Cranium
With Lui safeguarding this new protagonist, Edrick had nothing to worry about. So after a few more days of resting, Anoteros plunged right back into Eltysia, in the company of his two bestial companions.
He returned to the Great Plains without problem. Where he simply resumed his previous activities. Everything was just as he had left it, and the combined herd under his control was still guarding the camp alongside the subjugated Mountain Sasquatches.
The scion did not spot any signs of the Red Guardian, but he assumed that the red-skinned, orcish fellow would be aware that someone had just stepped into the realm. The Blutgar was a bit of an odd guy at times... He wasn’t one to approach first, preferring to watch from a distance.
If he wanted to speak, then he would just stand there until he was verbally acknowledged. Otherwise, he wouldn’t budge a muscle.
‘I’ll need to drag him into some more fun’
Last time, he had shown himself to be a bit stiff... Not in relation to his impressively long orc-club, but in behaviour. If Edrick really wanted to establish a truly friendly relationship, then he would have to make sure the realm defender became less rigid in how he acted… More like the noble.
The session with Helteiel and Emeyla had shown promise. It seemed like being able to access Balls To The Walls had pleased the guardian. Thus, Anoteros hoped to sort of ‘bait’ him to agree to more sessions based on this–Eventually bringing him to a point where his lustful desires were closer to Edrick’s.
In any case, since the red man wasn’t showing up right now, the scion instead decided to continue his training. This now included hunting for mates in the mountains, plains, and woods of the realm.
Armed with drops from the Twink-Master’s Ring, and also the fact that… Well, Biesta involved lying with mates so detached from human beauty standards that it was frankly very easy to go for males as well.
After all, when you started going for basically anything that you could theoretically go for–Whether they were male or female... It started to not really matter anymore.
Such considerations only applied to beings that at least somewhat resembled the noble…
Anyway… This hunting resulted in a whole bunch of new earned abilities thanks to Five-Legged Devil Goat Physique. Edrick was starting to have a lot of those abilities, but they were all passive anyway, so he didn’t really need to remember them. They did their stuff without requiring his attention at all.
The first on the list was naturally the sasquatch one associated with the species as a whole... Acquired after only a few successful catches.
Eltysian Mountain Sasquatch (Species) - Minor Stone Affinity Increase
For some reason, this one didn’t get any fancy title at all. Edrick guessed that the description doubled as the name in this case.
That, or the system forgot to give it a name.
Grass Buffalo (Species) - Grass Eater - Increases Grass Efficiency
Grass Buffalo (Male) - Horn Struggle - Increases Strength Of Horns
Grass Buffalo (Female) - Narrow Season - Increases Odds Of Impregnation
The second boon obtained from the Grass Buffalo was an ability Edrick couldn’t take advantage of at the moment. But perhaps he would acquire a way to manifest horns in the future. As for the other two, they were quite good.
He earned another fertility boost, reminding him that he really needed to be careful when playing with non-crest-bearing women.
Though the first one was actually the most interesting–It meant that all types of grass would now be more efficient for him. Anoteros questioned whether it would also make poisonous grass more effective against him, but apparently not.
As a rule of thumb, always keep in mind that abilities gained through Five-Legged Devil Goat Physique can only be positive. They can’t have actual drawbacks
‘That’s good to know’
Wood-Antler Deer (Species) - Bark Eater - Increased Bark Efficiency
Wood-Antler Deer (Male) - Bellow Call - Your Roar/Voice-Based Moves Carry A Greater Seductive Effect
Wood-Antler Deer (Female) - Public Courtship - Seduction In Open, Public Spaces Is Slightly More Effective
These were very self-explanatory. The latter two were purely meant to enhance his charm, while the first pretty much mirrored the species ability granted by the Grass Buffaloes. Only that, instead of grass, it affected bark.
Overall, this was a very good haul so far.
Amidst the mate-hunting, he had also partaken in several orgies with Alffine and her pack. Ansbach had been a part of these as well. It was quite clear that he was really beginning to take after his master... No longer minding whether he was mounting a male or female… Though he was still iffy about sharing with Anoteros. He only accepted working on the same toy by passing said toy between the two of them.
…The rest would come with time, Edrick was certain of it.
Alas, the multiple Biesta orgies had not resulted in any new earned ability.
The noble also explored several ruins, but did not find anything of interest… Or anything at all, for that matter. At least, until something popped out one morning.
Just like the village from last time, he had woken up to the presence of a structure in the distance which had not been there before.
Anoteros naturally headed for it.
This place was absolutely nothing like any other architecture within the realm–Nothing like the shadowy tranquillity of the Underwoods, the brightness of the plain village, or the grandeur of the temples. Instead, it was nothing more than a big camp.
If you told a youth to draw an image of a barbarian tribe, the drawing would likely resemble what he was currently looking at.
Uneven walls of wooden spikes, beast skin stretched into rudimentary tents... Old, decaying primitive tools and weapons were littering the ground... This place was clearly not nearly as advanced as the rest.
The scion explored the camp, finding nothing that caught his attention. Though he did collect some of the better-conserved items, for no other reason than–Despite the rough methods used to create them–He still found them quite interesting…
He eventually approached a larger tent, which he could only imagine had belonged to the leader–Probably a chieftain or shaman of some kind. Within, he found something curious. .. A skull. A perfectly preserved, clean skull of a shape far more distinct than the previous skulls he had encountered.
This one was larger, the bone was thicker, and the features more rugged. The dentition was still very much human-like, though.
It almost felt like he was looking at a neanderthal skull.
Anoteros picked it up to add to his current collection.
He didn’t know for what, but he was confident these skulls could be used for something…