[Mergeable spirit pets detected: White Eagle + Cat Girl = owl]
[Merge?]
"What the! What kind of nonsense is this?"
"White Eagle + Cat Girl = Owl???"
"I'd have to be out of my mind to fuse an adorable cat girl and a majestic, powerful white hawk into some dumb owl!"
"DO.NOT.MERGE!"
Ethan immediately rejected the perverted system's desire to fuse them.
If it were two eagles fusing into a twin headed eagle, or a lion and an eagle fusing into a griffin, maybe he'd think about it.
But fusing them into an owl? Just imagining it made Ethan despair.
There was absolutely, absolutely no way he was agreeing to that.
After the White Eagle and Cat Girl finished eating the spirit stones, a new red exclamation mark appeared above each of their heads. Ethan opened them to take a look.
[Beginner Spirit Pet, White Eagle (Beginner 10%): A hunting expert with powerful claws. Cannot be ridden for now. Must equip an elemental riding device to ride.]
[Status: Loyalty 100%, Eagle Eye duration increased to 20 minutes.]
'Hm?'
'There is actually more information added after White Eagle.'
'Beginner 10%?'
'So doesn't that mean that once the White Eagle reaches 100% at the beginner level, it will evolve to intermediate?'
'That is worth thinking about!'
[Cat Girl, Daji (Min*r, 80%): The cat girl really likes her current name. She feels like a noble queen. Intimacy: 8/10]
'Huh?'
'The min*r rate also rose from 60% to 80%.'
Another 20%, and the cat girl would be an adult.
Ethan suddenly felt curious.
'Once she grows up, would she still be a l*li?'
'Or… will she become a true enchantress?'
"Daji, come wear your little backpack, okay?"
Ethan coaxed her like a child, holding the beginner backpack, "Look! Doesn't this backpack look nice? After all, grown women all need a bag!"
"Meow?"
Daji didn't care about the first half of his sentence.
But when she heard the last part, her expression changed.
Especially the words "women all need a bag."
The moment she heard it, Daji's eyes immediately sparkled.
'Heh! Heh! Sure enough, no l*li can resist the dream of becoming an elegant grown woman.'
Daji walked over in a silly, eager way. She circled around Ethan's feet.
Ethan quickly hung the mud filled beginner backpack onto Daji's back.
Just like that, he instantly freed up 50 weight units, plus the two spirit stones the pets ate freed another 2 weight.
Once his weight was freed, Ethan continued collecting the advanced stones in the mud pool.
[Advanced stone +1]
[Advanced stone +1]
[Advanced stone…]
In the end, Ethan collected a total of advanced Stone +50 and Mud +776.
Combined with the Nightmare Rat meat and blood from earlier… both his intermediate backpack and Daji's beginner backpack were completely stuffed.
"Back we go!"
It was a huge haul today. Ethan carried all his spoils and walked toward the cave entrance.
———
Along the way, he found the two explosive arrows he shot earlier, and both had landed in ridiculous places.
One was on the ground, blowing open a huge hole.
The other was stuck in the ceiling, wedged in a crack and never even went off.
Back then, he had been in an illusion.
He had clearly felt like he'd shot the Nightmare Rat dead. Seeing it now, it had all been hallucination.
"White Eagle, help me get the arrow back."
"Eee!"
The White Eagle spread its wings, wanting to fly up to retrieve it.
But the cave was too small.
Its wings didn't even fully open before getting stuck. Flying to the ceiling was impossible.
"Chirp~ Chirp~"
The White Eagle spun in circles anxiously. It wanted to fly but couldn't.
And trying to climb the four meter tall cave wall with its claws was too hard. Instead it only knocked loose rocks everywhere and filled the cave with dust.
"Alright, alright, forget it. If you can't reach it, that's fine."
Ethan couldn't help laughing as he stopped the silly bird and comforted it.
Only then did the White Eagle calm down slightly.
But clearly… It was very upset at not being able to help its master.
And right then—
Whoosh!
Ethan saw a yellow blur climb up the cave wall at lightning speed.
In almost a blink, it had reached the ceiling and grabbed the explosive arrow.
Ethan looked closely and realized, it was Daji.
Barely three seconds later, Daji leisurely trotted back, swaying her hips proudly and holding the explosive arrow in her mouth.
And as she walked, she even shot the White Eagle a disdainful look.
As if saying—
'You can't do that, right?'
'See? I can!'
"Alright, alright, you're the best!"
Ethan rubbed Daji's little head, half amused.
Her fur was so soft. And Daji clearly enjoyed her master's affection.
She raised her head proudly, savoring the massage.
"Let's go."
Ethan stopped rubbing her.
But Daji was dissatisfied and used her fluffy paw to hook his arm, clearly saying—
'Why'd you stop?'
'I was enjoying that.'
"Daji sweetheart, let's continue at home, okay?"
Ethan picked her up, "There's only about half an hour until dark. When night falls, the monsters in the mist will appear again!"
"Meowwoo~"
The moment she heard "monsters in the mist," Daji's fur stood on end.
It seemed she was terrified of them.
Who knows how she even avoided them before meeting Ethan.
But animals in the forest must have their own ways.
"Don't be scared."
Seeing Daji on high alert, Ethan quickly stroked her fur, "I'll take you home. My place has a sturdy stone house. Those monsters can't get in. You can sleep safe tonight."
"Meow?"
Daji's expression was like she was asking, 'Really?'
"Yes, really. A hundred percent. I'm not lying."
"Meow~"
Daji finally relaxed, meowed softly, and curled up in his arms again.
She even nestled her head into her soft white little belly and started falling asleep.
Completely looking like, 'Carry me home.'
Ethan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. A cat never has an owner, it is the owner.
So he carried Daji out of the Nightmare Rats' territory.
Outside, the sky had already grown much darker, and the mist was becoming thicker.
A lot of mist had even seeped into the Nightmare Rats' cave.
He lit another torch to drive the mist out.
As soon as he stepped out, Ethan suddenly saw a red prompt.
[East: Walk 2000 meters further east. There is a golden treasure chest.]
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