"A No-Combat Zone is an area where fighting is forbidden, meow."
Pearl pointed a paw at the river. "Areas near large rivers like this one are usually No-Combat Zones — excellent spots for a base camp, meow. Of course, mindless monsters and wild beasts don’t follow that rule, meow."
’So it’s not absolutely safe after all.’
Ethan smacked his lips. "It’s dangerous deep in the forest, right?"
"Of course it is, meow. But don’t worry, meow. As long as I’m here, no dangerous beast or monster will even think about getting close to you, meow!" Pearl puffed out its little chest with absolute confidence.
Ethan smiled and patted its head, not taking that too seriously. How could he rely on a cat for protection?
Pearl narrowed its eyes in comfort, a content purr rumbling from its throat.
Then, as if noticing something, it pointed at his feet. "Ah! Your shoes are ruined, meow!"
Ethan looked down. Sure enough, the grass sandals were already frayed and tattered. He had woven them in a hurry without any proper cutting tools — no wonder they hadn’t lasted.
"Hmm... is there anything like obsidian around here?"
"What’s obsidian, meow?"
"A type of black stone. When it shatters, the edges become incredibly sharp."
"You mean glass stone? There’s some right over there, meow."
’Glass stone?’
He followed Pearl’s paw. Sure enough, several white stones lay scattered a short distance away, each about the size of a fist.
Bang!
He picked one up and smashed it hard against the ground. The stone shattered, leaving edges keen enough to cut. At last, a proper makeshift blade.
Ethan wove the thick grass stems he had collected into sturdy soles, then used a sharp shard to neatly trim off the excess. A far more durable pair of grass sandals took shape in his hands.
[Well-crafted Grass Sandals]
[Shoes woven from grass. Multi-layered stacking has increased their durability. Though the materials are crude, the fine craftsmanship means they can be worn much longer.]
[Well-crafted: Durability increased.]
[Crafting Difficulty: ★]
[Your Agility has increased.]
[You have acquired the skill: Crafting.]
[Crafting (Lv. 1) — You can use materials to craft items.]
[Name: Ethan]
[Gender: Male]
[Race: Human]
[Achievements: None]
[Stamina: 6]
[Intelligence: 4]
[Agility: 7]
[Willpower: 7]
[Mana: 1]
[Combat Skills]
[Production Skills]
"Looks like some new boxes just appeared."
"Did your attributes increase, meow? Congratulations, meow!"
Ethan smiled wryly and shook his head. The abilities the Ascendant Tower had given him didn’t show on this world’s panel at all. Still, it didn’t matter. He could use them just fine.
’Either way, I should be able to survive here.’
Just as Pearl had said, the riverbank stayed peaceful.
"Speaking of which — as the Lady Witch’s cat, shouldn’t you be with her?" Ethan asked.
"I’m on vacation, meow," Pearl replied lazily.
"I see. That’s pretty nice... wait. What is that?"
A deep vibration rumbled down from upstream. Something massive was approaching.
Ethan’s heart tightened. He snatched up his glass stone dagger and stone axe, bracing for a fight. Pearl hopped onto his shoulder. Man and cat held their breath as the bushes upstream shook violently.
"Moo—ROAR!"
A bull-headed, humanoid monster shouldered out of the treeline, standing four heads taller than Ethan. Sharp horns, knotted muscle from head to toe, ragged animal skins, and a massive stone axe in its grip.
"It’s a Minotaur, meow. Don’t be nervous — just say hello first, meow." Pearl’s voice was as calm as ever.
Ethan took a deep breath and raised a hand in greeting.
"Moo!" The Minotaur let out a resonant bellow and dipped its heavy head, returning the gesture of goodwill.
No hostility at all. Ethan felt the tension drain out of him.
Pearl whispered in his ear, "He said Hello, meow."
"You can understand him?"
"Meow-meow~! I am the Lady Witch’s cat, after all!" Pearl’s tail wagged with pride.
"Impressive!"
"You can do it too, meow. Practice communicating with other races enough, and you’ll acquire the Language Mastery skill. With that, you’ll be able to speak with every race, meow!"
’Who knows how long I’ll be stuck in this world. Being able to talk with the locals would make everything easier.’
Ethan walked over to the Minotaur, who was drinking from the river, and held out some of the fruit he had gathered.
"Moo-roar-roar-roar?!" The Minotaur stared down at him in confusion.
When words fail, body language is your best friend. Ethan picked up a fruit and mimed taking a bite. The Minotaur understood immediately — its wide mouth split into a toothy grin, and it tossed the fruit in whole.
"Moo!"
"He said Thank you, meow," Pearl translated from the sidelines.
"Good."
After that brief exchange, they each went about their business. The Minotaur, having drunk its fill, jumped straight into the river to bathe, while Ethan went back to reinforcing his shelter.
By the time the shelter was done, the Minotaur had finished washing. It walked over, dripping wet, and held something out to him.
A massive red fish, easily as thick as a grown man’s arm.
"Moo! Moo-moo, moo-moo-moo!"
"He says it’s a gift to thank you for the fruit, meow! It’s called a Red Trout, and it’s edible, meow!" Pearl explained.
The Minotaur smiled, hoisted its axe over its shoulder, and turned to leave.
Ethan quickly stepped forward and caught its thick arm. Pearl’s words were still fresh in his mind — more communication meant Language Mastery.
"My name is Ethan."
"Moo-roar-roar-roar?!"
"He’s asking your name, meow."
"I am Ethan."
"Moo-roar-roar-roar!" The Minotaur patted his shoulder once more, turned, and strode off into the forest.
Watching its broad back disappear, Ethan looked down at the Red Trout still flopping on the grass and sighed. "Minotaurs are quite polite. They make sure to return the favor."
"Most beastmen are like that, meow. They hate taking things for free, because they understand that everything in this world has a price, meow."
In a certain sense, beastmen were purer than humans.
Ethan smiled and reached down to scratch Pearl’s head. "Either way, our luck today was pretty good."
His gaze fell back to the fish. Crafting items came with system bonuses — did preparing food have special effects too?
"Let’s roast this fish and eat."
Pearl spun in delighted circles. "Yay~! Yay~!"
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