After the question everyone just looking around at each other trying to see who had a glimpse of understanding. Rapt feeling the need to address what he experienced asked," what were those roars?".
This caused everyone to focus on him with confusion on their faces.
"What roars? We are talking about the pressure that you exerted over us" Sorc said. Gol nodded along with Orn, while Blum silently tried to understand the situation.
Blum looked around at the still confused faces before saying," we should explain what we experienced one by one before trying to decipher what we just went through."
Starting with Gol each one explained what had happened from their point of view. Amongst those Rapt's statements stood out significantly compared to the others. Starting with the anomaly was on the minds of Sorc, Blum, Orn, and Gol as it stood out the most from what they experienced.
"What roars did you hear?"
"What did they say?"
"How did you exert that pressure?"
"What are you?"
The four rapidly asked questioning one after another, leaving Rapt speechless and unable to know which one to answer first. Once the shock passed Rapt answered each question one by one in order. The first three had a simple answer: I don't know, while the last one was simple yet complex.
After thinking about the last question, I realized that I did not know who I truly was. Noticing that they were still waiting for answers, I said "I don't know". Yet not knowing triggered my curiosity and left me hungry for knowledge of the world and my personal purpose in it. I tried to think of possible answers to satisfy it and came up empty.
After a long stretch of silence, I finally decided to chase after those answers. Looking at the two elders and Gol, I asked," do you know where I can find the answers."
The first to answer the question was Gol. "The only ones I could think of that would have some sort of information about this would be the 5 Great Elder beasts." He spoke. This was quickly followed by him saying after seeing the hunger in Rapt's eyes," Before you try to find and approach one of them, you should focus on those hunting you and those under your protection."
"Why?" I thought feeling as my juicy answers were being dangle out in front of me.
"You're too weak to stand the sheer pressure exerted by them and their mana." Blum answered.
Seeing the confusion on Rapt's face Orm chimed in," Me and Blum teach the cubs about the ways and rules of the land. As our leader, please come and learn with them to gain a better understanding of the situation."
Hearing this Rapt's hunger for knowledge intensified, instantly thinking about what could be learn from these two elders.
Sorc who had mainly been quiet for most of the conversation saw the exact moment when Rapt check out of it. This was something he noticed during their journey to this area. Knowledge was something that Rapt was drawn to making him prone to blanking out at the mere mention of learning something new. This glaze would come over his eyes despite the unknown dangers in their immediate area.
'This will be the death of him' Sorc thought as the others continued talking without realizing that Rapt was no longer apart of the conversation. Sorc resolved himself to gain the strength to protect Rapt during those moments.
As I was thinking about what beast that had been around for a long time could teach me, I suddenly felt like I was missing something. Looking up I saw 3 beasts looking at me as if they were waiting for something. Luckily Sorc stepped in to explain what they were waiting on.
Apparently, Gol is willing to look after the kids while we go to the dead zone. There we can get stronger, gain mana for our evolutions and find stronger candidates for my Tribe.
"How would you contact us if Petra were to comes and attack?" Blum asked.
"I'm sending one of my tribe members with you to allow us to communicate." Gol said.
"How would that work if we are really far away?"
" As you and tribe grow in numbers and strength your unlocked tribal skill grows as well."
"Along the way, we will do our best to teach you what we know and have experienced." Orn said, lighting the fire in Rapt's eye again.
The five agreed on the plan. Rapt's group is to get strong enough to face Petra and withstand the pressure of the Great Elder beasts. Gol and his tribe were to protect the cubs, while Blum and Orn are gone with Rapt. Blum and Orn went to talk with the cubs about the situation, while Sorc showed Rapt around his father's territory allowing to see what a tribe can become as it grows. Gol went to talk with his elders in charge of taking care of the cubs and who would be going with Rapt into the lesser dead zone.
After they finished, walking around Rapt and Sorc walked in the direction of the dead zone until they were at the edges of Gol's territory and waited for Blum, Orn, and the informant.
Once Blum and Orn arrived, they decided to address the changes that occurred after they joined the tribe.
"Could you explain the changes to our systems after we joined your tribe?" Blum asked as Orn nodded.
"How much time does it show on your notification screen?" I asked.
"27 hours, 01 minutes, and 59 seconds"
"That matches with ours, Rapt"
"What is it counting down for?" Orn asked becoming slightly worried.
Glancing at Sorc, I answer them honestly. I explain what the original notification said and how other than that we didn't exactly know what would happen. Leaving them in their thoughts as I turned towards the beast, I could sense approaching us.
Slowly a figure comes into view as I see a medium sized beast appears hopping towards us. The beast continues to hop toward us until it is right in front of us. Stopping it greets us saying," hello I'm the shade bunny, Ny.