Chapter 24

When the body of the Mirage Rabbit, having lost its life, collapsed to the ground, Idan and Arabal were finally able to relax and collapsed to the ground.

Both were overwhelmed with emotions from the fact that they had survived this fight and defeated their first serious opponent. However, they also realized how dangerous this world is and how weak and inexperienced they are now. Without the help of the System and its prompts, they probably would not have been able to survive, falling from the rabbit's first blow.

When the battle was over and they allowed themselves to rest, the pain from their wounds returned, and they both moaned while holding their sides. Although the blood had already stopped, the wound still hadn't completely healed. Due to the adrenaline in their blood and the effects of the potion, the pain was bearable, but after they relaxed, it returned, and now they could hardly move without suffering.

"Great strike!" — Idan exclaimed in his mind, looking at Arabel. Her manner of handling the sword was completely different from his. He realized that perhaps she had learned to wield a sword in their home world, while he had not had the opportunity. He felt ashamed of his inexperience.

"Thanks. Your strike was good too. If you hadn't hit him, I probably wouldn't have been able to pinpoint his exact location," Arabel replied with a smile. She was glad to hear his praise and also noted his contribution to their victory.

"Did you learn swordsmanship?" asked Idan with genuine interest. When they were talking earlier, he hadn't heard her mention it.

In response, she just nodded, confirming his guess.

"If you have time, can you teach me?" Idan asked, driven by the need to become stronger and stand up for himself.

"Of course," — Arabel agreed, although she did not consider herself a real expert in this art. However, she knew the basics of proper sword technique, and this knowledge could help Idan at first.

After making sure that there was no danger around them, they decided to rest. The system confirmed that there was nothing nearby that could threaten their lives.

Exhausted from the battle and using the Souls Force to the limit of their abilities, they felt very tired. Besides, the lack of proper sleep last night had made itself felt, and fatigue was creeping over them. They wanted to fall asleep, but they knew they couldn't do it at the same time.

After a short rest, Idan got up and, going to the rabbit carcass, asked the System one of the most important questions:

"Is it edible?"

The System's answer was simple: .

"Do you know how to carve it?" Idan asked Arabel. She shook her head, how would she know how to butcher a carcass.

Sighing, Idan pulled out a small knife designed for butchering corpses. He had never done this before either, but for the sake of food and meat, he had to take on this task himself.

After making sure that the rabbit's blood had not completely clotted, Idan wanted to make an incision in the neck and hang the rabbit from a branch of a nearby tree using a rope found in the storage. However, he stopped and thought about it.

"System, can blood attract monsters?" asked Idan, remembering that in their world, predators could smell blood from a great distance.

, the System replied.

"Damn it! What should I do? Is it possible to use meat without releasing blood?" asked Idan cursing.

The system suggests storing the corpse in storage. Inside it, the corpse will not deteriorate, and the blood will not clot. In addition, the System offers to purchase a monster carcass cutting service in the "Trade" function. You can also sell unnecessary monster parts to the Supreme Merchant System for System Points.

After hearing the System's suggestions, Idan felt some embarrassment, realizing that he had completely forgotten about these options and had not even considered them. This only confirmed that they had no experience of surviving in such conditions.

— the System continued.

Idan, taking into account the System's words, touched the rabbit's body with his right hand, which had a ring on it that served as the key to the storage space. He put the corpse inside.

After resolving this issue, he returned to Arabel, and they both decided to get away from this place and find a place to rest. The sun was still hanging over their heads, and they had plenty of time before it disappeared below the horizon again.

Moving with difficulty, they found a small cliff with a waterfall.

After carefully examining the surroundings, they did not notice anyone alive nearby and decided to settle down here for a rest. They didn't have the energy to set up a tent and other things, so they agreed that Arabel would rest first, and Idan would stand guard.

Arabel took out a small bag, put it on the ground and, having settled down comfortably, immediately fell asleep. Idan, in order not to fall asleep himself, decided to slowly set up a tent. He pulled it out of his backpack, not straying far from Arabel, and began to install it. He already knew how to do it, but due to fatigue, the process took a long time.

After the tent was set up, Idan decided to check his status. He discovered that his status hadn't changed much after the battle. The first thing he noticed was that his relationship with Arabel had increased from 12% to 15%. Along with the increase in their relationship score, the percentage of the unique "exchange of stats" skill increased from 10% to 12%.

The increase wasn't that significant, but Idan was still happy about the progress. But most of all, he was surprised by the changes in the main stats. Previously, all of them were equal to 50, but now they have been redistributed among themselves. The inscription "In the process of adaptation" appeared above the name "Main Stats".

His updated status looked like this:

Partner: Arabel Morgan (Attachment – 15%)

Unique Feature 2: The Paired System

- exchange of stats (currently 12%)

- unavailable

Main Stats (In the process of adaptation):

_Level - 1

_Strength - 53

_Stamina - 54

_Dexterity - 45

_Intelligence - 50

_Mana - 48

There was nothing new in the list of abilities, except for Mental Link. Idan was sure that Arabel's status was not much different from his own.

Idan was still wondering how they could level up. No matter how many times they asked the System about this seemingly most important issue, it remained silent.

There were many contradictions in the System. On the one hand, she was generous with questions and helped them. On the other hand, she also remained silent on simple and important questions, as if she herself decided what to answer and what not to answer. And when it came to how to become stronger, she preferred to remain silent, leaving them to deal with this issue on their own.

Idan and Arabel made sure that the System did not have a clear algorithm. It was as if she was living her own life and answering their questions when she was in a good mood, and when she didn't want to, she was silent.

Idan could barely stand on his feet, and after a few hours, thanks to the potion Arabel had taken, she felt better and was able to wake up. The sun had not set yet, but the first signs of its approach to the horizon were already visible. Idan wasted no time entering the tent and, leaving Arabel on guard, fell asleep instantly.

They both knew that it would be just as difficult for them to fall asleep that night as it had been the night before.