Chapter 31: Kardel And Rhiki
’Master... are you going to replace me?’The voice echoed in his mind, feathered with anxiety. Bigbird—his trusty companion, bonded soul beast, and snarky floating eyeball of wisdom—rarely sounded worried.
’Replace you?’ Auren blinked. ’It’s just a Punto. I’m keeping it because of the unique color and the ridiculously soft fur. It’s not like it’s a Holy Beast or anything.’
’But, master,’ Bigbird pressed, ’I don’t think that’s an ordinary Punto.’
Auren arched a brow. What makes you say that?
’Because it just appeared out of nowhere!’ Bigbird said, flustered. ’I’ve been scanning the perimeter nonstop. I can detect every living creature in a one-kilometer radius. Birds, beasts, bugs. Hidden or revealed—it doesn’t matter. But this thing? It just—poof!—popped into reality right in front of us!’
’So you’re telling me you couldn’t detect it at all despite being that close?’ he asked, brows furrowing.
’None. Zero. Nay’ Bigbird replied, sounding almost offended. ’It’s like it slipped past all my senses—’There was a rare, uneasy tremble in his voice.’Which should be impossible.’
Auren stared at the creature’s fur again, noting the way the soft green strands shimmered subtly in the sunlight—like dew-covered grass under moonlight.
’Maybe its green fur has something to do with it,’ he mused, narrowing his eyes. ’Could be a cloaking enchantment... or an anti-detection passive skill?’
Then a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
’If that’s true—then that’s so cool!’ he added, his excitement spiking. The idea of carrying around a stealth-mode, secret rare forest creature on his shoulder? That was like finding a cheat code in real life.