Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

"Hmmmm..." Aiko was sitting in front of her small factory.

Well, the factory was a lie and the small part was also a lie. She just had a few mounds that she used to smoke the meat and that was it.

Aiko was now considering grabbing one of the smaller wolves and taking it for a ride, but there were a few problems with that.

She had weapons, nice weapons, but nothing to tie those wolves up or anything like that.

In theory, she could just put the wolf to sleep and drag it all the way here, but what would happen once it woke up? It was pretty obvious.

'I would end up in the safe area.' Aiko nodded her head seriously. It was a nice idea, but how would she execute it?

'Should I just make some rope?' Aiko was not sure how to go about it, but it should be possible to find materials within this colourless forest, no?

'It should be possible.' Aiko believed that there would be enough materials and with her buffs it should be possible to make one.

As for the strength of the thing...

'Maybe I should make like 20 and tie all of them around the wolf?' Aiko was thinking of something crazy again, but this time, yet again, there was nobody to stop her.

'Let's go with that.' Aiko smiled, standing up. It would take some time for the meat to finish, so it was time to explore this place more!

...

Aiko explored the forest once again, but this time she also looked for anything that she could use as ropes.

There were some vines around, but those might be harder to tie. Well, Aiko still took them since those were still considered ropes.

She also found a special type of bark that she would be able to strip and make a cord rope out of. This was a nice find, but it would be tedious work.

'I know I can also use tendons for it, but there is a problem with the length.' Maybe she could make it into a cord rope too, but she doubted her hand skills.

She might be able to please her partners with her fingers, but that didn't mean she was skilled enough to make a sturdy rope...

...

Aiko gathered a lot of different materials to try and make a rope out of. It also included a type of fibrous flower. That one startled Aiko the most.

'Okay...' Aiko first soaked the bark and the fibrous flower inside the river.

The bark to soften the fibres, while for the fibrous flower to ensure it's not poisonous.

While poison didn't bother Aiko too much, she still had to be careful since she would have to tie it around something that might not have any resistance to it.

'Slow and steady.' Aiko nodded her head seriously. There was still a lot to do, but this process was quite rewarding.

First, smash the tough part of the bark to reveal the fibres inside. Next, soak those fibres again before twisting them together and tying one end with it.

Then add more fibres on the other end to extend the cord for as long as it was necessary.

As for how to make a rope, just scale up this process by a few magnitudes and voilà-

"I'm fucking tireeeeed." Aiko gave up making the rope this way. The tediousness was one thing, but scaling it was another. There was no way she would sit here for weeks just to make a rope that would tie around a wolf that might not even listen to her...

Next up was the fibrous flower.

The way you would make this one into a rope was by twisting the base of the flower.

The stem would shatter, revealing the fibrous part that you would then spin into a cord and scale it up again.

This process was less painful since it required less soaking, but it was still tedious.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

However, the cord was quite strong to begin with, so this would make a naturally strong rope.

It also didn't soften any more inside the water, so Aiko assumed it was now waterproof.

The next one would be the vine. This was a bit tedious too.

You could use the whole wipe as a rope, but you would have to be careful during the tying so that thing wouldn't just slip out with the slightest of movement. In theory, you could make the outside rough, but then tying it up would make it that much more difficult.

The vine would also lose a lot of its elasticity during that for some reason, so Aiko gave up on that idea for now.

'What to do...' Aiko smacked her lips. The flower was the best one, but scaling it up was a bit scary.

'How about twisting the cords together? That should give it enough strength, no?' Aiko considered this too, it would make a bit of a primitive rope, but it should be able to tie down a large wolf.

'I don't know. Let's just do it.' Aiko gave up on thinking. She was tired of this journey, so anything that would speed it up would be appreciated.

'How will I even steer the wolf...' Aiko realised that her plan had more holes than she expected, but once again.

'Speed...' Aiko groaned. Even with so many flaws, the benefit was too big for her to not try it.

Even if she had to tie a piece of meat on a stick and dangle it in front of the wolf to make it run in the direction she wanted, she would do it!

...

The primitive rope was finished. It was surprisingly sturdy for Aiko's baseline, but would it hold a large wolf? There was only one way to find out.

Aiko returned to the huge village to look for a promising wolf.

It didn't need to be large or too healthy, just healthy enough to get her to the next village.

With that being said, she sneaked in during the night again.

She hated burning through her food, but it couldn't be helped. Aiko needed to go inside during the night to make it possible.

Looking around. The whole place was very impressive.

There were some things that didn't make sense, but Aiko ignored those and looked for the wolves.

They were usually in groups, while the scrawny wolves were not. It felt like they would keel over any moment, but that couldn't be helped.

Aiko didn't need to alert the others, and she also didn't need to use it until the final village, so everything would be alright.

She picked the healthiest out of the scrawny wolves and put it to sleep with a simple whack.

Aiko then dragged out the wolf into the forest without anyone noticing.

'Alright.' It was still night and Aiko didn't know when the wolf would wake up, so it was better to tie it up in advance and wait for it to wake up.

The rope was strong and hard to untie, which was a bit troubling for later, but perfect for right now when the wolf was still hostile to her.

'If I have to cut that rope I might cry...' Aiko sniffled as she climbed the tree like some kind of roach.

'Now I wait.' Aiko nodded her head seriously, staring at the wolf directly.

...

Time passed for a while, but the wolf didn't wake up.

'Did I hit it too hard?' Aiko did check its breathing, and it was stable when she arrived.

Approaching the wolf cautiously, she poked it with a stick.

The fur heaved up and down, signifying it was still alive, probably.

'I don't want to think about what those movements might mean if it's not alive.' Aiko shuddered and quickly shook her head. She climbed the tree again and waited...

...

"Don't tell me I have to let the time pass for it to wake up..." Aiko scratched her head, feeling very bothered by this.

Not only would it consume food, but it might also alert the village of her presence...

*Sigh*

Aiko gave up thinking. It was better to test things like these while she still had food.

While she didn't want to die because of this, she could just pick the mage set and get here quicker. She would have more to carry, but that should be fine as long as it was just clothes.

The staff and stuff would be harder to carry and Aiko couldn't really pick the anti-personal set when she would be dealing with AOE and long-distance teleportation.

'Agh...' Aiko ruffled her hair as she blinked.

*Bark**Bark**Bark**Bark*

'It's alive alright.' Aiko cleaned her ear since that barking was getting on her nerves. She also didn't feel rested like before for some reason.

Irritated, she slowly climbed down picking a nearby rock.

*Whack**Whine*

"Be quiet." Irritated Aiko was a scary Aiko... also ruthless and abusive...

The wolf went quiet immediately, but that didn't mean it listened to her in other things.

She couldn't make the wolf stand up or walk around. It refused to do anything even if she would whack it a few times.

'So force is not an answer?' Aiko clicked her tongue. She didn't have that much time, so it might be better to leave this place without a wolf.

'Hm?' Aiko noticed a strange pattern around its neck's fur, so she ruffled it.

'Oh? Collar?' Aiko tilted her head. There was some kind of crystal in the middle of the collar, was that why the wolf refused to obey her or was it something else?

'If this thing is keeping the wolf alive, that would be concerning...' Aiko scrunched her face, but well... The wolf was here, and it was a day, so...

'More food?' Aiko smacked her lips, almost salivating.

The wolf flinched and whined, but Aiko ignored that.

'Should I just smash it or tear it off?' Aiko pondered on this, but it would be better to first try and take it off.

She could always slice it or tear it off, but that would damage the thing.

'If it's keeping it alive, then it's better to preserve it.' Aiko nodded her head. If the wolf lost most of its strength because of this, that would upset her a lot.

'And if it would lose size, wouldn't that mean it would lose meat too?' Aiko concluded that quickly while trying to fiddle around with the collar.

'This is difficult.' It seemed like the collar was connected behind the crystal, jewel, whatever you want to call it.

She couldn't easily take it off since it seemed like it was made to be permanently kept on the wolf.

'Is this something more than just vitality or obedience collar?' Aiko tilted her head. She was concerned, but this should be fine, no? At worst, she would get a smaller wolf with less meat...

'No, it's not fine.' Food should be cherished, especially since Aiko couldn't find too much meat.

Any loss in meat was severe for her.

'Well, here goes nothing.' However, that also didn't mean she had that many options, so Aiko just resigned herself to testing this...