Mika was at a crossroads right now.
‘What should I do? Should I try and kill this tiger now that it’s weakened, or should I just take the fruit and go?’
On the one hand, the rewards for killing the tiger were too great to pass up, but on the other hand, she felt it was dishonorable, dishonest, and evil to kill someone she just went through life and death with.
However, immediately after these thoughts passed through her mind, she felt like slapping herself!
‘No! There’s no way I can kill Little Yokutora! Not only did it not kill me when I accidentally wandered into its territory a month ago, but it’s the only reason I can even think about obtaining the fruit. If I kill the tiger now, what’s the difference between those monkeys and me?’ Mika thought and moved her attention back to the wary tiger.
Although it had clearly weakened, it still stood tall, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.
Seeing this, she couldn’t help but think, ‘Even if I wanted to, would I even have the capability of killing it?’
The answer she came to was a resounding: Maybe.
That conclusion, combined with the fact that she’d feel like shit even if she did kill Little Yokutora, made her decide against taking further action.
Ultimately, she sheathed her sword and raised her hands in the air, showing that she was not a threat.
“You don’t need to be so wary of me, Little Yokutora. Didn’t we just help each other out? All I want is one of those fruits!”
The tiger understood what Mika was trying to say, and the skepticism in its eyes lessened, but it didn’t dare let down its guard. Mika was the one that came up with a plan for them to get out of a sticky situation. It couldn’t tell if this was all a ruse, so she could kill it and take all the fruits for herself!
Mika’s eyes twitched, and she inwardly cursed, ‘This fucking greedy tiger! I saved your life, and you can’t give me the one thing I asked for? Maybe I really should try and kill you!’
Forcing a smile, she spoke in as soft a voice she could muster in hopes of lessening its distrust, “I promise I won’t betray you! I just want the reward you promised me! You can even stand right behind me as I grab one of the mangos. If I try and take both of them, you can kill me. How does that sound?”
*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!*
It dropped its head and growled softly, signaling Mika she could grab one of the mangos.
Understanding its intent, Mika inched toward the tiger but still kept her distance and headed directly for one of the mangos. Little Yokutora walked right behind her, observing every little movement of hers. If she dared to do something funny, it wouldn’t hesitate to attack.
Mika felt a pair of beastly eyes gazing at her as if they wanted to drill holes through her body, and all the hairs on her body stood on end.
With a wry smile, Mika thought, ‘It was foolish of me to think I could kill this beast. Sigh… it seems the System is actually trying to kill me with this bonus objective.’
Eventually, Mika appeared before the sapling and raised her hand,
*GrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrR!*
Right before she was about to pick the fruit, the tiger growled.
“I know! I’m only going to take one! You don’t need to remind me!” Mika exclaimed without turning around.
After that brief pause, she slowly extended her hand and plucked one of the mangos.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have completed the Mango Marauder Quest! The System has sent your 50 Initial-Stage Mana Stones to the System Space. You can claim your rewards anytime.]
[Mind Space Lv. 1 -> Mind Space Lv. 3]
A smile appeared on Mika’s face as the fatigue finally hit her, and she sat on the ground. Little Yokutora wasn’t any different and collapsed in exhaustion, but it still kept its eyes locked on Mika.
She looked over to it and said, “See? I told you I’d only take one!”
*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!*
The tiger growled in affirmation and gradually relaxed, not detecting any hostility or malice in Mika’s eyes or aura.
As the two sat in silence, Mika decided to go through her rewards, specifically her customized storage bag. She might need that soon, after all.
‘System! Bring up the customization options for my storage bag!’
[Yes, Host.]
Mika then spent the next half an hour going through all the customization options. When she finished, she reviewed her choices to ensure she didn’t make any mistakes.
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[Accessories/Storage]
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[Type: Storage Bag]
[Name: Mika’s Personalized Backpack]
[Grade: F++]
{Skills}
[Adjustable Size: It will adjust to the Host’s body size.]
[Water and Dirt Resistant: It is slightly resistant to wind and rain.]
[Tear Resistant: Resistant to tears.]
[Food Storage: A compartment will be made in the bag specifically for food. Any food in this compartment will spoil slower and be kept fresh longer.]
{Description}
[An entirely black backpack made of a tempered canvas and leather from a Rank 10 Black Core Realm beast. The whole bag is insulated, and there is a small cooler inside it to store food, which is automatically powered from the ambient mana.]
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She confirmed her choices, and suddenly, a black backpack appeared in Mika’s lap, surprising the tiger, but it was too tired to do anything.
She picked up the backpack, which weighed around 5 kilograms, and immediately shoved the Mind Enhancing Mango into the food storage area.
‘I’ll use it after I’ve gained more knowledge of Mana Cultivation and Mana Cultivation Techniques.’
Since the mango’s primary function is to drastically improve her cognitive abilities for a short time after consumption, the best time to use it would be when she’s on the verge of creating her own Mana Cultivation Technique!
‘Now, it’s time to do some looting! Although I might have missed out on the map of the jungle and the extra mana stones, the System did say there were mana stones at the bottom of this pond!’ Suppressing her grin, she stared fervently at the water, ‘It’s time to do a bit of looting!
Turning to the tiger, she said, “I’m going to wash the monkey shit off my body. You should do that as well once you heal up.”
*Grrr*
Little Yokutora grunted in response.
Mika smiled, jumped in the pond with her kimono and backpack, and began swimming down to the glowing blue rocks at the bottom. Due to her body’s weight and strength, it only took about 7 seconds to reach the bottom, about 10 meters deep.
Hovering above the hundreds of glowing blue rocks, or in other words, Mana Stones, Mika inwardly chuckled, ‘Hehehehe~ Gimme this fuckin loot!’
Each stone was about the size of her palm, but quite a few were the size of her fist.
‘Those must be the Early-Stage Mana Stones.’
[Correct, Host.]
Upon hearing the System’s answer, she began shoveling mana stones into her backpack. She prioritized the bigger ones, but she couldn’t utilize those immediately in both the System Store and Mana Cultivation, so she also took in plenty of the smaller mana stones.
After around 30 seconds, Mika’s backpack was full of mana stones and weighed approximately 90 kilograms, a significant weight even for Mika’s tempered body. But that wasn’t enough to deter her!
‘This is my reward for helping that greedy tiger! I’ll be damned if I don’t take these with me!’
She put the backpack on, latched onto the walls, and began climbing to the pond's surface. She had no other choice; the backpack weighed too much, after all.
Once she reached the surface, she tossed her backpack onto land, jumped back in the water, and began rubbing off all the monkey poop.
Afterward, she sat on the ground around the pond and stared at the tiger lying on the little island. She pulled out one of the Mana Stones, nearly causing its eyeballs to pop out of its sockets!
*GrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrR!*
It growled menacingly and struggled to stand up.
“Oh? So you know what this is?” Mika asked, but all she got was a glare from the tiger.
Still, she smiled, “There’s plenty of these at the bottom of the pond. Did you know that?” She said while pointing at the water.
Little Yokutora glanced at the water, a light of realization appearing in its eyes. Not missing this reaction, Mika continued, “So you didn’t know, huh? Well, now you do. You’re welcome.”
It glared back and forth between Mika and the water, seemingly asking her to put back the ones she stole!
Understanding what it meant, Mika laughed, “Hahaha! Little Yokutora, what I have now is my payment! Not only did I inform you of this discovery, but I’ll even stay here for a week and protect you from harm! I think a bag full of mana stones is worth that price.”
The tiger didn’t understand a word she said, but it could feel she meant no harm. Begrudgingly, it could only accept whatever Mika wanted to do, as it was in no position to say otherwise.
***
A week passed in a flash, and Little Yokutora had healed enough to where it won’t be in danger by every passing beast. The two had also grown quite close and accustomed to living with each other. Mika was honestly surprised that the giant super tiger didn’t kill her as soon as it healed enough to move.
‘It must be more intelligent than other beasts due to the mango. I wonder how many of them it’s eaten?’ She wondered but was happy nonetheless. She didn’t want to die, after all.
Over the last week, Mika didn’t do a whole lot. Occasionally, she’d kill a beast that wandered into the clearing, but most of her time was spent training and adjusting to carrying 90 kilograms of weight on her back. Because of the extra weight and the mana-rich environment, she felt her body getting stronger with each passing day.
This confused her a little, as she didn’t think mana could directly increase the strength of her body.
Therefore, she asked the System to clear up some of her doubts.
[The First Realm of the Absolute Sword Body Technique is all about stimulating your potential and creating the firmest foundation possible. Since the building blocks of your body are mana, being in a mana-rich environment can increase the effects of your training.]
Thus, Mika trained as much as possible over the last week! She also practiced her [Volcanic Slash] and could now use it several times at full power without any issues.
With her backpack tightly clasped around her chest, she walked to the edge of the clearing, but before she left, she looked back at Little Yokutora.
“Little Yokutora, be patient with your next breakthrough. A strong foundation is more important than anything else, especially at your stage. Think about your future and what you want to accomplish. For example, do you just want to get stronger to survive in this jungle, or do you want to become the strongest tiger in existence? Think about it. I’d hate to see the tiger I worked so hard to protect die because they were too impatient and didn’t build a strong foundation.” After saying that, Mika turned around and left.
Although the tiger couldn’t quite understand what she was saying, it could sense the sincerity and severity in her voice and engraved those words into its heart. Maybe one day, it’ll understand what she meant.