Chapter 4: The Heavy Lifting and the Stray Cat
The sun climbed higher, filtering through the dense canopy in shifting patterns of gold and green. The air in the clearing was getting warmer, filled with the scent of disturbed soil and fresh sap.
Kael stood in his hole, waist-deep in the earth.
He wiped sweat from his brow with the back of a dirty glove. He had dug four perfect holes at the corners of his 6x6 meter square. Now came the hard part: The Foundation Posts.
He walked over to the Ironwood tree he had felled yesterday. The logs were massive, dark, and incredibly dense. In his old world, moving these would require a crane or a team of strong men.
"Okay," Kael huffed, putting his hands on his hips. "I have cultivation strength, but I'm not Superman yet. I need leverage."
He didn't want to just create the house. He wanted to build it. But he was allowed to create the tools to help him build it.
He closed his eyes, visualizing high school physics class. Simple machines.
'System, create: Heavy Duty Block and Tackle Pulley System. Logic: Rope strength capable of holding 2 tons.'
[Cost: 15 Mana.]
A coil of thick, braided hemp rope and a set of iron pulleys materialized. Kael grinned.
He threw the rope over a sturdy branch of a nearby standing tree that leaned over his worksite. He hooked the pulley system up.
"Engineering," he said, tying the other end of the rope around the first heavy log. "It's the closest thing to magic."
He pulled.
Creak... groaaan.
The massive log lifted into the air. The pulley system multiplied his force. With his enhanced muscles from the Spirit Rabbit meat and the mechanical advantage, he guided the floating log over to the first hole.
Thud.
It dropped perfectly into place.
Kael felt a rush of dopamine that no video game level-up had ever given him. This was real. He did this.
He repeated the process three more times. Lift. Swing. Drop. Thud.
By early afternoon, four massive wooden pillars stood in the clearing, outlining the footprint of his future home. They looked like ancient totems.
"Now, before I fill the dirt back in," Kael muttered, tapping his chin. "Termites. Rot. Moisture."
This was a forest. Bugs here probably had teeth that could chew through steel. He couldn't leave the wood untreated.
'System, create: 5-Gallon Bucket of Wood Preservative. Logic: Repels insects, prevents rot, waterproof, eco-friendly (don't want to poison the soil).'
[Cost: 10 Mana.]
'System, create: Wide Paintbrush.'
[Cost: 1 Mana.]
He spent the next hour painting the base of the logs with a thick, tar-like substance. The smell was pungent—sharp and chemical—but it smelled like progress. He hummed a generic pop song from Earth as he slapped the black goop onto the Ironwood.
As he worked, he didn't notice the bushes rustling at the edge of the clearing.
A pair of glowing, vertical-slit eyes watched him.
It was a Shadow Panther.
In the hierarchy of the Silent Death Forest, the Shadow Panther was an apex predator. It could move through shadows as if they were water. Its claws could slice through plate armor. It was Level 35.
The Panther had smelled the blood of the Horned Rabbit yesterday. It had come to scavenge. But now, it was frozen in fear.
To the Panther's enhanced senses, Kael didn't look like a human. The man was radiating a strange, terrifying energy. Every time Kael hummed or slapped the paintbrush, the air rippled. And in his pocket—the Panther could smell it—was the Black Sphere. The aura of that stone was suffocating.
'What is this creature?' the Panther's instincts screamed. 'It is painting its territory with the blood of the earth. It creates tools from thin air.'
Kael finished the last post. He tossed the paintbrush into the bucket and stretched his back.
"Done with the foundation posts! Now I just need to wait for the preservative to dry before I fill the holes."
His stomach growled. loudly.
"Lunchtime."
Kael walked over to his cooler (which he had created earlier to store the leftover rabbit meat). He pulled out a raw slab of meat.
"I think I'll make a stew today. I saw some wild mushrooms near the stream."
He turned around and froze.
He finally saw it.
Sitting at the edge of the clearing, half-hidden by a fern, was a large, sleek black cat. It was about the size of a mountain lion, with silky fur and big, intelligent yellow eyes.
Kael blinked. "Oh. Hello there."
The Shadow Panther flinched. It lowered its body, ready to bolt.
But Kael didn't see a Level 35 assassin beast. He saw a cat. A very big, very cool-looking cat.
"Psst. Psst. Psst," Kael made the universal cat-summoning noise.
The Panther was confused. Is this a spell? A taunt?
"Are you hungry, kitty?" Kael asked softly. He looked at the slab of Spirit Rabbit meat in his hand. He cut off a generous chunk.
"Here. I have plenty."
He tossed the raw meat.
It landed with a wet plop just a few feet in front of the Panther.
The beast stared at the meat. It was High-Grade Spirit Meat. One bite would increase its cultivation by a year. It looked up at Kael. The terrifying human was... smiling?
Kael crouched down, trying to look non-threatening. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just a builder."
The Panther hesitated. The hunger won. It darted forward, snatched the meat in its jaws, and vanished back into the shadows in a blur of speed.
Kael laughed. "Fast! Just like a stray back home."
He stood up and went back to his cooking pot.
"Maybe if I keep feeding it, it'll let me pet it eventually. A cat would be nice company out here."
Deep in the shadows of the tree line, the Shadow Panther swallowed the meat. Power surged through its body. It looked back at the clearing, at the strange human who gave away treasure like it was trash.
The Panther sat down and licked its paw. It decided not to leave. This territory was dangerous, yes. But the Master of this territory gave good snacks.
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