Ash was unconscious while Grim himself was going berserk. Grim was chaining [claw swipe] and [blood let] while zipping around. He clashed with the shields produced by the Athena and Alvin.
"Master, I believe we have compiled enough data, all that is left is to examine them while asleep."
"Noted, finish this immediately so we can harvest that ape and move out."
Athena once more locked down Grim while Alvin used [Lullaby] sending Grim into dreamland.
Quickly taking out his tools, Alvin measured the unconscious tamer and bond before taking some blood and hair samples.
Alvin dragged Ash and Grim to a hole in a tree not far from the battle site and then threw some beast repellent powder on him to prevent him from being found through smell. He then removed the talisman
"Sleep well subject, I need you to grow so you can produce higher quantities of data." Alvin gently patted Ash's face but it honestly looked a bit creepy when he did. Like a strange uncle giving interest into his niece.
Walking back to the ape, Alvin debated on whether the creature was worth more alive or dead. Alvin and Athena had a back and forth arguement before they settled on keeping it alive to seal. Big wigs in the capital may want to sell the Stone-armored Woodland Ape because of it's battle prowess.
Collecting the injured creature into a bag of spirits. Alvin promptly destroyed all evidence of him and the Taotie sect's endeavors before leaving. Ash woke a couple of hours later tired and confused. He honestly couldn't remember much after seemingly using his blood affinity. Or was that a new skill?
Yawning and looking at his current state, Ash looked at the similarly groggy Grim and decided to just get out of here. He needed to think, digest, and re-evaluate himself. Looking at his map briefly, Ash told Grim through his link to head out.
And so the two did. Nothing was said or spoken during this time. Grim made no mention of his partner almost dying again and Ash similarly didn't talk about his experience with both death and an angel.
Looking at the map, Ash decided to kill one of the local bosses in the valley. A cryptic golem, it had it's own slice of pie cut out of the valley.
This specific creature had an earth and death affinity. Massive in strength, defense, and regeneration. Before that however, Ash wanted to find or make a living space to gather himself. The golem's territory had a lot of zombies that would be a good practice target for the both of them
Ash and Grim traveled slowly this time. The two took in the sites around them. Feeling the sun wash their bodies while surveying the creatures.
They saw the beauty of the vegetation, rocks with all shapes and sizes. Lush greenery lying on top of bumpy rocks with the wind gently singing.
Ash would observe conflict between animals: from wind flash wolves fighting carnivorous poppies, stone apes fighting blood diamond snakes, wood plated armadillos fighting septic rats. A cycle in which nature unfolded took place before the duo.
Ash felt a kind of peace from his slow traveling. It reminded him of hunting with his father in nature.
Ash and Grim hadn't even realized that they had reached the edge of the territory until they saw zombies.
Some were monsters turned zombies while the others were former humans. Some zombies were even from the previous times the portal was opened; a sick but well-known fact was that zombies could be made.
Ash looked around for awhile before coming across an area that had dense foliage. There was space not too far off for practice and should he put his base here. It would be easy to defend.
Water dripped from a special rock called a moisture rock. It helped accumulate vapors and create water.
Seeing his source of water, Ash was content for awhile. "This should only take a couple of hours Grim. I'm gonna set up a small base and some defenses."
Grim took on the role of watchman while Ash was working. After a couple of hours a well hidden tent amongst vegetation and rocks was built. A pit with spikes, some rope traps, and a boulder trap came to fruition.
Calling Grim back the two went into a much-needed deep sleep.