Taming Destiny - a Tamer Class isekai/portal survival fantasy.

“What do you mean?” I ask, alarmed myself at her wariness.

Do you recall what I spoke of when we discussed why I have created my den here?

“Yes, you moved away from the samurans because they were trying to attack you, and you thought that they wouldn’t follow you into an area with less Energy density.”

That is true, but it was also because I did not want to take Lathani too far into the valley. I do not want to go too far into the valley: there are beasts at its base which are far, far more powerful than I am. They spend all their time soaking in the Energy that is to be found in the lake which covers the feet of the mountains. But should they discover a different source of Energy, one that is far stronger than the diluted Energy they soak in all day…?

“You think they would come to claim the area?” I ask, feeling fear creep up upon me and seize my heart with its icy claws.

I do not think it. I know it. To Beasts who have undergone four Evolutions, there is nothing more important than undergoing the fifth. They are only peaceful because it is far less beneficial to them to fight than to merely absorb and process the Energy of the lakewater. But if one threatens to impinge on their territory, they will defend it with the might of a mountain. They, of all of us, are the only ones who could absorb Pure Energy as if it were merely the Energy in the air around us – an open stream of it would be attractive beyond measure. And in the process of obtaining it, they would obliterate any who sought to guard it from them – or even remained in the vicinity.

I shake my head, not in negation, but in confusion.

“But why don’t they just find a Pure Energy stream of their own, then? Raven is only a Tier three and he managed – if these are Tier fives, then they should be well-able to do it too.”

Raven? Kalanthia asks blankly. I realise that I haven’t actually told her anything about what happened beyond the fight with a powerful beast, so quickly rectify that.

“So yeah, if Raven could get into the Pure Energy stream with acid and a rock, and I could make a small basin with a beginner’s level of Earth-Shaping, then how couldn’t someone like you easily get at it yourself?” Then I add another question which had occurred to me earlier. “And how, if only Tier fives are able to absorb Pure Energy without an issue, are Raven’s eggs able to absorb it? They can’t be Tier five, surely?”

If I am completely honest with you, Markus Wolfe, I do not know the answers to your questions, Kalanthia admits. All I know is that I have never been able to sense one of these streams myself and that if the beasts from the valley below could access undiluted Pure Energy, they would do so. Which indicates to me that either they cannot do as you suggest, or they do not, for whatever reason. If it is the latter, I am not any more reassured about the wisdom of making a den anywhere near an open Pure Energy stream.

“Why’s that?” I frown, not following her logic.

Because, answers the nunda grimly, if those beasts have made an agreement not to access the Pure Energy stream directly for some reason, I highly doubt that they would permit anyone else to do so either.

I abruptly see what she means.

“And if someone else does it, they would all descend on that person like a pile of bricks,” I conclude.

Precisely.

I sigh and sit down, leaning back on my hands to stare at the dark sky above. If not for Aingeal still lighting my immediate area, I wouldn’t be able to see anything – neither of the moons has risen yet.

“Nothing seems to have come to investigate,” I say hopefully. “Raven indicated that he kept a careful eye after the explosion to see if anything had been alerted, but it all remained quiet.”

If the more stealth-inclined high-tier Beasts wished to remain hidden, even an Enlightened Beast such as the one you refer to wouldn’t realise they were present. They could have come to investigate and then returned to make plans with the other Beasts in the lake.

“Do you think that’s likely?” I ask, more than a little concerned by the possibility. Kalanthia hesitates.

No, not really, she admits. There are not many Beasts who succeed in four Evolutions and they are all highly combat-capable. They also do not think in time spans as even I do, let alone a human with your fleeting lives. I suspect that if such a Beast had come, it would have most likely attacked immediately to gain control of the area and kill the instigator – which would have resulted in this ‘Raven’ dying, leading to an immensely powerful Beast taking up residence in the tunnels. If it instead decided to return to the foot of the valley to discuss with the others of its level, they will probably still be locked in deliberations for another few years. What is time when their lifespan is measured in millennia?

That…I hadn’t considered that a creature could live for so long. From what I gathered from the System knowledge stone I received all that time ago, a high level human’s life can be extended to a few hundred years, but certainly nothing over a thousand, let alone multiple millennia. But in a way, that’s irrelevant to the matter at hand.

“So, essentially, it’s possible that a Tier five might have noticed the Energy, but it doesn’t seem likely since there hasn’t been any sort of action. Or the action hasn’t been taken yet, but probably won’t be for a while. So we should be fine to make that area a den, right?”

Even if they haven’t yet discovered the open Pure energy stream, that means nothing: they may discover it at any time. Pure Energy has a signature to it that even your Raven was able to sense while flying above the crack. Perhaps the signature simply hasn’t drifted far down enough into the valley for the powerful monarchs to notice it – yet.

“Well, that’s what Raven was using the vine-stranglers for. And one reason I’m allowing some of them to live,” I tell her logically.

Such a small group of vine-stranglers will not be able to hide such an amount of Pure Energy, Kalanthia warns.

“Then we’ll find another way of hiding it,” I tell her with as much patience as I can. We need to find a way of returning the area to how it was previously, anyway for the quest. I can understand Kalanthia’s reticence, but at the same time, I really want to do this.

I was alarmed at her suggestion that a Tier five might suddenly attack us – considering how much difficulty we had with a mere Tier three, I’m certain a Tier five would be able to swat us like flies. But since it seems likely that the Tier fives either haven’t noticed what’s happened, or haven’t yet got around to dealing with it if they have, I figure that I might as well try to take advantage of this massive opportunity for growth – both mine and the samurans’.

“Look,” I start again. “Do you have any reason to think that this is a bad idea other than possibilities? Any instincts telling you ‘no’? Any reasons why you wouldn’t want to be near Pure Energy for your own benefit?”

She hesitates.

No, the nunda admits finally. Being able to absorb the Energy near a Pure Energy source, along with hunting and careful internal work…. I might even be able to break through to the next stage by th time Lathani reaches adulthood.

“Then let’s see what we can do together to make it as safe as possible, while still giving us all lots of opportunities for growth,” I persuade her. “Think about how much more quickly Lathani might be able to increase in power too,” I wheedle, going for the soft spots. If the glare she fixes on me is any indication, she knows exactly what I’m doing.

Lathani definitely does not need an overload of Pure Energy at this point – her channels are in enough of a mess, I hope I do not need to remind you, she warns, but the tone is half-hearted. I grin cheekily at her, daring to edge close enough to start rubbing behind her ear and at her jawline. She rumbles with pleasure at my touch, pushing into my hands almost hard enough to send me falling over.

The conversation pauses for a moment as we just enjoy a little bit of physical contact. Lathani approves, if the feelings across the Bond are any indication, though she does express disgruntlement over the fact that she’s not being stroked as well. I shift around so that I can reach her head as well, and start stroking two different nundas with a hand for each.

My stomach gurgles, reminding me that I haven’t eaten since our last pause at midday or so, and that I’ve done a lot of exercise since then. My body seems able to go longer on less nutrition these days, but I still need to eat.

“So, will you come down with us?” I ask, pulling away from both nundas.

Please, mother? Lathani enters the conversation, projecting her mental voice to Kalanthia, but an echo comes down our Bond too. It would be good to have you closer to us. To me.

I sense more than see the softening of Kalanthia’s resolve.

I will come to see the area for myself, she allows. If there is a way to disguise the Pure Energy signature and there are no indications that any powerful Beast has discovered it, I will consider remaining.

“Good,” I say, not trying to hide my pleasure at her decision. I hadn’t realised just how much I’d missed her until I saw her again. “But if you do come down, we’ll need to discuss the samurans in more detail so neither of you start trying to attack each other.”

We can discuss it tomorrow, Kalanthia decides. I presume you are not intending on going back down there immediately.

“No, definitely not tomorrow. We all need to rest a little from the march up. But I expect us to travel down the day after tomorrow, unless something has come up with my Bound that I’m not aware about. Speaking of that, is there anything you think I need to know?”

The nunda huffs, shifting her head nonchalantly.

Not especially. Your Bound have been coming and going, hunting frequently. The two Evolved Beasts have been keeping the group organised, though the female has remained in your alcove for the last few days – she laid her eggs and has been guarding them since, giving orders to her mate from inside. Your herbivores have been joining the hunting groups, though I know not whether they’ve actually been going on hunts or just eating under the guard of your carnivores. The cubs have grown significantly, though I suspect that you have seen that. Otherwise, it’s been quiet without you here.

The last is said with a wry sense of humour which makes a slight smile come to my face in response.

“Alright, thanks,” I say to her. “I’ll go chat with them all now.”

I’d advise not disrupting the female in your alcove – she has been increasingly grumpy recently, Kalanthia warns.

“Thanks,” I sigh. Well, I guess I’ll be sleeping in the other cave tonight, then.