I decided it best to avoid walking into the outpost with this many people and made sure to avoid the snowy mountains since it was too dangerous. Furthermore, I didn’t want to equip everyone with the battle gear from my ring. 

After all, I wanted them to grow stronger and not rely heavily on the effects of items. There was no need to consider the transportation of monster parts since everything could easily fit within my ring. We had a huge list of beast cores to gather. I wanted enough for everyone to absorb power until they couldn't anymore.

I brought Nathan along even though he was nowhere near ready to be out here. I wanted to test his ability of magic transfer to see if it would work against monsters. He was to stay by my side at all times to be extra safe and careful. 

Alexa chose to stay behind as there were still many logistical issues to handle for our home. Eris and Rhea tagged along though and I was grateful for the help. I sort of needed Eris here. She acted as the healer and defender by means of ensuring no one ended up dead.

Rhea took the lead as she transformed into an enormous furry blue bear. On all fours, her height was just below the top of my head. We never sparred since I figured she was strong enough after asking if she could come along. It was the first time I’d seen her transform into an animal and I was looking forward to seeing her fighting potential.

I didn’t have to wait long as her heightened bear senses picked up the odor of something out of place. At about the same time I had noticed it too. The bipedal creature was gorging on its prey. Its size tripled Rhea’s and it perked up as we approached.

Aggressive roaring acted as a shockwave to disorient our sense of sound. Its large tail crashed into a tree as it swung around to confront us. The large protruding barbs on its tail shattered trees like they were twigs being stepped on. Rhea avoided its charge, narrowly dodging its overbiting fangs from sinking into her.

So far there was no sign of magic. I prayed for another non-attribute core but frowned after watching an ice spike erupt from the ground at the location Rhea dodged to. The spike managed to pierce her thick hide while toppling her over.

Nathan stepped forward to drain magic from the monster. I rushed to Rhea’s side and placed my hand along her trembling body. I snapped the ice with my hand and asked if she was able to shift back so that I could take her to Eris. She nodded her head and communicated via ring. “It will worsen if I shift while injured. Pull out the shard please.”

The cold shard stuck to my skin as I pulled it out in one swift motion. I crushed the shard by squeezing my fist tightly. There wasn’t that much blood so I figured it barely penetrated her hide. I helped stabilize getting her up. The wound closed soon after, a perk of being able to morph. The speed of recovery was nothing like Eris’s cheat magic, but enough to mitigate the damage.

Eris led everyone in battle, giving orders to stay spread out and attack as Nathan weakened it. For it being their first time working together, their teamwork was impressive. They had the monster backpedaling from pain only to hit a barrier preventing its escape. The continued bombardment of magic ended once the beast laid lifeless across the ground.

Everyone worked on harvesting materials. It really sped up the pace of things, having a large group at your disposal.

“Rhea, do you need to be healed?” Eris asked as Rhea transformed back into human form.

“No, it’s not that bad. Save your magic.” Rhea gave thanks as she slid her fingers across the subtle scar.

Eventually, I’d like us to continue hunting immediately after each kill. Leaving behind the bare minimum personnel to handle lookout and harvest duty. For now, it was best to take things slow as I helped with the storing of parts. Everything entered my storage ring.

As the day went on, everyone became more comfortable at predicting each other’s movements. It was amazing progress, one that I was extremely happy with. Nathan had proven very useful as a debuffer, even if he didn’t take advantage of gaining additional magic. 

Rhea’s nerves seemed to remedy themselves after the first encounter. She successfully diverted the monster’s attention onto her allowing others the time to set up for an attack.

Light bled through the clouds creating a beautiful sunset. Eight hours had passed since we started and through the five of actual combat, we managed to get a good haul. It was much easier to spread out into three smaller groups to encircle and trap any monsters within our human net. 

Rhea and Eris each led a group with Nathan remaining in mine. I had our members circulate throughout the groups to give them hands-on training to help improve their skills.

I noticed how traveling on foot became an issue. We were wasting precious time, traveling between hunting grounds. One of the issues I’d have to bring up with Alexa and the others. It was also a good idea to delve further out since the density of monsters increased in correlation to distance from civilization.

I ordered Rhea to head back home with everyone as Eris and I wanted to stop by the outpost. Perhaps we could find some intel on any strange sightings or job requests posted on the bulletin board.

Volatis

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