Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 437: Chapter 236: My Ancestor, Kicked Your Butt

It took one person and one bear an entire day to move all the cedar saplings into the divine artifact fragments.

Hill handed two more space boxes to Aurelio: ”If the fragments start to become unstable, continue using the crystal stones. This is all I have with me right now, so hurry back! Don’t get distracted by fishing!”

”You’re quite wealthy,” Aurelio said, somewhat dazed. ”So you don’t need to go back to the clan. Apart from your strength, they have nothing to offer you.”

Hill couldn’t help glancing at the bear. Your love for the clan is impressive: ”I’ll continue cultivating the cedar saplings. Once you return, see if they have any way to stabilize the fragments. The demigods have lived for so long, just because they lack crystal stones doesn’t mean they don’t have other treasures to use.

If the fragments stabilize completely and I haven’t been summoned yet, come here again!”

Aurelio nodded solemnly and took out a grey bag: ”This is something from the clan for you. Every bear receives one upon reaching adulthood. Though you’re still a cub, you’re considered an adult by human standards. You should be able to manage your belongings just fine, so here it is.”

Hill understood that this bear appeared carefree, but having lived for thousands of years, he couldn’t possibly be a fool.

He just wasn’t as sharp as Hill.

After all, Hill had an oak fragment and was more sensitive to the aura of divine artifacts. This fragment had intentionally hidden itself beside a tree that was nearly a treant, making it easy to overlook.

He accepted the bag and placed it in his robe’s pocket.

”Earth Bear, do you need a storage ring or storage box?” Hill asked directly.

This bag made from space magical beast skin made him feel a bit dizzy.

These space magical beasts were extremely rare in the human world. Unexpectedly, the Earth Bears used them for daily purposes.

Innate space magical beasts were about the size of a small rabbit, not very powerful, with only two abilities, space and teleportation, and they only lived in the wild.

Although these beasts’ space was typically between a few and several dozen cubic meters, it was still very practical.

Hill had heard of them but had never seen one.

It was said that a skilled alchemist master could make the skin into a space of thousands of cubic meters, making it very valuable.

This required adventurers to venture deep into the wilderness to capture, something below a magister couldn’t even dream of doing, as it was inaccessible.

Even a magister might not survive, and legendaries might not escape unscathed. Without sufficient strength and influence, one could never see such a thing.

After Fran became a legend, he was eligible to buy one, but these became less valuable after the God of Time and Space appeared.

With space crystal mines now available, such beasts no longer held unique value for humans, and no one ventured into the wilderness to hunt them anymore.

Fran wasn’t one to spend money unnecessarily for the sake of pride, so he never bought one, which was why Hill had only heard of it.

Though it was precious, the poorly made leather bag indicated the Earth Bears hadn’t interacted much with other races in a long time.

Hill couldn’t imagine how these Earth Bears managed to stitch the bag with their claws.

”Is there a box bigger than this crystal stone box? Rings aren’t good; we’re used to rummaging through things.” Aurelio said, already packing up two crystal stone boxes into his bag.

Magical beast materials were still favored because they allowed space to be filled to its capacity, unlike ordinary storage rings, which could be specifically crafted like Hill’s to hold full items.

But crafting such items was complex; an alchemist master could only make a few a year, seldom sold externally.

”Yes, I’ve traded with sea monsters too,” Hill replied. ”These crystal stone boxes are actually small-sized.”

”Then I want the boxes!” Aurelio responded bluntly.

Hill pulled out dozens of space boxes for him: ”Still have space in your bag? How about I put them in a ring for you? Easier to manage.”

Then he handed Aurelio a few rings: ”These contain some food, magic scrolls, and an alchemy hut. I’m not sure what’s practical in the wilderness, so take them to try. Let me know what you need next time.”

Aurelio quickly stored the boxes; his bag had plenty of space, as he planned to hunt some magical beasts here for food.

Deciding to tie the rings under the fur on his neck: ”With Earth Bear fur, tying knots will keep them secure. I’ll just cut them off when I get back.”

Although he treasured his fur, the clan was more important, and he resolved to proceed despite feeling a bit down.

Hill watched him like a fool for a few seconds but didn’t tie the knot: ”You can place the rings inside the cedar tree. It can also store things casually.

On your way back, you can gather more magical beast meat and fruits.

One of the rings contains mostly fruits and honey; there’s not much meat.

As a nature warlock, I don’t use high-level magical beast meat for meals. You might want to hunt more meat along the way.”

Aurelio froze, determined as he was.

He swiftly gathered everything and bid Hill farewell, glanced to identify the direction, and dashed south.

It seemed he still had to swim back.

Hill watched as his posture gleamed like a chrysanthemum as it faded from view, and called out loudly: ”My ancestor is the one who kicked your butt!”

Aurelio fell into the underground river next to the island.

He had been leaping towards the cliff but lost his balance halfway.

He swam back to the island, sprinted towards Hill, completely ignoring the fact that Hill’s words had disrupted his leap, and his eyes widened: ”You’re a descendant of the clan leader? No wonder you’re so cunning!

But you don’t have elven blood? Mostly human and Earth Bear auras, with a hint of Moon Elf! Didn’t the clan leader’s silly daughter marry an elf?”

”Elven blood is external, rejected when my Earth Bear bloodline awakened,” Hill replied calmly.

”Really? That’s great! The clan leader always worried his descendants would bring elves to the camp! Though we all say that Earth Bear blood wouldn’t awaken in a fool, his silly daughter didn’t have any! He’s always been uneasy; tell him this, and he’ll be happy.” Aurelio suddenly sat down, with his hind legs crossed. ”Since you’re the clan leader’s child, I won’t hold back. Got any food?”

Hill scavenged everywhere, even taking out spare food from his pendant, as Aurelio’s front paws busily sorted the food: ”Human food, so delicious and so sweet!”

”There are a few puppets in the ring,” Hill said softly. ”They’re meant for housework and cooking, but I’m unsure if there’s a safe place to use them there. They know what wild plants can be used as seasoning; I stored it in their cores.”

Hill felt a bit sad.

In a strong clan, the youngest child should have grown up surrounded by endless love.

Aurelio was powerful yet terrifyingly poor.

He had never even eaten fish until this trip.

Despite nearly surpassing legendary strength, he had never witnessed the world’s wonders.

The Earth Bears preserved their love for the world amidst endless malevolence.

Just now, when the cedar fragment was gathering soil ferociously, this bear hadn’t moved, carefully collecting all the food.

Hill had seen it from the corner of his eye while flying, feeling deeply conflicted.

Though he also didn’t waste food, he couldn’t appreciate it so meticulously.

This behavior was something only someone who had truly experienced hunger would exhibit.

Thus, Hill nearly emptied half his wealth.

He was rich, but this wealth stemmed more from the luck bestowed by natural consciousness, aside from his wisdom and abilities.

Hill was willing to share this wealth with the Earth Bears and not just provide the saplings as he initially thought.

He hadn’t expected the Earth Bear’s territory to be so resource-scarce.

These Sons of the Earth shouldn’t live so miserably.

Hill felt this way not just because of his Earth Bear bloodline.

These bears silently planting trees at the world’s end, toiling for the earth, deserved respect.

Trying their best for the world, they were forced to live in hiding. Hill finally felt hatred for elves and dwarves.

Did those deities even know what the Earth Bears were doing?

Hill contemplated asking William but restrained himself.

If the Earth Bears didn’t see the need to interact with humans, he shouldn’t act impulsively.

Though Aurelio seemed ignorant, Hill believed the strongest Earth Bear demigods knew about the world’s events to some extent.

Regardless of whether they deemed humans untrustworthy or wanted to observe further, Hill shouldn’t break this silence on an impulse.

Aurelio sighed deeply, lifting the honey-roasted chicken he had been admiring for a while: ”I should eat these things first to have more energy on the road!”

He took out a ring, glanced at the puppets, and confirmed with Hill: ”So they cook and clean as long as it’s safe?”

Hill nodded: ”I made them myself; no one can trace their location.”

Aurelio was stunned: ”Can an alchemist master track their puppets?”

”Of course, but they would have to be shameless, doing such things to their sold puppets,” Hill said flatly, ”Once discovered, their reputation would be ruined. Since alchemist masters can only produce limited items on their own, it would be career suicide.”

”Earth Bears aren’t humans. They couldn’t report even if they were sold off!” Aurelio lay down, ”No wonder the clan never used alchemy products.”