Chapter 305: It’s just a fence.

"Can I vote, no?" Hunter asked.

Zyra gave him a playful nudge with her elbow before turning back to the tall Alpha Warden tree that was still glaring in the direction the dragon snakes had taken.

"Alpha Warden," Zyra asked, pointing her thumb over her shoulder toward the outside world. "Can you provide a strong fence to protect my village outside?"

The giant tree creaked loudly, rustling its leaves as if thinking deeply. "A fence? Easy. Just two of my tree brothers here can cover the entire perimeter. It can also expand as far as you need it."

"Perfect! Thank you so much!" Zyra beamed.

With a flick of her wrist and a flash of bright light, Zyra, Hunter, and two trees materialized right back into the dark night of Rosewater!

The two giant trees immediately began to move. They marched to the main entrance of the village, rooted themselves deep into the earth, and then began to stretch! Their thick wooden trunks and dense, leafy branches expanded left and right, growing wider and taller until they completely wrapped around the entire settlement like a living, impenetrable wooden fortress wall. ℴ

The villagers and workers who were outside watching this happen nearly lost their minds.

"What the hell is happening?"

"Monster trees!"

"We’re being eaten alive!"

"Ahhh! The forest is attacking!"

The workers shouted in fear, running in circles.

Zyra quickly stepped forward, raising her hands to calm everyone down. "Hey! Everyone, relax! It’s okay! It’s just our new security fence! The trees won’t hurt you in the same way your half-life beasts are incapable of hurting you."

Hearing her voice, the panicked crowd slowly calmed down, staring up in absolute awe at the wooden barrier that now completely shielded the territory from the outside world.

"The divine maiden says it won’t hurt us!" Daniel shouted. "Get back to work."

Hunter stared at the tree wall, then let out a laugh, shaking his head like a delighted little kid. "Man_ looking at it from the outside now, nobody in their right mind would ever guess there’s an entire hidden village sitting inside here!" The trees had not just expanded; they had become a living forest. Their leaves were enormous, broad and thick. Vines hang down from some branches like curtains.

Zyra smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yep. That was the whole plan." Actually, she had not known that two trees could somehow form something that looked like a whole new forest. The only space remaining in the circular tree fence was the archway which acted as the entrance to the village.

After finishing up the final safety checks and ensuring the villagers were completely secure behind their new living wall, the two finally headed back to beast valley.

It had been an absurdly long, chaotic, and emotionally draining day. The moment they stepped into their bedroom, all the exhaustion hit them like a falling mountain this time. Neither of them even bothered to change into formal sleep clothes.

They collapsed onto the soft bed, fell straight into each other’s warm embrace, and instantly drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

****

Zyra woke up after getting a nightmare_ or at least something close to it.

In her dream, her mother had walked straight into a dungeon in the Aurora Dominion, only to be snapped up by the Night Reapers. The vivid memory of her mother’s piercing scream was what finally jolted Zyra awake.

She didn’t scream, but her chest was heaving, and cold sweat clung to her skin.

She glanced over at the left side of the bed. Hunter was fast asleep, utterly undisturbed by her issues. He mumbled something completely incoherent in his sleep, smacked his lips, and promptly turned his back to her, stealing half the blanket with him.

Zyra exhaled in relief, tossing the remaining corner of the blanket aside, and ran her fingers through her thick, bright green hair. If she was going to sneak off to see the Demerides without drawing an entire army’s worth of attention, she had to change her looks_ or her hair, at the very least. Walking around with green hair was basically screaming, hey, look at me! I’m over here!

"System, do you have something that can change my hair color?" Zyra asked in her mind.

Beauty materialized in front of her, rubbing her eyes.

[Host, what I have in stock is technically meant for changing beast fur color. But who knows? Perhaps it could work on human hair. Hair, fur_ same difference, right?] Beauty placed a small, finger on her lips, looking genuinely puzzled by her own logic.

Zyra’s lips twitched. Beast fur and human hair are practically cousins, she reasoned with flawless, completely unscientific logic. There is no way it won’t work.

"Show me the available colors," Zyra requested.

The System Shop loaded faster than usual, popping up right before her eyes. Zyra’s brows raised in surprise. She hadn’t actually taken the time to check out the upgraded shop.

The layout had changed into neatly organized into categories, and to her absolute delight, every single section featured a row of items marked with a bright blue tag: FREE.

Zyra’s eyes sparkled. She immediately tapped into the Survival Supplies tab. Everything in the top row was entirely free of charge, and when she saw the water purification tablets and a huge grin broke out across her face. Pure clean water was still a privilege in the world.

Next, she browsed the Exploration Supplies. Floating near the top was an item called the Environmental Scanner.

"Oh, this will complement the link bands perfectly," Zyra whispered to herself, tapping the screen to add them to her cart.

Then came the Medical Supplies. She paused, her fingers hovering over a glowing vial labeled Instant viral healing capsule.

"Holy shit..." Zyra muttered, her pulse quickening. "Could this actually work on the plague?" The thought sent a wave of genuine relief through her chest. A bright, warm smile spread across her face when she confirmed the price tag: 0 Resonance Points. It was cheaper than all the herbs Beauty had been making her buy!

"Beauty_" Zyra purred in a sweet, overly dramatic voice. "Have I ever told you just how much I love you?"

Beauty scoffed, crossing her tiny arms over her chest. [Host, you have literally never said that to me.]

Zyra battered her eyelashes playfully. "Well, I do! _but not all the time."

A comical puff of gray smoke literally blew out of Beauty’s tiny nostrils. [Do you have to put a ’but’ at the end of every compliment?!]

Zyra let out a quiet laugh, trying not to wake the snoring man next to her, and continued to scroll. She dragged her finger past basic weapons, skipped right past the legendary tier, and rolled straight into the Transport Section. If any beast truck cost zero points, she was buying it before Beauty decided to take away this opportunity.