It took him an hour and a half to dismantle all the tradable parts of the Little Brown Swine beast. Jem Hansen traded the Swine Bone. In return, he got a total of 10 points from it. Now, he has 70 total Trade Points.

However, Jem was a little skeptical whether to trade the meat because it had a use to him. In the meantime, he decided not to swap it to points. His reason was that he wanted to eat the meat. He was about to trade the Swine Fur but stopped when something came to his mind.

As the place started to feel chilly, he thought of wanting to trade his points with a mantle. It was thanks to the emerald crystal on his neck and the one in his pocket that he was able to survive the chilliness of the surrounding.

“Trader, is it possible to trade my points to a mantle or coat?” Jem wasn’t sure what to call this entity who took half of his soul. He thought of calling it System at first, but he settled on calling it Trader. His reason was that it traded with him.

<Yes, host, it’s possible, however.>

Jem felt relieved upon hearing him, but the Trader’s last word caused his brows to knit. “However?” He repeated the Trader’s last word.

<However, the host must first find the required materials.>

“R-Required materials? Hm, what do you mean?” He asked.

<The system cannot just create something from nothing. For example, since the host wanted a mantle, the host needed to gather the materials needed to create a mantle which are pieces of cloth and thread.>

<However, to acquire the cloth, you must first acquire the needed recipe for it like the beast skin.>

<Oh, right, please always be aware Host that only the materials that had value with the system are acceptable.>

“…..”

He fell silent once again and started pondering.

He did not expect that there was such a requirement. According to the Trader, if he wanted a mantle, the materials in making it were needed to acquire first. Since a mantle needed a cloth, then he needed to acquire a cloth first. But the problem was, to acquire the cloth, he must first acquire skin or leather as it was the mean recipe to make a cloth. On top of it, it must be from a higher-rank beast.

Then next was the thread. To create a thread, silk was the main ingredient. Maybe some fiber was also acceptable. But then again, the system must approve of the quality. So in this case, it depends on the system.

Hah!

A sigh escaped from his mouth. No wonder the system urged him to pick a piece of wood and stone before trading with him the hatchet a while ago. Fortunately, he found a stone and wood with a little value to the system.

He glanced around and saw some spider web on the ceiling. “How about those spider web?”

<Yes. Spider web is more than acceptable, but it depends on the quality. Exclusively, the spider web of the Rank-D and the higher-rank spider is recommendable.>

Looking at the spider on the ceiling, Jem thought that it must be from a low-rank spider. Also, it was too high. The ceiling was about 25 meters away from the ground. He couldn’t check if it was tradable.

“How about this furry skin?” He asked while lifting the dismantled furry skin of the Little Brown Swine.

<Yes, Host. That is acceptable. As long as the material has tradable value, it is acceptable.>

“I see. That’s good.”

Jem opened his mouth once again.

“Since it is acceptable, do I have to trade it now or later?” He wasn’t sure in this regard.

<It’s up to the Host to decide, but. If the Host traded the material, the Host could get Trade Points. Once the required materials are completed, the mantle will be unlocked in the System’s Trading Shop. But the mantle will be priced according to the System’s price, which is with interest. Please be aware that the System’s price is always doubled.>

<However, if the Host waited until he gathered all the needed materials without trading them, the Host would acquire the item he needed without interest.>

“Hm, System’s Trading Shop?”

<Yes, Host. It is a virtual market that you can find in the System Interface.>

“I see.”

After mentioning the virtual market, now he has a gist about this so-called System Trading Shop.

Jem decided to check the price of Swine Fur. “10 Trade points. Hm, I see,” he muttered after reading the details.

Once the mantle would be unlocked in the virtual market, the price of it would get doubled. Since the Swine Fur cost 10 points. It would become 20 once in the market. With the addition of silk or thread, then the price would be higher than that.

Hah! Jem sighed and pondered what to do.

GROWL!

Jem decided not to think about it in the meantime.

“I needed to eat first,” he mumbled. Then, he put away the Swine Fur and glanced around him. He saw some dry woods on the ground. He also noticed some roots and vines jutting out from the ceiling and walls. Maybe, there’s a huge tree above, Jem thought upon seeing those roots and vines. Since he could finally see those things, Jem felt excited. He had a strong feeling that he was on the right path towards the surface.

Jem Hansen gathered all the dry roots and vines. Then created a fire through stone-scraping and the dry vines.

Fortunately, he succeeded in making a fire after an hour and a half of scraping the stones and rocks. Though, a difficult work. Especially that he only had a hand.

Although he was sad and lonely, he felt a little happy after the fire lit up. It seemed like a glimmer of hope. Jem shook his head slightly. He mustn’t think of unnecessary things that could weaken his determination. He must survive this place no matter what.

He threw the dry roots and woods on the fire to blaze it up. Jem hanged the Swine Fur near the bonfire to dry it.

After a few minutes, he started grilling the meat on the smoldering fire. He also took the mushroom and grilled it together.

It didn’t take long when the delicious aroma of cooked meat invaded his nostrils. He subconsciously gulped his saliva. Jem did not waste more time and started gnawing the newly cooked grilled meat and mushroom.

After eating, he checked his Status Screen and was surprised.

“Seven out of one hundred ascendance points?!?”

“It really increased two times than before!”

Jem exclaimed in excitement.