The forest was alive with the sounds of rustling leaves, distant bird calls, and the occasional snap of a twig beneath Hiro’s feet. As he walked, he pulled out the small list of required survival tasks for the first day.

  The paper was crisp, neatly folded, but the weight of responsibility it carried felt heavier than expected. His eyes skimmed over the first section, which outlined a key rule: “For any task delegated to your summons, you are not to directly interfere. Observe, learn how they think, and take note of the physical limitations they encounter.”

  Hiro sighed. This would be harder than he thought.

  Looking down at Chūta and Yamiha, Hiro knew exactly which task he would assign first. Finding a suitable campsite.

  “Alright, you two. This is your job. Pick out a pce where we can sleep tonight.”

  Chūta immediately perked up, his tail twitching in excitement. He scampered off ahead, leaping between trees in quick, nimble bounds. Hiro followed at a slow pace, watching as Chūta finally came to a stop high up in the branches of an enormous tree. The squirrel chirped excitedly and motioned with his tiny paws.

  Hiro tilted his head. “…Chūta, you realize I can’t sleep in a tree, right?”

  Chūta squeaked in protest, clearly not understanding why his brilliant idea was being rejected. Hiro groaned. Of course, Chūta thought a high, wind-sheltered nest was the perfect location. He was a flying squirrel.

  “Next,” Hiro muttered, turning to Yamiha.

  Yamiha had already taken the initiative and led him toward a heavily shaded area, thick with underbrush. She perched on a fallen log, tapping one of her legs against the bark. The area was damp, cool, and concealed from above.

  Hiro crouched down, inspecting the spot. Dark, cramped, and filled with dense vegetation.

  “…Yamiha,” Hiro said slowly. “This is basically a spider nest.”

  Yamiha tilted her head, as if to say ‘Exactly.’

  Hiro sighed, rubbing his forehead. “You do realize I need sunlight and open space to function, right?”

  The spider merely tapped her legs against the log again.

  This went back and forth several times. Chūta refused to consider anywhere that wasn’t up in a tree, while Yamiha only pointed out pces that a creature of the night would love.

  Finally, with growing exasperation, Hiro took matters into his own hands. He climbed to the top of a small hill and found a modest open clearing.

  It was ft, close enough to some trees for cover, but not so dense that he would wake up in the middle of a tangled mess of vines. It was far from perfect, but at least it was practical.

  He let out a long breath. “Well… I guess I failed that task.” He marked the box under “Who selected the campsite?” with his own name. Not off to a great start.

  With the sun dipping lower in the sky, Hiro checked the next task. Finding food.

  This one, he had no choice but to delegate. He turned to his summons. “Alright, I need you two to gather food for dinner. Anything edible. I trust you.”

  Chūta immediately took off, his small form vanishing into the canopy. Yamiha skittered low to the ground, weaving through the foliage. Hiro watched them go before rolling up his sleeves and setting to work on his shelter.

  It took an hour of work, but Hiro finally finished assembling a crude shelter. He had yered thick branches for the frame and piled up leaves to serve as bedding. It wasn’t much, but it would keep the wind off his back for the night.

  Pleased with his efforts, Hiro turned toward the makeshift drop-off point he had set up for his summons to leave their gathered food. He stepped closer, his stomach growling in anticipation.

  His excitement died instantly.

  The pile of food consisted of various types of seeds and oversized insects.

  Hiro’s eye twitched.

  He had no doubts about the origins of each. The seeds were clearly Chūta’s doing, and the insects… well, Yamiha had always been a fan of webbing up fat, juicy grubs and caterpilrs.

  His summons stared at him expectantly.

  Chūta sat upright, eyes gleaming with pride, his tiny paws held together as if to say, “See? Look at all the delicious food I got!”

  Yamiha, sitting perfectly still, radiated satisfaction. She had brought back a bounty of nutritious prey.

  Hiro resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. He had been hoping for berries. Maybe even some mushrooms. But of course, Chūta had no interest in sweet food, and Yamiha… well, she had never hunted for anyone other than herself before.

  A small part of him itched to reach into his storage and pull out some edible herbs and pnts to make a simple sad. He had the means to fix this meal into something far more patable, something he actually wanted to eat. But that would go against the nature of the test. This was about surviving with what his summons provided, not fixing their shortcomings with his own resources. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to push the thought away. He had to do this properly.

  Suppressing a groan, Hiro sat at the makeshift table he had assembled out of fallen logs. He grabbed a handful of seeds and forced himself to chew. They were dry, but edible.

  His eyes drifted to the pile of rge grubs.

  Kaya had taught him how to identify edible insects, and Hiro knew that—unappetizing as they looked—these were at least safe to eat.

  Resigned to his fate, he grabbed a thick stick, speared a few of the grubs, and held them over the fire.

  Chūta and Yamiha watched him closely.

  The insects sizzled, the outer shells crisping in the fmes. Hiro hesitated before taking a bite. The texture was a little weird, but surprisingly, the roasted bugs weren’t awful.

  “…Could be worse,” Hiro muttered, forcing himself to swallow. At least it was protein.

  Satisfied that he wouldn’t go to bed hungry, Hiro grabbed the next task on his list: night watch.

  He turned to Yamiha. “You’re in charge of camp security. Nothing gets close without you knowing. Got it?”

  The spider lifted one leg in a mock salute before scuttling toward the tree line, her dark form blending effortlessly into the shadows.

  With that settled, Hiro turned to Chūta and reached out a hand.

  “Time to go home for the night.”

  Chūta chirped in protest, but Hiro shook his head. “You’ll be safer back in the clearing near the orphanage. I need to get used to sleeping outdoors alone.”

  Reluctantly, the flying squirrel hopped onto Hiro’s arm. With a small pulse of chakra, Hiro unsummoned him.

  As the night deepened, Hiro y down inside his shelter, resting his head against the thin yer of leaves he had spread across the ground.

  The forest was alive with unfamiliar noises—creatures moving in the undergrowth, the distant hoot of an owl, the occasional snap of a branch somewhere beyond his sight.

  His bed was uncomfortable. The air was damp.

  It was his first night truly alone.

  He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes.

  He just had to make it through three more.