By day's end, the party returned to the bastion. After selling their expedition loot, Courage received 16,000 credits as his share—a substantial sum for one person, proving just how successful their hunt in the Shifting Meadows had been.
When it came time to part ways, the team offered sincere thanks to courage. Fogi extended an invitation for Courage to join their party officially—an offer met with unanimous approval from the others, this was testament to how much they liked fighting alongside him.
Courage, honored but firm, explained he couldn't commit long-term due to personal business. Still, he exchanged contacts, leaving the door open for future collaborations.
With mutual understanding and final goodbyes, both sides finally went their separate ways.
The next day, Courage was at his place drinking his morning coffee while browsing the forums - his usual morning routine. Several articles caught his attention
"New Confrontations Between the Band of Dawn and the Black Hyde Gang," one headline read.
"The Band of Dawn Wins Control Over Most of the Eastern Hunting Grounds," announced another article.
Yet another declared: "The Black Hyde Gang Wins the Duel to Decide Hunting Rights for the Newly Discovered Red-Tailed Jackrabbits territory."
Many more articles followed similar lines, all detailing the ongoing power struggle between the two factions. As Courage sipped his coffee, he couldn't help but note how rapidly the bastion's power structure was changing.
Done with his morning routine, Courage activated his interface:
Grand Fighting Kabuto (Level 1)
- Grade: High
- Growth: 76%
- Type: Vigor
- Traits: [Jade Bone]
- Abilities: [All Out], [Flurry Strike], [Flux], [Burst Charge]
And there you have it. Yesterday, Courage had made sure to feed the Firecracker Corn he collected to Kabuto. It took the whole night for the ability assimilation to be complete, but now the results stood before him - both the increase in growth level and the new ability.
If you haven't figured it out yet, the Firecracker Corn was the catalyst for the [Burst Charge] ability - the signature ability of the Bullet Grasshoppers. With this ability, Kabuto could now unleash bursts of speed on command, giving his beast both a movement ability and the option to mimic the grasshoppers' ram attack.
In the past, Courage would have never considered such an ability. Without incredible defense, using this ability would have harmed Kabuto from the impact of the charge if he were to use it for attacking. Also The grasshoppers had specially developed legs to withstand the strain of launch, while Kabuto didn't. But now, with the [Jade Bone] trait, Kabuto's carapace was even harder than that of the grasshoppers', ensuring he wouldn't inflict harm on himself when using the ability. And with [Jade Bone], strain was a thing of the past for Kabuto.
The final advantage of this ability was its scaling nature - it directly correlated with the user's power. The stronger the beast, the more devastating the charge. For the grasshoppers, it depended on their fire energy reserves, but for Kabuto? His raw physical strength would fuel it.
Considering Kabuto's monstrous might, Courage suspected this version of [Burst Charge] might surpass even the grasshoppers' own - turning what was already a dangerous attack into something truly terrifying.
A visit to the holo room later on had indeed proven his suspicion. The power of [Burst Charge] when used by Kabuto was several times that of the grasshoppers, displaying a considerable increase in potency - meaning more powerful impacts and longer charge distances.
Sadly, Kabuto couldn't use [All Out] with [Burst Charge] because the resulting effect was too powerful, causing Kabuto to launch uncontrollably when this combination was used. But it was alright - [Burst Charge] alone was still strong enough to be useful on its own.
Another thing to note was that while [Burst Charge] allowed for fast movement, that movement lacked flexibility. The ability could only launch the user in one direction without the ability to change course mid-charge, which could be disadvantageous in a fight. Courage would have to be smart about using this ability.
"The correct timing and positioning are going to be critical if we want to use this ability properly," Courage muttered to himself as he analyzed the results.
Courage continued training with Kabuto, practicing how to use this ability in combat. He had Kabuto test it against a few holographic beast projections. Amidst their training, Courage suddenly had a stroke of inspiration.
"Wait… why don't we—" he muttered.
Elsewhere in the wilds, a group of travelers made their way through the dense forest. Several rode atop horse-like beasts, while the one leading the pack sat astride a massive bison-like creature. Beside him, another man guided a wolf-like steed with ease.
This was a party belonging to the Black Hyde Gang.
As they pressed forward, one of the riders at the back called out, "Senior, how long 'til we reach our destination?"
The leader—perched atop the bison at the front—answered without turning, "Not too long now. According to our tip, the catalyst we seek should be on a nearby mountain."
The wolf rider beside him muttered in annoyance, "Tsk. Senior, I still don't get why you won't let me use the Iron Bone Catalyst like I wanted. Instead, you drag me all the way out here for some catalyst I've never even heard of."
" Sigh. Jack, listen. This catalyst we're after isn't any ordinary one , it is a rare and powerful catalyst called [Jade Bone]."
"Jade Bone?" Jack scoffed. "How's it any different from Iron Bone? Sounds like the same thing with a fancier name." He said ignorantly
The team leader, trying to keep his patience, inhaled and kept explaining: "Jack, although they both are catalysts that enhance a beast's constitution, the difference between them is worlds apart."
"Oh!" The entire team perked up now intrigued.
The leader continued, "Jack, your totem beast, the Skeletal Armour Hound - if it were to use the Iron Bone catalyst, its bone exoskeleton armor would gain the properties and toughness of iron. However, your beast is a Corpus type, and the [bone growth] ability is its core ability. If you were to grant your beast iron bones, it would certainly make them tougher, but the iron properties in its bones would hinder and weaken its [Bone Growth] ability, meaning the downsides of this catalyst would outweigh its upsides."
"Really?" Jack said, finally paying attention.
"That is right, I speak from experience," the leader continued. "But the Jade Bone catalyst doesn't have this problem. It not only grants incredible constitution but also high resistance against all elements, and using it wouldn't weaken your beast's bone growth ability. It's safe to say that this catalyst is the crème de la crème amongst body modification catalysts."
"Wow, what an incredible catalyst!" The members of the team began to fuss to one another, while Jack was muttering to himself, "If my beast were to use this catalyst and acquire this trait then..." A light of eagerness began to shine in his eyes.
Noticing this, one of the party members said, "Big Bro Jack, it seems that your beast is about to become extremely powerful. Hey, don't forget about me once you become a big shot," he said with a revering tone.
Jack smirked, "Heh, sure."
That member smiled wide at this response, prompting the other members to quickly begin sucking up to Jack as well. "Big Bro Jack, I have always admired you."
"Wherever you go I would always follow you."
"You can always rely on us, we're your closest friends."
"Yeah, we'll make sure you get this catalyst."
One by one they each expertly and shamelessly began bootlicking. The team leader shook his head in disgust at this sight, however Jack was loving it , the smirk on his face became even wider.
Jack turned his head to the team leader and said, "Team leader, I understand now. I would like to thank you for this opportunity."
"Good, I am glad to hear that," the team leader said, happy with Jack's change in attitude. "As a high-grade awakened, the gang leader has high expectations of you, and he's willing to spend a big amount of resources and effort to nurture you. That's why you have to trust my instructions and follow my lead if you want to excel,do you understand?"
"Yes," Jack replied. But before the team leader could say anything else: "That's why to get stronger and impress the gang leader, I have to get this catalyst as soon as possible. Everyone, let's hurry up!" he said before making his mount go faster. His squad of bootlickers followed behind him without a thought.
"Wait! Didn't you hear a thing I said?" the team leader shouted as he was left behind.
He gritted his teeth in anger, watching Jack disobey him blatantly like this. "This damn brat!"
The team leader's name was Goto, a long-time member of the Black Hyde Gang. Recently, with the competition with the Band of Dawn, the gang was increasing their recruitment efforts to bolster their forces. Among the new recruits they had, they managed to get a couple of high-grade awakened to join their ranks - among them was Jack, full name Jack fangwood.
The gang leader put great care into talents, which was shown through the wolf mount Jack was given. That was something new recruits would never normally receive, but the gang leadership granted Jack this privilege, clearly wanting to buy his loyalty. Goto was obviously jealous of this, as he had been part of the gang for several years and never got such treatment.
But when he learned that Jack would be part of the batch of rookies he was tasked to mentor, he was ecstatic. The leader had a great desire for new talented members, so the leadership promised many benefits to those who could nurture outstanding individuals. With Goto having a high-grade awakened under his wing, he was naturally promised even greater benefits. For Goto, this was a golden opportunity - a chance to make great gains and raise his status within the gang. At first he thought he was set up for good, but then reality hit him.
This guy Jack has proven to be so arrogant and overbearing, always acting like everything revolves around him and always complicating things for no reason. Goto had to exert great effort to get this guy to follow simple commands, and he would also have to tolerate his rotten attitude - an attitude made even worse by the way most would bend over for him because of his status as high-grade awakened, cradled by the gang leadership. This caused Jack's already big ego to overinflate, making him a pain in the ass at every facet for all people unwilling to suck up to him.
There were many times Goto wanted to make Jack swallow his own teeth, but he held himself back every time. If he hurt Jack for trivial reasons, the gang might punish him, and he would lose his golden opportunity. That is why Goto forced himself to put up with him.
After fuming for a bit, Goto calmed himself down. "Keep it together, Goto. If you can obtain this catalyst for the gang and get this brat the Jade Bone trait, it would be considered a significant contribution and you'll surely be rewarded. Just endure a bit longer and it will all be worth it," he muttered before getting his steed to increase speed to catch up with them.
Goto caught up with them, and although he didn't say anything, he made sure to give all of them a stern stare that said everything he needed to say. After that, all the party members lowered their heads and kept quiet for the rest of the journey - even Jack. Though he had an annoyed look on his face, he didn't dare push it further; he knew there was a limit to his senior's patience.
After that, they finished their journey in complete silence.
After a while, the party arrived at their target location.
"Alright, look for the signs I told you about - an earth crevice with a lot of jade around it. That's where this catalyst is usually found," Goto ordered.
The party spread out and began searching. After some time, one of the members returned to Goto, saying he had found something.
Hearing this, Goto got excited and asked with energetic tone, "Really? What did you find?"
"Well..."
Later on, the excitement Goto had felt completely vanished, replaced by inner worry. They did find the earth crevice where the catalyst was located, but not as expected. Around the earth crevice, a small camp had been built, filled with people wearing matching outfits - they were Grand Cliff Bastion official soldiers.
As the party approached the camp, they were intercepted by a couple of soldiers. "Identify yourselves and state your business," one demanded.
Goto hurriedly dismounted and answered, "I am Goto, a member of the Black Hyde Gang, and this is my party."
"The Black Hyde Gang..." The soldier muttered before noticing the sigil on his cloak. "I see. And what business have you here?"
"Well, we received a tip about the existence of a catalyst in these parts, so we came to look for it."
"Oh? Are you perhaps looking for the Jade Bone catalyst?" the soldier asked.
"Yes! Is it here?"
"Yes, it is here, but..." The soldier turned his gaze around the party before continuing, "If you're here to claim and use it, then I'm afraid you're short on luck."
"What?" both Goto and Jack asked in unison.
"The catalyst's location was reported to the Bastion, making it fall under the Finder's Rights Law," the soldier began to explain.
The Finder's Rights Law was a law that stated any who found and contributed information about discoveries of interest or considerable value to the Bastion could claim partial rights to it. This was how some factions could claim resources for themselves. However, if you claimed a discovery for yourself, you became solely responsible for it - the Bastion wasn't obligated to ensure your control over it or guarantee your benefits from it. That's why there was the option to surrender discovery rights to the Bastion, which would then take full ownership and occupation of the find. But the finders receive a very generous compansition in return
"Moreover, the finders have surrendered the rights of this discovery to the Bastion, placing it under it's control. So this catalyst is no longer available for claims. And if you want access to it..." The soldier paused. "I'm sorry to disappoint you again, but this catalyst won't be available to the public for a while."
Goto's heart sank at hearing this. "Fuck! Why... why is this happening? How could someone have beaten us to it?"
"What do you mean it won't be available?!" Jack demanded loudly.
"This catalyst is rare, so it has significant research value. That's why it won't be available for public use until enough data has been collected," another soldier explained.
"When will it become available then?" one of the party members asked.
"A year from now," the same soldier answered flatly.
"A YEAR?!" Goto and Jack shouted in unison.
"This is bad. Not only can't I claim this catalyst location for the gang, but I won't even be able to cultivate Jack as I promised. Ugh, my contribution rewards..." Goto agonized internally over his failed plans. Meanwhile, Jack was seething—not about their failure to benefit the gang like Goto, but simply because he wasn't getting what he wanted.
Jack's bad attitude and temper finally kicked in, and he started to blurt at the soldiers, making a scene. But before he could say anything irreparable, a smoldering glare from Goto shut him up. Goto had had it up to here with Jack, and thanks to the failure of his plans, he wasn't in the mood to watch Jack add water to the mud with his attitude. Jack looked down, still fuming but not daring to speak another word.
After the tense moment, Goto approached the soldiers, clasped his hands together, and forced a smile. "You guys seem like fine fellas..." he began.
Later, Goto and his party were leaving the mountain. Against the odds, he'd managed to secure Jack's access to the Jade Bone catalyst. Goto knew he had to salvage the situation he couldn't return to the gang after accomplishing nothing , so swallowing his pride, he'd entered into arduous negotiations with the soldiers.
After a hard and tedious back-and-forth, he'd finally convinced them to help him out but it wasn't without cost. To secure just Jack's right to use the catalyst, Goto had to pay a substantial bribe entirely from his own pockets. The victory felt hollow as he counted the financial and personal toll.