Kushida Kikyo looked at the dead rabbit in surprise. "Natsuyu-kun, you can even craft crossbows! That down and meat... they're monster Drops, right?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was also somewhat astonished, but she didn't make a fuss. She stepped forward first, picking up the pierced rabbit and collecting the Rabbit Down and Rabbit Meat that had dropped.
Natsuyu briefly explained his ability to Kushida Kikyo and the others, but his focus was more on the voice ringing in his mind.
[You killed an ordinary animal, gaining Experience +0.01.
(Note: Portions less than 1 Experience point are hidden and will be displayed once enough has accumulated to reach 1 point.)]
Good news: hunting small animals like rabbits also grants Experience points.
But at only 0.01, he would need to kill 100 rabbits to equal killing a single Round-headed Spider.
If the goal was to level up, hunting the Round-headed Spider was still much more efficient.
It would be nice if the Monster Meat dropped by those Round-headed Spiders was edible too.
Natsuyu felt it was a pity. Recalling his previous Appraisal of the rabbit, he then performed an Appraisal on the Drops.
[Rabbit: Ordinary animal.
Physique: 0.3
Soul: 0.3
Charm: 0.5
Evaluation: A healthy one-year-old wild rabbit.
Drops: Rabbit Meat, Rabbit Down.]
[Rabbit Meat (Freshness 99%, rots in 3 days): Low-grade Ingredient.
If consumed, provides Satiety, reduces mood, high probability of diarrhea.
Evaluation: Recommended to cook before eating.]
[Rabbit Down: Material.
Warm downy fur, can be used for crafting armor and clothing.]
Looking at the Rabbit Down, Natsuyu began to think.
Crafting armor with Rabbit Down would definitely be more comfortable than wearing Cut Grass.
With Cut Grass as the inner padding for armor, never mind whether the girls' delicate skin would get chafed, Natsuyu figured even his own skin might not be able to take it.
Unfortunately, the amount of Rabbit Down dropped was a bit low. To craft a four-piece set of armor, he would need over twenty pieces of Rabbit Down. Where was Natsuyu supposed to kill that many rabbits?
Wait, that's not right.
Natsuyu looked at the approaching Yukinoshita Yukino—or more accurately, at the trophy she was handing over:
The rabbit carcass.
"Natsuyu, do you want to pack this up? Or should we drain the blood first?"
Even though this was Yukinoshita Yukino's first hunt, she acted very capably.
"Let me handle it first."
Natsuyu took the rabbit carcass. Feeling eager to try, he reached out to pluck the rabbit fur.
A patch of rabbit fur covered in dirt particles disappeared, and a tuft of clean Rabbit Down appeared in Natsuyu's hand.
[Rabbit Down * 1]
"Just as I thought."
Natsuyu smiled as he plucked the rabbit bare, harvesting Rabbit Down * 30 and leaving behind a bald, unsightly rabbit carcass.
This scene left the girls in awe.
Sakuraba Ema commented in a low voice:
"If Natsuyu took this skill to a kitchen, he'd definitely be amazing. No, wait, Natsuyu is a noble."
Yukinoshita Yukino said with deep feeling:
"Many resources are forever held by people who don't need them, and thus are not fully utilized. Meanwhile, those who need them to survive end up battered and broken just trying to find a way to obtain them."
Natsuyu glanced at the suddenly brooding literary girl and said speechlessly, "Aren't you forgetting that you're a big tycoon yourself? You're even richer than my fallen noble family."
Yukinoshita Yukino crossed her arms over her non-existent chest, equally speechless. "I was just lamenting social issues; I wasn't specifically pointing at you or me."
Natsuyu decided to ignore Yukino's chuunibyou episode. He took out his Stone Axe and began to lightly chop the rabbit carcass.
A moment later.
Loot: Rabbit Meat * 2.
The Rabbit Meat drop was a piece of pure meat on a bone, with a good mix of fat and lean. It saved the trouble of removing internal organs and deboning.
Furthermore, with meat dropped from the system, there was no need to worry about parasites; it could be eaten safely.
Wait, the Berries they just ate didn't have parasites, did they...
Can plants produce parasites that infect humans? He wasn't sure.
Whatever, to be safe, he'd cook the Berries next time too before eating them.
Thinking of this, Natsuyu couldn't help but marvel:
"This ability is truly convenient."
Just the immunity to parasitic diseases alone was incredibly precious in a wilderness environment.
Next, Natsuyu used the Wooden Crossbow to hunt 3 rabbits and 2 birds until the Durability of his Wooden Crossbow was exhausted and his Leaf Wooden Arrows were used up.
Mainly because birds were so small, hunting them with a crossbow was much harder. Natsuyu spent a long time shooting at birds before successfully bagging 2.
On the other side, Kiana had already brought down 5 birds just by throwing stones, and she had even captured 2 birds alive to bring to Tokisaki Kurumi in exchange for protection tonight.
Lord Kiana is simply OP!
However, Natsuyu's hunting would trigger extra meat, essentially a double drop.
Final loot:
Bird Meat * 9.
Rabbit Meat * 12.
Feather * 72.
Rabbit Down * 124.
Plus 350 Berries.
Regardless, this food was enough for them to eat for quite a while.
The Stacking Limit for food and small materials was 99. These items filled eight of Sakuraba Ema's Backpack Slots, fitting perfectly.
Kiana was full of energy. While Natsuyu was hunting, besides throwing stones at birds, she also took Sakuraba Ema and the others to catch frogs.
But looking at the frogs hopping around the pond, except for Sakuraba Ema who bravely tried to grab one, both Yukinoshita Yukino and Kushida Kikyo felt a chill of disgust and stayed far away.
Kiana and Sakuraba Ema regretfully released the frogs.
With plenty of food available, they didn't want to eat frogs with such ugly appearances.
After Natsuyu learned of this, he told the two girls to hurry and wash their hands.
He wouldn't eat frogs either.
Call it being fastidious if you like, but if food were scarce, Natsuyu could certainly stomach a frog.
However, currently the food in the Inventory was enough for five people to eat for a day or two; any longer and the Freshness would drop, meaning it would have to be thrown away. In reality, they were already in a state of not lacking food, so there was no need to mistreat himself by eating something he found disgusting.
Chatting and laughing with the girls, they returned to the Splendid Gate.
Natsuyu carried the two live birds and approached Tokisaki Kurumi.
" Kurumi, time to wake up."
Tokisaki Kurumi lifted her face. Her thick black bangs covered her golden left eye, reducing her inhuman vibe. Her wine-red right eye curved slightly as she looked at the two struggling little birds Natsuyu handed over. Like a normal, frail girl, she spoke happily in a soft voice:
"Thank you very much, Natsuyu-kun, for bringing back living things."
"Now I don't have to 'eat' you all~"
The warm atmosphere surrounding the four girls was suddenly doused by a bucket of cold water. They looked at the dangerous Tokisaki Kurumi with varying expressions.
Natsuyu's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Are these birds enough for you to protect us through the night?"
Tokisaki Kurumi was all smiles. "Actually, what I need are Monsters. However, it's also my fault for not being clear before. For tonight, ordinary animals will do."
Natsuyu breathed a sigh of relief and also smiled, his eyes asking curiously, "How are you going to 'eat' them?"
"Ara, do you want to watch a lady eat? You may. I won't be shy."
Tokisaki Kurumi gave a mischievous smile, and Natsuyu felt a suction force appear in his palm.
The air distorted, and a translucent black vortex spun. The two birds he was holding suddenly stopped struggling, their bodies stiffening.
As if time had accelerated, the birds' feathers rapidly withered and fell off. Their flesh shriveled as they lost moisture, turning into skeletal corpses that looked like they had been drying in the sun for several days.