Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

Before Chief Yubak could persuade him otherwise, Yihan dripped a drop of his blood on the extended tongue of the Hoil Bee statue. His blood was absorbed by the statue in a matter of seconds as its eyes lit up, unleashing a beam onto Yihan who began to grunt in response.

Immediately following that, a dense stream of Nacre emerged from the statue and flowed into Yihan, slowly morphing his body as a horn grew on his forehead.

"This is…?" Even Rhizen was shocked to see a tendril of Luck exit the Hoil Bee figure that was within the bubble at the top of the luck tower. And this tendril tangled with Yihan's Luck before forming a connection.

'He's inheriting this power instead of the Mutated Beast itself.' Rhizen probed through things, understanding the new power mechanic. It was closer to the power used by the Blight Humans than the Horned Humans from the other worlds.

An image of the Hoil Bee appeared in Yihan's Origin Space, appearing more or less similar to a Mutated Beast, but it wasn't a living entity but just a projection of power. And this power originated from the Hoil Bee statue.

Rhizen noticed that the moment their luck was connected, both seemed to be reinforced by taking equal parts of one another.

For Yihan, the benefits were small, but for the statue, things were different, especially since the greater the number of people it turns into Horned Humans, the greater the reinforcement to its power.

Moreover, Rhizen noticed that the Hoil Bee at the top of the luck tower seemed a bit more sentient as compared to before. Also, it was staring at Yihan, expressing a desire to protect him.

'So, this is the change, the way this world adapts the Horned Humans to its nature.' Rhizen nodded in understanding as he looked at Yihan to ask, "How are you feeling now?"

"Great!" Yihan nodded, clenching his hand into a fist as he gradually digested the memory influx, relaxing his hand when a layer of chitin armour covered him immediately.

He focused, grunting as the chitin armour gradually covered his entire body, making him resemble a humanoid version of the Hoil Bee as a pair of wings appeared on his back.

He suddenly grabbed the chitin armour on his back, pulling out what seemed to be a pair of blades, resembling a mantis scythe. He then inserted them back into the armour, watching them vanish as he pulled out from his thigh this time, taking out a knife that seemed to be a shorter version of the blades that he pulled out first.

He then did the same to his chest, taking out a shield, saying, "The primary power I have is to create weapons out of my armour, whether they are bladed or blunt."

A tail then protruded out of his back, appearing gentle in nature, unlike a scorpion tail as he continued, "While wearing this armour, I'm able to even regenerate lost limbs. But, I'm also able to heal others by injecting the substance in the stinger into them. Though, it seems this process might take a long time to heal others."

"My body also feels stronger." He nodded in response before retracting the armour, gasping to catch his breath, having exhausted the pitiful Nacre reserve that he had accumulated.

'The beneficial property of the five-eyed scorpion and the herb has mixed to result in this. And everything that I've gathered had fused into this entity.' Xuna understood the state of things, observing the Luck Tower hovering above the Hoil Bee statue to learn more.

She then looked at Chief Yubak, "Do you wish to try next, Chief?"

"Hmm…" Chief Yubak hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth, intending to take the plunge too as he arrived before the statue, staring at the wide opened mandibles that seemed like they were devouring something.

He flinched upon staring at it in closeup before pricking his finger to place a droplet of his blood on its tongue that dangled out of its opened mouth.

The blood was absorbed into it as its eyes lit up in response, a lot slower than before, unleashing a beam of light that turned him into a Horned Human.

His power was the exact same as Yihan.

"At this point, it's no longer a Mutated Beast." Rhizen spoke, coining a term, "A more appropriate addressal for it would be a…"

"Guardian Beast!"

"A Guardian Beast…" Xuna muttered, nodding in response, "Since it is protecting them and sharing its power with them, calling it a Guardian Beast is apt."

Another villager approached the statue when they were talking, excitedly dripping a drop of his blood too before staring awkwardly when its eyes didn't light up.

"It needs time to charge up power." Rhizen said, sensing the essence of the world gradually seep into the statue through the tree roots, calculating the rate of absorption as he concluded, "At most, two per day."

"I see," The villager standing before the statue was somewhat disappointed as he retreated into the crowd. But, none made fun of him as they all wished to do the same, especially after seeing Yihan's demonstration.

As it was late into the night, everyone returned to their homes.

Seated in their living room, Yihan and Chief Yubak were conversing excitedly about the various prospects regarding the usage of their powers.

Yihan noticed Xuna's confusion as he said, "Using my armour, I can make weapons. If I expend enough Nacre, I can create blades that won't lose their effect for at least a few weeks. And if I reach a high enough Stage, they can retain their power for even longer."

Basically, a blade that he creates would be suitable for harming a Blight Human more than conventional weapons. After all, the Nacre in these weapons would directly counter their power, causing them more harm.

Though, once the Nacre in them was expended, they would end up becoming useless scrap, brittle in nature.

At present, even without any usage, a blade that Yihan creates would last a weak before shattering. At Stage 2, the duration increased.

But no matter what, when all its Nacre was consumed, it shattered. And its Nacre couldn't be replenished even if a Horned Human were to wield it.

Though, such limitations only existed for now as Chief Yubak and Yihan were already planning to create weapons whose Nacre reserves could be recharged. Rather, their powers allowed them to do so, since it was pretty versatile in nature.

"But, it seems those that can inherit power from this Guardian Beast are only the villagers of this village," Rhizen muttered at the end, surprising the two enthusiastic men.

"Why…is it like that?" Yihan asked.

"I'm not sure myself. But it seems to be the inherent characteristic of a Guardian Beast." Rhizen said, "And, I can see that the Guardian Beast has already connected itself to all the villagers."

Yihan was aware of the Guardian Beast, having seen it when he obtained its power. Moreover, he was also able to feel its presence from within the Hoil Bee statue. So, when Rhizen addressed it as a Guardian Beast, he accepted the term and began to use it.

"Master, I can feel that the Guardian Beast is growing smarter." Xuna said, staring in the direction of the Hoil Bee statue as she observed the Luck Tower above it, focusing on the Guardian Beast, "Its eyes look livelier as compared to before. Moreover, it is also actively staring our way, as if trying to understand our discussion."

"Yeah," Rhizen nodded before disappearing from the room, "Xuna, since I've interfered a couple of times already, I'll extend your time to six months. And your goal this time is to create four more Guardian Beasts. Name them in terms of directions. This will be the West Guardian."

"Also, I need to leave for the time being. I can feel that Yulna is acting up once again. Since you're strong enough to protect yourself, I won't travel with you anymore." His voice resounded in all seriousness now, "I'm also cutting off all support. So, be careful, and be safe."

"What?" Xuna was stunned as she noticed that her Coincidental Luck felt…finite and limited all of a sudden. It was a sharp contrast as compared to before when she relied upon it 24x7.

Now, it had become a resource that she had to use judiciously.

But, with the Coincidental Luck supply cut off, she understood that Rhizen indeed had left. 'For Master to make a move, it seems the situation is indeed serious enough.'

She then felt a headache, facepalming, "How am I supposed to create four more Guardian Beasts?"

"I'll help you with this." Yihan said, grabbing her hand, "Having inherited the West Guardian's power, I can sense things accordingly. Maybe I'll be able to help you find creatures that have the potential to become Guardian Beasts."

"Thank you, dumbass," Xuna said, bursting into laughter as Yihan followed suit, recalling their past from when they were in the Fornol Empire.

"It's too late already. We'll catch up on the rest tomorrow." After some time, Xuna excused herself to her room and slumped on her bed, falling asleep immediately, "four Guardian Beasts in a little more than five months."

"Is it possible for me?"