episode_0090

“So…are you saying that there is one Hwari living in this puddle now?”

“Okay.”

Time is pretty tight, so I’ll have to hurry. I unpacked the baggage and started folding various grain powders into the bowl. The ocher-colored lump that anglers are quite familiar with has begun to form.

“Wow, oh my god… Hwari lives in over a hundred puddles… By the way, senior. What is this?”

“Bait paper made by crushing grain powder. Have you ever heard of rice cake?”

“Tteokbap?”

It seems that the black cat doesn’t know much about fishing or that there is no concept of rice cake in this world of martial arts.

Well, in this world of martial arts, fish are caught to be used for real food. If you want to hook earthworms that come out when you dig in the ground, you can hook them. There is no reason to invest expensive grain powder to catch fish.

“Wrap this up and attach it to the needle at the end of the fishing rod you brought with you. As these grain powders dissolve gently in the water, they attract fish.”

“Oh…I see. But I’ve never done anything like fishing before?”

“It’s okay.”

The black cat hung a bunch of rice cakes on the hook of the fishing rod with a worried expression. And the response came in less than a minute. The tip of the fishing rod began to be sucked straight into the water.

“Oh! I asked a senior! How should I do this?”

“Just pull the fishing rod!”

I prepared a sturdy iron fishing rod and the strongest fishing line, so all I had to do was pull it recklessly. As the black cat yanked, Hwari helplessly rose to the surface of the water.

Iron stone! slam!

“Wow! What! Ah!”

A carp fluttering on land and a black cat twitching to match the body of the carp.

“Black cat, stop it from returning to the water. Or just hit him on the forehead and knock him out.”

“Ah, okay! Yay!”

Hiss!

Although it is his first time fishing, he is an expert who is close to the pinnacle of black cat fishing. A black cat that accurately hits Hwari’s forehead with a fishing rod.

Hwari fainted immediately.

“Oh…is this Hwari?”

The black cat grabbed the fishing string and lifted Hwari up to eye level to observe. In general, it looks similar to an ornamental colored carp with a combination of white and red colors. The difference is that the size is clearly different.

I took out a ruler and measured the size of the hwari.

“Let’s see…it’s a 7 piece.”

In fact, finding a 7-inch carp in fresh water is an angler’s life achievement, but this is the world of martial arts. In this place where 10,000-year-old fish live and breathe, the 7-year-old is just a mite.

“7 ja..?”

“There is such a thing. Now, send this guy back home and only put in the net those that are 3 or more scales above this mark.”

“Mmm. Even if it’s relatively small, it’s okay, right? Is there any need to let go?”

“For ships of less than 3 ships, the inner lining is not properly formed, so splitting the ship is a waste of labor.”

“Okay!”

The black cat quickly caught the fish. Seeing his eyes sparkling as he savored his appetite, he seemed to have fallen in love with fishing.

The hwaris here have grown up eating seaweed and moss growing in isolated pools their entire lives. But suddenly rice cakes with a fragrant grain scent appear?

Of course, I can’t help but be amazed. Because they have lived their entire lives in a closed environment, they have not learned the dangers of fishing.

They have a chewy feel but are easy to catch, so it’s bound to be fun.

“Oh! senior! This guy is heavy!”

A black cat that started to enjoy the taste of fishing, wondering if it had ever been seen fishing somewhere. It looks like it will take care of itself, so let’s enjoy it too.

I untied the thread of the knight cloth that had never had a chance to be used since I got it from the cave of the wise man, and tied the needle.

Then I put the needle and thread into the natural water tank in front of me.

Rattling!

A reaction that comes as soon as you put it in. The force was so strong that it instantly shook my upper body. I caught the fish while controlling the strength of my arms.

This article cloth is a very useful item in various places, so I planned to get acquainted with its use through this fishing trip.

Anyway, the taste is good.

Since Hwari’s struggle is transmitted directly to her forearm rather than the fishing rod, the taste of her hand feels even more vivid. I’m not yet good at handling the fishtail, so it felt like I was just pulling the fish rather than catching it naturally, but I guess I can’t get full after the first drink.

Anyway, after being dragged to the land and knocking out the jumping Hwari, I measured its size and found that it was over 1 meter long.

I set up a large fishing net in the natural tank where the fish was and put the unconscious fish back in.

“Senior! How many do I have to catch?”

“Well. I think I need 20, but you can catch more than that.”

“Okay!”

Me and the black cat diligently caught the squirrels. Even though the two of us worked leisurely and enjoyed the food, it didn’t take long to reach our goal of 20 fish.

“I can definitely feel the energy of fish that are larger than 3 boats. The power is definitely different! But…um…”

The black cat twitched its tail as it put fish into the fishing net.

“This isn’t an energy that can be called Naedan, right?”

“You can say that.”

That is correct. Although Hwari for 10,000 years is considered one of the best elixirs in martial arts, in other words, it can be said that Hwari is the best elixir when it is aged for about 10,000 years. In order to be called an elixir, wouldn’t it be necessary to keep it for a hundred years, if not a thousand years, before it can be called an elixir?

“Well, these guys lived for about 10 years at most? It feels like 1 year old wild ginseng.”

Ginseng can be grown for 6 years, so how much benefit can 10-year-old carp have?

“Hmm…if I eat something like this together, can my senior use it?”

“Well…it’s not wrong to eat them together. I’m going to use a slightly different method.”

The black cat tilted its head.

The reason I caught dozens of squirrels.

“I will grow one of these guys into a hundred-year-old.”

Isn’t it common sense that lower tier materials can be made into higher tier materials through synthesis?

*** ***

Fish generally adjust their size to their environment. The caves that served as these natural water tanks were fences that safely protected the snails, but were also iron cages that suppressed their growth.

Kwaaaa!!

Water surged from the tank. The water rose as a result of the black cat using a magic trick underwater.

“It’s done!”

“Good job.”

The largest fish was placed in a large tank made up of ten tanks connected together.

If you expand the space by integrating natural tanks, Hwari will decide that the surrounding environment can support it even as it grows, and it will grow in size.

It is true that fish are smart, but it is not to the point that they even forget memories related to survival. Since it was the first time in my life that I got caught fishing and almost died, I will be actively trying to strengthen my body.

“Hey…this is Naedan.”

“This is my first time seeing Naedan extracted like this in person.”

When I was using dragons to break through the limits of second-rate, I hunted various spirits, but I had never come face-to-face with a spirit creature. That’s because when a second-rate person meets a real spirit, he or she becomes just a snack.

As a result, I had no choice but to take objects that someone had made, like Hyeoncheonja’s bidong, and this was my first time cutting open the stomach of a creature that could be said to be a spirit creature and taking out the inner dan.

The Naedan that was taken out by cutting open Hwari’s stomach…what should I say? It felt like a pill. It’s the size of a little fingernail, soft and reddish-brown, and it feels just like that. I put the inner dan in one of the rice cakes that were the size of a bunch of rice cakes and put it in the tank where the fire extinguisher, the target of extinguishment, lived.

The rice cakes that were dropped where we could see them were quickly picked up by Hwari.

After that, I poured in all the rice cakes I had made. They need nutrients to grow, so we need to provide them with plenty of food until the ten-year lily evolves into a 100-year lily.

“Hmm… I’ve never heard of this method of artificially creating a spirit creature… but it’s something seniors do. So when can I catch this Hwari?”

“The deadline is a maximum of one week. Well, we can combine all the Hwari’s inner altars in the cave in this way, but we also have to think about our return.”

“I see. Is that why you brought plenty of food?”

“Yes. We can hang out in this cool cave for a week. Sometimes you might have to go outside to replenish firewood.”

“It’s a closed cave. Is it okay to make a fire?”

“First, light a small fire and check.”

Well… in the martial arts world in the game, elixirs were installed in a pile here and elixirs were prepared, so wouldn’t the air be able to communicate with the outside world? Still, just in case, let’s light a small fire and see the reaction.

“Senior. Then I’ll go for a swim! I suddenly wanted to catch Hwari with my bare hands!”

“Sure.”

I looked at the campfire for about half an hour and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to make it big. Some of the wet firewood gave off quite a bit of smoke, but the smoke did not accumulate anywhere and quickly disappeared. This is proof that there is enough airflow.

I took a pot out of my bag and put it on the fire.

My cooking skills are average.

I have an idea of a way to improve my cooking skills, but since I live in a guest house and cannot cook for myself, my cooking skills are at a very average level.

If you put in the right ingredients and make it with the right eye, you will get the right food. But today’s ingredients are very special.

Young water is delicious. Assuming you know the proper way to cook it, young water will always taste delicious.

“Kiya, it’s cool.”

So the Sipnyeonhwari spicy stew I made was also a masterpiece. This taste sticks to your tongue just by tasting it! It was a taste that made me want to drink alcohol, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t bring alcohol because I already had a lot of luggage to pack.

“Gotcha!!”

At that moment, a black cat jumped out of the water holding a flower pot. Did he really catch Hwari with his bare hands? No matter how narrow the space is, a person can beat a fish in the water. The black cat appears to have been a cat with a high affinity for water.

“What is this smell!”

The black cat threw away the flower that it had struggled to catch and immediately squatted down in front of the pot. I smiled and put some spicy stew in a bowl and handed it to the black cat.

“Oh my god! This spicy, refreshing, sweet and salty taste!”

The black cat, which left a very intuitive evaluation, inhaled Hwaritang in an instant. When I handed him the rice balls he had packed in his lunch box, he ate them in an instant, taking turns taking each bite of the rice ball and a spoonful of hwaritang.

“Ah~ I’m happy..”

The black cat patted its belly and smiled.

“Kuhm.”

Only then did I realize that the black cat was quite naked. Unlike usual, where one is covered in clothes from head to toe, the outfit is completely open. Parts that were normally covered by clothes became clearly visible.

“Whoaam.”

“Keuhum. If you want to sleep, take a breather.”

“Yes~ I’ll sleep a little.”

The black cat lay down and closed its eyes, as if it had run out of energy and was having fun. I took my eyes off the black cat and finished washing the dishes.

New fluid. New fluid.

But what is there for me to do in this space? My gaze automatically returned to the sleeping black cat, breathing evenly.

gulp.

The black cat, which had enjoyed swimming, had its clothes soaked, and the clothes clearly showed its curves. Teukhee’s top is white so it might be a little see-through.

Even though I tried to look away from the two pockets that rose and fell in sync with the black cat’s even breathing, the lower part caught my eye.

Her slim waist and pretty belly button were exposed, and her white thighs, which we normally don’t see, were clearly visible past the short bottoms. From the long, smooth legs to the tight toes. The skin, like white jade, reflected in the flickering flames, had a moist luster due to the water it held.

From the moist hair to the pink lips exhaling that look just as moist.

Even when I showed her face, I was amazed at how beautiful it was… but what can I say? It was several times more attractive now. The sight of him clearly showing his body without defense was, what can I say… more provocative.

Wouldn’t it be okay to look a little closer?

I got off my butt and approached the black cat. I had the urge to rub the black cat’s skin. If I touch it with my hand, will the light on the black cat’s skin come out? I had that thought even though I knew it wouldn’t happen.

The breath coming from my slightly opened mouth felt sweet.

Suddenly, I remembered Dok-ui’s words. The black cat probably won’t reject me. Even if you go further than just stroking softer-looking lips or stroking silky hair, the black cat will probably accept it.

The black cat’s lips trembled.

“Uum…Hwari MaiJep…”

Eat.

I laughed without realizing it. I carefully removed the hair from her cheek and covered her with a blanket. As my perky body was covered by the blanket, my heart calmed.

“Ugh.”

I don’t know what I’ll think later, but right now, I don’t want to own a black cat because I can’t be the only one around it.

To me, the black cat still felt like a child. A child who is surprised every time he or she comes face to face with his or her own emotions that were kept hidden by the environment.

This sometimes innocent appearance may be what makes the black cat look more like a child than a woman. Running around more, having more fun, bumping into people, worrying, being sad, getting angry, being happy…

Just like that, the black cat needs to grow more and more.

It’s not that I didn’t know what the old man was hoping for when he pushed my back. In reality, the barrier to peace of mind is extremely high. There are countless warriors in this world who end their lives without reaching the realm of peace.

He probably thought it was important for at least one person to be by Black Cat’s side.

However, my thoughts are a bit different from Dok-ui’s.

For Ho Cheon-an, a famous figure in the world of martial arts, turning a colleague into a monster is just a natural thing that he repeats every time he plays. Dok-ui may have thought that the black cat climbing to the flower garden was like picking a star in the sky, but from my perspective, it was just something I could do if I wanted to.

Above all…there was a reason why I wanted to raise the level of the Black Cat to the level of the Flower.

The black cat had potential.

The possibility of being loved by anyone.

He’s a guy that makes you laugh just by looking at him thinking and hitting like a cat. Because he is energetic, curious, and full of energy.

It would be a bit of a waste to have a child like that all to myself.

So let’s be content with being the guardian of stray cats for a while.

I fed Hwari food mixed with Naedan and added more firewood. Well… it’s unlikely that a peak expert will catch a cold like this, but it’s warm so there’s nothing wrong with it.

For some reason, the black cat’s breathing seemed to have become more relaxed.