Chapter 56: The Tiger is Dead (3)

The heart is the most important organ of all animals.

You can live without a kidney, and even if you lose a lung, as long as the heart is fine, you survive.

But if the heart fails, even partially, the probability of dying increases tremendously.

Blood is essential for all organs.

And the heart is what pumps it.

Even the brain, which controls everything, without blood is nothing more than soft jelly.

So the reason blood was still coming out, despite having lost so much, was because the heart was still alive?

All the organs, including the brain, were dead but only it was still “alive.”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“….”

A heart bigger than my head was beating strongly, showing its vitality.

Even though all the other organs, including its owner, had stopped it alone remained active.

‘Damn. What the hell is going on?’

I felt like all my common sense was being denied.

A heart beating even after its head was torn off?

And after more than 6 hours dead?

Was this saber-toothed tiger a zombie or what?

No not even zombies work like this.

At least they walk like corpses.

This had no logic at all.

The heart shouldn’t be able to beat but there it was, beating as if it were alive.

My mind went blank.

‘F-for now, I’ll finish the rest.’

Rigor mortis something like that

That’s what I tried to believe.

From what I knew, rigor mortis only affects muscles.

But screw that.

This isn’t a world where my logic works.

What mattered now was finishing the butchering.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Somehow I managed to remove all the organs, leaving only the heart.

I hesitated whether to cut it or not but decided to do it.

The arteries and veins were so tough that even with the dagger coated in aura, it was hard to cut them.

And every time I cut, blood spurted out, making everything more difficult.

“Huff…”

Only after extracting the heart could I finally breathe calmly.

I held the heart, much bigger than my head, with both hands.

Even though I had torn out all the blood vessels, it was still beating strongly.

‘Is this possible? For a heart to beat on its own?’

Even with that doubt, I carried it carefully.

I stored it in the box where I previously kept the golden mushrooms.

But it was so big that the box looked small.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Each beat made the box shake.

It showed no sign of stopping.

I looked at it with mixed feelings and then moved on.

‘First, I’ll finish the rest.’

I still had to finish the butchering and throw the entrails into the river.

If by then the heart was still beating I don’t know. I’ll ask in the gallery.

Then I washed the inside of the tiger, now without organs.

After that, following the gallery’s instructions, I separated each part.

Just in case, I checked for signs of decomposition, but found nothing.

‘I guess I’ll have to smoke it.’

I looked at the large amount of clean meat.

Before, I had dismissed that idea out of fear of attracting predators.

But wasting so much meat was also absurd.

Choose an uncertain future or immediate security?

Even throwing away the parts that are hard to eat, it was still a huge amount of meat.

‘…Yeah. Better to smoke it. After all, the biggest danger is running out of food.’

After fighting the tiger, I understood it.

At least beasts I can defeat.

But hunger?

Could I survive without food?

I have emergency pills, but now they are the sloth’s main food.

And if the gallery disappears at any moment smoking the meat is the best option.

‘I’ll ask in the gallery.’

Maybe there are other preservation methods.

Before the meat spoiled, I made a post.

Title) Someone who knows how to preserve meat for a long time

WildGrills

I butchered a tiger and got a lot of meat.

I want to preserve it if possible, but I only know the smoking method.

Does anyone know another way?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Can I explain it?

ㄴWildGrills) Of course, I’d love that.

ㄴDemonPrincess) First you need a lot of salt. Salt extracts moisture from the meat. That way it lasts longer.

ㄴWildGrills) And I can smoke it afterward without problem?

ㄴDemonPrincess) It’s even better! I’ll upload a post with instructions later, just follow it.

ㄴWildGrills) Thank you very much. By the way, how do you know all this?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Some things I read in books and others I researched myself.
Since I spend a lot of time at home, I learned quite a bit.

ㄴDidn’t you say you were always in bed?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Yes. And?

ㄴThen that knowledge must be…

ㄴOh, how indecent

ㄴI see…

ㄴah lol now I get it

ㄴDemonPrincess) You guys are really idiots.

If it’s advice from DemonPrincess, I can trust it.

First, I bought a large amount of salt.

It was expensive, but worth it.

‘Let’s store the meat in jars.’

I found some perfect jars in the auction.

I bought five of an appropriate size.

I would put the meat with salt in them.

I didn’t put the meat whole.

I cut it into manageable portions to cover it well with salt.

It was tedious, but necessary.

‘Also remove the fat.’

After repeating the process, the jars were full.

All filled with meat mixed with salt.

That reassured me a bit.

As DemonPrincess said, decomposition should slow down a lot.

Then I took everything to the cave, which was cooler.

‘For smoking, first I clean everything and then prepare.’

I wiped the sweat and looked at the box.

The box with the heart was still moving.

It was still beating.

“Damn…”

I was so stunned that I couldn’t find words.

It was as absurd as when the golden mushrooms disappeared.

‘It’s not like the heart will grow legs and walk away too, right?’

I said it as a joke, but I let out a nervous laugh thinking it might actually happen.

“Sloth. Get on. Let’s throw this away.”

“……”

It was time to get rid of the barrel full of blood and entrails.

The barrel was big and heavy, so moving it was uncomfortable, but there was a way.

Use the rope I had left over from the auction.

If I could carry the barrel like a backpack, I could move it without problems.

“Can you hang on behind?”

“……”

The sloth, instead of hanging on, decided to climb onto my shoulders.

It was uncomfortable—quite uncomfortable—but I endured it, thinking it would only be this once.

Besides, the river wasn’t that far.

And if something happened, the sloth could react.

Thus, walking with effort, I reached the usual river.

Splash! Splash!

“Oh! Did I catch quite a few?”

In the trap I had set yesterday, there were several fish.

No less than three.

But they were so big that with just three, it was already full.

I smiled, satisfied, as I poured the blood and entrails into the river.

It felt like illegally dumping trash, but it wasn’t toxic waste, just entrails, so it should be fine.

Tududududud!

As soon as I threw in the blood and organs, a huge number of fish rushed in.

There were so many that you could literally cross the river stepping on fish.

Just in case, I hurried to finish.

I felt like if I let my guard down, they’d eat me too.

‘What kind of fish are these…?’

Now I understood why I always caught fish.

There are simply too many.

Even though the current is strong, there is far more life than I imagined.

‘I’ll collect the trap later.’

I still had things to do, so I left it for later.

As long as they’re trapped, they can’t escape.

After getting rid of the entrails, I returned to the cave.

Thump… Thump… Thump.

“……”

The heart was still beating.

I couldn’t believe it.

And then I understood.

That heart has some kind of special power.

But since I didn’t know what it was, I had to ask.

I made a post in the gallery.

Title) Is it possible for a heart to keep beating after death?

WildGrills

I killed a saber-toothed tiger, but the heart is still beating.

Even after butchering it, it’s still beating.

If you don’t believe me, I’ll upload a video.

Is this possible? I’m asking seriously.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) How much time has passed since it died?

ㄴWildGrills) At least more than 6 hours.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Then I don’t know. I’ve also seen hearts beat, but shortly after death.

ㄴWildGrills) …It wasn’t a person, right?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Yes, it was. Is there a problem?

ㄴWildGrills) No… nothing.

ㄴSwordmaster) What do you mean only the heart is beating? I don’t understand.

ㄴWildGrills) Do you want to see it? It might be a bit unpleasant.

ㄴSwordmaster) Yes.

ㄴWildGrills) (video of the beating heart) What do you think?

ㄴSwordmaster) Wow… is that possible?

ㄴWildGrills) That’s why I’m asking hahaha

ㄴLook at the size hahaha why is it so big?

ㄴIf you saw the tiger, you’d understand, it’s huge

ㄴAnd the one below was also big?

ㄴWhy are you asking that, idiot?

ㄴDamn, one can be curious

ㄴAllFather) It is an interesting phenomenon. It is not common for a heart to beat on its own—did you feel any kind of energy inside?

ㄴWildGrills) I wouldn’t know I’m bad at noticing those things.

ㄴAllFather) It’s just a guess, but there must be something inside the heart maintaining its activity. For example, an internal core. Why don’t you open it?

ㄴWildGrills) And if there’s nothing?

ㄴAllFather) I’m sure there is something. In this world, there is no result without a cause. Something inside that heart is making it beat.

ㄴWildGrills) I’ll think about it.

ㄴWildGrills, did you notice signs of decomposition in the meat?

ㄴWildGrills) I’m not sure, but I didn’t see discolored areas.

ㄴThen it makes sense. Since the heart is still beating and blood circulates, decomposition is slowing down.

ㄴWildGrills) Ah, that’s how it works?

ㄴIt’s just my assumption.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Ugh! That’s disgusting! Excuse me, can I block the comments!

ㄴWildGrills) What happens if you block the comments?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) The video doesn’t disappear completely! The comments are just hidden!

ㄴWildGrills) If you consider it an unpleasant video, you can do it.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Thank you for your cooperation!

ㄴWildGrills) Do you know why this is happening?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) No! But like AllFather said, there’s surely something inside! Or you could grill it! The heart becomes very elastic and delicious!

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) That’s my snack for liquor. Don’t touch it.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Ah! Sorry!

ㄴWildGrills) And what are you now…?

There was a small commotion.

As AllFather said, it seemed better to open the heart.

Even if there was nothing inside, it didn’t matter.

It wouldn’t harm me.

I took the heart stored in the box with both hands.

The moment I grabbed it, it seemed to beat even harder.

‘It might splash blood—I’d better change clothes first.’

I put on the uniform downgraded to work clothes.

Then I placed the heart on a flat stone and observed it silently.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Will there really be something inside as AllFather said?

If there is, would it be an internal core?

It’s quite likely.

I took the dagger I used for butchering.

I had already decided.

Whatever is inside, I’m going to open it.

I’m not going to die because of this.

Clack—

‘Even the heart is impossible to cut…’

No matter how much I tried to cut it with the dagger, I couldn’t make a single scratch.

Rather, as if warning me not to continue, the heart began to beat harder.

But that only made me more stubborn.

I channeled aura into the dagger.

It might be my imagination, but it felt easier to activate than yesterday.

‘No matter how tough it is, it’s still a heart.’

I brought the aura-coated dagger closer to the heart.

Wooooong—

“Huh?”

Then, as if the heart had gotten angry, it began to swell.

Not only that, but the veins started to bulge.

Bad sign.

I immediately let go of the dagger and stepped back.

The heart began to tremble violently.

Boooom!!

With a blue flash, it caused a massive explosion.

And as I faced that explosion, I only thought one thing.

“Shit, fuck.”