Several days had passed since Courage learned the true nature of his Kabuto's [All Out] ability, and ever since then his combat ability had increased considerably. However, he didn't go hunting much since then—instead, he remained at the bastion most of the time, training his beast and sometimes watching friendly beast matches in the arena. He even participated in a couple of matches himself, though they weren't anything worth writing home about.
Today, Courage—having just returned from a training session in the arena—was now sitting on his bed with a bowl of food in his hand, eating slowly while paying attention to his Kabuto, which was curled up in front of him with faint cracks of energy pulsing throughout its carapace. Soon, the crackling stopped, and with a look into the interface, the results appeared:
Grand Fighting Kabuto (Level 1)
- Grade: High
- Growth: 14%
- Type: Vigor
- Traits: [None]
- Abilities: [All Out], [Flurry Strike], [Flux]
Ability Descriptions:
- [Flux]: This ability allows for the dynamic redirection of physical force with precision.
As you could see, a brand-new ability—one that brought with it more growth for his beast as well as a new trick up its sleeve.
This new ability, [Flux], was the result of the habitual catalyst Courage had implemented—the concentrated nectar diet combined with a specific training regimen, a method he learned from his father's notebooks. It had taken nearly a month for the catalyst to finally manifest results, but now it was here. According to his father's notes, [Flux] allowed a beast to channel its strength in precise ways, enhancing specific aspects like speed or toughness at will. While not groundbreaking, Courage had considered it a useful foundational ability to have, so he'd pursued it.
Now, with his Totem Beast possessing both [Flux] and [Flurry Strike], Courage pondered what ability to target next. He could scour his father's journals again, but he knew their limitations—the notebooks contained fragments of knowledge on various beast types, not specialized Vigor cultivation. His father had never focused solely on Vigor-types, so while there were some options, they were either casual observations or lucky discoveries. In beast cultivation, deep expertise in a specific type required dedicated specialization, something his father hadn't pursued for Vigor beasts. The journals provided pieces but sadly not a roadmap.
Other than his father's notebooks, Courage could try to hunt for new catalysts himself—but that would take time and money with no guarantee of finding anything worthwhile. He shook his head, snapping himself out of the thought.
"Well, I can worry about this later. For now, I've got other things to do."
Courage got up from his bed, put the dishes away, and changed clothes. He then walked over to the small enclosure on his desk where his pet Tusk rested. Gently picking up the small beetle, he placed it in front of his large Kabuto.
"Alright, you two. I'll be out for a while—keep each other company."
With that, he left the house, deciding to let Kabuto rest.
Some time later, Courage was in the forge district of the Plato, guided by a worker through the smoky interior until they reached a storage area.
"There you go, sir. The item you requested."
The worker handed him a carefully wrapped package. Almost immediately, his interface flickered with an update:
COURAGE PETACOS
- Status: Normal
- Beast Catalyser:Level 1
- Boons: [Squirrel Cheek Pouch]
- Beasts List: [Totem Beast]
Just like that, he'd acquired a new boon.
In the world of Beast Catalysers, a **boon** was the term used to refer to any item that possessed unique powers like those of beasts but could be used by the Catalysers themselves. Boons could have many different powers and could be acquired through a myriad of means—some could be found in nature or harvested from the bodies of beasts, while others could be forged, like Courage's.
It's worth noting that boons are extremely valuable, given how rare they were to find and how difficult they were to make. Even the one Courage just acquired was of the lowest tier possible, yet it still cost him almost a third of his savings—not counting the price of the materials he had to find and provide himself. Most rookies could never get their hands on such items, and if Courage hadn't had the money his father left him, he definitely wouldn't have either.
Although Courage had received something that would make most people jump for joy, he was bitterly laughing inside. Once again, he'd spent an outstanding amount of money on something that wasn't even that great. "All that money for a bottom-tier boon..." But Courage pushed the thought away, trying not to drown in bitterness. "This is an investment, an investment,"he encouraged himself. "Even if it's bottom-tier, it's still more than most can claim to have." Finally, with a sigh, he inspected his new acquisition.
Boons Description:
[Squirrel Cheek Pouch]:
As the name implied, the boon was a pouch about the size of a handbag. It was orange-red in color, clearly made from the hide of the striped squirrels. The pouch had a yellow string with an ember stone clasp tied at the end, used to open and close it. Other than that, the pouch's description read:
- This boon can store items with the capacity of a 8x8 meter room while reducing the total weight of the contents by 3/5.
- It cannot store living beings.
- It slows down the spoiling of items stored inside by half.
The ember stone warmed under his thumb as he tested the mechanism. The pouch yawned open, revealing a void-like interior that smelled faintly of dried herbs. At least it's practical, he conceded, imagining how many monster carcasses he could haul now without his Kabuto straining. Still, the ghost of his dwindling savings hissed in his ears.
And rightfully so—it hadn't even been half a year since Courage became a Beast Catalyser, yet he'd already torched through two-thirds of his savings. Progress? Absolutely. Sustainable? Not a chance.
Clenching the [Squirrel Cheek Pouch] in his fist, he made a decision: no more reckless spending. With kabuto stronger and this boon evening the odds, it was time to focus on earning, not just expending. He'd fund his own development like a proper Catalyser should.
That final third of his father's inheritance. Emergency reserves only.
With his business at the forges done, Courage made his way back home—only to be greeted by the sight of his pet Tusk dangling from Kabuto's horn, the larger beetle slowly bobbing its head side to side in obvious confusion. The ridiculous scene pulled a chuckle from Courage as he stepped forward, carefully plucking the smaller beetle free and depositing it back into its enclosure.
He then turned to his Totem Beast, petting its carapace while showing it the new boon. "Hey buddy, look what I got!"
Kabuto, stoic as ever, didn't show any audible signs of being impressed—probably wondering why its master expected it to be amazed by a bag. Or at least, that's how it played out in Courage's head. Not wanting to be scorned by his own beast, Courage turned around and began stuffing anything he could find into the pouch: first a chair, then several books, then the contents of his storage chest, then the chest itself.
Courage kept cramming items into the pouch until the room was nearly empty. No matter the size or shape, everything fit inside just the same. Even while holding the pouch, he noted how it truly reduced the weight—there was no way he could've lifted all those items normally, yet the pouch remained manageable, if slightly heavy.
Finally, he turned back to his beast. "You see this, buddy? No more lugging things around for you."
At this, Kabuto finally reacted—its antennae waving energetically. Courage accepted the gesture triumphantly.
The next day, Courage and his beast were back in the wild—this time hunting freely instead of taking a quest. Courage thought this way he could become more independent in making money while also having the freedom to test his beast's new strength. Right now, he and his beast were exploring a cave located east of the bastion. After doing some research on the forums, he'd decided to make this place his hunting grounds for now, to see if he could score something on his own.
After making their way deeper into the cave, Courage and his beast had their first encounter—pill bug like beasts the size of footballs clinging to the walls and ceiling of the cave . Courage recognized them as Moss Crawlers, creatures known to live in humid caves where they cultivated a certain type of moss that they feed upon. These beasts were docile unless their food source was threatened; you could even step on them, and they'd do no harm as long as you didn't touch their moss.
Looking at them further, Courage decided to ignore them. Even though he was confident in his beast's ability to take them all out, neither the Moss Crawlers nor their moss was worth much when sold. He could wipe out an entire colony of them and harvest all their moss, and it would barely cover the cost of a meal at a modest tavern.
Deciding they weren't worth the effort, he guided his beast to move past them, careful not to disrupt the moss farms.
The duo continued forward, navigating several branching paths until they emerged into a vast cavern chamber—about thirty meters across with a ceiling ten meters high. Stalactites hung like stone teeth, dripping moisture into a still lake that had formed at the center. The water's depth was impossible to gauge, but Courage noted how it seemed to flow somewhere deeper, its surface never stagnating.
He raised his lantern to survey the area—but the moment light pierced the darkness, a chorus of screeches erupted from above.
The cave wasn't empty.
A colony of bats, disturbed by the intrusion, descended in a flapping storm. Courage reacted instantly, positioning Kabuto between himself and the onslaught as the first wave dove at them.
"Kabuto—[All Out]! [Flurry Strike]!"
The command barely left his lips before Kabuto moved. Empowered by [All Out]'s perfect execution and guided by [Flurry Strike]'s lethal precision, the beetle became a whirlwind of chitin and force. Each strike found its mark—a wing joint here, and a skull there—sending bats crashing to the stone floor. One particularly vicious blow split a bat clean in half mid-air, its remains splattering against the cavern wall.
The first wave broke, but the screeching intensified. This was far from over.
The remaining bats regrouped, reforming their formation as they prepared to attack again. This time, however, they began emitting high-pitched screeches as they flew—and to Courage's surprise, the swarm seemed to expand suddenly.
"Did they call for backup? Are there more bats hidden deeper in the cave?"
The second wave crashed down, larger than before. Kabuto tried to hold them off again, but their numbers were overwhelming now. Bats broke through his defenses one by one, their claws and teeth finding gaps in his carapace as they began to surround the duo.
Courage swung his flail wildly, trying to disrupt their assault—yet despite the swarm's density, none of his strikes connected. "That's impossible." Courage thought Even if his aim is poor, with this swarm this big he should've hit something by sheer chance. Worse, Kabuto's attacks started failing too—his punches passing harmlessly through bats that should've been clearly hit .
Courage's mind raced as he tried to process the situation, but it had gotten so bad that he now had to start ducking and dodging himself—his beast unable to keep the swarm at bay anymore. While jerking and turning around to save his neck, Courage noticed something as his lantern cast light around the cave: the shadows on the walls and floor didn't match the bat swarm in numbers.In fact, upon closer observation, some of these bats didn't have shadows at all.
It was at that moment that it clicked in Courage's head.
"Illusions! I see—these beasts didn't call for help. Instead, they used some kind of sound ability to mess with our minds and trick our senses into seeing more of them than there actually are. That would explain why some bats seemed impervious to damage."
With this discovery, Courage quickly formed a plan. Holding his lantern high to spread the light further, he ordered Kabuto: "Focus on the enemy shadows when attacking!"
Following its master's instructions, the beast did just that—and soon, Courage and Kabuto began regaining the upper hand. The bats' swarm attack was no longer as overwhelming as before.
The battle continued for a while longer, with the bat swarm sustaining more and more casualties while Courage and his beast gradually gaining momentum. Eventually, the swarm was reduced by a considerable amount, their numbers thinning until the threat was nearly gone.
The beasts, sensing their defeat, launched into their final gambit.
The remaining bats flew back, regrouping as they activated their ability again—but this time, instead of creating more clones, what manifested was a single massive shadowy bat-beast. The monster roared with a thunderous screech, its blood-red eyes brimming with murderous fury.
Yet Courage and Kabuto stood their ground.
Courage understood the bats' strategy here. Against a normal beast, this illusion would've worked perfectly—the sight of a larger predator would trigger instinctive fear, sending most creatures fleeing.
But these bats had made one fatal miscalculation:
Courage already knew their trick.
And illusions only work if your enemy still believes in them.
"Finish this!" Courage ordered.
At his command, Kabuto unfurled its wings and with a mighty leap that cracked the stone floor, shot toward the massive illusion. As it passed through the shadowy form, the beetle rammed straight into the real bat swarm behind it. Several bats died instantly from the impact, while the rest were sent flying.
Immediately, the giant illusion dissipated like smoke. The last surviving bats, now completely broken in spirit, fled deeper into the cave.
The battle was over.