I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 55

Now that I had resolved to butcher it, I stepped outside.

Stepping out, I saw what looked like a pig waddling over toward me.

It was Wonmo, his belly swollen round after gorging himself to his heart’s content on the tiger carcass.

Seeing his snout drenched in blood, he had clearly feasted like a king.

"Wonmo-ya. Let’s wipe your mouth before you go in."

"Kkeww..."

"No. That won’t do."

I wiped Wonmo’s mouth clean before he could enter the cave.

Should I brush his teeth too sometime soon? The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Before long, Wonmo ambled into the cave with sleepy eyes.

Meanwhile, I thoroughly inspected the fallen tiger carcass.

’It really is massive.’

How on earth did I beat this thing? It was hard to believe.

Even though Speed Sloth had saved my life several times, it still felt unreal.

In height alone, it towered far above me, and its body length hardly needed explaining.

’Its body length alone must easily exceed five meters.’

Just as Heavenly Demon said, it truly deserved to be called the ’Mountain Lord’.

Half in fascination, half in awe, I circled around the tiger.

Continuing toward its neck, I came face-to-face with a gruesome sight.

’So Wonmo ate from here.’

It was the spot on the neck where I had stabbed it yesterday with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. Traces of Wonmo tearing away at the flesh remained clear as day.

With Wonmo’s bite force, piercing the tiger’s hide on his own would have been nearly impossible.

He had cleverly found where I slashed it and enjoyed a savory meal.

’If I’m going to butcher it, I need to hurry.’

At least six hours had passed since the tiger died.

It was fortunate that the forest weather was on the cooler side; otherwise, it would have rotted long ago.

’Wait, no. Has it already started rotting?’

Even if it was decaying, as long as I salvaged the hide, it didn’t matter much to me.

Wonmo was an owlbear who could happily eat rotting carcasses anyway, so that wasn’t an issue either.

First, I posted on the Gallery. I stepped back a bit and snapped photos of the tiger.

"Bbareumbo-ya. Stand a bit closer to the side."

"...."

"Good boy. Now extend two claws... Ah, can’t you do that?"

For a clear scale comparison, I had Bbareumbo stand beside it.

Speed Sloth readily obliged my request without hesitation. He seemed pleased himself that we had taken down the tiger.

I also found the severed forepaw and compared its size to my hand, meticulously preparing the photos.

Title: Photos of the tiger I caught

Wild Grylls

(Photo of giant tiger’s face)

(Photo showing full size of tiger)

(Photo comparing tiger’s forepaw and hand)

(Photo of thoroughly wrecked Golden Shield)

This is the fucking tiger that ambushed me in the middle of the night. Thought I was gonna fucking die because of this bastard.

If Speed Sloth hadn’t helped me, I would’ve died at least 3 times.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) This seems to be the largest tiger I have ever laid eyes upon. A beast truly worthy of the title Mountain Lord.

ㄴSword Matstar) I know, right? Even I’ve never hunted a tiger that huge.

ㄴWild Grylls) But you guys hunt things way stronger than that instead.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) I fought martial artists far more often than yokai or beasts. I only hunted a beast once long ago.

ㄴSword Matstar) I’ve slain plenty of monsters due to subjugation orders. That thing looks at least stronger than an ogre though?

ㄴWild Grylls) How strong is an ogre?

ㄴSword Matstar) You’ll know if you face one. But since you can use aura now, it should be easy for you?

ㄴWild Grylls) ;;;

ㄴAllfather Seeing how abnormally long its fangs are, it must be a saber-toothed tiger. They are famous for being exceptionally ferocious. You went through a lot.

ㄴWild Grylls) Normal saber-tooths aren’t this big, right?

ㄴAllfather They are usually half that size. That saber-toothed tiger is unnaturally massive.

ㄴAren’t saber-tooth and saber-toothed tiger the same thing?

ㄴSounds like the exact same thing though?

ㄴAllfather They are completely different. Saber-tooths only resemble tigers; their actual physical features are entirely distinct.

ㄴPraise the Sun What happened to the shield I gave you? Is it completely broken?

ㄴWild Grylls) Yeah. The tiger chewed on it. Still, I survived thanks to the shield.

ㄴPraise the Sun Hmm. Guess I’ll have to give you another one soon. Tell me when you’re done butchering it. I’m eyeing that tiger hide.

ㄴWild Grylls) It’s my first time butchering, plus the hide is covered in blood so it’s not in good shape.

ㄴPraise the Sun That makes me hesitate a bit. For now, just take the shield and think slowly. I’ll make the trade this evening or tomorrow morning, so just keep that in mind.

ㄴWild Grylls) Thank you as always. If it comes down to it, I’ll give you another mature mandrake.

ㄴPassing Dwarf) Thought it was just big, but it’s fucking huge;; How the hell did you survive?

ㄴWild Grylls) Got lucky. Ah, also we confronted each other across the barricade at first. If not for the barricade, I would’ve been screwed lol

ㄴPassing Dwarf) With a size like that, wouldn’t it just smash through the barricade?

ㄴWild Grylls) Yep, one broke. Guess it didn’t know it could break it at first.

ㄴHey Grylls. Be honest. You found it already dead, didn’t you?

ㄴWild Grylls) (Photo of scar on shoulder) What did you say, you little shit?

ㄴsry

ㄴThat scar is insane; I’ll believe you just because of that.

ㄴIf you didn’t have a single wound I would’ve doubted you, but the scar boosts credibility lmfao

ㄴA badge of honor, respect!

ㄴNow you just need a scar on your face. A scar on the face is a basic requirement for an adventurer.

ㄴWild Grylls) Gentlemen. I am not an adventurer, I am a castaway. You adventurer folks are supposed to rescue me.

ㄴHonestly though, having no scars is best.

ㄴFactsNew chapters come out on nоvelping.com first.

ㄴLook at that instant 180 flip lmfao

ㄴBut damn, Bbareumbo is cute as fuck lol

ㄴFr fr, sometimes cuter than Wonmo lol

Everyone acknowledged my achievement. Getting recognized on the Gallery gave me a strange sense of pride.

Closing the Gallery, I stared at the giant saber-toothed tiger.

Now all that was left was to butcher it.

’...Where do I even start?’

I had occasionally seen videos of deboning pigs or cows on the YouTube algorithm.

But even those videos were about deboning already partially butchered meat, not starting from scratch with a whole carcass.

Furthermore, because the saber-toothed tiger was absurdly gigantic, even the prep work seemed daunting.

’Let’s post a thread on the Gallery first.’

Someone mentioned earlier that if I posted asking about butchering on the Gallery, plenty of people would answer very kindly.

Something about butchers getting fired if they aren’t customer-friendly.

In this world, beasts like saber-toothed tigers and monsters were everywhere, making butchery a high-value skill.

Title: Anyone can help me with butchering?

Wild Grylls

(Photo of dead saber-toothed tiger)

Going to butcher the saber-toothed tiger now, anyone willing to help?

Do I roughly start by hanging it up?

ㄴFirst slice open the belly completely and check the condition of the internal organs. Normally you should wash them, but if you aren’t eating them, you can leave them as is.

ㄴThat thing is fucking huge, skinning it alone looks brutal.

ㄴOnce the skin is off, you need to hang it, but can you even hang something that size?

ㄴWild Grylls) Guess I’ll have to build custom pillars or something.

It starts with skinning. I headed toward the saber-toothed tiger’s belly.

In my hand was the dagger I had prepared in advance.

’By the way, it’s still bleeding. Is it supposed to be like this?’

Blood was still slowly trickling from the saber-toothed tiger’s slashed neck.

The puddle of blood kept expanding, making me wonder if this was normal.

Wonmo had somehow eaten away at the flesh while only getting blood around his mouth.

Anyway, the stench of blood was already spreading, so I planned to clean up as quickly as possible.

Kuk-

’Wow. Look how tough it is.’

I had my doubts, but an ordinary dagger couldn’t even pierce the hide.

If I had killed it neatly, I could have sold it for a high price. But the hide was soaked in blood.

Left with no choice, I channeled aura into the dagger before it could finally pierce the skin.

Bu-uk- Buk- Buk-

Slice-cutting along the belly, I began peeling the hide back slowly.

At first I tried ripping it off, but whenever it resisted, I carefully sliced with the dagger again.

"Kgueeee...!"

Flipping the saber-toothed tiger’s massive body over was an ordeal in itself. It required circulating mana throughout my whole body just to manage.

My body ached slightly, but it wasn’t unbearable, so I managed to flip it over with a struggle.

Rigor mortis hadn’t set in yet, which made things a little easier.

Bu-uk- Buk- Jjijik!

Just peeling off the hide took 30 minutes.

Removing the parts caked in clotted blood was a nightmare. I’d have to wash it with charcoal later.

’Heavy.’

Given its massive build, even the hide alone weighed a ton.

My past self would have needed every ounce of strength just to lift this.

Now, slinging it over my shoulder was enough.

’Put the hide here.’

I looked over the saber-toothed tiger, which now exposed pale inner flesh everywhere except its head.

Aside from its half-severed neck dripping blood, it wasn’t too gruesome.

’...Come to think of it, I need to wash up too.’

Severing the saber-toothed tiger’s neck had practically given me a blood shower.

The blood had dried hard onto my skin, making me wonder how long it would take to scrub off.

As I mentioned earlier, I planned to hang it upside down for easier butchering before tidying up.

Leaving it as is might attract other predators catching the scent of blood.

’To hang this upside down....’

The saber-toothed tiger’s body length easily exceeded 4 meters at a rough glance.

As I pondered what to do, towering trees soaring high into the sky caught my eye.

Couldn’t I tie the tiger’s hind feet with rope and hook them over a sturdy branch?

For that, I needed an excellent helper.

"Bbareumbo-ya."

"...."

His eyes seemed to say, What do you want, punk.

I purchased a suitable rope from the Gallery and tied it to the tiger’s hind paws.

Instead of tying them together, I tied each leg separately so they could spread apart.

"Hang this rope over that branch, and this one over that branch. Got it?"

"...."

"You climb trees way better than me. I’ll give you extra Fasting Pills."

Only when I offered extra Fasting Pills did the guy finally start moving sluggishly.

The problem was that he was far too slow. Frustrated just watching, I lifted him onto the tree myself.

Meanwhile, I dragged the tiger across the ground to position it. It was stupidly heavy.

"Can’t you climb up a little faster?"This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.

"...."

"Sigh. Never mind."

Next time I’ll just toss him up. That’d be better.

It took a bit of time, but thanks to Speed Sloth’s assistance, I successfully hung the tiger.

"Wow. It really is insanely massive. How the hell did I take this down?"

Hanging upside down, the true scale of the saber-toothed tiger hit me all over again.

A tiger so colossal I had to tilt my head all the way back to take it in.

Yesterday I was too frantic, and it was night, so I hadn’t properly grasped its size.

Jol-jol-jol-

Blood poured more heavily from its half-severed neck.

Seeing that, I hurriedly purchased a large iron barrel from the Auction House.

I would collect the blood and entrails in this iron barrel.

The entrails would become fish food. The fish were going to have a feast.

’I want to eat grilled intestines.’

Entrails reminded me of makchang, but I quickly dismissed the thought.

Getting infected with parasites was a hard pass.

While the tiger bled out completely, I set about cleaning up.

First priority was washing my own blood-crusted body.

’Gotta draw hot water first.’

Blood washes off best with hot water. I substituted soap with charcoal.

While the water heated, I cleaned up the puddle of blood first.

I roughly covered it with dirt first, and once it soaked in properly, I shoveled that dirt into the barrel for the entrails.

I planned to throw it into the river along with the guts.

"Eueo-eo..."

Having roughly finished cleaning up, it was time to bathe.

Soaking in comfortably heated water felt like paradise itself.

My mind went blank, making yesterday’s events feel like a dream.

I scrubbed thoroughly to wash off my blood-drenched body until squeaky clean.

’Stains are still left behind. Guess I can’t help that.’

Even if faint traces remained, they would fade over time.

After enjoying a long-overdue bath, I changed my clothes.

I left the uniform, which was beyond tattered and thoroughly soaked in blood, as it was.

’Every set of clothes is precious right now.’

Washing it roughly and keeping it around was good enough. I could just designate it as work clothes.

Having roughly finished the clean-up, I headed back toward the inverted tiger.

Seeing that blood no longer dripped from its half-severed neck, it seemed to have bled out completely.

’Did this much blood come out?’

I bought a large iron barrel considering the size of the organs, but it was already half-full.

Even considering I dumped dirt into it earlier, it was a massive volume.

"Mmm..."

So now I have to split this guy’s belly open and take out the internal organs.

Crossing my arms, I pondered. Given the height, I was going to need a ladder.

’Guess I’ll buy one. What choice do I have?’

I needed a stepladder, not a regular ladder.

Would such a ladder even exist? I worried, but sure enough, there was one.

The reviews rated its performance highly as well. I purchased it without hesitation.

Now that I had bought the stepladder, it was time to dive into the full butchering process.

ㄴSlice the belly wide open first and check the state of the entrails. Normally you should wash them, but if you won’t eat them, leave them be.

ㄴDecapitate the head before pulling out the guts.

ㄴFYI, guts of most beasts are gigantic. Keep that in mind.

They really were kind folks. Following their advice, I proceeded with the dismemberment.

First, I sliced the belly down the middle to fully expose the viscera.

Just as the Gallery users said, the organs were encased in a thin membrane.

Slicing the belly open didn’t cause the guts to spill out all at once.

’Ugh. Still gross though.’

After severing the tiger’s head, I carefully removed the entrails.

The moment even one organ ruptured, it would be a total catastrophe. Luckily, I had a strong stomach.

Before long, I succeeded in pulling out the six hollow organs wrapped within the thin membrane.

What remained were the five solid organs clustered around the ribcage. The spot housing the most vital organs of any beast.

Once these were removed, butchering would be complete. But the moment I brought the dagger close—

Dugeun! Dugeun!

"Eueo-eok!"

I nearly fainted at the heavy thrumming sensation transmitted right through my hand.

I almost fell off the stepladder, but managed to catch my balance just in time.

With a thoroughly bewildered expression, I stared at the spot where the vibration originated.

Across all living animals, there was only one organ capable of producing a ’beat’.

"...Gulp."

Gulping, I carefully placed my hand on it.

As if confirming it was no illusion, a distinct ’heartbeat’ reverberated against my palm.

It was definitely dead, so why was its heart still beating? I couldn’t comprehend it at all.

If I couldn’t understand it, only one option remained: seeing it for myself.

Bu-u-uk-

Slitting the thin membrane exposed the gruesome interior.

Lungs matching its gargantuan frame. And...

Dugeun! Dugeun! Dugeun!

Nestled between them was a giant heart.

The dead saber-toothed tiger’s heart was beating.