Chapter 144: To survive, you need to be strong

The Helsik Tribesmen continued to stare at Kanan and the others as they made their way to their accommodations. They walked on a wooden rope bridge that connected the platform they were on to the platform they were going to.

Though the people of the Helsik Tribe were whispering, the trained ears of the Nemean Tribesmen heard everything.

"You all will be staying here for the time being. I apologize for how cramped it is, but this is all we have for now." The guard said while opening the door.

"No, this is perfect. Thank you." Kanan bowed to the guard.

The Guard didn’t expect Kanan to show him such respect. He began to like him more and more.

"Come see me if you need anything. Other than that, please do not leave your quarters unless you wish to relieve yourself. We do not wish for there to be any misunderstandings between our peoples."

Kanan nodded. "I understand."

"Good." The guard closed the door and went back to his duties.

"Ughhhh! I thought I was going to die from not being able to talk for a long time!" Terin plopped onto the floor bed, only to be kicked off by Reda, who stole his spot.

"When Kanan started speaking, I didn’t understand why he left out some information, but it seems that you knew what you were doing." Fera was glad she wasn’t part of the council or in an important position in the village.

Just standing among the Helsik Council nearly made her crumble under the pressure. She had no idea how Kanan could do it. She chalked it up to his Nemean blood.

"So I’m related to a Helsik Warrior." There was something in Lopis that felt complete, something that felt whole. She finally understood where her ancestor had come from, and she was glad that she was able to relay this information back to her family.

"What, you think you’re better than us now?" Terin asked.

"No, Terin."

"Good. Because I was going to cry if you thought so." He stuffed more poison leaves into his mouth.

Fera walked over to Kanan, made him sit down, then sat on his lap. "Kanan, what do you think of the village so far?"

"It’s great. I definitely think that we should build a relationship with this tribe and help them reclaim the swamp. We don’t know what’s going on beyond the mountain, so having allies would be great."

Alue shuttered when he heard about the dangers that lurked beyond the mountains. He was so thankful that he was never called to fight at the hole in the mountain at the southern gate.

It was hard enough for him to fight against a beast, so he didn’t even want to think about fighting against a monster.

"Why are you sitting on me?" Kanan asked Fera.

She looked up, smiling, then leaned back onto Kanan’s chest. "I heard that you’re great at mating. Wanna try it?"

Lopis chuckled, Reda blushed, and Alue and Terin were very curious, as they too had heard that Kanan was great at mating.

"Maybe some other time. For now, you five need to become stronger. I forgot to tell you guys earlier, but there is a ne—" Kanan paused, sensing not only guards but spies nearby.

It made sense that they would be watched, but this didn’t mean Kanan would allow his secrets to be aired out. So, he made a barrier of spirit energy to block the sound from leaving the room.

"Woah, you could make barriers too?" Fera touched it, and it was very similar to her own.

"Yeah, somewhat. Anyway, there’s a new method of accumulating spirit energy. So, here’s how it works." After explaining everything and showcasing his power, everyone was eager to gain that power as well.

Since they wouldn’t be leaving their quarters for the time being, this was the perfect time to train, especially since this method took a few hours to complete.

Terin wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of nearly putting himself into spirit energy reflux, even though that wouldn’t happen.

Alue was eager to learn how many plants had this new power, while the girls wondered how their powers would evolve after learning the Spirit Core Method.

As Kanan expected, it took hours for them to complete the process. During this time, he noticed that the spies watching them had increased by a few.

One even tried to dispel Kanan’s barrier, but he increased his power, making the spirit energy of the Helsik Tribesman attempting to dispel it backfire.

Since they were the ones trying to intrude, the guards weren’t notified, and if they were, they were told not to do anything.

The sun was setting when Reda opened her eyes, the first one of the group to complete the Spirit Core method.

She was extremely taken aback by how powerful she had become and how she was now able to see spirits.

When testing her power, she had learned that not only were her barriers way more durable, but she could make them way bigger or even smaller than before. Her control over them increased greatly.

"This is amazing, Kanan. I had no idea I could become this powerful."

"Yeah, it’s great. Now, if we are separated, we will be able to defend ourselves."

When the others opened their eyes, they too were baffled by their power. Terin wanted to fight someone right away, but Reda shut him down right away.

Lopis’s power improved so much that she accidentally fell into her own shadow, needing help to even get out of it.

Finally, once everyone was able to test their power, albeit minimally, Kanan dispelled his barrier.

"Alright, now, let’s get some sleep, guys. It’s best if we rest up properly, as we’ve been up for a while and were fighting against beasts, so our power was depleted. We also don’t know what work the Helsik Tribe will put us through."

"Do you think we can trust them?" Alue wondered

"For now, I will say yes. Though be on your guard. You never know if they will change their minds about us helping."