Free Web NovelChapter 17: The Witch’s Survival Class
"Now let go of me," Nuan hissed at Kael, who still had her completely trapped against the hard cliff rock.
"No! You are not going!" he said, staring down at her with a super intense gaze.
Nuan let out a heavy sigh. ’This idiot will never get what I meant. Honestly, beastman or human man, it doesn’t matter. It’s exactly this kind of bossy reason why I don’t want to get married or mate!’
"Yeah, yeah! Whatever. I’m not leaving at least until my ankle gets better," Nuan said, rolling her eyes and looking away.
Instantly, Kael’s intense gaze softened. Behind him, his tail started wiggling happily against the rock, and he leaned down, licking her cheeks aggressively.
"Oh!! Ahh, stop, it tickles!" Nuan squealed as his rough tongue kept sandpapering her cheek and neck, his heavy body pressing right against her. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"Uh, wait!" Nuan quickly grabbed him by his soft wolf ears and started rubbing them aggressively. Just like that, the fierce Alpha melted right onto her chest like a big puddle of fur.
’Oi, Blue Buddy! That was totally foreplay!’ Nuan called out in her mind.
[ What? Host, that was just very normal wolf cuddling... ]
’Shh! Tell me, what is the literal definition of foreplay?’
[ Physical touches, kisses, skin-to-skin contact, stuff like that... ]
’And what did this wolf just do to me? He pinned me down, licked my neck and cheeks, pressed his whole body on me, and now he’s resting his head on my chest! What else do you want, a candlelight dinner? Lift that debt off me right now!’
[ Eh? Host... but that feels like a logistical loophole... ]
’Hurry up!’
[ Debt cleared! Countdown: 00:00:00. ]
Nuan smirked, feeling completely victorious over the system. With the debt paid and her body still running on low battery, her eyelids grew heavy. Wrapped in Kael’s warm fur under the starry night sky, she quickly fell fast asleep again.
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(NEXT MORNING)
Nuan woke up with an absolutely terrible backache and a neck so stiff it felt like it was made of concrete. That’s what happens when you spend the whole night sleeping on a jagged rock cliff with a three-hundred-pound wolf using your chest as a mattress.
"Mmm... ugh!" Nuan slowly managed to sit up, groaning as her joints popped. "Hurts... my whole body hurts! Nuan... this is a medical crisis."
Beside her, Kael was sound asleep, having shifted back into his full wolf form. He looked like a giant, fluffy silver rug.
"Yeah, great," she muttered, glaring at his furry back. "He could have easily functioned as a premium orthopedic mattress, yet he chose to be a boulder instead."
She looked over the edge of the cliff. Down below, the pack members were going about their morning routines, but the moment they spotted her, they all stopped and stared up.
Nuan noticed something weird right away. None of the young, strong beastmen had left for the morning hunt. Instead, they were all pacing the borders, looking stressed.
Slowly scooting forward, Nuan let her legs dangle off the cliff edge. "Hey! Is today a holiday or something? No hunting day?" she called down.
A very young, cute beastman with fluffy ears stepped forward from the crowd. "Alpha... uh, I mean, Witch! We can’t risk going out to hunt because of the tiger attack yesterday!"
"Huh? What’s your name?" Nuan asked, tilting her head.
"Koda!" he said, his tail swaying nervously behind him.
"Hm... Koda, cute name! So you guys are just going to sit around like this? On guard inside the territory? How are you going to eat? And what if the tigers decide to bring a bigger crowd next time?!"
"We are guarding the home!" Koda said proudly, puffing out his chest.
"That’s not enough!" Nuan yelled back, her inner survival-show host taking over. "Let me repay you guys for saving my skin yesterday. I’m going to teach you how to use fire for defense, and all kinds of stuff!"
"The Red Evil!" Koda gasped, instantly taking a terrified step backward.
The entire pack immediately broke into panicked murmurs, shifting away from the cliff as if she were about to drop a bomb on them.
All the commotion finally woke Kael up. He bolted to his feet, his silver fur bristling as he let out a thunderous, aggressive growl at the crowd below. Instantly, the whole pack went dead silent, dropping their heads.
Nuan looked up at the giant wolf next to her. "Oi! I want to teach everyone some basic survival skills. Tell them to sign up for my crash course!"
Kael didn’t even hesitate. He shifted into his human form and shouted down at the pack, "Whatever Nuan says, you do it!"
"Yes, Alpha!" everyone yelled back in perfect, terrified unison.
Nuan looked down from the cliff edge. It was a solid few meters drop. Then she looked at her injured leg, wrapped up in leaves and green herb paste, and finally at Kael. "Get me down!"
Kael smirked, his body shifting fluidly into his human beastman form as he stepped closer.
He scooped Nuan up onto his shoulder with total ease and leapt straight off the cliff.
He landed perfectly, putting her down gently on the grass while keeping a firm grip on her waist so she could stand on her one good leg.
"Okay, so everyone listen up!" Nuan yelled, clapping her hands together like a gym teacher. "We are going to learn how to create fire!"
"Summoning the Red Evil?" Koda murmured from the front row, his ears twitching with fear.
"Listen, it’s not evil! It just depends on how you use it," Nuan explained, waving her hand. "It can be used to roast meat, scare away predators, keep you warm at night—all kinds of stuff! It’s all about the logistics."
She looked at the crowd of confused, terrified wolf-faces. "Now hurry up and get to work! Half of you start making a stone pit just like the one I had yesterday, and the other half go collect dry sticks. Move it!"
Ding!
A bright blue screen flashed right in front of her eyes.
[ New Side Quest: Red Evil Summoning Session ]
[ Objective: Teach the Silver Grey Wolf Clan how to use fire. ]
[ Reward: Silent Walk Ability ]
Nuan smirked at the system screen, her eyes lighting up. ’Now we’re talking! That’s actually useful!’
She swatted the screen away, feeling a sudden burst of energy despite her sore back, ready to whip these overgrown puppies into shape.
