Chapter 739: Honeybun

The turtle simply looked back at him, unbothered, and Moon let out a long breath, a rueful smile spreading across his face.

"Sigh. Seems like it’s fate, then." He shook his head and reached out to rest a hand on the golden shell, his voice softening.

"You know what? I was going to feed it to you anyway. The core’s considered an inheritance, something passed down. And honestly... I liked the idea of a part of your mother living on inside you. Of carrying her forward." He gave the turtle a gentle pat. "That’s the least I could do for you. So go on. Take her strength. Make it yours, a part of her lives in you now, make her proud."

Honeybun nestled its head against his hand, and then its body began to still, its eyes drifting half-closed, the potent soul power of the Jade Turtle Core beginning to settle and work through it.

Moon watched carefully, ready to intervene if anything went wrong, as his little turtle began to absorb the inheritance of its ancestor.

It didn’t take long for Honeybun to slip into the same state it had entered when the phantom of the River of Paths had appeared before it. Its eyes drifted fully closed, its breathing slowed and deepened, and its consciousness withdrew somewhere far away.

Did it enter the River of Paths again? Moon wondered, then nodded to himself. It made sense. The Jade Turtle Core held the concentrated spirit of its ancestor, a core trait to be inherited by one who walked its path. Of course absorbing something like that would draw the little turtle back into the River, where bloodline and legacy and the great currents of power all converged.

Moon carefully withdrew Honeybun into his beast-taming space, sealing it away safe from any disturbance while it journeyed, exactly as he had the first time. No interruptions or risks.

While he waited, Moon turned his attention to Mirage.

The white steed’s strength had been climbing steadily from the Surpasser corpse it had devoured, and Moon noted with satisfaction that it had reached the peak of Four-Star.

"Not bad, buddy," he said, rubbing the steed’s neck. "You’re almost at Five-Star now. A few more days of good feeding and you’ll cross it. You’re catching up."

Mirage neighed softly and leaned into his hand, content with the food and praise.

Moon considered the time he had on his hands and decided not to waste it.

"Well. Honeybun’s off getting stronger somewhere we can’t follow, so let’s put this hour to use. Shared Senses still isn’t maxed, and the class duration’s running down. Help me finish it off before it expires?"

Mirage huffed in agreement.

For the next hour, Moon drilled Shared Senses with the white steed, cycling the skill again and again, linking his vision to Mirage’s and back, pushing through the familiar nausea of the shifting perspective until his acclimated body barely registered it anymore. Each use nudged the proficiency higher, and with the dedicated practice and nothing else competing for his attention, the counter climbed steadily toward completion.

By the end of the hour, it reached its peak, and the skill became fully his.

[Shared Senses]

[Order: Second]

[Rank: Rare]

[Level: MAX]

[Details: Links the Beastmaster’s vision with one companion for 40 seconds. The beastmaster can see through the beast’s eyes and detect creatures within its perception range. +30% Perception]

Moon read through the maxed description with a pleasant smile.

The duration had increased by a third, from thirty seconds to forty, giving him more time per use to scout and assess. And the perception bonus had tripled, from ten percent up to a full thirty.

The improvement was relatively good, turning what had already been an excellent scouting tool into an even better one.

Paired with a proper scout beast, the Underground Bat with its parasite-boosted intelligence, or Mirage, he’d be able to see through their eyes with clarity, detecting threats and mapping terrain long before anything could catch him off guard.

Both new beast-taming skills were his now. Hive and Shared Senses were strong additions his arsenal of skills.

He settled in to wait for his little turtle to return, curious what inheritance the Jade Turtle’s core would grant it, and how much stronger Honeybun would be when it finally opened its eyes.

Suddenly, a bold idea struck him, and his eyes widened.

"Wait. What if I use Shared Senses on Honeybun right now, while he’s in the River? Would I be able to see what he sees? Could I actually look into the River of Paths through his eyes?"

The thought had many implications. If it worked, it would be extraordinary. The River of Paths was one of the greatest mysteries he knew, a realm he understood only in fragments, through Alaric’s experience and his own experience and speculation.

To actually perceive it, even secondhand through a beast’s senses, could teach him things no one in the kingdom knew. How the River worked to other than humans, what the paths looked like.

How Supreme creatures walked their major currents while humans only touched minor branches.

The discoveries were staggering.

He sat with the idea, his heart beating faster, really tempted to activate the skill.

But after several minutes of careful consideration, he decided against it.

Two concerns stopped him, and both were very serious.

First, the risk to Honeybun himself. Entering the River demands total focus, the whole consciousness drawn into the current. If I link my senses to him mid-journey, I could catch him off guard, break his concentration at a critical moment. That could pull him out of whatever process he’s undergoing, reduce whatever inheritance he would’ve gained, or worse, leave him exposed to something in there I don’t understand. I’d be gambling with his growth, most importantly his safety, over my own curiosity.

Second, my own presence. Shared Senses would, in a sense, extend a piece of my awareness into the River alongside Honeybun. And I have no idea how the River would react to that. It’s an ancient, powerful thing that existed long before humans even awakened their powers. A human consciousness reaching uninvited, riding on a beast’s senses, who knows what that triggers? A backlash, rejection or something that harms Honeybun, or me, or both. I can’t predict it, and I can’t afford to find out the hard way with our lives on the line.