After more than a week of hard work, I stand proudly, looking up at the result of my long attempt at construction.

A messy-looking treehouse was built top center above Sara the facis arbor, messy not as in trash is tossed all over, but as in it was built in a mess of a way.

Uneven wooden planks and shard of wood tied up in haphazard manners, stuck together with the same sticky silk. Sharp ends of the planks jut out every few square feet. What supports the resulted treehouse is less the treehouse's own structure, and more Sara's branches having moved deliberately to hold it up, and the strength of the silk binding it together.

"Meow meow meow. (And it was all thanks to you guys. Sara, number 1, and number 2.)" I said to my face tree pet and the two silkworm monsters trapped in a cage made just as shabbily.

"Squeak..." "Squeak..." The two silkworm monsters let out very weak and incomprehensible noises, their furry long bodies fat and a tinge of blue to their butt that were frequently spanked.

If it weren't for these guys spitting out as much silk as they had, it would have been impossible to build this treehouse.

Many of the wooden pieces I had did not fit in, so I had to chop more logs and make more planks in the process.

The constructed treehouses crumbled several times, unable to support their own weight, causing me to have to try over and over again.

"Meow... (It's been a long way...)"

And it would not have been done as quick as it was without Sara's help.

Proof of that is that not only did I acquire a good few levels in the construction skill, but she, a tree, did too, even though all she did was help me pick up the wooden planks, preventing me from having to run and down her trunk, hold the wooden planks in place as I tied them with silk, and quite literally, bear the burden of holding the treehouse up and together.

...Now that I think about it, didn't she do the most important part of the work? Now, several of her branches are tied up to the treehouse, being used to keep the treehouse together.

It seems the same as having several limbs tied up. Even though she has a good number left, and those left are the longer branches, doesn't this decrease her available combat power quite a bit...?

I had such thoughts as I climbed my way up her trunk and into the treehouse, a spacious place (for a faux kat) with lots of shade and some light seeping in through some small windows, each shaped differently from the others.

I stand on webbed plank floor and jump on it.

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Boing.

The floor sinks in slightly, then bounces back up, my short body along with it, similar to a trampoline.

How fun.

On a side note, through my daily hunting for meat or fish dishes, my level went up by 1, while my cooking skill leveled up once too.

Now that my basic needs, a source of food and shelter, have both been met, I can turn my focus back to seeking levels and gaining strength.

So, I went out, carrying a bamboo blowgun and a bunch of poisoned darts in a leaf bag.

I ventured out on a path that I haven't taken before, not that there are any roads in this forest. I shot the darts at any unmoving monsters whose hides did not look too tough, and left them behind, expecting them to die to the poison away from my sight later on. I taste-tested any fruits or veggies that I found unfamiliar to me, some that tasted sour.

I went a bit further from home base than I ever did before.

Suddenly, I heard a cry, a cry that sounded like it was let out by an animal being slaughtered.

The cry came from a place not close, but also not far enough away.

Startled, I quickly hid inside a bush.

After a dozen seconds, seeing that nothing came, I went back out and toward the source of the previous sound.

I quickly find it.

There was an ape, wearing a leather skirt, its body full of lean muscles.

If I recalled correctly, in this world, it's called a ko-o.

The ko-o was holding a thick stone sword in one hand and the carcass of a monster in the other. The monster looks similar to a codag, but slightly different, perhaps an evolved version of that vegetarian beast. It should have been the source of the cry.

The ko-o didn't seem to have notice me. Instead, it turned around to leave.

If I kill it...

I recall the great amount of exp that killing those two ko-o back then gave.

But I hesitate,

because after reviewing that battle, I realized they are likely intelligent monsters, or rather, people of this world.

Should I kill them, for nothing but exp?

The ko-o was getting further away. Unable to quickly make a decision, I follow it, turning on my camouflage and matching its speed.

After a short while, the ko-o suddenly turns its head!

I freeze in place, feeling a bit tense and mentally preparing myself for a battle.

A confused expression appears on the ko-o's face, as it saw nothing behind it. Then, he turned around and continued walking.

When I'm not moving, my camouflage works perfectly.

I continue following, more silently than before.

Soon, the ko-o arrives at a clearing, and in that clearing is a village, a village that is still being built.

Ignoring the ko-o that went into the village, I was shocked. To think, there is something like this so close to home.

So many apes ko-os, working together to construct what is clearly a new village.

Seeing so many, I can now differentiate between the males and females by their body shapes.

The male ko-os are carrying in logs, chopping planks, and building houses. The females are sewing animal skins or cooking food. Smaller ko-os, children, are either playing or digging into food with their bare hands.

More importantly, their houses...

There is no harm without comparison.

Although the ko-o houses look primitive and closer to mere shacks, they look much more well-built compared to my treehouse. Their planks were cut more evenly, and they do not need silk to hold them together.

Tilting my head, I feel... so jealous.

"Meow~" I involuntarily cried.

For some reason unknown to me, a shudder passed through the spines of some of the closer ko-os. Some of them jolted straight up. They looked around with fearful eyes but spotted nothing, feeling relieved after nothing happened for several seconds.

I decided. I won't kill them.

I'll steal their houses instead.