This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 489

Chapter 489: Chapter 489: Tension Under the Tarp
The injured members of the team made significant progress overnight, their strength returning as the antidote worked its magic.

By midday, they were back on their feet, though still weak and in need of rest. Idrias decided to give them the full day to recuperate. Although they were pressed for time on this mission, he knew that pushing them too soon could jeopardize the mission.

As the sun began to set, Idrias called the group together. “We move out at first light,” he said, his voice firm. “The relic is still our priority, and we can’t afford to waste any more time. Be ready.”

Since most of those injured had their physical problem healed days ago and were mostlye suffering from the venom remaining in their system, once it was removed and thanks to the increased physical ability of beast-tamers, they managed to reach top condition surprisingly quickly.

The next day, they set out at dawn, their steps quicker than at the beginning of their journey to make up for the lost time.

But the desert had other plans.

By midday, the sky began to darken, the once-brilliant blue replaced by a swirling mass of gray and brown. The wind picked up, its gusts growing stronger with each passing minute. Kain’s heart sank as he realized what was coming.

“Sandstorm!” Zareth shouted, his voice barely audible over the howling wind. “Take cover!”

The group scrambled to find shelter, pulling out large tents and covers from their space rings, or pressing their bodies behind large rocks nearby, their movements frantic as the sandstorm descended upon them.

The wind roared like a living thing, its gusts whipping sand and debris through the air. Kain pulled his scarf over his face, his eyes squinting against the painful onslaught of what felt like tiny nails hitting his skin.

The world around him became a blur of swirling sand and howling wind, the visibility reduced to almost nothing.

Kain and Serena huddled together behind a rocky outcrop, their bodies pressed tightly against each other as the sandstorm raged around them, while using a tarp Serena had pulled out to increase their coverage.

The storm seemed to last forever and Kain found himself noticing things he wouldn’t normally due to their unusually close proximity. For example, Kain found himself noticing the way Serena’s white hair curled slightly at the nape of her neck; the fact that her hair and eyes had an almost otherworldly quality in the dim lighting; and that despite the long trip, with less than ideal sanitation conditions, she somehow still smelled…sweet.

Kain felt a sense of tension, his awareness of Serena’s presence growing as minutes became hours of waiting, though he attributed it to being overly conscious of their rivalry rather than anything more.

By the time it finally subsided, the group was exhausted and Kain quickly scrambled to leave the close quarters.

Despite everyone having some kind of cover, their bodies were coated in a fine layer of sand.

Thankfully, although they all felt disgusting covered in a layer of sand, they were all relatively unharmed and continued on their journey, deciding against wasting more time on their journey.

However, as the night began to fall, a sense of uneasiness began to build among the Starchasers that Kain and the other Pathfinders just couldn’t relate to.

Due to the sandstorm the landscape had changed, the once-familiar terrain now subtly different, moreover, the sandstorm may be related to some larger geomagnetic anomaly, because their compasses were also slightly off course without them realizing.

As a result, they had no way of knowing how far they had strayed from their intended path and the Starchasers only realized something was wrong when night fell.

The Starchasers immediately went to work, their movements quick and efficient as they studied the sky and the surrounding terrain. Kain watched as Serena pulled out a small, intricately designed compass and began to adjust it, her eyes focused on the horizon.

“How can you guys tell that we’re off course and that something is wrong with the regular compasses?” Kain asked, his slightly awkward demeanor around her after their close proximity under the tarp now returning to normal after enough time had passed.

Serena glanced at him, her expression calm but absentminded as she focused on their current predicament. “All Starchasers have a mental map of the night sky,” she explained. “We memorize the positions of the stars, and we use them to navigate. If even one guiding star is out of place, we can typically tell that our path is off even if all of our equipment is malfunctioning.”

Kain nodded, impressed by the Starchasers’ expertise. “So, you only sensed something was wrong at night?”

“Exactly,” Serena said, her tone confident. “Once the night deepens and more of the stars are fully visible, we’ll be able to correct our course.”

That night, as the stars began to appear in the sky, the Starchasers gathered to assess their position. Kain watched as they studied the constellations, their movements precise and deliberate. After a few moments, Zareth turned to Idrias, her expression serious.

“We’re off course,” he said, his voice low. “But not by much. We should be able to correct our path by travelling southeast for a period of time.”

Idrias nodded, his expression grim. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Sorry everyone, but rest time is over.”

Eager to make up for lost time, they all continued travelling through the night, but nobody complained and their march didn’t stop even when the sun rose again.

Eventually, as they crested a large dune, Kain’s eyes caught sight of something in the distance. At first, he thought it was a rock or a piece of debris, but as they drew closer, he realized it was a person—a man, lying motionless on the sand.

“Over there!” Kain shouted, pointing toward the figure.

The group hurried over, their movements quick but cautious. As they approached, Kain’s heart sank. The man was in terrible condition.

His clothes were torn and caked with sand, his skin dry and cracked from exposure to the sun. His face was gaunt, his cheeks hollow, and his lips were chapped and bleeding. His breathing was shallow, and his body was covered in bruises and cuts, some of which looked infected. He looked more dead than alive.

“Is he…?” Serena began, her voice trailing off.

Kain knelt beside the man, his fingers pressing against his neck to check for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. “He’s alive,” Kain said, his voice filled with relief. “But barely.”

Idrias stepped forward, his expression grim. “We need to heal him. If he’s a local, he might have valuable information. And even if he doesn’t, making a positive connection in the desert could be useful.”

The group nodded, their agreement unanimous. They quickly set to work, their movements efficient as they tended to the man’s wounds. The healers among them summoned their contracts, green and white energy wrapping around the man’s body as they worked to stabilize him.

Kain watched as the man’s breathing began to steady, his color slowly returning. If the man had information, potentially even about the relic they were headed to, that would be for the best. But extracting that information may not be easy.

“Doesn’t matter. If he’s unwilling to talk,” Kain muttered in a low voice to himself, “we have options.”

And indeed they did. Kain and one other member of their group both had a mental attribute contract.

The other’s spiritual contract had weaker capabilities than Bea and were closer to hypnotism but they were boosted by a gift he apparently had also related to hypnotism. Unfortunately, the man would need to be awake and able to talk, so healing him was necessary.

However, although Bea doesn’t have this requirement, Kain still decided that healing the man was for the best. A con of Bea is that her invasion is not as gentle a method of obtaining information as hypnotism and if the target resists, it can be a strain on them, and since this person is so weak they may die while resisting Bea’s invasion.

And if he doesn’t resist? That would be for the best and is often the case for those weaker than Bea, but unlikely in this case since Kain could sense that this man was at least 6-star beast-tamer, likely even 7-star since it is difficult to judge in his unconscious and weakened condition.