As he trekked through unfamiliar terrain, Kit suddenly realised that they had never discussed a meeting place in case one of them died. Panic set in as he frantically tried to think of the best location. Should he go back to the forest or to the town? What if they missed each other on the way?
Finally, Kit remembered he could pull up a map on his screen and saw a small dot labelled "Mars" he was still in the forest. He happily headed back towards the forest, relieved that they were partied together.
As he approached the same spot where he had died earlier, he saw Mars waiting. Thankfully, there were no signs of the dangerous neon blue birds. Kit was still at a loss for words on how to convince Mars to keep his embarrassing death a secret.
Kit couldn't hold it in any longer and decided to ask Mars for his silence on the matter. "Mars, can we agree to never speak of this again?" Kit's cheeks turned a bright shade of red as he spoke.
"Sorry Kit, but I can't make that promise. It was just too funny! How could I not tease you about something like this? Those tiny blue birds were practically asking to be stepped on. And the look on your face when you saw them all...priceless. Anyone would have thought you were facing a pack of tigers." Mars had a mischievous grin on his face and an evil glint in his eye.
In that moment, he reminded Kit of his own sister. "Have I ever told you that you're a terrible friend, Mars?" Kit huffed and went to walk further into the forest.
Mars looked panicked at the realisation that Kit thought he was a bad friend - something he was touchy about. Instantly feeling guilty, Kit tried to make amends. "I take it back, you're not a bad friend. Just don't tease me too much, okay?"
Mars visibly relaxed at this reassurance. "It's an unspoken rule between friends to always remind each other of their silly mistakes. That's what my dad taught me."
"What kind of reasoning is that? Aren't friends supposed to support and uplift each other? At least, that's how I see it." Kit frowned at his friend, knowing there was no escaping being teased about this incident in the future.
"Well, I prefer my way. Think about it - now we have a secret that only we know. It'll become our inside joke, which is how you know you're real friends." Mars theory was childlike.
"Your concept of friendship may be slightly flawed, Mars. Inside jokes are usually things that both friends find amusing, not just one. And it's not the only indicator of a strong friendship." Kit sighed but decided not to argue any further.
Mars had promised not to tell anyone about his embarrassing encounter with the tiny blue birds, and he trusted him to keep that promise.
"I've never had an inside joke with anyone before," Mars admitted, looking like he had been beaten with a stick. Feeling guilty once again, Kit realised he would have to bring up his own embarrassing incident for Mars' sake.
"Well, I guess we can make our own rules about friendship then. Let's count this as our first inside joke." Mars perked up at this suggestion, resembling a puppy in that moment.
If Mars found it funny and entertaining, Kit could live with that. After discussing their plan of action in case they encountered more birds, they continued deeper into the forest collecting ingredients.
But after a while, Kit realised they would need a source of light if they planned on exploring further. The darkness seemed to be creeping in slowly around them, almost as if all the light was being sucked out.
Kit heard a noise up ahead and immediately grabbed his sword, ready for a potential fight. He couldn't see anything in the darkness, but he could hear the rustling getting closer. "Mars, I think we should stop here without any source of light."
Before Mars could respond, the rustling sound seemed to be heading straight towards them. Kit's heart started pounding as he prepared to defend himself. Suddenly, a small black object darted past him and dodged his sword with ease.
Kit squinted through the darkness and saw a pair of bright golden eyes staring back at him. "That doesn’t look like a boar," Kit commented, keeping his guard up. "I thought Iris said there were only three types of creatures in the forest." Mars cautioned Kit to stay on guard as they didn't know what this creature was.
But Kit was determined to redeem himself by taking down this unknown creature alone. “I’ve got this one Mars, I will redeem my pride with its death!” As he paused to assess it, his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he saw that it was the cutest thing he had ever laid eyes on - a tiny Pomeranian-like creature with chubby cheeks and fluffy black fur speckled with white.
Kit had always wanted a puppy. His initial desire to kill it quickly turned into wanting to keep it as a pet. "Hey little guy, I won't hurt you," Kit cooed, reaching out to try and pat it.
Next to him, Mars burst out laughing, “Ha, ha, Kit!” Mars paused to catch his breath. “Kit OMG, that was even better than the blue birds. It’s not even the slightest bit scary. You will definitely redeem your pride by killing this one.” Mars wiped his cheek, then continued to laugh.
A glare was thrown at the oblivious Mars, Kit’s attention did not wander for long before returning to the adorable creature in front of him. "CAL identify," while Kit was trying to find out what sort of creature it was, Mars was still struggling to contain his laughter.
[Not available]
“What, CAL why?” Kit frowned at the response.
[Not available]
The small, fluffy creature tilted its head from side to side as it assessed Kit. Kit made some kissing noises and gently patted his leg, unable to resist the adorable animal. It cautiously approached Kit and began sniffing him, its little body shaking in excitement as it let out high-pitched yips.
“This is too much cuteness! Can we keep it, Mars? Do you know if pets are allowed… Mars?” Kit's voice was filled with excitement.
Mars watched as they interacted, shaking his head but smiling. “Kit, this is a wild animal. We can go to a pet store in the city if you want a pet.”
“But Mars, look at how cute he is! We can't just leave him alone in the forest, he could get hurt by a boar or something.” Kit looked at the fragile dog, imagining all sorts of dangerous scenarios. There was no way he could leave it behind.
“Kit, I'm sure he's been surviving just fine on his own until now.” Mars looked at Kit's disappointed face and let out an audible sigh. “If you really want to keep him, it's not impossible. Wild animals can choose a companion. But you'll have to try to build a bond with him and earn his trust. It won't be easy though; wild animals are notoriously difficult to tame.”
Determined to keep the animal, Kit brainstormed ways to build a bond with it as he stroked its fur. He thought about giving it a name and settled on Snowball, inspired by its chubby cheeks and white speckles that resembled snow.
The ball of fluff was eagerly sniffing at Kit's pouch, trying to open it. “You like something in my bag? Let's see what it is.” Kit pulled out a petite purple flower and offered it to the creature, but it ignored it and continued yipping at his pouch.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Oh, you must want meat. How about some snake meat?” Kit pulled out the meat but got the same reaction. Next, he pulled out a small mushroom and the little dog excitedly stuffed it in its cheek before prancing around Kit and giving him little licks.
Kit was surprised that it seemed to prefer mushrooms over meat; maybe it was an herbivore? He continued feeding Snowball mushrooms until its cheeks were bulging, making the animal even cuter in Kit's eyes. He picked up the fluffy ball and gave it a pat, happy that it didn't mind cuddles.
Its fur was softer than expected, almost silky to the touch. Its large golden eyes looked up at Kit with adoration as he showered it with kisses on its puffy cheeks.
"Look how calm and still Snowball is," he exclaimed, admiring the small dog in Kit's arms as it basked in the attention. It seemed to gaze at Kit as if he were its entire world.
"You've already named it? Don't get too attached, it might have a family here," Mars pointed out.
"Oh, I didn't think of that. But imagine more cute little fluff balls, I could adopt the whole family!" Kit's face lit up with excitement, reminiscent of when he first saw Iris' magic equipment in her kitchen.
Mars could tell he was already smitten with the animal and would do anything to keep it. The thought of a whole family of them following Kit around made Mars chuckle,"You have a soft spot for fluffy animals, don't you?"
"Who doesn't? Most people can't help but turn silly when they're near puppies or kittens," Kit said with a grin. He placed Snowball on the ground, who immediately turned towards him and barked before trotting off into the forest. Kit quickly lost sight of him.
Kit felt disappointed that Snowball hadn't even looked back before leaving. This would definitely be a challenge to tame this wild creature. He decided to come back tomorrow and try again. As he turned to Mars, he heard Snowball yipping again and hurried after the sound.
"Maybe he wants me to follow?" Kit called out excitedly.
"Don't follow blindly, what if it's a trap? We know nothing about this creature," Mars warned.
"I'll be careful, but what if he leads us to more cuteness?" Kit couldn't resist following the little fluff ball. The thought of finding more adorable creatures had him eagerly chasing after Snowball.
The yipping sounds led them deeper into the darkness of the forest, limiting their visibility to only a few feet in front of them. The further they went, the more their vision shrank. Eventually, the yipping stopped, and Kit caught up with Snowball. He felt like he was blind at this point, using his hands to feel around so he wouldn't bump into anything.
"Wait, I have a light stone," Mars said as a soft glow emitted from his hand, illuminating the area around them. Kit was surprised by how far the light reached.
"Why didn't you use that earlier?" Kit blinked, adjusting to the sudden brightness.
"I didn't plan on going this deep into the forest. It's dangerous to go so far announcing our presence with a bright light; we could easily get attacked by predators," Mars scolded Kit while looking directly at him.
Kit realised he had been careless but didn't regret it. He couldn't resist cute creatures. With the light now guiding their way, they could see where Snowball had led them - a hollowed-out tree with a small entrance just big enough for Snowball to fit through.
Kit crouched down and peered inside, finding an abundance of mushrooms of all shapes and sizes. It seemed like Snowball had been hoarding food in preparation for hibernation.
Amongst the mushrooms were also some sparkly items, making it seem like Snowball was collecting treasures in its little home. "Snowball, you're quite the collector; soon you won't even fit inside here!" Kit exclaimed with amusement.
Mars squatted next to Kit, peering into the hole. "Looks like your clever little Snowball found a treasure stash. We should see if he's willing to trade."
"Great idea. My furry companion, want to swap some goodies for mushrooms?" Snowball barked an enthusiastic response before diving into the hole. Kit watched as Snowball rummaged around inside and emerged with something in his mouth. He held out his hand and Snowball dropped a large, slobbery red stone into it.
"Ew, I could have done without the extra layer of drool. How did you even manage to carry this stone out, Snowball? It's bigger than your head!" Kit wiped off the stone and noticed that it was warm to the touch, almost as if it had been heated to body temperature. Its surface was smooth and shiny, but in the dim light, he couldn't fully make out its colour.
“CAL identify”
[Unable to identify]
“What is it, Kit?” Kit shrugged and extended the stone towards Mars.
“I can’t identify it, Mars. I must need to upgrade my skill. Do you know how to do that?”
“The process for upgrading skills can be tricky; it varies for each one. Some skills improve with repeated use, while others require finding a trainer or obtaining skill books from stores or monster drops. It's even possible to evolve skills and gain stronger versions.”
Mars rubbed his chin thoughtfully before continuing. “But CAL determines the specific requirements for each skill upgrade, so it's hard to give a definitive answer on how it will work for you. Essentially, it's trial and error to figure out how to upgrade your skills.”
“This game has some confusing rules.” Kit sighed in frustration. Sometimes he enjoyed being clueless in this new world, but other times he wished he had resurrected before starting to play.
“You'll get used to them.” Mars took the stone from Kit's hand and patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.
“Thinking about all of this is giving me a headache. Can you identify this stone for me, Mars?”
“My Identify skill is probably as good as yours right now, so I don't think I'll be able to identify it either.” Mars focused on the stone and clicked his tongue. “I was right. I couldn't identify it either.” He handed the stone back and turned to Snowball. “See if he has anything else we can use in there.” A look of eagerness crossed Mars' face as he spoke.
Kit pulled out more mushrooms and attempted another trade with Snowball. The creature scurried back into its hollow tree and emerged with a pouch. Kit was surprised by the unexpected item and hoped it was still usable. They continued exchanging items until Snowball suddenly stopped returning inside its tree.
“Wow, Snowball collected quite a bit of treasure. In addition to the pouch, he traded me numerous coins, stones, and even a shoe. Although I have no idea what we could do with one shoe.” Kit held up the mangled shoe for closer inspection.
It was a plain brown colour and had been used as a chew toy by Snowball. Teeth marks covered its surface, and it was slightly sticky. “Snowball, you should keep this one.” Kit handed the shoe back to the creature.
Kit counted the coins and found they amounted to 8 silver and 5 bronze crowns. He was delighted with the boost to his finances. The six stones were all different colours, shapes, and sizes, but none were larger than the first one received. Overall, Kit was pleased with the trade and hoped Snowball was too.
The only item left unopened was the ordinary-looking pouch with poor quality. It had patches sewn onto the sides for repair and mold growing on the bottom, causing Kit to scrunch his nose in disgust.
He tried pulling apart the strings of the bag to see what was inside, but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried. Kit felt excitement build within him as he imagined rare treasures hidden within the seemingly ordinary pouch.
“What's inside?” Mars raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I can’t open it, so hopefully, a rare treasure. Where do we need to go to open it Mars?” Kit's voice was filled with excitement as he spoke.
“We are currently in a low level area, so I don't think it will be anything too valuable. You struck gold with those coins. According to my research, getting just one silver crown in a starting area is already considered amazing, let alone everything else we've collected. Did you try asking CAL to open the pouch, or did you attempt to pull it apart?"
Feeling deflated, Kit realised his mistake. "Um...I just tried pulling it apart."
Mars couldn't help but chuckle at Kit's ignorance. Kit blushed in embarrassment. But he wasn't too disappointed; he had already obtained more than he thought possible from Snowball.
He made another attempt to open the pouch. "Open inventory." This time, an inventory screen appeared. Only one item was inside the pouch: a single scroll. Kit felt slightly disappointed that there was only one item inside. "There's only a scroll inside."
As Kit examined the scroll, he noticed that there were numerous slots available in the bag. His excitement skyrocketed. "Mars, this pouch is incredible! It has a total of 5000 slots!" He rubbed his eyes and checked once again to make sure he wasn't seeing things."
Ding!
[Credula’s Pouch, Epic item]
Credula was a renowned artisan in Fornax, known for his exquisite handiwork. Monarchs from all corners of the globe would vie for his attention just to possess one of his masterpieces. This bag was crafted by Credula specifically for his dear friend Monak, who was known far and wide as a fearless explorer.
Bind to player Kit.
Yes/No?
Kit's excitement was palpable as he exclaimed, "This is amazing, CAL! Yes, yes, YES!" He couldn't help but burst into laughter at the incredible item that had just appeared in front of them. His eyes sparkled with pure joy.
Kit couldn't believe their luck - they were in a low-level area and yet this unbelievable find was right here in front of them. "CAL, can I share the details about this pouch with Mars?"
[information shared with player Mars]
“Holy shit! Kit, your adorable little pet actually did it. Way to go, Kit. This is your first major haul. I'm even getting pumped up now. What does the scroll say? Come on, hurry up! I can't stand the suspense." Kit reached into the pouch and retrieved the scroll, but his hands were trembling with excitement. If the pouch contained such valuable treasure, what could possibly be inside this scroll?