catalyst beast

The next day came, and with it, Courage and Kabuto began their journey home. After sneaking back out of the earth crevice, they were on their way. 

They followed the same path at the same pace as yesterday, and after half a day, they were back at the bastion. 

As Courage and Kabuto left the docks, they passed a group of people heading out. This group wore matching outfits with a symbol resembling a rising sun drawn on their robes. 

"They must be a party belonging to the Band of Dawn... Heh. What do you know? I leave the bastion for only a day and a half, and they've already started organizing large hunts—even made uniforms for themselves."

As Courage walked, he noticed people sending glances at Kabuto. The beetle now looked like a finely sculpted jade statue, making it quite the sight to behold. Courage couldn't blame them for staring, but not wanting to attract attention, he pulled Kabuto back into his soul domain and continued on his way. 

Courage immediately went to Mister Jafar's shop. The moment he opened the door and stepped inside, he was warmly greeted. 

"Kid! You're back! Thank goodness for your safety!" 

" yeah, I am back " Courage replied. 

After patting Courage's shoulders, Mister Jafar asked in a low yet expectant tone: 

"So... how did it go?"

Courage grinned. "See for yourself." He summoned Kabuto back out of his soul domain. 

The moment Mister Jafar saw Kabuto, his eyes lit up, and a big smile split his face. He chuckled happily. "Haha! Well, I'll be damned. You actually did it, lad!"

And so, Courage recounted everything that had happened, sharing the location of the catalyst as agreed. Mister Jafar recorded the coordinates with his implant, and Courage made sure to warn him about the Level 2 beast hiding there. 

Hearing this, Mister Jafar exclaimed in surprise: "You had a run-in with a Level 2 beast?!"

"Eh... yeah."

Mister Jafar smacked his forehead. "Oh, Jafar, you idiot! Look at what you've done! You got too greedy and nearly sent a rookie to his doom!"

Turning back to Courage, he said earnestly: "Lad, I'm sorry. If I'd known a Level 2 beast would be there, I'd never have asked you to do this."

Courage tried to reassure him. "It's okay, Mister Jafar. I made it back in the end, didn't I?"

"LAD." Jafar's tone turned dead serious. "Don't even joke about this. A rookie like you shouldn't go anywhere near a higher-rank beast—especially alone! You might've gotten lucky this time, but don't let that fool you into ignoring the danger. Higher-rank beasts aren't something to take lightly!"

After being scolded a bit by Mister Jafar, Courage admitted his mistake and promised to be more careful in the future.

"Good. As long as you understand," Jafar said. "Still, the danger I put you through wasn't part of our agreement. So in compensation, you can take one item from my shop."

Courage was surprised at the offer. "Oh, it's okay Mister Jafar, you really don't need to—"

"Nonsense!" Jafar interjected. "What would become of my reputation if people knew I foolishly sent a rookie into danger and didn't even try to make it up to them? You simply must take something - no way my conscience would be clear otherwise."

Sensing there was no arguing or convincing him otherwise, Courage could only smile helplessly and agree to take something.

Courage hadn't planned to buy anything, so he didn't have anything particular in mind that he wanted. He simply decided to grab whatever caught his fancy.

After browsing through the stock for a while, something caught his eye - a flail head. Although Mister Jafar's shop primarily dealt with catalysts, he did sell other items on the side. This flail head piece was a fist-sized steel sphere, slightly larger than a traditional morning star head, with six sharp, angular spikes protruding symmetrically. Between those spikes, a red stone was embedded.

Curious, Courage asked Mister Jafar about this unusual weapon attachment. The shopkeeper explained that he'd acquired it from another Beast Catalyst who had traded it to him long ago. According to that warrior, this flail head had the unique ability to convert velocity and kinetic energy into explosive firepower thanks to the special gem embedded within it - making it an excellent attachment for whip and flail weapons.

Courage was amazed by its capabilities, which led him to wonder why anyone would trade away such an item. Mister Jafar then revealed the truth: this flail head was actually a failed prototype for a different weapon that was supposed to be much stronger. While it was powerful enough to hurt Level 2 beasts, this output was considered too weak given the materials used in its creation. Labeled a defective product, its maker had pawned it to Mister Jafar to recoup some of his losses.

After hearing this explanation, Courage thought for a moment. Even if this was considered a defective product, something capable of harming a Level 2 beast would still be a significant power boost for him and Kabuto, who were still Level 1. Plus, it would remain useful even after they reached Level 2 themselves. And frankly, it seemed like a great deal.

Without further hesitation, he asked Mister Jafar, "Is it really okay for me to take such an item?"

Jafar responded, "Of course! Like I said, I owe you. Besides, that thing's been doing nothing but collecting dust ever since I got it. Might as well be of use to someone."

With a grateful nod, Courage accepted his chosen reward - the flail head attachment named "Little Comet." After bidding farewell to Mister Jafar, Courage returned home, eager to get some rest.

Back in his quarters, Courage checked on Tusk's enclosure. He gently nudged the little bug in greeting. "Hey Tusk, hope you weren't too bored all alone?"

The small beetle responded with a tiny chirp in his palm. Taking out some of the fruit jellos he'd stocked up on, Courage gave Tusk a treat as a reward. Watching this, Kabuto nudged Courage with his horn.

"Ah, what? You want a treat too?" Courage said with amusement before grabbing another handful of fruit jellos for his larger companion. Kabuto happily accepted the offering.

Looking at his two companions enjoying their sweet treats, Courage glanced at the remaining fruit jellos in his hand. "Oh, what the hell," he muttered before popping them into his own mouth, deciding he deserved a treat as well.

Several hours later, in a holo room...

Courage had prepared a combat simulation to test the effects of Kabuto's new [Jade Bone] trait. After putting the final touches on the simulation sequence, he stepped back to give his beast space. When everything was ready, he initiated the program.

Immediately, a previously frozen holographic beast sprang to life - a massive, tank-sized rhino creature. The hologram snorted aggressively, muscles tensed as if ready to charge, yet remained rooted in place.

"Alright Kabuto," Courage instructed, "just use [All Out] and keep attacking until I tell you to stop."

Kabuto obeyed, activating [All Out] and launching into a relentless assault. The beetle delivered a barrage of punches and horn jabs against its immobile opponent while Courage monitored a timer in the background.

After slightly more than twenty minutes of continuous pounding, Courage called for a halt. He approached his beast, carefully inspecting the jade-like carapace. Running his hands across the smooth surface, he noted with satisfaction the complete absence of strain cracks or the usual heat buildup that previously would have accumulated during such prolonged combat.

Encouraged by these initial results, Courage decided to push further. "Again," he commanded, "but this time use everything you've got - [Flurry Strike] and [Flux] included."

Kabuto unleashed a devastating onslaught, employing its entire arsenal of abilities. It charged, slammed, smacked, struck and jabbed with all its might. Every part of its body and every movement in its repertoire was utilized to maximum effectiveness.

Outside the holo room, passersbys kept turning their heads toward Courage's session. The small vibrations and muffled sounds of destruction leaking through the walls were too intriguing to ignore.

"Damn, whoever's in there is really going all out," one observer remarked, eyebrows raised.

Another chuckled, shaking their head. "Yo, chill out in there! What'd the poor hologram ever do to you?"

After nearly an hour of pummeling the holographic beast like it owed him money, Kabuto finally had to stop - not from overexertion or overheating, but simply because the beetle had run out of stamina and needed to catch its breath.

Courage inspected his beast's body once more, running his hands across the jade-like carapace. Just as before, he found no cracks or fractures and The shell remained cool to the touch, only slightly warmer than usual. Clenching his fist in triumph, Courage celebrated this breakthrough: [All Out]'s critical flaw had been mitigated. Now he could finally explore the ability's full potential without worrying about the repercussions.

But the testing wasn't over yet. Having confirmed [Jade Bone]'s offensive benefits, it was time to evaluate its defensive capabilities.

Courage activated a new simulation sequence, materializing an ape-like beast. This time, he ordered Kabuto to stand firm and take the hits head-on.

One. Two. Three.

The holographic ape delivered three powerful blows to Kabuto's body, each impact producing that distinctive crystalline *clink*. Yet Kabuto didn't so much as flinch - the beetle stood as immovable as a mountain.

Gradually, Courage increased the simulation's attack power. Still, no damage. For the ultimate test, he maxed out the settings. The ape's final punch struck with devastating force, cracking the floor beneath Kabuto's feet from the sheer impact. But the beetle itself? Completely unharmed.

Satisfied, Courage moved on to a different kind of test: elemental resistance. 

One by one, beasts of all sorts manifested. It was lucky for Courage that the holo room could simulate elemental powers—otherwise, testing would've been much harder. 

Fire. Water. Lightning. Darkness. And many more. 

Courage pitted Kabuto's defense against every element, even status effects like paralysis from electric shocks or poison and frostbite from ice. 

Unlike before, Kabuto could be hurt by elemental damage—but not easily. [Jade Bone] had granted Kabuto great resistance to all elements and their status effects. The simulated beasts had to put in serious effort before they could so much as scratch Kabuto, and all ailments took far longer to take effect. 

"Haha, the toughness and purity of jade indeed!" Courage laughed out loud. He was very happy with the effect of the [Jade Bone] trait—all the effort and risk to get it was definitely worth it. It was a potent catalyst indeed.

After finishing with the tests, Courage returned his beast to his soul domain to rest and recover. He still had a little more time in the holo room, so he decided to use it to test something else. Taking his weapon of choice—his chain flail—he unfurled it and took a ready stance. Courage's flail now had the Little Comet at the end of it. His weapon was modifiable, so he could swap the Little Comet with his flail's regular head part easily on his own.

Courage gave his modified flail a couple of swings to warm up. Then, aiming at a target he'd set up earlier, he began. He swung his flail back, then brought it forward with a strong motion. The Little Comet whistled through the air as it flew rapidly toward the target. Right at the point of impact—BOOM—an explosion erupted, blasting the target apart.

"Wow!" Courage was shocked, then excited like a child who just found a new toy. He began wielding the weapon vigorously, whipping and swinging the flail wildly.

Boom!

Boom!

BOOM!

One after another, small explosions erupted. The Little Comet would fly through the air whistling with the fast wind, its red gem glowing brighter as it built charge before coming down and dispersing the accumulated energy into explosive force. The more Courage swung his flail and the faster he moved before attacking with it, the stronger the explosive force would be.

Once Courage was done with his rampage, he was left sweating profusely. He noted that now his weapon's destructive power was definitely greater—however, using the Little Comet effectively would require changing his style a bit. Still, it wasn't anything some training couldn't fix.

Having had his fill for today, Courage finally left the holo room. As he exited, he caught a couple of people and workers giving him curious—even cautious—looks.

"What's with them?" Courage wondered, oblivious to the ruckus he'd made.