Before moving into a combat zone, Lana decided a few things needed to be done that should have done before even coming out here.
"Caser, can I get you to use the roots around your feet?" She then demonstrated by throwing out her own roots. Fex flinched remembering the beast that killed so many. Caser was able to move them a bit but not as much as she felt he should.
"Okay, so the first thing I want to do is take him to an easy beast and have him try using his roots and tentacles instead of his teeth." The others nodded. Using the overlay, she was directed to a basic-tier rat-like creature. There was a small den of them in the root system of a tree nearby. She chuckled when she saw them because of what Vorden had said when she found Max. The rats were black.
Caser appeared nervous. The idea that he was unable to learn the capabilities of his body from his mother set in but he was excited as well. He knew these things on his feet did something but growing up as he did, he was unable to explore it. He had been itching to but was nervous at the same time. Having to hide from the humans had done a number on his confidence and delayed the growth of his body.
He tried to move his roots one more time as Lana had and did much better. He then observed his prey and snagged a rat. He was going to eat it when Lana told him no. The crystals from this hunt were to be saved. Eat the flesh only.
Lana told him to try using them all four at once and gave him permission to kill all the rats. He made short work of them with just his roots. Lana made sure he knew she was proud of him. "Keep that up. I know it's my fault you are not as strong as you should be. We need to fix that. Ready for something harder?"
Caser purred at her. She checked the overlay. She then heard a bird overhead. She shot a vine at it and hit the wing. It fell to the ground with the injury. "Now, I want you to get creative. Use your tentacles and vines but in a way you have not used them yet."
Caser appeared to think for a second. He then got close as he was a close-in fighter not distance like Lana. He used a root to grab the ankle of the bird. The bird pecked at the root which hurt so he let go. He then wrapped a tentacle around the neck of the bird and squeezed. Lana smiled. "Don't end it there. Do something else."
The bird tried using its claws on the tentacle as it struggled to get free. It was flapping its wings for both freedom and balance. Caser appeared to think for a bit then used a root in a stabbing motion, killing the bird with it. Lana smirked. "That's my boy!" Caser lifted his head proudly.
Shalt had been put in charge of crystal extraction. He came in and handled it.
"Let's do something in the water…" Lana wanted to ensure the challenges got a bit harder each time but not too quickly. The goal was to grow and get stronger not take on more than they could handle. The overlay showed a waterfall not too far away. Fex and Shalt looked at each other.
Shalt asked, "how are you navigating the area as if you live here?"
"My ability. The trees talk to me and there is enough information coming in from them that I have a sort of map in front of my eyes. It's annoying, especially at first but I'm getting used to it. This way," and she started heading off. It wasn't long and the vampires could hear the water. It took longer for her. She didn't want to be right at the waterfall so she turned a bit to intercept the river instead.
Before beginning on this one, she turned to Shalt, "before leaving, I used the stuff that makes me smell like a vampire. I have no intention of using that while we are out here. If a miracle happens, I will be able to remain as a human. It might serve you well to learn to steel your resolve sooner than later. Fex, I may require your assistance with that."
Fex looked at her like she was insane. "You got it but you're crazy."
Lana smirked, "we are all a little bit crazy. You went against a king-tier as a regular vampire. Was that not also crazy?"
It was Fex's turn to smirk.
"The other reason I say this is because it's a spray. This means it may wash off while fighting whatever we end up with. Let me and Caser go first, if need be, jump in."
Just like the river she was at before, this was crystal clear. She wondered if it was the same river. She approached as if there were no beasts in the water even though she knew it was not true. She was hoping they would not get one of the bigger crocodile things. She wanted him to go for a regular fish which would require vigilance.
"Caser, try for that fish there near the shore," as she pointed to a neon-green fish with yellow stripes shaped like tiger-stripes. It had a serrated fin on top. Caser tried to use his roots but it didn't work in the water. He stuck in a tentacle to whack it on the head and that didn't work so well. He jumped in the water and instantly wasn't happy. Water was yuck to cats, even those with different bodies. The fish swam away but there were others. Each he went after got away. He was getting tired and doing a lot of splashing.
Lana and the others were focused on watching Caser. Fex was the first to respond when a monstrous crocodile-type raised itself from the water to bite the cat that had just been lifted from the water by Lana. Lana tossed Caser to the shore while Fex got strings around the mouth of the monster. She wanted advance tier. She found it. Or rather, it found her.
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