A special short trip

'Wait! Can't I upgrade the storage size even further? It only takes ten Soul Power. If Lupa is right about the amount of fruit waiting for us to collect, then my storage needs all the space it could get.'

'One moment... shouldn't I be able to store the corpse of the Demonic Beast since it's dead? I wonder how many times I need to upgrade the size for it to fit inside.'

Vincent arrived at a realization. The importance of the storage size was great. They wouldn't need to concern themself with food spoilage problems either.

The gigantic tree sheltering them from the sun was enormous enough to contain hundreds of fresh food, possibly.

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[Wish to mutate an ability has been detected.]

[Mutation of Soul Dimensional Storage is available.]

[Will you spend 10sp to mutate Soul Dimensional Storage?]

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[Accept -10sp] [Decline]

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"Accept. " Vincent murmured once again.

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[-10sp to mutate Soul Dimensional Storage. 0sp Remaining.]

[Soul Dimensional Storage 2xCubed mutated to 3xCubed]

[Soul Dimensional Storage stage zero (1/10) increased to stage zero (2/10)]

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"I'm going to try storing the corpse of the Demonic Beast next. The urge to do this is killing me." Vincent said as he headed towards the Demonic Beast.

Vincent walked with his mind full of intrigue. He recalled a few games he played were the inventory system had an extravagant and intriguing interface.

The ability to store monster corpses like the many games he played raised his morale sky-high. He almost let out a chuckle as he approached the Demonic Beast that killed Kass and also almost killed them.

Vincent arrived beside the corpse. He lowered his hand and touched the rocky arm. A second later, the ability received the intention to store the corpse. Regrettably, an unwanted notification soon window appeared.

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[Warning.]

[Soul Dimensional Storage reached its limit and can't accept the command.]

[Mutate the ability for more storage space.]

[Automatic mutation failed. 0/20 Soul Power for next mutation required.]

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"Hmm... I feel like the message changed from the previous one. Now it's only saying mutate instead of upgrade. Did Overheat change something?" Vincent asked while rubbing his chin.

[Only time will tell.]

Vincent nodded, agreeing with Kazumi. He couldn't understand the most significant mystery around him. The mutation fused with his body at the age of twelve. He didn't experience any negative side effects other than the eye color change.

But why did his body start to change after arriving in this world? Was a question both wanted to know.

Vincent shook his head. Getting stuck in a deep thought without knowing the answer only wasted his precious time. Vincent went back and started digging the two gravesites.

More than half a day passed, doing the strenuous digging job. The two gravesites were ready to welcome the new inhabitants for their eternal rest. Vincent didn't need to call the others as no one knew them, so he buried them by himself.

Vincent wiped his sweaty forehead and returned to the others. His eyes soon picked three girls giggling and eating Ani Bananas as if it was a party.

Vincent frowned at this joyous sight. Not only he wasn't included in the fun, but he had to deal with the dead while they collected delicious fruit.

[What's wrong? Did you perhaps want to keep the dead bodies lying on the ground? or for the girls to burry the corpses instead of you?]

-Heh... You are right. I should be happy with this view instead of feeling jealous. I should treat the grave digger job as training.-

"Vincent is back!" Lupa informed. Then she shouted with a proud smirk while waving a half-eaten Ani Banana, "We collected a lot today, hehe."

Vincent approached the cart. The vast amount of fruit lying in the cart would take quite some time counting one by one. Probably more than a hundred large Ani Bananas lay in the cart, releasing a tempting aroma.

It seemed this is why the girls were eating, and a couple of Ani Banana peels collected on the grass below them. Spending more than half a day in this smell waned their will to resist their apatite.

Vincent placed a few to the side and stored the rest. The cart became illuminated by a green light, and mana particles hovered around the cart until entering his palms. Tula clapped with a smile on her face. She seemed to like watching this happen.

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[127x Ani Banana (Unkown Quality) gained.]

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'That's a lot, and considering they are larger than Earth's bananas, two hundred and fifteen Ani Bananas in my storage is a good haul. They will be a great substitute for the dwindling frozen fish.' Vincent thought with a slight smirk.

"It's getting dark soon, and my job of burying the soldiers is finished. I can guess you are all tired as well. Shall we call it a day?" Vincent decided to rest for the day.

Lupa slyly yawned and stretched her arms, trying to fake becoming tired and intending to receive praise for doing her job. However, Vincent could see she had a lot of energy to spare along with her energetically wagging tail.

"Ahem... you look tired, Lupa. Let me pet you as a job well done. What do you say?" Vincent said after noticing her easy to guess exciting actions.

Lupa started shapeshifting immediately at the end of his last word. Her skin gradually shone brightly until only a glowing human silhouette could be seen.

The three of them quickly averted their eyes as if a flashbang just set off. The next time they looked back, a two and a half foot large white wolf and clothes under her appeared.

It took Tula some time to stop being afraid of Lupa in her combat beastman form because of her sharp claws. But Tula wasn't emotionally prepared for the sudden appearance of a large white wolf standing before her.

Tula's fear suddenly triggered, and her legs became weak, shortly falling on her knees. Even if she learned to trust Lupa in the past days, her body felt afraid. As if she suffered from wolves in her lost memories.

"There's no need to fear. It's still Lupa. She can become a soft white wolf. Soft as a soft toy, you cuddle in your bed." Ester said with a warm voice.

Ester spoke from experience as she had to touch the white wolf's soft fur to calm her frightened body. She approached the frightened fallen Tula and crouched beside her. A reassuring hand shortly caressing Tula's back as the injury on her head was still bandaged and fresh.

"Come here, Lupa. Let Tula see for herself how your fur is softer than a feathered pillow." Ester asked Lupa to approach.

Tula slowly raised her trembling hand with assistance from Ester. Her hand soon touched the soft silky fur, causing the hesitation and fear to subside quickly.

'Big sister Ester is right. Big sister Lupa is so soft I wish to sleep hugging her.' Tula thought as she closed her eyes and imagined touching her favorite soft toy. She then raised both arms and embraced the white wolf.

Vincent, Kazumi, and Ester could see Tula curving her lips, forming a delighted smile on her face. She didn't seem afraid anymore, and her hug didn't seem to stop anytime soon.

Tula felt a wet tongue licking her face. As her eyes opened, she couldn't see Lupa as a terrifying white wolf anymore, but as a pet she always wanted to have.

"You're so soft, hehe. I want to sleep holding you, hehe." Tula giggled as she uttered her wish of a living soft toy.

[This human is like you, my mate.]

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked with a puzzled frown.

[Unlike Ester. This unusual acting human knows how to hit the right... ahh... spots.]

"Ahem... the two of you can continue playing. Ester and I will cook a fish each." Vincent waved and left Lupa in the embrace of the happy Tula. She was like a kid playing with a long lost soft toy but with the body of a busty teen.

"Can big brother understand big wolf sister Lupa?" Tula asked without stopping her petting and cuddling.

"Yes. Only he can hear her." Ester quickly replied.

Ester followed Vincent to prepare their dinner. She took a few glances before leaving and noticed Lupa enjoyed the petting to the last stroke.

[Don't worry about getting confused when talking with Lupa. I won't say a word so that you won't get confused.]

-Thank you. Honestly, I can only guess who is talking to me by the distinct tone and mannerism. Both your telepathic voices sound the same to me.-

Later, the group ate and went to sleep. Lupa was both happy yet unhappy at the same time. She slept on Vincent's right side, but Tula hugged her all night, forcing her to remain in white wolf form.

*Day 22

A new morning arrived, but Vincent didn't have anything to do other than help collecting Ani Bananas. He shortly remembered to search the landing place of the injured Tula.

'She might have dropped something.' he thought.

"I'm planning to check the location where Tula woke up. You three can continue with the gathering of fruit." Vincent grabbed two Ani Bananas and prepared to leave, "Take a banana each for breakfast since we should preserve our meat rations."

Ani Banana was about to become their only breakfast, so he asked them to eat fish at dinner and get used to this new meal rotation.

"Wait, big brother. I want to go with you, and maybe cure my body. Can I?" Tula insisted. She took an Ani Banana and quickly walked to his side without giving the chance to decline.

"Are you girls ok with that?" Vincent asked.

"Yes." Both Ester and Lupa replied. It seemed they didn't find Tula as a threat anymore. Vincent wasn't going to get stolen by her seductive charm any time soon, and the two could spend some time to bond.

Vincent had Tula guide him to her landing spot. But to her, it was the place where she woke up with an adult body.

As they walked, their feet soon stepped on the red grass once again. Momentarily, they arrived at their destination.

"Hmm... there's nothing much. A broken helmet and a sword." Vincent looked from left to right, but he couldn't find anything of value. Even the dead boar wasn't a magical beast. There was nothing to loot other than the sword on the ground.

'I wonder how Tula survived such a devastating hit? The Inspection gemstone didn't show any luck stat, but Tula would have a high stat if it's visible.' Vincent thought with a puzzled expression.