Chapter 13: The Tribe of the Fallen Leaf
The trek toward the floating mountain was a sensory overload. Every plant in the Primal Realm seemed to have a personality—and most of those personalities were homicidal. However, with the Eye of Truth active, Leo navigated the "Digital Jungle" like he was reading a map of his own backyard.
"Stay left, Jud. That 'Sun-Flower' is actually a Solar-Ray Turret," Leo warned, pointing to a beautiful golden blossom that was currently charging a beam of condensed light.
"Got it. Left. Definitely left," Jud muttered, his Titan-Crag Toad hopping nervously beside him.
As they crested a ridge covered in silver-grey grass, the dense canopy opened up to reveal a hidden valley. In the center sat a village built into the hollowed-out stumps of ancient, gargantuan trees. But it wasn't the architecture that stopped Leo in his tracks—it was the inhabitants.
They were humans—or at least, they looked like them. They wore tunics made of woven spider-silk and leather, but their skin was etched with faint, glowing green tattoos that mimicked the veins of a leaf.
[Target: Tribe of the Fallen Leaf (Descendants of the First Expedition)]
[Status: Friendly/Cautious]
[Observation: Their Mana Circuits are fused with Plant-Essence.]
The Guard's Challenge
Before Leo could take another step, three spears made of hardened black wood whistled through the air, thudding into the ground inches from his boots.
A woman with ears slightly pointed and hair the color of autumn leaves dropped from a branch above. She rode a Silver-Back Gorilla that had moss growing over its shoulders like a living cape.
"Halt, Outlanders," she said, her voice like grinding stones. "You carry the scent of the Iron Cities and the 'System' of the Shackled. Why have you come to the Valley of the Misfits?"
Leo raised his hands, showing he held no weapons. "We aren't here for the Bureau or the Guilds. I'm a Breeder. I'm looking for the Ruined Laboratory."
The woman's eyes narrowed, then shifted to Grim. The Primordial Storm-Turtle let out a low, resonant rumble. To Leo's surprise, the woman's Gorilla bowed its head in respect.
"A Storm-Turtle... but not of this era," she whispered, her hostility softening into shock. "I am Kaelin, Huntress of the Fallen Leaf. Only those who can heal the 'Withered' may enter our village. If you are a Breeder, prove it."
The Trial of the Withered
Kaelin led them to the center of the village, where a massive, wilted tree stood. At its roots lay several beasts—a Frost-Wolf with blue flames dying out in its fur and a Golden-Eagle whose feathers were turning to lead.
"The 'Blight' has taken them," Kaelin said sadly. "Our healers have failed. If they die, our tribe loses its guardians, and the Shadow-Beasts from the mountain will consume us."
Leo stepped forward. He didn't need to guess. The Eye of Truth saw the truth immediately.
[Status: Mana Starvation / Parasitic Frequency.]
[Cause: The nearby 'Shadow Pillar' is jamming their connection to the World Tree.]
"They don't need medicine," Leo said, looking at the village elders who were watching him skeptically. "They need a bridge."
Leo summoned the Breeder's Domain projection. A shimmering gate of gold light appeared behind him.
"Grim, act as the anchor. Jud, have the Toad create a grounding circle."
Leo placed his hands on the Frost-Wolf's chest. Instead of using his own mana, he opened a channel directly to the Spirit Spring inside his Domain. He began to draw the "Blight" out of the wolf—not by destroying it, but by recycling it.
[Skill Activated: Sovereign's Mirror – Energy Conversion.]
The black smoke leaving the wolf's body was funneled into the Domain, where the Pet Encyclopedia converted it into "Dark-Growth Fertilizer." Simultaneously, the pure water of the Spring flowed back into the wolf.
The blue flames on the wolf's back roared to life, turning from a dull flicker into a brilliant, icy sapphire. The wolf stood up, let out a howl that shook the leaves of the village, and nuzzled Leo's hand.
The Prophecy of the First Breeder
The village fell into a stunned silence. Then, as one, the tribespeople knelt.
"The Emerald Heart," an old man, the Village Elder, wheezed as he limped forward. "The journals of the Founder said one would come who does not command the beast, but becomes the beast's soul. You seek the Laboratory?"
"I do," Leo said, feeling a bit awkward at the sudden worship.
"It is not a ruin," the Elder said, pointing toward the floating mountain. "It is a tomb. And it is guarded by the Mechanical Sentinel—a relic from Earth that was sent here 500 years ago to destroy the Founder's work. The Bureau has been trying to activate it from the other side for centuries."
[DING!]
[Main Quest Updated: The Tomb of the Founder.]
[New Ally: Tribe of the Fallen Leaf.]
[Reward for Trial: 'Ancient Taming Whistle' (Allows calling beasts from the Domain into the physical world instantly).]
A New Companion
As Leo prepared to leave, Kaelin stepped forward. "The path to the mountain is infested with Shadow-Beasts. My Gorilla, Thorn, and I will guide you. Besides..." she looked at Leo with a smirk, "you're a bit too 'clean' for the Primal Realm. You'll need someone who knows which berries make you explode."
Leo laughed. "Fair enough. Welcome to the team, Kaelin."
[New Party Member Joined: Kaelin (Level 30 Huntress)]
As the suns began to set, casting three different colored shadows across the valley, Leo looked at his growing team. A nervous heir to a spirit-stone empire, a tribal huntress, and a turtle that could eat lightning.
"The Bureau wanted to study me," Leo whispered, looking at the floating mountain. "Let's give them something worth studying."