Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 75: Mapping the Territory (2)

The next day came with a renewed sense of purpose.

After the first day of discovery, the trio told the pack members about what they had found. The exploration went from being a three-person task to a pack activity. Everyone wanted to check on their new home.

The chatter during breakfast was lively. Everyone was looking forward to what they might find.

The system gave Visha things she would need to do and find to complete the task. Using Commune and Land Resonance would make the task easy, but she wanted to include the people she considered family.

After they started mapping the system, gave her additional tasks. The primary task was still mapping their territory; however, she now had a list of secondary tasks.

[Perimeter survey: 5% complete]

[Resource Identification: 2/5]

[Hazard & Stability: 1/1]

[Points of Interest: 2/3]

Seeing the objectives, she questioned them initially. She took the time to take a second look at the system. She noticed that it had become more pack-oriented. The EXP is meant to make her stronger. The CP is used specifically for the tribe.

Since she is rewarded both EXP and CP for this task, it means the tribes involvement is necessary. So while she can use her abilities to find everything, the tribe still needs to know these things.

After figuring out the divide, she was both clear about the function of the system and what she needed to do for the tribe. She knew that there was a long road ahead. They had only just begun.

While talking to Uri and Xeno the previous night, they had decided to do a perimeter survey. Uri really wanted to know the ins and outs of the caldera. His worry was always that someone would be able to get in without them noticing.

To put his mind at ease, they agreed to check. However, while talking to the pack, they told the trio they wanted to be involved. Since this was everyone’s home, it didn’t make sense for them to sit around waiting while their leaders did the heavy work.

Xeno agreed with the statement and decided to have them look around as well. He split them into two teams. One would check the ground, and the other would check the walls. This meant climbing the actual wall to gain an understanding of how durable and defensible the wall is.

It was decided that Willa, Fil, Kit, and Nimo would cover the groundwork. Chi cheerfully volunteered herself to be a part of the ground team. According to her, climbing is hard work, and she wasn’t interested. So the group of four became five.

They would check for fruits, trees, and herbs that Uri, Visha, and Xeno might have missed before. Anything they could carry back to camp, they would. That way, Visha could figure out whether the things were edible.

After breakfast, everyone was ready and rearing to go. Willa’s group set off first.

Uri addressed the people who were going with him. "Knowing how safe our walls are is a priority. Having the walls of our home crumbling should never happen. We must also figure out if there are any openings for others to come through. We should never be unaware of our exit and entry points."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They knew securing their home was what they should do.

The climb was grueling. The caldera wall was an imposing barrier of rock. Visha was worried that Uri wouldn’t be able to handle it. But he proved her wrong. Rather than climb in his human form, he opted to shift. His sepentine form moved quickly among the rocks.

His agility shocked Visha. She had seen him fight; she knew he moved quickly, but seeing him like this was different. She smiled as she saw him moving so freely. He was able to find hidden ledges and cracks.

Visha held on to Xeno’s back as he scaled the wall. She was stronger now and could climb by herself, but it would be faster if she were with Xeno. Krag and Cato were more than capable of keeping up.

Visha used her Land Resonance skill to help them avoid potential dangers. Using it, she was able to steer them away from loose handholds or sections of wall that would crumble under their strength.

As they ascended, the world below shrank. They were able to find a wide ledge near the rim. The view was amazing. They were able to see the entire caldera. A carpet of green with sections of blue. It was a perfect self-contained world.

"It’s...perfect," Xeno breathed, his voice full of possessive pride.

As they walked along the rim, they continued mapping the caldera, charting the topography.

As they walked, Uri spotted a grassy hollow with a herd of six pronged deer. They didn’t look like the bucks they hunted before. These were smaller. Their antlers were just starting to form. They were surrounded by does.

"Their birthing grounds," Xeno whispered, afraid is voice would disturb the scene. "We should protect this place."

Their descent was fast, their spirits were still high. Seeing their territory in all its glory was an amazing mood booster. Seeing is believing and after seeing the vastness of their territory, they were more convinced that this was the place they should live. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Visha’s group met Willa’s group by the waterfall. Chi was excitedly waving to them when she saw them. She grabbed Visha’s hand, dragging her towards the waterfall. The closer she got, the more she noticed the steam rising.

They walked through a curtain of lush fern and stepped into a clearing. There were dozens of steam vents. There was a small geyser shooting hot water.

"What do you think?" Chi asked Visha.

"I think I don’t know what you want to tell," Visha said, looking at Chi.

Chi rolled her eyes, "I’ve already known this place is warm, but seeing this is different." Chi leaned against Visha, her big red eyes staring into Visha’s soul. "Seeing this means there’s a hot spring somewhere."

"And who can resist a good soak in a hot spring, right?" Visha remarked.

"Exactly! No males allowed!" Chi hopped, holding Visha’s arm.

Visha laughed, dragging her out of the clearing and back to everyone else.

As she came out, her eyes caught sight of a bush. It was completely blue. She felt something different about this bush. When she placed her hand on it, she could feel her spirits lift. The fatigue she had felt earlier left her.

She used her Commune skill to find out what it was. When she saw the name, her lip twitched. [Spirit-moss]

She looked at the blue bush her hand was touching and back at the name. She sighed; she didn’t question the name. This bush had some effect on her spirit, which meant it could help her with rituals and blessings when she needed them.

She didn’t pick any. She would find it when the time came.

Everyone walked back to the campsite. Visha noticed some fruits, berries, and roots in some baskets. This should be what Willa’s group found when they did their ground search.

She picked them up one by one, using her skill to tell her what each was. One in particular caught her attention. She noticed it as a pepper. She had been looking for peppers since she decided to bring variety into her diet, but wasn’t able to find them.

Now, she was lucky enough to find just what she needed.

The moment she had touched the first fruit, the system identified it as a resource. This meant most of the second object was done. Now, they only needed to spend the next few days checking the perimeter.

She took a quick look and saw there was still 65% that hadn’t been mapped.

[Perimeter survey: 35% complete]

[Resource Identification: 5/5]

[Hazard & Stability: 1/1]

[Points of Interest: 3/3]

She turned to Uri, feeling a little sad for him. But when she saw him sitting with his mapping tools, his brows furrowed and his eyes serious, she knew there was no need for her to feel that way.

He truly enjoyed doing it.

That night at dinner, she sat to enjoy a good meal after a job well done. She hadn’t finished eating when she heard the chime from the system.

[Task: The foundation]

[Objective: Construct the first non-makeshift structure.]

[Reward: 100 EXP, 50 CP, Tribe wide buff "pride of place" (+5% morale)]

Camly, Visha took up her cup and had a drink. She looked at the words in front of her. She knew she couldn’t hide the jolt in her heart from Uri and Xeno, but the rest didn’t need to know.

For a moment, she wondered whether to tell her males about the system. She had a feeling there were going to be a lot more tasks to come.

She didn’t want to keep telling them ’it’s a priestess thing’.

She finished her dinner, still wondering what to do.