Day 16

Once we discussed matters with the Spider king, we decided to head back today, but Diane ordered us to stay here for a bit. She sent me a secret message that she was waiting for something to happen and I understood her perfectly and was impressed with her quick thinking.

So today was spent testing out my skills. There was a very interesting development today, for my skill [White Viper Scales] became [King Viper Scales]. Now they weren't white anymore. They had a silvery allure to them and were way stronger than before. Coupled with my [Slime Body] I could now absorb a high amount of shock before taking any damage.

The spider king came to bother my process. I wanted to sack her, but I couldn't be rude to someone helping me out. I decided to plant some spawns. I planted a lot. It was practically a garden and I was expecting about fifty of them to come out. Even the little guys would be helpful as cannon fodder. No more getting attached to twigs.

It hurt a bit, but I would simply have to move on from the original twigs. They were dead and gone now. I also left my [Stealth] on at all times now, because I realized I hadn't built enough proficiency with it. I didn't know what skill the spider king had used and the agent too said there were no skills that completely erased one's presence so it was most likely a unique skill. That got me scared.

I tested out the [Centipede Armor], but if anything, it was more like a hindrance than anything. Fine, my body was covered in some cool looking centipede armor, but then I had some long armor extension from my behind going for about three meters. Walking was a bit hard and flying was very difficult. Control and getting off the very ground became way more difficult.

Next was [Beetle Armor]. No. Just no. It was the most unsightly piece of armor I laid eyes on, so I would never use it even though the defense it gave me was better than the one the centipede armor gave me. [Acid Spit] as its name suggested was a chunk of acidic saliva. [Compound Eyes] made my head hurt a bit seeing as I wasn't used to that kind of vision and [Stinger] was only to be used for suicide attacks. The bees really were unfortunate creatures, no?

I tested out my [Size Manipulation] and became three times as big as I normally was, so the spider king jumped on my back, asking me to fly her around. This girl was being annoying. I wanted to grab her and fling her into the wall or something.

I also ate a lot of fish today, got the skills [Camouflage] and [Allure], and talked to the spider king a lot. She was actually very interesting. She said when she was born she was scared that she might get eaten by her mother and that led her to pulling off some pretty insane escapades, overthrowing her mother and then becoming the spider king. She said it took her three months to do all of those. According to the agent, a month in this world was forty-two days, so that was quite amazing. Not even a year back in my world.

Then, there was the oddest and most annoying thing that happened.

[System Error!]

[System Error!]

[System Error!]

[System Error!]

[System Error!]

There was a sharp striking pain in my head. My head hurt like hell. I felt like it was going to split at any moment. Almost as if it were being sawed through at that very moment.

I let out a pained yell.

"Ch…ken?"

It was faint, but I could hear the spider's voice from my side.

[Attempt to fuse unique skill [Analyst] with skills [Auto Mapping], [Heat Sense], [Mana Perception] and [Goggles] refused by System Master #####]

[Attempt to fuse unique skill [Analyst] with skills [Auto Mapping], [Heat Sense], [Mana Perception] and [Goggles] refused by System Master #####]

[Attempt to fuse unique skill [Analyst] with skills [Auto Mapping], [Heat Sense], [Mana Perception] and [Goggles] refused by System Master #####]

[Attempt to fuse unique skill [Analyst] with skills [Auto Mapping], [Heat Sense], [Mana Perception] and [Goggles] refused by System Master #####]

'Attempt…! Refused…!? System master!? AAARRGGGHHH!'

It appeared my attempt to fuse skills had been refused by a certain 'system master' I had never heard off.

But why? And why now? Didn't I do this some days ago? Why was this supposed 'system master', now refusing it when it was left with only 1 more day?

[Implementing Penalty….]

The last thing I remember hearing was something about implementing a penalty. I just passed out on the spot.

DAILY ACHIEVEMENTS

[The skill [White Viper Scales] became [King Viper Scales]]

[Due to the unique skill [Evolver], Hinotori acquired the skill [Camouflage]]

[Due to the unique skill [Evolver], Hinotori acquired the skill [Allure]]

[Hinotori was punished by the system master #####]

_____________________________________________________

The East, War Monger's Fort

The audience room, a place that most of the denizens of the east referred to as the execution chamber. Why? Well it was simply because if you wished to die, you just need to walk in there. The owner of that chamber was not well known for his subtleness.

Rather, he was well known for his violent temperament and how those who usually sought an audience with him ended up dead. To seek an audience with him was the same as to go to complain and the master did not like to listen to others complain. He had made it very clear after he rounded up all the denizens with issues and killed them without batting an eye.

A heartless beast. That was the master of the chamber.

Now in that very chamber were four creatures. One was the master, two were his guards and the other was a fool who knew not his place, or so was what others called him. Who was this fool? He went by the name Derbyshire. A satyr and the leader of a herd of roaming satyrs with the name the Roaming Satyrs.

He bowed down and first offered greetings to the existence before him

"Oh, Mighty Tyrant! War Monger Krull! Ruler of the East! Unmatched god of war!-"

"Enough! I hope you did not come here just to flatter me!"

The being. No, the Tyrant said to him, his voice explosive with power. This caused Derbyshire to quiver and almost fall back. If it weren't for the numerous situations he had encountered, he would have just stood there, completely speechless.

"N-no, I came here to express m-my gratitude for giving us the opportunity to flee."

"… Is that it?"

The old satyr lifted his head up and met the blood red eyes of the mighty ogre. He immediately sensed the danger he would encounter if he said that was all, so he then shifted gears.

"N-no! I have something else I wanted to tell you!"

The tyrant looked impassively at the fickle existence before him. It wouldn't take much for him to kill that existence if it further wasted his time.

"What is it?"

He decided to humor the satyr before killing him.

"I-I have brought news of the West's forces and how they plan to fight back."

'Hmmm? I know the west's creatures sacked the envoys, but there was no mention of the wench herself participating in this. Does this mean that wench has decided to fight back?'

He thought.

No. It couldn't be. The tyrant of the west had showed absolutely no interest in the forest ever since she had been made into a tyrant. She would only kill the humans who dared to enter her portion, however if it were other creatures she would turn a blind eye. The fact that she refused to attend the meeting to celebrate her becoming a tyrant was proof enough. Not even he, the War Monger Krull could refuse Goliath's invitation, yet that newbie did so without even batting an eye. It filled him with so much rage and hate towards her.

It made absolutely no sense that she would suddenly be interested in the west. The satyr had to be lying.

"Hmph! You better speak the truth now or else!"

If he wasn't speaking the truth and Krull found out, he would die. If he told Krull that he was lying he would die. The only way out of that situation was for what he had said to be true.

"I swear, it's the truth!"

The satyr tried to defend his claim, while cowering before the tyrant.

"As if that wench would suddenly be interested in this matter! Speak the truth or die now!"

"Sh-she's not the one orchestrating the self-defense."

"Huh? Kuhahaha! As if there is anyone dumb enough to stand up to me, War Monger Krull!"

"T-there is…"

"What was that?"

The satyr's claim made him even angrier.

"I said there is somebody who is leading the West against you."

The old satyr who usually carried an air of confidence, now wore an air of fear. Some could say it was because he finally realized the true depth of powers he was trying to play with.

"Who is that?"

The ogre tyrant asked in a cold voice that showed his displeasure.

"A-A bird! S-she calls herself Hinotori."

"A bird!? A simple hen!? Now I know you are trying to insult me. I shall kill you here and now!"

He had planned on getting on the tyrant's good side. He attempted with Minerva, but she didn't even spare him a glance. Now he wasn't planning to fail with the ogre tyrant. Because failing this time meant death. In a literal sense.

"W-wait! It isn't a regular hen. She was Minerva's pet!"

"Oh? So you are saying that Wench's pet decided to stand against me? Kuhahaha! Truly, this is an attempt to provoke me! That wench has truly annoyed me! I shall fight her and kill her myself!"

And so, the War Monger declared, with a mighty roar that shook the chamber.

"Very well Satyr. I shall listen to you."

And with that said, Derbyshire began to reveal all the information he had received during the emergency meeting the leaders of the West had held.

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

Day 17

I was in trouble. Why am I saying this out of the blue? For two reasons actually.

Well, you see, we ended up spending two days over at the bee hive since the dryad said Diane asked us not to come back until she called for us. Something about the expected betrayal. She was probably talking about the old goat... erh satyr.

So in the past two days have been spent with me eating fruits, because the spider king could not tolerate me eating her "children" or so I wanted. I mean, I just got an out of nowhere power-nerfing for no reason known to me.

Apart from that, my day was going surprisingly well, if you took out the fact that I was supposed to be preparing for combat against a tyrant and I had been weakened. Emphasizing on the WEAKENED! I had decided to go exploring in the spider king's territory and familiarize myself with the place. At least know my burial grounds well. Maybe I would be able to haunt this place as a poltergeist.

[System master ##### has implemented punishment: No XP gain]

[You will no longer gain XP]

[System master ##### has implemented punishment: LvL Subtraction]

[You have lost 2 levels]                                 

[System master ##### has implemented punishment: Unique skill lock]

[You will be incapable of using the unique skills [Evolver] and [God's Voice]]

[You can only use the unique skills [Analyst] and [Hunter]]

[System master ##### has implemented punishment: Blessing Nullification]

[All your blessings have been cancelled]

[System master ##### has implemented punishment: Forced Quest]

'Ah!? What is happening? What's all these punishments and who is this system master? I've never heard of him before. What did I do?'

I quickly brought up my status screen.

STATUS

[Name: Hinotori

[Species: Golden Demonic Hen Level 6/30         

[Status: [Distressed]

[Age: 21 days                       

[Rank: D+

[Race Rank: Tier 2

[Titles: |Newborn in a New World|, |Rare Species|, |Survivor|, |Named Beast|, |Bug Slayer|

[Blessings: [LOCKED]|

[Level: 21      Exp: [LOCKED]

[Health: 1100/1100      Stamina: 2000/2000    Strength: 150      Speed: 520    Defense: 133      Dexterity: 156    Intelligence: 40        Luck: 45

[Skills: (LOCKED), (LOCKED), [God's voice], [Lustful Gaze], [Imprint], [Golden Demonic Hen Cry], [Aquatic Form] [Peck], [Black Wayne Caw], [Auto Mapping], [Poison Generation], [White Viper Scales], [Sprint], [Acrobatics], [Blood Sucking], [Soul Consumption], [Terror], [Prey Instinct], [Fire Breath], [Black Thread Creation], [Thread Control], [Stealth], [Mana Perception], [Magic Perception], [Dark Vision], [Flight], [Spore Generation], [Sap spores], [Poison Gas Creation], [Spawn spores], [Co-ordination] [Poison Resistance], [Pain Resistance], [Cold Resistance], [Goggles], [Heat Sense], [Mental Damage Resistance], [Sensors], [Feelers], [Auto Regeneration], [Timber Wolf King's Howl], [Hunter], [Size Manipulation], [Charisma], [Devil Miasma], [Mental Pain Resistance], [Predator], [Slime body], [Pain Nullification], [Heat Resistance], [Assimilation], [Telepathy], [Fiery Kick], [Aura Resistance], [Murderous Aura Resistance], [Beetle Armor], [Centipede Armor], [Acid Spit], [Compound Eyes], [Stinger], [Allure], [Camouflage]

'AAH!? T-they actually took away my unique skills and blessings! Ah and why is XP locked? And I'm back to being just level 21? Even with level 23, defeating the tyrant was basically a pipe dream! What the hell!?'

I was so surprised that I ended up screaming.

'What is this Forced Quest?'

[Forced Quest: Protect the West from the East]

[Rewards: You will be pardoned of all punishments]

[Side Quest (Optional): Defeat the Ogre Tyrant without killing it.]

[Possible Rewards: [A new unique skill]

                                  [300 Stat points]

                                  [10,000XP]

                                  [The Title: Saint]

                                  [Title effect]

                                  [Unlock Complete System Functions]

                                 

'Ah? What is this? Just what is this? AH, why do I have to go through such a thing at this time? I'm supposed to do this forced quest to free myself of all punishments? That's bullshit! What makes this worse is this… this side quest? It says optional, but is it really optional? The rewards are just too tempting. A unique skill? Ah, I thought I could only get those from a higher being. This system master can gift me with one if I complete this task? W-Wait a minute… he locked two of my unique skills. What if this means after the quest I'll only get one of them back? No! Let's think about something else. 300 stat points and 1-10,000XP? Ah you should be giving me more for the trouble. As if that's going to cover the kind of thing I am about to do. Another interesting one, the Title effects? What's that supposed to mean?'

[Titles will create certain effects for you]                                                                           

The titles hadn't really done anything, so if I did this I would be able to get the title effects. Nice. So what kind of effects would Saint give me?

[Saint: You show exceptional holiness]

[Effect: Causes 2X damage to opponents weak against Light Magic and you acquire the [Light Attribute] and [Light Affinity]]

'For real? Ok, moving along, we have unlocking system functions? Wait, I haven't unlocked system functions? Now that I think about it, I remember something about a locked function from before. Don't tell me the system I've been using was a sort of trial period. Ah, this is like a bargain with the devil. How am I supposed to stop this whole thing without killing him? I now had to convince Minerva to someway not kill him? Maybe they would fight to a stalemate? No… Minerva already emphasized on how much stronger than him she was.'

So in the end, I had to come to terms with that situation. There was nothing I could do about it. At least now I knew for sure there was someone watching my every move. Damned stalkers. Then there was my next problem and it was standing in front of me breathing restlessly.

She looked haggard and dressed in muddy rags. In fact, there was a chain collar around her neck. Her skin looked bruised and had fresh wounds. I could tell she was exhausted from the way she was breathing heavily and stumbling. I was watching her from behind a bush plant. She hadn't noticed my presence yet.

It was painful just watching her look so beat up. And there was Minerva. It was only a matter of time before she noticed this girl in the forest. Maybe if I could help her get out she would be saved.

I was about to run at her, but I was sure she seeing a weird bird wouldn't help calm her down. Still, there was nothing to do about it. I sent a message to her using [Telepathy].

'Are you ok?'

The girl looked around after hearing my voice. It was funny looking at her. So this was how people felt when they observed me from far away and used [Telepathy]? Ha! However, I saw the girl's eyes. Those dull crimson eyes looked scared. Her face was battered up. And tears were streaking down. This girl…

I intentionally made some noise while I was going out to get her attention. She warily turned around and our eyes met. Her face was really bruised. After seeing me, she tried to run away, but then I used [Black Thread Creation] to trip her then trap her on the ground.

'Where do you think you're going to?'

I moved closer to her then brought my face closer to her.

'Hey, you ok?'

Her body was cold and she was shivering. It were almost as if she had been frozen for a while. I turned her around and she was crying.

"P-please…"

She was mumbling something but I couldn't hear her. I figured it was just going to waste her energy if she tried to talk anymore.

'It's ok, it's ok. You can relax now. I've got you. Trust me, ok? Hey agent, is there something I could do?

<<Notice: The best option would be to rub [Renosue Herbs] on her body>>

'[Renosue Herbs]? Seriousy? But that's like a day's journey away! She won't make it that long!'

<<Notice: With your speed in the air you should be able to make the journey in 30 minutes>>

'Ah! That's right! I'm a bird now.'

"Is that you Hinotori?"

The voice startled me and caused me to jump. I recognised that it belonged to the insect king. When I turned around, surely the spider was looking at me.

"W-what are you doing here!? Ah, never mind. Can you watch this girl for me? I'll be back in the next hour. Thanks."

I flew off after saying that and I could hear the spider shouting about something. That wasn't important at the moment so I would just ignore her. I quickly got the herbs and flew back as fast as I possibly could, even using [Sprint] at the end so I could get there faster.

I managed to arrive when they were in the cave and gave the herbs to the sprite who said she could make a medicine out of them. Within no time, she fed it to the girl. Her wounds were visibly closing up and her body was becoming less pale. I could feel a bit more heat on her and her breathing became a bit more paced.

I let out a sigh, happy that she wasn't going to die. I couldn't let the first human I met just die out of nowhere without helping them out a bit.

"Oh yeah, chicken. I've got something to tell you."

The spider king came up to me with a very serious tone.

'What is it?'

"Um, well… the sprite said to give you the message that you can return to your home now."

'Eh? Seriously? That means Derbyshire is safe?'

"Huh? I don't know this Derbyshire person so I can't say. Ask her."

I looked at the sprite and she simply shook her head. Diane must have not told her the details.

"Mm… mmm."

We heard a voice. The girl was moaning as she slowly opened her eyes. And her first reaction after opening her eyes was screaming. I couldn't blame her. She was trying to get away from everything freaky she saw or at least that was what I assumed she was doing.

'Calm down. We aren't going to hurt ya, kay?"

She looked at me, freaked out. I wanted to ask the sprite to talk to her, but she was hiding behind the rat man and I couldn't ask a rat or spider to talk to her. At least birds were friendly creatures, no?

'Hi there, my name is Hinotori. I'm a bird. What about you?'

She looked at me with distrusting eyes and sniffed the air. Once she had confirmed whatever she wanted to confirm, she calmed down. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Psst. Chicken. Who is she?"

The spider came up to me and started whispering.

'That's what I'd like to know.'

"Ugh? She isn't a friend of yours?"

'Do we look like we're friends?'

"Guess not."

I let out an exasperated sigh. This supposed second-in-command of the west was nothing more than a powerful brat. Honestly, why did the three strongest creatures here have to be so immature? Minerva refused right off the bat, the wolf king decided to keep to herself as well and the only one who decided to help was an immature brat who just wanted more power.

The girl took a step back.

'Hold on. Don't worry. We don't bite.'

She glanced at the spider and I could tell what she was thinking. Not really convincing when someone says a giant spider isn't going to bite you, is it?

'Ok, I don't bite. I don't know about bug face over here.'

"Hey! It's rude to call me bug face. Chicken."

'You have a bug face, don't you?'

"So? It's still rude, you know."

I ignored the annoying bug then tried to establish communication with the girl.

'Yea, yea, anyway what's your name?'

"…U-Ulva…"

She mumbled something but I couldn't hear her clearly.

'I'm sorry, come again.'

"…U-Ulva!"

'Ulva?'

She responded with a nod.

'Ok, Ulva. I'm going to have to ask you some questions. Can you answer me?'

Once again, she slowly nodded.

'Ok, good. First of all, do you know where you are?'

She shook her head

'Ok, don't freak out, but you're in Larm right now.'

The girl slowly looked around the cave, then she let out a sigh. It was like she was relieved. Honestly I expected her to be filled with a sense of dread or something close. Wait… Was she happy that she was in Larm? Didn't she realize that this was a no-human zone?

'Wait, you're not scared?'

She didn't respond.

'You do realize that this is Larm, right? You know, the forest with dangerous monsters that could chop of your head in one bite or rip out your guts, poison you, shred you to pieces and- Ou!'

"Not helping!"

The spider king rammed into me and I fell. When I looked at the girl she was a bit shaken. Probably by what I said.

'Hehe, my bad. Sorry about that.'

"Moving on, why are you here, little girl?"

The spider king asked in my place with [Telepathy].

"I- I was running away."

"Running away? From what?"

"S-slave traders."

Slave Traders!? So they exist in this world? I thought they wouldn't since Gorm said humans and demi-humans lived peacefully. Then again, it's not like he himself had really visited human cities, huh? But, Minerva's dad was an adventurer right? Then something must have changed in these past years. Yeah, maybe slavery must have become a thing. Still, why would they enslave another human girl when there were demi-humans? Did she come from a poor background or something?

I sat while thinking it out. She must have come here because she thought it was better to die in this forest than to suffer at the hands of slavers, right? I didn't know how it went in this world, but even I wouldn't want to be tortured or sold.

'Ok, ok. I get it now. So you're a runaway slave from a nearby kingdom or city, right?'

I asked and she nodded

'Do you have any family we can take you to or something?'

She slowly shook her head.

'Like no parents, siblings or relatives?'

She then grasped the ends of her filthy rags while shaking. She was forcing words out of her mouth. Then I saw a drop of a liquid fall on to the ground. Then another, until it was like waterworks. She was crying.

"M-my parents… T-they s-sold me."

I didn't know why, but that got me pissed off. Something inside me clicked, almost like I knew the feeling, but my parents never abandoned me. Ah, it was one of those things where you read a book and got really immersed into the character's point of view, you know? Like a book where the protagonist has shitty parents and you hate them almost as much as he does.

'It's ok. Stop crying. You can stay with me for a while until we can help you.'

Her tears were still flowing and I didn't know what exactly to do to calm her down. I had put myself in quite the situation. I approached her and put my wing over her head, patting her. Thanks to [Size Manipulation] was now bigger than her. Normally, I'd be half her size.

'Come on, big girls shouldn't be crying. You're like what? 14? 13? 12?'

It took a while but she finally stopped with the waterworks and was sniffing now.

"Four… teen."

'She's fourteen? Ah well.'

I just patted her on the head.

'Don't worry. You've got me watching over you. You are going to be alright, ok?'

I tried for a smile with my beak. Obviously that didn't work.

"Hey, Hinotori. You sure that's ok? Won't the Tyrant of the West be angry?"

The spider whispered to me.

'Naw.'

"What do you mean, naw?"

'I mean "naw". Nothing will happing. Don't worry about it.'

I mean, what reason would Minerva have to kill a dhampyr?

STATUS

[Name: Ulva

[Species: Dhampyr Level 13/50

[Status: [Hungry]

[Age: 14 years                       

[Rank: C

[Race Rank: Tier 3

[Titles: |Of World|, |Man Eater|, |Man Slayer|, |Night Walker|

[Blessings: -

[Level: 13      Exp: 5/3,000

[Health: 1000/2000      Stamina: 2400/2400    Strength: 200      Speed: 520    Defense: 133      Dexterity: 156    Intelligence: 40        Luck: 45

[Skills: [Fang Protrusion], [Rock throw], [Blood Sucking], [Lamprey Form], [Night Vision], [Heat Vision], [Blood Vision], [Blood Hound]

And she was even above me in terms of rank. She was practically stronger than ninety-nine percent of the entire invasion-prevention unit.

"What about, oh that's right, the freaking war that's going to take place in 6 days?!"

'Um, something will work out. It always does.'

"And you're the one leading the west against the east?"

'Ok, I will admit, I feel a bit offended by that, however, I'm thinking about it as of now.'

The spider let out a sigh then headed towards her private chambers. I followed behind her while dragging Ulva along with me. I didn't know why, but I simply couldn't stand to see Ulva get killed or going back to the slave traders. It just wouldn't sit right with me. Also I got that she ran away and all, but how did she get this far into the forest? I was not sure there were any cities nearby. According to the agent the nearest kingdom was about a two week journey from here.

I then got to know Ulva more. It took a while but she explained that she grew up in a village somewhere, but one night the village was attacked by a demon or monster. She said she had no real recollection of that night, but the next morning she saw litters of the villagers' corpses spread around the village. Obviously this ended up leaving her village poor and she had been struggling with her parents to make ends meet. So one day her parents suddenly sold her to slave traders for some money and ever since she had been moved from city to city on sale, until last two nights when some guy attacked the slavers and freed her and all the other slaves. She ended up in the forest and had been roaming for the past two days without having anything to eat. So we fed her some fruits and fish from the river below.

Afterwards I explained to them why I would be taking her in and none of them had any complaints. I was really surprised. No one voiced any objections whatsoever. Also I had the sprite make some clothes out of leaves for Ulva. Her rags were too filthy. The sprite had to bathe her as well. Apparently it was no problem for her.

The next day was spent with us walking back home. I left the explanation of the current situation to the sprite who left off earlier. The rat man said he was heading back to oversee the preparations for the event. Leaving me with Ulva. She was actually a good kid. Albeit shy, but none-the-less a well-mannered kid who for some reason couldn't irritate anybody. I mean, the girl didn't even resent her parents one bit for what they did to her. She was truly an angel.

I ate flaming deer and got no skills whatsoever. Damn it, that [Fire Force] and [Throttle] looked like really good skills too. That fight was not an easy one and I got nothing really beneficial out of it.

So now we were heading towards Diane's tree. At first I wanted to go to the cave to let Ulva sleep there, but then I thought about it again and realized that it might not have been the brightest of ideas. Not Minerva's cave obviously. The goblins'.

Thankfully, Diane decided to take Ulva in without much problem. I told them I was going to get a meal for Ulva and weirdly enough Ulva shouted something about working hard. We just ignored her and Diane made her get into her tree.

While out hunting, I ran into Minerva. It was written all over her face that she didn't want to see me. I mean she even told me that she had replaced me with a slime. A bloody slime with no good stats whatsoever. Of all the insults, that one was by far the most offensive.

I tried to patch things up though by asking her if she would like to hunt with me. For a moment, I thought she said yes, but when I told her that I was looking for something big for Ulva and I she just changed her mind and said she wasn't interested in hunting with a weak creature. The nerve of her!

I ended up having to go searching for dinner on my own. Truly a pain in the butt. I went hunting for some rabbit for Ulva. It took quite a while because most of them were asleep. I got two for her, then after that I searched around and ended up getting a lone timber wolf. I didn't really care about them since they had refused to help us. I dragged the items back to Diane's tree. I myself was feeling quite hungry.

I myself had forgotten one itsy bitsy detail. Dhampyrs didn't normally eat raw food, right? I was sort of used to it, but what about Ulva? I mean, I didn't know how exactly what dhampyrs needed, except blood. To my surprise she wanted to gobble down the food like some sort of beast. Probably because she understood that birds couldn't cook. She was just a darling. Luckily, Diane revealed that she knew how to cook so that night was spent eating a good meal.

I was about to leave Ulva with Diane that night, but Ulva looked very scared when I told her that, so I ended up sleeping next to her. She was shivering. It was probably too cold for her, so we huddled together and slept. No, nothing happened. It was just an older brother sleeping next to his little sister sort of situation.