Chapter 79 : The Essence of the [Beast]

In the vast snowy forest, a young man and woman strolled through the snow.

“It hasn’t been long since the great cold wave; animals usually don’t come out.”

I walked ahead, eagerly explaining to the young man behind: “But on the flip side, if you find their dens, you can get a big haul!”

To Anselm, the events of this time left a significant shadow on me, so to help me recover my usual mindset, he took me wandering in a vast forest near Chishuang City to lift my spirits.

“Did you always hunt like this in winter, Hitana?”

Anselm asked.

“Well… hunting slows down in winter.”

I studied the snow, answering: “Otherwise, it affects next year’s yield—unless times were really tough those days.”

I stared at the vast snow: “And it’s kind of boring… ah!Found it!”

My eyes lit up, and I darted lightly across the snow, turning to Anselm: “Anselm, Anselm!

Follow me, I’ll roast you some rabbit later!”

Anselm watched my lively, cheerful back, following leisurely, his expression softer than usual.

He wasn’t someone who constantly pressured himself to move forward endlessly; he knew the consequences of that.

The young Hydra gladly set aside time to do what he wanted to adjust his mood, though for him, such activities were few.

But now, it seemed he had one more choice.

“The most common gray snow rabbit in the North—shops barely pay a few coins for one.”

I followed nearly invisible snow tracks, my boots silent even in the snow: “They don’t taste great… but I think they’re okay.”

When Anselm caught up, I stood by a slightly raised snow mound, raising a finger to signal silence.

My cheeks flushed, my ears tinged pink—not from excitement over catching rabbits, as that was nothing for a seasoned hunter.

But for a girl eager to show off in front of someone she cared about, it was perfectly natural.

I crouched, my slender fingers piercing the snow mound, my arm sinking in without a sound.

After a few seconds of feeling around, my eyes brightened, I took a soft breath, and my full, firm chest, wrapped in tight clothes, rose slightly.

Boom!

A muffled explosion erupted under the snow.

My shoulders sank, my seemingly delicate arm surging with force, piercing the den beneath, grabbing two rabbits amid frantic squeals.

“Anselm!”

I held up the gray snow rabbits, waving them before me like a hunting dog showing off, rushing to Anselm, beaming for praise:

“Two!Oh, there’s a small one in the den too.Great!I’ll send your whole family off later.”

I licked my lips, saying something brutal in a very pleasant voice.

Anselm glanced at the trembling baby rabbit in the broken den, chuckling: “It’s kind of cute.

I thought you’d let it go, Hitana.”

“Cute?What’s the use of cute?”

I pursed my lips: “It’ll get eaten by other animals eventually, so I might as well eat it.

Not only does it keep the family together, but I’ll thank it for its tender, tasty meat.”

I casually snapped the baby rabbit’s neck, sending it off with its parents, saying nonchalantly: “Wolves and foxes wouldn’t thank it.”

Hunting animals, for a hunter, carried no emotional burden.

But Anselm narrowed his eyes, studying my profile for a moment before looking away, unnoticed by me.

The young Hydra glimpsed a trace of indifference in my eyes, perhaps unnoticed even by myself.Was it from my long hunting life, or… my innate nature?

Unlike my indifference to the pitiful rabbit, when I turned to Anselm, my expression lit up with excitement and slight nervousness: “Um, Anselm… want to try my roasted rabbit?”

I rummaged through my waist pouch, pulling out two jars of something, looking at Anselm hopefully: “It’s, it’s not as good as what those maids make, but…”

Anselm smiled, extending his hand: “Need me to help with anything?”

“Huh… oh!No, no need!”

I nearly bounced in place with joy: “No way!You don’t need to do stuff like this, Anselm!”

Anselm’s agreement brought a sweet, shy flush to my face.

Being useful to him beyond fighting filled me with elation.

…Though, it didn’t mean much practically, since Anselm didn’t need a hunter, but for me, thinking our relationship had reached a new level, every little thing I could do for him, every acknowledgment, made me overjoyed.

Clearing the snow, digging a pit, gathering dry branches and leaves, setting up two stones as seats—Anselm stood aside, watching me bustle about, a light smile on his face.

Originally, he just wanted to keep my mood stable, but now, it seemed he was enjoying himself too.

Soon, though, I, Miss Hitana, hit a snag.

Crouching by the pit, striking flint, I struggled to spark a fire, but the branches and leaves weren’t cooperating.

“What’s wrong?”

Anselm came to my side, tilting his head at me wrestling with the flint and kindling, barely stifling a laugh.

“The… the branches around here are a bit damp.”

I grumbled, frustrated and aggrieved: “How can I not get a spark… Anselm, give me a second, I’ll—”

Whoosh—

A flame sparked at Anselm’s fingertip, landing on the leaves and branches, instantly igniting a roaring fire.

“Hitana.”

Anselm looked at my snow-white face lit by the firelight: “If you occasionally ask me for help, I’d be happy.”

He watched my face grow redder, teasing: “Best with those pitiful eyes and expression, throwing yourself into my arms, begging like… a puppy.”

“No way!”

I punched Anselm in embarrassment, the force so light it was like a massage.

“Anselm, don’t… don’t say weird stuff like that.”

I started skewering the cleaned rabbits, deliberately turning my head so he couldn’t see my face, saying fiercely: “Careful, or I’ll get mad!I’ll really be angry!”

“Was there anything in that to make you angry?”

Anselm bent down, gently stroking my pale neck, his hand sliding lower, chuckling: “Like a puppy?”

“You… don’t… ah!”

My tough act crumbled instantly with that soft, flustered yelp.

I squirmed, my voice trembling: “Anselm, stop… if you keep this up, I can’t skewer the meat!”

Anselm’s hand suddenly stopped, pulling back as I asked, leaving me slightly stunned.

I stayed in my skewering pose, glancing at him.

“What?”

Anselm raised an eyebrow: “Didn’t you say—”

“You… you!”

I ground my teeth: “Pull my strap back up, it’s uncomfortable!”

I shook my shoulders, blushing as I glanced at him, resuming skewering as if saying, “I won’t care what happens next.”

But the gentlemanly Young Master Anselm merely fixed my strap, doing nothing more.

“…”

I, Miss Hitana, gripped the branch tightly, viciously piercing the rabbit through.

Amid the sizzling meat, Anselm propped his chin, watching my taut face, asking curiously: “Did I not fix the strap right, Hitana?”

“…It’s fine!What’s the problem?”

I nearly broke, struggling to keep my face stern: “I’m fine, um… Anselm!”

I suddenly raised my voice: “Why can you make fire?”

Anselm was amused by my clumsy topic change and absurd question, his smile natural: “What do you mean… I can make fire?”

“Just, just now.”

Relieved the topic shifted, I snuck a glance at him, his smile making my heart race so I didn’t dare look again.

“A spark, the simplest spell.”

Anselm raised an eyebrow: “Is it weird that I can do a little trick like that?”

“No way!”

I retorted: “I felt it—your flame was nothing like the trash ones at the academy!Way stronger.”

“…”

The young Hydra paused, then said: “You sensed that, huh… as expected of you, Hitana.”

“So what’s the deal?”

My curiosity piqued, I poked the fire with a stick: “Are you some super powerful sorcerer too?”

“Just a simple instinct.”Anselm answered.

“…Instinct?”

“Hitana, do you know why the fourth stage of the Celestial Path is called Scepter?”

Meeting my curious gaze, Anselm said:I, Miss Hitana, put on my “I’m clueless and proud of it” face: “How would I know!”

Anselm couldn’t help but laugh, poking my cheek: “Because when a Throne freely commands the transcendent, mastering a certain [element], it’s like grasping a noble scepter symbolizing authority, wielding… power.”

“Element…”

I scratched my head: “Sounds familiar, I think Teacher mentioned it.”

“[Ether], [Time-Space], [Soul]… and the [Fire] I just used, also known as [Element].”

At Anselm’s fingertip, rock, fireball, water vortex, and cyclone cycled: “Transcendents on the Celestial Path, upon reaching the fourth tier, must choose an element that suits them, setting the path they’ll walk. Reaching the end of that path, with profound mastery of their chosen element, they can complete the fifth stage’s ‘Coronation.’”

He waved casually, saying lightly: “Understanding an element makes using its transcendent power vastly different from ordinary spells or artifacts.The deeper the understanding or compatibility with the element, the stronger the effect.”

“Oh…”

I nodded in understanding: “So that’s how it works, so many details?”

“You should learn from Marina, Hitana.”

Anselm pinched my cheek harder: “Her grasp of the transcendent system is much deeper than yours.”

“I… I don’t need to learn all that, it’s useless, and I can’t remember anyway.”

I mumbled vaguely: “Besides, with you here, Anselm, why bother!”

I said it with bold confidence.

Anselm shook his head with a smile, saying no more.

Looking at the Sky Wolf Emperor’s growth, my understanding of the “transcendent system” was pitifully shallow, yet despite knowing almost nothing, my progress faced no obstacles.

For me, it was indeed unnecessary.

Anselm let go, and I, turning the rabbit meat, touched my cheek, feeling the lingering warmth of his hand, my tone drifting: “So… Anselm, you’ve mastered the [Fire] element?”

Anselm paused, then smiled: “You can think that, sure.”

I pouted, unsatisfied with his evasive answer, but didn’t press, instead asking excitedly: “What element will I master?You didn’t show me the rest of my future… why not?”

“You master a few elements, the key ones being [Strength] and—”Anselm’s words stopped abruptly.

“Strength and what?”

I leaned close, blinking eagerly.

“…The rabbit.”

“…Huh?”

Anselm glanced at the rabbit over the flames: “The rabbit, it’s burning.”

“What… ah!!!”

I frantically flipped the rabbit, while Anselm, who’d cut off his words, showed a fleeting… icy, emotionless coldness never seen in his usual demeanor.

The strongest element I mastered.

Yes, how could he forget that element?

The one running through my life, embodying my essence as Hitana Lansmarlos, perfectly suited to me.

He’d prepared for it earlier, so how… could he so carelessly forget?

In that split second, Anselm’s mind processed countless pieces of information, his will slicing through emotions and consciousness like a blade, while Hydra loomed over these segmented thoughts, coldly observing everything.

[Emotion…]

He whispered inwardly.

The reason he overlooked the element so disadvantageous to him, one he must control, was because he felt… something for me.

But his vivid memories told him, at the moment I made our oath, he’d felt that stirring that could cloud his reason and judgment.

He’d chosen to suppress it instantly.

So, the feelings he now had for me…

“Anselm!”

I handed him a fragrant roasted rabbit, smiling brightly: “It’s done!You eat first!”

Anselm took the seasoned, sizzling, oily rabbit, biting into it.

I watched him chew silently, my face glowing under the firelight, looking softer, more delicate.

No battle ferocity, no stubborn roughness, I sat with my legs together, anxiously yet expectantly awaiting his verdict.

Too oily, meat too tough, seasoning too salty, with a faint burnt taste… Anselm, used to gourmet dishes even at their worst, found a slew of flaws instantly.

But he still said:“It tastes good, much better than I expected.”

He wasn’t lying; he genuinely thought so—though far from the best he’d eaten, he found it delicious.

Saying this, Hydra still dissected his segmented emotions.

“Really?!”

My expression lit up, a visible, unexaggerated “radiance” from my face to my eyes, my words brimming with pure joy.

“Yeah.”

Anselm, coldly analyzing himself, smiled: “Hitana, I never—”

“Stop!”

I, blushing, cut him off: “Don’t… don’t keep saying stuff like that, it’s… what’s the word, frivolous.”

“I never claimed to be a proper gentleman.”

I fell silent, nibbling my obviously burnt rabbit, my firelit face flushed with girlish satisfaction.

“…Hitana.”

Anselm suddenly said: “As a hunter, what do you think a beast is?”

“…Hm?”

I, a chewing rabbit, tilted my head: “What’s a beast… what do you mean?”

“I mean—”

Anselm bit into his rabbit, looking at me, the flames reflected in his sea-blue eyes flickering with the cold wind:“In your eyes, what are beasts, animals?What’s their essence?”

“Why’re you asking me such a deep question, Anselm…”

I licked my greasy lips, puzzled: “You should ask Lina about that.”

“Because you’re the best hunter.”

Anselm smiled: “So I think you can give the truest answer.”

My eyes sparkled at his words, and I grinned happily: “Hehe… really?Okay, let me think, beasts… hm—”

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