A new Party member

Draco dodged Yuki’s slashes with a quick tilt of his head, her metal knife glinting dangerously in the fading light.
She was fast and agile, whipping her blade through the air in a storm of rapid attacks.
But to Draco, each movement was slow and predictable. His sharpened senses, honed over weeks of survival, allowed him to track even the subtlest shift in her stance and hear the faint sound of her metal knife cutting through the air.

Despite her speed, Yuki’s inexperience was glaringly obvious.
Most of her strikes missed entirely or barely grazed him, and even when the blade connected, it skimmed harmlessly off his toughened skin.
She had skill but lacked the precision and **** to land a critical blow.

With a quick sweep of his leg, Draco knocked her off balance, sending her stumbling backward.
Before she could regain her footing, he caught her wrist in a firm grip, twisting her arm and wrestling her to the ground in one smooth motion.

Yuki growled in frustration, pinned beneath him.

“You’re good at tricks—hiding, running—but this knife work?” Draco said, slightly exasperated. “Not the best for an assassin.”

Yuki glared up at him, her expression defiant. “We’ve barely started training!” she shot back, wriggling against his grip.

Draco sighed, his frustration tempered with understanding.
Yuki had incredible potential, but her raw talent lacked the refinement and discipline needed for true combat.
He wasn’t a master fighter himself, but his time surviving in the wilderness combined with his enhanced abilities had given him an edge.

Her abilities to vanish from sight, moving without detection, and her earth and shadow-cat magic were powerful, and that was why Draco was training her.
They needed someone who could move unseen, gather intelligence, and strike from the shadows.
Yuki was the perfect candidate to become their scout, their spy, and their assassin. But she had a long way to go before embodying the role.

"You've got the potential, Yuki," Draco said, releasing her wrist and helping her to her feet.
"But you need to master your blade—and your patience. If we can get your skills to match your stealth, you’ll be unstoppable."

Draco’s words were met with an unexpected response—the soft sound of snoring.
He looked down to find Yuki fast asleep on the ground.

He couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed the Cat-Humans had taken on more than just the physical traits of their feline ancestors.
Besides the obvious cat-like features—her ears, tail, eyes, and fangs—every other part of Yuki’s body was unmistakably human.

But her behavior told a different story.

Mentally, Yuki was about 90% human, but that small cat-like side often surfaced in surprising ways.
She would sometimes purr or wag her tail when she was happy, her contentment unmistakable.
Then there was her stubbornness, a trait that Draco was all too familiar with.
And, of course, her tendency to fall asleep for most of the day.

"Stubborn and sleepy," Draco muttered with a smirk, watching her tail flick lazily even in her slumber.
Despite her quirks, Yuki was an invaluable part of their small group—loyal, intelligent, and always ready for a challenge.
But right now, she was just a sleepy cat-human, sleeping on the earth, dreaming of who knows what.

Deciding to postpone the training for the day, Draco made his way into their cave, seeking some time to relax by the fire.
As he entered, he felt a sense of comfort wash over him.
Using his powers, he ignited the wood in the fireplace, and the flames quickly sprang to life, casting a warm, flickering light throughout the cave.
He sat down, watching the fire dance and crackle, seeming to ooze beauty.

Draco picked up a nearby stick and began to rub it along his back, trying to alleviate the discomfort he had been feeling.
Over the last few days, he had developed three swollen, red spots—two on his upper back and one on his lower back.
They itched terribly and sometimes even throbbed with pain as if something were trying to push through his skin.
The sensations were irritating, and he had sent Venetia to find some herbs against it.

In an attempt to distract himself from the incessant itching, Draco began to take in the surroundings of the cave.

Yuki had truly added her own charm to the space.

While Venetia had been a significant help in enhancing their living conditions, Yuki’s unique abilities had elevated their cave life even further.

Venetia could produce basic fibers, which she had skillfully woven into the ropes they used for traps. It had taken her several days just for one rope.

Yuki, on the other hand, had taken things to another level.
She was doing the same work Venetia had accomplished in just a few hours, achieving even better results with her skills.
Her talent also allowed her to produce basic leather from animal hides, a skill that had made a remarkable difference in their living situation.
Draco glanced at his new bed, which had once been a haphazard pile of furs, leaves, and grass.
Now, it was covered with smooth leather, making his sleeping area far more comfortable and significantly less itchy when he woke up in the morning.

In addition to enhancing his bed, Yuki had also crafted a small hammock along one of the cave walls for herself.
It was clear that she had put thought and care into their shared living space.
She wanted to live with them.

As he settled into his thoughts, Draco picked up the dagger that Yuki had used during their training sessions.
It glinted in the firelight, its blade reflecting the flames. He marveled at its craftsmanship, noting that it was covered in metal, a resource that was not easily found in their environment.

Curious about her capabilities, he asked her if she could produce more metal.
He envisioned the possibilities it could bring to their training and defenses.

However, Yuki simply shook her head, her expression apologetic.
"Only the elders can do that, not me," she replied, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"And there they were again," Draco thought, referring to the Elders.

Right after Yuki woke up from the deep slumber that followed his claiming her, he immediately bombarded her with a rain of questions, eager to uncover the secrets of this new world.
The excitement bubbled within him, a contrast to the unsettling uncertainty he felt about his current situation.

“Can you smelt metal?”
“What’s your tribe like?”
“Where are we?”
“Are there other civilizations?”
“Can you teach me magic?”
“Do you have anything written down?”

But almost every response pointed back to the Elders.
While the information he gathered was useful, it was not as illuminating as he had hoped. Each answer felt like a doorway leading him back to the same frustrating source of knowledge.

Of course, he learned something valuable from Yuki.
He discovered that they were on a continent known to the Shadow-Cat tribe as "Noctivaga."
Yuki shared vivid tales about its coastal areas, where new civilizations were blossoming.
Human explorers had come to this monster-infested land, drawn by tales of adventure and treasure,
and Draco imagined bustling towns filled with lively markets, curious shops, and the sounds of merchants hawking their wares.
In contrast, he realized that inland, only small adventurer towns or mere huts existed, often populated by those brave enough to venture away from the safety of the coast.

He also learned about the customs of the tribe, which painted a vivid picture in his mind.
All the members were female, waiting for a male of different origins to impregnate them, who gave birth to daughters who had no connection to their fathers.
The idea struck Draco as both intriguing and unsettling, a bizarre tradition woven into the very fabric of their society.
The tribe held a prophecy that spoke of a great hero who would create "the Shadow that never disperses" and would "hold the seed for a new era" for them.

Draco’s understanding deepened as Yuki described the tribe’s appearance.
The village was protected by magical barriers that transformed the inside into a realm almost surreal in its beauty.
He imagined lush greenery, vibrant flowers, and an air that shimmered with enchantment. Inside, it felt like a sanctuary, a stark contrast to the wild chaos that surrounded them.

He gathered insights about the Elders of the village and their vast knowledge.
These powerful Shadow Cats were trained from birth, mastering skills that allowed them to control every aspect of their community.
They could summon magic with a flick of their wrist, manipulate smelt metals, and wield powers that left Draco in awe.

Yuki mentioned that it was rumored the Elders possessed a vast amount of wisdom and books hidden in their secret house,
a place where the greatest minds of their tribe shared their knowledge.
It was a treasure trove of lore, guarded closely and seldom revealed to outsiders.

They acted as protectors of the village and its people, their authority both revered and feared.

This information was incredibly useful, and Draco found himself torn between admiration and resentment.
While he wanted to conquer and make subservient all three of these aspects—the tribe, their adventures, and the Elders’ knowledge—he still yearned for more.

He despised the feeling of being trapped and bound by these revelations, leading him to harbor resentment toward the Elders.
They embodied everything he loathed; their desire for control over the Shadow Cats made him feel confined as if their motives were driven by a hidden agenda that he could not yet decipher.

“Either way, we’re going to clash. Noctivaga isn’t big enough for us both,” he thought, his resolve strengthening as he imagined a future where he subjugated the tribe.
Making them all part of his harem and knowing every single juicy secret from them.

As the itch on his back began to fade again, Draco focused his thoughts.

“Either way, I am still too weak; I need to become stronger.”

Further contemplation was interrupted by Venetia's sudden arrival.
She burst into the cave, her pouch only half-filled with herbs.
The remnants of wind magic clung to her feet, swirling like playful wisps around her as she moved, and she was sweating profusely, her face flushed from exertion.

“I found it!” she exclaimed between heavy breaths, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I have found a Dungeon!"