Chapter 95: Elk In Need

Leo half expected the Elk to consume the heartstones to boost its strength. But instead, it surprised him. Carefully, it grabbed a large, broad leaf—part of the Behemoth’s fallen remains—and wrapped the heartstones inside it like a bundle. It clenched the folded leaf between its teeth and attempted to move, but staggered the moment it tried to accelerate, one leg wobbling under its weight.

Seeing that, Leo made a quick decision. Since he had no intention of killing it, offering some healing wouldn’t hurt—and earning the goodwill of a Low 3-star beast, practically the king of this region, could only benefit him.

He stepped forward slowly.

But the Elk sensed him immediately. Its posture straightened; its breath sharpened, ears snapping upright, swivelling like radar dishes, and thin arcs of electricity crackled through its antlers—warning him to back off.

Leo halted, hands raised in a calming gesture, feeling the electric tingle in the air prickle across his skin.

Shyra hissed sharply, a low, warning sound that vibrated through the air. The Elk flinched instinctively and took a few staggering steps back. Even injured, its eyes burned with unwavering conviction—if they attacked, it would fight until its last breath. Yet the leaf-wrapped bundle of heartstones remained clamped between its teeth, as if that treasure alone was what it lived for.

Since Leo had no direct way to communicate with it, he tried conveying his intentions through Shyra.

Tell it... I just want to heal it,

he projected.

I owe it for helping defeat the golem. I’m paying back the debt.

Shyra bristled at that, tail lashing in annoyance. She refuted him immediately, her intent sharp as a blade—

The strong don’t need to do such things. Better to kill it and take all the energy cores for ourselves.

Leo shot that down without hesitation. He knew it made him look naïve in this world—a world where kindness was often seen as weakness. But he couldn’t erase where he came from. He had nothing left of Earth... not a photo, not an object, not even a scent. Compassion was the only piece of his old self he still carried, untainted by the brutality around him. And if it was even a percent of it, he wanted to keep.

Leo let out a dry, bitter chuckle. "Irony, huh? It was compassion that got me killed in the first place." He shook his head softly. "Still... I never regretted that choice."

Shyra tilted her head at his "nonsense," not understanding, but she still relayed his words.

Hearing the message, the Elk—unable to run even if it tried—reluctantly agreed. Either way, if these two truly wanted it dead, it would’ve already been bleeding on the ground. Accepting help was the only sane option left.

Leo stepped forward carefully and rested his hand on the Elk’s hind leg, pressing his palm over its dense muscle. The limb twitched violently at his touch; instinct rippled through the beast, a warning spark building in its antlers. But the moment it noticed Shyra glaring absolute murder into its soul, the Elk forced itself still.

[Nature’s Heal]

...

He cast the spell repeatedly, warm green light flowing from his palms, spreading over torn muscle and bruised bone. The scent of damp grass and fresh earth filled the air with each cast, drifting faintly on the breeze. Slowly, the tension eased from the Elk’s body. Its breathing steadied. Shock flickered in its eyes—confusion and disbelief as if it had never received genuine kindness before.

By the time Leo stopped, not only was the Elk fully healed, but he found he’d benefited as well.

Ding!

[Nature’s Heal] – 100% (Low) → 4% (Intermediate)

-Increased healing effectiveness (+vitality, +toxin cleansing).

-Added minor stamina restoration.

The Elk, bolstered by the restored strength in its limbs, rose proudly at 7 meters tall. Its brown fur glimmered under the forest light, the electric-blue stripes along its body pulsing subtly like living lightning veins. Majestic didn’t even begin to cover it.

For a brief moment, Leo wondered if it might retaliate now that it stood at full power—but it didn’t. It wouldn’t.Not with Shyra’s violet slit eyes locked onto it like a predator ready to tear out its core at the slightest hint of hostility.

But contrary to Leo’s expectation that the Elk would bolt into the forest the moment it recovered, it instead lowered its head. Slowly, deliberately, it placed the purple-tier core on the ground between them. Then it looked up at him, eyes steady, as though trying to convey something more.

Shyra immediately guessed its intentions and let out a low growl, tail flicking with irritation.

"Hm? What is it?" Leo asked, glancing between them. Shyra, clearly reluctant, still relayed the Elk’s intent.

After listening, Leo blinked, surprised—but nodded. He swiped his hand and gathered all the purple-tier cores into his spiritual space.

The Elk wasn’t offering tribute. It wanted something done. It wanted Leo—and Shyra—to follow it somewhere. Someone it knew needed healing, just as Leo had done for it. The purple-tier Earthpulse core was payment... or maybe a plea.

Leo accepted without hesitation. He needed those cores anyway—to push his physical attributes up to match his growing vitality. Levelling up with imbalanced stats was never ideal. And compared to waiting who-knows-how-long for a heartstone to recharge after planting it in his spiritual soil, spending a bit of mana—which would regenerate in minutes—was an unbelievably good deal.

A small smile tugged at his lips.

Looks like healing abilities are valuable even in the wild.

Meanwhile...

Dale and the others stood outside the root wall, waiting impatiently. Dale kicked at a loose pebble. "He’s taking too long. Did something—"

Before he could finish, the entire root enclosure vanished in an instant, dissolving into thin air as if it had never existed.

"Wha—! What happened?!" Dale shot to his feet, alarm flaring.

A familiar voice answered from the dissipating mist of roots.

"Calm down, it’s me," Leo called out, stepping out beside Shyra—and walking next to the Elk.

"I killed the tree monster and tapped my metal plate. I guess the enclosure—part of the tree monster- went back to the instructors."

Dale stared at the Elk, eyes widening. He recognised it instantly—the same beast that had taken down two three-cored golems all by itself.

Did he... tame it?! What the hell? How strong does he want to be?!

He quickly collected himself, straightened his posture, and pulled out three glowing cores from his pouch.

"This... you forgot to retrieve them after you defeated the golem," Dale said, eyeing the Elk coutiously.