Master of Dominion-Chapter 54: Colosape
Rael scanned Xaphxan from head to toe, pacing a slow circle around him. He narrowed his gaze, activating the Eye of Critic to search for any tangible shifts in Xaphxan, but found no difference,he was still in the same tier at least, nothing visible on the surface.
"You mastered it already?" he asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.
Xaphxan, watching his boss’s observant gaze, straightened his back. "Oh, yes! It wasn’t that hard, really,just a bit numbing," he replied, a flicker of pride crossing his face. He felt a surge of satisfaction, knowing he had beaten the three-day deadline Rael had given him.
Hearing this, Rael let out a sharp, dismissive huff.
Rael felt a distinct blow to his own ego. He suppressed the childish urge to smack Xaphxan right then and there. Aside from the fact that his WarMaster scripture was special and consumed a ridiculous amount of time and effort to just master the iron phase, he couldn’t forget his own failure just a day prior, before transcribing the manuscript for Xaphxan, he had attempted to grasp the Thunder Circuit fundamentals himself and had failed miserably. The memory stung. He held his urge in check with visible effort.
Xaphxan flinched, his shoulders hunching as he took a hasty step back. He recognized that particular twitch in Rael’s face ,it was the exact expression his boss always made right before delivering a heavy-handed smack to the back of his head.
’What the hell did I do?’ Xaphxan thought, panic rising. ’Wait, was he expecting me to have mastered it even quicker? I’m no genius!’ He stared at Rael, his mind racing through every mistake he might have made during his meditation, completely unaware that his "boss" was actually nursing a bruised ego over his own failed attempt.
Rael tossed the intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind. "Anyways, where are the sisters?" he asked.
"Scouting. They’re out looking for beasts we could capture. Oh and they’ve basically marked off the northern side," Xaphxan said, pointing toward the dense treeline. "They’ve designated it as a new Red Zone."
Rael squinted his eyes. "Why?" He knew there were only five official Red Zones in the zodiac woods, and none of them were supposed to be anywhere near his current position.
"Well, according to Lady Ayobe, she encountered a Core Beast. An Inferno Ox."
"What?" Rael exclaimed, his voice sharpening. "How close is it?"
"A few miles beyond the stream," Xaphxan replied, his expression shifting to match the gravity of the situation.
’A Rank 3 beast? Oh, fuck,’Rael thought, a cold chill crawling up his spine. ’I never expected something like that. Who the hell would expect a Core Beast to just pop out of nowhere?shit It’s probably a newly ascended one.’
"Tsk. What else?" Rael asked, his mind already racing through different survival scenarios.
"She also gave me a list of most of the beasts close enough that we could hunt and capture."
"Really? She ,I mean, they...were that helpful?" Rael muttered. He was genuinely surprised he hadn’t asked them to scout, but he was quietly grateful they had. Given his reckless nature, he might have wandered straight into that Core Beast’s territory without a second thought. "This list she gave you... are there any beasts that focus on strength?" he asked, his mind turning toward the requirements for the Uruz rune.
"Hmm, I think so," Xaphxan replied. He quickly produced a sheet of brown paper from his magic pouch, crowded with a list of aether beasts that filled the entire page.
Rael’s eyes widened. He had been surrounded by this many creatures all this time? He realized he only remained safe because of the natural tendency of such beasts to keep to their own territories.
"Oh, yes, there is one ,well, three, actually," Xaphxan said, scanning the list.
"Okay, I’m listening."
"It’s a Colosape," Xaphxan replied.
"Colosape?" Rael repeated the name, scouring his memory but finding no resemblance to any creature he’d heard or encountered before. However, the name alone suggested a creature of massive scale and power. ’Hm More like a Colosso-ape... probably will be a big one’
"Three of them, and they’re all ranked beasts. The leader is apparently on the verge of ascending to the next rank," Xaphxan added, his voice trembling slightly.
"Hmm, is that so?" Rael muttered. A sharp, predatory glint flashed across his eyes as a sudden surge of battle lust took hold, his reckless nature drowning out any lingering caution or fear from the core beast.
Xaphxan caught that look ,the almost manic intensity in Rael’s gaze and felt a cold wave of goosebumps erupt across his skin. "Ehh, Boss... I really think we should wait for the sisters."
"And why should we?" Rael smirked. He threw a heavy arm around Xaphxan’s neck, practically dragging him toward the compound gate. "Besides, this is the perfect chance to test out that new manuscript of yours, don’t you think?"
’A devil. This is a devil’s contract indeed’, Xaphxan thought, his stomach churning.
"But Boss! I haven’t even mastered the spell yet! You can’t possibly be throwing me into the midst of those beasts just like that!" he stammered, his heels dragging in the dirt.
"Come on, I’ve got your back. Hehe," Rael chuckled. He seemed to genuinely enjoy the terrified expression on Xaphxan’s face, ignoring the fact that his subordinate was likely screaming every curse word in the book inside his own head.
Deep down, Rael’s motivations weren’t purely fueled by his own battle lust. Aside from his reckless desire to hunt down the beasts ,he wanted to harden Xaphxan.
To Rael, the young man seemed far too cowardly for the withered nights to come. Initially, Rael had assumed this timidness was a byproduct of his weak manuscript, but after seeing Xaphxan’s nature, he realized the issue was internal. Now that he possessed the lethal power of the Thunder Circuit, Rael felt it was time to force some real combat experience upon him.
However, Rael remained blissfully oblivious to the truth that playing the role of the weak, trembling prey wasn’t just a personality flaw it was a more of a survival trait. It was simply a mask Xaphxan had perfected during his time in the cult.
