Chapter 381: It’s Not That Easy
Chapter 381: It’s Not That Easy
6 hours later
"Leo, we found only 2 corpses so far. That was also due to Niri sensing them through the forest foliage. I doubt we can do anything more unless we have a flying beast."
Leo listened to the voice message Lily had sent through her phone and frowned.
Because he and Kaelion had also found only 1 corpse till now.
"Kaelion, I think we will need to tame an avian beast we come across today," Leo said, signalling Singham to turn toward a certain direction in the forest.
They had formed two groups—one consisting of Lily and Sylrael, and the other of him and Kaelion. Leo had also sent Niri alongside Lily so that they would have extra manpower alongside Shyra.
This also benefited Lily’s group, as Niri could sense high-ranking beast corpses through her abilities as a Wood Half-spirit.
As for them, they were riding Singham, a Pseudo 4-star beast who was more than capable of deterring most threats in the surrounding forest and evading the random lightning strikes flashing through the dark clouds above.
"Will you tame it, or should I do it?" Kaelion asked.
Leo looked toward him. "Can your soul handle another contract?"
"Yes... I can tell my soul has reached the Uncommon rank, so I should be able to handle a new beast contract now."
Leo thought about it. Having Kaelion tame a beast would be good since, ultimately, it would aid in the territory’s defence, but there was also the important effect that reduced the rate at which his soul degraded. And having a stronger beast would also let him grow stronger quicker.
So, if they found an injured storm avian, Kaelion would be the one to tame it. Of course, for that, the beast needed to be Pseudo 4-star or lower, and if it was severely injured, a low 4-star would also work—but then he would need to keep the beast’s attitude in check.
This would also prevent me from getting unnecessarily stronger than I already am, Leo thought. He wanted to stop getting stronger for a bit more until his teachings with Professor Gunther started, because he had been warned by Brant that the stronger one became without proper skill, technique, or guidance, the harder it would be to control that power in the future.
Just then, another voice message arrived from Lily.
"Leo, I found another dead beast, but once again, its body is way too damaged for consumption by our territory members. Currently, Shyra is having a feast over the remains, and I have packed the steel-like feathers."
Lily’s message ended.
Leo sighed. This had been the case for all the corpses they had found till now. After falling from that height, they had become a mangled mess, and their badges refused to send them for sale in Aurelius Hall. This also meant that the valuables extracted were just the broken feathers and the intact body parts, along with the beast core and Mana crystal.
But the reason Leo sighed was not due to the loss of potential money, but—
Ding!
Obsidian Panther [Shyra] (High -> Peak 3-star)
— Noble Bloodline (30% -> 32%)
— BloodBond 70% -> 74%
Ding!
Dryad [Niri] (Mid -> High 3-star)
— Royal Bloodline [5%]
— BloodBond 70% -> 76%
Ding!
Eclipse Sun Wolf [Nyxa] (Mid -> High 3-star)
— Royal Bloodline [1%]
— Blood Bond 15% -> 23%
Ding!
Stats Updated!
Vitality: 1170 [1820 -> 1970]
Strength: 1170 [1820 -> 1970]
Agility: 960 [1610 -> 1760] + {1% -> 40% boost (Optional)}
Stamina: 1150 [1800 -> 1950]
Intelligence: 1850 [2500 -> 2650]
Mana: 185,000 [250,000 -> 265,000]
Errggggg... Leo groaned internally.
Somehow, even after restraining himself so much, he just couldn’t stop getting stronger by the passing day. He even regretted hunting some beasts back in the Frozen Waterfall Secret Realm to level up.
He could only imagine that, if not for increasing his skill proficiency and learning some techniques, he might already be at the 5-star rank.
He looked toward Kaelion, who was busy watching Singham and Nyxa eat the fallen remains of an avian beast. Thankfully, Kaelion didn’t notice Leo getting stronger, saving him from unnecessary questions.
A few more hours passed, and along the way, he encountered some seniors who were scavenging just like them. But the surprising part was that even if their badges read 3rd term or even 4th term, they rode at max a High 3-star beast or Peak 3-star.
Yes, they couldn’t even match Kaelion’s Pseudo 4-star lion.
But the difference between them and Leo’s group was the fact that they were struggling quite a bit in the heavy rain—especially from the rainwater that kept getting into their mouths and clothes, making everything cold and uncomfortable.
Thankfully, no seniors stopped Lily and Sylrael, who were shrouded in Shyra’s Stealth. Or else, with their appearance and Sylrael’s status as a slave, they would have encountered many problems.
Nearly 12 hours had passed, and right now, everybody was heading back to the territory with whatever they had scavenged. They were getting a bit annoyed and hungry—annoyed due to the incessant heavy rain and the rarity of the encountered corpses.
Finally, they arrived back and directly fell over the large leafy bedding. But Sylrael controlled her urge to do the same and remained standing beside them.
"Arrggggggg... such a bad day," Lily groaned.
In another room, the beasts also looked equally annoyed by their wet fur, shaking their bodies rapidly to splash away the water.
But most of the trouble was for Shyra, as Singham and Nyxa used their aura to dry their bodies. Niri was small, so it was no trouble for her, but Shyra didn’t have anything like that.
When she saw Singham and Nyxa leisurely sleeping in the corner of the room, her annoyance reached its peak, and she bit Singham’s leg.
"ROOOOOAAARRRR!" The beast roared, and their fight began. Niri, as mischievous as ever, started acting like a referee. Normally, it was Pryde—Lily’s hydra—who would stop these fights, but the space was a bit small for him to fit. So they continued the fight, but kept the noise low so that their masters wouldn’t come to scold them.
Leo and the others did notice the shaking wall, but Katherine stopped them.
"Let them have their fun. It’s good for bonding, and they will cooperate better in battles."
There was enough space because Katherine had used her powers to expand the bunker more; almost the whole 200-meter plateau had been hollowed out to make a new base underground. And all of this was completed in the 12 hours while they were gone.
"Think of it as payment for letting my hubby rest," she said cheerfully, and they finally started to check the spoils that they had gathered.