“Ellie, what did I tell you about letting Sam out of his cage?”

Sam turned his head to look at Ellie’s mother. Ellie had told him to sit on the floor and wait as she did some stuff. He wasn’t sure what kind of stuff she was doing, but she seemed to be preoccupied in the other room. Curiosity might’ve been tickling his brain, but he knew better than to wander around after Ellie had told him to sit.

“I’m training him to wait in place!” Ellie’s voice said from the wall. “Don’t touch or treat him!”

Ellie’s mother glanced down at Sam and inspected him before ignoring him. Since he was in the corner of the room and wasn’t making a mess, as long as things stayed that way, it was fine. “It’s good that you’re training him properly,” Ellie’s mother said, her voice resonating throughout the residence.

Sam kept his head down as Ellie’s mother walked away. He closed his eyes once more, listening to fading sound of the reptilian’s footsteps. He took in a deep breath, paying attention to breathe with his stomach, focusing on the region below his bellybutton. Since his root chakra had been unlocked and mastered thanks to his awakener talent, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to attempt to unlock his Svadhishthana, the sacral chakra because of its proximity to the root chakra; also, Ellie told him to do it. In his hands, there was a polished, orange, spherical stone. It was cold despite him holding it for the past who-knew-how-long amount of time—since coming to Et Serpentium, time didn’t mean much to Sam anymore. Ellie dictated everything, and he didn’t have to keep track of days, weeks, or months.

To help Sam unlock his chakra, Ellie had given him the stone as a gift because she was in a good mood. He suspected it had something to do with his great potential unearthed by the HKC headquarters—an ideal pet, as Wendy had described him during the interview. It wasn’t just Ellie watching over Sam during his time at the HKC; other reptilians were scouting for talented humans as well, and although Ellie acted upset people were trying to poach Sam, he could tell it made her quite chuffed every time it happened. As expected, by making sure Ellie was happy, Sam would be properly rewarded.

Sam inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth as he pressed the orange stone in his hands close to his bellybutton. According to what he had learned from his time in Et Serpentium, he was supposed to focus on the stone and sense its vibrations, let them flow through his body, and ultimately, contort his body in such a way to copy the vibrations through the tensing of his muscles. By doing that, his hardened sacral chakra would slowly crumble and become unblocked. Currently, he was still on the first step, sensing the stone’s vibrations, and he had been on that step for quite a while.

Wendy had said it took a while to unlock chakras. Sam hadn’t believed it at first since manipulating his root chakra came so naturally to him, but after failing to even make a smidge of progress on unlocking his sacral chakra, he was slowly changing his mind. Unlocking his root chakra had been done in an instant when he obtained Raindu. Was it possible for him to turn another crystalline weapon into a living creature? If it was, he’d have to ask Ellie to procure him some. Of course, he had to get good results somewhere to make Ellie happy first; otherwise, she wouldn’t entertain his request.

A sigh escaped from Sam’s nose as he lowered the orange sphere and stared up at the ceiling. He was told to wait, not to meditate, so he could do anything he liked as long as he didn’t leave the corner Ellie had designated for him. Not that there was much to do since she had left him in an empty corner. According to Ellie, she was training his patience, and one did have to have a lot of patience to sit around with nothing to do for an unknown period of time. Even so, Sam persisted because he knew he’d be rewarded if he waited and punished if he wandered around. The choice was obvious.

“Sam!” Ellie’s voice entered Sam’s ears before he caught sight of her. The small reptilian skipped towards Sam, landing with a thump in front of him. She was on her stilts, and the sticks she used to extend her reach were held in her hands; however, instead of boxing gloves attached to the ends, there were knives. In other words, she was holding spears, and it was clear Sam was going to be her sparring partner.

“Sundak,” Sam said, not letting the sight of the spears bother him. He did a good job of hiding it on his face, but the pointy ends still struck fear in his mind, the blades sharp and gleaming and much longer than reptilian claws, perfect for poking all his soft organs, which were hidden deep within his body for a reason—to not be stabbed.

“Today, you’re going hunting with me!” Ellie said with a bright smile on her face. “Mommy thinks you’re going to be a great show human, and she was right, but!” Ellie leaned in close to stare Sam in the eyes, causing his body to temporarily freeze. “After learning about your potential, I’m dreaming bigger than Mommy. I’m going to make you into a great hunting human!”

Sam blinked. Hunting human, okay, that didn’t sound so bad, right? It sounded much better than hunted human at least. “Okay, sundak,” Sam said. “Is there anything I should know before we go?”

Ellie clicked her bracelet and passed Sam a treat. “Good job waiting, Sam!” she said and turned around, not bothering to answer Sam’s question. If her pet knew everything in advance, then how was she supposed to see his derpy reactions to new things? Ellie loved seeing all of Sam’s facial expressions, but it really made her happy when he was surprised, scared, or terrified; those silly expressions of his never failed to put a smile on her face when she saw them, even recalling old memories of the first time she had trained Sam brought a grin to her lips. “Come! Let’s go hunt a surssih!”

Sam’s brows furrowed as he packed his orange stone into his bag while standing up and following after Ellie. He knew what a surdock was, and he had a faint idea of what a surclue was, but he was pretty sure he had no idea what a surssih was; however, if he had to take a guess, he’d put all his money on a surssih being some kind of giant insect. The last time he met a giant insect, he would’ve died if Raindu and Wendy hadn’t been there. This time…, well, Raindu wouldn’t be there because the ferret was off looking for the GMC with the main goal of finding shiny things to pocket. Wasn’t Raindu supposed to protect him? If he died, wouldn’t Raindu cease to exist since the ferret was born as a result of Sam’s talent? Evidently, the ferret must’ve felt Sam was in safe hands being by Ellie’s side.

Ellie hopped onto the levistone and turned her head towards Sam, waiting for him to board. Once he was on, she slapped her booted stilts against the floor of the vehicle, and it rose off the ground before zooming away. Sam’s brow furrowed, and he turned his head to look in what he thought was the direction of Et Serpentium’s exit. Weren’t they going to the spectral jungle to hunt insects?

“We’re going to hunting human school!” Ellie said upon seeing Sam’s confused expression. She couldn’t resist telling him some more information in advance. With how derpy he looked, it was impossible for her to resist giving Sam what he wanted; after all, who could say no to a such a derpy human begging for treats and information? A monster, that’s who.

Sam blinked and turned his head back towards the floor of the levistone. There was a fluffy rug in front of him that his feet were resting on; the reptilian had bought it for him, and although he hadn’t even entertained the thought of feet cushions before in his life, he found himself liking Ellie’s gift a lot. The rug was soft and cushiony; it was a shame his shoes were on, preventing his bare feet from sinking into the material.

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Hunting human school…. Sam’s eyes narrowed. His school experience in the human city had not been a pleasant one. Every year, the number of students attending the same classes as him dwindled as his classmates awakened and went where their natural talents brought them. Eventually, it came to a point where it wasn’t worth going to school anymore.

“Your HKC results were very impressive, Sam!” Ellie said and leaned over to pat Sam’s knee. “There’s no need to be scared! You’ll be a great hunting human.”

Of the times Sam had heard Ellie say there was no need to be scared, half of them were lies, and half were the truth, which only made Sam anxious because now there was a fifty-percent chance of him entering a terrifying situation. Sam put a half-hearted smile on his face and nodded. “Thanks, sundak.” Rather than worrying about what was to come, it was better to focus on more practical things. He reached into his bag and pulled out a granola bar. If he was going to be struggling to survive, he had to stuff himself to increase the number of times he could use Toughen. Eating one more granola bar might be the difference between life and death.

“We’re here, Sam!” Ellie said as the levistone came to an abrupt halt. Sam was used to Ellie’s braking technique and usually Toughened himself in advance, but recently, she stopped when Sam least suspected it as if she were trying to catch him off guard, which—this time—she did. Sam coughed, choking on his fifth granola bar as he pitched forward, barely catching himself before his face hit the floor.

Sam swallowed and climbed to his feet. He followed the grinning reptilian off the levistone and entered the cubical building with the same exterior as all the other cubicle buildings around. The exteriors were always the same, but the interior gave off a different vibe every time. The stone walls glowed green, and despite the lack of foliage, Sam had a feeling he was in a grassy environment with trees and all kinds of bushes of various sizes. Straight ahead, there was a brown counter with a grayling sitting behind it; the counter was rectangular, but when Sam looked at it, he saw a fallen tree trunk as if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

“I’m Ellie, and I’m here with my pet Sam for hunting training,” Ellie said, not having to tiptoe to see over the counter thanks to her stilts.

The grayling tapped on the counter. “Yes,” it said. “Please proceed. Would you like me to show you the way?”

“No,” Ellie said and looked at Sam. “It’s more fun to explore by ourselves.” She pointed at the ground by her booted stilts. “Sam, heel!”

Sam walked beside Ellie. When she told him to heel, he had to stick close to her side. If not, there was a chance of him getting lost and possibly eaten. Sam was more than willing to follow Ellie’s order. Without Raindu, it’d be tough to escape from a reptilian. They were bigger, stronger, and basically had knives for fingernails. Well, even if there weren’t any reptilians around, the atmosphere made it seem like an insect could ambush him out of nowhere, and he didn’t want to fight one of those by himself either.

“Look!” Ellie said, pointing to the side. “There’s a room for practice hunts! Let’s go in.”

Sam didn’t see the room; all he saw was the green wall with brown patterns and dashes of black splashed on to resemble trees and shadows. Ellie pressed her hand against the wall, and a portion slid open, causing a rush of damp air to greet Sam’s nostrils. It smelled like he was back in the spectral jungle. He followed Ellie through, making sure to stay close to her side but slightly behind to avoid being poked by her spears. Terrain similar to the spectral jungle came into view; there was no ceiling, only a blue sky with clouds above, but not much of the sky was visible thanks to the thick canopy in the way.

Sam swallowed and looked around, keeping his arms close to his chest, ready to defend his head at a moment’s notice. Humans weren’t allowed weapons in Et Serpentium; it wasn’t because the reptilians were scared the humans would attack them; it was proven to lower the number of deaths amongst human pets if they weren’t armed. Sam wasn’t sure if the study geared towards hunting humans, but he sure hoped so.

“Over there!” Ellie said and pointed with her spear. “Did you see that, Sam?”

No, he did not because it looked like Ellie was pointing at a tree. “No, sundak.”

“That’s okay,” Ellie said and lowered her voice. “Go over there, Sam. When you hear something, use Toughen.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said and braced himself to harden his muscles. He walked in the direction Ellie pointed, the distance between him and his reptilian owner growing much greater than he wanted it to. A rusting sound caught Sam’s attention, and he followed Ellie’s orders without hesitation, using Toughen. An ant the size of a large dog rushed at Sam’s legs and clamped its mandibles around his thighs. If he hadn’t hardened his muscles in time, he might’ve lost a limb or had it grievously wounded. There was a swishing sound as Ellie leaped and appeared by Sam’s side in an instant, her eyes wide as she plunged her spear into the ant’s body, removing its head with one clean strike.

“Excellent work, Sam!” Ellie said and beamed at her pet. She withdrew her spear and clicked her bracelet before passing Sam a treat. “You drew the sursusu out perfectly.”

Sam accepted the treat and placed it into his mouth before looking down at his pants. They were torn, letting in a breeze, but at least his skin remained intact. He gazed past his leg at the dead ant, the sursusu as Ellie had called it. The ant was a giant insect, but it wasn’t a surssih. “Is this my role as a hunting human?”

“Part of it!” Ellie said. “Being a hunting human is no different from being a show human. All you have to do is follow my orders.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. In a sense, there really was no difference: as a show human, humans would try to kill him. As a hunting human, insects would try to kill him. Either way, he was struggling to survive; although, he had a feeling hunting was more dangerous because there was a jiggler within the competition grounds while there weren’t any jigglers in the jungle.

Ellie sniffed the air and turned her body from side to side. After a moment, she pointed. “That way, Sam! Do the same thing.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. Evidently, his role as a hunting human was being bait for insects. Rather than thinking of himself as bait, he would think of it as working as a tank with a competent ally calling the shots and dealing the damage. With his Toughen technique, he was perfect for the role. Considering his Sick Attack and Sound Attack required making contact with someone to transfer his vibrations, fighting up close made the most sense.

Sam made his way forward and used Toughen upon hearing a crunching sound. Two ants charged him, one clamping his legs with his mandible while the other crawled up his body and clamped down on his neck. It was an uncomfortable feeling to have four mandibles grinding against his body; he swore sparks were flying from where they made contact with his skin.

“Sick Attack, Sam!”

Sam kept Toughened active as he concentrated on his root chakra, sending a chilling pulsation through his body that washed over his limbs like a wave. When they reached the ants’ mandibles, the pulsation traveled through them and into the ants. The insects’ grips loosened as they staggered, and Ellie rushed in stabbing one ant with the spear in her right hand. Its head separated from its body, and Ellie leapt backwards before rushing to Sam’s other side. With another stab, the remaining ant died as well.

“Good job, Sam!” Ellie said and passed Sam a treat after clicking her bracelet. “Isn’t working together fun?”

It might’ve been more fun if he didn’t have to be bitten by giant ants, but he wasn’t going to ruin Ellie’s mood by saying that. Then again, working together with Ellie was better than being beaten by her during training. “Yes, sundak,” Sam said. “Working together is fun.”

“I knew you’d like it,” Ellie said and grinned. “You’re more fit to be a hunting human than a show human, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be both. You’ll help me hunt, and you’ll compete! That way, we won’t disappoint Mommy.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. Disappointing Ellie’s mother was the same thing as disappointing Ellie. If her mother was disappointed, she’d take it out on Ellie, and in turn, Ellie would take it out on him. “I’ll become the greatest show and hunting human.”

“Of course,” Ellie said. “You’re my Sam, and my Sam can do anything!”

A wry smile appeared on Sam’s lips. It was amazing how much faith Ellie had in him when he wasn’t even that sure of himself. Of course, she could just be saying empty lines to encourage him, but still, it was better than being ignored by the people who should’ve taken care of him but abandoned him simply because he was talentless.

“Now, go, Sam!” Ellie said, pointing off into the distance. “Attract some more sursusu!”