Chapter 29: Peaches! Speed Buff!

After the meal, they had a small fruit to follow up with the meat and vegetables, and washed it all down with a cup of boiled water, concluding their breakfast.

Ed had also planned to go out in search of resources today. He had yet to gather some of the materials for the multi-purpose furnace, and the materials needed for the wooden house were still greatly lacking.

Once the house was built, the problem of safety would mostly be solved. At least, he wouldn’t have to worry about direct beast attacks. He could also build some wooden fences to surround the house, further improving his safety.

He would bring Little Treasure out today. Who knows, maybe it might find him some resources. A few more treasure tree holes would be great.

Ed had already prepared beforehand, purposefully avoiding the use of the axe’s special skill, the Flames of Hell, on the trees that he had cut down earlier deeper in the forest, allowing them to grow back under the glow of the strange moonlight.

He had realized something before. As the strength of the trees increased, cutting them down would yield more resources than before, meaning that they were proportional. As such, he had made the choice to allow them to regenerate.

“Let’s go, Little Treasure.”

Ed brought along some water and corn before heading out with Little Treasure.

The squirrel stood perched on Ed’s shoulder like a pendant.

These trees, strengthened as they may be, were still unable to stand against Ed’s axe. Raising the axe in his hand, he swung it in front of him.

As usual, ten big trees fell as they dropped a series of resources at the same time. Despite being common items, they were all resources that Ed needed at the moment.

After having eaten the gold-quality anchovies, Ed’s overall physique had improved significantly. He was now even more adept at wielding the axe.

Moreover, he had discovered that in addition to the increase in his strength, the sharpness of the blade of the axe had also increased. In other words, he had not been able to utilise the true power of this axe with his limited strength in the past. He had been a three-year-old child, flinging around a knife carelessly to threaten an adult.

As his strength grew more and more, he would be better able to display the full power of this godlike axe. However, he was already finding his current status very satisfactory. With one swing, more than a dozen trees would fall. No one other than him could achieve such a feat.

He did not stop after one swing. Instead, he continued to mow down the forest.

This time, Ed activated the Flames of Hell.

As the trees fell crashing down, the area of the open space he had continued to expand.

Other than simply just eating, he had also been busy cutting down trees consistently, continuously expanding his territory.

The overall area of his open space was growing at a pace clearly visible to the naked eye.

He was once again cutting down a large area of the forest. He suddenly noticed that the circular stump before him was emitting light, and hurried over.

Treasure tree hole!

He clearly remembered that he, along with Little Treasure, had searched through this area before, but hadn’t found any treasure tree holes.

Yet, it had appeared this time, which likely meant that they were randomly generated and not in fixed locations.

Of course, this was just a guess.

After all, this was all based on one treasure tree hole, and he couldn’t arrive at a confident conclusion. He could only wait for the future to prove it.

Kacha!

Ed swung down the axe in his hand, splitting it. Notifications in his mind followed, alerting him to the collected resources.

[ Notice ] : metal piece +30

[ Notice ] : gold-quality peach +5

[ Notice ] : gold-quality peach seed +1

Ignoring the 30 metal pieces, Ed’s attention landed immediately on the peach.

He had not expected his luck to be so good as to obtain a new fruit so soon. A peach was much sweeter than an apple, and would be much more juicy. It was also soft compared to an apple’s crispness.

What excited Ed the most was the quality of the peach, gold!

A gold-quality peach. He imagined that if he took a bite of it, he would take off right away in joy.

With a thought, a pink fruit materialized in Ed’s palm. Along with it was its description in his mind.

[ Gold-quality Peach: The peach is a rich source of water. Eating this will satiate a full day’s requirement of water. It can also temporarily increase speed! ]

Woah!

Ed did a double take at the description of the peach. This was definitely amazing!

Especially with the temporary increase in the speed it could give, Ed likened it to a buff in a game.

The appearance of the peach was irresistible as well, and just looking at it would make anyone want to take a bite.

Ed naturally could not resist the temptation.

Tch!

As he took a bite, a spray of juices flew out. A deep tooth mark was left on the fruit.

Soft!

Sweet!

Juicy!

And it melted in his mouth!

The fragrance and sweetness danced gracefully on the tip of his tongue. As he started to feel changes in his body.

Ed, who had been felling wood for an entire day, had initially felt exhausted. After eating only a mouthful of the peach, however, the fatigue had instantly dissipated. Replacing it instead was a very comfortable feeling that he was unable to describe in detail.

In any case, it was extremely delicious.

As expected of a gold-tier item, the effect was sublime!

With this peach in hand, he had a buff!

Moreover, as long as his physical fitness continued to improve, the speed buff of the peaches would continue to increase, exponentially improving the ability of the user.

Squeak squeak?

Little Treasure had unknowingly appeared on Ed’s shoulder again.

Ed was already used to this.

As long as it smelled something delicious, Little Treasure would unfailingly appear nearby, trying to get a bite.

Kacha.

Ed split the peach in his hand into two. One of them was given to the gluttonous Little Treasure.

The squirrel took its half of the peach as it opened its mouth wide, revealing its two front teeth before biting fiercely into it.

Squeak squeak!

What kind of fruit is this?!

How can it be so delicious?

By what virtue do I, Little Treasure, have the honor of eating such a delicious thing?!

It wolfed down the fruit in its paws one mouthful after another. It was simply too delicious.

It was everything one could want out of a fruit, fragrant, sweet, and juicy.

Watching this, Ed did not show any surprise.

Little Treasure was unrestrained like this. It could not help itself. Perhaps this was a common characteristic among animals.

However, the peach really was delicious.

Soon, Ed had finished off his half of the peach in his hand, and so had the little rodent.

There were still four left in his storage space, but he didn’t intend to eat them right away.

At the same time, an unthinkable idea that he had shoved away before reappeared in his mind.