Yawn!

Stop yawning! Cursed human body.

Novus fought hard to hold back his natural human reaction and was spectacularly unsuccessful. Thankfully, his sword couldn't yawn as it sliced through the large-mouthed fox before him.

Yawn!

The sleepy fox was soon ready to be carved.

Congratulations! You have defeated the monster Small Sleeping Fox.

Novus swiped away the message and quickly got to work.

Tougher hides than the rabbits. Percival was right on the money about monsters getting stronger the more north I go. The fewer players there are too. I only saw that one party headed off into the forest.

Novus looked around for a moment. There wasn't a soul in sight. Most players were still likely figuring things out in town or fighting east and west of town.

I wonder if that party was the one Percival mentioned. It had a shield-bearer and an archer. Who was the other person Percival said? I can't remember.

Novus shook his head.

Not my issue until it becomes my issue.

Novus finished carving and stood up. Momentarily, his eyes went dull, and a light mental wave escaped his body and blended his mind into the surroundings.

The feeling was almost natural to Novus—he had been practicing on the way—and by now, he could reach around ten meters with mental clarity. Anything past ten meters began to decay the mental wave with muted ineffectiveness.

"Minimap."

The small map in the corner of Novus' vision enlarged. This time, there were various coloured markings on the map in his immediate vicinity.

The first were small red dots scattered across the map. The positions were stationary despite Novus knowing they were the small foxes that pestered him with yawns-for-cries.

It's interesting how the system has interpreted the skill. Maybe the locations will be continuous if I develop my Divine Sense more.

Thankfully, besides a passing headache, there was little to no cost for the simple scanning part of his Divine Sense skill. That meant Novus could use it to his heart's content.

The second markings were small green dots that Novus guessed were some type of natural mana resource. Unfortunately, there weren't many of them, and this was the first time he had seen them.

The third and last blue dot moved alongside Novus' movement. At the very least, it seemed the minimap would display his own location in real-time.

Maybe it's because I'm the source of the skill?

Novus didn't close the minimap window but instead sent it back to the corner of his vision. From there, he could look at it if he wanted to and focus it away in a fight.

They have to be resources.

Novus searched through the area cleared of nearby foxes but couldn't find any plants drawing in any ambient mana. Despite being right on top of the green dots, Novus couldn't see anything either. But, each time he used his Divine Sense, he could feel something below.

That was one of the unwritten rules Novus had found out. Although the system's skills enabled a cleaner outlook on a skill, there was a more profound way of using the skill.

In Novus' case, it was the difference between looking at the little dots on the minimap and feeling like another sense was extending from his mind. Right now, Novus didn't enjoy where his sense was telling him to go.

Am I going to have to dig? With what tools?

Yawn. Yawn.

The hillside drew Novus' attention, where a few foxes crawled out of a hole and began wandering. The hole was just big enough to fit three of the foxes around. But, more importantly, it was just big enough for Novus' body to fit…

Sigh.

"Well, at least I won't have to dig."

…

After dealing with the crew of sleeping foxes around the entrance, Novus sheathed his rusty sword, collected his carving loot, and peered into the hole with his torch in tow.

The things I do for valuable resources. The green dots better be resources.

Then, the cold dirt pressed against Novus' body as he squeezed inside. It wasn't an extremely tight fit, but it would certainly be too much for someone with claustrophobia. Thankfully, a small space was ahead for Novus' torch to light the way. However, the smoke wasn't too pleasant.

Novus complained as he trudged. It felt like the tunnel seemed long to him, but it was just his snail-like pace of crawling.

Hopefully, no foxes show up.

??? is amused by your flag-raising words.

Seeing the whatever god's cryptic message didn't improve Novus' mood. It certainly didn't help when he heard yawns-for-cries from deeper inside the tunnel.

Really?

Novus' anger rose right as his Crimson Aura flared out.

YAWN! YAWN!

Novus heard the scurry of claws against dirt, and then silence arrived. The foxes weren't going anywhere near Novus right now.

"Oh. I thought they'd attack."

It was just the Strong Fear debuff in action, but Novus remained partly oblivious. At least, the creatures from his previous world would have attacked in a survival of the fittest type of reaction.

Finally, after crawling for too long, Novus stood up and surveyed the spacious fox den.

Novus hardly needed the torch; instead, there were clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms giving off a dull light. They illuminated the sight of three smaller foxes huddled behind one bigger fox protecting the rest.

Novus used Identify on the foxes and was pleasantly surprised when it levelled up.

Small Sleeping Fox

A small sleeping fox that lives its life scavenging and providing for its den of foxes. Though higher on the food chain, it displays little aggressiveness towards smaller animals unless threatened.

Rank: Black Iron (Low Tier)

Attributes:

Body Aspect: Black Iron 4

Mind Aspect: Black Iron 3

Soul Aspect: Black Iron 3

Skills: N/A

Large Sleeping Fox

A large sleeping fox that lives and dies protecting smaller sleeping foxes and providing for its den. It displays aggressiveness towards most animals that seek to harm its smaller fox brethren.

Rank: Black Iron (Low Tier)

Attributes:

Body Aspect: Black Iron 5

Mind Aspect: Black Iron 4

Soul Aspect: Black Iron 3

Skills: Sleeping Slash Lv.1

Yawn!

Despite being struck by a predatory fear, the large fox yawned aggressively at the identification. But, with a brief flare of Crimson Aura, Novus managed to cow it into the corner.

Do the monsters not have levels as well? I would have thought they'd be like the players in that regard. Or maybe, did you mess that up too?

??? defends that you are the only glitch.

Novus chuckled.

A glitch, huh? Wonder what that means.

Yawn! Yawn!

Novus' chuckle put the foxes on high alert and made Novus re-focus.

Making deliberately slow movements and not straight towards the foxes, Novus arrived near one of the bioluminescent mushrooms.

Most of them seem healthy. The gills haven't deteriorated, and the stalks aren't rotten. It looks a lot like the Moonglow Mushrooms from my world. I still remember picking them with mother on our nature flights.

Most of the mushroom caps had long since matured, and with a gentle cut from Novus' carving knife, the mushroom popped off the wall and disappeared.

Ding!

Congratulations! Due to successfully gathering a Moonglow Mushroom, you have gained the Gathering skill. Items obtained due to gathering: Moonglow Mushroom x1.

A glance at the description let Novus know that the Gathering skill was pretty much the same as the Carving skill, but regarding gathering natural items instead of harvesting body parts.

Novus also checked the description of the Moonglow Mushroom.

Moonglow Mushroom

This herb gives off a faint bioluminescent light and is often found in small, dark spaces. As effective a stimulant as coffee!

Rank: Black Iron (Low Tier)

Effect: Minor resistance to sleep effects.

Duration: 1 minute

Novus hesitated as he saw the description.

So they are Moonglow Mushrooms. But that's strange; how could they end up here?

Yawn! Yawn!

Novus took a step, which prompted all the foxes to yawn at him warily. His step halted as his train of thought departed.

Right, I'll have to question Solace about it later.

Novus looked around the cave for more mushrooms. But, the other clusters of glowing mushrooms were near the foxes. Based on how the larger fox was still yawning at him, Novus figured he wouldn't be getting near them without a fight. A fight that didn't quite strike fear into him. Besides avoiding whatever Sleep Slash was, Novus was confident he could handle whatever defence the foxes would muster. However, Novus soon reconsidered.

Better to leave them and raid the other dens. Maybe there will be different herbs inside the other caves too. It'll be faster since I'll only need the plants.

Having decided on a flexible collecting plan, Novus slowly backed away until he was near the den exit.

Suddenly, Novus' Crimson Aura gathered at his fingertips. He swiped his hand along the exit, and like leaking residue, the aura stuck to the dirt. Then, it flared up like a crimson flaming wall.

That should be enough for them not to follow along.

Having secured his exit route, Novus disappeared into the tunnel.