The Second Element of Survival: Food

Hearing Freyr's words, Lilith felt slightly reassured, but she immediately began to pray in her heart...

Almighty God, please protect poor little Lilith... let this devil catch some fish tomorrow... Oh no, it's not that poor Lilith is greedy, it's just to save Jiujiu's life... um, if possible, Lilith can forgo eating fish, or just eat a little... please, Almighty God... sob sob sob... but I'm so hungry, Lilith really wants to eat fish too...

When she woke up in the morning, the campfire had gone out sometime during the night, leaving only a faint wisp of smoke. Freyr felt a bit cold and, moving slightly, he realized there was something in his arms. Looking down, he saw that Lilith had crawled into his embrace at some point. The little wizard was sleeping soundly but seemed a bit cold, her body curled into a ball, with her small hands tucked into Freyr's coat for warmth.

It seemed that in her sleep, feeling too cold, she had instinctively sought out warmth and snuggled into Freyr's arms. Freyr sighed. He didn't wake the girl immediately but gently took off his coat to cover her, then carefully laid her down and stood up.

As soon as he stood up, Freyr's face changed dramatically!!!

...

"No!!!! Damn it!!!! No!!!!!!" On the deserted island, Freyr let out an angry and frustrated shout.

...

Thick fog enveloped the sea before him, a dense mist that seemed to drape a heavy white veil over the world! The air was saturated with moisture, and in such fog, nothing was visible on the ocean!

In this terrible weather, visibility on the sea was less than ten meters!!!

How could Freyr not be anxious?

He was trapped on this desolate island without food, with only a small amount of drinking water. He urgently needed to find a way off the island. His only hope was that some ship might pass by and rescue them.

Freyr had already decided to keep a fire burning on the shore day and night to attract any passing ships—assuming there were any. But now... faced with such heavy fog... Freyr's heart sank!

With visibility so low, even if he lit a fire, passing ships wouldn't see it in this dreadful weather!!

What made Freyr despair even more was the knowledge that at sea, foggy weather like this often lasted a considerable time!

On land, a foggy day might clear up in a day. But at sea... it wouldn't be unusual for such fog to last three to five days!

Three to five days...

Freyr sighed inwardly. Do I even have three to five days? Up till now, we haven't found any food.

Lilith was awakened by Freyr's shout. Seeing his grim expression, the poor girl became uneasy.

Without a word, Freyr quickly gathered branches to build a fire, making it as large and vigorous as possible. Then he ran around collecting more branches and dumped them in front of Lilith.

"Hey, watch the fire. If it starts to weaken, add more wood! Don't let the fire go out! And keep an eye on the sea... if you see a ship, try to get their attention. Make the fire bigger... or use magic to shoot fireballs into the sky! Got it?"

"Y-yes." Lilith nodded but then looked puzzled. "With this fog, can we see any ships? Can ships see us?"

Freyr sighed, not answering her question. "Just do as I say. It's our only chance."

With that, Freyr picked a long stick, weighed it in his hand, and walked along the beach.

"W-where are you going?"

"I'm going to find food!" Freyr said coldly. "Maybe I can find some mushrooms or wild fruits in the forest. It's a big forest; there might be something. Hopefully, I can find something! It's easier than catching fish. If I can't find anything, I'll have to dive for fish."

Freyr paused. "You'd better hope I find something. Otherwise, tonight, no matter how much you cry, we'll have to eat your Jiujiu. A human life is more important than an animal's."

Lilith shivered at the cold look in Freyr's eyes as he left.

Freyr was gone all morning.

Lilith stayed on the beach alone, feeling extremely frightened. With no one around, she felt utterly helpless!

In the past, she had lived in seclusion with her teacher, often left alone when he went out. But back then, she had her magic.

Now, she had nothing.

All morning, Lilith diligently added wood to the fire, getting her hands scratched by sharp branches and her face smudged with soot. She worked hard to keep the fire blazing as Freyr had instructed.

Around noon, Freyr finally returned.

From a distance, Lilith saw Freyr limping back, seemingly injured but with a look of relief on his face.

Freyr had a vine slung around his neck, with strange things dangling from it—roots and tubers covered in dirt that he had apparently dug up. He used one hand to lean on the stick and carried a small bundle of branches in the other, adorned with scattered orange berries.