There were two ways to get [Water] pieces in the area surrounding Murph Village. The first way was to bully little Water Blobs. Obviously, that was out of question. The second way was to trash some vicious Waterfloras.

Erika already had two dead Waterfloras on her record, but none of these fights was “fair”. In both cases, the Waterflora was busy with digesting somebody. One time it was Vivi, another time it was Blobby. If possible, Erika preferred to avoid a head-on confrontation with an alert Waterflora.

Maybe the generous Vivi would lend me some [Water] pieces.

When Vivi defeated Waterfloras, Erika only received Waterflora Seeds as a reward. However, these flowers definitely dropped [Water] pieces as well. The greedy pixie handed over the “useless” Waterflora Seeds to Erika, while hogging all the [Water] pieces to herself.

“Vivi, could you please land me some [Water] pieces?”

“Hmph. Like, why should the great Vivi finance you?”

“It’s to help us cross the area. I’ll swim to the other side and show you that the lake isn’t scary at all.”

“You’ll die trying, hmph.”

Vivi was extremely difficult on the subject, even worse than her usual bratty attitude. She refused the swimming approach at any cost, no matter how Erika argued. In the end, Erika had to battle the Waterfloras herself.

As expected, the sadistic flowers proved themselves to be annoying foes. Thankfully, Erika already learned that punching worked better than slashing against these liquid flowers. With enough persistence and resilience, she managed to wham Waterfloras to death.

“Phew...”

After defeating two Waterfloras, Erika had exactly 50 [Water] pieces,. Now, she only needed to return to the Water Temple and to train her swimming skills.

To wash away the unpleasant memories of fighting the sadistic flowers, Erika decided to play with Blobby while she rested. The territory of Drainer Bees was nearby, which meant that Erika could also test Blobby’s water splashes on Drainter Bees

She brought the little blob out of the DiVe and patted him affectionately.

“Pyu!”

“Haha!”

Blobby splashed Erika with warm water, easing her fatigue. Her recovery went by much faster thanks to the little baby’s efforts.

Once she was completely rested, Blobby started wandering about. He was a curious baby and dashed from side to side, trying to investigate everything. He often tripped after running too much and fell on his chubby belly.

Erika had to constantly warn Blobby and to navigate him back to safety. The area was filled with sadistic flowers, all waiting for the opportunity to gulp Blobby like a soft drink. Therefore, she couldn’t let Blobb stray too far from the main road.

No matter how many times Erika tried to explain the danger, Blobby never understood the message. He never listened unless Erika actively blocked his path. He didn’t even react when Erika called out to him from afar.

I don’t think it’s safe to let Blobby fight the bees. He won't understand what I’m asking him to do.

Erika picked Blobby and patted him. In the end, he was just a little baby. Just because he could shoot water, didn’t mean he could overpower Drainer Bees.

“Pyu~”

“Hehe.”

Blobby hugged Erika with his tiny arms and a heart emote appeared beside him. He must have enjoyed running around in the open field for a change, instead of staying locked up in the DiVe. Erika couldn’t fully communicate with Blobby right now, but it didn’t change the fact he was her adorable baby.

As she continued to spend time with Blobby, a brightening message popped up.

【Your [Communication] rune reached Level 3.】

My, that’s great~

Leveling up from playing with a cuteling was one of few GoVe mechanics that Erika could appreciate. The other great mechanic that came to mind was the child avatar of beginners. Sadly, it was ruined by the notorious mechanic that allowed players to grow up.

Erika opened the menu and brought up the information about [Communication].

【Lv.3】【You can better convey your intentions to primitive species. They’ll understand you better as the rune levels up.】

The description for Lv.3 [Communication] was as vague as for the previous levels. Nonetheless, the RPG veteran sensed potential in it.

“Listen, Blobby. It’s dangerous to stray far from the road. Stay close to mommy.”

“Pyu.”

Blobby nodded to Erika’s words and was released to the open field again. As adventurous as before, Blobby ran around from side to side. However, this time, there was a notable difference.

“Pyu...”

Blobby stopped right before the edge of the safe road and stared at it.

“Pyu.”

He turned around and looked at Erika with questioning eyes, asking for permission to play outside.

“It’s dangerous out there. Come back to mommy instead~”

“Pyu~!”

Blobby ran back to Erika, tripping once in the process.

“Good boy~”

Erika hugged her baby with a fuzzy smile. Blobby’s improved obedience was no doubt the result of Lv.3 [Communication].

Until now, the primitive blob was unable to comprehend advanced interactions When Erika scolded him for splashing Vivi, Blobby didn’t understand and repeated the offense. When she told him to not wander away, he nonetheless ran all over the place.

Now, that Blobby properly understood the commands, he was behaving himself. Erika always wanted to believe that her baby was a good kid down inside and now it was finally proven.

To test out the limits of Lv.3 [Communication], Erika tried out various interactions.

“Blobby, hand.”

“Pyu...?”

Blobby tilted his head and raised one of his chubby arms.

“Good boy~”

Erika asked Blobby to jump, to run around and to do other random things. For the most part, he understood the requests and obeyed, as long as his little body permitted. For example, jumping was too difficult of a task for his chubby legs.

I have a very good feeling about this~

The benefits of Lv.3 may have seemed meager at first glance, but Erika was convinced that this new level of [Communication] had great potential. Putting aside the problem of the Windflora King for now, she instead focused all her attention on the new tool she was provided.

After so many disappointments today, she strongly wanted to believe that Lv.3 [Communication] would brighten her day by being amazing beyond belief.