Kael led her down a winding dirt path that curved through withered trees and clusters of mossy stone. The further they walked, the quieter it became—until they reached a small clearing at the edge of the forest.
There, nestled between the gnarled roots of two ancient trees, was a modest mud house. Its walls were smooth, dark brown with age, and held together by dried vines and straw. The roof, made of thick thatch, sloped unevenly, giving it a slightly crooked but lived-in look. Despite its simplicity, there was a strange charm to it.
Just beside the front wall stood a shaded area, formed by wooden poles and a roof made of dried palm leaves. Underneath it sat a few blackened pots, a stone stove, and bundles of herbs strung up with twine. That was clearly the kitchen—open to the air, exposed to the wind, yet neatly arranged.
He stopped in front of the door and gave her a proud look, as if to say, This is home.
Athena looked around. There was only one visible room, one entrance, no windows. A single wooden chair rested outside, patched and worn, with a folded cloth draped over its back.
Kael busied himself by the shaded outdoor kitchen, moving with ease. He gathered a few sticks, sparked up a fire with flint and stone, then placed a flat stone over it to roast the fish he'd caught earlier. No seasoning, no oils—just bare, gutted fish sizzling against heated stone.
The smell was… strong.
As the fish cooked, Kael glanced over at Athena, then at the extra portion he was now preparing. He muttered something under his breath in Elven, wiping his hands on a rough cloth. His brows furrowed for a moment, as if remembering something important.
He looked toward the distant sea and sighed. He wasn't just feeding himself anymore. He'd have to fish again. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning. Either way… things had changed.
Once the fish was done, he plopped two cooked ones onto a cracked wooden plate and walked back to her. With a soft grunt, he placed the plate in front of her and gave a quick gesture: two fingers to his eyes, then pointing to the trees. I'll be back, it said without words.
Athena nodded automatically.
Then she looked down.
And almost gagged.
The fish stared up at her, lifeless and gray. The skin was barely crisp, the insides still a bit too… present. She poked one with a finger. It jiggled. This is poison, she decided. Literal, dry, soul-destroying poison.
She forced a smile Kael didn't see as he walked away.
As soon as he disappeared down the path, she groaned, resting her forehead on the table beside the plate. "Ughhh," she muttered. "Can someone please just help me..."
Ding!
A mechanical chime echoed in her ears.
> System activated...
Welcome, host, to the Scholar's System.
Athena shot up. "Wait, what?!"
She looked around wildly.
But the voice came again, as calm and direct as ever:
> Initializing translation matrix... Downloading Elven language pack...
0%... 10%... 45%...
She blinked. "No way. A system? A real system? I thought those were just stories."
>85%... 100%.
Download complete. You can now understand and speak Elven. Congratulations, host.
She slowly turned her head back to the fish.
"...Does this system come with spices?"
The mechanical voice responded calmly, almost too cheerfully for the chaos it was about to unleash.
> Yes, but you will receive them as rewards.
Athena blinked. "Rewards? For what?"
> For completing missions.
She nodded slowly, her brain still trying to catch up. "Okay… yeah, fine. That makes sense. You're a system. That's what systems do, right?" She took a deep breath and sat up straighter, channeling all the bravery she didn't have. "Alright. What's my first mission?"
There was a pause.
> System Mission 001: Replace the island's core.
Silence.
Then—
"ARE YOU CRAZYYYY?!"
She leapt to her feet, nearly knocking over the plate of fish. "Do I look like someone seeking death?!" She paced a little before flailing her hands in the air. "Didn't you hear what Gran Mirela said?! THE ISLAND CORE IS CURSED! It's like—dragon fire, lava, and explosive doom down there!"
> Do not worry, Host. I am here to assist you.
"Oh wow, that's SO reassuring," she muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Next you'll tell me I have to wrestle a volcano bare-handed."
Ding!
>Relic unlocked : Esha'lora Call
She paused. "What's that?"
> An ancient melody used to soothe and occasionally tame dragons. The song, once sung by the High Priestesses of the Veiled Grove, has the ability to resonate with draconic energy and subdue it.
Athen blinked, so that's the reason but wait...
"Where's the rest? Is this just it?"
>I don't understand host. You have all you need to carry out the mission now. I suggest you leave as fast as possible.
She stared at the air in front of her, trying to process it all. Her hands slowly slid down her face. "Oh my god, I'm going to die."
Athena exhaled, tension lacing her shoulders as she sat back down in front of the untouched fish. "Well... guess I'm not just here to eat bad seafood after all." She decided to leave the next day, she hoped the dragon was still weak from it's fight.
Kael soon returned, a few more fish slung over his shoulder.Athena looked up, startled, having just finished her wild conversation with the system. Her eyes immediately fell back to the plate of roasted fish, still untouched.
She glanced at Kael, then at the fish. A war raged in her soul.
She had been this close to tossing them into the bushes behind the house, hoping to make it look like she'd eaten them. But the moment the idea had crept into her mind, so did the image of Gran Mirela's tired face… and the people in the village… and the heavy silence of a land slowly dying.
Food was hard to find here. Everything was withering. Even fish weren't as easy to catch anymore. Kael was feeding her what little he had, and that fact weighed on her like a stone.
Her hand curled into a loose fist.
"I hate this," she whispered under her breath, "but I really can't waste it."
Kael, oblivious to her moral breakdown, set the new fish down near the shaded kitchen area and looked over at her. He tilted his head slightly, noticing the untouched plate.
"Did you not like it?" he asked in Elven, his voice uncertain.
Athena blinked. She shook her head quickly and offered a small, apologetic smile. Then, slowly, she picked up a piece of the over-roasted fish and bit into it.
Crunch.
Her soul nearly left her body.
Kael watched her like a hawk, clearly trying to gauge her reaction.
She forced a smile—tight and slightly crooked—and gave him a thumbs up, hoping body language would bridge the gap between them.
He stared, then grinned with visible relief, muttering something that sounded like a thank-you.
Athena nodded, swallowing the dryness in her throat. "You're welcome," she whispered hoarsely to herself, "please don't ever ask me to eat a second serving."
Then a ding echoed softly in her mind.
> Side Quest: Improve local cuisine (0/1 completed).
She nearly choked on her fish.
After Kael left again, likely to check his fishing traps or haul water, Athena stared down at the bundle of fish he had brought in.
"Alright," she muttered, tying back her hair. "Let's see if I can make this slightly less like burnt rubber and more like… something humans don't cry over."
She searched around the small shaded kitchen space—really just a slab of wood, a stone fire pit, and a few cracked clay bowls. There were no spices, no herbs, not even salt. Just firewood, smoke, and fish.
"Cool, no pressure," she sighed. "System, you're not hiding a starter spice pack in my inventory or something?"
Silence.
Of course not.
So she got to work. She cleaned the fish more thoroughly this time, gutting them properly and slicing shallow diagonal cuts along the sides like she'd seen her uncle do back home during barbecue weekends. She washed each one as best she could in a small bowl of semi-clear water, scraping off the scales and making sure there were no leftover bits.
Then she set them carefully on sticks and roasted them over the open flame—turning them steadily, watching for when the skin crisped just enough without charring to death.
The aroma wasn't mouthwatering, but it also didn't smell like something dying anymore. That was progress.
When Kael came back, he paused. His eyes flicked to the neatly arranged line of freshly roasted fish resting on a leaf platter. He blinked, walked over, and crouched beside them, sniffing slightly.
Athena wiped her hands on her dress and stood off to the side, waiting awkwardly.
Kael picked up a piece, took a bite… and paused.
"…Huh." He chewed slowly, visibly confused. Then nodded. Then took another bite.
Athena narrowed her eyes. "That's right, you better taste that improvement."
Of course, he didn't understand her words. But he smiled at her.
She gave him a proud little shrug and muttered, "You're welcome. I'd kill for even one garlic clove, but hey—at least this doesn't taste like despair."
> System Notification: Quest Progress – Improve Local Cuisine (1/1) – Reward unlocked: 1 kitchen knife
She grinned.
"Now we're getting somewhere." Who knows,if she kept completing such quests,the system might just hand her spices next...then a pot,followed by a frying pan...Oh the joy!
She silently went back to the heap of straws and lay down,she had a big day tomorrow.
------
Kael jolted awake, eyes wide as he sat up in the dim morning light trickling through the cracks in the mud wall. For a moment, his mind was blank—caught somewhere between a dream and reality. Then he turned his head… and saw her.
Athena was curled up on the heap of straw, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
He almost screamed again, out of sheer disbelief, but quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.
She's still here.
His heart thudded wildly in his chest.
He sat there for a long second, just watching her like she might vanish at any moment. He remembered falling asleep while staring, and now waking up and finding her still there—it felt like a miracle. A fragile, fleeting miracle.
Then it hit him.
The fish. He had unknowingly finished the fish yesterday, it tasted so good. He needed to go and catch more.
Kael jumped to his feet so fast he tripped over the mat and nearly crashed into the wall. He muttered to himself in Elven, rubbing his face with both hands as he rushed outside to the shaded area. The fire pit was cold. Of course it was.
"I can't let her starve. Not again. Not ever," he murmured.Kael slung the small woven net over his shoulder and glanced once more at the sleeping figure inside. He lingered at the doorway, hesitant, reluctant even, but then sighed and stepped out quietly. The door creaked faintly behind him as he walked toward the river.
Inside, Athena slowly opened one eye.
She had heard him stir earlier—his clumsy scrambling and the hurried footsteps outside. At first, she thought to ignore it. But the silence that followed made her curious. Carefully, she sat up and listened.
Nothing.
He had left.
Athena sighed and ran a hand through her tangled hair. Her body still ached, and the rough straw mat had done little for comfort, but oddly, she had slept better than she expected.
Athena stretched her limbs and blinked slowly, the straw beneath her rustling as she sat up.Still groggy, she rubbed her eyes and muttered, "System, what time is it?"
[System: Current time: 6:14 AM – Island Standard Time.]
"Island Standard Time?" she scoffed lightly. "How very official."
She yawned, then sat up straighter.
If she really had to replace the island's core... then she needed information. A lot of it.
"System," she asked, her voice sharper now, "can you show me a map? I need to locate the dragon's coven. And while you're at it... how long would it take to get there from here?"
There was a brief pause before a soft chime rang out.
[System: Displaying topographical map of Elaris Island...]
Before her, a translucent blue projection shimmered into view. The island was far larger than she expected,mostly filled with dead forest and dry streams and some mountains. The village nestled at the Southern part of the island,close to the Southern port,and near the Eastern most edge, a vast, shaded zone marked with glowing red symbols: Dragon's Coven – Restricted Zone.
Her eyes widened.
"Great," she muttered. "Just my luck."
[System: Estimated travel time to Dragon's Coven by foot: approximately 10 days. Terrain is unstable and partially corrupted. Magical interference increases risk. Recommend: preparation, caution, and acquiring local guidance.]
Athena frowned, tapping her chin. Ten days. That wasn't terrible considering the size of the island... but thats wasn't possible for her,the highest she had done with her feet back in London was jogging,Just that. And magical interference and corrupted terrain?
Nope,no way but then it's not like she even has a goddamned choice.She chewed her lip, glancing toward the doorway Kael had left through.
How do I leave for four days without him worrying?
It wasn't like she could just write him a note in English—he wouldn't understand. And even if she acted it out… he'd insist on following her. Which, given the dragon situation, would be a very bad idea.
"System," she whispered. "Any ideas?"
[System: Suggestion—Fake a short herb-gathering trip. Average duration for such tasks ranges from 2 to 5 days. Common among elves.]
Athena's brow rose. "Herb gathering, huh?"
She glanced outside again. "That… could work."