Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 74: Mapping the Territory (1)

Visha touched her stomach, full from the amount of food she had eaten.

Ever since awakening the bond, her appetite has become bigger. She already knows that males eat a lot. She also noticed that Willa and Chi eat a lot, but she had never eaten as much as they did.

Now, it seems she will soon be able to catch up with the males.

As lethargic as she felt, she knew there was something she needed to do.

She stroked Xeno’s hair as he lay on her lap. Uri wrapped her in his arm. She smiled in contentment. She allowed herself a few more moments before she moved.

"We need to check our territory," she said softly.

Uri turned his face towards her. "You want to do it now?"

Visha nodded.

Xeno, the big man-child, hugged her waist.

"I don’t want to get up," he said, voice low and gravelly.

It was obvious he was about to fall asleep.

"Then don’t. Uri and I will go check on our own. You can sleep," Visha teased, ruffling his hair.

She took out the reward she had just received from the space. She could understand why the system gave her this now instead of after. She looked around the caldera. The sheer size of it meant they wouldn’t be able to finish in a day.

And with this, she looked at the surveyor’s kit; the job would be easier.

She handed it to Uri. She knew he had a talent for mapping, so he was the one who would truly be able to benefit from this.

He removed his hand from Visha’s waist. Unfurling the item, he saw a set of tools he could use for mapping. There was a hide, better than the one he used before, a charcoal pencil, and other items.

His eyes lit up, making his usually cold face much more gentle. He gave Visha a quick kiss to thank her.

He stood up, ready to start mapping. Tucking the tool set under his arm, he reached out his hand to Visha, wanting to help her stand. She looked down at Xeno, who was once again relaxing, and gave him a push.

He rolled off her lap, and she laughed. She knew she couldn’t really push him if he didn’t want her to. She appreciated this about them. They were clearly stronger, but they are willing to follow her lead.

She got up and walked away hand in hand with Uri, leaving Xeno gaping at them as they walked away.

"Shasha, Uri, don’t leave me. What kind of mates are you? You just threw me away like that," Xeno shouted.

He got up and bounced over to the two who had walked away.

"First, we need to mark what we know," Uri stated, completely in his element.

They marked the lake. Their main source of water. They walked along the lake until they met a rocky shore. The sound of roaring water met their ears as they saw a magnificent waterfall.

"A second source of water," Uri noted. " And the cliff face is the same as the one I inspected before. They are both very solid. An added defense for us."

Visha used her new ability, Land Resonance. She could feel that the water held some power, but she wasn’t sure what kind of power it was.

"This place might be important for us later," she stated.

Uri nodded in agreement.

They continued on their path, walking away from the lake to a section of the caldera that was noticeably warmer than where they had been before. The ground was muddy and soft. They heard the hissing of steam from small vents in the ground.

"This smells like sulfur," Visha said.

"What is sulfur?" Xeno asked.

Visha has no way to answer. So she said, "Something from my old tribe. It smells like rotten eggs, doesn’t it?"

Xeno nodded, allowing himself to be led by Visha.

"Is it dangerous?" Xeno asked.

"Only if you don’t know how to use it. And right now, we don’t know how to use it," she said, rubbing her hand across his chest.

She looked at Uri, who was trying to juggle the tools in one hand.

"Do you need help?" Visha asked.

Uri looked at her; she could see a faint blush spread on his cheeks. The slight frustration she had felt from him had disappeared.

His thumb rubbed against the hide. Without saying anything, Xeno walked over, placing the hide on his chest. Visha took the tool set from Uri, giving him the charcoal pen. Uri started mapping the places they had been so far.

He was finished in no time.

They left the sulfur area and continued mapping.

Visha couldn’t help saying, "Maybe one day, I’ll be able to fix your arm, so it won’t be so hard for you. I fix Fil’s leg. If I become stronger, I might be able to give you back your arm."

She said this not just for Uri but for herself and Xeno. She knew there were times when Uri would be frustrated. But he refused to talk about it. Always making sure he doesn’t need our help. He doesn’t want them to see him as disabled, and they don’t.

But the occasional feeling that bleeds through when Uri thinks about his arm, they feel it.

Visha also said it because she saw her Rite of Vitality power was only at level 1. If she could level up, maybe she really could help.

They walked in silence for a moment before they came upon another place that needed mapping.

It was a grassy meadow. There, they saw a flock of birds with feathers that looked like fractured glass. Using Commune, Visha found their names were Crystal-Feather Cranes.

Xeno saw the bird and then looked at Visha.

She saw him looking between her and the bird. "I don’t want to eat them now. We can try it another day."

Xeno nodded and ignored them.

They continued walking. At the edge of the meadow stood a grove of trees. Their bark was dark and looked metallic. Visha didn’t need to use Commune this time.

She had seen the tree before when they were travelling.

Uri walked over and tapped on the bark. "Ironwood trees. We have many uses for this." Then he walked away.

The sun dipped, casting long shadows. The trio made their way back to the pack. They had covered a lot of territory today. The caldera is too large to map in one day; they will need to take their time in the coming days.

As they reached the camp, Uri unfurled his map to look at it. The lake, the waterfall, the sulfur patch, the meadow, and the grove, were all marked on it.

Visha looked at the task log.

Although she had not mapped half of the caldera, the system requirements to receive the reward were almost fulfilled.

Tomorrow would be another day. And she was looking forward to it.