Chapter 96: Developing Camp (2)
"Come out," Lucius called out, hearing something moving within the bushes after having walked for a good distance within the perimeter of the camp.
"Captain?" A familiar voice called out in reply. It was Alpha's right hand.
"Ah, so it was you guys. We need to work on your stealth, all that noise, if I was a hunter I would've been feasting on you by now," he said as several leaflings came out of hiding.
"Noise? I'm certain we didn't make so much as a sound," one of the leaflings murmured.
"Captain, you've... evolved?" Alpha's right hand asked, staring at Lucius.
"My mission was a success. I take it you've seen the changes in Pagan as well," Lucius replied as he walked towards the camp with them following behind.
"Ah, so that was you're doing, Captain?"
"Yes, yes. And soon the whole commune will be like that," he said, the camp finally coming into view.
"How have the leaflings been doing? Anything happen while I was away?" Lucius asked.
"Ahem," one of the leaflings in the watch division coughed, before turning to look at Alpha's right hand.
"What? Did something happen?" Lucius asked again, walking even quicker than before to see if the pods were okay.
"Ghost's pod seemed to be attracting a lot of hunters. Not to mention all the meat that Pagan has been bringing back," she explained.
~Ugh, Pagan,~ Lucius thought inwardly.
"So what's the damage?" he asked, preparing himself to hear of the causalities.
"None. Pagan took care of all the threats. Along with early warnings from the patroles we've been doing, the threats never made it past the perimeter," she explained.
"Hmm, well done. Run me down all the enemies that were defeated," Lucius said as he opened the cottage where Alpha and Hannibal's pods were being stored.
"Three of those... worms I think you called them. Four webbed-ones, and two ground walkers," she said, trying her best to remember them all.
"Ground walkers?" Lucius asked, walking into the cottage. It was a tight squeeze getting through the door, and he even had to try and make himself a little smaller so as to not take up so much space inside the building.
"Asclepius called them that. They were the hardest to deal with because we couldn't see them. The only reason we noticed them was because Pagan said he could 'sense' something in the ground," she explained as Lucius stared at the pods.
"Earth sense," he whispered in reply. ~So it seems it's something that everyone will have. Good,~ he thought to himself before touching Hannibal's pod.
~They should be ready by now.~ Just as he was thinking that, he was transferred to the white void. He now felt a lot more comfortable in this place, it didn't feel as foreign as all the previous times.
[100,000 Helios is required to complete evolution.]
[Accept] [Decline]
~Ah, I'll need to have a session before I can do this,~ Lucius realized before declining. He was then promptly thrown out of the void.
"Is Alpha's evolution not complete?" one of the leaflings in the watch division asked.
"It's complete, there's just something I have to do first," Lucius replied, before quickly walking out of the cottage as if just now remembering something.
"Where are all the leaflings?"
"They're watching Pagan perform magic," Alpha's right hand answered. Upon Lucius's request they directed him toward where Pagan was training.
As they got closer to the location, Lucius could sense something approaching him, and based on its vibrations he could tell it was a sizeable threat.
"Everyone get back," he warned, quickly circulating radiant energy through his vessels. He was still not a 100 percent healed from his fight in the maze, but he was certain if he ended it quickly he would not sustain that much damage.
"Pagan?" Lucius asked, asked Pagan ran out of a shrub, rushing towards him with his crux already out.
"Lighted One?" Pagan replied, a solar burst already emanating from his crux. However, as if time were being reversed, the explosive pulse was being recalled.
~Reversing a spell?~ Lucius thought, recalling the radiant cowl he had activated to protect himself from the explosion.
"I sensed something big and thought it was an enemy approaching," Pagan explained, before bowing in front of Lucius.
"Is it the Lighted One?" whispered one of the shrubs behind Pagan, before the leaflings came tumbling out.
"You grew bigger," one of the leaflings noted as they slowly approached Lucius.
"And he has teeth just like Pagan's," another noted, prompting Lucius to inspect Pagan.
It seemed Pagan's major changes were limited to his teeth, and he most probably had grown claws as well. He hadn't grown a tail, nor did he seem to have any horns sprouting out. Though Lucius also noticed that the pentagonal patterns on his skin had changed to octagonal ones, a minor detail.
"Lighted One, what is that strange magic? It doesn't feel like the solar crux," Pagan asked, as he stood up.
~Forgot to turn it off,~ Lucius thought to himself, before answering.
"I'll explain that later, but first let's get back to the camp. Ah... do you have meat left over from your hunts?" Lucius asked as he was about to turn around.
"I've stored it on top of a tree on Asclepius's request. He said it would attract hunters, but to be honest, I'd rather welcome them," Pagan answered, to which Lucius replied with an annoyed glare.
"Be careful how you speak, Pagan. Admitting to wanting to put the lives of the leaflings in danger in front of me isn't in your best interest," Lucius warned, before asking Pagan to lead the way toward the food.
"The Captain's sort of different, don't you think?" one of the leaflings whispered to another. Though Lucius was certain that it was just a whisper, he could hear it clear as day.
~My sense of hearing must've improved drastically,~ he realized, as he could hear the river's water gushing even though they were quite a distance away from it.
"Here it is," Pagan said once they got to the spot, before quickly hopping up the tree and retrieving the stash.
~Hmm, his agility seems to have increased quite a bit for him to be moving up trees this confidently,~ Lucius thought to himself, before pulling out Pagan's stats.
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─────⋅☾ Creature Details ☽⋅─────•
[Pagan Elwood ]
[Level 5: 50/500]
[Leaf Being [Photosynthesis Variation] lvl.3- [100/300]]
─────⋅☾ Stats ☽⋅─────•
[Agility: 130]
[Strength: 51]
[Stamina: 40]
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