo! Bad girl!"
"Kyuu? Kyuwoo?"
"Even if it tastes like crap, you don't do that!"
I scolded her while rushing to fix it, tipping the sack so no more spilled. Then I bought a new one from the auction house the right size and transferred them over.
Don't these things eat rotten corpses too?
How nasty were Wall Valley Pills that everyone reacted the same? I was used to them, but animals? Nope.
First things first, make her see this place as home...
One nagging question, though: Why'd Momma Owl Bear bring her cub here? Territorial beasts like them were super sensitive about boundaries. They didn't invade others' turf lightly.
Even on a scouting run, you wouldn't drag a newborn around.
Did someone steal their original territory?
Nah, couldn't be. Momma was in prime condition when we met—no desperation in her attack. She scouted me first instead of ripping me apart.
Just a simple relocation, maybe? Hard to say. Best way to know for sure? Find their old nest.
Not happening right now.
Look at that fuzzy ball with her big round eyes staring at me. Plopped on the straw mat, gazing blankly...
"Who's my widdle girl? C'mere."
"Kyuwoo."
Adorable. Insanely so. How was she this cute? I lavished her with chin scratches and head pats, pouring on the love.
Yeah. No way I could leave her behind. And until she saw this as home, I couldn't just wander off.
So fixing up the place is my best bet...
Sucks a little, but not a bad call. The real headache? Water.
I could handle my hygiene, but her? No telling what diseases she might carry. Baths were non-negotiable.
Washing her in the stream... risky.
Not just the golden poison frogs—Wonmo might bolt anywhere. Especially crossing to the other side? Disaster waiting. Hit a terrain shift mid-crossing? Catastrophe.
Gotta be a better way...
I scooped up the blankly watching Wonmo in silence. Her fur was so fluffy—calling her "Fluffy" would've been perfect. Sorry, owner fail.
She nuzzled my face like she got it. Purrr...
Then a weird rumble hit my ear. Not my stomach.
I set her down gently and stared. "Kyuwoo..."
"Hungry?"
Slurp.
Licking her chops at me? Heart attack incoming. I dashed to the auction house before she went feral.
Tons of stuff there—easy to snag some meat.
Monster meat too?
Orcs, goblins, trolls, knolls—you name it. No idea why they'd auction this crap. Tough, tasteless junk nobody ate unless desperate. Probably dumped 'cause it was a hassle otherwise. Dirt cheap, though.
"Here ya go."
"Sniff sniff sniff. Sniff."
I plopped orc meat in front of her. Curious sniff, then chomp.
"Nom nom nom."
"Tasty?"
"Nom nom nom nom. Kwak! Kwak!"
Devouring it. Owl bear appetite like a bear, figures. I set a bowl of water nearby and stepped out.
Shed eat for a while—time to finish other chores.
Thwack! Thud.
Hacking away, the tree started wobbling. Sound shifted from dull thunks to proper firewood chops.
Checked position, then shoved hard with my foot. It teetered... crackle! Crash!
BOOM!
Huge tree, huge noise. Hope that didn't ping any beasts' radar. Silver lining: biggest threat, Owl Bear Mom, was auctioned off.
Rough thirds?
Eyed the fallen log. Enough for 3-4 barricades easy. Issue: splitting and shaping this beast.
...Why'd I do this?
Mountains beyond mountains. Should've learned the Internal Power Method from Cheonma first like planned. Boredom led to dumb ideas—increased workload only.
Sighed deep, decided to clear branches first. Enough firewood for ages.
Trim those, then split the log.
Sword won't cut it. Need a saw...
Sawing already made me dizzy. No quitting, though. Bought a saw? Nah, cave break first.
"Zzz..."
Wonmo curled on the mat, monster meat polished off. Cubs slept all day, any species.
I gazed at her perfect ball-shape, then hit the Gallery silently.
Our Wonmo's asleep YasaengGrill (pic of Wonmo balled up asleep)
Isn't she the cutest?
└Aah... healing vibes...
└More! Gimme more!
└Literal ball lol
└Wonmo name slaps so hard
└Wanna hug her fr
Universal praise. Heart attack proof? Not human. Smugly scrolling when one caught my eye.
└PassingDwarf That emergency rations? Looks tasty.
└YasaengGrill You psycho?
└PassingDwarf Woke up from hangover. What's up?
PassingDwarf, nursing his booze coma. How do you see rations in that? Thought he was a special kind of idiot, but Gallery outdid him.
└Not Wonmo as rations, Grills is Wonmo's rations lol
└PassingDwarf Oh yeah? Serving the master.
└Butler arc lmao
└Lol she'll eat you first if hungry rofl
└YasaengGrill You absolute maniacs;;
Classic Gallery. I chuckled dryly. Perfect timing—PassingDwarf was here.
└YasaengGrill Dwarf bro. Hook me up with a good saw?
└PassingDwarf Saw? Oh, felled a tree?
└YasaengGrill Yeah but sawing scares my balls off.
└PassingDwarf Unless adamantium, saws are all meh. Better to axe first, saw later.
└YasaengGrill Too hard.
└PassingDwarf Thought it'd be easy? Takes 2+ people usually.
Brokeass but true. Nothing easy here. Best bet: Internal Power Method from Cheonma. Mana access = progress. Till then, brute force grind.
└PassingDwarf Or auction the log, buy fence/barricade. Done.
└YasaengGrill None listed?
└PassingDwarf Why not?
Why indeed? I checked—nope.
└YasaengGrill Why ask me;; None means none. Pricey too?
└PassingDwarf Still cheaper than your raw log. Know how premium Four Seasons Forest wood is?
└YasaengGrill Duh no. Told ya, from another world?
└PassingDwarf Wasn't that drunk rambling?
└YasaengGrill Lmao
└Unbelievable lololol
└Lololol no way
Why's it so hard to believe...? But weirdness didn't stop.
└YasaengGrill Why not say sooner??
└PassingDwarf Wanted you to suffer lol
└YasaengGrill Dick
└PassingDwarf Sawing's just start. Dry it out, plane it, tons more lol
└YasaengGrill What if no drying?
└PassingDwarf Mold explosion!
└YasaengGrill Ffs;;
└Reality hitting? Lol
└Knowledge gained tho. Drinks on you!
Craved a drink bad. Should've posted instead. Log to auction like he said.
Square world's protag whipped 'em up easy.
He was OP as hell—swords, picks from scraps. Me? Zero skills in hellworld. Sigh city, but Gallery saved my ass.
Ask the dwarf?
Shady, but top craftsman I knew.
└YasaengGrill Gimme log, make me a barricade?
└PassingDwarf Just buy at auction? Saw some earlier. Drying takes weeks.
└YasaengGrill None I want
└PassingDwarf Fair, fences yes but barricades rare. I'll source.
└YasaengGrill No prank?
└PassingDwarf Don't joke about work.
Sweet.
└PassingDwarf Except hammered lol
└YasaengGrill Whatcha holding rn?
└PassingDwarf Beer
└YasaengGrill You fu—
└PassingDwarf Beverage to dwarves. Problem?
└True lol
└Facts
└Lololol
└Lololo
Dizzy. Alcoholics like this? Seemed legit, so auction browse. Yup, no barricades my style. One-offs, low demand. Folks felled their own.
List the log first.
Auctioned the fallen beast. No clue on price—fingers crossed premium like he said. Jackpot? Trees = savings account.
Barricade wait-and-see.
Dwarf'd list soon—buy then. Till then, trim cave perimeter.
Not holing up forever but...
Marked axe-target trees. Moat post-barricade. Hacked markers, cave break.
Wonmo still dreaming. Too cute. Smiled warm, Gallery time.
More comments piled up. SunForever's stood out.
└SunForever Yo, brushed Wonmo yet?
└YasaengGrill Brush why?
└SunForever Fluffy pets need it. Or bathe. Try brushing.
Dunno why, but pet guy like me—do it. Bought fine comb, approached Wonmo carefully not to wake her, started on the lush fur.
"...What the hell."
SunForever knew. Wriggling horrors between comb tines. Grotesque.
"F-fleas?"
Water. Now. Desperate.