The sun of a new day burst forth, spreading its warmth across the vast forest filled with the unknown and lurking dangers. Amid this mysterious and terrifying beauty, a massive, ancient tree stood tall—lush green and brimming with life.
The refreshing spring breeze stirred its dense branches, and cold morning dew droplets fell from its leaves. Insects roamed across its thick, towering trunk, which, to these tiny creatures, seemed like an entire world.
Shake!
Suddenly, the tree began to shake. Its leaves fell, and all the insects clinging to it panicked. It wasn't alone, every tree around it trembled as well, and all the birds in the area took flight.
Moo!
As the seconds passed, the shaking intensified. The sound of hundreds of hooves pounding the ground echoed through the forest.
From nearby, a massive herd of huge buffalo burst forth, fleeing in madness, smashing everything in their path and leaving behind a thick cloud of dust.
Chasing closely behind them was a majestic black wolf, with a mane of fur tinged with blood-red hues. It ran with incredible speed and agility, effortlessly avoiding obstacles in its path, while its eyes—filled with pure killing intent—remained locked onto the target it had chosen.
At the front of the stampede, one of the buffalo slammed into the massive, ancient tree, snapping a large portion of its trunk. Even so, it remained standing, rooted firmly in the ground, this wasn't the first time it had endured something like this.
But soon, another buffalo crashed into it, then another. In the end, under the weight of repeated impacts, it finally gave in. It tilted to the side and began to fall slowly, announcing the end of a century of silent life.
Seeing this, the black wolf increased its speed. It leaped onto the trunk before it even touched the ground and used it as a foothold.
With tremendous force, it launched itself forward and, like a diving eagle, pounced from the sky onto a fat buffalo. It bit down on the back of its neck and slammed it to the ground.
Boom!
The remaining buffalo panicked and changed their escape route to avoid it. At the same time, the tree crashed to the ground, sending out a violent shockwave loaded with dust, leaves, and even tiny insects.
The majestic wolf's fur danced as it tore open the buffalo's throat and finished it off. When it was done, it lifted its blood-covered head and let out a short sigh.
' Tsk, My instincts are unusually restless this morning. Clearly, this is the effect of the full moon. It should rise tonight, if my calculations are correct.'
It shook its head and adjusted its mood. Thanks to the effects of the skill "King's Bloodline," which helped him control his instincts during the full moon frenzy, he had no trouble regaining his usual calm, at least for now. After all, this was only the beginning of the frenzy.
"Alright, time to bring food to that spoiled lady."
He scanned his surroundings, licked the blood off his face, then bit into the buffalo's leg and dragged the carcass toward the spider-woman's nest. As he moved, he thought about everything that had happened over the past few days.
Three weeks had passed since he had offered his loyalty to the spider-woman. During that entire time, he had hunted for her and served her as a loyal subordinate. Because of this, their relationship had become more stable.
He was granted more freedom in his movements and no longer felt overwhelming pressure. More importantly, he had obtained some crucial information from her—especially regarding his current location.
The vast forest he was in was called the Grimfen Forest. It was known as one of the harshest and most primitive places in this world.
But the most important thing he learned—something that filled him with excitement—was the existence of a human empire a few hundred miles to the east. Clearly, that was where the humans he encountered previously had come from.
As for what lay in the other directions, to the far north were lands of ice and towering mountains. To the south stretched a vast, barren desert.
As for the west, the spider had told him that the forest continued endlessly in that direction, leading to an unknown place.
Most of her descriptions were vague and imprecise, which made him realize that even she didn't know much about what lay beyond the forest.
Still, even this limited knowledge was like a treasure to him. At last, he had gained some understanding of the world he had been transported to.
And although deep down he still rejected slavery and hated the spider-woman, he no longer had any trouble coexisting with her. On the contrary, he had begun to think about how to exploit her as much as possible.
After reaching the nest, he entered as usual and placed the corpse in the long, empty corridor. He then turned around, intending to leave, but suddenly stopped in his tracks. He felt the spider-woman's presence.
Without showing any obvious reaction, he turned back and looked behind him. There, standing beside the corpse and staring at him, was a beautiful yet strange-looking woman.
He didn't question how she had appeared so suddenly, nor why she was staring at him. He was already used to this. All he did was offer a faint smile and greet her politely.
"Milady, how are you? Do you need something from me?"
From what Arthur could tell, the spider-woman had recovered a bit of her strength. Five days ago, she had left her cocoon and begun moving around the nest more often in her human form.
With their repeated encounters and brief conversations, a certain closeness had formed between them.
Even so, he still felt a sense of strangeness and discomfort—especially since her beauty in human form, despite her monstrous traits like the red markings and horns, stirred the deeply buried human instincts within him.
The spider-woman frowned slightly, then replied, "The moon will be full today. I know it greatly affects your kind, so you're free to let loose tonight. Just don't bother me."
Arthur let out a relieved breath. He had been worried about this matter, so he quickly replied, "Thank you for your generosity. Rest assured, I'll control my instincts as much as possible."
She raised her hand and waved it dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Just make sure you bring me whatever you hunt before nightfall."
Arthur repeated his thanks, then left. After putting some distance between them, he felt the webs inside his body grow weaker. Instinctively, he understood that the area he could move within had expanded, increasing his freedom—at least for now.
Without any hesitation, he headed toward the lake. Along the way, he suddenly stopped.
Once again, he sensed the presence of a predatory beast lying in wait. However, he didn't feel anxious; he had grown used to such situations.
He swiftly scanned his surroundings with his heightened senses and noticed a massive tiger of the same Rank, slowly and cautiously sneaking toward him.