Just as she was ready to head out, Nicole felt a gust of wind on her skin, making her realize that she was still completely naked.

  Shit, I already forgot about that.

  Looking around once again in search of something to wear, she noticed a brown leather piece lying next to the makeshift bed. Picking it up, Nicole realized it was a leather chest cover, simir to the one Soi had worn when they first met. Underneath it was another piece of leather - a loincloth.

  Oh no, no... I... I have to wear these rags?! Fucking shit! Agh!

  The girl shook with anger. She could already imagine how uncomfortable they would be.

  She almost tossed the clothes away but stopped herself at the st moment and sighed.

  Wait, Nicole, calm down. It's better than nothing, and I don't have any other options for now.

  She hesitantly put on her new clothes. The chest piece was too small, covering her breasts only partially, leaving the lower part slightly exposed. The loincloth made her feel almost naked, but at least it was big enough to provide some coverage.

  Perfect, just perfect. Now I feel like any jump could expose my nipples, and I have to watch how I walk or sit, or this loincloth will do nothing to cover me... It's not like I’ve never worn revealing clothes before, but that was only when I wanted to! Agh, fuck this!

  As Nicole marched through the leaves, the bright sunlight blinded her for a second. When she looked around, she found herself in the vilge.

  All around her, people were going about their morning routines. Everyone seemed busy, occupied with whatever they were doing, and it appeared that no one had noticed the only human in their demihuman vilge.

  She saw a middle - aged man sitting in front of his house, holding a piece of wood in one hand while the other wielded a knife, carving the wood as he whistled a tune.

  When Nicole turned to the other side, she spotted a familiar face in the crowd of strangers - Soi. The girl was chatting with a woman but noticed Nicole as well. After bowing slightly to the woman, Soi quickly headed toward her.

  "Good morning, human!" she said enthusiastically, hugging Nicole closely, pressing their bodies together.

  "Uh, hey."

  Nicole's voice was rather cold.

  After everything that happened, I don’t feel like hugging any of them.

  "So, Nicole the human, I have a few things to announce! But I’m sure you’re still hungry, right? Breakfast is over, but I’m sure we can get you something. You are special, after all!"

  With those words, Soi took Nicole’s hand and rushed off, leading her through the vilge.

  After about ten minutes, they arrived in front of a very long table with a wooden and leaf - covered roof. It looked like a dining hall, though it had no walls - only columns supporting the roof.

  "We gather here every morning for breakfast and ter for dinner. Now, let’s get you some food."

  With that, Soi headed to the side of the table, where two rge pots stood. Gncing inside, she smiled.

  "Looks like you got lucky! There’s still some left. Sit down; I’ll take care of everything."

  Let’s just hope it’s something edible and won’t have any strange effects.

  Soon, Soi pced a wooden pte in front of Nicole, filled with a dark blue, semi - liquid mass.

  Nicole took a spoon and tasted the dish. The taste reminded her of an onion, but without the pungency.

  "Uh, and what exactly is this?" she asked Soi, who sat across from her at the table.

  "Hm? Oh, it’s our usual breakfast - made from Usas, a common vegetable here."

  Soi tried to hold back a smile.

  "Hah, you know, it’s so strange and fun to see someone not knowing such basic things. Right, you probably have many questions! Come on, ask!"

  Nicole swallowed another spoonful before speaking.

  "Alright, so... what now? I mean, am I supposed to stay in the vilge all the time? What about the elders? Are the allegations of me being with the mias gone? And who the fuck are the mias, anyway?"

  Soi went silent for a few seconds, visibly confused by the flood of questions, needing time to process them all.

  "I... I’m not sure about the elders, but if I understand correctly, they don’t see you as dangerous anymore, so you should be fine. And mias... they are scary. They live in the woods and kidnap lone wanderers to breed with them."

  As Soi spoke about the mias, Nicole saw actual fear in the girl’s eyes. Her cat - like ears fttened against her head.

  "But what are mias exactly? Are they just people living in another vilge, or...?"

  Nicole asked between attempts to force herself to eat the strange breakfast.

  "Lamias don’t have vilges. They usually live alone with their harem of kidnapped victims..."

  Soi went silent again, a shadow of something from the past fshing in her eyes. But she shook her head and continued.

  "Lamias are... How to expin... Their lower bodies are that of a snake."

  So, cats and snakes, huh? I wonder if there are more types of demihumans.

  "Alright, let’s change the subject a little. What other vilges are there?"

  "Oh, right! There are twelve tribes in total: Torakai - us, Narakai - canines, Shomari - cows, Zunthari - bunnies, Lamias, Yaru'kai - birdfolk, Voru'kai - bees, Druvokai - squirrels, Ishtarai - otters, Tzurai - rats, and Zanokai - gross pigs. Oh, and the Orokai - the octopuses, but they live underwater, so not many have ever seen one. Honestly, I’m unsure if they actually exist or if they’re just a legend."

  "Uh, I have no idea what half of the words you just said mean. Maybe try again, a bit slower?"

  "Oh, don’t worry. Those are just the tribe names. But since we’re in a small vilge, you won’t see most of them anyway, at least not anytime soon."

  Don’t tell me I’ll have to expin and prove that I’m human to EVERY tribe...

  The rest of her breakfast was eaten in silence. Nicole finished quickly, and soon the two of them were walking through the vilge again.

  "I forgot to mention, the elders allowed you to stay at my pce! I hope you don’t mind sleeping with me, haha."

  "Well, that was expected. Where else would they put me? And it’s better than a cage anyway. So, what now? Can I just live in this vilge?"

  I’m sure the elders won’t be happy to have another mouth to feed for free, and I’d get bored doing nothing anyway. I should probably try to be useful to the vilge - I don’t want to risk being thrown out.

  "Is there... any work I could do? Maybe help you with whatever you do? What’s your job in the vilge, anyway?"

  "I’m a hunter’s apprentice. Sadly, I don’t think my teacher will allow you to join us. But you can just ask around the vilge - I’m sure someone will need help here and there!"

  Great. That probably means a lot of manual bor. I can already imagine - 'Come here, bring that over there, and hurry up!'

  Nicole forced a small smile.

  "Well, I guess that’s my only option if I want something to do."

  "Let’s explore the vilge for now. We can worry about work ter."

  The two girls continued wandering through the vilge, passing cat - people engaged in their daily tasks.

  "And won't your teacher be mad that you're here?"

  "Oh, don't worry about that. He allowed me to take a day off."

  They reached a clearing - an open field of bare ground and mud. There, Nicole saw a group of Torakais, all engaged in paired combat.

  Their bodies were more muscur than those of the vilgers she had seen before, their sweat glistening under the sunlight.

  "These are the training grounds for the guards. Even though everyone is required to know the basics to help in times of need, only those chosen by the Terl can join the guard and train here."

  "So, basically, Terl is in charge of the vilge guard?"

  Soi nodded in response.

  Geez, my main enemy for now isn’t just one of the vilge elders - he's also the one commanding the guards.

  Looking back at the cat - people training, Nicole noticed that they weren’t using swords or any conventional weapons. Instead, it looked like they had rge cws extending from the backs of their hands.

  "I’ve never seen anything like that. How do they do it?"

  Soi raised an eyebrow.

  "Do what? Oh, right - this."

  Suddenly, three cws, each around forty centimeters long, emerged from the back of Soi’s hand.

  "Every Torakai can do this. You could say it’s our primary weapon."

  Nicole pointed at a pair of fighters whose cws looked different from the rest. One had cws engulfed in fmes, while the other’s cws were much longer than the others' and perfectly straight, unlike the slightly curved ones most had.

  "And what’s up with those two? Is that normal for you guys?"

  "Those are Terl's two most trusted guards - Ab and Ostep. They’ve achieved what we call the first ascension."

  "And... what exactly is ascension? And how many levels are there, considering you called it the 'first' one?"

  "Alright, look, it's a broad topic, but I’ll try to expin it in simple terms. Everyone has a special, unique ability based on the tribe they belong to. And when they become strong enough, they can choose to ascend that ability, making it more powerful and gaining new traits. Oh, and each tribe has two different paths of ascension, granting different strengths. But no path can ascend more than four times - no one has ever reached a fifth ascension."

  Shit, now ALL of them have some kind of ability. And what am I supposed to do? Even my three years of Krav Maga won’t help me now.

  "Okay, I think I get it. So those two are the strongest among the vilge guards, and their cws are even more powerful?"

  "Well, except for Terl himself, yes. They're probably the strongest in direct combat. But it’s hard to say who the strongest in the vilge actually is because of Erca - the head of the hunters. She’s the woman you saw earlier, one of the elders."

  "Can’t they just fight to see who’s the strongest?"

  "Erca would probably lose to Terl if they fought in an open area. Hunters rely on traps, agility, and stealth."

  Nicole and Soi moved away from the training grounds, continuing their walk through the vilge.

  "Let’s continue the topic of elders. From what I understand, the vilge is ruled by three elders, each with their own role - Terl leads the guards, and Erca is in charge of the hunters. What about the old man, then?"

  At Nicole’s words, Soi quickly gnced around as if something had scared her. Her voice grew quieter and more serious as she leaned in, looking Nicole directly in the eyes.

  "Don’t ever say anything like ‘old man’ about Izab. Or anything that could be seen as disrespectful unless you want to anger the entire vilge."

  Then, just as suddenly, Soi returned to her cheerful tone, as if nothing had happened.

  "Anyway, Izab is more like the actual ruler of the vilge. Formally, all the elders are equal, but because of his reputation, both Erca and Terl prefer to rely on his judgment for important or complicated matters."

  "His reputation? What did he do?"

  "It’s... a long story. But you’ve learned a lot today. I think this one can wait. Oh, look! They got a Rubropecto! We’re going to eat well tonight! And its meat is perfect for you - it’s said to promote muscle growth!"

  Soi pointed at a rge pile of fur in front of a hut, surrounded by several men. It took Nicole a moment to realize it was actually a massive, bear - like creature.

  One of the men, holding an axe, stepped toward the creature’s head and began chopping it off with powerful strikes. Others worked on severing its limbs.

  What the fuck is this?! A giant fucking bear?

  Nicole took a closer look at its head, and her eyes widened even more - it had no eye sockets, no mouth, and a nose that took up nearly its entire face.

  Once all the limbs were severed, the butchers struggled to roll the beast onto its back. And then, Nicole saw it - a massive hole in its belly. A giant mouth, filled with teeth the size of her fingers.

  She was stunned by the monstrosity.

  Oh, right! IT'S NOT JUST A GIANT BEAR - IT'S NIGHTMARE FUEL!

  Meanwhile, Soi looked completely unfazed - if anything, even happier than before. Noticing Nicole’s reaction, she chuckled.

  "You got scared of a Rubropecto? Even kids are fine with it - as long as it's dead, at least."

  Maybe because they’re used to seeing it? Ugh, I hate looking like an idiot. But how am I supposed to react? That thing's mouth could probably swallow me whole.

  Nicole just sighed and turned away.

  "Let’s go. I’m sure there are more interesting things to see."

  "Alright, alright."

  With that, the two girls continued wandering through the vilge as the sun slowly passed its noon peak.