“Then… are you saying that each of these puddles has a Hwari living in it?”
“That’s right.”
Time was tight, so I had to hurry. I unpacked my bag and started mixing various grain powders in a basin. A familiar yellowish lump began to form, one that seasoned fishermen would recognize well.
“Wow, oh my… every puddle I see has a Hwari… By the way, senior, what’s this?”
“It’s bait made from mixed grain powder. Have you heard of ‘deokbap’?”
“Deokbap?”
It seemed like the Black Cat didn’t know much about fishing, or perhaps there was no concept of deokbap in this Martial World.
Well, fishing here is done strictly for edible fish. If someone caught a worm by digging, they’d do that instead of investing in expensive grain powder to catch fish.
“Wrap this bait around the hook at the end of the fishing rod. The grain powder will dissolve slowly in water, luring the fish.”
“Oh… I see. But I’ve never fished before.”
“That’s fine.”
With a puzzled expression, the Black Cat gathered the deokbap on the fishing rod’s hook. Before even a minute passed, there was a reaction. The tip of the rod began to curve down into the water.
“Ah! Senior, I’ve got a bite! What do I do?”
“Just pull the rod!”
With a sturdy iron rod and the strongest line, all I had to do was pull it up. When the Black Cat yanked, the Hwari came up to the surface helplessly.
Thud! Splash!
“Whoa! What! Ah!”
The struggling carp on land and the flailing Black Cat trying to keep up with it.
“Hey, Black Cat, make sure it doesn’t flop back into the water. Or just hit it on the head to knock it out.”
“Got it! Hyah!”
Swish!
Though this was her first time fishing, the Black Cat was practically a Peak Stage expert. She struck the Hwari right on the forehead with the fishing rod.
The Hwari fainted instantly.
“Oh… is this Hwari?”
The Black Cat held up the fainted Hwari to her eye level, inspecting it. Its appearance was generally similar to a decorative koi, a blend of white and red. The only difference was its distinctly larger size.
I took out a ruler to measure the Hwari’s size.
“Let’s see… it’s about 7 inches.”
Normally, catching a 7-inch carp in freshwater would be an achievement for a fisherman, but this was the Martial World. In a place where eternal fish swam, a 7-inch fish was just a baby.
“7 inches…?”
“That’s right. Now, send this one back home, and only put ones over 3 feet in the net.”
“Um, even if it’s relatively small, it’s still a Hwari, right? Do we really need to release it?”
“Hwaris under 3 feet don’t have their Inner Dan fully formed; it would be a waste of labor to split them open.”
“Got it!”
The Black Cat swiftly caught more fish. Watching her sparkle with excitement over the catch, it seemed like she had gotten addicted to fishing.
These Hwaris had been growing in isolation, feeding on algae and moss in their puddles for their whole lives. Suddenly, a bait scented with delicious grain appears?
Of course, they would go wild over it. Having lived in a closed environment their whole lives, they hadn’t even learned the risks of fishing.
The sensation of catching them was exhilarating, and it was no wonder it was so much fun.
“Oh! Senior! This one’s heavy!”
It seemed the Black Cat had seen fishing somewhere before, as she started enjoying the sensation of the catch. Since she could handle it herself, I decided to enjoy myself as well.
I unraveled the line from the Qichae I acquired in Hyeon Cheon-ja’s cave and tied it to the hook.
Then I dropped the hook and line into the natural pool in front of me.
Thunk!
As soon as I did, I felt a reaction. The force was so strong it almost lifted my upper body. I adjusted the Qi in my arms and reeled in the Hwari.
This Qichae had many uses, and I wanted to fully understand how to use it through this fishing expedition.
By the way, the sensation was quite nice.
The thrashing of the Hwari was directly felt in my forearm, making the sensation even more vivid. I wasn’t yet skilled at handling the Qichae, so instead of smoothly reeling in the fish, it felt more like a yanking motion, but I couldn’t expect to be full on the first try.
Anyway, after dragging the struggling Hwari ashore and knocking it out, I found it was over 1 meter long.
I set up a large net in the natural pool where the fish had been and placed the fainted one back inside.
“Senior! How many do we need to catch?”
“Well, I think we’ll need about twenty, but you can catch more if you want.”
“Got it!”
The Black Cat and I busily hooked Hwaris. Even leisurely enjoying the experience together, it didn’t take long to fill our goal of twenty catches.
“Indeed, the fish over 3 feet do have a certain Qi about them. Their strength is definitely different! But… um…”
The Black Cat trailed off as she placed the fish in the net.
“Isn’t the Qi weak for something that would be considered Inner Dan?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
That was right. While the “longevity Hwari” is considered one of the best Spiritual Medicines in the Martial World, it also means a Hwari needs to be around for several years to become a top-tier ingredient.
To rightfully be called a Spiritual Medicine, it would need to be aged at least a hundred years, if not a thousand.
“Well, how long do you think these ones have lived? Probably around ten years? More like a one-year-old ginseng.”
Ginseng takes six years to grow, so how effective could a ten-year-old carp be?
“Um… do you think we can use even these to make something if we mesh them together?”
“Well… saying that we can mesh them isn’t entirely wrong. I’ll be using a slightly different approach.”
The Black Cat tilted her head.
There was a reason why I caught dozens of Hwaris.
“I’m going to grow one of these into a hundred-year Hwari.”
It’s common knowledge that lower-tier materials can be synthesized into higher-tier ones, right?
* *
Fish generally adjust their size to their environment. The caves acting as natural ponds for the Hwaris not only provide safety but also serve as cages that suppress their growth.
Splash!!
The water in the pool surged. The water rose up due to the ripple caused by the Black Cat’s techniques used underwater.
“All done!”
“Good job.”
I placed the largest Hwari into the combined large pond created by linking ten pools together.
By expanding the space by merging the natural pools, the Hwari would assume that even after growing, the surrounding environment could still support them and would decide to increase their body size.
It’s true that fish aren’t smart, but they wouldn’t lose sight of survival instincts. Having almost died after being caught for the first time, they’d surely try to grow.
“Heh… so this is Inner Dan.”
“I’ve never seen Inner Dan extracted like this before.”
While I had hunted various fortunes during the time I was trying to break the limits of Iryu, I had never faced an entity directly. If an Iryu were to meet a genuine entity, they would become a snack in an instant.
As a result, I could only take things that someone else had made, and this was the first time I was directly splitting open a creature that could be called an entity to extract Inner Dan.
The Inner Dan extracted from the Hwari looked… well, it felt like a pill. It was small, about the size of a pinky nail, soft, and had a reddish-brown color—just that kind of vibe. I tossed it into one of the clumps of bait I had prepared and dropped it into the pond where the target Hwari lived.
The bait dropped where we could see it was quickly snatched up by the Hwari.
Following that, I dumped all the bait I had made. For growth, nutrients are necessary, so I would need to generously provide bait until the ten-year Hwari evolved into a hundred-year Hwari.
“Well… I’ve never heard of artificially creating an entity like this, but… since it’s what you’re doing, senior. So when can we catch this Hwari?”
“The timeframe is a maximum of a week. Well, we could combine all the Inner Dan from all the Hwaris in the cave like this, but we also need to think about our return.”
“Right. That’s why you gathered plenty of food.”
“Exactly. We can enjoy our time in this cool cave for a week. We’ll need to go outside occasionally to replenish the firewood.”
“Is it okay to light a fire in a closed cave?”
“Let’s start with a small fire to check.”
Well… in the game-like Martial World, I could set up a ton of Dan-making machines here and brew Spiritual Medicine and stuff, so there’s a chance the outside air circulates. Still, just to be safe, let’s start with a small fire and observe what happens.
“Senior, I’m going to swim a bit! I suddenly feel like catching Hwaris with my bare hands!”
“Go ahead.”
After about half an hour of monitoring the campfire, I concluded that it wouldn’t matter if I made a bigger fire. Some wet firewood had produced quite a bit of smoke, but that smoke didn’t just hang around; it vanished quickly. This should be a good sign of airflow.
I took a pot from my supplies and placed it over the fire.
My cooking skills were the epitome of mediocrity.
I do have methods in my head to raise my cooking skill proficiency, but having lived in inns, I had never cooked solo, so my cooking skill level was quite ordinary.
Just toss in the ingredients by eye and make something, and it usually results in acceptable food. However, today’s ingredients were very special.
Entities are delicious. Assuming I know the proper cooking method, entities always yield delicious flavors.
“Kyaah, this is amazing!”
Thus, the spicy ten-year Hwari soup I made was a masterpiece. Just tasting it stuck to my tongue! It made me crave alcohol, but the fact that I had too much luggage to carry meant no alcohol this time, which was a pity.
“I caught one!!”
Just then, the Black Cat came bursting out of the water with a Hwari. Did she really just catch it bare-handed? Even in such a small space, how could a person beat a fish in water? It seemed the Black Cat was truly a high-flying cat.
“What’s that smell!”
The Black Cat dropped the Hwari she proudly caught and quickly squatted in front of the pot. I chuckled and handed her a bowl of the spicy soup.
“My goodness! This spicy, refreshing, sweet, and salty flavor!”
The Black Cat gave a very straightforward review, quickly devouring the Hwari soup. When I handed her the rice balls I packed for lunch, she alternated between taking a bite of rice and a spoonful of soup and inhaled it in no time.
Ah~ this is happiness…
The Black Cat patted her full belly, smiling.
“Ahem.”
Only then did I realize how bare the Black Cat was. Unlike her usual fully-clothed self from head to toe, she was now in an entirely revealing attire. The parts usually covered by clothes now stood out clearly in stark contrast to her normal outfit.
“Yawn.”
“Ahem. If you want to sleep, take a nap.”
“Okay~ I’ll sleep for just a bit.”
After playing and enjoying, perhaps she was exhausted; the Black Cat lay down and closed her eyes. I made an effort to tear my gaze away from her and finished the dishes.
Splash. Splash.
But what else was there for me to do in this space? My gaze naturally returned to the sleeping Black Cat, who was breathing evenly.
Gulp.
After all that swimming, the Black Cat’s clothes were thoroughly soaked, revealing her curves quite vividly. Especially the top… being white, it might even be see-through.
Matching the rhythmic breaths of the Black Cat were the two rounded shapes, drawing my gaze downward.
Her slender waist and adorable belly button were exposed, and her short bottoms revealed thighs that I had never seen before. From her long, smooth legs to her delicate toes. The flickering firelight illuminated her porcelain-like skin, glistening with moisture.
Her damp hair, and those luscious pink lips exuding a somewhat inviting scent.
I had admired her beauty when I saw her face, but… what’s this? It was exponentially more attractive now. The way she showed off her body so defenselessly was… well, more enticing.
Would it be alright to take a closer look?
I shifted slightly to approach the Black Cat. A powerful urge washed over me to touch her soft skin. I wondered if I would imprint any of the glow on me when I touched her. Deep down, I knew I wouldn’t, but that thought lingered.
A gentle exhale slipped from her slightly opened lips.
“Mm… Hwari is delicious…”
I smirked unintentionally at that. Cautiously, I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and covered her with a blanket. As her daring figure disappeared under the blanket, my heart settled.
“Oh my.”
I wasn’t sure what thoughts tomorrow would bring, but for now, I didn’t want to possess the Black Cat just because I was the only one beside her.
I still felt the Black Cat was a child. One who gets shocked every time she faces her emotions she had tightly wrapped away due to her environment.
This pure innocence I sometimes glimpsed made her feel more like a child than a woman. She should play more, be happier, bump into people, ponder, feel sad, get angry, and be joyful…
She should simply continue to grow like that.
I was aware of what the Poison Doctor hoped for and nudged me onward. Realistically, the barrier of Hwa-gyeong is an incredibly daunting one. There are countless martial artists who end their lives without reaching that level in this world.
The Doctor probably believed it was important for someone to stay by the Black Cat’s side.
However, my thoughts differed from that of the Poison Doctor.
For the veteran Ho Cheon-an in this Martial World, turning a companion into Hwa-gyeong was just a natural occurrence I had repeated every playthrough. While the Doctor likely considered it akin to plucking a star from the sky, I viewed it as something entirely attainable.
Above all else… there was a reason I wanted to elevate the Black Cat’s level to Hwa-gyeong.
She held potential.
Potential to be loved by anyone.
Just watching her wreak delightful havoc like a cat brings a smile to my face. She’s lively, curious, and brimming with energy.
It would be a shame to hoard such a child all to myself.
So for now, let’s be content with the role of a stray cat caretaker.
I fed the Hwaris the bait mixed with Inner Dan and added more firewood. Well… a peak-stage expert wouldn’t catch a cold this easily, but it wouldn’t hurt to stay warm.
Somehow, it seemed like the Black Cat’s breathing had become a little more comfortable.
