CHAPTER 115: TAKE THIS CHILD WITH YOU

"What do you mean by favor?" Adrian asked, his tone also serious. If a beast with this much power needed his help, he was sure it was definitely not going to be simple.

Sensing Adrian’s worry, the silver-winged tiger let out a small chuckle before speaking.

"Fufu, don’t worry, I don’t need you to do anything for me." Her words slightly eased the tension in Adrian’s shoulders, but he still didn’t speak.

Seeing his reaction, the silver-winged tiger finally became serious again as she spoke to Adrian.

"From what you have told me, many people are searching for the cause of the beast tide. Seeing as it has been so long already, it probably won’t take long for them to discover this place.

In fact, I’m a bit surprised that they haven’t arrived here already." It said.

"With my current condition, escaping will be very hard for me if I were to encounter those powerful cultivators that you said were roaming these grounds.

The only suitable option for me now is to leave."

Adrian nodded his head slowly, agreeing with the words of the silver-winged tiger. So far, her summary of the situation was more or less accurate. Only by leaving quickly would she be able to avoid persecution.

However, another question arose in Adrian’s mind, which he voiced out.

"Forgive my presumptuousness, but I have a question." He asked.

"Hmm? Speak." The silver-winged tiger permitted him to ask what was on his mind.

"Your battle with the Mountain Bear happened over a month ago. Why do your wounds still look so fresh? It’s as if they are not healing."

The silver-winged tigress went silent for a moment. Her breathing, already ragged, grew more strained as Adrian’s question struck a deeper chord than he’d expected. Her silver eyes dimmed, and for a moment, he feared she might refuse to answer.

Then, her voice echoed directly in his mind, quiet but solemn.

"...Because they aren’t healing."

Adrian’s expression hardened. He had suspected as much, but to hear it confirmed was another thing entirely.

"I’ve heard that a high-ranking beast’s regenerative abilities should be enough to recover from most wounds," he said. "Even serious ones. How are you not healing?"

"Because healing requires energy. And to get energy, I have to eat."

"Then why don’t you? Even if you are weakened, you are probably stronger than all the beasts in this region. Hunting a few of them shouldn’t be a problem for you."

"Yes, that is true. But they would provide little sustenance for me. At my rank, such weak beasts can only provide very little sustenance for me.

I need to hunt beasts that are closer to my rank."

"That means —"

"Yes, I have to head back to the core region." The silver-winged tiger said, cutting him off.

Adrian was quiet for a moment before finally speaking again.

"I still don’t know what you need my help with."

The silver-winged tiger finally turned its head, its gaze landing on Adrian with newfound scrutiny. This time, Adrian didn’t flinch under its gaze, and merely looked back into its eye calmly. The silver-winged tiger nodded to itself internally, its opinion of Adrian increasing just a little bit.

Adrian didn’t know that he had just unknowingly impressed the beast. The silver-winged tiger then turned its head and stared at the cub, which was busy chasing a butterfly inside the cave.

Its fierce eyes softened for a moment, and an emotional look appeared in them. It was only for a brief moment, though, and Adrian wasn’t able to catch it.

"When you leave, I want you to take this child with you." The silver-winged tiger finally spoke. Its words surprised Adrian greatly, and he began glancing back and forth between the silver-winged tiger and its cub.

"W-Wait, what?" He asked incredulously. He wasn’t expecting that sort of request at all. Not that he had any idea what to expect at all from this beast.

Adrian blinked several times, almost certain he had misheard. But the silver-winged tiger’s expression remained solemn, serious, yet unwavering.

"You want me to... take your cub?" he asked again, as if repeating it might make it sound more believable.

"Yes," the silver-winged tiger said calmly.

"But... why? I mean, wouldn’t he be safer with you?"

She let out a deep breath, more of a weary sigh than an exhale of power. It was filled with sorrow, one that Adrian hadn’t felt from the beast before.

"As I am now, I can’t care for him. It would take my all just to survive on my own until I am back at my peak. Bringing him with me would only cause problems."

Adrian understood. The core region was a battleground of apex predators. A weakened mother and a defenseless cub wouldn’t last long. Even though he hadn’t been there before, there were enough stories about the terrors that lurked within.

The cub, oblivious to the gravity of the conversation, pounced on the butterfly, only to tumble headfirst into a pile of leaves. It let out a tiny, indignant growl before shaking itself off and trotting back toward its mother, rubbing against her leg.

The tiger’s expression softened again, just for a moment. Then she turned back to Adrian. He hesitated, his mind racing. This decision, seemingly trivial, wasn’t something he could make lightly.

Silver-winged tigers were considered rare magical beasts. Having one as a companion could be used to indicate one’s wealth and prestige.

Making a magic beast willingly acknowledge you and become your companion was another matter entirely. This endeavor was exceedingly difficult and would take a long time to accomplish, if it even acknowledges you at all.

However, it was a different matter if it was a cub. Magic beast cubs, while weaker, were easier to tame and influence. One simply had to show them love and care for a while, and they would willingly start to follow you by themselves.

The only downside was the enormous amount of resources one would expend in raising its strength. However, if one were lucky enough and were able to raise the beast to adulthood, they would have themselves a loyal companion with exceedingly terrifying strength.

That meant that the silver-winged tiger cub, in the eyes of a cultivator, was equivalent to an exceedingly rare and valuable treasure. And now Adrian had the opportunity to acquire such a treasure. But he still hesitated.

"With all due respect," Adrian began carefully, "Leaving this region is already going to be a very difficult task for me. I’m too weak to —"

"You are certainly weak, but I can sense something extraordinary about you. That is also part of the reason why I want this child to follow you." The silver-winged tiger said, interrupting Adrian’s words.

It wasn’t lying. When she first met Adrian, she could feel that something was different about the human in front of her. She had met countless cultivators and killed an uncountable number of them, so she was not unfamiliar with them.

It was also a bit intriguing as to how he had arrived there. Even though it didn’t leave the cave, it was aware of the strength of the magic beasts in the region. Someone with Adrian’s strength should not have been able to reach as far as he had.

His temperament was also exceptional. While Adrian was indeed afraid of her, he still entered her cave and even spent the night there. Also, the way he interacted with the cub also increased his favorability with her.

One might argue that he had only been treating the cub gently because of the silver-winged tiger, but it knew better. Even before he was aware of its presence, he still treated it with kindness and care.

Her instincts told her that the best place for the cub to be was by Adrian’s side. Magic beasts at her level paid great attention to their instincts. Even powerful cultivators often made spur-of-the-moment decisions based on their gut feelings.

It was something that couldn’t be explained. It could only be understood if one reached that level of power themselves. As for what level that was...

Hearing the words of the silver-winged tiger, Adrian finally made up his mind.

"Alright. I’ll take him with me." He replied. It wasn’t as if he had much of a choice. Even though the silver-winged tiger phrased it as a favor, who knew what it would do if he refused? It was better to simply accept its proposal and think about the consequences later.

Plus, it wasn’t all bad for him either. He was going to get a powerful companion that had the potential to reach rank 7 in the future. It might even be able to become even stronger.

Magical beast cubs usually had similar or greater potential than their parents. Depending on various factors, surpassing their parents is not impossible.

The tigress closed her eyes, and for the first time since they met, her breath sounded... relieved.

As if a burden that had been weighing down on her had been lifted.

******

Author’s note: Guy’s, I’m so sad. I wasn’t able to make MGS this month. I was so excited about it, too. I tried my best, but it seemed that it wasn’t enough.

So here’s what I’m gonna do. Next month, I’m going to be releasing two Chapters a day! Yes, that’s right. Hopefully, July is going to be a better month, and we’re all going to make it happen.