A yak with thick white fur was running towards a lion-like figure; the yak was shortening the distance at an astonishing rate as it used its four eyes to look around. The yak was not fast; rather; it was literally shortening the space between it and the lion-esc figure. The lion roared and tried to dodge but fell into a pit.
So Flieday walked closer to the pit with an amused reaction; Rien was truly strong, worthy of a rank two creature. The lion-esc figure was bleeding pitifully as it was impaled by special spikes. These spikes were not of mundane rocks; rather, they were grade two material bought from the militarists. The lion-like figure had dark curly mane which covered it like a carapace; it had two long horns instead of eyes and was twice as big as any mundane lion — not that So Flieday would know what a normal lion was for it did not exist in her world.
Hadrien quietly walked over to her and sighed; looking at her with a defeated face
"Do you still want to wander these woods to find survivors?"
Flieday stayed quiet for a moment; she had not tamed a beast and had to gain support of foreign tribe leaders and members. While Hadrien took care of the tribe leader, he could not help her convince other tamers. The jungle they were in was just outside the tribe's settlement and was cleansed of beasts daily; even then it was extremely dangerous to enter.
"Yes, I do"
So Flieday would not be able to sleep peacefully if she did not try to find her tribe members; her decision was not going to change no matter what.
"The tribe leader has two requirements for you to lead such a force."
"What are they?"
"First, you would need to join our tribe by marriage; second, you would need to tame a wild beast"
"..."
"..."
Flieday did not respond as she started to walk towards the tribe; Hadrien tactfully stayed quiet too. The first condition was a must in any tribe; it was a miracle she had not received a single marriage invite. Flieday thought that the tribe did not want her to join the tribe, but reality differed.
That… is suspicious.
The second requirement is the real challenge — an unbeatable one. At least according to tribe elders, in reality it was more of a coin flip,
The elders must have been conflicted
Was it her or she felt… lighter today, while crossing a wooden bridge she felt she was jumping higher? Well, no matter; she had to prepare for taming the beast, marriage could be delayed.
Well, i should prove my worth first and gain a high standing in the tribe first, then i should try to get into an elder's family, it would be best if i can rise in ranks slowly.
…
A blond haired girl was standing in front of a huge opossum; its huge snout was staring at the girl. The blond girl slowly stepped aside, revealing an enormous pile of meat. The opossum stared at the girl and then at the food and brought its snout closer to the girl.
Is it threatening me?
Flieday gave the elders sitting on giant beasts a glance and stepped back, slowly retreating from the opossum. The opossum's grey fur rustled as it walked towards the food; the food was not kept in a huge pile, rather it was in small piles forming a path. So Flieday quickly retreated and rushed to a hot spring.
The spring has some animal skin and leaves which were bound by vines to be worn quickly on its side.
She took off her clothes hurriedly and took out small packets from them, the packets contained feces of the four eyed yak of Hadrien.
Faster, faster, faster, faster!
She jumped into the spring and quickly got out, picking up a bowl filled with blue liquid. Her hands were trembling with the cold, but that was none of her concern at the moment. She poured some of the blue liquid and hurriedly mixed it with her hair.
She spread the liquid on her bare skin and smeared herself with it. She then ran towards the spare set of clothes she had to specially; her expression was grim as she quickly wore the mix of leaves and animal skin
She started running towards the west, her skin still wet and covered in blue dye; she still found herself uncomfortable in fresh dye and uneven clothes even after rehearsing this tens of times.
Her movements were calm and calculated; her expression turned into a grimace as she ran towards a cave wearing improper clothing.
Thumb! Thumb! Thumb!
Her heartbeat sped up as she heard the opossum's loud walking; it's all or nothing now.
Either she wins or dies.
…
Hadrien was acutely listening to the opossum running and devouring the meat Flieday had prepared for it. Rien — his four eyed yak — was not near him; rather, she was standing right before an enormous pile of meat. Her maw was wide open, saliva dripping on the ground as she barely controlled herself.
Thumb! Thumb! Thumb!
Opossum had quickly devoured another pile of meat, finally close enough for Rien to do the honors.
The pile of food standing between the grey opossum burst open, revealing his trusty four eyed beast. Angered, the opossum opened its giant snout, secreting deadly poison from it; Rien instantly commanded Rien to increase the distance between the opossum and herself.
The opossum growled loudly, releasing thin white mist from its snout; Rien did not flinch, however, she increased the distance between the air and herself, blood dripping down her eyes.
She is overdoing it now!
She was forcefully extracting energy from the glass crystals reserved for her wellbeing, it was straining her brain; Hadrien knew that asking her to calm down or slow down would only hurt her performance.
Opossum was a fierce creature too, it did not stand still while releasing the mist; it was retreating hastily — it had eaten its full, thus was sluggish. All wild beasts have the ability to know when to run and when to fight, opossum was no exception.
Even though mystical beasts seem evil by nature, they are an animal, too. Thus, they only hunt when they need to and fight when they think they can win.
However, this was when Rien increased the distance of a spike from her — this time it was a direct order from Hadrian. The spike, an idea from So Flieday, was hidden around the fighting ground. Spike made of grade two material spike dug into the opossum's leg, partially impaling it. The opossum hissed in pain as green wines appeared at its legs, re- enforcing them.
But this gave Rien few breaths to attack, and she wasted none. The yak opened its giant maw as it dashed towards the opossum.
"Is it me, or is she staying in the air for longer?" Hadrien pondered lazily as he stretched his hand to pick up a leather container for water.
"Hm?"
Hadrien could not find where he had kept the container, frowning as he unknowingly looked up.
"…"
"…"
Is the lack of sleep catching up?
The leather container was… floating in the air?
No, it was flying upwards slowly, to be exact.
…
A young girl in loose leaves and animal skin bound by vines on her neck was running frantically; with her blond hair rising in the air, she could hear the opossum's mighty steps. She suddenly heard a loud whistle, stopping in shock.
"What?!"
Though the stop was only momentary, she had to subdue the opossum first to help the tribe in the attack.
Best time for a strong beast attack! Why does nothing go my way
Each tribe has a signal to alert tribal people of danger, and concerningly the whistle - the symbol of course, was coming from near the opossum
Flieday danced around the woods and finally reached the injured opossum; she strolled towards the opossum, making herself as small as possible.
"Huh?"
Her makeshift covering was… floating upwards? It was meant to be worn quickly, and was only bound to her neck; it was already as high as her stomach.
Is this… a grade 3 beast attack!
Grade 1 beasts can easily kill hundreds of mundane people, thus tamers with multiple Grade 2 beasts or a Grade 3 beast tamed have to risk their lives fighting them. A Grade 2 beast can have magical powers far stronger than attraction and repulsion used by a Grade 1 beast! They can bring floods, warp space, and change time to some extent; producing energy and using glass crystals is second nature to them.
However, a Grade 3 beast can easily eradicate dozens of Grade 2 beasts and bring an end to a tribe.
The only thing So Flieday could think at the moment was to tame the Opossum and run!
She walked towards the opossum's wounds steadily, applying a thick fluid on it; she had hidden it near the lone bedrock tree. She ignored the floating rocks and her makeshift covering, which had risen around her neck and left her practically bare.
The opossum started to stand up... no, was it rising up? No! It had started floating. So Flieday was too flying upwards. The opossum, enraged and mistaking So Flieday as the enemy and culprit of its floating, released poison. So Flieday's blue skin of her hand was instantly smeared with poison — Her hand was starting to rot.