"S-So, is it done like this? Ah, this is really awkward, isn't it?"
"Come on, just keep squeezing them! Milk should come out any time now."
"Is this really okay? It doesn't hurt that I squeeze them this hard?"
"No, it feels relieving. Keep doing it, harder!"
"A-Are you sure?"
"Yeah, have some more confidence! Grab those tits harder, squeeze em'!"
"Ahh… S-Something's coming out now!"
"Ahhh! T-There!"
"MOOOOOH!"
Mark was having a hard time figuring out how to get milk from the cows, but dear Snowflake here was kind enough to let him try until he finally succeed. Amongst all our cows she's the nicest of them all, and after she started producing milk, she suddenly began licking Mark's face.
"Slurp, slurp…"
"Uugh… Ahahah, good girl."
Mark patted little Snowflake while she licked him. I checked on the milk produced, and it was quite… very little, it was barely anything in the bucket.
"Mark if you want to have enough milk to make cream, you've gotta fill this whole bucket!" I said.
"E-Eh?!" Mark felt slightly shocked. He didn't seem to like this activity.
However, he seemed decided to keep trying.
"Alright… Let's keep doing it then! I never thought milking a cow would be this complex." He laughed.
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually, continue like you were doing before!" I said.
"Hahh…" Mark sighed.
Like that, after thirty minutes of great effort, we managed to get a whole bucket. Snowflake did a good job as well, so I rewarded her with something. I took out an Apple out of my Inventory, scaring Mark, and then feeding it to her.
"W-What?! Where did you get that apple from?!"
"Oh, this? I got a little ability from the Gods of Arcadia! I can open my Inventory from the other world, but it costs Mana to draw items from, the higher quality, the more they cost."
"An ability… That's just insane."
Mark seemed really surprised, his gamer side activated as he started analyzing this power a lot, asking me to show him the portal to the inventory once more.
"It's really like a crack in space… Woah, so each of our inventories are like dimensions of their own? Well, whenever we log back in, I should give you my items so you could drag them out." Mark considered.
"Oh yeah, I suppose we could do that." I nodded. "Though weapons and armor that aren't the lowest ranks can't be dragged out, they cost more MP than I have… The Gods said it would be more convenient to craft armor and equipment here."
"Crafting items in the real world…" Mark began getting pumped up. "And how there's Mana in the world and all… Damn, it really feels like those Manhwa I used to read when I was a teen."
"Manhwa?" I wondered.
"They're like Korean Web Comics. I remember a very popular genre, which is still very popular… The Portal Fantasy one, which usually happens when Rifts open in the modern world, fill the world with Mana and monsters come out of the Rifts."
"Oooh, I think I remember those…" I said while trying to remember. "Though the most popular one was… Uuuhh, Solo Player or something?"
"Yeah! I loved that one! Oh man, I always had these teen fantasies imagining the world would become like this…" Mark said. "Though… now that it is finally starting, I can't help but get worried."
"Well, usually what we want when we are teenagers change a lot once we grow up." I laughed. "Though, want an apple?"
"Huh? Sure, I wonder if these are as tasty as they are in the other world…" Mark said, as he grabbed it and took a bite.
"Ohhh?!"
His face suddenly got all red, as he swallowed the apple slowly.
"Mark?! Are you okay?!"
"I-It's very sweet… Felt like biting a candied apple directly…! And the juice is superb too!"
"Oooh! So it's good?"
"Nom, nom, nom!"
Mark ate it in seconds, and so did Snowflake with her own.
"They're really incredible!"
"MOOOOH!"
Both seemed happy, hahah…
FLASH!
However, with my eyes, I saw something they couldn't notice, a flow of mana reached their bodies and then slowly was absorbed by their muscles, bones, and so on. Thinking about it, these apples are D Rank "Dexterous Apples" which increase Dexterity temporarily.
Is this aura they have some sort of active buff then? Woah, this is amazing! Maybe I could make even non-awakened people gain a lot of strength through buffs in the food!
"Ooh, so you've figured it out! Both these fruits and the food you make always come with some enchantment!" Said the Great Spirit. "However, if you use these ingredients from Arcadia, the food should have way stronger effects. Potentially, you could make food that makes people become super strong, fast, or bulky! Albeit temporarily."
"I see…!" I said with a nod. "Mark!"
"Hm? Yes?" Mark wondered.
"Don't you feel… more dexterous now?" I wondered.
"I do… feel faster I think? Like…" Mark said. "I don't know, I do feel lighter as well."
"I see! It's working! The apple gave you a DEX buff! I think it lasts a few hours?" I wondered while thinking.
"A buff?! Right! So those also work in Earth?! Insane!" Mark felt surprised, smiling like a child. "Elayne, does this means… you can bring more food for more buffs and stuff?"
"I think so! The Great Spirit said so." I nodded. "Maybe with this I could give you the ability to detect Hollows."
"I think feeding him something that boosts INT would do the trick, as it would give them a temporary [Magic Perception], which is necessary to see Hollows and their many relatives." The Great Spirit said.
"Wait, Hollows have relatives?" I wondered.
"Meow!"
Suddenly, Blackie emerged from my shadows. He had showed up in the morning and ate a lot of lamb meat my mother gave to him, but he then went away somewhere else again.
"HISSSSS!"
Blackie began hissing at Mark.
"Huh? W-What's wrong?" Mark wondered.
No, it wasn't at Mark.
It was something behind him?
"Give me… Mana…! MANA! OOOOOHHH!!"
A massive Hollow, bigger than the other I had fought yesterday showed up!
"Watch out Elayne! This guy was strong enough to ignore the Barrier!" The Great Spirit alerted me
"Mark, move!" I quickly grabbed Mark and pushed him away before the Hollow's enormous arms clashed into the ground.
BAAAAAMMM!!!
