The next three days followed a similar pattern.
I woke up as early as usual and sneaked out of the dorm room. Once outside, I brushed my teeth and washed up. A quick breakfast, followed by early morning stretches and a few hours of intense research, filled the rest of the early morning. Even though I was still unsure about the Blooming Expanse, it was the best Zone for me to hunt, which was exactly what I did between early noon and early afternoon.
Hunting was a bit of a mess, but neither Aureus nor I sustained severe injuries. If anything, we were healthier than ever. I was surprised how calming and stress-relieving the wilderness was, especially with someone like Aureus around. He was far more than a mere Awakened beast. Aureus was intelligent and possessed dangerously high combat awareness.
At this point, I couldn’t be certain which of us was stronger. Anyway, we successfully hunted weak Awakened beasts and managed to drag them to the cruiser in time.
Once the hunt concluded, I sold the corpses to the Grand Camp, went for a quick shower and meal. Unlike breakfast, I ignored the free dishes offered at lunch. A good chunk of the coins I’d just earned were used on quality and filling meals that tasted better than anything I’d eaten before. Not even the Zerogs’ cooks could create something so magical at the expense of a handful of coins.
Anyway, I needed the nutrients for the series of appointments that followed every afternoon, filling my afternoon and early evening to the brim. If I hadn’t gone out hunting, I would have had a much easier time with the scheduling of aptitude test appointments, but I quite liked my schedule, so I didn’t change anything. More than ten appointments, most of which turned into pitying rejections or lowballed apprenticeship offers, would have been too much for my poor heart either way.
The apprenticeship offers were not all bad, but their pay was just too little until I’d carry my weight. I understood the point, very well actually; however, that didn’t mean I liked it. The Camp was only one year, and who could promise me that I’d receive full payment at any time during the Camp’s duration?
Afterward, depression was followed by another hearty meal. It was part of a coping mechanism I had developed and part necessity in a desperate attempt to offset the lack of serums for Aureus. The dishes were a lot more nutritious than expected and filled me with more ether than my core could contain, especially after I ate lunch with dishes of equally high quality. All surplus ether flowed through my body and nestled in my weave, joining the ether my Gates leaked naturally.
Dinner took another chunk of the hunt’s earnings, but they were more than worth it. They almost made up for the lack of an ethermist cube. Almost.
To release the nutrients and excess ether, making full use of my expenses, Aureus and I trained for the remainder of the day. I spent two hours in the high-density training room before I was too exhausted to move. That was when I switched to refining my World.
Maybe it was no longer necessary to wear my body out before refining my World, especially since it was steadily growing now that everything progressed smoothly, but I was already so tuned to refining my World in a state of complete exhaustion that I did it anyway. Plus, the particles of soul energy that replenished the moment I finished refining my World were a pleasant reward.
Seeing the particles showed that I pushed my body properly to the brink of collapse and even gave me the resources needed to push my World a little bit further. And that was something I was more than glad for.
Once the workout and World refinement were complete, I tempered my body. I hadn’t forgotten Daniel’s advice, but it didn’t change my main priority. Tempering my body was crucial, of course, yet my World was unique and more than capable of making up for the lack of a thoroughly tempered body. After my second Soulkin hatched—probably.
I tempered my body until midnight every night and sneaked back into the dorm with the wisps of energy I managed to retain. Fortunately, nobody bothered me when I returned. In fact, more often than not, Spencer and I were the only ones in the dorm rooms, and Spencer was already sleeping, which I was grateful for. Nobody was there to bother me with chit-chat, and I could slip out of my clothes and dive right into bed, which embraced me tightly until the next morning greeted me.
***
The fourth day since I started my new routine felt different than the rest. First, I was more vigorous than usual when I woke up. My bonds flared and filled me with emotions and desires that overlapped precisely with my own. My movements were sharper than ever, I felt stronger, and my mind…my mind was at a new all-time high.
That day, I earned more coins than ever, pushing my all-time record to 36 coins from one day’s hunt. While my earnings had been increasing steadily, the fourth day brought along many changes, including a decisive improvement in the rankings.
Name: Adam Savier
Blessed: Adept
Soulkins: 2
Affiliations: Grand Camp
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– Ranking.
District – #942 → #935
Grand Camp – #12,763 → #12,673
Retinue – #663 → #651
– Rank Benefits: 18 Coins/month
Camp Coins: 157
My rank had risen consistently over the last few days, although it dropped just as quickly afterward, almost pushing me back to my old ranking every time. Nonetheless, I was moving up the ranks, even if it was much slower than I would have liked.
Anyway, I was over the moon with the increase in my rank and benefits, so much so that I didn’t even mind when I failed the first three aptitude tests in the afternoon. I was on the way to the fourth aptitude test, which was located in a massive park bordering the Grand Camp, my district, and the neighboring one, fidgeting with the Earthen Aspect, trying to get a better hold of it, when I noticed beasts in the distance.
My body tensed up instinctively as hundreds of beasts moved throughout the park. Some grazed calmly, while others fought fiercely until another beast emerged to stop them when the first blood was drawn.
Aureus emerged beside me, eyes narrowed as he stared at the beasts ahead.
Friend? Foe?
“That’s a good question, buddy.” I snickered, patting my chest, trying to calm my palpitating heart. Several beasts noticed me, but there was not even the faintest inkling of bloodlust in their eyes. If anything, they appeared unimpressed by my presence and returned to their business after a quick glance.
I double-checked the information attached to the aptitude test and exhaled in realization.
“Right, this is the Beastarium.” As the words left my mouth, I discovered several Blessed in the distance. Some relaxed and had a picnic in the middle of the park, while others played with a few beasts, presumably their Soulkins. Compared to all the death and destruction I’d experienced in the wilderness, seeing hundreds of beasts—Soulkins?—spread all over the park was almost pleasant.
My heartbeat slowed down and a smile forced its way onto my face.
“This is amazing, isn’t it?” I marveled, reaching out to pat Aureus.
A mix of confusion reached me through the bond, which was totally understandable. I would be confused if I saw hundreds of Soulkins freely roaming as well. Hell, I was just as confused as Aureus, though I was not as disturbed as Aureus sounded as he let out a deep hiss. Aureus vibrated beneath my hand, cradling his…oddly shaped head that was much smoother than I remembered, but I couldn’t even turn around before a voluminous shout reverberated.
“Be careful, young man!”
Deep down, I knew the voice was directed at me, and I looked right to see an old man rushing my way. He was fast, waving his hand in an almost desperate manner, motioning toward Aureus standing beside me—except there wasn’t an Earthheart. Aureus was a little bit further right, glaring at the creature I’d been patting the whole time, thinking it was my Soulkin.
One thing led to another and Aureus pounced at the creature, which I recognized as an Aceraspis. At least, I was half sure that was what their species was called. They were large creatures—unlike the smaller Aceraspis vibrating beneath my hand—and were equipped with razor-sharp claws that looked like fingers. Aceraspis were humanoids with hunchbacks, bodies covered in thick chitin, and long fangs protruding from the bottom of their elongated jaws. They looked positively terrifying, or so I would expect. The Aceraspis I’d been cradling by accident was not a three-meter-towering machine of death, though it may as well have been as its claws swept at Aureus.
The Earthheart froze the young beast in its tracks and pounced on it, more than willing to tear it apart when I intercepted.
“Calm down, buddy. He’s still young and doesn’t know better.” I intervened as soon as I regained my senses. Aureus was not convinced, so I augmented my words with memories of him being young, weak, and oblivious to the rules of Razarn. Although he was still young, the Earthheart understood and accepted my reasoning. That didn’t stop him from releasing a series of pebbles at the young Aceraspis.
It regained control of its body moments after Aureus stepped back and leaped to its feet, snarling. Ether whirled through the beast but David stepped in between, which resulted in a worried scream from the old man who was just about to reach them.
“Run away. The youngling is not a—...” I turned to the man, his eyes wide-open when I bent down to the young Aceraspis’ height. My hand rested on the beast’s head, cradling it gently. The Aceraspis didn’t explode at me. It pointed at Aureus standing behind me and snarled in anger, which, to me, felt more like a child’s tantrum than a ferocious beast’s desire to spread death and all.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, suddenly feeling like I had made a mistake. Should I not have done anything?
It shouldn’t be a crime to pat someone else’s Soulkin…or is it?
The old man slowed, gasping for air. Yet as he inhaled as desperately as if he’d been suffocating moments ago, his eyes never diverted from the Aceraspis.
“Yes! Well, no…” The old man’s expression hardened for a moment. He grimaced, eyes still lingering on the beast. “It is dangerous to be this close to the Aceraspis…Well, it should be dangerous.” He shook his head slowly, looking intently at the scene unfolding before him as if trying to make sense of it. “The Aceraspis bond hasn’t taken hold yet. Some technical errors with the Blessed and the beast. Its bloodlust is too strong.”
The old man looked at the beast, not quite believing what he saw. Neither did I.
“Are you sure you mean this one?” I asked, continuing to pat the Aceraspis when it nudged my hand. Aureus growled and tail-whipped my other hand with his claw. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to attract my attention.
Pat!
“Sure thing.” I chuckled at Aureus’ demand and patted him with my free hand, giving both beasts scratches.
“This is the only Aceraspis in the Beastarium,” the old man said sternly, “and it is probably the only youngling that has ever been successfully caught and bonded. Although Sophie is still struggling to take hold of the bond.”
His eyes, shimmering like a pristine lake, flicked to me, confused yet intrigued.
“Who are you?”