Ever since his parents passed away, Gordon had been living alone.
Although he was unrestrained, living in a house by himself always felt a bit lonely. Now with Zhu Pa, it should become livelier.
After working with Zhu Pa to tidy up a small room for his sleeping quarters, Gordon let Zhu Pa rest while he went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Having lived alone for many years, Gordon considered his cooking skills to be quite good.
Before long, two enormous fried Zhu Pa were served on the dining table, accompanied by fresh lettuce leaf salad and sliced air-dried bread—a simple yet hearty meal.
To Gordon's surprise, although Zhu Pa was named "Zhu Pa," it was his first time tasting this food that shared his name.
After being tenderized and marinated, the soft and juicy pork loin, coated in breadcrumbs, was deep-fried twice until golden, then drizzled with a rich sweet and savory sauce. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, Zhu Pa immediately fell in love with it.
After inquiring, Gordon learned that Zhu Pa's name had nothing to do with favorite foods or similar reasons, but rather because the golden oval-shaped fur on his belly closely resembled a fried Zhu Pa.
This made Gordon think of the name "Niu Pa."
Upon asking, it was as he expected: Niu Pa also had an oval-shaped pattern on his belly, but its color was a deep brown like roasted beef, hence the name Niu Pa.
Gordon couldn't contain his curiosity and asked Zhu Pa about his mother's name.
A wild guess: Chicken Chop?
As it turned out, Zhu Pa said his mother was named "Qiqiya," which left Gordon with a complaint stuck in his throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it, so he hastily ended the topic.
The next day, at first light.
Gordon got out of bed on time. After washing up, he prepared to wake Zhu Pa, but he didn't expect Zhu Pa to be up even earlier than him.
At this moment, he was already fully armed, standing in the small yard by the house door, swinging his cat pickaxe, practicing his martial arts.
This surprised Gordon, but also made him quite pleased. Zhu Pa might be a bit timid, but he was very diligent.
Courage could be honed and cultivated, but diligence and perseverance determined his future potential.
Coming to Zhu Pa's side and greeting him, Gordon's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the equipment on him.
Clearly, this was a set of armor specifically designed and manufactured for an Airou's physique. The main materials were likely leather and some hard fruit shells.
The large bundle Zhu Pa carried with him contained this very set of equipment.
After inquiring, he learned that this set of equipment was called "Acorn Cat Armor." Its defensive capabilities were not outstanding, but it excelled in being light and agile, a common set used by novice Hunting Cats.
This was quite similar to the Hunter Set Gordon was currently using.
Since Zhu Pa was working so hard, Gordon naturally couldn't slack off either. He took off his shirt, grabbed a massive stone block, and began to build his strength.
Watching the stone block, which was three or four times his own weight, being lifted up and down and thrown around by Gordon, Zhu Pa was dumbfounded.
He shook his little head, and the speed at which he swung the cat pickaxe in his hand involuntarily quickened.
The instructor, who happened to be passing by Gordon's house, first greeted Gordon, then looked at Zhu Pa with some surprise.
"This child is your Hunting Cat?"
"Yes, he's Zhu Pa. We just signed the contract yesterday," Gordon said with a smile, putting down the stone block.
"You lucky kid, you're incredibly fortunate."
Ernest laughed and scolded, "Do you know how many hunters want to find a good partner and can't? Yet you, you've just become a formal hunter, haven't even taken a single quest, and you already have a Hunting Cat partner?"
"Hello, meow, I am Zhu Pa, meow." Facing the instructor, Zhu Pa seemed a bit reserved, but still politely bowed and greeted him.
The instructor waved his hand heartily, "No need to be so polite. This kid Gordon is always reckless, so I'll be entrusting him to you a lot in the future."
Then he turned to Gordon and said, "Oh, by the way, Gordon, I just met the Blacksmith Shop Owner. He asked me to tell you that your Burst Blade has been forged. Don't forget to pick it up later."
"Really?!" Gordon's eyes lit up, excitedly saying, "I'll go now!"
With that, he haphazardly pulled on a shirt, then like a monkey, he flipped over the wall and ran towards the direction of the blacksmith shop.
"Meow meow?!"
Still a bit slow to react, Zhu Pa let out a cry and quickly chased after him.
Watching the man and cat sprint away, the instructor shook his head with a chuckle, "Still like that, impulsive and fiery. But if he doesn't even care about his new weapon, ha! Is he even a hunter then?"
"Clang, clang, clink!" Pushing aside the cloth curtain at the entrance of the blacksmith shop and stepping inside, Gordon was simultaneously engulfed by the scorching air and the sound of metal clashing.
Wiping away the beads of sweat that instantly appeared on his forehead due to the rising temperature, Gordon grinned foolishly, a sign of his uncontrollable excitement.
He was already somewhat impatient.
After his Hunter's Knife was damaged, he felt as if something was missing from his life, and now, that missing part was about to be filled.
"Oh, Gordon's here! Everything's ready. I personally crafted it with great care!" The Blacksmith Shop Owner, with a face full of rough features, had a very loud voice.
Zhu Pa, following behind Gordon, couldn't help but shrink his neck.
That's the person who scared me yesterday, meow!
As if to prove his bravery, Zhu Pa tried hard to raise his head and look directly at the Blacksmith Shop Owner's big face, but when the Blacksmith Shop Owner looked over, he couldn't help but shrink back behind Gordon.
"Oh ho, isn't this the little cat cub from yesterday? So you're Gordon's partner," the Blacksmith Shop Owner said in a loud voice.
Without waiting for Zhu Pa's reply, he strode over to Gordon's side and extended his right hand, which was accustomed to swinging heavy hammers, heavily patting Gordon's shoulder.
Gordon felt as if he had been slapped by a large bear. If it had been someone a bit weaker, they probably would have been knocked to the ground.
"Good, kid, you're strong enough to match the Great Sword I meticulously crafted!"
The Blacksmith Shop Owner nodded with satisfaction, saying boisterously, "Follow me, it's impatient too."
With that, the Blacksmith Shop Owner led the way into the inner room, and Gordon and Zhu Pa quickly followed.
In the inner room of the blacksmith shop, on a huge, thick solid wood table, lay a monstrously shaped, silver-gray blade. Reflected in the furnace fire, it quietly gleamed with the cold luster unique to steel.
This Great Sword, named "Burst Blade," subverted Gordon's understanding of the concept of a "sword."
No wonder it was called Burst Blade; compared to a sword, it was more like a large sabre.
The blade was wide and thick, almost like a shield. The curve of the blade's back was very pronounced, with no sharp tip. The head of the blade curved downwards, forming a large hook-claw.
However, what surprised Gordon the most was not this hooked tip, but the blade section—this Great Sword actually had no edge?!
Did the artisan uncle forget to sharpen the Burst Blade due to oversight? This was clearly impossible; no one would make such a foolish mistake, not even a beginner.
Gordon soon noticed that the blade section of the Burst Blade was "hollow"—it seemed that some mechanism was hidden inside the blade.
"Figured out some of its secrets, have you?" The Blacksmith Shop Owner said, arms crossed, with an arrogant expression.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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