Chapter 4: Bait!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“In that case, let’s get ten water collectors.”

Adjusting the quantity of water collectors on the back of the forging interface to 10, he clicked OK. Opening the door to the cabin, Ed found that the 10 items, moderately sized and neatly arranged, had appeared.

They were in rough shape, with a large dent in the middle. He figured that this was where the water would be collected. Strips of cloth hung above the depression, perhaps to be used for filtering. The structure of the object was admittedly simple, but it was also what Ed needed most at the moment. He might be able to survive without food, but without water, he could only wait for death. After all, it was essential for the human body.

Ed stored the water collectors into the system’s storage space. Now, as long as he placed these collectors on the leaves, he could slowly collect the small water droplets that appeared on their surface.

He exited the small wooden house.

Locating a few large trees with dense leaves, he withdrew the collectors from the storage space and attached them on. Now, he just had to wait patiently. The water problem was just about solved.

After doing this, Ed decided that he had rested enough. Raising the axe once more, he set off to start a new round of logging. The water problem was solved for the time being. Now there was another problem, food! It would be essential to replenish energy in the body.

Ed placed all his hopes on his axe and the trees, praying that they would drop some food. Like a professional lumberjack, he persisted as he swung the axe in his hand relentlessly. 

With every swing, numerous trees would fall.

Yet all he managed to obtain was some wood and a variety of other things.

Just as he was about to give up, he noticed that something unique had dropped.

“Inferior-quality bait?” Ed seemed to have found something new in his notifications.

[ Inferior-quality bait: bait made from inferior-quality rice. It has the fragrance of rice that attracts small animals. It can attract little creatures hidden in the forest. ]

What a find!

Ed understood the purpose of this object after hearing its description. Despite not being food, it was almost just as good.

This was bait!

With this in hand, there was no more need to worry about not having food. After all, which animal enjoyed grain the most other than obviously, the chicken?

Moreover, Ed had received a total of three sets of bait. In other words, he could potentially catch three chickens, which would be more than enough to feed him for tonight. The other issue would have been on how to catch the chickens after they were drawn out, but this was all too simple for Ed.

He had done this before, bored in his free time. All he needed was a wooden basket.

Simply by sprinkling some grain or seeds inside, he could easily set up a simple capture system. Furthermore, he had used to capture sparrows, which were much more nimble birds.

Chickens would be a piece of cake.

Ed was more than confident in his abilities. After all, he had done this many times before, and was very familiar with what he had to do.

He would first have to prepare the wooden basket.

Ed knew just how to get about this. It had been available at the forging interface, requiring only four pieces of wood and eight pieces of cloth.

He had obtained an abundance of these as he was logging, allowing him to immediately craft the basket.

Once he was done, all he needed was a simple wooden stick. It’s use was also elementary, only needing to support the basket. Using his axe, he carved out a thin strip of wood to use as such.

It was now time to set up the trap.

After procuring a few pieces of cloth from the storage space, he tied them together, pulling them tightly with his hands to ensure they were stable. He then made a small hole at the end of it, just enough for the stick to pass through, before tying it down securely.

He put down the wooden basket on the ground with the wooden stick propping it up.

Then, Ed revealed the bait.

It had to be said that it was quite weighty. He had thought at first that it would be just a small object. He wasn’t expecting three whole bags containing a handful of rice each.

“It’s still quite fragrant,” Ed muttered.

If they hadn’t been named ‘bait’, he would have probably eaten this directly. He really was hungry.

Taking most of the bait,he scattered it evenly under the wooden basket, just enough so that most of the surface was covered. He then poured what remained in the small bag into his hand. Slowly dispersing them onto the ground, he created a trail that led to the basket.

Ed simply estimated the distances using an incremental method. The closer the trail got to the basket, the thicker the line of bait.

This small bag should be enough to attract a chicken.

Simulating the capture in his mind, he proceeded to hide in a bush, holding on to the other end of the cloth. Now, all he had to do was wait for something to take the bait.

The strong fragrance of the rice dispersed outward, extending into the depths of the forest. No chicken should be able to resist such a temptation.

Fifteen minutes gradually passed.

“Forest chickens are really something. They can resist such a level of temptation,” Ed thought to himself.

Perhaps they were too smart. Perhaps they were staring at the bait in a corner, their little beaks drooling.

It was fine. Ed was not in a hurry. Catching sparrows in the past had taught him to be even-tempered. It was only a matter of time, all he had to do was wait. If there was one thing that Ed did not lack, it was patience.

As long as he got to eat a chicken in the end, this would all be worth it.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

The sound of a chicken crowing emerged abruptly from the bushes.

Ed felt his spirits perk up at the sound as he watched eagerly from the bushes, and he could not help himself from tightening his grip on the cloth in his hand.

Cluck! Cluck!

A chicken, about 35 centimeters in width, appeared in Ed’s line of sight.

It seemed to be quite vigilant, holding itself back from immediately rushing to the bait on the ground. Instead, it looked around before pecking cautiously around it.

Yet, it didn’t matter once it had taken its first taste. It could no longer stop at all. It took one last look around at its surroundings, making sure that it was safe before continuing to eat.

Another ten minutes passed.

The chicken had arrived near the wooden basket. It was now clearly extremely excited. The taste of the bait had simply been too delicious.

The chicken rushed directly into the wooden basket.

Ed, who was laying still in the bushes, spotted this and immediately pulled on the cloth strip.

The wooden basket fell straight to the ground, trapping the chicken.