Chapter 31

Originally, the black rabbit tribe and the black elephant tribe were practically siblings.

“Sniff! (Nothing dangerous around here!)”

“Pwoo-pwoo~ (Thanks, black rabbit. I’ll go grab some sugar cane right away!)”

While it scanned the surroundings to check for predator threats, the black elephant quickly extended its long trunk to harvest sugar cane.

Because the black rabbits were numerous in population and had low combat power, they made prime targets for predators. And the same went for the black elephants.

While the black rabbits could at least mob together to attack, the black elephants were naturally gentle-natured and slow, always putting them in the position of the vulnerable.

“Sniff-sniff. (I wish we had long trunks like you guys. Then we could easily eat sugar cane and…… you wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.)”

“Pwoo! (Then we’d feel way too sorry for you. I’m just glad I can be of help. I hope we can always live helping each other out like this!)”

Because the black rabbit tribe far outnumbered the black elephant tribe, the black elephants had to put in a lot of hard work so the rabbits could get enough to eat.

Black Rabbit No.965 was always grateful to the black elephants. Especially to Black Elephant No.342, whom it met when it was still very young.

Since the black rabbit population was so massive, the newborns were thrown straight into a sea of competition the moment they were born. However, Black Rabbit No.965 had been…….

“Sniff……? (This one won’t do. One of its legs is strange.)”

“Kheu-ng. (Mom, please don’t abandon me.)”

There was something wrong with one of its legs right from birth. Back then, it was much more severe than its relatively free movement now. Naturally, it had been abandoned by its own kin immediately after birth.

“Kheu-eung……. (I’m hungry…….)”

“Pwoo? (What are you doing here?)”

The black elephant that discovered it back then was none of other than No.342, who was staying right by its side now. Back then, too, he had a youthful appearance just like he did now. To think it had already grown into a full adult like this.

It was due to the difference in growth rates between black rabbits and black elephants, but at the time, it had assumed the black elephant was around the same age because he was small and young too.

“Sniff……? (Were you abandoned too?)”

“Pwoo-pwoo? (Abandoned? Oh dear, you…… your leg hurts, doesn’t it? Come here. Can you eat this?)”

That was when it first tasted sugar cane. The sugar cane that the black elephant extended its trunk to snap off for it was incredibly delicious. How amazing had the black elephant looked, effortlessly breaking off sugar cane that a black rabbit’s teeth couldn’t easily snap?

Back then, it thought it wanted to become a black elephant. Because they cherished their offspring fiercely and raised them with love, no matter what disabilities they had.

That was how it grew up under the care of the black elephant. When it grew into an adult black rabbit capable of pulling its own weight—only then did its own kin finally accept it.

“Sniff! (It’s time for our tribe to band together!)”

“Sniff……? (What do you mean by that?)”

“Sniff-sniff! (We can’t let the black elephants steal and eat our sugar cane anymore!)”

Then, one day, the sugar cane population began to visibly dwindle.

The black rabbits pinned the blame for that on the black elephants.

“Sniff-sniff! (We only eat a tiny amount of sugar cane, but those guys eat as much as their entire bodies! This is all because of the black elephants!)”

That was when it started.

The black rabbits started picking fights with the black elephants and snatching away the sugar cane they were eating. Thus, the flames of discord ignited among them.

The flames burned so fiercely that no matter how hard it tried, it was completely beyond control.

“Sniff-sniff! Sniff! (Stop it! The black elephants didn’t do anything wrong!)”

“Sniff……! (Shut up. This one is a traitor!)”

Every time it tried to stop its kin from oppressing the black elephants, it lost the trust of its own kind that it had barely managed to gain as an adult. In the end, branded as a traitor, it became the target of attacks from its own tribe.

Yet it held on with all its might. Whenever the tribe hunted around looking for the black elephants, it used its sharp sense of smell to figure it out and warn them in advance. Whenever they tried to attack a black elephant, it would rush over and block them with its body.

The days when its body was battered and bruised increased, but it couldn’t stop.

“Sniff……. (The black elephants are my family…….)”

It was a black elephant that had raised it when it was abandoned by its own kin. Among them, No.342 was practically a mother to it. Even though it now looked much more like a full-grown adult than he did.

“Sniff!! (Don’t you dare touch him!!)”

The tribe viewed it as a thorn in their side. Knowing that No.342 was precious to it, they concentrated their bullying on him.

“Pwoo……. (Run away, little one…….)”

It hadn’t been called ‘little one’ since it reached adulthood. Hearing that term of address after so long made it feel tears welling up in its eyes.

Discovering that No.342 was under attack and rushing in to block the attackers, it had sustained a fatal wound. Yet No.342 instead shielded it and told it to run away.

“Sniff……. (Leave me behind and go. Please…….)”

If this kept up, it would lose No.342, its savior. It was because it was powerless. That fact made it feel miserable and sad.

And right at that moment—

“Wait! Stop it, you guys! Weren’t you friends originally? Why are you doing such mean things?”

The brown door it had accidentally wandered into.

It was unquestionably the voice of that strange life form it encountered there. That life form had saved it and No.342.

And in her hand was…….

“……You want this?”

An unidentifiable food was resting there, giving off a scent far sweeter and more delicious than sugar cane.

It realized.

This was it! This was what it wanted! When it encountered that life form previously, she had only given it weird food. She must have come to me to give me this!

It took a bite out of that food.

‘Sniff! (Goodness gracious!)’

It was an ecstatic taste, the likes of which it had never experienced before……. And it seemed No.342 felt the exact same way.

“Pwoo……. (This is so delicious…….)”

Forgetting even that their bodies were hurting, they hurriedly devoured that thing called a cookie.

“It’s dangerous if we stay like this, so let’s head over to our bakery first.”

After that, the human named Baek Seol took them into a space called a bakery. She nursed them there until late into the night. That alone would have been enough. Baek Seol had saved them and generously handed over delicious cookies they had never tasted in their lives.

But not stopping there, she bestowed salvation upon its life and the black elephant’s. No, upon all the black rabbit and black elephant tribes gathered here.

If their feud had continued, the end they would have ultimately faced was utter ruin.

“Sniff-sniff. (Thank you, Baek Seol.)”

“Pwoo-woo……. (Thank you, Baek Seol.)”

It went up to her alongside No.342. And they held out the greatest gift they could possibly offer to her.

***

“What could this be?”

Baek Seol muttered, gazing at the gift she had received from the black rabbit and black elephant the other day. Two unidentified objects lay right before her eyes.

Luci answered while lying flat on his back on the table.

“Like I said before, squeak…….”

“I know. I saw the information too. I just don’t know what they’re used for.”

Baek Seol looked at the objects in front of her.

One was a carrot, and the other was a horn that looked somewhat like a tree branch. Just like the ‘Slime’s Tears’ from before, the information could be viewed, but she couldn’t figure out where it was supposed to be used.

‘Can’t they just write something like “Material used in place X, Y, Z”?’

Resting her chin in her hand, Baek Seol knitted her brow. Since she couldn’t figure it out yet…… she’d just have to keep it for now.

Baek Seol tucked both items deep inside her inventory. Someday, a use for them would pop up again.

Thinking that, Baek Seol turned on her smartphone.

[Hello. The machine I showed you previously is finished.]

She sent a text to the contact number provided by ‘WillCraftAnything’. A reply came back almost immediately.

[WillCraftAnything: On my way, soon.]

‘……Does she even know where here is?’

While Baek Seol was tilting her head in confusion at her out-of-the-blue message, another text arrived.

[WillCraftAnything: Btw where is that place?]

‘WillCraftAnything’ appeared at the bakery before long. Baek Seol had thought it would take quite a while to travel from Seoul to Suwon, especially all the way out to this remote neighborhood, so she was greatly surprised.

“Oh my goodness……. You startled me. How did you get here so fast?”

Baek Seol glanced down at her watch.

About an hour had passed since she sent the text. ‘WillCraftAnything’ gave Baek Seol a dry, indifferent look and answered nonchalantly.

“I drove a bit fast in the car.”

“…….”

No matter how fast you drove, considering even the traffic congestion hours, it should have taken at least an hour and a half. Wasn’t that right during peak traffic time, too?

Baek Seol looked at ‘WillCraftAnything’ with a somewhat overwhelmed expression. To arrive from that distance in less than an hour. She felt like she should probably never ride shotgun in this person’s car.

‘My heart probably wouldn’t survive it.’

Straightening up from her awkward half-rising posture at the table, Baek Seol approached her.

As soon as she stepped inside the bakery, ‘WillCraftAnything’ began darting her eyes rapidly around, thoroughly inspecting the interior.

“Where is it?”

“……Ah, you mean the machine?”

Baek Seol quickly revised her plan of leading her to the table first and showing her the machine leisurely. ‘WillCraftAnything’s gaze was fixed entirely on one spot.

The kitchen area, which she hadn’t explored yet.

“This way, please.”

Nod!

Quickly bobbing her head, ‘WillCraftAnything’ followed Baek Seol’s footsteps. And upon finally spotting the processing workbench, her eyes lit up.

“Oh……. This is…….”

‘WillCraftAnything’ kept uttering exclamations like “Oh, this, wow, goodness gracious” in a voice full of constant admiration. It was as if she had forgotten Baek Seol was standing right beside her; she was completely absorbed in the workbench.

If it were possible to disassemble a workbench with her eyes alone, she probably would have already done so.

Watching ‘WillCraftAnything’s intense gaze from the side, Baek Seol thought to herself that stepping away for a moment would probably be for the best—especially for the safety of her own legs.

‘Let’s do my own work in the meantime.’

Leaving ‘WillCraftAnything’ behind, Baek Seol headed toward the table. Plopping down into her seat, she quietly opened up the skill window.

‘Skill window.’

There was something different about the skill window compared to before.