Chapter 33: Quick! We gotta chop wood!

"W-What is this?!" Glena and Kanan were now standing in front of their new home. All of their belongings from their old hut had been transferred over, and all they had to do was set everything up.

"Our new hut. I know it’s big, but it’s nice, isn’t it?"

"Nice doesn’t cut it. A-Are you sure we can live here?"

"Pretty sure. This hut belonged to the previous Village Shaman, so now it belongs to me. Since you’re my family, I’m moving you in. What a nice person I am."

Glena pouted. "So if you were mean, you would have left me alone in that small hut by myself?"

"Maybe. Do you want me to be mean? Because I can be." There was a flirtatious scent in his voice when he spoke, his smile clearly telling Glena that he was merely teasing her.

Still, she pinched his side as revenge.

"Let’s go on inside. You can decorate however you want. Oh, Viola and Omula are there as well."

"Omula? The Chief’s daughter?"

"Yes."

"Are you two mates? Is she moving in with us?"

He shook his head. "No, we’re not mates. And she’s not moving in. Though that might change in the future."

"You became the Village Shaman, and you’re already making moves on the next chief, huh?" Glena winked at him twice with a grin on her face.

"I-It’s not like that!"

A few hours passed, and the hut finally felt like a home. Shining brightly in the sky was the sun, and it was a bit past noon. This meant that it was time for lunch.

Kanan decided to cook today, using some of the potatoes from the farm while taking out some meat that he had stored in his inventory. Potato and meat stew was a simple and easy meal to make, but he wanted to try something different.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the ingredients to do so; therefore, learning how to cook other meals besides stew, dried, and cooked meat was something Kanan put on his to-do list.

"Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to cook, Kanan. You’re truly amazing." Viola dug in.

"I made sure to teach him when he was young. It’s a great skill to know for survival." Glena said, blowing the food on her spoon.

"This is really good. Do you mind cooking again when you have the time?" It was as if Omula didn’t mind the heat of the stew, with how she was shoving the food into her mouth.

Kanan didn’t know whether to be scared or impressed. "S-Sure. Wait, why are you asking as if you’ll be staying here?"

He got no response.

"Hello? Kanan, you in there?" A voice came from outside, coupled with a knock.

"That sounds like father." Omula thought, standing up to get the door.

Kanan motioned for her to stop and continue eating. Normally, it was the woman’s job to welcome guests, but Kanan didn’t mind doing it himself.

Walking to the entrance, he opened it and welcomed the chief inside.

"Welcome, Chief. How may I help you?"

"Kanan, it’s good to see you settling in already. I just came to check up on you."

"Thank you. We’re doing well. Do you wish to have a meal together?"

"Ah, I appreciate it, but I’m swamped with work right now, something that you’ll get used to eventually. I just wanted to let you know that everything is now finalized, and people will know that you are to help rebuild our people."

"I understand."

"Good. I’ll be on my way."

"Chief, there’s something I need to tell you."

"Sure, what is it?"

"The danger the village will be facing in three months. Steps to prevent our destruction need to start now."

A grim look appeared on the chief’s face. His hand made its way to his chin as he became lost in thought; then he returned his gaze back to Kanan.

"What is it that needs to be done?"

"Wood," Kanan said. "We need wood and stone for construction. The first step in defending our home is to build a wall around the village. The North, South, East, and West entrances will have gates where you can enter and exit, and finally, on the four corners of the future wall, we’ll build Guard Towers to survey the surroundings."

After reading the system extensively, Kanan knew that this was the best way to proceed for the time being. As long as they could prevent others from entering their village, their chances of survival would increase drastically.

"I understand. I’ll get our lumberjacks and miners on this right away." The chief didn’t question Kanan. He had no reason to. Kanan was not only their Shaman, but also had Nemean’s and heard the voice of their god in his head. Questioning Kanan would be akin to going against their gods’ will.

"I’ll also try my best to help. I plan on spending this month training in my abilities. If I can master spirit transfer, then I should be able to help make everything go by quicker and smoother."

"Yes, I agree. I shall send someone over tomorrow to help you with your power. They will only be able to teach you the basics of spirit control, and it will be up to you to fully understand what your blessing can do."

Kanan smiled. "Don’t worry, Chief, I won’t let you down."

"I know you wont. Have a good rest of your day." The chief said goodbye to his daughter and the others before leaving.

Once lunch was over, Kanan started to brainstorm. Collecting wood and stone was vital, but that was only one piece of the puzzle. His abilities needed to be mastered, food needed to be secured, scouts needed to be on the lookout, and most importantly, they needed to survive the winter in general.

He wasn’t even fully into his role yet, and Kanan already felt overwhelmed. But he expected this. Surviving wasn’t an easy task, and it’s the strong who make it to see another day.

Therefore, Kanan decided to clear his head and only focus on one thing at a time.

’I can’t split my focus and constantly worry about everything else. One step at a time. That’s it. I just have to take things one step at a time.’

With that, Kanan started learning how to control his power.