The Thief (1)
I stared at the red fish clogging up the waterway. I'd lined the sides with stones to control the current, but since I'd dug this channel arbitrarily with a shovel, it wasn't very deep. It must've swum in unluckily and gotten stuck. The water's pretty fierce on its own, and with its size perfectly filling the channel, escaping would've been impossible.
Why's this thing so damn big?
It was huge enough to completely block the passage. At first glance, I thought it was a catfish or something, not a normal fish. But aside from the red body, it looked pretty ordinary. Regular fish tend to be narrower, but this one was even wider. If I picked it up with my hands, I'd need both arms. I don't know much about fish, but I was sure it wasn't a catfish.
Can I eat it?
I watched the fish thrashing nonstop. It flopped desperately trying to escape, but unfortunately, the water was too shallow. Its mouth poked above the surface, gasping. Flop! Flop! Flop!
"Strong little guy."
I scooped it up with both arms like a hug. It was so big—almost as thick as my torso—that balancing it was tricky. If it slipped back into the river, that'd be a pain, so I carried it as far away as possible. Plan was to haul it back to the cave with both hands and store it in a tub.
Better run, just in case.
Running into a wild animal midway would suck. I'd use the fish as bait to escape if needed. Luckily, nothing happened, and I made it back safe.
"Kyuu?"
"No. You already ate."
Wonmo perked up curiously the second I arrived with the fish. I pushed her back and dropped it into the tub, adding water since it was empty. With water, the red fish finally calmed down a bit. Up close, it was massive. It was the tub we used for washing—filled it right to the brim. A real monster catch.
Whopper alert, YasaengGrill (photo of a red fish shield-sized)
Went up to the river since the water wasn't flowing well from the channel today, and this dude was blocking it. Seriously huge. Breakfast done, so lunch is this bad boy. Been ages since I had a feast haha
└Cheonma Oh ho. What a tremendously large specimen. In size and color, it rivals a Sunfire Carp.
└YasaengGrill What's that?
└Cheonma A spiritual beast infused with the sun's energy. Exceedingly rare. Though merely similar—unlikely to be the real thing.
└YasaengGrill How do you tell if it's real?
└Cheonma First, check for an inner core. That's the telltale sign. Like how oysters make pearls. Probably has effects similar to a spiritual elixir, more or less. Not that I think this one's legit. Even if it is, doesn't matter. Lunch is decided.
└No way, spiritual beasts popping up every time lol
└Is that really a Sunfire Carp?
└Dunno. Grills gotta check.
└Aren't there similar fish?
└Cheonma If you mean the Ten-Thousand-Year Carp, yes. A carp that's lived ten thousand years, literally.
└StarlightPrincess Back in the day, I'd have said dissect it immediately. No need now.
└Wasn't "back in the day" just yesterday?
└StarlightPrincess Feels like ancient history to me. Every day felt like a year.
└Can see that
└Like being reborn?
└Waaah, I was reborn. Gimme milk.
└lmao
└lololol
└rofl
└StarlightPrincess You lot never change. Total idiots ^^
But whatever the Gallery says, this is my lunch. Better reinforce the shelter first instead of scouting this morning. Wonmo might snag it. She's eyeing the iron tub like a hawk right now, waiting for her chance.
"Tsk!"
I warned Wonmo as she reached for it. She stared back with eyes round as saucers, all innocent like What'd I do? So pure, even cuter.
"Can't eat that. I'll give you honey after lunch."
"Kyuuu."
"Good girl, Wonmo."
I petted her head a few times and surveyed the area. For barricades, clear the trees first. My chest already felt heavy thinking about it. When will I ever finish?
Every little bit counts. Gotta do it.
Griping inwardly, I headed to a tree. So damn thick. But condition was good today. I gripped the axe tight and swung hard. After a few swings, I got the knack, using my core effortlessly.
Crack!
"Huh?"
The moment the axe bit in, a puzzled sound escaped me. Totally different from yesterday. Yesterday, it took multiple hits to even penetrate. Today? Blade sank deep. Sound was different too.
What? Weaker tree?
Axe hadn't changed. My condition was peak, and maybe the tree was soft. Questions lingered, but it worked for me, so whatever.
Good is good.
Split! Split! Thwack!
After three more hits, the center was nearly through. One side left, and it'd fall.
Already?
Yesterday, I swung all day at one tree, then ran into the owl bear crisis. Not just luckier tree or better condition—too many questions. But there was one clear difference.
The breathing method?
Most likely. Only change from yesterday. Stronger power's never bad, especially here. Power's everything in this environment.
Gotta train harder.
Cutting labor time with just breathing? Wild world. Fantasy-martial arts mashup, superhumans shattering mountains. They don't believe a single bomb could level a city. When they are walking nukes.
Really wanna see the outside world.
Gallery shows a narrow, biased slice. Elf lands Alvenheim get shat on universally, though.
Shaking off random thoughts, I moved to the other side. One chop here, and it'd fall right.
Crack! Crunch! Grind!
The tree started shaking. I checked direction and kicked. It groaned, toppling slowly.
Thud!
Under ten minutes to fell one tree. Insanely fast. I eyed the fallen log, checked my body. Tired, but not rest-yet tired.
One more, then break.
After the second, fatigue hit. But could do another no problem. Felled three total, then auctioned them.
Space opening up.
Four trees down total. Cave area wider. Smiled proudly for a sec, then ducked inside for proper rest.
Chirp— Chirp—
Wonmo napping inside. Still a cub, sleeps all day.
Fish is fine too.
Calm in the tub, no thrashing. Set down axe, logged into Gallery. Check for news.
Nothing major, but one thing bugged me.
Judaek's been quiet.
Judaek, Gallery head mod. Should be banning porn, gross pics, heavy swearing. Posts like "Dig up all elf sis pics (gross warning)" and "My hand pics" up for ten minutes untouched. Normally axed instantly. Users saw the lapse, went wild unleashing desires.
"......"
Pretended not to care, clicked one. Wild life, Gallery's my only fun. Not urgent, just eye candy. Too busy surviving for more.
Grills. Look please.
Fresh reloads caught my eye.
Olfather?
Would've scrolled past, but familiar high-nick. Clicked.
Grills. Look please.
Olfather The item you promised is ready. Post a trade anytime.
Guess the medicine's done. Golden poison frog brew. Permanent poison resistance. Essential.
└YasaengGrill All the meds you mentioned done?
└Olfather Yes. Ten days' worth. Need more samples for the rest.
└YasaengGrill Catch golden frogs, deliver right away.
└Olfather Thank you. I'll wait.
Poison resistance skyrockets survival odds. Time to hunt golden frogs again. Perfectly rested, grabbed crossbow from wall. Arrows from owl bear head intact.
Mysterious.
Panicked, auctioned the whole head with arrows. They fell off naturally, untaken. Nearly lost hard-won arrows and harpoons.
Twang—
Pulled string easily. Used to take full strength; now just a bite.
Definitely stronger.
Confirmed. Not cherry-picking soft trees. Pure muscle gain. From simple breathing. Dramatic—more questions than awe. Post on Gallery soon, ask Cheonma or SwordTasteStar.
Prep's good...
Checked napping Wonmo, tub fish. All clear. Hunt frogs, done. Sword, shield too, just in case. Pocketed Wall Valley Pills. Stepped out fully geared.
No thieves, right?
Silly thought as I headed to the river.
*****
After YasaengGrill left for the river to hunt.
Cave echoed only with the fish's splashes and cute baby owl bear snores. Dead silent otherwise. Bird calls? Ignore.
Rustle—
Then rustling from dense trees. Thought wind at first. Nope.
Swish—
A beast emerged from thick foliage. Long arms vs. short legs. Sharp claws extended. Fur-covered, crept ultra-slow. Knuckled like a gorilla. Destination clear.
Splash! Splash!
The iron tub with the fish. Slow march, but no guards. Would reach eventually. Beast advanced at its own chill pace.
"What the?"
If not for Grills forgetting antidote, doubling back.
Beast, inches from tub, turned at the voice. Turn was sloooow.
Face-to-face with unexpected thief, Grills muttered softly.
"......A sloth?"