Author's point of view... The sky gradually darkened, and the forest’s dim light became even fainter. Thea glanced at the sky and hoped that everyone would remain safe through the night. "This is the spot," Aaron announced as they reached a small platform, studying the map. "It’s a transfer point and the best place to set up camp. There’s a town nearby where we can resupply tomorrow. Everyone, find a good place to pitch your tents now before this area gets crowded." Soon the other hikers joined them to set up their camp. The teachers, however, had big tents whereas all the others brought small ones. Their tents occupied almost the entire platform. Mark and Kevin had already taken out their tents. Mark approached Aaron and Thea, saying, "Kevin and I will head to the town to buy supplies. You two stay here and set up your tents." Kevin hurried to them and asked, looking at Thea in particular. "Do you need anything? I will buy it for you" "No need. I have everything t
Author's point of view... "What reward?" Thea asked, curiously. She had been given many special abilities as her rewards so far. She could talk to animals, sense dangers and she was now so curious to know what next. But no matter how curious she was, Mike wouldn't give her any clear explanation as ever, would he? "You'll get to know when you complete the task," he said lazily. Thea rolled her eyes. She wanted to smack that annoying little dragon with her bare hands. "You became so lazy, Maria. Come on, go ahead and complete the task..." Mike urged. Heaving a sigh, Thea was about to stand up, but suddenly, a thought occurred to he,r, and she smiled. She then turned to Aaron and said, "Forget about the bet. As long as you promise me to go and find those troublemakers now, I promise to give you a good challenge in the coming exams." Aaron thought that he had misheard, "What?? Who are you talking about?" "Lily and her minions...." Thea said dismissively. She woul
Author's point of view... Thea was the first to stand up. Lily didn’t expect that it would be Thea out of all who would believe her, and neither did the rest of the group. Thea stood right beside her and said very seriously, "Let's go, show me the way..." Everyone was dumbfounded. "You really want to go back? Lily probably saw something and thought it was a leopard like last time. She was scared silly. When she yelled, we all got freaked out and ran, only to realize later that we were lost. If Aaron hadn't come looking for us, we’d probably still be stuck out there," Serra said. "So, there is no leopard?" Thea said, raising her eyebrows. Her words triggered Lily and she instantly smacked back. "There is a leopard in there!" Lily was getting frustrated and said to Thea, "If you don't believe me, let's go, I'll show you!" Thea replied calmly, "Okay." Lily was determined. She wasn't about to back down when it came to proving her point. Bravely, she led Thea toward the
Author's point of view... Thea tensed up. If that leopard were to attack Aaron instead of chasing after her, it would be a disaster. Aaron could be in dire danger. Just as the thought occurred to her, she instantly turned around to run back but spotted the beast ahead. Thea heaved a sigh of relief. At least, it wasn't after Aaron.But wait...! Was she faster than a leopard? How come she didn't notice that her running speed had increased so much?Thea then realised that this was her reward. Speed...!! "You are so concerned about that young boy...Hmm..." Mike sneered inside her mind and Thea gritted as she could sense disdain in his tone. "Of course, he is my friend after all. I do care about him. Now just shut up and let me deal with this one" Mike didn't talk after that. Thea climbed up and stood on a tree branch, gazing down at the black leopard prowling below, with a confident smirk. She could talk to it but that leopard was too furious to understand anything.
Author's point of view... A beautiful princess of the Monster Land, Maria, sat at the edge of a dark, bubbling lake of blood, her attention lazily drifting between the glowing screen of her tabloid and the silent, spooky landscape surrounding her. And of course, it wasn't pleasant to the eye. One can literally pass out just by seeing it. The lake reflected the night sky, stained red as though it held the glow of a thousand sunsets captured beneath its surface. Beside her, a group of little servant elves stood at attention, their wide eyes following every flick of her finger on the screen, ready with suggestions and insights as she considered the soul-host options for her test. Maria’s long, claw-like nail tapped idly on the screen as she scrolled down the list, a frown crossing her delicate features with every option she read. The elves crossed their little arms sharing either an 'awe' or an 'Ugh' accordingly. "First one," one of the elves piped up, its voice high-pitche
Author's point of view...! Maria’s stomach twisted as the screen showed Thea slumped on the grimy, damp floor, her wide eyes filled with helpless terror. Maria’s face blanched as she whispered, "What the hell are they going to do?" One of the seniors stepped forward, a cruel smile twisting her lips. That was the same girl in the cafeteria. “Who do you think you are, ruining my clothes in front of everyone?” she sneered. “Maybe a little reminder of your place will teach you some respect.” "I...I am sorry..." Thea cried out and apologized, but that didn't work at all. It only boosted the girls in front of her. They started, attacking fists and feet raining down on Thea, bruising her arms, her face, and her stomach. Maria’s heart pounded, her breaths shallow as she watched in mounting horror. One girl held Thea down while another yanked scissors from her bag, chopping off handfuls of Thea’s hair with sadistic glee. But the worst came last—a bucket filled with foul, rank li
Author's point of view.... The next morning, the entire city roared with strange news going viral on the internet. Every single soul in the city was talking about that strange news. "Something unbelievable happened" "Many girls in the senior class section C were beaten so brutally last night. This immediately caused a scandal as most of those girls were from rich families in the town, and shocked all the teachers and students in the school. As this was a scandalous matter school authorities decided to involve police due to parental pressure and to maintain the reputation of the school. Police officers and parents arrived and crowded the administration office. The girls were in no position to say anything about who had beaten them up." The rest of the students wouldn't calm down either, the hectic environment and noise made it hard for them to focus in class. While the entire Morning Star High school was turning upside down, a girl was sleeping soundly on her desk. With her h
Author's point of view... Thea sat on her seat, looking down at her chubby body and sighed. Just using a little strength had caused her to pant. This was so annoying. She was Maria, the princess of the monster land and the strongest monster girl ever born in the entire land. How could she be so weak? In the monster land, no one would dare mess with her because she had exceeded all the levels of martial arts and was the youngest champion so far. But now, she had to endure, living in the body of a host who was only 16 years old, but had a fat body. Thea was 5'3 tall and weighed 72 kgs, quite chubby. This was going to be tough on her. If Maria wants to use her skills and live a better life in this host, she needed to lose weight before she could advance. And to add to it, the skin of this girl, Thea was tanned and her facial features were covered by fat, giving it a round shape like a ball. Maria couldn't help but sigh when she saw herself in the mirror, "She's s
Author's point of view... Thea tensed up. If that leopard were to attack Aaron instead of chasing after her, it would be a disaster. Aaron could be in dire danger. Just as the thought occurred to her, she instantly turned around to run back but spotted the beast ahead. Thea heaved a sigh of relief. At least, it wasn't after Aaron.But wait...! Was she faster than a leopard? How come she didn't notice that her running speed had increased so much?Thea then realised that this was her reward. Speed...!! "You are so concerned about that young boy...Hmm..." Mike sneered inside her mind and Thea gritted as she could sense disdain in his tone. "Of course, he is my friend after all. I do care about him. Now just shut up and let me deal with this one" Mike didn't talk after that. Thea climbed up and stood on a tree branch, gazing down at the black leopard prowling below, with a confident smirk. She could talk to it but that leopard was too furious to understand anything.
Author's point of view... Thea was the first to stand up. Lily didn’t expect that it would be Thea out of all who would believe her, and neither did the rest of the group. Thea stood right beside her and said very seriously, "Let's go, show me the way..." Everyone was dumbfounded. "You really want to go back? Lily probably saw something and thought it was a leopard like last time. She was scared silly. When she yelled, we all got freaked out and ran, only to realize later that we were lost. If Aaron hadn't come looking for us, we’d probably still be stuck out there," Serra said. "So, there is no leopard?" Thea said, raising her eyebrows. Her words triggered Lily and she instantly smacked back. "There is a leopard in there!" Lily was getting frustrated and said to Thea, "If you don't believe me, let's go, I'll show you!" Thea replied calmly, "Okay." Lily was determined. She wasn't about to back down when it came to proving her point. Bravely, she led Thea toward the
Author's point of view... "What reward?" Thea asked, curiously. She had been given many special abilities as her rewards so far. She could talk to animals, sense dangers and she was now so curious to know what next. But no matter how curious she was, Mike wouldn't give her any clear explanation as ever, would he? "You'll get to know when you complete the task," he said lazily. Thea rolled her eyes. She wanted to smack that annoying little dragon with her bare hands. "You became so lazy, Maria. Come on, go ahead and complete the task..." Mike urged. Heaving a sigh, Thea was about to stand up, but suddenly, a thought occurred to he,r, and she smiled. She then turned to Aaron and said, "Forget about the bet. As long as you promise me to go and find those troublemakers now, I promise to give you a good challenge in the coming exams." Aaron thought that he had misheard, "What?? Who are you talking about?" "Lily and her minions...." Thea said dismissively. She woul
Author's point of view... The sky gradually darkened, and the forest’s dim light became even fainter. Thea glanced at the sky and hoped that everyone would remain safe through the night. "This is the spot," Aaron announced as they reached a small platform, studying the map. "It’s a transfer point and the best place to set up camp. There’s a town nearby where we can resupply tomorrow. Everyone, find a good place to pitch your tents now before this area gets crowded." Soon the other hikers joined them to set up their camp. The teachers, however, had big tents whereas all the others brought small ones. Their tents occupied almost the entire platform. Mark and Kevin had already taken out their tents. Mark approached Aaron and Thea, saying, "Kevin and I will head to the town to buy supplies. You two stay here and set up your tents." Kevin hurried to them and asked, looking at Thea in particular. "Do you need anything? I will buy it for you" "No need. I have everything t
Author's point of view... Lily gave her friend a look, and her friend immediately understood. Serra made a gesture with her thumb, then took the bag off another girl and walked up to Thea. She didn't need anything, Thea is always easy to bully, anyway. "Hi, I'm Serra," Serra said forging a fake smile. Thea, who was walking in the lead, turned around and looked at her from top to bottom, scrutinizing. "What do you want? Do we know each other?" Thea asked nonchalantly. Serra's smile faltered momentarily, but she kept her act going. "Yes, of course. I know you. Don't you remember me? We're all classmates, after all. We played together a month ago." Serra's eyes flickered as she collected the memory; even a playful smile tugged on her lips. "We had quite the fun back then," she mused. Thea narrowed her eyes as the flashes of her past entered her brain. During one of the sports periods, these Class A girls had forced Thea to crouch before them and howl like a dog. Ever
Author's point of view... Thea stood up and strolled towards the nearby stream, seemingly bored but her eyes widened as she looked down on the wet ground nearby."Oh my..." She had noticed something alarming, a set of fresh foot marks of the same beast that she saw earlier, near the water’s edge. Unlike the other one, this print was clear and fresh. It was clear that something was present in those woods and that animal was in the area, possibly even close to their planned route. She slightly bent over to take a better look. "It must be a Leopold or a Panther...! It's huge..." Thea mumbled while studying the print. "What are you looking at, Thea?" Kevin asked, coming over with his plate, still in his hands. She jolted awkwardly and frowned. "Can't you be normal just for once...!" she smacked. Kevin grinned. He couldn't...!! "Are you looking for fish? There's probably no fish in this stream, right?" he said peeking into the stream, oblivious to what Thea was truly o
Author's point of view...! "You are really something." Thea scoffed, "You actually mistook a plastic bag for a giant beast or cat or whatever?? Lily, are you so bored or really that scared, or were you just looking for an excuse to jump into Aaron's arms?" Thea taunted. Lily’s cheeks turned bright red, and she glared at Thea furiously. "What are you implying, Thea?" Thea casually threw that plastic cover aside and brushed her hands. She didn't say anything else but that look on her face gave it all. "Exactly what I said," Thea responded calmly, meeting Lily's angry gaze without flinching. Kevin started giggling. Lily’s embarrassment deepened, and she quickly tried to defend herself. "So what if I thought it was something dangerous? It was dark inside those bushes and I was genuinely frightened. Who wouldn’t be scared of a wild animal?" She threw a glance at Kevin, who was equally rattled earlier. "Didn't you see that. Kevin was scared too," she added with a smirk.
Author's point of view... "Help!" Several cries for help came from the forest, that sounded like women. What the hell...! Who is that? Could it be some animal chasing after the other students? Everyone thought except for Thea, who was busy arguing with Mike. "Did you just say cat? Then why are people shouting out there?" "You'll get to know soon"Mike replied casually. Thea rolled her eyes in irritation. He never gives a reliable explanation. But if that was a wild animal as what she thought, this would be dangerous. Thea stepped forward, ready to attack whatever was coming but Aaron rushed to her and stood right before her as if shielding her from any danger coming their way. "You all stay here, I'll go check it..." Aaron stood ahead and was about to go take a look. "Help..." "Help...!" someone cried again. Kevin immediately grabbed a stick from the ground. "Who's calling for help?" Mark tensed up as well, looking around with wide eyes. "I don't have an
Author's point of view... “Don’t fall too far behind, okay? And if you need help, just call us... We will be slow to keep up with you...” Aaron said while wearing his own backpack. Thea was amused at how much Aaron underestimated her but played along. Is that because she was a girl?? she scoffed internally. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep up.” She didn't want to show off but it didn't mean she wasn't offended. Soon the school buses arrived at the first camping spot after them. Though the same mountain, there were several routes to hike. Aaron had planned a special way to go up, different from the other usual one that the school authorities had planned to take. The group began their hike. Kevin, full of energy, kept darting around and calling out, causing Thea to stifle a frustrated laugh. He had been picking up small pebbles and throwing them at Thea and Mark. He was getting on her nerves. Heaving a sigh, she stopped. She wanted to play with him. “Stop yelling, Kevin!” she