God's Visit (2)

"Very well. I shall now explain," the male face said. "After careful consideration from each of us, we have decided to add a small penalty to your reincarnation process." Janus' faces said in synchronisation, creating a beautiful and pleasant voice. 

"Huh. I knew it. There was some penalty- wait, did you say 'add' a small penalty?" 

"So you weren't aware." 

"Yeah, no crap I wasn't aware. You sent me off without much explanation, and you even wiped my memories as well." 

"..." Janus stayed quiet. "No wonder. Perhaps my actions were a bit over the top. My uttermost apologies, Kyriaki Haris. I shall grant you one reincarnation cycle without the penalty to compensate for it. How does that sound?" it extended its hand like it wanted a handshake to seal the deal. 

"That's fair," Kyriaki answered, shaking Janus' hand. "So? Could you explain the penalty? You said you didn't have much time, right?" 

"Quick to the chase I see. Alright, allow me to explain. I cannot explain what exactly the main purpose of the 'penalty' is as it would be no fun, however, for the penalty to take effect, you must first die, and when the reincarnation cycle begins, the penalty also takes effect." 

"I see. So as long I don't die, then I'm fine?" 

Janus nodded its heads. 

"Indeed. As long as you do not perish, then the penalty won't take effect. However, if you do perish, then the penalty's effect would last for seventy-two hours afterwards. The effects may include loss of control of your body, extreme pain, a negative disease or condition for your next life and more." 

"Oh, I see. It's like a death penalty you see in RPGs and MMOs. That's fine and all. This cycle of reincarnation feels like a game so it's natural to have a death penalty I guess. Is that all?" 

"One more thing. Allow my female half to warn you," Janus said. Descending from the skies and only stopping when its female face was close enough to Kyriaki's ear, she then proceeded to whisper, "Apart from the standard punishments from the 'penalty', there is one more thing. I won't go into detail as my other self will immediately force me to stop talking but, remember this one thing. 'Be aware of yourself. Dangers are lurking all around you. And your mind is no exception.' At that all. Now then, see you in a bit." 

Waving goodbye to Kyriaki whilst ascending towards the sky, a simple snap of Janus' fingers returned Kyriaki to an adult again and at the same time, the sky was ripped apart forcibly by an unknown force, and Janus entered it. When Janus was gone, the ripped sky returned to normal like nothing had happened. 

"Be aware of yourself..? What does that mean?" Kyriaki uttered in confusion. "I presume Janus' female face meant some kind of mental or psychological danger, but what exactly? Oh, she stuck true to her word. I'm back to normal now." 

Kyriaki looked down at her body to check it out. Her arms and legs weren't small and thin, while her voice was back to normal. She then tried thinking of any possible answer, but it was no use. The lack of information and broadness of the warning made it so that it was almost impossible to confirm any answer. 

"Egh, it's going to be fine. I think. However, from the unexpected arrival of Janus, then I assume that the 'dangers' its female face warned me about must be near. Now back on track... breakfast." 

I still have some meat from the previous day, but it's already spoiling. I would need to smoke it to preserve it for a long period of time, so let's do that.

Kyriaki nodded her head. Her plan was simple. Firstly, she would need to create a simple drying rack to hold the meat when it smokes. After that, she would also need to create a tripod for the drying rack to support itself. 

Secondly, she would need to gather firewood. Unlike previous sessions to gather firewood, the firewood this time would need to be wet to create more smoke. 

And then finally, she would need to slice the deer meat (venison) into thin strips and smoke it (low and slow) to create jerky. It's very simple. 

"Though I guess the main problem is finding sticks or wood large enough to support this jerky production plan. If I would calculate it... I would need three long pieces of wood for the tripod, then another three or five smaller pieces of wood for the drying rack... and then some rope to hold it together." 

Ah. Where the hell do I get rope?

Kyriaki scratched her head, contemplating the problem on hand. The forest possibly had some vines that should be strong enough to be near a fire source for long periods. 

"I wonder if there are vines or fibrous plants that can serve as a makeshift rope," she mused aloud, surveying the vegetation in her immediate vicinity. "I guess I will have to go back into the forest then." 

Kyriaki turned her body to face the forest, but then in the corner of her eye, tucked behind a tree near her grass bed, there was a small wooden bowl. Naturally, she was confused and thought she might been dreaming since she met Janus, a literal god, but a quick pinch test on her face quickly proved that wrong. 

"Ow... that hurts," she mumbled, rubbing her palm on her cheek to numb the pain. "This is not a dream then. The only explanation I can think of... Janus. Is it it's female or male face's doing?" 

Kyriaki carefully made her way towards the bowl. It could be a trap, though quite unlikely. Nevertheless, precautions must be taken. One step. Two steps. She hesitated before taking her third step. Then her fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh before eventually starting to walk normally towards the bowl. 

"It's just a normal bowl. Sigh. Okay. I admit I was a bit too cautious I guess." 

She picked up the bowl to inspect it; nothing was wrong with it. There were no rough surfaces dirt or other substances on the bowl. It felt smooth to the touch and it was also a bit reflective, hinting at an oil finish to bring out the wood's beauty. There was also a large green leaf serving as a plate for the bowl. 

"Hm? A leaf? And there's something written on it. 'Consider this bowl as a small gesture of apology for the actions of my other self. You may destroy it if you desire, or you can use it. The choice is yours.' 

Oh what, it was from Janus. It's male face I believe. And there's absolutely no way I'm going to destroy this! I just accidentally got rid of my makeshift bowl so I don't have one now, lucky me!" Kyriaki delightedly said. 

She was now in a good mood compared to before and happily hummed to the beat of a song from her memory. Just in case, Kyriaki brought the wooden bowl to the river and gave it a quick rinse. She then filled it up with water and brought it back to her campfire. 

Several heated rocks were already prepared beforehand and she plucked two rocks half the size of her fist with sticks and dropped them into the bowl filled with river water. 

As soon as the rocks made contact with the water, it began to sizzle and steam arose into the sky. Placing the bowl onto the ground, Kyriaki headed back into the forest to gather materials for her jerky production plan. 

The water should take around half an hour to boil so there is plenty of time to spare. Though, if it comes to it, I might need to cut off the branches of some smaller trees. 

Well, let's get going. The earlier I enter, the earlier I finish so the earlier I can relax while enjoying the scenery and wind.