Chapter 10 – Flowkra

The following morning, I made my preparations to leave the mountain. I started a fire in the pit behind the shack and cooked all the fish I had caught. One nice feature of Storage Vision is that objects seem to be frozen in time until I withdraw them. Hot water in the system will remain as hot water. Cooked food remains steaming hot as well. Even the boar corpse remained untouched and unaffected by time. I decided to bring that to a butcher in the next town rather than by messing up its hide myself. All the cooked fish was stored in my storage. In checking through the shack, I discovered an extra set of clothing – identical to the set I was wearing. Although it was tempting to wear it right away, I decided to keep my "good clothes" for my arrival in a town. Having a hole in my shirt wasn't much of a deal breaker when I was alone, trudging through the mountains.

I used some of the hot water in my storage to set up a warm shower – trickling the water overhead. I could always warm up some more water with my Flame Vision. When I realized that Storage Vision did not seem to have any limits, I stored water into it non-stop for about 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure I could fill several Olympic swimming pools at this point. That was one method I used to catch some of the fish. I stored all the water around them and then speared them before the river caught up to the flopping fish. Unorthodox, I know, but I have really enjoyed experimenting with these new powers! I tried cooking the fish with Flame Vision as well, but I would tend to get impatient. Staying still and keeping your eyes focused on a couple of fish for 15 minutes is quite tiring. Using a normal fire seemed to still be the best method.

With one final glance at the shack, I began my journey in search for civilization. Using my senses in each direction, I determined that the direction with descending terrain is to the south. I considered that direction to be my best bet. All my worldly possessions were in storage, so it was easy to start my journey. I was less worried about monsters and beasts, knowing that I was much more durable that I first expected. I had recovered my makeshift spear and created a makeshift knife out of stone. There was a plant called Allamanda Vine with bright yellow flowers on it. The vines were quite durable, so I used them to hold up my temporary weapons. Tool Creation ended up leveling up a couple of times as I experimented with designs. I noticed also that my creation work gave me a little bit of experience. Not enough to hit level 5, but every little bit helps! After my experience with the wild boar, I also made sure to collect any extra-large boulders – just in case I needed some projectiles. By using my new Rock Throw skill, I learned that I could eject the boulder from my Storage Vision and launch it without my having to touch the stone. This turned out to be incredibly destructive for multiple trees.

As my mind was wandering, I heard a shrill sound ahead of me. It was almost fairy-like in sound.

Triiii!

The distressed tone caused me to instantly feel pity for the creature. I moved the distance within less than a minute and I discovered a big rock. In fact, it appeared to be one of the rocks I had launched into the woods just a few minutes earlier.

"Uh oh."

I had a bad feeling that something was underneath that rock. Reaching with my Storage Vision, I deposited the boulder. Indented into the ground was a small yellow flower. Fully intact but outraged, the little flower seemed to be shaking its cute little head. It let out a few more shrill sounds to remind me of its outrage.

Triiii! Triiii!

"I'm so sorry, little one. I really did not expect anything to be here. Please forgive me."

I honestly couldn't blame the little plant for being upset. I used Analyze Vision on it to get a bit more information.

Flowkra – Lv. 4 – not edible

I reached down to help the flowkra stand back up on its vine legs. The little flower was only about 6 inches tall. If I looked too quickly, I would have thought it was just a sunflower. But the eyes and mouth in the center of the flower told the difference.

"Is there something I can do to help? Are you hurt?"

My concern for the flower creature seemed to appease it, as it was no longer tooting its horn in such an angry way. In fact, the trills of the flower started to sound much more cheerful than before. If I was to guess, this little one had forgiven me. In fact, after I stood it up again, it did not want to release my hand anymore. I reached down and stroked the underside of the flower petals. It appears that this was the right choice. It was the happiest little flower I'd ever seen. Of course, I had never seen anything until yesterday, but that was beside the point. This flowkra was very attached to me. Literally. I could no longer detach myself. I gently shook my arm to suggest that the little one can depart, but it considered my movement like a free ride, and it cheered instead.

Triiii! Triiii!

"I am grateful for your forgiveness, little one, I really am. But don't you want to return to a nice spot in the sun?"

As I suggested this, I slowly rose from the ground, pulling up my arms slowly. I fully expected the little flowkra to get the point and move on with its life. It didn't. Instead, I received a prompt from the system.

Flowkra (Female) – Lv. 4 wishes to form a Familiar Bond with you. Please confirm if you will accept this contract.

"What?"