Hana stared at the text in the floating blue window, her mouth hanging open.

> ​[WARNING: Continuous copulation is needed in order to provide the fetus with enough nutrients.]

> [Current Status: Satisfaction Level 100%.]

> [NEW QUEST: THE BOND’S NURTURE]

> Objective: Engage in primal bonding once every 48 hours to sustain the offspring’s development.

> Reward: +15,000 Karmic Points per session.

> Bonus: 15,000 Karmic Points awarded for the previous night’s successful copulation.

> [CURRENT BALANCE: -1,189,380]

​"Why is this happening to me?!" Hana shouted, her voice cracking.

​She stared at the numbers. Fifteen thousand coins. That was a massive jump compared to the other rewards, especially since she would be getting it once every two days. If she mated with the beasts every two days, she could crawl out of her debt in no time.

She could finally buy tools, real medicine, and maybe even a weapon that didn’t involve throwing bones.

​But at what cost? Her dignity? Her ability to walk?

​The system is basically pimping me out to my own mates, she thought, her teeth grinding together. It’s a bribe. A high-value, high-exhaustion bribe.

She was being extorted since the price for the reward was just too much. Right now, she could barely walk, and they expected her to endure like this almost every night? Not happening.

But then again, if she could get them to be gentle—to stop acting like they were trying to drill a hole through the cave’s thick floor—maybe it wouldn’t be a nightmare. But ’gentle’ didn’t seem to be in a dragon’s vocabulary.

​"Hana?"

​She looked up. Caspian was standing near the large stone basin. It was hot, but it had nothing on him since he was a man of fire.

Fire did not burn him.

Caspian looked like a kicked puppy, his shoulders hunched and his golden eyes darting toward her nervously. He was holding the edge of the basin, his skin glowing with a faint, low heat as a result of funneling his internal fire into the stone.

​"The water... it is ready," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "I kept it at a low simmer. I think it is the temperature you like."

​Hana didn’t answer immediately. She looked at the stone bowl. It was a beautiful piece of work—too good for a tribe that lived in dirt. It was perfectly circular, polished smooth, and had intricate carvings of vines around the rim.

​Where did the Boars get this? she wondered. If they have a craftsman who can carve stone like this, they’re more advanced than they look. Or they found this, too.

​She looked at the wooden crates stacked near the entrance. They weren’t just rough-hewn timber. They were slatted shipping crates, the kind used in 21st-century crafting logistics, though the wood was grey and brittle with age.

There were faint, faded stenciled markings on the side—serial numbers and a logo that looked like a globe.

​Everything pointed to a world that looked exactly like hers, buried under the mud of this beast realm.

​Hana forced herself to move, letting out a sharp hiss of pain as she slid off the furs. She grabbed a clean piece of hide, the ones that were soft and absorbent enough to pass off as a towel.

She wobbled toward the basin, her legs feeling like jelly, and she cursed under her breath.

Caspian immediately stepped back, his hands raised as if to show he wasn’t going to touch her without permission.

​She looked into the water. It was steaming perfectly. Not too hot, not too cold.

​"Good," she muttered.

​Caspian let out a breath of relief that sounded like a gust of wind.

"Raiden is bringing the fruit. The Boars will be here too, and they... they will scrub the floors. But I will tell them not to come in yet, so they will not bother you."

"Just tell them to come in once I’m fully clothed." She said and then glanced at her dress that had been discarded at the corner.

At least they didn’t get their mess all over her white indestructible dress. She could get it off with no issue, but then what about the smell?

She shook her head and dipped the cloth into the hot water.

Slowly, she began to wipe away the sticky residue on her thighs. The warmth was a godsend for her aching muscles, but as she cleaned herself, her mind went back to that 15,000-point reward.

​She looked at Caspian—truly looked at him—and that made this dragon king a little nervous.

His gaze was heavy with a mix of guilt and slight discomfort, wondering if Hana was going to punish him again.

​"Caspian," she said, her voice a bit more level.

​"Yes, Hana?"

​"If we are going to do this again... if you want to ’feed the dragon’..." She paused, her face flushing in embarrassment at that stupid reason he gave. "You are going to learn how to listen. If I say stop, you stop. If I say slow, you go slow. If you break me, you don’t get a second round. Ever."

​Caspian’s eyes widened, and he nodded so hard she thought his neck might snap.

"I promise. I will be like the mountain breeze. I will be as soft as the moss."

​Hana snorted, skeptical. "A mountain breeze still knocks down trees, Caspian."

"I understand, Hana," he said, his eyes darting to the side and then back to her. "I will... be gentle."

That didn’t reassure her in any way, but she would watch. Watch and see how this copulation would go. If it was something she couldn’t handle, she would kiss the 15,000 bonus rewards goodbye.

And if she could... good for her then.

​"Caspian, boil one more," she commanded, not looking at him. "I need to soak my feet. They’re throbbing because of you."

​"Yes, Hana!" Caspian scrambled to obey, looking like a kicked puppy.

​Raiden returned soon after, his arms full of sweet-smelling purple fruits and a few fresh animals he had caught.

"I’ll roast these right away," he said, his green eyes darting toward her nervously. "Eat to your fill, Hana. You need the strength."

Hana narrowed her eyes. She didn’t know if to take that as an insult or a foreboding for what was to come?

In any case, she was very hungry and would eat whatever they brought her.