I took a deep breath.
Good news?
The fire was out.
Bad news?
Half the vilge was gone.
Like—not even salvageable. Nothing but bits and scorched wood left behind.
Also, some of the corpses in those homes?
Well… they weren’t in those homes anymore.
Now they were scattered all over the open.
Oh, and they were diseased.
You know. Just to make things worse.
Even worse?
Elise was gring at me.
I sighed.
“Why does this keep happening to me?”
I solve one problem and suddenly, I’m being bmed for the next one.
Elise grumbled. “Whatever. Let’s head to the elder. See what happens next.”
I nodded. “Fine, but… aren’t you hungry?”
Elise blinked. “I already ate. Why?”
I rubbed my stomach.
“Because I’m starving.”
Elise shrugged. “Well, there’s nothing to eat.”
I squinted. “Wait. What about the prey? The one you were hunting before you found me?”
Elise crossed her arms. “You scared it off.”
I blinked.
Then sighed.
“…Yeah. That did happen.”
I opened my marketpce and started browsing for food.
Holy hell.
There were thousands of options.
From raw ingredients to fully cooked meals.
Some fried chicken?
30.
For one piece.
Steak?
150.
I gawked.
“This entire thing is a scam.”
I groaned.
The good news?
I could actually afford it.
The bad news?
I didn’t want to.
So, instead, I bought some Cup Noodles.
Cup Noodles – 4 Pack – 100 Bottled Water (4-pack) – 50 Metal Pot (Small) – 75 Firewood – 35 Lighter – 15
Everything dropped in front of me.
Elise eyed the pile of stuff.
Then she picked up the cup noodle pack.
“What’s this?”
I snatched it back. “My dinner.”
I grabbed the firewood and started setting up a small fire pit.
Then I paused.
“…Shit.”
I sighed and bought more stuff.
Shovel – 99 Grill – 40
Elise watched as I dug a hole, pced firewood inside, lit it with my new lighter, and set the grill on top.
Then, I popped open a bottle of water, poured it into my pot, and pced it on the grill.
Finally, I sat down and let out a deep sigh.
Elise crossed her arms. “This might take a while.”
I nodded. “Yup.”
She sat down beside me.
Then gestured at everything. “This is… interesting.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What, my cooking skills?”
Elise shook her head. “No. All of this. What even are these things?”
I sighed.
And, while waiting, I gave her a crash course on modern-day survival gear.
Elise grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, and took a sip.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. This is some good stuff.”
I squinted.
“Yeah, because it was mine. And it was expensive.”
Elise pointed at the well. “Just refill it. Water is free.”
I gawked. “That is PURIFIED water.”
Elise blinked. “...And?”
I sighed.
“Nevermind.”
I didn’t have the energy to expin.
Instead, I raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you still here? I thought you were going to see the elder.”
Elise shrugged. “I’m curious.”
She pointed at the cup noodles.
“Especially about those.”
I smirked. “They don’t taste as good as they sound.”
We waited.
Chatted a bit.
Eventually, the water started boiling.
I ripped open one of the cup noodles, poured the boiling water inside, and closed the lid.
Elise watched closely.
“…That’s it?”
I nodded. “Almost.”
I held up three fingers.
“Now, we wait three minutes.”
Elise stared.
“…This is a lot of effort for food.”
I sighed. “I know.”
I leaned back.
“It’s a lot easier back home. I’d kill for some good steak, but I’m not paying those crazy prices.”
The three minutes passed.
I lifted the lid.
Smelled the noodles.
And immediately realized—
I forgot something.
“…Shit.”
Elise blinked. “What?”
I sighed.
And bought another thing.
Pstic Forks (10-pack) – 20
I grabbed one, twirled it in my noodles, and finally took a bite.
Elise’s nose twitched.
She sniffed the air.
“…That actually smells good.”
Then, without warning, she scooted closer.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”
She grinned. “Can I have some?”
I scoffed. “No. You still owe me 500.”
Elise rolled her eyes.
Then, before I could stop her, she grabbed one of the cup noodles.
And copied everything I did.
I stared.
Then slowly spped my forehead.
“Do you have no shame?”
Elise twirled her fork in the noodles.
“Nope. I don’t.”
She took a bite.
I squinted. “You don’t what?”
She grinned. “Have any shame.”
I sighed. “Of course you don’t.”
As she kept eating, she suddenly tilted her head.
“Do you miss it?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
She gestured. “Home.”
I blinked.
Then sighed.
“Of course I do.”
I stabbed my fork into the noodles.
“Back home, spiders are about the size of my damn fingernail, and they definitely don’t spit acid.”
I slurped up some noodles.
“I don’t have to worry about some killer disease running wild. I can watch movies. My cat Bob is probably losing his mind without me. And, I don’t know… life actually made sense there.”
Elise nodded. “Sounds nice.”
Then, without missing a beat—
“If you go home.”
I paused.
Then sighed.
“Yeah. If.”
I leaned back, looking at the scorched ruins around us.
“…It’s only been a day.”
Elise snorted. “Less than a day, actually.”
I groaned. “Yeah. Less than a day, and SO much shit has already happened.”
Elise grinned. “And it’s not over yet.”
Then she took another bite.
Her eyes lit up.
“Wow. This is really good.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Your taste in food is TERRIBLE if you think this is amazing.”
Elise shrugged. “You could probably sell these.”
I ughed.
“Yeah, and who would buy this? This thing cost me a hundred bronze coins.”
Elise froze.
“…Wait. Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Yup.”
I leaned forward.
“So there is absolutely NO way I’m selling this here. Everyone is broke.”
Elise tilted her head. “Might have better luck in a bigger city.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I might be able to sell one of these for a few silver.”
Elise ughed. “I doubt it. It’s good, but not THAT good.”
I grinned. “Never underestimate the value of good food.”
Elise rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh.”
I set my empty cup down.
Then I looked around at the wreckage.
“…So, fire’s out. Corpses are lying around. Homes are wrecked.”
I stretched.
“All that’s left is curing this disease and somehow letting the king know so I can get the hell out of here.”
Elise grinned. “That depends on what the cure needs.”
She suddenly ughed.
“It’d be pretty funny if we bought that book and the disease wasn’t even in there.”
I froze.
A chill ran down my spine.
My eye twitched.
Then I fell back onto the ground.
Elise blinked. “What?”
I pointed at her.
“YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Say what?”
“You NEVER jinx it!”
I sat up, waving my hands.
“Never, EVER say the worst possible thing that could happen—”
I jabbed a finger at her.
“Because NOW it WILL happen!”
Elise snorted. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
I shook my head.
“Nope. This is on you. I wash my hands of this.”
Elise ignored me and pointed at all the random stuff lying around.
“What are you gonna do with all this?”
I sighed.
“…Well, now I need a way to carry it.”
I pulled up my marketpce and bought a backpack.
Backpack – 200
A standard bck backpack plopped onto the ground.
I started packing everything up.
Cup Noodles? In the bag.Bottled Water? In the bag.Lighter? In the bag.Pstic Forks? You bet.The pot, however…
I stared at it.
It was still hot as hell.
Elise grinned. “You can always carry it and whack something with it.”
She swung an imaginary pan.
I nodded. “Oh. That’s actually a good idea.”
She smirked. “Told you.”
We stood up.
I stretched.
“Welp.”
I cracked my neck.
“Let’s go see what I’m about to be bmed for next.”
Elise grinned.
“At least you’re catching on.”
After five minutes of walking, we arrived at the elder’s home.
It was packed.
People were shouting.
The elder looked stressed as hell.
Garron was trying (and failing) to calm the angry mob.
And Marta?
She was glued to the book, flipping through pages like her life depended on it.
Then?
The moment Elise and I walked in…
Everything went silent.
The people turned.
Their eyes locked onto me.
Elise?
Took one huge step to the side.
Then—
A rge, burly man pointed at me.
“YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
I blinked.
Then held up my hands.
“Woah, hold your horses, buddy. I just got here. How is this my fault? What am I even being bmed for?”
The burly dude stormed forward, muscles bulging.
“I heard the story. My poor Carly was killed by a spider! And YOU’RE the one who caused them to appear!”
I sighed.
“Look, man, I don’t even know who Carly is.”
Elise coughed.
“His daughter.”
I paused.
Then looked at him.
“…Well, why weren’t YOU protecting Carly? Sounds like you should’ve been a better father.”
Silence.
Then—
A massive hand grabbed my colr.
Lifted me.
Feet?
Off the ground.
I blinked.
Then stared at the giant.
“…Fuck, dude, you’re strong.”
The man’s jaw tightened.
“You think this is a joke?”
Elise shook her head.
I shrugged.
“I can’t help it. What’s life without a few ughs?”
Garron stepped forward.
“Brent.”
His voice was firm.
“Drop him.”
I nodded.
“Yeah, Brent. This is no way to treat your savior!”
Brent’s veins popped.
“Savior? SAVIOR!? You ruined this vilge!”
I scoffed.
“Hey, I’m not taking the bme for that. This vilge was already a pile of dog shit when I got here. You can’t pin that on me.”
Brent turned to Garron.
“This is what you’ve been dealing with?”
Then, he gred at me.
“Who’s going to repair the vilge?”
Elise stepped forward.
“Brent, calm down. Set Dan down.”
I nodded.
“Yeah, let’s not turn me into a pancake.”
Brent grumbled.
Then, dropped me.
I hit the ground with a thud.
“Ow.”
Then, Marta cleared her throat.
“The boy isn’t fully responsible for everything that happened.”
I grinned.
“See?!”
Then Marta continued.
“But a lot of it IS his fault.”
I gred.
“You’re not helping.”
Marta ignored me.
Instead, she lifted the book.
“We have a bigger problem to worry about than a few homes being destroyed or one death.”
Brent’s gaze darkened.
Marta flipped through the book.
Then, she looked at me.
“I need a refund.”
I blinked.
“A what?”
Marta smmed the book shut.
“I can’t find shit on what’s going on in this vilge.”
Silence.
Then, I slowly turned to Elise.
Elise tilted her head. “What?”
I pointed.
“This is your fault.”
Marta squinted. “What?”
I kept pointing.
“This one is on HER. I had NOTHING to do with this.”
