Bear School Astartes

When Lann, led by the Dragon-man Race’s elderly woman, entered the next level of the research base.

This level was still converted from what used to be a hot air balloon vessel, looking much like a ship cabin bedroom.

Except there was an opening very small for a normal human size, leading directly to the natural environment outside.

This was the exclusive passage for the Cat Adventurer Teams.

When Lann came down, there were two adventurer teams resting on this level.

Only one of these teams was a conventional Elu cat squad.

They were all wearing follower cat gear crafted from feathers and scales dropped by the Poisonous Demon Bird in the Ancient Tree Forest.

Because the size of the cats is significantly smaller than humans, their gear is often much simpler and more resource-saving to make.

They usually just follow behind the monster’s rear, picking up the things it periodically sheds to assemble a set.

So even without a Hunter’s help, the Cat Adventurer Team can often equip every member with a set of monster material gear.

This team’s cats were lying sprawled amid a pile of wooden barrels, looking quite content with the relaxation.

The other team was the Detel squad.

Detel were indigenous to the new continent’s Beastman Race, and while the Elu cat looks like a housecat, these Detel resemble lynx or bobcats with pointed ears.

The native Detel of the new continent are organized into many tribes based on regions, each with its unique survival techniques on this wild and peril-filled continent.

This squad seemed to come from the Ancient Tree Forest.

One of the cats was weaving a cage with branches, akin to a lampshade.

This cage was known as the [Flash Bug Cage], a method possessed by the Insect Cage Tribe Detel of the Ancient Tree Forest area to lure Flash Wing Bugs into it.

Carrying this cage is akin to having a high-performance reusable flash bomb.

As soon as the Dragon-man Race’s elderly woman came down, the six cats simultaneously looked up.

”Hey, Granny, do you need something meow?”

A white-spotted Elu cat trotted over on all fours, making a point to sit and squat in front of the Dragon-man Race’s granny so she could pet its head.

It had been leaning against a wooden barrel, lazily swaying its tail over its belly, while sharpening its little cat rapier.

”Oh, it’s Nori, nothing much. It’s just that there seems to be a very incredible monster here, and it can curse other creatures, so an expert Hunter has come to help everyone check it out.”

Lann walked up from behind, waving at the little cats.

His friendly manner as always won over the little cats, eliciting their exclamations of amazement.

”Such a tall Hunter meow!”

”Must be super powerful meow!”

Lann pulled out a few sausages from the Alchemy Pouch at his back, distributing them among the little cats.

With that, the last threads of tension vanished.

Lann could even easily pet the heads of these little guys.

After a circle, Lann still hadn’t discovered the Curse of the Stag Spirit.

So he began searching through other things left behind by adventurer teams in the rest area.

The research base was the adventurer teams’ most commonly used base, so they would typically leave some supplies or spare gear here.

After rummaging through a pile of cat supplies for a long time, Lann’s deep eyes revealed a flicker of surprise for the first time.

At the same time, the Roaring Bear Head Necklace around his neck also trembled slightly.

”I found it! Granny!”

Lann shouted loudly, poking out from a pile of wooden barrels.

The commotion even brought down the Grand Commander from the upper level.

He stomped loudly on the stairs with his burly frame, not even waiting for the Dragon-man Race’s granny to speak, his spiky blonde head poking out from the stairwell, happily confirming.

”Found it?! Aha! Granny, quickly tell us whose team this is, we’re going hunting!”

”Hmm, that storage barrel, let me think...”

The Dragon-man Race’s granny pushed back the hair coiled on her head.

”Ah! That’s the Thief Adventurer Group’s storage barrel! This time they’re planning to explore the Valley of Miasma beneath the Land Coral Plateau, and they’ve been gone for five days.”

Five days...

Surprise on Lann and the Grand Commander’s faces suddenly froze, their mouths twitching.

The cats are small and fast, often finding small secret passages only their sizes can use.

They’ve been gone for five days already, where could they find them?

Demon Hunters have sharp senses, and the new continent’s guide insects are also skilled at tracking.

But even the best tracking experts need a ’range.’

This new continent is vast, just the Great Ant Mound Wasteland and the Ancient Tree Forest together cover tens or even hundreds of thousands of square kilometers.

The Land Coral Plateau, due to its special geological formation, is much smaller in area, but it’s still comparable to a modern large city.

From east to west, a straight road trip would take two or three hours by car!

Not to mention the real terrain also has altitudinal differences.

And beneath the Land Coral Plateau lies the Valley of Miasma... though Lann hasn’t been there, it likely isn’t small either.

In such a vast area, with so many lively creatures and monsters creating interference, Lann had no confidence in finding three cats.

”Tsk, what to say now?”

The Grand Commander spat, rubbing his spiky head.

Lann, as the leader of the hunting operation against the Stag Spirit, was also pinching his chin, frowning deeply.

”I might... have an idea.”

After pondering for a moment, Lann spoke with a somewhat uncertain tone.

But facing the Grand Commander’s expectant gaze, he gently shook his head.

”Let me try first, wait here for a few days. If the Thief Adventurer Group comes back, it’s naturally easy to handle, but if they haven’t returned, this time should be enough for me to do something.”

The Grand Commander nodded helplessly, joining Lann in returning to the leader of the third squad to ask for a room as a rest area.

Though this research base was isolated from the Starhold Bastion, that isolation was only at the ’main force’ level. Hunters like the Grand Commander or other highly skilled ones were conducting unsupported long-distance adventures in the new continent.

They often passed by the research base, so it was equipped with facilities to accommodate hunters resting.

That evening, Lann went outside the research base, and took out the Elf Beacon and conical crystal from the Alchemy Pouch.

The Elf Beacon maintained its simple appearance as if inscribed on a slate.

Its intimidating chill remained sealed inside by Tishaya and Margaret’s combined Magic Lock, not leaking a hint.

The conical crystal was still the same conical crystal.

”I remember it’s used like this...”

The Demon Hunter recalled Tishaya’s training before leaving Airetusa, beginning to stimulate the conical crystal with the Chaos Magic Power inside him.

The crystal began emitting light out of nowhere, and according to the established procedure, Lann pressed the conical crystal onto the Elf Beacon.

The Elf Beacon was responsible for locking onto the world’s coordinates, while the conical crystal transmitted the message.

This was one of the outcomes from Tishaya and Margaret’s combined research: cross-world communication capability.

However, this method was still very rough, and due to the mysterious time flow differences between worlds, neither Lann nor Margaret or Tishaya knew how long ago the other’s message was sent, or when they would receive it.

But the first step from nothing often can’t demand too much.