That was the first thought that entered my head, but before anything else could form, I went still.
There was an undeniable sensation of warmth across my face and a gentle hand gliding through my hair.
For a moment, my mind produced no other thought than this is very comfortable.
And, admittedly, it was.
As I finally cracked my eyes open, they met Quincy’s.
She held a book in one hand, while the other lightly brushed through my hair.
She had propped her back against one of her large wolf spirits, which stared at me like it was ready to devour me for breakfast.
My head rested comfortably on her lap, and even through her skirt I could feel the heat of her thighs.
"Good morning," she said with a smile.
She nodded. "My spirit found you yesterday on the ground."
I drew in a breath and tried to sit up, only to realize my limbs were numb.
Not from fatigue, but as if ants or sparks of electricity had crawled into them.
"You okay?" Quincy asked, voice playful, because of course she was teasing.
I nodded, pressing my fingers against my temples.
’I can’t believe I spent a night on the floor.’
I exhaled. ’Worst part is, I can’t even remember why I fainted.’
I could have sworn I saw a vision or at least heard someone in my dream.
But now everything was blank.
Was it because I tried to search about the monster?
That was definitely not a good idea. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel✶fire.net
There are things in this world you don’t casually investigate.
If that monster was truly some powerful deity, then it made sense why I couldn’t find any information on him.
"Thanks, Quincy," I muttered through the dull ache in my head.
She chuckled. "You don’t need to thank me, Al. Protecting you is part of my job, and watching you sleep was very amusing."
"Pretty sure I’m supposed to protect myself."
She shut her book. "You’re right. But these little things are the least I can do for you."
I couldn’t help but smile.
Still, I felt sticky again.
My eyes scanned the surroundings until they landed on a small lake in the distance.
I walked over, rinsed my face, then admired my reflection for a full minute.
By the time I turned back, Quincy was already standing, and the blue wolf had disappeared.
"So..." I said, splashing cool water on my face. "Did I miss the classes?"
Quincy crouched next to me. "Yes and no. You fainted right before the dungeon survival briefing started."
She paused, then added casually, "Lucky for you, the class is basically hands-on—we build everything ourselves: shelter, food, and so on. So there isn’t much in terms of lectures."
"Hmm... I don’t think I have classes today, so it shouldn’t be a problem if I stay a bit longer."
Quincy smiled. "Should we bathe together then?"
I stared at the beautiful young woman, who simply looked back at me.
She blinked once. "But you’re Allen."
I stood. "Maybe another day."
If I told her never, she would definitely sulk.
"Now get up. We need to find a spot to set up camp and gather food."
Aside from the VR raids I promised Sylvia, I wasn’t doing much.
Which meant building a shelter here would also benefit me.
But how did they even build?
Manual labor really wasn’t my thing.
But I had Quincy, who I’d discovered was an expert at this.
"This one’s nice," she said, waving dramatically at a clearing that reeked faintly of mud and regret.
"It smells like shit."
I knew I didn’t have much of a choice, but I was trying to create something I could return to, for god’s sake.
We walked further into the woods.
In one area stood a large tree, and beneath it was a pleasant space that smelled fresh.
"What about under that tree?"
Quincy shook her head vigorously. "I hate bugs, Al."
"Okay, then here!" She pointed at another clearing.
There was silence, only green trees and flowers.
"There’s wood there, already cut."
Quincy tilted her head. "Maybe someone left it behind."
That was basically screaming horror.
I recoiled at only the thought of living among vengeful spirits, and Quincy just laughed.
Finally, we settled on a small, shaded patch near a clean lake.
There were plenty of flowers and trees around it, though the space was a bit cramped.
Still, if we cleared it, it would be perfect.
It also had the major advantage of being relatively flat and the minor one of not actively trying to kill us.
It was like creating my own country and civilization from scratch.
’Maybe I should erect a statue of myself here.’
Quincy clapped her hands, snapping me out of my daydream.
"Now that we’re done with the first step, let’s start the real task."
She pointed at the smallest clearing nearby and began explaining like she was teaching a kindergarten class on surviving threats.
A bubbling excitement rose inside me.
"We’re going to make a tent with branches, rope, leaves, and whatever else we can find. My spirits will help where needed."
With a snap of her fingers, two spirits appeared.
The smug blue wolf and another—a red bat—that seemed overly excited around her.
After patting the bat, she turned to me. "Allen, you fetch water. I’ll gather wood."
I placed my hand on my chin and nodded. "First I need some wood to make a bucket."
A sudden thought sparked in my head.
’What if I inscribed magic circles on the buckets and manipulated them like codes?’
’Return to main route, or use blink.’
It wasn’t practical for most since no one could read magic runes—but for me?
I rolled up my sleeves. "Leave it to me."
Things were finally starting to get fun.
Time to build a mansion.
Allen Vanderbilt Park’s manor.