Winter Is Coming

Moss opened her status panel and looked at the Job Points she had received for leveling up, a smile curling across her lips.

"Finally, I have Job Points. Now I can unlock Talents!"

Moss eagerly opened the Job Talent Tree, ready to select the Talent she had favored from the very beginning!

Fist Technique, Swordsmanship, Blade Technique, Axe Technique, Staff Technique...

All sorts of varied Talents appeared before Moss's eyes, but she did not spare them a second glance.

Moss looked directly at the bottom row of the Talent Tree!

There was only one Talent on that row, and it was also the starting point for every profession!

Talent: Meditation Body Refinement

Moss did not hesitate and immediately spent her only Job Point on this Talent!

"With this, leveling up won't be limited to fighting monsters anymore. I can improve through training too!"

Moss looked at the newly appeared Talent on her panel and nodded in satisfaction.

This was a universal Talent for all professions: Meditation Body Refinement!

By meditating and controlling the Magic Power within one's body for physical refinement training, one could significantly increase Spirit and Constitution, thereby leveling up!

"Interesting. So it's just training by controlling Magic Power?"

Moss sorted through the memories of Meditation Body Refinement in her mind and rubbed her chin with interest.

"There's no ability here for absorbing Mana Essence from the air. That means there's still room for improvement..."

Of course, Moss did not immediately try to absorb the Mana Essence in the air.

Setting aside the fact that she did not even know how to absorb Mana Essence from the air, merely using Magic Power to refine her body would be enough to keep her occupied for a long time.

Trying to run before she could walk would only make her fall flat on her face. Moss was not that foolish.

"Yoshi! Then let's try the effects of body refi... ah... ah, achoo!!!"

Moss suddenly sneezed, vigorously rubbing her arms as she shivered and cried out:

"So cold!"

Talent: Cold Resistance (10%↑)

Moss looked around and was shocked to discover that the air had already grown very cold!

"The time... Right, winter is coming!"

Oh no!

Moss's heart jolted, and a wave of panic rose within her.

Her previous obsessive research had made her forget the time and forget her current situation!

Food and warmth had been easy to obtain in her previous life, but they were much harder to come by in these sewers!

Moss had completely forgotten that she needed to prepare for winter!

"This is going to be troublesome..."

Moss looked at the sewer still flowing with filthy water, feeling both relieved and troubled.

She was relieved because the sewers were definitely warmer than the world above, but that was also what troubled her: they were sewers.

During winter, the amount of food Moss could find in the sewers would definitely decrease drastically!

That meant she would have to spend much more time on finding food every day!

Moreover, moving around in winter consumed body heat at an extreme rate, greatly increasing the difficulty of foraging for Moss!

"What should I do?"

Moss rubbed her head in distress as she considered her options.

To be honest, if she merely wanted to survive the winter, there were only two basic requirements.

Enough food and a warm place!

"Should I look for a new habitat?"

Moss looked around at her surroundings and began to calculate.

She had already moved once before, and food was still fairly abundant in her current location.

Though the things called food were all things Moss found hard to accept, like insects, lizards, frogs, and the like.

Still, she could at least eat her fill, and more importantly, there were plenty of Slimes here for her research!

But that would no longer work now!

The temperature here was far too low, and the flowing water was freezing cold.

Though the filthy water did not look like it would freeze, it would definitely make the surrounding temperature even colder!

If that happened, the creatures nearby would surely become less active!

Some would hibernate, while others would migrate.

By then, relying on hunting for food would become even more difficult for Moss.

"I really do have to move!"

Having made up her mind, Moss turned and ran toward her cave home!

The cave was not far from here, and Moss quickly returned home.

Puyo!

Master, home!

Sensing Moss's return, Little Ball hopped over to her and rubbed against her.

"I'm back."

Moss reached out and patted Little Ball before beginning to prepare for the move!

In truth, she did not have much to prepare. She only needed to pack up a few things she had collected.

"Let's see..."

Moss stood inside the cave, looking at the things she had fished out of the filthy water during her spare time.

A soggy map, wooden decorations, rusty iron nails, iron scraps, wooden sticks, rings, necklaces, a compass...

"Three gold rings, this gemstone necklace needs to come too, and this..."

Moss picked up a battered compass, examined it, then placed it on a piece of rag beside her.

Moss had once intended to use tools. After all, she had been human in her previous life and naturally understood the benefits of using them.

That was why she had always collected items that might prove useful.

She had also tried making weapons before, such as tying sharp iron scraps onto sticks.

But she soon abandoned that idea!

Because she realized that she was no longer human. She did not have the nimble hands or body structure of a human.

A rat's body was not enough to let her use tools as easily and freely as a human could.

Holding tools felt like putting shackles on herself, making her less agile than relying on her own body.

Besides, Moss needed to train her Talent abilities, and using tools would only hinder that.

So the idea was ultimately dropped.

"Alright, I just need to take these!"

Moss finished packing, stood up, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Three gold rings

One gemstone necklace

One compass

One damaged city map

One hand-drawn map of the surrounding twenty kilometers

Three fully wrapped candies

Packing complete!

"Little Ball, come here!"

Moss called to Little Ball, who was waiting nearby, signaling it to come over.

Master, what is it?

Puyo!

Upon hearing Moss's voice, Little Ball immediately bounced over.

Moss reached out and patted Little Ball, then stuffed the entire bundle into its body!

"Don't digest it after swallowing it. Store it in your space for me."

After giving the instruction, Moss recalled Little Ball into the Pet Space!

The next moment, Little Ball vanished instantly, while Moss slowly closed her eyes.

Inside the space, Little Ball followed Moss's command and spat out the bundle.

"Good job. Stay in there for now."

Moss praised it before withdrawing her consciousness from the Pet Space.

Yes, Master!

Little Ball's cheerful, childish voice rang out in her mind. Moss could feel it hopping about and sense its joyful mood.

Moss smiled, extremely pleased with the ability she had discovered!

Slime Storage Space!

Using a Slime's swallowing ability, Moss had developed the Pet Space into a storage function.

Perhaps only Moss could have thought of such an ability, because in reality, no one would choose a Slime as a pet.

"The preparations for moving are complete. It's time to set out."

Moss clapped her hands and looked at the home she had built, feeling a little reluctant to leave.

She reached out and stroked the research data on the walls, staring at it for a long while before slowly raising her hand!

"I can't leave these here. It would be bad if someone discovered them, though that probably won't happen. Hahaha..."

Slash! Slash! Slash!!!

Several deep claw marks instantly appeared on the wall, destroying all of the data!

Watching five months of hard work be destroyed, Moss did not actually feel heartbroken, because she still had the memories that had already become a Talent!

Talent: Monster Research: Slime

This Talent was the embodiment of Moss's research into Slimes. All the data had long since been imprinted in her mind!

Destroying these things now was merely a precaution.

With the destruction complete, Moss prepared to set off!

But the moment she stepped outside, Moss was troubled once more.

"Where should I move to next?"