Chapter 03
Thud. A broom fell at my feet.
[Quest Details
<Quest> Clean! Let’s Clean!
: Lower the cabin’s contamination level by 10%!
▸ Reward: Status Effect Recovery ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧]
Excuse me? Cleaning at this late hour?
What an incredibly random quest.
Ah, maybe it’s not so random. Since I got a status effect from the filth, I guess cleaning it myself will solve it!
…Yeah right. Are you kidding me?! You shouldn’t have given me hair loss in the first place!
But I didn’t have the luxury to stay frustrated for long.
[Status Effect: Hair Loss (Progress 6%)]
With the progress increasing yet again, I had no choice but to dash back into the cabin.
“Arghhh!”
Creak—The first thing I did was shove the window open as hard as I could. The sound it made screamed for oiling.
Then, I flung the door wide open and grabbed the broom, furiously sweeping the disgustingly dirty floor as if my life depended on it.
[Cabin Pollution Level (96%)]
[Status Effect: Hair Loss (Progress 10%)
▸ You’ve developed a bald spot!]
This is driving me crazy!
Even as the contamination level decreased, the hair loss progress kept increasing.
I had to use all my strength, not caring if dust got in my mouth.
I swung the broom like my arms would fall off.
I threw the dirty blanket out the window, and I ripped off and threw out the shabby curtains next to it too.
[Cabin Contamination (91%)]
Thanks to that, only 1 percent remained. It seemed like I just needed to sweep this last area.
I quickly moved my feet.
[Status Effect: Hair Loss (Progress 13%)
▸ Hair is falling out in clumps!]
[Cabin Contamination (92%)
▸ Contamination increased 1% due to fallen hair.]
“Ah! No!”
It felt like the stress was making more hair fall out.
I hurriedly took down the cloudy picture frame from the wall, its contents barely visible. Then, holding the frame, I chaotically rushed and threw myself out the door.
Gasping for air, I dropped to my knees and clutched the frame.
Please, please! I opened my eyes slightly and desperately checked the result.
[Cabin Contamination (90%)]
I did it!
[Quest Complete!
▸ Reward: Status Effect Recovery
Congratulations! But who knew this would take so long?]
There seemed to be some oddly irritating text mixed in, but I completely forgot about it due to the message that appeared next.
[Status Effect Recovery!
Hair Loss (Progress 2%)
: Hair loss progress is decreasing.
*A small bald spot remains.]
Wasn’t it supposed to recover completely!
With a new bald spot to my name, I felt a wave of despair and emptiness wash over me.
I touched my hair. It felt really unsettling.
What a hassle this is…
The only consolation was that there was a cure-all nearby. When the sun rises tomorrow, I’m definitely dunking my head in the river…
I got up from my awkward sprawled position.
“I’m dying of exhaustion.”
I leaned the picture frame against a nearby tree and trudged back into the cabin.
“But should I really sleep like this?”
I looked around the room again.
It’s better than lying on grass in the night dew… but the cabin still couldn’t be considered clean. The 10% reduction in contamination was barely noticeable.
In the end, I picked up the broom again.
I figured I might as well clean a little more.
The room wasn’t that big anyway, so sweeping the entire floor didn’t take long.
Scritch, scratch— After sweeping thoroughly several times, the place actually looked a lot better.
[<Quest> ‘For the Cleanliness of My Home!’
Cabin contamination has been reduced to 70%. You will receive rewards for every 5% reduction in contamination.
▸Reward: Random Interior Item!
*10% chance of getting a bed]
As I continued cleaning, a quest notification appeared.
My eyes were automatically drawn to certain words.
B-bed?
Amazing. A 10% chance? That’s worth trying for.
With a goal in mind, I felt a surge of energy. I quickly swept the dirt I’d gathered on the floor and pushed it out the door.
[Cabin Contamination (65%)]
The contamination level dropped instantly. I stared at the system window, hoping for a bed.
[Contamination has decreased! You will receive a random interior item as a reward.
Reward: Cute Cat Plushie!]
Haha. It’s cute but completely useless.
I unconsciously threw the broom to the floor. What am I supposed to do with a plushie?
Still, there was plenty of contamination left, so I couldn’t stop cleaning. Maybe something useful would appear by the time I finished cleaning.
I picked up the thrown broom and swept the floor again.
[Reward: Petite Baby Cat Plushie.
*Extremely cute!]
It’s cute! But also useless!
I placed the two suddenly acquired plushies in a relatively clean corner of the floor.
This time, I used the broom to knock down cobwebs and dust stuck to the walls.
There was a lot of grime wedged between the wooden slats.
It would take scrubbing with a rag to fully clean it, but even with the broom, a lot of the filth came off with satisfying thuds.
Ding, ding! With every bit of dust cleared from the cabin, the system chimed, announcing quest completions and tossing rewards my way.
[Reward: Fluffy Cat Plushie.
*Once you touch it, you want to keep touching it.]
[Reward: Body Pillow You Want to Sleep With.
*Has the face of Rank #1 (wink) printed on it.]
[Reward: Small and Precious Cat Plushie.]
Argh! I threw the broom to the floor once again.
What’s with these traps in the middle of my efforts?
At this rate, I could probably open a plushie store.
[Cabin Contamination (15%)]
Even though I was frantically sweeping every corner of the cabin with all my might, the pollution level stubbornly refused to drop below 15%.
And, of course, I hadn’t gotten a bed.
All that effort, and I’d just turned into someone who’d cleaned their heart out.
If you don’t want to give it, just say so! Don’t leave me feeling so deflated! I rubbed the back of my neck.
Should I really get down on my hands and knees with a wet rag in the middle of the night?
…No, forget it. I’d done enough for today.
I was exhausted, and all I wanted now was to sleep.
To shake off the dust clinging to my body, I stepped outside the cabin.
My hair and shirt were filthy. I’ll just dust off roughly and go to sleep.
[Contamination has decreased by 5%!
▸ Reward: Bed]
“Ah.”
So that was the 5% contamination.
✦✦✦
Thanks to the reward I received at the very end, I was able to wake up on a bed instead of the hard floor.
Sunlight streamed in through the window. It was morning.
I stretched, pushing away the plushies and the body pillow with the #1 ranked character’s face on it.
[A Small Centipede (C-rank) hopes to sneak in.
Will you accept?
Yes | No]
Ack! The system window appeared without fail today too. I quickly pressed ‘No’.
It was way too early for my heart to be racing like this.
Can’t believe something still has its eye on me. I really can’t let my guard down.
Growl—Just as I was about to get out of bed, my stomach made a noise.
“I’m hungry.”
Now that I think about it, all I’d had yesterday was the water I drank at the river. And after all that cleaning, I was completely drained.
If I didn’t want to starve, I’d have to head outside and find something edible.
Without delay, I opened the cabin door and stepped out.
Since I was in the forest, there had to be something I could find, right?
Luckily, the weather was nice.
I strolled forward, scanning my surroundings.
Trees with fresh green shoots and tender leaves, the occasional chirping of birds, and colorful flowers and fruits scattered here and there.
It felt completely different from the forest I’d seen at night. It was warmer, softer, and more comforting.
That over there—could I eat it?
My eyes landed on some red berries hanging between the bushes. They looked quite ordinary, almost like cherries.
“Should I try one?”
If they made me sick, I could always drink water from the river to recover.
Without hesitation, I grabbed one of the berries and plucked it off.
[You have acquired a skill!
Gathering Skill (F-rank): You can gather.]
Huh? I just picked it, and I got a new skill?
W-what? Is that how skills are supposed to work? That can’t be right. With a confused expression, I studied the system window.
You can gather. A simple explanation.
But if that’s all, isn’t it the same as not having a skill? I couldn’t tell if it was useful or not.
Regardless, I split the berry in half.
There were no seeds, just red flesh. It gave off the tangy smell characteristic of fruit.
I touched it to my tongue for a quick taste.
“Ugh, bitter!”
I scrunched my face up tightly.
[You have acquired a skill!
Appraisal Skill (F-rank): Don’t taste test everything, learn to distinguish things!]
Eh? Another skill?
I glanced at the berry, and a description popped up.
[Appraisal: Appears to be an unripe berry. Tastes bitter.]
I know that already, you idiot.
As expected, this was another pretty useless skill.
Still, I was curious. I turned my attention to a darker-colored berry this time.
[Appraisal: Appears to be a ripe berry. Tastes bitter.]
The same thing again.
I’m not eating it. Why does it taste bitter if it’s ripe—
[*Might give you strength if eaten?]
Gulp. The ominous little asterisk made me shove the berry into my mouth and swallow it.
“Ugh.”
The bitterness was so overpowering that I definitely didn’t want to eat it again.
But I couldn’t not try it.
There’s water that restores health—who knows what effect a fruit might have?
[‘What’s bitter in the mouth is good for the body!’
Your stats have increased!
: Strength + 1]
Whoa. I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Just as the Appraisal skill hinted, it really did increase my strength.
This little fruit had that kind of effect. Without any effort, my stats had gone up.
This is insane. If I could sell these, I’d make a fortune.
Not that I can leave, of course.
Still, it would be useful for me with my FFF-rank stats.
I quickly thought of the wooden bucket lying near the cabin and brought it over. I figured it’d be a good idea to gather and eat as many as I could.
Who knows—if my rank ever improves, maybe I can escape this place.
Honestly, I don’t even hope to fight and win.
But if I can just run away from monsters, maybe I can even escape through the S-rank dungeon—the only exit here.
It was a sliver of hope.
At a glance, there seemed to be a lot of berries, but unfortunately, there weren’t many that appeared ripe.
The unripe ones didn’t show the “gain strength” description.
I ventured a little deeper into the forest, searching for ripe red berries.
As sunlight filtered through the leaves, warming me, I turned my head this way and that.
I didn’t find many red berries, but instead, I discovered trees bearing purple fruits.
They were about the size of my fist.
I plucked a fruit hanging low on the tree and held it to my nose. It smelled sweet.
[Appraisal: Looks edible. Has a sweet scent.
*Might taste good if eaten?]
When I split it open, a flattened seed was nestled inside the purple flesh.
Wow, this definitely seems edible.
[Detailed Description
: As expected, it’s delicious! （´▽｀）]
As soon as I took a small bite of the fruit, a message popped up.
This system really does whatever it wants.
I didn’t even ask for a detailed description, but it popped up on its own.
And, just as it claimed, the fruit was absolutely delicious. A slight tartness balanced out a deep sweetness that spread throughout my mouth, melting along with the juices.
I opened my mouth wide and took another bite of the fruit.
Mango? No, grapefruit? It was a fresh scent I’d never encountered before, sweet in a way that didn’t get tiresome.
But apart from its taste, it didn’t seem to have any special effects.
Still, it was a relief to have found something edible.
There seemed to be many similar trees in the area, so at least I wouldn’t starve. If I combined it with the red berries, it might even neutralize the bitterness.
I added the purple fruits to the wooden bucket I had brought along.
Unfortunately, the ones hanging higher up were out of reach. I wasn’t about to waste energy climbing trees for them.
I wandered around, plucking fruits hanging lower on the trees.
After I’d gathered a few, something ridiculous happened.
What… what is this?
🌱
Thank you for reading! ♡
