Fantasy Lord: I Have a Moving Castle

After enjoying his first barely sumptuous breakfast since crossing over, Char set off with Lantern Firefly and Star Worm in search of food for the coming days.

But this time, his spirit was completely different.

No longer carrying a look of distress, his expression was no longer filled with vigilance like a startled partridge, but instead, he was much more relaxed and his steps quickened. Walking through the woods, his strides even carried a sense of liveliness.

He had become noticeably brighter.

All of these changes stemmed from the presence of Lantern Firefly.

Originally, his life was precarious, and every day was spent worrying about survival.

Not only was his safety constantly threatened, but even encountering a Demon Beast of Challenge Level 1/2 or above could be fatal. Moreover, he had no leisure time, as he had to spend a significant amount of his day and energy on finding food.

After a whole day, he had no time for anything other than foraging for food.

Even then, the food he was able to find was just enough to stave off hunger.

Merely staying alive consumed all his strength.

Now, it was different. The appearance of Lantern Firefly not only ensured his basic safety but also made obtaining food much easier.

Whether it was hunting partridges, rabbits, wild chickens, or digging out eggs, Lantern Firefly could do it easily and much more efficiently than he ever could.

Just like now.

Char held an oak bow in one hand and received an egg with a delighted expression in the other.

Now, he no longer had to eat insects and had plenty of spare time to do other things.

That's why he brought along his bow and arrow this time.

The bow and arrow weren't products of Prayer—eager to amass enough Praying Power to recruit a Magic Pet as soon as possible, he hadn't wasted any Praying Power after praying for some essentials at the beginning.

The bow and arrow had belonged to the original body and were kept in the carriage.

The original body must have had the adventurer Profession, likely an archer or a Ranger, but the Level couldn't have been high, probably just two or three.

However, he didn't inherit the original body's memory, nor its Profession, so he had to start from scratch.

Before, all his energy was spent on filling his belly, and he couldn't afford to plan for anything else.

Now, there was much to catch up on.

The top priority was to ensure he had some self-defense capabilities.

If he had the strength of a Level 2 Ranger or Level 3 Ranger last night, how could the Green Skull Ghost Spider have been so arrogant?

Even if he had merely been a Level 1 Ranger, last night wouldn't have been so perilous.

He might not have been able to defeat it, but couldn't he have dodged it?

At least he wouldn't have stood there so foolishly, utterly unresponsive like he did last night.

In short, he needed to enhance his strength quickly; otherwise, even with a multitude of powerful Magic Pets at his disposal, he couldn't guarantee his own safety because he himself was the most fatal weakness.

Soon, Lantern Firefly flew down with another egg.

He didn't know what bird this egg came from, but it was about the size of a chicken egg. The size alone made it appetizing—the shell was greenish with speckles.

Star Worm was fluttering joyfully nearby.

It always seemed so happy.

"How many eggs are left in the nest?"

Two more were left.

Lantern Firefly gestured.

"That's enough, let's move on!"

Char left a pair of eggs for the bird parents and continued on his journey with Lantern Firefly and Star Worm.

He soon found a white, fluffy and curled-up rabbit in the grass.

The system indicated it was a "white cotton rabbit," not a Demon Beast, just an ordinary animal, frail and alert, with an exceedingly fast escape speed.

Additionally, the fur of the white cotton rabbit was as soft as that of a sheep.

Lantern Firefly was ready to strike, while Char silently drew his oak bow, took aim with bated breath, and then released his hand.

With a "whoosh," the arrow landed less than a meter away from the white cotton rabbit. Startled, the rabbit immediately fled, its white form disappearing into the bushes with astonishing speed.

Being prepared, Lantern Firefly immediately gave chase, and Char also ran forward, pulling out the arrow, a trace of surprise lingering on his face.

Elves are renowned for their superior arrow technique, each one a natural-born archer, and as a Half-Elf, Char too had inherited part of the Elves' bow and arrow talent.

Even though he had never touched bow and arrow before, and with no one to instruct him, relying only on his own exploration, he quickly got the hang of it.

He believed that it wouldn't be long before he could start anew.

The more troublesome close combat, compared to archery, was much more complicated, and without instruction, he was completely clueless by himself.

Before long, Lantern Firefly returned with the corpse of the white cotton rabbit.

Given the strength of Lantern Firefly, capturing a white cotton rabbit, which wasn't even a Demon Beast, was naturally easy, with little chance of failure.

Char took the white cotton rabbit, tied it to his waist, and then continued hunting.

When the man and his two pets returned to the carriage, he had one white cotton rabbit, two Purple Quails, five Buntings, and one partridge egg—a bountiful harvest that would feed them for two or three meals, and all this took less than a morning.

In that morning, Char not only obtained ample food but also gained a good amount of Praying Power, which came from first-time kills.

But that wasn't urgent; first, he needed to fill his stomach.

Char took his prey to the lakeside and proceeded with the process: bleeding, plucking, skinning, gutting, and washing the innards. After preparing the meat, he washed the removed skins and feathers, not discarding any of it.

The system had already introduced that the fur of the white cotton rabbit was similar to sheep's, and he could keep it to make a coat.

The feathers were almost the same, also useful, and could be made into things like fans.

His resources were scarce, and he had to be economical.

So even the inedible innards that he dug out, Char did not throw away.

If they weren't for eating, they could be used as fertilizer; indeed, it was about time he started gardening.

Back by the carriage, Char first cut off half of the rabbit and skewered the five Buntings. Then, with a gentle swing of Lantern Firefly's lantern, a flame flew out, landing on the pile of firewood and quickly igniting.

It was incredibly convenient!

Char couldn't help but feel, once again, how greatly Lantern Firefly's help had meant to him.

Soon, the pure scent of meat spread, whetting Char's appetite.

Though lacking seasoning and spices, the aroma of the roasted meat alone was enough to tantalize.

While roasting, Char also held a ladle for scooping water, quickly catching any drops of fat that threatened to fall.

He was no longer short on food, as Lantern Firefly's hunting efficiency was countless times higher than his own. Small animals like partridges, rabbits, and sparrows were easy pickings, and even medium-sized animals such as wild boars and deer were within Lantern Firefly's ability to hunt, so he wouldn't be lacking in meat.

However, daily necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and various other items were still scarce.

For instance, cooking oil.

The thought of plant oil would have to wait; whether through growing and extracting his own or trading with the outside world, it wasn't something that could be achieved anytime soon.

Therefore, he had to collect animal fats.

After roasting half of the rabbit, Char also roasted the five Buntings, and then buried a few bird eggs in the ashes.

Then, he feasted heartily. By the time he finished eating the rabbit and the Bunting meat, the bird eggs had been roasted as well.

The irresistible aroma of the roasted bird eggs made his mouth water.

Char and Star Worm couldn't wait despite the heat, eagerly eating the eggs, while only Lantern Firefly maintained its usual calm and slowly ate a little.