In Terra, a Hunter and a Bad Woman

Did she think food should be shared?

"You're treating me like the leader?"

Maria had once heard some Hunters say that when training animals, the first step was to establish the hierarchy between them.

They would deliberately start with food. The ultimate goal was to make the trained animal understand that they were the boss—if they did not allow it to eat, then it was not allowed to eat.

Yet after eating while Maria was out of sight, Puppy was obviously still hungry, but she had still been willing to save a portion for her.

In a sense, this was reason overcoming desire, and also a display of tribal hierarchy...

Thinking of this, Maria could not help but smile.

Though foolish, this Puppy was not bad by nature...

That smile left the puppy girl staring blankly. Once Maria noticed, she restrained her expression.

"This food was meant for you. I do not need to consume too much of this nourishment."

As she spoke, Maria pushed the sweet flatbread in the puppy girl's hands back, then silently tossed today's prey onto the ground.

After picking up some wood and getting the campfire burning again, she quietly turned around and began butchering the sheep she had caught today.

The foolish puppy girl did not understand what Maria meant, but after seeing that Maria had not taken the flatbread and had instead pushed it back into her arms, she roughly understood.

Still, after hesitating for a long time, she did not immediately eat it. Instead, she ruthlessly broke the flatbread in front of her into two pieces, placed the larger piece before Maria, then hid in a corner and gnawed on the smaller piece in her hand.

Like a loyal dog...

Seeing this, Maria said nothing. She merely turned away and silently carved up the prey with her dagger.

The puppy girl had slept soundly today, but Maria had no such leisure.

She had been moving the entire time.

After the puppy girl fell asleep that morning, Maria had sorted through the entire camp, taking out all the supplies that could still be used while also examining the instruments.

After roughly confirming that there was no danger around the camp, she had planned to go back and retrieve the half sheep they had not finished eating yesterday.

But this trip made Maria realize something.

Why did the camp stand here, yet look as though no one had used it for months?

Why had those people been starving to that state, yet not returned here to look for food?

It was not that they did not want to. They simply could not...

The forest had changed...

The routes throughout the entire forest had changed!

All the landmarks Maria had seen at night had shifted.

The strange boulders, the winding creek, and the high cliff that should have been directly ahead.

Nothing was where it had originally been. The once orderly landmarks had all shifted completely.

Maria was certain that she was not directionally challenged. If she felt this way, then...

"This forest is not unchanging... The surrounding environment changes!"

Once she understood this, Maria also understood why those people had been starving to death yet had not returned to eat the remaining food.

Instead, they had chosen to attack her.

As for why the forest changed...

"If nothing unexpected happens, then it is probably the Great Beast hiding in this forest causing it, right?"

Lost in thought, Maria unconsciously finished dismantling the entire sheep.

After doing some simple preparation, she skewered the selected chunks of meat and set them beside the campfire to roast.

As for herself, she carried a small wooden bucket full of blood toward the experiment tent in the camp.

When the puppy girl saw Maria heading over there, she suddenly became anxious and carefully ran to Maria's side.

"Hm?"

Looking down, Maria saw the puppy girl beside her, holding up the flatbread in her hands and staring at Maria with a worried expression.

"..."

"Hm?"

"Nothing. I was merely thinking that, when one cannot understand the situation, how did those first animal trainers ever make such a move... As expected, you need to start learning sooner."

As she spoke, Maria silently took a sugar cube that had clearly been mixed with quite a few extra ingredients from her pocket and stuffed it into the puppy girl's hands, then turned and entered the tent.

The puppy girl held both the sugar cube and the flatbread in her hands, staring blankly at the tent flap as it closed before her.

At some point, her tail had drooped.

Her eyes flickered with disappointment.

Blood Vials and Learning

Maria naturally had no idea what the puppy girl was thinking.

Of course, even if she knew, with Maria's sharp tongue, she probably would not have been able to say anything nice.

She had always been used to traveling alone. Even when she encountered Hunters who shared similar ideas, she never stayed with them for long. After some brief contact, she would leave.

In that damned place called Yharnam, the more one kept to oneself, the easier it was to remain rational. Too many ties and too much contact would only make a Hunter fall into madness.

Thinking this, Maria walked over to that pile of strange instruments.

She paused for a few seconds before lifting the small bucket of blood and placing it before the equipment.

She was preparing to refine Blood Vials!

To a Hunter, Blood Vials were no less important than the heart inside the human body.

It could be said that without the simple Blood Ministration known as Blood Vials, there would have been no Yharnam at all!

Under normal circumstances, they were merely small bottles of blood that would not coagulate.

As long as one encountered danger and injected it into the body, it could quickly repair the injured area.

Such an effect was enough to drive any warrior mad!

If an ordinary person suffered a fracture, even with proper treatment, it would take at least one or two months to fully recover.

But... a small Blood Vial could restore them to fighting condition in an instant.

No one would dislike something that could save their life.

Although Maria did not particularly like injecting refined blood into her body, she had to admit that Blood Vials greatly reduced the costs of hunting.

They encouraged Hunters to attempt more brutal and efficient methods of slaughter.

Due to the uniqueness of her body, Maria relied relatively little on Blood Vials. Even so, she often kept several on her in case of emergency.

After leaving Yharnam and coming to this world, nearly all the Blood Vials she had previously stored had been lost.

Considering that she might have to fight the Great Beast in this forest later, it was necessary to make a few Blood Vials to keep on hand.

Responsibly speaking, as long as she could make Blood Vials, Maria's current strength would rise several levels!

It was just...

"I wonder if this world can refine those medicines."

With a sigh, Maria shook her head, turned around, carried over the box beside her, and slowly began grinding...

Outside the tent, the puppy girl sat crouched by the fire, looking at the thin crescent moon in the sky as she listlessly swished her tail.

She quietly held the flatbread and sugar cube in her hands, seemingly with no appetite.

It was not because she was full. She simply did not understand why her own kind did not want food.

Was it disgust?

Or did she simply not like it?

The puppy girl did not understand. She only felt a little sad.

Like a pet that had failed to receive approval, she was filled with disappointment.

Even the roasted meat beside her no longer interested her much.

And after an unknown amount of time passed.

Maria finally emerged from the tent.

The blood in the wooden bucket had nearly dried up by now, while Maria held two small Blood Vials emitting an odd red glow.

Powdery substances drifted up and down within them.

"What is it? Why do you look so miserable, Puppy?"

Seeing the puppy girl holding the flatbread with a face full of worry, Maria was somewhat puzzled.

Although the process had been troublesome and the repeated experiments had taken up quite a bit of time, the final result was acceptable.

Though the two worlds had many differences, the general herbs existed in both. Because of that, she had successfully mixed simplified Blood Vials.

They could not be reused like those in Yharnam, but there was no problem using them as one-time items.

Because the experiment had succeeded on the first try, Maria was in a very good mood. Even her tone was no longer as cold as before.

When she saw that the puppy girl was still holding the flatbread, she roughly understood what she was thinking.

After sighing helplessly, she shook her head.

She broke off another small piece from the remaining half of the flatbread, then handed the larger piece back to her.

"Wuh?!"

Maria's action was so sudden that the puppy girl froze for a moment. Then, even faster, an excited expression suddenly appeared on her face.

She looked excitedly at Maria, expectation sparkling in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Maria looked at the small piece of flatbread in her hand...

The puppy girl had been so lost in thought that she had not noticed the candy Maria gave her had also been placed on the flatbread. After being near the fire, it had melted and seeped into the bread...

"Awoo."

After taking a bite, Maria even deliberately made a sound. As she chewed, she swallowed the remaining bit.

"Are you satisfied now?"

With a cold face, Maria watched the puppy girl's tail start wagging rapidly and sighed helplessly.

"Honestly... You are just like a child."

She did not know how to look after children.

Shaking her head, Maria turned to look at the roasted meat beside her.

After confirming that most of it was nearly done, she silently stood and pulled the skewers out of the ground one by one, placing them on a sheet of hide paper nearby.

The puppy girl merely gnawed on the overly sweet flatbread while watching her.

Although the sweet flatbread was delicious, her body's instincts still urged the girl to stare unblinkingly at the roasted meat.

Just now, Maria's coldness toward her had left her depressed, and she had not felt like eating.

But now that Maria was looking at her again, her mood returned.

Along with it came her desire for meat.

She stared at the roasted meat as a little drool slowly trickled from her mouth...

"Do you want some?"

Seeing the puppy girl like this, Maria quietly curled her lips.

This time, she did not hand it over directly. Instead, she silently sat before her and slightly opened her mouth.

"Ah..."

"Hm?"