"Our cultivation methods are different. I'm guessing that yours allows the excess Altaris that you generate to meld into your body and fortify it, while mine collects the Altaris to be used in spells."

Kade rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Our methods are tailored to our style, but I'm sure we can learn both methods. However, I doubt it's worth alternating."

"So, you can't teach me?" Julian asked dispiritedly

"Yes and no." Kade smiled "It's not worth it to alternate regularly, but doing so for a short time might allow you to learn how to control altaris easier."

"Alright, so what do I need to do?"

"First, understand that we have no information here. I'm not sure if practicing both will cause any problems. Second, if it does work, it likely won't be useful right now since you won't have a ton of altaris to project."

Julian adopted a stern expression and pondered for a moment before sighing and shaking his head "You're right, it's risky. I don't think it's worth it until we get more information."

Kade nodded "Understandable. The best thing is probably to just continue practicing control."

"Alright, thanks." Julian said before returning to the others.

Kade lowered his head as he thought about cultivation. The conversation seemed pointless, but it answered many of his questions and confirmed his theories. It also opened up new possibilities.

Julian's cultivation technique nourished the entire body equally, improving it in seemingly every aspect. What if Kade could target a specific area and focus all improvements there? He knew that there were two places of extreme importance to him. The core which stored his altaris, and his brain.

Would strengthening his core allow him to generate altaris quicker? If he strengthened his brain, how would it improve? The potential rewards were only rivaled by the risk.

He took out a notebook and jotted down his thoughts, determined to revisit the topic when he had more knowledge.

He cleared his mind of its excitement and began cultivating while reading about altaris. The book wasn't exceptionally detailed, but it had a lot of general knowledge that he didn't know of yet. Learning this would improve his understanding dramatically, therefore improving his control and manipulation.

Learning was addicting. He would learn something new, put it into practice until he hit a wall before going back to learn more which would allow him to break the wall and continue. It was a continuous cycle of improvement, and the progress was intoxicating no matter how small.

He didn't stop until it was time to gather wood and start cooking. Luckily, he had explored earlier and knew where to quickly find supplies. It took less than twenty minutes before he had enough wood for two days.

By the time he had returned, everything was prepared and they began cooking. They all chatted while cooking and eating. Kade mostly listened but would jump in once in a while to contribute.

He enjoyed socializing, but he was so busy these days that he didn't have much time to do so. Getting a break in during meal times was welcomed.

"How much money do you think we're going to make, Kade?" Dallas asked

"Who knows, man." Kade replied. The others had guessed in the thousands "For all we know, we are eating gold right now." He grinned as he took a large bite.

"Aw damn, my money!" Victor howled as he clutched the meat humorously

Everyone broke into laughter.

"Seriously though, what's your prediction?"

"uh, seven thousand." Kade blurted out a number randomly.

"No, no. Way too low." Dallas said while waving his hands "I'm shooting for thirty grand."

"Heh, that's a long shot. All we've got is some bones." Paul replied

"You're forgetting something. They are some really cool bones!" Dallas chuckled at his own joke "Besides, we can find more stuff in the next few days."

"Don't forget, we can sell information too." Kade reminded.

"Ah, that's right." Julian slapped his forehead "We need to document the deer bear and that squirrel thing. The fish too."

Kade pulled out a notebook and showed off his work. He had already taken care of documenting most of the important things.

Julian gave him a thumbs up with a grin.

Kade returned his notes to his bag before finishing his dinner. He laid down and alternated between cultivating and practicing the Entangle spell since there wasn't enough light to read.

Time passed quickly and eventually, he felt drowsiness take over.

...

"Let's head down."

Kade peered into the ravine pensively. They had been on the new world for six days already and had little to show for it. Everyone was growing impatient, including him. None of them wanted to spend months for chump change. So on the fifth day, they decided to pack up camp and head deeper into the world.

Normally, they wouldn't venture into such a confined space but greed got the better of them.

Kade maneuvered down the slope, grabbing the thin trees to brace himself on the way down. The bottom was rocky and wet. The canopy of leaves and rocky overhang reduced the light in the ravine, creating an atmosphere that was both serene and slightly eerie. There was even a light fog that didn't make sense at all. As they walked, their footsteps lightly echoed

"Stay tight and keep your eyes peeled." Dallas said in a hushed voice.

They entered formation and started exploring the ravine. It was narrow, no more than seven meters wide, and curved back and forth, so the visibility was low.

As they walked, the walls at the bottom opened up, forming pseudo caves. The farther they walked, the wider it became. The ground under the cave-like overhangs went from gravel to sand, and water dripped from the ceiling. There was a unique beauty to it.

Kade was scanning the shadows to his right when he caught movement in his peripheral vision.

"Chelsea, what are you doing?" He growled in a hushed tone "Maintain the formation!"

He watched her glance at him before she increased her speed toward the depths of the cave.

The others caught wind of the situation and Dallas reacted "Damnit Chels. Follow her."

They changed directions and hurried after her, but she insisted on keeping her distance and began jogging. They realized why, as they saw a vibrant seafoam green crystal surrounded by fungi of the same color that gave off a dim glow.

It seemed valuable and they understood why she broke off, but the tension of the situation prevented them from being enamored by greed. Which was why they were able to notice the silhouette lurking in the shadows.

"Chelsea, don't!" Dallas shouted as he burst toward her at top speed. Followed closely by Victor and Paul.

The silhouette was closer. A stinger appeared from the darkness, illuminated by the glowing fungi, and struck at Chelsea. However, its speed suddenly declined, giving Dallas enough time to tackle Chelsea.

An ear-piercing screech echoed in the cave, and the clanging of blades of a hard surface followed.

Kade pulled a makeshift torch from his rucksack and lit it with a magical flame before tossing it toward the silhouette, allowing everyone to see their opponent.

A massive dual-tailed scorpion.

Kade glanced at the base of the tails and saw ice covering both tails. He hadn't noticed the second tail, so he felt lucky for having targetted the base. Unfortunately, he could hear the squealing of ice compressing as the scorpion fought.

"Julian, what's its weakness?!" Kade shouted as he roused his altaris.

Julian pointed to his knee, then elbow.

Kade began forming a spell "I'm ready." he shouted, his gaze locked onto Julian.

Julian nodded before creeping a few meters forward and bursting toward the scorpion. The ice shattered and a tail struck toward him but he managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth. However, the second stinger was close behind.

Kade cast the spell and a light blue barrier repelled the second tail but shattered. He immediately began forming another trace as he watched Julian sever two legs before sliding beneath the beast.

Kade shot another ball of ice, freezing both tails again. Julian took the chance to sever the other four legs before leaving its range. The others did the same.

"Phew. That was close." Dallas released a deep breath.

Kade didn't feel the same relief. They had disabled the beast, but this one felt different than the deer bear. So, he prepared just in case.

"Chels, what the hell? Don't just run off--"

"Watch out!"

Suddenly, a light blue dome appeared around Dallas, blocking a viscous green blob. The barrier sizzled as the liquid slid down it and onto the sand. The moment the barrier disappeared, Dallas ran to the side staring at the scorpion hatefully.

"It ain't over yet. Chew her out later." Paul admonished

"Well, fuck, how could I have known that the thing could spit acid?" Dallas retorted indignantly.

"How exactly are we going to kill that thing? My sword was bouncing off of it without leaving a scratch." Victor asked, and was answered by an orange flash.

A fireball struck the scorpion, leaving a black mark a little larger than a basketball, but failing to do any real damage.

Kade shrugged. He knew that it wouldn't do much, but he couldn't help dreaming that he could roast the beast alive in a fiery inferno.

Luckily, there were other options to killing the beast, and Julian had already begun. He was stabbing at the joints on one of the tails.

"We'll disassemble it piece by piece. Muahaha" He cackled like a madman.

It was a lot of work, but they eventually severed both tails before eyeing the rest of the scorpion. It had multiple thin lines like medieval armor, which exposed the vulnerable flesh beneath. They targetted those weaknesses and began cutting.

Kade watched from the side with furrowed brows. The scorpions' screeching was getting on his nerves, but worse, he couldn't shake the feeling that the scorpion was dangerous. Even in its current state.

He continuously scanned it while keeping his Altaris ready. 'I'm probably overreacting' He thought. After all, what could it do in its state? Then he noticed a minor change.

Its body had bulged slightly. It was barely noticeable, but he had continuously watched the beast and was sure that its midsection had bulged.

"Hey, Reality to bookworm. Whenever you're done fantasizing, mind helping us kill this thing?" Paul sneered before continuing his work "Just a thought."

"Run!" Kade shouted as he began forming a trace while pouring altaris in madly.

"The hell do you mean?" Paul growled before watching Julian sprinting away. "Really, you're gonna liste--" His words got stuck in his throat as Dallas and Victor did the same. "What the..."

He followed in a huff, jogging to the others before turning to look at the scorpion.

"What was wrong?" Dallas asked as he stared at the beast in confusion.

"I believe that it was about to attack." Kade replied.

"Really? How?" Paul scoffed "Stop being a coward and help us kill this thing." He shouted as he began walking back.

The others sent Kade a glare before walking back as well. Only Julian remained.

"We have to kill it. Just keep a barrier ready." He said before heading back to continue.

'Damn. Idiots.' Kade thought. He knew that it had been preparing its final attack and only stopped because they left its range. However, he couldn't cast a barrier to block the attack if they were on top of the beast.

He watched as they began sawing at the joints again. Soon after, the scorpion's midsection began swelling. It was slow, but there was plenty of time for it to finish the attack. After a few minutes of observation, he realized that the swelling had stopped.

'What?' Why did it stop swelling? Was it waiting on the perfect moment, or was he mistaken in thinking that it was an attack? No. If that was the case, then why did the swelling reduce when they left?

His eyes narrowed as he realized its intention "It's a balloon." He called out. "It's going to pop when you cut too deep!"

"Enough!" Paul roared "If you ain't gonna help, then at least keep your mouth shut and don't distract us."

"Tsk. Fine, don't say that I didn't warn you, idiot." Kade hissed.

He watched on with scornful eyes as they continued. He would look like an idiot if he was wrong, but he was confident that he wasn't. His gut had been warning him from the get-go.

Even though he was angry, he didn't let it cloud his judgment. These were still his teammates, so he did his best to figure out a way to save all of them. Unfortunately, his abilities were limited and no one was willing to work with him right now.

Paul, in an attempt to mock him, aimed his blade straight down raised it high. "Watch, I'll prove that you're a coward right now."

Seeing his posture, Julian jumped off the beast and darted a few meters away. Even the other three retreated some, just in case.

"Seriously guys?" Paul sighed, before shaking his head and ramming the sword down. "See?" He shouted with a smirk "Ain't nothing gonna happen" He chirped before pushing the blade in further.

Suddenly, the flesh around the blade ruptured, and a green mist sprayed out like a geyser. It engulfed a large portion of Paul's upper body before Kade was able to cast his spell.

A light blue barrier appeared, positioned in a way that covered the hole but avoided Paul. Victor rushed forward and jumped through the lingering mist, and tackled Paul to get him away from the mist. He scrambled up and carried paul to safety.

Kade watched as the barrier filled with a green cloud in a matter of seconds. He could see the barrier thinning rapidly until it was riddled with holes. Everyone quickly retreated as the cloud spread.

Rushing over to Victor and Paul, they saw the damage. The skin on the upper left part of his body, face included, was bright red and bubbling up, and pits were forming as the acid ate away at his flesh.

"Quickly, rinse the acid off with water!" Chelsea shouted as she fumbled for her canteen.

Everyone emptied their canteens as Paul wailed in agony.

"He is hurt too bad, We need to get him back to Earth asap!"

They carefully moved him to the sled and began moving out before Chelsea stopped "Wait!" She ran back and avoided the cloud before picking up the crystal, harvested the fungi, and returned.

No one admonished her. They had navigated danger all in the hopes of finding something valuable, and it didn't take long to pick up.

They ignored Paul's comfort as well as any sense of caution as they traveled as fast as possible. They weren't far from the gate, but it would still take nearly half a day to travel back. Fortunately, there weren't many beasts in the area so they would be safe.

After running at top speed for three hours through thick flora, they were all exhausted. As bad as they wanted to get Paul to a hospital, they needed rest.

"Let's take a fifteen-minute break." Dallas said between breaths.

They all sat down and rested their backs against the trees as they caught their breath. Before they could relax, the sound of leaves crunching rang out. Everyone snapped their head toward the sound, only to find a man walking toward them.

Kade began channeling altaris even as he watched the man raise his hand's ups

"I'm not an enemy!" The man shouted in a slight panic as he saw their reaction. "Woah. He looks to be in a bad shape."

None of them responded, and instead kept their attention locked on him with readied postures.

"I mean no harm. It's the opposite." He said as he stopped his steps "I'm a healer."

Dallas sprung to his feet and eyed the man suspiciously, but relief could be seen in his expression. "Can you prove that?"

"Of course. I can heal your friend over there. That should be proof enough, right?"

Dallas furrowed his brows for a moment before nodding.

The man approached slowly before kneeling by the sled. He held his hand out in front of him as a small amount of Altaris channeled. A small halo appeared and grew to the size of a fist over five seconds. He lowered the halo onto Paul's body and it merged with his skin.

Paul showed signs of improvement immediately. His breathing steadied, and the bright redness began to fade.

The man created another two halos and pressed them into Paul before he released a deep breath and sat on the ground. "He will be good as new in an hour or two. Other than the scars, that is."

They all stared at Paul with odd expressions. His skin wasn't covered in burns anymore, but the scars and pits remained. He would live, but he would have a constant reminder of his mistake.

Kade frowned for a bit before sighing and shrugging. He didn't feel too bad for the guy, after all, he had warned him multiple times. It was Paul's arrogance that put him in this situation, and though a deformed face was a high price to pay, he brought it on himself.

Moving his thoughts from Paul, questions about this lone healer came up.

"Why are you alone?"

"I was wondering that too." Julian chimed in.

"Ah, well. I came in with a team, but a dispute between a few of my teammates caused us to split." The man explained slowly.

"And, you decided to go your own way as a healer as opposed to working with one of the others?" Kade asked skeptically.

The man's reasoning seemed too convenient. who would be confident enough to travel this land alone? Especially as a healer, the class with the lowest offensive ability.

"I would have, but everyone stomped off in anger and before I knew it, I was alone. Since then I've just been wandering around trying to find a way back to Earth."

Kade tapped his knee. He couldn't dismiss the possibility of the man's story, but he had no intentions of believing it fully. Perhaps he was being overly paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

"It's a good thing that we found each other then!" Dallas exclaimed with a smile "You've done us a favor, and we could use a healer. What do you think about joining us?"

"It must have been fate." The man said joyously while grinning "I could definitely benefit from teaming with you guys, but I don't want to intrude where I'm not welcome. If you could just point me to the gate, I'll be--"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Dallas interrupted "We've talked about adding a healer to the group anyway, so you're more than welcome."

"Ah. Okay, that's good to hear. Then, I will have to impose." The man sighed in relief "My name's Cash."

"Welcome to the team, Cash." Dallas quickly introduced everyone.

Kade remained mostly silent as usual, but he listened to the conversation while cultivating. Their plans would change since Paul's life wasn't in danger any longer, and while adding a healer to the team was beneficial.

Their team had gained a healer and their confidence rose. As soon as Paul woke, they would continue exploring.