STRIKER: Independent Beast Tamer

Border (Special Base)

Jeremy Night walked up to the border stretch. After getting there, he put the helmet device on his head and turned it on.

The device started recording and mapping.

[What do you intend to do today?]

He heard Stella’s question. He had wanted to talk to her about it last night.

”I have made a decision to explore a few places before returning to the base. The barren land is dangerous for me,” he replied in his mind.

Stella sighed in relief. She too felt the place was too dangerous for him. If his strength were Tier-5, then he could have used the flight ability to escape.

So she thought he should focus on improving his strength.

As time passed, he walked along the border stretch. But there were many questions in his heart.

”Stella, if you come out of the egg, can you use all those abilities?” Jeremy asked.

Stella understood the meaning behind his question.

[If I appear outside with my real body, of course I can use all the abilities, including the starlight and eye power,] she said to him.

Jeremy Night was happy. He started imagining their team combination against the enemy. He then continued to ask a couple of questions.

He wanted to understand his lifeline beast more. Similarly, Stella was smart; she brought up her own doubts as well.

It didn’t take long for him to find another green spot. He paused his footsteps and turned toward the green area.

Jeremy had a plan in his mind. He knew that the land beyond the southeastern border was barren, stretching endlessly.

There were a few spots like this green area where ponds could be found. He thought that if he could map this information, he would be doing justice to the mission.

Still, he didn’t approach the place recklessly. He asked Stella for help, knowing her consciousness could cover a wider range than his eye power.

[Okay!]

He heard her reply in his mind.

Stella used her mental power to observe the surroundings, reaching out toward the green area. As usual, there were beast footprints on the ground.

Yet there was no pond or lake. Somehow, that particular spot still had green cover. Suddenly, Stella felt pure, rich natural energy leaking from the ground.

It was minute. If not for her mental power, she would have missed it.

[There is something strange about the place.]

Jeremy heard her voice and raised his eyebrows. Instead of worry, he detected surprise in her tone.

”What happened?” he asked her in his mind.

[That green cover on the ground appeared due to some other reason. There is no water source around it, but something else is causing the change.]

[I think it’s pure natural energy.]

Jeremy heard Stella’s voice, and his brain quickly processed the information. He had encountered a similar situation before.

If anything related to pure natural energy was found in the wilderness, it had to be due to a natural treasure.

”It could be a treasure,” Jeremy Night said in his mind.

Stella heard him. She had heard of such treasures before; within her broken memories, there was information about them.

Jeremy Night first turned off the helmet device and placed it inside his storage ring. He didn’t want the device to record the location.

Fortunately, he had told Stella to use her power instead of going over there himself. Otherwise, it would have become difficult to explain to the elders back in base.

”Are there any corrupted beasts nearby?” he asked her.

[No. The place is safe now. But you have to watch out for the mud hole.]

He heard Stella’s voice.

”I don’t think pure natural energy exists in a mud hole,” he commented.

Even so, to be on the safe side, he collected a few stones in his hand and started throwing them on the ground a few metres ahead of him.

Thud!

The first few stones landed on the ground, but there was no reaction. Seeing that, he took a firm step forward and began walking across the ground.

There was no tremor whatsoever. Following this cautious method, he reached the green patch. His senses instantly heightened.

His cells became active all of a sudden as they sensed the pure, rich natural energy in the ground.

Jeremy Night was stunned. He knew this was only possible if the concentration of natural energy was exceptionally high.

[See, I told you.]

He heard Stella’s voice.

”You’re right,” he replied.

If not for her, he wouldn’t have known unless he had come in person to explore the area. Perhaps he could use Stella’s power to find treasures like this in the future.

Next, he shook his head before kneeling to touch the ground. Spreading his mental power, he began to observe the surroundings carefully. He could feel his pores absorbing the natural energy at a specific spot.

As soon as he moved away from that spot, the pure, rich natural energy vanished.

After doing some investigating, he stood right on the exact spot where the concentration of pure, rich natural energy was highest.

He marked the place before searching for a tool to dig with. He spent twenty minutes crafting an improvised tool and began digging.

He piled the excavated sand off to one side. He assumed it would take a long time to uncover anything, but results showed up sooner than expected.

He caught sight of part of a mature tree. Seeing that, he grew even more motivated.

[Yeah. It’s this one.]

Stella’s voice echoed in his mind, prompting him to dig with greater efficiency.

One hour later,

The object finally revealed itself. It was a branch—part of a tree taller than a grown man. Strangely, this mature wood differed from ordinary trees.

The branch itself was deep green in color, whereas regular trees were dark brown.

Swoosh!

The next moment, without him doing anything, a strand of extremely pure, rich green energy drifted toward him. He then watched as the energy hovered directly above the beast egg.

Stella began greedily absorbing the pure, rich natural energy.

Jeremy grew excited seeing this. He knew natural treasures were exceptionally rare to come across. Even if one managed to find one in a shop, purchasing it would cost an exorbitant sum.

Yet here he was, stumbling upon one purely by chance while out on a routine mission. It was undoubtedly one of the greatest perks of taking on field missions.