It’s now 2 PM. It’s been 4 hours since the so-called trial where I was declared guilty for robbery and assault. After a brief farewell with my sister, I decided to change my clothing. Despite what happened, the clothes that she bought me were still the best I had. The black baggy black shirt, the same black cargo pants, the techwear titanium boots, and the grey overcoat. Despite good-looking, they had decent stats so I wouldn’t die in one hit if I went outside of the kingdom. Enough idling around. My head hurts. My body is aching. Fuck.

Going into the center of the city is going to be a pain but it is what it is. I have no money, no weapons and the only thing I have inside my bag is a spare shirt and some shorts. I have no idea what to do. My head is running. While I try to get my stuff together, I finally arrive at the center. I hate being here. The air feels heavy and smells bloody. I wonder how much blood did slaves split here.

I’ve been walking around and ever since I’m here, I’ve had several looks at me. Gazes filled with hate. But so far no incident. Until I have a rock thrown at me hitting me on the back. I turn around only to see a man near a bank looking at me giving me a defying look. Is this your idea of a provocation? I turn around again to follow my way and another rock hits me. This time from the opposite direction from the man. I look only to see another man with a smug look on his face. I’m not taking the bait, you might as well stop. But for my own amusement, I smirk. And the smug disappeared. Good. Let’s stop this idiotic game and move on. But as soon as I move forward, a fist collides with my face.

Two days had passed. Rain is hitting my bloody face. Since the trial was broadcasted all over the city of Astax, I’ve been getting assaulted on a regular basis. Without anything to eat or drink, my health is deteriorating. I only manage to get some sleep by spending the night under some building entrances. Only to be shrugged off by the people who live there when the morning comes. I’m so tired. I want to die. I want to disappear. Father, why didn’t you just killed me?

I just want everybody in this godforsaken city to die. I want this world to burn. I want everyone to have the most awful death experience. Die. Suffer. Lose what matters. Lose everything. I fucking hate you all. I won’t forget. I won’t forget. I won’t forget any of you. I’ll make sure you pay. I’ll make sure that everything comes back to bite you. I won’t apologize for being alive. Fuck that. I will survive. I will live. I will go back to my world. I will go across the country and I will be happy on my fucking own.

But I can’t move. And my conscience is fading. My eyes are getting heavy. And I’m freezing. And with that, everything went black.

“Argh”.

The only sound I manage to make when I wake up. My vision is blurry and the smell is awful. It’s a mix of blood with piss and it’s making me nauseous. In front of me is a little wooden lamp. And covering me is some sort of dirty blanket that also smells awful.

“So you are finally up.” Where the hell is this voice coming from. And then I see it. A skinny man wearing a green tuxedo, bald and with the eyeballs completely dark. I’ve seen people like that in my world. People who used to tattoo the inside of their eyes. It would look weird but some people could pull it out. However, in this man? It just looked terrifying. Limping, he was coming near me second by second.

“And who might you be? And if you are looking for a payout for helping me out, I’m sorry old man, but I’m as broke and one can get.”

“My, my, young man. I have no need for your money. I didn’t save you in order to have a reward. I did it because I do possess a good heart. Ohohoho.”

“There’s no such thing as a free meal, old man. So quit the bullshit.”

“Oh, so the rumors are indeed true. Ohohohohoh, I am indeed quite pleased now.”

“And what kind of rumors are being spread about me?” I struggle to get up but my body can’t stay like this for too long so the old man pointed me to a chair that was near a wooden cargo box. “From the way you are acting you must know quite a bit about me.”

“All I know is all I hear. And what I hear is all I know. But I do believe in what I see and what I see is what I do believe.”

“If that’s supposed to be a riddle or some sort of saying, it’s not very good.”

“Ohohohoho, not at all, Yurem Truesdale.” I can’t tell if he is looking at me or not but the fact that he knows who I am is starting to get under my skin. I’m feeling uncomfortable. “Let’s just say that I’m quite interested in your future endeavors.”

“Meaning?”

I can’t tell what he is thinking. He is not giving anything away. He doesn’t stop smiling and his mannerism is quite unique. I don’t like this.

“Dear Yurem Truesdale, do not fret. I am here only to see what kind of story will you weave from here on. Ah, indeed. You had things taken away from you since early on and you are in a way of creating your own path, so please. Allow me to be of assistance. Ohohohoho.”

“Again. There is no such thing as a free meal. And I don’t have a path where I want to go. Not a concrete goal in mind besides going back to my world. I don’t care what happens here.”

“Oh my. Like I have said before, your story will unveil itself before you know it. Your path is a thorny one and can not reach its conclusion without sacrifices and without help. So tell me, Yurem Truesdale. Shall I assist you?”

“As I have said before, I don’t have money. So I can’t buy whatever you want me to buy.”

The man stands up and points to another room. He starts moving there and I follow and when he opens the door, a stench fills my nose and I do my best to not vomit. A disgusting smell was in the hair and it was making my head spin.

“I do have a feeling that our paths will intertwine several times during your stay in this world of ours. So for that, I shall assist you. And you will assist me in the same way.”

BONK.

A noise startled me and I see a lizardman in a cage. This man is a slave seller. Don’t you tell me he is going to make me his slave or something like that? Fuck this. I need to scan the room to find a way out.

“Fret not, summoned soul. You shan’t worry about turning into a slave or something similar like that. Like I have said before, I shall provide you with assistance in your endeavors. I will provide you with a tool that I have no need to hold for any longer.”

He points to a dark cage. As I get closer, I see a feminine figure. An elf? Elfs can’t be used as slaves in Astax because of the reunions for the peace treaty that they are trying to obtain. What kind of joke is this? Noticing my face in confusion, the man once again starts talking.

“This tool of mine was a strong one indeed. But a huge mistake she did. And as such, in a cage for 1 year, she had stayed. And with that, I shall give it to you. A token from me, to you.”

I look at her again. She had long, blonde hair but it was so dirty that it was full of knots mixed with branches and dirt. She had some sort of cloth covering her body. Her arms were showing and she was filled with bruises and cuts. Also extremely dirty. She had some short shorts and they were filled with blood. Noticing me looking at her crouch she shrinks herself. Her slim legs were bare and she had 2 sandals that were more like 2 pieces of leather than proper shoes.

“Strong one she indeed once was but for my sake and the sake of my coworkers, she had a level reset. After all, no one wants to be afraid to be stabbed in the back, ohohohooho.”

“And the price?”

“As I have said, it’s a token of my appreciation. I have everything ready for you to take her along.”

“Are you telling me to have an elf slave with me? Besides, having a slave, at all?”

“Young Yurem, slaves can’t talk back. Can’t lie. Can’t betray. A glimpse of the future I caught. A future where you will be grateful for this was shown. Will you take my word?”

A free slave that has combat experience is too good of an offer. I might regret it later but I can’t let this chance go. I have to start winging it.

“What do you need from me?”

“Ohohohohoh, how much you please me, my dear guest. You shall use me indeed, or your ambitions may not come to fruition. Only need a speck of blood from you.”

All of a sudden 3 people with black cloaks appear. With them, was a blade, 2 rings, and a key. The door where the elf girl was opened and the 3 of them grabbed her.

With better light, I could really tell that even dirty as she was, she was beautiful. Probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. She kept coughing and scratching herself. So what, you are giving me a sick slave with some skin disease? Fuck it, worst comes to wear, I’ll sell her.

One of the cloaked men grabbed her hand and sliced the palm. Blood was dripping into a bowl. The man in the green tuxedo did the same to me. Inside that bowl, he put the 2 rings that were brought. One was larger than the other. There was a small, thin one. And the other one was a bit large and the top of it was thick. It was showier, that’s for sure. Both appeared to be made of gold.

The man handed me the big one and told me to choose my finger wisely. He explained that I can take the ring whenever I want but if I do, the countermeasures for the slave are revoked until I put it back on and I can only put it on the finger of my choosing. Middle finger it is. He told me to choose for her but I let her choose on her own. Not my place to do the picking. As soon as both our rings were in our fingers, a lot of pain went through my entire body.

I regained my composure and on my hud, there it was. Party members. Slave A. Level 1. This was kind of exciting. There were several settings there. I had plenty to see. She was coughing harder and harder so I think it was time for us to get out of there.

“Now what do you want me to do?”

“My patron, now I shall simply watch your story unfold. You gave your first step now from now on you have plenty to see. You have already awakened your path. See it through. Ohohohohoh. This is indeed exhilarating.”

He pointed me toward a door and the 3 men escorted us there. It was the exit. It was near the city market. As soon as both of us stepped out, the door behind us close shut. Nothing to do here, I guess. Now in the sun, I can better access my slave. And she was in an awful condition. One could tell that she was sick, she had very pale skin. Nothing to do. The last time I came here, I didn’t have a chance to go check the church so I could get the Spawn countdown but I think I still have about a month. Time to make due. Spent 2 entire days knocked out. I’m still starving and thirsty but the hell with it. I just gotta make do with her. It was still early so the streets were vacant so I hurried myself over so I don’t get into more incidents. The gate that leads into the wild area is there so let’s just go with it.

2 hours had passed since we left the city. We went towards a lake and I simply dove my head in and drank plenty of water. Drank enough to fill my stomach and leave me nauseous. The elf is simply staring at me, coughing. Not moving. Watching me drink water. We haven’t spoken at all. She simply followed me around. After feeling refreshed enough, I think it’s time to break the ice.

“You’re not thirsty?”

“… I am.” her voice was weak. Sounded more like a whistle than it should’ve. Yeah, she was sick, probably dehydrated, and from what I saw in that cage, malnourished.

“So why don’t you drink?”

“… because you didn’t say I could.”

“So you need my permission to do anything?”

“… yes.”

“What would happen if you do something without my permission?”

“… the ring would send shocks through my body until you decide to stop.”

“I see.”

This is… great. But also… too much. I mean, at least I know she won’t steal from me. But why would someone punish another person for drinking water? It would be different if it was a potion or some expensive wine… but water? I probably can check the settings of these rings in my HUD and change them around. But before we do that…

“Drink as much as you want but be careful to not choke yourself or make yourself sick.”

She kneels near the river and scoops water with her hands. She is way fancier and educated than me. While I acted like a savage, she was acting like a true lady. I mean, I know she is an elf but still. If I was in a cage for as long as she was, I would probably be crazy.

I got to do something about her clothing. It’s a mess, it’s filthy and… she was probably on that time of the month since her legs were filled with blood. What have they done to you? How did it end like this for you? There was a huge boulder where we were so I decided to set base there. While she was drinking water, I started to grab some sticks in order to make a fire. It was kinda hard but I managed to do it. My clothes were also dirty but I had a spare so my plan was to wash them and myself. I took my boots out and simply went fully clothed into the lake. The lake had a small current that would lead to a river so I wasn’t contaminating the water she was drinking. I may be using her but I’m not bad of a person.

I start by taking off my overcoat and try to wash the bloodstains that were there. A lot of dirt and stone fragments were leaving my clothing and it was quite annoying. After I was done with the overcoat, I put it easy enough on the top of the boulder. The sun was hot so it would be dry in no time. Meanwhile, I took my shorts and my cargo pants and wash them away as well. Until I realized I was only using my boxers and the elf was there, looking at me. Hiding my embarrassment, I hurry up to wash the rest of my clothes and hang them on the boulder. Then it was my turn. I always had long hair but since I couldn’t wash it properly it was full of knots and filthy. I need to buy a comb urgently. We are both going to need it. Feeling clean enough, I finally leave the lake.

“You need to take a bath. Go where I went and do it there.”

She looked puzzled at me. What? Am I supposed to let you walk around all filthy and unhealthy? She got up and went to the exact same spot. By the time she started taking a bath, my clothes were already dry. Good. I go to my bad I dress in my shirt, pants and put on my boots. This is way more comfortable to use but it’s also awful in a wild area. But I got a plan and I have to stick to it.

“Hey, where are the clothes you were wearing?”

Oh, she went there with them on, thinking about doing the same as I did. I’m looking at her and I can see her face turning red while covering herself. She wasn’t showing anything but even still, I understand the motion.

“Give me your top and your shorts.”

“… why?”

“So I can wash them while you bathe. It’s faster this way. I’ll be facing backward, so simply put them on the ground and I’ll pick them up. And you can be assured, I’ll be going a bit more down the stream so you feel comfortable.”

Plosh, plosh.

A ragged top, bloody and filthy shorts, and a piece of cloth filled with only her blood. This belonged to her top… Oh god, that fucking guy didn’t give you anything to use so you ripped your top to use it there? I’m quite pissed, not gonna lie.

I go down the stream and I start washing the samples of clothing that she gave me. Yes, samples because this isn’t proper clothes. She is going to be wearing my gear for a while so I might as well use this in another way. I look around searching for a sharp rock so I can cut these. I’m going to make a band out of her top so she can use it as a bra and gonna see if there is fabric enough so she can use it as panties for the time being. Proud of my work, I check if she has anything in her pockets and she has a small green ore. I take it and dispose of the rest. There was nothing else there and there was no use for the rest of them.

I forgot completely that there was a naked elf there. And as soon as I realize, both of us were red. She was covering herself and I turned my back to her and walked like a crab to the bonfire I made. I dry completely the fabric I made and I’m quite proud. I think it’s wearable.

“Are you done?”

“…yes.”

I hear the sound of water coming so I decide to stand on the opposite side of the boulder.

“…where are my clothes?”

“I threw them away.”

“WHAT? ARGHHH”

Thud.

And as soon as she raised her voice, the ring activated and I could hear the elf in pain. So I need to see if she is alive because she was in no condition to receive something like that. And she was. She was breathing a bit heavy but was alive nonetheless. I use the outside of my overcoat to dry her. Since it was kinda smooth it will serve as a tower. I’ll simply wash it again after this.

I know this isn’t the time but she was still naked. And it was still very uncomfortable. So I decided to dry her upped body and cover from her waist down with the overcoat. It’s better if she dresses that part herself. Time to see if the band I made was decent enough. Well, I think it’s good enough. Not too tight nor loose. Firm enough. I dress the black shirt and I drag her a bit more near the bonfire and now I just gotta wait. So while she sleeps, I’m going to check the settings of this ring and adjust because this can’t happen all the time.

Half an hour has passed when the elf was giving signs that she was about to wake up. She was coughing a lot so I really need to figure this out. I also changed the ring settings. She can’t lie, steal, or show me killing intent. The rest, she is free to do so as she pleases. I’m not very fond of having a slave but I don’t really want to be stabbed while I’m here in the open.

“Good morning.”

“…Huh?”

“My bad, I already adjusted the settings so nothing like this happens again. And if you are worried because of that little green gemstone, I was going to give it to you. There was no need to freak out.”

Finally coming to her senses, she realizes she is snakes from the waist down and looks at me.

“I didn’t do anything. I only dried and dressed you from the waist down and covered you immediately. Don’t worry.”

“…but if you threw what I was wearing…”

“Here. For the time being, use my pants. You can adjust if you want the pant’s waist to be tighter or looser. And here. It’s not real underwear but it was the best I could do. When we get some money, we’ll fix that for you.”

“… why?”

“Why what?”

“… you are a human. Why are you letting me dress your clothes? Cough How do I know that you did not take advantage of me?”

“I don’t know what being a human or not has to do with anything so let me make this clear. I don’t really care about the way you think or if you trust me or not. I just want to survive. If you want to believe that I took advantage of you, be my guest, like I give a fuck. And about the clothes, I don’t know much about elves but I read that you don’t like to show too much skin and what you were wearing is the exact opposite of what you and your people supposedly like.” And I snapped. I’m not really in the mood to be questioned like that again. It only reminds me of that Vana.

The elf simply stood there and quietly dressed up. I grabbed the overcoat and washed it again. Leaving it in the bonfire. My head is starting to pound. We have water, we are more or less clean. Now… we need some money and a place to sleep. Because I don’t want to go back to sleep at doorsteps. Let’s see, we don’t have weapons and we don’t have levels since hers got reset. I put out the bonfire after the overcoat got dry enough and gave it to her.

I gotta say, the gear looks way better on her. We just need some better shoes and she would look like an experienced adventurer. I mean, from what the max said, it’s not like she isn’t. Ahh, what am I saying? Focus.

“What kind of weapons are you used to wielding?”

“…dual swords.”

We don’t even have one, let alone two. Oh, my head. I’m going to adjust the EXP gaining levels. 90% to her, 10% to me. The stronger she gets, the better for me. I’m not confident in my fighting prowess at all so I need to be realistic.

“And without weapons, how do you handle yourself?”

“…good enough. Cough.”

“Here is my plan for the rest of the day. We have at least 3 hours before the sunsets. I want to kill at least 2 wolves and find a secluded place. If we don’t find a place, we go back to the lake. Think you can handle the wolves? They are at least level 5.”

“… easy enough.”

Someone is confident. Or cocky. Or is an idiot that forgot that her level is 1.

“Your name?”

“Huh?”

“Your name.”

“Soleil Loraris. Yours? Cough.”

You heard him saying my name countless times but let’s take the bait and see what is that you are thinking.

“Yurem Truesdale. And here. Your gemstone.”

“… thank you.”

We wonder around a small forest that was near the lake in order to find some wolves. I want 2 wolves in order to skin them. The pelt can serve for us to sleep and well… it’s also food and experience. Triple win. I also think that I can use the tip of the bones for an improvised mortar and pestle. I just need some sort of a bowl. I don’t know what else I can do with the wolf but I can see when we get them. If we even survive. While we are struggling to find wolves, I keep doing my mana training while I see some other setting from all this slavery thing. And I discovered something amazing.

The ring can have as many slaves associated as I want and I can customize each and everyone how I want. I can also adjust how many EXP each person receives. I can’t tell how many people can be at a party but for the time being, that doesn’t really matter anyway. And here is the great thing. My slaves get a stat boost. Each level up grants a boost. It’s not a determined amount but it’s still a boost. So if Soleil eventually raises her levels, she can be quite useful. At least that.

Meanwhile, we found a small cave. It’s going to be perfect to stay the night. So all that is left is to find the wolves. I also found a couple of herbs that I remember seeing in the book that I got from that shopkeeper in the city. It’s good for colds. I don’t know exactly what kind of sickness Soleil has but as long as it helps or smoothes her throat, should be good enough. However, I need to find a way to warm water. So much to do but with so little to work with. I’ll figure it out. Like usual.

“…I’m sensing mana. Cough. Wait, it stopped.” Ah, right. Soleil has a skill called Detection. It allows her to feel mana on a 10-meter radius. It’s quite handy.

“Oh, then it was me.”

Soleil tilts her head in confusion. So I explain that I developed the habit of expanding small amounts of mana in order to train and raise my mana capacity. She doesn’t seem to understand the gist of it so I don’t really bother trying to further my explanation.

We finally see some wolves. But of course, they are in a pack. There are 5 of them. 5 monsters against guys at level 1. It’s an easy matter. Skip.

“No point in risking it. They are at least level 5, with 5 of them it’s unnecessary. Let’s retreat.” I had to whisper, that’s how close were to them.

“I can kill them easily.”

“You are level 1. With no weapons.”

“I can do it.”

“There is no point in risking it. Let’s just go. That’s final.”

But then.

Creak.

Of course, I had to step on some god damn sticks. And then, of course. The wolves had to turn our way. But the next thing I see is Soleil moving fast enough to dodge the first one. She promptly grabs the tail of the first wolf and had a good enough grip to throw it against the second one that was going in her way. She keeps moving and getting faster by the second. She spins like a top and with a strong punch she pushes one of the wolves away. She finds a stick and with it stabs the wolf across his back. Then something flashed on my screen.

+10EXP

So 1 Wolf gave me 10 exp? So, if it’s a ratio of 90-10 ratio in exp, she won 90EXP, so if she actually manages to kill all of them, she’ll probably level up. But that doesn’t matter. What am I doing? She is fighting and I’m just here observing. But the way she fights is so… clean. She doesn’t waste any movements but I don’t understand. She is moving faster and faster, I am having trouble following. No time to think about it. One wolf is heading in my way. It jumps towards me but I manage to roll to my left. I quickly stand up and when he opens his mouth, I quickly do an Axe kick. You’re not about to bite me. Can’t afford medicine. And since I focus my mana on my foot, I think it did some damage. Meanwhile, Soleil already killed a second wolf. But can’t focus on her. The wolf attacking me recovered from the shock and it’s about the jump on me again but I give him one side-kick and then another. It has a pretty easy move set to read. A couple of Axe kicks right in his snout and he cries. Obviously, he doesn’t die from it but it’s enough to give me time to look for something but while I was looking for something to finish him off, Fffftt! Soleil stabbed him with the stick. She finished all of the wolves by herself. She was covered in blood but she wasn’t injured.

GROWL

What was that? I keep looking around to no avail. And then the worst that could happen, happened. Soleil started having a coughing fit.

Fuck, not now.

And at the same time the coughing started, the Alpha Wolf showed up. It was bigger than the wolves we took. Looks like Soleil killed this guy’s pack. Guess he is pretty upset about it. He jumps towards Soleil who rolls to her side. The Alpha is only chasing after her. Guess I really am a small fry compared to her. She does several backflips completely defying the laws of physic but she does it beautifully. If this is was back in my world, she would probably be able to compete in gymnastics competitions. And probably win. I can’t just stand here, so I swiftly run towards the Alpha Wolf and when I think he didn’t see me, he gives me a kick and it throws me against a tree. I felt the air leaving my lungs. It hurt like hell. Soleil is simply dodging while sometimes giving some punches and kicks on his snout but it’s not doing enough damage.

Her foot slipped. She falls. And the worst thing happened. Another coughing fit. She can’t move. So I run. And I run. Why? Why did my body move? It simply did. And when I noticed, I was in front of her. And my shoulder was being crushed by the jaws of an obviously pissed wolf.

Fuck. This hurts. This hurts really bad. But fuck it. Bite me. Bite as hard as you can. But I will kill you. Enjoy it.

While my right shoulder is being crushed and blood is leaving my body, I’m slowly being pushed to the ground.

Looks like I’m done. But at least only take me. She killed them while I stood still so let her run.

While all of this was happening, Soleil was shocked. Why are you looking at me with those eyes? Is that wrong that a human is doing this? Oh right, you are an elf. To you, humans are filth as well. Yeah, no wonder. I’m already used to that anyway. But still. I made her come with me. Not fair to drag her along on my deathbed.

“Get out of here. At least save yourself.”

“Why? Why did you jump in front of me?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, the wolf obviously attacked me. JUST GET OUT OF HERE.”

I can’t hold on much longer. This is hurting way too much. My vision is getting blurry. Eh, and here I was. Splurting all that crap. All about how I was going to make them pay. How I was going to bounce back. Die? Suffer? Like they will. If karma is a thing, mine is completely one-sided. But then it happened.

Fffftt!Fffftt!Fffftt!

And blood was splattering. Soleil was once again moving as fast as she could, increasing the speed while I was grabbing the snout of the Alpha Wolf. I was losing my grip but the jaw was getting loose. I could feel the pressure on my shoulder being relieved little by little.

Fffftt!Fffftt!Fffftt!Fffftt!Fffftt!

More blood. More blurs. At this point, I couldn’t tell if it was because of the blood loss or because she was moving that fast.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It finally stopped biting me. His eyes were fixed on Soleil. For some reason, he could see her. But seeing and managing to even catch her were different things. And then STAB. The miserable wooden stick she was using to cut down his skin finally got stuck in of his eyes but at the cost of her getting hit. I was struggling to get up but he wasn’t paying attention to me at all.

Ah, fuck it. Let’s just do it.

I had a bit of mana left. I applied all of it on my right leg. I was so full of adrenaline that I wasn’t even feeling pain but I’m sure that I’m also not thinking straight. The Alpha Wolf jumps towards Soleil but she dodges right on time and he hit his face on the tree. And as soon as he turns around, I give the stick in his eyes a push kick with everything I had and made sure that it pierced his brain.

+68EXP. LEVEL 2.

All of this only to get a lousy level up? At least give me a skill. I look around only to see Soleil lying on the floor looking at me with her eyes semi-closed.

“Are you okay?”

She slowly nods her head but then she passes out. She pushed herself too hard. Because I’m weak. There’s no one else to blame but me. The words of the man who gave her to me echoed in my mind. ‘A future where you will be grateful for this was shown.’ Sure as hell am. But is it really okay for me to be using someone else for my problems? I mean, this world took me away without asking. I was doing to her what they did to me. But the same way I didn’t ask for the, neither did she. Ah, it’s a mess. I’ll just have her help me reach Asparia then I let her go.

I decide to pick her up and carry her in my arms. You were amazing. And you are too light. You need to eat. So rest for now. I make my way to the small cave we found and I lay her on the floor. This is too cold. Not good. She is already sick. I put my bag under her head in order to replace a pillow. I’m still bleeding but just focusing my mana on my shoulder is enough the make it slow down. Honestly, I’m just grateful it’s not broken.

Time has passed. I made a small bonfire inside the cave, I used sharp rocks to cut one of the wolfs I dragged into the cave. I took his left leg and while it was slowly but surely cooking, I was molding the bone I removed. I was making. just wanted to make it thin and sharp enough to simulate a blade. I’m just doing what the man from the weapon shop told me, pretty much and it’s going alright. I have a weird looking pointy blade. Better than nothing.

I’m used to cooking at home so skinning animals became second nature. Separating what I wanted from what I didn’t was quite simple. The meat was almost ready and Soleil was still sleeping. At least she is not coughing. While she rests, I’m going out again. The cave is quite warm so at least is comfortable for her. I’m searching for logs. I’m going to carve a cup or a bowl. I already have the herbs I want her to drink. I simply need water. I found one that is suitable enough and I start carving away.