Chapter 20: Owlbear (1)

Title) A strong and wonderful morning!

(photo giving a thumbs up)

If anyone asks, I am Grills!

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) You already woke up. Did nothing happen during the night?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes. I slept wonderfully. Did HeavenlyDemon also rest well?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) This body has already reached such a level that it does not need to sleep.

ㄴWildGrills) Ah… yes…

Even if interesting things happen while I sleep, what I had to do remained the same.

Report that I am still alive.

It was the post that announced the beginning of the day.

Known fixed users, including HeavenlyDemon, left greeting messages.

Not only fixed users, quite a few anonymous users also commented.

ㄴGrills, did you see the post they uploaded at dawn?

ㄴWildGrills) What post?

ㄴOne where they say they will buy the adult mandrake from you. There were a lot.

ㄴWildGrills) Ah, yes I saw it. In fact I received many trade requests.

ㄴAre you going to sell it?

Who knows.

As I said before, I don’t have that margin.

It’s not that I lack money or that I need something in particular.

Almost everything I need I can buy at the auction house.

Until now the people I traded with did it out of pure goodwill, that’s why I agreed to do it.

[xxx has requested a trade.]

[@@@ has requested a trade.]

[ㅇㅇ has requested a trade.]

In a short time countless trade requests arrived.

I looked at the requests and searched the nicknames.

Most were accounts without posts and recently created.

It seems they are trying to obtain an adult mandrake from me.

‘First I reject them all.’

I needed to post something.

If I simply ignored them, later it could become more annoying.

I also wanted the moderator to be able to see this situation.

Title) Those who sent trade requests, read

WildGrills

It seems you were trying to obtain an adult mandrake, but for now I do not plan to trade.

My situation is what it is, and besides I do not know what objects you plan to offer.

So it is better that you publish in a post what object you want to exchange.

I will see it and decide whether to send the trade request.

And please avoid proposing periodic exchanges.

I could die tomorrow.

ㄴSo the rumor was real?

ㄴIf the adult mandrake is real, it makes sense.

ㄴBut that about dying tomorrow lol

ㄴAt least he is quite aware of his situation haha

ㄴWith that anyone understands him.

ㄴSunForEver) If someone wants to buy it with money, let me know. I will pay more.

ㄴWow, so rich. How scary.

ㄴLook at the calm way he says it. So funny.

ㄴThat dark elf brother is loaded. How scary.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Hmm! I think I more or less understand what is happening. I will be watching!

ㄴWildGrills) Thank you. Moderator, do you also need a mandrake?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Eh! I have not helped Grills!

ㄴWildGrills) Bribe haha

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) No!

ㄴLol

ㄴHe says it so calmly haha

Since I had already organized everything more or less, I started my routine for the day.

The first thing was to sit in the lotus position to improve my body’s flexibility.

Just three days ago it felt as if my whole body twisted, but now it was beginning to improve.

‘Soon I will be able to learn from HeavenlyDemon.’

A method of internal energy cultivation or mana training.

If I manage to learn that, surely I will be better than now.

HeavenlyDemon will not teach me anything strange.

‘It will also be easier to cut with the axe or dig.’

Right now the most important thing for me is reinforcing the shelter.

If I could choose, I would prefer to cut trees with HeavenlyDemon’s sword instead of the axe.

But if the sword chips it would be a problem, so I have no choice but to use the axe.

The same happens with the shovel.

Everything is hard work.

‘There are not many new posts either.’

After I posted my post, nothing particularly striking appeared.

Breakfast, as always, was a fasting pill.

‘Today I should start by digging traps.’

Since I decided to adapt and live in the Forest of the Four Seasons, my daily routine is simple.

In the morning and afternoon explore the surroundings or repair the shelter.

Yesterday I explored more because of the matter of the adult mandrakes, so today it was time to repair.

Repair basically means cutting nearby trees with the axe or digging holes with the shovel.

Even ten minutes already left me exhausted, but it is necessary for my safety.

‘Maybe I am lucky no trace of the owlbear.’

Sometimes I was startled when I heard cracking sounds, but nothing happened.

Although I was far from the place where the owlbear appeared, I could not relax.

In the gallery they said that owlbears are extremely territorial.

If something enters their territory, whether animal or person, they tear it apart.

And considering that they have the size of a house, encountering one means certain death.

‘Or I could drag it to the cave.’

I stopped digging the trap and looked at the entrance of the cave.

The entrance had just the size for MadDog to pass.

The enormous owlbear could not pass easily.

Besides, with the traps placed at the entrance, if I am lucky I might be able to kill it.

‘Although first I should know its area of activity.’

I dug with the shovel and checked the depth of the hole.

This should be enough.

Now it only remained to camouflage it.

Put sharp weapons inside the pit?

If I do that, I myself could fall into it.

The trap is not near the cave but right at the entrance, so it is the last resort.

‘At the auction house something that can serve as a tarp…’

The tarp to cover it I bought at the auction house.

Then I fixed the edges with stones and camouflaged it with dirt.

Thus one trap was completed.

I felt a strange satisfaction.

‘…Why do I feel satisfied by something like this?’

After a short time I sighed thinking about my situation.

But being happy for finishing only one trap was too early.

The hardest part still remained cutting trees.

Just thinking about logging already made my future look dark.

Rustle—

Then I heard the sound of bushes moving near my ear.

I was startled and shrank my body.

I looked cautiously toward where the sound had come from.

“……”

Had it been my imagination?

No matter how much I fixed my gaze on the bushes, nothing happened.

I let out a sigh of relief and entered the cave.

Before entering, I jumped so I wouldn’t fall into the trap. That was already part of the routine too.

‘Would it be better to put a plank?’

If I have to jump every time, an accident could happen when I’m in a hurry.

I suppose that’s how one gradually gets used to things, by making mistakes.

I came out carrying the logging axe over my shoulder.

‘Lumberjacks really are admirable.’

How did they cut down so many trees in a time without chainsaws?

And with those same trees they built wooden buildings and even ships.

Every day made me realize the greatness of civilization.

Surely with time that thought will grow even more.

‘Couldn’t I ask the dwarf to make me a chainsaw?’

The useless thought appeared for a moment, but I immediately dismissed it.

Yesterday he drank alcohol, so he’s probably lying somewhere completely wasted right now.

And more than the dwarf, I’m worried about how StarlightLady is doing.

Thunk! Thunk!

I started with the tree I had left half cut yesterday.

It was too thick to saw.

But they say there is no tree that doesn’t fall after ten strikes, so if I keep hitting it, it will eventually fall.

‘I should make it fall toward the cave.’

For that I also had to strike the opposite side.

I breathed for a moment and walked to the other side.

Rustle.

Then, again, the sound of grass moving reached my ears.

This time I heard it clearly.

I tensed up and slowly turned my body.

Rustle, rustle.

It was not imagination.

The bushes were moving.

The sound was getting louder and louder.

It was definitely approaching.

I slowly stepped back while preparing to run toward the cave at any moment.

Rustle.

Finally, the owner of the sound crawled out from the dense bushes.

The moment I saw its face, a gasp escaped me.

Golden eyes, sharp and fierce.

A terrifying beak typical of birds.

And lastly, a body the size of a house.

“Grr?”

“……”

It was an owlbear.

The tension left my body completely rigid.

Fortunately, the owlbear did not attack immediately.

Perhaps because it was the first time it had seen a person in the Forest of the Four Seasons.

It seemed to be observing first.

I slowly stepped back.

“Grrr……”

“Huff……”

Out of the corner of my eye I looked behind me to calculate the distance to the cave.

If I provoked the owlbear, I could end up not only injured, but dead.

Fortunately, this owlbear was so large that it seemed unable to enter the cave.

‘I need something to divert its attention…’

I searched through my pocket.

I touched something round.

It was a fasting pill that I carried as an emergency ration.

Maybe I could distract it with that.

Carefully, I threw the pill under the owlbear.

“Sniff. Sniff.”

“……”

The owlbear began to smell the pill that had fallen on the ground.

I took advantage of that moment to approach the cave entrance.

Then, apparently not detecting anything strange in the smell, the owlbear put the pill into its mouth.

“Nom.”

“……”

“Chew. Chew.”

After tasting it for a moment—

“Kuack! Kuack! Kieeeek!”

It screamed because of the characteristic bitterness of the pill.

As soon as I heard that scream, I understood one thing.

If I didn’t enter the cave right now, I would end up torn apart.

‘Doesn’t it detect me by smell? Aren’t bears supposed to have a good sense of smell!’

While I ran, I felt a terrifying pressure behind me.

Is this what killing intent feels like?

A chill ran down my spine.

Tap!

I recognized the trap installed at the cave entrance and dove forward.

Surely my legs and knees would get badly scraped, but if I didn’t do it I was dead.

Boom!

“Kyaaaaa!”

As proof, behind me a huge crash was heard.

Accompanied by the fierce roar of the owlbear.

I felt my whole body bristle and immediately got up.

“Haah… haah…”

“Kyaaak! Kyaak!”

Scraaaape! Scraaaape!

The owlbear’s sharp claws scraped the ground.

I watched it while breathing heavily.

Its enormous body had passed halfway through the entrance.

In other words, it was stuck.

If the cave entrance had been a little bigger, it would have passed through.

Besides, thanks to the trap, its short legs could not reach the ground.

‘N-now is my chance.’

There was no time to just stand there watching.

Instead of the axe, I grabbed another weapon.

The crossbow that DwarfPassingBy gave me.

I loaded a normal bolt, not a harpoon.

But even being a normal bolt, it was dwarven-made.

It should be enough.

Fwoosh!

Thud!

I didn’t even need to aim precisely.

I fired and it hit its face.

“Kyaaaak!”

The owlbear twisted violently when the bolt stuck into its eye.

It was so strong that even the cave trembled.

But the relief did not last long.

Because of the owlbear’s strength, the cave entrance began to crumble little by little.

‘I’m screwed…!’

If the entrance collapsed, my life would be over.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I fired the crossbow again and again without stopping.

The more bolts stuck into its face, the more out of control the owlbear became.

It didn’t seem to calm down at all.

‘Does that damn thing not have a brain?’

I fired bolts.

I even threw the harpoon connected by rope.

The last harpoon stuck into its remaining eye.

Now the owlbear was completely blind.

But it was still raging, so approaching it was difficult.

‘A spear! Yes, I’ll buy a spear!’

I quickly entered the gallery and bought a spear at the auction house.

I didn’t care about reviews or price.

Just having a spear was enough.

I looked at the owlbear that was still raging and grabbed the spear with both hands.

“Haa!”

Stab!

I drove the spear directly into its head.

Luckily, the tip embedded itself right in the center of its forehead.

Before the owlbear could go even more insane, I pushed with all my strength.

“¡Keeeek!”

Crack!

But in the end, a spear is still a spear.

The tip may be metal, but the shaft is wood.

The owlbear swung its claws and the shaft of the spear broke.

I almost lost my balance, but I managed to stay upright.

Rumble—

“Huh?”

What I feared happened.

The entrance of the cave almost collapsed completely.

While I stood there stunned looking at the situation, the owlbear managed to enter.

I’m screwed.

I’m really screwed.

Even thinking that, I grabbed HeavenlyDemon’s sword and the golden shield.

The worst situation had arrived, but the owlbear was almost dying.

If I took advantage of the opportunity, I still had chances.

“Kiaaaak!”

Boom!

The owlbear, with arrows and the spear tip stuck in its face, charged at me.

I was startled and quickly raised the shield to protect myself.

For a moment I remembered SwordTasteMaster’s post and managed to react.

Bang!

“Cough!”

But even blocking with the shield, it was impossible to completely stop the owlbear’s charge.

The size difference was enormous.

I was a weak human, and the owlbear was a bear.

Thud!

In the end both my feet lifted off the ground and I was sent flying.

Luckily I only fell to the ground and didn’t crash into the cave wall.

But it was still too early to relax.

I did not take my eyes off the owlbear.

“Kyaaaak!”

The owlbear charged at me while I was lying on the ground.

Even though it couldn’t see, it was probably locating my position by sound.

The accuracy of its attack would be low.

I concentrated until the end.

‘…The left paw!’

The owlbear raised its left paw.

Now it only remained to find out where it would strike.

I opened my eyes wide while observing its attack.

The raised left paw was heading straight toward my left shoulder.

Boom!

I slightly twisted my body and barely avoided it.

But the thunderous crash that echoed in my ears left me with a slight ringing.

Anyway I already had tinnitus from before, so I did not pay much attention to it.

What mattered was the counterattack that would come next.

“Uaaaah!”

I shouted while stabbing HeavenlyDemon’s sword toward the owlbear’s jaw.

I hoped that would be the final blow.

Stab!

As expected from HeavenlyDemon’s sword.

It pierced the owlbear’s jaw and penetrated all the way into its head.

After receiving a direct hit to the brain, the owlbear only trembled slightly.

It could no longer resist.

Its brain had been destroyed and the body was receiving no signals.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

The enormous body of the owlbear fell on top of me.

It weighed an absurd amount.

With effort I managed to push it off me.

While doing so I checked the condition of my legs.

‘All scraped up.’

Probably from the survival dive earlier.

My knees were wrecked.

Saying they were just scraped would be an understatement.

The muscle was almost visible.

If it had opened a little more, I probably would have seen something white.

“Ow…”

When the adrenaline started to drop, pain appeared all over my body.

Just from that dive I ended up with wounds everywhere.

If I hadn’t had clothes, my torso would probably also be full of cuts.

‘First an elixir… ah, I don’t have one.’

I’ll have to buy a potion.

Normally I would have traded an elixir with StarlightLady.

But now StarlightLady hasn’t even posted her survival report.

And the trade requests are still on cooldown.

Drip—

“Ugh…”

I bought a reasonably priced potion at the auction house and applied it to the wounds.

Like a proper potion, it was red.

At least it should work as a disinfectant.

Then I used a piece of cloth I had bought to wrap the wounds like a bandage.

I had so many injuries that I ended up bandaging arms and legs.

‘Now what remains is dealing with the owlbear.’

The owlbear had its face full of arrows, and in its eyes there was a bolt and a harpoon.

Looking at the corpse almost made me feel a bit sorry.

But that bastard tried to kill me.

Title) I killed an owlbear

WildGrills

(photo of the owlbear’s corpse)

I almost died trying to kill it …

I’ll upload it soon to the auction house, do whatever you want.

ㄴWow. How did you kill it?

ㄴWildGrills) The cave entrance is narrow, so I lured it there. Then I smashed its face with the crossbow.

ㄴHahaha look at its face. It has arrows and a harpoon instead of eyes.

ㄴIs he really just a normal civilian?

ㄴKilling an owlbear as a civilian. Scary.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Don’t you have serious injuries?

ㄴWildGrills) Except for some scrapes, I’m fine.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) I’m glad. Every time I read something like this I feel that you have a very good martial foundation. Could it just be my impression?

ㄴWildGrills) If it weren’t for the sword HeavenlyDemon gave me, I wouldn’t even have been able to finish it.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) I’m glad to hear that. Do you need any weapon?

A necessary weapon?

Honestly, a spear would be useful.

But I did not plan to ask HeavenlyDemon for it.

As I always say, depending too much on someone is not good.

ㄴWildGrills) For now no. Ah, by the way, I’m already getting used to the lotus position. Could you teach me a method of internal energy cultivation?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) How pleasant it is to hear that. I will organize it so that it is easy for you to understand.

ㄴWildGrills) Thank you.

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Impressive. You said you lured it to the cave entrance, right?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes.

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) It seems you have quite a quick mind.

ㄴWildGrills) Hehe, thanks.

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Someday you will be able to face it head-on in a duel.

ㄴWildGrills) Is there any way to fight an owlbear?

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) It’s quite easy. The owlbear’s main weapon is its claws, so you just have to cut off its legs. When it raises its front paw to strike, you cut it. Easy, right?

ㄴWildGrills) …

Maybe it’s easy for her.

How could a mere mortal understand a genius?

After quickly checking the reactions in the gallery, I dealt with the owlbear.

When I uploaded the corpse to the auction house, it disappeared immediately.

Then the bids began.

The auction time was 24 hours.

‘Will it be expensive?’

I don’t know.

Right now what I need is to rest.

But first I have to check the trap.

The owlbear destroyed it, so repairing it is mandatory.

“Huh?”

“…?”

But as soon as I came out of the cave I encountered something strange.

Round, bright golden eyes.

A beak typical of a bird.

A body the size of a medium dog and an expression full of curiosity.

“Kyuu?”

A baby owlbear tilted its head in front of me.