Reborn into Beast Tamer Clan with Monsters-Only Affinity-Chapter 62: In two days

Owen peeked over his head and blinked. "Huh. I really should read the plants catalog too."

Axelius grinned, resting his hands on his knees. "You better. You’re not just my backpack, you’re also my dictionary now! Hahaha!"

"No, no," Owen corrected with a huff. "It’s not called a dictionary. You should say... encyclopedia! Or maybe, a walking library."

Axelius snorted. "Pfft. Same thing. Smart little blob."

But before he could admire the flower any longer, a sharp voice came from behind.

"Walk along, Axelius. You don’t want to be left alone in here," Seraphina said, her tone strict but not angry.

"Yeah, yeah," Axelius replied, standing up with a sigh.

But just as he took a step forward, a huge shadow suddenly swooped down from the sky.

He ducked and squatted, feeling the wind rush above him.

"GE—!" He gasped, heart pounding. "Geez! Is that bird trying to take me? Just because I’m small doesn’t mean they can just snatch me up like a worm, tsk!"

He huffed and looked up toward Owen, expecting a comment.

But... there was nothing.

His eyes widened in horror.

"The fuck... Owen?!"

He reached up to his own head, realizing it was empty.

"Owen got taken?!" he shouted, spinning to follow the direction the bird had flown.

Without thinking, he sprinted into the forest, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"OWEN!!!"

Wilmar noticed right away. "Sera! Axelius just ran off!"

"What?!" Seraphina spun around.

Wilmar was already chasing him. "Axelius!"

The others followed quickly behind, weapons drawn just in case.

But ahead of them, Axelius was moving faster, driven by panic.

Then, suddenly—he stepped on a loose patch of ground.

The land gave way under him.

He rolled down a steep slope, leaves and rocks flying everywhere.

Wilmar jumped after him. "Kid!"

The others didn’t hesitate. They all followed, sliding down the slope through branches and roots.

"Axelius!" Wilmar shouted again.

But Axelius didn’t answer—his eyes were locked on something ahead.

A dead end.

"Oh crap—!" he cussed, trying to stop, but it was too steep. His hands scraped against the ground. "Ah—!" He winced in pain as his palm was cut open by a sharp rock.

Above him, Wilmar spotted it too.

"DEAD END! IT’S A DEAD END!" Axelius shouted.

Wilmar relayed the warning. "SLOW DOWN! ROOTS! WATCH THE ROOTS!"

Wilmar picked up speed, trying to reach Axelius before he went off the edge.

"Take my hand!" Wilmar yelled.

Axelius reached out with his uninjured hand—but just before their hands could touch, the ground beneath him crumbled further.

Axelius fell through a narrow hole.

"Axelius!" Wilmar shouted, stabbing his weapon into the ground to stop himself from falling too.

He crawled to the hole, eyes wide.

"I think that hole leads to the river," Theo said from behind.

Seraphina wasted no time. She summoned her griffin and climbed on.

"Get on!" she ordered the others. One by one, they climbed onto the creature’s back.

With a powerful flap of wings, the griffin flew above the trees, following the winding path of the river.

"Where is he..." Seraphina muttered, scanning every corner.

Then—"There!"

They spotted Axelius clinging to a log floating in the river. His clothes were soaked, and he was coughing, trying to keep his grip.

"Axelius!" Seraphina shouted, urging the griffin down.

"Seraphina!" Axelius called back, voice hoarse but alive.

She moved to grab him—but before she could reach—

A long, slimy limb shot out of the water.

It wrapped around one of the griffin’s back legs.

A monstrous shape rose from the river, half-submerged—a huge creature, like a mix of an octopus and leech, its many arms reaching for them, eyes glowing from under the murky surface.

"Damn it," Seraphina growled, pulling her sword. "Wrong time."

As Seraphina flew closer to rescue him, Axelius felt panic—not because of the river or the monster—but because he realized something. If she saved him now, he wouldn’t be able to follow the bird that took Owen. His best chance to rescue Owen would be lost.

So, despite the fear in his chest, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Save yourself! I’ll get back on my own!"

Seraphina’s eyes widened for a moment, surprised by his decision. But then she gave him a confident look and raised a thumbs-up.

"We’ll be waiting outside the forest," she called out. "Two days!"

Axelius nodded back firmly, just before the log he was holding onto was swept over the edge of a waterfall.

The moment he disappeared over the fall, another set of tentacles burst out of the water, faster and stronger than before. They wrapped around the griffin’s head, pulling it down toward the river.

Seraphina tried to swing her sword to defend the creature, but one of the tentacles caught her wrist. In that split second, she gritted her teeth and dismissed the griffin back into its summon space before it could be crushed.

Another tentacle pulled her under for a second, but she kicked hard and broke free, swimming to the riverbank where the others were already rushing to help.

"What happened?!" Theo cried, helping pull her out.

"Griffy was attacked," Seraphina answered, soaked and breathless as she wrung out her clothes and shook her head. "Some kind of river-dwelling predator. Fast. Smart. Maybe an Elder Leech."

"What are we going to do now?" Adelheida asked, looking toward the river nervously.

"Let’s finish what we came here for," she added after a pause, "and then we’ll wait outside the forest for Axelius’s return."

"What?!" Theo said, standing up quickly. "We should find him, Sera! We can’t leave Axelius alone in this forest. If we just wait, there’s no guarantee he’ll make it back."

Seraphina frowned deeply and looked at him.

"Axelius is a Dravenhart," she said, her voice quiet but firm.

Theo froze. His hand slowly lowered as the weight of that name sank in.

Liselotte stepped forward gently. "Theo didn’t mean it like that, Sera. He’s not insulting the Dravenhart. It’s just... Axelius was born without mana. He’s still just a kid."

Seraphina sighed, brushing her wet hair away from her face.

"I know," she said. "But this... might be the opportunity he needs. The Dravenhart trial is coming soon. If he can survive this, he’ll be ready."

There was silence between them. The group exchanged hesitant glances. No one really liked the decision. But they understood.

Seraphina looked out into the forest. "Two days," she said again. "If Axelius doesn’t return by then... we’ll go in and find him."

The others nodded slowly, Even though it wasn’t the choice they wanted, it was the one they had to accept.