CHAPTER 25: MALE CHILDBIRTH

Gara remained silent for a few moments. This information was even more shocking than the truth about his origin.

Gulping for air, he tried to steady himself. In his original world, C-sections could be life-saving during difficult labor. As long as the doctor was competent, both mother and baby could be saved.

It was even popular for some mothers who wanted to avoid pain, thanks to anesthesia. Perhaps this fantasy world had its own form of anesthesia, either through magic, potions, or something similar.

"Mom, we have to prepare for the labor in nine months, then."

After much thought, he decided to go with the flow, staying in this village for nine months until he gave birth. It seemed boring, but it was certainly better than dying at the hands of the druids.

Later, he would eventually resume taking Liner missions, but only those close by. He hoped he could find something to disguise his identity so he could still attend the academy, but that was a problem for later.

There was risk out there, but staying in this small village all his life wouldn’t accomplish anything. He might as well go straight for opportunity.

If, in the worst possible outcome, he truly met a druid and died at their hand, then so be it. It was true he wanted to meet his family in his original world, but if even after trying his hardest, he still died, he could only accept it gracefully.

Yet, if he could put up a resistance, he would. Moreover, he had his Unlimited Water Talent, with unlimited possibilities.

Wina looked at Gara with deep concern, "Mom assisted Lady Vita in giving birth to you. It looked painful. The labor will be very hard, Son. Do you really want to do it?"

"We will find something that could ease my pain and help with the childbirth, Mom. Even better if it could truly numb me during the process," Gara replied, his face hopeful.

But Wina shook her head. "There’s nothing like that. From other servant’s experiences, Mom knows male druids would take some Dusk Elixir. It could make them unfocused for a moment so they couldn’t think about the pain.

But the elixir could only be used in minimal amounts because it has severe side effects if too much is consumed. After the effect wore off, another druid, most likely the guardian of the Tree of Life, would give some energy to help him endure."

"Wait! So that means even after using that Dusk Elixir, the childbirth wasn’t finished yet?" Gara felt fear crawl over his body.

"No, Son. The druid body not only has flesh but also protective tissue as hard as wood. It takes time to cut. And after the baby is delivered from the stomach, the open stomach must be held together with wood fiber."

His face slowly turned deathly pale, his hands were sweating, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and his eyes lost focus as Wina continued speaking.

She instantly saw his apprehensive state. "If you can’t bear the baby, Mom will make the remedy for you." For her, letting go of the child was far preferable; Gara was much more important.

Gara shook his head, standing up. "I’m going to think about it first, Mom."

Walking wobblily to his room, he almost fell, but Wina supported him. "Son..."

In his room, he lay on the bed, staring blankly. Why had he transmigrated into the body of a half-human, half-druid—a race so difficult to give birth for? Even if it were possible that he didn’t have that protective tissue, he still couldn’t bear the thought of enduring that pain during childbirth.

Even though he’d never had a baby before, he knew how hard labor was. It was a struggle between life and death!

One hundred babies alone didn’t make sense, now I must endure the pain of giving birth one hundred times. Better to die...

Die? Right! Rather than endure the pain in this strange world, I’ll just die.

If he could return to his original world, great. If he was sent to the River of Life, that was fine too. Who knew, maybe all of this was just a dream!

Upon thinking that, he fell asleep without realizing it.

In the morning, he stood up straight and headed to Wina’s room. He knocked on the wall—they only had a curtain instead of a door.

"What happened, Son?" Wina looked up with a worried expression. She was counting coins from her worn-out pouch. "Mom’s heading to town to look for ingredients for the remedy. Our village doesn’t cultivate that herb because it’s too toxic."

"Mom, As we happen to be talking about toxic herbs, I encountered a weird-looking herb on the outskirts of town. I happened to eat it—"

"What?!" Wina stood up abruptly, checking his body with a panicked face.

Gara caught his mother’s hand and helped her stand straight. "Mom, that’s why I wanted to ask if you know any toxic herbs that grow around here. Just tell me so I can identify them."

Still with a worried expression, she tried to recall wild toxic herbs that could grow nearby. "Was the color green with yellow veins? Did it have yellow seeds enveloped in a green cocoon?"

"Then it wasn’t that, Mom."

"Really?" She still seemed worried, but Gara gave her a reassuring look. Eventually, she looked slightly calmer.

After checking his body once more, Wina left their bamboo house for town.

Meanwhile, after confirming her departure, Gara also left the house. He headed in the opposite direction his mother had taken. Passing a few neighbors’ houses, he arrived at the small road leading to the villagers’ herb field on the mountain.

Not long after, he found the large herb field. Every flat piece of land was a herb plot. Yet, he wasn’t going to the field.

He kept walking straight, off the road, because the road only went as far as the herb field. He pushed his stamina to walk between large tree roots.

He was going up into the mountain to look for the toxic herb.

Even though he felt deathly tired right now, this was the only time he could leave home. And it was also his only chance to end this whole ’challenge’ thing.

...