NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52: Caelum's Curious Clumsiness
Caelum crawled out of the burrow, determined to gather more supplies for the day. The soft morning light filtered through the trees, casting a warm glow over the forest. Aurelia was inside, working on further improvements to their small home, but Caelum decided to venture out on his own. His goal was simple: gather as many leaves, critters, and small items as possible to stock up.
But Caelum being Caelum, things didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned.
As he made his way toward a nearby patch of underbrush, his legs fumbled over a small rock. Before he could react, his body lurched forward, and he tumbled awkwardly to the ground, rolling in an ungraceful heap of legs, dirt, and leaves.
“Not again...” Caelum muttered under his breath as he flipped himself back over, checking to make sure no one had seen his embarrassing fall. If Aurelia had been around, she’d probably be laughing.
Despite the awkwardness, Caelum noticed something strange: his fall had actually brought him closer to a particularly dense patch of undergrowth. A few bright green leaves peeked out from beneath a layer of moss, their color unusually vibrant compared to the rest of the forest floor. Curious, he crawled over to inspect them more closely.
Upon closer examination, he realized that these leaves were different from the usual ones he and Aurelia had been eating. They were thicker, more nutrient-rich, and they smelled faintly sweet. Caelum immediately recognized the potential.
“Well, that’s lucky,” he said, blinking in surprise. He wouldn’t have found these leaves if it weren’t for his latest stumble.
Skill Gained: Clumsy Tumble Lv. 2
Description: Your awkward, clumsy movements have leveled up! Now you’re slightly better at turning your falls into something useful... somehow.
Caelum sighed. “Great. Leveling up in clumsiness. Just what I needed.”
But as he carefully gathered the nutrient-rich leaves, another thought crossed his mind. It wasn’t just his clumsy falls that had helped him today—he had a tendency to wander off and stumble into things. Most of the time, it wasn’t on purpose. His mind would wander, and before he knew it, he’d end up in a completely different part of the forest, having found something he wasn’t even looking for.
He continued to gather the leaves, trying to focus on his task. But as usual, his mind began to drift. Thoughts of the past—his former life—mixed with the present, causing him to wander aimlessly through the forest. Before long, he found himself near a small clearing, where the sun filtered through the trees in soft rays.
And there, beneath a patch of fallen logs, he spotted something else.
A small stash of dried, tough plants—perfect for reinforcing their burrow walls. He hadn’t been looking for them, but somehow, his distracted mind had led him right to them. Caelum blinked in surprise.
“How did I find this?” he wondered aloud.
Skill Gained: Absent-Minded Search Lv. 1
Description: Your tendency to wander aimlessly while lost in thought has become a useful skill. You now have a higher chance of uncovering resources or items in your environment, even if you aren’t actively searching for them.
Caelum stared at the notification for a moment, then burst out laughing. “I guess being absent-minded has its perks!”
He began collecting the dried plants, still chuckling to himself. If Aurelia knew about this, she’d find it hilarious.
On his way back to the burrow, Caelum couldn’t help but stumble a few more times—each tumble awkwardly leading him to discover something useful. A small cluster of edible mushrooms hidden beneath some ferns, a stream of fresh water he hadn’t noticed before... it seemed like his clumsiness and wandering mind were turning into his greatest assets.
When he finally returned to the burrow, his arms—or mandibles, really—were full of supplies. Aurelia turned to him, her eyes wide in surprise.
“You were busy,” she remarked, glancing at the pile of leaves, plants, and mushrooms Caelum had brought back. “How did you find all this?”
Caelum scratched his head with one of his legs, grinning sheepishly. “Well... I kind of tripped over most of it. And then I sort of... wandered around, lost in thought, and found more stuff.”
Aurelia raised an eyebrow, her antennae twitching as if she was trying to decide whether to laugh or be impressed. “You found all this by tripping and wandering around? That’s... actually kind of amazing.”
Caelum shrugged, still smiling. “What can I say? I’ve got a talent for stumbling into things.”
Aurelia chuckled. “I guess it works for you. Maybe your clumsiness is more useful than you think.”
As they sorted through the supplies together, Aurelia couldn’t help but glance at Caelum with a mix of amusement and admiration. His clumsy behavior might be strange, but it was starting to prove itself as an unexpected advantage in their survival.