(Maybe… if I can tame them, I can command them to do things for me. Scouting the surrounding forest, for example? Or better yet, have them communicate with other birds, and maybe even spread the word to other life forms deeper in the woods, eventually bringing them all to me!)
(Muahaha! If that actually works, I will soon become the Lord Castle of this entire Forest, controlling all the animals like a feathered army!)
"System! Is there a way to tame these birds?" I asked eagerly.
But nothing happened. The system did not reply to me at all.
I tried rephrasing the question several times — "How do I tame animals?" "Taming mechanics?" "Animal friendship system?" — but the result was exactly the same. Nothing. No answer. Complete silence.
It was useless.
But it's not like I would give up that easily!
If the system wouldn't tell me, then I'd just have to figure it out on my own through good old-fashioned trial and error.
(Now then… how do you usually tame animals?)
For some absurd reason, the first thing that came to mind was beating them half to death and then capturing them in red and white magic balls.
(But nah! That can't be right.)
They were real, living birds, not pocket monsters from some children's game! And besides, how was I supposed to beat anything when I didn't even have arms or any way to physically interact with the world?
Which meant there was really only one practical thing I could do right now.
And that was…
FOOD!
Yes. FOOD!
Naturally, food was the universal method for taming animals or monsters. And luckily, I actually had a way to produce food!
With that promising idea in mind, I quickly checked the shop again.
At the moment, I had exactly 3 points, generated earlier by my Level 1 castle core's point-generation skill.
With one point, I could convert it into one unit of food.
And then with one unit of food, I could buy bread.
And with bread… I could finally feed the birds!
That sounded reasonable enough on paper.
But…
"URRGGH!"
I still hesitated badly. After all, spending precious Points on something as seemingly trivial as bread… Didn't that feel like such a huge waste of my hard-earned resources?
Just a few days ago, I had even made a solemn promise to myself to stay strictly Free-to-Play! I had refused to let the greedy System win so easily!
But… I had no other choice! I needed to tame these birds if I wanted any chance of building connections in this lonely forest!
(Arrgh! Not like this!)
I couldn't believe I would give in so soon after swearing to hoard every point.
(Alright, System! Take my damn Point! Convert it into Food!)
[Ding! Purchasing resource successful]
[-1 Point]
[+1 Food]
[Points remaining: 2]
Then, using that Food, I purchased two loaves of bread which were automatically stored inside my hidden inventory.
(Now then… System, dispatch one bread!)
I focused intently on the spot right beside the bird nest, vividly imagining the bread appearing there as naturally as possible.
And out of thin air, it appeared!
A large, golden-brown loaf of bread dropped gently right next to the nest with a soft thud.
But it startled the birds still.
CHIRP!!!
The three bird girls startled violently at the sudden manifestation of the bread, clearly scared out of their tiny minds. They fluttered back for a split second in a burst of panicked wings, then immediately swarmed the loaf like it was an enemy!
Poke. Poke. Poke!
They clawed and pecked at it furiously with their sharp little beaks, dealing small but enthusiastic damage to the poor bread!
The loaf nearly tipped over from their aggressive assault.
Fortunately, it didn't fall. And soon, it seemed the birds realized it was actually edible food. They calmed down almost instantly and began eating happily, tearing off tiny pieces with obvious delight.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You have successfully interacted with a lifeform within your territory!]
[Achievement Unlocked: First Interaction!]
[Points Gained: +3]
[Skill Unlocked: Citizenship Granting]
[Citizenship Granting: You may grant citizenship to intelligent lifeforms within your territory who possess sufficient positive affection toward you.]
I froze for half a second when that wonderful notification came through.
(HELL YEAH!)
If I had a mouth, I'd be screaming like a victorious demon right now!
(Finally! I can tame them!)
Turns out, all I needed was just a special skill.
(Okay, how do I do this?)
I expected this skill to work exactly the same as my Self-Repair skill — it would take effect if I simply willed it and imagined it happening clearly in the real world.
Thus, I zeroed in on Jack and focused hard on activating the Citizenship Granting skill.
(Come on, System! Do your job! Claim this bird for me!)
[Ding!]
[Would you like to use Citizenship Granting on Level 2 Forest Robin?][Cost: 1 Point]
(Hell yes!)
I was so pumped with excitement that losing one more precious Point didn't even sting. I paid it without a second thought.
[Attempting to Grant Citizenship to Level 2 Forest Robin…]
The bird froze mid-hop, twitching strangely like a glitchy video game sprite for a moment.
But then…
[Citizenship Granting Failed!]
[Reason: The target lifeform is not intelligent enough to be aware of your existence.]
The robin shook it off like nothing had happened and went right back to pecking at ground.