Rhonda stood for a long time at her first major trap area. It was a simple cage made for catching rabbits. She used big yellow spider silk to cover the sticks that enforced the cage. Rabbits would paralyze themselves if they tried to chew their way out.

Yet, the cage was busted open, and the rabbit was gone. That did not surprise Rhonda since it had happened before. There was a second series of more harmful traps nearby. Big careless predators, who think they could frolic away with Rhonda’s game, tended to trigger them.

These more dangerous traps rarely killed the offending predator, but they left blood trails for Rhonda to follow and finish the job. This seemed to be the current case, at first.

A rabbit was pilfered from her small game trap. Her swinging spiked-log trap had been triggered. One of the spikes got blood on it. The red droplets were fresh enough to indicate the circumstance occurred earlier this morning.

She could see the blood trail would lead her north, which would’ve been a peculiar direction for a local predator to go. The big monster bear lived in that direction. Most, if not all, creatures avoided that stinky monster. But this was not most creatures.

Rhonda was standing for a long time because she was dumbstruck by what she saw on the ground.

It was a footprint.

One of many that meandered through her trap area. It had the intricate tread of a boot she had never seen before. It dug into the dirt with vicious intent, possibly for better grip. Consequently, it left behind an obvious mark that anyone could track. What truly shocked the giantess to her core was the size. It was just about right for a humanoid male.

He had multiple companions with him. As Rhonda scoured the area, she counted six overall. A few of them walked with quick, dainty steps. A few stomped through like boars, leaving broken trails in the foliage. One person barely left a trace except for the area near the spiked-log trap. This one might’ve been too alarmed by the trap to keep from pressing their weight down in the wet dirt fully.

“They were here an hour ago,” Rhonda surmised. “They saw my trap, decided to take the rabbit for themselves, and inadvertently triggered the second trap. Surprised, they took their injured friend and started moving him out of the area quickly. Perhaps they were afraid of an ambush for triggering my trap. But now they’re spreading the scent of blood and⁠—”

A monstrous roar rang out north of Rhonda’s position. She pressed her lips into a fine line, knowing what would befall the group. It begged the question if she was feeling altruistic enough to go and help them. Or if she should let nature run its course and remove the would-be thieves who would take from a trapper.

"Big R, to your left," Londa warned, her voice resonating next to the giantess's ear.

The survivalist in Rhonda kicked in, and she ducked.

A giant stalker sailed through the air where Rhonda had been standing upright. Just before it touched down, Rhonda drew her enchanted knife. She evoked the knife’s magic and became a giant blur catapulted onto the stalker’s hindquarters.

She stabbed, twisted, and yanked a bloody hole in the feline’s rear leg. That did not stop the stalker from whirling around to swipe at Rhonda’s face.

Prepared, the giantess bowed her face into the swipes. She felt the claws etch grooves along her mask’s forehead without hurting her. At the same time, the giantess slugged her left fist into the stalker’s bosom.

By all means, the knuckle claws would’ve hurt it greatly. The force would’ve stunned the feline, too. But Rhonda was using the arm that carried the locket, so she furthered the punch’s effectiveness with instant [Hard Ice].

Sharpened ice extended from the knuckle claws. They skewered the stalker from chest to back, spraying frozen gore on the bushes behind it. The creature died that very second.

Rhonda examined the stalker’s petrified death-face. She watched cold mist escape its open-hanging maw.

“Hmm. The combination of Minor Ice Affinity, raised Intellect, and weeks of practice has paid off, I see. How exquisite.”

She jerked her left arm and snapped off the ice extensions. The stalker dropped with a heavy, stone-like thud. Quickly, the giantess grabbed a leg and sawed it off with her knife. Then she stepped over the feline corpsicle and munched on her winning as the System-Not-System appeared.

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Rhonda said in between bites of the stalker leg.

She liked the sound of the new ability, but it would require a closer examination later. She was uncertain of the idea of eating an actual item, and it confused her that she could eat it regardless of its size or shape.

While her hunger wanted her to feast on the whole stalker, she was preoccupied with the matter happening north. Angry roars of the big bear sounded from that direction. The beastly noise was intermingled with the distant thumps of explosions and other sounds of fighting.

She felt it would be easier to avoid the whole circumstance and continue with her day. But she was uncertain if she wanted to take the easier option this time around. This could be a sign of greater things happening.

“It really is time to leave this place behind us,” Rhonda said as the fighting grew louder.

"Times are changing, and so are your points," Londa said. "I’ve added more to Strength and Vitality again."

“Londa!” Rhonda jolted, happy and nervous to hear her again. “I can hear you as if you're really speaking to me, now. You’ve changed greatly, haven’t you?”

"Oh yeah, I did. And I’ve been thinking a lot. A lot, a lot." The voice came from nowhere, but it was so clear and distinct to Rhonda's ears. It was a little eerie, but fascinating.

“I must ask, what had you so occupied for an entire month? I’ve missed you.”

"Hahaha. It looked like you were doing fine regardless."

Rhonda furrowed her brown, feeling worried.

“Londa, I want you to know I will support you unconditionally. I understand you are in an unfavorable position, and if there are ways I can ease your burdens, I wish to do so.”

"Even if what I want might be… bad?"

Rhonda dropped what remained of her stalker snack. “What do you mean?”

"I reviewed my whole sucky life, Rhonda. I saw how I tried to be good in a world that walked all over me. It’s time to do things differently."

“Different how?”

"To be the one that walks over others." Londa flashed a wickedly sharp smile in Rhonda’s head. "I’m going to be your little devil from now on. And you’re going to be my giant villainess fantasy."

“I, uh, don’t know what to make of this development, Londa. Isn’t that what we’re doing already?”

"You’re being dumb on purpose. You know what I mean." Londa sighed. "I’ve read your writings, Rhonda."

Rhonda gasped. She shouldn’t be shocked by this, but those writings were quite intimate.

"You’re learning to be a good girl, now, huh?"

“I was a terrible child, so it’s only fair to learn to be better.”

"And I was a good child that didn’t get anything for it."

“Londa, we can now set things right. Regardless of being The Dark Candidate, we can live as we please and do so gracefully.”

"Nah, Rhonda. I want to play The Dark Candidate straight. I want to be the dominator this time around."

“Londa, I can’t—”

Londa appeared right in front of Rhonda’s eyes, startling the giantess. Twin pools of darkness peered out of empty eye sockets to look at Ronda. Below those ghastly eyes, a slow smile crept across a thin, sallow face. The smile spread further until it broke past what was physically possible. The expression became a horrid caricature of a toothy grin with sharpened teeth. And the more those teeth pointed at Rhonda's way, the hungrier the giantess felt.

No... not hunger, hunger. Starved. This was Londa's starvation, and it was truly nightmarish for Rhonda. Then Londa's terrifying visage faded out of view, along with the starved feeling. She submerged into the darkness of their shared mind, leaving only a sliver of her presence for Rhonda to notice.

Hear me, my pet. I'm the mistress now.