Bogwater greeted Levi with its usual charm: damp air, fog thicker than stew, and a faint scent of rot. But today, he had a goal.
Test the cheat engine. For real.
No more staring at menus like a confused save-scummer. Today, he'd actually use it. Just one small test—something basic, like food.
But first, he needed something to eat.
Mae took one look at him and immediately narrowed her eyes.
"You're thinking of doing something stupid," she said.
"I'm going berry hunting," Levi said quickly. "For survival."
Mae looked unconvinced. "You'll get yourself killed eating the wrong kind."
"Which is why I need someone to show me which berries don't kill."
She sighed and stirred her tea. "Go find Harlan. Grumpy, smells like smoke and bog. Knows every root and thorn in the Neck. He owes me a favor. Tell him I said to help you."
Harlan looked like a man who had once wrestled a bear and still held a grudge. His beard was a tangled mess, his coat stitched together from who-knows-what, and his dog looked like it ate frogs for sport.
"What's Mae want?" Harlan asked, not looking up from sharpening a knife.
"She said to help me find edible berries. Swampberries, preferably."
He grunted. "Why?"
"She said if I go alone, I'll poison myself."
"She's not wrong."
Harlan stood, dusted off his coat, and nodded toward the path. "Come on then. And don't wander."
The trek through the swamp was quiet. Harlan wasn't much of a talker, and Levi wasn't much of a nature guy. Still, he followed closely, taking note of what Harlan pointed out. Thorny vines, slick mud pits, plants that hissed if you brushed them—what a lovely place to die.
Eventually, they reached a low patch where broad-leafed bushes hunched in clusters, fat purple berries clinging to their branches like swollen ticks.
"Swampberries," Harlan said. "Edible. Ugly, but they don't kill. Usually."
Levi picked one carefully and examined it. Slightly soft, sticky, covered in tiny fuzz.
Harlan smirked. "Eat one now or carry them back, doesn't matter to me."
Levi shrugged, popped the berry into his mouth, and winced.
It was tart. A bit bitter. Not awful. Chewable.
He gathered more.
But no matter what other shrubs he pointed at, none of the other berries Harlan found sparked the same interest. They were red, blue, speckled—but Levi felt… nothing. Not even curiosity.
Just swampberries.
Later, back at Mae's hut, Levi sat cross-legged on his mat, the basket of swampberries in front of him. Mae had gone out to scream at a boy for climbing her roof. Levi had privacy.
"Alright. Let's do this."
He closed his eyes.
The cheat engine interface opened in his mind.
FOOD• Meat – 2• Cheese – 1• Bread – 0• Swampberries – 13
He stared at the number. Then reached into the basket, picked up a swampberry, and ate it.
Swampberries – 12
He nodded. "Good. It tracks food usage."
Then, tentatively, he hovered over the count in his mind and focused.
+1 Swampberry
He opened his eyes—and gasped.
A berry popped into the basket. Physically appeared. Nestled among the rest like it had always been there.
"Holy crap."
He picked it up. Real. Soft. Smelled the same. He ate it.
Swampberries – 12
He tried again. +2
Two berries bloomed into the pile with a soft plop.
"Okay… okay… this is real. I'm making food. Actual food."
Excited, Levi turned to the other entries.
+1 Cheese
Nothing.
+1 Meat
Still nothing.
+1 Bread
No response.
He frowned.
+1 Berry (a generic entry attempt)
Error. No change.
But swampberries? They responded instantly.
He reached for one of the red berries Harlan had warned him about earlier, still sitting untouched in a pouch. He popped it into his mouth.
Bitter. But not deadly.
He tried again:
+1 Red Bogberry
Nothing.
No appearance. No change. No entry added.
Levi blinked. "Wait…"
He picked up a swampberry, ate it, then focused.
+3 Swampberries
Three appeared.
The realization hit him like cold water:The moment he ate the swampberry first, the system locked.
Only swampberries. No other food item responded. No cheese. No bread. No other berries. Just these sour little bog grapes forever.
He sat back slowly, eyes wide.
"Is this some kind of tutorial mode? Did I lock the food type? I mean… of course I did. Of course I did!"
He stared at the pile of swampberries in front of him.
"Well," he said. "Could've been worse."
Then added a dozen more.
The basket overflowed, one berry rolling off and hitting the ground with a splat.
Mae returned moments later to find Levi sweeping berries under the cot with a panicked expression.
"What in the gods' names are you doing?"
"Uh… being generous?" he said weakly. "I… may have picked too many."
She squinted at him. "You picked too many."
"Productivity burst. Don't question it."
She muttered something under her breath and walked past him, leaving wet boot prints on the floor.
Levi sat back down, surrounded by the fruits of his bizarre, glitchy labor.
"Great. I can summon infinite food," he whispered, holding one up. "As long as it's this."
He bit it again and made a face.
"I really hope I don't get tired of the taste."