The three nearest drones were the ones who spotted him. A bear, a wolf, and an actual human. All three were blooming drones.

Not willing to fight while so outnumbered and that close to the boss, Jack turned around and ran. As he passed through the barrier of fog, he turned and got a glimpse of the head of the flower lifting up to face his direction.

The sounds of wet stomping were following him through the mist.

As he passed by the original vine coiled around the tree, he saw it quickly untangling itself like it was preparing for a fight.

His methodical clearing of drones gave him an intimate knowledge of the entire area, so he had no fears about getting lost while finding the river.

While his improved stats made his top running speed much faster than an average person, it was still nowhere near an athlete’s level. His endurance though was equal to or greater than that of a marathon runner.

So while he assumed he would be able to keep up his top speed all the way back to his camp, he was not surprised to hear the drones closing in on him.

Navigating to an area he knew had lots of trees, he quickly ducked behind one and had Lucy climb to a suitable spot for ambushing.

The first drone to burst through the mist was the wolf. Its head reached about the height of his waist. All of its fur was missing, save for a few patches here and there. Two long vines stretched out from either side of its ribs; they swayed and moved like animated whips.

Wolf Blooming Titan Drone Level: 11 Near the end of a Budding Titan Drones lifespan, its flowers bloom, increasing its versatility in battle. With almost all of its Vitality drained, the host is just a shell of its former self. Most of the host’s blood has been replaced with the sap of the Blooming Corpse Titan, empowering it well beyond its normal capabilities. A Blooming Titan Drone will always be close to its parent as it prepares itself for death.

Age: 1 Year

Highest Attribute: Perception

Highest Skill: Pack Hunting

That would explain how they followed him so easily. The drones were stupid, the blooming ones were only slightly smarter than the budding.

Neither type seemed like they would be able to track him through once they lost sight of him, not unless they had a skill to help.

The wolf sniffed at the air, trying to locate his exact spot. Without formal communication needed, Lucy jumped to a tree away from him, attracting the wolf’s attention.

A vine shot out to attack her, but she easily evaded it. Quickly, while it was distracted, Jack lept out, smashing its skull in.

Without giving him enough time to reset, the bear and human drone appeared. Each of them had both of their whip-like vines ready as soon as they emerged from the mist. The vines shot towards him but before they could reach him a golden barrier appeared, blocking their attack.

Glad that he had started practicing quickly drawing the pistol, he capitalized on the confusion of the drones.

For some reason, none of them seemed to understand that even though they could see through the barrier, they couldn’t move through it. It always gave Jack a solid twenty-second window to act before they gave up and walked around.

Twenty-seconds was more than enough when it came to these brittle zombies. Two Hydraulic strikes and two more kill notifications.

Your party has slain

1 Wolf Blooming Titan Drone Level: 11

1 Brown Bear Blooming Titan Drone Level: 13

1 Human Blooming Titan Drone Level: 8

Your contribution 95%

You are awarded 58 Experience.

He quickly harvested two vines off the bodies, hesitating a little on the human drone but ultimately finished the job.

Once he collected Lucy, he quickly retreated from the area. He wouldn’t be opposed to fighting more small groups of drones, but since he caught the attention of the boss, he didn’t want to risk it.

The rest of the day went smoothly, both of them were only a few hundred experience off of leveling up. They might have stayed out later to try to hit that goal, but a notification made him want to come back.

Staff Mastery has reached level 5 and is now able to be evolved. Level 5 is a free evolution and does not require a skill evolution token. Would you like to Evolve this skill? Yes No **Alert** New Skill Evolution Available Choose one Penetrating Blow Empowered Strike The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod Requirement: Possess an Ancient Magical Staff

Jack just stared at the last option. It was clearly a good evolution just based on the requirement. It never dawned on him that his magic items were literally ancient or that it might affect the system in some way.

The issue was that he had no idea what The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod meant. Only the compliant part suggested anything to him. Maybe it would take commands better? Possibly growing faster. Or longer? What about sentient?Sentient weapons always turned out to be incredibly annoying in games and stories.

Well, if it ended up being stupid, he could always reset the skill and choose a different one next time.

He clicked the evolution, but a new window popped up.

Choosing The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod requires you to bond an Ancient Magical Staff to yourself. Would you like to bond Extending Pole to yourself? Yes No

Hmmm, bonding with a weapon? The last time it asked him to bond with something, it was to Lucy. Could that mean that the staff is alive?

He suspiciously looked at the metal staff in his hand. Although, before it asked if I wanted to bond with her, not bond her to me. It seemed like that might be an important distinction.

There wasn’t an apparent downside, though. In most games, binding a weapon generally just meant you couldn’t resell it.

When he clicked yes, a warm feeling radiated through his body from his chest.

**Alert** You have bound Extending Pole to yourself **Alert** Staff Mastery has evolved into The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod

Well, that skill name is going to be a mouthful now. Much like with Lucy, he could now sense the location of the staff. Although the new link did not include feelings coming from the weapon. He was mildly relieved that sentience wasn’t a part of the evolution.

Swinging it around, he tried to gauge any change in the weapon. It still felt the same. When he extended it, it seemed to grow and shrink faster, but that might have been his mind playing tricks on him.

Maybe it could be considered an extension of him now? He ran a few tests from trying to drain blood with it to reflecting and impact. Nothing worked.

Hopefully, it’ll reveal its usefulness the next time he uses it in battle.

Might as well continue his Blood Drain training. Trying to use the staff as a source for the skill actually gave him an interesting idea.

Kai landed at the edge of the clearing that held the herd’s camp. Most of it was hidden underground courtesy of Amanita and Ancelin.

Not that he disliked the Giant mole, and her bonded. It just irritated him that they insisted on putting everything underground.

At least his brother preferred to sleep under the open sky like him.

As he walked towards the center of the camp, he was met with several cheerful greetings. He gave them a quick nod of acknowledgment before continuing on his way.

Most of the herd was made of those who have bonded with deer. Their docile nature made them easy companions. While the Beastform they provided was excellent for agility. Though he knew that those were not the reasons most found deer to bond with.

It was true with every herd he had ever come across, the creature that was bonded to their Summum was always the most popular. He clicked in annoyance. Such frivolous reasoning for their selection.

He could respect those that choose a creature for its battle prowess, even though it was still shallow reasoning. At least they did it so they could protect, as opposed to just copying the leader of the herd.

Choosing a creature to bond with should be based on how much you resonate with the nature of that being.

There was never a moment in his childhood that he doubted he would choose an eagle. That was who he was.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure following him. Choosing to ignore the stalker, he continued on his path to his brother's location.

The figure continued tailing him, keeping to the shadows of the numerous tents, gradually getting closer.

When it looked like it was preparing to strike, Kai stopped walking and started fiddling with the pack on his thigh, making sure his back was facing it.

The figure rushed out of the shadows. The steps were practically silent, but the fluttering of its leathery wings gave away their position once they took flight.

The full force of its sixty-pound body slammed into his back as its long arms wrapped around his. It let out a loud, high-pitched battle screech. “KKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAII.”

Barely reacting to the attack besides a click of amusement, Kai stopped fiddling with his pack and continued on his path to the center of the camp with the small girl still attached to him. “Hello, Rilda.”

The bat-girl tightened the hug around her uncle's throat and pressed her fuzzy head against his. “You’re back! How long are you staying? Does this mean we’re leaving soon? How was the hunt? Did you fight anything scary? Did you miss me? What do you think of my Beastform? I missed you and Ava!”

Maybe the constant questions Jack kept asking were not that bad. At least Rilda did not expect an answer. She just kept going on as her questions devolved into telling him a story about finding some tasty fruit in the forest.

The occasional click was all she needed to continue the one-sided conversation. Even reaching the Summum’s tent did not slow her down.

Before Kai had a chance to call out, his brother exited the tent. The deer-man’s full seven-foot height easily fit inside the massive tent. Although the top foot and a half was all antlers.

“Ethan.” Kai gave a small bow in respect of the Summum. The four-foot tall eleven-year-old had no trouble staying on his neck as he bowed. “I have returned.”

Ethan was in his normal ceremonial robes and he was holding the gnarled Staff Of The Rain that was passed down from their father, the previous Summum.

The fur on his face was greying, showing his age and the stress of his position. In contrast, his shining brown eyes felt full of life and youthful energy.

The large grin on his face showed a hint of mischievous intent which flowed into his voice, “I think the entire herd knows you’re back, Kai. I could hear Rilda talking your ears off this entire time.”

Ethan let out a low grunting laugh that always reminded Kai of a pig. The small girl seemed to bashfully shrink against him in response to the words of her father.

His brother stepped forward and wrapped Kai in a hug. Of the two brothers, Ethan was the more affectionate and sociable, which helped him to be an inspiring leader.

Kai did not know what would have happened if he had inherited the magical evolution that was passed down by his family. People were loud and talked too much; being forced to stay with the herd at times would have made him miserable. He also would have never been able to go across the sea to finish the threshold’s quest.

“It’s been so long since you last visited. I didn’t expect to see you for another two months to help us move on. Not that I am opposed to you coming home, in fact, I think you should do it more often. You know how much Rilda misses you. As you can see she received her class while you were gone, you should have been there to see her trial.” Kai could easily hear the concern of his brother's voice.

At the mention of her trial, Rilda perked up. “It was amazing Kai! Me and Corda took on a Rotclaw! It never stood a chance, not with our teamwork. It didn’t even get a scratch on me. First Corda sent out a sonic screech and then I…”

The brothers exchanged a knowing look as she described the fight in extraordinary detail. Ethan was nodding along and shaking his head to let Kai know when she exaggerated.

On top of the tent, Kai could see the fruit bat, Corda, swelling with pride at the retelling of their harrowing trial.

Once she was done with her story, Ethan continued what he was originally saying. “See, you could have seen her ‘amazing’ battle if you were here. Anyway, why are you here so soon?”

Kai clicked in annoyance. He heard the same lecture every time he came back. “I am here to check on Jack.”

Ethan made a confused face. “Who’s Jack?”

“Jack is the lost traveler I sent here to meet you.” When that didn’t clear Ethan’s confusion he continued. “He was without a herd. Bonded to a little spider named Lucy? He should have reached here a week ago.”

“I’m sorry, Kai, I don’t know anyone like that. We haven't had a traveler appear in a month or so. Would he have chosen to go somewhere else instead?”

A tight knot formed in Kai’s stomach. Ava had scouted the entire path from where they were at the time to here. It did not show any signs of dangerous creatures. What could have happened to him? “No, he had nowhere else to go. I am sorry, I must go.” Kai removed a pouting Rilda and rudely took flight in the middle of the camp.

Ethan shouted after him. “Kai! where are you going?”

Ignoring his brother, he flew towards where he left Jack. Ava met him at the edge of the camp.

The young man was weak, lost, and confused, he should have never left him alone.