"You're telling me an alien came to you when you were high on Vineslasher poison and gave you a token that made this place a safe zone?" Laura asked me the next day after I relayed Blyb's visit to her and Tobi. She was fully recovered and her leg didn't even have a scar. My wounds were gone as well. I hoped I would stay unwounded for a while longer.

I grimaced. "When you put it like that, it sounds pretty insane."

Tobi and Laura stared at me with identical brown eyes. A chuckle escaped my lips like every other time I was nervous. She just kept shaking her head.

"I wish I could prove it to you somehow, but that's what happened. "

Finally, Laura shrugged.

"Well, it seems that the safe zone part is true anyway. I haven't seen any monsters here since we arrived. "

I automatically moved to check out the woods. I couldn't see any Rabidashers lurking between the trees, but that didn't mean there weren't any there. If that one description box were correct, at some point I'd have to head out there and see if there is a nest.

"Either way, you and Tobi are free to stay. It would be a bit cosy in the cabin for a while, but it is safe here and I just started to grow food. "

Laura's eyes filled with tears. She turned away from me for a moment to wipe them away with the corner of her grubby sleeve.

"Thank you, Dee, " she said simply. "This that has happened... What's happening to us... It's just horrible. "

"I know, " I whispered. Tobi walked away from the porch and went to examine the beds I'd raised. The boy seemed to be on the edge of tears himself. I couldn't blame him. Video games were fun when they happened behind the screen. This had not been fun. Not one bit.

The beds didn't look much different than the day before, other than the timer ticking down.

Potato plants

Time until harvest: 71 days 1 hour 39 minutes

Quality: Good

Energy investment: 0/60

I turned back to Laura.

"We will have a lot of work to do if we want to survive. Plus you two haven't reached level 1 yet. "

"What are you suggesting?" she asked, only a hint of panic behind her voice.

"I know this sounds crazy, but we might have to go out there are hunt some monsters together, so you two can level up and unlock a class. My class has helped me make these beds, and I'm sure I'll figure out more things in the future."

She kept silent and I sighed, knowing not to push it.

"We'll get back to this. But right now we should focus on making this cabin a more permanent place to live. "

"What do you have in mind?"

"First, we have to plant more crops. Then, we have to sort out the running water situation. I don't know about you but life is much better when you don't have to haul water to flush your toilet. "

Laura nodded. "You're right about that. We didn't even have a well like yours in our cabin. "

"Next, we will have to get more clothes for all of us."

"We didn't exactly have time to pack," she said bitterly. Her tone caught me by surprise, but I decided to shrug it off. It was a rough week.

"Alright, " I slapped my knees and got up. "We'll figure that out later. But my Energy is fully restored now, so I better go make some more raised beds. You two should take it easy today. You've had a rough one yesterday. "

"I can make us lunch, " Tobi piped up from the garden.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"He's a really good cook, " Laura said, filled with obvious pride.

"That's awesome. I'll be looking forward to it. "

I spent the next hour going through the whole motion of scavenging the wood to make the wood resource, making planks, and finally making raised beds. Then I decided to mix it up a bit and plant some zucchini.

At first, I considered planting beans but remembering my 6th-grade biology class I reconsidered. I remember us soaking the beans until they sprouted and then planting them. I couldn't remember the specifics of why we did that, but my inner sense of plants told me it would be easier that way.

Beans, like potatoes, are pretty awesome. They are rich in both protein and fibre, which are a staple of every diet. I was sure that I would be sick of them after a while, but being hungry was worse than not having variety.

"But zucchini would have to do for now, " I mumbled.

There was again the issue of not knowing what I was doing. I never grew zucchini before. I just knew they were delicious when roasted.

Perhaps we could build a barbecue or some sort of outdoor cooking station. That would solve the issue of getting the house too hot in the summer.

I know some people had summer kitchens in their cabins. I wished my grandparents had the foresight to make one so I wouldn't have to, but they made those choices and I'd have to live with them. From my memory, they never spent too long up here, three or four days tops. They'd bring enough bread and cheese and cold cuts and spend the days hiking through the woods. They had one of those small portable barbecues they would bring up and take back with them to their house. Mom didn't want to change the cabin too much, hoping to preserve it the way they left it for as long as possible.

"Well, it's not possible anymore, " I mumbled.

I sent a silent plea for their forgiveness and went back to the zucchini at hand. I was worried I'd crowd the plan too much, so I put the seeds about 40 centimetres apart just like I did with the potatoes, but only covered them with a bit of earth. As soon as I was done planting the last seed, I got a System pop-up.

Zucchini plants

Time until harvest: 49 days 23 hours 59 minutes

Quality: Good

Energy investment: 0/37

I repeated the process with the other three beds and then hauled enough water from the well to saturate the earth in all of them. When I finished pulling up my twelfth bucket, I got a ding from the System informing me that my Strength stat went up a point.

"Not bad for a day's labour!" I said, and put down my bucket.

"Dee?", I heard Tobi's voice behind me. "What's happened?"

I turned around to face him.

"I just got a point in Strength! How cool is that?"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I have been hauling water for the crops and I just the notification. I'm at 4 now."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yup." I was a touch too smug about it.

"I'm only at 2 points in Strength, " he mumbled.

"Don't worry kid, " I said with my best encouraging smile. "You'll catch up to me in no time."

"Yeah," he didn't seem too convinced. "Anyway, lunch is ready. I took some canned vegetables and onions from the basement. I hope that's okay. "

"Of course, " I said and picked up the bucket again. "I'll just finish watering the last bed and I'll come over. "

He nodded and walked back to the front of the cabin.

When I was done with the watering, I quickly washed up the dirt off me as best as I could and joined the mother and son on the porch. Tobi made a fantastic tomato and mushroom sauce and some pasta. Laura's words weren't just words said by a loving mother. The kid could cook.

"This is great, Tobi! Thank you so much for cooking. "

He just gave a shy smile and continued with his meal.

"He was always interested in cooking and baking, even as a little kid. He would insist on helping me and started cooking for the family regularly in the last few years. He'll surpass me in the skill soon enough, " his mother praised.

"Speaking of skills, did you get a cooking skill since the System arrived?" I asked the boy.

He nodded. "It's at level 2 now. "

"That's so interesting. I've been preparing meals for myself the entire time and I still haven't got it. I wonder why, " I said, a bit miffed. I was never the best cook in the world, but I was pretty decent. I figured that would count for something. "I did get some other skills, like Wood Chopping and Running almost instantly though. "

"There are too many things to learn about this System, " Laura said, the echo of the former bitterness still in her voice. "I truly hope there is a good explanation for this horrific thing that has happened to us."

"I hope so too. But we have to keep learning and figuring things out, " I said, trying to be encouraging. "That is the only way we survive. "

They both nodded and we ate the rest of the meal in silence. I couldn't help but feel somewhat hopeless about our situation though. My plan for improving the cabin and our chances of survival was vague and I felt like I was a headless chicken running from one problem to another, only making marginal progress.

Don't be so hard on yourself, Dee. You'll figure it all out. You have to.

Name: Diana Mond

Age: 25

Class: Homesteader

Level: 1, 70/200 exp

Strength: 4 (+1)

Constitution: 6

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 4

HP: 60/60

Energy: 2/60

Points to distribute: 0