Chapter 251: Tool Instinct

Tera scooped Nadia up from where Xavi had been holding her near the edge of the site and settled the cub against her hip.

Nadia blinked up at her with those round, serious eyes that always made Tera feel like she was being assessed by a tiny, furry magistrate.

"Let’s go for a walk, little miss."

Nadia grabbed a fistful of Tera’s hair in response. It was close enough to an agreement.

Tera wandered farther away, intending to stop at the farm. The males had finished digging the top layer of the foundation, and she had used the portal earlier so her clan males could check up on their cubs.

When she and her mates had come in contact with Nadia and Althea, the two absolutely refused to let go, and nothing would pull them away.

Tera sadly realised that while the other cubs had their mothers with them, her own cubs had both mother and fathers missing.

So Tera and her mates had brought them back to the wolf territory, intending to ease them and put them to sleep before returning them.

They would need to return before focusing on the next construction phase, which was creating the enclosure for the wolf cubs.

This created a problem.

They needed to cut the bamboo to size.

And that required the saws, which were sharp objects.

She had various types, and one specific one had the serrated blade designed to cut through material with density nearly twice that of standard bamboo. And placing them in the hands of beasts whose instinct when confused was to swing harder sounded like a nightmare.

Even when she had taught her clan members how to properly use the scissors and needles, some of the beasts had still pricked and injured themselves with it, though it had been minor.

Tera grimaced.

She remembered there was a boost in the Legacy system about having the beast know how to use tools without prior knowledge. However, much like with digging the foundation, she wondered if it would be better to make sure they did learn how to use these objects alone.

Then again, she needed to fully understand what the boost entailed.

’Hey!’

[? ? ? ?]

[Host has summoned this system]

Tera rolled her eyes and shook her head.

’There is a boost. I think it was Tool Instinct? The one lets beasts instinctively understand how to use tools without me having to teach each one individually, right?’

[Ah! Yes!]

[(???)]

[True, that boost grants an intuitive understanding of tool function, grip, and basic handling to any beast Host has working on a current project]

[It also significantly reduces the learning curve for every beast]

’Hmm... a boost can be turned on and off, right? After purchasing?’

[Yes]

’Will they still retain knowledge of those tools even after the boost is turned off once they have learned how to use those tools?’

[Oh! This system was wondering why Host was asking about that]

’OMG! Just answer the simple question!’

{PervyGoddess wonders if System’s brain was used for decoration}

[( ;′ - `;)]

Tera pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing.

"Ma!"

Nadia’s hand lashed out to smack her mother’s mouth and grip it. She needed to fish out her mother’s lips that had disappeared.

Nadia tried to pull herself up, a strong look of concentration on her face.

Tera had to stop walking and slightly wrestle with her cub.

"No. I am fine, I promise. See, my mouth is here," Tera moaned.

These babies just reacted to the most random things.

{PervyGoddess is delighted}

{PervyGoddess implores for Nadia to pull Tera’s lips harder}

Tera was alarmed. ’What?!’

{PervyGoddess laughs out loud}

Tera chuckled and patted Nadia against her chest, who was now calm but kept looking at Tera’s mouth with suspicious eyes.

[Those lips are not disappearing on her watch, apparently]

[?(l|l• 0 •)?]

Tera only smiled.

[Back to our discussion...]

[Yes, Host]

[The beast would be able to retain their knowledge]

’Hmm...’

[This system would like to know what concerns Host]

Tera explained her dilemma.

[Oh!]

[Host doesn’t need to worry too much about that]

[The Too Instinct boost would cover it, and despite the beast folk’s carelessness]

[This system is sure they know better than to leave an obvious danger lying around because of the cubs]

Tera paused in thought.

’Hmmm... I guess.’

[Yes, Host!]

Now that she thought about it, while the beasts had been a bit careless when first learning about the scissors and needles, they had returned them to Tera once they were done with it, and the four cubs then hadn’t been harmed by them.

Neither did they even get the opportunity to use it.

However...

’Is there a clause to prevent them from using those tools to harm someone else?’

[...]

[(⊙_⊙)]

[Could Host repeat that?]

’You heard me. If a beast picks up a saw and understands how to use it perfectly, what’s stopping them from using it on another beast? Especially if they have killing intent?’

[This system was not expecting Host’s thoughts to travel in this direction]

’Well, maybe you should start expecting it. I’m not some idiot who only thinks about the present.’

[This system feels like Host just called it an idiot]

[??? ? ???]

’Hmm... who knows...’

[(°△°|||)]

[HOST! This system does NOT only think about the present!]

[This system has PROJECTIONS. This system has FORECASTING MODELS. This system has—]

’Yeah, yeah, I hear you...’

[?????]

Tera kept walking, bouncing Nadia gently on her hip. The cub had found a new target—the gift Calis had placed in her hair—and was batting at it with intense focus.

’I am serious, though. Right now, I am working with beasts I know. My clan. Calis’ wolves. But that won’t always be the case. I will meet other beasts in the near future, other tribes, and other clans.

’Beasts I will not be able to know personally since I can’t know every single creature on this planet. Beasts that would potentially be like Kiri and Greymaw with even worse impulses. And they would very likely be using my tools during construction.

’I need to know that if I hand a saw or an axe to a beast I’ve never met before, the boost doesn’t just make them efficient. It also prevents them from using it outside its intended purpose.’

The system was quiet for a long moment.

[Host raises a valid concern]