Chapter 29: Step 29 to Greatness: Sharing Is Caring
[Easter Egg unlocked!]
[Congratulations, Tribeswoman Mika!]
[You have fulfilled the hidden conditions.]
[You have slain a player and inherited a blessing.]
Adrian read the words and scratched his head. Just because she killed a player as a native, she unlocked an easter egg and gained a system?
It was absurd, more so than anything else Adrian had seen since being dropped on Savage Earth.
This isn’t your doing, is it?
[What do you think? We don’t want you, or your world, to get any attention from that psycho goddess. You think we’ll do something like this?]
Adrian shook his head. Given the fearlessness that the intruders showed before death, he could roughly figure out what the easter egg was.
NPCs usually didn’t mess with players. But Mika killed one and was probably the first one to do so. Hence, she triggered an easter egg.
Which meant there could be other ways to ’inherit’ the system too, or he could just have the girls kill players. Maybe it would trigger them to inherit the system as well.
While Adrian was busy deciphering the secret behind the system’s strange arrival, the other women crowded around Mika, trying to see what she and Adrian were looking at.
"What is it?" Amika asked, leaning forward.
"I don’t see anything," Nixa said, waving her hand in the air where the screen was.
Rixxa and Amiya also shook their heads. Even Sera, who was still sniffling, looked confused. No one else could see the glowing blue screen other than Adrian and Mika.
Mika’s eyes moved across the words, which surprised Adrian.
"You can read it?"
"No... The words are strange, but I understand them," Mika shook her head and then nodded. "How is this possible?"
Adrian didn’t reply. He knew the system was written in English, but somehow the system made it understandable to Mika.
It was like the system translated itself directly into her mind, just like his words would get translated into the tribal language whenever he said something.
The screen continued to show new messages.
[You have been granted access to the Combat Class System.]
[Current Class Available: Warrior]
[Due to your strong physical ability, you have gained +5 Strength, +5 Endurance, and +3 Agility permanently.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Spear Throw Mastery (Beginner)]
[All wounds have healed. All status effects have been lifted.]
As soon as the new notifications appeared, Mika was bathed in a soft light. She gasped and touched her injured shoulder, but she didn’t feel the expected pain.
"I feel... stronger," she whispered, clenching and unclenching her fists before grabbing Adrian by the shoulders. "Male, what is happening to me!"
Adrian sighed. He did not fully understand how the system worked himself. All he knew was that his ancestors were the ones behind it, but he couldn’t tell them that. So he gave Mika the simplest explanation he could.
"You have been blessed, Mika!" he announced, grabbing her hands. "They blessed me too, that’s why I could do those things. The gods have noticed your courage and given you special powers to help protect the tribe."
The tribeswomen were a superstitious bunch. Adrian had gathered that much after staying with them. That’s the theory they told one another when Adrian kept creating things from thin air.
"Blessed by the gods..." Amika whispered, looking at her twin with pride.
As for Mika, she looked a bit conflicted about the explanation, but still nodded and even smiled, which was a rare thing for her.
She must have been too happy because the next second she pulled Adrian into her arms, hugging him while caressing his head.
Touching one’s head was an affectionate gesture within the tribe. It was also something Adrian had seen before, so he wasn’t taken aback by it.
The only issues were two massive bags that his face was pressed against. The more Mika pulled him in, the less he wanted to leave her embrace. However, someone got a bit jealous and yanked him back.
"Sister! Male is my mate!" Amika frowned, pointing a finger at Mika while shielding Adrian.
In the next second, she pulled Adrian into a hug and patted his head.
Mika’s cheeks turned red, and she turned away. She had shown affection to Adrian without thinking much about it.
After all, in her heart she knew whatever happened to her that healed her and strengthened her happened because of Adrian. So she wanted to thank him, but didn’t think Amika would react like that.
Meanwhile, the others noticed their playful interaction and smiled. It was the first time they had seen the twins fighting over something.
Since Mika got a blessing and her wounds were healed, she could protect the tribe on her own. Yet, not a single one of them thought about expelling Adrian from the tribe or invoking their no-male rule.
Instead, they thought all the good things had happened to them because of him. Instead of expelling him, Nixa wanted to do the opposite and make him the chief of their tribe instead.
She made a note to discuss it with the rest while they bathed. With the problem handled, they turned to leave, only for Adrian to call them back.
"We can’t leave them here," he said, pointing at the corpses. "This place is close to home, and they would attract beasts here if left like this."
"Should we bury them?" Sera asked, not even looking at the corpses.
"No," Nixa shook her head. "Only proud warriors deserve burials. These wanderers... don’t."
The women nodded in agreement. Back in their respective tribes, only a few of the tribals received the honor of being buried in the settlement.
It was said that their spirits would look after the settlement at night to prevent beast attacks and ward away negativity and evil spirits.
"We don’t need to bury them," Adrian commented. "But we can use them."
The image of the slimes flashed before Adrian’s eyes, and he smiled. The scraps may or may not attract the slimes, but these corpses would surely attract other beasts.
If they fell into the trap, the slimes would certainly come to feast on the trapped beasts like before.
Besides, now that even Mika could level up, there were things that Adrian wanted to confirm about the sharing system, and killing the slimes was the easiest and quickest way to do that.
"Use the corpses?" Nixa asked, frowning.
"Yes, we can use them as bait to lure other animals into the pit trap," he explained, but didn’t reveal the entire reason. "It will help us get more food."
The moment he mentioned more food, no one questioned him again. Instead, Nixa lifted one corpse while Mika just yanked the other corpse along with the spear and put it on her shoulder like a rover’s backpack.
"We’ll help male use the corpses," Nixa announced. "The rest of you, return home and prepare food. Amiya and Amika, you forage for berries and Rixxa, and care for the wanderer."
After giving the instructions, she looked at Adrian as if asking for approval. Only when he nodded did the women leave to do their tasks.
[Tribe’s favorability towards you has increased by 2 points.]
[Current favorability: 123/150 points]
[Current Standing: Honored Member]
"How did it increase—?"
"Male, come!" Mika called for him as the women walked ahead with the corpses.
