Chapter 3: The Little Beast

On the fourth day, Todd woke up early.

The large rabbit skin he roasted and dried yesterday was draped over his waist, keeping him warm the entire night. His sleep quality reached its peak since he arrived in this world, and his mood was exceedingly pleasant.

He stretched his body lazily, lit a fire, warmed himself for a while, and then simmered some bird eggs over the flames.

After eating the last two bird eggs from the night before, he walked to the bushes near the campsite to check on the three birds he caught yesterday. Standing there, he eyed them for a long time before reaching for the smallest and weakest one.

"Gah!"

The three sleeping birds were startled awake and挣扎d frantically under the bushes, but they were tied up tightly and couldn't escape.

Todd sighed slightly, patted the fluffy bird's head, picked up the chosen bird, and headed to the stream to prepare it.

How does that saying go? "Bird, bird, don't blame me, you're a dish in this world."

Todd chuckled to himself, lost in thought.

Suddenly remembering his plan to fish, he put down the bird, which was tied up tightly, and walked into the weeds and bushes outside the campsite. In no time, he had twisted a bunch of flexible branches.

He knew how to weave simple nets and bamboo frames.

It wasn't difficult; one just needed to weave them together in the right direction.

He planned to search for weaving methods for baskets in the next couple of days, wondering if he could weave some daily utensils.

He worked quickly and finished weaving the wooden frame in no time.

It was like a grass mat, woven from branches. The wooden frame could stand upright, was quite flexible, and had good weight-bearing capacity.

It took about an hour, but Todd managed to weave two wooden frames based on the width of the stream. He gestured and tried bending the wooden frames slightly to support both sides of the stream.

The wooden frames worked perfectly, completely supporting the weight. He had left wider gaps while weaving, so the frames didn't obstruct the flow of the stream.

Todd found two large stones from a distance, dug some mud, and prepared to fix one of the wooden frames in the middle of the stream.

After setting it up, he chose a wider and flatter section of the stream, hung the bird he had chosen upside down, and slit its neck, dripping the bird's blood into the stream.

The blood dripped for a while, and the smell of blood was strong and unpleasant.

Todd noticed that many fish were attracted by the scent, and their dark backs glided underwater, indicating a considerable number.

After letting the blood drip for a while, he threw the bled-out bird into the campsite, quickly inserted the wooden frame into the upstream part of the stream about ten meters away from the bird's blood, and secured it with stones and mud.

He took the remaining wooden frame and slowly moved it up from the downstream end along the bottom of the stream.

There were many fish in the stream attracted by the scent of blood. When Todd drove the fish upstream, they panicked and tried to escape upstream and downstream, but were blocked by the wooden frames, creating a continuous sound of rushing water.

In a short while, dozens of fish, large and small, were squeezed between the two wooden frames, unable to swim freely.

A smile appeared on Todd's snowy face, and his small, neat teeth showed. He seemed to be in a great mood.

His vision and speed were now much stronger than when he was a human, and his strength was great, making it effortless for him to catch fish.

"One, two, three..."

Todd threw the big fish that were flopping around one by one onto the shore, while throwing the small fish downstream to continue growing. In just a short while, he had thrown up all the fish that were three fingers wide or more.

After finishing catching fish, he lifted the two wooden frames and roughly counted them on the shore. He had caught at least sixty fish this time, estimating about twenty pounds.

Catching fish this time was much more worthwhile than hunting outside.

Todd's eyes curved into a smile.

He quickly gutted and cleaned the fish while they were still alive.

His fingernails popped out, and with a light slash of his sharp, blade-like nails, the fish's belly was slit open like tofu. He then removed the innards, dug out the gills, washed away the blood, and placed the fish on the wooden frame he had just used for fishing.

The offal he didn't throw away either, just dumped them in the mud hole he dug to soak the big rabbit skin yesterday.

In the afternoon, after finishing other tasks, he could use these offal to lure fish again downstream and roast some small fish to store for future needs.

He worked quickly, cleaning the fish in less than half an hour.

The fish were packed tightly on a wooden rack.

Todd went to break a few branches as thick as his wrist, removed the leaves and twigs, left a fork on the top, and inserted them firmly into the soil. Then he placed the two wooden racks loaded with fish on top.

Then he gathered a batch of dead branches to roast the fish under the wooden racks.

The sun was shining, and there was a fire below. It was estimated that the small fish would be completely dehydrated in two or three days, and they could be stored for two to three months without any problem. They would be perfect for winter when food was scarce.

After Todd finished processing the fish, he cleaned the bird and put it on the fire to roast slowly.

He looked up at the sky, and the sun was already high in the sky, bringing up the temperature.

Todd decided to go dig some mud.

He searched for a suitable tool but couldn't find one, so he had to use the big rabbit skin as a temporary solution. He wrapped a piece of mud with it, planning to wash and roast it at night, which wouldn't affect its use later.

Todd specially chose three locations to dig mud: yellow mud from the mountain, brown mud from under his feet, and black mud from a calm stream.

After bringing back the mud, Todd carefully examined it with his hands, picking out small stones and other debris.

Then he dug three pits beside the stream, put the mud into the pits, and carefully washed it. He only kept the fine mud paste and discarded the coarse particles.

By the time he finished washing, the sun was already setting.

Todd, tired and hungry, washed his hands and feet, sat beside the fire, ate most of the roasted bird from the morning, and checked the small fish at the other two fires.

He had turned them over several times. The small fish were half-dried, smelled delicious, and tasted tender and delicious with little fishy taste, making them good rations.

Satisfied, Todd turned the small fish over again, crawled into the cave, and curled up to take a nap.

In the afternoon, he inspected the three types of mud he washed out in the morning.

The mud had already dried halfway in the ground. He quickly started kneading it.

After a long time of kneading, he smoothed the mud and shaped it into a rectangular block, placing it on a large leaf to dry in the sun.

In the next two days, he would wash more mud and start making utensils.

In the evening, Todd took the offal of the small fish killed in the morning and two wooden racks to catch fish downstream for a while.

Although the harvest was slightly less this time, he still managed to get about twenty pounds.

Todd repeated the process of killing and roasting fish.

He placed the removed fish offal about ten meters away from the campsite, tied them with a vine made from dead rattan, and hung them on a tree to dry.

When these fish offal dried, he could use them to catch fish again if needed.

After a busy day, Todd was exhausted but couldn't sleep yet.

He made three fires, two for roasting fish and one for roasting rabbit skin. The fire charcoal in the cave was also used for smoking and burning, which served both as an insect repellent and to keep some warmth for a better sleep later.

As he dozed off beside the fire, he felt both content and lonely.

He thought of his relatives and friends on Earth, wondering if anyone had noticed his disappearance.

Perhaps he had already passed away on Earth, and by now, his funeral might have been held, and his ashes buried.

Todd rested his head on his arm. Fortunately, his parents had passed away before him, sparing them the tragedy of seeing their black-haired son go before them.

He wondered how his brother abroad would react to the news of his death.

Todd fell asleep deeply soon.

In the next two days, he relied on bird meat and dried fish to stave off hunger, continued washing pottery clay, shaped it into rectangles, and laid them on a lawn covered with leaves to dry in the sun.

He washed hundreds of pounds of pottery clay, enough to make dozens of pots, before starting to make pottery blanks.

This afternoon, Todd was working on clay sculptures when he heard voices while the pointed ears on his head twitched.

He stood up, took a few steps outside, and glanced back at the mountain behind him. After a while, he faintly saw several small figures emerging from the forest on the mountainside. These figures seemed to be carrying something, chatting as they slowly descended towards Todd.

The voices sounded particularly young, like children. Todd was surprised and cautiously asked in the unfamiliar language of the orcs, "Who goes there?"

A clear voice of a girl replied, "We are from the tribe, bringing you something."

As they approached, Todd noticed these were indeed a group of children. These kids were all small in stature, with features reminiscent of wild animals—golden eyes, leopard-like noses, ears on the tops of their heads, and tails trailing behind them.

He even spotted that one of the children had a fuzzy paw instead of a human hand. Their animalistic features outnumbered Todd's, each child being unique in their characteristics.

Looking at them, Todd saw that these children, seven in total, five boys and two girls, were all under four and a half feet tall and appeared to be around six or seven years old.

Feeling a bit itchy, Todd wanted to ruffle their furry heads. He chuckled and asked, "Who sent you here?"

"We came on our own," proudly exclaimed one of the boys, puffing out his chest and meeting Todd's gaze fearlessly. "The folks in the tribe heard about The subspecies of orcs here, so we brought you some things."

The boy gestured for everyone to put down what they were carrying. Each child placed their package in a pile in Todd's small camp.

Looking at the parcels, Todd squatted down to their level, thanking them kindly. "Thank you. Did you ask the adults about these gifts?"

"Yes, we did!" the girl who spoke first eagerly replied. "My dad and the others all agreed."

"So did my mom."

"Brother, this is what my father told me to bring to you."

The children all chimed in, their expressions warm and sincere, showing no signs of deceit.

Todd felt relieved and thanked them again with a softer tone, "Thank you."

The children blushed and smiled shyly. Their beastly features stood out on their faces, with unusually round eyes making them all the more endearing.

Glancing around his camp, Todd realized he had nothing much to entertain these children. He felt a bit embarrassed.

Finally, his eyes fell on the dried fish roasting on a wooden rack. He asked, "Would you like some dried fish?"

"What's dried fish?"

"I want some, brother!"

Guiding them to wash their hands in the nearby stream, Todd took down the rack of dried fish to share with them. The fish was nearly done, plain without any oil or salt, but fresh, chewy, and suitable as a snack.

Each child took a piece, their eyes lighting up as they bit into the treat, chewing eagerly. Seeing their enjoyment, Todd smiled and fetched two more baskets of dried fish from his sleeping cave. He also brought out some large leaves he had collected over the past few days, using them to wrap the dried fish while chatting with the children.

One girl among them, who had been silent, gazed intently at Todd. When he looked her way, the girl quickly hid behind her friends. Peeking out again, she shyly whispered, "Brother, you're very handsome."

Taken aback, Todd chuckled and replied, "Thank you."

The other children, emboldened by her speaking up, bombarded him with questions, "Brother, you're the most handsome The subspecies of orcs I've ever seen!"

"Brother, when I grow up, can I marry you?"

"Brother, why don't you come live in the tribe?"

Their questions were varied, and Todd answered some while avoiding others, casually inquiring about tribal matters in return. He was cautious not to delve too deeply into certain topics like population or food sources.

He simply asked about where people in the tribe usually gathered and what they did. The children described for a while, providing Todd with valuable insights.

As the evening approached and the mountain breeze turned chilly, Todd decided to end the gathering. "It's getting late; you should head back now. How about coming to play with me next time?"

Reluctant to leave, the children sat watching Todd continue his pottery work. One asked, "Brother, what are you doing with the mud?"

"I'm making pottery."

The term "pottery" didn't exist in orcish, confusing the children. "What's 'pottery'? Can you eat it?"

"No, it's for storing things, like a basket." Todd gestured to a nearby small basket as an example. He then asked, "What do you use in the tribe to store things?"

"We use wooden barrels, tubs, and bowls..."

"And stone jars."

"Bark baskets."

"Leather pouches."

Listening with a smile, Todd said, "With pottery, I can make pots, bowls, and jars for you in the future."

"Mud is dirty."

"It won't be once I'm done with it." After washing his hands, Todd picked up one child, gave each a pack of dried fish, and kindly said, "Head back for today; come visit me again next time."

Reluctant but obedient, the children nodded. Todd, still concerned, followed them, offering, "I'll walk you back."

With the children waving their dried fish, they replied, "No need."

"Brother, we can make it back on our own."

As they spoke, they began to run ahead. Following behind, Todd saw the slowest child suddenly stuff a piece of dried fish into his mouth, then untie the rope from his leather skirt, placing it in his mouth. The child then transformed into a chubby little tiger and dashed off ahead.

Seeing this, the other children followed suit, turning into various small animals while running, including the two girls.

These little orcish beings, with round bodies and stubby legs, occasionally tumbled and somersaulted as they ran, their fur flying in the wind.

Anxious to help, Todd wanted to run after them. However, the next moment, the fallen little lion rolled, picked up the dried fish and the leather skirt, and gleefully continued running ahead, disappearing in no time.

Watching the group of little tigers, leopards, and lions run off, Todd smiled helplessly. The orcish world truly was magical.