1.03

Summary

Waking up sore from her previous encounters, Erin Solstice began her day with the primary goal of securing food and water. She first traveled to the Blue Fruit Orchard to gather more fruit, contemplating the nearby presence of Goblins and the potential dangers they posed. Upon returning to The Wandering Inn, she decided to clean the filthy common room to make it more habitable.

As she worked, Erin was shocked to find herself cleaning the entire floor with supernatural speed and efficiency. A notification in her mind revealed she had acquired the [Basic Cleaning] skill, confirming her suspicion that leveling up in this world granted tangible abilities. Her satisfaction was short-lived, however, as severe dehydration set in, forcing her to abandon her work in a desperate, delirious search for a water source.

Erin eventually stumbled upon a Stream and drank from it greedily, which resulted in painful stomach cramps. While recovering and bathing in the water, she was suddenly attacked by a large, aggressive Four-Eyed Stream Fish with sharp teeth. Erin dodged the creature's lunge, causing it to fly past her and beach itself on the grassy bank. Unable to return to the water, the fish eventually suffocated and died.

Struggling under the weight of her unexpected catch, Erin managed to haul the massive fish back to the inn's kitchen. Eager for a proper meal, she attempted to gut it using a Goblin Knife. The knife slipped, and she inflicted a deep, agonizing gash across her left palm. The chapter ends with Erin enduring hours of excruciating pain from the wound, using her knowledge of chess as a mental mantra to cope through the long night.