Chapter 8: Did I Just Get a Pet?

In this scorching hot dungeon world, what survival resource is the most important? Without a doubt, water ranks number one!

At least, that's what Nick believed.

He picked up the highly valuable parchment drawing from the chest. It depicted the external design of a Rune Water Purifier, along with the special patterns that made it work.

Judging from the unique script on the parchment, it definitely didn't belong to human civilization. It was a product of the dungeon civilization, something that Nick, as an outsider, naturally couldn't decipher.

But just then, the black interface of the Dungeon Survivial Game appeared before him. The previously empty interface, which only had the [Chat] function, now had a new icon.

Nick looked at this new function called [Workbench]. He tapped it lightly, and the black interface subtly changed.

On the virtual forging platform, the blueprint for the Rune Water Purifier floated in the air, and a description of the device was recorded below it.

The principle seemed simple enough: using the flames from a Fire Rune, combined with a Water Rune, to generate steam and ultimately produce water.

It was somewhat similar to the distillation method of modern civilization, except the conditions for distilling water were replaced with these so-called "Runes."

"I have a feeling... sooner or later, I'm going to come into contact with so-called magic, aren't I?"

Nick didn't question its plausibility, but he couldn't help but feel curious. After all, Runes were involved, so the existence of magic wouldn't be surprising.

Besides, the very existence of the dungeon was illogical. To seek logic in an illogical world, that person must have something wrong with their head.

Nick didn't dwell on this too much. Instead, he focused his attention on the construction and usage of the purifier.

[Rune Water Purifier Crafting Materials]

[Required Materials]: Iron * 3, Copper * 3, Wood * 5, Water Rune * 1, Fire Rune * 1

[Usage]: Place the medium (purified water) and fuel into the Water Rune and Fire Rune respectively, and it will distill drinking water.

[Note]: Efficiency depends on the amount of fuel and medium used.

"It needs so many materials?"

Nick frowned slightly. Finding iron and copper wasn't too difficult, but he had no idea about these two Runes.

It would take quite some effort to craft this purifier. At the very least, at this stage, he didn't have any of the crafting materials except for the wood.

"It seems it'll be a while before I can achieve water freedom..."

After closing the [Workbench] panel, Nick turned his attention to the red python. It was a massive snake, and it felt wasteful to just leave it there.

The meat he could get from the python was probably close to a hundred pounds. Although he hadn't achieved water freedom, he had... inadvertently achieved meat freedom?

Nick didn't immediately start processing the giant creature. Instead, he retrieved the crossbow bolts from the python's body, accounting for every single one.

Although the arrowheads were somewhat worn, they were still sharp.

He took out a single crossbow bolt, wiped the arrowhead clean, and then pierced the python's scales. It went through surprisingly easily.

It was as if the scales had lost their vitality with the python's death, making it less difficult to handle than he had imagined.

Using just the sharp crossbow bolt, Nick quickly finished processing the python, removing the internal organs and dividing the red python into several large pieces of meat.

Even if the python's meat was edible, storing such a large quantity in this extremely hot environment would be very difficult.

"I need to find a trading market quickly... I can trade this meat and maybe even inquire about the Runes."

Nick made a decision. After organizing all the python meat, he looked at the pangolin nearby, which was still unconscious.

This little guy played a significant role in defeating the red python.

If it hadn't drawn the red python's attention at the crucial moment, it would have been much harder for Nick to kill the snake.

"It should still be alive, right?"

Nick went over to check. He saw the pangolin's abdomen moving slightly and breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it wasn't dead.

He picked up the pangolin and brought it to the temporary camp.

Nick had no intention of roasting this creature over the campfire. Using the firelight, he couldn't find any obvious wounds on its body.

"This little guy..."

Nick had no experience in rescuing wild animals. If there were external injuries, he could have bandaged the pangolin, but in this situation, he was helpless.

He sat by the campfire, enjoying the leisure after surviving the ordeal. He took out the purified water and took a big gulp.

But just then...

The pangolin by the campfire woke up from its unconscious state. Its intelligent eyes, after assessing its surroundings, didn't immediately flee.

Instead, it looked at Nick and the limited amount of purified water he had.

"Huh? It woke up so quickly?"

Nick was surprised to see the pangolin awake. After all, it had been flung away forcefully by the red python; it would be strange if it were lively and kicking.

As for why this little guy didn't leave, it was probably because it didn't sense any threat from him.

Nick placed the mineral water bottle on the ground, preparing to go over and check its condition. However, the pangolin's gaze also fell on the mineral water bottle not far away.

He quickly understood its intentions. Nick shook his head with a smile, "Considering you helped me kill that python..."

Nick used a crossbow bolt to cut open the mineral water bottle, making a small bowl and placing it in front of the pangolin.

The latter understood immediately and started lapping up the purified water greedily. In a short time, about half the bottle, 500ml of purified water, was gone.

The pangolin stood up intelligently, looking at this strange creature in front of it.

Although they weren't the same species, it didn't sense any threat from Nick. It even got to drink sweet water.

"It's the first time I've seen such a clever animal!"

Nick was slightly surprised. He tossed a piece of the python's tail in front of the pangolin. Pangolins were known to eat small insects like termites, so they were considered carnivores.

He just wasn't sure if this guy would eat python meat.

Seeing that the pangolin didn't move for a long time, even though they couldn't communicate with words, Nick said with a smile, "Little guy, eat this meat and then get going!"

"I can't afford to feed a water guzzler like you..."

After saying that, Nick even waved his hand at it, as if to shoo the intelligent pangolin away from the camp.

But unexpectedly, the pangolin took a few steps forward, crawling closer to Nick, and looked at him with its beady little eyes.

"What? Don't tell me you want to come with me..."

Nick joked with a smile.

However, when the pangolin heard his words, it even rubbed its head against Nick's leg affectionately, as if agreeing to the matter.

Seeing this, Nick instinctively touched the little pangolin's head. So, he had picked up a pangolin as a pet in the dungeon world?