Can't Resist (2)
I decided to call off any further exploration for the day. Running headlong into a dinosaur out of nowhere had drained far too much of my energy.
Yet while exploring was off the table, plenty of chores remained. We still needed to fix up the area around the Squirrel, so there was no time to waste.
Of course, the kids' naptime was sacred. I waited patiently for about an hour until they finally stirred awake.
"All right. Shall we go?"
"Ggyu!"
"Ppiik!"
With the well-rested kids in tow, I headed back toward the Squirrel's grove.
Upon reaching the clearing, we got right back to work. This time, I refrained from wandering around the perimeter. Wandering aimlessly risked running into some apex predator drawn by the scent of blood.
There's really no helping the smell of blood, I mused. If there were an easy way to mask it, our safety would be far better guaranteed, which made it a shame.
Then again, looking at it that way, it was a minor miracle our own shelter had stayed safe for this long. Tyrano was around, sure, but not every wild beast trembled at the sight of a mere dragon hatchling.
Dwelling on those thoughts, I took my time setting up the Squirrel's outpost. There was no need to go overboard; as long as it provided a secure redoubt to rest in during an emergency, that was plenty.
Still, is there really nothing we can do about perimeter threats?
Defenses remained a nagging worry. Having crossed paths with a raptor earlier only amplified my unease. While the Squirrel could certainly fend off minor intrusions, you could never be too prepared.
"Jjiik! Jjik!"
"Huh? What is it?"
"Jjik-jjik! Jjiik!"
Just as I was about to lay down some brickwork for a protective wall, the Squirrel whacked my shin in vehement protest.
Unable to make heads or tails of its chattering, I asked Ggobongi to translate.
"Do not build wall. Looks bad."
"I get that, but what if other beasts show up?"
"Jjiiik! Jjik!"
"Still no. Gets in way."
"Hmm..."
Well, if the client insisted, so be it. Once everything was set up anyway, we could just teleport straight back to our main shelter.
Acceding to the Squirrel's demands, I scaled down the construction to the bare essentials.
"Hey buddy, can I at least build one over here?"
"Jjik!"
"Says okay."
Fortunately, it allowed me to lay bricks for a sleeping nook. I fashioned it into a cave-like alcove so our backs would at least be shielded from behind. It wouldn't win any awards for cozy comfort, but it certainly upped the security factor.
On top of that, I rolled out a plush sleeping mat over the ground and designated a dedicated hearth for a campfire. Clearing and leveling the surrounding brush had taken most of the time; assembling the actual masonry took hardly any time at all.
All right. Now all that's left is...
All that remained was for the Squirrel to nurture the World Tree sapling. I estimated it would take anywhere from three days at shortest to a week at longest. Until then, my job was to scout the perimeter continuously and map out any lurking dangers.
"Things are mostly tidy now, so let's scout the vicinity. I'll just bring Uncle Ludwig along, so Ggobongi, you stay here and guard the place."
"Understood."
Since our tasks had wrapped up earlier than anticipated and there was still some time before dinner, I decided on a brief perimeter sweep. Going alone was far too dangerous, while marching the entire troupe out was inefficient. Besides, the primary goal was simply sweeping the immediate area clean of threats, so a small vanguard suited the job.
"Do you think more dinosaurs will show up?" I murmured.
[Should they appear, would it not be proper to face them in battle?] Cain chimed in.
"Bypassing them is far wiser than picking a fight."
[Only through combat does one's prowess truly sharpen.]
"Out here, knowing when to avoid a fight is just as crucial. And besides, Sir Cain, it's not like you do any of the fighting anyway."
[I believe I serve my role as a divine totem quite admirably, do I not?]
Always full of lip, that one. When on earth was he ever going to be useful for something other than translation?
Even while bickering with Cain, I never let down my guard. Ludwig's prosthetic pace was slow anyway, so we naturally moved at a methodical crawl.
We had been walking in hushed silence for some time when suddenly—
Grrrrrr...!
A guttural animal growl brushed past my ears. The instant I heard it, I froze in my tracks and glanced at Ludwig.
When I stopped, Ludwig simply wore a puzzled expression. It seemed he hadn't caught the sound at all.
What gives?
By rights, a veteran holy knight like him should have picked it up before me.
Pushing the mystery aside for the moment, I gestured toward him, signaling that a beast lurked nearby. Ludwig immediately drew his blade in silence and dropped into a low crouch.
Parting the underbrush with utmost caution, we crept toward the source of the noise. Since clearing perimeter threats was our top priority, I was fully prepared to launch a surprise attack if an opening presented itself.
"Grrr..."
"..."
Before long, we reached the spot.
Astonishingly, the creature producing the growls was another dinosaur like the one we had encountered earlier. Evidently, this quadrant of the forest was raptor territory.
Wait... is that an armadillo?
Crouched before the raptor's predatory gaze was an armadillo. It was unmistakably one of those critters that curled into a tight, armored ball when threatened. Given the sheer disparity in scale, the raptor looked capable of gulping it down in a single bite.
Crunch!
My prediction proved spot on. The raptor snapped forward and scooped the armadillo right into its maw.
The armadillo rolled into a tight sphere in self-defense, but I harbored serious doubts. A raptor's bite force was monstrous enough to splinter a thick tree trunk into toothpicks; an ordinary shell wouldn't save it.
At the same time, this was our golden opportunity. Every beast lets down its guard when eating.
Signaling Ludwig, I primed myself to strike.
Just as the raptor began working its jaws to grind the armadillo into pulp—
SKRRRRTCH!
Terrifyingly long spikes suddenly burst from the armadillo's carapace.
They were so wickedly sharp and long that they punched right up through the roof of the raptor's mouth, piercing clear out the top of its snout.
"KRRRROOOAAARGH!"
It looked excruciating enough to make a bystander wince, so one could only imagine the raptor's agony. Thrashing violently, the predator tried desperately to spit the creature out. But the spikes weren't straight needles—they were barbed like vicious fishing hooks. The harder the raptor writhed, the deeper the spikes gouged into its flesh.
Holy crap. Even a hedgehog wouldn't—
Whirrrr—
Before I could finish the thought, a bizarre mechanical whine emanated from the armadillo, heralding an even more absurd spectacle.
WHIRRRRRRR!
Whining with an eerie, high-pitched screech, the ball began to rev like a motor.
Because its spikes had impaled both the upper and lower jaws of the beast, it hitched at first. But whether through its own internal horsepower or the sheer sharpness of its barbs—
SKRRRR-CLACK-CLACK-CHOP!
Jerking free, the armadillo's spherical chassis accelerated into a furious, high-speed spin.
And the outcome? Exactly what you'd expect.
Transforming into a living organic chainsaw, it literally shredded the raptor's face to ribbons.
Nor did it stop at the head—it sliced clean through the beast's entire torso, bifurcating it lengthwise.
Schlick—thud.
Split straight down the middle, the raptor's halved carcass flopped outward to either side.
Just as I was marveling at what an utterly unhinged zoo this forest was—
PING!
Unable to control its own angular momentum, the armadillo ricocheted violently off the ground.
SKREEEEEEEE!
And it was hurtling straight toward us—aimed squarely at my head!
"Uh."
Choking back a gasp, I threw up my shield with panicked haste. Taking a direct hit from that biological buzzsaw would leave my face unrecognizable to a coroner.
SKRRRRRR-GRIND-SPARK!
The spinning armadillo collided with my shield.
Thankfully, it wasn't potent enough to pierce solid enchanted metal; after unleashing a horrific screech of friction and sparks, it failed to dig any deeper.
Grunting under the jarring torque, I braced my legs and shoved the shield forward with all my might.
Clang! Clink! Bounce!
Having exhausted its rotational momentum grinding against my shield, the armadillo tumbled limply to the grass.
Sensing no further threat, it gingerly unfurled its body.
It glanced back and forth between the bisected raptor and me, then scuttled away on stubby, dainty little legs. For a creature equipped with such a horrifying biological weapon, its waddling retreat was laughably pathetic.
"..."
I stared blankly as the armadillo vanished into the bushes before finally glancing down. Deep, fresh grind marks scarred the face of my shield where the beast had tried to chew through it.
What would have happened if I hadn't had this shield raised? The thought alone made my stomach churn.
[It appears an even more abominable fiend than the dinosaur dwelled here.]
"...You can say that again."
I wholeheartedly concurred with Cain's assessment.
It was a timeless survival truth: in the wild, the small, bizarre critters were often deadlier than the apex giants. Unless a predator possessed an overwhelming weight class, hunting a creature like that was a death sentence.
Why on earth did the raptor even try to eat it, though? Had it never seen an armadillo before?
Looking at the mangled, useless remnants of the raptor carcass, I turned away. Regardless, verifying the existence of such a freakish monster was valuable intel in its own right. Having witnessed firsthand what happened when you messed with one, I knew to give them a wide berth.
The more I think about it, the more I realize just how safe our shelter really is.
If things like that crawled around our doorstep, I wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep. Then again, we'd already exterminated a pack of mad dogs and a full-grown owlbear, so maybe it evened out.
After that episode, we thoroughly scouted the surrounding area for any other lurking hazards. Thankfully, aside from that buzzsaw armadillo, nothing else remarkable crossed our path.
"Time to head back. Keep up the good work, little Squirrel. Here's an Inedia Pill for your trouble."
"Jjik!"
We returned to Grylls' Shelter as dusk settled. The moment my feet crossed the threshold, a heavy wave of fatigue washed over me.
Yet resting was out of the question. The raptor meat marinating in red wine was waiting for me.
While Ludwig tidied up the gear outside, I checked on the marinating steaks.
Whew, nobody swiped it.
I'd stashed it inside the cool oven just in case, and thankfully, it remained untouched. Setting that aside until right before dinner, I set about prepping the rest of the ingredients.
I brought out the fresh vegetables I had harvested from the seeds provided by Grow Big and Strong.
Among them, the crop I'd farmed the most was garlic. I hadn't realized garlic even existed in this world until recently.
And no true Korean can survive without garlic.
So I had planted and harvested crop after crop, stockpiling heads of garlic until an entire corner of the cold storage shed was overflowing. Thanks to that binge, I now had enough garlic to last a full month without planting a single clove.
The others had looked at me as if I'd lost my mind, but I'd cleanly ignored their protests.
[At this rate, your breath shall reek of nothing but garlic for eternity.]
"You do realize that's borderline discriminatory, right? People in the Central Plains eat mountains of garlic too, you know."
[Forgive me. I am an old-fashioned man from an ancient era, and my tongue slipped...]
Chastened by my remark, Cain sheepishly averted his gaze. Well, he apologized, so I let it slide.
Besides, having an abundance of garlic was never a bad thing; there was simply no finer seasoning on Earth. Rich in nutrients and vitality, it did wonders for the body.
"Wonmo. Want a taste of this?"
"Ggyu?"
"We don't have mugwort, but if you eat this for a hundred days, you might turn into a human."
"..."
At my teasing offer, Wonmo crept forward and sniffed the bulb.
"Ggyuek!"
The pungent, spicy fumes assaulted his sensitive nose, sending him scurrying backward in horror. He shot me suspicious glares, glancing back and forth between me and the offending clove.
Puffing out his downy fur, he looked thoroughly outraged. Even when huffing mad, he was still undeniably adorable.
"Just kidding. Eat that raw and your tongue will burn."
"Ggyuuuu...!"
"I'll give you something yummy later."
Only then did Wonmo's ruffled feathers smooth out. The little guy was endlessly charming.
Shortly after, as I set the cloves on the cutting board and began mincing them—
"...Why are you over here?"
"Ppiiiing..."
Tyrano had been watching from the side, tears brimming in its reptilian eyes. Driven by its trademark curiosity, the hatchling had waddled over, only to be overwhelmed by the stinging garlic vapors before beating a hasty retreat.
Come to think of it, didn't I hear that alliums are toxic to animals?
Chocolate, onions, scallions, garlic... Feeding those to pets was known to cause poisoning. While Wonmo was an owlbear and Tyrano was a dragon, it was better not to risk it.
All right, this portion with garlic is for me and Ludwig, and this unseasoned batch is for the critters.
I strictly segregated the human food from the animal food.
With the portions divided, only cooking remained. Searing it in a hot skillet seemed better than roasting it in the oven.
Ludwig gestured with a bewildered grimace. "#$%^%?"
[He asks if it is truly necessary to add the garlic.]
"Yes. Absolutely."
My reply was uncompromising. Ludwig grumbled under his breath, but I breezily ignored him. A proper human had to eat garlic; skip out on a balanced diet and you'll fall sick.
After all that meticulous marinating and pan-frying, the resulting dish rivaled prime beef. Meat that had once been tough and rank was completely transformed into tender, savory perfection.
That dwarf really gave me top-shelf wine.
We still had plenty of dinosaur meat left in the larders. And not just dinosaur, either—we had quite a variety of meats stockpiled. It felt like I'd ended up cooking eccentric bizarre delicacies, but if it tasted delicious, that was all that mattered.
With our sumptuous feast concluded, I pulled up the Gallery to browse before turning in.
Let's see here. The auction... Holy crap! Fifty thousand gold?!
Astonishingly, the dinosaur carcass had soared to a whopping 50,000 gold. Even after auction commission fees were deducted, I would easily walk away with over 20,000 gold.
Seeing that Juddak hadn't stepped in to intervene, the auction was evidently running within regulations.
Since there's no word from the dwarf yet, tanning the hide must still be underway.
And so, another day came to a close.
Tomorrow's itinerary included checking in on the Squirrel's outpost and conducting combat training. While exploring was vital, interspersing training was just as important. That way, future expeditions would go much smoother. In survival, you always had to play the long game.
I logged off the Gallery and prepared for bed.
All in all, a productive day.
Keep this rhythm up, and my odds of escaping would steadily climb. Moreover, those on the outside—especially Juddak—had promised to do everything in their power to aid me.
Never lose hope.
Steeling my resolve with that thought, I drifted off to sleep.
And then...
"Aigoo..."
"Are you all right?"
"No... feels like my arms and legs are being torn to shreds..."
I was struck down by an inexplicable, agonizing illness.