The next day, Aeryon woke up at sunrise, ignoring the palace's summons to work. "Quitting that filthy place is the first step toward freedom," he muttered with a sarcastic smile. "Today I'll eat meat! Real meat — not some miserable soup."
He headed straight for the kitchen, only to find Kalin, the little troublemaker, sitting on the floor devouring potatoes like a starving beast, sleep still clinging stubbornly to his small face.
"Haha! He woke up just to eat! Afraid the food would vanish? Hahaha… ha… ha… Wait—where are the potatoes?!"
Aeryon's eyes bulged. "I bought three kilos! Did they vanish this fast?!"
Tears of agony welled in Aeryon's eyes. "My money! Three whole coppers wasted on this tiny glutton!" he muttered, glaring at Kalin who just blinked innocently, cheeks stuffed like a baby squirrel.
"Fwoo foo… bye…", Kalin mumbled with his mouth full of potatoes.
"Haha! Hey kid, swallow before you talk!" Aeryon laughed, waving him off. "Farewell, oh champion eater!"
Aeryon stepped into the forest, moving cautiously. Today was for hunting — but not with a spear or a bow. He had a better plan.
Ding~
[Skill Forger – Creation Mode]
"Time to craft a trap, you arrogant system," Aeryon muttered, recalling how the system had rejected his simple skills before. "This time I'll be precise — and devilishly clever."
[Analyzing Proposed Skill: Deceptive Pit Trap]
Proposed Description: Creates a hole about the length of an adult man's arm (roughly 1 meter deep). Can only be placed on soil or sand. The pit is camouflaged perfectly to look like ordinary ground.
Expected Rank: F
Mana Required: 30
Cooldown: Resets every 6 hours after a creature falls in.
Bonus Feature (Proposed): Alerts the user when something falls into the trap.
Evolution Trait (Proposed): The skill can evolve with each successful use (a creature falling in). The system will decide the evolution conditions.
"And you, filthy— I mean, dear system, get to decide how many times it evolves!" Aeryon sneered. "Let's hope your stiff protocols accept it this time — I even gave you a say!"
He pressed [Create].
Flicker-flicker
[Creation in progress...]
[...Rejected.]
"Damn it!!" Aeryon roared. "Why, you petty—!"
He quickly regained his composure. "Wait… maybe the bonus feature is the issue. The system hates freebies."
He reopened the skill window, removed the "Alert" feature, and tried again. "Come on now, my great system — just accept it!"
Flicker-flicker
[Creation in progress...]
[...Success!]
Ding~
[Skill Created: Deceptive Pit Trap]
Type: Tactical Skill (Trap)
Rank: F
Description: Creates a 1-meter-deep pit camouflaged with the surroundings. Resets 6 hours after each successful use.
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 6 hours (resets after use)
Evolution Trait: Evolves with each successful use (creature falls in). The system defines the conditions.
"Finally! Success at last!" Aeryon grumbled. "You annoying system! 30 Mana for each trap — such daylight robbery!"
He looked for a dense patch of trees, away from the main road. He activated the skill — Fwoosh~ — and 30 Mana vanished. A perfectly hidden pit appeared in the dirt.
"Time to bait this nasty hole," he thought. He remembered he had gathered some branches earlier — part for firewood, part for sharpening. He pulled them out of his Restricted Carry Pocket.
Fwoosh~
He reached inside the pit, testing it. "It does nothing by itself. Useless thing." He took a sharp rock and shaved the branches into sharp stakes. He lined the bottom of the pit carefully, then climbed up a nearby giant tree to wait.
An hour passed… then two… then three. He nearly dozed off.
"Damn, I'm about to fall asleep. It's been three hours since I made the last skill — maybe time for another…"
But just then — he heard something.
Rustle!
He spotted two strange rabbits creeping toward the trap. Not normal rabbits — these had sharp horns growing from their heads, and their eyes glowed red. Deadly, venomous creatures — known as death traps for careless adventurers.
"Horned rabbits! Those damn pests! Only fool adventurers hunt them!"
He didn't have time to think further.
THUD! THUD!
The two rabbits fell right into the pit, shrieking as the sharpened stakes pierced their soft bodies.
"At last!" Aeryon grinned wide, leapt down from the tree, and drew his ornamental short sword from the Restricted Carry Pocket. He peered into the pit — the rabbits were squirming in agony. Without hesitation, he thrust the blade into their necks, ending them swiftly.
"Yes! Meat!"
But his triumph turned sour the moment he stared at the carcasses. "How… how do I skin them? The original Aeryon didn't know — and I don't either!"
He realized he had no clue how to butcher animals or monsters. How to separate meat from hide? How to harvest valuable horns and teeth?
[Skill Forger – Creation Mode]
"I need a skill to dismantle these rabbits," Aeryon muttered. "Something that lets me separate teeth, horns, hides, meat — all of it."
[Analyzing Proposed Skill: Novice Monster Dissection]
Proposed Description: Grants basic understanding of animal and monster anatomy. Allows efficient separation of different parts (meat, hide, bones, valuable bits like horns and teeth). Requires a knife or sharp tool.
Expected Rank: F
Mana Required: 20 per use
Cooldown: 10 minutes (per creature)
He hit [Create].
Flicker-flicker
[Creation in progress...]
[...Success!]
Ding~
[Skill Created: Novice Monster Dissection]
Type: Crafting Skill (Butchery)
Rank: F
Description: Provides basic knowledge for dissecting monsters, separating all parts efficiently. Requires a sharp tool.
Mana Cost: 20
Cooldown: 10 minutes (per creature)
"Perfect! Better than I expected!" Aeryon smirked. "Sometimes this stingy system can be generous."
Following the faint prompts in his head, Aeryon skinned the rabbits carefully, separating the meat, pelts, horns, and teeth.
Fwoosh~
He stashed everything into his Restricted Carry Pocket. Each rabbit yielded about 3.5 kilos of meat, plus hides and horns — more than seven kilos total! "What a catch!"
Ding~
[Restricted Carry Pocket Updated]
Slot 1: Ornamental Short Sword (10 kg / 10 kg)
Slot 2: Rabbit Teeth ×56 (0 kg / 10 kg)
Slot 3: Rabbit Meat (7 kg / 10 kg)
Slot 4: Rabbit Pelts ×2 (2 kg / 10 kg)
Slot 5: Rabbit Horns ×2 (1 kg / 10 kg)
"Wait a second!" Aeryon's eyes lit up. "The inventory tracks weight automatically! That means no manual counting! Glorious system — sometimes you're actually useful!"
He grinned like an idiot, savoring the sweet taste of victory. "Time to head back."
He made his way back toward the village. He passed by the two guards, Jack and Peter, who were still gossiping by the gate.
"Aeryon? Back early today, huh?" Jack asked with a smirk. "What, didn't catch anything? Haha."
"I was… working," Aeryon lied coldly. His hands were empty — everything was tucked safely in his Restricted Carry Pocket. "I've got things to do." He didn't bother arguing.
He reached home, pushed open the door, and saw Lyra and Kalin.
"Brother!" Lyra gasped, eyes wide. "You're here!"
"Yeah, I'm back." Aeryon said, then pulled out the meat from the pocket — Fwoosh~ — a pile of fresh meat landed on the table.
The kids' eyes popped. They froze, then burst into wild cheers.
"Meat!" Kalin yelled, nearly jumping onto the table.
"Brother! How?!" Lyra asked, her eyes shimmering with tears.
They stared at the meat. A kilo of meat could easily cost ten copper coins — this pile was worth more than seventy coppers. An insane sum for them.
They glanced at each other, then back at Aeryon.
"Did you steal the money, brother?" Kalin asked innocently, while Lyra nodded silently, suspicion on her face.
"Wh-what?! Aeryon stammered. "Of course not, you little gremlins!" Then he quickly corrected himself. "I mean… of course not, my precious little angels!"
"Then how?" Lyra pressed, her eyes narrowing. "How did you get all this meat?"
"Simple… I hunted them!" Aeryon tried to look confident.
The two exchanged skeptical glances. How could their brother, with no combat talent and no reputation as a hunter, catch two deadly horned rabbits? But they stayed silent.
"I'll cook some meat!" Lyra said eagerly, heading for the stove.
"Let me help," Aeryon offered, following her. He knew nothing about cooking — but he wanted to look responsible.
"Alright, first we cut the meat like this," Lyra explained, holding a small knife.
"Oh gods," Aeryon whispered to himself. "Cutting meat? This is harder than fighting monsters!" He grabbed the knife and started chopping wildly — huge chunks here, tiny bits there.
"Brother, that's not… quite right," Lyra said, trying to hide her giggle.
"My dear, this is the strategic cutting method!" Aeryon declared with fake seriousness. "Big chunks for stronger flavor, small bits for easy chewing! It's the method of master chefs!"
Lyra stared at him, stunned — then smiled softly. "Oh! You're so clever, brother!"
"Of course, my little one," Aeryon puffed up. "I'm an expert at everything — even cooking! Haha!"
Together, they muddled through it — Aeryon giving absurd "cooking tips" and Lyra doing her best to follow his nonsense. In the end, they managed to make a delicious rabbit dinner.
"Thank you, brother!" Kalin said, cheeks bulging with meat. "You're the best!"
"Yes, you're the best!" Lyra nodded.
After the kids fell asleep, Aeryon pretended to sleep on his mat. But he heard their whispers.
"Tomorrow… we'll surprise him," Lyra whispered.
"Yeah… a big surprise!" Kalin replied.
Aeryon smirked into his pillow. "A surprise, huh? Let's see what this crazy world throws at me next."
Just as he drifted off, a system chime echoed in his mind.
Ding~
[Hidden Quest Completed! Reward: Full HP Restoration!]
"Ha," he muttered, eyes half open. "What's wrong, system? Pitying me at last?"
But he couldn't fight the sleep — and soon drifted into deep slumber