Chapter 51: The checklist

It hadn’t even been that long since Kanan became the Village Shaman, and he was already thrown into a world of chaos.

Protecting his home from rival tribes was what he expected, what he was training for, and what the wall was for. Monsters, on the other hand, were not something he expected to deal with.

Still, it was all a part of the job, and he would continue to defend his home no matter what. Therefore, he spent a whole two weeks working with Igor and his apprentices at the smithy to refine weapons and create some new ones.

Every sword, shield, bow and arrows, spear, staff, axe, knife, and dagger was better, sharper, and more durable than before: stone and bronze. He even started looking into making armor.

The warriors, guards, and hunters thanked him, some even gifting him with fruits, animal hides, meat, or their daughters.

He had also begun working on a standardized training and workout regimen, but without anything concrete to implement yet, he decided to put it on hold for the time being.

Farming, both crops and livestock, was doing well. Mining was coming along more smoothly than ever after Kanan improved their tools. And the large wall that was currently being constructed was moving along according to the timetable they had to work with.

Everything was moving well, and Kanan was at the center of most of it, to a degree.

"Iron is extremely important and crucial to the next step in a civilization’s evolution. I checked the mine currently in use, yet there is none there. I’m no expert, but Iron is more abundant than tin and copper."

The system had a catalogue of basic ores and other minerals that were commonly found all around. So when he explored the mines and wasn’t pinged by the system, he knew that there wasn’t any present.

"The mountains will be a good place to search. There could be a whole deposit there. Unfortunately, it’s too cold to explore right now, and we don’t have the proper equipment to mine up there. We’ll have to put that off for later as well."

After going over everything on his checklist, Kanan decided to head to the southern part of the mountains where the monsters constantly attacked.

Looking at spiritual animals didn’t really hit him the same anymore. They had always been considered monsters in his eyes. Now, they looked like house pets with the zoomies.

"Everything okay? You’ve been working extremely hard for the past two weeks. You should get some sleep." Nala chuckled as she saw Kanan approach.

He had bags under his eyes from overworking and yawned a few times before reaching her.

"I’ll be fine. Just doing my duty."

"Speaking of duty, have you undergone the second Breeding Ceremony?"

"Not yet." He shook his head. "That takes place in two days."

"I see. Well, you’d better rest up for it."

"Heh, doesn’t matter. My blessing makes it so that when I mate, all my energy comes back."

That was information Nala had no idea about. It made her wonder if he could mate indefinitely. She shook off the thought after thinking about it for a bit.

"Have you come to help the warriors again today?"

"Yes. They are the linchpin of our current survival. I want to ensure that they are able to get through this with as few deaths and injuries as possible."

Nala was so proud of Kanan’s growth. Just a few months ago, he was a young boy who wanted to prove himself. Now, he was already a man bearing the responsibilities of their whole tribe.

Of course, he wasn’t alone, but the responsibility was hard nonetheless.

"Hmm? What’s that?" Kanan enhanced his eyes with spirit energy, allowing him to see further and more clearly than normal, something he developed after assimilating with his past life.

"What’s wrong? Do we need to go over there?"

"I think so."

Without wasting any more time, Nala grabbed Kanan’s arm and warped close to the battle.

Instantly, she wiped out over half of the monsters by tearing the space around their bodies, but it left her a bit winded, as it took a lot of energy and concentration.

The warriors were able to gather around and regroup, reforming their defensive line to hold the monsters back.

"Quickly! We need to get him to a healer!" A warrior shouted

Kanan and Nala rushed over to the fallen warrior, wondering what was wrong with him.

"How is his situation?" Nala demanded to know. She saw green lines that weren’t veins climb up the warrior’s body.

"W-We won’t know, Elder Nala. He got scratched by one of the monsters, but it wasn’t a fatal wound or anything. It wasn’t until now, hours later, when he suddenly collapsed and these green markings appeared.

"Let me see." Kanan knelt and wrapped his finger in spirit energy before touching the man’s arm.

’System, anything?’

[Negative.]

’You don’t know what this is? But you know what everything is!’

[The system doesn’t know what it doesn’t know. Take a blood sample.]

Kanan was thankful that the man was riddled with scars, but he purposely swabbed blood from the nose just to make sure it wasn’t the blood of someone else.

’Anything?’

[A biological attack.]

’A biological attack? Like a living being?’

[Affirmative. As for what is attacking the male, the system has no knowledge of it. However, it appears to be flora-based.]

"A plant?" Kanan blurted

"A plant? What does a plant have to do with this?" Nala asked

"Huh? O-Oh, well, I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but whatever is going on seems to be because of an infection from a plant. As for what plant, I have no idea. Maybe Healer Yala will know."

Nala nodded. "Understood. Get this man to Yala, quickly! We need to understand what is going on with him."

"LOOK OUT!"

One four-armed monster managed to leap over the defensive line and nearly bit off the head of a warrior, but Kanan reacted in time, a blade of spirit energy extending from his arm and piercing the monster in the heart.

Looking at the monster, then at his system, Kanan asked. "I’d like to study these monsters if you don’t mind. Would that be okay?"