Ye Bai decisively dismissed the pet hunger notification.
If she were raising any other pet, this would be a normal feature, but when it came to the Kraken… this creature was perpetually hungry. Keeping the notifications enabled would turn it into a full-blown spam bombardment.
Next, Ye Bai glanced at the Kraken obediently squatting inside the fishing basket and decided not to let it out, leaving it where it was.
Truth be told, this magical fishing basket happened to be the perfect place to ‘raise’ the Kraken.
The reason for this was simple—the pet system didn’t have any forced commands or restrictions on pet movement, so Ye Bai wasn’t brave enough to release the Kraken just yet.
Despite its small size, this was no ordinary creature—it was a legendary sea god. Ye Bai had already witnessed its terrifying eating speed firsthand. She doubted a hungry Kraken would patiently wait for her to catch more fish. If it got desperate, it might just take a bite out of Autofis sitting nearby.
Ye Bai pulled out three pieces of grilled fish from her backpack—one for herself, one for Autofis, and one for the Kraken.
She silently thanked the fact that the paper doll and Alicio were non-corporeal beings, sparing her the need to prepare extra rations for them.
Afterward, Ye Bai tested how different foods affected the Kraken’s experience gain.
After devouring five loaves of bread, the Kraken leveled up from 16 to 17. Then, after eating two pieces of high-quality grilled fish, it jumped from 17 to 18.
Crunching the numbers, Ye Bai realized that grilled fish gave the Kraken significantly more experience than bread, though bread was still better than raw fish.
The raw fish the Kraken had previously emptied from her basket could have yielded a substantial amount of meat and materials by weight. If converted into bread, it would have filled several stacks.
The Kraken was indiscriminate when it came to food, and its stomach capacity and digestion were a complete mystery—practically a living processing machine.
Beyond regular food, Ye Bai also experimented with feeding it other items—seashells, wood, copper coins, and even energy crystals.
While most of these clearly weren’t food, the Kraken swallowed them all without hesitation. Only the energy crystals made it perk up, declaring them ‘very filling’ and granting it another level-up. Everything else, while edible, didn’t seem to excite its taste buds.
Of course, as long as something could fill its stomach, the Kraken wasn’t picky—it would eat anything. The only difference was the varying growth benefits it gained from different items.
After some thought, Ye Bai concluded that the Kraken’s hunger was most affected by the energy content of its food, with ‘flavor’ or ‘processing level’ also playing a role—grilled fish and buttered bread being prime examples.
Energy crystals were rare and had too many other uses to waste on feeding the Kraken, so for now, grilled fish remained the most efficient option.
With this settled, Ye Bai transformed back into a dedicated angler, settling onto her fishing stool to continue her work.
Her current top priority was fattening up the Kraken until it could hunt for itself—then she’d finally have some peace.
At this thought, Ye Bai glanced sideways at the Kraken, which was drooling over everything while clinging to the edge of the basket. Suddenly, the sentiment felt eerily familiar—
‘It’ll get easier once school starts,’ ‘It’ll get easier after graduation,’ ‘It’ll get easier once you start working’… So, was she basically raising a daughter here?
……
Gulp gulp… Huff…
Back in the real world, inside her rented apartment, Ye Bai habitually reached for a nutrient drink after logging off. But this time, she couldn’t stop—she ended up chugging all ten remaining high-energy bottles without even realizing it.
“I drank that much?”
Snapping out of it, Ye Bai stared at the empty bottles in shock.
Ever since her psychic energy had reached C-rank and she’d awakened her sensory talent, she could actively absorb cosmic energy. This had drastically reduced her need for frequent meals compared to her D-rank days, and while her nutrient intake had increased, it had never reached ten bottles in one go—let alone left her feeling like she could still drink more.
This felt eerily similar to when she’d first unlocked the [Tenacity] talent.
But Ye Bai knew she hadn’t leveled up yet, despite having enough experience to reach level 48, nor had she awakened any new talents. The only recent change was her encounter with the Kraken.
Was this the Kraken’s influence? Would she now suffer from ‘insatiable hunger’ in real life too? Until now, only talents and skills from the game had carried over—never side effects from creatures.
Anxious, Ye Bai immediately ordered two more crates of nutrient drinks.
Gulp gulp…
The delivery arrived quickly. After downing three more bottles, she finally let out a relieved sigh. The familiar sensation of fullness returned—not just in her stomach, but throughout her entire body. It was more like an energy saturation, leaving her warm, revitalized, and brimming with vigor.
Good, at least she could still get full… Two days of feeding the ever-ravenous Kraken had left a deep impression.
After waiting a while longer and confirming no other abnormalities—just an overall improved state—Ye Bai logged back into the virtual network.
One perk of being a player was this: in the game, traveling between the Divine Realm and other locations required a cooldown period, making it inconvenient.
But on the virtual network, a quick keyword search for ‘White Night’ gave her the latest updates on her territory.
White Night Town had become the most player-populated settlement in the Blue Star server, a melting pot of various factions. If anything major happened, word would spread fast.
Finding no alarming headlines meant her territory was running smoothly without any crises her residents couldn’t handle.
Logging back into the game, the process took slightly longer than usual, though not by much. When her vision cleared, she was back on the lonely island, waves crashing around her. Autofis was dozing with one eye open, the paper doll remained tucked away in her inventory, and Alicio… had returned to the Infernal Lord’s fortress for another stint in jail.
And of course, the ever-present, ever-hungry sea god.
The moment she spotted Ye Bai's figure, Kraken's eyes lit up, stretching out her soft little hand toward her: "Hungry!"
Never did she imagine she'd end up like this… Ye Bai sighed and sat down on the fishing stool.
Over these two in-game days, Ye Bai had gained a profound understanding of the hardships of raising a child. Kraken ate fast but got hungry even faster—there was never a moment when she seemed full. Her state only fluctuated between "hungry," "very hungry," and "extremely hungry."
The only consolation and reward for Ye Bai was that, through observation, she could see Kraken's level steadily increasing.
[Kraken]
Identity: White Night's Pet
Level: 38
Status: Extremely Hungry
After two days of feeding her grilled fish—aside from the normal consumption to replenish stamina—an enormous amount of fish had gone straight into Kraken's stomach, to the point where her level was now almost catching up to Ye Bai's.
Plop!
A two-meter-long silver cod traced a graceful arc through the air before landing on the empty ground behind Ye Bai with a swing of her fishing rod.
That said, raising Kraken wasn’t without its benefits. Ever since Ye Bai had fished her up, the rate at which fish took the bait had noticeably increased compared to the beginning, and the quality of the fish had improved as well.
According to Paperman’s analysis, this strange phenomenon was due to the nearby fish being influenced by Kraken’s presence. The fish in this stretch of sea were now single-mindedly focused on "hunger, hunger, hunger," which had inadvertently enhanced the effectiveness of Alicio, the already-decent fake bait.
As the 200-pound silver cod hit the ground, a system notification chimed:
[You gained 150 proficiency points in 'Fishing']
[Your 'Fishing' skill has leveled up to 'Fishing V']
[You obtained the title 'Master Angler']
Finally, with the overpowered boost from the three-piece fishing gear set, and after four in-game days of relentless effort, Ye Bai had pushed the Fishing skill to its peak in one go, reaching Master rank.
When she had first reeled in Kraken, Ye Bai hadn’t received any Fishing proficiency—she strongly suspected it was because Kraken had been a "willing catch" and thus didn’t count toward skill progress. And now, in truth, she had indeed become this creature’s long-term meal ticket.
[Master Angler]
Fishing Enthusiasts Association Reputation +3000
40% increased attraction rate for Rare+ fish while fishing
40% increased attraction rate for large fish while fishing
20% increased yield when harvesting fish
This title further amplified her existing advantages, pushing her gains even higher.
Of course, the improvements over the past two days weren’t limited to just this.
Ye Bai walked over to the silver cod and harvested materials, obtaining another batch of fresh Rare-grade cod meat.
Then, she headed toward the other side where Autofis and Kraken were gathered, where a campfire was set up with a basin-sized seashell serving as a cooking pot.
Inside the pot was boiling purified water—Ye Bai had cast an Ice Spike spell, then tossed the resulting ice into the shell to melt and boil.
In deep-sea regions, water-based spells consumed 10% less mana. As long as her stamina was sufficient, hydration was never an issue for players.
This method of water production was purely for the sake of 'Cooking.'
Ye Bai was all about efficiency. Boiling consumed slightly less stamina than grilling, and it allowed her to cook multiple servings at once—perfect for Kraken’s situation.
After adding the maximum capacity of ten cod fillets into the "pot," Ye Bai didn’t bother with any extra seasonings, adhering to the principle that high-quality ingredients often required the simplest preparation.
Before long, a rich, savory aroma wafted from the pot. Kraken, who had been watching intently, was practically drooling, her little hands gripping the edge of the fish basket as if she couldn’t wait.
Meanwhile, a system prompt chimed in Ye Bai’s ear:
[You gained 20 proficiency points in 'Cooking']
[Your 'Cooking' skill has leveled up to 'Cooking III']
Ye Bai checked her Cooking skill details.
At Cooking III, the skill now displayed "Signature Dishes"—requiring over ten successful preparations to qualify. Currently, Ye Bai had exactly three: Skewered Meat, Grilled Fish, and Fish Soup.
Leveling Cooking wasn’t easy. It depended on the number of recipes learned, dish difficulty, ingredient quality, and preparation frequency.
Normally, simple methods like grilling and boiling, along with repetitive cooking, didn’t yield much proficiency. But now, thanks to high-quality ingredients and sheer volume, Ye Bai had brute-forced her way to Cooking III. Considering Kraken consumed over a hundred servings daily, it was no surprise.
The large pot of fish soup vanished almost instantly once it reached Kraken.
Ye Bai rubbed her forehead, watching as Kraken’s level shot up to 42 after the meal—surpassing her own. She wondered how much longer it would take before Kraken could hunt for herself.
Just as she was pondering this, another system notification sounded:
[Your pet 'Kraken' has surpassed your level. You gained 2300 shared EXP.]
Huh?!
Ye Bai’s first reaction was delight. This was only the second positive feedback she’d gotten since raising Kraken—the previously lackluster pet system was finally pulling its weight.
While 2000 EXP wasn’t much to her, it was still a heartfelt gift from her dear "daughter"!
She pinched Kraken’s adorable round cheeks, inexplicably moved. Wiping away nonexistent tears, she felt a sudden swell of emotion—like her child had finally grown up.
