"What's wrong?" I turned around when I saw Aefina suddenly stop.

"..." Aefina first shook her head, then spoke. "Luo Sa... don’t worry about that mark."

"Did you make it?" I’d suspected it might be her. Besides Aefina, I’d never seen a Monstrous Beast that huge. Viter’s group’s reactions confirmed it wasn’t native to this forest—at least not that area.

Aefina’s nod confirmed my guess.

"Last night?"

"Mm..."

"Even at night, be careful not to be seen. It’d cause trouble."

"Mm..."

"Next time you need to go out, wake me. I’ll go with you. It’s not safe for a girl to wander alone at night."

"..."

"Let’s go then."

"...Huh?" Her expression turned startled after my words—like someone seeing a Go piece placed dead-center on the board. Don’t ask how I know that...

"Is there something else?"

"Luo Sa... I... how... you...?" Her right hand was in mine, so she flapped her left hand helplessly. Adorable. I couldn’t resist ruffling her silver hair. It felt as soft as ever. This time, she only shivered slightly and didn’t push my hand away—normally she’d refuse head pats.

Honestly, I was a little curious about what she’d done last night. But I wouldn’t pry. If it mattered, she’d tell me. I trusted that.

Back in high school, my girlfriend of three years dumped me for being "too controlling," leaving her no personal space. I’d only wanted to care for her. The blow shattered me—I went from social butterfly to shut-in overnight, escaping into 2D waifus. Later events forced me to mature... damn, now I’m craving that unfinished game again.

"Let’s go farther. Staying near camp risks discovery." I glanced toward our tents. Getting caught this close would expose my cover story. Team trust would plummet.

Aefina nodded. The next second, the world blurred—I’d already left my spot. Her teleportation wasn’t magic: no casting time, no visible strain, minimal cost. Range unknown, but it covered great distances and carried others. A lethal ability. I never asked details—survival secrets are best kept quiet.

These trees were denser than before. Only fractured sky showed through the canopy. Deeper forest. But a serious problem hit me: I was completely lost. Night-blindness kicked in hard.

This world’s moon was larger and brighter than Earth’s. Even with weaker ambient light, its glow usually let you see at night. But here, leaves blocked almost all moonlight. Total darkness.

*Bzzzt—*

A sound like electric clippers filled my ears, followed by light.

Aefina held a bulb-sized white orb in her palm—functionally identical to a lightbulb. Magic?

"Luo Sa," she turned, blinking up at me with luminous eyes. "Afraid of the dark?" She always paused after my name, avoiding "you." For an empty-nester like me, hearing my name constantly felt... unusual.

"...Yes." Her glowing eyes clearly saw fine in the dark. No point lying.

A hint of a smile touched her lips when I admitted it. Damn it, what’s funny about fearing darkness?

After leaving the light-source behind, Aefina vanished—just like days before.

Silence pressed in, broken only by my breath. Had she cleared the area? Normally unreadable, she was surprisingly thoughtful like this... I realized I was thinking of her like an old friend.

"I’m back." Aefina reappeared instantly, dragging a dead boar-like Monstrous Beast by its tusk.

"..." I stared at her.

"..." She stared back.

"Why are you still here? Something else?" I asked when she didn’t move.

Confusion flickered across her face. "Huh? Something else?"

Wait—were we even on the same topic?

"This... isn’t enough, is it? Shouldn’t you hunt more?" I hinted gently. Calling a girl’s appetite huge seemed unwise...

Aefina shook her head slightly. "I ate earlier. Just need a small portion now. Returning too late raises questions. Luo Sa can just roast some meat for me." My angel was too considerate!

So she’d come to hunt last night—and I’d thought she spared me the trouble.

I pulled out my pocket knife, ready to butcher. Since this wasn’t survival cooking, flavor mattered most. Cut selection was critical.

I drew my trusty meat-carving knife. Fluid and practiced, the motion screamed years of practice. Yet—

*Scritch.*

The blade skated across the boar’s hide, leaving a faint scratch. Not even a hair was cut.

"..." Wasn’t this knife supposed to slice through any meat effortlessly? Sure, it was cheap loot from pirate dens—but a knife’s a knife! Pirates deserve respect too! GTMDLR, I stand with pirates!

I stabbed, sawed, and cursed. Admitting defeat to a dead pig stung—but I was powerless.

Finally, I drove the knife down with all my strength. It snapped cleanly in half.

"..." I didn’t want to look up. But I heard Aefina’s laughter. I knew this day would come—just not this soon.

This boar was a high-tier Monstrous Beast. Only sharp combat blades and great strength could pierce its hide. Freshly dead, its defenses barely weakened. My kitchen knife? Useless. My strength? Nowhere near an elite adventurer’s. Still, it pissed me off.

"Luo Sa. Use this." Aefina’s voice made me look up. She held out a dull silver-gray dagger, matte-finished with no shine. Definitely not a dragon’s treasure—Aefina would never cherish something that didn’t glitter. She gripped the blade casually, handle toward me. That’ll cut your hand!

I snatched it before she hurt herself. The entire piece—guard, grip, blade—was seamless. Matte yet smooth to touch, non-slip in my palm. Unknown material.

If Aefina offered it, it’d slice this boar. I trusted her.

I swung again. The blade sank in like butter—too easily. No resistance at all. This knife was dangerous; one slip could take my finger. Honestly, my skin was tougher than boar hide.

With this blade, butchering flew by. Soon, we were roasting meat over a makeshift rack—thanks to Aefina’s help.

I crouched by the fire, carefully rotating skewers. Aefina knelt beside me, adjusting the flames under my direction.

"Wait, Aefina—you can’t use magic, right?" The fire wasn’t wood-fed. It was compressed magic, pure fire element burning midair. Looked like magic to me. Why she hadn’t used it before? Unimportant. Not worth asking.

"Yes. But this isn’t magic." Her eyes held a flicker of pity. Sorry for not knowing magic theory!

She kept one hand feeding magic into the flames. The other palm faced upward. Six colored orbs materialized, hovering as if cradled: one on each fingertip, the largest red one above her palm. Green, blue, brown, white, and black completed the set.

The black orb felt wrong—light shouldn’t be black. Yet there it was. Very unscientific. Very magical.

"I never learned magic. So I tried mastering elemental essences instead. Maybe full mastery would let me cast spells... But it’s too hard. After forty years, I’ve barely grasped half of fire essence..." Her voice dropped, revealing something staggering.

In cultivation novels, mastering all elemental essences meant instant godhood. Aefina was far stronger than I’d guessed.

"How old are you exactly?" She’d mentioned forty years. I’d braced for dragon longevity!

"Mm... two hundred sixty this year."

*Spit.* Exactly ten times my age. Sorry—I wasn’t prepared enough.

"Your birthday? Do you remember?" I doubted a dragon tracked 260+ birthdays. But I asked anyway.

"...I don’t know." Her reply held no distinction between "don’t know" and "don’t remember." I missed it.

"Alright... Here, this piece is done. Open up, ah—" The first piece of meat was ready. I sliced off a bit with my short knife and fed it to Aefina. Feeding time is the best! Who cares if I can't remember birthdays anyway.

Aefina cooperated perfectly, swallowing the grilled meat in one bite without flinching from the heat. Age, godhood—none of that matters. This moment is perfect. Here, Aefina, this piece is ready too. Let me feed you, ah—