NOVEL NEXT Book 5: Chapter 191: Plot Against
Rewind the clock a few hours to the primordial forest on the western edge of this small world. Luna counted the tree rings of nearby stumps while patiently waiting for the bounties of the day.
The forest was truly vast and seemed to be governed by strange energies. Those unfamiliar with its rhythms risked losing their way completely.
This peculiar energy also thwarted any attempts at flight. Luna experimented with a flight scroll but only managed to fly at a height that she could easily reach by jumping.
After wandering around aimlessly and finding herself going around in circles, Luna abandoned her fruitless efforts.
She settled into a quiet spot, preferring to await the bounty of the day. It would serve as a reliable beacon, far easier than deciphering the forest’s elusive patterns.
As for the tree stump she was resting on in this primordial forest… Well, a lady should always be allowed to make her own chair, no?
Unbeknownst to Luna, her certain behavior and thoughts were starting to subtly mirror Lilith’s.
“Hmm… I’m getting a bit hungry.” Luna rubbed her stomach and glanced at the sky. The bounty would only be announced every twenty-four hours, yet hunger didn’t abide by such schedules.
People are iron, rice is steel, one will feel like crap without a meal.—This was Lilith’s quote.
Recalling that, Luna rose to prepare her dinner for the day. Whether influenced by the dragon blood coursing through her veins or by Lilith herself, Luna began to favor freshly caught wild game.She found herself less bothered by leftovers or refrigerated food and even developed a discerning palate.
In the past, she could not differentiate the different types of steak served in a lavish restaurant. Now, she could even identify a cow’s breed simply by the scent of her steak.
Her appetite also seemed to grow with each passing day.
Not long ago, during a visit to her favorite restaurant, the owner approached with a curious smile, asking her if she had turned heartbreak into a hearty appetite. The owner’s concern truly moved her—she couldn’t even stop herself from breaking ten bones in his body that day.
One of the few blessings of the primordial forest was the abundance of wild game. While her appetite had increased, Luna still couldn’t rival Lilith’s feats of leaving chefs in the restaurant exhausted after each meal.
Luna casually hunted a small wild boar to serve as today’s dinner. After quickly grilling it with a simple sauce, the aroma in the air alone caused Luna to salivate.
She cautiously scanned her surroundings, ensuring no one else was around before daring to retrieve something she would never bring out in Lilith’s presence—Lilith’s dinner plate, accompanied by her knife and fork.
There was no logical reason to use these for a roast pork meal, but Luna felt the urge to savor this treasure she had risked her life to steal from Master Lilith.
Using her silver knife, Luna sliced off a tender piece of roast pork and placed it delicately on the dinner plate. Her mouth watered at the sight.
“It seems the allure lies not in the food itself, but in this plate,” Luna mused.
Rather than the greasy pork, her gaze was fixated on the reflection of her face on the polished surface and especially the rim of the plate…
Though the dinner plate had been washed, Luna wondered if perhaps a trace of the flavor belonging to Master Lilith still clung to it.
Oh my~ Won’t that be like indirectly kissing Master Lilith?
Luna blushed at the thought, feeling a bit shy.
The idea made her increasingly restless. She glanced around once more, finding not even a single soul around save for the odd large bird perched atop a nearby tree, seemingly observing her curiously.
It seemed highly unlikely that Master Lilith would suddenly appear. Luna stuck out her little tongue and slowly leaned toward the dinner plate…
“CAW!”
Just as Luna’s excitement peaked and the tip of her tongue was about to touch the plate, a piercing cry shattered the forest’s tranquility.
The strange large bird—devoid of magic power—that Luna had previously ignored, suddenly spread its wings and darted toward her with lightning speed. Since Luna was lost in her own thoughts, she could not even react in time when the strange bird snatched the dinner plate.
Despite its bulky size, it moved nimbly among the dense branches and almost instantly vanished from Luna’s view.
Luna froze for a moment, then exploded with anger.
“Damn bird! How dare you steal my limited edition indirect kissing with Master Lilith dinner plate!”
“CAW!”
The mocking cry of the bird echoed in Luna’s ears.
Infuriated like never before, Luna felt deeply insulted. No one had ever dared to belittle her like this, especially not a mere bird!
“Fine! Change of plans. No pork for dinner tonight. I’m having roasted bird instead.” Luna kicked aside the roasted pork and swiftly dashed after the direction the bird had disappeared.
Ten minutes later…
Luna surveyed the lush surroundings, her beautiful face contorted in disbelief.
“I… I actually lost track of an ordinary bird?” Luna’s expression reflected her incredulity.
With her current speed, whether flying, crawling, or swimming, she could catch any creature with four, six, or even eight legs. How could she fail to catch an ugly-looking, ordinary bird?
To add insult to injury, the bird continued taunting her from a distance, calling out intermittently before scampering away whenever she approached.
“Damn it, being tormented by a feathered animal doesn’t bring me any pleasure!” Luna grumbled, delivering a frustrated punch to a towering giant tree beside her, its ancient branches scraping the sky.
“Huh?” Luna sensed something amiss.
Her fist met no resistance; no leaves fluttered down, nor did she feel any solid impact.
Luna curiously inspected the spot where she had struck. The dry, cracked bark, weathered by centuries, looked identical to its surroundings.
Puzzled, Luna cautiously reached out to touch it. To her surprise, the bark rippled like water upon contact.
“A spatial gate? Teleportation array?” Luna pondered aloud, uncertain of the strange object’s purpose but sensing a void beyond it.
“Should… should I go in and investigate?” Luna hesitated.
Venturing into the unknown posed risks, especially in a small world seemingly devoid of threats. However, her inclination leaned toward retrieving her dinner plate from the damn bird and preparing tonight’s meal.
As Luna deliberated, a powerful suction force suddenly descended, as if lying in wait.
“Just as I thought.” Luna smirked knowingly, her dragon blood empowering her to stand firm against the force. “It’s still early for you to plot against me. You’ll have to train a hundred years more.”
The tree bark remained silent, but the watery ripples intensified into waves, and the suction force abruptly surged tenfold.
“Damn it.”