Chapter 52: Monster Registration

Kanan fought alongside the warriors to clear them out, with Nala joining to protect Kanan in case anything happened to him.

She didn’t condone him risking his life, but the effect it had on the warriors wasn’t something she could overlook.

Not only was his power enhancing all of them, but their battle spirit ignited to an all-time high. Their one and only Village Shaman, a role more important than the Elders and Chief, was fighting alongside them. The honor they felt was immense.

The monsters came pouring down the mountain in a wave of claws, teeth, and twisted limbs.

A clawed creature lunged at the nearest warrior, only for him to duck and bury his weapon straight through its chest. Another warrior spun beneath a creature with six arms, cutting through three of them before finishing it with a strike to the neck.

Kanan raised his staff. A beam of spirit energy tore through the horde, blasting several eyeless beasts apart and sending others tumbling across the ground.

Above them, winged monsters descended from the sky. The warriors met them head-on, cutting them down before they could even reach the ground, with Nala taking out most of them with her blessing.

One massive beast charged through the chaos, its mouth splitting vertically across its face. Kanan stepped forward. His bronze staff transformed into a long blade of concentrated spirit energy. And with one swing, the monster fell.

The slaughter continued until the last creatures were cut down. Once the wave of monsters was taken care of, everyone was able to rest, as no more would be returning for a while.

"Hahaha! What a great battle!"

"A great battle indeed!"

"Shaman Kanan! It was an honor to fight beside you!"

"Your skills are very impressive for someone who just had their blessing not too long ago. The gods truly blessed you."

"Thank you, warriors. And it is an honor to fight beside you all as well. To stand side by side with the men and women who protect our tribe brings joy to my chest. I cannot wait to do this again."

"Yeahhh!"

"You did good." Nala smiled.

"Thank you."

There were dead bodies littered around the land, blood oozing out of the monsters, some still twitching, while others fell from piles.

Touching one of them, Kanan asked the system if it could register it in its database.

[Registering Monster...Name cannot be determined. Image will be used instead.]

’Good enough for me.’ Kanan went around, touching all of the monsters with distinct features, totaling up to 20 different types of monsters.

[Refreshing Categories. Monsters -> Beasts. Animals with spirit energy will now be classified as Beasts. Creatures that were just registered will now be classified as Monsters.]

’Do you have that flora data from the warrior in your memory?’

[Affirmative.]

’Can you scan or something to see if there are any other monsters with the same data?’

[Spread spirit energy throughout the land.]

Kanan understood what the system meant. It, in itself, could not scan the area to determine whether a monster had that same infection. Kanan could, however, and the system would use his ability to determine where the creature was.

[Walk fifty steps forward, then turn left. Walk ten steps, then stop. The creature will be there.]

Doing as the system said, Kanan walked fifty steps, turned left, then walked another ten steps until he was face to face with one of those flying monsters with bat wings on its back.

It had two hands with razor-sharp talons and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, a creature that looked as if it came from the underworld.

"What are you looking at?" Nala asked

"This is the monster that scratched the monster. It has the same infection."

"Does it really?"

"Yes. Take a look at its arms. There are the same green lines as on the warrior. However, this is different."

Nala bent down to see what was different about the monster compared to the warrior

"What’s different?" She wondered

"Look at its injuries." Kanan pointed out.

"Nothing fatal." Nala noticed.

"Exactly. Cuts and bruises, but nothing fatal. It’s not even enough to bleed out. There are no burn marks or any sign of spirit energy being used to kill this monster. And take a look at its body; it’s shriveled up, as if its life got sucked out of it."

Nala scratched her head, trying to think of anyone capable of draining the life force from living beings through the power of nature, but no one came to mind.

She looked at Kanan, then opened her mouth to speak. "Do you think one of our warriors did it?"

"No, that wouldn’t make any sense. Why attack our own when we’re already fighting for our lives, you know?"

Nala agreed. She just wanted to hear Kanan’s thought process.

"It could be a plant-based monster." Nala theorized.

"Creatures like those exist?"

She nodded. "But they usually live beyond the mountain. The things out there are not to be messed with. Even something as simple as a frog is extremely dangerous. I’ve been out there once, when I was a bit younger."

"Beyond this hole?"

"That’s right. It was the final attempt to understand what lived beyond the mountain. Younger warriors weren’t allowed to participate, but I was so exceptional that I joined the team. Over 100 warriors left. 25 made it back."

That put into perspective how dangerous the world was beyond the mountain.

Wrapping spirit energy around his hand, Kanan picked up the monster, only for its belly to open and a flower to dangle out of it, with parts of its guts spilling out as well.

"Eughh!" He quickly dropped it, then kicked the monster onto its back to see what was going on with it.

"Is that a flower coming out of its belly?" Nala asked

"Looks like it. Maybe whatever attacked the monster is plant-based. But look at the flower; it’s dead, wilting."

Nala’s eyes widened in horror. "It spread its seed."

"Like pollination?"

"Yes. And the warrior who got scratched is its next victim. Let’s hurry back to see if he’s okay!"

"Right."