Chapter 16: This Is a Freaking Little Puppy?

The little pup had initially given up its struggles, a look of pure enjoyment showing on its face. But the moment Su Tan stopped injecting vitality, that comfortable sensation vanished abruptly. Its pleasure instantly turned into annoyance!

Opening its eyes, it bared its fangs and brandished its claws at Su Tan. It waved its little paws, acting fierce but looking absolutely adorable.

"AWOO, AWOO~!"

It protested with clear dissatisfaction. It looked ferocious enough, but because its strength was too weak, it gave off the impression that it was just acting cute.

"Stop fussing," Su Tan said with a shrug, feeling the little guy acting up beneath his hand. "There's a daily limit to how much vitality you can absorb. Beyond that, no matter how much I inject, you won't be able to digest it. It would just be a waste."

Whether it was due to its extraordinary bloodline or not, the little guy's intelligence was clearly beyond the ordinary. It seemed to understand Su Tan's words, and after a short while, it turned its head away and stopped fussing.

Su Tan naturally liked a little pet that could understand human speech and follow commands. In fact, he had wanted to raise a dog for a long time. Not only could it act as a guide dog for him, but it would also provide companionship. He simply never had the opportunity until now.

"Do you want something to eat?" Su Tan asked.

The little pup was very angry and completely ignored him. Su Tan didn't mind. He gave a light chuckle and let the matter drop, leaving the little guy to its own devices.

He had thought that such an irritable little guy would run all over the room once its wounds scabbed over. Who knew it wasn't particularly active? After Su Tan let it go, it neither ran nor fled, but simply lay quietly on the table.

"Resting? It is time to rest. The little guy still needs to digest the vitality inside its body, and sleeping will help it do that much better!" Su Tan said.

With the little beast asleep, he could clearly sense that its injuries were taking a turn for the better as it autonomously used that vitality to heal its body. Seeing this, Su Tan paid it no more mind and went about his own business.

"DING~! Detected that the host's equipment slots are full. Please unlock new Inventory slots so you can continue equipping items!"

Hearing this, Su Tan opened the interface in his mind and navigated to the equipment slots.

"Huh???" Su Tan let out a sound of surprise, a look of astonishment appearing on his face.

Following the first three Inventory slots, there were actually two new slots waiting to be unlocked. Each one still displayed as unusable, with a padlock icon covering them. However, unlike the previous black-and-white slots, these pending slots were now in color and featured a "+" sign.

Did this mean they were ready to be used?

"DING~!"

Su Tan tapped the "+" sign.

SWISH.

Much like upgrading equipment or leveling up a character in an online game, a green light flashed, and he gained an extra Inventory slot.

It really increased?

Su Tan felt entirely baffled. Half-doubting, he unlocked the remaining spot as well. In an instant, he had added two new Inventory slots!

"Could it be that as long as the previous slots are all filled, the later ones can be unlocked?" Su Tan guessed.

He immediately shook his head, dismissing the thought. "No, no, no... It definitely isn't that simple!"

At the very top of the system panel, there was a mail tab. Su Tan opened an email titled [Unlockable Inventory Slots]. The explanation within instantly resolved his confusion.

[The host has equipped Top Grade items in the first three equipment slots, or has successfully synthesized ordinary items into Top Grade equipment, unlocking the subsequent two equipment slots. Please proceed to the equipment slots to unlock them!]

It turned out that he had to equip Top Grade items, or upgrade already equipped items to Top Grade, in order to unlock further equipment slots. This system was way too tricky. Claiming to have infinite equipment slots... yet refusing to disclose such a simple mechanic. Was there something wrong with its brain?!

Su Tan didn't even have the energy to complain. But regardless, having two extra equipment slots was definitely something worth celebrating.

Bored, he wanted to see what else he could utilize in the system. He browsed around the interface.

[Personal Attributes], [Warehouse], [Inventory], [Mail]...

[Personal Attributes]:

Host: Su Tan

Identity: Ordinary Villager (Blind)

Professions: Divination Master, Physician

Cultivation Base: None

Strength: 10.1

Agility: 10.0

Defense: 123

Cultivation Technique: None

Martial Techniques: None

Pet: Holy White Wolf

...

[Warehouse]:

None

...

[Inventory]:

Slot One: [Emperor Armor Fragment +1], Linked: [Recovery + Defense]

Slot Two: [Divination Turtle Shell], Linked: [Divination Skill]

Slot Three: [Holy Beast Essence Blood], Linked: [Holy White Wolf]

...

[Mail]:

[Unlockable Inventory Slots] (Read)

...

Tossing and turning it over, there was nothing else worth studying. Looking at these exact same things every day was bound to get boring. Su Tan soon lost interest and exited the system.

The sounds of the outside world were clear in his ears. He listened to the chirping of the crickets outside, dense and overlapping... Su Tan knew it was already very, very late.

"Time sure flies!" Su Tan shook his head. Time to sleep!

The next day.

Su Tan once again transferred vitality to the little guy. Washing up, cleaning, doing household chores... it consumed a lot of his time.

Some time passed.

Su Tan put down what he was doing and prepared to go to the courtyard gate to fetch the meal delivered by Village Chief Chen.

Not long ago, Su Tan had explained to the village chief that if he delivered a meal and called out but no one answered, it likely meant Su Tan didn't have time to come out and get it, so he should just leave it at the door. The village chief had probably come by, but Su Tan might have been treating the little pup and hadn't noticed. The chief must have seen no one responding and headed back.

Needless to say, Su Tan was starting to feel quite hungry. He prepared to eat something.

Time passed day by day.

Su Tan lived a fulfilling life. During the day, he studied characters. Occasionally, when Chen Xiaoqi came over, he would have Qi read him some books about the continent to expand his knowledge.

One day.

After eating dinner, Su Tan took a stroll in the courtyard. Once his food digested, he headed back to his room to sleep. But just as he entered, he was struck head-on by some unknown object.

He stumbled and crashed to the floor.

Su Tan was stunned!

He was so familiar with the layout of his room that it couldn't be any more ingrained in his mind. Even without feeling his way around, he could move freely. He knew exactly what was and wasn't in this room. Yet, despite knowing the environment so perfectly, he had actually been knocked over by something. And it was he who had walked right into it.

This was incredibly strange.

"When did such a huge guy end up in my room?" Su Tan asked himself.

The thing wasn't small, nor was it hard. Its body was covered in thick, dense fur. Colliding with it felt soft, like crashing into a pile of blankets.

An animal? Or what?

"What the hell is this thing?"

Su Tan could sense that a massive creature had entered his house—something at least larger than a cow. The most terrifying part was that after this huge guy appeared, he hadn't sensed a single abnormality! There wasn't a trace of an unfamiliar scent!

When did it come in? Why didn't I notice it at all?

"PFFT, SNORT~!"

Su Tan could feel a large head and nose leaning in, almost pressing right up against his face. The nose, the body heat... so incredibly close!

"AWOO... WOO..."

The big guy roared. It was fierce and vigorous!

But... this sound? Why was it so familiar?

Su Tan suddenly realized!

"You... you're... you're..." he pointed in astonishment at the large monster before him, whose immense pressure he could feel even without his sight. "You're... the little guy? The little pup!" Su Tan's jaw almost dropped.

Checking the mental image in his mind and sensing the little pup's location, it was indeed exactly where this giant monster was standing... Moreover, the scent on this huge guy was completely identical to the little pup's!

"AWOO..." Hearing Su Tan's words, the big guy was rather displeased.

"Des... picable... despicable... human, how dare... you call this Great King a little pup! I'm going to eat you!" It... could actually speak the human language!

"You, you, you... you really are the little pup! You can actually... speak human language!" Su Tan said, pointing at the "little pup" in sheer horror as if he'd seen a ghost.

"I... told... you, you're... not... allowed... to call... this Great King... a little pup!" the little pup declared unhappily.

He had a point. How the hell could this enormous thing still be called a little pup?