B3 - Chapter 51: Claw of the Primal Tiger

Seth stared silently at Elysha's body.

She had been a Primalist. Someone who had clawed her way upward despite impossible odds. Someone who despised the ruler of her own nation. In so many ways, she had been just like him.

Did he truly have to kill her?

She had tried to kill his friends… but hadn't he done the same to hers?

Over the past month, how many of her comrades had he slaughtered? How many families had he shattered without ever knowing?

Seth couldn't look away from the fallen woman.

The overwhelming rage he had felt toward her no longer made sense. It was as if it had never truly been his own. A part of him suspected Kreytorus' Legacy had been responsible, nudging him toward such violence.

After remaining motionless for another moment, Seth shook his head to force the thoughts away.

Now wasn't the time to be crippled by doubt. His friends were still fighting—wasting any more precious time here would put them at risk.

He pulled the Seed Extractor from his Endless Pouch and placed the ring-shaped artifact against Elysha's blood-slicked chest.

Claw of the Primal Tiger [Copper~Legendary]

Just as he had suspected from their battle, the imperial Primalist possessed a Seed—though he'd never expected it to be Legendary Grade.

Seth channeled a stream of aether into the device. Just as it had done during the extraction from Morsh's corpse, the artifact flared to life. Radiant light spread across Elysha's body before converging into a dense sphere at the center of her chest.

A heartbeat later the sphere tore itself free from the corpse and transformed into a claw-shaped mass of glowing energy.

The instant it appeared, Seth's core stirred violently.

A primal hostility welled up from deep within his chest, as if another predator had stepped into its territory. For a fleeting moment, it urged him to destroy the Seed rather than take it.

The sensation then vanished.

Frowning, Seth retrieved his Mountain Steranorm Vessel and ignored his core's reaction. As he prepared to seal the Seed inside the glass container, he cast Intermediate Identify on it.

Seth's eyes widened.

The effect was absurd.

Sure, it was highly specialized, but the enhancement to Beastmaster Rage would be incredible—especially since it would also boost Nightmare and Colossus.

The cooldown reduction is even more terrifying.

Something flashed in Seth's mind. Both the direwolf and the giant scorpion had somehow amplified certain aspects of their Seeds while absorbing them. What if he could do the same? What if he could enhance that effect even further?

Seth forced the thought away for the moment. There would be time to speculate later.

Carefully, he put the Seed into the glass vessel and sealed it tightly before placing it inside his Endless Pouch. He then grabbed Elysha's own pouch, turned on his heel, and sprinted back toward the rest of his party.

The rest of her equipment could wait for later.

Extending his senses through Link, Seth raced through the dense ferns while checking on Nightmare and Colossus. He couldn't feel any pain from either of them. Good.

Not long after beginning his run, he pushed through a wall of thick vines and emerged in the clearing where the initial ambush had taken place.

A few feet away, Selena had just driven one of her daggers into the throat of the last surviving imperial soldier, and the man collapsed lifelessly into the mud.

Every member of the Kastal party had survived the skirmish, though many bore a significant number of wounds. Colossus's heavy carapace was covered in deep scratches; Devus, Brandon, and Henry leaned heavily against their weapons, their armor dented and cracked, while the Priest who'd been struck by Elysha's arrow sat against a thick root.

Fortunately, all of the deeper wounds and gashes had already been closed. Lumi's specialized area-of-effect healing spell still rippled through the humid air while the little otter of light dashed frantically from one person to another. Her tiny paws released vibrant energy each time she cast her single-target healing spell to mend their remaining injuries. The small creature looked visibly exhausted from the aether expenditure.

Marine was the first to notice Seth's return.

"Seth..." the noblewoman muttered, eyes widening as they fell upon the laceration across his chest and the stream of blood flowing from the hole in his left hand.

Lumi froze above Devus's shoulder, then she let out a sharp squeak and shot toward Seth.

A warm, brilliant beam of pure light poured from her palms and enveloped his injured hand and chest.

"It's okay, Lumi," Seth said as he looked down at the frantic otter. "I'm not going to bleed out, you don't have to rush."

But the small healer stubbornly refused to stop, her body trembling as she pushed through to close the deep stab in his palm until nothing remained but a smooth—yet still painful—pink scar.

Devus walked over, boots squelching in the mud as he shook his head. "I honestly didn't think I would see you this injured ever again."

Seth smiled and ran a hand over his torn armor across his chest. "She was the strongest opponent I have fought in this war, aside from Morsh."

Selena stopped cleaning her daggers. "She?"

"Elysha of Spyre," Seth answered.

Devus' jaw dropped at the name. "The fifth-highest contributor." He paused, gaze meeting Seth's. "Is she dead?"

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Seth nodded. "Her and her two beasts."

A few steps away, Brandon rubbed his neck, a frown on his face. "It's weird for someone like her to come for you without any of the other elite soldiers."

Seth recalled Elysha's words and the raw animosity in her tone when she had openly insulted Jaz and Celess. "She seemed to hate the rest of them for some reason."

Marine shrugged, her bow resting against her hip, and she let out a huff. "It looks like there is also some tension inside the Empire."

"Seems like it," Seth answered. He turned his attention toward the Priest with the injured shoulder. "Are you alright to move?"

The man offered him a weak smile, hand gripping his mended shoulder. "Yeah, entirely thanks to your quick warning. That arrow would have killed me if I hadn't moved."

"No worries."

Seth looked back down at Lumi and examined the way her small chest heaved as she finished closing the gash across his chest. He raised a hand to pat her. "I'm alright. You can pause now."

Refusing to take no for an answer this time, he channeled aether into his teardrop necklace and moved the otter back inside before she could dart away and keep helping others.

Seth straightened, glancing up at the few rays of sun that somehow found a way through the dense canopy. The sun would set in a few hours, so he certainly could move deeper into the rainforest and hunt more imperial soldiers, but forcing everyone else to push through their physical limits right now was not a strategic move—especially not after eliminating five percent of the entire enemy force without losing a single person.

"Let's loot the bodies and head back to the others," Seth said. "We can take the time to breathe, and we'll go for another push tomorrow morning."

Elena looked at him with a faint smile. She clearly agreed with his decision not to blindly chase another battle.

Seth returned the smile, then headed in the direction of Elysha's body.

There was still plenty to collect.

Seth and the others moved at a measured pace through the dense foliage, making their way back toward Kastal's main force.

In the end, none of Elysha's equipment had been an upgrade over his own. Aside from acquiring a larger supply of Instant-Spell scrolls, the loot had offered him little value.

But I still have that Seed, he thought.

The real issue was how he would absorb it. Nightmare had assimilated Morsh's Copper Seed in less than a day, but could Seth replicate such a feat? The Petrified Tree Sap had taken him several days to absorb, though it had been an Iron one with a strange affinity. On the other hand, Elena had also required several days inside the ice cavern to fully take in a Copper Seed.

He couldn't simply assume he would be able to do it any faster than she had.

As they traveled deeper into the valley basin, they encountered more scattered detachments from the Kastal army. Most groups appeared completely uninjured, although there were a few who carried wounds or bore the signs of battles with dented shields and bloodstained armor.

Eventually, they arrived at a wide clearing occupied by Jaxar's detachment.

The King's grandson looked utterly miserable.

Deep lacerations had torn through his expensive garments, and fresh blood soaked the fine fabric of his Elementalist robes. The students gathered around him were in even worse condition.

Many of them weren't there at all.

Nearly a third—perhaps even half—of the hundred elite students from Oskon Academy that Jaxar had proudly led into the rainforest only half a day ago were missing. The remaining survivors lay sprawled across the wet ground, groaning in pain with severe wounds.

Jaxar noticed Seth and his companions entering the clearing.

His expression twisted into pure fury, and he stormed toward them, his boots violently through the muddy puddles.

"You knew it!" Jaxar shouted, voice cracking as he pointed a finger at Seth. "You freaking knew it!"

Elena stepped directly in front of Seth, placing a firm hand against his chest. Her position made it impossible to tell whether she was shielding him from the noble or restraining Seth from lunging forward and tearing the King's grandson apart.

"Knew what, Jaxar?" Elena asked.

"He knew about those damn artifacts!" Sparks crackled around Jaxar's staff as his emotions visibly spiraled out of control. "That's why you didn't come with me! Why you left with your little group and avoided every major clash! You knew we were going to be butchered and you chose not to warn us! You simply saw the perfect opportunity to get rid of me!"

"What artifacts are you talking about?" Elena's emerald eyes narrowed as she maintained her defensive stance in front of Seth.

Jaxar ignored her entirely and kept his furious gaze locked on Seth.

Seth resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Jaxar's expression made it clear he didn't believe a single word. The King's grandson turned back to Elena. "They had artifacts that completely canceled our distortion fields. It allowed them to unleash an absurd number of Instant-Spell scrolls before we could even react."

"Wait. It allowed them to use their scrolls, but blocked yours?" Elena asked, her brows furrowing.

"No. They couldn't deploy distortion fields either," Jaxar answered with an ugly grimace. "We just couldn't activate our own scrolls fast enough to defend ourselves."

Seth tilted his head. "So in other words, you got ambushed and outmaneuvered, and somehow that's my fault?"

"Look how happy you are," Jaxar retorted, taking a threatening step forward—people around tensed. "Do you really think this won't have consequences for you? You should be careful. Your head might roll before you even get the chance to apologize."

So confident, Seth thought as he met the noble's gaze. And yet so weak.

Jaxar glared at Seth for several long seconds, as if expecting some kind of reaction. Yet when he received nothing more than a cold, indifferent stare, the King's grandson's expression twisted even further.

With no more words to throw at Seth, the noble spun on his heel and strode away toward the clearing, boots slamming into the wet ground with every furious step.

The moment he was gone, Elena turned toward Seth. "Did you really not know anything about those artifacts?"

Seth shook his head. "No. They never used those against me."

"They are probably rare, then."

"Or the Empress didn't give any of those artifacts to the other squad so they couldn't flee with Escape Scrolls when facing me," Seth retorted.

"That would mean she actively wanted her own people to die out here," a voice stated from behind them.

Seth turned to see Marine approaching. "And yet the same thing happens with our own king," he answered. "Almost every officer actively discourages us from using Escape Scrolls."

Marine's expression darkened.

People like her father had been telling them that it was for the sake of honor, claiming a Kastalian should never flee. But after spending even a short time in the Warfare Rifts, even the newest recruits knew those words were nothing but lies.

And the Marshal's granddaughter couldn't deny it.

Seth turned to Devus, Brandon, Selena, Henry, and Elena, gesturing toward a relatively dry patch of grass. "Take some time to rest and recover."

He turned to leave, which prompted Selena to step forward. "Where are you going?"

"I have to think a little," Seth answered. "Need to come up with a way to handle these new artifacts."

Seth gave a nod to Marine and the two other nobles of their party before stepping away from the camp that was slowly taking shape. He moved a short distance into the dense undergrowth, boots sinking into the soaked earth.

If the Empire truly possessed devices capable of neutralizing distortion fields, things could be far more complicated. The imperial forces possessed considerably more resources than Kastal. If this turned into a battle of who had the deeper pockets, the Empire would inevitably emerge victorious.

'If you could use Beastmaster Rage every two hours or so, we could take far greater risks and take more people out before a big final clash,' Nightmare suggested through Link.

'Absorbing that Seed right now is a terrible idea,' Seth retorted. 'The battle could wind up concluding with all of our people dead before I even finish. The boost it would give us isn't worth the risks.'

Nightmare let out a soft huff inside his teardrop. 'Fine... I will tell you how I absorbed that Copper Seed in half a day.'

Seth raised an eyebrow. 'As if there's some kind of trick.'

'There is,' Nightmare answered. 'The secret is to become darkness itself. Well... at least that was the secret in my case.'

Seth rolled his eyes. 'Thanks for that incredible insight.'

The sound of a twig snapping came from behind him, and when Seth turned he found Elena stepping through the dense vegetation.

The noblewoman stopped a few feet away. A faint frown crossed her face.

"For once, I feel like I don't know what is going on inside that head of yours. Did you really just want to be alone with your thoughts?"

"Yes," Seth answered. "I'm trying to figure out a way to make sure the next few days don't go terribly for us."

Elena's mouth twisted to the side. "There isn't much we can do except adapt to their new tactics as quickly as possible. It's not like some miracle solution is waiting for us somewhere in these woods."

Seth grimaced. "Yeah, I know."

Elena's eyes narrowed and she took a step closer. It was as if she were sensing something amiss. She took out her Isolating Crystal, and the silencing dome spread outward. "What are you hiding, Seth?"

"It isn't a solution... but I might have something that could improve our chances at least a little."

"What is it?"

"That imperial woman, Elysha of Spyre, she had a Seed."

Elena's emerald eyes widened, and she fell silent for a moment. "Considering her contribution, I suppose that shouldn't be surprising," she said at last. Then her gaze snapped back to Seth's face. "Don't tell me you're considering absorbing it here?"

Seth grimaced, running a hand over his chest armor. "Absorbing it would significantly strengthen our next ambush. But realistically, the Empire will probably attack before I finish, and I'd have no choice but to stop. If that happens, I don't know what the consequences would be. Maybe I won't be able to continue later. Or maybe I would lose my chance to ever absorb another Copper one."

"No. You wouldn't," Elena replied. Obvious hesitation crossed her face; it was almost as if she regretted what she was about to say, knowing it might only prompt him to do something stupid. "While you were throwing yourself into all those battles over the past month, I asked my father about those Seeds."

Seth's posture stiffened. "I'm not sure that was the best idea, Elena."

"He is my father, Seth. I trust him," she answered. "And according to what he knows, they are rare, even outside of Kastal. He made it clear that if I ever found one, I should absorb it. Even if it doesn't suit my combat style..." She rubbed her neck before meeting his gaze again. "...because any Seed can be replaced with another one."