Chapter 31: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Animal Farm’ (5)
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 13
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room – Animal Farm)
Sages Advice: 3]
I gently licked my fur.
Now, I was quite used to walking on four legs, and to be honest, I rather liked that I had turned into a cat among all the animals.
After all, it’s a fairly elegant creature.
Plus, I liked that I was a Norwegian Forest Cat.
At least I wasn’t a cow or a pig.
Although I didn’t share this with my party members, I had no real resentment towards the farming family.
Honestly, what wrong have they ever done?
They simply plucked enough feathers from a goose and killed a wolf that invaded the farm. In the same vein, they were merely preparing to butcher a cow because it was injured.
This is something that happens quite often on Earth.
The real issue was that people happened to be inside that goose, that wolf, and that cow.
Of course, I still had to do what I needed to do.
Meowwww! Meeeeeowwwww!
I shouted as loudly as I could to draw everyone’s attention. As soon as I let out a loud cry that early morning, Mei naturally looked my way. I felt a bit guilty thinking of what I had to do next since she seemed to really like me.
Tap tap
“Ah! No, Ahri! Come here~. You’re a good girl, right?”
Tap
“Oh no! Ahri, don’t hit that! Mom cherishes that vase~!”
Sorry. But that’s the reason I’m hitting it.
Tap!
Clink!!!!!!!!
“Aaaahhhhhht!!!!!!!”
After calling Mei, I deliberately knocked the fanciest-looking vase, and it fell to the ground.
This was utterly fun.
Amy rushed into the kitchen with a scream and started yelling about something, but I couldn’t care less. I just ignored her and jumped out the window.
Now, I had to head to the cow barn for my final task.
What is going on?
Brian couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the situation.
After waking up that morning, he was already racking his brain trying to find a way to normalize the farm when he heard a scream within just ten minutes. Startled, he rushed to the kitchen, only to find his wife’s cherished vase shattered into pieces, and his daughter was panicking, saying the cat had run away.
His mind was still in turmoil from the wolf incident yesterday, making it hard for him to grasp why things were going south again.
But that was only the beginning of his nightmare.
“Father!!! To the farm, now! Hurry!”
He dashed forward in a frenzy and witnessed a gigantic boar wreaking havoc on the fields.
It wasn’t even picking at specific crops! It was practically demolishing the farm itself, even trampling the plants as if that was its sole purpose!
Rage boiled over to the top of Brian’s head.
“Peter, be careful! I’ll grab the gun!” He exclaimed, rushing off to get his firearm.
Though he couldn’t quite understand what was happening at the farm, he was certain how to deal with it. In the end, he just had to take care of those troublemakers to solve the issue.
Running around frantically, he spotted his loyal Golden Retriever watching him. Amidst the chaos, the dog wagged its tail energetically, seeming unfazed, which calmed Brian’s heart.
Right. It’s no big deal. All I need to do is shoot the boar dead and chase off the cat or something.
El Doggy (Elena): Moving to grab the gun.
Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): I’m also in position.
Boar (Cha Jinchul): Should I dodge?
Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): Just trust me.
Black Cow (Han Kain): When are you coming?
Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): We need to check the gun, just in case.
His heart steadied as he picked the gun up in his room.
Right. Those wolves from yesterday were resolved with just two guns. Shooting the boar should do the trick.
Calmly approaching the fields, he saw the boar trampling away, seemingly fearless and not even budging at the sight of the gun. As anger surged in his chest, he squeezed the trigger.
BOOM!!!!
The moment the gun discharged.
“AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The farmer’s scream echoed throughout the farm, causing his family to sprint out in panic.
Success.
Last night, I had been struggling to stay awake (even if cats don’t really sleep much at night) while I stuffed trash into the gun’s muzzle, which ended up being rather effective.
I could see his family trying to contain their shock as they carried Brian to bed, starting a fuss while applying ointments and wrapping bandages around his hands.
So now… it was time for me to proceed with my final job.
With a gentle hop onto the windowsill, I dashed for a bit and arrived at the cow’s barn. As I got there, a black cow that had been lying on the ground stood up as if anticipating my arrival.
The wooden fence keeping the cows from going outside was so sturdy that even a cow would struggle to break it down, but the design was incredibly simple.
You merely needed to turn the handle to the left and lift it up. Naturally, there was no reason to make it difficult for humans to enter.
For beasts, this was sufficient. They lacked the wisdom to use a handle, meaning they had no means of escape without help from a human. However, it was a different story for thinking animals.
Thanks to a cat’s lack of strength, lifting the handle wasn’t an easy feat. I twisted my body with all my might to lift it. As expected, the black cow on the other side nudged its antler through the gap, supporting the handle now with its own strength to turn it.
With that done, my part was complete. Now, it was up to those hefty friends to take over.
Four days into becoming a cow at this damned farm.
I was finally free.
The first thing I did upon coming out was to help all the other cows get out too. Quickly, I opened their barn handles with my antlers, prodding the hesitant cows’ rear ends, and they jumped out in shock.
Those guys would create a ruckus now, while I needed to make my way to the goose section. Poor Songyi must have been so frustrated being cooped up; it was time to set her free.
I could tell the chaos had already begun without anyone needing to explain it.
As soon as morning struck, the farm erupted with screams and yells. Human screams, cries filled with sadness, and the cacophony from the animals…
At this point, it was clear the farm was completely ruined.
Although I still felt uncertain whether this was the right plan or not, I wasn’t confident enough to point out what was wrong, so I kept quiet all day.
While I was grooming my feathers on my own, the door to the goose pen suddenly swung open with a thud.
Is someone here to manage the farm amidst all this chaos?
Actually, it wasn’t a human looking after the place. It was a cow.
How had it opened the door? Well, being a “thinking cow,” it probably wouldn’t behave like ordinary ones.
Even without sending a text, I understood the meaning behind its gesture. It was probably telling me it was time to come out.
Even now, I still had doubts about this plan, but
Regardless, it was time to assist everyone.
But what could a goose do to wreck the farm?
I’d never thought this much about how to destroy something in my entire life.
To be honest, it seemed I didn’t need to do anything. Wandering around, I realized the place was already in total chaos!
People were going all out—over ten cows were bellowing and darting around; one boar was trampling on crops that were already gone, while more than 300 geese had begun taking to the skies.
On top of that, the farmer was covered in blood.
I’m sorry, Brian. This farm really seems like it’s beyond repair now.
What could I even contribute to help?
While walking around, I discovered something I could do.
Right in front of me was a cart.
I found myself wondering what era this scene was staged in. The farmer was carrying an unknown gun, but his mode of transport was a horse-drawn cart of all things.
Approaching the cart, I poked something resembling a wooden nail in the wheel with my beak.
I might as well waste the time prying this out.
But seriously, would messing up the farm allow us to escape this room? I’ve been feeling something off about this whole plan since yesterday.
I was deep in thought, focused on the wooden nail when a shadow loomed over me.
“What are you doing! Huh? Aren’t you that scoundrel who was bothering the other geese yesterday? This is weird. The one who was causing trouble was supposed to be dead… So anyway, why are you here doing this now?”
It was Peter, furious.
If I had seen him as a human, I might have thought of him as a lively countryside boy, but seeing him in my current state as a goose? He was the scariest being alive.
Peter’s grip tightened on my neck.
Was I really going to die like this? Was he going to take me out just for playing with the wheel?
As I thought this, Peter tightened his grip even more.
My consciousness began fading. Oh no, was I really meeting such a ridiculous end? Even here in Room 103, I was utterly useless…
It was then.
A colossal form overshadowed the surroundings.
An eerie silence enveloped the area.
What an absurd turn of events.
Right until the very moment, all humans and animals had been screaming like lunatics, making my ears ring, yet suddenly now, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Tentacles emanated from the dark figure and touched Peter, causing my body to drop back down onto the ground.
The monster had saved me.
I had been uncertain until now, but now, it was freshly clear.
That monster cared for me in its own way.
It had been evident over the last few days. When Ahri saw the entity, she mentioned it hadn’t tried to touch her, yet it always came to stroke my head. This time, it even blatantly rescued me from peril.
And, surprisingly, it was still daytime.
According to what I understood, this creature usually operated at night, yet here it was, coming to my rescue in broad daylight.
What in the world is that thing? Being cared for by something that wasn’t human felt more unnerving than reassuring.
Like a fleeting vapor, the figure vanished without a trace, just as it had arrived.
Peter, under a trance as if hypnotized, turned around as though nothing had happened and moved off to continue his other tasks.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only at this moment did I realize.
The sense of disquiet that overwhelmed me every time I heard about this farm destruction plan yesterday.
The source of that doubt niggling at my mind.
In this bizarre farm, the most surreal presence was undoubtedly that monster, and amidst the farm destruction plan, or more precisely, the escape plan concocted by the party…
There wasn’t a single consideration for the monster, as if it didn’t exist at all.
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