Chapter 127: One displeased master.

Hunter’s eyes traced over the messy pile of loot Zyra had dumped on the floor. His face didn’t show even a flicker of being impressed.

He crossed his arms, leaning back. "I know you’ve had a little training and now you feel all macho," he said, his voice flat. "But you are not ready for solo trips. Especially not in zones we just discovered. Put your little kung fu in the back of your mind and focus and learning to defend yourself from me first."

Zyra’s pride took a direct hit. She squeezed her fists, her chest tightening. As her master, she really thought he’d be proud of her. She had gone out into the frozen wild lands alone in the dark and actually came back alive, and not empty-handed either! Did he have to make her feel so.... small?

She pinched her lips together and glared at him. "What I do in my private time is honestly none of your business or do I have to pull out the contract to remind you of that?" If he was going to be a jerk, she could do the same.

Hunter’s brow arched up. "Oh? None of my business? Did you forget that you hired me as your bodyguard to keep you safe?" He let out a dry laugh. "Tell you what. Let’s have a fighting match. The day you actually beat me; I will never worry about you or ask where you’re going again."

"Deal!" Zyra snapped immediately, nodding hard.

To hide her burning face, she quickly knelt down and grabbed her blade, starting to chop up the wild beast carcass so they could feed the beasts.

Hunter watched her, shaking his head. She has absolutely no idea, he thought. The Somnivore world beyond the veil is crawling with high-ranking monsters and hidden traps that are nothing like those written about in the textbooks. For all we know, this frozen land is in that state because one of those aliens is hiding out there. She is too impulsive, too reckless. Going out solo without even bringing her bonded beasts to back her up? The absolute least she could have done is leave a message in person so that I could make arrangements and send her out with a team.

He sighed, the anger leaving him, replaced by pure exhaustion. He dropped down to his knees beside her. She was hacking at the bone so badly the blade was bouncing off.

"You can’t even butcher a wild pig properly," Hunter muttered, reaching for his own knife.

Zyra sneered. While his head was turned, she raised a fist and swung it right toward his temple, stopping just an inch short. Hunter suddenly looked up.

In a flash, Zyra opened her fist and stretched her arms high into the air, yawning loudly. "Ah, man, my shoulders are just so stiff from all that hunting in the cold!"

Hunter gave her a look that said I saw that but chose to let it slide.

They chopped the meat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the rhythmic thud of their blades. Then, Hunter broke the quiet.

"Did you give me some kind of medicine last night? In the cave, while I was asleep?"

Zyra paused, her knife hovering. She stared at him, wondering where this was going. Was he about to bring up her drooling over his chest again? If he wanted another apology, he was not having it.

Hunter saw her tense up and explained, "For the first time in a long time, I slept without the nightmares. It was very satisfying."

Zyra’s mouth pouted slightly as she remembered the night at the Starise lodging house. She had heard him tossing, turning, and moaning in his sleep, trapped in some dark dream. She hadn’t actually given him anything last night. But she remembered what the system had said about the Frost Heart Fungus and that it would help him repair his soul. But it was not a complete cure on its own.

[Host, this is the perfect setup to give him that fungus. It is not a complete cure, but it can soothe the cracks.]

Zyra put on her best innocent face and nodded, lying smoothly. "Yeah, actually. I gave you a few drops of a sleeping potion. Just a tiny bit."

Hunter, who was busy tossing chunks of meat into the enclosure of the Twin Echo Leopards, stopped.

He turned his head and smiled at her.

It wasn’t his usual smirk or sarcastic grin. It was a genuine, soft smile. Zyra’s heart literally missed a beat. Since when did he have a dimple? And his teeth were ridiculously perfect. She rubbed her chest and cleared her throat.

Inside her mind, the system screen popped up. Beauty appeared on the holographic interface. The snake avatar blinked her big eyes that had massive heart signs, leaned forward, and planted a big kiss right on the screen where Hunter’s face was.

Oh, cut the crap, Zyra thought, vigorously shaking her head to clear the system screen from her vision. Get a grip.

Hunter wiped his hands on a cloth. "Could you be kind enough to make some more of that tonic for me?"

Zyra quickly recovered her senses, a sly grin replacing her daze. "I can. But it’s going to cost you."

"Name it."

"I want the rest of the videos from Lita’s wedding," Zyra said, leaning in. "Everything Achilles sent you. Every single second of the drama." She internally kicked herself for not getting Achilles’ contact number before. He probably had a live stream of the whole wedding disaster.

Hunter let out a genuine chuckle. "Deal. I’ll forward the files to your phone."

Zyra squealed, jumping up and pumping her fist. "Yes!"

Hunter looked up at her from the ground, amused. "Are you really that happy about the most disastrous wedding to ever happen?"

"Very," Zyra said, beaming.

She practically flew out of the beast pavilion and straight into the beast dominion as soon as she was out of sight. She got the Frost Heart Fungus along with a few common balancing herbs and moved to the kitchen.

"Alright, let’s do this," she muttered, as she snapped an apron in place.

The brewing process was surprisingly simple. She crushed the yellow fungus, releasing a cool, minty aroma that instantly cleared her sinuses. After boiling it with a bit of spring water and coriander herbs from the beast dominion, she strained the mixture into a neat little glass vial, she had a glowing, pale-yellow green liquid. It looked incredibly fancy for something that took her less than ten minutes to whip up.

She dashed to Hunter’s room and slid the vial into Hunter’s hand. "Here. Drink it before bed, or right now. Doesn’t matter."

Hunter looked at the liquid, then up at her eager face. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. Instead, he pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and said, "Sent."

Ding!

Zyra’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" she yelled over her shoulder, already sprinting toward her bedroom.

She slammed her door shut, threw herself face-down onto her bed, and opened the first video file.

Hunter was just raising the vial to his mouth when a muffled, hysterical shriek of laughter echoed from Zyra’s bedroom. It sounded like a dying duck trying to sing.

Hunter stopped, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He shook his head. She was unbelievable! Medicine like this could sell for hundreds of energy stones but all she wanted were humiliation videos of her cousin! This kind of hatred was the type they wrote songs and books about.

It did not die. It transcended generations.