"It is for one elk leg, or just for you, brother, a boar and a rabbit," the fox said smoothly, his tail swaying as he started folding the massive, heavy blanket.

"Nuan!" Kael called out.

Nuan stepped up to the empty stone slab and focused. Inventory, open. With a quick mental command, she pulled the heavy elk leg and the thick boar shoulder out of her digital storage.

The fox vendor watched in absolute silence as the massive cuts of meat materialized out of thin air. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Even though he was visibly shocked, he didn’t lose his composure.

His golden, vertical pupils sharply scanned Nuan and the fading blue pixels that had just created this literal miracle.

He calmly placed his hand on top of the folded elephant blanket. "What is it, brother?"

"Take this... and give me the blanket!" Kael ordered, slamming his hand down near the meat.

The fox chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Brother, it is not enough. Not for a majestic blanket like this. If you had given me a whole boar along with that elk leg, I would have thought about it. But just these pieces?"

Kael let out a fierce, vibrating growl. "I am giving you an elk leg and a boar shoulder! It is more than enough! Give me the blanket!"

The fox kept his palm firmly pressed against the fabric and smiled. "Brother, this is a blanket made for the all-mighty elephants. Creatures that even the big cats of the Tiger Clan stay cautious around!"

"And I killed one of those tigers!" Kael barked, leaning in. "The Silver Grey Wolf Clan makes the Tiger Clan run for their lives! Give me that blanket right now."

Nuan let out a heavy sigh, tired of the aggressive posturing. Time for a counter-offer, she thought. "How about a fresh rabbit? It’s still warm."

"But it still won’t be enough, lady..." the fox started to say, waving his hand dismissively.

CRACK!

Kael slammed his foot onto the stone slab, leaning his massive frame forward until his face was mere inches away from the vendor. His golden eyes flared. "Want me to show you exactly how I ripped off that tiger’s neck right here on your table?"

The fox chuckled, though a drop of sweat rolled down his neck. "Brother, you seem to be forgetting... it is strictly forbidden to hunt or fight inside the Roaring Crossroads."

He paused, looking at Kael’s terrifying expression, and quickly changed his tune.

"Anyways... since it is you, Alpha brother, you can have it. The elk leg, the boar shoulder, and one fresh rabbit!"

Nuan didn’t waste a second. She pulled the dead rabbit out of her inventory and placed it on the table. It was still perfectly fresh and warm.

The fox vendor finally lifted his hand off the prize. Kael instantly snatched the massive blanket off the slab.

He turned to Nuan, his chest puffed out proudly as he offered it to her. "For you!"

"Aww, thank you!!!" Nuan beamed. The moment her fingers brushed the heavy fabric, she thought Inventory! and the mountain of blanket instantly dissolved into blue light, vanishing into her system storage.

The fox vendor stared blankly at her empty hand, completely fascinated. Then, a sharp, intrigued smile spread across his face.

Leaving the fox’s tent behind, the two of them stepped back out into the noisy, bustling market.

Nuan looked up at Kael, adjusting her stance on her good leg. "Now what? Do we have any more meat left for trading?Because I’m still wearing these same cargo pants—are we not buying clothes yet?"

"We will," Kael rumbled, a confident smirk on his face. He pointed a large finger toward the far side of the crowded crossroads. "Let me go get some more meat from over there first."

"Oi, oi! You are not leaving me here alone, right?!" Nuan whispered frantically, clutching his arm. "Just look at everyone, they are literally staring holes through us! And by the way, why are there only predators buying and selling here?"

"I am not leaving you," Kael rumbled softly, patting her hand. "And it is because we apex predators trade with meat to lower predators. Did you expect to see any... pig or deer walking around selling things?"

"No, not really, but still! All these eyes are just—there isn’t a single herbivore here!" she murmured, shivering slightly under the heavy gazes of the crowd.

"Herbi... uemrus?" Kael repeated, his brow furrowing as he butchered the word completely.

"No, it’s herbivore. One who eats plants and stuff. But I guess it makes sense, everyone else is probably terrified of you guys," Nuan said, looking around.

"There are times when... the Gorilla Clan, the Rhino Clan, and the Elephant Clan come here," Kael corrected, looking around the plain.

"Ah, I see... logistical balance. What do they trade with? Do they trade fruits and veggies with the jackals and foxes?"

"You are smart," Kael said, looking down at her with a proud glimmer in his golden eyes. Suddenly, his ears twitched and he sniffed the air deeply. "Found it! There is some prey over that way. Hop on me."

With a soft puff of smoke, he fluidly transformed back into his massive silver wolf form.

After a few minutes of running, they left the main market area behind and entered a vast field of tall, dry grassland. Kael lowered himself onto all fours, hiding his massive body in the brush.

Get down. Don’t move. There are hares at a distance. They are very fast, so stay right here, his voice echoed in her mind through their telepathic link.

Nuan carefully slid off his back. But the moment she put her good leg down on the dry grass, it made a sharp, loud CRUNCH.

Kael instantly froze. Nuan froze too, holding her breath. Kael lowered his belly completely to the dirt, his ears flattening.

Don’t make noise! he hissed in her mind. We need at least three hares to trade for your clothes!

Nuan gulped, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. Oh, right. Logistics, Nuan. Use your resources.

Blue Buddy! Activate Silent Walk! she commanded internally.

[ Activating Ability: Silent Walk ]

[ Countdown: 09:59:58 ]

A strange, weightless sensation washed over her legs. Nuan put her good foot down again, testing the dry grass more carefully, but this time—absolutely nothing. Total silence. Even her injured leg, wrapped in leaves, stepped onto the brittle brush without making a single sound. She carefully stepped a few paces aside from Kael.

Kael, still crouching incredibly low in the grass, began slowly shortening the distance before his strike. Nuan stood completely silent on the side, watching his silver fur completely disappear into the sea of yellow grass.

Whoaa... even without any system skills, his natural stealth is insane, Nuan thought in pure awe. What silent walk? What tracking eyes? Because I can’t see shit out here, but he definitely does. Forget wildlife documentaries. This is the real thing.

[ You will love this beastworld wild much more if you collect a lot of premium mates, Host! ]

Yeah, and I absolutely hate this beastman mate-collecting system, Nuan hissed back in her mind.

[ Host! That is a statistical error in your appreciation of the genre! ]

Just then, the distant grass started rustling aggressively. Dust suddenly shot up into the air like a mini-tornado. The chase had officially begun!

Nuan couldn’t see a single thing through the tall grass except violent rustling and flying dust.

Deciding she was safer away from the chaos, she carefully backed toward a patch of open dirt.

One step.

Two steps.

As she took another perfectly silent step backward, her back suddenly bumped into something incredibly hard, solid, and immovable. It felt like backing into a brick wall.

Nuan’s heart leaped into her throat. She slowly turned her head around.

Standing right behind her was a terrifyingly tall, bulky, and insanely muscular beastman. He had dark, thick hair covering his massive shoulders, a heavy jaw, and arms as thick as tree trunks.

A Gorilla beastman! And he was staring straight down at her.