Chapter 93 - 093: New task
The next morning, Anaria was still getting used to the strange feeling of having nothing urgent to search for.
Rylan was now Lord of Wolfrine, but that did not mean things had suddenly become peaceful. The cabinet had already started bringing him reports, and he had spent most of the morning dealing with problems left behind by Zane.
Anaria had stayed in their room with Ana for most of the morning. Kenai had taken the baby for a while so she could rest, while Kai had gone with Rylan to help him inspect some of the settlement.
She was just settling Ana against her chest when the system suddenly chimed.
[New Task Activated.]
Anaria frowned.
She waited until she was certain no one was nearby before opening the system.
[Task: Restore the Settlement.]
[Objective: Assist a struggling settlement under the rule of Wolfrine.]
[Required Tasks:
Provide healing assistance to affected settlers.
Establish a suitable recovery shelter.
Improve the settlement’s living conditions.]
Anaria stared at the screen.
"Seriously?"
[Failure to complete the task within the given time will result in the loss of the Surprise Package and deduction of system points.]
She sighed.
Of course there was a penalty.
The system continued.
[Surprise Package unlocked.]
[Contents will be revealed upon arrival.]
Anaria looked down at Ana.
She wasn’t particularly interested in spending another day running around helping strangers, especially after everything that had happened recently. But ignoring the task wasn’t an option either.
She also couldn’t tell Rylan about it.
No one could know about the system.
So when Rylan returned later, Anaria simply told him she had heard that one of the settlements was struggling and that she thought they should check on it.
Rylan looked at her carefully.
"Which settlement?"
"I don’t know much yet. I want to see it myself."
He considered it for a moment before agreeing to let her go with Kenai and Kai.
By midday, the three of them had left Wolfrine with Ana.
The journey took several hours.
The settlement was much smaller than Wolfrine, with rough wooden shelters scattered across uneven ground. Some were damaged, while others had clearly been abandoned.
There were fewer people than Anaria expected.
A few beastmen watched them from a distance as they entered.
No one came forward to welcome them.
Anaria noticed the difference immediately.
These people were wary.
Kenai glanced around. "They don’t look happy to see us."
"They aren’t," Kai said quietly.
Anaria understood why.
Rylan had only recently taken control of Wolfrine, and to people who had suffered under the previous ruler, a new Lord might not mean anything yet.
They had no reason to trust him.
A woman approached cautiously.
"What do you want?"
Anaria looked at the damaged shelters behind her before answering.
"We heard this settlement needed help."
The woman’s expression hardened.
"We’ve heard that before."
Anaria didn’t argue.
Instead, she looked around again.
"Some of your people are sick."
The woman hesitated.
"They’re not sick."
She glanced toward one of the shelters.
"They’ve been affected by the same thing that has been happening in other places."
Anaria’s expression became serious.
That was exactly what the system had mentioned.
She took a slow breath.
"I can help them."
The woman looked at her suspiciously.
"And why would you?"
Anaria paused.
She couldn’t exactly say a system had ordered her to do it.
"Because if this place is under Wolfrine, then leaving you like this would make Rylan’s rule no different from the one before him."
The woman remained silent.
Anaria continued, "I’m not asking you to trust him. Let us help first. You can decide what you think afterward."
The woman looked toward the others.
After a short discussion, she finally nodded.
"Then show us what you can do."
Anaria nodded.
The moment the woman agreed, the system chimed again.
[Settlement access confirmed.]
[Building Task unlocked.]
[Surprise Package available.]
Anaria kept her expression neutral.
Now the real work could begin.
Anaria waited until they were inside one of the empty shelters before opening the Surprise Package.
The system placed several items inside her storage space, including building materials, tools, medicinal supplies and a strange container filled with a clear liquid.
[Recovery Essence.]
[Effect: Assists the treatment of corruption-related physical symptoms.]
Anaria recognized the name immediately.
It was similar to the Recovery Essence she had received after Ana’s birth, though this one was meant for the affected settlers.
Then another notification appeared.
[Previous Immunity Reward Activated.]
[Immunity against the effects of the corrupt area has been extended to Anaria and her mates.]
Anaria’s eyes widened slightly.
So the reward she had received earlier was still protecting them.
That explained why she, Kenai and Kai had been able to move through the affected areas without showing the same symptoms as the others.
She closed the system before anyone could notice her expression.
"We’ll start with the people who are sick," she said.
The woman who had spoken to her earlier nodded.
Anaria spent the next few hours treating the affected settlers. She didn’t completely cure them at once, but the Recovery Essence eased their symptoms and helped them regain control.
Some were still weak.
Others were frightened.
Anaria worked slowly, making sure she didn’t waste the supplies.
Once the worst cases were stable, she turned her attention to the second part of the task.
The shelters were not enough.
They needed a proper place where the affected people could stay while recovering.
Anaria gathered the settlement’s people and explained what she wanted to build.
"We need somewhere separate from the other homes," she said. "A place where those who are affected can rest without putting everyone else at risk."
One of the men crossed his arms.
"And you expect us to build it?"
"I expect all of us to."
He looked at her skeptically.
Anaria pointed toward the damaged shelters.
"You already have people living in places like that. I’m not asking you to build a palace. We need something strong enough to keep people safe from the weather and give them somewhere clean to recover."
The settlement remained quiet.
Then the woman who had first approached Anaria stepped forward.
"She came here and treated our people. We can at least help with the building."
That was enough.
The others slowly joined in.
Kenai took charge of gathering the stronger materials while Kai helped organize the work. Anaria directed where the shelter should stand and helped with the smaller tasks whenever she could.
Ana stayed close, sometimes sleeping against Kenai’s chest while he worked and sometimes being carried by Kai when Kenai needed both hands.