Training

At Rockwood Forest. The first snow of the season has fallen, bringing the chill of winter and a light dusting of snow blanketed the landscape. The fauna has started hibernating, which has made hunting for prey troublesome.

In the middle of the forest, a wolf and a white tiger were searching the area. They searched restlessly all the way from the north to the south along the river but still couldn't find the female they were seeking. It had been half a month of searching, but there was no sign of her.

The wolf's heart has fallen into misery; he was full of sadness and guilt that he hadn't protected her and hadn't even confessed his feelings to her. He used to think that he had enough time to be with her and would have a chance to take care of her and follow her wherever she wanted to go, he never thought his happiness would be this short.

_____

The wolf and the white tiger strolled back to the tribe with disappointment.

Entering his cave, Frost embraced the animal skin that still carried a trace of Keira's scent. The green eyes were reddened from the sadness he was experiencing.

clutching his chest, his heart started throbbing like thousands of needles were pinching him. "Where are you, Keira.." Frost mumbled in a trembling voice, closing his eyes and sighing in despair.

In the world of beastmen, a male can only love once. and if the relationship was not successful, they would suffer from the love side effect. The deeper the feeling, the more suffering there would be.

However, if the male accepted his unsuccessful love and decided to move on and give himself a chance to fall in love again, the pain will be lesser and possible to cure. Sadly, most of them decided to end their lives instead of moving on.

It's more complicated if they have mated. When the female died or abandoned them, they would suffer the intense side effects of the partner contract; the pain would become fatal and unavoidable. This will now depend on luck as to how long the males can live after the effect of the partner contract.

_____

_______

_________

In the mystic forest, two figures were sitting at a round table on the treehouse's first floor. The female yawned as she sat with her hand under her chin, gazing at the elegant male who was sitting with his legs crossed, sharpening a stone dagger.

Thanks to him, she was so madly sleepy. This guy just thought it would be nice to wake her up in the early morning and dragged her out of bed to sit here.

"Master, I have something to ask." Keira was so annoyed by the silence and she couldn't shut her mouth any longer "You know where I came from, right?" She locked her eyes on him.

The question made the male turn his face away from the stone dagger and place it on the table. "Why do I have to answer?" he asked, tilted his head.

"Could you please be serious? I know you get what I'm saying"

"What do you want?" He asked, mimicking her by resting his chin on his palm.

She was irritated at his posture; how dare he mimic her stance? Once again, Keira could feel the smoke exploding in her ears. "I want to go home. You must know that this is not my place"

"Who told you that this isn't your place? Maybe what you thought was right could be all wrong.." The way he talked only increased her confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You have a long way to go, Keira.." he paused, "the only thing I could tell you is that whatever I said, it's all for your own good."

"..."

"Now get up, from now on I will train you." He got up from his seat and placed two daggers into Keira's palm.

"What are these?" She wrung the daggers made of stone in her hands. The weight of these things was not a funny at all.

"Physical strength is the most essential factor." He grabbed her waist and brought her to stand in the middle of the room, directing her attention to a red dot drawn in the center of an empty wall.

"Today's training is throwing these daggers to that red dot."

Keira whirled around and yelled at the male, "What!?" in response to his sudden announcement.

"You need to know how to defend yourself. This world is nothing like the one you're used to. It's not just the home of beastmen but thousands of vile creatures who could kill you in the blink of an eye," he kept her attention on the wall while gripping her waist from behind.

His body was so close that his abs brushed against her back, and his head was leaning at her ear level.

Her heart raced as she felt his warm breath on her nape. The pine scent that emanated from his body was compelling her to weaken. She closed her eyes, trying to resist the urge to turn around and face him.

While her knee was nearly to slip away, he held her waist with his left hand and gripped her wrist with his right, aiding her in tossing the dagger.

.

"Shnk." The dagger struck the wall.

"That was beautiful," he admired, released his hand that was entangled on her body, and then stepped back before exiting the treehouse.

Keira stood there in stupor, sweating profusely and wondering whether the heat was from the dagger or from master's proximity.

_____

Time flew by during training, and soon enough it was evening. The feminine hands became accustomed to the weight and began to throw the dagger more smoothly. But it came with a price; her entire arms were now aching from tossing it for hours.

She peered at the door that was still empty, wondering why the master hadn't returned yet. She let out a groan of exhaustion, set the dagger down on the table, and made her way to lie on the bench by the fireplace.

_____

_______

Master returned with prey in his hand and his tall body was blanketed in thin snowflake. Hunting was difficult during the cold season, so he was late in returning home.

After setting the prey on the table, he glanced toward the fireplace, seeing Keira sleeping soundly on the bench with both legs splayed out in both directions and almost exposing herself. He shook his head slightly, knowing from her posture that she was totally exhausted.

Picking up an animal hide blanket, he covered her body, before quietly moving away to cook the dinner. Today he'd found some garlic in the woods and was planning to cook up some garlicky meat for her tonight. This time, he was extra careful to avoid triggering disaster, and it turned out fine.

.

The food has been set on the table. He went over and sat down next to Keira, who was falling so deeply into her sleep and probably didn't realize he was there. "You did well today.." he whispered, gently holding her arm and laying it on his lap.

Such a weak arm without any muscle, he was wondering how she has lived all these years. While thinking about how to make her stronger, he gently massaged her arms.

_____

_______

A couple of hours later, Keira woke up to find Master leaning against the bench, holding her hand. She shook her fingers to wake him. "Master, Master!"

"I'm not sleeping," he turned to her.

With her eyes rolling, she mumbled. "How will I know if you are asleep or awake when your eyes are covered like that?"

He shook his head softly in amusement. "I didn't expect my disciple to be so dull that she couldn't see if the master was asleep or not."

She stood up and fixed her gaze on him. "I'm not your disciple, and I never wished to be one, either."

"But you call me Master."

"Because you told me to call you like that!"

"Hah, I like it when you're angry," he said with a gleaming grin.

"Stop. don't think I'll give in just because of your divine smile."

He leaned over, whispering in her ear "But it works, isn't it?" Having finished his teasing, he stood up, "Now it's time to eat."

Master went to the table and left Keira standing there, speechless.

_____

_______

After restless practice over several days, Keira became proficient at throwing daggers, and her master shifted her focus to archery, at which she was slowly getting good at it as well.

In light of this, master has chosen to spend the day teaching her how to make a bow and dagger.

"We have to prepare for the worst. in case you don't have any weapons with you"

Keira cocked an eyebrow "But I can conjure items."

"Save it for when it's necessary, so don't talk too much and keep practicing," and he pulled out a piece of wood and stone, handing them to Keira.

With a groan of exasperation, she raised her eyes to the heavens. "Who would have thought that this is where my life would be? Why did I even become a model though? When I would walk in this muddy wild, wearing an animal skin skirt and carving a stone knife," She rolled her eyes and went on, "Life is full of surprises."

.

.