Chapter 30: Give Me My Points!!!

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Give Me My Points!!! She needed something salty. Anything. But where was she supposed to find salt in the middle of the wilderness? She paced around the fire pit, thinking. She had read somewhere—probably in some random survival video she barely paid attention to—that ashes from certain plants contained natural salts. Could she use that? She had no idea. But she was desperate. She picked up a small rock and crushed the onions and peppers into a messy pulp. The smell was strong—too strong. It stung her nose, making her eyes water. "Ugh! This better work." She took a deep breath and rubbed the onion-pepper paste all over the fish. It looked disgusting. It smelled even worse. And she was about to put it over the fire. She felt like crying. How did people in the past survive like this?! She carefully placed the fish on a flat stone near the fire, hoping the heat would cook it without turning it into charcoal. The fire crackled. The fish sizzled. So far, so good. She sat back, watching it cook, feeling absolutely ridiculous. At that moment, she whispered to herself, "Gosh, I miss Earth." The fish flipped over on its own. She screamed. She lunged forward, grabbing a stick to flip it back. The stick caught fire. She threw it. It landed on a pile of dry leaves. The leaves burst into flames. Panic. She grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it over the flames. It worked—sort of. Now there was just a smoking pile of failure beside her. "Why is everything so difficult?!" She turned back to the fish, praying it wasn’t burnt beyond recognition. One side was crispy. The other side was barely cooked. It smelled like burnt onion and regret. She took a deep breath, ripped off a piece, and shoved it in her mouth. ...It was terrible. But was it edible? She chewed slowly. Swallowed. Waited. No nausea. No dizziness. She sighed in relief. Success? She stared at the second fish. Did she really have to do this again? ... Isabella took another bite of her burnt-yet-barely-seasoned fish, chewing slowly like a professional food critic. It still tasted like disappointment. But hey—at least it wasn’t poisonous. She swallowed and waited for the system’s sweet, glorious notification that she had earned her points. ...Nothing. She blinked. Still nothing. A frown crept onto her face. "Uh, hello?" she said aloud. "Bubu?" The system materialized in her mind like a smug little goblin. ["Yes, oh great chef of the Stone Age? How may I assist you in your... culinary masterpiece?"] Isabella squinted. "Why do you sound sarcastic?" ["I’m not sarcastic. Just deeply impressed by your ability to create something that looks... edible-adjacent."] She gasped. "Are you saying my food looks bad?!" ["I’m saying your food looks like something that was once food, then had a tragic accident."] Isabella rolled her eyes so hard she saw the back of her past life. "Whatever. How do I know if it’s actually ’edible’? Am I supposed to eat both fish?!" ["I mean... you could. If you enjoy suffering."] She crossed her arms. "Or?" ["Or you could have someone else try it."] Her stomach dropped. "Someone else?" ["Yes. You know, another human? A test subject? A sacrificial offering to your experimental cuisine?"] Isabella looked at the fish. Then back at the fire. Then at the empty path leading to where Ophelia and Shelia had gone. A slow grin spread across her face. She had an idea. If the system needed confirmation that the food was edible, she just had to get somebody else to eat it. Problem was... if they hated it, she might fail the quest. But who said she had to let them hate it? Persuasion existed for a reason. So, wiping her hands dramatically on her skirt, she went to Shelia and Ophelia with her most trustworthy, innocent, and definitely-not-scheming smile. "Alright, time for the taste test." Shelia blinked. "What." Ophelia hesitated. "You... want us to eat that?" "Yes!" Isabella clapped her hands. "Come on, guys, let’s embrace adventure. Who knows? This might be the most legendary meal of your lives." Shelia gave the fish a long, distrustful stare. "But we don’t even eat fish." "Exactly! That means you don’t know what good fish tastes like, so technically, you can’t say it’s bad." Isabella beamed. "Logic." Ophelia opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed. Shelia, however, was not buying it. "Meat is better," she grumbled. "Meat is boring," Isabella countered. "Meat is basic. Meat is predictable. But this?" She gestured at the fish dramatically. "This is an exotic, once-in-a-lifetime experience." Shelia squinted at her. "If it’s once-in-a-lifetime, does that mean we’ll die after eating it?" "No! Ugh, just take one bite." Shelia and Ophelia exchanged looks, sighed in defeat, and finally, hesitantly took small bites. Isabella watched them like a hawk, holding her breath. Ophelia chewed slowly. "...It’s okay." Shelia swallowed, frowned, then gave a reluctant nod. "It’s... not bad. But meat is still far better." Isabella did a tiny victory dance in her head. ’Bubu, did you hear that? It’s edible. Give me my points.’ The system’s voice popped into her mind with zero urgency. [ Bubu: Yeah, yeah, I heard. But are you sure they’re not just being polite? Maybe they’re suffering in silence.] Isabella rolled her eyes. ’First of all, they have no manners, so they’d tell me if it was disgusting. Second, Ophelia is way too nice to lie, and third, if Shelia hated it, she’d have thrown it in my face already.’ [ Bubu: Hmm... fair points. But what if they have bad taste?] ’Then that’s not my problem. The quest said to make something edible, and my food is officially not poison. Give me my damn points.’ Bubu made a long, exaggerated sigh. [ Bubu: Fiiiine. 110 points awarded.] A notification popped up, and Isabella barely resisted the urge to fist-pump. Shelia and Ophelia looked at her strangely as she suddenly looked extremely pleased with herself. "...What?" Shelia asked suspiciously. Isabella waved a hand. "Nothing. I’m just proud of my amazing cooking skills." Shelia snorted. "Calm down, you barely passed." But Isabella didn’t care. 110 points were 110 points.