Sitting in that cave, my mind raced with so many possibilities… who knew if those hateful creatures would breach father’s defenses before that scout brings Noctis back?
The faint dampness of the stone walls pressed in around me, the cave suddenly feeling smaller than it had when I first arrived.
Every drip of water somewhere deeper echoed like a ticking clock I didn’t want to hear.m and I groaned in displeasure.
Host, don’t you think that you should relax and wait for good news.
Didn’t you write your father as strong?
Well, I did but those rogue beasts are on a totally different level, they would do literally anything as long as it got them the win they came for.
And who knows how many they are!
Well, that’s also true And without those five in the tribe currently, this battle would really go bad…I can feel it.
Elias is in the tribe.
Elias?
Can he alone fend them off?
Fair enough.
No, I can’t stay here any more minute or I would go crazy with worry.
We’ll just have a peak to know they’re okay then we’ll return to the cave.
Host, that sounds dangerous.
Yeah, because it is.
I slowly stood up to my feet, grateful that I was a bit more steadier now than I was before and walked to the cave entrance before leaning into the wall and peaking out.
The cold air outside brushed against my face the moment I leaned out, sharper than I expected, making me pause for half a second before breathing it in and leaning out more to better check my surroundings.
The entire place was empty and devoid of life and my brows furrowed in question as I glanced around but found no one outside.
Even the usual distant sounds of movement or females were gone, which only made the silence feel more unnatural.
Miumiu?
Where’s everyone?
Host, they’re also hiding…like you are.
Oh, true.
I shook my head at myself before deciding to go out and check around but then a sharp cry filled the air and my head snapped towards the sound to find a child being chased by a grotesque looking tiger.
The rogue tiger was terrifyingly huge, its body packed with thick muscles beneath rough burnt-orange fur streaked by dark uneven stripes.
Every step it took made the ground feel heavier, like even the earth didn’t want to support its weight.
Old scars crisscrossed across its body, some so deep they had long since healed badly, giving it a savage and unpleasant appearance.
One of its ears had been torn halfway off while its yellow eyes gleamed with cold cruelty and intelligence far too human for comfort.
Sharp fangs protruded slightly past its lips as it chased after the crying child, its expression twisted with the kind of vicious excitement only rogue beasts possessed.
My eyes widened as I stared at them and something seemed to touch my head because the next second, I quickly hid myself.
Heart pounding, I pressed my back against the rough stone, as if the cave itself could swallow me whole.
Host, that’s a female child.
So?
Her fate is already predetermined.
Mine’s not.
Host, if you save her, don’t you think the tribe would see you more differently?
Why should I care?
I only came here to survive and get points from the male leads, the tribe can go to hell to all I care.
Why should I do something to please them when for all I know, they’re asking the beast god right now to grant me death?
Host!!
I….
The child’s screams filled the air and I peaked out once again only to find that she had fallen to the ground and the tiger was now stalking toward her with glee.
The sound she made cracked slightly at the end, like her voice was already breaking from fear.
10, 000 normal points!
I can’t even watch this chick die.
Let me just loo— 20, 000 normal points….
Nothing, the beast was so close now.
Its shadow swallowed the small child completely, and for a second it felt like time slowed just to make me suffer through it.
And the bow and arrows!!!
Spear!!!
The spear materialized in my right hand and taking advantage of the tiger’s focus on the child, I darted out and sent the spear flying.
The motion came almost instinctively now, like my body moved before my thoughts fully caught up.
The spear whizzed through the air and for a short moment when the beast started to turn—maybe due to the sound having reached it—I feared that the spear wouldn’t make it and my heartbeat began to go a mile per minute.
But right before it could completely turn its head, the spear slammed straight into its forehead and the beast howled loudly as it was sent flying back from the force.
Its massive body hit the ground hard enough to shake nearby dust loose from the rocks, and as it slammed down, its limbs twitched once before it stopped moving entirely.
Silence followed immediately after, heavier than the roar that came before it.
I felt my vision blur as I waved my hands and the spear disappeared before I turned around without paying the child a second glance and went back into hiding.
It’s better if she doesn’t even know who saved her, what do I say when I’m asked by the tribe?
I suddenly became a hunter?
Congratulations Host!
20, 000 normal points has been deposited in your wallet and the bow and arrows have been added to your inventory.
Good to hear that.
I smiled faintly as I sat down on the stone bed and went to put the bundles of silver cores into my system inventory but stopped myself at the last minute.
Wasn’t this bundles brought back by Noctis?
If it suddenly disappeared now, how would I explain that?
And besides, I don’t want anyone knowing I have a storage space, limited or not.
My fingers tightened slightly around the cores before I reluctantly set them back down.
Miumiu, have you checked how to open that storage space?
I asked, willing the obsidian stone to appear in my palms and a stirring filled my head before it replied.
Drop your blood on it, I guess.
You guess?
There’s not much to go with and I’ve ransacked our storage space records but found nothing in it.
Weird, so where did it come from?
I twirled the stone in my hands and sighed before deciding to try it.
At least I’ll know that I already tried that and would tick it out of my list.
But before I could do anything, “Lyrielle, baby!” Father’s frantic voice filled the air long before he literally bounded into the cave in his wolf form and my eyes widened for a second before I recognized who it was.
Dust and faint traces of blood clung to his fur, making the relief in his presence clash sharply with worry.
“Father?” I asked and he instantly transformed back to his normal form and walked up to me.
I could see worry in his eyes and also relief when he saw that I was okay and my heart warmed up at the sight.
“Thank the beast god that you’re okay,” he said with a small puff of air and I nodded before my eyes caught on the long gash running from his chest down to his abdomen and it was bleeding red.
My eyes twitched violently as I jumped to my feet and rushed up to him.
“Father, you’re injured!” I exclaimed as I grabbed his arms and guided him to the stone bed to sit down.
The warmth I felt moments ago was immediately replaced by alarm, sharper and colder as it rushed down my spine.
“Don’t worry, when the healer is done with the others then she’ll cover the wound.” He waved me off with a broad smile and I frowned.
“You would have lost a lot of blood by that time and might even die!” I said and without thinking, I called upon my earth abilities and green light instantly flooded my hands and covered the length of the wound.
The energy felt familiar now and instinctive, like something inside me had been waiting for this exact moment to surface.
I must have missed the way my father’s entire body stiffened or the way his eyes went as wide as pancakes because by the time I was done, I found him staring at me with pure disbelief.
“Father?” I asked and he snapped out of his shock, running a hand along the now clear skin of his chest.
The wound from a second ago had just vanished and…..
I seemed to have fucked up.
Fuck!
Oh ho ho, host.
You’re in trouble Yeah, I’m sure you love that.
“How did you–” father stopped, still staring at his skin with pure disbelief and I did the only thing that came to my mind.
I rolled my eyes and fell to the ground in a fake faint.