The rain finally stopped.
Caelen stepped outside, arms crossed, staring at his little muddy corn patch.
Still nothing.
He knelt down and gave it a good poke.
"Yup. Still baby corn. Useless."
[Corn Growth Progress: 12%]
He sighed. "Takes time. Of course it does."
Behind him, Zira poked her head out the door, still sleepy.
"Corn's still tiny?"
"Yeah. Just like my patience."
Caelen stood, dusting his hands off. "Hey, Zira, feel like helping me chop some wood today? We need more for the fire and maybe to build some shelves or something."
She yawned. "Yeah, sure. Better than staring at the ceiling again."
The two wandered deeper into the forest, axes in hand. They were cautious—despite the peace, the Forgotten Forest wasn't exactly a playground.
As they walked, Caelen noticed something strange about one of the trees. The bark looked… stretchy.
He narrowed his eyes and pulled a knife from his belt. Carefully, he made a slit and—
Drip. Drip.
A white, sticky fluid oozed from the cut.
Zira wrinkled her nose. "Gross. That tree's bleeding."
"Wait a sec."
[Google Search: What tree has white sticky sap?]
[Searches Remaining: 5/30]
[Result: Rubber Tree. Sap = Latex. Usable for primitive rubber crafting.]
Caelen's eyes lit up.
"No way. Rubber?"
He searched again:
[Google Search: How to harvest latex]
[Searches Remaining: 4/30]
He used a small container to collect the sap, tapping the tree carefully. After a while, he had a small cup of rubbery goop.
Zira peeked over his shoulder. "What are you gonna do with that?"
"No idea. But rubber means… gloves, grips, maybe even insulation." He paused. "Toilets that don't leak?"
Zira blinked. "You think about toilets a lot."
"You'd understand if you ever had to wipe with leaves."
With their logs collected and latex dripping into jars, they returned to the house.
"I'm heading into the mines," Caelen announced. "Ground's dry now. Might as well be productive."
"Be careful," Zira called from inside as she arranged firewood.
He lit a torch, grabbed his pickaxe, and headed down the tunnel.
The deeper he went, the more quiet it became. Just the sound of his boots and dripping water echoed.
Then he saw something.
In a small opening, half-buried in dirt, was a faint glow.
He moved closer.
It was a ring. Black stone, with a pulsing blue light in the center.
"Okay… creepy glowing ring in the middle of a forgotten forest mine. Totally normal. Definitely won't curse me."
Naturally, he picked it up.
And, naturally, he put it on.
[Artifact Detected]
[System Update: New Ability Unlocked – Earth Magic]
[You can now manipulate stone and dirt. Craft stone/dirt blocks at will.]
Caelen blinked. "Wait, what?"
He lifted his hand and instinctively imagined lifting a chunk of earth.
The ground rumbled.
A block of dirt rose up like a Minecraft block, hovering.
"No way…"
He grinned like a maniac.
"This is gonna make building ten times easier."
Back at the hut, Caelen burst in with muddy boots and a dirt block hovering behind him.
"Zira! You won't believe what just happened!"
She blinked. "Why is dirt floating behind you?"
"Magic ring. Earth powers. We're in business!"
He tossed the floating block into the corner like it was a couch cushion. It plopped down with a puff of dust.
Zira coughed. "Can you not throw dirt into the living room?!"
He ignored her and pulled out the ring.
"This thing gave me the power to mold dirt and stone. We're gonna build a proper foundation for the village. Walls. Floors. Even a bathhouse."
She blinked. "So… we're really building a village now?"
He nodded, grinning.
[System: Artifact – Ring of Terra Equipped]
[Current Mana Capacity: 100]
[Spell Learned: Earth Manipulation I – Raise/Shape Dirt & Stone Blocks]
Caelen flexed his fingers. "Let's see what other secrets this world has."