Ren moved through the forest with the stealth of a hungry tiger—or at least, that's what she told herself. In reality, she was tiptoeing through the mud in a scratchy wool dress, looking for anything edible that wasn't a leaf.
"Okay, System," Ren muttered, scanning the underbrush. "We need recovery food. We need protein. Lots of it. I'm talking bodybuilder levels of protein."
[System: Correct. High-protein intake is essential for tissue regeneration. Recommended sources: Red meat, eggs, or fish.]
"Fish implies a river, and I don't know where that is," Ren mused. "Eggs imply climbing trees, and I do not trust my luck to be on my side. So, red meat it is."
She sighed, pushing a large fern aside. "But what can I catch? I'm a chef, not a huntress. Unless a steak falls from the sky, we might be eating mushroom stew or seasoned leaves."
As if the Forest Gods had heard her plea and decided to throw her a bone, the bushes ahead rustled.
Ren froze.
