"Okay," Mira said, her voice a soft breath as she shifted on his lap. She picked up a piece of the tender meat and lifted it to his lips. Her eyes, wide and searching, never left his face.
"What changed, Eis? You are a little different from what I remember."
He opened his mouth for another bite, his gaze holding hers captive. Mira's cheeks flushed, but she didn't look away. The air was thick with unspoken questions.
Eis swallowed, his expression softening into something more genuine.
"Well," he began, his voice quieter now, "I just wanted to give you all the love you have been giving me for the past 16 years."
Mira's eyes widened in shock. "Wait. You are 16 now, Eis?"
"Yeah," he said with a small, wry chuckle. "I thought you would know."
A complex emotion flickered across her face: affection, concern, and a tinge of sadness.
"Well," she said, her tone shifting to a more maternal, practical one, "have you found a mate yet? I am too old to be your first mate, so I think your mother has a plan to find you one soon."
"Wait, you could be my mate," Eis said, the statement blunt and sincere.
Mira smiled, a gentle, bittersweet thing. "Well, yes. If we were the same age group, I could have been your first mate. But...."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Hey!"
The moment was shattered. Mira, frustration clear on her face, stood up from his lap and smoothed her dress. She strode to the door and pulled it open. "Who is it?"
A stern-looking warrior stood outside. "Morning to you, too. I have been sent by the Village Chief. Every male who survives the forest must attend the Warrior Orientation. Today is the day."
"Well, he is not feeling that good yet," Mira protested, blocking the doorway with her body.
The warrior was unmoved. "Well, are his ears fine?"
"Yes, they are fine."
"Then he must come with me. The Village Chief awaits."
Mira reluctantly closed the door and relayed the message to Eis, standing there with her arms crossed, pouting like a little girl who'd had her favourite toy taken away.
Eis stood up, with a new confidence in his movements. "Auntie, I will be back. Don't worry." Before she could react, he stepped forward, cupped her face, and planted a firm, lingering kiss on her lips.
Then, without another word, he walked out the door, leaving her standing in the middle of the hut, stunned and touching her lips.
He fell into step with the warrior. The walk was silent and awkward. What do I even talk to the male species about? Eis thought, his mind drifting to a world long gone.
It's not the 21st century. We can't talk about FC 25 or GTA 6. As soon as he thought of GTA 6, a sharp, surprising ache pierced his heart. Ooh, man. One reason not to die.
Well, gotta lose some to get some. He glanced at the stoic warrior beside him. Well, I'll just ignore him. He looks like he also doesn't like talking to the same gender.
They arrived at the central clearing where the Village Chief's large hut stood. The men who had gathered were a lot fewer than the group that had entered the forest four days ago.
It looked like half had died, some had given up, and only a few had come back. The survivors bore the marks of their ordeal, fresh scars, haunted eyes, and a new, grim respect for one another.
Eis found a spot on a rough-hewn log and waited, the scent of woodsmoke and damp earth filling his senses.
When it seemed everyone was present, the portly Village Chief took a chair at the front and began.
"Well, congratulations on becoming Tier One warriors!" His voice boomed across the clearing.
"You must all know that for a man, nothing is for free. So I hope you all had your fair share of battles in the forest. Well, eating the meat is just the first part. Now that you have had your meat, you can feel the mana in the air, provided by the World Tree."
He launched into history. "Six thousand years ago, after the Catastrophe of the Eggs, the gods decided to give us the World Tree.
Well, there was a bit of a downside. Only a few could feel the mana until our hero found a way to feel it, which was to eat the beasts.
These beasts also use mana, leading us to think they came from the same place."
Eis listened, but a cold knot began to form in his stomach. This was all new. The "System" that had coldly announced his new status and rewards had been utterly silent on this.
It had told him what he was, but not how it worked, not the history, not the why. It was a tool, not a teacher. The Chief's words were filling in massive, critical blanks.
"Now, the main question is, how does this mana concern me?" the Chief continued, tapping his rotund stomach. "I have been told eating beasts is the way to go to Tier 2. Well, it is a way to fill up the little bottle in your lower stomach, your core.
You can feel it after becoming a warrior. However, you can also fill this small bottle by concentrating, by meditation. You can absorb the mana from the air and move it to your bottle until it is full.
Then, the bottle can become bigger. After the bottle is bigger, your tier will increase."
The idea that he could grow stronger by simply sitting and breathing was a revolutionary and unsettling concept. What else didn't he know?
"Then, the last thing: our currency as warriors. You can choose to use meat, because beast meat does not decay until all the mana is gone, or you can use mana crystals. Kiara! Go take some from the shelf!"
After a moment, a young woman returned with a basket of colourful, glowing pebbles that pulsed with a soft, internal light.
"These are the mana crystals. You can come exchange one kilogram of beast meat for one crystal. That's the main reason you are here. Step right up!"
A wave of excitement passed through the survivors. "Yeah, let's do it!" "Let's go!" People started flocking to the chief and the basket.
He just decided to walk home, the Chief's words echoing in his head, each one a puzzle piece the System had deliberately withheld.
After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the familiar hut. He pushed the hide flap aside and stepped into the dim, smoky interior, the weight of his newfound knowledge settling on his shoulders.
"Mom! Kaela! I am home!" he announced, the words feeling both strange and right on his tongue.
The hide flap settled behind him, shutting out the sounds of the village. The air inside the hut was heavy, not just with smoke, but with a palpable sorrow.
His mother, Lyra, was sitting on a low stool, her shoulders slumped and her face buried in her hands. Soft, ragged sobs shook her slight frame.
"Eis, my baby," she wept, her voice cracking as he approached. "I... I... I am sorry. I have tried, baby, but I could not get you a mate. You are already 16, and I could not get you one. It's just hard because of us.
All the families despise our family." She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed and swimming in tears.
"I know you said you didn't want your sister, but we have no choice, Eis. She is your last option. I failed you, my son."
Eis stood there for a moment, his heart aching at the sight. This was the welcome home after nearly dying in the forest? This was the weight she had been carrying alone.
He let out a soft, weary sigh, a sound that seemed too old for his 16-year-old body. "Your son has been away for three days in a deadly forest, and you haven't seen him for four.
This is the first thing you say to me?" His tone wasn't accusatory, but gently chiding, laced with a newfound patience. "Come on, give your son a hug, and then we can talk about it."
He spread his arms wide, an open and inviting gesture. For a second, Lyra just stared, as if unsure how to process this calm, steady version of her son. Then, with a choked sob, she rushed into his embrace, burying her face in his chest.
He held her tightly, feeling the tremors of her silent sobs. After a long moment, he pulled back slightly, his hands sliding down to rest firmly on her ass.
"Hello, Mother. How have you been?" he asked, his voice a low, comforting murmur.
She sniffled, trying to compose herself. "I have been okay, I guess," she lied poorly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "How are you?"
"I am just a little beat up," he said, downplaying the terror and the transformation he had undergone.
He slowly released the hug and sat down on the edge of the rough-hewn bed, then patted his lap. "Now, sit. Tell me what's wrong."
Lyra sat sideways on his lap, her posture hesitant, her eyes searching his face as if looking for the boy he used to be. "Well... your sister is the only mate left in the village that will accept you, son."
Her voice was a desperate whisper. "Last time, you said you didn't want someone like her. So I went to all the houses with beautiful maidens, and they said no.
They didn't care about the quantity of the meat." She finished, her gaze pleading, yet strangely calm as she looked into his eyes, waiting for the explosion of anger she expected.
Eis didn't explode. He nodded, absorbing her words as the pieces of their social exile clicked into place. He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his touch surprisingly tender.
"Well," he began, a slow, genuine smile spreading across his face. "I must have been an idiot to say no to my Kaela. She is pretty, and I can take her as my mate."
Lyra's jaw went slack. "R-Really?!" she stammered, her eyes widening in pure, unadulterated shock.
"Really," he confirmed, his voice firm and sure.
A radiant, disbelieving hope bloomed on her tear-streaked face. "Then I will prepare for tonight!" she said, her energy returning as she tried to spring up.
"Wait a minute," he said, his hands on her shoulders, gently pressing her back down. "Your son is a bit hungry. Can you cook some meat for him?"
"Wait a minute," he said, his hands on her shoulders, gently pressing her back down. "Your son is a bit hungry. Can you cook some meat for him?" As he spoke, he made a subtle gesture with his hand.
There was a faint shimmer in the air, and then a massive leg of wolf meat materialised on the floor with a soft thud. It was colossal, the dark fur matted with old blood, and the muscle was thick and dense. It was clearly no ordinary wolf; it was half the size of a man.
"And take this one," he added, his tone leaving no room for argument, "and give it to Auntie Mira."
Lyra gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. She had never seen so much high-quality meat in her life. This was a chieftain's haul.
"Okay, baby," she said, her voice filled with a new kind of awe, looking from the monstrous cut of meat to her son's calm face. "I will be sure to make something nice to celebrate your coming of age and becoming a warrior."
She made to stand again, but Eis tightened his grip just slightly. "Now," he said, a playful yet commanding glint in his eye. "Where is my kiss?"
Elara leaned in, her movements now fluid and sure, and pressed a soft, affectionate peck to his lips.
Only then did he finally allow her to stand up, watching as she set about her task with a vigour he hadn't seen in her for years.
The power in the hut had subtly, irrevocably, shifted from the weeping mother to the warrior son who had returned not just alive, but transformed.