My Beastly Fertility System Chapter 85: The Hot Spring and the Foolish Giant

Fiona groaned as she came to, and the moment she saw Zane, relief flooded her face.

"Zane... save me... I know... where Claire is..."

She forced the words out in fragments, clinging to consciousness with everything she had left.

Zane hadn't planned to help her. But the moment he heard that, he changed his mind. He shifted into human form, grabbed Fiona with one hand, and took off at a sprint.

Claire was almost buried under the falling snow when the giant serpent beneath her finally stopped.

The titan python plunged into water, taking her with it. Warmth wrapped around her instantly. Her frozen, stiff body began to thaw as she instinctively kicked her way to the surface.

She broke through with a gasp.

Steam curled above the water. It was a hot spring. Not large, but impossibly deep. Fruit trees grew around it, their branches heavy with fully ripened, crimson fruit.

Snow drifted down from the sky, melting into the spring without lowering its temperature at all. The water stayed perfectly warm.

"Something like this exists in winter?"

Claire leaned against a rock, soaking in the heat, almost unwilling to move.

Then hunger hit. Her gaze drifted up to the bright red fruit. A strange, rich fragrance filled the air.

"Smells ripe."

She reached out and picked the nearest one, holding it under her nose for a moment.

"What if someone planted these? Eating one won't get me in trouble... right?"

She hesitated, then remembered the food stored in her space. Fine. If anything, she'd just pay the owner back later.

She bit in. Juice burst across her tongue. The flesh was sweet, rich, and instantly satisfying. Her hunger vanished.

Instead, heat surged through her body, strength flooding her limbs like it had nowhere else to go. She casually squeezed the rock beside her. A hole formed.

Claire stared.

"What the hell... this thing is insane."

Just then, Pome's voice rang out in her mind.

"Congratulations, Master. You've successfully advanced to Level 1 beastfolk. From now on, you can continue to level up. This is extremely rare."

"Really? Where the hell were you when I was about to die?"

Claire's tone turned sharp. Other people got systems that did everything for them. Hers just stood by and watched.

Pome felt... unreliable.

Claire sighed.

Pome answered weakly, "I... I thought... you were definitely going to die this time... so I... went on vacation..."

"What?"

Claire's mind went blank. She had almost been killed, and her system had picked that exact moment to go wandering off?

What kind of world was this?

Where was the justice in that? Where was the fairness?

Claire felt a deep sense of dread about her future. Even though Pome kept promising it wouldn't run off again, what could actually stop it?

She finished the fruit in her hand. Strength continued to surge through her body, while a warm current gathered low in her abdomen.

Pome said the fruit might benefit the unborn younglings, but couldn't explain how. It didn't even know what the fruit was.

"You don't even know what this is? Pome... are you just useless?"

"I'm not, I'm not..."

The protest sounded weak.

Claire didn't bother pushing it further.

Then a voice spoke.

"Little female. Where did you come from? You're quite bold."

Claire turned. Rising slowly from the center of the hot spring was the titan python. Its eyes were clear, almost naive, as it stared at her.

"You don't recognize me? You saw me at Jeffrey's place earlier."

Claire pointed at herself, confused.

Did the venom cause memory loss?

The titan python tilted its head back, clearly thinking. After a long pause, it leaned closer, realization dawning.

"Oh. It's you. How did you escape from there?"

Claire pressed a hand to her forehead.

Jeffrey calling him a fool wasn't an exaggeration.

If it wasn't memory loss, then this titan python was just... slow.

"You smashed into Jeffrey and took me out with you, remember?" Claire said flatly.

The titan python let out a small "oh," then muttered, "I don't know about that..."

Claire gave up on that line of questioning. What mattered was that she had escaped. She needed to find Zane and Rufus as soon as possible.

By her count, she had six or seven days left before giving birth. She didn't know if she could reach the eagle clan in time.

"No phone makes this so inconvenient. I got out, but I still can't contact Zane..."

She frowned, muttering under her breath as she thought.

The titan python watched her curiously.

She ate the Ember Fruit... and didn't die?

At the same time, Claire was thinking something else.

Why hadn't the king cobra venom taken effect?

Maybe... The titan python was immune to poison.