R1 Chapter 04

Posted by Lilac, Released on January 19, 2025

Chapter 04

[Your skill rank has increased!

▸ Gathering (E-rank): F → E

▸ Appraisal (E-rank): F → E]

W-what?! Already?

Is it even possible for skill levels to go up this easily? The system was oddly generous today.

Not that I’m complaining…

After a brief moment of shock, I quickly tested out my Appraisal skill.

[Appraisal Skill (E-rank)

Name | Purple Berry

▸ A berry with purple coloring. Mainly sweet in taste and rich in vitamin C, good for the skin.

▸ The seeds can be eaten like snacks when dried. Helps with stamina.]

Wow. That’s a really basic name.

You can eat the seeds too, huh?

Seems like leveling up really is beneficial.

Before, it only gave me obvious facts, but with the upgraded skill level, the descriptions became much more detailed. Now it finally feels like a real skill.

Then maybe the Gathering skill…

With a sense of anticipation, I reached out my hand. And just as I was about to grab a fruit—

A system window popped up.

[Starting Gathering (E-rank)!]

Whoosh!

Not only did the fruit in front of me fall, but so did the ones that were far too high for me to even consider picking.

Fruits detached themselves from the tree all at once, floating mid-air as I stared at them, wide-eyed.

What the heck?!

I’d cleared the entire tree in an instant. The drastic improvement in my skill left me speechless.

But… how am I supposed to carry all this…?

[You have exceeded the number of fruits you can carry. Would you like to store them in your inventory?

Yes | No]

Huh? Inventory? I have that?

Now that I think about it, I did awaken, so it makes sense I’d have access to an inventory.

But as someone who’s practically a civilian, it wasn’t a feature I’d even thought about using.

With a mix of curiosity and excitement, I pressed “Yes.”

The fruits glowed brightly before vanishing on their own. The bucket I’d been holding suddenly felt pointless.

I summoned my inventory and dumped the fruits from the bucket into it as well.

[Inventory:

▸ Red Berry × 15

▸ Purple Berry × 23]

On one side of the inventory’s neat grid, I could see the stored fruits.

On top of that, this space didn’t have the concept of time passing. I didn’t need to worry about the fruits spoiling before I could eat them.

Wow. Awakening is amazing.

My confidence soared.

With light steps, I headed toward the river. According to the beginner’s map, a stream flowed not far from the cabin.

Squeak, squeak!

Squatting by the water, I washed a few fruits I’d taken from my inventory.

Crunch. I bit into a sweet purple fruit and then popped a red fruit into my mouth right after.

The sweetness balanced out the bitterness of the red fruit.

[Your stats have increased. Strength +1.]

The effect of the red fruits was incredible.

How could my stats go up so easily without any training?

Fascinated, I finished off all the red fruits I had gathered.

[Your Strength has increased by a total of 15!]

A whole 15 points, just like that.

So… just how strong am I now?

I used to have zero muscle strength. To test it out, I took the wooden bucket I’d brought, dipped it into the river, and filled it to the brim with water.

Then, whoosh—I lifted it high above the water’s surface.

It should have been heavy. The bucket wasn’t particularly small, and it was even filled with water.

“Wow.”

But it wasn’t heavy at all.

No, it was light. I could easily lift it with one hand.

So this is what it feels like for stats to increase.

I wasn’t the same person who’d groaned for days from muscle soreness after swapping out a water jug on the office cooler.

Carrying the full bucket, I casually strolled back to the cabin. It felt effortless.

Thud.

I placed the bucket inside the cabin, then went to retrieve the blanket I had thrown out during last night’s cleanup.

Let’s see if this works too.

As I gripped one end of the blanket and applied force, it tore apart with a ripping sound.

It really worked.

I tore the fabric into a more usable size and headed back to the river. It seemed worth washing and reusing.

Splash, splash!

With my strengthened grip, I scrubbed the fabric clean, and the murky water drained away with satisfying ease.

The once grimy fabric was starting to look much whiter.

[Appraisal: Piece of Fabric Rag

▸ Originally white but now gray due to dust.]

The Appraisal skill activated unnecessarily while I was looking down at the cloth.

After washing it so hard, calling it a rag seems harsh. That’s too much.

As I stared at the piece of fabric for a moment, my appraisal skill activated unnecessarily.

I worked so hard to clean it, but it still calls it a rag? That’s harsh.

Anyway, I figured the washing was good enough for now.

I wrung the, uh, fabric tightly and headed back to the cabin.

It wasn’t much, just an extension of cleaning, I suppose.

I planned to reduce the cabin’s pollution level further since the broom alone wasn’t enough to drop it below 10%.

I was curious—what would happen if I got the pollution level to 0%?

Placing the wooden bucket filled with water next to me, I soaked the rag and scrubbed the cabin floor hard.

Maybe it was because my grip had improved, but the scrubbing felt entirely different. If I exaggerate just a little, I could see the floor’s color change right before my eyes.

When the rag got too dirty, I rinsed it in the water, scrubbed again, rinsed, and repeated the process.

It didn’t take long.

The cabin was small, after all. Bit by bit, the floor became cleaner.

[Contamination reduced by 5%!

You receive a random interior item as a reward.

▸ Reward: A ladder ‘tall enough to reach the walls’ ends and ceiling’]

“Hah… hah… Huh? A ladder all of a sudden…?”

As I panted from scrubbing so hard, a reward notification popped up.

Wait, since when is a ladder considered furniture? The description couldn’t have been more blatant.

Now 5% contamination remained.

It seemed like I’d have to clean the walls and ceiling to reduce the rest.

I tilted my head back and looked up at the ceiling.

There were dark stains here and there, almost like mold.

Ugh. Well, what can you do? If the system wants me to clean, I’ll clean.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past two days, it’s that rewards come when you follow the system’s guidance.

I stood up abruptly, climbed the ladder, and started scrubbing the ceiling.

Squeak, squeak. I worked hard on every inch of the ceiling.

And just as the sun was setting—

[Ta-da~! Congratulations! Cleanliness has exceeded contamination!

▸ Special reward: Cabin rank increases. F-rank → E-rank]

Gasp. I stared at the cheerful message that popped up.

The cabin expanded.

With a poof, smoke filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, the cabin transformed.

It became significantly larger.

Amazing?! The interior changes based on the grade? Is that… a door?

Questions swirled in my mind. But the biggest question of all…

Why does the expanded section look filthy?

[Contamination has increased!

Cabin contamination (70%)]

Excuse me?

I worked so hard to clean, and now this?!

[You have acquired a skill!

▸ Cleaning Skill (E-rank): Become better at cleaning.]

A new useless skill was given at the same time.

[You have acquired a sub-title!]

[<Subspace Cleaner>

▸ Effect: “What Matters Is Keeping Going Even When Broken!” Grants stamina and mental fortitude that’s less affected by rough cleaning!

▸ Additional reward: Soap that never disappears]

A bar of soap suddenly dropped from the air.

“……”

This is… useful, but I hate it.

It’s practical, but I don’t like it.

If this was going to happen, why did the cabin even expand?

[Cabin (E-grade)

▸ A bathroom has been created! It’s relatively clean.

▸ A kitchen has been added! Cooking skill granted.]

Huh?

[Cooking Skill (E-rank)

: Can make food you’ve eaten before even without knowing the recipe!]

Wait, this is actually… really good?

✦✦✦

After the overwhelming rewards, I slowly looked around.

The parts of the cabin I had cleaned remained spotless, but the newly expanded areas were just as filthy as the cabin’s original state.

It almost seemed like I was brought into this subspace just to clean.

But with the rewards that followed, I’d long forgotten about the dirty spaces.

Bathroom? A bathroom…!

Clutching the soap I’d just received, I eagerly opened the nearby door.

It was indeed a bathroom.

There was even a toilet and a sink! A perfectly normal bathroom! It was small, but it had everything I needed.

I was slightly moved.

I’d been wanting to use the bathroom for a while now. I even considered going in the nearby bushes, but had been hesitating, thinking ‘just a little longer, just a little longer’!

At least the system had some decency, as the bathroom was relatively clean.

Whoosh! The toilet flushed perfectly, and the sink’s faucet gushed water.

Satisfied, I stepped out of the bathroom.

Now, the next destination—the kitchen.

[You’ve entered the kitchen. Kitchen contamination (90%)

: Inherited some contamination from the bathroom! Be careful of the dirt!

*Rewards given for every 5% reduction in contamination!]

This place is seriously filthy.

No wonder the bathroom was so clean…

Soot marks covered various surfaces, dust piled up everywhere, and the rusty faucet dripped water.

The stove was coated in grease, but at least it worked.

I had no idea how a gas stove existed in this subspace, but I gave up trying to understand it a long time ago.

At this point, what wouldn’t this strange space have?

“Well. Cleaning? Bring it on.”

I rolled up my sleeves and grabbed the rag and broom in my hands.

[Reward: Sturdy frying pan!]

[Reward: Mandrake oil~]

[Reward: Rice bowl of suitable size!]

[Reward: Salty soy sauce.]

As I fought against the layers of grease with all my might, the rewards kept rolling in.

Maybe it was because the cabin’s grade had increased, or perhaps it was just that kitchen-related items were being handed out because I was cleaning the kitchen?

Either way, it was a relief. The useful rewards gave me the energy to keep going.

[Congratulations! Kitchen cleanliness has exceeded contamination!

▸ Special reward: Chik-chik-chik! Rice cooker

*Makes delicious rice!]

I burned out completely…

The kitchen was finally spotless by the time the pitch-black night had settled in.

An entire day had flown by in an instant.

I collapsed onto a chair, trembling hands caressing the newly received reward.

This time, it was a rice cooker.

Wow~ This is amazing~. I mean, except for the fact that I don’t even have rice.

Damn it. For all the effort I put in, this doesn’t seem like much of a reward!

With the sudden appearance of such a random reward, I let out a dead-eyed sigh and rested my head on the table.

I’m happy, but not really. It feels like my pure, passionate drive to clean has been soiled somehow…

[<Quest> “Even a dead ghost looks better after eating!”

Let’s use the rice cooker.

▸ Ingredients: 1 serving of rice (0/1)

▸ Location marked on the basic map! Let’s gather some rice!]

As I lay slumped forward, a system window popped up in front of my face.

[Would you like to accept the quest?

Yes | No]

A quest related to the rice cooker had appeared.

Oh. So it wasn’t entirely a useless reward after all.

Wait, but there’s rice here? Does that even make sense? No matter how you look at it, this place is so absurdly random.

Still, there was no reason to reject the quest. Rice? Yes, please.

I immediately accepted the quest and opened the basic map to locate the destination. It didn’t seem too far away.

It was deeper into the forest, past where I was now. It looked like a short trip.

That is, tomorrow.

I’ll go tomorrow.

With that decision, I threw the rag I was holding straight into the sink.

I can’t. Not anymore. My head shook on its own.

Dragging my feet to the bathroom, I washed myself with the soap I had received earlier. I even washed my socks and underwear, hanging them to dry by the bedside.

Then I collapsed onto the bed.

I’m going to pass out…!

I really spent the entire day just cleaning. My arms hurt, and I was so exhausted I couldn’t hold on any longer.

The fruit I ate may have increased my strength, but not my stamina. As soon as my head hit the bed, I fell asleep.

✦✦✦

The next day arrived.

“Wow. This kind of thing actually exists.”

I followed the map and reached the quest location—there was actual rice.

It was a neat and well-maintained rice field, as if someone had been farming it. The golden stalks of rice were plump and bowed under their own weight, densely packed throughout the area.

And—

“Cluck?”

W-what should I do about this?

Where there’s grain, there are always visitors coming to eat it.

But what if those visitors are monsters?

[Koko (SS-rank) description

: A chicken of subspace. Looks like an ordinary chicken. Though it appears foolish, don’t let your guard down.

It is strong! o(‘▽’*)/☆ﾟ]

At the sudden appearance of the chicken, my body froze.

“Cluck?”

The chicken tilted its head this way and that, looking straight at me.

Excuse me?