Chapter 56 - When a Tiger Dies (3)

The heart is the most important organ in any animal. You can live without a kidney, or even with one lung gone, as long as your heart is intact. But if your heart is damaged, even in a small area, your chances of dying skyrocket.

Every organ needs blood, and the heart supplies it. Even the brain, which governs all thought, is nothing but squishy jelly without blood.

Was the heart still being alive the reason blood kept flowing after the tiger had lost so much? It felt as though every other organ, including the brain, had died, while this alone remained “alive.”

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"..."

The heart, larger than my head, was flaunting its vitality. Though its owner and every other organ had ceased functioning, it alone remained defiantly healthy.

'Fuck. What the hell is going on?'

It felt like everything I knew was being turned upside down. Its heart was beating after its head had been cut off? More than six hours after it died, no less?

Was this saber-toothed tiger a zombie rather than a normal tiger? No, even zombies were just walking corpses. There was no way this heart should still be beating, yet it pulsed as though it were alive. My mind went blank.

'F-first, let's deal with the other organs.'

Rigor mortis... It was something like that, anyway. That was what I told myself. My common sense informed me that rigor mortis normally only affected muscles. Screw that. This was a world where the common sense I knew didn't apply. Butchering came first right now. I'd finish my work before sorting out my thoughts.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Somehow, I removed all the other organs until only the heart remained. I debated whether to cut it out as well, then decided to do it. The arteries and veins were so tough that even my aura-infused dagger struggled. To make matters worse, blood kept spurting out as I cut.

"Phew."

Only after removing the heart could I finally catch my breath. I held it in both hands, this thing so much bigger than my head. Despite having all its surrounding blood vessels torn away, it thrashed as though it were alive.

'Is this... possible? For a heart to beat all by itself?'

Still full of questions, I carefully carried it over to the box where I'd once kept the golden mushroom. The enormous heart made even the box look small.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Every beat made the box rattle. The heart showed no sign of stopping. I stared at it with mixed feelings before turning away.

'Let's finish what needs doing.'

I still had to finish butchering and dump the organs in the river. If the heart was still beating by then... I didn't know. I'd ask the forum.

I washed out the gutted saber-toothed tiger, then separated the cuts as the forum had instructed. Just in case, I checked for signs of decay, but found nothing wrong.

'Do I have no choice but to... smoke it?'

I pondered the neatly butchered chunks of meat. Before, I'd abandoned the idea for fear the smell would attract predators. But giving up this much meat would be stupid, too.

Should I choose an uncertain future, or prioritize immediate safety? Even if I threw away all the parts that were hard to eat, there would still be an enormous amount left.

'... Right. Let's smoke it. When you get down to it, running out of food is the biggest danger.'

Fighting the saber-toothed tiger had taught me something: at least I could fight a beast and win. But food? Could I really endure a food shortage? I had fasting pills as emergency rations, but they were now the speed-sloth's staple diet. Considering that I could lose access to the forum at any moment, smoking the meat was my best option.

'I'll ask the forum.'

Maybe there was another way to preserve it. I posted on the forum before the meat could spoil any further.

Anyone know how to preserve meat long-term?

Wild Grylls

I'm butchering the tiger and there's a ton of meat. I'd like to keep it if possible, but smoking is the only method I know.

Does anyone know another way?

└Starlight Lady: May I explain?

└Wild Grylls: I'd love that.

└Starlight Lady: First, you'll need a lot of salt. Salt draws the moisture out of the meat, which lets you keep it a little longer.

└Wild Grylls: Is it okay to smoke it after that?

└Starlight Lady: That's even better! I'll put up a post shortly, so you can follow that.

└Wild Grylls: Thank you so much. How do you know all this, though?

└Starlight Lady: Some of it I read in books, and some I researched myself. Being stuck at home, I've picked up all sorts of knowledge.

└Didn't you say you spent all your time in bed?

└Starlight Lady: Yes. What of it?

└Then by knowledge, do you mean...

└Oh my. How naughty.

└So that's what you meant...

└Oh lmao, I get it lol

└Starlight Lady: You people really are imbeciles.

I could trust Starlight Lady's advice. Before anything else, I bought a large quantity of salt. It was fairly expensive, but I was happy to spend the money.

'I'll store the meat in jars.'

As luck would have it, the auction house had exactly the kind of jars I wanted. I bought five suitably sized ones. All I needed to do was put the meat and salt inside. I didn't put the meat in whole, but cut it into manageable portions so I could coat it evenly in salt. It was tedious work, but I was happy to put up with it to preserve the meat.

'Trim off the fat, too.'

I kept at it until the jar was full of meat. The others likewise ended up packed with salted meat. That was one worry off my mind. If Starlight Lady was right, I'd have slowed the decay considerably. All that remained was to move the jars into the relatively cool cave.

'I'll get ready to smoke it after I take out the trash.'

Wiping away the sweat trickling down me, I turned toward the box. The box containing the heart was shifting slightly. Apparently, it was still beating.

"Well, damn."

I was too dumbfounded to speak. This was the most absurd thing since the golden mushroom's disappearance. Surely the heart wouldn't sprout legs and vanish later, too? I meant it as a joke, but the possibility that it might actually happen made me laugh hollowly.

"Speedy, hop on my back. Let's go dump this."

"..."

It was time to empty the metal drum full of blood and organs. The drum was bulky and heavy, making it awkward to move, but I had a solution: the rope left over from my auction-house purchase. If I could carry the drum like a backpack, transporting it would be no problem.

"Can you hang on behind me?"

"..."

Instead of clinging to my back, the speed-sloth chose to ride on my shoulders. It was a little—no, extremely uncomfortable, but I endured it by telling myself it was just this once. The river wasn't far anyway, and the speed-sloth could handle any danger. After trudging along like that, I reached the familiar river.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

"Oh! Quite a catch!"

The trap I'd set yesterday had caught a good number of fish. Three whole fish, in fact. They were so large that just those three filled the trap.

Feeling pleased, I poured the organs and blood from the drum into the river. It felt like illegal dumping, but it was offal, not wastewater, so it should be fine.

SPLATTER-SPLATTER-SPLATTER!

The moment I dumped the blood and organs, an enormous school of fish swarmed in. There were so many I could have stepped on them to cross the river. Worried I might get caught up in it, I hurried to finish. One wrong move and they might eat me, too.

'What kind of fish...'

Now I understood why I caught fish every day. There were simply so many of them. The strong current obscured it, but a far greater variety of creatures lived here than I'd expected.

'I'll collect the trap later.'

I still had work to do, so I put off collecting the trap. The fish couldn't get out once they were trapped, so I wasn't worried. With the organs disposed of, I returned to the cave.

The box kept rocking up and down.

"..."

Even after my round trip, the heart was still beating. I was speechless at the absurdity.

At the same time, I realized something. That heart had some special power. Since I didn't know what caused it, all I could do was ask. I posted on the forum.

Can a heart ever keep beating after death?

Wild Grylls

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

Even after I butchered it. I'll post a video if you don't believe me.

Is this possible? Genuinely asking.

└Heavenly Demon: How long has it been dead?

└Wild Grylls: At least six hours, I think.

└Heavenly Demon: In that case, I cannot say. I, too, have seen a heart still beating, but not long after death.

└Wild Grylls: Please tell me that wasn't a human heart.

└Heavenly Demon: It was. Is there a problem?

└Wild Grylls: No.

└Sword Masta: What do you mean, only the heart is beating? I don't understand.

└Wild Grylls: Want me to show you? It might be a bit gross.

└Sword Masta: Yes.

└Wild Grylls: (Video of the vigorously beating heart) What do you think?

└Sword Masta: Whoa... Is that even possible?

└Wild Grylls: I'm asking because I don't know either lol

└Look at the size lmao. Why is its heart so big?

└You'll get it if you see the tiger photo lol. The thing's fucking huge.

└Was it big down below, too?

└Why the hell are you asking that, dumbass?

└Fuck, can't a guy be curious?

└Allfather: What a fascinating phenomenon. A heart rarely beats on its own... Did you sense any sort of energy inside it?

└Wild Grylls: I'm not sure. I'm not very sensitive to that stuff...

└Allfather: This is my guess, but there must be something inside the heart keeping it active. An inner core would be a prime example. Would you try cutting it open?

└Wild Grylls: What if there's nothing inside?

└Allfather: I can guarantee it. Nothing in this world happens without a cause. Something inside the heart is making it beat.

└Wild Grylls: I'll think about it.

└Grylls, did you happen to notice any decay in the meat?

└Wild Grylls: I don't know enough to be sure, but there weren't any discolored parts.

└That explains it. It seems the decay was slowed by the heart continuing to circulate blood like that.

└Wild Grylls: Oh. Is that why?

└That's purely my guess.

└Don't Abandon the Hero: Eww! That's gross! Excuse me, but may I block that comment?

└Wild Grylls: What happens if you block it?

└Don't Abandon the Hero: The video won't disappear completely! The comment will simply be hidden!

└Wild Grylls: If you consider the video disturbing, that's fine.

└Don't Abandon the Hero: Thank you for your cooperation!

└Wild Grylls: Do you know why it's doing that, Admin?

└Don't Abandon the Hero: No! But as Allfather said, there's definitely something inside! Or how about grilling it? Heart is wonderfully chewy and delicious!

└Passing Dwarf: That's my drinking snack. Hands off.

└Don't Abandon the Hero: Oh! I'm sorry!

└Wild Grylls: Where'd you come from now...?

After that brief commotion, I decided it would be best to cut the heart open as Allfather suggested. Even if there was nothing inside, it wouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't hurt me.

I picked up the heart from the box with both hands. The instant I did, it seemed to throb even more violently.

'Blood might spray out, so I'd better change first.'

First, I changed into the jersey I'd demoted to work clothes. Then I set the heart on a flat rock and stared at it.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Was there really something inside, as Allfather said? If there was, could it be an inner core? That seemed likely.

I picked up the dagger I'd used for butchering. My mind was made up. Whatever was in there, I'd cut it open. It wasn't going to kill me.

I jabbed it.

'Seriously? Now even the heart won't take a knife?'

No matter how hard I sawed with the dagger, I couldn't leave a scratch. Instead, the heart beat harder, as though warning me not to hurt it anymore.

That only made me more stubborn. I infused the dagger with aura. It might have been my imagination, but activating it felt easier than yesterday.

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

I pressed the aura-infused dagger against it.

VMMMM!

"Huh?"

The heart began swelling as if it were angry. It didn't just swell; its blood vessels bulged out, too. This was bad. I hastily dropped the dagger and backed away. Then the heart shuddered.

KABOOM!

It erupted in an enormous explosion with a flash of blue light. As I faced that blast, only one thought crossed my mind.

'Motherfucking hell.'