Two days later...

"Heck..."

Thud.

Tyler rolled off a rough patch of moss and hit the ground, his joints cracking loudly. Sleeping on the forest floor for two days straight made his entire body feel like it had turned into stiff wood.

He groaned and stretched his sore limbs.

"If I lie like this one more night, I’ll turn into a tree..."

The only good thing about this situation was Serena. The little orange cat had watched over him the entire time. No matter how deep he slept, she stayed alert. If danger approached, she would immediately drag him into the Pocket Dimension Pearl.

"Damn... I really want to sleep inside that pearl." Tyler shivered. "But that is even more dangerous..."

He couldn’t forget what happened yesterday.

A giant snake swallowed the Pocket Pearl.

He, still asleep inside the dimension, had no idea he was resting inside a snake’s stomach. When Serena dragged him out of the pearl — BOOM — the snake exploded into a fountain of blood.

It was a miracle he survived. If it was someone else it might turned into a trauma they would never erase from their soul.

After waking up, Tyler walked toward the river.

Splash! Splash!

He washed his face and arms, only to hear loud cackling laughter.

A group of Goblins had appeared at the riverbank. They sniffed the air, caught the scent of snake blood that splattered on Tyler last night, and immediately chased him.

"WHY DO THEY SMELL EVERYTHING!?" Tyler cried as he jumped over a bush.

He eventually got away, but his pride didn’t.

"Also... the previous resting place is now filled with Kobolds," he sighed. "I didn’t even get to say goodbye to the squirrels..."

Now he and Serena were traveling deeper into the forest. Tyler didn’t know where the nearest city was. He didn’t even know which direction he was heading in. But he had one thought:

"As long as we follow the river, we’ll eventually reach a human settlement."

Serena sat on his shoulder, tail flicking lazily.

Tyler looked into the Pocket Dimension Pearl and checked their food storage.

There were dozens of yellow fruits, mushrooms, and flowers — all gifted by squirrels. Tyler had also given each squirrel ten fruits in return.

Even though he can makes copies of these, he needs different types of plants to farm only then he can get exp. Also he is tried of eating same food again and again.

"This won’t do," Tyler muttered. "We can’t just wander endlessly. We need different types of seeds. Lots of them. If we find a village, we can buy more and return to the forest to farm."

Serena yawned loudly in his ear.

"You’ve become so lazy after turning into a cat," Tyler sighed.

"Meow!" Serena protested and jumped off his shoulder.

"Oh? Did you find something?" Tyler followed her quickly.

He parted a bush and his eyes sparkled.

"Cherry tomatoes!"

The small red fruits grew like clusters of jewels. Tyler plucked one and popped it into his mouth.

Pop.

The thin skin burst instantly. A wave of intense sourness filled his mouth, followed by a refreshing sweetness.

"It’s... delicious."

He blinked in disbelief. It tasted far better than any cherry tomato he had eaten in his previous world. Maybe his new body had weaker taste buds.

He closed his eyes and savored it slowly.

It didn’t get better with long chewing, so he devoured all five tomatoes in seconds.

Serena joined him, eating a whole tomato at once.

Tyler quickly harvested the entire plant and stored all the tomatoes inside the Pocket Dimension Pearl.

Then he pulled out his copper pot filled with water.

Slice—

He made a small cut on his finger and let a few drops of blood fall into the pot.

He splashed the enhanced water over the wild cherry tomato plant’s roots.

A few splashes later—

[You have gained 2 EXP.]

Tyler grinned

He repeated the process, watering the remaining roots around the area. His EXP slowly climbed. The plant grew back and there are even multiple tomatoes on it.

But then—

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

The ground trembled.

Serena darted toward him, grabbed his clothing with her teeth, and tugged hard.

"Yeah, yeah! Danger! I get it!" Tyler grabbed her and ran. "Why is everything in this forest is full of danger?"

Branches snapped behind them. Tyler didn’t dare look back.

Once they reached a safe distance, he stopped behind a thick tree and caught his breath.

"Just what kind of monster did we escape from this time?"

As if answering his question, a sound echoed from the cherry tomato clearing.

STOMP.

CRAAACK.

A gigantic hand, thick like a tree trunk, reached down and plucked the entire cherry tomato plant from the ground, like a toddler pulling weeds.

The creature lifted the plant up and shoved it into the mouth of a Goblin that is struggling.

Then it ate both together.

Tyler’s eyes twitched, " Is that An... Orc? A big one. A REALLY big one."

The creature stood over nine feet tall. Its skin was rough and greenish-grey. Its head resembled a pig, with tusks curving upward. It chewed loudly, crushing bones and tomatoes with equal ease.

Tyler and Serena backed even farther away.

"Well," Tyler whispered, "If that orc swallowed the pearl, we might be trapped in its stomach for eternity."

Serena meowed in agreement.

Tyler looked at their path ahead. The forest seemed endless.

But he wasn’t completely hopeless.

He now had food, a farming skill, a Copper Pot that can multiply anything and a cat with storage Artifact.

Even if he was weak now, he can simply become stronger.

"We’ll survive this, Serena," he said confidently. "One tomato at a time."

Serena flicked her tail.

And together, they turned around.

But the moment Tyler and Serena turned to leave, Tyler froze.

An Orc stood right behind him.

Not just any Orc a female Orc. Her private parts are before his eyes leaking some strange liquids. She stared at Tyler with a lustful gaze. The Orc threw away the giant tree trunk she held like a club.

"Are you freaking kidding me!?" Tyler yelled.

Before he could do anything, He was captured and the Orc was about to insert Tyler into its Private Part.

Serena instantly activated the Pocket Dimension Pearl.

WHOOSH!

Tyler and Serena vanished before it happened.

The female Orc blinked and looked around, confused. She let out a grunt.

Another Orc, a male, suddenly spotted her. His eyes widened with excitement and lust. He charged toward her, his lower half swinging around like an elephant trunk gone wild.

The male Orc was so excited that he tripped on a rock mid-run and fell face-first into the dirt. His jaw dropped open in a stupid grin as he drooled all over the ground.

Dust, stones, leaves... and the Pocket Dimension Pearl rolled right into his mouth.

He didn’t spit it, He just swallowed.

Then, as if nothing happened, he pounced on the female Orc with enthusiasm.

Inside the pocket dimension, Tyler’s face turned pale.

"I almost got raped by a female orc... That shit wanted to shove me fully in its " Tyler shivered thinking of it.

Serena patted his head.

"Thank you Serena , you saved this body’s virginity... " Tyler was almost in tears.

A few minutes later,

"...I have a very bad feeling we are inside an Orc’s stomach right now," he muttered in despair.

This situation was far worse than when the snake swallowed them. A snake’s stomach was small, and the snake itself was weak. But an Orc? Orcs had powerful digestive acids... and if Tyler tried to escape carelessly, he could end up dissolving before Serena could save him.

"Serena... can you sense what’s outside?" Tyler asked.

Serena blinked and pointed her paw at the copper pot Tyler was holding.

Tyler’s eyes lit up. "Ah, right! The copper pot is indestructible. Good thinking."

He gently placed Serena inside the copper pot.

POP.

The copper pot vanished for a second and reappeared inside the dimension.

Serena jumped out of the pot immediately, shivering like she had just seen death itself. A thin layer of greenish acid covered the sides of the pot, but it slid off instantly, like water sliding off a non-stick pan.

"As expected... we are in the Orc stomach." Tyler mouth twitched.

He looked around the pocket dimension space.

"There’s no poison here... only those food and water. Should we..." Tyler hesitated, then asked the question he was dreading. "Should we wait for the Orc to poop us out?"

Serena answered immediately, with a flying dropkick to Tyler’s cheek.

Tyler held his face. "Alright, alright! I get it! You don’t want your pearl to get dirty! Geez..."

Serena crossed her paws and glared.

Tyler took a deep breath, then looked down at his copper pot again.

"...I have an idea."

He gathered the floating water inside the pocket dimension pearl into his copper pot.

Then he turned to the cat and said, "Serena, send the water from the copper pot outside the pocket dimension pearl."