Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 78: Talking about the system and recruiting

When Visha felt the sense of relief was over her, she realized she was not only feeling her own feelings but the culmination of theirs and hers.

The realization made her emotions more complex.

Xeno held Visha’s hand. His bigger hand covers Visha’s. His thumb stroked the back of her hand. "Will you leave?" He asked, voice small.

"No," Visha responded without hesitation. "Unless something happens beyond my control, I will never leave."

This is the first time she has said out loud, to them, that she won’t leave. Before she would say it to herself. But she had never actually had a conversation with them about staying.

She felt something swell inside her. A happiness so genuine it made her want to sing. It bloomed and breathed new life into her.

She knew it was what they were both feeling. It wasn’t until now that she recognized they had always been afraid of her leaving.

She reached up with her free hand, pulling Xeno down. She kissed his lips, not with hunger or possession but with a quiet recognition that she will always be here. She pulled back, stroked his cheek, and smiled.

She turned towards Uri, opening her arms. She took a step towards him, hugging him. Her body flush against him. She whispered, "I won’t leave."

She knew Uri was more sensitive than Xeno. He always thought too much. His personality made him possessive and territorial. If anyone were to see him, they wouldn’t notice at first glance, but over time, it becomes evident.

She raised her head to see him looking down at her. His hand moved towards her back, slowly. He bent, pressing his lips against hers. She raised her hands to cup his face. The kiss was steady, a promise made between them.

"You’ll stay?" he whispered against her lips after pulling back.

"I’ll stay," she whispered.

That was all the confirmation he needed. He rested his forehead against hers, releasing a breath he was holding before straightening.

A wisp of a smile ghosted his face. His eyes were soft as he looked at Visha.

The atmosphere around them was peaceful. If they could, they would want to stay like this forever. However, they still needed to talk about serious matters.

"Tell me about the system. What task did it give you?" Uri put on his ’leader persona’.

The atmosphere passed with his question.

[Task: The First Call]

[Objective: Expand the Warm Pack by recruiting at least one new, compatible member.]

[Reward: 150 EXP, 25 CP]

Visha told them about the task, not leaving out the part about the reward. She told them she would explain the rewards later.

She remembered there were still some rewards she hadn’t been able to look at. They don’t seem important now, so she would take a look at them later, if necessary.

"So we need to find someone compatible with the pack?" Xeno asked.

Visha nodded. "I’m not sure what compatible means. I don’t know what the measure of being compatible is. Is there something specific about our pack that others have in common? The question has been on my mind since I saw it, and I have no clue what it is."

"There are a few things that come to mind," Uri said slowly. His eyes insightful as he looked at Xeno and Visha. "The system either wants us to recruit outcasts or people who are useful. There is also the possibility of both."

Visha and Xeno didn’t respond.

"Taking someone from their tribe would cause us enemies we are unable to deter or defeat. The only option is people who have been cast out from their tribe. People like Kit or like me." He waved the arm that was missing its lower section,

Visha saw the smile on his face as he did it. Unexpected, because she knew how he felt about it, but she was glad to see him accept it.

It didn’t change the fact that she wanted to give him his arm back. She was merely happy he didn’t seem insecure about it anymore.

Xeno met Uri’s upper arm with his elbow, moving it up and down. Visha almost choked on air seeing the ’handshake’. The sound came out like a half laugh half sob.

"Back to business," she said as she slapped Xeno on the back.

"Shasha," Xeno pouted.

She ignored him, "We can’t take people from their tribe, but what if someone comes to us or we go out searching?"

"Those are options, but we do not have the manpower to go searching now. It would have to wait until we have finished building enough houses to meet everyone’s needs."

"Maybe one will fall from the sky?" Xeno suggested.

"Sure," Visha said, rolling her eyes. "One will fall from the sky, another will come up from the ground, and one will rush in through the mountain."

"It could happen," Xeno said, shrugging.

Uri’s eyes followed them, watching their banter, "Do we have a time limit?"

Visha shook her head. "As long as we get the member. It will sit there until we do."

"Good, then once we have finished with the perimeter check and building houses, we can look." Uri turned to look at the pack who was getting ready to sleep. "There is one concern. I am not sure we will all be able to go together."

Visha and Xeno saw the direction of his gaze. They knew he was right. It wouldn’t be good for the leaders and priestess to leave the pack by themselves. If something were to happen, someone would need to stay.

"We haven’t come to that point yet. We can decide another day. For now, let’s put everything behind us. Let’s do what you said. Deal with the perimeter and the houses," Visha stated.

After the three came to an agreement, they went back to the pack. Tomorrow was another full day.

They needed to be well rested in order to do all the work they needed to do.