I didn't know what to say.

Sorry, I got your brother killed? Oh, uh, hello, your brother gave me super secret werewolf powers and then died on my lap?

I had to look away; I couldn't meet her eyes.

The movement caused Astra to slip, ruining her grip keeping my eyelids open.

"Hey, be careful," Astra admonished.

Sorry, but that's too much to deal with.

I fluttered my eyes open, silently glaring at Devon. His neutral facade cracked, but he quickly regained control and returned to a blank expression.

Why would you bring her here? I can't face this, not right now.

"Sit still for a second. Can you try to open your eyes slowly?" Astra said.

I tried to open my eyes and found that they almost complied. The few tries exhausted me, so I shook my head. "Not yet, still heavy."

"Alright. Let's give it a moment."

Honestly, not seeing her reaction right now is terrifying. She could be glaring, shocked, anything, and I wouldn't know it. And to make it worse, I'm stuck here looking like an idiot who can't open his eyes.

The only good thing about not being able to open my eyes was the tiny bit of relaxation I could finally get. My body felt exhausted, and it was becoming an all too frequent state of being.

"Devon," I grumbled.

"What? What's wrong?" he replied.

"Uh, everything. You're not going to force me on another hunt, are you?"

Silence.

I swear I'll bite him if he says yes.

"Devon?"

"Devon, answer the pup," Astra cut in.

He growled a low, non-threatening sound. It sounded aggressive but similar to the one emitted by dogs who were annoyed at something. "Fine, I'll answer. We will, but you deserve some rest first. For now, let's figure out what's going on."

Sounds reasonable enough.

"What did you do with the stag head? Why did we keep it but not the rest of the body? Don't tell me you mounted it."

I wouldn't be comfortable mounting something that used to be a child.

"He gave it to me. I help with alchemy around here, and moon elk horns are very useful," Astra said.

"Like brewing potions in some big iron cauldron?"

A light smack hit my upper arm, and I winced.

"We are not barbaric witches. We have alchemy equipment."

"Ooh, sorry."

"It's fine, just be careful. Witchcraft alchemy is very different from modern alchemy. And more than a few Grimms would be upset hearing that."

I decided to keep my mouth shut. Shuffling sounds made me curious over the next dozen minutes, but my eyelids still wouldn't work. I passed the time by imagining all the cool things I could do with magic.

There has to be a lightning spell. I just know it.

My thoughts were interrupted by a chime bell ringing in my mind, and I felt a buildup of liquid squeeze my heart.

"Cain? What's wrong?"

The squeeze happened twice more before another chime rang. Ding! My eyes shot open, and I blinked away the tears. "Oh, that smarts."

I continued blinking, and my eyesight finally came back to me. After running through a quick series of tests, I had one hundred percent function of my eyes.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Are my eyes still weird?" I asked as I focused on Astra's face.

Her face came into view, and she shook her head. "They are green again. How are you feeling?"

I frowned and flexed my fingers.

Functional. My shoulders are a little stiff, but the endless hellfire is gone.

"I guess I'm alright?" I ventured.

She looked unsure, but she nodded slowly. "Okay, good. Try sitting up."

I complied and found myself resting with my back against the couch. In the corner, Alice stood behind the bar again, this time openly staring. She neither smiled nor frowned, so I couldn't tell what was going through her head.

My gaze focused back on Astra, who made me follow her finger. "I'm fine, I swear."

She stopped waving her fingers. "Good then. It looks like your body finally settled."

A small prismatic dot appeared in the corner of my vision, blinking once before settling on swirling slowly.

A system notification? Huh.

I focused on and expanded the dot, allowing the colors to stretch across my vision. When it did, the colors separated and turned into golden text lines hovering midair.

[Alert]: System Functions have been restored to full capacity.

…

…

…

[Alert]: You have slain: Corrupted Beasts x 3, Sister Host V11

…

…

…

The notification blinked out of existence the moment I read the last line.

Uh? Okay?

Then the golden text flashed again, but for only a second.

"Cain?" Astra asked.

I shook my head and waited as the gold crept back into my vision.

Rolling Reward:..Applying Strain-Modifier: -25%...

…

…

[Alert]: Diverted to Lore Matrix…

…

…

Bonus Given: [First Hunt]

Change complete: +2 Luck

The screen blipped out of existence, leaving me staring confused at the air.

I brought up my status screen, and the plus sign to my stat was back.

Name: Cain Veldman

Title: Crimson Hunter

Level: 2

Stats:

* STR: 13

* AGI: 13

* CON: 15

* INT: 14

* WIS: 13

* LUK: 13 (+2)

Skills Unlocked:

* Summon Shadow Wolf

Passive Skills:

* Ember Soul

So I'm luckier now? Why did it give me luck? I thought it was nearly impossible to get stats to that.

I willed the status screen away and blinked as Devon and Astra intensely stared at me. "So, apparently, my system is back to being functional? I just got my notifications for the hunt. Is it always like this?"

"No." He said slowly. "What do you mean you just got your notification for the hunt?"

"Oh, uhh, is this okay to share?"

Both Astra and Alice frowned. Alice stared with suspicion and undisguised anger at Devon while Astra scrutinized me closer. I backed up a little so she backed off, but not before turning to squint at Devon.

He sighed. "It's fine. Just explain what you mean. You should have gotten it the moment we left the forest."

"Definitely did not get a notification until now. Why would we get notifications? All we did was kill some beasts. Is it always like this?"

This world is more like a game than I thought. I didn't know we had experience points to gain. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Devon looked at Astra, and she narrowed her eyes before turning to me. "The system is an intricate piece of magic older than we can possibly understand. It knows when you are on a hunt, it's our entire system's purpose. We can't be certain. Grimms have tried for ages to figure out how it calculates things, but there is not enough consistent data to tell us. If you killed ten monsters on one hunt, it might not reward the same thing to another hunter who repeats the exact same hunt." She blew out her breath. "But, we can usually place a pup's next level up within the first three to five hunts. You're a bit different since you're already level one."

A fist smacked the countertop, and we all turned to face Alice, who ignored the spilled water in front of her. "What do you mean he's already level one? He's only been on one hunt. How is that possible?"

An awkward silence filled the room. Alice glowered between the three of us until she settled on Devon. "I'm sick of you hiding things. Explain. I already heard about someone joining us without going through the rite. I didn't even know my brother could do that! If he could, why didn't he…" she gripped the edge of the counter. "Why didn't he turn me? Why is he so special?"

Screw you too! I didn't ask for this!

My mouth opened, and I was ready to defend myself, but Astra squeezed my leg. She shook her head.

A growl threatened to escape my throat, but I reined it in.

Fine! It's not like I don't understand why she's upset.

Devon stood up. He slowly approached Alice, his gait slow and steady. Her eyes darted to me, then back at Devon.

"Alice. You knew your brother best. He was always the kind of man who would help others. You know this." Devon's words were sharp, and he enunciated every word clearly, punctuating the end of his sentence with a bit of force.

"Apparently not. It seems Elias liked to hide things from me. Things that you seemed to know about."

Devon shook his head. "No, I didn't. We all have secrets, and there are many that we can't tell anyone. You know this."

She growled. "He is my… was my brother. Just because you like to lie doesn't mean he did. Or at least, that's what I thought."

Her voice dropped to a whisper at the end. The whole scene made me feel uncomfortable. It felt private; it made the huntress too vulnerable for a stranger like me to see. And Devon looked awkward. For the first time, the man looked unsure of himself.

It's like watching steel bend; I don't like it.

Something changed in her expression. Her eyes hardened, but her chin raised.

"Fine. Keep the secrets, but I want something in return." Alice raised a hand and pointed her finger in my direction. "I wanna go with you two on the next hunt."