"Um... where exactly did you get all these things?" Ethan couldn’t help asking.
Pearl had said only beastmen lived in this Great Forest. Given Draugor’s massive frame, these tools were far too small for him to use.
"I occasionally take a stroll outside the forest, or I loot them from enemies who attack us. Moo~" Draugor said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Whatever their origin, these items were a blessing.
The iron hammer went without saying — a literal divine artifact. The nails would come in handy for a sturdier shelter, and the crowbar was perfect for prying and moving heavy things. As for that large iron cauldron...
’I can finally make soup!’
At the thought, Ethan’s energy surged. He stood up. "Alright, let’s get to work!"
"I’ll help you carry the materials!" Draugor stood as well.
"Then I’ll trouble you with that. Pearl, let’s go."
"Meow~! Let’s go, meow~!"
With Pearl and Draugor helping, Ethan ventured into the forest once more.
The most troublesome part was selecting wood for the axe handles. After careful picking, Ethan settled on a few suitable White Ironwood trees — and with Draugor’s monstrous strength, they simply uprooted them whole and hauled them back to the shelter.
"You’re incredibly strong!" Ethan said sincerely.
"It’s nothing!" Draugor spoke humbly, but pride spread all over his face. He patted his thick, bulging muscles and sat down to the side to rest.
Ethan picked up his stone axe and got busy. He whittled the White Ironwood down to the right dimensions, fitted the shafts onto the axe heads, and finished each blade carefully on a whetstone.
"The stone hammers are trickier. The handles are fine, but these heads are cracked all over. A few more swings and they’ll shatter completely."
"I know! That’s why we’ve been holding onto them without using them!" Draugor chimed in.
"It’s fine. I just need to replace the stones."
Fortunately, if the riverbank had one thing in abundance, it was stones. Ethan quickly found rocks of the right size, dismantled the cracked heads, and fitted the fresh ones in place.
[Heavy Combat Stone Hammer]
[A hammer made from stone, wood, and leather cords. In combat, it can deal massive damage to enemies. It can also be used to smash hard objects.]
[Hammer of Gaia effect triggered: Stun effect added.]
[Crafting Difficulty: ★★]
"Hmm..."
No Well-crafted this time — but the Hammer of Gaia’s effect had triggered instead. Looking at the new stone hammer and its added Stun attribute, Ethan could only marvel. He really had struck gold with that hammer.
Draugor took the weapon and gave it a few test swings, unable to hold back his praise. "This is amazing! I’ve never used a weapon that feels this balanced!"
"Alright, that’s all the weapons... By the way, that meat you gave me was Horned Rabbit, right? Could you get me one of its horns?"
"A horn? I have one right here." Draugor reached into his pouch and pulled out a sharp, pointed horn.
Ethan examined it closely, then used a stone hammer to carefully chip it into several small segments. He picked one and ground it slowly against a whetstone. After who knew how long, a fine-tipped bone needle lay in his palm.
He used a nail to punch small holes along the torn leather bags, threaded his new needle, and began sewing.
"Wow! That’s incredible!" Draugor said in awe.
It didn’t take long to patch every bag. Next, the leather pants — extremely tough leather, but with a massive hole worn straight through the knee.
"Some extra leather should cover this," he muttered. He cut scrap leather into shape with his glass stone knife and sewed it seamlessly over the hole.
"Thank you so much, human!" Draugor said, deeply moved.
"Just call me Ethan. If anything else needs repairing, come find me anytime. As long as it’s within my abilities, I’ll help."
He got paid, and he got to grind his skills. Doing business with the Minotaur was a thoroughly pleasant experience.
"Understood! Then I’ll see you next time!"
Watching Draugor leave, Ethan let out a long breath. Repairing that many tools was genuinely draining.
"It’s getting dark, meow," Pearl reminded him.
"Meow, let’s go eat some roast meat, meow!"
"Alright. After we eat, let’s gather some more food."
"Meow! Sounds good, meow~!"
After a quick clean-up and a hearty meal of roasted rabbit, Ethan took Pearl back into the forest — this time in a completely new direction.
"Look over there, meow! That’s Blue Cabbage, meow! The leaves are bright and vibrant — you can tell it’s delicious just by looking, meow! Crisp and refreshing, everyone loves it, meow! But if it gets too old, the bugs get to it first, so pick it early, meow!"
Ethan plucked a head of Blue Cabbage — a size smaller than a standard cabbage — and slipped it into his bag.
Along the way, they discovered plenty of new flora. Some edible, some not.
"It’s a good thing I have you, Pearl. Otherwise, I doubt I’d survive three days," Ethan sighed. And that was with all his knowledge of Earth’s plants. If he had been completely clueless, he’d have gone hungry.
"What are you talking about, meow?"
"Nothing. Just... thank you."
"Meow-hahaha~! Then make sure to feed me grilled fish every day, meow!"
"As long as I catch them, they’re yours."
"Meow! How about we make a few more fish traps, meow?"
"Good idea."
Man and cat chatted as they walked, foraging as they went.
"Huh? What’s this?"
"It’s Sweet Beets, meow! So many Sweet Beets, meow! Meow, meow! This is awesome!"
They had stumbled onto an entire patch of wild Sweet Beets. Dense vines carpeted the ground, laden with tubers — many already bulging up out of the soil, tops exposed. Some of the vines were even flowering, which meant they could harvest Sweet Beet seeds.
Yes — the edible part of the Sweet Beet was the root tuber, not the flowers or seeds.
"Maybe we can farm our own Sweet Beets," Ethan said, excitement rising.
"Wow! Does that mean we can eat Sweet Beets every day, meow?!"
"Every day might be pushing it, but regularly? No problem."
"That’s amazing, meow~!"
Just as the two of them were fully immersed in the joy of their harvest, a voice echoed from behind.
"You two — aren’t you going to share the good stuff?"