It has been a month since I got trapped in this place, and I’d like to say I’ve come to terms with it, but the questions in my head still have no answers. During this time, I’ve focused all my efforts on recovering from the injury I suffered on the first day. The first few days were a nightmare—even drinking water felt like hell. But with patience, Kairon’s help, and some light exercises starting in the third week, my recovery progressed quickly to the point where I’m now almost fully healed.


    Today, as part of my routine to try and understand this place—and because I had nothing better to do—I was sitting under the city gate’s arch, watching the prairie, completely swallowed by the night. I wasn’t worried about being attacked, since, for some unknown reason, animals don’t enter the city. In fact, so far, I haven’t seen a single one within at least thirty meters.


    The conclusion I’ve reached after a month of observation is that there’s some kind of invisible barrier or force keeping animals away from this place. This means my injuries were due to my own recklessness and bad luck. But more importantly, the biggest realization I’ve had is that those broken ribs were a blessing in disguise, as they forced me to shift my focus from recklessly searching for answers to a calmer recovery.


    The goats that Kairon feeds on seem to be the only species inhabiting the prairie. However, I know other animals exist because, even though I haven’t seen them, I can hear them—especially when the day fades and the entire place is engulfed in shadows.


    Unlike the daytime, the nights have a sinister touch. Though the darkness severely limits my vision to just a few meters, the eerie songs of birds and the recurring sounds of impact followed by the unmistakable wails of different creatures paint a clear picture of what happens in the prairies.


    *Tha-tha-tha*


    My ears caught the rapid flapping of something approaching, and a moment later, like a ghost, Kairon emerged from the darkness, firmly gripping the corpse of a goat—his latest hunt.


    Only a month has passed, but Kairon has grown remarkably. The baby dragon that used to perch on my shoulders is long gone. If he was once the size of a medium dog, he now looks more like an overweight calf. Which makes sense, considering he now devours an entire goat along with several dozen fruits per day. I don’t know how many of those creatures live in the prairie, and honestly, with his growth rate, I’m worried the food supply might run out. I just hope we can leave this place before that happens.


    The creature Kairon hunts has the sturdy body of a goat, but with short, muscular legs ending in three sharp claws. Its skin is thick and hairless, similar to that of a rhinoceros, with a pattern of interwoven straight lines on its surface. I could even feel the texture of those lines, as if they were carved into stone. Its neck and chest are covered in thick fur, resembling layers of dry leaves stacked upon one another. Its head is similar to that of a pony but adorned with a pair of large, curved antlers like those of an elk. Its tail is long, covered in hair that looks like dry branches but feels surprisingly soft to the touch.


    This is what the animal Kairon dropped beside me looks like. I admit that when I see them roaming the plains, they look imposing, but now, covered in deep wounds and blood, it’s nothing more than a hunk of meat that stirs no emotion in me—other than the urge to feed on its carcass.


    —I was lucky that the one that attacked me was a young one, right? —Males have thick, branched antlers, while females have horns similar to those of antelopes. Only the young lack them, with nothing but their pointed ears atop their heads.


    —Grrruu— Kairon growled softly, as if confirming that I had indeed been incredibly fortunate in that encounter.


    As always when he brought back a kill, Kairon tore off one of the legs with his jaws and offered it to me. I had refused his kindness many times, still unsure if I could chew something so fibrous, but today was different. Now, I could make the effort to bite into it, but more than anything, I felt my body demanding something other than the liquid from the fruits. Something with more substance.


    —I appreciate you sharing your hunt with me —I said as I took the leg. The red liquid dripped down, triggering a sense of revulsion, but I couldn’t afford to be picky. I mean, I didn’t even have the right to claim a piece of this meat—I wasn’t the one who caught it—so I was fine with whatever could fill my stomach and restore my strength.


    —I wish I had some fire… —I muttered without thinking. After all, it was hard to go from eating carefully prepared meals just a month ago to feeding on the raw flesh of a completely unknown animal. I had previously tried to make fire using sticks and stones I found, but all my attempts were in vain. Back then, I didn’t really need it, since I was living off fruit. But now, things had changed.


    As if the heavens had answered my prayers… or, to be more precise, Kairon did, a flash of light illuminated the night, carrying a warmth that contrasted with the cool air. By now, I had somewhat gotten used to seeing him conjure water out of nowhere—after all, that was the water I had been drinking. Even so, I froze for a moment upon seeing that flame suspended in the air, gently dancing with the wind.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Fearing it might disappear, I snapped out of my daze and quickly searched for branches or anything that could burn to start a fire. Fortunately, if there was one thing this place wasn’t lacking, it was branches. Moments later, I was sitting in front of a fire, waiting for the goat leg to finish roasting.


    —I won’t ask how you do it, because even if you could explain it, I probably wouldn’t understand —My voice was calm, my gaze fixed on the flames —As hard as it is to accept, it’s true that you’re like one of those mythical dragons, so it makes sense that you can manipulate the elements.


    I paused before adding, in a more severe tone:


    —But tell me, my friend… if you can control fire, then why, when you saw me enduring the cold, didn’t you use that magic of yours?


    As if he had no idea what I was talking about, Kairon tilted his head in confusion and let out a loud "Grahh", shaking his head slightly, as if to say "you didn’t ask". Then, without giving it another thought, he went back to making the goat’s body disappear, bite by bite, as if nothing I had said mattered in the slightest.


    A tired sigh escaped my lips. Honestly, it didn’t matter. Sure, it was cold, but not to the bone. In fact, inside the castle, where the air barely circulated, the temperature hovered around 17 or 18 degrees. Still, during the first days of my recovery, I would have liked to be a little warmer—something a campfire could have easily solved.


    —You’ll have to teach me how to hunt and how to use that magic of yours… or whatever it is —I muttered, more to myself than to him.


    Without knowing this place’s wildlife, I could already tell that Kairon—despite having grown—was still hunting goats and only at night, which meant we were at the lower end of the food chain. I hadn’t completely abandoned the hope that this was just an unusually long dream, but I also didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. If the most absurd possibility turned out to be true and I really was trapped here, I needed to be able to defend myself from whatever dangers lay ahead. And those strange powers Kairon used might just be the key to my survival.


    The leg over the fire was already releasing a fragrant scent… though I wouldn’t say it was particularly appetizing. It smelled as if I were burning scented plastic—an odd, unfamiliar aroma. I had never grilled meat over an open flame before, so I had no idea how long a leg this size would take to cook. I could only rely on my instincts.


    Holding my breath, I took my first bite in one swift motion. To my pleasant surprise, the meat tore apart easily, and it tasted a thousand times better than it smelled. The delicious fat sliding down my throat made me momentarily forget everything that had happened to me. I knew I hadn’t faced the worst yet, but a month had been more than enough for me to miss the comforts of home—of my world.


    As I enjoyed my meal, warmed by the fire and accompanied by Kairon, who had already surrendered to sleep, I let all my worries and uncertainties fade away, if only for a moment. As if understanding my state of mind, the place remained silent for a long while.


    Taking advantage of the fire’s warmth, I decided to sleep under the open sky, using Kairon as a pillow. The chances of an animal attacking us were close to none. Maybe a sudden downpour could ruin our improvised camp, but even that seemed unlikely—after all, it had been four weeks, and not a single drop of rain had fallen.


    Thus, satisfied, with a full stomach, a calm mind, and a path of possibilities to explore, I sank into a renewed slumber. That night, despite lacking any comforts, I rested better than I had in a long time. And by morning, I got to work.


    I needed a way to defend myself. Kairon had sharp claws and fangs, but I had nothing. I was just a fragile, soft human. Though I trusted my years of training, that was only useful against other humans—not against dragons or mini-horses with horns that looked like they were on steroids. And that wasn’t even considering the other creatures I hadn’t yet encountered but that, if my assumption was correct, were predators just like Kairon. All of them, without a doubt, ferocious.


    So, I tried to get Kairon to teach me his tricks… but I simply couldn’t understand them. It was like someone trying to explain how to breathe. And if you added the difficulty of communication to that, learning became nearly impossible. I tried to grasp it, to decipher what he was attempting to convey, but in the end, there was a huge difference between receiving a direct explanation and interpreting growls. Faced with that barrier, I decided to shift my focus to creating a weapon.


    It would have been perfect if a sword, a spear, some knives… or better yet, an assault rifle had magically appeared. But since none of that was going to happen, I had to improvise with what I had at hand. And as a result of my limited knowledge and the available materials—basically branches and vines—I ended up with a bow that looked more like a poorly made toy than a lethal weapon. But that didn’t discourage me. I knew I had to get out of this place. Even though animals didn’t enter the city, right now, I was like a hamster trapped in a cage: food was limited, and I couldn’t keep relying entirely on Kairon.


    From the first light of dawn until well into the night, I spent two whole days perfecting my bow, and at last, I had one that at least looked functional. I felt proud of myself… until I started making arrows.


    With Kairon’s help, I sharpened several branches, only to discover that there was no way those flimsy arrows could pierce an animal’s hide. I searched everywhere for something that could serve as a sharp tip, but I found nothing. Initially, I had thought about using the scales from Kairon’s egg, but when I went to the vault, I discovered they had disappeared. I tore down the hill of gold in search of a substitute for those scales, but after an entire day of rummaging, I found nothing usable.


    Exhausted, frustrated, and angry, I turned to look at Kairon, who was munching on reddish-purple rocks as if they were candy. Seeing his serene expression calmed me a little, but the fire inside me didn’t fade.


    With a determined voice, I conveyed my thoughts:


    —Take me hunting.