Early the next morning, Lorcan and Baldy ventured into the dense jungle, their senses heightened and their nerves on edge. Baldegarath had taken one of Lorcan's spare spears and placed a vial of healing pills in his pocket.

The mission was clear: locate the nest of Brallgramoths and retrieve the cache of Beast Crystals hidden within. It was a task fraught with peril, for the Brallgramoths were formidable adversaries, known for their mastery of spatial manipulation and their complex labyrinthine underground lairs.

They had decided to tackle the Brallgramoths first before looking for the two other wasp nests, since the monastery would have an easier time surviving an attack from the wasps.

Lorcan pondered their physical aspects. According to the monastery’s bestiary, a full-grown Brallgramoth weighed about a ton, had a shoulder height higher than most men, and six short but very muscular legs with long, wicked digging claws. Like many species on the planet, they sported not only an internal skeletal structure but also insectile external carapace armor, making them exceptionally resilient.

As they delved deeper into the verdant wilderness, the air thick with humidity and the sounds of unseen creatures, Baldy's brow furrowed with determination. The prospect of facing the Brallgramoths filled him with a mix of trepidation and grim resolve. Lorcan, on the other hand, remained focused, his mind grappling with the question of how to kill or avoid beasts that resembled armored tanks while still being quite mobile due to their spatial tunnel ability.

The first signs of the Brallgramoths' presence manifested in the form of peculiar disturbances in the earth, combined with subtle ripples in the fabric of space that betrayed the creatures' subterranean movements. With each step, the ground seemed to shift beneath their feet, a disconcerting reminder of the looming threat lurking beneath the surface.

As they pressed onward, the jungle gave way to rocky terrain and the earth showed the telltale scarring of the Brallgramoths' tunneling. Lines of disturbed earth or dying plants, where roots directly below the surface had been cut. Lorcan's keen spatial perception allowed him to discern the direction of subtle distortions in the rock, guiding their path deeper into a small mountain range.

But their progress did not go unnoticed. Before long, the ground trembled, and the air filled with a low, ominous rumble. The Brallgramoths had detected their presence, and they were not pleased.

With a deafening roar, the earth split open, revealing the grotesque forms of the Brallgramoths emerging from the depths. Towering over Lorcan and Baldy, their muscled frames adorned with chitinous armor gleaming in the dim light of the underground chamber.

Lorcan noticed Baldy gritting his teeth, his hands trembling as he readied his spear. He knew that this would be the fight of their lives, a battle against foes who wielded the very fabric of space as their weapon. But even as Baldegarath loathed to risk his life, even he knew the law of the Judgmental Heavens. The law of balance. No gift came without a price.

And he was fed up being fed only the scraps and crumbs of his sects more successful cultivators.

Lorcan's mind raced as he faced the looming threat before him. He knew that he would need to draw upon every ounce of his strength and skill to overcome the Brallgramoths. When the first beasts started to run at them, he used his [Doublestep] skill not only for increased mobility but also for its effect on his reaction speed and cognition. He had trained this skill hard until he reached high proficiency. The increase came when he finally understood the skill's mechanics. It was a true temporal effect that increased the speed of signals in his nerves, with only some minor parts assisted by supplying Cosmic Energy to his muscles. He still barely managed to run more than five times faster, but when he infused the seed of Chrono-Synchronization into the skill, it also increased his reaction time fourfold. Nothing a trained warrior could not match, but it did give him an edge against beasts.

Time did not crawl to a stop or to one of the extreme slow-motion crystal recordings used to analyze one’s movement after a training session. But it did slow down. Lorcan measured his steps and used [Evasive Spatial Shift] to effectively short-range teleport atop his enemy. His mind seemed to shatter. He subdued a scream and dropped dizzy on the back of the beast. That stopped and looked around. Obviously unused to his enemies also using the Dao of space.

What had happened? Did the beasts also use some kind of mental attack? How unfair was that? He decided not to believe the monks had missed such an ability for centuries. But what if it had newly developed after the beasts had been strengthened by a Beast Crystal cache? He dodged the charge of a slightly smaller Brallgramoth and opened one of his many pockets. He took out a peak-quality pill and crushed it in his mouth. The combination of healing and supplied mental energy got him up again. He reactivated [Doublestep] again and used it to think everything through. What did he do wrong? When he got it, he could have kicked himself.

He had attempted to employ two highly proficient skills while they were infused with Dao from two different peak-tier Daos simultaneously. Even worse, one of those was the Dao of time. It was common knowledge that time manipulation had a disruptive effect on other Daos. For instance, it was widely understood that one could not engage in Dao contemplation within a time dilation chamber. And he’d tried to do it in F-grade. It wouldn't have surprised him if he’d taken some minor soul damage.

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For the first time, he really realized why his Dao combination was so unusual. He would need supreme soul and mental strength to pull off a combination skill or attack. Forming a Dao braid of Time and Space? Ludicrous!

Dodging another charge, he pulled himself together. That really wasn’t the time.

He stopped using [Doublestep], then teleported on a Brallgramoths back and threw a vial of special chitin-eating acid on the back armor of the beast. He waited for three hectic heartbeats, while balancing on the bucking beast, then thrust at the same location with his spear. The weakened armor gave way, and he used a talisman mounted on the spear to push it further downward. The spear's haft entered the beast almost half its length. The beast screamed, then space started to shift around it. Lorcan was caught unprepared when the beast disappeared into a glowing tunnel in front of him, leaving him behind without a weapon. Two more Brallgramoths took offense at his existence and started to charge.

With a roar of defiance, Baldy charged forward, his weapon slashing through the air with deadly precision. His movements were swift and fluid, a testament to training and determination. He used his own mobility skill to jump over his enemy and used force and his full weight to thrust his spear into a seam between the chitin armor plates. The spearpoint went in for half his arm's length, then stopped. The beast howled and rolled. Baldy could barely jump up in time before the beast could roll his enormous mass over, trying to flatten him against the rocky ground. He shook his head to clear it: “Lorcan! There’s too many of them!”

Lorcan nodded grimly. They would be flattened before even reaching the supposed area of the beasts' nest. More spatial tunnels opened to unleash angry beasts upon them. Lorcan attempted to use [Evasive Spatial Shift] to create some distance, but he barely managed a quarter of his usual distance before plummeting uncontrollably from a random point in the air. One of the Beasts' tunnels had crossed his path and disrupted his shift.

He gestured for Baldy to disengage and follow him. Together, they ran and jumped for half a kilometer until the beasts finally relented. Baldy shook his head in dismay. "We didn't even get near their nest. Brallgramoths are known to be quite territorial and easily provoked. But these beasts attack anything they see as if they're overflowing with berserker treasures."

Lorcan surveyed their surroundings thoughtfully. "You're right. That wasn't normal. Did you notice the state of the area? Every tree scratched, every stone splintered. There were no other beasts or animals in sight, at least not that I could detect with my spatial detection skill. It's as if the very fabric of space itself has been vandalized."

Baldy shrugged. "I didn't have time to enjoy the view of the fabric of spacetime. But I did manage to identify some of our enemies. At least one of the Brallgramoths was Middle E-grade."

"E-grade Beasts, fueled by some kind of berserker treasures. Or perhaps the Beast Crystal cache contains additional inscriptions that enhance their aggression."

"The abbot is D-grade. He could probably defeat a dozen E-grade beasts all by himself. But with dozens of beasts here, many of them E-grade and further enhanced... Not to mention the hundreds of fast-moving wasps…"

Baldy nodded grimly. "And if they decide to attack while our abbot has entered solitary meditation in the northern monastery outpost, as he's scheduled to do in a week or so..."

"He's going to what?"

"Didn't you know? It's the talk of the monastery. He'll be gone for at least a month, attempting to achieve a breakthrough in one of his Daos or something."

Lorcan pondered this information for a moment, then nodded. “That must be when the attack will take place. Maybe it wasn’t on the timetable at the beginning, but we know there is a way to start the attack early if we inform the abbot. Probably with some kind of remote control. Whenever our mysterious enemies originally planned to start their beast stampede, they’ll never miss the chance of attacking with the abbot gone.”

Baldy snapped his fingers. “Damn. You’re right. Should we inform him and start the battle early?”

“I’ll file that as plan C. At most. If we do that, we're finished. The training regimen ends.”

“Okay… So… What’s our new plan A?”

Silence fell while the two cultivators contemplated their dilemma.

Baldy, his brow furrowed with determination, spoke first. "We need to find a way to get past these beasts and into their labyrinth without attracting too much attention. If we can navigate the maze undetected, we might have a chance at retrieving the Beast Crystals and escaping with our lives."

Lorcan nodded in agreement, his mind already working through possible strategies. "Agreed. We'll need to use our skills and wits to outmaneuver the Brallgramoths and find a way into their lair. But first, we need to create a diversion to draw their attention away from our intended entry point." After some more thought, he took out some of the Beast Crystals from his Cosmos Sack: “Can you inscribe these to emanate their energy into the atmosphere? That would draw the beasts out and enrage them.”

Baldy seemed less than enthusiastic: “I could, but do you know what those are worth? Beast masters would pay an arm and a leg for those.”

“We’ll get more. And money is of no concern to me.” He smiled. After living from a meager soldier's pay for his entire life, it truly felt good to say this. And mean it.

Baldegarath weighed his head: “I’m not sure. The beasts won’t be able to detect the energy far. If we drop a few engraved crystals near them, I’m not sure we’ll escape again. If they think we have more, they’ll not stop to follow us this time.”

“True. But I wasn’t thinking about us dropping them.” He turned around and smiled in the direction of the nearby woods: “Will you come out? I’ve felt you following us since we left the monastery.”

The six-legged squirrel seemed to be embarrassed as it climbed down from a nearby tree.

“Don’t be ashamed. You were not supposed to help. That was our fight, and ours alone.”

Vokaris' whiskers turned upward, and

he instantly teleported directly in front of Lorcan, who sat down to let the hexasquirrel onto his lap. Lorcan scratched its stomach and between its ears until it relaxed completely. “Who is a good Squirrel? You are.” He pulled out a Beast Crystal from his Cosmos Sack: “Does the good squirrel want one of those?”

Space warped, and the Crystal disappeared. Vokari swallowed. Lorcan looked confused for a moment, then he grinned: “Nice trick! But if you want another Crystal, you need to help me with a serious problem. This is what I’d like you to do…”