Chapter 61: A Strange Adventure (3)

Bang! Pow! Pow!

“¡Kuek! ¡Kueek! ¡Kek!”

Gathering adult mandrakes has not only become familiar to me, it has reached the level of mastery.

As soon as you pull out the root, you beat them up and then stuff their mouths with dirt, done.

It sounds easy and yeah, it is.

You just have to beat the hell out of them.

Either way, leaving them here would be a waste.

It’s better for them to serve as an excellent resource for someone.

‘I should try eating one someday too.’

Chewing it raw would be insane, so I plan to process it or cook it.

AllFather said that boiling it in water is enough, so there are several methods.

The best option would be to ask StarlightPrincess.

After all, she’s an expert in alchemy.

‘Someday they’ll run out…’

I looked at the field of adult mandrakes.

It was still full.

The clearing was about the size of a basketball court.

And throughout that entire space, adult mandrakes were growing in abundance.

Even though there are many, if I keep going at this rate, they’ll start to decrease.

I have to take advantage while they’re still here.

That will increase my chances of survival.

‘What kind of shield will he give me this time?’

With a mandrake in hand, I returned to the cave.

I didn’t encounter any threats along the way.

When I arrived, the first thing I did was check the smoked meat.

The smoke had properly penetrated the meat.

Although it was a bit salty, salt helps preservation, so it doesn’t matter.
It’s tolerable.

‘First, I’ll start the trade with SunForEver.’

I adjusted the fire and wrote in the gallery.

It was basically a signal for him to initiate the trade.

[SunForEver has requested a trade. Accept?]

Not even a minute passed before it came through.

Good timing, or he already had it prepared.

I accepted immediately.

[WildGrills: Hello! I brought the adult mandrake!]

[SunForEver: I brought the shield. Ah, can you return the golden shield?]

[WildGrills: Sure. Are you going to repair it?]

[SunForEver: I’m going to melt it.]

[WildGrills: ;;;]

As always, SunForEver has that wealthy, oil-sheikh vibe.

That calm that comes from money.

It’s enviable.

[SunForEver: That shield has adamantium mixed in. Normally it should withstand anything. If that breaks, you break too.]

[WildGrills: So it’s very durable, right?]

[SunForEver: Exactly. Do you know what adamantium is?]

[WildGrills: I do know vibranium…]

[SunForEver: What’s that? Anyway, think of it as an extremely rare mineral. Harder than steel.]

When I heard “high durability,” I remembered the army sandals.

The famous “vibranium slippers.”

‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t even considered shaving.’

I touched my rough chin.

Normally I shave every 2–3 days, but I’d been ignoring it.

Are there razors here?

Probably just blades.

[WildGrills: Do you shave?]

[SunForEver: My servants do it. Do you want a blade?]

[WildGrills: Isn’t there anything else?]

[SunForEver: What else would you shave with?]

Seems like there are no modern razors.

And using a blade is tricky.

‘I don’t even have shaving foam…’

Thinking about it is a hassle.

Better to live like a caveman.

I dropped the idea.

[WildGrills: Never mind, I’ll just let it grow. Did you register the trade?]

[SunForEver: Yes. Do you need anything else?]

[WildGrills: Not for now.]

[SunForEver: Let me know when you do. And give me more mandrakes.]

[WildGrills: I’m alone… don’t you want to come?]

[SunForEver: My wife is calling me. I’m leaving.] [1]

[WildGrills: ok…]

I checked the shield.

It was round, similar to the previous one.

But without any design.

It looked like a cut block of steel.

Silver. Reliable.

‘Same weight.’

I liked it more.

More durable than the golden one basically an upgrade.

‘Now I’m invincible.’

The sword given by HeavenlyDemon and the adamantium shield.

Okay no, the tiger is still scary.

Without the sloth, I would have died several times already.

‘Well, time to go for crabs.’

Before leaving, I checked on Wonmo and the sloth.

They should be inside.

“…?”

They weren’t.

I looked around the entire cave.

“Wonmo? Sloth?”

Nothing.

‘No… it can’t be.’

No signs of a struggle.

Then.

‘They left.’

Both of them.

‘Why? When?’

My mind froze.

Wonmo is just a baby.

Why did he go out?

‘Don’t search blindly. Follow tracks.’

First, I made a post.

Title) Wonmo and the sloth ran away

WildGrills

(I won’t respond. I’m going to look for them.)

I ignored the comments.

I took my sword, shield, elixir, and rations.

‘They can’t be far.’

Luckily, there were footprints.

I just had to follow them.

“Wonmo!”

As I followed the tracks, I shouted his name loudly.

There was a risk of attracting beasts, but I had no choice.

Besides, Wonmo already recognizes his own name.

If I call him, maybe he’ll stop—that’s what I thought.

“Wonmo! No! Stop!”

Someone once said that when a pet gets lost, you should shout at it to stop.

Even if you don’t know where it is, you have to scold it.

They say that way it comes back.

“This is…”

While tracking, I found a mark.

The sloth’s claws.

Clearly embedded in a tree.

It was a familiar pattern.

Looks like he left marks regularly, in case the footprints disappeared.

I also started marking trees with my sword, in case I had to return.

‘As long as they don’t go somewhere strange…’

Especially places like the other side of the river, where space constantly shifts.

If they crossed there, that would be the worst.

I prayed that wasn’t the case as I followed the marks.

‘They didn’t go into the dense bushes.’

Wonmo isn’t exactly small, so he avoided areas with heavy vegetation.

That made tracking easier.

And the sloth dragged heavily, leaving large, visible marks.

That guy is smart.

‘I’ll give him more rations later. And Wonmo is getting scolded.’

‘From now on, I’ll have to take Wonmo with me.’

If he’s awake, I can’t leave him alone.

I’ll also have to reinforce the cave entrance.

‘Although how to do it is another problem…’

First, they need to come back.

I kept calling him as I moved forward.

But even though they shouldn’t be far, they didn’t appear.

Rustle—

Then I heard a noise among the bushes.

I stopped immediately.

Bushes don’t move on their own.

Is it a good or bad sign?

I stayed alert, staring fixedly.

“Wonmo…?”

I called out softly.

No response.

That made it more likely it wasn’t him.

I didn’t look away.

Rustle— rustle—

The sound increased.

I tensed up.

This forest is dangerous even for rabbits lowering your guard means death.

And then—

“Chirp?”

Something appeared.

Black feathers, small beak, an adorable sound.

A chick.

My tension eased but only for a moment.

‘Wait why is it so big?’

A chick should fit in your hand.

Even an adult chicken barely reaches your knee.

But this one.

It was almost my height.

‘If the chick is like this… then the chicken…’

A chill ran down my spine.

Swoosh—

A shadow fell over me.

It wasn’t a cloud.

Only my area darkened.

I turned slowly.

Chickens take care of their young.

And they rarely leave the nest except to look for them.

“….”

“….”

I looked up.

And there it was.

A gigantic chicken.

Black feathers.

Bright red comb.

As big as the saber-toothed tiger.

“…What the hell is this forest…?”

“Chirp.”

The chick called its mother.

I slowly stepped aside.

The chick walked toward her.

The chicken checked on its chick and then stared at me.

If it considered me a threat, it would attack.

‘That look…’

Not a fighting rooster, but it was scary.

Besides, it had scars all over its body.

“…Cluck-cluck.”

“Chirp.”

Fortunately, it didn’t attack.

It turned around.

The chick followed it.

And they disappeared into the bushes.

“Huff…”

I let out a sigh.

That was close.

It seems even chickens here are intelligent.

And with its chick beside it, it assessed the situation.

‘…I hope Wonmo is okay.’

The worry grew.

***

At the same time.

Wonmo and the sloth.

“….”

Wonmo stared ahead with wide eyes.

It wasn’t his usual adorable look.

He was focused.

“Shhhk… shhk…”

In front of him was a snake.

Big.

With venomous fangs.

One bite could kill him.

“….”

And behind, ready to intervene.

The sloth.

If the snake attacked, he would tear it apart.

Swoosh—

Wonmo’s paw lifted.

The snake raised its head.

Whoever attacked first would win.

Speed was life.

For the sloth, this was almost entertainment.

And then—

“¡Shaa!”

The snake attacked.

Fast.

Too fast to react.

The sloth was about to intervene—

But Wonmo reacted first.

Thud!

His paw struck the snake’s head.

Like a cat, but much stronger.

He crushed its skull in a single blow.

The body kept moving, but it was useless.

Crunch—

Wonmo stepped on it and climbed on top.

The body writhed.

But without a head, it could do nothing.

Wonmo lifted his head proudly.

“Kyuooooo!”

A ridiculously adorable victory roar.

Now only one thing remained.

“Munch munch munch.”

Eating.

Wonmo devoured the snake without a care.

But then.

He stopped.

He looked at the sloth.

“Kyu?”

Want some?

The sloth looked at the scene.

And slowly shook his head.

“Nope.”

Their strange adventure continued.

“Wonmo! Where are you?! Answer me!”

And mine too.