NOVEL WEB Chapter 4: Bab 4
A translucent blue panel popped up right in front of Gara's face.
[MADHA PROFILE STATUS]
Bloodline: None
Talent: None
Age: 16
Affinity: 85%
Trait: Selfless
[SYSTEM EVALUATION]
Bloodline and Talent, poor. Affinity, high. Trait, excellent.
The Chosen One may keep him around for support. However, not recommended as the father of a child.
Startled, Gara jerked back, trying to wriggle free from Madha's hold. The panel disappeared. The number above Madha's head changed—from 79% to 85%.
"This is insane!" Gara panicked inwardly, still struggling.
"Are you okay, Gara? You'll slip if you move too much in here."
Effortlessly, Madha lifted Gara's smaller body and carried him—just like a mom koala carrying her baby. Gara's legs ended up wrapped around Madha's waist, and his arms clung awkwardly around Madha's neck.
Realizing he might actually fall if he kept squirming, Gara gave in and stayed in that… very compromising position until they reached the riverbank.
Madha gently set him down.
When Gara looked up at Madha's face, his so-called best friend, it was visibly flushed.
And that's when it clicked.
The floating heart icon wasn't showing how close he felt to Madha, it was showing how much Madha liked him.
Gara stared, dumbfounded. Was it because of his pretty face? His slim body? Honestly, if he were a girl, he'd probably fall for Madha too. The guy had the looks, the muscles, and the kind of gentle attention that melted hearts.
Still, Gara wasn't going to judge Madha's preferences.
He had no problem being liked. Everyone had their own taste. But he definitely wasn't planning to return those feelings. He had a mission to complete. A very straight mission. He needed girls, not guys.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Madha asked, his voice full of concern.
"I'm fine. But you..." Gara froze mid-sentence. "Your leg! You're bleeding!"
Madha glanced casually at his injured leg. "It's nothing. I'm glad you're not hurt."
Then, without a second thought, he went back into the river to retrieve the net Gara had dropped earlier. He gathered the fish they'd caught into a clay container..
"I'll go gather wood and stones so we can grill these. Stay here and rest, okay?" he said, then turned to leave, but paused mid-step. "Put your shirt back on before you catch a cold."
If Gara hadn't seen the heart icon float up again, now displaying 86%, he would've thought Madha was just being a sweet friend.
But Madha was sweet. The problem was, he was sweet with ulterior motives.
Gara quickly put on his shirt. He seriously considered just leaving. But then he thought about how Madha had gone through all that trouble—catching fish, getting injured, and now even going to collect firewood.
It felt wrong to bail on him now.
"SYSTEM," Gara called out in his mind, "are you saying I can choose a male partner too?"
No answer.
Not even a beep.
This system clearly wasn't one of those high-functioning, talkative ones from fantasy novels. Some systems were sassy. His? Silent as a rock.
Gara suddenly felt a wave of loneliness.
She missed her parents, her siblings, her nieces and nephews. They were probably devastated, thinking she'd died choking on fried chicken.
She hadn't wanted a second chance at life. All she'd ever wanted was just… one more hug from her mom. To see her dad again. To be there for her family after her older brother ended up in jail. Her parents had sacrificed so much for her. Pinned all their hopes on her.
She used to escape all that pressure by diving into fantasy novels. Isekai stories, where the hero ran away from reality and started over somewhere else.
Now here she was truly in another world.
But all she wanted was to go home. The people who made her life hard were also the people who gave it meaning.
She'd finish this challenge. And then, find a way back to them.
Srrk.
Gara turned his head. Madha had returned, arms full of branches and a few large stones. He started stacking the stones into a makeshift stove, added dry leaves and twigs in the center, and lit a fire.
While Madha worked, Gara just watched quietly.
Madha didn't let him get too close. Probably to keep him from inhaling the smoke. He even cleaned the fish by himself without complaining.
Madha really was a good guy. Gara had to admit that.
When the fish was finally cooked, Gara was surprised. It tasted way better than he'd expected especially since he didn't even like fish to begin with.
"What did you season this with? Why is it so good?" Gara asked between bites.
Madha shook his head. "Fish from rivers that flow straight from the mountains are naturally delicious. The energy in the water makes the meat taste better. I didn't add anything."
Oh, right. Gara reminded himself, this wasn't Earth. He had to stop expecting everything to make logical sense.
"If mountain water contains energy, is it also useful for humans?" Gara asked, chewing on the crispy tail.
"That depends," Madha replied. "For ordinary people like us, drinking it throughout our lives might help prevent minor illnesses, headaches, colds, things like that. But for Liners with a water element and the right talent, they can absorb the water's energy to boost their strength."
"That's... a huge gap," Gara commented.
Madha nodded.
"I'll be heading to your village before I go to the town," he said suddenly, remembering their upcoming bloodline awakening ceremony. "We can travel there together."
Gara fell silent.
Now that he knew how Madha felt about him, he really wanted to avoid the guy. But having someone experienced like Madha for the trip to the town, that would be incredibly helpful.
Then Gara remembered what the system had said, "May keep him around for support."
He shook the thought away. Nope. Not thinking about that.
He wrapped up the leftover grilled fish. He wanted to bring it home for his mom.
Madha walked him all the way to his doorstep before turning around and heading home.
Gara stood there for a moment.
He felt like a girl who'd just been walked home by her boyfriend after a date.
Which made everything ten times weirder.
Inside, the smell of cooking hit him immediately.
"Mom, I brought grilled fish," Gara called out, heading straight to the kitchen. "Madha caught it in the river."
"Madha's such a good boy," Wina said, taking the fish from him. "You should invite him over for dinner sometime."
Gara gave a stiff smile and nodded, saying nothing.
Before sunset, Gara and his mom sat together in the front room, each with a plate in hand. Gara wasn't hungry. He didn't really feel like eating, but Wina insisted.
"It's bad to eat after sunset," she scolded gently.
So Gara forced himself to nibble a little.
All throughout the meal, his brain was running wild, trying to find the right words.
Finally, just as Wina was about to go into her room for the night, Gara stopped her.
"Mom," he said, voice unsure, "I want to go to the town. For the Bloodline Awakening Ceremony."
Wina froze, her expression shifting quickly from surprise to stone cold seriousness.
"No," she said flatly.
...