I woke up on the floor with a cramp in my leg and a leaf stuck to my face.
It took me a moment to remember where I was. The rotting hut. The dusty air. The creaking walls. Then the memories came rushing back—my family's rejection, the lizard, the System, the green glow in my hand.
Right.
That happened.
I sat up slowly, groaning as my back popped in three different places. Sleeping on bare dirt was not as character-building as people made it sound.
The vine in the corner had grown a little overnight. Just a little. But I noticed. It had curled toward me, one leaf unfurling as if to say, Still alive, huh? Good for you.
"Yeah," I muttered. "Barely."
I reached out and touched it again.
[Vital Thread Established.]
The warmth returned, faint but familiar. I let it pulse through me like a morning stretch, something to remind my bones they weren't dead yet.
Outside, the forest was silent.
Not peaceful. Just... silent.
I stepped out of the hut, barefoot, cautious. Dew clung to the grass. The air was cold and smelled faintly of moss and decay.
No sign of the lizard.
No sign of anything, really.
Which, in a forest like this, was somehow worse.
I took a few steps toward a clearing near the edge of the trail. The ground dipped slightly, and low shrubs clung to the soil like they were afraid to grow any taller.
Then the System pinged again.
[New Function Unlocked: Life Field – Scan radius: 5 meters.]
[Activating passive scan…]
[Lifeforms Detected: 6 small, 2 medium.]
I froze.
"Where?"
The scan appeared in my vision—a faint green pulse spreading outward like ripples on water. It didn't show clear shapes. Just dots. Two of them were closer than I liked.
One dot moved.
"Okay, no need to panic," I whispered. "They could be rabbits. Or birds. Or... you know, forest squirrels with a taste for human flesh."
The closest one darted behind a tree.
I grabbed a broken branch off the ground, more for comfort than usefulness. If I had to fight another giant lizard with a stick, I was at least going to do it with a better grip.
Another ping.
[System Tip: You're holding a branch. That's adorable.]
I sighed. "Can you stop judging me for five minutes?"
[Judgment suspended.]
I rolled my eyes and crept closer to the edge of the clearing. Something rustled in the bushes ahead.
Then it stepped out.
A deer.
Small. Thin. Its ribs showed through its coat, and one of its legs had a deep gash across the shin. It limped slightly as it moved toward a bush, nibbling at the leaves.
I blinked.
That was it?
No venom. No scales. No murder in its eyes?
Just a deer?
The System pinged again.
[Wounded lifeform detected.]
[Optional Quest: Heal the Wild.]
[Objective: Stabilise the injured deer using Vital Thread.]
[Reward: +1 Vital Thread Mastery | Unlock: Healing Pulse I]
[ Failure: The deer dies. And that's on you.]
[Accept quest? Y/N]
I stared at the glowing text.
"Wait, you're giving me quests now?"
[Yes.]
"I didn't agree to—"
[You already touched the vine. Consent implied.]
"That feels like a legal grey area."
[That's a you problem.]
I sighed. Again.
But the deer looked up suddenly, ears twitching. Its legs wobbled. It wasn't going to last long.
I stepped closer and knelt a few feet away.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I said quietly, even though I doubted it understood Common Tongue.
I raised my hand. Slowly. Let the faint green light return.
[Pulse Sense: Active.]
I could see it now—faint life threads wrapped around its body like invisible veins. The strongest ones centered around its heart. But there, around the wounded leg, the threads were frayed. Dim. Weak.
I reached out with both hands and exhaled.
"Okay. Let's see if this works."
[Vital Thread Engaged.]
A soft warmth pulsed from my chest to my fingers. Like sunlight filtered through water. It wasn't blinding. It wasn't dramatic. Just steady. Gentle.
The threads around the deer's leg pulsed faintly.
I focused on them, imagining them weaving back together, like stitching torn fabric. I didn't know what I was doing. I just... felt it.
And somehow, the System filled in the blanks.
The glow brightened slightly.
The deer stopped shivering.
[Healing successful.]
[Quest Complete. Reward granted.]
[Skill Unlocked: Healing Pulse I – Transfer passive life energy to minor wounds.]
I opened my eyes.
The deer was looking at me.
Then it blinked, dipped its head slightly, and limped back into the woods—less shaky, more steady.
I stared after it for a long time.
Then I smiled.
That had felt... right.
The System pinged again.
[Congratulations. You've made your first friend. It has already left.]
I snorted. "Yeah. I noticed."
I turned back toward the hut, the makeshift branch still in my hand.
The forest still didn't feel safe.
But for the first time, it didn't feel like it wanted me dead.
I had a skill. A scan. A hut that hadn't collapsed yet. And one vine that seemed to like me.
It wasn't much.
But it was more than I'd had yesterday.
And for now, that was enough.