They then dragged in the woodpile rack.

  Instead of carrying the entire thing all at once, which would have been impossible to carry as it felt like he was trying to lift a car, they unloaded each log, taking the rack first and then each log individually.

  This time, as small pieces of split wood fell out, Luna pounced on them, but instead of chewing them like a stick, she actually assisted, carrying in any piece of wood that fell.

  “Thanks, Luna,” John said, smiling as she handed him the piece that fell. “You’re my little crystal lumberjack, aren’t you?”

  Luna wagged her tail excitedly, giving a howling bark.

  Companion Bond (+5): lvl 1 (80 / 100)

  Each time they came back into the log cabin, they were immediately embraced by the warmth from the hearth, continually burning thanks to Kaelin’s rune magic.

  The contrast became more severe as the snow began to pick up outside, which now covered everything in a thin layer of snow.

  This was only made more clear as John’s entire body became soaked with sweat from the labor, and as the wind picked up more and more.

  Once they finished, John sat in one of his dining room chairs, taking a moment to breathe.

  Though Kaelin somehow did not look exhausted as she knelt by the rune fire with Luna.

  “Were you wanting to take one more bath before it turns to ice?” she asked with a grin.

  John immediately blushed.

  “Uh, I think I can make it a day or two,” he said, feeling awkward as he said the words.

  Kaelin laughed, the sound a sweet harmony in the air.

  She turned her attention to the rune, which was beginning to flicker out of mana.

  “I won’t look if you do,” she said, drawing another magical line on the stone while Luna watched with curiosity.

  “I’ll just fill the water containers,” John said, standing to his feet as he checked his stamina.

  Stamina: 20 / 100

  John braced himself before dashing out into the wind.

  He was always a fan of winter, but he was less so now as his cold clothes stuck to him and his skin became covered in goosebumps.

  He rushed to fill his cooking pot, his canteen, and Kaelin’s, along with Luna’s bowl that she had been using for her meals.

  He jumped when Luna dove into the water next to him, scaring a school of glowing rainbow fish.

  “Oh, come on, Luna,” John said, wiping the water from his face, laughing.

  Even though it was refreshing, it was freezing to say the least.

  Luna howled as she chased after some of the fish.

  When John returned with all the water containers filled, Luna came back in dripping with water and dropped two ember fish on the ground.

  “Hungry already?” John asked.

  Kaelin picked them up and put the fish onto the warm runestones, where they immediately began to sizzle.

  Luna barked, wagging her tail eagerly.

  John had barely realized how much time had passed, as the evening was growing darker over Meadowreach Valley.

  The dark clouds flickered with purple lightning as the storm approached, not helping with the dwindling light.

  “Will that cook it as well?” John asked as Kaelin tended to the rune.

  “Not as much as your fire would,” she said. “But it’ll help to slow cook it, so that when we’re done, we can have some of this for dinner.”

  “That’s assuming Luna doesn’t eat it while we’re working,” John said, scratching Luna behind the ears.

  Luna nestled her head against his knee, which was the first time she had really ever done so.

  Companion Bond (+5): lvl 1 (85 / 100)

  With the water, food, and wood secured, Kaelin and John moved on to sealing the cabin drafts.

  Kaelin went into explicit detail on how to do just that with moss, bark strips, and leftover cordage, detailing how cold air would sneak through the cracks near the floor and the walls.

  But the entire time she explained, John found himself hardly paying attention as his eyes kept noticing the sharp curve of her ears, the way her lips moved as she spoke to him, and how occasionally a lock of blonde-golden hair would get in the way of her eyes, which continued to mesmerize him.

  “John?” she asked suddenly, bringing his mind back to reality.

  “Uh, yeah,” John said, stuttering.

  “Gather some moss,” she said.

  Kaelin gave a playful, uncertain grin.

  “And make sure Luna doesn’t steal it,” Kaelin emphasized.

  “Right, right, right,” John said.

  Together, the three of them made frequent trips back and forth, now crunching across the snow that covered Meadowreach Valley, gathering moss and bark strips and hurrying to fill in the gaps wherever they felt wind, which, to John’s surprise, were plenty of places where the cold air whistled through.

  As they did so, Kaelin hummed, which soothed John and Luna as they worked.

  “This might sound weird to ask,” John said as Luna fetched an extra piece of moss that Kaelin had dropped and handed it to him, “would you mind singing? I know that sounds weird, but I always wanted to hear famous elf songs.”

  His face burned crimson as he requested it, and a touch of blush bloomed on her white cheeks at his request.

  “You wouldn’t be the first guy to ask,” she said.

  Perhaps realizing this, her eyes widened.

  “Oh, I mean, not like that. I, uh…”

  Then she turned away, stuffing some of the moss into the corner of the log cabin, brushing a strand of her hair out of the way.

  “I didn’t mean that in a romantic sense. I haven’t…”

  She paused, sighing.

  “Some of the husbands that I’ve had to midwife for their wives have asked me to sing, is what I meant.”

  “Oh, okay,” John said, thankful that it was growing darker outside and slightly dark in the corner of the cabin, even with the blue fungus chandelier, as he felt like his face was as red as a tomato.

  Luna licked his face with her crystal tongue, breaking him out of the awkwardness.

  “Hey,” John said, surprised.

  As he pulled away, Luna gave a laughing bark.

  Maybe she was smarter than he thought she was.

  Once they finished sealing all the parts where the wind was creeping through, John increased his Hearthcraft skill.

  Hearthcraft (+10): lvl 2 (0 / 150)

  Hearthcraft Level 2 Unlocked: Fuel Sense. You begin recognizing which wood burns the hottest. Hardwoods produce longer flames while damp ones waste less time. Fuel efficiency improves slightly.

  As the three of them stared at John’s level increase, a strong gust of wind slammed the cabin door hard enough to rattle the hinges.

  Everyone froze and looked at it, save for Luna, who dashed underneath John’s bed and hid for a moment.

  “Thoughts on how to reinforce the door?” John asked.

  “Probably a wooden bar to brace the frame,” Kaelin said.

  “Good idea.”

  Thankfully, John had an extra block of wood, having eleven and needing ten to survive five days if it came to that.

  He took a part of the log and split it in half, giving it to Kaelin to wedge between the interior handles while Luna continued sitting under the bed and watching, afraid to step out.

  Though Luna did emerge once Kaelin had fastened the wood into the door to reinforce it, and John had used the last of the log to add to the stone hearth along with the fish, bringing a nice crackling fire in and spreading more warmth through the log cabin.

  Hearthcraft (+5): lvl 2 (5 / 150)

  The crackling fire, strengthened by the rune, began cooking the fish more efficiently.

  And just in time, as outside the window, the sun was nearly gone. All that was left in the clouds were charcoal-gray violet clouds with faint green streaks of magical frost, snow coming down like swirling curtains. They completed every task for their objective, and now all they had to do was survive what was coming down faster with each second.

  For a moment, the three of them stood by the stone hearth, mesmerized by the cascading winter, with Luna leaping into Kaelin’s arms to see the view. As he looked, John caught something the color of teal twinkling just above the stream. It was not alone. Soon, dozens of snow fairies descended in the flurries. Each of them danced on the snowflakes and cast ice spells upon the river and its surroundings. One spell even swirled towards the log cabin, but thankfully, John’s windbreak caught it. Ice splintered all over the wooden construction like spiderwebs.

  Despite the danger of their spells—and the weather they heralded—none of them looked malicious in any way. They were all laughing, even trying to freeze each other with their spells, as if everything was just a game.

  Even Luna whined in longing at the sight of them. She nearly squirming out of Kaelin’s arms, which brushed against John’s arms—when had she gotten so close?

  “They’re not harmful, right?” John asked, trying not to appear as if he noticed how she drew closer to him.

  “Most of the time they’re friendly,” she said, rocking Luna to calm her down. “Though they weren’t that way before the world ended.”

  “How so?”

  Kaelin kept her gaze upon the playful fairies, oblivious to how John studied the flowers in her hair.

  “Like how your world has different races, opposing ideologies and religions, so too does ours. But it extends not only to humans, but elves, dwarves, goblins⁠—”

  “Goblins?” John interrupted.

  Kaelin glanced at him, amused. “Does your world have those?”

  “Thankfully not,” John said, shuddering at the idea of cave goblins.

  “Well, you’re in luck. They, along with the fairies, and everyone else for that matter, were divided amongst themselves, and to the other races.” Kaelin paused, her furrowed brow softening. “But since the end, almost everyone who survived has put away their differences. It’s funny how suffering puts things like that into perspective.”

  John really didn’t know what to say. He never really suffered like that. He’d been to a few funerals, sure, but not a global one.

  Kaelin spoke up before the silence stretched again. “Does your world have nothing fantastical in it?”

  John took a moment to think. He sighed when nothing came to mind. “It’s, well, rather plain. All of our fantasy only exists in the worlds we imagine, like our books, games, shows, or our dreams.”

  Kaelin raised a humored brow. “Surely there must be something fantastical about your world?”

  John’s eyes drifted back to the fairies, who were now engaged in a full-on snow-spell fight in the trees. “Maybe there is. Perhaps I was just too distracted to notice it.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  John felt her golden eyes on him. He turned to her, his answer resolute. “At first, I did. I didn’t think I was up to the task of surviving here; sometimes I still doubt it. But then I proved that I could, I made my first friend—” he scratched Luna’s ear for emphasis, “—and then I met you.”

  The two of them were without a word. Only their breathing—and John’s thumping heart—could be heard.

  A giant wave of snow smacked into the door.

  Kaelin and John jumped back from the door in fright. Luna leaped from Kaelin’s arms to hide beneath the bed.

  “I guess we’ll have to stay inside for now,” John said, though he was excited that they were trapped in here together, even if he felt supremely awkward about quasi-admitting his attraction to her.

  Kaelin blushed, turning away to grab her violin. It was impossible to know if she felt the same.

  “I think Luna’s hungry,” she said, changing the topic and looking over to Luna. The crystalline pup remained underneath the bed, her large crystal eyes staring with anticipation towards the sizzling fish. “It would do well to feed her, to get her mind off of it.”

  John smiled, planning to do exactly that. Though he had a feeling his mind would not be so easily distracted.

  18

  WINTER WONDERLAND

  The storm howled outside the log cabin, yet the wooden walls continued to hold, fending off the storm and allowing John, Kaelin, and Luna to stay safe inside. It was the total opposite in his new home. John was nearly sweating as he prepared an ember fish stew using the last of his glow mint leaf, pulse cap spore, and some more of his song cap mushrooms.

  Even after this rather large dish simmered over the hearth, filling the entire cabin with warm, minty steam and wood smoke, he still had fifteen food stores left, along with ten wood stores. Had he not prepared in advance all the extra food and wood—and even the log cabin itself—he would be out there right now, probably freezing to death by himself with nothing to eat.

  But any dwelling on dark thoughts soon melted away as Kaelin began to play her violin, while she and Luna curled up by the fire next to him.

  Her music, as always, was unrecognizable. It was nothing even close to the best classical music back in his world. And because it was interwoven with magic, every stroke of her stringed instrument changed the way he felt as she interacted with the magic within him and around him. He could have sworn it made the fire rune she had placed within the stone hearth flare a brighter red; even the fungal chandelier above them glowed a deeper shade of blue. But there was no way to know, as magic was something completely outside of his realm, at least for now.

  Regardless of the magic, he let himself enjoy the moment, stirring the stew and watching it bubble to life. Luna passed out almost immediately after Kaelin began playing, which surprised him, given how hungry she had been a moment ago. But then again, John’s eyes began drooping the more she played.

  Several times, their eyes caught each other. Though each time they looked away, he couldn’t help but feel something wonderful within himself.

  This finally felt like home.

  Even with the snowstorm tapping the window outside and the wind doing its best to seep through the few gaps in the log house, there was nowhere he would rather be in this world—or in any world—than right here.

  As his eyes lingered on Kaelin again, he saw goosebumps dotting her slender arms as she played. So before the stew was done, he stood up, grabbed the blanket the system had rewarded him with, and gave it to her.

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling as she wrapped it around her arms and placed the violin down.

  Luna was still passed out as the blanket draped partly over her.

  John lowered himself down again to investigate the stew. As he looked down, he realized he was not as pudgy as he had been before he came here. His belly did not overhang from his belt. It was probably because he was only eating fish, berries, and mushrooms. Nevertheless, he was grateful for it.

  Cooking (+10): lvl 2 (30 / 150)

  Once the meal was finished, the three of them gathered around to have a proper storm meal. The glowing stew was further enhanced by Kaelin’s white crystal addition, which must have been an enhanced form of salt, as it always tasted better whenever she added that ingredient.

  Luna finally woke up, her eyes immediately latching onto the steaming bowls John placed on the table. John frowned as Luna jumped up onto his chair to try to eat his bowl.

  “I guess I should have built another chair,” John said, chuckling to himself. “Here, Luna,” he said, picking her up along with her bowl and placing it by the crackling fire.

  As much as he wanted her to sit with him at the table, he had a feeling Luna would have either gotten her stew all over him or eaten his stew after finishing her own.

  More than likely both.

  Nevertheless, Luna was satisfied. The moment John put her down, she began slurping her bowl, spilling some of the glowing stew onto the floor beside the fire, which she quickly cleaned up.

  “This is really good,” Kaelin said, pausing to let her stew cool after taking a couple of sips.

  “You’re not getting tired of it, are you?” John asked, a flicker of worry in his voice as he looked at her.

  Kaelin smiled and gave a slight shake of her head.

  “I’m used to eating alone,” she said, her eyes lingering on her stew, the steam continuing to rise and swirl around her face like white wisps. She kept her hands on the bowl for a moment, allowing them to be warmed.

  “I have never been afraid of being alone,” she said, her voice a little lower. “But having company is… well, it’s pleasant.”

  John couldn’t agree more, as the three of them had their stew and the snow fairies outside continued playing their game of ice and snowball fighting, spreading the winter wonderland for who knows how long.

  John couldn’t shake the feeling that this felt like a family dinner. He could hardly remember his family dinners, of which there were few since both of his parents worked full-time jobs, and it had been decades ago. But this dinner with Kaelin and Luna more than made up for it.

  Even if it was temporary.

  Toward the end of their meal, the storm picked up in intensity. A powerful gust of ice and snow slammed against the cabin, and the wind howled in a high-pitched tone. The log cabin walls creaked under the pressure.

  Luna jumped up immediately, scattering her now-empty bowl before the stone hearth. Kaelin and John both looked up, watching the fungal chandelier sway slightly while the door bar groaned under the strain. Their eyes met for a moment, a hint of concern passing between them.

  Without a word, the two of them jumped to their feet and investigated the door. John ran his hands along the beam. Nothing was broken, thankfully. But snow began pushing itself underneath the door seam, causing white flurries to enter.

  “Here, I have some extra moss,” Kaelin said, retrieving a clump from her supply pack and grabbing one of her runes from the hearth, somehow not burning from it. She heated the moss before stuffing it underneath the door seam.

  Luna helped lick up the snow.

  “There, that should hold it,” she said, rising to her feet.