The sun poked through the thatched roof like a nosy neighbor, its rays needling Levi's eyelids until he groaned and flopped over on the straw mattress. His back cracked in protest. "Ugh… it's morning again?"
He lay there for a while, not really awake, but no longer able to sleep. Outside, birds chirped and boots squelched in mud. Someone coughed. Somewhere, a dog barked, and someone swore. Bogwater's greatest hits.
This was, officially, Day Three. His final day of grace. Not that he was doing anything about it.
He stared up at the ceiling, arms folded behind his head. "I should probably start figuring out how to survive," he muttered. "But, like… tomorrow."
His thoughts drifted lazily to the cheat engine again. Still no sign of pop-ups or glowing numbers. No resource counters. Just that old, familiar interface tucked away where only he could find it—a ghost of the modern world haunting this mud-and-lizard-infested purgatory.
He had spent half the night again fidgeting with it: poking through menus like Memory View, Edit, Search, D3D, and Table. There were no active processes, no clear values to edit, and without something to anchor it to—like food, gold, or supplies—it was like staring at an empty spreadsheet. The most he'd managed was opening a blank table and saving it under the name: Bogwater Survive CE v0.1.
Progress.
Not useful progress. But progress.
A knock at the door snapped him out of his mental spiraling.
It creaked open, and Jory peeked in. "You alive?"
Levi blinked at him from the bed. "Debatable."
Jory walked in, munching on a dried root. "Gran said I should drag you outside before you mold."
"Is she offering to carry me?"
"Nope."
"Then no deal."
Jory snorted. "You're worse than the goats." He paused, then grinned. "Wanna come see Moat Cailin?"
That got Levi's attention. He sat up slowly. "Wait… the ruin you mentioned? The old fortress?"
"Yup. Not far from here. We won't get too close, but it's something better than sitting here like swamp moss."
Levi glanced toward the ceiling again. As much as he hated moving, the word fortress had a ring to it. And let's be honest, he had nothing better to do. No money. No plan. No idea how to use the cheat engine yet.
He sighed. "Fine. But I'm only doing this because she said moss was more useful than me."
Outside, Mae was hauling a bucket of water toward the firepit. She stopped and gave him a side glance. "So, the rock moves"
"I move with purpose," Levi muttered. "Eventually."
Mae raised a brow. "Good. Maybe you'll grow some spine out there. Just don't get eaten by a bog cat."
"I'll try."
As they walked through the village, something felt… off.
There was a tension in the air. Villagers stood around murmuring in small clumps, peering toward the narrow road that led west. Children clung to their parents' legs. A few hunters returned from the trees not with prey, but news.
Levi frowned. "What's with the sudden mood?"
Jory, confused, looked around. "Dunno. Maybe the lizards declared war."
Then they heard it: the sound of hooves. Multiple riders. Wagons, too. And armor—he could hear the clink of it even from the edge of the village.
Levi tensed. "Another merchant run?"
Jory shook his head. "No. Merchants don't ride that loud."
Villagers cleared a path near the main road. A few even bowed their heads. Levi stood on his toes, trying to see. He could just make out the glint of steel. Banners. A carriage. Horses.
Then they passed, swift and silent.
A noble.
Definitely a noble. Even if Levi didn't know the house or the region, there was no mistaking that kind of presence. He felt it in the pit of his stomach—someone important had just passed them by.
And he had no idea who it was.
Levi turned to ask someone, but the villagers had already gone back to their work, quiet and cautious. Jory nudged him. "Come on, before it gets dark. The ruins aren't waiting."
As they left the village and started down a muddy trail, Levi looked back once. He had so many questions.
But no answers.
And apparently, no time to ask.