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He saw the mission rewarded 3 contribution points and that the task was repeatable; two types of meat and a fruit were enough to carry out a sacrifice ritual.
When there was an abundance of food, this was a good way to increase contribution points.
There was another advantage; he no longer needed to go outside the cave to skin the fish and squirrels; he could do it right within the Array, and no longer had to go out and bury the innards. Simply tossing them into the Array would do.
He didn't know how to skin fish and squirrels, but in the current situation, he had no choice but to learn.
Hurry up and get started. The canine dagger was indeed sharp.
Next to him, he had two wooden barrels and a chopping board he had just fashioned.
The barrels were made by hollowing out tree stumps, and the inside surfaces were very smooth, thanks to the convenience of the canine dagger.
First, he cleaned the fish, scraped its scales, sliced it open, and scooped out the insides, pouring them right into the center of the Array. Then, he skinned the squirrel, cut it open, and placed the blood, innards, and fur in the center of the Array as well.
He could see that the Array reacted to these items.
He then cleaned the knife and the wooden basin. The dirty water was poured inside the Array.
Next, a stalk of demon corn was added to the Array.
Then, he began singing "Master, master, I love you" a hundred times.
For contribution points, there was no need to bother with shame; Ma Lin had completely let go, even feeling a bit of enjoyment.
Then, a whirlwind of magic power appeared in the Array. All the items sank into the ground and disappeared.
Afterward, a blue-purple light emanated from the Array, and then the light too disappeared.
Ma Lin felt the system book vibrate slightly. He opened it to check, and on the page showing contribution points, his points had reached twenty.
Now the cave was spotless, not dirtied by his handling of a fish and a dead squirrel. There was not even a hint of an odd smell.
His mood was greatly uplifted.
But there was something even more delightful.
That cold female voice appeared: "Current contribution points have reached twenty. You may utilize ten contribution points to exchange for one point of strength. Do you agree?"
Without thinking, he clicked to agree.
Greater strength would make work easier and fighting more convenient.
He really wanted to exchange the other ten contribution points for strength; perhaps then he could have become a strong man.
His body emitted a red glow, and then he felt his muscles bulge slightly, including his arms, legs, chest, and abdomen- all his muscles were somewhat enhanced.
He was eager to test out the specific effects but it was already night outside.
He thought to himself, should it be fine to stay in this cave at night?
The door was sturdy enough, even more so than a security door; even if there were terrifying monsters outside, they probably couldn't destroy this door, especially since its camouflage was truly good.
The fire had not gone out; it was in a state of smoldering. The cave had ventilation holes on the side, so there was no worry about carbon monoxide poisoning.
The effect of the stamina fruit had not worn off, and he wasn't hungry. But if he wanted to drink water, it would be inconvenient without a kettle. There was boiled water in one of the barrels, but it had quickly cooled, given the very low temperature.
The cave was only thirty square meters in size. Not enough for him to move around in, but he would rather die than dare go out.
There was no light, but the system book could illuminate, and the brightness was sufficient, not hurting his eyes.
The book contained some text and patterns, and he tried to comprehend them but found he simply couldn't take it in.
It was as if a force was preventing him from understanding it.
He sat there in a daze. He felt this day had been quite tough, mostly because his heart was filled with anxiety.
It was really quiet outside.
The statue of the great devil's egg looked somewhat funny in the light of the system book.
When could he return? How could he return?
He had no clue at all.
He stood up and threw several punches around the cave, and swung the canine dagger a few times.
His strength had indeed increased, but his agility was still problematic.
Survival was still a big problem. His hunting ability was very weak, and with no food to harvest, it was worrisome.
Wolf howls came from a few miles away.
So there really were wolves. Their noses were very good; could they detect his scent?
Survival was still a big problem.
Thinking too much made his brain tired. He climbed into bed. He took off his leather jacket, which again expanded into a blanket.
He took off his shoes and set them aside. There was a slight smell to his feet, but it wasn't strong, as he hadn't sweated much today. It seemed that with improved running capability, he also sweated less.
He lay down to sleep.
The blanket and bedding, made from the fur of some animal, were very warm. He was tired and slept very soundly.
In the middle of the night, there was a lot of noise outside, like some fierce beast roaring; he sat up and listened for quite a while. The beast was no more than two hundred meters away from his cave.
Even though the window was completely transparent from the inside, he still couldn't see through the darkness.
He knew with his current strength he was definitely no match for that fierce beast.
He felt a bit anxious.
Then sleepiness overtook him. He had a good rest.
He woke up early in the morning feeling very hungry.
He took the stamina fruit out of his pocket to look at it and found it was still very fresh, with no sign of rotting, so he decided not to eat it.
He broke off all the kernels from a stalk of demon corn, about half a bowl's worth, washed them with clean water, and then put them in a wooden basin to cook. The basin was fireproof, whether due to the wood or some other reason.
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It took a long time to cook until done. It was already very bright outside.
A fragrant smell wafted from the wooden basin, and he used the chopsticks he had made to pick up a cooked demon corn kernel to taste. Surprisingly, it tasted good.
He sipped the soup, which was also tasty.
He ladled some into a wooden bowl with a wooden spoon and slowly finished drinking it. He felt this meal was passable in quality, and he truly felt full.
For breakfast, one demon corn was enough, and two should suffice for lunch.
He slowly turned the fish and squirrel into smoked meat, something he had forgotten to do last night. He regretted it a bit, but fortunately, it was cold, and the meat would stay fresh for a longer time.
After thinking it over, he felt he should go and retrieve all the demon corn he had found yesterday, just in case he might need them. There seemed to be over a hundred left, which wouldn't be a problem with his current strength.
It was just that every time he left the house, he felt somewhat anxious.
Then he pulled the sled out and left.
This time he took a different route, passing under a hillock.
There were clumps of grass and scattered rocks on the hillock.
The snow had not yet melted, but he saw rabbit tracks and spotted a very small wild boar, about fifty centimeters tall.
He thought, can he eat pork?
Putting aside the sled, he cautiously tried to approach the boars, but they were very alert and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
He tried several times to no avail.
After thinking for a while, he gave up and continued on his way to find the demon corn.
Now he was slightly bolder because he had gained a bit of strength. Even if it came to running for his life, he was better off than yesterday.
Still, he would feel panicky when he was far from home.
He found the stick and knocked all the demon corn down.
Over a hundred kernels took him quite some time, but he cleared them all cleanly.
He placed them on the sled, then headed back.
Even if he ate five a day, what he had harvested yesterday and today would last him for a month.
But he was not clear on how much food he needed to store.
The big demon egg, if it were truly a demon god and liked flattery so much, surely it wouldn't let him just die in vain here, right?
But recalling the egg's crazy demeanour, he found it utterly unreliable.
An hour later, he returned to the cave, not tired in the least.
There was still some time until noon.
He accidentally observed a bead on the ground inside the cave. It was located in the center of the Array.
He remembered that when he caught the fish yesterday, the system book indicated that he would receive a magic power bead.
This must be the bead. What's it used for?
He fiddled with it in his hand, thought for a moment, opened the system book, and turned to the identification page.
The blank page read 'Please refresh' in big letters.
He tapped it with his hand, and the three characters disappeared. A magic power bead icon appeared, followed by a question: "Unknown item discovered, do you want to identify it? It will cost 1 contribution point."
To identify this magic power bead, it would cost one contribution point. But he was willing to spend that much.
Then the results of the identification appeared.
"Magic Power Bead: Can be used to learn spells or unlock functions in this book."
Ma Lin's curiosity was piqued. What feature could he unlock?
He clicked on it, and a new prompt appeared.
"Using this magic power bead, 'The Servant's Book' can acquire a new function. By chanting the skill name 'Servant's Escape Spell', the corresponding servant will receive a ten-point increase in movement speed for ten seconds. It can be used once every five minutes."
"Do you want to use this magic power bead?"
Ma Lin unhesitatingly clicked 'Yes'.
Then the bead in his hand flew up and landed on the book's page. A puff of black smoke arose, and by the time it cleared, the magic power bead had vanished. An icon and a text description appeared on that page.
The icon depicted a demon with goat horns running desperately.
Although the text was in demonic language, Ma Lin could understand it. It said: The great master has given his servants an escape ability to prevent them from dying too easily.
Ma Lin didn't understand what it meant to have a ten-point increase in movement speed.
How many points was normal walking speed?
And what about the speed of a normal run?
He stepped outside the cave and ran for a distance before shouting out loud, "Servant's Escape Spell!"
Suddenly, he felt a surge of power in his legs. With a 'whoosh', he shot forward for dozens of meters. After running for ten seconds, he felt as fast as an arrow.
The speed had nearly doubled, or was very close to it. He guessed it was around forty meters per second. His survival ability had indeed greatly improved.
He was somewhat moved by this skill.
Now his ability to survive had truly enhanced greatly.
If he encountered a wolf when he was out, there was no need to fear at all. First, he would use 'Servant's Escape Spell' to create distance, then rely on his basic running ability to escape.
He was in an excellent mood now, and his appetite was very strong.
He grilled the fish for his meal and cooked another bowl of corn porridge. He was full and content.
Then he thought about going outside to take a look.