This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Using the Vespid guards to scout ahead, Kain eventually found a relatively clear patch of ground encircled by trees. Directing Aegis to construct a makeshift stone barrier around the area, he finally allowed himself a moment to breathe. The barrier wasn't particularly thick, but it would provide him some measure of protection and made him feel much more secure while changing his attire.

Stripping out of his damp, dirt-covered pyjamas, he changed his lightweight but durable armour. Finally dressed and feeling more prepared, he let out a breath of relief.

'Okay, let's think.' Kain rubbed his temples, trying to recall any information the Vice Chancellor had given before unceremoniously shoving him into the teleportation array.

He barely recalled him stating to "head North." He pulled a standard compass from his space ring, but the dial was spinning wildly the moment he held it up. No matter how he turned it, the needle continued its erratic movements, clearly influenced by something that influenced the magnetic field in the area.

"Just my luck…," Kain muttered, shoving it back into his space ring with frustration.

He recalled seeing a compass provided in the System Shop that, instead of North, would always point toward the destination the user sought. However, at the time it appeared, he'd been low on points and hadn't seen the need for it. Now, that decision was biting him in the ass.

'Okay, Plan B.' Kain directed one of his Vespid guards to carry him toward the treetops. He recalled learning in a lecture about the different constellations that could be used to find direction.

As they ascended to be among the branches of the massive trees, an oppressive atmosphere grew. Just before his head broke through the canopy, an unsettling instinct from his subconscious tickled his mind.

"Wait." He halted the Vespid carrying him, choosing to trust his instincts.

Kain directed another Vespid guard to fly above the canopy. It did so without hesitation, buzzing eagerly, before obeying the command.

The moment it breached the top of the canopy, a deafening crack split the air, followed by a dull thud as the guard's lifeless body crashed to the forest floor. Kain's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't even seen what had killed it—just a faint blur of movement, if that.

"What the...?" His voice trailed off as his blood ran cold. Whatever had attacked was fast, precise, and overwhelmingly powerful. The guard hadn't stood a chance. In fact, even if all of his spiritual creatures worked together, he doubted they'd stand a chance

'That had to be at least Indigo grade.' The realization sent a shiver down his spine. Even in the best of circumstances, an high-level spiritual creature would be able to easily kill him, and here, in this unfamiliar and hostile forest, it might as well be a death sentence.

The oppressive silence that followed was deafening, and for a moment, Kain stood frozen in shock. 'Where the heck is this place?!'

He quickly retreated, ordering his remaining Vespid guards to keep a much lower flight path. The snake earlier had been bad enough, but this? This was on an entirely different level. Whatever was above the canopy wasn't something he wanted to encounter.

'North.' Kain gritted his teeth, the word echoing in his mind. He would have to find a way to determine the direction without looking at the constellations himself.

Thinking of Bea, he decided to find a spiritual creature that was…expendable.

In the brief moment before the controlled creature's inevitable death, Kain hoped to glimpse the night sky through Bea. It wasn't foolproof, and there was a chance the death would be over too quickly to even see the necessary constellations, but it was the best he could think of under the circumstances.

He directed the Vespid guards to fan out in search of potential targets, and within minutes, they returned, buzzing softly as they led him toward a creature that appeared to be resting in a small clearing.

The target was a bird-like spiritual creature with dark plumage that blended seamlessly into the shadows of the forest and was resting on one of the lower branches of the forest, just a few feet above the ground.

Its ability to fly suggested that it was a suitable target for his plan, but its spiritual energy signature was blue-grade. That made it potentially challenging for Bea to control.

Bea's tendrils snaked through the air, invisible to the naked eye, and latched onto the bird's mind. The creature stiffened slightly, its glowing eyes narrowing in confusion as it fought against the foreign presence invading its thoughts.

The bird twitched and flapped its wings once, twice, before finally freezing in place. Its resistance was strong, but Bea didn't have much trouble, like with the previous snake, stopping and confusing it briefly.

"Now, get it airborne," Kain commanded softly.

The bird's wings unfurled and gave a brief twitch. But the moment Bea tried to direct it toward the treetops, the creature's survival instincts kicked in with ferocious intensity.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

It let out a piercing screech, thrashing violently as it resisted Bea's influence. Despite her best efforts, the bird refused to rise higher than a few feet off the ground.

"Damn it," Kain hissed under his breath, frustration mounting. Bea's control was powerful, but survival instincts, especially in ones stronger than her, often made them harder to manipulate. The bird broke free of Bea's hold entirely, flapping away into the darkness, instead of choosing to stay and fight them.

This pattern repeated itself several times. Each creature the Vespid guards located—whether it was a small mammal, an insect, or another bird—fought tooth and nail against Bea's attempts to send them skyward. Even with Bea's abilities stalling their movements, their instincts to avoid rising above the canopy were unshakable.

Kain was now extremely exhausted from the several battles and had not much results to speak of.

It's as though fear of flying above the trees had been engrained into every creature of this forest. But the only way to override these instincts would be to either find a green-grade spiritual creature, which they surprisingly haven't come across yet, or to give Bea a boost, but the amount of refills for spiritual power Kain had was limited, and he didn't want to use them so quickly in case it took a long time and many battles to reach his needed destination.

'Would sacrificing one of the guards be a better payoff?'

But Kain was reluctant to reduce his strength like that.

Suddenly a loud rustle appeared close to his side, only a couple feet away form him

'Not again…'