catalyst beast

The next day,

Courage finally embarked on his expedition, leaving at first light. Following a map to the location relayed to him by Mister Jafar, he made his way through the wilds with Kabuto marching steadfastly by his side. 

Considering the vast distance they had to cover, Courage adopted a measured approach—traveling in intervals, pausing regularly to conserve their energy and prevent exhaustion. He couldn't afford to arrive at his destination already drained, nor did he want to stumble into danger unprepared. His vigilance never wavered: he took precautionary stops and made slight detours at any sign of potential threats, and ensured their path remained clear. Thanks to this method, their journey proceeded without any major obstacles. 

Now, Courage rested atop the thick branch of a towering tree, concealed beneath its dense canopy. Below him, Kabuto clung to the trunk, standing guard—protecting them from threats above and below. This was their final respite before the last leg of their journey, the final push toward their destination. 

Seated firmly, Courage steadied his breathing, occasionally sipping from his water canteen. Though he fought to remain alert, his mind kept drifting back to yesterday's events—Sarah's bold declaration, her confrontation with Kuro Kai, and the thunderous birth of the Band of Dawn. 

"Alright, so there's a new player in town," Courage mused, debating internally. "Now that there's a challenger to Black Hyde, they're bound to escalate their efforts to crush the Band of Dawn before it gains momentum. And the Band? They'll fight back just as hard. A ripple of conflict is about to surge through the entire bastion."

He understood the implications all too well. 

"But the important question here is—where do I stand in this mess?"

Courage knew that with two major factions clashing for control, resources, and dominance, pressure would inevitably fall on independents like him. The bastion's environment was about to turn fiercer, more competitive—making survival and growth even harder for small factions and lone operators. 

Where the big animals take the biggest territory and enjoy the largest feast, the small ones are left only with small corners and scraps for themselves. That was the law of the world - Courage understood it well.

However, in this case, there was a way to escape being crushed between these two forces: joining one of them. Courage had concluded this much. Yet it was exactly this thought that troubled him. Joining Black Hyde or the Band of Dawn - either choice would free him from competing alone against large factions, letting him share in their feast instead.

But this option came with downsides. See, being part of an organization, a faction, or group meant obligations. That's how any collective worked: you give to the group so the group gives back to you. Whichever side he chose would bind him, demanding contributions to legitimize his place in it. More still, if he wanted to rise within it's ranks.

Put simply: join a faction, and you stop working for yourself - you work for them instead. And for some reason Courage couldn't pinpoint, that idea chafed at him. Being under someone else's thumb... Maybe it was his fierce individuality, forged through years of isolation in his youth. Or maybe he just cherished independence - the raw agency over his own life.

Logically, he understood the benefits of joining. But deep down? He yearned to remain independent - unbounded, ungoverned. Yet independence came at a cost. Remain solo, and it would be him against the world.

So there it was, his choices laid bare:

- Join a side, trade some freedom for stability and guaranteed growth.

- Stay independent, keep all his freedom, but fight tooth and nail to claim his share from between the warring factions.

Minutes passed as Courage wrestled with his thoughts, until finally, he made his decision: to remain independent.

Don't misunderstand—though Courage had his own feelings and desires, his choice wasn't entirely based on them. The deciding factor was this: the struggle between factions would end eventually. How long until then and How would it end? He didn't know. But he did know one thing—in the end, there would be a winner and a loser.

Now, how could he tell which would be which? Courage wasn't insightful enough to predict which faction would emerge victorious, and he was certain he didn't have the power to ensure either one's triumph. What truly concerned him was joining a side that would, in the end, lose. And if he allied himself with a faction that fell, it would inevitably drag him down with it—such was the nature of organizations.

But if he stayed neutral for as long as possible? Whichever side won or lost wouldn't affect him. That was why he chose independence.

Of course, there was no guarantee he could maintain this stance forever. So he resolved: he wouldn't join any side unless no other options remained viable.

And with that, his mind was settled.

Having played enough in his head, Courage decided to finish their journey. After about an hour, they finally reached their destination. 

Now standing at the foot of a mountain, Courage and Kabuto surveyed the rugged landscape. Stones covered the ground everywhere, with only sparse vegetation—patches of wild grass and scattered wild flowers here and there, but no trees or bushes to speak of. The openness made Courage feel somewhat exposed, though he acknowledged one advantage: this clear space would make detecting threats easier. 

The journey had taken them slightly over half a day, and now the sun hung high in the sky. But arriving here was the easy part—the real objective begins now. 

Remembering Jafar's instructions, Courage began combing the base of the mountain. Before long, he discovered signs of battle—old and faded, but unmistakable. "This must be where those hunters mister Jafar mentioned took down the beast," he concluded. 

"Alright, we'll start our search from here," he declared. 

As they moved along the mountainside, Courage scanned for any clues that might lead them to the Catalyst's whereabouts, while Kabuto followed closely behind, keeping watch for danger. 

Then, as they passed a particularly jagged section of terrain, Kabuto alerted him to something. Turning, Courage saw his beast digging at the ground with its limbs. Kneeling to inspect the spot, he picked up a smooth, milky-white stone—soft to the touch. 

A jade stone. 

"A clue?" Courage mused, giving Kabuto an appreciative pat for finding this sign.

Having found this clue, Courage changed their search method. They now walked several paces, then inspected the ground for jade stones. If they found any, they continued in that direction; if not, they changed course. As they progressed, the concentration of jade increased until the stones became clearly visible, protruding from rocks at the surface. 

Before long, Courage and Kabuto found themselves standing before a large crevice at a sloping section of the mountain base. Jade stones littered the ground all around it, some even embedded in the crevice's interior walls—at least from what Courage could see from his vantage point. 

"The Catalyst can't be too far now," he thought, signaling Kabuto to proceed. 

The crevice was spacious—large enough to fit a bus—allowing them to climb down without difficulty. After descending about ten meters, their feet touched the bottom. From there, they ventured deeper inside. Enough sunlight filtered through to illuminate their path, eliminating the need for a lamp. 

As they advanced, Courage noticed a hole in one of the crevice walls up ahead. But before they could take another step, something else caught his attention—the ground directly in front of them. 

To an untrained eye, it might have looked like ordinary stone flooring. But not to Courage. after getting sick of being taken by surprise in his hunts he trained himself on detecting anomalies in his surrounding to better foresee danger. And now it seemed that training had paid off. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the discrepancy: while the rest of the floor was flat and slightly rugged, this patch had a subtle curvature. It also bore an unusual amount of pebbles and debris compared to the surrounding area. 

"A trap," he realized. 

He couldn't tell what kind of beast had set it, but he was certain of its purpose. A less observant beast or even an untrained Catalyser might have fallen for it. But not him. 

Having detected the danger before it struck, Courage took steady steps backward until he positioned himself behind Kabuto. With a sharp command, he ordered his beast to prepare. Kabuto activated [All Out], muscles coiling like springs ready to unleash. 

Courage withdrew his flail and with practiced precision, swung it hard at the trapped floor. The moment steel struck stone, his suspicions were confirmed—the false ground swung open like a trapdoor, and from the darkness beneath, a beast erupted with a piercing screech. 

It was a tarantula—massive, standing half again Kabuto's size. Thick, powerful limbs supported a triangular abdomen, but its most striking feature was its coloration: milky white with an eerie, polished sheen, geometric patterns etched across its body . At a glance, it seemed like an exotic jade statue that came to life. 

The beast lunged, jagged forelimbs snapping forward to seize its prey—but clutched only empty air. Instead, Kabuto's fists hammered into it with brutal force: one blow to the thorax, another square into its face. 

Yet instead of a satisfying crunch of chitin or the spider's body hurtling backward, the strikes landed with a hollow, crystalline clink. The tarantula didn't budge—not an inch. It was as if Kabuto had just punched a real jade statue. 

The tarantula, enraged, let out an angry screech. Hearing it, Courage felt a pressure he'd never felt before - even Kabuto flinched back. 

"This aura... it's a Level 2 beast," Courage said nervously. Even though they avoided a trap, their situation had somehow still turned dire. 

The tarantula began creeping closer - a confrontation was imminent. 

Courage: "Nope." 

Immediately, he gave an order to his beast. Kabuto jumped up, unfurling his wings. Courage grabbed its hind legs as it began hovering. Then, using [All Out] and [Flux], he ordered Kabuto to get them out of there quickly. 

Luckily, the crevice was big enough for Kabuto to fly. However, the angry tarantula wasn't going to let these intruders leave that easily. Climbing into the walls, it began pursuing the quickly ascending beetle, its powerful limbs sending tremors through the stone as it climbed rapidly. 

Courage's heart pounded violently as he watched it give chase. 

"Kabuto, hurry!" he urged, his grip tightening as his companion raced toward safety.

After a harrowing chase, Kabuto finally shot out of the crevice with a loud *whoosh*, soaring high into the air. The tarantula, now without any surfaces to climb, could only watch helplessly as its prey escaped beyond reach. Kabuto flew a safe distance from the crevice - luckily, the tarantula seemed unwilling to pursue them outside its territory. Finding a suitable spot, the beetle landed so both could catch their breath.

"Damn it!" Courage cursed, pounding his fist against the ground. "Why'd we have to run into a Level 2 beast all of a sudden?" After that he tried to think of a plan. "Okay, I really don't want to fight that thing."

That might seem cowardly, but you must understand. For beasts of the same level, who is stronger is usually determined by who has the overall highest growth level. That was the simplest indicator in that case. But still, in that situation, many other factors can come into play in deciding who is stronger, such as skill, type advantage, and even the beasts themselves. So in some cases, it was possible for a lower beast to overcome a greater one within the same level depending on those many factors.

Now If that tarantula was the same level as Kabuto, he might have considered fighting it. But it's not - it's higher. And the gap of strength between levels isn't something easily surpassed. A beast at the peak of Level 1 still stands little chance against one at the bottom of Level 2. This was a universal rule in the world of Beast Catalysts.

As of right now, Kabuto had the growth level of 47% - not even halfway through Level 1. Another fact that discouraged Courage was that he was certain that beast had the [Jade Bone] trait. That was easily concluded from its appearance as well as the insane constitution it displayed. Courage had seen Kabuto's punches cave the skulls of some beasts, yet that tarantula took it like a gentle pat.

So fighting that thing? Hard pass.

After racking his brain for a bit, Courage settled on a plan. Waiting for a while, he and Kabuto returned to the crevice, moving with slow, measured steps until they reached the tarantula's den again. Courage stared at the opening cautiously before giving Kabuto a signal.

A few seconds later, Kabuto was crawling along the wall with Courage clinging to him. Yep - that was the plan: sneaking past the tarantula.

Recalling their previous encounter, Courage had noticed the tarantula lacked the body hairs all spiders normally have - the ones that help them detect vibrations. This led him to suspect that this particular spider had poorer senses than most. His belief was further bolstered when the tarantula hadn't reacted to their presence last time even though Thier were only a couple of steps away from it , not until they stepped directly on its trap did it react.

Building on this observation, he devised this plan to sneak past by sticking to the ceiling and avoiding the beast. A bit underwhelming for a master plan, but then again, Courage's objective wasn't to defeat this beast it was just to find and acquire the Jade Bone Catalyst.

Time seemed to crawl as Kabuto moved slowly to avoid creating any disturbance. Sweat covered Courage's forehead as he kept his eyes locked on the trap, his nerves burning under the intense situation. But eventually, after what felt like a century on edge, they made it to the other side.

"Finally," Courage whispered to himself.

Keeping watch behind them, they made their way to the hole. Upon reaching it, Courage could feel a cool sensation emanating from within. 

"There's definitely something there."

After confirming the entrance was safe, they made their way in. After a short distance, Courage and Kabuto arrived at a large stone chamber about 8 meters in size. The walls and floor were completely covered in pristine white jade stone. The entire chamber was filled with a gentle white glow, and the air felt cool and fresh despite being underground. Everything gave the place a peaceful, serene feeling.

"This is it," Courage muttered as he looked around. He done it - he found the catalyst. Now came the time to use it. He turned to his beast: "Alright buddy, just go on and do whatever feels natural, I guess."

Environmental catalysts, unlike other catalysts, weren't straightforward to use. They didn't come with specific instructions. Instead, when you brought a compatible beast to an environmental catalyst, a resonance would occur, and the catalyst would take effect.

Kabuto stepped forward slowly, stopping at the chamber's center. He began scratching the ground and turning around in circles, before finally coming to a stop. Then he began to shiver, small energy cracks appearing across his carapace.

Catalyst assimilation.

"Good. That means he's compatible with the catalyst," Courage said, relieved.

Courage stood guard at the entrance, finding nothing else to do while his beast completed the assimilation process. Hours passed as he waited. Just as Courage was starting to grow tired, a notification from his implant relieved him - the assimilation was complete. Now to see the results.

Grand Fighting Kabuto (Level 1)

- Grade: High 

- Growth: 65% 

- Type: Vigor 

- Traits: [Jade Bone] 

- Abilities: [All Out], [Flurry Strike], [Flux] 

Trait Description:

[Jade Bone]: This beast's body has the toughness and purity of pristine jade.

Courage's eyes nearly popped out in surprise. Kabuto's growth level had jumped from 47 all the way to 65 - just like that. Talk about a potent catalyst! This thing was nothing short of miraculous. An 18% growth increase - that was almost as much as he and Kabuto had achieved after two months of dedicated training.

"Wow, this alone was enough to justify their journey today," he whistled. Happily for them, there was still more to this catalyst.

Looking at Kabuto, the beetle had undergone noticeable changes. Its carapace color had transformed from pale with a golden hue to a pristine milky white, and its texture had become smooth and jade-like. Kabuto now looked like a living statue carved from jade. Patting his companion's new shell, Courage found it felt smooth and cold to the touch - exactly like jade.

And with that, their objective for today was complete. Though Courage wanted to test the effects of [Jade Bone] immediately, he knew it would be better to wait until they were back at the bastion to do so.

With their business here concluded, Courage gave one last glance at the jade chamber before heading through the passage to begin their journey home. However, as they reached the edge of the exit, they were met with unexpected darkness. The light that normally cascaded from above to illuminate the deep crevice was gone. Courage was momentarily surprised until realization dawned - it must be nighttime already.

"I guess Kabuto took longer than I thought," he muttered.

Traveling through the wilds at night was far more dangerous than during the day, as different threats emerged after dark. Not wanting to risk a nighttime journey, Courage decided to spend the night here instead. Luckily, he'd packed extra supplies for just such a situation before embarking on this expedition.

Turning around, they returned to the safety of the jade chamber where they would pass the night before making the journey back home.