The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 992: Tian The Fluffy

Karl nodded in satisfaction. Tian was a good name for the Holy and Earth element fox.

He noticed that Tian had also collected his motherʼs body, and had made a stone coffin to lay her in, along with most of the treasures that he had gathered.

[Can we go do something important? There were other treasures here, but they were all used up or destroyed by the monsters that killed my mother. She wanted a Tribulation Lightning stone, and a Mythril coin as well. Can we get her all those things so that she can rest in peace?] Tian asked.

Thor recognized most of the plants that had been taken. They were all holy element items, and he had most of them growing in his space already.

”Brother Thor will give you most of the plants, and I can make the Tribulation Lightning Stone. The Mythril Coin, I already have. Here you go.” Karl agreed.

Thor returned to his space and passed over the plants, then returned to his natural form for a moment, so that the new brother could see what he looked like.

[Ooh, Behemoth Thor. Youʼre a good brother to have.] Tian cheered.

A small fox could hide dozens of times behind a brother that large.

The others all returned to their spaces to meet Tian, who was happy to find that he now had a huge family. He was the only son of his mother from this birth, and the Stonefur Divine Foxes usually had small litters.

[Should we tell Lotus about the new brother?] Hawk asked as he settled on a perch in the massive ironwood tree that marked the centre of his space.

[I think we should give it a day or two for him to adjust first.] Remi suggested.

[Or we could get the trauma out of the way first.] Rae offered.

[Trauma? I donʼt like trauma. Why do I have to meet this sister Lotus?] Tian cried.

Rae gave him a gentle smile in her humanoid form. [Sheʼs not a mean sister. Sheʼs just very excited about all things fluffy. And scaly. And beasts in general. Sheʼs a green dragon priestess.]

The little fox giggled. [Oh, like that. Mother warned me about the Green Dragon Clerics. How they would try to keep you forever and make you fat on snacks until you forgot about growing up big and strong.]

The others shared an amused look. The deceased fox had been a sage, for certain.

As if thinking of her had summoned the priestess, Lotus came running into the room, with Dana right behind her and the others trailing.

”My patron says there is fluff.” She panted, winded from the sprint.

Tian took a deep breath, and exited his safe space, then hopped up to land in Lotusʼ arms.

”Oh my Goddess! Heʼs so soft and adorable. Fluff, fluff, fluff.” Lotus cheered.

She rubbed her face on Tianʼs back, taking in the softness, and did a little happy dance, which made Dana laugh.

”And who might this be?” Dana asked.

[I am Tian.] The fox informed her, spreading his mental voice to everyone in the room.

It was an advantage of his species, part of their divine lineage, and today it saved him from being mistaken as a simple fox.

Or, so he assumed.

Dana didnʼt miss that the tiny thing was Totem Ranked, despite its size.

”Was he alone in this cave?” Dana asked.

”It was his motherʼs den. But she was attacked and killed some time ago.” Karl explained gently, not wanting to bring up bad memories for Tian.

[Our territory was taken by bad monsters.] Tian explained, then sent the mental image of a group of undead, led by a Mythic Ranked shadowy figure.

That was more alarming than being attacked by something in a monster spawn. That implied that there was a Mythic-Ranked leader of the Bomgon invasion force, and they were trying to turn the regionʼs powerful monsters into undead.

Karl suspected that the reason they had failed in this case was because the Stonefur Divine Fox had so much holy magic that they couldnʼt be made undead. But the fact that she had been defeated must have been a tragedy for the regionʼs balance.

Now that he thought about it, could this have been the start of the invasion? The mother had been dead for some time, unless the body was drained and desiccated by the attack. But the protection of a Divine Beast should have prevented the undead from cursing the cities to the southeast of here.

It was over a hundred kilometres to the edge of the affected area, but that wasnʼt far for such a powerful beast.

Finished with Lotusʼ incessant petting, Tian turned his fur to stone, and then leapt over to Opheliaʼs shoulder, using the logic that she was also furry, and therefore both camouflage and a distraction for the green robed Priestess.

”Nice to meet you as well, Tian. I am Ophelia, that is Tessa, and the mage is Dana.” She greeted her new guest.

[Itʼs a pleasure to meet you all.] Tian laughed as Lotus stood at the Werebearʼs feet and pouted.

She could reach Opheliaʼs shoulder easily enough, but the fox had made his fur rock solid.

Then Tian yawned, and his head tilted sleepily.

[I used too much energy, I need to nap now.] He explained, then vanished back to his space, where Rae had dropped a thick silk comforter for him.

The defensive spell vanished, and the fox was asleep the instant his head settled on the cushion.

With Tian asleep, all the other beasts, even butterfly, turned their attention to Cara.

[Hey, how was I supposed to know that he was so adorable? He blocked my attempt to examine the stone, then I just couldnʼt stop poking. Itʼs not my fault.] She defended.

The silence dragged, and Cara huffed in annoyance. [Fine, judge me. But thatʼs a really nice stone.]

She wasnʼt wrong. It was a very nice stone, of both Holy and Earth Elements, perfect for the development of a Stonefur Divine Fox.

[As long as you can learn to get along. I donʼt want any hard feelings just because you met on bad terms.] Karl warned.

[I helped convince him to join, didnʼt I?] Cara replied.

[Besides, if I canʼt have the stone, taking the whole fox is just as good.] She muttered, not quite managing to keep the thought to herself.