Chapter 36: Hunting novice

“Your gifts are so popular that they want to come here to say thanks. More will come.”

“Hmm.”

Joonbum roughly understood what Doral said. It seemed like they wanted to thank him for the gifts he gave them. It seemed a bit much, but he remembered what his mother said.

‘I guess these are much more convenient than what they have.’

These people did not have all kinds of plastics or chemical composite goods that people had on modern Earth. Their wooden bowls had issues with durability and cleanliness if used a lot in the summer. From small water bottles to big bowls, these items that could transport water without leaking were sensational.

The basin that could be used to give the kids a bath was also popular among the women. Sunsook first handed one of them to the kids and it instantly became popular among the people.

‘These are cheap buyouts from closing businesses, but they were worth it.’

He liked the fact that he did not pay much for all of these goods.

“Joonbum, this is watum extract. Stop drinking beer and have this.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Mother!”

Joonbum and Doral thanked her. Sunsook seemed to be happy with Doral who always called her mother. The cup handed over to them was filled with clear liquid with a tint of gold. It was first given to them by Howen as a token of gratitude. They were given an extract of the Watum tree, and they stirred a spoon in the water to drink it. The sweet and sour taste, along with the with lasting freshness, was something new.

“Wow. This is so great with it iced! We can only do this in the winter. The REFRIGERATOR is so good!”

“Right?”

Doral was surprised by the taste. The Ainos loved this with just the one downside of it being lukewarm. It was only possible to drink it cold during the winter. But with the refrigerator, it was possible to drink it cold at any time during the season.

“It’s good for your body too. Gives you energy.”

It definitely did give Joonbum more energy.

“Can we get more?”

“These are rare. You can only collect it in monster territory. They also like this too so it’s hard.”

Joonbum nodded, then turned his head at the sudden laughter. The kids who were watching the TV were laughing as they enjoyed watching the bugs moving around on TV.

“They’re hooked.”

“Yeah.”

When the animation was over, the kids gathered around again. But they were gathering around a certain dish at the table. It was pasta made with Bodua meat in it. The kids were fascinated by the sight of never-before-seen food.

“Oh, what is that?” Doral asked, pointing at a dish beside the pasta.

“That’s a meatball.”

“Meatball?”

“It’s good.”

Doral felt his mouth watering and he was about to stand as Joonbum sat him back down.

“That’s for the kids. We’ll have boiled meat.”

Doral grew curious at Joonbum’s words. Soon, a huge meat dish was served on the table. The table was also filled with bean paste, green pepper, salt, onion, garlic, kimchi, and white kimchi. The Ainos women started moving to help Sunsook as she sliced the meat and placed some on each plate.

“Let’s eat.”

Joonbum started eating. The Bodua meat was cooked to a light brown color. A slight smell rose from the meat, but it wasn’t too bad. He wrapped it with other vegetables and put it into his mouth. It wasn’t soft like that of farm-raised meat, but it tasted good.

“It’s better than I thought.”

“No smell!”

“I didn’t know wrapping it could be this good.”

“I like this sauce.”

The Ainos women were enjoying it also. When the late lunch was over, everyone started resting under the shade.

Joonbum was resting with Doral, but all ten kids started playing with the cubs again after taking a brief break.

“Joonbum, come here and look at this.”

“Yes? Huh? What is this?”

Joonbum’s eyes widened at the sight. There was a horse calmly standing under the shade of the storage.

“It’s a Garlim!”

Doral shouted at the sight of the horse.

“U-unicorn?”

“I thought it was too. It seems like they call it Garlim. It’s a gift.”

‘It’s beautiful.’

Joonbum didn’t really pay attention to what his mother was saying to him. The giant horse had a thick, black horn on its forehead, just like a unicorn from a myth.

‘It’s dark blue.’

At first, Joonbum thought it was black, but when it walked out of the shadow, its body glistened with a night blue color.

“Oh…”

Joonbum walked toward it unconsciously. It seemed to be alarmed, but the woman who brought it pulled its reins to calm it down.

“Wow.”

Joonbum started rubbing its muzzle, cheek, and back. Garlim neighed slightly.

“He’s hooked.”

“Yes.”

“Look at his face.”

The people who gathered mumbled at Joonbum. Joonbum could not care as he gazed at this dark blue unicorn in front of him. He was watching it as if he were mesmerized by it. Everyone around him could see how much he liked it. This was Sunsook’s first time seeing her son be attracted to something this much.

‘Don’t unicorns only like virgins? Maybe…’

Sunsook remembered the myth and frowned. Joonbum was rubbing his face on it as he did not care about the others around him.

‘So soft. So soft! A horse!’

Joonbum once tried to ride on Galfus when she seemed happy, but he was thrown to the ground at once. There were a few more instances, but he was never allowed to ride her. Galfus probably thought of him as an equal, but not someone above her to have him ride on her.

Not only that, Galfus was about nine feet tall at from her shoulder. If he were dropped from that height, it would not end well. Also, with her speed and agile movement, it would not be ideal to ride her.

Joonbum had given up on riding her after he saw Galfus hunting that big Bodua with such intense movement. So to him, a horse of this grandeur meant a lot.

“It’s great, right? Garlim is one of the best kinds of horse we raise. This one is four years old and its prime is in three years. We are grateful for all your gifts, so this is to pay you back. Oh, and don’t try to ride Galfus. She is not something to be ridden on.”

Doral pointed things out as he saw Joonbum trying to hop on Galfus multiple times. Joonbum nodded without paying much attention. Doral grinned and walked away.

‘Well, I guess he will stop trying as he has a horse now. But it’s surprising for the elders to have allowed this. I guess those old grannies pulled something up their sleeves.’

Doral cackled at the sight of elders helplessly listening to their wives.

After Doral left, Sunsook also shook her head and walked away, and the Ainos women followed her. Joonbum did not care.

“So, are you a unicorn? You’re amazing! Perfect! A unicorn!”

Its dark blue skin glistened below the sunlight. No other horse he saw was this amazing.

“You’re not like any other horse I’ve ever seen.”

He remembered seeing that golden horse from the Internet that he stared at with awe. Yet the one standing in front of him was much better than that.

“I wonder how it would feel to ride you.”

Joonbum daydreamed about running on the beach on top of this horse.

“My horse… hehe.”

Joonbum cackled like a madman.