Three days.

That is how much time has passed since Tanuki arrived home from the Sati encounter. For two days, he's been gathering resources for gingerbread while also completing Gaia Core missions for small but important rewards.

[ Mission: Cook 5 different Food! ]

[ Challenge Rating: 0 ]

[ EXP: + 10 ]

[ Rewards: 1 Expansion Point ]

.

[ Mission: Cut down 5 Trees! ]

[ Challenge Rating: 1 ]

[ EXP: + 15 ]

[ Rewards: 1 Expansion Point ]

Cutting down trees, cooking food, collecting bugs, creating various tools… these missions appeared, each bearing 1 Expansion Point as a reward. Tanuki, through sweat and blood, managed to complete every one of them by day three.

What's even better, these quests weren't good just because of the points. The Gaia Core has leveled up, though Tanuki still didn't fully understand what that meant. Though that didn't bother him, as he managed to upgrade their base in these three days to have a one-room cabin.

Even better than that, with the help of some vine and tools, he managed to make himself some pretty good wood armor. They looked like large wooden boards attached to one another, which when he equipped, defended his weakest parts while easily disappearing under his clothes.

Oh, he also made himself a wooden sandal and a cone-shaped straw hat. Though these were more so he could fulfill his inner samurai fantasies.

He made armor for Maduka too, though he never finished it. The reason for that was quite surprising, even for him…

"What's dat you're making?" The goblin approached Tanuki while he was cutting up wood.

"Oh, hi! I was just finishing up this chest plate for you." He held up the wooden board. "Wearing it will make it harder for enemies to hurt you, especially if they intend to stab you."

Maduka took the wood from his hands. It was thick enough to stop an arrow or even a sharp spear. Of course, it wasn't the best by any means, but it was still better than exposing your bare chest to an attack.

That's why it was so surprising when Maduka handed the wood back to Tanuki and walked away towards the fey forest.

"Huh? Don't you want to try on your new armor?"

"Maduka don't need that! Wood will only slow her down. She needs to be fast to dodge attacks!"

They thought the other followed a foolish path. Whether it was to deny speed for defense or the other way around, they had their own arguments that the other just couldn't understand.

What they didn't know back then was how that conversation alone would send them down the path of two different fighting styles. The fact that they debated each other only refined them at what they aimed to achieve.

Maduka realized the importance of armor. She knew that without anything defending her weaker parts, she could easily suffer a lethal blow. To counter that, she practiced using her spear to deflect the incoming attacks. She didn't sacrifice offense for defense, but rather made her weapon into her shield.

Tanuki realized that no matter how much he fears getting hurt, choosing to side with armor will require him to learn how to take blows. For this exact reason, he started studying the best poses and forms to defend from high, medium, and low aiming attacks. Though he was much more occupied with other tasks, he got a good idea of what to do when it comes to a fight.

Two different fighting styles honed their expertise as their users came up with better arguments. What they thought were only stupid chitchats to prove that one is a better fighter than the other was actually what made them so skilled in their own field.

And then, after three days of endless work, three days of practice, and three days of gathering materials, it was finally time…

"Hey, Maduka!" Tanuki waved for her while he opened the [Expansion] menu.

"Yup? Can we make da cookie men?"

"Not yet. We're still missing one ingredient. It's a flower and it's called cloud moon."

Maduka gazed at Tanuki with emotionless eyes. She had no idea what that was.

Tanuki wasn't any different about being unfamiliar with cloud moons. Though, unlike Maduka, he had a good idea of where those could be found.

Using the [Expansion] menu, he placed rocky Hills in a 2x2 form next to the Gaia Core. They were much larger than the grassy Hill, though also way steeper.

As Tanuki has expected, a choice presented itself. Placing rocky Hills in a 2x2 form combined them, creating one much larger biome.

[ Hill (Rocky) Tier 2 Unlocked ]

[ Choose one! ]

[ -> Skybreaker Mountain ]

[ -> Volcano ]

Tanuki placed his hand on the Skybreaker Mountain's name. As he did, the four rocky hills began to grow and morph into another, displaying a much greater show than the forest did with its evolution.

A sharp beak grew into the sky, tearing up the neighboring fields' earth. It wasn't just a simple pile of rocks anymore, but a steep mountain that's top was hidden by the low flying clouds.

Maduka's eyes glittered as she looked up at the incredibly tall stone walls. Tanuki patted her back and walked towards the only passable entrance to the stony kingdom.

"So? Do you still know how to climb?"