### Chapter Ten: The Young Woman and the Monster
“Whoosh—”
The monster shook its huge head, its heavy breaths sending clouds of mist into the air.
It sniffed around, confirming its direction, then lumbered towards me with heavy steps.
Thud, thud, thud—
With each step the monster took, the ground trembled.
It’s coming over here! It spotted me! What do I do? Should I turn and run? Is it too late?
…No way, it’s way too big; I won’t outrun it.
Does this mean I have to fight? If I use black smoke, I might have a chance… but who wants to fight that thing? Just looking at it is enough to make me freak out!
While my mind was swirling in panic, suddenly everything went dark, and the monster was right in front of me, lowering its enormous head. I was so scared I couldn’t move. It sniffed at me and then—out of nowhere—stuck out its tongue and licked me!
!!!!!!!
“Ugh—Pfft, pfft, pfft!”
That tongue went from my feet to my face, smothering me in slimy, stinky drool—yummy! I gagged a little, spat out some saliva, and quickly scrambled backward, wide-eyed with terror. At the same time, I started gathering a chilly aura in my hands, summoning five sharp ice spikes to hover above my head.
What was it doing, tasting me? Am I some sort of snack!?
“You… come… closer… and I… will… hit…”
My already shaky words got even more jumbled as my voice trembled.
Seeing my reaction, the monster seemed a bit startled, rearing up suddenly.
“Roar—!!!”
Its roar could probably pierce the clouds, shaking the grass and trees. Birds flapped their wings and took off, and the jungle echoed with the sounds of animals fleeing in panic.
My hand shook from fear, and the five ice spikes instantly shot toward the monster, hitting its chest with a loud “crack” and shattering into icy mist.
Compared to the monster’s fearsome exoskeleton, my ice spikes were like a gentle tickle and didn’t do a thing.
I turned and ran. But I barely took two steps before a giant paw scooped me up.
I was so scared my soul almost left my body. Those sharp claws could easily shred me to pieces. My little heart pounded like crazy as I prepared to unleash my black smoke.
But then I noticed the monster wasn’t squeezing me tightly; instead, it gently placed me on its back.
Just as a few wisps of black smoke started to rise, they immediately stopped. I clutched onto the monster’s fuzzy fur. It was thick and long, with a strong animal stench that made me feel nauseous.
What is it trying to do?
After placing me on its back, the monster stood up and turned around to head back the way it came.
Looks like it doesn’t want to hurt me.
“Where… are you… taking me?” I climbed up to its shoulder, bracing myself against one of its horns, and looked at its massive head.
“Grrr—”
All I got in response was a low grunt. Who knows if it understood me.
“Put… me… down… now.”
The monster was nearly twenty meters tall. If I just jumped down… how bad could it be? I haven’t tried, but I figured that height wouldn’t be a huge issue for me.
Maybe I could sneak away while it wasn’t looking?
Hmm… nah, it seems like it doesn’t view me as food. If it did, that last grab would’ve at least left me half-dead. It must be taking me somewhere important. Could it be a treasure-filled ancient ruin or something?
Curiosity piqued, I wondered where it would take me. Besides, I was already set on leaving this place.
The monster moved like an earthquake, making it hard to stand, so I plopped down on its furry back. Its woolly body was surprisingly comfortable, as long as I could ignore the horrible stench.
Looking at the lower half of my body still spewing bl**d, I raised the rag I’d been using.
…Guess I’ll make do with this for now since there’s nothing else to use.
I wrapped the cloth around the bleeding place and tied it into a tight knot around my hips.
“Pfft.”
A bit too tight, but this should work somewhat.
Finally tackled one annoying problem? Let’s just roll with it.
The air up high was less humid; a cool breeze brushed over my face, messing up my hair and tickling my neck. I reached back to smooth it down and leaned my body against the monster’s warm neck.
The neck was free of that red exoskeleton; the rough skin had tiny bumps that felt a bit prickly.
The sun warmed me as it peeked through the monster’s tangled horns, giving off a lazy vibe.
“Do you… live… here?”
“Grrr.”
“Are you… a dragon?”
“Whoosh—”
“What kind of… monster… are you?”
“I… am also… a monster.”
“…”
“I’ll call you… Big White.”
“Awuu.”
“Big White.”
“…”
“Big Whitey.”
“Giggity.”
It wasn’t much of a conversation, but somehow we made a charming pair of monster and young woman.
…………
Big White kept taking me deeper into the forest. Whenever I got tired or hungry, we’d pause, pick some fruits to munch on, but Big White seemed to not need to eat at all. I think I heard somewhere that the bigger the beast, the less often it needs to eat. For massive creatures like Big White, one meal might be good for several days!
By night, I used Big White as my comfy bed, snuggling on its back.
We walked, took breaks, all the way to the morning of the fourth day.
Still dreaming away on Big White’s head, I was gently roused by a sensation of weightlessness. I opened my eyes to see Big White carefully lowering me to the ground.
What’s going on?
Still groggy, I rubbed my eyes, standing there confused about what Big White was up to.
I watched as it lowered its head and nudged me forward gently.
I was puzzled, but it nudged me again.
Then it clicked. I turned around to look behind me.
A winding, muddy narrow path stretched out before me, with a hazy outline of smoke billowing from a row of houses at the end.
This must be the human village.
Seeing I hadn’t moved, Big White nudged me again.
“Big White… I’m… a bit… scared. They… might… hurt… me.”
“Grrr—”
“I… don’t understand… you.”
Big White just stared at me while I stared back. We had a little staring contest for a while.
Alright, I get it now.
I went up and hugged Big White’s head. But its head was too big; I could only manage to hug the tip of its mouth, my little face pressed against one of its big nostrils. Then it probably wanted to nuzzle me, but it miscalculated the strength and gave me a little b*tt bump, making me stumble.
This farewell scene was far from picturesque.
“That… I… have to go now. You… take care.”
I turned away; after a few steps, I glanced back with a pang of reluctance.
Big White was still standing there. I couldn’t tell if it was my imagination, but there seemed to be a softness in its gaze that didn’t belong to a beast.
I waved vigorously at it, then strode forward.
It must have thought I was just a lost human kid in the forest and was taking me back to the village.
After walking quite a distance, I turned again and found that the enormous, fearsome silhouette was gone.
Ah, I forgot to say thank you.
…I’ll tell it in person next time I go back.
As I got closer to the village, I pulled my hood over my head.
Taking a deep breath, my heart raced a bit. Even though I knew I looked like a regular person now and shouldn’t raise any suspicions, deep down I was acutely aware that I wasn’t like them at all.
To them, I’m a horrifying monster.
But… I have to keep moving; I don’t want to be a lonely monster that just fades away.
I pressed onward, and the muddy path had turned into a well-paved village road, made of blocks of stone, with green moss sprouting in the cracks.
On either side of the spacious village road were rows of scattered houses. Most were made of stone and wood, fenced in with wooden railings, forming little yards that kept chickens, sheep, cows, pigs, and other farm animals.
This was pretty much what a village looked like in the ancient West—stone houses, wooden houses, and even shoddier mud and straw huts; nothing special about it.
The village was somewhat quiet in the morning; occasionally, a few people hurried by with buckets or hoes. They glanced at me with strange looks but didn’t stop.
I wondered if there were any inns for travelers to rest, but even if there were, I had no money.
For a moment, I felt lost and unsure of where to go.
“Oh dear, whose child is this?”
Just when I was feeling confused, a shaky voice cut through the air. Turning, I saw a frail old lady with a face full of wrinkles.
“Tsk tsk tsk, what happened to you?” She approached and patted my cloak, which was speckled with grass. Her tone was like a doting grandmother. “Child, where did you come from? What’s your name?”
I nervously shrank back.
“Don’t be scared, dear.” The old lady flashed an uncomfortable smile and reached up to pull back my hood.
For a moment, her face registered shock, which made my heart skip a beat.
Could she see something?
“Oh my! What a beautiful girl!” After her surprise, her eyes filled with affectionate warmth as her wrinkled hand stroked my cheek. “Come, tell grandma how you ended up like this. Where are your adults?”
I lightly shook my head, about to say something when my stomach let out a loud growl.
“Grrr.”
The old lady froze for a moment, then took my hand.
“Come, let’s go home first. Have something to eat and get cleaned up; you’re a bit stinky.”
Her hand was bony and rough but surprisingly warm.
