Making their way swiftly through the forest, Henrietta taught Bob all of the essential skills of a good Adventurer. These including moving silently and not leaving any traces, something Bob found difficult with his large stature. Henrietta took great pleasure in correcting this deficit, with a whip in hand, she struck at him continually from behind. Every time she saw a trace of his path, the crack of the whip would sound, and a twinge of pain and a twitching eyebrow would be exhibited.

  For Henrietta though, the pleasure on her face was extremely evident.

  Henrietta was slightly despondent once Bob actually came proficient in hiding his traces, so she then went on to drill other skills into him . Recon and tracking were two skills that Bob excelled at, even more so than Henrietta. His innate, highly capable olfactory senses, coupled with outstanding hearing and eyes that could see heat signatures. These together actually made Bob a better tracker than any Human could ever hope to be, without the aid of technology.

  The pair had been training like that for a solid two days without any sleep, neither of them feeling any discomfort from it. With the advent of the third night, Henrietta decided they should finally sleep.

  "Red, how's your climbing abilities?"

  Bob stood under a large tree, his neck craned upwards as he thought about it.

  "Hmmm pretty good, if the branches will handle my weight"

  Going on her tip toes, Henrietta planted a kiss on Bob's cheek, before leaping up the tree like a cat, and stopping on a large branch hidden within the foliage.

  Bob had long given into Henrietta's advances, with the woman slowly breaking down his resistance. He had accepted the relationship, he just had to wait until the feelings appeared on his end. It would be a lie if he said he felt nothing, as the seed of feelings were firmly planted when she repeatedly violated him within the Dungeon.

  Looking up, Bob shook his head silently before following in Henrietta's footsteps. In a flash he had ascended the tree, and took up a position on a large branch. He was thankful that the trees in that area had all been mutated by the radiation, and other unknown sources. As such, they had grown robust and vibrant.

  Henrietta nodded her head in approval, before she spoke to Bob.

  "Not bad Red, not bad.....We will sleep in two hour rotations, and I'll take the first watch....So you can go to sleep now, I'll watch you sleep, I mean watch out for enemies"

  Choosing to ignore Henrietta's verbal slip up, Bob lay down with his hands behind his head, acting as a pillow.

  "Okay, wake me up when it's my turn"

  Once Bob closed his eyes, it was only a matter of minutes before he had drifted off to sleep. The days of constant travel and training had been novel for Bob, so his body was thankful for the rest. Without realising it himself, he also felt safe when he was with Henrietta. His subconscious mind already seeing her as his superior.

  Henrietta sat watching her beloved sleep, having to assert constant effort not to dive forward and have her way with his muscular, scaled body. Suddenly her eye twitched as she sensed something. Without alerting Bob, she silently withdrew her black whip and stood up.

  Flying high above the treeline, a lone bird was searching for prey. Seeing the animal would usually be a good thing, considering the lack of wildlife, but, this bird was actually one of the causes. A carnivorous bird that could change its size at will, from that of a sparrow, to that of a single seater plane.

  The dangerous animal had rows of vicious teeth, and black feathers that were as hard as steel. The best way to combat one is to use flames and roast it, something a skilled Adventurer would know.

  Without the bird even realising the danger it was in, a black whip shot out from the treetop, slashing at its underside, before coiling around one of its feet. Then without warning, the tip of the whip burst into flames and forced them into the bird, incinerating it in a matter of seconds.

  Henrietta withdrew her whip with a flick of her wrist and stowed it away. Sitting back down, she continued to watch the sleeping Red, as she quietly spoke to herself.

  "Nobody interrupts my time watching my darling Red"

  Her actions went completely unnoticed by Bob as he lay asleep. His mind only began to come back to reality when he heard a voice by his ear.

  "Wake up husband"

  Henrietta's voice was delivered sensually and by his ear, pulling him out of his sleep. Blinking rapidly to focus his gaze, his body shot up in surprise, only to see Henrietta still calmly sat there as if she had not uttered a word.

  "Is it my time to keep watch? Was there any issues while I was asleep?"

  Henrietta smiled and shook her head gently.

  "There were no issues, all peaceful. Wake me up in two hours my darling"

  Without waiting for a reply, Henrietta lay down and closed her eyes, easily drifting off to sleep, her having done this routine numerous times before.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  For Bob, this was the first time he had seen Henrietta unguarded, and as so, he had to fight the urge to move closer and watch her sleeping face.

  Seemingly both Bob and Henrietta had to fight their urges that night.

  Shaking his head out of that thought, something else suddenly caught his attention.

  The crescent moon was shining down upon him, with its light being unobstructed, with not a cloud in sight, or object blocking his vision at that moment. Reflected within his eyes, Bob felt himself infatuated with its beauty, its cold majesty sought to entrance him, as if it was only natural.

  This was the first time Bob had seen the moon clearly. Within the Dungeon he called home, there were no moon. In the sewers he then resided, he was obviously underground. Then whilst he spent a scant few days on the boat, he was inside of the cabin. As far as his travels and training the past few days, the moons rays barely made it through the tree canopy, plus they never stopped long enough to appreciate its beauty.

  Completely unknown to Bob, at the moment that he was entranced by the moon, its ethereal rays had a significant impact on his Core.

  Every monster has a Core, with its size, colour, shape and purity denoting the monsters overall power. The Core was not visible, or known, unless the monster died and their Core was taken out.

  It was akin to a Human not knowing what their heart looked like, unless they died and had it taken out.

  Bobs Core began to slowly rotate, the moons rays seemingly disregarding his body that blocked their light. The Core steadily grew in density as it span, taking in the moonlight as if they were threads of string. Before he knew it, his Core had upgraded and brought his overall strength up a notch.

  Bob's entire body subtly changed, his bone density increased, his blood vessels and arteries widened and became more robust. His muscle, tendons and nerves also increased in quality, with his neurons even firing faster. Even his teeth and claws became sharper, and stronger.

  All of these changes happened while he was fixated, staring at the moon, his sense of time being non existent, as before he knew it, a vibration on his wrist brought him out of his trance. His watch alerting him two hours were already up.

  Even so Bob, and also Henrietta were unaware of the changes in his body, there was another individual who was fully aware of them. Somewhere further inland within a dark cave, a pair of blood red eyes slowly opened, with the corners of its large mouth rising subtly. Speaking with a low, growling tone, his voice reverberated around the cave, making numerous creatures involuntarily shudder.

  "It has been a long time since worthy prey appeared....This new low class monster should suffice to alleviate some boredom".

  It had been another two days since Bob and Henrietta had their night of rest, with their time spent moving further inland in search of enemies to fight. On the first day, they had come across several low class monsters, with Henrietta leaving them all to Bob, declaring she would not fight a single monster the entire time they resided in the forest.

  After finding a nest of large spiders, Bob had to spear each individual one, whilst focusing on not getting caught in their webs. He could only lament at that time, that Henrietta was not fighting, as a singular fireball would of instantly dealt with the problem.

  They had also seen traces of Goblins, and possibly an encampment, but they had to deviate away from there, as they noticed several packs of monstrous Dire Wolves that had been surveilling them. Henrietta had a bad premonition when she saw their behaviour, and had the both of them give chase and deal with them quickly. Only to their dismay, the Dire Wolves would never confront them, only choosing to turn tail and run, then stop to surveil again.

  It did not take a genius to understand they were being drawn towards a specific location, with the most obvious outcome being a trap. Henrietta was not alarmed by this, but saw it as the perfect opportunity.

  Bob and Henrietta had just chased the Dire Wolves, and they had vanished over a small ridge line. The pair came to a stop, their heartbeats steady and their breath calm, with the task of chasing the Dire Wolves, seemingly not even being classed as a workout. Henrietta then spoke to Bob.

  "We should be nearing whatever trap those Dire Wolves have ready. I'm guessing their alpha is a Terror Wolf, just a bigger, stronger and smarter version.....I'll leave it all to you now, but don't worry my darling Red, I won't stray far"

  Whilst Bob was imagining what the Terror Wolf would look like, he was taken aback by Henrietta's subsequent words and actions. Retrieving a small metal device from her pocket, she affixed it to her chest with a slight push. Activating the device, her figure suddenly shimmered in and out of reality, before seemingly vanishing.

  Bob was staring straight at her while she used the device, the optical camouflage and scent nullifying device being peak technological, covert equipment. Any Human, and indeed Monster, would not be aware of her presence, with only certain ones seeing through it.

  Thankfully Bob was one of those, switching between his regular vision and his thermal vision, the effect was uncanny as she appeared, and vanished at his behest.

  "That device you used Henrii, I have never seen one before, or even heard of it? Would it also work on me?"

  Henrietta pursed her lips in a playful manner, and replied.

  "It wouldn't work on you Red, I mean why would you want to be invisible!? Not being able to see my darling, that's a crime in of itself!....Plus, I'm not even invisible to you am I? I can see your love filled eyes, following me clearly......It's a new technology that was only developed this year, so I'm guessing Siegfried had no memory of it"

  Her sudden words brought back a distinct memory, and made Bob involuntarily become defensive. The man he devoured was named Heinz Siegfried, with no one being aware of this, apart from his now deceased, fellow Lizardmen.

  He was about to deny her assertion, but thought better of it. She apparently already knew and was okay with it.

  "Errrr, that, well.....How did you know Henrii?"

  Upon seeing Bob's strange demeanour and hearing his words, Henrietta realised she misspoke and revealed something she should not of, and had ended up scaring her beloved. Immediately she raised her hands, and shook them vehemently in denial as she replied.

  "No, no, don't worry Red, It's okay....I only found out when I learned about your Necromancer ability, plus your obvious understanding of Human society and language, something you wouldn't have from just being told it by your friend Marlo....But don't worry, no one else will find out in the future. If anything, those two facts will help sell your identity as a Human even better. Abilities are only acquired by Humans, with it obviously being impossible for a Lizardman to have such a thing!"

  Listening to her words, Bob became enlightened. Thinking back to before he devoured Heinz, and stole his memories and experiences, his grasp of Human language was that of a one year old child. A literal baby.

  His demeanour instantly relaxed, the tension and worry drifting from his face.

  "Thanks for not, you know....Ermmm, hating me because of what I did......Anyway, I better get tracking those Dire Wolves before they come back and see me talking to myself"

  Without waiting for a reply, Bob took off running, masking his embarrassment. Henrietta muttered to herself, her eyes shining brightly with a vibrant smile on her face.

  "Too cute, just too damn cute!"