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~Chapter 5~
To explain how I ended up picking up a crazy guy, I need to go back four days.
It was Saturday, a gloomy day with dark clouds hanging low.
“Purify.”
Flash!
As usual, I was purifying the contaminated area near my cabin when a popup suddenly appeared.
BANG!
With a noisy burst of fireworks:
Purification Skill Level Up!
Lv. 2 → Lv. 3
Can now be used twice per day.
Remaining uses today: 2
(As a level-up reward, your daily uses have been reset.)
“Whoa…”
Finally, I could purify twice a day. That means I could make even more farm plots!
“Let’s see… how many plots do I have now…”
One, two, three, four… plus the one I already purified, that makes five.
Already five plots, and because of my coin shortage, I had only planted cheap potatoes.
‘I want strawberries… maybe some cherry tomatoes too…’
But strawberries and cherry tomatoes were way too expensive.
Strawberry seedlings: 500 coins each
Cherry tomato seedlings: 350 coins each
‘Come on, give a discount… or at least a quest to earn more coins.’
Just as I muttered that, the system suddenly jumped in like it was reading my thoughts.
Unexpected Quest Triggered!!!!!!!!!
“Ah! You scared me!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
〈Explore the Forest!〉 Quest♡
The forest near the cabin is full of useful resources.
Explore the forest to gather them!
Forest Exploration (0/1)
Success Reward: 850 coins
Failure Penalty: None
“Explore the forest…?”
A fun-looking quest popped up. I glanced at the dark forest behind the cabin.
‘Doesn’t look too dangerous…’
I hadn’t heard of wolves or bears living there. Even if the area was contaminated, most animals were herbivores—they’d run away instead of attacking me.
Though if I went deeper, I might encounter monsters. There were even rumors like that in the original records.
‘I still have two purification uses left…’
Maybe I can go grab some bird eggs or mushrooms? I’m getting tired of eating nothing but potatoes.
And 850 coins is a nice reward.
“Hmm.”
Alright, let’s do this. I tied my hair up and grabbed my only tool, a hoe.
Its attack power wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was better than nothing.
‘I’m scared to go alone… I better take my Slave No.1.’
“Ninabel! Come here!”
―Yesss~! Master!
Ninabel, who had been at the well, sprinted over at my call, still spinning around me in her hamster-shaped droplet form.
“This is so distracting.”
“Eeep…”
When she’s far away, her voice echoes in my head rather than my ears. They say it’s because I’ve contracted with her.
‘I wonder when that happened…’
This attention-starved, masochistic spirit must have unilaterally made a contract with me.
I scooped up the droplet and tucked her under my arm.
“Slave No.1, today we’re exploring the forest.”
“The forest? Monsters might appear! But wherever you go, Master, Ninny will follow!”
“If monsters appear, I’ll use you as a shield and run.”
“Wha—! But if I can be your shield, I’ll gladly die for you…!”
Crazy spirit…
I shook my head and marched confidently toward the forest. My heart raced with excitement at the thought of exploring the unknown.
About ten minutes after entering the forest:
“Mushrooms!”
I spotted some that looked delicious—bright red, shaped like deer antlers, gorgeous.
“These look so tasty, right?”
“I think they’re poisonous, Master!!”
“No, that can’t be…!”
Then:
Mushroom Identification (D) Skill Awakened!
You can now identify all mushrooms. Identified mushrooms are added to your 〈Field Guide〉.
(This skill has a unique rank and cannot be upgraded.)
Wow, awesome! I can identify mushrooms now. I feel so competent.
〈Tip〉 To use the skill, focus on a mushroom for at least three seconds as if identifying it.
Following the instructions, I stared at the long, red mushroom in front of me. After a moment, a popup appeared:
Red Deer Antler Mushroom
Phylum: Basidiomycota, Order: Polyporales
A bright red, antler-shaped poisonous mushroom. Consuming it can cause diarrhea, fever, and consciousness impairment. Even touching it can inflame skin. Handle with caution.
“….”
It’s deadly if eaten… and even touching it is dangerous. System, you’re serious about this.
‘It looked so tasty…’
Any hope of tasting it vanished. I stepped back from the red mushroom.
“Edible mushrooms… need to find edible mushrooms…”
For the next thirty minutes, I wandered the forest like a zombie hunting mushrooms.
But all I could find were red poisonous ones!
“What the heck…!”
“Give up already, Master~!”
“I’m tired of eating just potatoes…!”
Exhausted from wandering, I flopped onto the ground. Ninabel freaked out.
“Master~! You can’t just lie anywhere! Lie on me instead!”
“On you…? Oh…”
I lay across her spread-out droplet form like a hammock of water.
“Wow… this is so comfy.”
“I’m happy to help you, Master…!”
Yes, you masochist…
As I rested, I heard a rustle. Something was moving in the nearby grass.
“…!”
I froze, then quickly stood and focused on it.
‘What is it?’
Wild animal? Monster?
If it’s a real monster, I’ll run faster than anyone!
And then… out jumped a…
“…?!”
A rabbit?
I froze. Its ears stood up, front legs short, fur fluffy—purple from contamination—but otherwise, a normal mammal.
“Master! A rabbit! Looks tasty!”
Hey, do you know rabbit taste?! You’re a spirit!
I lightly tapped Ninabel to shush her and crouched to watch the rabbit.
It didn’t flee. No signs of aggression.
‘A bit of a dumb rabbit, huh…’
With no fear, it had survived in the wild. Interesting.
…Hmm, maybe I can purify it? Could turn it into a pet!
Ding!
〈Guide〉 Nutritious Rabbit Stew Recipe♡
Ingredients: Fresh rabbit meat, herbs (rosemary recommended), salt, pepper, tomato, onion, carrot, celery, olive oil
- Season rabbit meat with salt and pepper.
- Brown the meat in a pan with olive oil.
- Add chopped vegetables and stir-fry with the meat.
- Once veggies are cooked, add water…
‘Are you crazy?’
I stopped reading. Eat this cute rabbit? Psychopaths.
The rabbit just sat there motionless.
Carefully, I reached out.
“Purify.”
A warm, bright light enveloped the rabbit. When it faded, there stood…
A clean, soft brown rabbit with bright eyes.
And above its head… a pink heart.
‘…Huh?’
Target Affection Toward You: 9♡
“…?”
What is this, some dating sim? While baffled, the rabbit jumped into my arms.
“Ah!”
So sudden, I almost dropped it. It nuzzled against me—warm, soft, squishy…
‘Cute…!’
“You… you little rabbit! How dare you look at your Master like that! Unforgivable!!”
My obsessive spirit freaked out, but I ignored her and petted the rabbit.
Then another message appeared:
Taming (Lv. 1) Skill Awakened!
Docile herbivores and omnivores will follow you.
Subskill: Holy Tamer’s Touch (Lv. 1)
〈Tamed Animal List〉
- Brown Forest Rabbit (Lv. 1): Common forest rabbit. Soft meat, delicious.
“Oh…”
This could be useful. I might be able to raise chickens, goats, or sheep later.
‘I at least got a cute rabbit…!’
I happily petted it… but wait, what do rabbits eat?
Back at the cabin, the quest completed:
〈Explore the Forest!〉 Quest Complete!
Reward: 850 coins
‘Yes!’
Finally, a big coin reward instead of tiny bits like 10, 30, 50 coins.
Balance: 950 coins
“Hehe…”
Now I can buy strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and rabbit feed…
“Master~! With cute and capable Ninny here, why bother with a dumb animal!”
“Shut up, or you’ll end up in the stew.”
“Eeek! How cruel~!!”
Ninabel ran off crying but came back in under three minutes, saying she was lonely.
After dinner, light rain began. I built a rabbit pen with fences and hay, all bought from the coin shop.
The ultra-cute rabbit hopped around, then flopped onto the hay.
‘So cute.’
As I watched it happily, night fell, and the rain grew heavier.
‘Time to sleep soon…’
“…?”
Then, something felt off. I froze mid-turn.
Something—or someone—was lying on my precious garden.
“What… what?”
Monster? Forest animal?
No… it’s a person.
A fairly big one.
Why are they lying in my plot? Nobody comes here—it’s a contaminated zone…
‘Are they in trouble? Are they hurt?’
I ran over and looked closely.
Up close, the face that was blurry from afar made me gasp.
‘Wow… what a face…’
Early twenties? Handsome—or rather, pretty enough to call beautiful.
‘What…? This must be some top-tier idol visual…’
