Arlo awoke to the faint scent of blood that did not belong to him, along with a wet tongue on his face. He kept his eyes closed, extending his hand towards the creature, driven by the desire to devour it and replenish his stamina. Whatever it was, it would become food soon.

However, a faint whimper reached his ears as he reached his hand out. It was strange to consider a whimper familiar, but he recognized it and swiftly opened his eyes.

"Little cub!" Arlo greeted the creature with gleaming eyes. Despite its fear, it had followed him here and even attempted to nurse him back to health.

"Shall I give you a name?" Arlo pondered with a smile. "That way, I won't want to eat you later."

The cub displayed an intelligence surpassing that of ordinary beasts, emitting a squeak that seemed to confirm Arlo's decision.

"Excellent! I shall name you Fraid!"

Arlo chuckled to himself, feeling a sense of pride in the chosen name.

"Because, you see," he grinned, "you're always so afraid!"

The little cub whined in pain, as if the suggestion itself was an inhuman injustice, nudging Arlo with its nose, begging not to do so.

"How about Fred?" Arlo proposed, offering a name phonetically similar.

Noting that the cub was not particularly taken by the name, he sighed and added, "You know, I have the worst naming sense. I'll just call you 'Cubert' or something else!"

The little cub tilted its head to the right, seemingly attempting to comprehend Arlo's words.

"Since you are a 'cub,' you know."

The cub whined indignantly at the peculiar creature before him, causing Arlo to burst into laughter.

Arlo realized that most of the panther's carcass still lay on the ground, but some portions had been dragged away. Fortunately, it appeared to be the work of small scavenger creatures. Otherwise, they might have attempted to make a meal out of Arlo while he slept.

While consuming the panther's carcass, Arlo noticed the expectant eyes of the cub and shared some of the meat, even though it was difficult for him to let go. However, witnessing the cub's excitement made it worthwhile.

Although the carcass provided some sustenance, Arlo eventually concluded that he lacked any regenerative abilities. He simply transformed damaged tissue into undamaged tissue as needed. Transforming into complex creatures always required a substantial amount of energy, which made him hungrier in return.

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"Why was I even sent here? How did it happen?" Arlo mused while patting the cub's head. "Though I can't exactly recall everything before finding myself in this cursed body, I don't believe I had ever lived this much in my past life."

As much as Arlo enjoyed feeding, he desired prey that could provide more and more energy. He understood that to survive in this place, he needed to grow stronger and avoid remaining idle. He was still weak, far too weak.

Although Arlo wished to explore the town he had seen when he first arrived in the Crystal Room, it proved inconvenient to travel alongside the cub. Everything in this realm seemed to hunger for the little cub. Most creatures scattered as soon as Arlo approached, but he could feel their gazes fixed upon the cub.

Nevertheless, there was no one to whom Arlo could entrust the cub, so he ended up bringing it along wherever he went. He had no issue hunting for both himself and the cub, but he noticed that the cub was learning to fight as time passed. It had shed its initial cowardice.

It was astonishing to witness how much the cub had improved in a matter of days, having also grown considerably. It now stood as tall as Arlo himself.

After three days of travel, they finally arrived at the town. During this time, Arlo had sampled numerous local creatures, refining his palate. However, he discerned that creatures weaker than the scorpions and panthers did little to enhance his strength; they merely filled him up. By the third day, even the scorpions and panthers ceased to contribute by much.

Following the initial days, Arlo focused on satiating himself as much as possible. Experiencing a sense of fullness for the first time since his arrival in this world, he noticed two things.

Firstly, even when he felt "full," he still felt the urge to consume, albeit to a far lesser extent.

Secondly, his thoughts became clearer, and he cursed himself for having considered accepting his life as a monster so readily before.

Yet, the hunger persisted to such a degree that he knew it was inevitable if he ever allowed himself to starve again.

Standing before the dilapidated buildings of the town were a chimaera-like man made up of various monsters, and a Deathwalker Wolf, standing side by side.

"It has been a long journey, hasn't it, Buddy?" Arlo asked the little cub, whom he had named Buddy during their time together.

Buddy barked with a wide grin, as if in agreement with Arlo. In response, Arlo snapped his fingers, prompting Buddy to get to work. Buddy quickly grasped that if he found prey and showed it to Arlo, it would please him, leading to Buddy training himself for this purpose. If he encountered a dangerous creature, he promptly retreated and ran to Arlo's side.

After leaving for less than a minute, Buddy howled, and Arlo promptly arrived by his side, observing what he had discovered.

Within some of the houses, skeletons of humans remained, but there was an oddity as well—Buddy ended up discovering the skeletal remains of much larger creatures.

The duo proceeded towards the heart of the town, exploring the houses as they went. Although they occasionally came across large rodent monsters and the like, they soon entered an area devoid even of insects.

Arlo noticed ants on the ground, moving around something invisible, akin to a force field. Even Buddy growled at nothingness, seemingly attempting to warn Arlo that they should not move closer.

Arlo reached out with one hand and realized that there was nothing in the air, no force field. However, despite his animal-like appearance, he lacked the instincts of a true beast.

Before entering the heart of the town, Arlo issued a command to Buddy.

"Stay."