Chapter 18 - 018: Beginning...
Anaria woke slowly, the warmth of Rylan beside her making it tempting to close her eyes and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the moment she shifted, soreness reminded her exactly why that was a terrible idea.
She winced and carefully sat up, rubbing her thighs.
"Seriously?" Anaria muttered, glaring down at herself. "I really need a bath."
Rylan stirred beside her and opened his eyes. Anaria glanced at him before telling him she was going to the river to freshen up. He simply nodded, still looking half asleep.
"Alright," Rylan said.
Anaria grabbed what she needed and slipped outside before he could change his mind and decide to do another round.
The walk to the river was peaceful, and the moment she stepped into the cool water, she felt some of the tension leave her body. She washed herself thoroughly, enjoying the simple relief of finally feeling clean again.
As she rinsed her hair, a familiar thought suddenly crossed her mind.
The beauty products.
Anaria’s eyes brightened. She still had some of the original products stored in the System, along with the newer rewards she had received after completing her mating bond with Kai.
"Why not use both?" she murmured.
She called up the System, and a familiar panel appeared before her.
[Beauty Products Available.]
Anaria retrieved the older set first and carefully applied each product according to its instructions before using the newer rewards. She wasn’t expecting anything dramatic, but when she finished, she leaned over the river and stared at her reflection.
Anaria blinked.
Her skin looked smoother and healthier, with a brightness that hadn’t been there before. Even her features seemed slightly softer. She was still far from the kind of beauty beastmen praised, but the difference was enough to make her touch her cheek.
A small smile appeared. "Well, at least I can call this progress."
She studied herself for another moment before remembering the soreness still lingering in her body. "Oh, right. I’m still dying."
Anaria called up the System again.
"Do you have anything that can help with this?"
A panel appeared in front of her.
[Body Recovery Medicine Available.]
[Cost: 200 Spirit Fangs.]
Anaria stared at the price for several seconds. "You’re really shameless."
She reluctantly paid and took half of the medicine as instructed. Within a short while, the soreness began fading, leaving her feeling considerably lighter.
Anaria stretched her arms and sighed happily.
"Maybe surviving in this world isn’t the hard part. Keeping up with these husbands might be."
She laughed quietly at herself before another thought crossed her mind.
The System.
Anaria stared at the familiar interface floating before her. She had tolerated its cold responses and constant snubbing for long enough. If she was going to have this thing following her everywhere, she might as well make it less irritating.
She opened the customization section and began experimenting with the available settings. After a while, she settled on a small fox-like appearance and adjusted the System’s responses to sound warmer and more natural.
A new prompt appeared.
[Customization complete. Please confirm the selected appearance and response settings.]
Anaria looked over the changes one more time before confirming them. "Done."
The panel flickered.
A tiny fox appeared beside it, ears twitching as it looked up at her.
Anaria’s eyes widened. "Oh, you’re actually cute."
The fox tilted its head.
[The Host appears satisfied.]
She laughed. "I definitely like you better already."
Its tail swayed.
[Customization applied successfully. System functions remain unchanged.]
Anaria nodded, still smiling. At least it was still the System she knew. Now, however, it no longer felt like she was arguing with a cold wall whenever she wanted something.
She reached toward the fox, stopping just before her fingers touched it.
"Alright, System. Let’s see what else you can do."
The fox remained beside the panel as the next section opened.
The next section opened before Anaria, revealing the skills she had received as part of her recent rewards. She leaned closer, immediately curious about what the System had given her.
"System, what skills do I have?"
The fox-shaped figure appeared beside the panel as the information displayed itself.
[Available Skills.]
[Clothing Making — Unlocked.]
[Herbal Medicine — Unlocked.]
[Basic Crafting — Unlocked.]
[Additional skills will become available through future rewards and progression.]
Anaria’s eyes settled on the first option "Finally. Something useful."
The System supplied the knowledge, equipment, and primitive-compatible materials needed for the skill. As the information settled into her mind, Anaria examined the fabrics and simple tools before an old memory suddenly surfaced.
Those online tailoring classes she had taken back in her old life suddenly didn’t seem so useless.
"Well, at least those classes weren’t completely wasted."
She smiled and got to work.
Without modern machines or proper fabrics, she couldn’t recreate the clothes she had once worn, but she knew enough about measurements, fitting, and design to make the primitive clothing look much better.
She measured the fabric, adjusted the cuts, and carefully stitched everything together. It took longer than she expected, but when she finally finished Rylan’s clothing, she held it up with satisfaction.
"Not bad."
She immediately started working on Kai’s.
His design needed a slightly different style, and Anaria found herself considering their personalities while she worked. Rylan was quieter and more reserved, while Kai carried himself with enough confidence to make plain clothing seem almost unfair.
When she finished both sets, she folded them carefully and gathered everything into her arms.
"Hopefully they don’t complain."
Later on, Anaria started back toward the cave, but halfway there, her thoughts shifted.
They couldn’t stay in that cave forever.
It had kept them alive, but there were too few resources, too little space, and no real way to build the kind of future she wanted.
She needed somewhere safe, with people and somewhere they could actually live.
Anaria glanced toward the System "System, where should we go next?"
A new panel appeared.
[Recommended Destination: Ravenfall.]
Anaria slowed "Ravenfall?"
[Classification: Mixed-Beast Settlement.]
[Multiple beast species reside within the settlement.]
[Available resources include trading, hunting, medicine, crafting, and food markets.]
Anaria’s interest immediately grew "Mixed-beast settlement?"
[Affirmative.]
The System continued displaying information about Ravenfall. Wolves, foxes, tigers, snakes, eagles, bears, rabbits, deer, and countless other species lived there. Some were families, merchants, hunters, healers, and craftsmen. Others had left their original clans for various reasons.
Not everyone in Ravenfall was peaceful, some were powerful, some were unstable, some were dangerous.
Others had simply chosen to live outside traditional clan structures.
Anaria considered everything for a moment before smiling.
"So basically, everyone just lives together?"
[That is an acceptable summary.]
Anaria’s smile widened "That actually sounds interesting."
For once, leaving the wilderness didn’t feel like another burden. It felt like an opportunity.
She tightened her hold on the clothes and continued toward the cave.
When she finally arrived, Rylan was sitting near the entrance while Kai roasted the remaining meat over the fire. Anaria paused at the sight.
Neither was arguing or glaring at the other. They simply sat there, strangely domestic.
Anaria smiled as she stepped inside, only to find both males looking at her.
"What?"
Rylan’s gaze lingered on her face before he looked away. "You look different."
Kai studied her more openly. "Your skin looks better."
Anaria instinctively touched her cheek, but before she could respond, the System spoke.
[Husband 1 Affection Rate +3%.]
[Husband 2 Affection Rate +3%.]
Her eyes widened. Rylan had reached thirty-three percent, while Kai was now at twenty-three. A pleased smile touched her lips. Apparently, the effort had been worth it.
She simply held out the clothes in her arms. "I made these for both of you."
Rylan accepted his set, surprise flashing across his face. "You made this?"
"Yes, so now go wash up and change."
Kai examined his clothes. "You made mine too?"
Anaria gave him an unimpressed look. "Of course. What did you think? I made one for Rylan and forgot you existed?"
"I didn’t say that."
"Your face did."
Kai looked away, though she caught the faint amusement in his expression.
Anaria folded her arms. "There is one more thing. We can’t stay here forever."
Kai looked curious. "So, where are we going?"
Anaria glanced between them, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Ravenfall."
For Anaria, Ravenfall wasn’t just another destination. It was the first real step toward building a life beyond the wilderness, and she was ready to take it.