“Ellie, be aware of your surroundings when you go out today, okay?”

Sam kept his head down as Ellie rolled her eyes. They were at the reptilian’s home, and it was the start of a new day. “Yes, Mommy, I know,” Ellie said, turning her head towards the wall.

“No, you don’t,” Ellie’s mother’s voice said, coming from the wall Ellie was speaking at. “A seventh reptilian was reported missing today. In fact, maybe, it’d be better if you stayed home until these cases are solved.”

“That could take forever!” Ellie said and turned to look at Sam. She turned back towards the wall. “Sam and I have a competition in ten minutes. We can’t not go; it’ll ruin our perfect record!”

“Fine,” Ellie’s mother said. “Let me come with you then. Just give me a moment to get ready.”

“No!” Ellie said. “We’ll be late if you come!”

“I don’t take that long to get ready.”

“No!” Ellie didn’t elaborate and grabbed Sam’s hand. “Let’s go, Sam,” she said before shouting at the wall as she left, “Bye, we’re going!”

Sam boarded the levistone, and Ellie slapped her feet against the floor of the vehicle. It rose off the ground before surging forward, leaving the reptilian’s house behind in an instant. Of course, they’d be late if Ellie’s mother decided to come with them; after all, Ellie only made it to places on time because she drove way above the speed limit, something her mother was greatly bothered by. As for why leaving home earlier wasn’t an option, Sam didn’t know. Maybe it was a reptilian thing.

Today’s competition was different from the usual ones. Since Sam was working to become a hunting human, it turned out there was a specialized competition for hunting humans and their owners. Sam wasn’t sure how it worked because Ellie didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but she did tell him they’d be competing together, and all he had to do was follow her instructions like at the hunting human school—which should’ve been renamed to insect safari given the way Ellie used it.

If the competition was going to involve hunting sursusu, giant ants, and surssih, which Sam found out was giant wasps—basically flying ants with anger issues—then Sam was ready. As for hunting surdocks, even with Toughen, Sam wasn’t confident in taking one of the giant dragonfly’s attacks directly.

“Don’t be nervous, Sam,” Ellie said, taking her eyes off the road to look at her pet. “Just follow your training, and we’ll get first place, guaranteed.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. The hunting human training had been monotonous, but wasn’t that the point of training? Repeating an action until it became engrained in his body; it had only taken him two weeks to get used to being bait for giant insects. Sam turned his head, noting the direction the levistone was heading.

“We’re going outside to hunt in the jungle,” Ellie said. “There’ll be a whole bunch of people, so it’s going to be safe, but you can still get lost, so you have to stick close to me, okay?”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. It didn’t take long for Ellie’s quick reflexes and flexible interpretation of the law to bring the levistone towards Et Serpentium’s exit. It would be Sam’s first time leaving Et Serpentium after entering it. Thinking back on it, those three guards who had gone missing because of Raindu, they were an unsolved case now, huh? And since the time they had disappeared, another four reptilians had gone missing. If the first three disappeared because of a certain ferret, what were the odds the next four had also encountered the same fate? Sam decided it was better not to think about it.

Ellie tapped her feet against the floor of the levistone, and the width of the vehicle shrank, Sam’s body shifting towards the center of the vehicle as his bench narrowed, and he pinched his seat between his hamstrings and his calves as the levistone tilted backwards, rushing up the flight of stairs. Sam had a feeling one of the engravings on the wall must’ve said no flying vehicles allowed on the stairs, but he was illiterate in reptilian script, so even if he was right, he couldn’t prove it.

The levistone rushed through the black screen of light and entered the room where Raindu had disposed of the three reptilian guards. Sam noticed a green orb had replaced the one the ferret had stolen, but he made sure not to look directly at it, keeping his gaze on the floor of the levistone.

“Hi!” Ellie said to the baffled guards. “I’m going to a hunting human competition!”

The two guards on duty exchanged glances with one another. One of them took out a stone rectangle and pointed it at Ellie, who tapped on it with a stone token. “You’re all clear,” the guard with the stone rectangle said. “Be careful. The jungle’s a dangerous place for a kid.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Ellie said, obviously not too concerned with the guard’s words. She tapped her feet on the levistone as she pocketed her identity token, and the vehicle sped off through the second screen of black light. Like a cannonball, the levistone rushed through the stairwell and out the exit, flying through the air for several seconds before landing on the ground with a thump. After a second, the levistone rose off the ground once more, and Ellie turned to inspect her pet. “Wasn’t that fun, Sam? It’s the nicest ramp in Et Serpentium. I always wanted to do that.”

Sam wasn’t a fan of accelerating off a ramp to fly through the air, but he wasn’t going to let Ellie know that. “Yes, sundak,” he said. “That was fun.”

Ellie beamed and slapped her feet against the floor of the levistone, and it zoomed over the desert, traveling much faster compared to the time Sam had trekked over the sand dunes with Wendy on foot. It didn’t take long for the spectral jungle to appear on the horizon, and Ellie squinted before steering the levistone over to the side where a cluster of other levistones were parked. “We’re here, Sam,” Ellie said before hopping off the levistone, landing on the ground without a sand as her feet sank into the sand. “Right on time!”

Sam got off the levistone and looked around. There seemed to be quite a few competitors, judging by the number of vehicles parked on the sand. Then again, there were probably spectators who had parked there as well. Sam stuck close to Ellie’s side as he followed the reptilian towards the crowd gathered near the edge of the jungle. There were almost an equal number of humans as reptilians, changing Sam’s mind about the number of spectators.

“Everyone’s here,” one of the reptilians said as Ellie and Sam merged into the group. The reptilian was purple with silver eyes. It scanned the crowd before clearing its throat. “The competition rules are the same as always. The person who catches the heaviest insect in the next three hours wins.” The reptilian looked around. “Any questions? No? Alright, ready, get set, go!”

Sam wanted to question the validity of this competition, one where Ellie didn’t have to sign up or check in and where the referee seemed to be half asleep, but Ellie grabbed Sam’s wrist and tugged, rushing him towards the jungle with the rest of the crowd. He didn’t see why they had to be in such a hurry considering they had three hours, but Ellie was excited, so Sam had to match her energy to keep her happy. As he ran, he inspected the hunting humans he was competing against, but he didn’t recognize any of them. However, he did see a woman point two fingers at someone as if she were about to shoot them with a fake gun.

Sam blinked as the woman’s hand jerked backwards as if suffering from recoil, and the man she was aiming at stumbled before falling face-down. Sam’s eyes widened, and he met the finger-gun-firing woman’s gaze. She grinned at Sam and pointed her fingers at him, but before she could do anything, a branch flew from Sam’s side and struck the woman’s head, causing her to stagger backwards.

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“Leave Sam alone!” Ellie said and glared at the woman. “Go shoot someone else.”

The woman’s reptilian owner hissed at Ellie, but Ellie wasn’t one to back down. She hissed back at the reptilian despite it being twice her size. Ellie pulled Sam away while glaring at the reptilian. “Control your pet!”

The reptilian snorted in reply. “This is part of the competition.”

“Bleh, you suck,” Ellie said and stuck her tongue out at the reptilian. She brought Sam to the side to leave the crowd, but she wasn’t the only one with the same idea; the reptilians spread out after witnessing the conflict, taking their human pets with them. After Ellie and Sam had distanced themselves enough where no one was within hearing distance, Ellie stomped her foot and snorted as she unpacked her stilts from Sam’s backpack. “That person was so dumb! If they want to win, they should win by trying their best, not by trying to bring others down.” The reptilian turned towards Sam as she mounted her stilts. “Don’t be like that guy.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said and looked around. They hadn’t gone too deep into the jungle, but Sam could already imagine the damp and wet times awaiting him. Thankfully, the competition only lasted for the next three hours, not enough time for mold to grow on his clothes.

Ellie took in a deep breath and stood up straight. Her head tilted back to look up at the canopy, and she took in a deep breath through her nose. After sniffing for a bit, Ellie turned to look at Sam and pulled a stone cylinder out of her bag. “Close your eyes and hold your breath, Sam,” Ellie said.

Although Sam wasn’t sure what the reptilian had in store, he followed her orders anyway. He shut his eyes and held his breath. A second later, mist sprayed across his face, and he almost reflexively breathed in; however, he remained in place with his eyes shut.

“Okay, Sam!” Ellie said and clicked her bracelet before pulling out a treat for Sam. “Good job. Now, all you have to do is go on ahead and use Toughen when you hear something, just like in our training.”

Sam put the treat into his mouth and glanced down at his body. There was a thin layer of condensation on his clothes, remnants of whatever Ellie had sprayed on him. He sniffed his clothes, but he didn’t smell anything odd. Perhaps it was a scent only insects were attracted to. Sam took in a deep breath and followed Ellie’s instructions, moving in the direction she had pointed in. He was bait, so it made sense for Ellie to season him to make him more delectable.

It didn’t take long for insects to ambush Sam. They rushed over from every direction, and he crouched down before using Toughen, making his body a smaller target. Even if his muscles were hardened, surdocks were present, and he didn’t want to be carried away in one of their mouths. He wasn’t sure if Ellie could find him if that happened. All kinds of insects, mostly small ones, bit at Sam and his clothes. Although the bugs couldn’t pierce his skin with their mandibles, incisors, or stingers, he could still feel them crawling all over his body, and he couldn’t move to squish them thanks to his hardening technique. It was not a pleasant experience. The hunting human school hadn’t prepared him for all the little insects; after all, why would they teach someone how to defeat a bug that could be slapped to death?

Sam couldn’t hear Ellie approach thanks to the droning of the insects on his body. The ones crawling inside of his ear were especially loud; they scratched against the inside of his head, scraping and buzzing as they tried to make their way deeper in. However, Sam could still hear Ellie shout, “Sam, Sick Attack!”

Sam focused on his root chakra, and a wave of nausea washed over him as a chill spread throughout his body, starting from his crotch. The droning of the insects dulled, whether because Sam’s hearing deteriorated because of the nausea or because the bugs were too nauseous to move, he wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter.

Some of the insects flew off of Sam’s body as he was struck in the back by a weapon shaped like a paddle. Of course, Ellie was the one holding it. She slapped Sam’s back repeatedly, knocking the bugs off while swinging the paddle vertically to chop apart the larger insects gnawing at Sam. Ellie kicked at the larger bugs and swatted the smaller bugs off with her strange weapon. Although it was shaped like a paddle, the weapon was like a broom, composed of thousands of little strands, allowing Ellie to sweep Sam’s body clean.

After cleaning Sam and stamping out all the insects that refused to leave, Ellie took a look around. The largest bug that had attacked Sam was a sursusu, definitely not first-place worthy, but better than nothing. “Carry, Sam!” Ellie said and pointed at the giant ant corpse.

Sam grabbed the giant ant’s middle section and lifted, tucking it under his arm, the ant’s head and lower section drooping. A strong force struck Sam’s chest, and he stumbled backwards, his body stiffening as a strong tingling sensation spread throughout his body. He fell over, and his body spasmed whenever he tried to move, his muscles refusing to listen to him.

“Sam!” Ellie shouted and crouched down by Sam’s side. “Are you okay?” She made eye contact with Sam. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned her head to the side. “Come out, coward!”

Ellie readied her weapon as she stood up, facing the direction she had shouted towards. With a grunt, she swung her weapon downwards, deflecting an invisible—to Sam—attack. A pile of insect corpses exploded and scattered, leaving a messy impact crater amongst the layer of dead bugs. “Didn’t I tell you to shoot someone else?” Ellie asked, frowning as the fake-gun-pointing woman from earlier emerged from behind the trees.

“Yes,” a reptilian voice said as the woman’s owner appeared from behind her. “But I didn’t like the way you said it, so I’m going to teach you a lesson. Mind your manners in front of adults.”

“Bleh.” Ellie stuck her tongue out before glancing down at Sam, who had his eyes closed.

“He’ll be fine,” the reptilian said. “Just give him a few hours to adapt. After the competition is over, he’ll—”

A frown appeared on the reptilian’s face as Sam’s eyes opened. Sam placed his right hand on the ground and pushed, standing up with stiff motions. He glared at the woman, who promptly raised her hand and pointed her finger-gun at Sam again. He took a step back as an invisible force struck his chest, but he didn’t fall over. His muscles didn’t spasm either as a chilling pulsation washed over his body. “He’s an unrestrained?” the reptilian asked, its eyes widening at Ellie. “Do you have a license to keep him?”

“Of course,” Ellie said. She pointed her weapon at the reptilian. “Why? You don’t want to fight anymore?”

“I don’t,” the reptilian said. It glanced down at the sursusu by Sam’s feet. “You didn’t catch much anyway. We’ll come back later when you have something bigger to submit.”

Sam’s brow furrowed as the reptilian walked away, taking its human pet with it. Although Sam wanted to ask Ellie why she was allowing them to walk away without a fight, he figured she had her own reasons. Maybe her mom didn’t want her to be a violent individual; maybe she’d lose that license of hers allowing her to own an unrestrained, whatever that meant. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t up to Sam to figure out; all he had to do was follow Ellie’s orders.

“Let’s go, Sam,” Ellie said, pointing off to the side. “You first.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said, ready to resume his role as insect bait. Even now, there was a steady stream of smaller bugs heading towards him. Whatever Ellie had sprinkled on him was extremely effective. He walked until he heard loud sounds not caused by himself. Then, he crouched down, closed his eyes, and used Toughen. Bugs swarmed over him; even though it was his second time experiencing it, he was still as disgusted as the first time. He could hear the bugs crawling in his ears, and there were tickling sensations in his nose, his brain begging him to sneeze but unable to thanks to his locked muscles. Thankfully, Ellie would arrive at any moment to get rid of the bugs. …Any moment now.

Several moments passed. The number of insects surrounding Sam’s body had stayed the same thanks to the bugs devouring one another with newcomers replacing those that died. Sam continued to keep his muscles hardened. More time passed. When Sam was starting to get anxious like a child left behind on a checkout line with a grocery cart by their parent—who had gone to pick up a forgotten item—with only one cart ahead of them, Ellie reappeared. “Sick Attack, Sam!”

Nausea washed over Sam and the bugs alike. As Ellie swatted the bugs away, Sam couldn’t help but wonder if his newly obtained pulsation, the one that had been created from the woman’s paralyzing attack, would work on the insects. Would electrocution feel better than nausea? Sam wasn’t sure, but unless Ellie gave the order, he wouldn’t find out.

Ellie swept Sam clear of bugs and used a stone container to spray something in his ears and nostrils that made the bugs scatter. “Good job, Sam!” the reptilian said and passed Sam a treat after clicking her bracelet. “Sorry I was so slow. Some things got in the way.”

In the distance, the woman with the finger-gun talent was lying on the ground, looking up at the sky with a blank expression. Her owner was lying next to her, also staring up at the sky. All four of their legs were broken, and there was no way they were going to finish the competition in their current state. Their injuries were from a blunt weapon, the size of the injuries suspiciously similar to the size of Ellie’s stone paddle.