The water in the glowing stream was freezing, but to Sam, it felt like absolute heaven.
After eating the hot roasted chicken, they walked down to the water to finally wash off the dirt from the last twenty-four hours. Sam scrubbed the dried, crusty blood off his face and arms. He shivered as the icy water numbed his bruised skin. A few yards downstream, Lumi was carefully washing her face and the muddy edges of her torn blue dress. She looked a little less like a feral animal and more like the Sovereign she claimed to be.
With his face clean and a full stomach, a weird, primal energy settled into Sam's bones.
'I feel like a caveman,' he thought, splashing water through his messy black hair.
'Just a guy with a sharp stick surviving the wild. My ancestors would either be proud or really embarrassed.'
They didn't go back to the tree that afternoon. They hunted.
With Lumi walking behind him, acting like a harsh, arrogant targeting computer, Sam actually got the hang of it. They didn't go after the big stuff. They stalked the edges of the stream, ambushing smaller wolves and isolated Slimes.
Every time Sam pulled his arm back, Lumi's soft hands would ghost over his arm, aggressively fixing his stance.
"Your elbow is drooping,"
she hissed in his ear.
"You are throwing a weapon, mortal. Not tossing a stone. Fix your intent."
It was annoying. She was stubborn and ruthless with her critiques. But Sam couldn't argue with the results. His aim got scary good. By the time the glowing canopy above turned a dark, moody purple, he was hitting targets dead center without her physically moving his arm.
His System points slowly ticked upward.
When true night finally fell, the forest changed. The shadows got longer. The distant, creepy rustling in the bushes seemed to multiply.
"We should head back," Sam whispered, wiping sweat from his forehead. "It's too dark to track anything."
Lumi gave a short nod. Her shoulders slumped with exhaustion.
They walked back through the thick brush, following the faint glow of the moss. After a long, tense walk, the colossal trunk of their tree came into view.
Sam grabbed the thick vine. He was ready to climb up to his pile of leaves and sleep for a week. But as he looked up toward the massive fork in the branches, his blood turned to ice.
The moonlight hit a silhouette resting exactly where their camp used to be.
It was a bird.
But calling it a bird was like calling a hurricane a light breeze. The thing was massive. It was the size of a four-story building. Its feathers were sharp, sleek black blades that absorbed the light. Its hooked beak looked like it could snap a tank in half. It was settled into the giant fork of the branches, its head tucked under a wing the size of an airplane.
Sam slapped his hand over Lumi's mouth before she could ask why they stopped.
He yanked her backward into the shadows of a giant root. Lumi's amber eye went wide with anger at the rough treatment. She was ready to yell at him, but Sam just pointed a shaking finger upward.
She looked up. The anger vanished from her face. Pale, terrified awe took its place.
High above, the giant bird moved. It didn't fully wake up, but its massive head shifted. A single, golden eye the size of a carriage wheel blinked open. It stared directly down into the dark bushes. It sensed something. It was glaring right at the spot they had been standing a second ago.
*Caw...*
The low, rumbling sound shook the air. The leaves on the nearby bushes vibrated.
Sam didn't breathe. He didn't blink. He kept his hand clamped over Lumi's mouth. They pressed themselves flat against the damp dirt behind the root.
After an agonizing minute, the golden eye slowly closed. The massive bird tucked its head back under its wing.
Sam slowly pulled his hand away. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped rabbit. He waved frantically for Lumi to follow. They crept away from the tree, placing every footstep with agonizing care until they were far away.
"That was our nest,"
Sam finally breathed out. His voice was a strained whisper.
"Do not call it a nest,"
Lumi snapped back, though she sounded just as shaken.
"But yes. It seems we are evicted."
As they walked aimlessly through the dark woods, the terrifying reality of this forest settled heavily onto Sam's shoulders. He couldn't just climb another tree. It wasn't safe. If another Cataclysmic monster decided to land on them while they slept, they would die instantly. The trees were just as dangerous as the ground.
"Ugh!... Mortal, my feet ache," Lumi complained. She struggled over a thick patch of roots.
"Find us a place to rest. I refuse to march through this dirt until dawn."
"I'm looking, Lumi," Sam sighed, ignoring her whining.
"Unless you want to ask that bird to share, keep walking."
As if the DreamScape heard her complain about the dirt and took it personally, a booming crack of thunder shattered the quiet night.
A second later, the sky opened up. Heavy, freezing rain poured through the thick canopy. They were soaked to the bone instantly.
"Ah!" Lumi gasped, covering her face. "This is intolerable!"
Sam squinted through the downpour. "Run!"
They sprinted through the dark, muddy forest, slipping over the wet roots.
"There!" Lumi shouted, pointing through the sheets of rain.
Sam couldn't see anything but dark, wet trees. But he trusted her. Even without magic, her weird Celestial biology gave her better senses. He followed her as she turned hard right, pushing through a dense thicket of thorny bushes.
Behind the bushes, carved into the side of a massive rocky hill, was a dark, narrow opening. A cave.
They didn't rush in blindly. Sam gripped his wooden spear and crept inside. Lumi stayed close behind. They waited in the dark, listening hard. Aside from the dripping water and their own heavy breathing, the cave was empty. No bones. No smell of rotting meat. No sleeping monsters.
It was safe.
Sam collapsed against the dry stone wall and slid down to the dusty floor. He let out a long, shaking breath.
"Okay. We stay here."
He closed his eyes and called up the blue interface.
[Current Balance: 245 SP]
He had made decent money from the afternoon hunt. He opened the System Shop. They couldn't buy expensive chicken every day, and they couldn't live on mud berries. They needed a real setup.
He scrolled through the menus and bought a few cheap basics.
A second later, a small pile of stuff appeared on the cave floor: a simple iron pot, two wooden bowls, cheap dried meat, and a large plastic jug.
He picked up the empty jug, walked to the cave entrance, and set it down where the rain was pouring off the rocks. They needed clean water. Drinking from the stream where monsters bathed wasn't smart.
'It's incredibly annoying that we have to live like this,' Sam thought. He shook the cold rain out of his hair and walked back inside.
He sat down and stared at his balance.
"System," Sam thought. "Can I summon another creature? Maybe something that can actually fight?"
[Ding!]
[The Host may initiate a Celestial Gacha summon at any time. However, due to the Host's current tier, the cost of a standard random summon is 1000 SP. The summoned entity, item, or ability will be entirely random...]
Sam's face fell. One thousand points. He was broke. Even if he saved up, there was no guarantee he wouldn't just pull another arrogant aristocrat or a useless toy. He couldn't gamble his points when they needed food.
He closed the screen and looked across the cave.
Lumi sat with her knees pulled tight to her chest. She was shaking violently. Her silk dress was soaked through and clung to her skin. It offered zero protection against the freezing cave. Her lips were turning a scary shade of blue.
Sam frowned.
"System," he asked internally.
"Do you have any warm clothes for her?"
[Notice: The System Shop is a survival-oriented interface. It is not a fashion boutique. The Host may purchase armors and combat gear, but normal civilian clothing is unavailable.]
Sam raised an eyebrow.
'What do you mean, not a fashion boutique? What kind of clothes do you have?'
[The Shop offers Elementally Imbued Garments designed for high-tier Awakened. These items possess innate magical properties and immense defensive capabilities. Would the Host like to view the catalog?]
Sam felt a rush of hope. Elemental dresses? That sounded perfect. If she couldn't use her own magic, maybe magic clothes could keep her safe.
"Show me," Sam commanded.
The screen flickered. It showed a catalog of breathtaking dresses made of pure light, shifting shadows, and floating fire.
Then, Sam looked at the price tags.
[Mantle of the Sunfire Seraph: 450,000 SP]
[Vestments of the Void Weaver: 800,000 SP]
[Gown of the Eternal Glacier: 1,200,000 SP]
Sam stared at the screen. His mouth hung open.
[Ding!]
[The System apologizes. The System forgot that the Host is currently broke...]
"You did that on purpose, you sadistic piece of code,"
Sam muttered. He violently swiped his hand and closed the mocking screen.
He looked back at Lumi. She let out a pathetic, shaking breath. Her teeth chattered loudly in the quiet cave. She tried to keep her royal posture, but she was losing the fight against hypothermia.
Sam sighed. He stood up and unzipped his ruined black jacket. The outside was torn and covered in blood from the car crash, but the inner lining was still dry and incredibly warm.
He walked over and dropped the heavy jacket over her shaking shoulders.
Lumi flinched. She looked at the dirty, blood-stained fabric. Her nose wrinkled in total disgust.
"I do not want your filthy rags," she chattered, glaring at him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sam said calmly. He walked back to his spot on the other side of the cave.
"Just take it."
Lumi glared at his back. She fully planned to throw the jacket in the dirt. But the trapped body heat seeped into her freezing skin like a warm hug. She grabbed the edges of the jacket and pulled it tighter around herself. She didn't give it back.
"You can sleep," Sam said. He leaned his back against the cold stone and crossed his arms over his plain, cold white T-shirt.
"I'll keep watch. After a few hours, you wake up, and I'll sleep. We take turns."
Lumi didn't argue. The warmth of the jacket and the trauma of running from a giant bird drained whatever energy she had left. She leaned her head against the wall. Within minutes, the soft sound of her breathing filled the cave.
Sam sat in the dark, listening to the heavy rain. He stayed awake for hours. He gripped his sharp stick, keeping his eyes locked on the cave entrance. His eyelids felt like they were made of lead.
Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore.
He stood up, his joints popping, and walked over to Lumi. He nudged her shoulder.
"Hey," Sam whispered.
"Lumi. It's your turn." She didn't move.
"Lumi. Wake up." Sam shook her shoulder harder.
Nothing. She was totally dead to the world. Her face was buried deep in the collar of his jacket. She was snoring incredibly softly.
Sam stared at her in disbelief. He crouched down and shook her with both hands.
"Hey! Sovereign of the Silver Veil! Wake up!"
She just mumbled a soft sigh, shifted her weight to get comfortable, and kept sleeping. She completely ignored him.
Sam let go of her shoulders. He stared at the ceiling in absolute defeat. She was literally impossible to wake up.
"Unbelievable," Sam sighed. He rubbed his freezing arms.
He was too tired to be angry. He slumped down on the dusty floor right beside her, desperate to share even a tiny bit of the warmth radiating from the jacket. He pulled his knees to his chest and closed his heavy eyes, leaving their survival entirely up to the uncaring DreamScape.