Broken Core [LitRPG • Cultivation • Post Apocalyptic • Romance]

James happily pulled the leather from the tub and started draining it. Flipping it over, he quickly emptied the brine before turning it back over and rinsing it out. Nebra and her party slowly recovered while Luna continued to smile and chuckle as she stood by his side.

"Something funny?" he questioned.

Stopping her laughter, she poked him. "I just realized how far I have to go to reach your level."

"It's a good thing I'm stronger than you. You like when I take charge and bend you to my will," he teased.

Pursing her lips, she poked him again. "Is that what you think?"

"You begged me to bend you over last night. I can still feel your tail in my hand." Smiling, he glanced at Nebra and her party and found them looking away with red cheeks. "I wouldn't be surprised if you kept up the others."

Growling, Luna suddenly smiled. "Oh yeah? Should I tell them the story of our sexual experiments with toys and your ass?"

"You wouldn't!" he snapped.

"I would," she cooed. "After the first time you didn't even have to be drunk anymore."

Finishing with the tub, he added it back to his inventory. "I believe I'll keep the bath to myself tonight."

"Wait!" she gasped. "That wasn't the deal!"

Raising his brow, he said, "I have to keep a firm hand with you. I have to punish you somehow. Wouldn't want you losing interest." Turning to Nebra, he asked, "would your team care for a bath? Luna is giving up her time."

Mender quickly perked up. "Yes!"

Nebra elbowed him. "We don't want to get involved."

Jamie climbed back to her feet. "Speak for yourself."

Luna snarled at them. "It's my bath! No one is taking my time from it!"

"I guess you won't get to feel my fingers trailing across your thighs while I play with your tail," he said with a shrug.

"James," she said coldly.

"Hmm? Yes?"

Poking his chest, she leaned in. "You win this time."

Her whisper made him smile as he scanned the skies. His vultures were coming down and he whistled for them. Three of them broke off and landed on the street.

"The monsters are yours," he told them. "I have the leather I need and apparently no one wants wolf meat. Let me know if there are any problems."

The three birds bowed their heads before flying back up to the flock. It only took a few moments from there before they broke apart and descended on the town to feast on the bodies Luna left in her wake.

"I'm going to go take a bath," James said. "I'm going to savor the water so much."

"I hate you," Luna growled.

"Oh? I'll remember that." Smirking, he walked away. "We better find shelter for the night."

Luna hurried after him. Taking his hand, she bumped his shoulder with hers. "You like winning, don't you?"

"When it comes to you, I'm simply winning by being in your company."

He enjoyed watching her jaw drop as she stared at him with wide eyes. Their next few steps saw her recover as she let out a pleasant hum.

"Do you mean that?" she asked softly.

Squeezing her hand, he nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be happy to have a beautiful woman on my arm. Plus. I know you were dancing around earlier just to keep my eyes focused on you."

A throaty laugh escaped her. "Is that what you think? Maybe I should strip slowly for you tonight. I wouldn't want you imagining my body wrongly."

"We should get rings," he announced.

"What? Why?"

Raising his brow, he glanced at their hands. "How are people going to know we are married if we don't have matching rings? Plus, it would be nice to show people that you are mine."

For the first time since he met her, the Fenrir blushed and looked away. Her hand started sweating as she slid out of his grip.

"Oh look! A basement!" Hurrying away from him, she stopped at a ruined house that had a door blocking the basement access. "We can stay here!"

Chuckling to himself, he thought, I think I broke her. That blush is a lovely look for her though.

Nebra trudged past him, her shoulders slumped as she opened the door to the basement. "Try and keep it down tonight…"

"No promises!" he called out to her.

Mender laughed as he entered the basement. Jamie and the last man followed before Nebra closed the door behind her. With them gone, James turned his whole attention to Luna.

"Ready for me to wash your tail?"

Still blushing, she nodded.

Pulling out the tub, he walked a distance away from the basement and started filling it with water. While that was happening, he whistled for his flock. One of the vultures landed near his side.

"I need feathers," he told it. "Anyway you all could spare some. Luna needs armor if she is going to survive."

Bowing its head, it flew away. He knew he wouldn't have to wait long before they dropped off what he needed.

Luna stepped up to his side and touched the water. "I wish this was clear. It would give you a better view of my body while you cleaned me."

"I think I'd collapse if you teased me like that," he joked. "There's only so far you can push me before I don't know how to react."

Giggling, she grabbed the edge of her chest wrap. "Then you better look away."

Quickly spinning, he stopped filling the tub. Her laughter filled the air as she shimmied out of her shorts and slipped into the tub.

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"Honey, my tail needs your help," she teased. "I know my dear husband wouldn't leave me wanting. Would he?"

Turning back to her, he shook his head. "Behave."

Humming, she lifted her tail for him. "And if I'm bad?"

Rolling his eyes, he started scrubbing her tail. "I'm not answering that, vixen."

Letting out a soft moan, she closed her eyes.

"No sounds like that," he said while bopping her on the head. "Like I said, there's only so far I'm willing to let you push me."

Huffing, she started rubbing the blood off her arms. "Fine, James. I'll behave for you."

Falling into a comfortable silence, he savored the feeling of her fur between his fingers. There's something enjoyable about this. I wonder what it would be like to run a brush through it. Inching his fingers towards the base of her tail, he dragged his fingertips along her flesh. She's so soft yet firm. Too bad this is all pretend.

Luna shivered against his touch. Dunking her head under the water, she scrubbed her hair before shifting so his whole hand was on her. She came back up giggling while he blushed and looked away.

They didn't share any words as he finished with her tail. Getting up, he unrolled the leather and draped it over the edge of a wall. The wind would dry and temper it quickly as night descended.

"James?" Luna asked softly.

"Yes?" Looking over the leather, he started imagining the design he would need.

"Are you opposed to me being demi-human?"

Frowning, he turned to her. "You're demi-human?"

"James…"

"Sorry," he said with a smile. "But I'm serious, Luna. You're my partner and it doesn't matter that you are a Fenrir. I'm lucky to have you in my life."

"What if we were really married?" she whispered.

"Then I'd be the luckiest man in the world," he said with a shrug.

Luna's eyes crinkled as she beamed. "That means a lot to me, James. Since we are starting over and making new memories, maybe I can truly be happy."

He didn't have anything to say to that as he turned back to the leather. A few vultures arrived a moment later and dropped off a pile of feathers. Looking over the pile, he nodded. "Thank you. That's more than enough."

Flapping their wings, they took to the sky and went back to feasting. The sun would be setting in a few hours, and he wanted to bathe still before he started crafting her armor. She would only want a chest wrap and shorts like normal, but he'd make sure they were more durable than the ripped junk she had now.

Picking up the feathers, he started inspecting them one by one. Some were shorter than others and the longer ones were more durable. He may not have had the scale leather from the lizards, but the werewolves seemed tough. He wished he had more time to temper the leather, or even the proper reagents to make decent quality leather. Everything he was doing was considered crude by his system.

The sound of shifting water behind him was followed by a soft sigh.

"Thanks for letting me bathe first," Luna said softly. "And for turning away."

"I just want you to be comfortable around me," he said. "I'll have your new armor made in a few hours. I just need the heat to dry the leather and firm it up."

Before he knew what was happening, soft arms were wrapping around him. Luna was already dressed and pressed into him with a soft hum. "You're a good man, James."

"And you are testing my resolve," he said with a chuckle.

"Maybe I'm trying to," she teased in return.

Resting his hand on hers, he felt calm. So, this is what it's like to be close to someone that isn't family.

He couldn't stop the smile from forming on his lips as she rested against him. "Do you want me to hold you tonight?" he asked softly.

"I'd like that." Resting her head against his shoulder, she sighed. "But we both know that I'll be in too much pain to enjoy it."

"Then we better look forward to sharing an inn room."

He could feel her straighten up as she pulled away. "I'll ruin your reputation. I'm sure they'll have somewhere for my kind to sleep."

Frowning, he tried to catch her hand as she stepped back completely. He could feel that she didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he left the leather and returned to the tub. Draining the water, he kept his thoughts to himself.

It's hard to tell if she wants to get closer to me, or if she wants distance. Every time we start talking seriously, she backs away. Are demi-humans treated that differently?

He didn't have the answer to yet another question.

How sheltered was I? Have I been missing a whole side of humanity? I thought I was educated, but clearly, I'm not. I need time to reflect.

Leaving the tub where it was, he started walking into the town. He could feel Luna watching him, but she didn't follow. He was thankful for her giving him time to his thoughts as he spread out his senses. Souls that weren't his vultures pinged against his touch, recoiling as they tried to hide.

Found you.

Picking up his pace, he charged towards the center of town. Something that wasn't the werewolves had claimed the town as its domain. Its soul felt large, likely matching his.

Reaching the center of the town, he slowed his pace. Scanning the streets, he spread out his senses. His souls pinged against the Forsaken and he pushed back. The other monsters around the area fled as they clashed.

Following the soul, he found a tunnel dug into the earth. The sheer size of the opening dwarfed nearly anything he had seen before. He couldn't compare it to the giant, but it was a great threat to his group.

Summoning his sword, he descended into the tunnel. The scent of rot permeated the air as death rolled over his tongue. The atmosphere was thick as the soul tried to push him out, but with a snarl, he picked up his pace.

The descent took him over a hundred feet into the earth before leveling out. He couldn't see a thing except the faint glow of his sword that never truly illuminated the space.

Follow the feeling of the soul, he felt the air shift as he stepped into an open cavern. It only took a moment longer before a blazing fire filled his vision as the Forsaken made itself known. Eyes glinted in the dark, making him cock his head.

"You're a big one, aren't you?"

A crushing roar filled the space, making his ears pop as he held up his hand. Latching onto the creature, he watched as the stream of flames entered his. The monster thrashed against the ground before the flames surged towards him.

He knew it would connect when he tapped into Soul Strike. A clawed hand ripped through his side, shredding bones and tissue as the monster exploded, sending gore and soul energy over the room.

Gasping in pain, he felt his Slashing Resistance increase as he used his sword to cut through the claws. It only took a moment longer before another pair of claws grabbed his body, wrapping around him easily before punching through his stomach and out his back.

Growling, he sent three Soul Strikes into the monster, shredding its soul as he soaked up all of the energy.

The Forsaken picked him up and slammed him into the ground as blood dripped onto his body. Pushing with everything he had, he forced the claws to open before he slashed his sword through the hand holding him. The pain of his attack made the monster roar before he was thrown across the cavern.

When he hit the wall, he felt his spine shatter and he fell limply to the ground. The sound of grinding bone filled the air as he started to twitch. His reserves started to drain as he got back to his feet and stalked towards the monster.

"You are finished!" he snarled.

For the first time he could feel the Forsaken's fear. Its soul retreated further into the cavern, but it was already too late. Its flame was flickering dangerously low as he charged forward and slashed towards its source.

His sword briefly lit up the monster's flesh before carving through its body in the darkness. The attack snuffed out the last of its flame, absorbing everything it was before he dismissed his sword and took a deep breath.

Feeling his reserves depleting, he kneeled and reached out for the monster. Finding flesh, he leaned in and started eating. The tissue tore from his bites and he hardly chewed before swallowing. The fear of losing control made him focus harshly as he reprimanded himself. Closing his eyes, he demanded his mind listen to him as he pulled out a bottle of water and drank its contents. Alternating between eating and drinking, he felt his stomach fill before he received the message like normal.

Body resources full. Time until reserves are full: Three hours and fifty-nine minutes.

The message was welcoming as he backed away from the creature. Standing up, he felt calm as he added the Forsaken's corpse to his storage. It would make strong leather and be a good food source for the next few weeks.

Turning, he frowned as he tried to remember how to get out. With a shrug, he started walking until he found a wall. Following it, he eventually found the tunnel and started his ascent. His armor was punctured and broken, but he could have it repaired in a few hours.

Now that my mind is calm, I realize that I enjoy the thought of being married to Luna. We met months ago and I watched her avoid me for just as long. But there is something about her that draws me in. She doesn't treat me like the sect did. She's honest and real. She also doesn't fear me and the monster that I've become.

Wiping the blood from his chin, his frown grew. Others wouldn't understand his need to eat. It didn't matter if it was raw or cooked. The appetite was all consuming as he came back from death.

The souls he feasted on were sublime as he grew stronger. Even now, he had a waiting message. He felt giddy thinking about how much he improved this time.

Soul absorbed. Soul Strength: 7.067

Pain Resistance: Level 10/10

Slashing Resistance: Level 3/10

Piercing Resistance: Level 6/10

New Soul Skill: Soul Senses

Finally, he had gained the skill to spread his soul easier. Now he could hunt. The alphas would be his.