“Where are you hurt?” She asked, her voice soft as she came over to my side and I found myself smiling as I responded to her.
“My head, and I think I also have some scratches.” She nodded without saying anything as she leaned forward to examine the back of my head and the scent of herbs instantly hit my nose.
It didn’t smell as repugnant as that of my world that was filled with so many depressants and preservatives, it smelled….pure.
She hummed as she worked on me and I found myself feeling drowsy after some time.
“She’s alright now.
The injury at the back of her head was not much, just a scratch.
She’ll be fine soon.” He informed my father and he visibly defaulted with relief.
Huh?
You mean that gaping bleeding injury that I was nursing when I woke up was just a scratch?
It might be just a scratch now, maybe your earth ability aided the healing?
Makes sense…a lot of sense actually.
“I’ll take her to her cave now.
Thank you.” Father appreciated and the healer waved him away before he turned to me and I took that as my cue to stand up and follow him.
“Lyr—” “Tribe Chief, we spotted some rogue beasts wandering around the forest very close to our borders!” A small deer stopped in front of us and father’s entire demeanor instantly changed as he turned to the deer that I was busy staring at with wonder.
“Alright, I’ll be there soon.” He responded and the deer nodded before it turned and dashed away with impressive speed.
That must be one of the tribe scouts.
“Lyrielle, go back to your cave and rest up…I’ll come by later to bring you fresh furs, animal skin and some food.” Father said to me with a small smile and I nodded.
“Yes father, thank you.” His eyes widened a bit at my words before he nodded and quickly transformed into his black wolf and dashed off.
In shock, I stared at the dust his speed had caused and knew instantly that his earlier speed when bringing me back to the tribe was just a sliver of the speed he had.
Were you thinking otherwise?
Hmm, shut up.
Making use of the original owner’s memories, I navigated my way through the small tribe to my cave and despite the stares and hateful murmurs that follows me, I acted as if I couldn’t hear a single thing.
When I got to the place, I sighed softly and walked into the dark space on my to rush out immediately.
Damn the stench!
I wrinkled my nose as I stopped outside, desperately taking in fresh air to dispel the foul stench in my nose.
Was that..?
Yes, yes it is.
How?
How could anyone survive in such a place?
You didn’t think of that before you wrote the Villainess in that way?
What?
I did not such thi—.
Fuck!!!
I did write her home in that way.
No, no, I have to do something about this place.
If I wanted to get those points to positive and survive this place them I have to start somewhere.
And if I don’t start here, I would never be able to get anywhere because if it was one thing I know about those five men…is that they all loved neatness and one of them was even an OCD male!
Shaking my head, I stared at the dark cave before finally decidinh to brave the elements and get started.
First of all, I pulled out all the beast skins and furs that had grown stiff with dirt and I even saw maggots falling off of some of them!!
Quickly, I rushed to the small river inside the tribe lands and dumped it by the side then returned back to the cave to pull out more.
The tribe males and females stopped what they were doing to stare at me as I ran in and out of my cave that night like a fool but eventually they all retired to sleep.
Taking the bucket that had grown webs that was big enough to ensnare a burly human with some leftover space, I pulled water from the river back to the cave to wash it.
By the time I was done with that, the cave was sparkling clean from the top to the bottom and I felt immense pride at the sight.
Then I returned back to the river side to search for Flint stones, it wasn’t hard to find since this beast world already knew what fire was and I took two back to the cave alongside a large pile of dirt.
During my movements, I thought I felt someone watching me but no matter how much I tried to find the person….I never did so I shrugged it off.
Setting the cave alight made me chuckle with happiness as I returned back to the river side and began the task of washing the beast skins that were still usable.
The furs on the other hand…were all destroyed.
Soni threw them away…with great regret because I knew how beautiful they must have been when they were still new.
By the time I was done, all my bones were creaking with pain and I was feeling a tad bit dizzy.
I shook it off and began to hang it but as I hung the last one, I staggered on my feet as my vision swirled and before I could do anything else, I began to fall backwards in a faint.
The sound of a hiss filled my ears before I fell unconscious.
………………
When next I opened my eyes, I found that someone had moved me during my unconscious state back to my cave.
The place was still covered with ash from the burning last night and it was already daytime.
Oh goodness Lord, my beast skins!!
I sprang up to my feet and began for the river like someone possessed but once I got there, I saw a group of women surrounding something on the ground with someone in their midst.
“That bitch, Lyrielle!
How dare she seduce Noctis into carrying her back to her cave?!” The voice was enraged and feminine and I tentatively walked over to them.
Noctis?
Who’s Noctis?
Your sweet male point giver!
He was the one who brought you back to your cave last night when you fainted….
although it was more of this morning since you worked throughout the night..so everyone saw.
What?
I thought they all hated my guts?
What his stats now?
Don’t worry host, still at negative two hundred Yeah well, I shouldn’t have expected anything.
Peaking through the ladies cursing at me, my eyes went wide when they came in contact with the things that was the object of hate of a beautiful female.
My…my beast skins!!
I pushed through the group and rushed forward to stop the female from destroying them all.
“Oh, Lyrielle.
She’s here.
Good, how dare you seduce my Noctis huh?
How dare you force him to carry you?!!
Today, I’ll deal with you so you know your place and leave my male alone!!” A leg shot out to stomp on my hands that were trying to salvage whatever was left of my beast skins and enraged, I grabbed the leg and pushed the person away.
A shriek of surprise filled the air as the female went stumbling away and I shot up to my feet, my face right with anger.
After…after a whole night of suffering, all gone…all gone!!!
I felt like crying!
Host, this is Nyssa, she has always wanted Noctis…not as her real partner but as a guardian beast Guardian beast?
Noctis?
The serpent in Star Tier six?
Well, no one except you and I knows he’s in Star Tier six.
They all think he’s in Tier Four.
Still doesn’t make any sense to me.
A serpent as proud as Noctis would never agree to that…it’s practically an insult.
Well, no females likes a serpent anyway.
She has her eyes on the others as primary beast husbands though Of course, I wondered why she was only talking about Noctis, so she doesn’t like a serpent but due to his Tier, she’s unwilling to let anyone slip through her fingers.
“You!!
How dare you push me?!!
I will kill you today!” Nyssa sprang back to her feet and rushed forward but I just sidestepped her and turned to grab her by her long hair.
She shrieked again as I pulled her back to me and got into her face while tightening my grip on her hair to the point of pain.
“You think because I never reply you that you have any right to tamper with my things?
Today, I will make sure you understand what happens when you mess with me!!” I growled angrily at her, eyes blazing as I slammed my feet into the back of her legs and she fell hard to her knees.
She cried out from the pain, eyes watering but I wasn’t done…not in the slightest.
Do you know that without detergent or soap, I scrubbed those beast skins till my hands bled last night?
And she..she just destroyed them..
because of my male…sorry, a male!!
A sharp slap landed on her face and she cried out in pain but I wasn’t done…I slapped her again and again until it reached ten before I pushed her off.
“I swear to the beast god that if I don’t have my beast skins by the end of the day, anytime I see you, I will beat you up again!” She nodded quickly and I finally stood up and stomped away.
I was sure she knew I would do exactly what I had just said because after all, males were never allowed to interfere when females were fighting.
The beast god would use lightening on them immediately if they did.
That was so good to watch, host!
Yeah, I’m sure it was.
Though I have no clue on how to get new ones.
Didn’t your father mention something about it last night?
He did…didn’t he?
“Did you hear…Elias hunted down a Tier Five beast and finally broke through to Tier Five last night!” “Really?” “Yes, he even brought back a lot of meat and the chief said we should all come to get a share.” Well, that means I have to go too.
Yes, for the mission and for your life You sure make it sound like a good thing.
Following the others, I make my way to the tribe center and those who saw me have me a wide berth when I arrived.
I said nothing and went to sit down under a tree.
My father smiled at me when he saw me and I returned the smile, my heart feeling a bit full.
“We will hold a ceremony this evening to congratulate Elias on his ascent to Tier Five and he would have the chance to choose any female of his choice during that ceremony!” My father announced and I froze in my spot.
The heck?
How do you expect me to complete the mission if he’s mated to someone else?
Uh, host.
That’s your problem, not mine.
I’m just here to assist.
Then assist!!!
Command denied Great, just great.
I’m as good as dead.
Elias stepped out from the healer’s cave just beside the tribe center and my breath caught in my throat.
Tall.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not just tall in the normal sense, but the kind of tall that made everyone around him seem smaller without him even trying.
Broad shoulders stretched beneath dark animal hide draped carelessly across his body, exposing sun-bronzed skin and the hard lines of muscle earned from hunting and battle.
Golden hair fell loosely around his face, slightly messy like he had just run his fingers through it after waking up.
Under the morning light, the strands almost looked molten, glowing against the darker tones of the village.
And his eyes… Oh, now I understood why I had made him the most popular male lead.
Bright amber eyes swept lazily across the tribe, sharp like a predator’s yet strangely warm at the same time.
Dangerous eyes pretending to be gentle.
His jaw was strong, his features unfairly handsome, and there was an easy confidence in the way he moved—as though the entire world naturally made space for him.
Around him, beastmen instinctively lowered their gazes in respect.
Of course they did.
Elias was a golden lion beastman.
One of the strongest males in the entire novel and he has just advanced from Tier Four to Tier Five.
And unfortunately for me… He was also one of the people who wanted me dead the most.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation.
Give me more motivation!