CHAPTER 54: ENERGY CRYSTAL (1)

Theo watched as Elder Samuel clicked his tongue, turning away his head from the sight of the injured stranger in despair. He couldn’t blame the older beastman for his reaction to the healer’s words.

Going through a power change was hard enough without injuries. It was something some died going through without the proper help and being this injured was just asking for death.

Add the fact, his power was meant to increase to five stripes - something which gave a chance of awakening an elemental power depending on a beastman’s bloodline...

Well, it spelled for disaster.

An energy crystal could certainly help increase his chances of surviving this by speeding up the healing process so his body could focus on the power change. But they were also valuable.

Giving one to a random beastman wasn’t a wise choice. Especially when they were hard to come by for weaker villages like this one.

Killing monster hordes didn’t always guarantee crystals and the monsters themselves were hard enough to kill. So, Elder Samuel couldn’t risk giving out such a precious resource when the village could need it at any time.

They’d need to save it for childbirth to lower any risks of complications during the delivery. Even households within the city hoarded crystals for such cases. Beastmen rarely ever used energy crystals on themselves.

So, the stranger was likely on his own for this.

And considering the elderly beastman’s attitude, Theo doubted having to put his village above an injured beastman sat well with him. The rabbit beastman was sometimes too kind hearted for his own good.

"Healer Kai, are you sure there’s no other way to save him?!" One of the rabbit beastman suddenly called out, his bloody hands trembling. "H-he can’t die... Not when he stopped that horde for us."

Theo gazed at the young rabbit beastman who’d spoken out, realizing him and the beastman next to him must’ve brought the injured beastman here. They were both covered in blood and trembling badly, no doubt in shock.

"Yes!" The other rabbit beastman exclaimed. "We have to save him!"

Healer Kai glared at the pair for a second before turning his attention back to his patient. He then muttered as he went back to work, "I can only stop the bleeding and keep the injuries from getting worse. He’ll need an energy crystal to speed the healing and help with his power change. Soon too because this blood loss isn’t helping."

The cold words cemented the helplessness of the situation. The bird beastman wasn’t going to survive without an energy crystal and even with it he could still die from the power change.

Theo couldn’t help, but stare at the sight in pity. This world truly was survival of the fittest. Something those young rabbit beastmen would learn quickly.

The first rabbit beastman of the pair turned to Elder Samuel and asked, "Can’t you let him use one? He can fight monster hordes, so can surely repay us for the one he used."

"Tsk. That’s if he lives through this." Elder Samuel murmured, shaking his head. "The energy crystal won’t guarantee he lives. It’ll only help. I cannot risk our crystals like this."

There was a murmur of agreement amongst the others. Most knew what was at stake and Theo doubted some of them would let Elder Samuel use such a precious resource on a stranger.

Theo turned away about to leave the scene, not wanting to linger any longer. He already knew what the outcome of this situation would be and didn’t want to watch it happen.

His time was better used checking out the forest. Monster hordes rarely got close to any beastmen settlements, but considering the situation, it was a good idea to check things out.

Make sure the bird beastman got rid of all of them because the last thing they needed was a monster or even worse, a group of them, stampeding right to the village.

However, just as he was heading out, someone suddenly grabbed onto arm. Instinct kicked in and he turned to attack whatever touched him, only to stop an inch from the person’s face upon realizing who it was.

The young rabbit beastman held up his hands in surrender before he whimpered out, "I-I just wanted to ask if you have an energy crystal. Please let us use it! We can’t let this beastman die."

"I don’t have any crystals here." Theo frowned.

He did have crystals from hunting monster hordes before, but those were back in his home in the city. After the cold season, he planned to get all his belongings. That was if his uncle didn’t beat him to it...

"B-but... You must’ve hunted monsters before." The young rabbit beastman mumbled. "You have-"

"Enough!" Elder Samuel growled, finally losing it over the situation. "You cannot expect anyone to give up an energy crystal. You know how precious they are. Will you pay the price if things go badly?!"

The rabbit beastman bit his lip, unable to say anything. Theo shook his head, knowing they were desperate to save their savior. But he couldn’t help them even if he wanted to. He didn’t have anything here.

A sudden thought crossed his mind. He’d seen Serena holding a small pouch with crystals once when she was going through her things. Perhaps...

It was a risk on their part, but if Serena had an energy crystal, maybe they could use it to their advantage. The bird beastman would owe them a great debt which could be very helpful.

That was if he survived this.

Theo slipped through the crowd, heading back to the hut without another word. He wanted to speak to Serena before he did anything else. This was her choice at the end of the day.

Not to mention, he didn’t want to get any hopes up in case Serena only had clear crystals on her like most beastmen.

Rico glanced over at him curiously as Theo went past him and into the hut. The tiger beastman headed straight to the underground, making his presence known.

As he went down the ladder, he said, "Serena, it’s Theo. I need your help quickly."

The snow leopard beastwoman appeared by his side from one of the many entrances without Kiro. She glanced at him with curious eyes and asked, "What do you need?"

"Two rabbit beastmen got saved by a bird beastman from a monster horde." Theo quickly explained. "He’s now badly injured and needs an energy crystal if he has any chance of surviving. I wanted to know if you had any and if you’re willing to spare it to save the bird beastman."