Legendary Shelter Survival Guide

Lucas looked at the man crouched down in the small cultivated field.

Phil was so focused on his work that he didn't even realize someone was watching him.

Lucas glanced around and noticed a few creatures nearby. They were very close to Phil, and it seemed like they might pounce on him at any moment.

'What was its name again? Dune? No, Duke,' Lucas confirmed in his mind.

"Duke, come here!" Lucas called, finally grabbing the creature's attention. At that moment, another creature popped its head out from the thick, dense layer of fur on Duke's body.

It was a relatively small creature, and now that Lucas looked closely, it had spikes on its body.

*"Name say who?!"* the big creature roared. Lucas was astonished to hear such intelligent words coming from its mouth.

Duke looked like a massive bear with thick fur, its paws huge, and an intelligent gleam in its eyes.

The spiky creature on top of Duke also glanced at Lucas warily.

"L-Lucas?" Phil finally noticed Lucas standing on the path.

*"Hm, Lucas... who Lucas,"* Duke said, his speech broken but still understandable.

"You don't remember me?" Lucas asked with a smile.

Duke rose to his full height, standing nearly seven feet tall. His broad figure loomed over Lucas, and the thought crossed Lucas's mind—feeding him must be expensive.

Duke looked from Lucas to Phil. *"Philllll, who this huuuman?"* it asked.

"You know Phil but not me? That's rude. I was there when you were born, Duke," Lucas said with a playful expression.

*"Wait..."* Duke seemed to be straining to remember, but Lucas could tell he was just confused.

"Here, a treat for both of you," Lucas said, and that's when Phil noticed a green ball of liquid floating above Lucas's hand.

With a flick of his fingers, Lucas divided the ball into two equal parts.

Duke sniffed the air, his tongue lolling out. *"Treat time?"* he asked, tilting his head.

Lucas moved closer to the creature, and as he did, the difference in their sizes became more apparent. Lucas had to look up at Duke.

Duke leaned down and sniffed one of the floating liquid orbs, then licked it with his tongue. The liquid stuck to his tongue and disappeared into his mouth.

*"TASTY!!"* Duke roared in delight, his mouth moving in satisfaction.

*"MORE!"* Duke cried, but before he could gulp down the second liquid orb, Lucas moved it out of reach.

Lucas scratched Duke's neck, and the sound of satisfied purring came from the creature as it collapsed onto the ground, allowing Lucas to continue scratching him. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

Everything was peaceful until Duke caught a whiff of Lucas's hand.

*"Sniff sniff... leader?"* Duke murmured between purrs and roars.

"You remember me now?" Lucas asked with a grin.

*"LEADER!!"* the big bear roared, standing up and falling onto Lucas with a heavy thud. If not for Lucas's strong stance and physical strength, he would have been flattened under Duke's weight.

As Duke hugged Lucas, the spiky creature peeked out from the fur again and swiftly snatched the second liquid orb, sucking it all in before retreating back into Duke's fur.

*"AGH! Spiky hurts!"* Duke cried out, suddenly rolling on the forest floor, trying to scratch his back, much to the amusement of both Lucas and Phil, who couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

"I see you're using your skill efficiently," Lucas said, observing the small plot of cultivated land.

"O-Oh, it's nothing. I'm just trying to level up my skill as much as I can," Phil replied.

"That's exactly what everyone should be doing," Lucas said, crouching down to examine the neat rows of small sprouts.

"What crop is this?"

"Sungrains. They're all over the forest in abundance. My skill helps me extract seeds from the plants," Phil explained, and Lucas couldn't help but smile.

"Is this your first batch?"

"Yes, it is. What I grew before was just weeds, but after leveling up, I can tell the difference between good plants and weeds."

Lucas stood and moved closer to Phil, who looked down nervously.

"Good job, Phil. No one is more proud of you than I am. You're going to solve a lot of problems for this territory. In fact, I'd say you're the most important person among everyone here." Lucas patted Phil on the shoulder.

Phil shivered slightly, goosebumps rising on his skin, and when he looked at Lucas again, he couldn't help but smile.

"T-Thank you, Lucas."

"No need to thank me. And stop acting scared around me—it makes me feel like I'm oppressing you."

"Y-Yeah."

Lucas crouched down again to inspect the ground and the sprouts more closely, his focus sharp.

"Lucas..."

"Yes?"

"Did you like living in that world?" Phil asked hesitantly.

Lucas paused, his expression turning serious. Phil immediately regretted asking.

"N-No need to answer, I'm sor—"

"It was the best," Lucas said simply, standing up and walking away. Phil watched him leave the clearing until he disappeared.

"Will you come out of my shadow now, Bill?" Lucas said while walking down the path.

A silhouette emerged from his shadow, as it often did.

"Your skill proficiency has improved," Lucas remarked as Bill walked beside him.

"I know."

They continued walking toward the shelter in silence for a while.

"Are you still wary of me?" Lucas finally asked.

"I've always been wary of you," Bill replied instantly, but added, "But I still respect you. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did."

"Any sane person with your skill would've reacted the same way. Don't worry about it."

"Lucas," Bill suddenly stopped and grabbed Lucas's arm. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Lucas asked with curiosity, observing Bill's face and emotions only told him some bad news.

"It's about Sandra, I was supposed to keep it secret but... she is dabbling in things that are not normal, even for this world's standard..." He said with a frown on his face.

"What is it?" Lucas asked again.