With the threat finally dealt with, Courage heaved a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. Though mentally exhausted, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself—his first unexpected encounter, and he overcome it. He basked in this small triumph as he caught his breath.
When Kabuto returned to him, Courage immediately got up to tend to his beast. Despite its natural chitin armor, the beetle hadn't escaped unscathed—scratches covered its body from the swarm's assault. While none of the injuries seemed critical, Courage preferred not to let wounds accumulate untreated.
Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out:
. A vitality drop berry – A blood-red cherry-like fruit with swirling leaves on its stem, capable of healing minor injuries when consumed.
. A stamina potion– A vial of blue liquid that accelerated stamina recovery.
After feeding the berry to Kabuto and administering the potion, Courage sat back. These items were staples in any Beast Catalyser's toolkit—no one ventured out without them.
After resting for a while, Courage began collecting the spoils of battle—the carcasses of the bat beasts. Holding his lantern over one of the bodies, he finally got a proper look at the creatures.
The bats were half a meter in size each, with rough, matte-white fur and small, bright yellow eyes. Their most striking feature was their elongated, horse-like heads, with unusually flexible cheek flesh. Upon closer inspection, Courage realized these traits combined to form a natural megaphone structure.
"No wonder their sound-based illusions were so potent," he mused, poking at the cranial ridges that likely amplified their screeches.
Once satisfied with his examination, he started gathering the bodies. One by one, he stashed them in his [Squirrel Cheek Pouch], the boon easily accommodating the haul. However, during Kabuto's final attack, some bats had been knocked into the lake. Their shadowy forms floated just beneath the surface, visible in the lantern light.
"No point wasting good loot," he grumbled, rolling up his sleeves to fish out the waterlogged corpses. His companion's efforts shouldn't be squandered.
Courage decided to use his flail to fish out the bodies from the water. While he could've had Kabuto fly there and fetch them easily, he decided to let his companion continue resting—it had done enough. Besides, it was a good opportunity to practice more with his flail.
It took a couple of attempts at first for Courage to chain one of the bats' limbs, but once he did, all he had to do was pull them ashore and collect them. He did this three times before coming to the last carcass. With a swing of his flail, he chained his haul and began retrieving it like the rest.
Nothing seemed off—until near the last stretch. Just as Courage was about to fetch it, the water suddenly erupted with a large splash, and a beast burst from the lake.
"Oh shiiiii—" Courage cursed in the moment the beast revealed itself.
It was a massive silver crawfish the size of a van. The monstrosity leapt out of the water, grabbing the carcass of the last bat with one of its claws. As the crawfish lifted the bat carcass, Courage—who was still holding the flail chained to the carcass—was unexpectedly pulled up, unable to react fast enough to loosen his grip on the chain.
Courage was tossed into the air.
"Uagghh!" he screamed as he soared upward before beginning his plummet.
Not a second later, Kabuto rushed to his master's rescue. With a loud buzz, the beetle unfurled its wings and launched from the ground, intercepting Courage mid-air before gliding them both safely back down.
"Thanks, bud—WATCH OUT!"
Courage's gratitude was cut short as the crawfish monster attacked from behind with a vicious pincer strike. Kabuto, with Courage positioned behind him, couldn't dodge without exposing his master—forcing the beetle to tank the blow head-on.
CRACK!
The massive pincer clamped around Kabuto's body in a vice grip, the crawfish squeezing relentlessly to crush its prey. Though Kabuto resisted fiercely, the crushing force was overwhelming—even for its reinforced chitin.
Reacting instantly, Courage barked: "Kabuto—[All Out]! [Flux]—boost your defense!
Kabuto obeyed instantly, activating [All Out] to unleash 100% of its strength all at once while simultaneously using [Flux] to channel that power into reinforcing its carapace. Its chitin hardened under the strain, the sudden defensive boost allowing it to resist the crawfish's crushing grip. For a brutal moment, the two monsters locked in a contest of raw force—the crawfish's pincer trembling against Kabuto's reinforced body—until, with a final surge of effort, the beetle pried the pincer open and wrenched itself free, carapace gleaming with exertion.
Courage scrambled back to give Kabuto space as the two creatures squared off— with a frothing screech, the crawfish charged again. This time, Kabuto braced for impact, meeting its lunge head-on with a thunderous crash that shook the cavern. The monsters grappled violently, the crawfish's pincers snapping wildly as it tried to grab Kabuto's body again , but the beetle countered perfectly: four limbs locked around each crushing claw in a desperate hold, while its remaining two legs dug into the stone floor, carving grooves as it resisted being overpowered. The air filled with the screech of chitin grinding against chitin, neither combatant yielding an inch.
The situation didn't last long before Courage gave his next command. Kabuto activated [Flux] again, this time transferring most of its power to its limbs. With a sudden motion, it jerked the crawfish sideways, making it lose its balance. Once its footing was loose, Kabuto strengthened its grip and yanked hard—tossing the massive creature to the side with all its might.
The crawfish crashed into the cave wall violently, staggering from the impact. But that wasn't all—Courage noticed one of the crawfish's claws was now missing from its shoulder. Turning to Kabuto, he saw his beast still holding the severed claw in its arms.
"Wow."
Courage knew his beast was strong, but seeing it rip a limb clean off a monster that size with its bare hands? That was a whole new level.
His admiration was short-lived. The crawfish, now missing a pincer, scrambled back to its feet. Courage expected another charge, but instead, the creature retreated toward the lake. Kabuto rushed to stop it, but too late—with a splash, the beast was gone.
"Did it get scared after Kabuto ripped its arm off?"
Regrouping with his beetle, Courage eyed the dark water warily. Just how deep was this lake to hide something like that?
Breathing heavily, he and Kabuto kept their guard up, fearing what else might jump at them from the dark water
After a while with no further threats, Courage finally let himself relax.
"Okay, what the hell just happened?"
Running through the events, he pieced it together: the crawfish had likely been drawn by the bat carcasses in the water—that was its first target. But when it spotted bigger prey, it went for Kabuto instead.
"Heh. Accidentally fishing up a monster. Now that's a story to tell."
Deciding that this is enough excitement for one day. He scrambled up, scanning the area for anything they might've missed. The bat carcass was gone—either dragged off or eaten by the fleeing crawfish.
"Sucks to lose loot, but at least I got this claw," he muttered, stuffing the severed pincer into his [Squirrel Cheek Pouch]. "Better be worth something."
Without another word, he and Kabuto turned toward the cave exit—neither willing to test their luck further.
After several hours of travel, Courage finally returned to the safety of the Bastion. But before he could retreat to his shack and rest his aching body, he first made his way to the Trade Hall to unload his haul.
He emptied his pouch in the designated area, and a recipient began appraising his catch. First, she examined the bat carcasses, turning them over with practiced efficiency.
"Let's see… 22 Mirage Piper bats. Taking market value and public demand into account, they go for about 340 credits each. That's 7,480 credits total."
"Alright," Courage nodded, filing away their name for future reference.
Next, the recipient picked up the claw—a single, severed piece of a larger beast. Without a full carcass, identification was harder and naturally took longer, but after cross-referencing the database, she gasped.
"Is there a problem?" Courage asked.
"No, not at all, sir," she said, recovering from her surprise. "It's just… this claw belongs to a Silver Vice. They're rare, and their meat is a highly sought-after delicacy. Many are willing to pay a premium for it." She tapped a few more keys before looking up. "This single claw alone is worth 6,000 credits."
"Six thousand?" Courage nearly stiffened. That's almost as much as the entire swarm of bats—and this is just one claw!
"Tell me, sir—where did you find such a fine catch?" the recipient asked, her tone eager.
Courage hesitated only a fraction of a second before deflecting. He understood exactly what this discovery meant—and he wasn't about to throw away a golden goose so easily.
"Just got lucky," he said with a shrug, keeping his voice casual. "Right place, right time."
She eyed him skeptically but didn't press further.
As the credits transferred into his account, his mind raced. If one claw sells for 6,000… what would an entire Silver Vice be worth?
Courage eyes shone with a cha-ching as the thought sent a thrill through him. His exhaustion fading beneath the sharp edge of a possibly great opportunity.
With his business done, Courage made his way back home. But as he walked, he changed direction and entered a nearby tavern instead of going straight to his shack.
He thought to himself: Today was his first truly wild hunt. He overcome not one, but two unexpected situations, and ended the day with a hefty amount of cash. If all this wasn't worth a small celebration, then he didn't know what was. So he decided to spoil himself and eat out tonight.
Kabuto was recovering in his soul domain, so he didn't need to worry about his companion. For once, Courage could simply enjoy his hard-earned rewards.
As he entered the tavern, Courage claimed a table by the window. After ordering a full course meal, he sank into his seat and gazed through the glass, watching the sloping stacks of the district below transform into a shimmering canvas of lights. Time drifted by as he waited in quiet contentment.
His peaceful moment was interrupted when fragments of conversation from a nearby group caught his attention:
"Hey, have you guys heard?"
"Hmm?"
"There are rumors saying a great clansman is coming to our Bastion to establish a cohort here."
"What? A member of a Great Clan coming here?!"
Even Courage, listening from a distance, couldn't suppress his surprise - though he quickly schooled his expression to avoid appearing nosy.
The Great Clans represented the pinnacle of society - ancient families with superior Beast Catalyser lineages and histories stretching back to the earliest days of The Blend's colonization. Over centuries, these powerful factions had amassed fortunes and influence that made them virtually unrivaled .
The conversation at the neighboring table continued to unfold:
"What's a member of a Great Clan doing coming to a frontier bastion anyway?" one patron asked, swirling his drink.
"Who knows? The Great Clans' business isn't for the likes of us to question," another replied with a shrug.
"True enough. But if these rumors are true, what would that mean for our bastion?"
The most vocal of the group leaned forward. "If it happens, you can bet they'll establish a new hunting cohort soon after. Half the bastion will be lining up for their favor - even a lowly position under a Great Clan comes with benefits we can't imagine."
Nods of agreement circled the table before someone raised a new concern: "What about the Black Hyde Cohort?"
The mention sent a visible ripple through the group. The Black Hyde dominated the local hunting scene - hundreds of members strong, they controlled prime hunting grounds and claimed first rights to all valuable finds in this sector of the Blend. Their influence wasn't something that would yield easily to newcomers, Great Clan or not.
Normally, the Black Hyde Cohort wouldn't bat an eye at a new hunting group—fresh cohorts formed all the time, and none ever came close to challenging their dominance. But a force backed by a Great Clan? That could rally enough followers to upend the entire power balance.
Courage silently pieced it together: If these rumors were true, the bastion stood on the brink of a power struggle—one that would rewrite the status quo.
For a moment, he dwelled on the implications… but then shrugged.
"Eh, so what if it's true? Not my business," he muttered, just as his food arrived. "Let the big players scheme and brawl. I'll stick to my own business."
With that, he dug into his meal, blissfully unconcerned.
Fate, of course, had other plans.