Back in the Sanctuary, Karl checked Thorn's wounds, using Breath of Spring to speed their healing, though the effort drained him slightly. Karl used Vital Touch, sparking vitality back into his limbs, easing the dizziness. His stats nudged upward slightly:
His stats flickered:
[ Status Panel ]
Name: Karl Varn
Lord Level: Bronze II (0/10)
Stats:
Strength: 10 (3 → 7)
Agility: 11 (4 → 8)
Vitality: 14 (3 → 8)
Intelligence: 9 (8 → 4)
Abilities: Breath of Spring
Skills: Herbal Resonance, Vital Touch
Resources: 2 Essence Crystals, 22 Summoning Shards level 1, Sunfire Fruit, Spirit Leaf
Barrier Timer: 2 days, 17 hours, 30 minutes
He ate a Sunfire Fruit, its honeyed warmth restoring him further:
Vitality: 14 (8 → 9)
Thorn lifted its head, eyes meeting Karl's with gratitude, while Grok stood watch, steady as stone. Ember's wings fluttered, a faint glimmer of light as she settled in her new, larger nest on the balcony of the treehouse, crafted by Mira.
Karl's thoughts turned to the wolf pack. Ember's training was a step toward facing them, but he needed more—crystals, allies, defenses. The Resource Cache loomed in his mind, a way to preserve their dwindling food.
For now, he'd focus on nurturing Ember's skills and gathering resources, building their strength for the inevitable clash with the wolf pack.
Inside the Sanctuary, Karl's thoughts turned to the future. With Thorn recovering from minor wounds and their food supplies dwindling, Ember's evolution had shifted the balance. As a Bronze II asset, she could scout, fight, and sense threats, but her erratic flight showed she wasn't ready to hunt or evade the wolf pack yet.
Karl envisioned her swooping through the forest, her Wind Slash felling prey with precision. For now, he'd teach her to track and strike within the safety of the barrier, building her confidence and control.
The next morning, Karl gathered the group to eat in the clearing, the air crisp with the scent of dew-soaked moss. The Sanctuary's glow bathed the area in soft light, the barrier's shimmer a reassuring boundary. Thorn rested in a vine shelter, his wounds healing under Karl's earlier Breath of Spring, while Grok stood watch, his barkskin form a silent sentinel. Mira prepared a small fire, her hands sorting Spirit Leaf for a vitality tonic, the faint herbal scent mixing with the morning air.
Karl's gaze settled on Ember, perched on his arm, her claws gripping lightly, emerald feathers shimmering in the dawn. Her wings twitched with restless energy, her amber eyes gleaming with eagerness.
"You're fast and sharp, Ember," he said, his voice low but warm.
"But we need you for hunting, not just fetching fruit. Let's see how well you can track and strike." Ember tilted her head, her soft screech echoing readiness, a faint gust swirling around her.
Karl led the group to the clearing's center, the barrier's shimmer offering a safe training ground within its 100-meter radius.
He scattered scraps of Sunfire Fruits across the mossy ground, their savory scent drifting in the morning air. His Herbal Resonance picked up a rabbit-like creature nibbling at the edge of the barrier, its leafy ears twitching, vitality light and non-aggressive.
"Ember, track it," Karl said softly, kneeling beside her.
"Use your Storm Sense to feel its movement, then hit it with Wind Slash. Don't kill it—just pin it." He wanted precision, not bloodshed, to build her control.
Ember's wings snapped open, a faint gust swirling as she launched into the air. Her Storm Sense flared, eyes narrowing as she tracked the rabbit's subtle shifts in air currents. She swooped low, wings slicing the air, and unleashed a controlled Wind Slash—a sharp gust that rustled the grass and pinned the rabbit against the ground, its legs kicking in panic but unharmed. The move was swift, tight, avoiding nearby vines.
Karl clapped, his grin wide. "Good! That's exactly it, Ember." She spiraled back, landing on his shoulder with a proud screech, feathers ruffling.
He tossed her a Sunfire Fruits, which she snapped up eagerly, her vitality pulsing stronger under his Breath of Spring.
"Let's try something harder," he said, his tone sharpening with focus.
He moved to a denser patch of the Sunfire fruit tree, where dusk-birds fluttered among low branches, their iridescent wings flashing. His Herbal Resonance confirmed their harmlessness, perfect for training.
"Ember, pick one out. Track it in the air, bring it down gently. No blood." Ember took flight, her Storm Sense locking onto a dusk-bird weaving through branches. Her wings hummed, matching its erratic path with her Agility 12 outpacing its darts. With a flick, she unleashed a narrow Wind Slash, clipping the bird's wing, sending it tumbling softly to the moss.
The bird squawked, unharmed but grounded, flapping in confusion. Ember landed beside it, nudging it gently with her beak.
Karl released the bird back to the branches. It carried no trace of essence energy—just an ordinary creature. That meant it would yield no Essence Crystal.
"Perfect control," he said scratching Ember's neck, his voice warm with pride. Her amber eyes gleamed, a playful gust swirling around them.
Her Storm Sense was sharpening, her tracking growing precise. Grok rumbled from his post, "She learns fast, my Lord. Soon, she'll ready to hunt with us."
Karl nodded, he set up a final test, propping a bone-and-vine target against a tree.
"Ember, hit this with everything you've got. Full Wind Slash."
Ember soared upward, wings roaring like a gathering storm. Her Storm Sense locked onto the target, and she dove, unleashing a powerful Wind Slash. The gust tore through the clearing, slicing the bone target in half, shards scattering across the moss. Vines swayed violently, a nearby branch cracking under the force. Ember landed, her screech triumphant, the air humming with energy.
Karl laughed, jaw dropping.
"Damn, Ember. That's more than I expected."
The shattered target's jagged fragments hinted at her potential to wound a Bronze II wolf if she struck from above. He caressed her feathers, her warmth grounding him as he said. "You're going to be unstoppable, Ember."