Chapter 626: Acting Dead
Chapter 626: Acting Dead
"Mama!" The moment Niri was summoned, she rushed forward and hugged Lily.
While Lily was busy dressing Niri in a cute outfit, Leo stepped outside to get some fresh air and check on Kazz, whom he had left alongside Thalvyr while they consumed and trained with the treasures Leo had left behind for them.
He looked up at the heavy snowfall that had already begun settling over the territory, but Howl continuously melted it with his [Thermal Pulse] Skill and drained the water through underground channels and into the surrounding forest.
As for the condition outside the territory—everything was snow-capped. More than 3 meters of snow had covered the forest floor, and no beasts could be seen roaming around. Most had gone into hibernation, while others waited for the snowfall to lessen before going out to hunt.
Lord! Suddenly, Agnivar called out.
I and Ashira want to roam around this new environment, he said.
"Huh? You sure? I doubt your heated bodies can survive outside the territory for long," Leo replied.
For his beasts’ entertainment inside the spiritual realm, Leo would share the outside view through a screen. This way, they could also know when they were supposed to attack and when they were simply meant to rest. Of course, the screen was turned off during his nightly activities.
But of course, a screen was never a good way to truly experience what was going on outside.
Lord, don’t underestimate a proud draconic being, and especially me, Agnivar responded proudly.
Leo simply shrugged and summoned both of them.
Flap!
Agnivar immediately flapped his wings and soared upward. Ashira stiffly bowed to Leo first before taking flight.
But the moment they left the heated range of Howl’s skill, the freezing cold struck them.
Agnivar shivered mid-flight but still pretended to be strong as the warmth in his scales rapidly faded.
Ashira couldn’t withstand the cold for even a minute before quickly diving back down from where they had taken off.
"L-Lord, I am sorry, but I would like to stay within the territory’s range..." she muttered before fidgeting around, hoping Leo would unsummon her back to that hot volcanic island.
But Leo didn’t. Instead, he watched with amused eyes the prideful draconic being still flying into the snowstorm.
Somehow, Agnivar actually managed to remain outside for quite a while, even roaming around freely to get a better look at the area.
Eventually, Leo got bored.
"Ashira, I think the place you both chose the last time we were here should be warm. Go there and make yourself comfortable."
Ashira rapidly nodded and ran off—not flying, but running—because she didn’t want to touch the freezing wind even by mistake.
Leo could tell Agnivar seemed very pleased that Leo had stopped looking. In other words, Agnivar had maintained his pride. Still, he continued hovering in the cold for a little while longer until Leo put him out of his thoughts.
Leo continued walking toward Thalvyr.
Before reaching his location, Leo pulled up Kazz’s panel.
Kobolt [Kazz] (Low -> Peak 1-star)
-Ordinary Bloodline [35% -> 97%]
-Chain Bond - 37% -> 48%
Traits:
[Darkvision] - Locked
[Keen Smell] - Locked
[Pack Instinct] - Locked
[Faint Draconic Bloodline] - Locked
"Oh..." Leo was pleasantly surprised by the progress.
As he reached their location, the temperature in the surroundings slowly rose. A special accomodation temperature made by Howl for Thalvyr’s family.
Thang!
Krrreeeeaaa!
The moment he arrived, the first thing he saw was Kazz rolling on the ground while Thalvyr’s son, Arkvyr, breathed heavily with his spear pointed at Kazz.
Another spear also lay on the ground, seemingly having fallen from Kazz’s hand.
"Stop!" From the side, Zharissa signaled the end of the spar.
"Ark, you need to keep your mind calm when you get overwhelmed. Didn’t I tell you to simply block Kazz’s blows while he practiced his moves against you?"
"I—I, uh..."
"No excuses. Go run 2 laps around the territory outside the warm region and come back."
"Mother! He would have hurt me!"
"Hurt you? Then be better. I don’t think he has even been using a spear for a month, yet he is capable of hurting you, who has held one from the moment you were born."
Arkvyr clenched his fists in frustration and ran off.
"Ark!" Zharissa called after him, but her eyes soon caught sight of Leo.
"Lord! Welcome back. I hope you are healthy," she greeted, immediately bowing from where she stood.
"Yeah, I am in good condition. What about you?"
"Thanks to your grace, my Lord, I am in perfect health now. At your command, I can even participate actively in fights."
"Everything has its time. I am sure one day you will also participate, but how is Kazz’s training going?" he asked, looking toward the kobold, who was pretending to be dead under Leo’s gaze.
Even though he was Leo’s beast, his extremely low intelligence still couldn’t recognize Leo. He just knew Leo was an extremely dangerous being that he needed to be extremely cautious around.
At that, Zharissa stood upright and gestured toward Kazz.
"Lord, I have never seen such an exceptionally talented Kobolt like him. Not to mention, he is a regular Kobolt without any special traits. Not only did he learn the basics of spearmanship within a few weeks, but he also possesses exceptional observational abilities that allow him to overwhelm Arkvyr by spotting flaws in his posture as well as blind spots whenever Ark focuses purely on defense."
Leo nodded. That was expected because, while taming Kazz, the system had prompted the same thing about his exceptional observational abilities.
"Good. Continue his training. That’s your job until you are fully recovered."
"But I am—"
"Until I deem you completely recovered," Leo said.
Even though the [Earthpulse Lifecore] had healed her completely internally and restored her vitality, the decades of damage to her psyche from constant pain had left her slightly shaken mentally, and that would take a little more time to recover.
After that, Leo asked for Thalvyr and Cindriss’s location and went to look for them.
But not before tossing Kazz a piece of plump meat for breakfast, making the kobolt’s nose twitch. Even then, he stubbornly continued pretending to be dead.
At that moment, Leo sensed someone approaching the territory.
It was the postman delivering the letter, riding a fluffy, feathered pigeon beast.
Lily was already on her way to receive the letter.