Chapter 77: The System’s Gifts And The Strange Blanket!
Kelly was the first to see Ryker when he returned to the cave.
He was walking out of the bedroom area, having just stored the fabrics in the unfamiliar box that served as a wardrobe. When his eyes landed on Ryker, he stopped immediately.
Ryker’s chest was bare.
The cowries chain that had been around his neck, the symbol of his chieftaincy, was gone.
"Were you stripped of your chieftaincy?" Kelly asked carefully.
"Is it obvious?" Ryker asked, his voice flat.
Kelly walked closer and his expression grew concerned.
"Oh no," he muttered. "I do hope that Neve doesn’t feel sad because of it."
"He can’t blame himself," Ryker said firmly. "I chose him over it. I made the decision myself, so he can’t feel sad about it."
He walked toward the kitchen and peeked inside. "Where is Cael?"
"He went out," Kelly said. "He said he needed to find something to hunt. Even though there’s plenty of food stored in there."
"He probably needs to cool his head," Ryker said.
He strolled toward the bedroom, and Kelly’s eyes followed him. Kelly wanted to follow him too, but something told him to stay back. To give Ryker space.
.
.
Ryker knelt down beside the bed where Neve was sleeping.
His hand reached out and took Neve’s smaller hand gently. He brought it to his mouth and kissed it softly. His lips pressed against Neve’s palm with tenderness that contrasted sharply with the hardness of everything that had just happened in the dungeon.
"I wonder when you’ll wake up, Neve," he said quietly to the sleeping form.
Neve did not respond. He was still unconscious, his eyes shut tight, his breathing steady and even. The system’s forced sleep was keeping him completely unaware of everything that was happening around him.
Ryker did not leave his side.
He sat there with Neve’s hand in his, waiting. Watching and just being present while Neve slept.
.
.
Evening came and went.
The weak winter light faded into darkness outside the cave. The fire in the main area burned low and then was tended to by Kelly, who kept the cave warm and comfortable.
Neve still did not wake.
Hours passed.
The night deepened into that specific kind of silence that came after midnight, when most of the world was asleep and everything was still and quiet.
That was when Neve’s eyes snapped open.
Like a robot shutting on. Like a switch being flipped. One moment his eyes were closed and the next they were wide open, staring at the ceiling of the familiar bedroom.
He blinked several times, his mind catching up to his body.
He was in his cave. He was in his room. He had not died a second time thanks to the damn system.
He sat up slowly and looked around.
Ryker was asleep with his head resting on the edge of the bed. His breathing was soft and even. He looked tired. Like he had been sitting there for hours, waiting for Neve to wake up.
Neve ruffled his hair gently and pulled his hand away so he would not accidentally wake the tiger.
Thanks to the never-flickering lamp that the system had given him, Neve could see clearly. He made his way out of the bedroom and into the main cave.
Cael was sleeping on one side, curled up near the fire. Kelly was sleeping on the other side, his massive frame taking up considerable space. Both of them were resting peacefully.
Neve stepped outside.
His feet sank into the snow immediately. The cold bit at his skin but he did not go back inside. He exhaled deeply and watched his breath come out visible in the freezing air.
He folded his hands and wondered what time it actually was. He had no watch. No clock. No way to measure time except by the position of the moon and stars, and even those were obscured by clouds tonight.
He pulled up the system screen.
He needed to check why he had been forced into unconsciousness. He was certain it was not just because of the bond mark itself. There had to be another reason.
The system showed him the gifts.
A series of rewards from his lovely system after getting marked by his third mate.
Neve stared at the list and his mind immediately went to calculation. If he marked Sorin, Kelly, and Aldric, he would get more gifts. More rewards. More tools to help him survive and build his tribe.
He tried not to be greedy as he sat by the cave entrance and poked at the first panel.
His eyes widened.
It was a memory. Something similar to the medical memory the system had given him before, but this one was different. This one was about building houses. Architecture. Construction. How to create structures that would withstand snow and wind and cold winters.
With this knowledge, he could help all the people in the village improve their living conditions. He could make sure no one lived in a hut that would fall apart if the wind blew too hard.
He wanted to download it immediately, but hesitation stopped him. He did not want to faint or be forced into unconsciousness again, especially when he was sitting outside in the freezing cold with no one to catch him.
He closed that panel and clicked the second one.
A pack of seeds.
The icon showed just a small seed but when he tried to read the description, it showed only question marks. The system was hiding information from him. Keeping it secret until he actually needed it.
He closed that and clicked the third one.
His eyes went very wide.
It was a shirt blanket. And when he saw the image, he almost laughed out loud.
It had Winnie the Pooh printed on it.
Winnie the Pooh. The bear character from his childhood. From the books he had read in his original world. From stories he thought he would never see again.
There was a huge Winnie the Pooh design on the back and smaller versions printed all over the front.
Without thinking about it too much, he clicked to accept it.
The blanket appeared in front of him, folded neatly. It was absolutely massive. It had buttons down the front that were ridiculously wide, making the whole thing oversized and baggy and completely impractical.
It even came with a belt if he wanted to wrap it around himself.
Neve put it on anyway.
His hands disappeared inside the huge sleeves. The buttons were so wide they created massive openings. He looked absolutely ridiculous and he did not care.
He lifted his head to check the description of the blanket, wanting to understand why the system had given him something so absurd.
His eyes widened when he read it.