Zachary laughed, “Of course!”
Elmont creaked and groaned. It seemed to be laughing as well but Zachary couldn't tell for certain. It was still a little difficult understanding the treant’s speech but that would get better with practice.
“Speaking of practice…” Zachary said and summoned Onkie.
“Zachy… I was sleeping,” She grumbled as she rolled to her feet.
“Sorry, sorry. Onkie, Elmost just became an adept. Help me test Elmont’s strength.”
“Onk!”
“Elmont,” He gestured to the treant, “Trap Onkie with your vines.”
“Okay.”
Elmont extended an arm, sending a bundle of vines that quickly wrapped around Onkie’s body and limbs.
“Onkie, try to break free.”
Onkie started to struggle, lightly at first before putting in more and more strength. It took great effort to finally escape, leaving her panting from exhaustion. In a real battle, Onkie wouldn’t stay still and let herself wrapped up like a convict. But it proved the usefulness of the vine growth ability.
“One more test.” Zachary said, “Elmont, wrap your vines around these two talks of bamboo, make a barrier.”
Elmont obeyed and weaved its vines back and forth, creating a living net of vines.
“Onkie, see if you can charge through it.”
“Onk!”
Onkie circled around to gain some distance and broke out into a sprint. Her stubby legs turned into blurs and she became a furry battering ram. She hit the vines at full speed, breaking a few strands on initial contact. The power of her charge stretched the remaining vines, finally breaking all of them and pushing through. However, her speed and momentum were greatly reduced, to the point that her charge was no longer threatening to anything that was hiding behind the vine barrier.
“Great! Elmont, that was great!” Zachary praised.
Elmont creaked and laughed happily while Onkie stomped on the ground unhappily.
Zachary didn’t recall them immediately, trying to think of other ways to test Elmont’s new ability. But before he could do so, a bestial roar drew his and everyone’s attention.
“What was that?” Nellie asked.
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“I don’t know,” Zachary replied.
Another beast wailed, followed by distinctively human shouts that seemed to be on the move. This was followed by crashing noises as if something huge was charging blinding through the jungle. More cries and roars followed, moving away from their position unsteadily.
Zachary squatted beside Onkie, taking solace in her steady breathing. It was dark all around. He could hardly see. He had no idea what was going on. The Eternum around them was too chaotic, with too many sources near and far, overwhelming his soul sense.
The others were equally nervous. Some of them had already brought out their summons despite heavy wounds and exhaustion, prepared for anything, even a sudden battle.
After what seemed like forever, the frightful noises subsided and the jungle returned to its former tranquility. Right on time, Jean-Pierre reappeared and waved at them.
“Stay quiet,” He whispered, “Don’t go out.”
“What happened?” Heather asked.
“Two survivor groups are fighting. Don’t know who started it, don’t care. Thankfully, they didn’t run into us. But they are still fighting. It’s not over yet.”
His words were met with mixed reactions. Shuhua looked scared. Nellie looked grim.
“What do we do?” Carlos asked.
“I don’t know,” Heather said.
They were all focused on the unseen dangers out in the jungle.
Zachary’s focus, in contrast, was on their summons.
Heather’s mantis, Toby, still sported countless wounds, from broken limbs to areas where its shell had been shattered. It was a similar story for the other beasts. Healing a summon wasn’t an easy task. It depended on how much energy the summoner put forth as well as the summon’s innate vitality. Some took much longer than others. At this rate, they couldn’t hope to return to full fighting strength by the morning.
“Zach, don’t be stingy. Let’s help them.” Wander said.
Zachary didn’t reply. He liked Heather and her group but he didn’t want to rely on them. After losing Yaoyao, he couldn’t trust anyone anymore. The pain was too much, he didn’t want to feel like that again.
He now had Wander and he wanted to protect him. If he revealed too much of Wander’s strength and his special abilities, Zachary was afraid the same thing that happened with Yaoyao would happen again. Only this time, he would lose his life for good.
“Big bro, it will be fine.” Wander said, sensing his unspoken thoughts, “We still need them to fight the seagulls. So, we should help them.”
Zachary sighed, “Alright.”
With his assent, Wander emerged in a ray of green light.
Heather looked up questioningly as Wander waddled up to Toby.
“Let him heal your summon,” Zachary said.
Wander opened his mouth and let out a deep breath. A green glow covered Toby and it trembled as the healing ability took effect. It was quick. It was miraculous. Areas of shattered carapace had knitted back together. Broken limbs were no longer broken.
“Wha…” Heather was stunned.
Before she could find the words, Zachary waved to the others, “Take out your most wounded summons. I’ll heal them.”
After getting over the initial shock, everyone brought out their summons. The process was not long but it was also not quick. Wander’s healing breath was powerful but it also required a lot of soul energy. In return for his efforts, Zachary received a small pile of random anima crystals. These were what the others were going to use to heal their summons themselves. Now, there was no need for them when Wander was so much better.
In this sense, Zachary earned a tidy sum of anima crystals for helping. The only thing he lost out on was revealing the true potential of Wander’s healing ability. Regarding this, he could only trust Wander. After all, they were equals.
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