With a helpless yet grateful smile, she exhaled and stepped out of the freezer room. As she transitioned from the frigid air back into the warmth of the kitchen, she deactivated the thermal mode. Passing through the pantry, she returned to the island counter and settled into place once more.
"Now let's check the legumes…"
She pulled the unopened packages of dried goods toward her. One by one, she examined the weights printed on each bag, rapidly calculating stock projections in her mind with practiced efficiency.
• [3 kilograms of chickpeas]
• [2 kilograms of dried beans]
• [4 kilograms of lentils]
• [2 kilograms of bulgur]
• [6 kilograms of rice]
Elenor let out a soft sigh.
"The legume stock is much lower than I expected…" she muttered.
"Well, let's check the rest."
She moved toward the other shelves in the pantry, quickly scanning the canned goods, breakfast items, and staple supplies:
• [3 packs of spaghetti]
• [4 cans of corn]
• [4 spicy butcher sausages]
• [2 unopened packs of breakfast cereal]
• [5 kilograms of strained blossom honey]
• [2 honeycombs, unstrained]
• [One pack of strained cheese]
• [One pack of white cheese]
• [23 eggs]
• [7 kilograms of flour]
• [4 kilograms of corn flour]
• [1 kilogram of saralle]
• [3 kilograms of olives]
• [7 liters of sunflower oil]
• [4 liters of olive oil]
• [3 kilograms of butter]
• [5 kilograms of kashar cheese]
• [3 kilograms of coffee]
• [4 kilograms of latte]
• [5 kilograms of salep]
• [5 packs of cocoa]
• [6 cartons of milk]
• [4 packs of whipped cream powder]
• [7 kilograms of sugar]
• [2 kilograms of rock salt]
• [4 kilograms of table salt]
• [1 kilogram of black pepper]
• [1 kilogram of red pepper flakes]
• [200 grams of mint]
• [400 grams of cumin]
• [400 grams of black cumin]
• [2 packs of sandwich bread (14 slices total)]
• [2 loaves of whole wheat bread]
• [2 jars of strawberry jam]
• [1 jar of sour cherry jam]
• [1 jar of kiwi jam]
• [1 jar of apricot jam]
• [1 jar of peach jam]
After completing her list, Elenor raised her arms overhead and stretched thoroughly, extending all the way to her fingertips. She cracked her neck and rubbed it as she stood up. One by one, she began placing the packaged goods into their designated pantry compartments and arranging the breakfast items into the cupboards. After roughly twenty-five minutes of constant movement, she returned to her seat at the kitchen island, slightly tired. she grumbled to herself.
"Ahh! This is seriously so boring! If it weren't for the music playing in the background, I'd probably lose my mind,"
"At least we're almost at the end. But what can you do? This is vital right now… Damn rifts! If we weren't in this situation, I'd be sprawled out at home, having breakfast and watching a movie. But look at me—sitting here like some supply officer, counting rations and shit!"
She took a deep breath, attempting to steady herself, and began counting the fruits. In the note file on her watch titled [My Supplies], she carefully recorded each item:
• [7 apples]
• [28 strawberries]
• [6 peaches]
• [12 bananas]
• [21 apricots]
• [36 cherries]
• [7 pears]
• [22 mandarins]
• [3 oranges]
After the fruits, it was time for the nuts resting in small baskets in the pantry. She counted them one by one and added them to her list:
• [78 hazelnuts]
• [22 chestnuts]
• [44 walnuts]
• [65 almonds]
• [44 cashews]
• [77 peanuts]
Finally, only the snacks that Uncle Omar and the kids loved remained. She ran her finger across the packaged products, completing the tally:
• [7 chocolate bars]
• [4 packs of chocolate-filled biscuits]
• [7 packs of pretzel sticks]
• [9 packs of cereal bars]
• [2 packs of cotton candy]
• [5 boxes of Turkish delight]
• [2 boxes of pişmaniye]
• [4 packs of wafer halva]
• [7 large bags of chips]
• [3 packs of popcorn]
When Elenor entered the final pack of popcorn into her digital list, she sprang up from her seat as if she had just cast off the heaviest burden in the world, leaping into the air with unrestrained joy.
"FINALLY DONE! HAHAHA!"
After placing the last supply packages into the cabinets and drawers, Elenor walked into the living room with tired steps. She let herself fall onto the soft couch and lay on her back, releasing a long, relieved sigh. Though her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, her mind refused to rest; it was already calculating how long the provisions she had painstakingly counted would last. LYRA, through her watch, assisted by analyzing her biological data in real time.
"If I factor in my body composition, my current metabolic rate, and the fact that I eat two regular meals a day…" she thought. "Under normal conditions, these supplies should sustain me for about 200 to 250 days. And with the harvest I'll get from the garden, I could stretch that period even further."
She gently brushed her fingertips over the cold metallic surface of the watch on her left wrist. Her gaze grew distant. "But the fact that LYRA feeds directly on my bodily energy disrupts the entire equation. In standard operating mode, it runs smoothly by drawing from solar energy, my muscle movements, even my blood circulation, but…"
Growing restless from lying flat, she turned onto her right shoulder and propped her head up with one hand, delving deeper into her thoughts.
"This awakening issue changes everything. Even before undergoing a true awakening—just during the watch's initial integration with my body—I experienced a level of hunger and thirst I had never felt in my life. I consumed a portion larger than anything I've ever eaten in a single sitting, and despite that, the strain of that integration left me unable to stand for a long time. So what will happen when the real awakenings begin? If that explosive appetite multiplies with each awakening, then during the three awakenings I'm expected to undergo in the next three months… my chances of starving to death are not low at all!"
Her expression hardened. She drew in another deep breath.
"I need to manage supplies with the precision of an artist. I must grow stronger quickly—remaining weak in this world is equivalent to suicide. But if I grow too fast, I'll burn through my stock because of my appetite. Especially during awakening phases, LYRA creates an uncontrollable craving for protein—meat, specifically. My meat reserves may seem abundant right now, but against that monstrous hunger, everything could vanish in an instant."
She straightened into a seated position on the couch. A steady, unshakable determination gleamed in her eyes.
"Meat—or high-nutritional-value substitutes capable of replacing it—is vital. After awakening, my body practically screams for animal protein. But once the shelter's stock runs out, there won't be much left to compensate for it…"
Her brows knit together as her mind began mapping out the next phase.
"…Which means sooner or later, I'll have to leave the safe zone and find meat outside. Otherwise, my development will stall. Maybe I should find a way to bring a few farm animals here and establish my own small livestock operation."
Dozens of possible scenarios, routes, and risk factors collided within her thoughts simultaneously. The flow was so rapid that a dull ache formed at her temples. Yet every path converged on the same conclusion.
"…Power. My greatest deficiency is still the lack of sufficient strength. Outside is swarming with monsters of every level. I can outmaneuver many of them with strategy, but if I come face-to-face with a C-rank or higher monster—or even an ambitious D-rank… the game ends for me right there."
She glanced at the watch on her wrist and allowed herself a faint smile.
"It seems Grandpa actually did me a favor by loading that irritating penalty mode into the watch. He wants to force me—one way or another—into reaching a level where I can survive."
Her quiet laughter echoed through the room as her gaze shifted to the ammunition crates and weapons resting on the coffee table. Suddenly, as if remembering something, her brow twitched.
"Didn't this watch have a scanning feature? Can't it save me from all this manual counting nonsense?"
With a graceful motion, she activated the panel on her watch. A thin blue scanning beam projected outward and swept across the ammunition box before her. After a few seconds, the results appeared on the screen:
[Ammunition Box]
• Material: Titanium, copper, and steel alloy.
• Dimensions: 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm (Cube form).
• Color: Silver-gray.
• Function: Designed to store specialized ammunition.
This time, her eyebrow twitched in irritation.
"Grandpa! You love going into the finest details, but why can't this ultra-advanced watch's scanner count the bullets inside the box one by one and just give me a number?"
With a deep sigh, she entered LYRA's notes section and created a new list:
[To-Do List]
• √ Establish a main system–compatible connection hub for LYRA.
• √ Upgrade LYRA's scanner software (add quantity-counting feature).
When she finished typing, she glanced at the ammunition box and let out a reluctant sound. She pulled the first crate onto her lap and opened the lid.
"I wish it had been my turn for the annual ammo inventory this year; at least I would've counted the ones at home. I wouldn't be starting from scratch with all this now."
The routine task rotated yearly between Jacob, Ada, and Elenor, and this time it had technically been Ada's responsibility. Elenor examined the weapons in her hands with the discerning eye of a master craftsman.
"I don't actually have a wide variety, but what I managed to bring are definitely the best. One pump-action shotgun, one fully and semi-automatic assault rifle, two .50 caliber monster handguns, three standard pistols, and two long-range sniper rifles… That's sufficient for now. But I mustn't neglect maintenance on these beauties; if they jam at the most critical moment, that would mark the beginning of my end."
She exhaled deeply and arranged the weapons along the edge of the coffee table in neat formation. Now came the most tedious part: counting the ammunition. Without wasting time, she opened a new tab on her watch labeled [My Ammunition] and began entering data swiftly across the digital display.
She started with her most trusted piece—the .50 caliber handgun:
[.50 Caliber Handgun]
• 350 explosive rounds
• 450 armor-piercing rounds
• 276 electric rounds
• 123 poison rounds
• 463 incendiary rounds
• 545 freezing rounds
• 1038 standard rounds
As she reviewed the list, she nodded in satisfaction. The .50 caliber handgun had always been her ideal choice. The sheer diversity of ammunition types granted her a broad tactical spectrum against various monster species. Without pause, she moved on to the next weapon:
[Assault Rifle – 7.77mm]
• 2789 standard rounds
• 442 incendiary rounds
• 1020 armor-piercing rounds
She paused briefly from typing and rolled her shoulders until they cracked. The assault rifle might not have had as many modular options as her handgun, but the quantity of armor-piercing rounds was highly reassuring; against armored targets, those bullets would be lifesaving.
As she stacked the counted rounds into metal boxes and loaded some into ready magazines, she closed her eyes for a brief moment of rest. Another sigh slipped from her lips.
"This is truly a terrible job…" she muttered.
"Not exactly a hobby activity."
Shaking off her complaints, she pulled the shotgun shells toward her. The heavy, bulky rounds clinked as she counted them one by one and updated her list:
[Shotgun]
• 352 freezing rounds
• 463 standard shells
• 263 incendiary shells
When the counting was finally complete, Elenor raised her arms high and stretched thoroughly. However, after sitting for so long, standing up so abruptly threw off her balance, and she stumbled in place. At the last second, she caught herself by gripping the edge of the couch, narrowly avoiding a fall.
"Damn it…" she muttered irritably to herself.
"My legs are completely numb from sitting too long. If I don't move and get my blood flowing, I'll turn into a statue here."