Kaelen yawned as he emerged from his shelter, wincing at the sun rising up. His back hurt. Sleeping on wood and leaves was never good, but it was preferable to sleeping on dirt, something he'd done far too much of in his previous life. He walked towards his garden, inspecting his crops. The carrots were at last poking through. The beans? Still up in the air. And the onions seemed to be doing their best to live, which, given the conditions, was an achievement.
"Still not dead," he grumbled to himself, half-sarcastically. "Better than me in my last life."
No sooner was he surveying the crops when a disturbance within the woods prompted him to hold still. He instinctively clutched at his wooden spade, expecting a raccoon or similar trouble. However, a diminutive figure emerged from the thicket.
It was a goblin. A girl. Green skin, yellow eyes, and tangled hair. She wore tattered clothing that appeared to be from a terrible bargain sale—if there even was such a thing in this world.
She gestured towards him. "You're the one who's farming?"
Kaelen blinked. "Uh… yeah?"
"I'm Garka," she declared, arms crossed. "I've been observing. You're not very good at this. But I want to learn."
He frowned. "Learn farming? From me?"
She grinned. "You're the only idiot who didn't chase me off yet."
Kaelen scratched his head, staring at the system's pop-up notification that appeared.
> [New Quest: Goblin Guest]
Help Garka learn farming and survival.
Reward: ???
"Fine," Kaelen sighed, not exactly thrilled by the idea. "But don't eat my carrots."
"No promises," she said, smirking.
And so, they began to work. Garka wasn't very helpful to start off with. She had this habit of pulling the crops like they were in her debt, and as soon as she spotted a bug, she tried to smash it with a rock.
"That's not how you—" Kaelen began to correct her before she hurled the rock anyway and hit the poor carrot's leafy top. "Oh, great, now it's traumatized."
"You think it's gonna cry?" she said, flat.
"Possibly," Kaelen rolled his eyes. "These carrots have experienced trauma."
They worked for a while, Kaelen showing Garka how to correctly plant things, how deep the holes were to be, and how far apart they should be spaced. She was not a stellar pupil, but she was improving.
By noon, they sat on a boulder, munching on boiled tubers Kaelen had cooked up. There was comfortable silence between them, nothing contrived.
"Always live here alone like that?" Garka broke the silence, prodding at her food.
"Awakened here after dying," Kaelen said. "System dumped me into this world. Last life was crap, and this one's. well, better than dying on the operating table."
"Must have been dull," she said.
Kaelen grinned. "You have no idea."
Garka munched on a root, thinking. "I died once, too. Well, not 'died' exactly. I fell into a pit and broke both my legs. Some goblin healer patched me up, but the cave. it's gone now."
"Sorry to hear that," Kaelen said softly. He didn't know why, but he felt like he got what she was saying. "Where are the other goblins?"
She shrugged, gazing out into the trees. "Gone. Monster came in. I was out foraging, and when I returned to my clan. they were all gone. I had nowhere else to go."
"I know that," Kaelen said gently, looking over at her. "Alone is not fun."
Her gaze met his briefly, then dropped away sharply. "Yeah, well. It's not terrible. At least I'm not munching on dirt."
Kaelen chuckled. "We're all better than dirt."
They spent the rest of the day working on his shelter. Kaelen hammered nails into the walls, while Garka used her small frame to help stabilize the structure. She found some dry moss from nearby and stuffed it into the cracks to block the wind. Despite the bickering—mostly from her—things started to come together.
You know," Kaelen remarked as they rested, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "this doesn't look half bad."
"Your standards are low," Garka replied with a smile, leaning against a tree.
He smiled. "It's been a long day. Let's just say it's an improvement over the ground."
> [Shelter upgraded: Basic Stability added.]
+10 Comfort
+10 Structural Integrity
Kaelen gazed at the message, stunned. "Did. did I just get rewarded for this?"
"I'm quite sure your shelter is now the epitome of luxury," Garka joked.
When they completed the shelter, the sky had reached a gentle pink. The wind had risen, and the evening would be cold. They huddled together under a tree, observing the colors of the sky.
Kaelen spoke up. "You know, I didn't think it was going to be as bad. The building, the farming. everything. But today was. okay."
Garka regarded him, her yellow eyes glinting in the decreasing light. "Yeah. Good. I expected you to be worse."
"Hey, I am, but sometimes I manage to get away with it.
She laughed, the sound welcome in the chill of the air. "Good thing I'm around to prevent you from burning everything down."
"Good thing, indeed." Kaelen hesitated, looking at her. "I don't know what I would've done without you."
She shrugged. "Get by on your own. Probably die a little sooner."
Kaelen laughed. "Fair point."
A few more moments passed before Garka leaned back against the tree, eyes closed. "I used to live with my clan, you know? It wasn't perfect, but we were a family. Even if we weren't blood, it was something."
Kaelen nodded. "I get that. I miss having people around."
She smirked. "Yeah, well, I'm here now. Try not to mess that up."
Kaelen turned toward her. There was something in her eyes—something he hadn't seen in a long time. Trust. Maybe even something more.
Before he could say anything else, the system chimed again.
> [Bond Formed: Garka the Goblin]
Trust Level: Low → Moderate
Loyalty Increased
Kaelen stared at the notification for a second. "So. you're officially stuck with me now, huh?"
"Guess so," Garka said, her grin softening. "You're not so bad, Kaelen. Not so bad at all."