It is insanely cute watching her try to clean up the mess I am making, each new rock chip that hits the floor gets pounced on instantly. It also shows a remarkable level of intelligence to figure out what I am doing and how she can help. By smell I can tell when the meat is done cooking so I take a break to go sit and eat.

Kechara follows me and since I cooked some rex for her I try to show her how to blow on it to cool it off. She seems to understand me but to my surprise she is able to create little gusts of wind just by focusing. This ability must be related to her mother's wind blades that she used against me.

If she can already use an ability like that as a baby then it probably won't be as long as I thought before she can take care of herself. That is reassuring since I would feel horrible if I had to leave before I was sure she would be okay on her own. As it stands, I am guessing it will take me about a month or so to get high enough in rank that I can continue my journey up the mountain.

By then it will be winter up here for sure, even if it is still only fall in the lowlands. It makes me realize that I never asked anyone about the seasons here, or even how many months there are. Basic things like that just completely slipped my mind, and I just assumed that it was the same as on earth.

Yet when I count how long I have been in this world it adds up to almost a year, but I've only seen summer weather. I would ask the goddesses but I decided when I left for the temple that I wouldn't bother them until after I destroy the temple. This is mainly because I feel kind of guilty that I put their quest off for so long.

When I get back I will ask Sarah, I'm sure she has found out about it by now. For now I need to finish squaring off the entrance and then cut down four trees or so to make a door. I plan to cut the trunks in half and use the bark sides as the outside of the door, it may be primitive but it should work for a while at least.

As soon as I start swinging my pickaxe Kechara runs over to do her job of pushing the stone chips outside. She is totally adorable, especially when she is trying to be so serious about helping me. Even when a rock chunk almost as big as she is falls down she doesn't give up until she manages to move it.

At that point I just have to stop my work to crouch down and congratulate her. She stops long enough to receive my petting then gives a happy little chirp and goes right back to work. Following her example I get back to work, I want to finish squaring off the entrance today.

When I am finished I go to tend the fire and set some more meat to cooking. Kechara looks exhausted so I give her as much raw meat as she can eat. As soon as she is finished eating she falls fast asleep, she doesn't even twitch when I pick her up and move her to her nest.

After I have eaten I go about setting up my hammock, I hang it so I am between the nest and the entrance to give Kechara a little protection from the wind. She doesn't seem to suffer at all from the cold, if anything she is better off than I am, but I still try to do what I can. Before I go to sleep I enter meditation to use up the sacred power that I have regained throughout the day.

Core Upgrade Progress: 37%

As soon as I am done I drop into a deep restful sleep and I sleep all the way until the sun rises. When I wake up I find that at some point during the night a large, warm lump attached itself to my chest. Since she is still fast asleep I again meditate to use up my sacred power.

Core Upgrade Progress: 63%

It is still progressing fairly well, but I don't want to fall into the same pattern as I did last time. I will use it as it is available but I am not going to do nothing but meditate for days on end. I especially don't want to leave Kechara alone for that long, isolation is very bad for babies as far as I know.

When I open my eyes again Kechara is awake and staring at me, maybe she felt the energy moving around inside my body. I reach up and pet her for a while before I decide it is time to get up and start making breakfast. All it takes to get Kechara to move is the mention of food, apparently she is really hungry.

Yet when I give her the choice between raw and cooked she chooses to wait for cooked food. Again I find myself surprised by her intelligence level, it is definitely higher than a human baby. It makes me wonder just how old she is, I mean for all I know her species could be babies for years.

In the animal world it is typical for babies to mature quickly to help ensure their survival, but I have no idea what rules apply to a magical race. She is definitely growing quickly though, she is already noticeably bigger than when I first saw her. Who knows, she may be fully grown by the time I am ready to continue up the mountain, that would definitely make me feel better.

After breakfast I move outside to cut down some trees to make a primitive door. Kechara follows me but stops when she encounters the snow, it is probably her first time seeing it. Watching her sniff and nudge it with her paw reminds me of a curious kitten.

Once she decides it isn't dangerous she starts playing in it and she is obviously having a ball. Meanwhile, I am selecting the four trees I want to cut down, they are the four with the straightest trunks and are the closest in size. Unfortunately, since I don't have an axe of any kind, I am going to have to use Blitz to cut them down.

Even with my reduced strength I am able to fell each tree in one strike, then it is just a matter of removing all the branches. Those get carried back to the cave to use as firewood. Then I just have to cut them to the same length and split them down the middle.

By now Kechara has had enough of playing in the snow and has come over to watch me. After a while she starts picking up twigs and small branches and carrying them up to the cave. Again she has found a way to make herself useful without getting in my way.

It is only after I am done splitting the trunks that I remember that a long time ago I made woodworking tools, including a saw. When I check my pouch they are all still there, which makes me feel like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. At least with the tools I will be able to smooth the wood and make it fit a lot better.