Onward to Fatty (Bonus)

Tu Ran slid down from the tree trunk, landing on the soft ground, and marveled that the biting cold here had all been caused by that intangible alien creature.

Speaking of alien creatures, she remembered the inner core she'd picked up before going to sleep.

Which pocket had she put it in?

She patted herself down and finally found it in a corner of her space, tucked next to the flashlight.

Tu Ran gave it a quick wipe and popped it into her mouth.

The core dissolved into a wisp of smoke, and a description panel appeared before her eyes.

【Sense of Direction】

Description: The possessor has an absolute sense of direction toward any place they intend to reach. No map is needed; they can arrive at any destination they wish.

Level: Advanced

Note: At the advanced level, your sense of direction is absolutely correct. No need to judge true or false—just follow your instincts and you'll be right.

Her ability had risen from basic to advanced, and the note had shifted from the earlier insistence on "careful discernment" to this new "no need to judge true or false."

Tu Ran realized that even when she'd seen the brown bear's ability, "Ability Recognition" had already judged the core fake and given her a warning.

Unfortunately, she hadn't paid attention at the time, thinking it was just being naggy.

Silently thanking "Ability Recognition," Tu Ran geared up and set off in the direction she wanted to go.

She was going to find Fatty.

Fatty was still waiting for her on the Mountain God's peak.

Following her instincts for a day and a night, Tu Ran caught sight of the ink-black ocean she'd crossed on her way here.

To find Fatty, she'd need to cross this sea.

Standing on a luminescent rock, gazing at the endless rolling waves, Tu Ran felt at a loss for a moment.

How was she supposed to get across?

Maybe she should stuff a boat into her space.

No, a boat probably wouldn't fit. If she wanted something done, she had to rely on herself—she needed to find an inner core that granted flight.

She recalled the flying horses she'd seen with Fatty. Since those creatures could fly, if they had cores, they must be related to flight.

She could think about that later. Right now, her priority was figuring out how to cross this sea.

After mulling it over, finding a mount seemed the most reliable option.

That swimming dog would be perfect.

But as she scanned the surface, the entire sea was pitch-black, and there was no sign of the dog anywhere.

Given how many days had passed, it had surely already left.

Still, it loved apples, and its species probably shared that trait.

Tu Ran pulled two apples out of her space, tied them with a rope, picked up a branch from the ground, and tied the other end of the rope to it.

With everything ready, she climbed onto a slightly larger rock and tossed the apple into the seawater.

She lounged half-reclined on the rock, propping her head up with one hand, and went fishing—well, dog fishing.

The ink-like waves lapped against the white luminescent stones, over and over.

Tu Ran enjoyed the sea breeze, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

Until the fishing rod started to jerk.

Tu Ran sat up straight and yanked the hook upward.

Out came half an apple, followed by a dog head bursting out of the water right after it.

The dog's mouth gaped wide and swallowed the apple in one bite. It licked its lips, unsatisfied, staring at the other red apple in Tu Ran's hand.

Tu Ran stared back, unsure whether this dog-fish was the same one she'd used hallucinogenic mushrooms on before.

"Have we met somewhere?" Tu Ran probed.

The dog-fish happily stuck out its tongue, and the eight tentacles near its tail surfaced, pointing at its own back. "Ride... ride..."

So it was the same one after all.

Tu Ran tossed the apple in her hand.

The dog-fish opened its mouth wide, caught it perfectly, swallowed it whole, and wagged its silver tail fin frantically at Tu Ran.

"Give me a lift—I need to cross this sea. Can you do it?"

"Arf... sure..."

The dog-fish eagerly exposed its back to Tu Ran, waiting for her to climb on.

Tu Ran first stripped off her combat suit, keeping only her helmet, and stashed the rest in her space. Just as she was about to jump onto the dog-fish's back, she noticed the luminescent stones along the shore. She turned around, grabbed one, and stuffed it into her space too.

Can't come all this way for nothing—a souvenir wouldn't hurt.

Jumping onto the dog-fish's back, Tu Ran grabbed hold of the skin folds on its neck. "Let's go—I mean, let's swim."

At the command, the dog-fish quickly undulated its body and swam in the direction Tu Ran indicated.

Tu Ran clung tightly to its neck, not daring to let go. This thing was fast—comparable to a speedboat. If she loosened her grip, she'd probably fall off.

After swimming for over an hour, Tu Ran looked back and could no longer see the single spot of white in the vast blackness. She withdrew her gaze and turned to the approaching destination ahead.

She had no idea how much longer it would take to reach the shore.

"Sense of Direction" only handled direction, not distance. As long as she kept heading this way, she would eventually reach her destination. As for the path itself—whether there were obstacles she couldn't cross—she had no way of sensing that.

"Are you tired?" Tu Ran asked. It had already been swimming for over three hours.

The dog-fish pointed at its mouth with a tentacle. "Eat... not tired. No eat... tired."

Tu Ran: "..."

She pulled three apples out of her space and shoved them all into its tentacle.

The dog-fish happily fed them into its mouth one by one, its ears perking up and swaying back and forth.

Tu Ran was reminded of Fatty.

Fatty reacted about the same way when it got something tasty, except that one didn't have ears—it waggled the feathers on its head instead.

"What's your name?"

"Zha... Zha..."

"Zha?"

"Mm..."

Zha spoke exceptionally slowly, sounding both dull and silly.

"Nice name," Tu Ran said, a ruthless name-compliment machine. "What do you usually eat?"

"Fish... all kinds of fish..." Zha said sheepishly. It had already finished the last apple and licked its lips, savoring the taste.

It wanted more.

It turned its head to look at Tu Ran.

Thanks to her experience with Fatty, Tu Ran could tell its intent at a glance. "The apples are your fare. Once you take me to the land in this direction, I'll give you ten apples."

"Okay..."

Zha turned around and immediately kicked into high gear.

Tu Ran's upper body lurched backward, nearly thrown off. Fortunately, she reacted in time and hugged its neck.

Letting out a breath, she gently patted its head. "Nice. Keep up this speed, and you'll get those ten apples in no time."

Apples were Zha's driving force.

Three hours later, Tu Ran spotted the coastline.

"Keep going—you're about to get your apples!"

Zha accelerated once more.

Tu Ran was forced to lie flat against its body to reduce wind resistance and not slow it down.

At last, the pair reached the shore. Tu Ran hopped off Zha's back, stroked its head, and said, "Great job." Then she pulled ten apples out of her space and placed them one by one onto its tentacle.

In that instant, the exhaustion from nearly eight hours of swimming vanished without a trace. Zha nuzzled against Tu Ran's hand, savoring the hard-earned reward.