Chapter 7: Luti

After more than one month (game time), Lu Coco’s new home had finally established deep roots.

Vines and flowers crawled across the earthen house and the outer walls.

As the sunlight spilled over the petals, it looked as if the home was draped in a layer of rosy clouds.

In the vegetable garden, tender green sprouts poked through the freshly turned black soil.

A Level 6 wild mountain chicken flew freely, attempting to soar over the unfamiliar building.

However, it accidentally slammed into the invisible magic barrier, died instantly, and slid down to the ground.

In the pond, a strange fish whipped its tail, sending fine droplets of water flying.

A young girl dressed in hemp clothes, who was currently washing vegetables by the water’s edge, was soaked through.

“Wah-ya-ya!”

With a strange cry, she dropped the half-washed vegetables into a crooked basket.

Tearing off her hemp outer garment, the girl leaped into the pond and began to “wrestle” with the strange fish.

Tentacles flailed, and water splashed everywhere!

The “battle” between these two “beasts” disrupted the peace of the entire pond.

If a camera were placed by the shore, one could definitely film a special-effects blockbuster of an “Ancient God” showdown.

In the end, the octopus girl emerged victorious!

The strange fish, which possessed two legs, lay on the edge of the pond twitching and foaming at the mouth.

It had lost quite a few scales.

Lu Coco, covered in mud, crawled back onto the shore.

She held her head high with the face of a winner, boasting a 5-0 record.

Looking down at the creature known as a “Flathead Carp,” she extended a tentacle and pressed it against the fish’s head, releasing a soft **[Holy Light]**.

Lucia had encountered this strange fish by chance while she was out and had put in quite a bit of effort to tame it and bring it back.

It was the “gardener” of the vegetable garden.

Well… it was an amphibious monster.

The thing was… it lived up to its name.

Its personality was much like a honey badger; it wanted to pick a fight with everyone it saw.

If it won, the creature would circle its opponent, spraying water and mocking them before slipping away.

If it lost… “most creatures” still wouldn’t bother with it.

First was the creature’s meat!

Rumor had it that if one ate even a single piece, they would spend every night for the next year “wrestling” with it in their dreams.

Its other materials were much the same.

Whether used in alchemy or medicine, the resulting product only had one effect: “wrestling” with it in your dreams!

If the other materials were valuable enough, the effect would be strengthened, allowing one to “wrestle” with a whole school of the strange fish!

Therefore… this monster had been targeted by beings other than “most creatures.”

Those beings were humans!

Setting aside the few individuals with very niche tastes who used it for themselves, most people used the Flathead Carp’s bizarre properties to disgust their opponents.

This was one of the rare ways even an ordinary person could “cast a spell.”

Ancient texts recorded that during a war between two nations, one side used the wind to scatter a mysterious smoke, causing the enemy soldiers to suffer from nightmares every night.

Exhausted in mind and body, they eventually suffered a crushing defeat.

All of this meant that this creature was now extremely precious!

It was essentially an endangered species.

Regarding this specific one, Lucia had roughly estimated that—without considering “long-term gains”—it could be sold for at least seven or eight crystal coins.

If she could find a male later to pair it with and successfully breed offspring, financial freedom would be guaranteed.

***

A few minutes later, Lu Coco kicked (with a tentacle) the Flathead Carp, which was still enjoying its treatment, back into the pond.

Dragging the crooked vegetable basket, she wiggled over to a crude fountain on the other side to wash the mud off her body.

One by one, her curled tentacles unfurled. Glittering fish scales were piled together.

These were all gold coins, so Lu Coco naturally wouldn’t let a single one go; she had dug every last one out of the mud.

*Creak—*

The wooden gate in the wall pushed open.

Lucia had returned from outside, using levitation magic to carry two large bundles of firewood.

In her hand, she held the unlucky wild mountain chicken.

As soon as she entered the yard, she saw Lu Coco showering under the fountain.

Then she noticed the chaotic mess of a pond, filled with fish mouths surfacing to breathe, and several unconscious “warriors” lying on the shore—likely the aftermath of the “Ancient God” battle.

She shook her head with a light laugh.

Dropping the firewood at the base of the wall, she glanced at the Goddess’s clothes fluttering on the drying rack and took them down.

With a flash of her silhouette, she appeared behind Lu Coco.

She gathered the cloth, which still held the warmth of the sun, and used it as a washcloth to carefully scrub her daughter.

Her gaze was drawn to the cleaned fish scales nearby. Lucia put on a “shocked” expression, coaxing her like a child.

“Oh my… did Luti (the name Lucia gave the strange fish) lose to Coco again?”

Lu Coco looked proud.

She raised a wet tentacle and tilted her small face up, speaking in a milky voice, “Won!”

However, before the word could fully leave her mouth…

*Puh—!*

A stream of turbid mud suddenly shot out from the pond, coating her head and face.

Luti, having regained its strength, had somehow stood up amidst the ripples to deliver this retaliatory strike!

“Kya-kya-kya!” it cried out triumphously.

With a happy twist of its body, it dived into the depths of the murky water.

Looking at Lu Coco, who was stunned by the sudden mud shot, Lucia couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

She quickly used the “washcloth” to wipe the mud from her daughter’s head and face.

Finally snapping out of it, Lu Coco narrowed her large, wet eyes.

A devious smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

“Lu… ti…!” she muttered unclearly.

A sharp point of incandescent white light quietly gathered at the tip of her left finger, aimed straight at the pond.

“Eh?”

Lucia was stunned, then immediately realized what was happening.

“Wait…!”

She wanted to stop her instantly, but it was too late.

Lu Coco’s magic condensed far faster than she had expected!

The flickering white arc of electricity transformed into a lightning snake, shooting into the murky pond water with a *whoosh*.

The next second, crackling sparks of electricity flashed, and a string of small, dense white bubbles erupted from the pond.

White bellies turned up across the entire pond.

Amidst the “field of corpses,” accompanied by a unique “Ugh-wah!” scream, a massive splash of mud broke the surface!

Luti’s two sturdy fish legs kicked wildly in the air.

Following a perfect parabola, it landed with a *splat* in the vegetable garden.

It tilted its head back, mouth open as a trail of black smoke rose out.

“Kya…”

After a few twitches, it finally fell still, foaming at the mouth.

Victorious once again, Lu Coco began to giggle with a silly, proud “Hehehe.”

Lucia flicked her on the forehead.

*Thump!*

“Eek!”

Lu Coco clutched her forehead in pain and stuck her tongue out at Lucia.

“You naughty girl.”

Lucia shook her head with a smile and stuffed the washcloth into Lu Coco’s hand, letting her wash herself.

With a wave of her hand, she used levitation magic to fetch Luti and began to heal it.

Within a few minutes, the two-legged strange fish had fully recovered and was lying there comfortably.

As the two of them carefully scrubbed its body, an expression of pure enjoyment could actually be seen on the fish’s face.

Setting aside a scale that had been scrubbed off, Lucia smoothed the stray hairs on Lu Coco’s forehead.

“You’ve learned **[Laser]** so quickly. Coco is so impressive.”

Lu Coco, who was using a tentacle to massage Luti’s legs, nodded “shyly” and looked at her with anticipation.

Lucia smiled understandingly and said dotingly, “You still want to learn? Then… how about Mommy teaches you a defense spell?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Lu Coco nodded repeatedly, her tentacles scrubbing off a few more loose, old fish scales.

As for the fish floating belly-up in the pond, they naturally became dried fish hanging under the eaves.

***

At night, the mother and daughter sat on haystacks.

The glowing branches stuck into the top of the wall, combined with the Goddess’s clothes hanging there, were more effective than illumination magic.

Lu Coco extended two tentacles and gave them a twist!

A pitch-black liquid dripped down into a ceramic bowl below.

Lucia took a bird feather from the side, dipped it in the black liquid, and began to write and draw on a new wooden board.

It was a very miraculous script.

It didn’t require learning; as long as one’s Imprint was awakened, they could learn it immediately.

Legends said it was a gift from the gods.

Because of its universal nature across species, a magic that condensed mana into text had even been derived from it for cross-species communication.

“All done.”

Lucia handed the wooden board covered in script to Lu Coco.

“Mm!”

Lu Coco accepted it with a face full of joy and began to read it impatiently and with great focus.

Lucia smiled with satisfaction, picked up some plant husks nearby, and began to twist them.

Over the past month, besides building their new home, she had also found several types of plants that could produce high-quality rope or fibers for making clothes.

However, a person’s energy was limited, and she hadn’t awakened any Imprints related to weaving.

It wasn’t until a few days ago that she managed to weave a decent set of small clothes for Lu Coco—at least enough so the little one’s tender white skin wouldn’t be chafed.

What was written on the board was a defense spell called **[Magic Field]**.

The field could cover the entire body, be expanded into a sphere, or be condensed into a small section in a specific direction to save mana.

Its initial rank was C-rank, the same as **[Laser]**.

To be honest, Lu Coco absolutely loved her mom! Being able to write down the skills one possessed wasn’t something just anyone could do.

This also required an Imprint—a Prosperity Imprint called **[Mentor]**.

To produce a C-rank skill right away meant Lucia’s **[Mentor]** skill level certainly wasn’t low.

Lu Coco became even more curious about her mother’s identity.

Fluorescent light illuminated the simple little house.

Time flowed slowly to the sound of soft rustling…

Before she knew it, Lu Coco had fallen fast asleep, clutching the precious wooden board and her beloved skill crystal.

**[Mimicry] Comprehension Progress: _**