If a Vipar Light Beast ate a poison it would be able to absorb the power of the toxin, but in order to make sure the poison wouldn’t harm the beast itself, the heart of it would produce an antidote. Because of that reason the heart of it could purify many types of low ranking poisons. 

This was the main reason why the Vipar Light Beasts were often hunted and not very common. 

That was why Wulan needed the beast's heart to save Luna. He also fed the poison together with the boys to the Vipar Light Beast for that reason. 

Wulan had already extracted the blood in which the antitoxin was but there was still a problem because of which he hesitated;

“Ah… now, how am I supposed to give her the antidote? The isn’t able to swallow it in her current state and the only way I could think of would be to...” 

He took a deep breath and put the blood in his mouth and fed it to Luna mouth to mouth.

……..

Luna slowly opened her eyes, her vision was blurry but she could make out the outlines of a head looking down at her. Slowly her vision got better and it felt as if her brain started to work again. 

‘The ocean? No, are those, eyes?’

She silently stared into those blue eyes without doing anything. Luna didn’t understand the situation but somehow, when looking into these eyes she calmed down and felt a special warmth. Even though she couldn’t move her body she wasn’t afraid at all, rather, she felt as if she was in the safest place there was.

“luna --- Luna --- Luna!”

‘Someone is calling me? … I know that voice … This gentle, caring, kind voice …’

“w-wu-wulan?”

Finally she could clearly see and recognize the head and eyes above her.

“Luna! Luna, are you alright? Are you okay? How do you feel?”

“Wulan? Why are you so panicked? What happened? Where are we?”

Luna tried to get up but her body wouldn’t listen to her. Seeing what she was trying to do Wulan panicked a bit.

“Calm down. Everything is fine. Just don’t do anything for the moment, the poison in your body has to be completely purified first. The haziness in your head should disperse soon, then you should at least know the start of how it came to this. I will answer your questions after we get out of this realm, after all, the gate will open soon. Looking at your state, I should be able to carry you without any problems.”

Luna wanted to ask something but then the memories came back bit by bit. Wulan noticed this and asked:

“How much do you still remember? I didn’t really know when you passed out.”

“... I know everything until you put me down and went away…”

Luna’s head was now an even greater mess than before.

‘Sunir and his gang attacked us, why? I was poisoned, why? A monstrous beast appeared, why? We escaped, how? How was Wulan able to have such speed? Did he let the python eat Sunir and the others? What did he do to save me? But most importantly…’

She felt that her head was laid atop something warm, it was a bit hard, however, it was still very comfortable.

“Wu-wulan… am I, by chance… lying on your lap?”

Luna blushed a bit after realizing what was under her head.

“Yes, I’m sorry. It was the only thing there was and I couldn’t let you keep lying on the stone. Please bear with it for a bit until I’m certain that all the poison in your body is gone.”

Wulan thought that, ‘If Luna is already startled by that, I probably shouldn’t tell her how I gave her the antidote…’ 

Luna didn’t know how he healed her, but she was already certain that she didn’t have any poison left in her body. However she didn’t say anything and just kept her head where it was. 

She was smiling on the inside. Luna often hoped to enjoy such a moment together with Wulan. 

“Whaaaaaa!”

Luna’s silent happiness was interrupted as she felt a hand. The hand was pressing onto her heart and by extension it pressed on the spot above her heart, her left breast. 

“W-Wulan! Wh-wha-what are you doing?! Idiot! Are you taking advantage of the situation since I can’t move?! Pervert, leacher! …” 

‘At least tell me before you do something like that…’

Wulan’s hand was retracted at the speed of light. 

“I- I - I… I’m very sorry! I just wanted to check if there was still poison left. After all, we have to get moving because the portal will open soon. I…”

“A-alright!” Her face was red and her whole body was heating up out of embarrassment. Luna quickly tried to change the subject.

“Then, how do I get out of here? I’m still unable to move properly.”

“Back or arms?” 

“What do you mean?”

“I asked you if you wanted to be carried on my back or in my arms, after all, these are the options we have since you can’t move around.”

Luna was silent for a moment.

‘Piggyback or Princess-carry … If he were to carry me in his arms that would be… waaaa, no, no, no, I can’t ask him to do that…’

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wulan ran towards the portal while carrying Luna on his back. His speed wasn’t bad, but he didn’t use his full speed. To be precise, he used his normal 3rd level Novice speed to move. 

“Hey, Wulan?”

“Hm? What is it?”

‘Is she going to ask me about the skill I used to escape with her or how I healed her? Or why I sacrificed the other students, after all, the old Wulan would have never done something like that. Could she be suspecting something? What do I do if she asks me if I’m still the old Wulan? I don’t want to lie to her, but what would happen if she found out? … 

I had been on my mind often, since I reincarnated into this body, did I… kill the old Wulan? Was he already dead because of his injuries or did I erase his consciousness and took over his body? How did I end up in this body? ... How would the person that I called mom react if she found out that I’m not her son but instead the Solar Monarch? Would they kill me because they believe that I turned into a demon? Would Luna help them? I …’

Wulan’s mind was in disorder, he felt guilty about the fact he took over this body forcefully. He didn’t know the circumstances and consequences of it, he tried to suppress all his doubt concerning the matter, but in that moment it exploded forth.

“Am I heavy?”

Luna’s question made Wulan snap out of his thoughts, the next moment all the tension and anxiety in his heart disappeared and he started laughing. Because of his strange reaction Luna made a pouting expression and asked:

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Ahaaa, sorry, it’s nothing, I’m just happy. And in regards to your question; not at all, you are so light, I can’t even believe it myself. I know it’s not a good idea to ask a woman about their weight but you are really not weighing anything, are you eating properly?”

“Isn’t it rather that you have extraordinary strength?”

After a brief silence Wulan responded with a more serious tone of voice:

“... You noticed?”

“Of course I did. Your speed and the technique you used to move, isn’t something I have ever seen, especially if it is done by a Magus. And, did you think that I wouldn’t notice that you easily killed a beast, just because I was fighting at that moment? Also, your eyes were able to easily follow my movements, but you even predicted my moves with your eyes. And your body is a lot stronger and sturdier now, than it was before.”

Wulan’s speed slowed down and he looked over his right shoulder, straight into Luna’s eyes.

“You noticed all of that? Are you stalking me? Why did you observe me while fighting with beasts? Not concentrating while fighting is dangerous!” 

Wulan looked like he was trying to avoid the subject, but he was actually worried about her. He didn’t stop and kept talking with his worried tone: 

“If you only look out for another person but don’t think about yourself that will lead to problems at some point! Be more selfish! Please think about yourself first and then consider me, your life is more important than mine! How did you know that my body has become stronger? Don’t tell me that you felt it from my lying lap and by being carried on my back? Why could you know that my body changed just from that? Did you memorize my body structure or what?”

“...”

Luna was silent. She buried her face into Wulan’s shoulder and both of them didn’t say anything. Her cheeks were hot and flushed, this warmth was transmitted to Wulan. He didn’t know what to do at the given moment but he also couldn’t stay quiet.

“I’m … sorry.”

Wulan apologized for his words after he recognized what he just said.

“It’s okay. Wulan, let’s talk about all that later…”

“Yes! We are close to the portal already, we should be the last ones to exit, everyone else should be on the other side already… Except the ones who won’t come back of course…”

“What are we going to do about all of that, especially Sunir’s death?”

Luna’s voice was soft and because she pressed her mouth against his body, he could barely hear the question, but he noticed the worry and fear in her tone. 

“Everything will be alright, just leave it to me, okay?”

“Mhm.”

Luna answered in the affirmative, it was clear that she trusted Wulan to be able to clean up this mess. 

“I’m happy that you put your faith in me.”

Wulan finally arrived at the portal. It was looking as if it would close any minute so Wulan hurriedly stepped through it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Master Ninor was the person who was tasked with watching over this hunting-exam, so he was also responsible for all the things that happened while the students were in this different realm. 

The old man was anxiously watching the portal that would close soon. Many students were already gathered here, however, some were still missing. 

“Shit!”

The artifact, with which he watched over the students, broke and so the only thing he could do was hope that the rest of the students would just walk out of the portal savely. 

‘The young master of the Poison Snake clan and his followers were killed! And now the genius of the new generation, Luna, is still inside the other realm! If both of them die, their families will make my life hell, or even chop off my head! … The young master Sunir had attacked Luna and was then killed by the Viper Light Beast, what happened in between was somehow cut off, maybe someone attacked the transmission with his energy?’ 

Many emotions were mixed on his face, worry, fear, confusion, helplessness and more.

‘No, that’s not possible, is it? … If it were to be known that Sunir had attacked Luna and poisoned her, it’s very likely that their clans would fight another, and the result would be catastrophic! I’m the only one who saw it except Luna herself and that Wulan. It would be best if Luna would make it out of there and didn’t say anything about that! That Wulan, hmm, he can just die in there, he is from the Moxin Red family, but nobody really cares about him. If he were to survive and just stay silent, it would be fine as well… Maybe I can blame the deaths on him somehow? I …’

“Someone is coming out!”

Everyone's attention was fixed on the portal and, indeed, a silhouette was coming out, however, the moment the people recognized the face of the person a great commotion arose.

“Wulan?”

“Why is he coming out, where is young master Sunir?! The portal is closing! Sunir hasn’t come out yet!”

“Where is Luna?”

“There! The trash is carrying her on his back!”

“Luna, are you okay? What happened?”

“Ey! Trash, where is young master Sunir?”

Many people were gathered, but Wulan ignored all of them. He just went to one of the teachers that were brought here because of the incident and handed Luna over to her.

“She has fainted from Mana exhaustion, you should get her to rest in a quiet place, thank you.”

The teacher was dumbfounded but still took Luna to the infirmary. 

“Wulan of the Moxin Red family, we have to talk!”

Ninor immediately took Wulan away from everyone else, he made sure that nobody would be able to hear them and then started to talk to him in a harsh and commanding manner:

“Listen up! Do you know what you should do now? Don’t say anything about what had happened, tell me everything you know and then listen to my instructions! Do you understand?!”

He was glaring at Wulan dangerously, he was like a beast threatening a cub. 

His pressure attacked Wulan, but not a single bit of a fear could be seen on his face. 

Ninor was worried about a fight between two of the five Clan’s. If a battle like that broke out, there would be a huge chaos in Gore city.

“Master Ninor, was it? To make it quick; no. YOU will keep quiet and listen to MY instructions.” Wulan's face showed not a fear, no respect, just confidence in himself, his words were harsh and commanding, exactly the same as the ones directed at him, however, somehow, the way he said it was more imposing.

Wulan had lived far longer than master Ninor. He already knew how to deal with all kinds of people and different situations. If he showed fear in front of the other party, he would be pressed back and end up in a corner from which he had only very limited options of action. However, he was already clear on the situation and knew that he had the upper hand, so he immediately showed the other person that he was the one in charge and not Ninor.

“Sunir and his followers are dead. They were eaten by the 6th level Viper Light Beast. If it were to become known that Luna was attacked and poisoned by Sunir then there would be a war between the two clans and you should understand the consequences very well. As the observer you are the person responsible for all that has happened. So your head will definitely roll!”

“Y-you, how dare you talk to me this way.”

Ninor was enraged. He was waiting for Wulan to spit out the whole event and obediently follow his instructions, instead he got a person who is threatening him.

Wulan didn’t pay attention to a single thing he said, instead he kept going on.

“So, here is the story: Sunir and his followers encountered the Viper Light Beast and heroically fought against it to make sure it won’t kill anyone else, however, even with their honorable efforts, they weren’t able to do it. They injured it badly but were defeated by it. It went back into its cave where it started to sleep to heal its injuries. I and Luna found that place and by utilizing all her Mana and power, Luna was able to make the cave collapse and bury the beast. She fainted from exhaustion after that and I carried her back. Do. - you. - understand?”

Master Ninor wanted to retort but Wulan was already walking away from him. 

Wulan’s voice made him shiver. He knew this feeling, it was the same as when the master of Gore city had talked with him, this feeling of suppression, this feeling of being inferior. This kid was called trash, but at that moment, he felt as if someone completely different than this little boy had spoken to him.

“Everybody, please calm down. The exam has ended, form a queue and submit the beast hearts you have. Because there were some issues, it could take a bit more time but none of you have to be concerned about it. Please obediently follow the instructions of the teachers.”

Wulan looked at all the beast hearts that he had and a smile formed on his face, however it was somehow twisted, one half was genuine happiness the other half was a malicious kind of smile.

“Hunting beasts is good, but there will come a time where beasts aren’t the only ones I hunt... “ 

{author: School has been starting for me, and I don’t think I can do daily, but I will try if you join my discord server and support us: Discord :

{Ed: I plan to add the opportunity to make decisions. The dear readers could then vote for option A or option B to be made and thus influence the story. If you want this, please say so in the comments.} 

                                       To be continued.