Fearing that his deity might be smashed into a mouse pancake by the stone axe, the high priest hurriedly stepped forward to take the stone axe. The mouse obediently and submissively let go then clasped its paws and looked up expectantly at the high priest.
Under the mouse’s bright, sparkling gaze, the high priest examined the stone axe in his hand. When the deity appeared holding the axe, he was already attracted by the exquisite design of the stone axe. Upon closer inspection, he immediately noticed the unusual sharpness of the axe blade.
“What is this?” The high priest couldn’t help but touch it. It was a sharpness he had never felt before. The Xia Wang tribe’s weapon-making skills were already quite good, but even with their daily meticulous polishing of bone and stone knives, they had never achieved such sharpness. “Can I try it?”
“Of course.” The mouse nodded its little head, which was exactly what it wanted to see now.
So the two went outside the tribe and found a nearby tree. The high priest held the axe and chopped at the trunk. On his first attempt, he didn’t use all his strength. But with a thud, the stone axe cut about an inch deep into the trunk!
The high priest was astonished. He squatted down to carefully examine the mark he had made, confirming that he wasn’t mistaken! It should be known that usually, their stone axes were used by the strongest warriors in the tribe. Even so, every time they used all their strength, they could only damage the tree’s surface.
After checking the tree, the high priest began to inspect the axe. He didn’t want to break such a good axe. He carefully examined the blade and confirmed that it hadn’t suffered any damage. At this moment, the deity also came over, bouncing in place.
“I want to see it too! I want to see it too!” The fluffy ball bounced on the ground like a rubber ball.
The high priest smiled and lowered the stone axe to let the deity inspect it.
Shu Bao carefully examined it and found that although there was no visible damage on the surface of the stone axe, the interface showed that its durability had decreased to 99.9%. This meant that the stone axe would wear out with use. However, since it had only been used once, the wear wasn’t noticeable yet.
At the mouse’s request, the high priest continued to try. He found that even without using full strength, he could chop down a tree as thick as a thigh with just a few dozen chops. Afterward, the high priest cut the tree into lengths suitable for carrying, and then the people of the tribe transported it back.
After chopping down two trees, the high priest finally stopped, still somewhat reluctant. He checked the axe again and found that although there were no nicks or wear on the blade, there seemed to be tiny cracks on the main body of the axe.
Upon hearing this, Shu Bao also came over to check. The mouse almost lay on top of the axe to see the tiny cracks clearly. Shu Bao couldn’t help but give the high priest a thumbs up, praising his excellent eyesight.
Due to the small sample size, the research wasn’t very conclusive, so Shu Bao returned to the tent to continue making tools.
Half an hour later, Shu Bao had ten tools in front of him: four stone pickaxes, four stone axes, and two stone swords.
Through repeated experiments, Shu Bao summarized some patterns. Enchantments were probabilistic and not absolute. Of the ten tools made later, only three were enchanted, and the enchantment attributes were random. Besides sharpness, durability and lightness also appeared as attributes.
Durability is easy to understand; the usage limit of the tool has been increased. As for lightness, the mouse swung the sword a couple of times, feeling as light as a wooden sword. However, it was indeed a stone sword.
The more Shu Bao researched, the more curious he became about this world. He eagerly anticipated the chemical reactions that might occur between such a wonderful world and the technology tree.
After making tools from stone materials that met the hardness standards, the mouse took the tools to the high priest, who was still frantically chopping down trees. In less than an hour, the high priest had already taken down three trees. Shu Bao gained a new understanding of the high priest’s destructive power.
The high priest wiped his sweat and happily said, “Deity, at this rate, we will have collected enough wood soon.”
Shu Bao took out a stone pickaxe from his bracelet and waved it at the high priest, “Are you interested in trying mining?”
The high priest: “…”
Refusal was impossible. The high priest excitedly took the stone pickaxe and went to wreak havoc on the nearby rocks.
With a single strike, the extremely hard rock showed small cracks. After a dozen consecutive strikes, the huge rock shattered with a loud crash. The high priest was exhausted but his eyes were very bright. The deity at his feet was still bouncing around. The high priest lowered the pickaxe for inspection.
After checking, Shu Bao found that the mining efficiency of the stone pickaxe without sharpness enchantment was still higher than that of the tribe’s stone tools. Additionally, the durability of the pickaxe with durability enchantment decreased very slowly.
Thus, the high priest finished chopping trees and started mining. Later, he took up the stone sword to try hunting but had to give up because he couldn’t catch any animals.
Finally, the man and the mouse sat outside the tribe to rest. The mouse thoughtfully handed over a wild fruit it had found during its outing today. The high priest, who was a bit dizzy from exhaustion, gratefully accepted it and began to eat.
The mouse raised its little head and looked at him. After seeing the high priest swallow the fruit, it asked, “Is it tasty?”
The high priest nodded, “Delicious!”
Shu Bao unhurriedly took out a similar fruit and started munching on it. As long as it was tasty, the mouse would eat one too.
The high priest was puzzled. Something seemed off.
The day’s hunting didn’t seem to go well. By noon, the hunting party hadn’t returned, and the people in the tribe had to eat some wild fruits to stave off hunger. After that, the people in the tribe received new tools and began collecting resources around the tribe.
Most of those who stayed in the tribe were women and a few injured people who were not fit to go out. The original collection work was just wandering around and picking things up. But now it was different. They excitedly held the tools as if they were holding a divine artifact. Everyone wanted to touch these exquisite items.
Especially when they tried using it, they found that this tool was extraordinary. Even women with weaker strength could easily chop down a tree with a stone axe, which was almost impossible before.
Thus, everyone’s work efficiency made a qualitative leap. After wandering outside for a while, Shu Bao returned to the tent to continue his research. Stone swords were not very practical here; people mostly used spears for hunting, which could be thrown or used for close combat.
Besides, he thought he could also make some portable items like daggers or kitchen knives. Not just stone tools, but wooden items could also be made, such as simple wooden bowls, chopsticks, and basins. Shu Bao began to study the autonomous blueprint construction function of the 3D printing pod.
Around four in the afternoon, the hunting team from the Xia Wang tribe finally returned. They didn’t bring back much prey—just a wild rabbit and a cow-like creature.
When the hunting team hurried back, they were stunned by the bare surroundings of the tribe, wondering if they had taken the wrong path. Where were the trees outside their tribe? Why were there only stumps left? Or had the tribe encountered some accident while they were away?
Their confusion persisted until they saw the busy people, most of whom were women, chopping trees and chiseling stones—tasks that required heavy physical labor!
The Xia Wang tribe’s hunting team returned with many questions in their minds. They were welcomed as usual, but the atmosphere in the tribe seemed unusually lively. Even though the prey they brought back was not abundant, everyone’s eyes in the tribe were shining brightly.
“Good job. Have some fruit first.” The voice of the deity came from below. When they looked down, they saw a fluffy little creature taking out fruits from who knows where.
The high priest looked at the familiar fruit and fell into thought again.
Shu Bao distributed the fruits to everyone and hurriedly reassured the dazed crowd, “Don’t worry, it’s delicious. The high priest has tried it and is still alive and well.”
The high priest: “…” He knew something seemed off.
Moonlit: The high priest unknowingly became a poison tester 🤣
