CHAPTER 37: MISSION TRIGGERED

After setting down her basket in front of the hut, Serena took a few steps and gently pushed the broken wooden door open. Splinters of wood fell as the door creaked with age.

It definitely had been a long time since someone had made use of this hut. The cleanup would be a lot of work, making Serena glad that Elder Samuel had gone to get her some help.

"Watch over our stuff, Kiro." Serena ordered.

"Okay." Kiro nodded, letting go of her hand and moving to the basket.

Serena then stepped into the hut. She made sure to cover her face with her arm, however, the dust inside was more than she expected. Even from the limited light coming from the doorway, she could see the dust she had kicked up.

The hut contained one single room from what Serena could see in the dim light. There was some broken stuff in the corner, but otherwise there wasn’t much else. With a cough, Serena stepped back outside.

She walked over to the basket and pulled out a small fur. She’d use it to cover her mouth so she could get rid of the dust and dirt within the hut. Then they could start making the hut more livable.

"Kiro, go see if you can get any straw from Elder Samuel." Serena instructed. "Just don’t wander outside the village alright. Come back here if you can’t find him."

She didn’t want him near all this dust, knowing it would be bad for his lungs. However, she also knew Kiro wouldn’t sit still while she cleaned up. He’d be eager to help.

And since the village seemed safe enough for children to run around freely, Serena decided to give him a task that would both keep him away and make him feel useful.

Afterall, they would need that straw for bedding.

Kiro nodded his head eagerly. "Alright Sister!"

With that, the young cub ran off to find Elder Samuel. Once he disappeared from sight, Serena decided to walk around the perimeter of the hut to see if it had any cleaning tools. Otherwise, she’d have to wait for the others.

The perimeter was mostly covered in tall grass, but Serena noticed the back seemed to have strange wooden poles and tools laying around. Even to the untrained eye, she could see there were different plants going here.

Was this some kind of garden before? Serena mused to herself before continuing around the hut. The other homes seem to have the same thing. Perhaps they grow their own food as herbivores.

After all, they could only gather so much food from the forest without destroying the whole ecosystem. And since females were likely the only ones that could end meat here and there, growing their food seemed like the best answer.

Perhaps she could learn about their farming practices and try it out herself when she was done building a more long term home. That would give her better food security.

When Serena rounded the corner of the hut, she finally spotted some cleaning tools. Most were broken and weathered down from the elements, but Serena was able to find a rugged broom.

It wasn’t in the best shape, but it would do the trick. She picked it and was about to head back to the doorway of the hut when suddenly a system notification appeared.

[Mission Triggered]

[Build A Home]

[You have come across a suitable home to live in, however it is currently rundown. Prepare a comfortable home to live in before the cold season comes. One home building manual has been gifted to help with repairs. Can be found in System Mail.

[Reward: Subspace + 1000 Coins]

[Accept] [Decline]

[Note: Once a mission has been declined, you’ll not be able to gain similar type rewards again. Coins excluded]

Serena froze upon reading the words, shocked that a mission had suddenly appeared like this. She had all but given up on missions appearing and now one had dropped like this.

And the rewards...

Serena shook her head. Don’t get distracted by the rewards. They may be good, but is it worth the time and effort into redoing this hut?

This mission was clearly planning for her to stay here long term. After all, who would redo this hut to make it into a liveable home rather than a temporary shelter just to leave after getting information as to where the Forest City was from here.

Unless the system purposely wanted her to live here. Which then begged the question, why here? The city, at least in her eyes, seemed like the much better option.

Not only was it the safer option, but there were plenty more resources there. She could live quite the easy life there compared to some weak village.

Maybe I should just go for it... Serena mused to herself. The system clearly wants me to go a certain direction and getting missions would be easier this way. I could earn coins better this way. Plus that subspace is a great reward.

Depending on the size, she could use it for easy storage. It would make carrying everything she needed much easier and it would be even better if it could hold food and water for long term.

That would make things easier on her part. Besides, she could just look at this mission as a practice round for building a real home. She could learn what did and did not work and figure out how to do things more efficiently.

With a sigh, Serena clicked on the Accept button which immediately changed the system screen.

[Mission has been accepted.]

[Mission has been broken down into required and optional tasks. Optional tasks will give bonus rewards.]

Well, that’s certainly nice of the system. Serena muttered to herself warily. I do wonder what they entail though...

[Task 1: Clean up home - Required]

Serena gazed at the first task set, not sure what to think. This was clearly something she wanted to do. Was that why the mission had been triggered? If so, that would make things easier on her part.