I really wonder what the Terraria developers would think if they saw this scene.
I looked at the beautiful crystal heart tree sapling in front of me. In Terraria, under normal conditions, I could plant trees for various gemstones—topaz, diamond, emerald, amethyst…
But I'd raised the bar really high by using a crystal heart I randomly found in a cave to create a crystal heart tree. Around this incredibly valuable tree, I had planted a few trees that grew common metals.
My current favorite was an iron tree, but I knew very well I wouldn't care much for it in the future.
"For now, it's better if I don't dig any deeper. It's best to wait for the trees I planted to grow.
Then again, bone meal could speed up the process. I wonder if I can use the bones of animals like rabbits for that?"
The more I thought about it, the more doable the idea seemed. But just as I was about to leave my underground shelter, I heard a sound.
"Awooooo!"
Another wolf howl. So I gave up on going out again. I avoided the fight—for now. I planned to face them once I was fully equipped with iron gear.
"Once I'm wearing full iron armor… I'll make iron yoyos and control one with each finger. Then, with an iron shield in one hand and a sword in the other, I'll show you what true despair feels like."
This yoyo thing was one of my favorite ideas. Unlike in the game, I could tie them to my fingers and control them all at once. I had tested this with poorly made wooden yoyos. The strings—made from weak plant fibers—broke easily, but even so, they were pretty effective.
Though it didn't seem like I'd be getting high-quality string anytime soon, I still wanted to trade with other people if possible. Unfortunately, that didn't seem very likely either.
Thinking about bone meal reminded me of my own grave. But the idea of using it felt unethical, so I rejected it. If I didn't have respect for myself, it would be impossible to respect others. That would definitely become a bad habit.
"I'm going to sleep a bit. When it gets dark, I'll gather a few stars. I've already lowered the ground a few meters, so stars will fall into my area. Those dumb dogs can't touch me."
Even though I didn't need to, I lay down on the grass bed I had prepared earlier and tried to get a good rest. Or at least, I expected to.
"Bsnwn +##-#!(@!"
"What the hell is going on now?!"
My sleep was suddenly interrupted by a strange sound. The source was a little boy. Apparently, this boy had been wandering through the forest alone at night. Somehow, he had drawn the attention of the wolves and, in a desperate attempt to stay safe, decided that climbing into the treehouse I had built was a good idea.
If I were in his shoes, I'd be terrified too. After all, the wolves were attacking the very trees I used to build the treehouse. Considering how strong they were, it was only a matter of time before the treehouse collapsed.
I couldn't just leave him to die. So I stood in a spot where the boy could see me and made my underground shelter visible to him.
"Hey kid! Jump down! It's safe down here!"
The boy looked at me, then at the wolves walking through the air as if it were solid ground. Then he said something:
"Jajshja hajjahx jhzjsjsn?"
"Oh, come on! Did I seriously just hit a language barrier? What language is that? Japanese? Chinese? Or something completely different?"
The language he spoke sounded a bit like Chinese, and I regretted not learning more languages. If I had, things would be a lot easier now.
The boy looked at me with puppy eyes and kept saying something. It was obvious he was begging me to save him.
The wolves were still attacking the tree's base. Saving him was simple—I just had to make the treehouse invisible to him. He'd then fall straight into my underground shelter.
There were two flaws in this plan. First, he might get injured from the fall. Second, the wolves might attack him mid-fall.
But after thinking it over, I decided the plan was relatively safe. After all, doing nothing would mean certain death for the kid. And I couldn't fight the wolves—they were way stronger than me.
With a single thought, I made the treehouse invisible to the boy. Since he wasn't affected by its presence anymore, he fell straight into the underground shelter.
"#-₺;(@#;)@{€!"
Pretty sure that was a curse of some kind, though I couldn't be certain. After hitting the ground, he let out a heart-wrenching scream and gave me a weird look filled with both hatred and gratitude. I couldn't really blame him.
"Alright, alright—I have extra health potions. Take this and stop looking at me like that."
The little boy caught the red health potion bottle I threw to him and said something else.
"Jsjsjbdnsa ajajanjbwh, akksndjn najakxny."
Still had no idea what he was saying.
"Ajdhiw jajznsu anndhiz."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"Kaksija jajjakakkl jajnsunaan."
Once he realized I couldn't understand him, he began to speak less. He probably thought he was bothering me. His thoughtful behavior made me smile kindly at him.
"What a considerate kid you are. Are you hungry?"
I pulled out some fruit from my inventory and held them out to him.
"Dathyf fhjfcji fhbcsehj?"
He looked at me as if asking a question, but I had no idea what it was. After a moment of hesitation, he took the fruit I offered. The smile on his face while eating it was truly heartwarming.
"I really wish I could understand what you were saying."
Unfortunately, my wish didn't come true. I still couldn't understand a thing.