Chapter 6: Setting Boundaries

Harmony and Vault started making their way through the forest. Despite the strong distracting urge to satisfy their hunger, they still remained on guard as they traversed the area. There was no telling what other kinds of monsters they could encounter along the way.

Based on what Felicia could tell from what she's seen of this world, there are no roads or towns or any other signs of civilization. It was as if the entire area was just wiped clean of people before adding new ones in. Looking at it from another perspective, this world essentially belonged to nature and the animals that lived there.

She had been wondering for a while what the name of this world was. She figured she would ask Eunice or maybe Vault later for more details. Right now her priority was food. She couldn't really focus, or have a deep conversation on an empty stomach.

She was so hungry that the thought of just eating anything sounded good right about now. “Please tell me you have some way of getting some decent food at least?”

Vault avoided eye contact. “I would not call it decent, but it's manageable.”

***

Vault and Harmony stopped in front of a stream. Vault kneeled down. “Hope one of you likes seafood.”

Harmony looked closer at the stream. “You go fishing here a lot? Kind of shallow, probably don’t get too many here.”

He poked a stick into the water and a sudden snap made Harmony jump back. Vault pulled the stick out and revealed a clam. He removed his prized catch from his improvised tool. He held it up in front of Harmony. She gently poked the clam. “Oh, cool! Clam meat is actually really good!”

The clam opened and snapped shut on her finger. She paused for a moment, before letting loose a loud scream. Vault burst out laughing watching Harmony.

She tried banging the clam against trees and the floor, but its shell was too hard. His laughter quickly died out when he realized she was getting more and more desperate. Her HP bar was slowly going down because the system saw it as her taking consistent damage from the bite.

He scrambled over to her and tried to pull it off. “Hold still!”

She glared at him with watery eyes. “Why didn't you stop me?!”

Vault continued trying to pry the shell open. “It was supposed to be a harmless prank! I didn't think it would hurt that much!”

Eunice took over and pulled herself away from Vault. “I have an idea.” She activated her skill “Extract.”

Her finger popped out of the clam with ease. She tossed the little bear trap off to the side and pointed at Vault with her bruised finger.

“I warned you not to trust this boy! Look at how it did not take him long to betray you! Just look at how he harms you for his own twisted amusement!”

Harmony suddenly jerked as Felicia took back control. “He said it was just a prank that went wrong, calm down!”

Harmony grabbed both of her weapons as Eunice took over once again. She brandished them in front of his face, and he put up his hands to show surrender. “Lies! Why are you so willing to trust in him?! Why would you be so willing to put yourself in danger, and forgive him?!”

Felicia was struggling to regain control. Harmony's body was trembling from the tug of war that was going on between the two body roommates.

Felicia was able to force a few words out of Harmony's mouth. “No one…Was willing to do…Anything for me…Not even give me a chance.”

Vault gave her a guilty look. A tear went down Harmony's face as she continued to speak. Her words came out with a shaky voice. “On earth, I don't have parents, family, or even any real friends that actually care about me…I was trying to make friends with a classmate before I came here, but he got sent here too. I don’t even know where he is…I hate feeling this way...”

I don't want anyone to feel like they don't matter to anyone. We all need to have someone who's willing to be by our side. Who cares if we're sad, hurt, or just wants to cheer us up. None of that can happen if we don't give people a chance.”

Eunice could see tears going down Felicia’s face in the mental world as Harmony continued to speak. “From what I can tell, something similar happened to you, Eunice…The difference between you and me, I didn't let it turn me into someone who just hates everyone… Someone who only sees a world full of enemies.”

Vault took a step forward and put a hand on his chest to show sincerity to the two girls. “Look, I'm really, really sorry. It really was supposed to just be a harmless prank…I've been through some tough times here in this new world.”

He took another step towards the girls. “At this point, I just find myself trying to make light of things. It's kind of what's been helping me get through the days here. Clearly, I crossed a line with both of you.”

Eunice completely relinquished control back to Felicia. She wiped her tears and returned her weapon back to its sheath.Vault finally closed the distance between him and Harmony.

“If there's some way I can make this up to both of you, or at least you know, fix this somehow. Just let me know, okay?”

The two girls realize that he really did feel bad about his actions. This whole thing kind of ruined the mood of the day. They were both just supposed to get some food and turn in.

Harmony focused her attention on the clam that was still on the ground. She noticed that it had opened for a brief moment before suddenly shutting. She swears she saw something shiny inside of it.

She squatted down and pointed her hand at the little finger crusher. Vault tried to remind her to be cautious, but she decided to try something anyway. She activated her Extract skill.

The clam's mouth suddenly flew open and a small shiny object shot out of it. The mysterious item went straight into Harmony's hand. She suddenly got a system notification after opening her palm to examine it.

“Acquired Small Pearl. a small Jewel that can be found within the mouths of clams.”

“Acquired Clam Meat. The flesh that can be found within a clam. Considered to be a delicacy for those who love seafood.”

All three of them examine the pearl and realize they had made an interesting discovery. Not only have they found a unique item to add to their inventory, they have also discovered a useful way to use the Extract skill.

Vault put a hand on Harmony's shoulder and she looked up at him. “I think we both have the same crazy idea about how to improve your Extract skill, an easier way to get dinner, and how I'm going to make it up to both of you.”

Harmony gave Vault a big grin. Going forward they spent quite a long time using her Extract skill to get dinner, exp, and forgiveness.