Chapter 42: Meet Tyrant.

Zyra stared at the screen, then looked at Hunter. He was staring at the six-winged tiger with absolute adoration, his eyes shining like a kid looking at a birthday cake. The problem was, the tiger was completely ignoring him, grooming its paws with a very snobby expression. "I am sorry I left you here too long, come out now Tyrant. We have to go." He said to it.

It struck Zyra then, that this was Hunter’s half-life beast. Her system wanted her to bond with the half-life beast of another! Wasn’t that crazy? In fact, it had asked the same question with Achilles’s eagle.

Her eyes widened. I can bond with already bonded beasts!! she squealed in her mind. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. In a fight, she would not need to lift a finger and just bond with the opponent’s beast. She could then command it to kill its owner!

[You are getting ahead of yourself, host.]

She shook her head, it seemed there were some complications. She would have to get back into it later. For now, she shook her head. "No," Zyra replied to the system, turning down the bond. As tempting as it was, she couldn’t steal his half-life beast. It would probably damage his soul.

Instead, Zyra tapped into her system shop, spent 3 points, and secretly pulled a large bag of dried, glistening dried sugary fish from her bag. She knelt down and poured the fish right onto the stone floor.

"Here, boy... come here," she called out in a soft, sweet voice.

Hunt gasped. "Wait, don’t get too close! He’s really aggressive with strangers...."

Before Hunt could finish his sentence, the proud, arrogant Sky Reaper sniffed the air. Its eyes went wide. Ignoring all its dignity, the giant tiger scrambled forward, sliding across the floor to get to the fish. It began inhaling the sugary treats like a vacuum cleaner.

Zyra reached out her hand and gently patted its head, right between its ears. The tiger let out a deep, rumbling purr that sounded like a car engine, leaning heavily into her touch.

Hunter stood there, his mouth hanging open so wide a bird could have nested in it. "How... how did you do that? Where did you get that fish? You did the same with Achilles’ eagle!"

Zyra stood up, wiping her hands with a smug little smile. "I have my ways. I know a lot about half-life beasts."

Hunter looked at the tiger, then at his wife. A warm, genuine smile broke across his face. He felt a sudden wave of respect for her, along with the end to peel her flesh away, and look at her soul.

"His name is Tyrant," he said softly, his voice dropping its guarded edge.

Zyra looked at him, seeing the trust in his eyes. "Tyrant," she repeated, testing the weight of it. "He certainly has the strength of a tyrant."

"Come on," Hunter said, hopping onto the tiger’s broad back and reaching a hand down to her. "Let’s go see this dungeon of yours."

She slipped some goggles over her eyes. Every human walked around with a pair, in case of emergencies. They were a necessity, like defense weapons.

Zyra took his hand, swung herself up behind him. With a powerful leap and a mighty snap of its six wings, Tyrant launched them out of the stables and into the open sky, flying fast toward the East.

It was not her first time flying on the back of a beast, but Zyra had never taken one that flew this fast. She wondered what level it was? It couldn’t be low level, not with this power. Her mind was lost in thoughts and questions, that she forgot to stop him completely.

"Are we there yet?" Hunter shouted over the roaring wind. "We’ve been flying for one hour now."

Zyra pointed far ahead, after ten seconds of getting her thoughts together. "Almost."

"Got it," Hunter muttered, though his eyes danced with amusement.

A few minutes later, Zyra’s eyes narrowed as she looked from her hand to the dark canopy of trees below. "We’re getting close," she announced, gesturing for them to go lower. "We need to set down on the ground and walk the rest of the way. Flying could be too risky."

Tyrant roared once, a warning to all the beasts in the area, before landing with a thud that shook the ground and trees.

"Great. My legs were starting to miss the ground," Hunter joked as their feet finally touched the solid, damp earth of the forest floor.

Zyra didn’t respond, staring at her hand with focus. So, he looked at it as well. She had a compass dangling around her neck, which he assumed was the guide to the dungeon. But right now? She was barely even looking at it. Instead, her eyes were glued to the intricate tattoo etched into the back of her hand. Her thumb traced the glowing lines over and over again, like someone trying to find a street sign on a blurry GPS.

Hunter wasn’t just a pretty face with a strong fist, the guy had brains. It took him all of two minutes to connect the dots.

Ah, he thought, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his lips. The compass is just for show. The real map is literally written on her skin.

He would have to teach her not to make it so obvious to others when she was pretending.

They walked in silence for a while, the boots crunching against dry leaves and twigs. But the further they went, the more Hunter’s playful mood began to fade. The trees, the jagged rock formations, the faint smell of gun fire in the air... it all felt terribly, horribly familiar. A knot tied itself tightly in his stomach.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Zyra," he called out, his voice losing all its previous humor.

She paused, looking back over her shoulder. "What? We don’t have time to play tourist in places like this."

"Are we going to the Starise Dungeon?" Hunter asked, his tone dead serious.

Zyra pulled her brows together, looking genuinely confused. "Starise? What is that? I am just following the compass."

"Aha," Hunter said, rubbing his temples. He felt a headache coming on. "It’s a gazetted dungeon. As in, it is completely owned, locked down, and monitored by the High Council. Zyra, that place is a fortress. There are hunters crawling all over it, soldiers guarding every single exit, and enough security cameras to film a documentary. We can enter but there way too many eyes."

Zyra blinked, completely unfazed by the sudden horror story. She looked down at her glowing tattoo, then back at him. "Well, I won’t be sure until we actually get there."

"And what if I’m right?" Hunter pressed, stepping closer, his chest tight with anxiety. "What if your magical compass is leading us straight into the jaws of the High Council who work hand in hand with the mayor that wants your head?"

Zyra sighed, a heavy, tired sound. "Listen," she said softly, her tough exterior cracking just enough for him to see the immense weight she was carrying. "For this compass to work, for it to show me the next dungeons I need to clear... I have to finish this one first. It’s a sequence. If I stop here, the trail goes cold. Even if it’s your Starise Dungeon, I still have to clear it. I don’t have a choice, Hunter."

She did not know how the map really worked but all she knew was that after she cleared the last dungeon, another appeared. She had to take the chance and see for herself what was waiting.