Chapter 9: The Grateful Hedgehog

Mo Yubai looked down and saw a little hedgehog.

Her brows arched slightly. With interest, she bent down, placed a bunch of wild grapes next to the little hedgehog, and cast an Appraisal at it.

(Treasure-Hunting Hedgehog: A rare magical beast of the Elven Continent. It loves wild grapes, has an unsociable personality, lives solitarily, and loves freedom.

Blessed by the Wind Spirits, a good hedgehog that repays kindness.)

Repays kindness? Repaying kindness was great!

Since she had given it a bunch of wild grapes, it should at least return the favor with a cluster of amethysts!

Mo Yubai squatted down, fantasizing about what kind of treasure this grateful little hedgehog would lead her to.

Meanwhile, she watched it push the wild grapes one by one with its snout, skillfully embedding them onto its back.

Then, the hedgehog actually stood up on its hind legs and pointed a paw in a certain direction, gesturing for her to follow!

Mo Yubai stared blankly at the suddenly anthropomorphic hedgehog, pursing her lips to swallow the word “Awesome!” that had almost slipped out of her mouth.

She stood up and eagerly followed the grateful hedgehog, looking left and right along the way to see if there were any resources she could gather.

After walking for about half an hour, the hedgehog led Mo Yubai to the entrance of a large cave.

The hedgehog pointed inside the cave, gesturing for Mo Yubai to enter, then waved its paw to say goodbye.

Before Mo Yubai could even try to make it stay, a gust of wind blew past, and the hedgehog vanished without a trace.

As expected of a magical beast blessed by the Wind Spirits, that speed was incredible!

Mo Yubai suppressed her reluctance, drawing her Bird-head Staff and gripping it tightly.

At the same time, she touched the sharp knife strapped to her leg and the feather hidden in her sleeve. Only then did she feel a sense of security, and she began to walk slowly toward the cave entrance.

The outside of the cave entrance was large, but the interior was somewhat narrow.

A messy straw nest was piled high with various stones, bones, and feathers.

Black stones were the most numerous, while colorful ones were the rarest. The entire cave was filled with an indescribable, pungent musky odor that made her frown.

Wearing leather gloves, Mo Yubai picked up the nearest colorful stone at her feet and appraised it.

(Space Stone: A rare stone from the Elven Continent. It has brilliant colors and a fine, soft texture. It can expand the player’s inventory space.)

What a find! Her inventory space had run out long ago, and now she could finally expand it!

Slipping it into her pants pocket, Mo Yubai took another two steps and picked up a black stone to appraise.

(Forging Stone: A common stone from the Elven Continent. It has a dull color and a hard texture, serving as an indispensable basic material for forging weapons.)

This was pretty good too!

After finishing the appraisals, Mo Yubai silently opened her inventory and began frantically stuffing stones inside. She did not care about the color, grabbing whatever was closest to her!

Snap, rustle… The sound of twigs snapping and dry leaves being crushed suddenly came from not far outside the cave entrance.

Oh no, something is coming! Without a second thought, Mo Yubai closed her inventory and dashed toward the exit.

Less than a step from the entrance, Mo Yubai found herself staring face-to-face with a massive black bear!

The big black bear stared blankly at the human who had suddenly appeared, then took a few steps back to carefully inspect its surroundings.

It scratched its head in confusion, looking quizzically at the two-legged beast standing at the entrance of its home.

Looking at its massive frame, Mo Yubai’s breath caught in her throat!

Trying to keep her footsteps as light as possible, she tiptoed toward the edge of the entrance.

Before the big black bear could react, she bolted!

“Roar!” Seeing the human suddenly run away, the big black bear stood up on its hind legs and roared, extending an invitation to play.

Hearing the roar, Mo Yubai ran even faster!

Seeing this, the big black bear thought the two-legged beast wanted to play tag, so it happily trotted after her.

Unaware of the bear’s thoughts, Mo Yubai’s face was grim. Her eyes darted around the surroundings, desperately searching for a way to escape.

Help! Help! How is this a black bear’s cave?! I completely misjudged you, you ungrateful little hedgehog!

Running against the wind, Mo Yubai leaped through the forest to minimize the spread of her scent, while letting the feather slide from her sleeve into her palm.

Just as she was about to shoot it at the bear’s eyes, she paused and cautiously cast an Appraisal first.

(Black Blazing Bear: A Tier 2 magical beast of the Elven Continent. A tall, herbivorous creature that loves collecting stones.

It will roar at humans it likes to invite them to play chase. It holds grudges easily! It hates the smell of wild onions!)

Oh my god! You’re telling me that deafening roar was an invitation to play?!

Thanks, but no thanks. I really can’t handle this. I’ll just have to decline its generous offer.

After complaining in her head, Mo Yubai pulled a handful of wild onions from her inventory.

Disregarding the mess, she squeezed the onion leaves hard, crushing them, and smeared the splattered juice onto her clothes.

After checking the terrain, she changed direction and ran downwind toward a more open area.

The big black bear was grinning happily when it suddenly saw the cute two-legged beast change direction. Then, the faint scent of its most hated wild onions drifted over in the wind.

Sneezing in disgust, the big black bear continued to give chase, letting out constant cries to invite her to play.

Unfortunately, as time passed and the distance closed, the smell of wild onions only grew stronger!

Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!

After sneezing several more times in a row, the big black bear finally stopped, reluctant to give up.

With a look of utter grievance, it watched the retreating back of the two-legged beast, then turned and dejectedly headed home.

Mo Yubai didn’t dare slow down until the black bear was completely out of sight. Clutching her chest, which felt like it was about to burst, she panted heavily.

“Unbelievable. Back during my graduation physical test, I barely scraped by the eight hundred meters^[1]. Who would have thought I’d face a trial like this today!”

She looked up to survey her surroundings. Massive tree roots were half-hidden beneath decaying leaves, and an indescribable sweetness filled the air.

Looking up, she saw the trees hung heavy with silver-white, square-shaped fruits, while the crisp, pleasant chirping of unidentified birds echoed from afar.

Once she was sure it was temporarily safe, Mo Yubai sat down on a thick tree root.

She pulled a bottle of the freshly gathered Shuilan Tree Sap from her inventory and downed it in one go!

She finally felt like she was alive again!

Once her breathing steadied, Mo Yubai looked up curiously at the square fruit hanging overhead and immediately cast an appraisal!

(White Jade Fruit: A common fruit of the Elven Continent. Silver-white in color, with a sweet, cloying aroma and a dense, creamy texture. Its properties are unstable. Highly toxic, though the branches and leaves of mutated fruits can serve as an antidote!

Can be used in medicine. Contains rich energy and is highly filling.)

“Are you kidding me? It’s highly toxic, yet you’re telling me it has a creamy texture and is highly filling? What kind of brave soul tested that out?”

Still, adhering to the principle of never leaving empty-handed^[2], she plucked a few of the fruits within easy reach.

After picking the fruits with a look of disgust, Mo Yubai frowned and prepared to leave. Having rested for a bit, her stamina had recovered.

To her surprise, as she stood up, she caught a vague glimpse of a small red corner.

“Huh?” she murmured curiously. Finding the exact angle from before, she targeted the small red corner and clicked appraisal.

(Ding! The item is more than two-thirds obstructed. Please remove the obstruction and try appraising again!)

“Sigh, looks like I’ll have to climb up and take a look.”

Mo Yubai quickly mapped out a path, rolled up her sleeves, and scrambled upward. In no time, she reached the small red corner.

“It’s just a red White Jade Fruit?”

Feeling a bit disappointed, she pulled the Bird-head Staff from her backpack, gripped it tightly, pushed aside the ordinary White Jade Fruit blocking her view, and selected appraisal!