Luna woke up in a biting cold.
No, it wasn’t cold.
It was heat.
It felt like a ball of fire was burning inside her body, spreading from her internal organs all the way to her extremities; her skin was scorching hot, and sweat soaked the hay beneath her.
She curled up on her makeshift bed, feeling as if she had been thrown into a boiling pot, and even her breath was scorching.
So uncomfortable…
The sounds by her ears became very, very distant, as if separated by a layer of water.
She vaguely heard someone speaking urgently, with a crying tone in their voice.
“Luna… Luna! Wake up!”
It was Konan’s voice.
Luna wanted to respond, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and she couldn’t open them no matter what.
She felt an icy hand resting on her forehead.
That hand carried the coolness of rainwater, bringing a fleeting moment of comfort when it touched her scorching skin.
But that hand quickly pulled away, and then she heard Konan’s voice ring out again, this time carrying obvious panic:
“So hot… Yahiko, she has a very high fever!”
“I’ll go find some medicine.” Yahiko’s voice came from afar, “Watch over her, I’ll be right back!”
“Wait, Yahiko! It’s pouring outside!”
“I can’t worry about that now!”
Then came a flurry of hurried footsteps fading away, swallowed by the torrential sound of the rain.
Luna’s consciousness began to drift.
She felt her body was like a small boat tossing in the wind and waves, momentarily thrown onto the crest of a wave, and then sinking deep into the sea.
Messy images began to flash through her mind.
That cramped rented apartment from her past life.
The computer screen was still lit, and the game interface stayed on the defeat screen.
Half a bowl of instant noodles sat on the desk, the soup completely cold.
She seemed to hear the delivery guy’s voice: “Hello, your delivery has arrived.”
She saw herself running downstairs in slippers thump-thump-thump, taking a bag of malaatang from the delivery guy.
It was steaming hot, and she could feel that scorching temperature right through the bag.
I want to eat it so bad…
Then the scene shifted, and she returned to the Land of Rain.
The freezing rain pelted her face, the muddy ground, the boundless gray sky.
“Luna? Luna!”
Someone was calling her.
Luna hazily opened her eyes, her vision blurring for a moment before barely focusing.
She saw Konan sitting beside her, light blue hair plastered damply against her face, indistinguishable whether it was rainwater or sweat.
Her eye rims were red, clutching a damp cloth in her hand, carefully wiping Luna’s forehead.
“You’re awake?” Konan’s voice trembled slightly, but she tried to remain calm, “How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable?”
Luna opened her mouth, her voice sounding terribly hoarse: “… Water.”
Konan immediately brought over the prepared bowl of water, supporting the back of her neck with one hand, and carefully bringing the edge of the bowl to her lips.
“Drink slowly, don’t choke.”
The cool water slid down her throat.
Luna drank greedily until the bowl of water was empty, then lay back down on the makeshift bed.
Only then did she notice that there were only Konan and her in the cave.
“Yahiko went out to find medicine.” Konan whispered, seeming to see through her confusion, “Nagato went to the river to get water; he said cool well water can lower the temperature.”
Konan’s complexion didn’t look too good, with dark circles under her eyes, slightly pale lips, and messy hair that was still dripping water.
Clearly, she hadn’t closed her eyes all night.
“… Have you been awake the whole time?” Luna’s voice was hoarse.
Konan didn’t answer, just lowered her head, dipped the damp cloth back into the cool water, wrung it dry, and placed it on Luna’s forehead.
“Don’t talk, get some good rest.” Her voice was very soft, carrying a composure unfitting for her age, “I’ll stay here with you.”
Luna looked at the exhausted expression on that face, which was identical to her own.
So uncomfortable…
You don’t have to take care of me like this.
I’m not your real sister, I’m not even a person of this world, I’m just a stranger who inexplicably traveled before you.
But she couldn’t say it out loud.
Not just because her throat hurt; even if she said it, Konan would probably just be silent for a moment and then continue changing the damp cloth on her forehead.
…
The high fever came fiercely, but subsided very slowly.
In the time that followed, Luna’s consciousness repeatedly bounced back and forth between waking and unconsciousness.
At times she felt Konan feeding her water, at times she felt someone changing her clothes.
She had broken out in a sweat, her clothes soaked through, and Konan helped her change into a clean outer garment.
The outer garment was Yahiko’s; although worn and old, it was dry and carried the residual warmth of the campfire.
Sometimes she would say some delirious nonsense she couldn’t control.
“… Team 7… Naruto Sasuke…”
“This month’s rent hasn’t been paid yet…”
“Don’t want to eat instant noodles anymore…”
The voice was muddled, intermittent, and even she didn’t know what she was saying.
But Konan would softly respond to her every time.
No matter what she said, she would say in a gentle voice, “Mn, I know”, “It’s okay”, “It’ll be better soon”.
That voice was like the only light in the darkness.
I don’t know how much time had passed.
When Luna woke up again, she found the cave exceptionally quiet.
The campfire was burning fiercely, and the orange-red firelight illuminated the entire cave warmly.
Yahiko and Nagato were leaning against the rock wall by the cave entrance, seemingly asleep.
Beside Yahiko’s hand lay a large bunch of unknown herbs still covered in mud; it seemed they had just been dug up from outside.
And Konan…
Luna turned her head and saw Konan slumped asleep by her makeshift bed.
Her hand hung by the bedside, her fingertips still clutching a damp cloth, the remaining water stains on the cloth reflecting slightly in the firelight.
Her breathing was steady, her eyelashes casting a small shadow in the firelight, a faint look of exhaustion on her face.
Even in her sleep, her brows were slightly furrowed, as if worrying about something.
Luna quietly looked at her.
The campfire in the cave crackled.
The rain outside was still falling, but it had grown much smaller.
She suddenly felt a faint fluctuation coming from her mind…
That was the system panel popping up automatically. Get faster updates on g.com.
[Ding!]
[Novice Quest: Survive (Phase 1) – Survive in the Land of Rain for seven days.]
[Quest Status: About to complete (Remaining time: 2 hours 37 minutes)]
[Quest rewards are about to be distributed: Basic Chakra Refining Technique × 1, System Points × 100.]
Luna looked at that countdown, finally letting out a sigh of relief in her heart.
Seven days.
She had been in this world for seven days.
Looking at Konan sleeping beside her bed, she had only one thought in her mind:
I feel like I really don’t want to die anymore.
She reached out and gently took the damp cloth that Konan was clutching in her hand, placing it on a nearby stone.
Konan stirred, awakened by her movement, raising her head dazedly with her eyes still a bit unfocused.
Seeing Luna looking at her with open eyes, she froze for a second, then snapped fully awake:
“Luna? You’re awake? How do you feel? Are you still burning up?”
She reached out to feel Luna’s forehead, then felt her own, the tension on her face slowly subsiding, “It seems… it has gone down a bit?”
“…
Much better.” Luna’s voice was still a bit hoarse, but she had much more strength than before, “Go sleep, I’m really fine.”
Konan didn’t answer immediately, instead scrutinizing her carefully for a good while.
After confirming she wasn’t lying, she finally let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing.
“You scared me to death.” She said softly, her tone carrying a lingering fear, “You know what? Yesterday you had a terrible fever, your whole body was shaking, and no matter how I called you, you wouldn’t respond…”
Her voice trembled slightly, but she didn’t cry.
She quietly finished those words, then lowered her head, wiping the corner of her eyes with her sleeve.
Luna opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately just reached out and gently held Konan’s hand.
Konan froze for a moment, raising her head to look at her.
Luna didn’t say anything, just gripping that cold little hand tightly.
Konan was silent for a moment, then gripped her hand back.
The next day, Luna’s fever completely broke.
Although the large bunch of herbs Yahiko had dug up couldn’t be put to use since they didn’t know how to decoct them at all, Konan still washed them clean and hung them out to dry in the cave, saying they’d keep them for future use.
Nagato walked in carrying a bowl of freshly cooked rice porridge—that was the last handful from the bag of rice Yahiko had stolen a couple of days ago.
When Luna took the porridge, she saw that the porridge in the bowl was much thicker than the one she had drunk when she first woke up.
She lowered her head and quietly took a sip.
This path, she was going to walk it down to the end.
Together with them.
At this moment, in Luna’s mind, that mechanical prompt sounded right on time:
[Ding!
Novice Quest [Survive (Phase 1)] has been completed.]
[Rewards distributed: Basic Chakra Refining Technique × 1, System Points × 100.]
[New quest unlocked: Survive (Phase 2) – Survive in the Land of Rain for thirty days.]
[Quest reward: Basic Taijutsu Introduction × 1, System Points × 300.]
[Host’s physical condition is detected to be recovering; it is recommended to start Chakra cultivation after physical strength recovers.]
Luna held the porridge bowl, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
Soon.
She would soon truly embark on the path of cultivation in this world.