Chapter 62: Orichalcum (1)

After encountering that gigantic chicken comparable to the saber-toothed tiger, there were no more serious dangers.

Well, aside from the occasional snake, huge lizards, or hawks the size of a pterosaur.

I saw all kinds of creatures, but luckily I didn’t have to face them.

All thanks to that adamantium shield the upgraded version of the golden shield.

That shield really saved me when things got ugly.

‘At this rate, dinosaurs are going to show up too.’

When I saw that hawk the size of a pterosaur, I almost lost it.

Good thing I had already hunted, otherwise it would’ve been truly dangerous.

And what it was carrying in its claws wasn’t normal either.

‘Could it be that bird took Wonmo?’

Wonmo’s tracks and the sloth’s claw marks kept going forward.

But after seeing that flying thing, I couldn’t help but worry.

If the tracks disappear, it means something carried them off through the air.

The sloth might be strong on land, but in the air he’d be completely helpless.

“Wonmo! Where are you?! Answer me!”

I kept moving forward while shouting.

Then I found a snake probably something Wonmo had left half-eaten.

Its head completely crushed, its body torn apart.

It was still moving slightly.

‘They’re close.’

I’m about to catch up to them.

The problem was that the tracks were becoming hard to see.

The sloth’s marks helped, but the footprints had disappeared.

Too many trees. Too much grass.

‘When I find you…’

I’m going to give you a good spanking.

And I’ll scold the sloth too for not stopping him.

Well, scolding someone stronger than me…

‘Does that even make sense?’

I decided to let it go.

After following for a while.

The forest began to open up.

And that was worse.

Leaving the forest means entering another zone.

Please don’t let it be a place with distorted space.

“Kyuooooo!”

A cry reached my ears.

I recognized it instantly.

Only Wonmo makes sounds that adorable.

“Wonmo?!”

I turned sharply.

It sounded urgent.

Was something chasing him?

If even with the sloth he was that desperate, then it was serious.

“Wonmo! Here! I’m here!”

“Kyuooooo!”

He responded louder.

The bushes in front of me began to shake violently.

Swish!

“Kyuooooo!”

Wonmo burst out of the thicket.

With the sloth hanging on his back.

I felt relief.

Until I saw what was coming behind.

Swish! Swish!

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

“Pyak! Pyak!”

The same giant chicks from before.

And it wasn’t just one there were several.

Flapping their wings even.

Yes, they were adorable.

But their size was terrifying.

A group of human-sized chicks running toward you.

That’s not funny at all.

“Chirp?”

They stopped when they saw me.

It seemed like they were trying to understand the situation.

“Kyu… kyu…”

Wonmo clung to my leg, trembling.

He was scared.

‘Makes sense I’d run too.’

For someone his size, this is like being chased by elephants.

Meanwhile, the sloth.

Chill.

— Cock-a-doodle-doo!

A rooster’s crow echoed in the distance.

The chicks looked at each other.

“Chirp.”

“Chirp.”

And just like that.

They turned around and left.

They went back into the forest.

That crow must have been a retreat signal.

“Huff…”

“Kyuuu…”

I let out a breath.

Wonmo also calmed down and got off.

“…Wonmo.”

“Kyu?”

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

He tilted his head he didn’t understand anything.

Of course.

Talking to him now is like talking to a wall.

And the sloth just followed him.

I can’t scold him either.

“Let’s go. Let’s head back. This place is dangerous.”

“Kyu… kyu…”

But Wonmo pulled at my pants with his beak.

As if trying to lead me somewhere.

Did he find something?

I hesitated for a moment.

And opened the gallery.

‘I still have time.’

It took me about 2 hours to find them.

There’s still time before lunch.

But I can’t stay long.

I also have to go back.

And I can’t forget the dwarf’s request.

‘First, I’ll let them know I found them.’

While writing, I trapped Wonmo between my legs so he wouldn’t run off again.

The sloth climbed onto my back.

Title: I found the troublemaker

WildGrills

(Photo of Wonmo looking up between my legs)

I found this troublemaker. I almost had a heart attack.

Good thing the sloth was with him. Otherwise it would’ve taken me much longer.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) I’m relieved you found them. Are they okay?

ㄴWildGrills) We ran into a giant chicken, but they’re not hurt.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) A chicken? How big was it?

ㄴWildGrills) Taller than me. And the chicks were my height.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Hmm… it could be a spiritual beast… or just a huge chicken.

ㄴWildGrills) Do chickens evolve too?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Any living being can evolve if certain conditions are met.

ㄴSwordmaster) Why don’t you hunt that chicken to recover?

ㄴWildGrills) I think it would smash my head before I could;; it was really scary fr

ㄴSwordmaster) The one who killed a tiger is afraid of a chicken?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes.

ㄴSwordmaster) Fair enough.

ㄴlol

ㄴlook how he accepts it instantly lmao

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Hey. What about my snack? My friend is already complaining.

ㄴWildGrills) Sorry, really. I’ll give it to you between today and tomorrow.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) You better compensate for the delay.

ㄴWildGrills) Would two crabs be enough?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Better give me fish. I want to try it.

ㄴWildGrills) I can, but you clean it.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Deal

After checking the reactions in the gallery, all that remained was to go back.

“Kyu… kyu.”

But this Wonmo kept insisting on going somewhere else.

Maybe because he had gone out after so long, he didn’t want to return yet.

I had time, so I could indulge him.

If it got dangerous, we’d run immediately.

“Alright. But if there’s danger, we run without thinking, understood?”

“Kyu!”

Wonmo smiled and answered cheerfully.

I let out a laugh at that adorable face and patted his head.

‘I definitely need to put a fence at the cave entrance.’

Now I understood why people put fences for their pets.

To prevent escapes like this.

When Wonmo stops taking naps, I’ll have to take him with me all the time.

“Let’s go.”

“Kyu!”

I let him go ahead and followed.

It seems he also understood the place is dangerous, because he didn’t go far from me.

He even turned around from time to time to check if I was following.

Just when I thought, “ah, this is why people have pets”…

“Kyu!”

He stopped and pointed forward with his paw.

I looked in that direction.

“A cave?”

Yes, a cave.

And quite big.

Unlike the one with the golden mushrooms, this one had nothing at the entrance.

Just darkness.

A rather ominous feeling.

“Wonmo, do you really want to go in?”

“Kyu!”

More adventurous than me, definitely.

I guess it’s puppy curiosity.

I sighed, told him to wait, and checked the surroundings.

The inside was too dark.

I needed a torch.

Luckily, I had cloth and oil.

Fwoosh!

I lit the torch.

Now then.

Wonmo moved forward only as far as the light reached.

Beyond that, he didn’t dare.

‘It starts sloping down here.’

After a few steps, a slope appeared.

I told Wonmo to step back and extended the torch forward.

It wasn’t very steep, and there were places to step.

Climbing back up later wouldn’t be a problem, but still, caution was needed.

“Wonmo, wait here.”

“Kyu?”

I bought two long ropes in the gallery.

I tied them to a solid rock.

‘This way, even if I slip, I’ll be safe.’

One rope for me, one for Wonmo.

I didn’t tie the sloth.

His claws are better tools.

With everything ready, I began to descend slowly.

Wonmo, despite being small, moved better than me.

‘These shoes are really good.’

Today I was truly making the most of them.

Non-slip and everything.

Even so, I didn’t lower my guard.

One wrong step here and it’s over.

“Huff…”

When I reached the bottom, I let out a breath.

I lit the way forward.

There was no further descent.

Just flat ground.

“Wow…”

The interior was enormous.

With just one torch, but it wasn’t a problem.

My eyes had already adapted to the darkness.

‘Dangerous animals…?’

Nothing serious.

Bats, insects, large snakes, but not dangerous.

Even the snakes fled when they saw us.

But for Wonmo, everything was food.

“¡Shaa!”

“Kyu-kyak!”

A mini fight began.

But the snake didn’t even have venom.

It wasn’t a match.

And Wonmo was fast.

Too fast.

‘Yeah, he’s still an owlbear.’

While Wonmo devoured the snake, I explored.

‘But…’

Something didn’t add up.

Everything was glowing.

Not just one spot the entire cave.

As if it were filled with gems.

Even the ground beneath my feet emitted a faint purple glow.

‘What is this?’

I picked up a stone.

It was glowing too.

Definitely not normal.

‘I need to ask in the gallery. Maybe the dwarf knows.’

I stored several samples.

I checked if there was anything else strange,

But nothing.

Just that glow throughout the cave.

‘This looks like a human figure.’

I found something resembling a giant statue.

I touched it.

Nothing.

Probably a natural formation.

After checking everything, I decided to head back.

“We’ll have to bathe as soon as we get back. Because of ticks.”

“Kyu?”

“Yeah, you. You. You eat and go straight to sleep.”

We returned without problems.

I had marked the path, and we didn’t get lost.

In total, Wonmo’s adventure took about 2 and a half hours.

But even though the adventure ended, the work had just begun.

‘Eat, identify these stones, bathe Wonmo I’m busy, huh.’

First, I posted a question in the gallery.

If they were valuable, I’d sell them.

If they needed processing, I’d give them to the dwarf.

‘I could ask him to make crossbow bolts with this.’

I uploaded the post and got to work.

First, bathing Wonmo.

He was surely full of ticks.

“Kyuuu…”

“Do you like it?”

“Kyu!”

“Yeah, of course. A real king.”

Floating in warm water, only his head out completely relaxed.

Well, he had earned it.

Then I bathed myself and checked the gallery.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) That’s orichalcum, 100%. Even if I’m drunk, I know that.

ㄴWhat if it’s not? Bet the beer you’re holding?

ㄴIf you bet, I’ll believe you lol

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Ah… shit… not that…

ㄴHe chickened out lmao

ㄴYou won’t bet beer as a dwarf? fake

ㄴNah, alcohol is sacred to them fr

ㄴSunForEver) I think it is orichalcum. I’ll upload a photo of mine.

ㄴAnd why do you have orichalcum?

ㄴSunForEver) I’m rich.

ㄴlmao

ㄴrevolution-worthy answer fr

“…?”

While I was away, something strange had happened.