Roxy watched as Zarek flew out through the opening in the roof of the cave.
She made sure the sound of his wings had disappeared before she sighed in relief, remembering how to breathe. With Zarek gone, the air felt less suffocating.
Jesus, I thought I was going to die.
Roxy pressed a hand against her chest, taking in deep breaths as she settled her trembling body on the stone slab.
"Unbelievable," she muttered, pushing herself off the wall. She was still naked, but her favorite sweats were gone from the floor.
Evaporated into thin air, and she knew immediately who could have done that.
[You don't need such clothes]
That was her favorite sweater. She fumed and breathed out all her anger because that was not the most important thing right now.
Her stomach grumbled.
A familiar warmth bloomed in her chest as she pressed a hand to her belly. There was a child already growing in her. Back on Earth, she had loved children, and despite her bad luck with men, she had surprisingly conceived.
A smile graced her lips. The child is mine.
She thought of the first thing she wanted to do: shower. After that, she would get clothes and aspirin for the foreseeable future.
Her entire body protested as she moved. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck, then run over by a giant boar, and finally used as a human anvil by a vigorous, primal god.
However, as she ran a careful hand over her ribs, she noticed something odd. The bruising she'd felt from the boar's charge seemed to have vanished.
She looked down at her knees. The scrapes and cuts from the thicket were completely gone, replaced by smooth, unblemished skin. Even the faint bruises on her throat from Zarek's possessive grip had faded to nothing.
What the hell?
[Ding! Host queries biological status!]
[Notification: Body damage has been repaired. This is a passive reward for achieving Tier-1 Conception. Host's humanity is now fully activated. Your health bar will remain at 100% throughout the pregnancy period.]
[Secondary Notification: Host profile and Inventory are now accessible.]
Roxy stared at her knee. "Okay. That is actually amazing. I am a living self-healing breeding machine."
She immediately submerged her thinking process in all the things she could use that perk for while pregnant.
Perhaps jump into a waterful, going wild?
Her options were massive. Zarek would have her put a chain on her to prevent her from dying on her first attempt.
It was absurd, but the truth was before her eyes. She had been given a temporary health buff just for getting pregnant. Her life might be insane, but at least she wouldn't be dealing with nasty wounds for nine months.
Feeling confident, Roxy began accessing the system interface.
She needed to get used to that big screen as quickly as possible. Roxy dismissed the message and navigated to the Host Profile. The blue screen solidified before her, displaying her unexpected new identity.
\--- HOST PROFILE: ROXY BELL \---
STATUS: HOST
BLOODLINE: HUMAN
TIER RANK: TIER 0 (External)
FERTILITY INDEX: 100% (Activated)
PASSIVE BUFF: Pregnancy Protection (Health fixed at 100%)
CURRENT BALANCE: 100,000 LP
BONDED MALE: Zarek, The Dragon King (Affection: 4%)
\--------------------------------------\
Roxy scoffed, running a hand through her black, wavy hair. "4%? After all that work? I just saved his entire bloodline, got a bruise on my neck, and risked death, and all I earned was four measly percent?"
She dismissed the profile and navigated to the system shop; the inventory was empty either way. She needed to see the shop.
A new screen opened up, displaying items categorized by Life Enhancement, Tactical, and World-Building.
Roxy scrolled through the items, and her eyes nearly popped out of her skull.
[Life Enhancement: Advanced Sweing Kit (300 LP)]
[Fire Starter Kit (150 LP)]
They sound like something I need, but right now, they're boring.
She kept on scrolling.
[Tactical: One-Time Escape smoke bomb (5,000 LP)]
A little pricey, but definitely going in the long-term cart.
[Tactical: Calming Pheromen Spray (3,000 LP)]
Oh, I am definitely going to need that. My sanity depends on it.
Then she hit the world-building section, and the real stars appeared. Roxy's eyes bulged, and she tipped closer.
[Advanced Skill: Universal Language (Permanent) (500 LP)]
[Skill: Basic Farming & Crop Cycle (Permanent) (1,000 LP)]
"Wait a damn minute," Roxy breathed. "This is amazing. With this, I can understand what they are all saying, and practically survive as a human and not a beast."
Ideally, this was what she was searching for.
Just a moment ago, she knew Zarek said something, but in a foreign tongue that made him sound like he was just speaking beast.
She needed this skill to be able to communicate with them and curse Zarek out properly.
She scrolled down further, hitting the items she desperately wanted but couldn't afford.
[Item: Cure for Infertility (level 1) (5,000,000 LP)]
[Item: Portable Kitchen with Running Water (500,000 LP)]
[Item: ML Affection Booster (Instant +20%) (50,000 LP)]
"Five million LP?" Roxy groaned, pushing the screen away. "I feel a strange feeling that I was going to use the cure for infertility soon enough, but I don't know where or when."
She hummed, deep in thought.
But she shook her head immediately. No time to cry over expensive virtual goods.
She decided on necessities.
She bought the [Universal Language], the [Fire-Starter Kit], and finally got the Basic Hides and threads, 20 sets.
She couldn't run around naked.
Her LP balance dropped to a clean 99,250 LP. She suddenly felt broke, even if it's just system money.
As she finalized the purchases, the system suddenly prompted her.
[Ding! Query: Host is exhibiting confusion regarding the simplicity of Task 1.]
"Exactly what I was meaning to ask," Roxy muttered, now folding the soft, cured hides that the system had materialized in a pile next to her. "I get dumped into a novel, the stakes are death, I find the Dragon King asleep, and I complete the task in seven hours. Doesn't that seem too easy? Like someone set this up? Why was he conveniently in a deep slumber?"
The system was silent for a full five seconds, as if choosing its words carefully.
[The Universe provides opportunities tailored to the Host's unique skill set.]
"Bullshit. You mean my unique skill set is shamelessly exploiting a sleeping man?"
[The System does not provide qualitative moral judgment. However, the Host correctly assessed the situation and took the risk. The Prime Directive rewards efficiency.]
Blah blah. That's what it basically meant.
Roxy sighed, running her hands through her messy hair, trying to fix the bird nest. This was all a setup. She didn't want to dig too deep. If the universe wanted her to be a vessel, she was going to be a smart one.
She pushed the dark thoughts away and looked around the vast cave again. It was beautiful, but she was thinking like a mother now.
If she wanted to raise this child, she needed a better environment. This was not a good nursery.
Roxy quickly used the hides and the sewing kit to fashion a basic, ill-fitting, one-shoulder dress. It was better than being naked.
Just as she tied the last knot of the tunic, Zarek dropped from the cave opening, transforming into his human form as he landed.
He looked proud, dragging something behind him.
When Roxy looked over his shoulder, her eyes widened. It was the Razor-backed Boar. The animal that had chased her, now gutted, cleaned, and weighing at least half a ton.
Zarek tossed the beast down with a triumphant thump.
"I hunted," Zarek announced, his voice booming. "You will eat the strongest meat, little treasure. It is fresh."
He looked at her expectantly, gesturing at the pile of raw, musky flesh, his eyes twinkling as if expecting praise.
"Eat."