Desolate World

"He told me. After I said what you had said that you will kill him if I fail to tame him, he told me the reason why he didn't trust us," Geo said frankly.

Aprilia looked to be hit hard by the fact, she could only sigh. She then looked at Geo with a defeated expression. She said, "I am not lost yet. I will defeat you next time."

Geo seemed to be confused why the turn of events became like that. He then asked, "I don't understand, Captain. What do you mean?"

Cloud smirked. It was always like this. With the innocent style of his, Geo always defeated the elves beautifully. From her understanding by seeing the process of domestication all this time, she concluded that every monster had its own characteristic that sometimes wasn't looked like on the surface. 

Like this wolf for example. It appeared tough and stubborn, but actually, it feared to die. The reason he acted tough was because he couldn't trust the elves. Maybe the elves used the drug in the carcass as a trap. So the wolves became suspicious at everything that the elves gave him. So you need to convince him that the food wasn't poisoned, before the wolf wanted to eat it.

In fact, what the elves did these two days, just preparing a stage for Geo without them realizing it. Making the wolf hungry and always in a state of alert made his psyche tired. Then Geo just needed to give a final touch to make the alpha give in.

Cloud felt it was so funny and at the same time she felt the elves pitiful. She then recalled an event two weeks ago. The elves also couldn't domesticate the Iron back rhinos. Although they appeared to be honest on the surface, they didn't want to work at all. They only ate and slept all the time. 

The elves tried to do everything to subdue the rhino, either with soft or hard methods. However, it was to no avail. Their defense was too thick and strong, it was impossible for them to threaten them without going for killing. 

Then Geo came. He was interested in the docile rhinos. Then, he approached them to look closely. Geo's presence appeared to make one of them annoyed. It then tried to attack Geo.

Knowing their master was threatened, Geo's pets exited his ring with their own initiative. They then beat it into a pulp. If not because Geo stopped them timely, it would definitely die. This incident, of course, made the other rhinos wary of him. But then he healed the dying rhino until its HP was full again. 

However, who could think that the recovered rhino wanted to attack Geo once again. Geo's pets were merciless. They beat the rhino once again. But Geo stopped them once more before it died. And then he healed it again.

Finally, the rhino became honest. Not just the rhino that had just been beaten up, but all rhinos. 

The elves found the changed behavior of the rhinos afterward. The monsters became obedient all of a sudden. They then found out that it was Geo's doing, after asking the guard that saw the event by chance. 

From that day, Geo seemed to be a target that the elves wanted to surpass. Essentially Aprilia, the captain of monster tamers. 

This morning's event surely cast another shadow on the captain's heart. However, it's not Cloud's or Geo's problems. It was impossible for Cloud to tell Geo to be more low profile to please the elves. It's their problem not to be able to be better than her grandson. As adults, they must solve their own problems.

After the alpha became Geo's pet, it was easy to subdue the other wolves. By showing Silver that had become a pet of Geo to them, Geo and the others were able to convince the wolves one by one. 

After that, the elves started to domesticate other monsters as well but because it was already afternoon, Cloud took Geo to go home. Cloud thought the 'show off' was enough, it was time for the elves to do their job.

However, as they were passing by the gate of the barrack, they met Tifa and Tira. So, Cloud was forced to have lunch with them in their house, that was of course Avril's.

Avril's house was bigger than the other elves, she said it was not that she wanted to look different than the other elves, but because her family members were quite many. Besides her husband who was an elven hunter, she had eleven children. Something that was unusual for elves that were known had a low birthrate. 

There were only five people in the house at the moment. Avril, Ave the second elite in the elves, Tifa, Tita, and Natan the sole son of Avril. As for her husband and her other children, they were on duty or just had lunch outside.

After lunch, Cloud and Geo went home. No one was at home. So Ace definitely had a matter to do. As Sofia wouldn't leave her new office in the guild until one hour before dusk, and Sampson was always in the forest to level up the combat team at this time, practically only Ace, who was never absent to meditate, was at home with Geo and Cloud in the afternoon.

"Grandma, how about we hunt the monsters for a few hours. Silver needs to level up, so he won't be left behind too many levels," Geo said.

Cloud agreed right away. After all, they had had their lunch and while waiting for the grand banquet, it was not a bad idea to hunt some monsters. They then rode Red to go to the forest. 

From above, they could see Laketown under them. Cloud still couldn't believe it. The wilderness that they just opened more than two months ago had become such a beautiful town. With the floating island above the lake, a waterfall that was near the town center area, and 7 different architecture styles of blocks, Cloud had never doubted that it would make many guardians fall in love. Just like her and her family. 

'Come and see! This is our town. Laketown. A place for all,' Cloud felt a pride in her heart when they passed the 30 meters of the town wall and then saw the vast fields surrounding the town.

***