Chapter 4: Summoning a Spirit Beast
This video log seemed to have a good effect, and the system rewarded 30 pioneer points.
30 pioneer points were equivalent to completing another villager’s commission.
Chu Jiu contentedly extinguished the stove fire and lay down on his pile of dry grass.
He had been digging eggs and catching fish all day, and he fell asleep quickly after lying on the grass pile.
When he woke up, the sky was just beginning to brighten.
Chu Jiu subconsciously wanted to raise his hand to rub his eyes, but found that his arms were inexplicably sore.
He tried to sit up again—
His whole body ached! Like he had slept all night on a long bench in a waiting room.
Chu Jiu turned his stiff neck and looked around, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:
He had always been a restless sleeper, and he didn’t know when he had rolled off the pile of dry grass last night, sleeping all night on the bare, hard wooden floor.
He sneezed twice, thinking that he had to build a bed for himself today.
And so he did.
He found the “Single Bed Construction” section in the “Production Manual,” and while reading, he calculated in his head how wide and long the wood should be, how the joints should be connected…
Two hours passed.
He knew how to build a wooden bed in his mind.
Unfortunately, with his woodworking skills, it would probably take several days to build this bed.
Was he going to continue rolling onto the floor tonight and wake up with a sore body?
Just as Chu Jiu was feeling a little worried, the system prompt sounded:
[The host has independently completed the production of more than 3 recipes and simulated the production method of items in his mind by reading books. The host can now activate the “Recipe Comprehension” skill!]
[Recipe Comprehension: After the host learns the production method of an item, there is no need to actually make it. Just complete the simulated production in the background “virtual assembly line” to activate the recipe for the corresponding item!]
[Each use of the “Recipe Comprehension” skill consumes spirit points. Please use this skill flexibly according to your own state!]
Eh?
There was such a shortcut!
Chu Jiu immediately clicked on this skill.
[Please simulate the production process of the required recipe as detailed as possible. The more detailed the simulation, the fewer spirit points are consumed.]
Then, a “production line” with several blank spaces actually appeared in Chu Jiu’s mind!
Next to the blank spaces were small icons of raw materials or tools such as wood, rulers, and hammers.
What Chu Jiu needed to do was to drag these small icons into different blank spaces according to the production process of the single bed, and then clearly label the specific usage.
Chu Jiu marveled at how this system interface looked like a children’s game, while diligently dragging and labeling.
A moment later, the system prompted:
[Use 1 spirit point to obtain “Simple Single Bed” recipe X1]
[Would you like to use spirit points immediately?]
Use.
[Obtained “Simple Single Bed” recipe X1]
[Recipe Attribute: Item Recipe]
[Recipe Usage Requirement: 1 spirit point, 5 pieces of wood]
Chu Jiu let out a sigh of relief and clicked “Use.”
[Construction time required: Approximately 120 minutes]
It was much faster than him knocking and hammering with woodworking tools.
While waiting for the system to build the bed, Chu Jiu simply used the recipe in the book to weave a mattress out of dry grass.
Two hours later, a simple, natural wood-colored single bed appeared before Chu Jiu.
Chu Jiu quickly spread his mattress on it and rolled around on it.
It was really nice! It was much more comfortable to sleep on than the floor!
Chu Jiu originally wanted to build a set of tables and chairs—after all, it was a bit sad to squat on the ground to eat every day—but he ran out of wood.
He checked the time and decided to go to the Forgotten Forest to cut more wood and catch more fish.
*
Not far from the hut, Chu Jiu noticed a young woman in a brown dress lingering under the road sign, occasionally glancing in his direction.
Did she have something to say?
Chu Jiu waved to her.
As a result, she stopped, gave Chu Jiu a somewhat flustered salute, and then ran away quickly.
Chu Jiu: …?
Chu Jiu shook his head, not thinking too much, and walked straight towards the forest.
*
Chu Jiu plunged into the depths of the dense forest and cut 80 pieces of wood in one go.
After cutting, Chu Jiu was tired and hungry, and upon checking his stamina, he found that it had decreased by 5 points.
Fortunately, he had dried fish in his backpack.
Chu Jiu picked 10 [Obviously Poisonous Indigo Apples] from the [Mutated Apple Tree], happily sat down under the tree, and prepared to have a quick lunch with apples and dried fish.
However, just as he took out the dried fish from his backpack, he heard a strange “hissing” sound from above.
Chu Jiu instinctively shuddered.
He calmed himself and slowly looked up—
!
A magical creature at least two meters long, with a yellowish-brown body, was coiled around the tree trunk like a python. What might have been its head was slowly probing in Chu Jiu’s direction.
Its mouthparts were split into a black hole the size of a washbasin, with a circle of sharp teeth around the opening. Dozens of brown tentacles grew symmetrically on both sides of its body. These tentacles were constantly rubbing and waving, making a chilling “hissing” sound.
A monster encyclopedia card popped up in Chu Jiu’s mind: [Elementary Hallucigenia. Strong attack, high attack power. Details unknown.]
He was certain that he had never seen such an ugly insect when he was proofreading the material descriptions.
Now, facing the monster eye to eye—no, eye to mouth, Chu Jiu broke out in a cold sweat.
But fortunately, he had died once and was a transmigrator who had seen the world, so he wasn’t completely frightened and could still make basic inferences.
Obviously, this Hallucigenia had taken him as prey.
Could it be that [Body Concealment] wasn’t working? Was this monster too high-level, causing the skill to fail?
Chu Jiu thought for a few seconds, his eyes moving to the dried fish in his hand:
Either the monster was too high-level, or this dried fish was too fragrant and rare, attracting this Hallucigenia with its smell.
No matter what the reason, he had to run.
Chu Jiu didn’t hesitate and chose to use 15 spirit points to activate the active skill [Greased Soles].
A few seconds later, the system popped up a red prompt box: [‘Greased Soles’ failed, the host failed to escape successfully.]
Chu Jiu gasped, slid his body down on the spot, and rolled forward, preparing to rely on his physical strength to escape.
Above his head, the Hallucigenia, seeing its prey about to escape, leaped forward, landing straight on the ground, and then stood up like a poisonous snake, trying to cut off Chu Jiu’s retreat!
Chu Jiu froze for two seconds, his heart moved, and he threw the roasted fish jerky in another direction with all his might.
After throwing three pieces in a row, a gust of wind happened to blow the fragrance of the fish jerky from the upwind direction.
The Hallucigenia’s pairs of tentacles swayed, following the sweet fragrance in the wind, changed direction, and crawled towards the fish jerky.
Chu Jiu didn’t dare to hesitate at all, took out the energy he used for the physical test sprint, and ran and jumped out of the dense forest.
*
When he ran back to the pioneer hut, Chu Jiu was panting, and his stamina was only two points left.
He drank two mouthfuls of water, ate some fish jerky, and rested for a long time, still having lingering fears.
Walking to the tattered window, Chu Jiu looked towards the forest direction with some lingering fear, always worried that the magical creature would follow him, and that terrifying circular mouthpart would suddenly pop out of the ground.
Just as he was worried, the system prompt sounded:
[The host has fulfilled the hidden condition of “returning to the pioneer hut after encountering a magical creature attack!”]
[Obtained the system-given “Pioneer Hut Repair Guide” X1]
[The host can repair, expand, and upgrade the pioneer hut according to the “Guide”]
[Note: As the host’s pioneer level increases, the content of the “Guide” will become richer, please use it properly]
After the prompt, a golden book appeared in front of Chu Jiu!
Opening the first page, it clearly read:
“The pioneer hut naturally has the special attribute of resisting magical creatures.
Attribute effective range: Radiate outward with the outermost facility of the pioneer hut as the center, and the radiation radius depends on the characteristics of the facility itself.
Without adding any auxiliary facilities, the radiation radius is 20 meters.”
…In other words, no magical creatures will attack within a radius of 20 meters around this hut.
Seeing this clear explanation, Chu Jiu felt a little relieved.
However, if he wanted to expand this safe range, he needed to add external facilities to the hut?
Chu Jiu quickly flipped through the pages and found that this was indeed the case: building a circle of the simplest fence could increase the safe distance by another 10 meters.
He looked at the fence’s construction instructions and activated “Recipe Comprehension.”
After dragging the saw, hammer, and wooden strips in the “virtual assembly line” for a long time, Chu Jiu obtained the fence’s recipe.
[Recipe Attribute: Facility Recipe]
[Recipe Usage Requirement: Pioneer Points X20, Wood X20, Spirit Beast X1]
Well, he had enough pioneer points now, and enough wood…
Spirit Beast X1?!
Building a fence also required a spirit beast?!
…Did all facility recipes require a “spirit beast” to manufacture?
Chu Jiu couldn’t believe it and found the repair instructions for windows and doors from this “Guide.” After spending time comprehending the recipes, he finally confirmed it—
That’s right, you must have a spirit beast to build facilities.
Chu Jiu put away the “Guide” with some amusement, looked at the darkening sky, and thought that since things had come to this, he should eat first.
And roast some more dried fish—he had lost three portions of fish jerky today.
Heartache.
*
Arsa Star.
Tonight, an unidentified live video appeared on the StarNet again.
In the camera, the clean and obedient young man was honestly telling his experience today.
He said that a lot happened today. The best thing was that he built a wooden bed and a mattress, so he didn’t have to sleep on the floor anymore.
When he said this, the young man’s eyebrows and eyes showed a relaxed smile, showing how happy he was to “have a bed.”
Lu Qingyan, who had been staring at the projection the whole time, raised his eyebrows slightly.
The young man paused for a few seconds, shook his head with some regret and pity, and said: “But there were also bad things today.”
“When I was cutting wood outside, I encountered a monster insect.”
“In order to lure this insect away, I had to throw away three portions of roasted fish jerky—what a pity.”
“That was a full three portions of roasted fish jerky, enough for me to eat for a day!”
Monster… insect?
Lu Qingyan frowned slightly.
The “big cat” beside him, which had been quietly staring at the projection with Lu Qingyan, now let out an unhappy low growl from its throat.
The insect stole the fish jerky?
Stole the fragrant fish jerky?!
The “big cat’s” claws involuntarily scratched the carpet, leaving several deep claw marks.
*
Early morning.
Chu Jiu woke up leisurely on his wooden bed.
Although the dry grass mattress was still a bit hard, at least he didn’t roll off and sleep on the floor.
It would be even more comfortable to get some fabric to make sheets and quilts later.
Just as he was happy, the system popped up a prompt that made his eyes light up:
[The host has triggered the “summon spirit beast” condition and can consume 30 spirit points to summon once!]
[Would you like to summon now?]
Huh?
What did he do to meet the “summon spirit beast” condition?
What kind of hidden condition was this?
Although Chu Jiu was puzzled, dwelling on it wouldn’t give him an answer.
What was more important now was to quickly summon a spirit beast and then start farming and upgrading the house!
Chu Jiu decisively chose “summon.”
Instantly, the entire hut was filled with swirling black clouds.
The clouds rolled, with specks of golden and silver light flashing within, like a brilliant galaxy.
This “spirit beast summoning” was quite ritualistic. Chu Jiu was dazzled by the starlight before him, and his heart was filled with anticipation and excitement.
Such a grand summoning ceremony would surely bring forth a powerful spirit beast, right?
Maybe even a mythical beast from legends?
Like a Qilin or something? Ah, considering the otherworld style here, perhaps not a Chinese mythical beast, but a fire-breathing dragon?
Just as he was imagining what kind of majestic spirit beast it would be, the black clouds gradually dispersed, and the starlight stopped flickering.
On the floor, there appeared…
A black, furry creature smaller than his palm.
Chu Jiu rubbed his eyes.
He wasn’t mistaken, a black, furry ball.
The furry creature moved on the ground, stretched out two short little paws, and raised a small face with round eyes.
It stared at Chu Jiu, its ice-blue eyes filled with some confusion.
Finally, the furry creature tilted its head and calmly and seriously asked, “Meow?”
