~◇~◇~◇~
It had been a whole year since I established my sanctuary within the pocket realm of Coniston. And, yes. I named the demiplane after me. Anyway, I kept track of time after purchasing a calendar off from one of my skills called [Supermarket Online]. Apparently, it came as a reward for completing my first objective from the Isekai Bucket List that Elheim provided for me.
> ○ Have Cheat Skills → Completed
That was fairly easy, and I didn't even have to do anything. But because of that, it made living much easier for me in a place where I couldn't find any grocery stores--not to mention that I have yet to meet any living person that wasn't out to kill me! So far, I kept meeting monsters, especially the dumb, cocky ones.
In this past year, I had come to realize that the forest surrounding me was teeming with monsters, their origins traced back to the mysterious dungeon gates scattered throughout the area. These gates served as portals for the relentless conflict between the creatures, as they battled for dominance and control over the material plane. It was a perpetual cycle of territorial disputes, with each victory or defeat shaping the ever-shifting landscape.
However, none of them were ever strong enough to beat me.
On the other hand, Chione and Pele, my faithful companions in this perilous world, were extraordinary in their own unique ways. While they occasionally faced challenges against creatures of equal rank, they displayed remarkable resilience and resourcefulness. They would venture out on their own to hunt, braving the dangers of the forest. Although they were smart enough to flee from stronger adversaries, I would always come to their aid when needed, thanks to the deep bond between us as master and familiars. If they were ever in grave danger, I could sense it, allowing me to rush to their rescue.
Pele, with her hunter's spirit, would proudly bring me the spoils of her successful hunts almost every day. She had an insatiable drive to provide for me, delivering monsters for me to butcher and utilize. Initially inexperienced in such tasks, I had to learn how to process the kills myself, as there was no one else to rely on. Together with the tiny unseen servants of Coniston, we delved into the intricacies of butchering and preservation techniques. I even acquired a book to learn the art of tanning leather and other useful crafting skills, purchasing from the [Supermarket Online] skill. Through trial and error, we improved our abilities and expanded our repertoire of practical knowledge.
On the other hand, Chione had a more laid-back demeanor. She often lounged around, taking frequent naps as if she were a ragdoll or a lap dog. The tiny unseen servants in Coniston would groom her, providing her with the care she deserved. Despite her leisurely nature, Chione displayed exceptional loyalty and acted as a diligent guard dog. She was the first to greet me upon my return home and listened attentively to my commands. While Pele's intelligence might be a bit lacking, Chione possessed remarkable wit, with an intelligence rating that could be off the charts if it were quantifiable. However, when it came to physical endurance, Chione would tire more easily, using her charm and cuteness to persuade me to end our hunting expeditions early.
* Chione
* S-rank | 3-Tail Glacier Fox
* Vitality: 2,671
* Agility: 3,560
* Attack Power: 2,933
* Defense Power: 2,412
* Magic Power: 2,123
* Skills
* Blizzard
* Flight
* Hex
* Ice Beam
* Sheer Cold
* Shield
* Shrink
* Triple Attack
* Pele
* S-rank | 3-Tail Blazing Fox
* Vitality: 3,313
* Agility: 3,322
* Attack Power: 2,892
* Defense Power: 2,268
* Magic Power: 2,341
* Skills
* Flight
* Heat Wave
* Hellish Rebuke
* Inferno
* Shield
* Shrink
* Sunny Day
* Triple Attack
Both Chione and Pele held special places in my heart. Their distinct personalities and abilities complemented each other, creating a harmonious dynamic within our little family. I cherished the moments spent with them, knowing that their unwavering loyalty and companionship were invaluable in this treacherous world filled with dungeons and monsters.
My life only became better when I discovered another family member.
The [Succubi Witch | Hexcraft] Class bestowed upon me by Elohiem was both intriguing and unsettling. Its repertoire of spells and hexes left me with a sense of unease and revulsion. As I perused the list of skills, the names alone sent shivers down my spine: [Blood Bath], [Fester Wounds], [Insufferable Maze of Madness], and more. The power they promised was undeniable, but the darkness they evoked made me hesitate to employ them, even against the most fearsome monsters.
Yet, amidst this disquiet, there was one aspect of being a hex witch that intrigued me.
> ○ Witch's Familiar | A devoted creature that is the extension of the witch herself. Stats and skills will depend on the creature that the user desires their familiar to be.
* Lila
* S-rank | Hex Witch's Familiar
* Vitality: 4,666
* Agility: 1,987
* Attack Power: 3,789
* Defense Power: 4,343
* Magic Power: 1,555
* Skills
* Acid Spray
* Ally Swap
* Control Water
* Damage Nullification
* Familiar-Master Bond
* Gluttony
* Pet Pocket
* Size Manipulation
* Slam
Lila's a recent addition to my companions. Despite the passage of time that I had spent unaware of this aspect of my powers, Lila held no grudge, living fully in the present. Often perched on my shoulder, she exuded an air of mystery and grace with its sublime lavender-colored rounded body like a meat-bun. What made her truly captivating, however, was her ability to manipulate her size at will. Lila could shrink down to the proportions of a bird, maintaining her lethal prowess in combat. Her stats remained unchanged, regardless of her size—a testament to her formidable nature. It could even grown as big as four-stories high, but I felt bad for the trees that were crushed by her weight, so I never asked her to change again unless we raided dungeons.
Speaking of dungeons, they all had something in common: they were all farmable.
Let me explain. The standard protocol when it came to dealing with the dungeon phenomena is that hunters, or adventurers, must raid a dungeon and defeat the boss. Defeating the boss will destroy the dungeon. Tis necessary because if the dungeon was left alone, and depending on the rate of growth, it might overpopulate. Once it gets overcrowded, monster will venture out of the dungeon's gates and invade the material plane, which is what is happening to the vast forest that I've spawned at.
However, one can change the purpose of the dungeon as something farmable, so long as it is managed well. Everything in the dungeon is harvestable, including the environment, not just the monsters. I have one dungeon in particular about two miles to the east of the homebase tree that was all desert, but there was a massive cavernous system underneath the surface. There were a generous amount of mana ore. Mana ore can be mined and processed to become mana stones, which can be used for weapons, armor, tools, artifacts and maybe even for modern-age equipment, like a blender.
Unfortunately, I did not have the Artificer Class, otherwise, I would have found ways on how to operate a blender without using modern-day batteries, or electrical generators, by utilizing mana stones as its new energy source. I could not even process the mana ore into mana stones. For now, I was satisfied with mining the stuff. Who knows? Once I would come across civilizations, I could sell these for higher prices. Or!
Or I could bring it to a dwarf!
Once again, I lament the lack of human contact. Don't get me wrong; Chione, Pele, and Lila have been excellent companions for me over the past year. However, I still yearn to meet new people. While I've never been a social butterfly, it would be nice to encounter friendly visitors rather than the dungeon monsters that attempt to attack me or the clever ones that flee in fear. I could even showcase my cooking skills or exhibit my most remarkable conquests from raiding dungeons, or perhaps present them with the largest mana ore I've unearthed from the Desert-dungeon.
I apologize if it sounded like I was bragging; I simply long for even a brief connection with another person. Just one individual would suffice for a little while...
Suddenly... as if my prayers were heard.
"Yeeep! Yeeeeeeep~~!"
"What is it, Pele?"
It was just after dinner, and Pele insisted on going for a stroll. She did this several times a week, especially after we had indulgent meals in the evening. Although I never needed to exercise due to the blessings bestowed upon me by Elheim, it helped with discipline and gave me a sense of being human, or at least as human as I could be.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Anyway, once we left Coniston and found ourselves outside the homebase tree, Pele started to indicate that something was amiss. At least, that's what I gathered from her gestures.
"What is it, girl?"
"Yip-Yip!" She pointed her head in a specific direction, then leaped off and transformed back to her normal size—bigger than a shire horse—and dashed through the forest, leaving ethereal embers in her wake.
"Hey! Wait for me!" I quickly followed her, with my little slime familiar, Lila, clinging to my right shoulder.
Despite having higher stats than my companions, my foxes still possessed superior senses. They could detect creatures, big or small, within a radius of 30 miles. For a horse, covering such a distance would take an entire day, but my foxes and I could traverse it in just 5 minutes. We were capable of sprinting at an incredible speed of 528 feet per second for hours on end, provided there were no obstacles in our way, such as monsters or dungeon gates. However, tonight was different.
When Pele finally came to a halt, she let out a roar and gestured forward with her head, as if to say, "look!" As soon as I followed her line of sight, I noticed a young blonde male being cornered by a 12-feet tall ogre with blue skin, wielding a spiked club. The young man was on the verge of being struck by the bipedal, horned monster if nothing was done. Swiftly, I retrieved my bow from my item box and loaded an arrow. Taking aim at the creature, I let the arrow loose. It flew with tremendous speed, seemingly freezing the two figures in time. The arrow pierced through the ogre from behind, causing it to waver in pain and drop its club. Vines adorned with thorns and roses sprouted from the arrow, entangling the hostile creature. Soon, the enchantment known as "spirited away" took effect, engulfing the ogre in a bright light before it vanished into thin air along with the entwining thicket.
And just like that, the young man was saved. He appeared somewhat bewildered, unable to comprehend what had just transpired, until his gaze finally settled on me.
Lowering my bow, I signaled for Pele to remain in her position as I carefully approached the young man. For months now, I have been longing to meet another person, even though I never actually put any effort into searching for some. This was literally my first contact with this world's humanity.
As I approached, I carefully observed the young man's appearance. He appeared to be quite young, possibly not even in his twenties. He had a thin, frail frame and bore visible signs of injury. Blood trickled down from his right temple, and his left shoulder metal pauldron appeared crushed, indicating a recent encounter with the ogre or another creature that narrowly spared him from more severe harm.
Suddenly, he wielded his sword with his good right hand and pointed it in my direction.
"Stay back!" he shouted, his grip trembling from either the weight of the weapon or fear towards me.
Halting my steps, I raised my hands in a non-threatening gesture.
"Easy there, kid. I'm not going to hurt you," I assured him.
Surprised, he dropped the sword and released a weary breath.
"Who... who are you?" he asked, his tone growing more cautious.
Usually, it would be considered rude to ask someone for their name without introducing oneself first. However, given the dire circumstances, such social niceties were pardoned. Besides, he was wounded and in need of fast treatment. I wasn't entirely sure of the extent of his injuries, but I needed to gain his trust quickly so I could administer a health potion.
"My name is Connie Shiells. I live here," I said.
His eyes widened as large as plates, filled with terror. "You... you live here? You live in the Woods of Purgatory?"
Woods of Purgatory? Is that what this forest is called?
"I guess? I've been living here for about a year now," I confessed, shrugging my shoulders. "It's not that bad."
He shuddered in horror and tried to scoot away from me, but his back was against the cliff wall.
"You're not human," he exclaimed under his breath.
I looked myself over. "Hmm... I'm pretty sure I am."
I could sense that my calm demeanor was slowly causing him to doubt that I had any harmful intentions towards him, as his shoulders relaxed from their tension.
"And what about that creature behind you?" he asked warily, his gaze fixated on Pele.
"Oh, Pele? That's my pet fox. She's friendly," I assured him. "Pele, come."
Understanding the need to appear harmless, Pele transformed into her cub-size version and trotted over to me. She began rubbing herself against my legs like a cat, emitting soft, high-pitched noises and pawing at my ankles, requesting to be picked up. Unable to resist her cuteness, I happily obliged and gathered her in my arms, momentarily forgetting about the injured youth nearby.
"W-what is she?" he asked, sounding less afraid.
"Pele is a 3-tail blazing fox. I have another one, but she's a glacier fox and she's currently guarding my home," I offered more information than necessary, but engaging in conversation seemed to help calm the nerves. "Anyway, you look injured. I have a healing potion if you want it."
His brows furrowed suspiciously. "What is your price, hunter?"
Price? Did I need to establish a price in order for him to trust me at least a little? Perhaps he had been taught that nothing was ever free in this world—or any world, for that matter.
I raised a brow. "Do you even have money on you?"
He wilted a bit. "My retainers---!.!.!"
His words trailed off, and he seemed to be suddenly in a state of panic. For a moment, I thought an enemy was about to strike us, but Pele remained calm in my arms. Maybe the youth had remembered something urgent regarding his retainers?
"What's wrong?" I asked, urging him to speak.
"My retainers...! They're in danger!" he shouted, forcing himself to stand and using the rocky wall for support. He tried to walk but fell to his knees instantly, wincing as he gripped his right ankle—probably twisted it.
There were more of them?
Before I could ask, he looked up at me with a determined glint in his eyes. Then he pleaded, "I beg of you, Lady Connie!"
Lady Connie... Me?! A Lady...?!
"--Please save them! Save my retinue!" he said. "I am Philip, the First Prince of the Devontae kingdom! If you save them, I will repay you generously! I don't know who you are or what you are, but you have defeated the ogre, and I am not as strong as you. I cannot let them die or sacrifice themselves for a pathetic prince like me!"
Then he bowed his head very low, his forehead nearly touching the earth.
Although I winced at his self-deprecating remarks and my heart ached at his pleading, I was still more shocked by the revelation that he was a prince—the First Prince of Devontae. I had so many questions. Why was he here? How did he get here? Why was he traveling through the Woods of Purgatory? I hadn't assessed his strength yet, but it was clear he wasn't particularly powerful. Regardless, I couldn't bring myself to refuse his request. Moreover, I still remembered the bucket list that Elheim had left for me, and I hadn't completed another objective since living in seclusion here in the so-called Woods of Purgatory.
> ☐ Save and Protect the Innocent | 0/1
> → Repeated objective. Target goals will increase for each completion. Accrued number is based on individuals rescued.
I wondered what kind of rewards I would receive as I continued to fulfill this goal.
Glancing down at my fox, I asked her, "Pele, can you help me find the rest of them?"
She yipped happily before leaping out of my arms and striking a pointing dog pose.
"Alright."
However, I didn't want to leave this prince undefended, so I picked up Lila from my shoulder and set her down on the grass in front of the prince. The little lavender slime tilted its head, as if questioning why I was placing her there.
"Lila, you stay here and guard this young man," I instructed. "Give him a health potion too."
Lila jumped up and down twice, her way of indicating agreement. Meanwhile, the prince looked bewildered that I had asked a tiny slime, no bigger than my fist, to protect him while I was gone. It might have seemed insulting, but that slime was an extension of me and just as powerful.
"Okay." I twisted my neck to crack it a bit. "Let's go, Pele!"
"Yip!"
And off we went.
~◇~◇~◇~
Prince Philip blinked in astonishment as the mysterious woman named Connie and her little fox, Pele, vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind—not even a disturbance in the air. The only one remaining was the tiny lilac-colored slime that the woman had entrusted to protect him. He could hardly believe it. While it might have seemed like an insult at first, witnessing a glimpse of the woman's strength made him question whether this slime was truly ordinary and weak. After all, he had never seen one with a purple hue. Slimes were typically either aqua or lime green, but never... lavender.
The tiny lilac slime, Lila, hopped over to Prince Philip like a rabbit, coming to a stop just a foot away from him.
In an instant, it expanded before producing a vial, which landed safely on the ground without cracking—an impressively sturdy glass container.
Philip gaped in disbelief at the scene, and the slime started jumping up and down, trying to grab his attention. When it succeeded, it pushed the vial toward him as if urging him to take it.
"You... you want me to drink this?" he asked, his voice filled with hesitation.
The slime bounced up and down twice, affirming its message.
With a mix of curiosity and caution, the prince picked up the vial and examined it. Was this the health potion that Lady Connie had mentioned? He had never seen one so red before. Typically, health potions were orange in color. Despite his suspicions, he reasoned that if the woman had wanted to harm him, she could have done so already or had her powerful fox attack him. Why would she bother giving him poison? It was evident that she was no ordinary monster hunter, considering her extended stay in the Woods of Purgatory. One could even argue that she was not entirely human.
"I'm pretty sure I am," he recalled her saying.
The slime bounced around again, as if urging him to drink it now.
"Okay, okay," he acquiesced, and the slime stopped, patiently waiting. Though it lacked eyes, he could sense it watching him.
Removing the cork, he downed the entire contents of the vial in one gulp. He braced himself for instant death, but instead, he felt a warm sensation spreading throughout his body as a radiant light engulfed him for a few seconds. When it subsided, the pain in his shoulder and ankle had vanished. His head no longer felt heavy, and even his exhaustion had dissipated.
It was incredible. What kind of potion was this that could cure him of all his ailments?
The slime bounced around again, expressing its joy at his rapid recovery, but Philip remained bewildered.
Who... who exactly was that woman?
~◇~◇~◇~