Chapter Two: Taking a Disciple?

"Wow! Where did this badass come from?!"

"That sweeping kick was absolutely incredible!"

"Am I the only one who noticed he jumped down from the treetop? That must be at least twenty meters high! Wouldn't he be smashed to pieces falling straight down like that?"

"Damn, this guy's build is insane!"

"Yeah, right? That leather skirt around his waist is outrageously sexy!"

"He's eating wild game raw! That's so primal!"

"Could he be an uncivilized savage?"

The barrage of comments was dense and lively, but Katherine paid them no mind. She carefully studied the man who had just saved her. He was an adult, about six foot three, clad only in a piece of animal hide around his waist. His bare upper body was a mass of explosive muscle, his shoulders at least twice as broad as a normal man, and the tendons in his legs stood out sharply. He looked no older than twenty-five, his hair cropped so close it barely covered his scalp. His face was well-shaped, with a hint of handsomeness, but at the moment he had a toad's hind leg clamped in his mouth, so stuffed his cheeks bulged—half the leg still stuck out, quivering, making him look somewhat comical.

Without much chewing, he swallowed the entire hind leg with a gulp. Then, grabbing the toad leader's body, he tore it open with a forceful rip; its viscera spilled onto the ground. He discarded most of the organs, keeping only the heart and liver, which he casually tossed into his mouth like candy beans, swallowing them whole without seeming to chew. Katherine stared, wide-eyed. He then lifted the blood-eyed toad leader, inspecting it as if pondering where to bite next.

At last, he noticed Katherine's blatant gaze and looked down at her. In that instant, Katherine felt a surge of anxiety, even more intense than when she was surrounded by the blood-eyed toads. Who knew if this wild man had a normal mind? Given his savage behavior, what if he decided to eat her too? That would be an even worse fate than before!

They stared at each other briefly. The beast-hide man glanced again at the toad carcass, suddenly seeming to have a realization. He tore off another hind leg from the toad leader, crouched, and pressed it right to Katherine's lips with his big hand!

Pale green blood trickled from the torn end, its fetid stench mingling with an indescribable flavor that assaulted Katherine's senses. Her face contorted instantly, wrinkling in disgust. What was this? Was he offering it for her to eat? Could something so disgusting really be edible? Yet his behavior was like a wild animal, and she recalled from animal behavior classes that sharing food was a sign of goodwill. If she refused, would he see her as unfriendly?

While Katherine wrestled with her thoughts, the man shook the toad leg up and down impatiently, as if urging her. She dared not hesitate any longer; with a resolve to face death, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a bite. Sticky blood flooded her mouth, the strange flavor stabbing her nose so sharply she nearly cried. She bit down on the springy tendon, her expression gradually relaxing, her large eyes blinking: This… wasn't as bad as she'd imagined.

No, it wasn't just not bad—it was actually delicious. Especially since Katherine was extremely weak at the moment; she'd survived alone for six days at the edge of the magical rainforest, then endured a half-day siege by the toad swarm, finally resorting to forbidden magic that burned her own foundation. She was at her absolute limit. As the toad blood slid down her throat, she felt vitality stirring within her, warmth rising from her stomach and spreading through her body, so comfortable she almost wanted to moan, eager for another bite. She bit down…

But she didn't get another bite. The beast-hide man took the toad leg away without mercy. Katherine even heard the crisp sound of her teeth clicking together. Confused, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. He parted his lips, uttering a few broken syllables, sounding as if he hadn't spoken in ages. Katherine didn't understand a word, but seeing her puzzlement, he closed his mouth, took a deep breath, and spoke again:

"Poison… Only one bite!"

Katherine suddenly understood, recalling her studies: "You mean, the toad leader has some poison, and I can only eat one bite?"

Seeing Katherine grasp his meaning, the beast-hide man nodded in delight. He then shoved the bitten toad leg into his own mouth and tore at it hungrily. Yet, oddly, a muffled voice came from his stomach:

"What are you doing here?"

His belly spoke much more clearly than his mouth. Though startled by such a bizarre way of speaking, Katherine answered immediately, "I'm a wilderness streamer. I was attacked by a swarm of toads during my live broadcast. Thank you for saving me!"

"Wilderness… streamer? Like Bear?"

"I'm sorry, who's Bear? I haven't heard that name before. Is he a streamer as well?" Katherine tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.

"Never mind, I was just rambling." He clearly wasn't interested in pursuing the topic. He fell silent, and Katherine, unsure of his temperament, dared not speak further. After a long wait, he still said nothing, and her attention drifted to the barrage in her left eye's display.

"Wow! If there's anything I respect, it's this guy—first time I've seen someone speak from their stomach!"

"First time for me too!"

"Add another first!"

"Was that an illusion? Maybe the magic eye elf's audio module is malfunctioning?"

"Nonsense! That's ventriloquism! I read about it in a monster tale from four hundred years ago, but it's the first time I've actually seen it!"

"Viewer 'I'm Just This Generous' tipped the streamer ten Explosive Flame Bullets: Streamer, streamer, let the badass say something else! I want to hear that thunderous belly voice again!"

"By the way, did everyone forget something? The toad leader is dead—what about all those minions?"

That comment jolted Katherine. She'd relaxed after surviving the crisis and forgotten she was still surrounded by more than a dozen blood-eyed toads. She quickly looked around, but the scene left her utterly stunned.

Those toads had long since abandoned their siege of Katherine. They paid no heed to the beast-hide man who had slain their leader. Instead, they formed a ring, inside which two larger blood-eyed toads were engaged in a fierce duel, colliding with all their might and spitting blood arrows at each other, seemingly even more desperate than when they'd attacked her.

What was happening?

Katherine was utterly baffled. She turned to ask the beast-hide man, but to her shock, he was already seven or eight meters away! Was he just going to leave her here to fend for herself?

Panicking, Katherine called out, "Wait! Wait for me!"

He turned and looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"Can you take me with you, at least to the nearest town?"

"Aren't you streaming? Aren't you continuing?"

Katherine nearly choked. Did he not notice she'd just used the Lorenz mental stimulation method? She'd permanently damaged her magical foundation—her current power wasn't even at apprentice level! How odd, did he not understand magic at all?

She hurriedly explained her situation. He seemed to understand now, and as she relaxed, he suddenly said, "But I can't help you. Saving you was within my power, but I can't leave this place, so I can't take you to the nearest town. Sorry."

Can't leave this place—what did that mean?

Katherine was taken aback, but his clear eyes showed no deception. He had just saved her, so she felt it was inappropriate to press further. Hesitating, she asked, "Can I at least follow you for a while?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't let you follow me."

Katherine bit her lip. "But I have no magic left. If I go alone, I'll die soon."

"Sorry."

With that, the beast-hide man returned to her side, looking her over. "Can you stand?"

Katherine tried, barely managing to push herself up, but a surge of pain struck her chest. She moaned, feeling dizzy, sweat pouring from her forehead.

Seeing her determination, the beast-hide man showed a hint of admiration. "When you hit the tree earlier, your third rib from the bottom left was broken—a fracture about the width of a pinky. I'll fix it for you; it's the last thing I can do."

"Thank you."

Katherine forced a smile, lifting her shirt to allow treatment. Her skin was pale, but the lower left of her chest was a shocking bruise, with a visible indentation exactly where he'd said—the accuracy was uncanny, as if he'd used a light-based X-ray spell.

He seemed unconcerned about gender, pressing his hand directly against her skin. Instantly, so fast it felt unreal, Katherine sensed his palm vibrating at an incredible speed. The sensation traveled through her skin deep into her body; with a crack, her bone shifted back into place, and the blinding pain vanished. The sudden shift from hell to heaven left her lingering in relief, until she finally looked up at him.

Instead, she found him staring at her with an odd expression, his hand still resting on her chest. She waited, even as the comments started flooding in with "Such a cute belly, I want to prprpr" before she managed to speak, holding back her embarrassment, "Hey, hey! Sir?"

He snapped back to attention, his gaze burning as he said eagerly:

"I can take you out of here, but you must promise me one thing!"

"What is it?"

"Become my apprentice."

"...Huh?!"