A mass of Darkness Essence was headed right for him, and judging by the density of the Essence in its core, he knew it was at least comparable in strength to a Yellow-Belt level Martial Artist. Beasts, like Martial Artists, had cores and could cultivate. Given enough time, they could develop human-like intelligence, but it would take them millennia to do so.
That didn’t help Roy out of his current predicament. He was about to face a Beast far above his level and ability to defeat. This was not to mention that he had practically nothing in his core. He was far enough away from the Shah village that Beasts would frequent the area, even during the day, but he hadn’t been expecting to run into one this powerful. Most of the Beasts in the area should only have been White, maybe 1st Dan White, but Yellow?
“Oh, good. Ferry is here.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me it was her?” Roy yelled, “I was terrified that I was going to have to face some monstrous Beast on my own!”
He felt his fears melt away, however. Sure enough, the massive ferret burst through the surrounding foliage just a moment later.
“There’s no need to shout. In case you’re forgetting, my fate is tied to yours now. If you die, so do I.”
Roy came up short as the ferret walked over to him, bumping her shoulder against his and rubbing herself up against him.
“I suppose I’d never thought of that,” Roy replied, scratching absent-mindedly at the ferret’s ears. “I just assumed that if I died, you could just go back to being a Dungeon core.”
“Afraid not,” Geon replied as Ferry’s tail began thumping noisily against the ground. “I’ve become part of you, and when a Martial Artist dies, so does their core.”
“But don’t Beast cores survive when the Beast is killed?” Roy asked as he scratched her ears a bit harder, and reached under the ferret's chin to scratch there as well.
“While Beasts and humans both have cores, their advancement is fundamentally different. I won’t go into the specifics, but let’s just say that a Beast has no soul. So when it dies, the core sticks around. Humans, on the other hand, do have souls, so when they die, their cores vanish along with them.”
Roy nodded along as Geon spoke. He’d always heard talk of the soul but hadn’t been entirely sure what it was. He still wasn’t, but he doubted the Dungeon core could explain it to him any better.
“So, what should we do now? The Crater can’t be our only option. There has to be something closer I can use to cultivate. Also, what will I do about food and water? You might be fine without it, but I’ll need it to survive.”
“I knew you squishy humans couldn’t survive without a constant intake of sustenance. It’s a glaring flaw in your design. Why can’t you be more like Ferry? All she needs to survive is a supply of Darkness Essence.”
Geon sighed theatrically, but Roy just rolled his eyes.
“You were saying?”
“Right. Right. I sent Ferry to…ahem… acquire some supplies.”
As though hearing Geon’s voice, Ferry pulled away from Roy’s scratching fingers and lowered herself to the ground. On her back, he could see a bundle wrapped in a cloth sack. That piqued Roy’s interest. Not the fact that the ferret had stolen the supplies, but the fact that it had been leashed to her back.
“How did she manage to get this stuff?” Roy asked, heading over to the pack and untying it.
Inside, he found a small cooking pot, as well as a pair of ceramic mugs. There were parcels of rice, tea leaves, meat and other dry foodstuffs for the road. There were also two canteens, one filled with water and the other, cold tea. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way a Beast could have managed this all on her own.
“We may have had a little help from an old man in the Shah clan. I think his name was Shopa? Hopa? It was definitely something with a ‘pa’ sound.”
“Elder Shota?” Roy asked, disbelief tinging his question.
“No, the name definitely had a ‘pa’ sound. Either way, I sent Ferry just to grab what she could, but old man Pa somehow found her. He seemed to know what she was doing there, too, and he had collected the sack in advance. He tied it to her back and sent her on her way.”
Roy had no idea how elder Shota could have known he would be leaving, let alone that a giant ferret was there to gather food for him. The entire thing reeked of someone working in the background. Perhaps that strange man he’d met during his trial?
Sighing to himself, Roy tied the bundle up once more, but not before removing one of the canteens, the one filled with tea, as well as a few pieces of dried meat. If this mysterious man really was involved, there was nothing he could do about it. He was only a White-Belt, and one who only had twenty-nine days left to live, at that. Unless he advanced before then, that was.
“There is a village about three day’s ride from here, under the control of the Diadei clan. There’s also a Dungeon that they haven’t discovered nearby. If you point it out to them, they’ll pay you a finder’s fee. It’ll also be a good opportunity for you to gain some combat experience. I’m not sure what type of Dungeon it is, but you may find something to help you cultivate inside.”
“That sounds a whole lot better than The Crater,” Roy replied with a relieved smile.
“I’d still recommend we head for The Crater. While it is dangerous, it will likely be your best chance at growing stronger. Remember, we both have goals to accomplish. The sooner you advance, the sooner you’ll be able to have your revenge.”
Roy felt his resolve firm up at that. He’d lived his entire life in fear, and now he’d been given a second chance. If The Crater was truly the best option he had, he wouldn’t shrink away from going there, even if the prospect terrified him.
“Fine, but we’re heading for this Dungeon first. I doubt we can reach The Crater before my time to advance runs out, so we’ll need a closer source of Power Essence. That village you mentioned might even have some for sale.”
The Shah clan had several different types of Essence that they traded with the other clans for Water Essence. He’d only ever seen six of the eight types, and that was why he’d never heard of Power or Weakness essence before the trial.
“A solid plan. I’d rather you stay alive as well. It would be unfortunate if I died just thirty days after I gained my freedom. Now, all you need to do is climb on Ferry’s back. She’ll get us there way faster than you can on foot. Plus, she won’t tire as easily.”
Roy eyed the Beast skeptically. He knew that it wasn’t uncommon for Martial Artists to ride Beasts. The Shah clan owned several, and she was definitely large enough to ride, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. What if she didn’t like him climbing on her back and decided to eat him instead?
“Don’t worry so much. Ferry has already agreed to carry you. Now stop being such a coward and get on her back.”
“Wait. You can talk to her? Can I talk to her too?”
“You can talk to her all you’d like. She just won’t understand you. The reason I can talk to her is that we still share a connection.”
Roy still eyed the Beast skeptically, but slowly approached her side. Ferry had sprawled out on the ground, lying flat on her belly so as to give him easy access. He still watched her warily as he placed a palm on her back, right behind her shoulder blades.
“Oh, for the love of Essence, just get on already!” Geon shouted, causing Roy to jump.
Tamping down on his annoyance with the Dungeon core, Roy attempted to mount the Beast. It was extremely awkward, as he’d never ridden anything before, but after a few moments of wiggling around, he finally got himself situated right behind her shoulders. He could feel the pack pressing into his back, and felt glad for the stability it offered him.