Angry Rabbits

Nakami woke up on his own after 5 hours of sleep and checked his phone, where he saw a notification that made him happy. He was delighted to see how much 'E' he had now.

[ 148E earned. 553E left ]

He grabbed a light bite to eat and filled Alice in on his trip to the beach this morning. The beach wasn't too far away, so he wouldn't be gone for too long. Plus, it's easier to carry sand than stones.

In just 10 minutes, Nakami reached the shore and collected the sand and lime he needed to make enough glasses. He also caught some fish and crabs to cook later with Alice. It was still dark since it wasn't yet dawn, but Nakami enjoyed gazing out at the sea.

Nakami was considering generating electricity using tidal energy, even though the current here wasn't particularly strong. Solar energy alone wasn't reliable because, like yesterday, it rained almost the entire day. Even when the rain stopped, the sunlight wasn't enough to recharge the whole solar-powered battery.

"Welcome back! Let me process the fish and crabs. Breakfast will be ready in just half an hour," Alice said as she took the catch and left Nakami without giving him a chance to reply.

Nakami unloaded the sand next to the clay forge and took a moment to inspect it. He felt bad for not upgrading it sooner, as it was quite primitive. He cleared some nearby space because he planned to install a furnace made mostly of steel, with improved functionality. He would also install a blower to improve the burning process.

[ 50E used, 503 left ]

"Hehe, it looks so much better now! I can't wait to use it!" Nakami said, beaming with pride as he looked at how majestic the forge now appeared.

Nakami mixed the sand and lime with water before leaving to have breakfast with Alice. She had called him earlier, but he told her he would be there in 10 minutes. The process of mixing the sand, lime, and water would take a while since he used all the lime he had to mix with the sand.

While having breakfast, Alice told Nakami that she had completed all her exercises. However, Nakami noticed dark circles under her eyes, suggesting she had burned the midnight oil either studying or crying.

So, before moving on to his own work, Nakami checked Alice's answers. Alice sat beside him, anxiously waiting for his feedback. When Nakami was finished, Alice beamed with happiness upon realizing that she had gotten everything correct.

"Congratulations! I'll reward you this evening. But remember, don't study too late. Try to sleep early and wake up early," Nakami advised, gently patting her head a few times. He didn't know why he did it, but seeing Alice's happy expression made it all worthwhile.

He returned to the forgery site and began crafting glasses, and to his surprise, the first batch was finished within half an hour. Although they were a bit raw and lacked reflective properties, he was able to shape them into functional tableware. He spent another hour crafting additional batches of glasses.

He decided to spent some 'E' to purchase see-through window panels and vanity mirrors, typically used in bathrooms. Previously, he had to rely on his selfie camera to see himself, which was both hectic and inefficient. Nakami thought Alice would love to have a mirror, as she had never seen one before. It would make for a perfect gift later.

[ 10E used, 493 left ]

He installed the devices at his house before going to Alice's cabin to install hers. He told her that it was a reward for being hardworking enough to learn science.

Alice was staring intently at herself in the mirror, examining every feature of her reflection.

"Sir, thank you for the gifts! I never knew that I look like this, even with the reflection from the pool , it was still blurry."

Nakami left her to play around with the newly installed mirrors while he upgraded the dirt road to a paved road. He used all the remaining stones to minimize the amount of 'E' needed. In addition to that, he also upgraded the wooden gates to make them sturdier and easier to open or close with a gear system.

[ 50E used, 443 left ]

"Well, I've come a long way - from a shelter made of clumsy leaves to a house with brick walls. But I really need to push harder. If only I could find better seeds for farming... sigh.."

Nakami looked at the empty farming plot he had made, but he couldn't find any good seeds to plant. His transmutation skills were limited to non-living things, so it was impossible for him to create seeds. However, he knew he could get the best quality fertilizer if he wanted to, as he had checked before.

It was evening, and Nakami left his base with a backpack and some light tools to use as weapons to find wild potatoes and spices like chili and black pepper trees. These were his top priorities for his outing.

He headed towards the location of the rabbits, which was also near a river that he had not yet explored. It was about 3 kilometers away, so he packed some dried meat to eat in case he had to travel at night later when he returned to his base.

It only took Nakami half an hour to reach his destination, and he managed to slay a few rabbits on his way there. When he arrived, he found that the river was only four meters wide, and the depth was no more than a meter, so he could either swim or walk across it in case of an emergency.

He spent an hour investigating along the side of the river and eventually found wild potatoes on the ground. He collected as much as he could to be planted on his farm later.

The sun was slowly setting, but Nakami decided to venture another kilometer to see if there was anything else to collect. Along the way, he encountered more of the huge rabbits, and some were as big as donkeys. They looked disgustingly cute and menacing at the same time.

"Stomp stomp stomp stomp... Stomp stomp stomp..." Nakami heard the sounds of rabbits rampaging towards him. He was surprised to see at least twenty rabbits charging at him.

He ran as fast as he could, trying to make his way towards his base to save time on his return journey. It took him ten minutes to get away from the stampede, and by the time he had escaped, it was already dark since the sun had set.

With his compass, Nakami wouldn't have any problem finding his way back, so he jogged leisurely towards his base. Suddenly, he saw a huge pillar of light descending from the sky to the ground a few hundred meters away from his location. The light disappeared in less than a minute, and Nakami rushed towards the location, being careful as he did so.

"From what Alice told me and what I've experienced, it seems like a sign of someone transferring here from their world. I'm not expecting too much, but I just hope they're not enemies. Otherwise, I'll have to deal with another problem," Nakami thought to himself.

When he arrived at the location, he saw a glimpse of a short person running away. Thanks to the [Night Owl] perk, he could hear that the person was still hiding behind a nearby tree.

"Hello? Are you still there? I come in peace. Do you need any help? I'll be here waiting if you're open to talk." Nakami stayed a distance away from the tree where the person was hiding.

Nakami waited for 10 minutes and started snacking on some dried meats prepared by Alice. As he calmly ate, he suddenly heard the sound of someone rushing towards him.

Nakami was surprised to see that the person rushing towards him was a little girl. She had a chain around her neck, like the slaves he had seen in movies. Based on her facial features, she appeared to be from the Middle East.

Nakami observed that the little girl appeared to be around 6 years old and looked hungry.

"I should give her some water and food first," he thought.

He left his meal on the ground and moved away to give her space to eat. The little girl seemed terrified and kept looking at him.

As the little girl started eating, Nakami pretended not to watch her. Suddenly, he heard rampaging rabbits approaching. They were still a hundred meters away, but he had to make a choice.

Either bring the child with him and run, or slaughter the rabbits. He had no problem handling the rabbits, but it would be a waste since he couldn't keep the meat without a refrigerator. He would get one later for sure.

"Doesn't matter, I guess this will be good practice," thought Nakami. He hid his backpack and only brought a steel knife and spear to fight."