Daily Life and Sudden Change

Gurgle, gurgle...

The scalding hot water churned in the pot, constantly making popping sounds as bubbles burst.

"Slurp... Mmm, smells good!"

Moss stirred the soup gently with a spoon, sniffing the air as she watched the pieces of meat rotate in the pot.

'Master!'

Moss nodded, taking the vegetable pieces handed over by Little Ball and tossing them into the pot.

She then scooped out some refined oil from a small jar nearby and stirred it into the soup.

Gurgle, gurgle...

"Alright, let the soup simmer like this."

Moss covered the pot with a wooden board, then fed a Concentrated Mana Orb into the stove, instructing Little Ball to watch the fire before turning away.

She then moved to another wall, examining the simple map drawn there.

This map was the result of Moss's explorations over the past two months!

The four X-shaped patterns on it represented the activity ranges of the four threatening targets.

In addition to that, the map also marked the gathering places of many creatures.

Moss grabbed some mud and smudged out some of the markings on the map, then drew new ones.

This was to record the location of the spider group she encountered yesterday, as well as the movements of some surrounding creatures.

However, it was still winter, and most creatures weren't very active, so there weren't many places that needed modification.

Moss stood before the map, stroking her chin and muttering to herself:

"That group of spiders has been so active lately, and their range has started to move westward, getting closer to the Snake Den's territory soon..."

"Will these two factions start fighting?"

The thought of this possibility made Moss's heart tremble slightly, but she soon shook her head with a chuckle.

What did their fighting have to do with her? It couldn't possibly affect her here.

However, the recent abnormal behavior of these Black Spider groups did make Moss a little concerned.

What could possibly be making this group of Black Spiders so agitated?

Could it really be due to Mana?

Due to the constant discharge of wastewater from the magic arrays, the concentration of Magic Substance in the surrounding air was much higher than in other places.

Some ordinary creatures, by passively absorbing too much Magic Substance, would indeed have higher aggression than ordinary animals that hadn't absorbed any Magic Substance.

However, situations like the Black Rats and Black Spiders being abnormally agitated were quite uncommon. Moss hadn't found any animals behaving this way besides these two so far.

She had a premonition that something was influencing these abnormal animals.

"I shouldn't go to the Snake Den to catch snakes anymore. Although snake meat is delicious, I just have a feeling something bad might happen."

Moss crossed her arms, frowning, and began to consider her plan for the day.

"I'll go to the pond on the east side today. I'm running low on frog and lizard meat at home..."

Puyo! Puyo...

'Master, fire! Fire!'

Little Ball's slightly anxious voice came from her mind, interrupting Moss's thoughts.

She turned her head and saw Little Ball anxiously jumping in front of the stove, while the fire in the stove had gone out.

"Ah, coming, coming."

Moss responded, went over to Little Ball, comforted it, and said with a smile:

"Silly little thing, it's just the fire going out, what's there to be so anxious about."

She lifted the lid, stirred the contents of the pot with her spoon, and nodded, saying:

"Alright, it's ready to eat!"

She picked up another jar from beside the stove, carefully pinched a small amount of white crystals, and sprinkled them into the soup.

"Mmm! A little salt makes it taste even better!"

Moss stirred the meat soup with the spoon, scooped up some and tasted it, smiling with satisfaction.

Salt! Truly the king of all flavors!

Even with just a little salt, the soup's taste transformed into a different kind of deliciousness!

As for why Moss had salt?

Of course, she had refined it herself!

There was saltpeter in the sewers. By collecting this saltpeter, dissolving it, filtering it, and then boiling it dry, one could obtain saltpeter salt!

This was a type of sodium chloride (the main component of salt) containing impurities like sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.

Saltpeter salt has preservative properties and can be used as a preservative, but excessive intake can cause cancer; it is a potent carcinogen.

In the past, common folk called it "little salt," and its taste was similar to table salt, with a slight bitterness.

Although she couldn't eat much, eating it occasionally was already a form of happiness for Moss.

After savoring it, Moss wasted no more time. She took the pot off the stove, preparing to eat breakfast!

"I'm starting!"

The stewed meat and vegetables, combined with the broth, burst in her mouth, filling her with aroma.

Delicious!

The taste was no different from ordinary home-cooked meals. Moss was even a little impressed with herself for being able to make such food in this environment.

However, delicious as it was, she still silently sped up her eating.

She had a lot to do today, and for someone who wanted to improve herself, time was always insufficient...

"I'm full."

Moss put down her spoon and softly spoke, looking at the empty pot.

She reached out and caressed the Little Ball, which was quietly staying by her side, as Mana slowly flowed into its body.

'Master!'

The Little Ball, feeling the Mana Moss was transmitting, happily wiggled its body!

"I'm going out. I'll leave the dishes to you."

Moss poked the Little Ball and said with a smile.

'Yes, Master!'

Moss smiled again as she watched the Little Ball begin to swallow the pot and spoon to clean them.

She stood up and walked towards the cave entrance. Her daily life had begun anew.

Swish, swish, swish—

Several pink afterimages streaked through the air, heading straight for the figure rapidly running on the wall!

Chuh!

Pat, pat, pat...

"Oh no, that was close!"

Moss turned her head slightly, looking at the tongues that had pierced the rocks behind her, and laughed maniacally:

"This power is already comparable to bullets!"

These frogs and lizards had been eating insects that bred in the magic array's wastewater pond for a long time. Each of them was almost mutated into a monster!

The same went for those insects; they were all plump and robust, even the mosquitoes were as big as a thumb!

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

"Oh? You guys are joining the fight too?"

Moss grinned as she looked at the swarm of giant mosquitoes blocking her path, her face turning completely ferocious!

"But... you're not strong enough!"

Pa-whoosh!

Moss's entire body instantly erupted with intense flames, transforming into a blazing sun as she charged headfirst into the mosquito swarm!

Boom, boom, boom...

They couldn't even block her. The mosquito swarm, facing Moss's charge, instantly turned into balls of flame and fell!

"Ahahaha, no match for me!"

Moss laughed heartily as she ran rapidly on the wall as if on level ground!

Seizing an opportunity, she leaped forward and pounced on a large lizard!

"Blade Impact!"

Her scorching claws slashed through the net-like red afterimages, instantly dismembering the entire lizard into pieces!

The scattered meat chunks fell to the ground, emitting thick white smoke. Upon closer inspection, the cross-sections were already charred black, completely burnt!

"Hya! Blade Storm!"

Moss, engulfed in flames, transformed into a small whirlwind and charged into the enemy ranks!

Swish, swish, swish, swish—

Accompanied by countless flying limbs, the surrounding frogs and lizards began to turn and flee!

Moss didn't pursue them relentlessly; she had killed enough to last her for a while.

The flames extinguished, she stood amidst the scattered limbs and silently counted their numbers.

"A total of 13… a pretty good haul."

Moss crouched down and began to gather the prey, piling up the edible parts for easy transport later.

However, just then, a strange sound suddenly rang out!

Swish!

Moss's expression changed, and before her mind could even process it, her body automatically rolled to the side!

Bang—!!!

"It's you!"