Breakfast

The morning air carried the scent of roasted fish, a rare comfort in the tense atmosphere that had settled over the camp.

The students sat cross-legged on makeshift mats, their breakfast of roasted fish and dried fruit in their hands, but no one was truly focused on eating.

The events of the morning weighed heavily on them.

Brian was alive — but barely.

And his return had brought with it something far worse than just the fear of starvation or isolation. The forest, once seen as a potential salvation, had turned into the most terrifying unknown they had yet to face.

Ms. Reed stood before them, arms crossed, her expression unreadable. "Listen up," she said, her voice cutting through the hushed whispers. "We've spoken to Brian. He is stable and recovering, but what he told us confirms what we feared — the forest is not safe."

The murmuring among the students grew louder. Some looked over their shoulders toward the tree line, as if expecting the forest itself to respond.

"This is not up for debate," Ms. Reed continued. "From this moment on, no one is to enter the forest. If you are caught trying to go in, or worse, if you manage to escape whatever is in there and come back, you will not receive medical treatment. We don't have the supplies to be wasting on reckless decisions."

A stunned silence fell over the group. Lucas felt a twinge of unease.

That was a brutal punishment — but also a necessary one. He knew that no matter how serious a warning was, there would always be idiots who thought they could defy it.

"Do we understand each other?" Ms. Reed's gaze swept across the group.

A reluctant chorus of "Yes, ma'am," followed.

She nodded, satisfied, then stepped away to join the other teachers, leaving the students to their breakfast — and their thoughts.

Lucas took a bite of his fish, barely tasting it as his mind wandered.

His eyes drifted across the camp, noting the different reactions. Some students looked pale, like they had just witnessed a horror movie.

Others still seemed skeptical, as if they thought Brian was exaggerating.

Then there was Mia.

She sat across from him, legs tucked beneath her as she ate in small, careful bites.

Unlike the others, she wasn't staring off into space or whispering anxiously — she was thinking. He could see it in the way her brows furrowed slightly, the way her fingers tapped idly against her knee.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Lucas asked, breaking the silence between them.

Mia blinked and looked up at him. "Huh?"

"You've got that whole 'I'm thinking about something serious' face going on," he said, smirking slightly.

She rolled her eyes. "And here I thought I was good at hiding it."

"Nope. I'm a master at reading faces," Lucas said, tapping his temple. "It's one of my many talents."

"Right," she said, clearly unimpressed. "Next, you'll say you're a genius survivalist too."

"Hey, don't underestimate me. I've watched at least five episodes of those 'survive in the wild' documentaries."

Mia scoffed. "Five? Wow. You're practically Bear Grylls."

Lucas grinned. "Exactly. That's why I'm considering drinking my own — "

"Stop." Mia held up a hand, suppressing a laugh. "We are not having that conversation while eating."

Lucas chuckled, taking another bite of fish. As they talked, a faint ding echoed in his head, and he barely kept his expression neutral as a translucent screen appeared in his vision.

[Mia Harper]

[Affection: 30 → 32]

[Lust: 10]

[Trust 26 → 27]

Lucas nearly choked on his food.

It was slow — agonizingly slow — but the numbers were going up.

He had noticed before that the Affection bar ticked up slightly when he interacted with someone, but now he was actually seeing it in real-time.

He wasn't sure if it was just natural interaction or something the system was amplifying, but either way, he wasn't about to complain.

"You good?" Mia asked, watching him with mild concern.

"Yeah," Lucas coughed. "Just, uh, fish bone stuck in my throat."

She raised a brow but didn't push it further.

"So," he said, changing the subject, "you buying what Brian said? About the animals and the forest?"

Mia's expression turned serious again. "I don't know. I mean, I believe he saw something, but it's hard to wrap my head around."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, the fact that there are actually animals in the forest, wild animals for that matter makes this seem like this is just a horror movie."

"Except we're actually living in it."

That sobering thought settled between them.

Lucas stretched his legs out in front of him, glancing toward the tree line. "You think anyone's dumb enough to still try it?"

Mia let out a small sigh. "I hope not. But you know how people are. Some idiot is going to think they're smarter than everyone else."

Lucas snorted. "Yeah, and they'll be the first to get eaten."

She gave him a dry look. "Morbid much?"

"Just realistic." Lucas said with a slight shrug.

Another faint ding.

Lucas resisted the urge to smirk. If he played his cards right, he could actually start getting some decent stats here.

Not that he was about to rush into anything — no, this was a long game. But at least now he knew that regular conversation could push things in his favor. As long as he was able to establish a strong bond with Mia, he would be able to get the System rewards… that was the major thing on his mind now.

"Alright, survival expert," Mia said, finishing the last of her breakfast. "What's your big plan for today?"

Lucas leaned back on his hands. "Oh, you know, the usual — lounging around, not getting eaten by jungle monsters, charming beautiful women…"

Mia scoffed. "Yeah, good luck with that last one."

"I dunno, seems to be working pretty well so far."

She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.

Another ding.

Lucas hid his grin behind another bite of fish.

Yep. This was going to be fun.