Chapter 228: Chapter 175: Hand-crafting a Bamboo Knife, Exploring the Forest at Night

Basic Axe Mastery, Basic Dagger Mastery, Basic Short Knife Mastery, Basic Fishing Mastery, Basic Saw Mastery, Basic Swimming Mastery, Basic Diving Mastery, Basic Rowing Mastery, Basic Blowgun Mastery, Basic Throwing Mastery, Basic Slingshot Mastery...

Tapping on each skill revealed its corresponding point cost.

Tool-related skills like those for axes and daggers, along with relatively simple weapon skills like throwing and using a Slingshot, all cost 15 points.

Skills like fishing, diving, rowing, and using a Blowgun also cost 15 points, but they had prerequisite requirements.

For example, Basic Fishing Mastery and Basic Blowgun Mastery required the Complete Collection of Outdoor Tools as a prerequisite.

The prerequisite for both Basic Diving Mastery and Basic Rowing Mastery was Basic Swimming Mastery.

’I can understand it for diving, but even rowing requires Basic Swimming Mastery? The system must be terrified I’ll drown.’

The existence of prerequisites made him speculate further about the skills and knowledge in the system store.

’Skills have prerequisites, so could these knowledge-based items also be prerequisites for certain skills?’

’For instance, if I master the compendiums on river and sea fish, will they give a boost to my fishing skill?’

Although he had never fished before, he had at least watched videos on the subject. He knew that different types of fish lived in different aquatic environments and had varying requirements for things like water temperature.

’If I only have Basic Fishing Mastery but don’t know anything about fish, how could I possibly catch the species I want using the wrong rod and bait in the wrong waters?’

The more he thought about it, the more certain he was. Otherwise, the system’s exchange list wouldn’t be so detailed.

’If I want to catch fish in the sea, diving is a must. With the swimming prerequisite, that’s 30 Happiness Points right there. I can make a fishing spear anytime, though.’

’But if I’m spearfishing while diving, I’ll definitely need the sea fish compendium. Otherwise, I won’t know which ones are safe to catch and which aren’t. That brings the total to 40 points.’

Building a boat to head out to sea was still a distant goal, so he wouldn’t consider it for now. He would first focus on familiarizing himself with the coral reef area.

Before going into the sea, however, the mountain area still needed to be explored.

As for fruits, he had only found mangoes, plantains, and coconuts so far. There were still many types he hadn’t "unlocked."

He’d been so focused on looking up that he hadn’t paid much attention to the ground. Spices, berries, and root vegetables were common in this region, just as they had been back in Alaska.

Focusing on the ground often led to unexpected discoveries.

As he ran through his plans for the next few days, the third bamboo basket in his hands gradually took shape.

He glanced at the time. The tide had been going out for a while now.

’Oh, right. I still haven’t figured out what ingredients to pair with the basil leaves to make a decent dish. It’s about time I got back to my old trade.’

He could use bamboo tubes for steaming and boiling, but if he wanted to stir-fry, he first needed oil, and then a pan.

The pan was the easy part. A flat, clean stone could serve as a temporary griddle. The real problem was the oil.

The only available sources right now were the fatty bellies of sea fish, plant seeds, or nuts.

’Wait a minute... oil? Plants?’

His eyes lit up as he suddenly looked toward the completely blackened coconut shells he had tossed into the fire pit.

’That’s right! You can extract oil from coconut meat. I can’t believe I almost forgot!’

He carefully recalled the process of rendering oil from coconut meat, only for another difficulty to present itself.

Pressing and filtering.

To extract oil from coconut meat, he first needed to make a sharp tool to scrape out all the flesh—the finer, the better. That part was simple enough; he could do it with bamboo.

Once he had accumulated enough coconut meat, he would need to wrap it in cheesecloth and squeeze with all his might, like wringing a towel, to extract the coconut milk. The final step was to boil down the milk to render the coconut oil.

’Cheesecloth... cheesecloth...’

His gaze wandered over his own body, his expression wavering.

’Don’t tell me... do I really have to sacrifice my underwear?’

’No, no way. That’s just too weird.’

His gaze inadvertently drifted to his feet, and his gray socks caught his attention.

’Of course, my socks!’

Compared to his underwear, the idea of using his socks was far more psychologically acceptable.

But he’d have to sterilize them before use. After all, he had worn them for four days straight, through cycles of wet and dry. His feet must be absolutely rank by now; he couldn’t possibly use the socks as cheesecloth in their current state.

Putting on his headlamp, he decided to first take a walk through the forest on the hillside. The tide-pooling could wait; he could always go after he woke up. After all, every low tide brought a fresh supply of seafood.

With a bamboo basket on his back, his army knife in his pocket, and a bamboo knife in his right hand acting as a probe, he periodically pushed aside the bushes and weeds blocking his path.

His eyes swept first across the bushes, then down to the various weeds below.

He had seen enough by now to dismiss worthless plants at a glance, only giving a second look to those with unusual shapes that were clearly distinct from common weeds.

’Dandelions, fiddleheads, shepherd’s purse, lichen...’

In the forest near the stream, he quickly found an abundance of his "old friends," casually picking some and tossing them into his basket.

At the base of some tree trunks, numerous white, yellow, and brown mushrooms had sprouted silently.

He couldn’t help but take a closer look.

’So boletes really are found all over the world. I didn’t see any when I was looking for the bamboo grove earlier, but they’ve sprouted so fast. Exploring the forest after a rain really is the best time.’

Most of them were poisonous varieties, so he didn’t pick any.

However, the appearance of the mushrooms and ferns served as a reminder: after the rain, it wasn’t just mushrooms and ferns that would grow—bamboo shoots would too.

’Oh, right, when I have some free time, I could make a skateboard out of bamboo. I could ride it straight down the slope from the bamboo grove. It would be way faster than hiking and would save my knees.’

’No, wait. Wouldn’t a skateboard be really heavy? It would be idiotic to carry it uphill. How about making a pair of skis instead?’

’No, that won’t work. Bamboo is still quite heavy. It would be better to use Light Wood.’