“There are Field Mice inside.”
Yu answered without looking back, his gaze still fixed on the inconspicuous opening.
“Eww!”
Marin instinctively retreated half a step, fear and disgust appearing on her face.
“M-Mice?!
Those things…”
“They’re Field Mice, and they’re edible,” Yu corrected her.
“That’s meat.”
The word “meat” caused a remarkable change in Marin’s expression.
She unconsciously swallowed, and her stomach responded with a louder growl than before.
Her disgust toward rodents competed with her desire for meat—and hunger won easily.
“Meat…
Oh, right!
They’re meat!”
Her eyes lit up as her previous resistance vanished.
Marin moved two steps closer and crouched beside Yu, asking excitedly in a hushed voice, “Then how do we catch them?
Do we reach inside with our hands?
Will they bite?”
Yu shook his head.
“Trying to catch them directly isn’t practical, and it would destroy the nest.
A trap would be our best option.
Unfortunately…”
He glanced at the Logging Axe in his hand and his completely empty skill list.
“We don’t have the Simple Trap skill or any suitable tools.”
As for the excavation option, Yu had never seriously considered it.
Digging with their bare hands would be terribly inefficient.
More importantly, excavating the burrow would permanently destroy the Mouse Burrow Resource Node.
Even if they got lucky and uncovered some Grain or Unknown Seeds, it would still be a one-time reward.
In a world where they needed to survive long-term, a renewable Resource Node was far more valuable than a single harvest.
“Looks like we can’t do anything with it yet—”
Before Yu could finish, a soft but distinct clucking sound came from behind a nearby patch of shrubs.
Both of them froze and looked at each other.
“Was that…
a chicken?” Marin asked uncertainly.
Yu immediately raised a finger to his lips, signaling for her to stay quiet.
He carefully parted the grass before him and peered toward the source of the sound.
A colorful bird slightly smaller than a domestic chicken was strolling through a sparse patch of Grassland roughly a dozen meters away.
It lowered its head from time to time, pecking at grass seeds and small insects.
Under the Eye of Omniscience, a clear label appeared above its head.
[Pheasant (Lv.
1)]
[Description: A wild bird that inhabits Grasslands.
Its meat is tender and flavorful, but it is highly alert.]
[HP: 10/10]
[Attack: 0]
[Defense: 1]
[Trait: Skittish]
[Extremely sensitive to movement in its surroundings.]
[It will immediately panic and fly away if any creature enters within five meters.]
Yu’s spirits instantly rose.
‘A Pheasant!
It’s only Level 1 and has no Attack!’
Compared to the Field Mice, which required traps and would be troublesome to prepare, this delicious-looking Pheasant seemed like a luxurious feast delivered straight to them.
Its Defense was only one, meaning any weapon with more than one point of Attack Damage could hurt it.
“No Field Mice, but a Pheasant is even better.”
Yu spoke quietly to Marin, keeping his gaze locked on the colorful bird as it leisurely searched for food.
He took a deep breath and estimated the distance.
The [Skittish] trait covered a five-meter radius.
Before entering that range, Yu needed to close the remaining distance as quickly as possible and finish it with one strike.
He lowered the axe and let it trail lightly along the ground to prevent its metal head from reflecting light or making noise.
Yu crouched like a hunting cat and used the tall grass as cover, silently creeping toward the Pheasant.
Ten meters…
Eight meters…
Six meters…
‘Now’s my chance!’
With only half a meter remaining before he crossed the critical distance, Yu exploded from the grass.
His legs drove against the ground, launching his entire body toward the Pheasant like an arrow released from a bow.
However, the seemingly unaware bird reacted as though it had eyes on the back of its head.
Just before Yu’s axe touched its colorful feathers, the Pheasant let out a terrified cry.
Cluck!
Its wings beat violently, scattering several feathers as it shot diagonally into the air.
After only a few frantic wingbeats, it vanished into the denser shrubs.
“Tch!”
Yu missed and landed with both hands braced against the Grassland, cursing quietly in frustration.
He had underestimated both the activation speed of [Skittish] and the Pheasant’s agility.
Without a ranged weapon or a more advanced stealth technique, catching such an alert little bird was clearly not easy.
Yu climbed to his feet and brushed the grass and soil from his hands.
Failing to catch the Pheasant was disappointing, but they still needed to continue exploring.
Just as he prepared to call Marin and search elsewhere, something in the patch of grass flattened beneath his fall caught his attention.
Under several bent blades of grass, a unique speck of emerald green shimmered with an almost imperceptible glow.
Yu crouched and pushed the grass aside.
It was a small, delicate four-leaf clover.
Its four heart-shaped leaves were perfectly symmetrical, displaying a vibrant, nearly flawless emerald green.
Clear veins spread across each leaf, which seemed to emit its own soft glow beneath the fading daylight.
Every ordinary three-leaf clover around it appeared dull by comparison.
[Lucky Four-Leaf Clover (Rare)]
[Description: A legendary symbol of good fortune and an exceptionally rare plant.]
[It appears to have an extremely small chance of naturally forming in certain environments only on the First Day.]
[It will wither and disappear before dawn the following day.]
[Use: Consume directly to permanently increase Luck by 1.]
[Only the first consumption is effective.]
‘What did I just find?!’
Yu’s heart trembled.
It permanently increased Luck—and was a Rare item that could appear only on the First Day.
Luck might seem vague, but it affected critical-hit rates, rare drops, and the chance of random events producing favorable outcomes.
It was undoubtedly a hidden, god-tier attribute.
His own miserable five points of Luck were almost painful to look at.
“Yu-kun, how did it go?
Did you catch it?”
Marin hurried over with anticipation written across her face.
“No.”
Yu shook his head, but instead of sounding disappointed, his voice carried a different kind of happiness.
“What a shame…”
Marin sighed regretfully.
“But I found something even better.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Something better?
Is it delicious?”
Her eyes immediately lit up again as she searched Yu’s hands.
Her thoughts remained firmly tied to food.
Yu glanced at her without answering whether it was edible.
He carefully plucked the fragile Lucky Four-Leaf Clover with a small clump of soil still attached and placed it in his palm.
The emerald leaves looked even more delicate and vibrant against his dirt-stained hand.
Yu had originally planned to eat the Lucky Four-Leaf Clover immediately.
A permanent point of Luck would undoubtedly provide an enormous advantage to his survival.
However, when he looked up and saw Marin’s clear eyes, he remembered the nine points of Luck revealed by the Eye of Omniscience.
Nine points plus one would become ten.
In a world governed by probability and item drops, how much of an advantage could ten points of Luck provide?
It could lead to more Rare items and more favorable random events.
Giving the point to Marin might produce far greater long-term benefits than using it on himself.
The possibility that Marin might leave or even betray him after gaining its benefits briefly crossed Yu’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
This was not blind trust.
It was a judgment based on several hours of observation.
Marin’s innocent, optimistic, and slightly scatterbrained personality, along with her subtle dependence on him, had already caused Yu to subconsciously consider her one of his own.
From his perspective, increasing her strength also improved their temporary group’s chances of survival.
“Open your mouth.”
Yu offered no explanation.
He merely looked at Marin and spoke calmly.
“Huh?”
Marin froze in confusion, but instinctively obeyed and parted her lips slightly.
Her soft pink lips opened to reveal pearly white teeth and the tip of her tongue.
Yu gently picked up the small Lucky Four-Leaf Clover with his other hand and carefully brought it toward her mouth.
Although Marin was confused, Yu’s serious expression persuaded her to obediently accept the plant, which carried the scents of fresh grass and damp soil.
Her warm, tender lips inevitably brushed against the fingers holding the clover’s stem.
The sensation was extraordinarily soft and moist.
Her warm breath also washed over his fingertips.
Yu’s fingers trembled slightly, and he quickly pulled them away.
He lowered his gaze toward his fingertips.
A tiny trace of glistening moisture clung to them—the wetness left behind by Marin’s lips.
His gaze involuntarily shifted back toward her.
Marin was frowning as she struggled to chew the nearly tasteless clover, which carried a slightly raw, grassy flavor.
Her soft pink lips opened and closed with every bite.
They were full, healthy, and glistened invitingly beneath the sunset’s fading light.
A strange heat suddenly surged from deep within Yu, causing his Adam’s apple to bob unconsciously.
The impulse nearly overwhelmed his reason.
Yu abruptly closed his eyes and inhaled the cool evening air, forcibly suppressing the unfamiliar emotions surging inside him.
‘This isn’t the time for that.
Survival comes first.’
‘Anything like that can wait until tonight.’
He turned away from Marin, refusing to look at her again.
His voice sounded slightly dry when he spoke.
“Let’s go.
It’ll be dark soon, and we need to prepare the cabin for repairs.”
Yu picked up the axe and strode toward the cabin without looking back.
“Mmph…
Huh?
Wait for me, Yu-kun!”
Marin finally swallowed the Lucky Four-Leaf Clover.
Her throat felt slightly itchy, but she noticed no other changes.
She stared at Yu’s suddenly strange behavior in confusion before hurrying after him, her hair swaying behind her with every step.