What the Tiger Leaves Behind (Part 2)

Having resolved to butcher the carcass, I stepped outside the cave.

The moment I crossed the threshold, I was greeted by the sight of a certain little pig waddling toward me.

It was Wonmo, his belly swollen drum-tight after gorging himself to his heart's content on the tiger's remains. Seeing his muzzle thoroughly smeared in dark crimson, the little guy had clearly feasted like royalty.

“Wonmo. Let’s get your mouth wiped before you head in.”

“Kkyuu…”

“None of that. Good boys get cleaned up first.”

Before Wonmo could waddle back into the cave, I wiped his snout and jowls spotless. Watching him lick his chops, an idle thought crossed my mind—I might actually have to start brushing his teeth sooner or later.

With sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes, Wonmo finally slouched off into the den to sleep off his food coma. Left alone, I turned back to the fallen beast, meticulously inspecting the colossal carcass from head to tail.

Man, it really is enormous.

How on earth had I actually killed this thing? In the sober light of day, it felt almost impossible to believe. Ppareumbo had undoubtedly saved my life several times during the clash, but even accounting for his help, bringing down such a titan bordered on the surreal.

On all fours, its shoulder height alone would have towered far over me, and its length was in a league of its own.

From snout to tail, this monster has to be well over five meters long.

Just as the Heavenly Demon had declared, this beast truly deserved the title of 'Mountain Lord.' Half in awe and half in sheer fascination, I circled the fallen giant until I reached its neck, where a gruesome sight met my eyes.

Ah, so this is where Wonmo tore into it.

It was the exact spot on the throat I had pierced with the Heavenly Demon's Sword the previous night. The ragged marks of Wonmo gnawing away were laid out in plain sight. With a baby cub's bite force, he never would have pierced through that armored hide on his own, but he had cleverly found the open wound and carved out his own banquet.

I need to butcher this fast.

At least six hours had passed since the beast drew its final breath. If the forest air weren't so crisp and cool, the meat would have begun rotting long ago.

Or maybe decomposition has already started?

Even if the meat spoiled, my primary goal was salvaging the hide, so I wasn't overly concerned. Besides, owlbears were natural apex scavengers that happily digested carrion anyway, so Wonmo wouldn't mind either.

Before touching a blade to it, I stepped back to take some photos for the Gallery.

“Ppareumbo. Stand a little closer to it, will you?”

“……”

“Attaboy. Extend two of your claws… ah, wait, you can't really do that, can you?”

I coaxed the Fast Tree Sloth to stand beside the carcass for an accurate sense of scale. Ppareumbo readily complied with my request, looking rather smug and pleased with himself for his part in the hunt. To round out the documentation, I tracked down the severed front paw and placed my hand beside it for comparison before uploading the post.

Every single one of them acknowledged my achievement. Getting validation from the Gallery stirred an odd, warm swell of pride in my chest. Closing out the forum interface, I stared up at the massive sabertooth tiger.

Now, only the butchering remained.

……Where do I even start?

Every now and then, the YouTube algorithm had served me deboning videos of cows or pigs. But those clips always began with pre-dressed, hanging halves; they never covered field dressing a fresh kill from the ground up. Furthermore, given the absurd, monstrous dimensions of this sabertooth, the preparatory labor alone was going to be an ordeal.

Better ask the Gallery first.

Someone had mentioned earlier that if you post butchering questions on the Gallery, plenty of experienced people will guide you step-by-step. Apparently, butchers who weren't helpful and patient got fired on the spot in their worlds. In realms brimming with beasts and monsters like this tiger, skilled meat-dressers held tremendous prestige.

Skinning it came first. I walked up to the sabertooth's underbelly, a hunting dagger held firmly in my grip.

Wait, is it still bleeding? Is that normal?

Dark blood continued to trickle slowly from its severed throat. The pool beneath had expanded considerably, making me wonder if bleeding this long was standard for such massive beasts. Wonmo had miraculously managed to gorge on the throat while keeping the blood strictly confined to his muzzle.

Regardless, the sharp, metallic tang of blood was already hanging heavy in the air. I had to finish and clean up as swiftly as possible.

Thud.

Whoa. Look at how tough this is.

I had half-expected it, but my ordinary dagger couldn't even break the surface of the leather. If I had brought it down cleanly without marring the coat, it would have fetched an exorbitant price, but the fur was completely matted with dried gore. Left with no choice, I channeled Aura through the blade before the steel finally bit deep into the hide.

Riiip—rip, rip!

Slitting a straight line along its belly, I began peeling back the hide. At first, I pulled with pure brute force, and whenever the connective tissue resisted, I carefully sliced away the clinging fascia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the dagger.

“Hrrngh…!”

Even rolling the massive body onto its other side was an ordeal. I had to circulate mana throughout my entire body just to heave the bulk over. My muscles screamed with dull aches, but the strain was manageable, and I managed to turn the carcass. Fortunately, rigor mortis hadn't set in yet, making the manipulation somewhat easier.

Rrrrip—rip—tear!

Just skinning the beast took a full thirty minutes.

Trimming away the sections caked in thick, clotted blood was especially grueling. I made a mental note to scrub the hide thoroughly with crushed charcoal later.

It’s heavy.

Matching its colossal build, the pelt alone weighed an astonishing amount. If I were the frail man I was when I first arrived in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this forest, lifting it would have drained every ounce of strength I possessed. Now, simply slinging it over my shoulder was well within my power.

I'll leave the hide over here for now.

I stepped back to examine the skinned sabertooth. With only its head still furred, it revealed pale, glistening muscle beneath. Aside from the half-severed neck dripping dark blood, it wasn't overly repulsive to look at.

……Come to think of it, I need a bath too.

While hacking through its neck last night, I had practically showered in its blood. Dried, crusted gore coated my skin and clothes; scraping it all off was going to be a headache. Still, as planned, I needed to hang the carcass upside down to bleed it out properly before cleaning myself up. Leaving it lying out like this invited wandering predators drawn by the scent of fresh slaughter.

To hoist this thing upside down……

Its length easily exceeded four meters. As I stood pondering how to suspend it, the towering branches of the ancient trees overhead caught my eye. If I bound the tiger's hind legs with sturdy rope and slung them over those massive limbs, it might just work.

To pull that off, however, I needed an able assistant.

“Ppareumbo.”

“……”

His unblinking, heavy stare seemed to ask, What do you want, punk?

I bought a thick coil of rope from the Gallery and tied it around the tiger's hind paws—not binding them together, but securing each leg separately so they could spread apart.

“Loop this rope over that branch, and take this one over that branch over there. Got it?”

“……”

“You climb trees way better than I do. I'll give you extra Inedia Pills.”

At the mention of extra pills, he finally began to stir, moving at his usual agonizingly leisurely pace. The trouble was that he was too slow. Watching his sluggish progress was so excruciating that I ended up lifting him onto the lower boughs myself. Meanwhile, I dragged the carcass into position beneath the tree. The beast was ridiculously heavy.

“Could you pick up the pace just a little?”

“……”

“*Sigh.* Never mind.”

Next time, I'd just throw him up into the canopy. That would be far faster. Though it took some time, thanks to the Fast Tree Sloth's steady assistance, I successfully hoisted the massive tiger into the air.

“Wow. Seriously, it's enormous. How did I even kill this thing?”

Seeing it suspended upside down brought home its terrifying scale all over again. I had to crane my neck all the way back just to take in its full length. In the chaos of midnight, adrenaline and pitch darkness had kept me from realizing just how monstrous it truly was.

Trickle, drip—

The blood draining from the severed neck accelerated. Seeing the steady flow, I hurriedly purchased a massive iron drum from the auction house and slid it directly beneath the hanging carcass.

This barrel would catch the draining blood and eventually hold the entrails. The guts would end up as chum for the river fish; they were going to feast like kings.

Man, I could really go for some grilled tripe right about now.

The thought of innards made my mouth water, but I quickly discarded the craving. The last thing I needed out here was a parasitic infection.

While the tiger bled out, I set to work cleaning up the campsite. First order of business was washing the dried blood from my body.

Better heat up some water.

Blood lifts off much easier with hot water. For soap, I made do with crushed charcoal. While the water heated over the fire, I tackled the pool of blood outside. Shoveling loose dirt over the red mud, I let it soak up the fluid before scooping the crimson soil into the waste drum. I planned to dump the whole lot into the river alongside the entrails later.

“*Whew……*”

With the site tidied, it was time for a bath. Sinking into the steaming tub of water was pure paradise. My mind drifted into a daze, making last night’s desperate struggle feel almost like a surreal dream. I scrubbed myself vigorously until the stubborn, flaking layers of blood rinsed away completely.

A few faint stains remain on my skin, but that can't be helped.

The faint reddish discoloration would fade with time. Thoroughly refreshed by the long-overdue bath, I changed into fresh clothes. The ripped and blood-soaked jersey uniform was set aside.

Every scrap of clothing is precious here.

A good wash would make it wearable again. I could simply designate it as work clothes for rough chores.

Chores out of the way, I walked back over to the suspended tiger. The steady trickle from its severed neck had dwindled to nothing; it had completely bled out.

Did it really hold this much blood?

I had bought a massive iron drum to accommodate both the blood and the entrails, but the crimson fluid alone had already filled it halfway. Even factoring in the blood-soaked soil I had dumped inside, the volume was staggering.

“Hmm……”

Now came the task of slitting its belly open and scooping out the internal organs. I crossed my arms in thought. Given the height of the hanging carcass, I was going to need a ladder.

Guess I have to buy one. No way around it.

Not just an ordinary leaning ladder, but a stable step ladder. I checked the Gallery market, wondering if such a thing existed, and sure enough, there were plenty. The reviews praised their stability and heavy-duty load capacity. Without hesitation, I completed the purchase.

With the step ladder set up, it was time for the true butchering to begin.

Such helpful folks. Following their advice, I set to work on the dissection.

First, I slit the abdomen down the middle, exposing the internal cavity. Just as the forum users had noted, the viscera were securely enclosed in a thin peritoneal membrane. Slicing open the belly didn't cause the guts to spill out in an avalanche.

Ugh. Still pretty repulsive.

After severing the tiger's massive head completely, I carefully began extracting the entrails. If a puncture occurred and ruptured the digestive tract, the resulting stench would be catastrophic. Fortunately, my stomach was strong enough to handle the sight and smell.

Before long, I managed to clear out the digestive tract, intestines, and lower viscera encased within the membrane. All that remained were the vital organs sheltered beneath the ribcage: the heart, lungs, and liver—the most critical life-sustaining organs of any living creature.

Once these were removed, the butchering would be complete. But the very moment I brought my dagger to the chest wall—

Thump! Thump!

“*Whoa!*”

The sudden, heavy vibration pulsing through the blade nearly made my heart leap out of my throat.

I almost lost my balance on the step ladder, barely catching myself against the rungs. Eyes wide with shock, I stared at the spot where the vibration had resonated.

Across the entire animal kingdom, there was only one organ capable of producing a rhythmic pulsation like that.

“……*Gulp.*”

Swallowing dryly, I gingerly reached out and pressed my palm against the chest wall.

As if to prove it was no hallucination, a distinct, powerful rhythm thudded against my hand.

Thump! Thump!

It was unmistakably a heartbeat.

The beast was dead. Its head had been severed, its blood drained dry, its throat torn to ribbons hours ago. How could its heart still be beating? It defied all biological reason.

If logic couldn't explain it, only one course of action remained: see it with my own eyes.

Rrrrip—

Slicing through the pericardial membrane, the grim interior of the ribcage was laid bare.

Massive lungs, suited for an apex predator. And……

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Pounding vigorously between them was a gigantic heart.

The heart of the dead sabertooth tiger was beating.