Chapter 2: A Chance

Ding!

[Quest created!]

[Quest 1: Save the stranger and bring him to the safe zone

Penalty: Warmth Parameter Host will decrease by 10% if you fail to save the stranger

Reward: Rare Skill and Random Item]

Poppy covered her mouth in disbelief when she saw a transparent screen appear in front of her, displaying the details of the Quest she had to complete.

“You're really giving me a quest at a critical moment like this?!” Poppy shook her head in disbelief at what the System had done to her.

The gust of wind that swept over her body made Poppy realize that the longer she argued with the System, the less time she would have to save this stranger.

Poppy crouched down beside the stranger's body and tried to lift him up. It took Poppy a long time before she managed to carry the man away from the snowdrifts.

“Damn, this man is so heavy. Besides that, where can I go to take shelter from this extreme weather?” Poppy couldn't stop muttering softly, surrounded by nothing but the white snow.

There were no signs of huts or houses. Poppy felt her eyes starting to sting from the snow that continued to fall on them.

With great effort, Poppy carried the foreign man's body and continued walking through the snow-covered pine trees.

“Gosh, how much longer do I have to suffer to find shelter!” Poppy stamped her feet in frustration when she couldn't find what she needed.

If this continued, the strange man on her shoulders would soon freeze to death, so Poppy quickened her pace, and that's when she saw a cave.

Poppy's eyes sparkled with hope, and she hurriedly dragged the stranger's body towards the cave she had found. Fortunately, the cave was large enough to accommodate both of them.

Carefully, Poppy laid the stranger's body on the floor of the cave, which was covered with dirt rather than snow.

“I hope this will make you warmer,” Poppy muttered softly as she rubbed her hands together.

After feeling that her palms were warm enough, Poppy placed her hands on the stranger's cheeks, trying to warm him up.

Poppy repeated what she was doing several times, hoping that her efforts would not be in vain.

Finally, just as Poppy placed her palms on the stranger's cheeks, his eyes suddenly opened and their gazes met accidentally.

Without warning, the stranger immediately pushed Poppy's hands away and gave her a sharp look, leaving Poppy shocked by his cold treatment.

“Who are you? What are you doing to my body?” The blond-haired man pulled himself away from Poppy.

“Huh?! You're accusing me of doing something to you?” Poppy was speechless when she heard the blond-haired man's accusation, “If it weren't for me saving you from that pile of snow, I'm sure you would have frozen to death out there.”

“Then why did you hold my face like that?” The blond-haired man still insisted on accusing Poppy.

Poppy ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, “I just wanted to help warm your body!”

A moment later, Poppy regretted saying that because when she thought about it, her words sounded a little ambiguous.

Their argument was interrupted when something hit the cave wall quite hard, so hard that Poppy felt the cave wall shake and her body shake.

“What happened?” Poppy's expression turned serious when she realized that the situation outside was becoming more dangerous than before.

As Poppy was about to go to the mouth of the cave, she felt the blond-haired man hold her hand, causing Poppy to turn to him with an unhappy expression.

“A snowstorm is coming. It would be very dangerous if you decided to check the situation outside,” said the blond-haired man, staring straight at Poppy.

The blond man's ocean-blue eyes were as mesmerizing as his face, and for a moment, Poppy found herself unable to look away from his eyes.

“You—”

Poppy's words were cut off when she felt the blond man pull her toward him. Poppy blinked several times in disbelief when she found herself in the man's arms.

When Poppy was about to protest to the blond-haired man, she changed her mind when she felt the man's body shivering violently.

Unfortunately, Poppy's situation was different. As soon as her body touched the blond man's, she could feel her body becoming much warmer than before.

‘Is this the effect of my warmth parameter starting to fill up?’ Poppy thought to herself as she felt a surge of warmth in her body.

Poppy's reverie was broken when she felt the blond man's embrace tighten. It was then that she realized that the man needed her warmth to survive this snowstorm, which she didn't know when it would end.

Ding!

[Quest Update!

Objective:

- Save the stranger and get him to the safe zone

- Help the stranger survive the cold snowstorm

Penalty: The Host's Warmth Parameter will decrease by 10% if she fails to save the stranger

Reward: Rare Skill and Random Item+ ]

“Whatever happens, this is a win-win situation for me. When else would I get to hug a handsome man like this?” Poppy thought to herself with a happy giggle.

Without hesitation, Poppy hugged the blond-haired man, sharing her body heat with him. Slowly, Poppy could feel that the man's body had begun to stabilize, and he was no longer shivering.

The warmth in her body could help warm other people. In addition, the longer Poppy had physical contact with the stranger, the more comfortable she felt.

That was when Poppy heard a hoarse voice from the blond-haired man.

“Why is your body so warm?” The man's eyes looked dull, but there was curiosity in his hoarse voice.

“You think my body is warm? After you accused me of doing something to your body earlier?” Poppy deliberately cornered him.

The blond-haired man cleared his throat softly when he heard Poppy's words. To hide his blushing face, the man turned his face away from Poppy.

“I'm sorry about earlier.”

“If you really want to apologize to me, let me know your name.” To be honest, Poppy was curious about the name of this blond-haired man.

“Evander. You can call me Evander,” replied Evander, stealing a glance at Poppy.

When Poppy looked up and accidentally made eye contact with Evander, he immediately turned his face away from Poppy, refusing to look her directly in the eye.

“I'm Poppy. By the way, how did you end up in the middle of this snowy forest?” No matter how Poppy thought about it, it still didn't make sense that Evander was here.

Without Poppy expecting it, Evander reacted violently, and she heard him grit his teeth hard. Poppy saw Evander's gaze sharpen after hearing her question.

“They... chose to betray me!” Evander's voice was sharp, cold, and full of resentment.