Chapter 13: New Idea

Everyone inside Chief Viren’s shelter got stunned by what they heard. They don’t understand what Alfred meant, they don’t know if he was joking or serious when he said that.

“What do you mean by raising them ourselves young Alfred?”

“What I mean is, we tame them and make them a part of our tribe. If I am correct, the beast White Lion is very strong, if we can tame these cubs to be a part of our tribe it will be a big help for us.”

“You do not understand what you are talking about Alfred, they are monsters, they will kill anything that they can eat. You want wild monsters to roam in our tribe full of children? This meeting is not a child’s game, it is about the survival of our tribe, if you do not know what you are talking about then do not speak.” Vir retorted.

“That is right young Alfred, we cannot raise a wild monster in our tribe, this monster will attack the people.” Chief Viren replied in a gentle voice.

“Chief Viren, I know I am getting ahead of myself, but I really want to help the tribe. You let me stay here to hear my opinion, right? At least let me explain.” Alfred said.

“Young Alfred is right, we need to at least listen to his explanation, and I am also quite interested in what he wanted to say.” Shaman Catori agreed with Alfred.

Chief Viren nodded his head.

“Then, please explain young Alfred.”

“Based on what I heard on Head Arrow Vir’s report, the White Lion died protecting its cubs. Why would a wild beast that attacked everything, protect something besides its own life? Because the White Lion cares about its cubs. I believed that all monster is not born to be wild, they need to be wild.

Because everything in this world wants to kill them, to devour them, they need to be wild to protect themselves, I also think that monsters can also feel love, hate, care, and desperation like us humans. What do you think would happen if these cubs grow up in an environment where everything is not trying to kill them, where someone or something is protecting them, or a place where they can feel safe?

They will become less wild and more docile, they will treat those who protecting them as one of their own, they will treat this tribe as their own home and will protect it. If my assumption was right, these cubs will become the tribe’s partner, can you imagine the possibility if we succeed in taming these cubs?” Alfred explained.

“You want to risk the life of our tribesmen to just assumption?” Vir asked with a frown.

“I have never seen a docile monster before, but If young Alfred is right, then it is worth trying. I think the benefit is much higher than the risk, what do you think Chief Viren and Elder Ahote?” Shaman Catori interjects.

Both Elders thought deeply before they answer.

“I do not like the idea of putting the life of our tribesmen at risk, but Shaman Catori was right, if we can tame this monster as young Alfred said, the future of our tribe can become much brighter. We need to at least let him try.” Elder Ahote Agreed with Shaman Catori.

“I also agreed, but in one condition, if these cubs hurt even a single tribesman, we will dispose of them immediately. That is it then, we let young Alfred try to tame these cubs.” Chief Viren said his condition.

“Father! are we really going to put our tribesmen’s life at risk for just an assumption?” Vir asked chief Viren.

“Vir my son, this is not for just an assumption, this is for the future of our tribe. If you are really worried then look after them, make sure something bad will never happen.” Chief Viren replied.

“Yes, Father I will”

Alfred stood up, then showed his gratitude to the Elders.

“Thank you Elders I will try my best to succeed.”

After thanking the Elders, Alfred sat down again, but after Alfred sat down. Vir asked a question about something that still confused him.

“May I know why Alfred is here for this important discussion? I know he is a part of our tribe now, but I still do not understand why is he here?”

“Now that you asked that, I also want to discuss young Alfred’s new ability. Come, Vir sit down with us and listen.” Chief Viren replied.

Vir sat down and became even more confused, instead of an answer, he got more questions to ask now.

‘Ability?’ Vir thought

“Young Alfred I really want to see this Rune that you and Shaman Catori did yesterday, can you show it to us?” Chief Viren asked Alfred.

Alfred agreed with Chief Viren, he told him what he needed to make a Rune. Chief Viren ordered one of the tribesmen guarding outside to bring the fresh blood of a monster that Vir’s group just hunted to him. After a while, the tribesmen came back with a waterskin full of monster blood and handed it to Alfred.

When Alfred received the waterskin, he immediately started making a Rune. Alfred repeated what he did yesterday, intending to make a Fire Rune again. Elder Ahote and Chief Viren were very interested and excited to see the Rune working, but Shaman Catori was not as excited as the two Elders because she has already seen it yesterday.

While the Elders are watching Alfred making a Rune, Vir became bewildered, he didn’t know what was happening. Vir wanted to ask what was going on, but the Elders told him to just keep watching. After a while, Alfred stopped writing on the ground and opened the waterskin.

Alfred looked at the Elders and Vir first, before he finally poured half of the content of the waterskin on the Rune. Alfred didn’t want to use all the monster’s blood, because he wanted to try something later, he also wanted to know if half the waterskin content was enough.

The Rune glowed and then, a fire as big as a basketball appeared out of thin air. When the fire appeared, Vir, Elder Ahote, and Chief Viren got dumbfounded. Even Shaman Catori and Alfred were a little surprised when they saw how big the fire was.

Elder Ahote and Chief Viren couldn’t help themselves from examining the fire, they did exactly what Alfred and Shaman Catori did when they first saw the fire. When Vir finally got himself together, he asked with confusion.”

“What is that fire? How did it suddenly appear?”

The Elders didn’t answer Vir because they are busy examining the fire. Therefore, Alfred stood up, then sat down beside Vir and replied to his question.

“That is the Rune, I still do not know a lot about this Rune so even if you asked me, I cannot answer you. All I know is, that this Rune can help us. I know you still do not trust me, but I will use this ability to help the tribe from now on. I hope someday I can gain your and the tribesmen’s trust with the use of this Rune.”

Vir glanced at Alfred for a bit.

“Then I will look forward to that.”

While Alfred and Vir are talking, Elder Ahote was finally satisfied examining the fire.

“Can you make different Runes other than fire?” Elder Ahote curiously asked

“I think I can make different kinds of Runes, the only limit was my imagination and my Life Energy.” Alfred replied with confidence.

“Do you think you can integrate Runes on tools or weapons?”

Alfred thought deeply.

“Now that you ask me that, I do not know if I can, but I think it is possible. I need to experiment to see if I can.”

Elder Ahote eyes brighten.

“Then if you are going to do some experiment about that, you should definitely go to me. I want to instantly know if it is possible. just by seeing your Rune, I can already imagine a lot of tools and weapons that we can make.”

“Do not worry Elder Ahote, I will definitely come to you, in fact, I already have something in mind that we really need right now.”

When Elder Ahote heard this, he instantly became excited.

“What is it?”

“As you can see, I need Monster Blood if I want to activate the Rune, but what I need is not exactly the blood, but the Life Energy inside. If I want to improve my knowledge of rune, I need to experiment a lot, and for that, I need a lot of Monster Blood. The problem is if we store Monster Blood for too long, the Life Energy inside will dissipate in the environment.

Therefore, I need a container, but not a simple container. I need to put some kind of sealing Rune if possible, on a container to seal the Life Energy inside. So, it will not dissipate. I need your help Elder Ahote because if I want to put a Rune on the item, I need to use Life Energy to make it, but I do not know if I can make a Rune on a solid object by just using my hand.”