Kaelan woke up to the sound of something chewing on his roof.
He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, rolled over, and stared at the ceiling. The soft creak of gnawing echoed above him, followed by a chitter.
"Squirrel," he groaned. "We talked about this."
Garka snored gently beside him, one arm still casually draped over Kaelan's side like it was normal. Kaelan had gotten used to it. Sort of. It was less weird now. Mostly.
Kaelan slipped out from under the arm, tiptoed outside, and looked up at the roof.
Sure enough, the squirrel was there. Proud. Bold. And chewing.
"You have an entire forest," Kaelan said flatly. "Why my roof?"
The squirrel blinked, then tossed a bit of thatch down like an offering.
[System Message: New Side Quest Available - Squirrel Diplomacy]Convince your rodent roommate to stop destroying your house. Reward: ???
Kaelan squinted. "I'm not doing a side quest with a squirrel."
The squirrel chittered threateningly.
He reconsidered. "Okay. Maybe."
Breakfast was awkwardly silent. Not because anything bad happened, but because Kaelan accidentally made the porridge too salty, and neither of them wanted to admit it.
Garka sipped his bowl politely. "Bold flavor."
Kaelan nodded. "Experimental."
"Mmm."
They ate in silence.
Later, Kaelan stood outside and stared at the hut.
It was functional. Barely. The door still creaked. The walls weren't straight. One side leaned like it was considering giving up.
He opened the system.
[Upgrade Available: Basic House → Level 2 Shelter]Cost: 20 Wood, 10 Stone, 1 Squirrel Ceasefire Agreement
"Oh come on."
The squirrel stared from a tree branch, smug.
Kaelan sighed. "Fine. Let's talk."
Negotiating with a squirrel wasn't something Kaelan had on his bucket list, but here they were.
He laid out some berries. The squirrel took them.
He offered a tiny thatch pillow. The squirrel sniffed it, then kicked it off the log.
He finally drew a tiny squirrel-sized blueprint of a mini hut in the corner of their roof.
The squirrel paused.
Sniffed.
Then nodded.
[System Message: Side Quest Completed - Squirrel Diplomacy]Reward: Squirrel Approval + Small Roof Bonus + Peace Treaty (Limited)
Kaelan groaned. "I hate that this worked."
With that out of the way, he and Garka got to work gathering materials. Garka was surprisingly good at finding stone. Kaelan didn't ask how.
"Used to live in caves," Garka said, tossing a boulder over his shoulder like it was nothing. "You get good at this."
Kaelan wiped sweat from his forehead. "Remind me to never arm wrestle you.l
By midday, they had everything.
Kaelan opened the menu and hit Upgrade.
The house shimmered.
The roof straightened. The walls firmed. A real door appeared with hinges. The floor smoothed out, and the interior got... cozy.
"Huh," Kaelan said. "Not bad."
[House Upgraded! Level 2 Shelter: +Comfort +Storage +Bed Space]
Garka walked inside, looked around, then flopped dramatically onto the new bed.
"This is nice."
Kaelan looked around. It was nice.
Warm. Clean. Still small, but it felt like a real home now.
He smiled a little. "Yeah. It is."
That night, the wind blew outside. A storm rolled in, soft rain tapping the windows.
Kaelan lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
Garka shifted closer in his sleep.
Kaelan didn't move.
He was warm. Safe. The house didn't leak. The squirrel was probably asleep in its mini hut.
For the first time since being reincarnated, Kaelan felt like things were okay.
And that scared him a little.
The next morning, he woke up to a system ping.
[Main Quest Unlocked: Found the Village] You've got a house. Now think bigger. Reward: Map Access + Construction Tools + ???
Kaelan rubbed his eyes.
"Here we go again."