Chapter 22: 22. Thunderhoof.
"A thunderhoof?" Diana uttered with surprise when she noticed the stag in front of them. "I wonder what it's doing here alone?"
"Are there any other of its kind nearby?" Aurora asked and Aaron replied.
"I don't think so. Besides, it looks like it's about to run away," Aaron noticed how the stag kept staring at the three of them warily.
Although the stag was way stronger than Glimmer, it knew it wasn't strong enough to face Aaron, Diana, and Aurora on its own, so it slowly began to step back. However, Aaron didn't want it to escape his sight, so he cautiously approached it.
"Baron, what are you doing?" Diana whispered, but Aaron gestured for them to remain still, then he focused his full attention on the stag.
"Easy boy, I'm not going to hurt you," He said softly as he crouched low while approaching the stag.
Glimmer noticed what he was doing, so she mimicked his calm demeanor to appear non-threatening to the Thunderhoof.
The Thunderhoof snorted and took a cautious step forward.
It didn't know why this weird human and fox were lowering their body towards it but it could sense that they had no killing intent aimed towards it.
Seeing as the stag was also approaching him and Glimmer, Aaron slowly reached into his pouch to bring out a handful of the herbs they had gathered on their way here
He placed them on the ground before gently backing away.
The Thunderhoof noticed the herbs but it hesitated, then it slowly stepped closer before sniffing the offering.
Aaron and the girls watched the Thunderhoof as it ate the herbs, and the moment it ate it all, a notification suddenly popped up in front of Aaron.
[Congratulations to the host, the Thunderhoof's loyalty has risen to 5%.]
[You have received an additional 5 bond energy points.]
[Your cumulative bond energy points are now 35 bond energy points.]
Aaron's lips widened into a smile the moment he read the details displayed in front of him; then he noticed that the stag was raising its head to meet his gaze. The stare only lasted for a moment before it retreated into the forest.
Aaron exhaled with relief and he muttered to himself. "Slow and steady wins the race."
He was glad that he could increase the Thunderhoof's loyalty a bit and he couldn't wait to see it again.
Meanwhile, Diana walked closer to him to ask. "Why did you let the Thunderhoof go? I thought you wanted to tame it just like the Glimmerfox?"
"Yes, I will, but there's no need to be in a hurry."
Aurora got closer to them. "It sounds like you really believe that you can tame these magical creatures."
"I know I can," Aaron replied confidently.
"But why do you want to tame them, and what do you possibly hope to achieve by doing so?" Aurora asked as the three walked ahead with Glimmer trailing right behind them.
"Nothing really; I just find it fascinating that these magical creatures are capable of manipulating the elements around them, and I'm also interested in studying how these creatures live their daily lives. This is why I have Glimmer around me, most of the time."
Glimmer let out a soft yip as she walked closer to Aaron and puffed out her chest with pride.
To Glimmer, Aaron was special and he wasn't like all the other humans who mindlessly killed both magical and demonic beasts whenever they stumbled upon them.
Most humans believed that magical creatures were just as dangerous as demonic creatures, but they failed to realize that the magical creatures hated the demonic beasts just as much as humans did.
Humans and elves weren't the only meals on the menus of demonic beasts, the demonic beasts loved to attack magical beasts as well, so Glimmer was more than happy to help Aaron dispatch as many of these demonic creatures as possible.
Also, one might wonder why Aaron wanted to bond with the stag when he already had Glimmer by his side, but there were many reasons why he wanted to bond with Thunderhoof, and the main reason was because of what he saw. Aaron had noticed the electrical sparks on the stag's antlers, and this could only mean one thing.
The Thunderhoof had the ability to manipulate lightning.
And so, with this sudden realization, Aaron was interested in finding out if he would be able to manipulate lightning once the stag's loyalty had risen to a certain percentage.
However, there was something else Aaron had noticed as well.
Unlike the Thunderhoof, Glimmer didn't have an elemental affinity yet, but he wasn't worried about this because she needed five red mana crystals to evolve, and he knew this could only mean that Glimmer had a strong affinity with the element of fire.
Mana crystals were of different colors and each one strengthened a beast that had a strong affinity with a certain element.
Red mana crystals for fire affinity and a yellow mana crystal for beasts with lightning affinity.
And so, in a nutshell, this could only mean that it was only a matter of time before Glimmer would be able to manipulate fire.
Concentrating on what mattered right now, Aaron and the girls pressed on until they arrived at a small glade filled with different herbs and flowers.
Aurora's eyes lit up like stars the moment she spotted the herbs and flowers and she swiftly began to collect the ones around her.
Her hands were moving quicker than ever before and this showed how important these herbs were to her.
Diana, seeing this, didn't waste a second and immediately joined Aurora in harvesting the herbs as quickly as possible, but since she knew very little about them, she turned towards Aurora and requested that she guide her on the ones that were meant to be harvested.
"Your Highness, would you like me to pick these too?" She asked and Aurora nodded in response.
"Yes, these are perfect for brewing potions and we'll be able to replenish our supplies with those ones over there," Aurora pointed towards a different set of herbs beside Diana, and Diana nodded in understanding.