Chapter 44: Vantage Point

The dust cleared, and the battle finally came to an end. Everyone was panting heavily, staring at the corpse of the Ape to ensure that it didn’t suddenly come back to life to get revenge.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and they were able to rest easy.

"Phew! Man, that was a tough battle! Who would have thought the Ape was a mutant?" Terin floated to the ground, sweat beading on his face as he caught his breath.

All of them were in rough shape and had sustained some injuries, minor or not. Kanan, out of all of them, had the worst injuries. A few broken ribs, a sprained wrist, a dislocated shoulder, and a bone fracture in that same arm.

When he was struck by the ape, he protected his back with a powerful veil of spirit energy. It was only thanks to his quick thinking that he wasn’t turned into meat paste on the mountainside.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked while trying to stand up. Blood was dripping from his arm, and his mouth tasted like pure iron. He spat out blood, but collapsed as he was too tired to move any further.

"Kanan, take it easy, okay? You were hurt the most." Alue arrived with some quick first aid. He bandaged Kanan’s arm, had him drink a tonic to ease his pain, and cleaned his wound so it wouldn’t get infected.

"Thanks."

"It’s nothing. I’m just glad everyone is alive."

Lopis walked over to Kanan and tapped his shoulder. She nodded, a subtle thanks for catching her, then went over to Fera and Reda.

"Anyone hungry? I’m hungry. I can eat a whole cow!" Terin shouted.

"Shut up, Terin." Reda threw a rock at him, which he easily deflected. "The last thing I need to hear is you yelling while my head is throbbing."

"Just trying to lighten the mood, that’s all."

"Well, you’re making me lightheaded."

"We’ll rest for an hour before trekking down the mountain. We need to make it back to the village before nightfall." Kanan spoke, grunting from pain.

"You sure an hour is all you need?" Terin wondered

"I’ll manage."

---

Kanan did not manage one bit. Each time he took a step, it felt like a spear was stabbing him in the lung, making it hard to breathe.

He tried acting tough, saying that he was fine, but they all knew otherwise. Reda decided that she would teleport Kanan until they made it back to the village. Since she couldn’t teleport long distances, she moved in short bursts, waited for the others, then teleported again.

"Wait. Do you see that?" Kanan spoke, looking down from the mountainside.

"See what?" Reda asked

"We can see the forest from below and see the surrounding area. That’s the river over there, and that’s the northern plains. Look, our village is right there, and the Typhon Tribe is over there!"

Reda gazed below, and she saw it too. Everything was out in the open, appearing so close, yet she knew that there was a good distance between each location Kanan had spoken of.

"Amazing." She said in awe

"Amazing, sure, but do you know what this means?"

"Huh? This means something?"

"If we build a base up here, then we will have the perfect vantage point. The land here is flat; we’re more on the hill part of the mountain. We’re not too far up to where the air becomes thin, and the rocks become loose. It’s perfect!"

"I can see what you mean. The Typhon tribe will have a hard time invading us if we can see them from a distance."

"Exactly. Coupled with someone like you with teleportation powers. Then our information exchange will be really good. I have to speak to the chief about this."

Reda smiled and couldn’t help but give Kanan a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"I-I don’t know. I just thought you were cute."

"Thanks."

"Say, when you start your task, do you think I can mate with you too?"

"Sure, but wouldn’t you want to become a warrior first?"

Her eyes widened. "Right! I also wish to find a mate. I’ll do those things first, then we can mate together."

"Sounds good." The sheer thought of women being okay mating with him regardless of having a mate turned Kanan on. It was that otherworldly side to him that crept into his mind.

---

It was nearing evening when they finally returned to the village, Fera carrying the corpse of the Ape in a barrier.

"Oh, you’re back! I was getting a group of warriors ready to make sure you all were okay." Selin’s face, full of worry, softened when she saw them return safely. "What took you so long? All of the other teams finished already."

"Well, it’s a long story. We found a monster, but it turned out to be a Mutant Ape with the powers of three other monsters. We assume it ate their hearts to steal the power. It took a bit, but thanks to my strategic planning and amazing power, we killed it." Terin stood with pride.

"Kanan killed it, didn’t he?" Selin asked

"Yeah, Kanan killed it."

Kanan used his staff to stand up straight, no longer leaning on Reda for support. "It was a team effort. We couldn’t have done it without each other. But can I go see Healer Yala? My body is killing me."

"Oh, dear! Yes, come on!"

Selin grabbed Kanan and rushed him to Yala’s healing hut. There weren’t many people there, so Kanan was able to go in without any hassle.

"Kanan? You’re hurt." Yala rushed to his side and directed him to a mat to lie on.

"Heh, yup. My injuries might not cover our previous transaction. So, I’ll make sure to hunt you a nice boar in a few days."

"Don’t worry about that. You’re the Village Shaman now; I can’t demand payment."

"No, I will repay you. Hard work needs payMENTTTTTTT!" Yala had relocated Kanan’s shoulder without warning.