Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 65: Flare crystals in the guano cave

The pack cleaned up the cave as best they could.

The world outside was chaos. The storm raged outside, leaving the pack with nowhere to go. Because of the rain, the scent of blood from the creatures was easy to hide. So, they did not have to worry about other animals coming to disturb them.

"We can’t stay here," Cato grunted, pushing one of the dead creatures aside. "The smell of this place will drive us mad if we stay."

"We can’t leave," Fil countered, staring at the curtain of rain at the cave entrance. "It is safer inside than outside. No matter how bad it smells."

Visha looked at the pack, their faces full of fatigue. She knew the fight had taken a lot out of them. They couldn’t stay like this. She needed to find a way to distract them.

"We can’t stay in or go out," Visha said. "Then how about we explore? The cave is bigger than we expected. There might be a place that doesn’t smell so... disgusting." Visha crinkled her nose as she said it. "We might find a surprise."

"Some should stay," Uri said. "If we find anything, we can come back and have everyone take a look. There might be another way out of the cave."

Hearing Uri’s suggestion, the pack agreed. If they could find another way out, that would be the best thing. At least they would know they aren’t trapped in the cave with only one entrance.

Uri, Xeno, Visha, and Cato were the ones going to explore.

What Visha didn’t expect was that Uri actually asked Krag to keep everyone safe before they left. Visha glanced at him, a smile in her eyes. Uri felt her happiness, and his eyes flitted towards her. She playfully pinched his arm. Xeno, with his laid-back posture, shook his head at the interaction.

As they set out, they took one last look at the pack. They were still cleaning up the bodies of the creatures.

Visha walked in the middle, Cato at the rear, and Uri and Xeno walking in front. Visha walked in the middle holding the flashlight. It was bright enough for them to see quite a distance. Usually, the flashlight would be useless. The senses of a beastman were strong.

For them, being able to see in the dark isn’t anything new. However, in this cave, there was no light for them to use. So they were essentially walking blind. The flashlight came in handy this time around.

As they walked, the sound of the storm outside was muffled until they could no longer hear it. The deeper they walked, the cooler the cave became. The cave narrowed, becoming a tunnel. Everyone had to walk in a single file, the wall almost brushing their shoulders.

The tunnel was gradual, but it ended abruptly as they walked into a large chamber. The darkness in the chamber was almost overwhelming. Visha had to turn up the brightness of the flashlight.

Their movements echoed in the dimly lit chamber. The floor was uneven. Some places had jagged rock, others had smooth stones. The group walked carefully in order not to harm themselves.

As they walked, another sound mixed with the sound of their footsteps. It was barely audible at first, but the closer they got, the more they could hear it. It was a gentle, continuous sound-the murmur of water.

Following the sound, they worked their way around massive stalagmites, reaching the sound, an underwater stream. It flowed from a crack in the wall and disappeared into a fissure in the floor.

The air smelled clean and pure. A welcome respite from the smell that Visha and the others had experienced earlier at the cave entrance.

Visha closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, "It’s wonderful."

Uri placed a hand in the water, watching as it fell through his fingers. "The water looks pure. At least we will not have to worry about water while we stay here."

"Should we go get the pack?" Cato asked, walking around the chamber.

"Not yet, we aren’t sure this place is entirely safe," Xeno said, sniffing the air.

Visha used the flashlight to roam the chamber. She wanted to see if there was anything worth finding. At least, she wanted to make sure there were no creatures in the chamber that might want to kill them.

"What’s that?" Xeno asked, looking at the spot Visha’s flashlight passed.

"What?" Visha asked. She had been scanning the chamber, trying to get a general look before using her Commune skill.

She turned the flashlight to the place Xeno was pointing. Embedded in the porous stones were small glittering objects. As the light caught them, they could see more clearly. They looked almost transparent. If not for the light shining on them, they might not have noticed.

Visha looked at them, eyes narrowing, wondering where she had seen them before.

Uri walked to the wall, touching the glittering things. His hand touched the porous stone, and it fell away, leaving only the transparent stone. He held it in his hand, noticing its odd shape.

Visha saw it and felt more and more that it was familiar to her.

Rather than guess, she used her Commune skill. When it was still Nature’s Echo, it was related to flora and fauna. After it became Commune, she was able to identify things from a distance instead of having to look at them directly. It also allowed her to identify resources she hadn’t been able to identify before.

As the skill spread through the chamber, Visha understood why it seemed familiar to her. It was the Flare crystal.

Visha never expected that stopping in a random cave would lead them to finding Flare crystals.

"I know what it is," Visha said excitedly. "It’s a Flare crystal!"

Uri looked down at the stone in his hand. He remembered Visha talking about it once when they were in the grotto. He hadn’t expected they would be able to find it here.

Based on what she said before, Uri knew this would be useful in the future.

He looked around the chamber, wondering how many there were.

"What’s a Flare crystal?" Asked Xeno.

Uri shook his head, hearing the question. He didn’t expect better from the carefree tiger.

"Look carefully," Uri said. He threw the stone in his hand against a jagged rock. It immediately let out a blinding light.

Visha had made sure to turn down the flashlight as soon as she realized Uri was about to throw it.

The light lasted for ten seconds before fizzling out.

"Visha told us about it before," Uri walked over, slapping the tiger on the back of his head. "Used for warding off enemies and keeping meat from spoiling. I’m sure Shasha knows a few more uses."

Visha nodded. She looked around the chamber. She knew they couldn’t take them all.

She could only hope they would be able to visit the chamber at another time.