Shadow gathered those with medical experience to tend to the wounded. The primary doctor of Independance stopped Joe from bleeding out and patched up Leo. Joe lucked out that the building crushed his legs and kept him from bleeding to death. The doctor had to remove both legs due to damage Joe sustained. Leo worried for Joe, but Sprite informed him the doctor did the best they could under the circumstances.
That following day, the settlement of Independence was in chaos. Defense members and warriors were clearing up the dead and the debris. Due to the numbers, Anna told them to burn the dead and process the coyote beast's bodies.
Anna and her aide visited Joe and Leo at the designated infirmary location. Seeing the newly joined members wounded, Anna felt remorseful, as it was their job to protect all the inhabitants.
"How is Joseph doing?" asked Anna.
Leo looked back to see the two ladies arrive.
"He is doing okay, I think," replied Leo.
Samantha stepped from behind Anna and asked, "How are you doing?"
Looking down at his bandages, he responded," A bit beat up, but I'm doing better than many. So I can't complain."
"We are holding a funeral for everyone this evening, and we would like you to join us. The medics here will watch over Joseph and many wounded personnel."
"Okay, I will be there."
Anna and Samantha excused themselves. The evening arrived, and a memorial was held for all the fallen personnel. Everyone who perished had their names carved on a wall of the building. The wall was the only thing that remained standing.
After the ceremony, many came to the wall to say their goodbyes. Leo walked up on his turn and touched Austin's name.
"I wish I could've saved you," mumbled Leo to the wall.
The boy walked away and headed back to the infirmary area. He promised himself to get stronger, and cultivation was the only way to survive in this world.
The next day, everyone in the settlement began refortifying the place. While others repaired and repaired buildings and the exterior wall, Leo cultivated and gathered materials. With help from Sprite, he built Joe a wheel cheer upon recovery. Leo chatted with Joe the few times he awoke and informed him of the situation.
With Sprite's suggestion, Leo started cultivating his yin and yang energies to strengthen the body. Sprite gathered intel on the beastmen while they trained and cultivated nearby. With the information from Fiver and his intel, Sprite knew that their self-made techniques would not be enough to protect Leo in the future.
Shadow arrived the next day to check on the boy. Lycan asked her to discuss cultivation with Leo. Leo was more than happy to comply.
"So, what art do you cultivate?" asked Shadow.
"A self-created art that focuses on yin and yang energies."
Shadow looked at the boy with admiration. Many beastmen have tried to create their own technique, but many defaults to learning the Canine, Feline, or Ursus Arts.
"What art do you cultivate, Shadow?" asked Leo.
"I cultivate the Feline Arts and Assassin Arts. These arts train one to use wind energy and dark energy respectfully."
Leo pondered for a second, wondering how many energy types there are in the world. He looked at Shadow, waiting patiently for his next question.
"Shadow, do you know how many energies there are in the world?"
"I do know the basic ones, little human. They are Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, Metal, Wind, Lightning, Light, Dark, Poison, Ice, Yin, Yang, Space, and Time. Most races train using the ones their body has the most affinity with."
"Is there a way to test the energy my body has the most affinity with?"
"Yes, I will bring something by tomorrow."
"I would appreciate that," replied Leo. He wanted to know if there was an energy more compatible with himself.
"I need to report your level, so what level have you reached?" asked Shadow candidly.
"I broke through after recovering from the beast attack. I'm now at the Tempered Bone stage."
"Okay, so Stage 4. Thank you for talking with me, little human." Shadow finished talking and turned to leave.
"My name is Leo, by the way."
Shadow and all the beastmen treasured their new names instead of their given numbers. So, she understood her failure not to use the human's names.
"Bye, Leo. Take care," responded Shadow before exiting the infirmary.
Leo stayed in the infirmary for two weeks till Joe healed enough. Joe was grateful for his wheelchair and told Leo he was ready to head home. Leo gathered up their things and headed to their gas station. Samantha told them they could move, but Leo and Joe agreed the place was okay.
When they got to their home, Leo was surprised to see the place cleaned up and looking better than when they arrived. Samantha walked out and looked at Leo with a smile. "I cleaned the place for you guys to help Joe get around the place better."
She walked out and paused in front of Leo. Leo looked at her and wondered what she wanted.
"Come on, Leo, thank the girl already." Looking from his wheelchair, Joe just laughed.
"Oh…thank you," said Leo as he patted her on the shoulder.
She didn't understand the patting but responded, "No problem, Leo. I will be on my way then." Samantha walked away smiling.
"Well, let's get inside and see the place," said Joe as he wheeled into the gas station.
As Samantha said, the space was emptied of most junk and allowed much room to roll around. Leo followed Joe in but looked sad at the chair.
"Sir, why are you sad? The chair is very effective," stated Sprite.
"I'm fine, Sprite."
After settling, Joe said," Leo, come here and sit." Joe rolled over in front of the chair after Leo sat down. Joe looked the boy in the eyes and said," Leo, you see this chair."
"Of course, I made it."
"I want you to know you did not put me in it. That giant beast did. I don't want you to blame yourself."
Leo tried to understand what Joe was getting at, and he felt that sadness before disappearing a bit.
"What you can do for me is to help me learn to control Qi. I want to heal faster and be more useful during the next attack."
"Sure, Joe. Sprite and I can help you with that."
The two talked a bit before the night soon came. Helping Joe lay down in the makeshift bed, Leo went out and got on the roof. He sat crosslegged to absorb yin energy from the moon. While meditating, Leo passed out and woke the following day with dew settling in on him.
Samantha walked up. "Good morning, Leo."
"Good morning, Samantha."
"I came to tell you that Anna, Jack, and Lycan are looking for you at headquarters." Leo looked down to see that Joe was now outside. "I will wait with Joseph," said Samantha, smiling.
Leo hopped down and changed his clothes. "Sprite, what do you think they want?"
"You will know once you get there."
Leo rolled his eyes at the matter-of-fact response. He walked to the building marked as 'Town Hall.' Once inside, Anna asked Leo to enter a large conference room with a large round table.
"Sit down, Leo. We have a few questions for you," explained Anna.
Leo sat down, and the three followed. Lycan nodded at him. Jack started to size up the boy. Anna just smiled.
"We are here to discuss your job assignment."
"I heard you decide for us," replied Leo.
Jack spoke up for once. "Yes, young lad, but you have the strength of a beastman and are still very young."
Lycan stood up and looked at Jack and Anna. "I want the human boy."
Startled, Anna chuckled at Lycan's directness and responded, "I thought we agreed on letting him choose Lycan."
Lycan felt weird, with three of them looking at him. Lycan sat down.
"Aw, cheer up. The boy might choose you," said Jack, trying to comfort the beastman.
"So, Leo, we would like you to join our engineer team, defense team, or the warriors. Which group would you like to join?" asked Anna very politely.
Waiting for the answer, Lycan tried to put on his best smile. His razor-sharp teeth looked eerie but friendly at the same time.
Seeing the boy, a little lost in thought, Jack spoke up again. "The engineering team focuses on repairing equipment and construction. The defense team patrols the perimeter and focuses on shooting drills. The last group comprises the few beastmen under Lycan that cultivate and scout outside the settlement."
Hearing the explanations, Leo knew that strength meant survival. So, he would instead focus on cultivating.
"I'll join the warriors."
"Yes, I win. Ha, the human is mine, Jack," bragged Lycan.
Jack was one of the few people Lycan didn't call human. He felt that Jack was a brave mortal worth his respect.
"Be quiet. You big furry idiot," Jack remarked.
"Hahaha, Leader Anna, please continue," laughed Lycan.
Leo was surprised the two could poke fun at each other as they did. Lycan and Jack reminded Leo of his short relationship with Fiver.
"So, with that decision. Leo, please tell Joe we decided he will be a trainer and a teacher. He will help the younger people on the defense team. He will train riflemen in the morning and teach after lunch," explained Anna.
"I think he would like that very much. I will let him know when I head home."
"Human Leo, you will start training with us tomorrow morning. See you on the north side of the settlement." Lycan said what he wanted to, nodded at Anna and Jack, and left the room. Jack told Leo he wanted to talk about teaching energy control to some humans around the settlement. With that said, he then got up and left, too.
Anna looked at this rugged, tan-skinned man and only saw the boy he was. She lost her son a few years ago and always holds a soft spot for the younger generation.
"Well, then I'll let you be off then. Take care of my Samantha if you see her." Anna winked at her and left the room. With only Leo still in the place, he walked out and headed home.
Arriving back at the gas station, he saw Samantha pushing Joe around. Leo walked up and switched places with her. "Thank you for dragging him around." Leo smiled slightly.
"It was no big deal. Joe is straightforward to talk to." Samantha started to leave but turned around and said, "Next time, we should go on a walk, Leo." After that, she turned the corner and was gone.
"Hey Leo, I heard there is a herd of bison to the west in a field. Let's go watch them until the sun sets."