(Seven Days Later)

Nuan spent the last week doing only a few very specific things.

First, she made absolutely sure not to ruin her swollen ankle any further.

Second, she spent every afternoon making sure her clay pottery dried out completely in the hot sunlight.

Third, every single morning the very second her Craftsmanship’s Hand ability popped off cooldown, she used it to carve essential survival tools.

Thanks to that steady routine, she now had a solid inventory: two large wooden bowls, a deep mug, a flat spatula, a set of cooking tongs, twenty straight arrows, one main bow, and two incredibly sturdy spears that were much stronger than her previous crude weapon.

And fourth... she spent the week taking care of Kael. The giant Alpha turned out to be both physically and emotionally needy the entire time.

During this whole week, the pack didn’t dare throw dirt or accuse her of anything anymore.

Kael had already proudly shared his stupidly brave story of the moose hunt with every single wolf in the clearing—all while pointing dramatically at the massive moose head now hanging right above the entrance of his den.

Most of the wolves were pretty much okay with Nuan being around now.

A few of them even apologized in their own quiet way—some brought her prime cuts of meat right after roasting them over the fire, while others went out of their way to collect heavy logs so she could carve her tools.

Still, Lyra and Tala looked completely displeased with how popular the outsider was becoming, watching her from a distance with sour faces.

Nuan sat near the den entrance, casually massaging her aching palms after finishing her carving session for the morning.

Kael, who could finally sit up for longer periods and chew through solid meat, watched her fingers move. "You keep making all these weird shapes out of wood just to hunt, roast meat, or drink water... why do you waste your strength on that?"

"Oh, I need to do it. I have to prepare all my gear before I set out for my solo journey," she said, glancing down at her wrapped ankle. She flexed her toes slightly. "It seems like in another month, I’ll be recovered enough to move permanently on both legs."

Kael’s eyes instantly dropped to her ankle, his jaw tightening as he stared at her face.

Blue Buddy, Nuan called out in her mind. How is the actual tissue recovery looking down there?

[ Ankle tissue recovery is currently at 43%, Host! ]

[ You did not suffer a broken fracture, lucky you! Normal human tissue would have taken a full three months to recover out here, but the Whiteclaw herb Miss Selka applied is pretty amazing, isn’t it? ]

Yeah, it really is, Nuan thought. No wonder these beastmen are alive and kicking in such a harsh jungle. The medicinal plants here are insane.

Thud!

Nuan snapped out of her thoughts and looked up just in time to see Kael abruptly lose his balance, tumbling off his bedding and hitting the dirt floor.

"Oiii!" Nuan scrambled over on her good knee, quickly grabbing his massive arm to help pull him back up into a sitting position. "What the hell are you doing?! If you need something, you just have to ask me! Don’t go throwing your heavy body around!"

Kael looked up at her through his messy silver hair, his grip tightening slightly on her wrist. "I want you to not leave."

Nuan blinked. "Huh? And what exactly does that have to do with you falling off your bed?"

"If I do not get better... you will stay with me," Kael answered stubbornly, his voice dead serious.

Nuan stared at him, her lips twitching. Okay, that is incredibly cute and deeply manipulative at the exact same time.

"See here, Kael, I am not going to change my mind. I am leaving the very second my leg is fully healed, so do not go acting like a dramatic teenage idiot who self-harms just to get attention from their crush!"

Kael stared at her blankly, without a single clue as to what a "teen idiot" or a "crush" was. But he understood the look in her eyes perfectly—she was completely determined to leave the moment she was strong enough.

Nuan let go of his arm, pushed herself up, and stood firmly on her good leg. "Well then, rest well. I’m going to go start preparing the meat for our lunch."

Leaving Kael sitting alone in the shadows of the dark den, Nuan turned and stepped out, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the bright, open daylight.

Nuan glanced at her clay pottery resting on the sun-baked rock, then over at the older wolves dozing off in the shade, and at a few younger ones playfully chasing each other while the rest of the hunters slipped into the treeline.

Man, I really love this vibe, she thought, a small smile touching her lips. Once I find my own piece of land and build a proper solid house to live in, I am strictly going to hunt, store my food, and sleep all day! Just pure, solitary bliss with a nice view near a lake or a river... preferably somewhere the massive predators don’t frequent for a drink.

Nuan gave her arms a long, satisfying stretch, preparing to start on the lunch meat, when two elderly female wolves slowly walked up to her. Each of them was carrying a thick, high-quality piece of dense wood.

"Witch..." one of them spoke up, her voice raspy but polite.

"Oh, ah?! Yes?" Nuan said, quickly bowing her head slightly to show respect to her elders.

"Here. Have some good quality wood," the other one said, offering the heavy branches forward. "You always seem to be in search of a few good pieces."

"Ahh, thank you... thank you so much!"

Nuan said gratefully. The moment her fingers touched the grain, she willed the wood into her system storage.

Both of the elderly wolves froze, staring wide-eyed at the empty air where the heavy logs had just dissolved into a faint shimmer of glowing blue pixels right out of their hands.

"You see, Witch... we have trust in you now," the first elder said, shuffling her feet a bit. "Please do not disfriend us old ones because of the ugly things we said to you on that night."

Nuan gave them a warm, reassuring smile. "It’s completely fine. I don’t hold any grudges or anger toward anyone here, so there is no reason to disfriend you, Miss Nyra, Miss Syra!"

Both Nyra and Syra’s eyes widened in sheer shock the second the names left her mouth.

"You... you know us by our names?" they asked together, their ears perking up.

"Oh, of course I do! I have actually remembered every single person’s name in this pack!" Nuan said happily, wiping some dust off her cargo pants.

The two elders looked at each other, their tails dropping slightly in a mix of guilt and deep respect.

"Even though we never spoke a kind word to her..."

"We even accused her of wanting to steal our home..." they whispered among themselves.

"Haha, please don’t be sad about it at all!" Nuan said cheerfully, waving her hand.

To her, memorizing a pack of sixty wolves was a walk in the park. After all, back on Earth, she had memorized thousands of scientific names for plants, animals, and insects, along with massive volumes of environmental data over her twelve-year career as a survival specialist.

While Nuan and the two elderly wolves were chatting and getting friendlier by the fire, Lyra and Tala were still standing at the edge of the camp, their sharp, bitter gazes locked onto Nuan’s smiling face.