Chapter 18
To avoid any trouble, Ray quickly took something out of his bag. "Ahem, I'll be gone for two days, just like last week. This is a book I made for you two to read while I'm not at home. Be well-behaved and listen to what Mother says."
Ray explained hurriedly to the two young boys, ready to give them the book he had recently made. Haruza reluctantly accepted the book from Ray's hand, lowering his head sadly. The girl had already anticipated that her brother would leave again. However, Haruza didn't continue to protest, understanding that his brother wasn't left to play games or abandon him.
After some more comforting words, Ray finally managed to reassure the little girl before his departure. It was now his mother's turn to persuade Ray for a while. But since Yuvra was an adult now, it was easier for Ray to convince her.
With that settled, Ray headed to the bus stop around five in the afternoon. He walked steadily towards the outskirts of town where he had camped before. The ordinary young man reached his previous camping site at seven in the evening without any worries. Ray simply proceeded with his usual camping routine.
After setting up the tent, Ray engaged in crafting and then practiced without much thought.
...
The following morning, around ten o'clock, the ordinary young man sat by the lake with a fishing hook in his hand. Beside him was a net filled with fish. "Ah, it seems bringing a fishing rod was a good idea!" Ray exclaimed happily.
Earlier, Ray had woken up very early to do some breathing exercises and prepare for the day. There were already three six-foot-long trout in the net he was carrying, along with several other types of fish. The size of the fish in this place was larger than those on Earth, and Ray was quite curious about their taste.
Since it was too late to continue fishing, Ray got up and prepared to head back to the camp. As he entered the forest area, Ray remained cautious, not wanting to be as careless as before.
As expected, not far from where Ray was, he witnessed a group of wolves engaged in a battle with a herd of deer. Ray immediately activated his passive talent, [F-rank Tortoise Breath].
Since their fight had their attention fully occupied, either due to Ray's passive instinct or the ongoing conflict, the wolves completely ignored Ray's presence, despite him being so close. Recognizing this opportunity, Ray expressed his gratitude and quietly moved away from the fighting area.
Once away from the dangerous area, Ray finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was only then that he could reflect on what had just occurred. Unlike on Earth, the deer in this place seemed to possess the ability to overpower wolf packs. However, Ray didn't dwell on this phenomenon and knew he had to adapt quickly to the peculiarities of this world.
Back at the camp, Ray proceeded to clean the fish he had caught. Since it was still too early for lunch, he continued practicing passive skills and martial moves after marinating one of the fish with simple spices.
Time flew by, and as noon approached, Ray enjoyed a meal of grilled fish and white rice. He ate with gusto, unable to escape his hearty eating habits from his previous life. The lunch was satisfying, with the trout's sweet and smoky flavor whetting his appetite. The fish wasn't slimy and had only a faint fishy smell that dissipated quickly. Ray thought about bringing home more fish.
However, it wasn't the time for fishing now. It had been a week since his last camping trip, and it was time to assess whether he had made any progress. Ray walked slowly, scanning the surroundings for signs of the spiral-horned rabbit. Perhaps due to their abundance or Ray's luck, he soon spotted several rabbits not far from him.
Ignoring the rabbit perched in the tree, Ray cautiously approached a plump rabbit grazing on grass. As he moved, he activated the passive talent [F-rank Tortoise Breath] to conceal his presence. Once close enough, Ray swiftly activated the passive talent [C-rank Flexible Body] to enhance his movement and the attack of his two daggers. The daggers moved like a pair of scissors, poised to cleanly sever the rabbit's neck.
Just as the daggers were about to strike the unsuspecting rabbit, it suddenly leaped away, narrowly evading Ray's attack. Undeterred, Ray promptly activated the [B-rank Air Jump] passive talent. With the momentum of the daggers already set, Ray's hands crossed, and he swiftly changed the trajectory of the daggers by throwing one knife, redirecting their path.
Following the reverse motion of his previous move, Ray finally succeeded in separating the rabbit's head from its body. He felt a surge of happiness as he retrieved the head and body, storing them in his storage ring. However, despite his satisfaction, he couldn't help but feel concerned.
Each of his passive talent abilities was currently on cooldown. If he had exhausted all of his resources to deal with a harmless rabbit like this, how could he confidently face more formidable creatures or adversaries? Ray didn't want to be known as the "Rabbit Slayer" due to his lack of versatility.
Contemplating this, Ray found himself slightly overwhelmed. However, he quickly gathered his determination to continue improving and honing his skills.
Ray realized that nothing was wasted, and he decided to continue his hunting expedition into the afternoon. Skillfully avoiding potential dangers, the young man encountered no threats along the way, prioritizing his safety.
Now it was time for Ray to process the game he had acquired. Three rabbits were hanging, their blood drained. Ray felt a bit embarrassed, considering he had encountered numerous rabbits, yet only three were fit to be taken home. Additionally, he had several nail-like wounds on his body caused by the rabbits' horns. Initially, Ray was overwhelmed when the rabbits were counterattacked, but with time, he grew accustomed to it.
With nothing else to do, Ray used the Tesseract to scan the rabbit corpses. In addition to the mischievous pranks he enjoyed, Ray believed it would be valuable to familiarize himself with the anatomy of living creatures. This knowledge had great worth.
Ray scanned from muscle fibers to the depth of the bones and then proceeded to scan the monsters' cores. He realized that he had never utilized his cheat ability to scan for the most useful information. As expected, after scanning, a vague feeling emerged in his mind. One of the things he discovered was similar to the [B-rank Air Jump] passive talent. There was no other plausible explanation for it at the moment. The other sensations he experienced might be another active talent or the genetic makeup containing ancestral memories.
Ray carefully observed the information presented in the form of intent. It was as if there was no need for verbal communication to explain; he simply understood what this talent entailed. This talent allowed the rabbit to project a yellow halo from its spiral horn, indicating a likely D-rank ability. Ray finally came to his senses and felt delighted by this discovery. He realized that the Tesseract within his sea of consciousness was no longer idle.
Retrieving the squirrel core from his storage ring, Ray confidently scanned it with the Tesseract. As expected, he saw the information in the form of intent, indicating that the squirrel could glide and adjust its fall like a sugar glider. There was a transparent membrane-like aura stretching from the squirrel's feet to its hands. The orange halo indicated that the passive talent was at an F-rank.
"Hahahaha, what a delightful discovery!" Ray laughed happily after scanning the dozen or so cores he had obtained. He also attempted to scan the active talents and successfully received the intent information directly. With this newfound function, Ray no longer had to worry about the dangers associated with using unfamiliar talents in the future. As mentioned before, many powerful talents could backfire on their users, and Ray had no intention of meeting a foolish demise.
With this realization, Ray continued his nightly activities happily, pleased with his bountiful harvest this time.