Eventually she wears herself out and I end up having to carry her as I head back to the cave. I don't mind though, she doesn't weigh that much, and watching her play was worth it. On the way back to the cave I choose a different path that looks a bit easier to traverse.

While I was right that it is the easier path, it ends up being a dead end and I find myself standing at the top of a cliff. When I take a look down it turns out that I am directly above the ledge where the guardian first attacked me. As I am turning around to retrace my steps I spot a weird shadow, when I move to a better angle I can tell it is an opening.

Of course with a mountain this big there are bound to be caves, but unlike Kechara's cave this opening gives me a bad feeling. It is like my instincts are telling me that this isn't just an ordinary cave. For now I turn and backtrack till I can cross to the path back to Kechara's cave.

Once we are safely back in the cave I start wondering about the other cave. So far I haven't seen any signs of creatures on the mountain, maybe because they all live inside the mountain. Knowing my luck it is going to lead to a vast underground world where everything wants to eat me.

It is a fairly safe guess since that is what has happened almost every time I have gone underground. I will keep the cave in mind, but I'm not going to go rushing into it until I have to. For now I still have plenty of food for Kechara, so I am going to hold off on exploring the new cave.

If possible I would like to rank up again and let Kechara grow some more before I take her into a dangerous situation. She needs to be able to at least look out for herself, if not fight at a decent level. Even with Bones I am not sure we will be able to protect her, especially against a large number of opponents.

If she wasn't in an exhausted sleep I would start right away, but she is too tired right now so I let her sleep. She sleeps right up until dinner and goes back to sleep as soon as she finishes eating. So I move her to her nest and let her sleep while I meditate for a while, recharging and then using my sacred power.

Core Upgrade Progress: 56%

Instead of sleeping I spend the night meditating so that I recharge faster and can upgrade more in the morning. However, I plan to only meditate while Kechara is asleep, during the day I will remain active. The main reason is so I can spend time with her, but through playing I plan to start teaching her.

Core Upgrade Progress: 87%

After we have had breakfast I take her outside and start a game where she tries to tag me and I dodge her. This helps her develope her coordination and will play an important role in her learning how to fight. For now though it is just a game to her, one which she enjoys immensely.

After lunch I switch to a different game, using some of my silk rope I make a ball, then I tech Kechara how to play catch. She runs out of energy before dinner, which isn't too surprising since she is still young. So she naps until dinner and then eats everything in sight until her stomach bulges before passing out.

Core Upgrade Progress: 98%

When I see how close I am to ranking up I can't possibly sleep, so I meditate for a few hours to recharge and then use it to hit the next rank.

Core Upgrade Progress: 100%

Core Upgrade Completed!

Congratulations! You are now Rank 3! SP +100, All stats +5!

The fact that I got plus five to all my stats makes me very happy, especially since I have no other way to raise stats like luck and regen. So it seems on odd ranks I gain the plus five and on even ranks I gain an ability. That means when I hit rank four I should gain another ability, I can't wait to see if I'm right.

Since I am too excited to sleep anyway I spend the rest of the night meditating. When the sun comes up I end my meditation by using up my sacred power to work on my core.

Core Upgrade Progress: 4%

While the progress is disappointing at least I can still work on my core using meditation. If the speed holds to what it was this morning then I should hit rank four in just under two weeks. After checking on the food supplies I should have just enough to last that long with how Kechara's appetite keeps growing.

So as long as nothing changes the plan for the moment is to put off going into the cave until I am rank four. That also gives me two weeks for Kechara to grow and increase her stamina. As I am thinking things through I glance over to check on her and realize I might be underestimating her appetite’s growth.

The reason I change my mind is because I realize as I am looking at her that she has doubled in size since I first found her. If she continues at this rate she will be half her mothers size before the two weeks are up. Meaning she will go through the food I have for her faster than I was planning and I will be forced to hunt to keep her fed.

After breakfast I take Kechara outside with me to do some more exploring. I am hoping to find something huntable on the mountain itself, but my hopes are crushed when we head outside to find it snowing heavily. Kechara starts playing in the snow, the cold doesn't seem to bother her at all, but I am definitely feeling it.

It makes me wish I had asked Walter to prepare me some winter gear since the armor doesn't really protect me from the wind. The cape he made me is too small to wrap around me and now that I don't have as much fur I can feel the wind through the armor. Since I have some cold resist I am guessing the temperature is really low, low enough to kill a human in a few hours.